#and their reactions when they think the other is gone is just heart wrenching and I love it

[sukunasteeth]

Wrestle Me

Tokyo had reached record temperatures that day. The sun was roasting the city, every street was a mirage from the bending light of its shine. The weather recently had been sending everyone either inside or to the nearest water source.

Yuji had gone to the beach with Megumi and Nobara in a futile attempt to escape the heat that had Japan in the sweaty palm of its hand. They had offered you and Sukuna a spot on the railway car there, but you knew that Sukuna was too exhausted from his recent missions to do any sort of going out. Not to mention the draining effect of the heat stacked on top of that. You were in the mood to just enjoy each other's presence.

The two of you were sheltered away in the darkness of his bedroom, lying sprawled out across the floor in front of his small rotating fan. Sukuna and Yuji never turned the A/C on. Since they had moved into their own apartment, the brothers had become rather stingy when it came to the bills. The air didn't start up until the room felt like a sauna, and it turned off much too soon to give relief.

Sweat continued to drip down the both of your spines, but Sukuna didn't seem to mind it. He was enjoying the peace of his day off, dressed against the heat in nothing but his boxer briefs and a tank top. He had his head resting in the cushion of your lap, his eyes were transfixed on an old leather notebook that he had stolen from one of the professors a few days ago. It was in a language you hadn't taken at the academy yet, but Sukuna tells you it was early notes on jujutsu from the old world.

You had been scrolling through your phone, occasionally showing him something you found amusing or anything that reminded you of him. He only gave you a reaction to maybe 10% of the material, but it was fun to see him roll his eyes, or scoff and wave your phone away.

The longer you remained in the same spot,however, the sweatier you felt and the more frustrated with the heat. You tried not to squirm under Sukuna's head, remaining as still as possible as though he were a sleeping animal taking refuge on your lap. Boredom, however, eventually pulls the last straw that has you stirring.

An idea comes to mind.

Sukuna glances up at you, as though he expects you to show him something else on your phone, but instead his attention is caught by the mischievous glint you feel twinkling in your eye.

"Wrestle me." You beam at him.

It was somewhat of a joke.

Compared to your boyfriend, it was clear who would win in a pinning tournament between the two of you.

 Sukuna, who enjoys kickboxing in his spare time. Sukuna, who has never missed an opportunity for a fight in the decade that you've known him, who could dead-lift your torso with ease if he so desired.

Sukuna, who has never touched you with anything but heart wrenching gentleness.

His eyes widen at your command, the notebook he had previously found so interesting has been completely forgotten. He seems to catch the drift of your lack of entertainment, and quickly plays along. His surprise melts into an amused little smile.

"Oh yeah? Think you got a chance, kid?" He taunts, placing the book beside him. His attention now fully focused on you.

You snort, you were only a year younger than he was, but he loved to emphasize it when he could. Sukuna mistakes your noise as a scoff and cocks a daring brow at you.

You love when he’s in a playful mood.

"I could take you any day." You tease. Part of you is running for the hills inside, but another part is having fun with the big bad wolf. That was the constant state you were in with him. Sukuna didn't even have to try and he always had your heart racing.

Sukuna makes an impressed noise, "That, I'm well aware of. I don't know about in a fight, though."

You groan at his joke, shaking your head in disappointment, but Sukuna grabs onto your chin before you can get even one turn of your head out.

"Let's find out."  

~

Ten minutes later, you're drenched in twice the amount of sweat as you were before, but Sukuna has barely lost a drop. He's got you twisted like a pretzel beneath him, holding your limbs in just the right way so that you're completely incapacitated in his hands.

Your first mistake was thinking Sukuna knew how to play-fight. The only person he had been remotely close with in your childhood was his twin brother, and the two of them had often "wrestled", but it only ended when one of them had blood dripping out of their noses. You learned early on not to question it. Having two boys as your childhood best friends had you turning your gaze from a lot of things, in fact.

The only thing you questioned now, was how you were going to get out of your current predicament. You were sure Sukuna was having a blast practically hogtying you with his hands, and now he knew how easy it was to get you in this position. It was a double whammy that would surely effect you in the future. 

"Did you really think I'd go easy on you?" The weight of his chest presses into your back as he leans over you, sending hot breath over your neck. "How cute."

"Okay, okay! I give!" You whine, trying to wriggle out from beneath him. You had to admit that it was getting slightly painful, but Sukuna was well aware of your pressure points and where to stay away from. You still had one last trick up your sleeve, however.

Satisfied with your surrender, he nips at your ear with his teeth before he slides off of you and relinquishes his effortless grip. Before he can fully turn away, however, you're leaping onto his back like a monkey and tackling him into his mattress. It was a dirty tactic, but you had been wrestling your childhood best friend Yuji since the two of you were in elementary school, so you were no stranger to tricks of the trade. Especially the feign defeat card.

He blinks up at you. It was a difficult task to take Sukuna off guard, but you had accomplished it.

"Sucker." You playfully stick your tongue out at him, blowing a raspberry. Inside your chest, your heart is racing like a hummingbird’s wings. It’s almost like Sukuna knows this, because even though you’re the one on top of him, he’s still looking at you with an amused grin- unaffected by your change of position. 

"You have a higher pain tolerance than I thought you did." He notes, tilting his head to the side like he's considering something. "What can we do with that new information, I wonder?" 

It was another intimidation tactic. A good one. It had chills running down your spine. But, you weren’t going to let him win so easily this time. Suddenly, you were interested in how far you could push him, as well. 

"Come on 'Kuna," You chide, your nose is practically touching his- a rabbit pressing against the snout of a hungry wolf. "Can't take defeat, my love?"

"Oh doll," His voice is a husky drawl, rough hands slide their way from their resting places on your hips to slip under the hem of your shirt and brush the skin of your waist. You try to contain your shiver. "You're playing a very dangerous game."

One last wave of confidence sweeps through you as you lean down, just like he always did, to murmur lowly into his ear. "And you're losing."

That did it.

Sukuna grabs onto your waist so quickly, you barely have time to register it before he loops his leg around your knee and easily flips the two of you back to your original position. You're giggling beneath him as he gathers your face into his hands, pressing calloused fingers into your cheeks. You've gotten under his impenetrable skin. You didn't know it, but you always did.

No matter how strong a man is, he will always lose to the woman he loves.

Sukuna was slowly starting to accept that.

[7s3ven]

can you please do poseidon/reader and she finds out luke is the lightning thief?

THE GRUDGE. luke (pjo)

( master list )

IN WHICH… Y/N L/N can’t forgive Luke for his crimes despite loving him more than she loves herself.

“I know in my heart hurt people, hurt people. And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal.”

Warnings : spoilers, small angst (in my opinion lol. I’m more sensitive to family/friendship angst, not relationship angst), short(ish) oneshot

A/N : to any other writers, do you ever act out the situations you’re writing so you can write a better descriptions of reactions and then you realise that you’re actually a good actor?

Because I literally just acted out Y/N’s reaction and either I’m great at fake crying (which has been a talent of mine) … or my heart-wrenching sobs were real 😨. Also, the song one of us from the Lion King suits Luke perfectly.

—

The life of a half-blood wasn’t easy, especially not when you were a forbidden child. Y/N flipped through her fashion magazine, aimlessly swinging her legs as she lay on her front. “Y/N.” Luke called out, pushing the creaky door open. She lifted her head, staring at him curiously.

“Hey, Luke.” She smiled at him, clasping her hands together. He grinned back, slowly walking over to her side.

“You feeling okay?” He asked, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. With Percy, her half-brother gone, she was alone in her cabin. Again.

Y/N gazed at him through her lashes. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m fine.” She whispered, reaching out to grasp his wrist. Luke bit the inside of his cheek.

“I have your phone.” Luke uttered, handing Y/N her device. Phones weren’t allowed in camp but Luke found a way around that, much to Y/N’s happiness. She had spent far too long in the mortal world to give up scrolling through social media.

“Thanks, love.” Her pink-tinted lips curved into a soft smile. “You have no idea how much I need this now that Percy is gone on his quest. It’s so lonely here.”

Y/N always hated being in her own company. Her cabin got messy and she never had the motivation to clean it. She was thankful for Luke because he always helped her with the mundane task that should have been easy, but not for her.

“No problem, princess.” Luke lightly kissed her forehead while she laughed. “I can’t wait until Percy is back because I have a feeling that things are about to change.” Nothing good lasts for long. Y/N, more than anyone, knew that. She stalked through the thick vegetation, harbouring a heavy sword. She had heard rumours of Luke… and she needed to confirm it for herself, even if it meant endangering her safety.

“Luke.” She called out, her voice shaking. She didn’t want to believe the rumours but Luke was unpredictable. Ever since returning from his quest, he hadn’t been the same.

Y/N had been at Camp Half-Blood for longer than most and she had seen demigods come and go, desperately searching for glory but never finding enough of it.

“Luke.” She said again, repeating it like it was a mantra that would save him from the terrible fate he had chosen. She dragged her sword against the ground, her eyes scanning for the slightest bit of movement amongst the trees.

She sighed, thinking of returning to camp before she spotted a flicker of orange. "Luke?" She whispered, but he still heard her. She stepped towards him, breathing heavily.

"Luke... what... is it true? Did you..." Y/N couldn't find the right words. "What did you do, Luke?" She asked, grabbing him by the front of his shirt when she noticed how he avoided her gaze and how his eyes looked so guilty. "What did you do?!"

"I did what I had to, Y/N. The gods... they don't care about us." Luke stiffened as Y/N glowered at him, her eyes filled with so much rage and hate and sadness and everything in between.

"You're wrong, Luke!" She exclaimed, harshly shaking him.

"I'm not like you, Y/N! My father doesn't care about me. Yours might give a shit about you but that doesn't apply to anyone! Look around you. Poseidon ignored Percy for years while nurturing you. My father abandoned my mother and I when he could have helped us. Ares hates Clarisse for being a girl and forces her to train harder until she collapses. They try so hard to find every little flaw in us that they ignore what we've done for them."

"But why this, Luke? Why betray us? Me! You betrayed me, Luke! And all your friends and family! Hermes may not give a shit about you, but I do! I have loved you since we first met, Luke! I fucking love you and you betrayed me!" Y/N slammed her fists against his chest, screaming until tears welled up in her eyes. "What did you do to Percy?" She muttered, her voice barely even a whisper. "Tell me. Tell me now and I might spare you! Please… please.” She hiccuped, her hits growing weaker.

Luke wheezed as Y/N gripped his throat for a split second. "He'll be fine... he only got stung."

"I hate you." Y/N seethed, rage engulfing her soft heart until it spilled out and poisoned her body with its toxins. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you! Gods, I hate you, Luke! Fuck you! Fuck… you!” She screamed, the sound echoing around the empty trees.

But she still couldn't bring herself to stab him. "Get out of here, Luke. Go! Leave! I never want to see your face again!" Y/N's voice shook as she shoved Luke away from her.

Heart-wrenching sobs slipped past her lips as she pointed an accusing finger at Luke. "The gods have fucked up, Luke, but you are no different. Maybe you had the right idea at first... but you went with it the wrong way. And it cost you everything. Don't go near Percy again. Don’t you dare touch him ever again! You don’t deserve his kindness! Don't even look at him because I promise you, if you do, I will drive a stake through your heart!” Y/N's confident voice faltered for a moment. She shakily inhaled. "I hope you're happy with yourself." That fated day still haunted Y/N's mind. She often had nightmares about it, where things turned out different had she stabbed Luke. She always woke up with a loud gasp, covered in a light layer of sweat.

On her nightside table, her phone rang. She hadn't been using it much since Luke left. She slowly reached for it. Nobody had her phone number except her close friend, who lived in Tokyo, her cousin, and... Luke.

Her heart was beating unusually fast as she shakily turned the device over to peer at the screen. Her stomach churned and she dropped her phone in horror. Percy was in the infirmary, still recovering from the pit scorpion attack. She was somewhat thankful for that.

She let the phone ring, letting out a sigh of relief when it finally stopped. But it started again, and again. Until on the third ring, she finally clicked the green button.

She didn't say anything, flinching at the sound of Luke's voice. "Y/N? Y/N. Thank goodness you picked up! I knew you weren't going to answer my iris message so I was hoping your phone was working."

Y/N cut Luke off from his ranting. "Luke... don't call me again."

"Wait, Y/N. Please listen to me. I love"-

She hung up before he could finish. She stared at her phone, gripping it tightly. With a guttural scream, she threw it across the room. It landed safely on Percy's bed and a part of her was glad that it did. It was one of the only things she had left from Luke.

She didn't know if she could ever forgive Luke for betraying her trust. And the worst thing was that she still loved him from the bottom of her heart. "You good?" Y/N quietly walked towards Percy, helping him sit up. He groaned.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about Luke... I know how much he meant to you." Percy's eyes softened as he stared at Y/N, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"He, uh... tried calling me last night." Y/N pressed her lips into a thin line.

Percy tilted his head to the side. "So what'd you do?"

"I ignored him until the third time... then I hung up after I told him to stop contacting me."

"You don't have to be so tough all the time, Y/N." Percy uttered, pulling her into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waste and she sighed.

"I really want to scream, Percy. I just... can't believe he could do that so easily. I mean, leave us... leave me. I'm trying not to care and I'm trying to say I'm fine but I can't let it go." Tears welled up again, dripping down the red apples of her cheeks.

Y/N would be lying if she said she hadn’t tried to figure out why Luke did what he did. She tried to piece everything together but it only hurt her head and heart to think.

After ensuring Percy was comfortable, she stepped outside. The camp was in utter chaos after Luke’s betrayal and they were trying to find more spies amongst them. Most people suspected Y/N because she ran into the woods to confront Luke and she was closely associated with him, which didn’t help. But she loved her friends and she could never leave them as Luke had.

She wandered into a small clearing, dipping her hand into a cold river nearby to calm herself. She didn’t even notice someone was watching her from behind until they cleared their throat.

With a panicked gasp, Y/N looked over her shoulder. She was expecting a fellow camper, maybe even Luke, but not Hermes in all his glory. The pair stared at each other for a minute before Hermes finally broke the awkward silence.

“You’re Y/N, right?” He hesitatingly pointed at her, worried he had the wrong girl.

She nodded.

“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see after Luke left.” Hermes started off, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

“Luke is the last person I want to see.” Y/N retorted, “You’re second on that list.”

“He really did like you, you know."

“It wasn’t enough apparently.” Y/N shrugged, already accepting that she could tear Luke from his fate, “Maybe I deserved the betrayal… but not from Luke. He practically made me into the person I am. I guess he wanted to see how high he could build me before I fell. He had everything yet he still wanted more.”

“He cared about you. Dare I say, Y/N, he love”-

She cut him off just as she had cut Luke off. “Don’t say he loved me because if he did then he wouldn’t have done this! He… he wouldn’t have done all this!” Y/N choked on her words as she bit back a sob.

“He still loves you. Not loved. Not past-tense. Never past-tense. I’ve seen him, you know. He misses you and for a while, he tried to contact you in every way he could just so he could hear your voice. Even if you were screaming at him. I know that in another life, he wishes he didn’t have to leave you behind.”

“There shouldn’t be another life!” Y/N exclaimed. Getting angry at a god was dangerous but she was so frustrated and angry and hurt. Hermes didn’t seem to mind. He nodded his head, understanding her emotions. “Don’t you get it? You also have to take the blame. You’re part of the reason why he betrayed us!”

“He’ll forgive me eventually.”

Y/N shook her head. “No. You and every other deity thinks that your neglected child will forgive you but they might not. They might forgive but they will never forget. If I can’t even forgive the boy I love with all my heart, how do you think Luke will ever forgive you?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“Forgiveness takes strength." Hermes whispered, barely loud enough for Y/N to hear. "Luke is much stronger than I originally thought and you, the mighty daughter of the sea god himself, are too.”

“Yeah, well,” Y/N shrugged as she stood up, brushing the dirty off her pants. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet.”

“It takes time.” Hermes said, “Meanwhile, I would suggest answering that.” He pointed at her phone that was ringing in her hand. Y/N didn’t even notice with how distracted she was.

She briefly looked down at the screen and raised her head again, her lips parting when Hermes was nowhere to be seen.

She hesitatingly pressed the accept button and raised her phone to her ear. She heard him quietly gasp, surprised she even answered again. “Luke… hi.”

PJO TAG LIST : @lostinhisworld @julielightwood @outerbanks-stuff @jennapancake @csifandom @evrybodydies1 @kkrenae @s0ulsniper @annispamz @justanotherkpopstanlol @soraya-09 @simpforeveyone @papichulo120627 @corpsebridenightamare @lilacspider @prettylilsimp @urmomsbananabread @ur-lacol-dsylexic @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbaby @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @csifandom @luvvfromme @mashiromochi @kamiliora @yorksyree @mqg125 @jamesmackreideswife @niktwazny303 @2hiigh2cry @user021099 @living-in-my-imagination88 @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx

[boywifesammy]

sam's initial reaction to the bunker is actually heart-wrenching. do you guys ever think about how fucking terrifying it is that sam eventually just accepts that he's going to suffer forever? that he'll never have a home? that pain is what he DESERVES, his destiny, what he's fated for. the loneliness of sam's character genuinely HURTS me, especially when they show us over and over again that he craves humanity so badly. him running away to stanford and his short stint with amelia are just two examples but i could go on for hours about how much sam perpetually craves connection. every single time the opportunity is presented he jumps at the chance because even if it has ended in disaster every other time he so desperately wants something permanent, something that's his, to feel like he belongs anywhere.

the sole reason that sam was able to gain control over lucifer in swan song and jump into the cage was because of that little soldier man figurine in the impala. that entire episode revolved around the impala and how it was sam and dean's home their entire life. those little snippets of them carving their initials into her skeleton and how dean made sure to keep all those little personal effects every time he rebuilt her... it just tears me apart knowing what sam goes through later on. he places such deep, deep importance on the small stretches of life that he gets to experience in between the pain and loss that is the rest of it.

this is why when sam told dean that he couldn't call the bunker home because every home he's had has literally GONE UP IN FLAMES, it absolutely destroyed me, because there was so much FEAR and desperation in that scene. that 'normalcy' that sam wanted when he was younger wasn't actually about the specifics of civilian life. it was about having a home, and the peace of mind that he could unconditionally trust that the people he loved wouldn't leave or die.

but the bunker is literally warded against fucking everything. in s9 the bunker is presented as this impenetrable fortress, full of decades of lore and weaponry and information, a perfect dream hideout for a hunter. it's the first real chance at safety that sam has ever had but he absolutely cannot trust it. he tried with jess and with amelia but he's just so tired, so scared to care because its inevitable that this will also go up in flames. after everything he's lost? he can't even consider it. he's had this desperate need his entire life but he's so wary and fearful that he can't let himself hope even when the stars align perfectly.

it's terribly tragic. the silent, burning loneliness in sam's character is so well done and it talks to how much sam's been through that he's genuinely accepted that he will never get the luxury of safety or trusting anybody but himself. it really highlights how twisted up he is despite people insisting that he is the 'normal' brother.

[kkpaaw]

FOR REAL Branch and the rest of his brothers have known each other barely any of their lives. Really they know nothing about Branch, and Branch only knows what little he can recall of them. I want more of that explored in fics so bad, and the fact that really they STILL don't know each other by the end of TBT- No way they were gone any longer than like a week, and that isn't enough time to really get to know someone, especially when they've got other things to think about (And of course, the fact they don't know what Branch's childhood was like, always love people making content of his bros discovering that)

My first ask! Hello Anon! Nice to meet ya!

YES EXACTLY! I truly wish more fanfics covered this sad reality of the broz cuz its heart wrenching and also very interesting!

I love seeing people make fanfics about them discovering how fucked up Branch's childhood was cuz he truly did go through alot when u stop and really think about it.

Honestly It's a part of their story that, while not said in the movie, is always there. No matter how much they ignored it, the reality of them being strangers to Branch is something that's always gonna be brewing In the background until it gets addressed, if it ever gets addressed

Cuz Branch couldn't have been older than what? 2? 3? Maybe 4? I don't think he was that old cuz he was still in diapers and majority of kids don't develop long term memories until they are around 4 and if we wanna be very generous to say he WAS 4 then means Branch only has like what? A year worth of memories of them of his current age? Maybe not even that? That's literally nothing.

It's honestly a miracle Branch remembers them at all and he prolly only does because the day they split was traumatic to him and trauma memories tend to stick around even at a young age.

If that day didn't have as big of an impact as it did, he prolly would have completely forgotten he even HAD brothers other than a faint feeling of familiarity. And honestly? A part of me WANTS to see a fanfic exploring that possibility where Branch just completely forgot he had brothers and their reaction to it. How angsty it would be. How different would the story of TBT had played out? That kinda of stuff always gets me thinking

[gx-gameon]

I know we still early in this au but dear god I need to know the DM crews reaction to showing up at Duel Academy only to find the school and the students GONE in season 3

Okay so I’m currently half way through season 1 of my Gx rewatch. (I’m at the school duel so “Chazz it up!” Is finally a thing) until I rewatch season 3 all of these ideas are fluid. I don’t know if they will stay or change into something new as I rewatch it and get inspired.

Now on to the question

When the DM crew shows up the school (or what’s left of it) is in pandemonium. The DM crew know the school is gone as soon as they get close to the island. It’s kind of hard to miss that the whole school building is gone.

Yugi is hard core freaking out. His son, his baby boy, was in that school. And the schools gone. They should have acted sooner.

Atem is trying to comfort Yugi but he’s just in shock as well. He had promised himself he wouldn’t allow harm to come to Yugi or Jaden. The past two years have been hard. He’s wanted to step in so many times but Yugi had always trusted Jaden. Even when he was scared out of his mind for him, he’d insist that if Jaden believed he could handle it they wouldn’t step in until necessary. Sure the monitored the situations and were ready to step in at any time, but it was never enough for Atem. He wasn’t used to standing back while other fought. It was something he distinctly hated about the memory world and his memories of Egypt. And now his nephew was missing and all of his fears were coming to pass.

Joey is staring at the crater in dumbfounded shock. What happened that could take out a whole school? Sure there was a creepy professor that was stealing people’s energy? But that can’t possibly lead to a school blowing up. Could it?

Tristian is the one to voice the question “what happened? It looks like the whole place was blown sky high!” Thank you Tristian. A great observation but not very helpful. Considering the observation sent Yugi down a new spiral.

Téa is trying to stay positive “we don’t know that yet. Maybe Jaden wasn’t in the school when it disappeared. He does like to cut class.” It’s wishful thinking and they all know it. (Jaden is to much like Yugi, to much like Atem. He’s always going to be at the center of the action) She’s trying to keep them and herself calm but it’s not truly working. But she does have a point, they need to find out what happened before they freak out.

Seto can’t take his eyes off of the crater that was once his school. He’s running through so many options of what could cause that. Some far more grim than the others. He almost pivoted to punch Tristian in the month when he says that the school was blown sky high. Because that couldn’t be what happened. Seto would know if one of his properties blew up. There was no way he lost his son, their son (he thinks as he finally looks over at his husband) to an explosion. He can see Yugi finally breaking.

His husband always keeps them grounded when it comes to Jaden and his adventures. Everyone else is always ready to fly to Duel Academy and fight Jaden’s enemies for him. And Yugi understands because he wants to too, but he always calms them. Gets them to watch from a far until Jaden truly needs them. His husband has been a pillar of strength for a long time but specifically these past two years. To see him finally break is heart wrenching. Part of him wants to go to his hisband but Atem is always there and Seto can’t help Yugi if he doesn’t know what happened to Jaden.

He lands the plane and looks at their cobbled together family. “I’m going to find out what happened. The rest of you stay here.” He want to find out if their son is safe, if he wasn’t anywhere near the disaster (not likely) or if their son was in the disaster was there a way to get him back (there had to be he wouldn’t accept another option) or was he dead (if so he didn’t want Yugi or the others to be told that news in front of a crowd. They deserve privacy to respond however they wanted. He could handle it. He’d go, get the world shattering news, come share it with the family, comfort his husband as he breaks down, and start planning his next trip to the afterlife)

His statement is not met well. “There is no way we’re staying here rich boy!” Joey is irate, the rest of the group is to. Loudly protesting Seto’s statement. Seto is more than prepared to argue back. But there is one voice that easily cuts through the noise.

Yugi stands on shaky legs , Atem moving with him arms ready to catch his Aibou if he falls. But Yugi has always been a pillar of strength. He looks at his husband with wet eyes. “There is no way I’m waiting.” And with that it’s settled, they’re all going together.

——————————————————————————

Now Chancellor Shepherd didn’t think this day could get any worse. His school was missing along with several hundred students. There was no way this could get worse

Until Seto Kaiba, the man who owns the school, walks up with some of the most famous people in dueling and demands to know what happened. How did they even find out about this? It only happened last night!

The man quickly stumbles through and explanation of what he believes happened and that their scientists are already looking into it.

It basically comes down to the school was transported to a different dimension.

Seto’s brain is already firing on all cylinders. He has the tech to travel between dimensions. But it was one person travel, not school building travel. How long would it take to get the tech here? How long will it take to change it to be school size. He’s got plans and Mokuba’s right next to him as the two start firing off advance math and science of what has to be adapted on the machine to make this work.

Yugi is both relieved (Jaden’s alive) and also terrified (how do they get to him? Seto might be able to bring the school home but Yugi wants to go after Jaden now.)

They are all working together to try and figure out a way to either A) get in contact with the school. B) get the school back. Or C) send at least one of the DM cast to go help the kids (most likely Yugi, Atem, and Joey in that order)

They are hoping that if they can get in contact with the kids maybe they will have a plan. After all they have more information then the adults do at this time. Plus actually hearing from Jaden will calm a lot of their nerves.

Everyone is very productive. The goal is getting the kids (Jaden) back. The DM crew isn’t going to waste time. Seto has taken over the whole operation bring in equipment and directing staff and scientist. He’s getting things set up to communicate with the kids when who should show up but Pegasus.

Why is Pegasus here? Seto didn’t call him. No one on the DM cast would call him.

Seto goes over to tell the man off. He’s under a lot of stress and he’s trying very hard to not take it out on any of the remaining students (they are trying to help) the staff (they are incompetent but they are also worried for the children and they are helping) and he is not going to take it out on Yugi or his friends (the DM crew have grown on him. Sure he and Joey will have petty fights but that’s more for entertainment than actual animosity) so when Pegasus shows up he is the perfect target for all of Seto’s built up aggression.

Or he was until Shepherd comes over and tells them that he asked for Pegasus to come. And excuse me Chancellor Sheppard but can you tell me why you called Pegasus, a competitor of Kaiba Corp to help with a problem when you won’t call the actual CEO who owns your school? Kaiba is not happy and Sheppard is sweating bullets.

Pegasus reveals that he is there because of Jesse Anderson and the rainbow dragon. He needs to find the tablet and create the rainbow dragon card. Then he can send it to Jesse who can use it to bring everyone home. Finally they have a plan!

Seto would be releaved. Except that Pegasus’s looks between him and Yugi and says “Honestly you two think I’m so heartless that I could hear that your little duel prince is trapped in another dimension and I wouldn’t come to help? You wound me.” He’s being dramatic and he’s trying to lighten the mood and reassure the parents that he is there to help.

What he accidentally does is reveal to Sheppard that not only is the Prince of Duels currently at his school! But he was currently lost to a different dimension! Under Sheppard’s watch! This is so bad. He’s running through the missing students in his head as fast as possible trying to figure out who the Prince of Duels is.

It can’t be Jaden. He loves the boy but he’s a bit of an airhead and he doesn’t think there is a thought that has crossed the boys mind that hasn’t left his mouth. (Oh you fool)

It can’t be Chazz he’s met the boy’s brothers

Can’t be Syrus. Zane is his older brother and as far as anyone knows there is only one Prince of Duels.

He doubts it’s Hassleberry. Not with the boys military lingo. But that might just be used to throw him off.

It’s not Atticus. Again he has a sibling and he was missing for two years. If this is Yugi and Seto’s response to their son being missing for a few days he couldn’t imagine them sitting idle for two years

But who?

Bastian? No the boy left the school last year.

Maybe a student who flies under the radar

Or maybe…. It’s one of the transfer students. All the duel academies knew the son of Seto Kaiba and Yugi Muto would attend one of their schools. He and the other head masters had been trying to figure out who the kid was for years. He wouldn’t put it past the two fathers, who were religious about their son’s privacy to send him to a far away school.

Axel is a bad choice his aditude and loyalty to Professor Kobra didn’t fit with what he had picked up from watching the DM crew.

Jim is a good candidate.

And then there is Jesse. The boy with an ultra rare deck. Pegasus’s whole plan to save the school revolved around the boy. And he did say he came specifically to “help the Prince of Duels” could it be Jesse? He was the one Pegasus was helping. If it was Jesse that was even worse the boy had been at his school for barely two months before the Chancellor lost him!

Needless to say the man is hard panicking.

On the other side Seto is furious. How DARE Pegasus reveal anything about Jaden to these people. He’s about to tear into Pegasus. This won’t stand. This won’t happen again. He’ll buy Pegasus’s whole company and ruin this man’s life if he says one more thing about his son.

But before he can Yugi speaks. “Pegasus. While I appreciate your help in this matter. I’ll remind you that there is nothing more important to us than our son’s safety. And a major part of that is his privacy. I will not have that compromised.” His voice is firm and unquestionable. He is a king after all and he will not bend on this matter. His eyes leave Pegasus and land directly on Sheppard. “By anyone here.”

Seto watches the man visible gulps and knows his husband’s message was received load and clear. ‘Tell anyone about this and you’ll pay.’ Yugi doesnt often behave this way outside of duels but Seto never tired of how HOT it was.

The two lead the way back to the rest of the crew and allow Pegasus to explain his plan. Yugi and Atem decide to go with Pegasus to find the Rainbow Dragon tablet. Hopefully between the three of them they will hear the beast’s voice calling out.

The next big problem is deciding who will duel Jesse when the time comes. Seto wants to and does Joey but they are both told that if they would have to go all out to generate enough duel energy. But if they do and they beat Jesse to early then they might lose their chance to get Rainbow Dragon through. Jesse’s a great duelist but the DM crew are in a league of their own.

Chancellor suggests Zane.

After the duel and rainbow dragon goes through all there is to do is wait. A few hours later the school is back.

And Jaden is screaming.

[blackjackkent]

Fic request, BG3: Karlach/fem Tav, where Tav has died. After the reserection scroll is used, Karlach goes to pieces. Hurt/comfort.

Eyyyy, ty for the prompt! Sorry this took me a little while to turn around. :D Was fun to write, though; I do love me some Karlach romance and some hurt/comfort. <3 I hope you like!

-----

“You hear that?” Tav asks. The half-elf’s eyes narrow, glinting in the pale light of the moonlantern that is all that protects them from the cursed shadows. “Hold on a sec.”

Karlach halts obediently with the others and listens intently. Her head tips slowly to one side like a dog pricking up its ears, and her eyes drift half-closed in focus. But there's nothing. 

The shadow-cursed lands are, in fact, eerily quiet. The place is not only devoid of civilization but life - there's no sound of birdsong, no creatures creeping through underbrush, no leaves or plants of any kind. There's not even a stirring of breeze to knock together the dried branches of the long-dead trees. 

Karlach hates it. It reminds her too fucking much of the desolation of the Hells, dead and dry and full of dangers. Not nearly as hot as Avernus, she'll say that much for it, and dark as the inside of her boot. But still a little too close for comfort. 

“Don't hear anything, Soldier,” she says in a low voice. Astarion and Shadowheart both shake their heads as well. Then Karlach grins, an automatic reaction to the brief moment of tension. “Must've been my heart pounding, eh?” 

Astarion rolls his eyes. “Ugh. Gods,” he murmurs tauntingly. “Is that what passes for smooth in Zariel's army?”

Tav grins. “Shut up, Astarion,” she says, giving him a casual punch in the shoulder. 

“I'm just saying,” Astarion quips, “if we're going to have to watch the two of you give each other cow eyes every day of the week, you're going to have to come up with some better material.”

Karlach sticks her tongue out at him. “No one asked you, Fangs,” she shoots back. But she's laughing. It's really hard not to laugh these days, in spite of all the terrible shit happening to them. Astarion can mock all he wants - but she's in love, real love, for the first time in ten years. The first time maybe ever, truth told, because she can't remember any quick fuck back in the Gate that ever made her feel like Tav does. 

Tav is… gentle. Kind. When she touches Karlach it feels like the whole world is opening up to her, a feeling of hope like everything is gonna be okay. So yeah, Astarion can laugh all he wants, if it makes him feel better. Karlach really couldn't give less of a shit. 

She's happy. 

Too happy, as it turns out, because she's so lost in thinking these thoughts and watching the way Tav's smile looks in the lanternlight that she doesn't notice the first arrow coming in. 

-----

Tav’s scream is like a knife. Blood spatters across the dark ground as the arrow punctures her shoulder. 

A lithe, pale figure darts out of the shadows with a high-pitched giggle and throws something around Tav’s neck. Then in an instant she’s gone, vanished with the creature into thin air.

“Tav!” Karlach starts to shout - but it's choked off as another garrote bites sharply under her jaw and she's yanked backwards into the dark. 

It’s a horrific battle, one of the worst they’ve faced since the nautiloid. The meazels - little shits, every one of them - are quick and cunning, separating the party out into the searing darkness, silencing spells, bleeding them dry. Karlach doesn’t need spells, though, and her usual battle-rage is bolstered by a stunning degree of pain and an entirely unexpected violent panic. 

She wrenches her axe from the corpse of the meazel that grabbed her and tears off through the dark. Unheeding of both the blood pouring from her neck and the necrotic energy chewing into her skin, uncaring of what other enemies might hear her, she bellows at the top of her lungs. “Tav! TAV!”

“She’s here!” That’s Shadowheart, her voice weak. “Karlach, over here!”

Karlach almost trips, so quickly does she change direction towards the cleric’s call. Like a rothe maddened with fear, she leaves the path and crashes directly through the desiccated underbrush, dead plants shattering apart around her with every step.

Tav is dead when she gets there. 

Shadowheart is crouched over her, a useless healing spell in the process of drifting off her fingers. Astarion, blood dripping from his lips, crawls from the darkness opposite her. But Karlach’s eyes are locked on the form of Tav’s body in the dim light from her torch, the eyes blank and staring, the garrote wound flowing freely.

“Oh, no,” she whispers. “No, no, no, no--”

“It’s all right.” Shadowheart’s voice feels oddly far away. “I have a scroll, I’ll revive her-- Karlach, for gods’ sake, breathe!”

She is breathing - too fast, too shallow. The cut at her own throat throbs with each pulse of her heart. She drops the axe with a clang onto the ground and she falls on her knees at Tav’s side, grabbing the smaller woman’s hand and holding it between both of hers. “No, darling, no…” she mumbles. “Gods, don’t-- don’t look at me like that…”

How many dead people has she seen in her life? Could fill a library writing all their names down… But none of them have been her… those blank eyes are so wrong in her face which is always so full of life and humor and warmth… nothing like Karlach’s inferno heat but warmth and safety and home…

“Bring her back…” she rasps out desperately. “Please…”

The magic of the revivify scroll swirls around them as Shadowheart murmurs the words. There’s an achingly long pause during which Karlach finds herself reviewing every single moment of their brief time together and passing through every stage of grief in order; she’s just about reached “depression” when Tav’s eyes flicker open.

“K-Karlach?” she whispers, and then her body spasms around a sudden fit of coughing as she gasps for breath. 

“Oh, gods.” Karlach’s whole body sags with a relief as overwhelming as the grief was. Without thinking, she reaches out and pulls Tav up and into her arms, tight against the heat of her chest. “Oh, fuck… Soldier… Tav… shit…”

The words tumble out, one after the other, and she’s startled to realize that each of them is a sob, raggedly dragging out of her throat between hiccuped, jerky breaths. She’s alive. It’s not over. It’s not over. Oh, thank the gods…

“Hey. Ow. Hey…” Tav mumbles. It’s muffled from how Karlach has her pulled close; her face is sort of squished into Karlach’s shoulder. “It’s all right. Darling, it’s all right, but I can’t breathe.”

“Oh. Right.” She forces herself to loosen her embrace enough for Tav to draw her head back. “You-- sorry. Fuck. You scared me. I thought… I thought…” She can’t say it out loud. The words don’t come out.

“You’re hurt.” Tav gently touches the garotte wound in Karlach’s neck, wiping at the blood there.

“You died!” Karlach says with a sudden, hysterical laugh, flinching backwards. “Don’t worry about me! Just… you just sit there and… and breathe, or whatever, and… oh gods…” The tears blind her.

“Karlach…” Tav sits up in her lap. She’s unsteady, of course, because revivification is a brutal process at the best of times, but her eyes are clear. That hideous blankness is gone from them and they’re full again with the light that drew Karlach to her first. “Shhh.” She cups Karlach’s face gently with both hands and kisses her. “It’s all right… I promise. I’m here. All limbs attached, everything accounted for. And heart very much beating.”

Karlach gives her a watery smile, tries and fails to quiet her choked breathing into something manageable. “I just-- I saw you there… like that… and I suddenly realized… how much shit has gone wrong in my life… how it all changes so fast… but you’ve been good… you’ve been so fucking good, Tav…”

“I’m here. I’m here…” Tav presses her forehead to Karlach’s and draws a slow, shaky breath. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I promise…”

Slowly Karlach begins to settle again, feeling the gentle brush of Tav’s breath on her lips. It’s not over. “You’d better not,” she mumbles.

She realizes suddenly that they’re alone. Shadowheart has taken one of the torches and bodily dragged Astarion off some distance away, leaving them more or less in private. Karlach’s grateful for that; she’s not sure she could handle Astarion’s acerbic wit right at this moment.

“Fuck,” she whispers after a short pause, a little more calmly now. “Sorry, I--”

“Hey. Don’t you ever apologize for anything,” Tav says softly. “Least of all for loving me. You don’t get to say sorry for that.” She kisses Karlach again gently. “You ready to get Shadowheart to clean up that cut?”

“I… yeah. Yeah.” But it takes her a moment to loosen her arms and let Tav out of her embrace. “I do love you,” she says quietly. “So much. And I just got scared as shit about it.”

Tav smiles. “Best kind of scared I know,” she says. 

[lord-of-the-ducks]

Ok so I already made a brief post about the scene about halfway through s5e5 between Guillermo and his mother, and I tacked on an edit about potentially expanding my thoughts into a full length post, but I’m gonna be honest, when I wrote that I did so with the expectation that it would be yet another thing that I would say that I’m totally gonna do without ever getting around to it. Now it’s barely an hour later and I still can’t get it out of my fucking head and so I need to speak my thoughts into the void in hopes of getting validation from strangers on the internet.

I’m gonna put this all below the cut, both because of potential spoilers and some sensitive topics like religious trauma and queerphobia, but also because I know this is going to be long and I don’t want to clog up people’s dashboards.

Okie dokie let’s get into it

I was vague on purpose about The Scene I would be discussing above just in case anyone who hadn’t seen the episode accidentally stumbled on this, but just to clarify, I’m specifically referencing the scene after Guillermo’s family has left and it’s just him and his mom. I hesitate to say that it’s the most emotionally heart wrenching scene in the entire series, but it’s in the top 5 at the very least.

However, I just want to laser focus in on the moment where Sylvia puts the crucifix around Guillermo’s neck. Right after she notices it missing from Guillermo’s neck, she immediately goes to give him another one, because he “needs” it. I wanted to point out that phrase in particular, because it’s not that she would feel better if he wore it, it’s entirely for Guillermo’s benefit.

This reminds me of a particular quote from Dracula, where it’s really beginning to set in that Jonathan is a prisoner, and he thinks back to one of the villagers who gave him a crucifix:

“Bless that good, good woman who hung the crucifix round my neck! for it is a comfort and a strength to me whenever I touch it. It is odd that a thing which I have been taught to regard with disfavour and as idolatrous should in a time of loneliness and trouble be of help. Is it that there is something in the essence of the thing itself, or that it is a medium, a tangible help, in conveying memories of sympathy and comfort?”

I bring this up because in the scene between Sylvia and Guillermo, the crucifix serves less as a Christian symbol, and more as a demonstration of Sylvia’s love for her son. It’s even stated that it used to belong to Guillermo’s grandmother, giving it even more of an explicit connection to familial bonds. Hell, even in Dracula, Jonathan is told to wear the crucifix for his mother’s sake. I didn’t really need to quote Dracula to make this point, but I’m gonna be honest, I thought it was pretty cool how in both of these instances, any specific powers a crucifix might have aren’t ascribed to a divine being, but a more motherly power.

And all of that would be nice and cool, but unfortunately, What We Do In the Shadows has gone with the specific brand of lore where crucifixes are a vampire weakness, meaning that this symbol of motherly love is actually harmful for him. Watching the scene where Sylvia puts it around Guillermo’s neck, I honestly got chills, because you know that Sylvia is doing it for entirely altruistic reasons. However, the way the scene was shot combined with Guillermo’s reaction were a lot more brutal, and I just remember thinking how much it looked like he was being strangled. And then once it’s on his neck, they both turn to look in the mirror, and Sylvia is lovingly rubbing Guillermo’s back, and Guillermo is trying to smile even though he’s very visibly in pain. 

Like I said in my original post, I do kinda wish we got badass dhampir!Guillermo who is immune to crucifixes and other vampire repellents, and I actually thought that the moment Sylvia put the crucifix around Guillermo’s neck would be the moment that this superpower would be revealed to Guillermo and the audience. I’m gonna be honest though, I cannot imagine a better way to visualize the idea of genuinely believing that you are helping someone, when in actuality you’re hurting them. 

Here’s the part where you can stop reading if you’d like, because we’re about to enter the territory of “Red starts projecting their own issues onto Guillermo and calling it media analysis”, aka, “the part that is way too long”. I considered making all of this it’s own post, but it felt relevant to the ideas expressed in the scene I just discussed, and also I kinda just don’t feel like it. I hope other people can relate, but it’s purely my subjective feelings, and I’m not gonna pretend that this is universal. And if you’re someone who knows me in real life and you already made it this far uh... you are allowed to keep reading, but if you say anything about this to me in conversation I will actually die of embarrassment.

I found myself wondering a bit about what the crucifix scene was specifically a metaphor for, since Guillermo has already come out of the closet in season 4 (and also admitting that he wants to be a vampire), and his family loved him unconditionally. This is arguably a bit silly on my part, since the entire point of that kind of metaphor is that it doesn’t have to mean anything specific, it can represent a lot of things to a lot of people. 

Which is why I’m gonna spend the rest of this post talking about how I think Guillermo’s vampire transformation is a metaphor for transgenderism because nobody can stop me.

I am not the first person to read Guillermo as a trans adjacent character, and people who are way smarter than me have made some fantastic posts about why he might be particularly relatable to a trans audience. I never particularly related to Guillermo for that reason (actually that’s a big fat lie I absolutely related to Guillermo because of my own angst about being in the closet) and I never thought of Guillermo as a trans character or a trans allegory until the start of the season 5, when I drew a connection between Guillermo going through Changes that would hopefully bring him closer to his ideal form and the fact that I personally just started taking HRT in early June. I never really had a reason to make any posts about it, since most of the connections I was making were pretty flimsy, and it was hard to make any actual arguments besides “it’s my comfort show and I get to choose the coping mechanisms”.

Then episode 5 came in with the steel chair.

My body is changing. A lot of it is barely noticeable, but it’s happening, and I know from hours of research that it’s going to be a lot more difficult to hide as a go along. And as dramatic as it might seem, I’m beginning to ask myself if there are people who I might never speak to again as a result. For the most part, I live my day to day life as Red, but there are people who still know me by my dead name because I purposely haven’t given them any reason to believe otherwise. Sometimes I feel like I’m being unfair by never allowing people to make up their own mind about my transition,  but it’s terrifying to imagine how drastically people’s opinion of me might change if they knew The Truth about me. 

Which is why Guillermo’s interactions with his family hit really close to home, because it’s clear that he loves them and they love him. But he’s turning into a vampire, and they’re vampire hunters. And it’s only a matter of time before that causes some serious problems. It’s entirely possible that he could tell them that he’s a vampire and it goes as well as when he came out the first time, but when the worst case scenario is having a stake driven through your heart, sometimes it’s better to just disappear, and leave them with memories of the person they thought they knew.

The crucifix scene in particular struck a cord with me, because so much of the time, people have done things that hurt me, and they have absolutely no idea how much they’re hurting me, because I don’t want to know how much they’re hurting me. Part of it is because I’ve convinced myself that any suffering I experience is worth it if I’m the only one suffering, but another part is that the only thing that scares me more than the pain is that if I tell them how much it hurts, they’ll do it anyway.

Letting go is hard though. Something I didn’t notice the first time I watched the crucifix scene is that after Guillermo leaves the apartment, Sylvia makes a comment to Miguel about how it’s the third time this month that he’s come to make that grand goodbye, and how he’ll probably be back again next week. I don’t really have anything to add to that to be honest, Guillermo loves his mom and will always love his mom and you just know that he’s gonna come up with any excuse to see her “just one last time”.

OK ANGST OVER. Wow, I honestly didn’t know I was about to get that depressing but that’s what happened so... I hope y’all enjoyed, and maybe it’s time to explain what tumblr is to my therapist

[rosanna-writer]

we said hello and your eyes look like coming home (8/?)

Summary: A canon-divergent AU where the bond snaps for Rhys on Calanmai, Feyre unwittingly accepts it, and Fire Night magic proves to be more transformative than anyone bargained for. Feyre drags a mate she hardly knows out from Under the Mountain, then puts him back together as war with Hybern approaches. Warnings: dubious consent, canon-typical sexual violence, canon-typical violence Rating: Explicit Chapter Word Count: ~3.6k

I'll be honest, I'm gunning for the most heart-wrenching soup scene in the Feysand tag with this one :)

Note that a couple lines are taken directly from ACOTAR book one.

Read on AO3 or you can find the eighth chapter below the readmore.

ch. 1 - the altar is my hips | ch 2. - an arrowhead leading us home | ch. 3 - by the way, i just may like some explanations | ch. 4 - can't not think of all the cost | ch. 5 - honey i rose up from the dead | ch. 6 - this mad, mad love makes you come running | ch. 7 - therein lies the issue, friends don't try to trick you | ch. 8 - it's not his price to pay

Rhys didn't stay long—we needed him upstairs, observing reactions to Lucien helping me and swaying Amarantha if it came to that. A quick clasping of hands and a whispered "stay safe," and he was gone.

I devoured another meal of stale bread and water and estimated a few hours passed before a pair of guards appeared to drag me to the throne room. I let them, not bothering to waste energy on struggling. Instead, I reached down the bond for Rhys.

She's making a point, and she wants you here to witness it. Stay as unassuming as possible.

That's all he said before his mind retreated again. I kept a crack open in my shields for him, and he didn't close his off completely, either.

When a guard threw open the doors to the throne room, I resisted the urge to look around for Rhys, even though I could sense that he was nearby. The room was crowded, but no strange music was playing. A gathering, then, but not whatever passed for a party Under the Mountain.

The guards threw me down at the foot of the dais, right in front of Amarantha. So much for remaining unassuming.

The rubies on her gown glittered in the torchlight, a perfect contrast to the rags I was still wearing. Even the servants here wore fine clothes. I'd looked pitiful scrubbing the floor, but here in this room, it was more than that. I'd never been more obviously a lone human surrounded by faeries, not even in the Spring Court.

"Rhysand was right. You do look dreadful," Amarantha said.

I ignored her. Tamlin was seated next to her, and I watched him for a reaction. It only occurred to me then that I hadn't even thought to ask Rhys what Tamlin had made of me disappearing for weeks, only to appear again and declare myself his champion.

Beyond not wanting him near me again, I hadn't thought of Tamlin at all.

From his vacant expression, I supposed he hadn't thought much of me, either. Other than the initial shock of seeing me alive, he'd barely even looked at me. Perhaps I was nothing more than a tool for him, to be used and discarded when the curse was broken.

"It's come to my attention," Amarantha said, crossing her legs and leaning against the arm of her throne, "that you had some assistance with the first of the chores you were assigned."

Maybe Rhys had been wrong and she meant to punish me, too. I pushed that thought aside before it spiraled into panic. "No one said I couldn't. Unless you're looking to re-negotiate our bargain?" I said with much more confidence than I felt. But still, I'd succeeded in bargaining with her once, and if she was inclined to do it again, I might win another advantage.

Down the bond, Rhys said, Be careful.

I am.

He went quiet again, probably to avoid distracting me. His mind hovered at the periphery of mine.

Amarantha laughed and turned to Tamlin. "Mouthy and difficult. She must have been such a headache for you," she crooned, clearly trying to get a reaction. Tamlin said nothing. I didn't, either. It's not as if I hadn't been called worse. "But no, I'm perfectly satisfied with our terms. The bargain didn't include a deadline to share the riddle I promised you, so in light of your recent behavior, I've decided to keep it to myself. We'll see if my mind changes before your first task."

She was letting me off with a warning—Rhys must have convinced her to. I wouldn't grovel, but I inclined my head slightly in recognition of what she'd done. "I understand," I said evenly.

Some of my fear drained away. There was still a path forward without the riddle, and it seemed I'd escape torture again today.

"There are still members of my court who have to answer for their behavior," Amarantha said, pointing at someone behind me and snapping her fingers.

I whirled around to see Lucien thrashing against the Attor as it tugged him forward by the collar of his tunic. I expected this, but my heart still sank as the Attor forced Lucien to his knees next to me. It smiled as it released him, and I felt sick.

Four red-haired males pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Lucien's fox mask made it impossible to know if they had similar features, but it was obvious enough that these were his brothers. Unlike him, they were all clad in the red and gold of the Autumn Court. They moved as a unit, a pack of wolves out for blood.

"Rhysand," Amarantha said, an obvious summons. Rhys strolled through the crowd, and I tried not to look at him as came to stand beside me and bowed at the waist for Amarantha. It was harder to be afraid with him so close, even as Amarantha flicked a finger in Lucien's direction and commanded, "Hold his mind, but don't crush it. I don't want to end this too quickly."

Mother above—there was a very good chance I was about to stand inches from Rhys as he shattered someone's mind. I understood he could do it, but that wasn't the same as watching it happen.

He didn't seal off the crack in his shields, which was a relief. I wouldn't let him do this alone. The blood will be on her hands. Whatever she makes you do isn't your fault.

There was nothing in response beyond a faint tug back. I dug my nails into my palms to curb the instinct to take his hand. The wild, irrational part of me ruled by the mating bond railed at any distance between us, even just a few inches.

"Yes, my queen," Rhys said, somehow sounding smug and deferential at the same time. A courtier through and through.

Lucien squared his shoulders and closed his eyes, clearly bracing for something. I let the dread show on my face.

Rhys cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, the only indication that he'd done anything. Having felt his talons in my mind, I suspected the movement was just showmanship, that all it would take was a half-hearted swipe and Lucien would be nothing more than an empty shell, even with only a scrap of Rhys's power available to him.

But the performance was clearly working. The crowd quieted as Lucien's entire body went stiff.

Sweat beaded on his forehead. He let out a groan. His brothers' smiles widened.

And then Tamlin—Tamlin—cried out, "Spare him. Please."

It was massively unfair of me, all things considered, but I couldn't help but feel a stab of betrayal at the sight of Tamlin pleading for Lucien's life when my running into danger for him hadn't gotten a thank you. Ruse or not, it was just a reminder that my growing feelings for him had been a one-sided means to an end. Thank the Cauldron I'd found Rhys when I did.

Through the bond, I felt the tiniest flicker of a distinctly fae, territorial satisfaction that could only have come from a mated male. Right. The crack in my shields. Rhys had heard my thoughts, and of course once they'd turned to him, he'd have an opinion.

I half-listened to Tamlin beg and used the opportunity to observe the reactions from the rest of the room. There were fewer horrified looks than I'd initially expected—Rhys crushing minds on Amarantha's orders must be routine here. If anything, the crowd looked bored, save Lucien's four bloodthirsty brothers.

The begging escalated to Tamlin kneeling at Amarantha's feet, and I caught a glimmer of lust in her eyes. If I'd noticed it from a distance, Tamlin must have picked up on it. But he didn't seem to see it for the opportunity it was.

I don't understand. Why doesn't he just hold his nose and fuck her, Rhys? His court might be safer that way.

Tamlin still has an intact sense of self-worth.

I understood the implications of that—Rhys had spent the last fifty years doing what Tamlin refused to because Rhys considered himself worthless enough to sacrifice. Ultimately, the Night Court was safer because of it. A sense of pragmatism does more good than a sense of self-worth. And you're a pragmatist.

Rhys didn't answer with words, just a pulse down the bond of something bittersweet I didn't quite understand.

The sound of Amarantha's voice dragged my attention back to her. "Because you asked so nicely," she said, every word dripping with a sadistic sort of delight, "I'll spare him as long as you're the one dealing his punishment."

"I'll do anything," Tamlin said. With his back to me, I couldn't be sure, but he sounded like he might be crying, or at least fighting off tears.

"Twenty lashes should do," Amarantha said with a shrug, so casual she might as well have been discussing the weather over tea.

That could be enough to kill a human; I wasn't sure if it would do the same to a faerie. Perhaps that was her plan all along—promise to spare Lucien, then have Tamlin mete out a punishment severe enough to kill him anyway. Then she could twist the knife and tell Tamlin that if he'd just controlled his strength better, it wouldn't have happened.

And worse, if I hadn't asked for help, this wouldn't have happened.

As Amarantha used her magic to produce a whip from thin air, Rhys's talons brushed my mind softly. This isn't your fault.

It was so much easier to believe that when I was the one saying it to him. The shame was deep enough to drown me. If only I'd seen this coming, figured something else out…

Tamlin took the whip and stepped down from the dais. Lucien dropped to his knees so abruptly that I suspected Rhys had forced him down. With a gentle hand, Tamlin brushed Lucien's hair over one shoulder and exposed his back. He murmured something to Lucien, probably an apology.

Before I was even sure what I was doing, I blurted out, "I'll do it instead. Don't force Tamlin."

Amarantha looked at me like I'd just given her a gift. And maybe I had.

The bond snapped taut, crackling with Rhys's fear as the crowd's attention shifted back to me. His worry was no surprise after he'd told me to stay unassuming when I'd first walked in. But as a human, my arms were weaker than Tamlin's—I'd injure Lucien less.

I think I owed Lucien that much.

"It's adorable how devoted she is to you, Tamlin," Amarantha said. "It's a shame there won't be anything left when I'm done with her. She'd make an excellent pet after a bit of breaking in."

At that, the anger I felt on Rhys's side of the bond was enough to bring down a mountain, but I couldn't turn and look at him. All I could do was trust his mask wouldn't slip.

Tamlin didn't come to my defense or even look me in the eye, just wordlessly handed the whip to me. Now that I was closer, I noticed shards of something white poking out from the rope, embedded right in the fibers.

Bone.

Amarantha had once served a king who sat on a throne of human bones—of course she'd use the same material to make lashings more painful. Taking a deep breath, I prayed my hands wouldn't shake.

I accepted the whip with my left hand instead of my right. With any luck, no one would have paid enough attention to know it was my weaker side. Using it might spare Lucien further pain.

Then there was nothing to do but grit my teeth and get to it.

Lucien didn't scream or cry out once, even as I made enough welts to crisscross his entire back. Instead, the only sound was Amarantha's gleeful laughter in between the numbers she made Tamlin count out. Somewhere in the distance, a woman sobbed.

I did my best to move my arm as weakly as I could without Amarantha deciding she was dissatisfied and adding more lashes. By the end, I wasn't sure it mattered—there was no exposed, unblemished skin left. Lucien's back was nothing but ribbons of torn skin running with blood. And all by my hand.

I was too numb for tears when I brought the whip down one final time. As I let it fall to the floor, I stared Amarantha down. Amarantha stared back.

"A human with ice in her heart indeed," she said, almost pensive but still loud enough for the whole room to hear. "You've already killed one of our kind, so perhaps this wasn't a difficult task for you."

That was when I truly understood there was no winning Under the Mountain. If she broke me, I was uninteresting enough to discard; if anything came too easily to me, she'd find some new, worse horror for me to endure. The riddle had been my best bet, and I doubted she'd offer it now.

With a wave of her hand, Amarantha dismissed me. I hardly registered it as the guards brought me back to my cell, and when the door slammed behind me, I expected tears to come. My eyes stayed dry.

I sat on the floor, not even bothering to move over to the pallet of hay, and stared at a spot on the wall. I hardly noticed the cold seeping into me from the stone floor. I barely felt anything at all.

Rhys arrived at some point, minutes or hours later. He held a bowl of soup, and it had been long enough since I'd smelled anything appetizing that for a moment, I thought I might be hallucinating it.

"Eat," he said, crouching to place it on the floor next to me.

"I'm not hungry," I said, though it wasn't quite true. I was hungry, but there was no food that seemed the least bit appealing. I had no desire to force myself to eat.

The darkness rippled around him, something I was learning was a sign he was angry. His voice went sharp as he said, "You do realize I can feel your pain through the bond, don't you? That includes your hunger pangs. Eat."

I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't touch the food. If he was here to give me a dressing-down for not keeping quiet in the throne room, I wished he'd just get to the point. "Why are you here?"

Rhys sighed and attempted to make himself comfortable on the pallet of hay. Dressed as immaculately as ever, he looked completely out of place as he crossed and uncrossed his legs. I waited for an answer.

"Because when you stared Amarantha down, your eyes looked hollow. Forgive me for being concerned."

My own irritation rose to meet his. It was hardly pleasant, but in a perverse way, I was glad to feel something. "And soup is supposed to fix that?" I snapped.

I was fully prepared for this to escalate into a full-blown fight, but the wind seemed to go out of Rhys's sails. The darkness around him faded. "I'd bring you hot food more consistently if it wouldn't make the kitchen staff wonder why I was suddenly eating double portions. I can manage this once without arousing suspicion, and you clearly need it tonight."

My own aggravation faded quickly, too. Perhaps it was another effect of the mating bond, but it was just as difficult to keep snapping at him as it was to let him go. I picked up the spoon, stirring the soup but not bringing a mouthful to my lips. I wanted to eat, but the thought of it also made me feel faintly sick. If I took a bite, I suspected it would just taste like ash.

When I didn't say anything, Rhys continued, "One of the more insidious things about this place is how we're all wasting away down here. I haven't wondered where my next meal would come from for the last fifty years, but my wings are so deconditioned from lack of use that I'm not sure I can fly anymore. Don't make the process any faster than it has to be. Eat. I'd rather not make you."

It was obvious he'd feed me himself if that's what it took, and I certainly didn't relish the thought of him jamming the spoon into my mouth. I forced down a few mouthfuls. Although it was well-spiced, the best I could say was that it was warm. I should have been delighted to finally taste a vegetable after days of nothing but bread and water, but I was still feeling too empty to enjoy anything.

Rhys watched me with a single-minded intensity that made the silence become oppressive. "You can give me your speech about how reckless I was," I said, just to break it. "I know you're dying to."

"There is no speech."

"No?" I said, raising my brows.

"I heard your thoughts and understand why you did it. Your choices are your own."

I double-checked that my shields were up and considered that as I ate. The ferocity in Rhys's voice told me he'd meant what he said. I just didn't know what that looked like in practice, not with the way the mating bond had shifted our worlds to revolve around each other.

One more thing to discuss later, then.

Perhaps it wasn't the time, but curiosity was getting the better of me. I changed the subject. "Do you normally take your meals with Amarantha?"

"Sometimes," he said nonchalantly. I still couldn't read him well enough to tell if he was putting up a front or if sharing meals was just such a small thing in light of torture and murder. Both could be true. "Just often enough to convince her that I enjoy her company. Tonight she's dining with Tamlin, and I'll be there to warm her bed when he inevitably rejects her advances."

It really shouldn't have surprised me anymore, but I nearly choked on the piece of carrot in my mouth. It made sense he'd go back to her tonight, though. "Don't run yourself ragged taking care of me when you have a long night ahead of you."

"Bringing you food is hardly a strenuous activity," he said, idly picking at a piece of hay sticking out of the pallet. His voice went softer as he added, "And it makes being her whore easier to bear."

I blinked. "It does?" I didn't see why it would—I'd felt his revulsion for myself. The mating bond made the act feel like a betrayal to me on top of being a violation. If anything, I'd thought it would be more difficult now.

"Knowing I've done something for you…it almost makes me believe I don't deserve what she does to me."

It might have been the most honest he'd ever been with me. I reached for him, but Rhys moved away faster than I could follow. He cast a significant look at the half-finished bowl of soup, a clear wordless order for me to finish before it got cold. I shot him a glare but didn't push, just continued eating.

We went quiet again, and I tried not to think about what it meant that we were communicating silently without even needing the bond.

Instead, I focused on finishing the soup as quickly as possible, so that Rhys would stop watching me as if there were nothing more important in the world. I didn't know how to handle it.

Not when it was a reflection of what I felt, too.

When I finished, I pushed the bowl aside but didn't approach him, as much as I wanted to. I wasn't sure it would be welcome. And more importantly, we might not have much time before he had to leave again. I spoke slowly and tried to choose my words carefully as I said, "If she doesn't expect you to stay long after it's over, come back down here. Wake me up if you need to. Or use the bond. You shouldn't be alone."

That was the worst part of being confined down here—Rhys could winnow in and help me on occasion, but I was trapped. More than ever, I understood just how his family felt about being unable to leave Velaris. I held onto that rage and frustration and hoped it would be enough to keep me from feeling empty again.

"I'll try," Rhys said, and it was the best I could hope for.

He waved a hand, making the empty bowl disappear, and stood. I got to my feet, understanding this was goodbye again. He couldn't linger when the role he played demanded that he'd be ready, waiting, and eager for Amarantha. I got to my feet.

Before I could say anything, he pulled me to him. Crushed against his chest, I felt his breath hitch. Being this close was like untangling a knot in the string connecting us. I hugged him back tightly.

But it couldn't last forever, and he stepped away all too soon. There was nothing to say, just an understanding that passed between us before he winnowed away. I managed to hold back my tears until he was gone.

And then I finally cried, and Rhys was the reason I was able to feel enough to do it.

I drifted off at some point, an attempt to get some rest before the inevitable nightmare ripped me from sleep. But it was a frantic pull on the bond that had me jerking awake and clutching my chest. Rhys's voice was in my head before I could ask what was wrong.

Change of plans. I'll explain later. In the meantime, do not drink anything unless it's been handed to you by me personally. And Feyre…I am so, so sorry.

[galaxywhump]

wasn't sure since it didn't seem like you'd written anything in a bit and i didn't want to just put you on the spot! so we've seen wren experience panic/triggering from pre daniel trauma and daniel's reactions to that. i'd be interested to see daniel's reaction to wren getting triggered/having a panic attack/flashbacks from something daniel has done to him (whipping, breaking his fingers, stabbing through his hands)

Took me a while (what else is new), but here you go!

[SV-240 masterlist]

contents: forced relationship whump, slavery whump, creepy/intimate whumper, trauma, flashbacks, panic attack, creepy comfort, referenced: broken fingers, whipping, cutting.

~~~

Wren has gone through so much pain since he was captured; torture has become just a fact in his life, something Daniel loves too much to let it go. 

The regular torture methods he has gotten used to. They hurt regardless, but he's used to the sight of the whip or Daniel's favorite knife, and the way they bite into his flesh.

But then there are the others, the ones that have only happened once, in circumstances he'd rather not relive. The more time passes, the fuzzier the memories become - but the memory of the pain becomes exaggerated, and when he catches himself thinking back to it against his will, all he remembers is agony.

But all of that is behind him, hopefully. He's learned to block it from his memory - until now.

"Give me a break."

It's just a movie. They're sitting on the couch, Daniel's arm wrapped around Wren, holding him close, and they're watching a movie together. It means over an hour of relative silence between the two of them, since Wren's not in the mood for commenting on what's happening on the screen. He was relieved to hear that this was the plan for the day, that Daniel wanted to relax too.

Then he hears the words. They're just words, just that one common word that he's heard again and again here, but this is different, and it takes him back, like he's been punched in the face and sent flying backwards into the past, but then ended up here again, on the couch, in Daniel's casual embrace.

"You're breaking my heart."

His hands are trembling, fingers stiff; he's scared to move them, expecting agony accompanying a nauseating crack. He can hear it so clearly, one after another, and he can hear something else, laughter, so much laughter, Daniel's and Berkeley's, laughing at him as he sobbed into the couch, unable to resist while his fingers were getting broken one by one.

He jolts in place when someone grabs his hand, he can already feel the pain even though nothing has happened yet, tears gather in his eyes and trickle down his face, and he can barely breathe.

"No!" he cries out, wrenching his hand free and backing away, scrambling to the end of the couch, his breathing quick and shallow. Breaking echoes in his head, the word said in Berkeley's voice and the sickening sound reverberating from his fingers, which hurt so much.

"Hey."

Daniel's voice. It's different, there's genuine worry where there used to be sadistic satisfaction, and yet it's nowhere near soothing, it never is. He shakes his head, curling up, holding his hands close to his chest.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Daniel frowns, moving closer and reaching towards Wren, not stopping when he flinches away. 

"N-no," Wren chokes out when Daniel grabs his arm, but he can't free himself, it wouldn't change anything, he was only punished even more harshly for trying to run. "Stay away, d-don't-"

"I'm not doing anything. Did the movie remind you of something? Whatever it was, it's okay now. You're here, and you're safe with me."

"You did that to me!" Wren curls up more to protect his hands, terror only increased by hopelessness, because if Daniel really wants to repeat that torture, there's nothing that can change his mind.

"Did what?" Daniel tightens his grip on Wren's arm, looking him up and down, and realization finally seems to dawn on him when he notices the way Wren's hiding his hands from him. "Oh. You mean breaking your fingers?"

Wren shivers and doesn't respond, but Daniel doesn't seem to need his confirmation.

"Oh, sweetheart…" Wren can't back off any further and has no choice but to let Daniel pull him closer and wrap one arm around him again; Daniel doesn't let go when he feels Wren tense up, his breathing still strained. "That was ages ago, and I promise it was a one-time thing. I'll never do that to you again."

Wren exhales, doing his best to calm down, but Daniel being so close is anything but calming, and then he whimpers and tries to pull back when Daniel gently takes his hands.

"No…"

"Shh. It's okay. I won't hurt you like that again." Daniel squeezes his hands and smiles.

"You're still hurting me," Wren whispers, his voice shaky.

"I know, but there are things I won't do, again or at all. That is one of them."

And yet Wren's breath catches in his throat when Daniel takes hold of his fingers and curls them slightly.

"Relax, sweetheart. I won't do anything."

"Then let go."

"Just trust me." Daniel leans his head against Wren's. "We'll finish the movie some other time, okay? Or we can watch something else. For now just try to calm down."

It's hard when Daniel continues playing with Wren's fingers, squeezing his hands from time to time, knowing well that it’s counterproductive to his goal of making Wren calm down, but choosing to do it anyway. Not hurting him, just reminding him that he can, at any moment, whenever he pleases, while Wren can do nothing but follow his suggestion and do his best not to reminisce about that nightmare any longer.

~~~

taglist: @faewhump @inky-whump @whole-and-apart-and-between @whatwasmyprevioususername @procrastinatingsab @funky-little-glitter-bomb @goneuntil @redstainedsocks @luminouswhump @lonesome--hunter @as-a-matter-of-whump @renkocchi @whump-only @muddy-swamp-bitch @girlwithacoolcat @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @sophierose002 @whump-headspace @to-whump-or-not-to-whump @kixngiggles @ohwhumpydays @whumpvp @wibbly-wobbly-whump @stab-the-son-of-a @his-unspoken-words @pumpkin-spice-whump @onlyhappywhenitpains @suspicious-whumping-egg @morning-star-whump @burtlederp

[gnar-slabdash]

Leverage Mark Showdown -- Second Heat Contestants

Where the nominator left comments (or fun extra descriptors), I'm including their comments, cause those are way better than what I'd come up with. Where they didn't leave comments, you'll have to settle for mine :P

Jack Lattimer The Radio Job, The Last Dam Job (also sort of most of Season 4) Hes a background guy, just barley staying relevant but also managing to be a pain in the ass to Nate and the crew, but he's not as much of a threat as Damien Moreau, but still stays in the background disrupting htings and giving the crew a hard time purely beciase he wasts a few extra bucks. Hes a bad gys that feels realistic an investor who found a way to cheat the system to benefit himself.

Jimmaaay Jimmy Jimmy Ford The Three Card Monte Job go grandpa

Dr. Anne Hannity The Inside Job That cocky/confident shit is hot... Except for the part where she manufactures a famine. But every time she thought she had a trump card she was sexy af

Dalton Rand The Future Job he's the worst kind of loathsome esp bc he's the most directly confronted with the harm he's doing and is totally blase about it

Nicky & Heather Moscone The Wedding Job They're both great caricatures and I like that they double cross each other.

Alan Foss The Two-Horse Job He’s one of the most well-sold “cartoonishly evil immature dickbag“ characters  we encounter. I love his arrogance, his uber-hateable sexism, and the over the top reactions he makes are so much fun to watch him get angry about. Damien Moreau, "IF WE MUST" The Big Bang Job, The San Lorenzo Job - specifically for the bathrobe and flipflops and being carefully staged to not look like everyone around him is normal human size, bless him - silly charming terrifying bastard man. can't believe this hasn't been done yet.

Retzing & Sons The Snow Job Dysfunctional crime family getting synergistically worse the more they try to deal with each other. Also I get excited every time I see my boy Jonathan from Buffy

Meredith The Lonely Hearts Job Man, she actually almost did our heroes in, didn't she? I love her grudging respect for Sophie, like she is genuinely into the art of grifting and willing to acknowledge being bested

James Kanack The First Contact Job He could have just been another rich and successful asshole. But no, that wasn't enough for him. HE HAD TO TALK TO ALIENS.

Mitchell Kirkwood The Studio Job Dude was a charming psycho, I'd let him murder me for my songs 😍 Plus watching his face break was 😚 Divine 😚

Hugh Whitman The Gone Fishin' Job Yeah, you know, let's do some regular debt collection fraud and also fund an entire militia out in the woods behind the bank, that seems normal, right?

Larry Duberman The Reunion Job what if there was a nerd who had sometbing sooooooooo wrong with them. also his actor was in big eden i got really excited when i recognized him

Wendy Baran The Gimme a K Street Job - okay I cave, you got me with this one. You're gonna have to send some propaganda, cause the nominator didn't say anything and i literally remember nothing about this character except she thinks breaking teenage girls' necks is a fun way to make money - Update! The nominator says: - Okay I said Baran bc I hate her so very much -  And she’s a girlboss (derogatory)

Andrew Grant The Miracle Job Love the energy, love the way he threw a wrench in their plans by being even more of a sleazy money grubber than they expected (and more creative about it!), and yeah, he's another one that I actually feel kinda bad for cause playing on his anxiety was LOW.

Irina Larenko The Stork Job She was such a ditzy cunt, I hated her but I loved watching her on screen. Kinda cute in a way idk plus her main muscle was kinda unfff

[pendwelling]

I feel like ced n chris when watching the OG! Ced n Chris 😭😭 them throwing up just at the thought of marrying each other is hilarious, and I like our worldline version the best 😂

I UNIRONICALLY REALLY SUPPORT THEIR (FUTURE) MARRIAGE ACTUALLY LMFAO

LIKE HEAR ME OUT I could actually make a whole essay about this but when you think about it, Cédric marrying Christelle (or at the very least, taking her as his Political Partner and the marriage is a mere formality) is the course of action that just makes sense.

There is no other noble lady in the entire Empire that would match Cédric the way Christelle does. For one, they understand each other in that way that only Holy Knights do, with their primal cravings for ether, the yearning that comes with it for the rest of their lives, until their soul feels settled. As the only Holy Knights that originate from the Empire, only Christelle could understand Cédric pain, desires and loneliness as a Holy Knight (and she even admits it herself in Chapter 113, where she also describes the Holy Knights' yearning for ether as being thirsty even after drinking, and still being hungry even after eating).

It helps that they've also grown to respect each other. While they may squabble and antagonize each other, being rivals and sparring partners has made them build up trust and respect. They both know the other is strong and that they can be relied on during battle. They have immense respect for each other and even find joy in sparring people with similar strengths (unlike poor Eli whose clothes keep getting burnt 😭😂)

And according to the unofficial "Characters I'd hate to marry the most" poll conducted by fans on twitter/postype, it's easily understood that a political marriage with Cédric would be good in the way that he'd undoubtedly respect his spouse, but with his emotional range, it would be hard to bond with him any further than the respect one would have towards their spouse 💀 But Christelle is one of the only two people that has seen Cédric cry (with the other being Yeseo, naturally) and has even comforted him with heart-wrenching words because Christelle is DAMN GOOD with anything emotional. She understands his pain, and has seen him vulnerable with his consent, and they've had honest to god amazing heart-to-hearts. In Chapter 602, he finally opens up to both Yeseo and Christelle about his past and due to numerous reasons, Yeseo is unable to say anything to try and comfort him, but Christelle, our Ham Ga-in, being the mature person who has lived a difficult life, was able to say the words that Yeseo couldn't with her far outlook on life. Her emotional intelligence and care for her friends are something I will always praise and admire her for, she has such an amazing way with words, and that's something I know Cédric appreciates.

It's hilarious to think about how much Cédric and Christelle 'hate' each other, but we all know deep down that they share a very good relationship, even if it's in no way romantic LMFAO. While they did initially have natural adverse reactions due to opposing ether attributes, after [CERTAIN EVENTS] they now p much have this special ether bond due to the exchange their plates went through (or in Yeseo's words, a telepathic relationship akin to being in a covenant LMFAO)

These two have gone through so much together. We ofc can't forget Christelle risking her own life to help Cédric's berserk ether following the events of 301 :')))) The two of them have a complicated but deep relationship as a result of their association with each other and first and foremost they are FRIENDS (even if theyd deny it)

After they formed a covenant-like bond, I think it's safe to say that, if Yeseo is to become Cédric's Religious Partner, Christelle is the best and only fitting candidate for his Political Partner. Cédric would marry anyone due to it being his duty and has even expressed that what he thought of marriage wasn't really that important (254) but I think it's fair to say that, if he were to marry some random noble, Ced wouldn't be able to open himself up in the same way he does with Chris and Yeseo.

Cédric having Yeseo and Christelle as his partners is the most natural course of action that they'd take in the future. We still don't know whether or not Yeseo will stay in that universe (i personally believe they'll find a way for him to freely travel between worlds), but Cédric and Christelle marrying just. it feels natural and makes sense, if you think about it.

Christelle at (the physical) age of 19 had already accomplished AMAZING and numerous feats with the navy during the Riester/Venetiaan war, and Empress Frédérique herself has said (ch344) that her merit and hard work will be recorded and praised by historians for a long time. She will receive a title and honour (and from what we've seen of the future, Chris gets MULTIPLE medals that mark her achievements), and such a person will definitely be welcomed as Riester's Empress. The people will rejoice to have her by their beloved Imperial Prince's side, and I know for a fact that they would be one heck of a power duo.

I don't usually ship CedChris romantically (with exceptions for CedYesChris), but I know that a marriage between those two would very much be like their friendship as it is, just with rings and crowns. Christelle can tolerate Ced's personality and she's also plenty emotionally apt to make up for his lack xDD Cédric will also be able to enjoy companionship with someone who already knows him emotionally deep down, with pre-established bonds. Politically, it's a great arrangement, and even if they don't develop romantic feelings with each other, they have a special relationship based on trust, understanding and acknowledgement (also if Yeseo becomes Pope and has to live at the Temple of Boundaries/or goes home, they can further bond over their eternal pining for him LMFAOO)

The Religious/Political Partner arrangement is literally just a threeway polycule, it's so damn queerplatonic and I love CedYesChris so much I hope they get to rule Riester together :')

[stillmonsterz]

god i love u fr

anw so— birds of a feather quite literally fucked up my day (in a good way) like im so invested into this story and im just in awe of the level of literacy in the way u write and im kinda taking some notes and learning from u in a way?? i mean that in a very appreciative way and i think ur genuinely one of a kind absolutely gem writer on this app like i could go on and on abt the way you write your characters and their chemistry w each other like ugh im eating it up im so full

so onto the actual fic, WHAT THE FUCK RIKI?? when i catch u riki istg, my heart SANK at that last part like i knew something was up bc he hasn't caused anything in a while and that was like a bullet sized dagger straight through my heart jfc. he had me all bamboozled and im actually feeling rage at the way mc showed vulnerability to him only to be backstabbed by him and now he's like dragging her w a noose around her neck— it's insane how he immediately dismissed mc and jumped the gun at how she could only be lying like that part just made him go from my fav character to my most loathed character. also suddenly the few mentions of riki being 'cute and evil' compared to everyone else makes so much sense, and tbh i don't trust that he'd stay quiet abt those ss he's just gonna be bored and leak them after a while i feel like.

oh and i cant forget abt the jay scene in the hotel GOD i had such a viceral emotional reaction to every dialogue they said— my brain is thoroughly jumbled, a smut scene on ecstasy could never compare to the gut wrenching situationship break up that was. if i may be honest, jay's a pussy lmao wdym you can't be wrong and admit you're not even half as bad as u thought lol anw he's going straight into the complicated men box. sorry that was me trying to cope w the fact that all of the progress jay and mc made was just gone like that and it's all back to square one now, i can't deal w that loss rn im fr mourning over it. there's just a lot to say abt that scene it might be my all time favorite piece of fanfic i've read in my life, im losing my mind at the contrast between mc wanting to savor the moment and make it last longer while jay's trying to get it over with bc i know that he knows if he takes as much time as he'd like, he'd actually realize he loves her and that's just too much of big boy feelings for him (im bullying him too much bc im so sour rn)

also the reveal w jake dealing w addiction was eye opening, like now im rethinking back to all the times he's been fidgety and including that recent scene w mc when he comes out of the restrooms, god i was dying for the mc to just get in there and ivestigate around BUT SHE DIDN'T im so pissed. jake's definitely shown some cracks in this part and i can't wait to see him be vulnerable to mc and be honest for once, he's hiding too much and i still don't trust him i can't lie.

and i think we might be only skimming the surface w the other members, i weirdly adore sunoo lmao he's such a cryptid being, and tbh the only good thing that came out of this was sunghoon and lily being a maybe healthy couple, i love love that scene w him and lily it's such a sweet and cute moment in between all the shit mc's digging herself in lmao. i don't think i have an opinion on heeseung yet other than he obviously cares for his members, or at least the kc's reputation, and has his bearings together enough to tell the mc straight up abt all of that. also jungwon.... why do i hear boss music.... LMAO but honestly the bit where it mentioned that he got shit on everyone combined w the ending had me clawing at the walls, he's gonna be important later on and im feeling the nerves crawl up my spine even though he's never shown up once in this part, im that scared of him 😭

im terrified at what's to come, like actual dread on if riki's abt to spill everything to jay and if jay will find out and— this is too overwhelming and my mind's so cluttered lol. anw im not gonna speculate anything rn for my health but im gonna write this last paragraph in appreciation for the way you write morally gray characters, like just completely blown away by how complex and unpleasant they were written, and i mean unpleasant bc i fr know some ppl who'd act this way, it's bone chilling. granted not to the extent these characters are but it's still enough to take me back into the headspace and social circle in my younger years, just the deep regret crashing all over me again lol. not to say this was horrible no no quite the exact opposite this is the most fun and absorbed i've got from a fic in a long time, this left such an impression on me that it sneaks into the back of my mind all the time, which amplifies everytime i open this app just to scroll and i always unconsciously search ur user to see if you've updated or not.

last one i promise, thank u sm for writing this fic and all ur other fics, i know and i can tell when a writer has literacy in their heart ur up there w my forever favorites. can't wait to see it all unfolds and im hoping the mc have some sort of a good ending, fingers crossed 🥲 (sorry for this wall of text also lol)

Putting my answer under a read-more

First of all, please don't apologize for sending large asks like this. I honestly love it when people have a lot of things to say about my works. It makes me feel as though I've created something rich enough that it can be discussed.

like im so invested into this story and im just in awe of the level of literacy in the way u write and im kinda taking some notes and learning from u in a way??

Thank you so much for this...I think I can attribute this to me reading. I read almost every day, and I only read things that I enjoy.

also suddenly the few mentions of riki being 'cute and evil' compared to everyone else makes so much sense, and tbh i don't trust that he'd stay quiet abt those ss he's just gonna be bored and leak them after a while i feel like.

I sort of wanted to emphasize that anyone who would join the Karma Club would inherently be predisposed to doing horrible things for their own enjoyment. Also, as in real life, sometimes the nicest people can do horrible things. People are far more contradictory than we give them credit for. That being said, no spoilers on what he'll do with the screenshots. It's been fascinating to see the revulsion towards Riki's actions compared to what Jay has done to the MC.

if i may be honest, jay's a pussy lmao wdym you can't be wrong and admit you're not even half as bad as u thought lol anw he's going straight into the complicated men box. sorry that was me trying to cope w the fact that all of the progress jay and mc made was just gone like that and it's all back to square one now, i can't deal w that loss rn im fr mourning over it.

If it makes you feel any better, they aren't really at square one. Square one was Jay harassing her nonstop because he truly was disgusted by her, in as equal measure as he was fascinated by her. Like he said, he now doesn't even know if he hates her anymore. So even though it seems like they've gone to the beginning, this is new territory for both of them. Jay is a huge pussy, though. He calls Jake a pussy, but Jake has made more genuine attempts to get close to Y/N than him LOL

god i was dying for the mc to just get in there and ivestigate around BUT SHE DIDN'T im so pissed. jake's definitely shown some cracks in this part and i can't wait to see him be vulnerable to mc and be honest for once, he's hiding too much and i still don't trust him i can't lie.

It's good that you don't trust him. At that point, Heeseung had already told Y/N to just be nice to Jake, so she didn't want to bother him. Heeseung essentially told her that she was part of the reason why Jake relapsed, so she doesn't want to toe the line.

i don't think i have an opinion on heeseung yet other than he obviously cares for his members, or at least the kc's reputation, and has his bearings together enough to tell the mc straight up abt all of that. also jungwon.... why do i hear boss music.... LMAO but honestly the bit where it mentioned that he got shit on everyone combined w the ending had me clawing at the walls

No spoilers, but Jungwon will come into play. Something happened in the earlier part of birds of a feather that will have an effect on what happens in Part 3.

im gonna write this last paragraph in appreciation for the way you write morally gray characters, like just completely blown away by how complex and unpleasant they were written, and i mean unpleasant bc i fr know some ppl who'd act this way, it's bone chilling. granted not to the extent these characters are but it's still enough to take me back into the headspace and social circle in my younger years, just the deep regret crashing all over me again lol.

Thank you so much! And yeah, I definitely drew from my high school experience for some of this. The only other time I've ever done that is for Tired of What We Are, and I think you can see some of the parallels. Not to say that fluff is unnecessary (I do plan on writing something cute) but it's just fun to play round with people who are morally questionable, and who revel in their bad traits at times. Not so fun to experience it yourself, though.

thank u sm for writing this fic and all ur other fics, i know and i can tell when a writer has literacy in their heart ur up there w my forever favorites. can't wait to see it all unfolds and im hoping the mc have some sort of a good ending, fingers crossed

Thank you so so much. I took a long time to answer this because I wanted to keep this ask to myself. Whenever someone sends me a longer ask, I read it over and over again. I wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. I really do love writing fics, and I'm grateful that people are willing to read them. Thank you for all of the kind words you've written, and for taking the time to read my fic!

[fragilecapric0rnn]

ive gotta ask for 🔀 & steddie please!

hi Mj! thanks for the ask!

as it seems, the writing gods want to keep the angst theme going...

because CHRIST is this a sad ass song.

I've toyed with the idea in my head of a steddie fic that is more on the sad side, something where they just can't make it work, but good god do they try really hard to make it work. But at the end of the day, they're just two traumatized boys, carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. So, for one reason or another, they're perpetually on-again off-again.

This line in particular —

Oh so kiss him again Just to prove to me that you can I will stand here And burn in my skin

— is particularly gut wrenching to me.

I can see it as them seeing each other after their last failed attempt at being together. They're in their mid to late twenties.

Steve moved to Chicago to live with Robin after their break-up, caused by their inability to communicate, both of them bottling up their feelings, only for said feelings to be released in an alcohol induced blow-up that ended in Eddie storming out of Steve's apartment, coming back in the morning to get his belongings and say his goodbyes.

Eddie, thinking that they just need some space, that he can go back to the apartment in a few weeks and try again. Try and make it work again. This time he'll stop drinking. This time he'll try harder. Only this time was the last time, as he goes back to the apartment in Hawkins and sees that it's vacant.

But now, it's years later. Steve didn't think he'd be seeing Eddie tonight. Eddie never made an effort to show up to anything that anyone invited him to in the past. Eddie is the furthest thing from his mind as he makes his way into the bar, the entire place rented out for Max and Lucas' engagement party. Steve showed up with Robin on one side and his newest (and most serious) boyfriend, Nick, on his other side. He was feeling good. Two of his closest friends, celebrating a huge milestone, his heart filled to the brim with excitement.

The night progressed, champagne flowing, Nick chomping it up with his friends and being the charming beacon of sunshine he always was, in every setting, in private and in public. Steve beamed with joy, it was oozing out of every pore of his body. He is happy.

Robin stiffens beside him, grabs onto his bicep, stealing his attention away from the story that Nick was telling Dustin and El about their trip to the coast. As soon as Steve turns his head, sees what made Robin react in such a way, he is hit with every emotion humanly possible.

Standing on the other side of the room, staring at them with a blank expression, was Eddie. His hair was still long, the bangs gone, grown into the rest of his hair. Steve wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, but there he was. Like a ghost come back to haunt him. He felt 19 again, heart ready to burst outside of his chest, sprout legs and sprint toward him. Not a single day had passed, but the five years felt like fifty. Hard blinks to make sure he's not dreaming, prickles of anxiety draw up his spine. He can't breathe

Meanwhile, Eddie had stayed on the other side of the room on purpose. He had been there all of thirty seconds, knowing damn well that Steve was going to be there, but never expecting to see him here like this, with someone other than Robin.

After the breakup, Eddie spiraled. He didn't leave the house for over a month. Wayne had to coax him into stepping out onto the porch every once in a while to feel fresh air, to remind him he was alive. He never left Indiana. Worked as a mechanic and never dated anyone seriously after Steve. It had hurt to bad. Too much. Kept a safe distance from everyone, well, except Dustin and Max. They wouldn't let him hide for too long. Ironic as it is, considering they were also closest with Steve. But, when they were around Eddie, his name never entered the conversation, never entered the vicinity, who's Steve, type of reaction. Yet, he still spent years rejecting invitations to celebrations, deciding to be a shut in, a recluse, celebrate the wins of life with two of his oldest friends in private.

Until Max and Lucas got engaged. Knowing, this would be the only wedding for either of them. Knowing, Max would be upset if he missed out on these moments. Knowing, he'd see him. He still agreed to show up to the first celebration of many.

And immediately regretted it.

Why didn't they tell him that Steve was with somebody? Why, even if they never spoke his name in Eddie's presence, did neither of them feel the need to tell him how fucking happy he looked?

This was a mistake. He needed to leave before he was seen by Steve.

He really should've guessed that Robin was the one he truly needed to avoid. Steve's second set of eyes. He froze when his eyes met hers. Stood there in the walkway, only a few feet from exiting. In his line of sight, there was Steve right behind her. Looking at his boyfriend like the sun was shining out of his ass.

He couldn't move. Feet further cemented to the ground when Steve's eyes locked onto him.

Kick in the stomach, punch to the neck, air stolen right from his body by the sight of the man who broke his heart all those years ago. The man who's heart he broke right back.

His legs, suddenly uncemented, start moving. But not in the direction of the door. No. For some god forsaken reason, they take him right into the direct line of fire.

As usual, his body and brain never chose the right moments to lean into cowardice.

send me a 🔀 and a pairing, and i’ll shuffle my playlist and make an au based on the first song that comes up

[brutcllysoft]

@devilwomcn / shay & thea. setting: district two floor, pre the 100th hunger games.

None of this is going right. When the terms of the Quarter Quell had been released, the Morales family had had a family meeting and laid out the terms. They'd agreed that no matter what happened, none of them would volunteer. They couldn't risk going into the arena together, because only one person could come out. When Shay's name had been called, she locked eyes with her father and prayed that he wasn't going to abandon their deal and relief spread through her when he hadn't. If it's her and a bunch of strangers, maybe she would be able to come home. But then Ezra had thrown a wrench in that, the man shocking her as he volunteered and Shay felt her heart sink. She doesn't want to come home anymore. Can't imagine how she would be able to live with herself knowing that Ezra had gone into the arena with her and only she had come back. Selfishly, she hopes that when she goes, Ezra is with her. She hopes it's quick and any pain is eased by his presence and they can just fade away together, hand in hand.

Of course, she isn't going to say that. Not to anyone. She knows the chain reaction it would set off and she can't blame anyone. They're a family, even if not by blood and this is the worst scenario any of them could have imagined. With no shortage of victors in District Two, Shay had been naive enough to think they would escape something like this. She's been anxious and nauseous for the last however many days, barely able to keep herself together while in the public eye because she knows that she and Ezra can't afford to look weak right now. Thea is having a harder time with it, especially behind closed doors and Shay finds herself unsure of what to say to the woman for once in her life. She hovers by the table, fingers twisting around each other in a nervous fidget. "Have you been eating?" She settles on, falling back into old habits. There have been plenty of times when she's had to feed Thea. She might as well do it now, while she still can. "I don't really have any appetite right now, but... it's important, right? To keep our strength up right now?"

[mahvaladara]

Apathy

“So... I was thinking, maybe we could go visit-”

Fan’s voice died down as their eyes fell on Arlo’s expression. They pulled their lip, watching them silently, their train of thought lost and the suggestion they had alongside it. 

Just a second ago, they had been cheerfully chatting, the idea of Winter’s Eveon their mind. For once, Fannar thought they could celebrate Winter’s Eve. But now, when he entered Arlo’s study, warm tea in hand, they were met with an eerie silence, one that brought him back to just a few months ago.

There’s going to be episodes. He will be alright today, only for you tomorrow to find him gone again.

No. Fannar trembled at the idea of isolation and silence. He was well. They were chatting just minutes ago. He was probably distracted by something, had his mind elsewhere, probably a strange animal or a bird. They tried to conjure up as an explanation. Arlo had become since he returned accident. He’d often find him so lost in his thoughts, for a second he thought the worse.

Yet, Arlo stood alone and immoble, a book in his hands, but his eyes were downcast and out the window. Carefully, trying to get in easy view of Arlo, Fannar made their way closer. They followed Arlo’s stare outside, eyes falling on the small shrine outside. It was mostly broken and teared down from when he broke the veil. 

They felt a heartbeat, hollow and uneven. They held their hand over their chest, as their heart-light procured its other half, only to find it and nothing come from it. 

Nothing. No sadness , no joy or glee, no fear or wrath, no pain. Nothing but empty void.

Apathy.

Fannar watched the shrine silently, their expression sumbonring as they remembered. It was there he broke open the realms. It was there he sacrificed a forgotten god to tear the veil apart. 

How many has he killed in this quest to save 'you’, only to bind 'you’ to a trauma you can never leave. Vy’s words echoed in their mind.

Fannar closed their eyes and walked over, placing a hand gently over Arlo’s, only to be met with no reaction. They set the two on the table and took the book.

“Arlo?”

No answer. Arlo didn’t budge, didn’t acknowledge them. His eyes unfocused, just staring into nowhere. They looked at the book and licked their lips and read the words.

I hid the heart in the shrine.

Fannar instantly knew what that meant. But it wasn’t there. He knew the heart wasn’t there.

“Arlo?”

They left go of the journal and shook Arlo, trying to snap him back to reality.

“Look at me? Arlo?”

But at their violent shaking, they got no response. Only diverted that absent gaze from the window and unto him. As unfocused and lost as before. Arlo wasn’t there anymore.

“Arlo?”

Fannar left go of him. Their heart wrenched on itself, seeking something, anything, as Fannar felt themself drown in the terrible hollow of apathy. For that was all that was left of Arlo.

Apathy.

Fannar rushed outside. They couldn’t take that hollow stare. Staring straight at him, but seeing nothing. They fumbled with the old glimmerstone and left themselves slide down the livingroom wall. In seconds they got an answer from the other side.

“Hey, Fan. Everything okay?”

“Flynn... Can... can you please come over?...”

“Hey... What happened?”

“He’s gone.”

“What do you mean he’s gone?”

“Arlo’s gone again.”

“What?! How? I thought you said he was... functional.”

“He was!... Shit! For a whole month he was! I thought... I thought this time was for good!”

“Fan...”

“Flynn...” Fannar started as they felt warm tears run down their cheeks. “Please come over. I... I don’t want to be alone right now? I don’t feel... anything...”

They felt drowned in silence.

Apathy.

[yourdemiurge]

hello mady i am extremely late i just finished reading erik's chapter! this week's been so busy! I saw that you had updated and i was ripping my hair out because i couldn't find time to read but i finally did it today. I am proud to say that reading it has only made me rip out more of my hair I am confused, terrified, heartbroken, angry, gobsmacked, jumping out of the balcony because WHAT IS GOING ONNN AAAAA

the scene about the bird really had me screaming wtf!!!  I was so confused why wille told erik he didnt love simon that one day and now it makes sense oh my god- (i really hope im not clowning) i had to go read chapter 4 again and the way wilhelm asked erik "why did you do that" makes sense nowwww I love how the everything's coming together this is so exciting MADY

THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ERIK AND SARA TOOO OH MY GOD (again hope im not clowning that'll be very embarrassing when the fic comes to and end)

getting more insight about the characters is so interesting, loved the part about erik's hillerska days. I hate him now but that's okay he deserves it.

I legit wasn't suspicious of erik as much as i was in august but good lord you've just plucked my pea brain out and tossed it into an endless pit. i literally sat still staring at the wall for like 5 minutes after reading the chapter. I already had trust issues they are multiplied now.

the conversation of a royal wedding made me cry btw that was very heart wrenching i did not want that today (do it again i love sadness)

almost forgot to mention that i absolutely am in love with the chess metaphor! your writing is so freaking goooood

as usual, can't wait for more mady! i can't even imagine how good it'll feel to re-read the whole fic again once it's finished and find that the clues were there all along! 

i also did a little something because i had time today 👉🏼👈🏼 I've been thinking about doing this for a while because i really love tdlp and i so badly wanted to make a cover! im not good but i tried! there's two with only a tiny difference, im leaving both of them here because i am extremely indesicive. they are really choppy tho rip my butter fingers (i legit had to give sara rhinoplasty because I accidentally erased half of her nose and noticed it a little too late💀) i also didn't add marcus i swear i thought about it i just couldn't bring myself to do it- anyways, hope you like them hehe💜 take care of yourself!

Hello, it's so nice to see you back in my asks! Your message has me 😭

I don't really know how to thank you enough for all the love you've shown for my works, especially TDLP. I mean, just look at this reaction! And those wonderful edits! You're amazing and very talented. I wonder if you have Twitter? I was hoping to share this.

But seriously, thank you so much 💜💜💜

Your interpretation of Erik is right so far, and I'm glad you read his very first POV chapter because it all relates to each other. Brace yourself for the next chapters, we've just gone up the rollercoaster and we're about to take the plunge soon.