#closeness has nothing to do with depth of affection!!! don't come at me about the Nie Bros.!!

[poorlittleyaoyao]

from this poll

[luveline]

hi jade!! can i request something with the marauders (platonic or romantic) maybe reader has been real stressed with work or school and the marauders try to get her to relax once they realize how stressed she actually is?? ty! u don’t have to do this, it’s just a thought :))

thank you for your request my love, nearly romantic poly!marauders x fem!reader

James notices first, surprisingly. While Sirius is fluent in what goes unsaid, and Remus is more than familiar with stress, it's James who has learned to read his sometimes sulky friends, and so it's James who knows that your tight shoulders and your half-hearted smile are from more than being tired. 

He doesn't want to announce your potential upset upset the world, so he waits for Remus to get a drink while Sirius is in the loo and slides down the sofa toward you until you're sitting thigh to thigh. He doesn't ever want much space from you. He's fortunate that you feel the same. 

"What, James?" you ask, leaning on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" 

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly, solemn, so you know he's serious. 

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" 

"You just seem unhappy tonight, is all. You know you can tell me. Or if you don't want to tell me, you can tell one of the boys." 

Because you and your friends are in an incredibly weird (not weird, really, unexpected, but so full of love and sweetness that weird doesn't apply) situation in which you aren't dating anyone but it feels like you are. James imagines it as a sort of precipice, where you might choose one of them, or, in what seems the more unique but better fit, you might not choose at all. 

James only knows you feel the same way about them as they do about you because you'd confessed to Remus how guilty you feel for stringing them along. He reported back, and is quoted by himself to have said, Well, we must be stringing you along too. While I string James along, and Sirius strings me. 

So everybody fancies everybody and nobody knows what to do about it. (Well, apart from that one kiss between James and Remus, which went exceptionally well. James had known what to do about that). For tonight, nothing has to be done. All James needs to do is figure out how to make you feel better. 

Remus is offended at having had his seat stolen when he returns, but then he sees your sad face slack on James' big shoulder and forgets to be annoyed. Crouching down in front of you, Remus tilts his head to the side to align his face to yours, a frown mirrored on his lips as he asks, "What's wrong, dove?" 

The way he says it makes James pleased, and it also makes him like Remus impossibly more. James is earnest and ardent in wanting to comfort you, but Remus is very, very good at it. He has this seriousness, no-nonsense tone wrapped in a soft affection that could draw out James' very worst secrets. It's no surprise when you crack clean in two and confess.

"I'm really stressed out." Your voice takes a horrible dive, like you might cry. "Um, work is just hard, and I'm worried about money, too." 

James doesn't suppose you're in the depth of a relationship where it's appropriate to offer to bankroll you, and it's not what you want anyhow. He bites back any affluent admission in favour of a subtler approach. 

"You're worried about money?" he asks, gently as he can. "You aren't going without, are you? I really hope you'd tell us if it were bad." 

You shake your head. "I'm not going without. Don't worry, it's not that bad." But it could be, goes unsaid. 

Remus hums, his hand on your knee. "You know we care about you. Please, don't not tell us if you need something, okay?" His hand climbs the stretch of your thigh. "What's worrying you, dove? With work, are they giving you a hard time again?" 

Sirius returns somewhere in the midst of your talking, and he's absolutely horrified when a single tear bounds down your cheek. He squeezes between you and the armrest of the sofa to wipe your face as it comes, his weight almost entirely on top of you, so close that his hair tickles your cheek and neck. "Don't cry. I promise not to leave you alone with these two ever again," he jokes, though the tenderness with which he holds your face is nothing but sincere. 

James, sick of being the only one not comforting you physically, finds one of your hands to hold. It's smaller, and warm, and he pulls it to his chest as though that might hide you away from all the things that are freaking you out. 

To no one's shock, the boys are good listeners. Not always to each other, but what one lacks another can make up, and they manage to pull out from you your pack of troubles one by one. When that's done, they assuage each accompanying fear. 

If the very worst happens, you'll always have them to lean on. 

That makes you cry more than the stress. Grateful —though the last thing they're comforting you for is gratitude— you needle your arms around Sirius' waist and hide your face in his chest. He frowns down at you as he wraps you up tightly. James doesn't even feel jealous. Well, mostly, until Sirius kisses your forehead and James can actually see your happy shudder. Lucky for him, you aren't done. You squeeze Sirius before pulling away and turning to James. He realises then what made Sirius so bold, your whispered thank you like a vibration through his chest. He pats your back. 

"That's alright," he murmurs. 

You nod and squeeze and move on to Remus, who's been sitting at your feet for the last twenty minutes while you cry, concerned but not complaining. He's eager even if he won't say that, climbing to his feet so he can reach down for you and receive his own hug. James is a ridiculous romantic, and he just aches with affection for both of you as he watches Remus nose your cheek. When Remus finally pulls away, Sirius is looking at them with the same expression. 

"Do you feel better?" he asks you. 

You sniffle and wipe your nose with your sleeve sheepishly. "Yes. Thank you, boys. I really don't know what I'd do without you." 

James forgets restraint and swings his arm around your shoulder. "It's a good thing you'll never be without us, then," he says, and kisses your cheek.

[buckyalpine]

Shapeshifting Bucky

Random thought from the depths of crackfic hell. But imagine an AU where Bucky's time with hydra also included the ability to shape shift on top of his super soldier serum. He can turn into whatever but he really only shifts into a wolf most of the time. Stealthy, huge, strong, agile and an absolute puppy. Werewolf Bucky is the scariest mf to exist. In his wolf form, his fur is nearly jet black, a stark contrast to his beautiful blue eyes. His teeth turn into sharp fangs and his claws could slash through just about anything.

However.

The large furry thing is nothing but a little puppy around you.

Human Bucky struggles to show his affection for you even though he loves you like crazy. He loves touching you but hesitates to do anything. Wolf Bucky has 0 issue hopping onto the sofa he doesn't fit on, attempting to curl up in your lap. He doesn't fit on your lap either and you end up drowning under a heavy mass of dark fur, the chuff he makes as you adjust himself is equivalent to his usual pouty face.

How dare you try and squirm away when he wants pets and cuddles.

And honestly, he's pretty irresistible. Even Tony's found himself petting the soft fur when he walks by, scrunching his face when he realizes who he's petting and cursing to himself immediately after. It's not just Tony either. Most of the Avengers catch themselves mid pet, occasionally shrugging and going back in while shaking their heads at themselves.

That isn't the only thing wolf Bucky enjoys.

“Bucky!” You stare at your boyfriend who was a human last time you left him, now in his wolf form sitting on top of your duffle bag you'd packed for an upcoming mission. There's no way for you to get to it, sitting as its hidden underneath him and it doesn't look like he has any plans on moving. He growls when you try and get closer, daring for you to try and leave when you just got back from a mission earlier in the week.

"Baby, I have to go, you gotta get off" You try to reason with him but he just stares at you with piercing blue eyes. By now you can read his body language and he's not hearing any of it.

Don't think so, stay with me

"C'mon, you know I'll be back soon" You gently scratch the top of his head and he nuzzles into your palm. He tiled his head to the side widening his gaze as best as he could and you couldn't help but giggle at how cute he looked, silently pleading with you.

"Aww, don't give me those puppy eyes Barnes, that's not fair" You coo while he lets out a whine, huffing and resting his head on his front large paws until his ears perk up with a bright idea.

"For fucks sake Bucky!" You laugh incredulously when he picks up the bag with his teeth, shaking the clothes out and burying himself under them, happy to be surrounded by your scent and finding another way to keep you there.

"What’s going on" Steve walked by the room, wondering why you hadn't come to the jet yet, eyes growing wide when he saw what his best friend was up to "What the hell"

"Oh my god" Sam looked over Steve's shoulder, snorting at the way Bucky was now half asleep while you were still in your tac suit but your bag now nearly torn to bits. You shrugged, deciding to give up, looking at the over grown puppy waiting for a belly rub, giving the two men an apologetic smile.

Bucky snuggled happily on top of your clothes, his nose nudging into your hoodie, before closing his eyes, ears twitching contently while your on the phone with Fury, coming up with a lame excuse as to why you couldn't join.

Some other things I imagine for wolf Bucky:

He's the cutest thing ever. Sam nicknamed him Sirius Black and he loves it.

Loves eating meat. Eats a lot in general.

Fiercely loyal

Likes to go on walks

I'm sorry for this, I have a headache, instead of taking an Advil and sleeping, I'm out here giving into my ridiculousness, I'll see myself out.

[jess-the-vampire]

I genuinely don't understand the gripes a few people have with how Belos was handled in the finale. "Dont just brush him off as being evil" Well, why the fuck not? Dude wasnt born evil but he purposefully chose destruction and death at every possible opportunity for 400+ years. Nothing about his backstory would have made any impact on the characters affected, because its not an excuse, its not even an explanation! Caleb had the same childhood and he loved the Boiling isles. Eat boots Belos.

Ok, buckle up cause this is gonna be a long one, we gotta have a chat about Belos as a character, because there's been so many takes about this i keep seeing about " he never accepted the isles the way luz did" and "He had 400 years to change and he never took the took the offer", because it just seems like the fandom wants to kinda ignore a lot of the nuance about his situation and why it's not that simple?

and i'm for sure certain it's because the fandom is obviously already pretty biased against him since he's the villain, and what he does to the main characters as well as represents.

And that's fine, obviously he becomes a pretty bad person, no one is obligated to like him and it's ok to feel uncomfortable given the character he is.

But i think a lot of these issues as to why people have such mixed opinions about the finale has a lot to do directly with the fact the show DID keep his backstory as vague as they did, when if they had gone into it i think we would've had less of this discourse.

Now none of this is me excusing him obviously, but the fandom is very adamant to just not allow him to have depth either, when....he's allowed to be irredeemable and have depth at the same time. He's meant to be a very human villain, a character that could happen to anyone under the right circumstances

So not exploring that depth, why it got how it did, and how things like it can be prevented is a flaw within the show and among a lot of fans.

And to be fair, the show does not HAVE to do it, but the show also clearly wrote his character to have a lot of implied depth whether people like it or not, him coming from a very real religious group alone and making him a foil to luz has turned what could of been a very one note villain into one with a lot of layers to his villainy.

And if the show wants to make belos a very one note villian, no depth, they could of very easily done this by just cutting out details like his love and care for his brother, or just make make him want to destroy witches simply because he decided on his own they were worth destroying.

But that's not exactly what they've presented belos as being.

The show thrives in having characters who aren't just simple nor cookie cutter.

Hunter isn't just some cocky sidekick, he's an abused teenager who craves love and affection, and is willing to go high and low to earn it, terrified to be thrown away and replaced and constantly is forced into a mold just to get the affection he craves. He's highly sheltered and isolated just because his father figure doesn't want him to be his own person since that wasn't what he was created for

King isn't just a tiny little brat who craves power, he's a child whose been lied to about his past, and he wanted nothing more then to be taken seriously and feel a sense of belonging. He believes that he wants power, but finds out he really only wanted to be treated like anyone else, and that he's far happier with a family that loves and cares about him rather then being a powerful demon king.

Lilith isn't just a self important antagonist who wants to force eda to do what she wants, she grew up close to her sister and wanting to be by her side well into the future, but felt a sense of inadequacy in comparison to eda. The pressures of the coven system and need to win against her sister made her make a drastic choice she regrets and she wants nothing more then to fix it and make everything the ideal fantasy they grew up wanting to have together. She's also a large nerd, craves the attention of higher figures since her own mother used to put all the attention on eda, and changed her appearance just so people would take her seriously.

And the show does this with most of it's cast, obvi there's the exception like tibbles and even bosha who don't have too much to them, but they're also very minor antagonists and there's still stuff you can pick up on.

Belos however is the main antagonist, everything that happens in the show, happens because of him, his entire backstory is basically why the plot of the show happens.

Not just that, but also caleb and evelyn, if it weren't for the drama between these three, there would be no show.

And people are WELL aware these three aren't the main leads, they aren't going to be the main focus of most episodes and obviously the show was going to end in the favor of the main characters.

But

the story the show tells between these three ties very strongly into the ones with the leads too. We are given at least enough details to notice parallels between stuff that happens with characters like luz, and characters like philip.

We know philip and luz grew up in gravesfield, we know there were outcasts there, and they had one family member they relied on to support them there. They ended up in the demon realm, they both learned magic, and they both are strongly motivated by their beliefs regarding the isles.

So there's a lot they share in common, which makes it really easy to take a look at philip and say "Well it's his fault for not being like luz and accepting the isles like she did".

But, there's a lot of differences here

Luz grew up with fantasy, with magic stories about witches and heroes and demons. Philip grew up in a 1600s puritan village which demonized this stuff, he was a young child growing up being told this stuff was evil and he was taught to fight against it.

Luz felt odd for her interests and out there personality but at worst she felt isolated and misunderstood, she didn't like her mom's efforts to change her to be "Normal". Philip actually conformed to gravesfield, caleb clearly encouraging his brother to do so, just so both of them could fit in with the town. Had they not conformed at best they'd be isolated, but at worst they'd be dead.

Camilia is an adult who eventually opens up and talks to luz about how it was wrong to try and change her to be "Normal", that she herself hid her own interests to do so.

Caleb, was a child, he did not have any open conversations with his younger brother. Caleb hid evelyn and his interests with witches from philip and then on top of this, left philip behind.

You could absolutely say the fact caleb didn't talk to philip is pure speculation, and not confirmed at all. That all of this could be summed up to unreliable narrators.

But we know caleb left for the isles before philip did, we know it took time for philip to find him again (because his beard grew out), we know caleb had a wife who seems to be pregnant, that he was introducing philip to (Implying he not only hasn't seen philip in awhile, but that eve and philip have never met to caleb) and all of that alone feeds into the fact caleb left him behind to start another life. This is all shown in his memories alone, stuff we can't chalk up to unreliable narrators.

So the most logical conclusion to come to is caleb left philip to start a new family, we don't have a lot of details as to if caleb ever planned to return, if caleb had good reasons to do what he did, or much about his mindset.

But we have enough to know Philip loved and looked up to caleb, that he relied on caleb, and caleb lied and left him.

There is again, reason to tie this back to camila and luz.

but this is not a child leaving a parent behind, this is a parental figure leaving a child behind.

This is what i mean by the issue being lack of clear answers, people claim caleb left when philip was an adult, but we actually have no confirmed evidence for this. We have enough of philip's memories to know 2 things, that he was still a teenager when caleb was meeting evelyn, and he was an adult when he arrived.

You could argue philip was an adult by the time caleb left, but it's so vauge you can also argue caleb left when philip was a child and philip didn't figure out his way to the demon realm till adulthood and there's not enough proof to go one way or another.

now titan dad says philip had no genuine reasons for his actions, that he did this all for glory, but as steve put it back in OTWAT, the titan is just a guy.

And given the collector situation, he can make mistakes and screw up just like anyone else.

Titan dad only sees what he can see and make observations based on what he sees. He saw a human come to the isles with a bias already against witches, who ended up killing his brother, who claimed to come here to save others and that's all he's going to see philip as being. Someone who wants to save others but just hurts them instead.

He has no reason to know what philip grew up under, nor does he have reason to know philip and caleb's story before they arrived. There's no denying philip did love caleb, and that they were close, but that caleb leaving him behind for witches drove them apart.

I think the problem ppl even have with what titan dad says is purely because the fans take it at face value, because let's be honest, most fans will believe the objective heroes for what they assume over the villians. And since the show again, leaves philip's story vauge, and never puts it in the main focus, people will just assume what titan dad says must be the truth.

Like yes, you can pick up on these details if you are paying attention, but most people won't do that, so a lot of fans will listen to the god telling them what philip's motivations are coming from rather then put together the sense of betrayal from caleb that hurt philip that most of the evidence is actually pointing to.

philip had no parents, and had no one but caleb as far as we can tell, and then caleb left him too, like he didn't want him anymore.

And he left him in a bigoted town, alone.

the damage this could of done if he was a child is pretty darn bad, and for philip to assume this happened because of a witch means reinforcing everything he's been taught about witches.

Caleb lied about his changes, so when caleb sees him again, caleb seems to be a different person, which does fit with what philip says to luz about the isles "Brainwashing people".

tho you can argue that that's not the truth, that philip knows caleb did it on purpose and killed him for betraying him, cause of how he blames him in episodes like FTF.

But again, this is the result of leaving things vague, because either situation is plausible.

it's plausible philip never intended to kill caleb at all and he died as the result of trying to protect eve because the show says he was trying to target evelyn to save caleb, and it's plausible he died on purpose out of philip's rage for caleb leaving him. Because guess what? That means caleb had the means to go see him and could've seen him but made the choice NOT to, so yeah, that's pretty heartbreaking.

again, this also comes into play regarding Philips's guilt.

People objectively keep saying philip HAS no guilt regarding caleb, but we have evidence for both guilt and non guilt.

Now, sure, his portrait of dead caleb implies philip is not guilty for his death based on his expression after the fact. We also have the fact philip shows distain towards the grimwalkers, that he never outright expresses he feels bad to anyone.

But, we also have caleb's death being treated as one of philip's worst memories in KT that he objectively recalls in horror, he says he "Tried" to save caleb in FTF, which implies he wanted to save him and that he's mad he didn't manage to do so. The grimwalkers and caleb could be seen as ghosts, but also as hallucinations, and if you are seeing them as the latter then it makes sense he'd be seeing them out of some level of guilt towards having them killed.

If the show had these details explained more fully, it would be easy to either deem belos as being a murderous dick with no remorse who thinks killing was the right thing, or as a guilt ridded stubborn murderer who wants to not acknowledge he was wrong and screwed up.

it's why people are split, because you could objectively choose to see him both ways and the ending will affect you differently depending on what you picked up on.

But now let's talk about philip not changing, because people have bashed him for not doing so in the 400 years he's been there and that he had opportunities to do so but didn't.

And i think this is half right, half wrong.

Philip came to the isles with biases, he basically grew up in a cult, he came in thinking he was traveling into hell to go find caleb. Caleb encouraged his hatred, and then his hatred got further pushed when caleb seemed to be kidnapped, and then further pushed when he was surrounded by nothing but bigots.

So this man was already on a bad foot compared to luz, who was here to live out the fantasy books she grew up on, and objectively would have no reason to hate or fear witches nearly as much.

And we do know while the BI can be compassionate, it also has it's issues, even luz faced discrimination for being human herself while on the isles. Being powerless there is well, not great, it's why luz had to figure out her own way to do things alongside everyone else.

And the Bi ARE dangerous, especially for humans, so it's at least understandable philip is not going to just show up and look past the flesh eating plants, the evil weather, and the lack of anything he can even objectively eat.

Now philip could of considered things outside of his bias, and made the effort to try and look at things from a new perspective. But we also have to acknowledge that it's not easy to come out of this long time brainwashing either, and that it takes time and help to do so.

And philip, didn't seem to have that.

Yes, caleb grew up the same way, but not only was he older, which already set him up to question things more. But he had evelyn, he had someone to challenge him and his views and change his mind.

Philp, doesn't have that, there is no confirmation anyone ever really chose to challenge his views or make him realize he was following a lie.

Caleb could of but caleb left.

All we see is philip, isolated, following the beliefs he was taught and being hostile to witches, and witches rightfully being hostile back, which just further is feeding into his bias.

You can assume philip had chances to change but didn't, but there's no real strong evidence of that being offered to him either. That any witch ever tried to make him question anything.

It's pure speculation.

Now Philip is a stubborn ass dude for sure, so yeah, we can claim he just simply didn't want to consider it.

But people are claiming Philip was shown help that he didn't take and that's just not true. We never see anyone asking him to do the right thing or making him question things, at least not compassionately.

no one to our knowledge ever did challenge him, or did reach out to him, not even in the show itself.

Luz is rightfully hostile towards him even when trying to challenge him, hunter does attempt to try and come up with helpful ideas but he would silence himself if his uncle didn't like it (Not to mention the existing fact that he is supposed to be a caleb replacement so his existence comes from philip not wanting him to change or question things philip thinks caleb should not), and well....collector giving him a hug isn't gonna do anything at that point to stop him from thinking the worst of the isles.

This is partially because belos has the power in scenes, that if he hears what he doesn't want to hear he can quickly silence the individual and ignore it.

He's basically put in situations where no one is challenging him and if they are, they're usually doing it with distain and he's responding like a dick right back.

So maybe not much could of been done when belos has become emperor, outside of some rare occurrences where he has no choice but to listen or if he was challenged by someone he respected and would be less willing to hurt. Maybe he's too far gone to back out now and has too much power to even allow himself to consider what anyone had to say, even if they did do it kindly and wouldn't face his wrath.

but he was only emperor for 50 years too.

So ok, what about before that?

Well, yeah, maybe there were chances he could of been, but that's a period of time we only see so much of, and none of it shows one way or the other that Philip was offered the chance to improve.

I think had we gotten a scene of philip being offered a chance to do good, to consider things, that he knew he was wrong and still rejected it, it would back up this whole "Philip made the choice to not get better" thing people claim.

but truth is, it's speculation, we don't know.

A guy who spent his life buying into where he grew up and came in with biases that became a cycle of him being terrible and witches reinforcing what he thought isn't just suddenly going to change his mind and be nice now on a whim unless those biases are challenged in a way he can't deny.

it's on him for not considering looking on things outside of his bias for sure, but people seem to think doing that is simple and easy and it's really not.

Philip had no evelyn, he was left with no one but his bias and stubborn mind.

It's like king said back in hollow mind " People don't want to believe they've been following the wrong person their whole lives", and philip didn't have a luz like hunter did to help him realize how wrong he really was.

Instead it got worse and worse.

This is why philip feels real, because this can happen to people, that they can grow up with hate and never receive the help they needed to pull them out of the mindset. So they get worse, they become worse people.

and we can argue philip didn't deserve the chance to get better, but you'll never know if you don't try and we don't know if anyone did try before he was too far gone.

to think all of this could of been avoided if caleb actually spoke to his brother and gave him the chance to change...

Tying this all back to the beginning-

Philip's story ties into luz, they are foils in a lot of ways, but people need to remember they have differences outside of luz being a good person and philip being a bad person. Those differences make them into the people they are.

That luz was set up to love the isles in a way philip was set up to come in with a bias against it.

That it is not as simple as "Philip should of just got better" given what happened to him and the lack of help he had.

That philip never really is objectively shown to be offered genuine chances to reconsider his views on the show as much as people keep claiming so, and it's mostly all assumption at this point.

That so much of this argument over whether he's one way or the other could of been fixed if the show hadn't kept things vague.

By doing so, it leaves a lot for interpretation about him and therefore means people will have different views on what he thinks and feels and therefore will have different views on how his death should of been handled.

Caleb and philip tie into camila and luz, they tie into the clawthrone sisters, they are the basis for the plot of the series, they tie into hunter and the themes of being understood and being honest about yourself and conformity and it is no wonder people care about them.

It is incredibly valid if anyone expecting this story, that tied into the plot so hard ,as well as the themes, was upset it felt unexplained or dropped in the finale.

Especially since the fandom, with an obvious hatred for belos, responded to it by treating titan dad's word as god and simplifies philip's story completely despite everything i just mentioned here.

It is perfectly fine if you are not someone who cares about belos, but the people who do are perfectly allowed to be bothered that the show itself kept the complexity vague and not addressed and none of it mattered when it came to how his arc ended.

And that the only person who properly gives a personal opinion of what he thinks his motives are, simplifies him to being evil, and the fandom roles with that and the show never tries to do much to prove otherwise despite the evidence.

because this is a fascinating story about how conformity and bigotry can drive two close brothers apart and it feels like a story the show should of at least dedicated more of an episode to.

Especially since there's no clear idea if we'll ever get extra toh content to really tie any of this up.

Again, none of this excuses belos/philip for what he did, does, or tries to do, no amount of his life being screwed over and people treating him bad and not reaching out to him will ever excuse the fact he went so far.

But let's also just, not pretend it was an easy fix either, that someone can just....stop believing what they believe with the drop of a hat.

Especially given how this can reflect real people who are made into people like this.

He is nuanced, and people are attached to this villain for good reasons.

Nothing is simple about him, and it's just a product of how the show has handled his character.

[silvermaplealder]

I have a theory (head cannon?) that the only vampire that died in lost boys was Max and that the deaths we saw of the other vampires was a trick performed by David to protect his companions. I went perhaps a little too far in depth with this, but it has been bothering me for years that 4 very powerful vampires were killed within minutes of engaging with young teens. After reading the book, prequel script, and watching the movie too many times, I actually think David and his boys threw the fights to get out of the situation all together, and got the added benefit of Max being killed. Warning, spoilers from the book and prequel script because I'm considering both of them somewhat cannon:

To start, I have to bring up the fact that in the book, David's challenges against Michael to join the gang were considered harmless tricks. The stunts David pulls are things that he can get away with as a vampire that wouldn't actually kill them. Quote from the book: "This was another one of [David's] tricks... something that looked deadly but was nothing more than a simple stunt." David has full control over all the stunts and knows that no harm will come to any of them. Star also calls David a 'magician' with his tricks seeming to be real. And of course, as we saw in the movie David can alter the perception of what someone sees

With that in mind, we start with Marko's death. I don't even want to talk about how Edgar would have to be pretty freaking strong to shove a stake completely through the diaphragm of a humanoid being (including through the front and back layer of his jacket, spine, etc. but whatever). However, Marko's hands appear to be covering his heart. Edgar puts the stake under Marko's hands, below where his heart should be. (heart is marked with the x, yellow is where Edgar shoves the stake)

so while Marko certainly had a pretty bad day, with the lore mentioning it has to go through the heart, he should still be alive, albeit, in a lot of pain

It would be after the boys run from the cave that the vampires are obviously aware that hunters have found their nest. At this point, they would only have two choices: either try and kill the hunters, Michael, Sam, Star, and Laddie, whomst they have close affection with, OR they would have to fake their own deaths. Otherwise there's no way that they can continue living without the hunters and Emersens returning to kill them again.

David likes to plan shit

When they go to the Emersen house, they would have to leave Marko behind at the cave. Since everyone thinks he's dead, they wouldn't have to worry about him being hurt. Then the fights begin, and this is when it starts to get out of character. David is vibing up in the rafters, alone. Dwayne takes on Sam, alone. And Paul takes on the Frogs, alone. But in every other scene that they kill, they are always together. Their deaths are not simultaneous, meaning that they could have taken on everyone together.

Starting with Paul, I mean let's be real. He could have killed those two Frogs at any point in time when he was chasing them. He literally even shoves them. But the plan isn't to kill the Frogs, it's to fake his death. After getting splashed with the holy water, he has a solid few moments to actually do something. And instead, he stands and waits for the dog to tackle him. Seeing that these vampires can literally fly/float there is no reason for him to actually fall into the bathtub. David is still vibing in the rafters and did nothing to stop the dog or to rescue Paul meaning that this was a part of the plan. He would use his ability to create illusions to convince the Frogs Paul fell into the tub and burned alive. It would also be a perfect way to make his body 'disappear'. The explosion of the septic system is extremely unrealistic, and literally I cannot begin to explain how the heck that would work besides someone manually doing it behind the scenes...

Then to Dwayne. Dwayne literally could have easily killed Sam twenty times over. But again, if killing was the plan, it would have been done in seconds. We saw how violent these boys are with their victims. And speaking of Sam, how about that bow, eh? The force behind the bow to literally yeet Dwayne backwards would not have been something Sam could do. It would take a lot of poundage(45ibs I've been told at the bare minimum to kill a deer with a bow at 25 yards, but should really be 60ibs) to physically drive the arrow clear through his body and throw him back into the stereo. And remember, David is in the rafters watching. He's not jumping in to kill Sam. He didn't try and grab Dwayne out of the air. And yet, when on the boardwalk if someone trips his boys on a carousel David loses his mind. Another explosive death, leaving little to no body for clean up...

And then there's David. Now for David, he'd have to take one for the team. And as we learned in the prequel, it has to be wood to kill a vampire through the heart. David tried to kill Vlad with a metal pipe and Vlad literally just pulled himself off it. Spoiler alert, antlers are not made of wood. So Paul and Dwayne are 'dead' and can leave the scene. That means that David needs to finish up. He fights with Michael, Michael clearly being a baby vampire and David having so many years under his belt. But the plan must go on. David sees Michael's plan is to impale him on antlers, and he makes it happen. David plays dead meaning that the three of his companions are safe and he just needs to finish the part before he can return to them.

As a bonus, Max comes by. The man walks straight up to his 'son' (whether he regards David with parental love or as just a lackey is up to you, but regardless he doesn't seem phased at David being dead) and is like oh damn not my boys being stupid again. Max doesn't look sad or anything when he finds David playing dead.

Max being impaled on the fence post would have been his own fault and David wouldn't have been a part of it. And Max would have to die to release the half vampires from their vampirism meaning that he really did explode.

What happens after that is up to you to decide. Besides David appearing in the comics (which if I recall correctly Edgar says that half the stuff in the comics was fake anyway? My copies are in storage so I cannot cross reference that), the boys disappear and no longer have to deal with Max.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Falling Part One | Jeon Jungkook

Summary: Falling is forbidden but Jungkook's been pushed to the breaking point. Pairing: Angel f!reader x Angel Jungkook Word Count: 2.7k~ Warnings: Talks about doubting God and questioning why he let's bad things happen to people on earth as well as leaving heaven to join the devil. This is not meant to be harmful to any religion and I don't want to cause any doubt in God or your faith so if you feel that would affect you then please do not read. Nothing super in depth but still wanted to preface it with this. a/n: I'm planning on releasing at least a part two if not more but I wanted to see how this would do before I continued on with it so please tell me if you would like a part 2 :)

"You're not supposed to be here" I whisper, yanking my wrist out of Jungkook's grasp. "I had to see you" he says his eyes full of regret, begging me to forgive him after everything he's done. It isn't that easy when your love is destined to end in tragedy, taking anyone and everyone in your path down with you. 

It didn't start out like this, but the choices he made tore us apart and left me broken for so long that I've lost track of time. They say to forgive and forget and I may forgive him in the future, but I'll never forget. I've fallen for him once and I won't do it again...

Flashback eons ago...

"Jungkook come over here!" I yell for him to come watch as the new arrivals make their way in one by one. "There are so many today" I say, the lines between my brows deepening as I watch a group of children come in, the oldest being no more than 6 years old with some even younger following behind them. "Do you know what happened down there?" I say glancing over at Jungkook who has a pained expression on his face. 

"You do, don't you?" I question tentatively, turning my full attention towards him. "There was an earthquake today" he says looking back at the group that had somehow almost doubled in size since I'd turned my back on them. "Do you know how many?" I question him but he refuses to even make eye contact with me. "Too many" he says clenching his jaw and turns to walk away. 

"Jungkook stop" I say chasing after him as he makes his way through the city and I realize where we're headed after a minute or two. Walking through our front door he storms through the living room and heads straight to what I can only assume is our bedroom, leaving me behind. I close the door silently and take a deep breath before following.

I find him sitting on the bed with his back to the door, trying to calm his breathing down. It breaks my heart every time seeing how things like these take a toll on him. "Baby talk to me" I plead, walking toward the bed to stand next to him. I rub his back, trying to console him as best as I can but it doesn't seem to do any good.

After a moment of doing so he turns to face me and grabs onto my hips and pulls me into him and hugs my waist, finally letting the tears fall. I pull him in closer and run my fingers through his hair, quietly encouraging him to let it all out. 

"Why does he do things like this? Take all of these innocent people's lives, and for what? Because it's all a part of his plan? Why does killing so many souls have to be a part of his plan?" he asks between sobs. "I don't know, but like you said it's a part of God's plan. He knows what's best for us, and that includes everyone down on earth. I wish we could understand the things he's done and what he will do in the future but I'm sure it will all be revealed once time on earth runs out" I say, trying to make excuses for the tragedies he's caused. 

"Sometimes I just wish that he would leave them to their own devices and just watch over them" he says sniffling, trying to calm down but I can see a few tears still make their way down his cheeks despite his best efforts to keep them from falling. "Me too, but you take away the good if you take away the bad. He makes so many miracles happen everyday that it could tip the scale to equal the tragedies that happen from those natural disasters if he didn't interfere" I say trying to make sense of it all. 

"But the thing is some of those are not natural, and even if they were then why couldn't he make them magically disappear like his other miracles? How can he pick and choose who is worthy of saving and who is just left to die?" he says pulling away and looking up at me with his tear streaked face, causing a few tears to form in my eyes as well. "I hate seeing you like this" I say as my tears start to fall. "Baby" he whispers with his face contorted in a mixture of guilt and torment. Pulling me towards him as he moves to lay down on the bed, with me now burying my face in his chest.

"I know it sounds heartless but sometimes these things just need to happen and we just need to trust that he knows best" I say after having a good cry of my own. "I've trusted him! I've trusted him time and time again and things never get better" he says in a hushed tone, his voice still shaking. "I don't think I can do this anymore" he admits shaking his head and sits up to walk into the next room. I follow after him and watch as he rummages through the books we have in the study until he pulls out one book in particular that I haven't seen in years. 

"You told me you got rid of that" I say feeling uneasy, seeing that all too familiar book that changed everything for us. "I held onto it for a moment like this. I should've listened to them" "Listened to who? Lucifer? Jungkook don't you remember the war he caused? How many lives were lost until God damned him and all the angels that took his side to hell? Please don't tell me you're actually considering falling?" I say realizing how serious he is about this. 

"Aren't you tired of following someone so blindly and never knowing why they do what they do? I can't live like this anymore" he says while flipping through the pages, trying to find the ritual. "Oh, so you think he's going to be honest with you? You know how deceitful he is! Remember what your brother went through when he fell into his trap? The look on his face when he fell?" I plead reminding him of the agony he went through.

"That's something I will never forget and it's one of the things that keeps me here, keeps me trusting in God despite all of the pain and suffering he let's happen down there" but despite all of my efforts to change his mind they don't seem to do any good. "Everyone has to die eventually" I say placing a hand on his shoulder and walking out and back into our bedroom.

Sitting down on the bed in the place he had been just moments before I try to make sense of all he's said and although I agree to a certain extent I don't think I could ever be pushed far enough to fall. Taking a deep breath I go into our bathroom and turn on the shower and strip off all of my clothes. Being met with the feeling of warm water hitting my skin does little to soothe my anxieties but it's the only thing I can think to try right now. 

Listening to the sound of the water pitter pattering around me eventually helps drown out the thoughts that are trying to plague my mind. The what if's that I know will keep me up no matter how hard I'll try to forget. Even if he comes to his senses and we move past this, just the thought alone of watching him fall will never leave my memory. 

Hearing the shower door open startles me for a second but the temporary shock disappears when I feel his arms wrap around my waist. He places his face in the crook of my neck and presses his body flush against mine. "I'm sorry" he whispers and places a few featherlight kisses on my neck. I feel the tension in my body slowly dissipate as his existence wraps around me, reassuring me that he's still right here with me. 

"Please tell me you're not going to fall, promise me you'll stay" I say turning around to face him with his arms still wrapped around me. I sense the hesitation he feels which causes me to doubt him but it's gone as soon as I hear the words I wasn't sure he would've told me just moments ago, clearing all of those worries away. "I'll never leave you" he says not breaking eye contact for a second, showing me his sincerity. I search his eyes and although it's against my better judgement I decide to trust that he'll stay faithful to the promise he's made me. 

As time goes by I can see small changes in his behavior that make me doubt his words all over again. "Baby, aren't you going to work today?" I question when I come out of the bedroom and into the kitchen and see that he looks as though he had just woken up. "Yeah I just slept in, I called Gabriel and told him I'll be coming in late" he says giving me a sleepy smile, reassuring me that he's taken care of everything. 

"You sure you're feeling alright? This is the third time this month that this has happened to you. Do you need me to start waking you up, because I wouldn't mind" I ask walking up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist while he continues to makes himself breakfast. "It's okay Honey, I'll try to be more responsible. Now go, don't you have to leave for work now?" he says turning to face me and places a kiss on my forehead. 

"Yeah I probably should, I just wanted to check up on you before I did. I'll see you tonight" I say giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and turn to go but before I can make my way out of the kitchen he pulls me back by my wrist and holds me in place with a hand on my waist and uses the other one that pulled me closer to guide my lips over to his, giving me a more urgent and passionate one that makes me forget about what my intentions had been just moments ago.

"Have a good day at work love" he says leaving my lips, making me chase after his and instead rests his forehead against mine. "I love you" he whispers and gives me one last chased kiss. I blink a few times breaking out of the temporary trance he had me in moments ago and burry my face in his chest. "You're not playing fair" I pout as a result of his affection that would leave me wanting him until I see him next, leaving his chest rumbling in quite laughter. "Is it wrong of me to want to kiss my wife?" he reasons rubbing my back a bit.

"Well...no, but you can't just kiss me like that and expect me to be able to leave you here" I whine a bit, pulling away and scowling at him. "I love you" he laughs and gives me another peck on my pouted lips. "I love you too" I say dropping my head in embarrassment. "Now come on, you don't want to be late to work like me" he says giving my butt a few taps, signaling for me to head out. 

"You're mean" I say and storm off to grab my bag, but before I'm able to leave again he pulls me in once more, this time spinning me and dipping me back into an even deeper kiss this time. "You love me though" he says against my lips once he steadies me back on my feet and quickly runs away into our bedroom before I'm able to scold him again. "Jeon Jungkook!" I yell after him while I hear him laughing down the hallway, amused as always by the reactions I give him from his teasings. "Love you!" is his parting message before I turn to go. 

Once my hand reaches the door nob I can't help but whisper a light "I love you too" before finally departing, knowing he'll hear me regardless of the volume. We've been destined to be together from the beginning of time so no matter how far the other is, our hearts and love remain connected no matter the distance...

Walking in the door after work I notice that all the lights are off which is strange since Jungkook usually gets home before I do. I check to see if he had left me a note which I thankfully find pinned up on the fridge telling me he'll be home around seven, staying a little bit later to make up for going in late this morning, accompanied by a cute little bunny character that he makes sure to draw at the ends of all of his notes to me. This one accompanied with a banner saying 'I'll love you forever and always'. 

I put it back up on the fridge, and can't help but smile, imagining him taking a little extra time making sure it's perfect with his big doe eyes and soft lips parted in concentration. Some may like huge gestures and declarations of love but for Jungkook and I, it's the little things that we do for each other everyday that really count. 

I wait until around six o'clock until I start on dinner for us so it'll be ready by the time he gets here. But as seven comes and goes I start to get a bit worried about if something had happened to him. I finally decide to check the bracelet that we share that shows each other our location and I see that he's close to the ruins from the war and I feel myself start to hyperventilate and rush out the door. 

Flying over to get to him sooner I find him putting on a necklace that had been created for those who wish to fall and I call out to him. "Jungkook please stop, what are you doing?" I ask walking towards him with my already tear streaked face with the tears that seem to never end. "You weren't supposed to find out like this..." he trails off, clearly still conflicted with what his decision will be. "Just step away from the ledge over there and let's talk about this okay?" I plead beckoning him over and back to safety. 

"There's nothing to talk about, it's been done already. I just need to-" "No! Stop! Don't you dare finish that!" I say finally raising my voice at him. "You promised me, you promised that you wouldn't leave me! You told me you wouldn't fall!" I plead, walking towards him but every step I make towards him he takes a step back, closer to the edge so I stop in my tracks when I realize he's serious about this. 

He makes his way over to me and for a moment I think that he might've changed his mind. As soon as he get's close enough he pulls me in and kisses me. I sob into the kiss feeling a sense of comfort and he rests his forehead against mine, breathing in my sent before whispering "I love you". I open my eyes to look into his but notice that they're still closed and before I'm able to say it back he utters the words that will break my heart over and over again.

"I'm sorry" are the last words he utters to me before he runs back to the edge and jumps off, tucking his wings in close to his side to prevent them from catching his fall. I scream and run over to the edge hoping to stop him but I'm too late. The last image I will ever see of my husband is his form plummeting to earth. His beautiful wings that had started out a pure white turning grey, continuing to get darker the further he falls, signaling the transformation has started.  

He's fallen, and there's nothing I can do to bring him back.

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[seleneprince]

Hear me out

With the growing popularity of transmigration webtoons, I assume we've all read those ones about a random girl or fan reincarnating in the villainess' body and changing the original plot completely, and often finding out the villainess wasn't so bad and the MC was the real enemy all along.

I'm obsessed with that trope and I don't care how repetitive or predictable it gets sometimes, it fuels me. It gives me life. And since I recently started to re-read The Remarried Empress on webtoon (i'm following I Abdicate my Title as Empress now and the nostalgia hit me), I had an idea I can't stop thinking about. Well, two ideas:

A fierce fan of The Remarried Empress dying in an accident or falling into a coma, I don't care, and reincarnating in Rasha's body, right when's she found by Emperor Sovieshu on the trap. She's a BIG supporter of Navier and hates Sovieshu with passion, blaming him for everything. Her opinion on Rasha is the same as the average fans...until she experiences the girl's trauma and hardships herself, and realizes that there's more depth in the unfamous webtoon villainess than she thought. Despite her new identity and knowing most of the plot, she cannot bring herself to stay away from Navier and show her adoration for the Empress, acting like a fangirl whenever she sees her or hears about her. She helps push all the strings to guarantee Navier and Heinrey's love story to shail, because even though she wants her close, she wants Navier to have the happy life she deserves.

Or the original Rashta going back to the past after her death and, feeling terrible for what she did, vows to not commit the same mistakes again and decides to do her best to help Navier from the distance whenever the Emperor fucks up. She doesn't want to be empress, just have a cozy and secure life away from slavery, so she's resolved to make Navier stay and if she has to act as a marital therapist for them so be it. She knows her position is secured with her baby, so it's not like she needs the Emperor's affection on her, just his promise to look after her (plus she resents him a lot now, so the less she interacts with him, the better).

These ideas were born out of my new found realization that Rashta, while she works amazing as a pitiful villain, her character was deeply misunderstood and forever condemned to be mocked and attacked by everyone, both in the story and the fandom. She wasn't a saint, sure. She did bad things out of selfishness and purposedly went against Navier to steal her place, and I was satisfied with the ending she got. But most of the flaws that made her so annoying for the fans are actually reasonable within her character's past. Rashta was sold as a slave by her own father when she was a child, placed in a house with masters that abused her and treated her like trash simply for existing (Lotteshu even gave her a dead baby to let her believe it was the one she lost, how the fuck no one talks more about it?). Then, she escapes and the Emperor saves her, showering her in affection and riches and promising her a fairytale love story. She think she's safe, that she can finally be happy, but Lotteshu re appears and begins to blackmail her, and then turns out the Emperor doesn't love her but wants to the heir she can give him. Ergi is her only friend in court apparently, but he's manipulating her from the beginning and eventually betrays her. And Rashta wasn't purposedly rude to Navier at first, the girl was illiterate and knew nothing about etiquette, but she admired Navier and wanted to be close to her, but Navier assumed she was mocking her instead. And Sovieshy obviously never helped this situation.

I want to see a story where Rashta's traumatic past is properly explored instead of showing it as side information, and she gets the development she should have had. And what better way than with a reincarnation story? At least in my opinion

Anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk lmao

[dc-and-arfrona]

Too Late

----

Jason Todd x GN!Reader

Summary: Jason waits wayyyy too long to ask you out, so someone else does.

Type: Angst

Masterlist

Word Count: 1.5k+

----

Jason's POV

I walk, nearly skip, to your apartment. Today is the day that I am going to ask you out. We have grown so close in friends and after a good talk with Roy, I was ready to make my move. I had everything ready, your favorite flowers in my hand and a small little speech in my head. As I get off the elevator I see another man in front of your apartment. Delivery guy? Maybe? Hopefully? My heart sank when I saw you greet him at the door with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

 My heart constricts, and I stand frozen in the hallway, invisible waves of pain crashing over me. How did I let this happen? I had been so sure that I was making progress, that we shared something special. But now, watching you exchange affectionate gestures with this stranger, it feels like my chance has slipped away. I lean against the wall, my grip on the flowers tightening, as the reality of my own hesitation and indecisiveness settles in. The weight of regret hangs heavy in the air, mocking my missed opportunity. 

 Unfortunately I am not invisible, they see me at the corner of your eye and the strange man turns around to look over at me as well. Wally fucking West. Were they fucking? What was Wally doing with you? What kind of greeting was that? Wally and they froze as they stared at me and the flowers in my hands. Wally quickly, almost possessively, grabs you and intertwines your hands. 

 My heart feels like it's been shattered into a million pieces. The sight before me is a painful twist of fate, mocking my unrequited feelings. I try to keep my composure, my face a mask of neutrality, but inside, a storm of emotions rages. Anger, jealousy, and heartbreak intertwine, creating a tumultuous mix that threatens to consume me. I manage to summon a weak smile, forcing myself to play it off as though I'm not affected. "Hey, guys," I say, my voice betraying a hint of sadness. "Didn't mean to interrupt. Just wanted to drop these off. Hope they brighten your day." With a final nod, I turn on my heel and walk away, my footsteps echoing the sound of my shattered hopes and dreams. 

 A few moments later I get a text from you. I am begging, praying that it's an explanation and nothing was going on. My heart was able to sink even more when I read the message. "Jason, please don't tell the team about our relationship, I am not ready to tell you. I can trust you right? Also, thank you so much for the flowers! :)" 

 My hands tremble as I read the text, the words burning into my wounded heart. It's as if the world around me fades into a blur, leaving only the weight of your secret and the ache of betrayal. I struggle to find the right response, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. Can I trust you? The question echoes in my mind, a painful reminder of the fracture in our connection. But somewhere deep inside, despite the pain, I find a flicker of compassion. I take a deep breath, typing a reply, my words laced with a bittersweet mixture of resignation and longing. "You can trust me," I type, each letter a testament to the strength I muster. "I'll keep your secret. Take care." With a heavy heart, I press send, knowing that my unspoken feelings will remain buried in the depths of my soul, a secret that will forever haunt me. 

Months later, and I am still heartbroken. What makes it worse is that you have come out to the team. I see you now everywhere. Wally always makes some kind of show that he is your boyfriend. I could almost swear that after every kiss Wally gives a glance over at me to make sure that I can see that his lips are on you... and not mine. He knows that I love you. He also knows that I am too late. Our friendship hasn't been affected a bit, you thankfully believed me that the flowers were just a random kind gesture on a random Tuesday.

 One day, as we gather for a mission debriefing, a subtle shift in the atmosphere catches my attention. Amidst the serious discussions and mission preparations, I notice Artemis and Wally exchanging sly glances, your banter taking on a new level of intimacy. The once playful dynamic between you now carries a weight I can't ignore. My heart skips a beat as I observe your reaction, the flicker of discomfort that momentarily crosses your face. It's as if a veil has been lifted, revealing a hidden truth that had remained concealed until now. Questions swirl in my mind, but I bite my tongue, unsure if it's my place to intervene. The weight of unspoken secrets lingers in the air, leaving me to wonder if this newfound connection between Artemis and Wally will only deepen the void that separates us further. 

Then it all explodes, you are at my door sobbing. He broke your heart. He had your precious beautiful heart and he broke it. He ran with someone else and left you. I have never experienced so much anger. The person I love the most, the one I wanted to protect with all my life, was sobbing in my arms due to some dick that couldn't comprehend the amazing gift he had. 

As you stand at my door, your tears flowing uncontrollably, my heart shatters into a thousand fragments. The sight of you, broken and vulnerable, ignites a firestorm of anger within me. How could he? How could Wally, who had been entrusted with your precious, beautiful heart, treat it so callously? The fierce protectiveness that has always swelled within me now roars to life, ready to confront the source of your pain. I hold you tightly in my arms, my own tears mixing with yours, a blend of sadness and rage. In that moment, I vow to shield you from any further harm, to be the rock you can lean on when the world becomes too heavy. As your sobs echo in the room, I find solace in knowing that, despite the anguish we both endure, we have each other to lean on, to mend the broken pieces of our hearts together.

Months later, the pain of unrequited love still lingered within me, casting a shadow over our friendship. Every day was a struggle, watching you and Wally together, witnessing the love and happiness that should have been mine. But I couldn't bear the weight of my silence any longer.

Summoning all the courage I had left, I found myself standing before you one evening, our eyes locking in a bittersweet dance of emotions. The air was heavy with unspoken words, as if the universe held its breath, waiting for the truth to be set free.

"I need to tell you something," I finally whispered, my voice laced with vulnerability. "These past months, I've been carrying a weight in my heart, a weight of regret and longing. The truth is, I've loved you for so long, and seeing you with Wally has been tearing me apart."

A mix of surprise and sadness flashed across your face, and for a moment, I feared that I had made a mistake. But I had to be honest, for both of us.

"I never wanted to jeopardize our friendship," I continued, my voice trembling. "But I can't keep pretending that these feelings don't exist. You deserve to know the truth, even if it means risking our relationship."

Silence hung in the air, and I braced myself for your response, unsure of what the future held for us. But then, something remarkable happened. You reached out, gently taking my hand in yours, your touch sending warmth through my entire being.

"Jason," you said softly, your eyes filled with compassion. "I had no idea you felt this way. The truth is, I've been grappling with my own doubts and uncertainties. Wally may have been a distraction, but it was you who captured my heart from the beginning."

Hope bloomed within me, fragile yet resilient, as your words washed over me. In that moment, we stood together, two broken souls finding solace in each other's arms.

From that day forward, we embarked on a journey of healing and discovery, navigating the complexities of our intertwined past and forging a new path ahead. The pain of the past gradually faded, replaced by a love that grew stronger with each passing day.

Though the road was not without its challenges, we faced them together, drawing strength from the unwavering bond we shared. And as we embraced our newfound love, the scars of our past became reminders of the resilience of our hearts.

In the end, the timing may have been imperfect, and our path may have been fraught with obstacles, but our love proved to be stronger than any pain or regret. And together, we created a future built on trust, understanding, and the courage to seize the love that had eluded us for far too long.

[a-driftamongopenstars]

to let go is to embrace; astarion x oc fic

to let go is to embrace (763 words); astarion x gleam; t rated, tw injuries, act 3 spoilers - also on ao3

finally finished Astarion's quest. ough ough ough. it was perfect. he didn't go through with the ritual, and the ending of Cazador was fucking perfect.

His throat aches from screaming. His limbs burn with exhaustion. His vision is blurry, tears dried on the eyelashes. His hands still remember the grip of the dagger and the breaking bones and flesh of Cazador as he killed him one final time.

But his heart feels… lighter.

The weight of two century old pain is so much easier to bear when its creator can add to it no more. Not to him, nor to anyone else. But the guilt and the fear still lurk on the edges, threatening to return and to crush him, now that there is no barrier of a seemingly unachievable goal. 

The lights of the inn room are dimmed, all is quiet. Astarion, resting on a bed, looks up at Gleam, who sits beside him, a sponge in their hand. Bottles of salves are lined up on a bedside table, and there is a wash basin with water, diluted with blood. 

They offer Astarion a kindness after another, this time by helping with the plentiful wounds that Cazador and his minions left in the fight.

Astarion's heart fills with affection, just as his eyes sting with tears. He is too tired and too weak to push it all back. For once, he thinks, for fucking once someone cares about him. For him. He wants to be grateful and return it twicefold, but he doesn't know how. What does he have to offer? 

Gleam draws the sponge gently down his arm, washing away the blood, the pain. They drip the salve where bruises remain, those that Shadowheart's magic could heal no longer. Astarion watches quietly, as cuts close up into smooth skin and purple blemishes disappear.

"All right?" Gleam asks, noticing Astarion's glance. 

"Quite so," he replies, offering a small smile. Nothing else he knows to say, and his throat closes up on words.

Gleam pauses, resting the sponge aside.

Their eyes shine softly in the dim light. Light blue against black sclera, just like stars. Have they always been so bright? 

Unbidden tears make themselves known again, and Astarion swallows.

"Come here," Gleam offers, their voice softened. And Astarion moves, away from the pillows set up for him and into his tiefling's arms. 

To let go of all the worldly hardships, to let go of pain of memories and of things that have finally come to an end. To embrace a new future, because he has one now. Uncertain, but a future nonetheless.

Gleam's arms hold him strongly. Astarion breathes them in, soaks soundless tears into the soft folds of their shirt. He does not notice how his fingers curl into it, knuckles whitening against already pale skin. 

"I don't know what to do," he whispers into Gleam's shoulder, his voice weakened.

Gleam's arms remain solid strong around him, and soothing with comfort. They are a rock in a crashing sea, they are a lighthouse on the edge of a cliff, they are a rope thrown into the depths of a darkest well. 

"Astarion," Gleam says gently, yet firmly. 

Their hand runs through Astarion's hair, and momentarily he is distracted. 

"You have all the time in the world to figure it out. Free, safe. And with me by your side, if you will have me." 

Astarion's scoffs, pulling back to look at Gleam. Gods, he is beautiful. With a hero complex, proven so many times over, but Astarion cannot help but like that. Love that.

"Well, of course," Astarion smiles through tears. "Where shall I be without my handsome and daring barbarian?" 

Gleam laughs, reaching over for the sponge again as Astarion lays his hand upon theirs. Their fingers lace together, and he cannot help but love the way it looks. All the little things, he craves them like water to a dying man, but cannot allow himself to take any more than what he finds acceptable.

And even that is too much.

“Thank you,” he says at last. “For this. And for everything you have done for me. Which is an awful lot, I hope you are keeping tabs.”

Gleam smiles and draws Astarion’s hand to their cheek.

“I think your tab can be forgiven. Anything you need, on me.”

Astarion’s lips spread into a wider smile, he is about to make quite a joke of that, but another tearful gasp escapes his mouth instead. Since when does laughter makes him cry?

He rests against the pillow once more, watching Gleam resume the process. His mind is calmer, his heart is gentler.

Astarion wonders if Gleam knows that they are healing more than the visible bleeding wounds. 

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Some Thoughts About Echo

There shouldn't be any depressing headcanons here, don't worry. I just have some thoughts about the way Echo was underused in TBB S1 and why this might be a problem in S2.

One of the things agreed on by fans after S1 was the fact that Echo didn't really do anything. He was just kind of there and didn't really have much importance minus a couple of scenes. And I think the main problem with Echo is that the writers don't have a hard time suggesting things about his character, but they don't take the time to actually go into any depth (this is most likely because of the lack of time in episodes to do this). They sow seeds about Echo but don't let the plants grow if that makes sense.

Echo's PTSD

In episode one, they bring up the idea that Echo has severe PTSD because of what he went through. He is prone to having panic attacks when going through medical procedures, particularly those involving his head.

But get to ep 7 which is entirely dedicated to them going through a medical procedure to get bits of their brain removed? Nothing. There's no time to explore it in the episode so it just gets forgotten about. And Echo's PTSD is never addressed again.

Self-Esteem

Echo's "yeah... lucky me" after Tech brings up the fact that he's "more machine than man" shows that there's some self-esteem issues about his condition. He's still coming to terms with what the Techno Union did to him and he's still trying to process the idea that he's not as "human" as he was.

But they never really explore it past that. Echo even gets sold as a droid, Hunter not even thinking about how that might affect Echo. It's played for laughs but there's the question of how that must have affected Echo mentally. It's never addressed.

The Separatists

We are shown that Echo (understandably) isn't happy with helping a separatist and yet this is once again played for comedy. None of The Batch think to ask whether he's okay or not.

But there's another thing I find interesting. At the end of the ep, Echo tells Avi to "live and fight another day". It almost feels like there's a suggestion there that Echo has put aside his thoughts about the separatists and there's some sort of understanding there. But the actual development bit in the middle is missing? There's nothing really in that episode to indicate that Echo would have had much of a change of heart.

Had they had Echo and Avi sit down and talk, I think that could have helped the narrative. Have Avi explain why he sided the way he did and have Echo discuss what the people Avi sided with did to him.

But that isn't there, so the two key points with Echo are there, but the actual development/arc in the middle is not.

Echo and Rex

Echo's closeness to Rex is shown throughout the show: when he asks Cut about him, when he suggests they listen to Rex about Bracca, when he supports Rex's decision about rescuing Gregor.

They acknowledge Echo and Rex's friendship and loyalty to one another, but when they actually put them together, they have about 3 lines of dialogue and that's it.

Echo and Fives

Actually, this one isn't hinted at. Echo has one line about Fives and it wasn't even a good one. I'm still mad.

Overall Thoughts

All these elements of Echo's character are suggested, the idea is there, but they fail to actually go into any depth about any of it. Like I said, I think episode length is a big hidnerance here. They are acknowledging things about Echo's character but not actually dedicating any time to actually exploring them. It's just kind of left up to the audience to assume stuff. Which can be fine at some level, but we shouldn't be left to assume everything about Echo.

Unfortunately, I'm not entirely confident this problem will have been resolved in S2 but I hope it has.

[nikkiitalks]

Race Baiting - A thoughtument by Nikkiitalks.

Okay.. Here we go.

Firstly, for the sake of absolute transparency, when I was first contacted by @olivaraofrph in a tirade of a novel of a response, my skimming through it had me starting to be swayed in her favour, mostly because of the depths of which her privacy was invaded for the sake of the allegations against her. And in that moment, I prematurely forgave her. Told her I understood. But it turns out, after much more has come to light, that I in fact do not understand. And in turn my forgiveness is recanted.

I did not have all the information. Hell, I had a fraction of it. Natalie and I, we were friendly, but not close. We don't talk every day and we never did. We had, though, stood arm in arm against that moment's hot button issue that I had felt strongly about, and so had she. It seemed. We'd held each other in places of mutual respect, shouting each other out and praising each other's advocacy.

Now, it all feels so... silly. This performative display that I so willingly let be pulled over my eyes. But that's beside the point. That was all I knew of her, really. There are others in this tiny niche of our already tiny community, that were far closer. Those that ran servers, indigenous servers, with her. They weren't even afforded the respect of being given an explanation to, but I did?

I was the one, who when I it was brought to my attention, when I was urged to send a DM which I already had, that was deemed the one to get that? A novel, let me be clear, the contents of which I won't make public upon request. A lot of it had nothing to do, truly, with the issue at hand but served to distract from it in a wall of text. It was overwhelming, and it felt just a teeny, tiny bit, manipulative.

There's so much evidence now, even evidence regretfully obtained, that the only place her advocacy extends to is Tumblr. None of your public, irl facing socials having anything there about it. Your own admission of percentage, (how that had been confirmed as she claims I can't speculate), and other things that don't line up. Those of us in the community affected haven gotten together to compare and talk through our feelings toward it all and there is a consensus.

It fucking sucks.

Just the fact that this needs to be brought up absolutely sucks. It detracts from the credibility of other indigenous creators in the space. Not all press is good press, and Natalie right now, is bad press. Beyond myself and the others being lied to. Beyond the personal offense I take to that. This is what bothers me the most. For all the posturing and all the 'talking in wrong and confusing ways' it makes us all look bad. And for what?

The other personal and religious or spiritual beliefs she believes doesn't mean anything to me. The other racism claims about her I can't confirm, whatever. Talking shit about a beloved creator, real or not. Doesn't matter.

What matters is there is damage done to the indigenous community here on the rpc, and before we came together to discuss it, it was distressing to all of us. There is no such thing as clout on tumblr and I don't know why people can't seem to get that through their heads? What need is there to claim to be something you're not, even through insinuations, half truths and vague details? I don't understand.

Yes, the indigenous community is so willing to accept anyone with any indigenous blood, and it's the fact that this is what was taken advantage of by someone... that really gets me. That's what really makes it sting. It's a blow to every white passing Native out there, in my opinion. That's where my hurt is. It's the fact that there is question of the validity of the claims toward a shared familial and generational trauma to myself. That still impacts my father's side of the family to this day.

I don't even know where I'm going with all this, and I feel like I'm typing myself in circles, but it's all to say that I don't care about all the other stuff that serves to muddy the waters of the real issue. Race baiting does nothing but end up hurting those who's real life experiences you're roleplaying.

[rainbowsky]

Hi rainbowsky,

Up to you to publish this or not, but I told my mom that I am a fan of DD and she's been trying to tear him down for some reason? Probably based off of anti stuff she reads on the Chinese internet since she doesnt follow him. Since I talked about it she told me about an article her friend linked to her where they wrote that he only acts with one expression, and recently she has been going off about the fake pregnancy "scandal" and when I told her that DD always treats women with respect she responded with "he's just pretending, you never know what people are like behind closed doors". It really gets me down that she keeps trying to discredit him knowing that I like him. Why would she do that?

Hi dianaprincessownsmyass!

Is your mother a GG fan, by any chance? 😅

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this behavior from your mother. It would be nice if she could at least set aside her negativity to support you in something you enjoy. But then, she might be feeling protective of you as a fan of someone she hates, and trying to convert you away from him. Still, it's got to feel really bad and I'm sorry to hear it.

She's also human, despite being your mother, and just as prone to all the same behaviors anyone else is prone to. She might just really hate DD that much, or be that duped by the information she's seeing. Unfortunately a lot of people never learned critical thinking skills and are unable to evaluate claims or don't even think to, they just take things at face value.

It's interesting because I answered a really similar question a while back about a mother who was taken in by claims about GG. It seems you're not alone in dealing with this! Anon from the previous ask, if you're reading this maybe reach out to dianaprincessownsmyass if you have any tips on dealing with it, or even if you two just want to bond over having gullible mothers! 😅

If your mother is a fan of GG, or spends a lot of time around fans of GG, then she will be getting brainwashed constantly by toxic shrimps, because they love nothing more than to try to tear DD down. Never underestimate the depth of hate GG and DD's fans often have for each other's artist.

In any case, her behavior is hurtful, and she shouldn't be doing it.

Have you tried talking to her and asking her why she does it?

I wouldn't recommend debating her about whether DD is all the evil things she thinks he is. There's that old saying, "Never try to reason someone out of a belief they didn't arrive at through rational means." Proof, logic, rational thought - none of these things are likely to make a dent in her views, because they don't appear to be criteria she valued when forming them.

Better to focus on your relationship with her than on anything about DD. If you have the sort of relationship where you can talk about feelings, you could ask her why she'd want to say things that hurt you. She might not be fully aware of how it's making you feel.

If that's not something you feel safe to do (some mothers just don't do 'feelings') then I'd recommend making the topic 'off limits'. If you set that boundary with her and stick to it, then at least you won't have to deal with that behavior anymore. Since it's a topic that's really not integral to your relationship - it's not something personal about the two of you - you might be able to avoid the subject without impairing your relationship.

There are some people who I really love and have a good relationship with, but who I just can't talk to about certain things. They know not to bring the subject up, and if it does come up we change the subject. Sometimes that's the only way to find harmony.

If all else fails you can try to appeal to her motherly guilt and affection - shamelessly if need be - to get her to stop being so hurtful.

Most important; please remember that what she is saying and doing has nothing to do with you. It's about her and her own feelings, biases, baggage and attitudes. Try not to take it too personally.

Good luck. I hope you're able to work something out with her! Just remember that you've always got turtles here to support you. 🫂

I have a previous post that's somewhat related here.

[oumaheroes]

I too have a question about the Eriu fic! I realize you may plan to answer this in a later fic, but if not/if you feel like talking about it now - how does his experience affect how he treats Cymru and Albion?

He turns a blind eye to North doing dangerous things, but North is in a safer time where death is significantly less likely *unless* he's actively seeking dangerous things. Cymru and Albion grew up like Eriu, in a time where even safe activities could wind up deadly and danger sought them. So was he protective of them, because he could be without having to worry that they'd get too old before it happened? Or did he have the same "I'm going to ignore you [doing something dangerous] because you need to get it over with" attitude that he does with North?

I am SO in love with this series. I don't think I adequately expressed my love for the first one, but Alba almost obsessively making sure the younger ones can swim - especially Albion, as if he can sense that he's going to need it most - absolutely broke my heart and made me want to chew on the walls. And how he doesn't let North have his softer life for that one thing, makes him go learn in the rivers and lakes like the rest of them... And all of that vs. Eriu deliberately *not* protecting him because they learned such different lessons from their deaths. I cannot sit still while thinking about these fics, I have to move to handle the emotions.

hMMMMMMmmmm Duchess I adore you and this ask so much <3 Alba has a soft and large place in my heart and I am so happy that people enjoyed his chapter enough that I am encouraged to write more suffering for him ;u;

How Ériu feels about Cymru I'll keep a secret for now as Cymru's chapter is coming up next. Regarding Albion, it's a little messy

The first few weeks after all his first death, Ériu will feel something close to elation- he's done it. His first brush with death is over and done with, he came through the other side and, looking back on it, it wasn't that bad. Sure, it hurt and felt awful but after being so ill the relief of finally dying and then the rush of his strength and life returning so quickly would give him a brief high, a false, rose-tinted view on things. A misguided, subconscious feeling that now that a death has happened to him, another won't happen again for a long, long time, as though the pain of the struggle can be used like a currency to keep the next instance at bay

With this in mind, I think for almost the first year immediately after his first death Ériu is a little bit cocky and dismissive of danger (in the way cheeky older brothers can be). Albion is eyeing up a jump over a ravine? Do it, you'll be fine! Don't be such a baby, hurry up and go. Albion climbed a tree too high and is now gauging which branch to jump to in the neighbouring tree? Ériu will point to the one in question and encourage him to do it, goad him on and jeer for hesitating

He's cocky and arrogant and, as Albion is only doing dangerous things but the danger hasn't happened yet, Ériu doesn't connect the two feelings of the same experiences together

The first time a true danger really does present itself to Albion, Ériu will worry himself sick about it. Suddenly the reality of the whole experience comes back- the depths of the stages still to come- and then he can think of nothing else but the look in Alba's eye and the sorrow that was once in Mama's. He will hug his arms to his chest and pray that the Gods grant his brother a few more decades to grow before death takes him because he's too young, the pain in his eyes is tangible enough to feel and Ériu would do anything to make it stop

To add on to North too, there are modern day kindnesses that make Ireland as relaxed with him as he is. Light pain killers to the heavy duty ones, North can be sent to sleep before the worst happens and can be kept that way until he is healed. Some parts cannot be avoided but they can be softened and this is something Ireland, and the rest of them, know. Ireland is happy to let North experiment and discover his existence for himself in this new age because the new age can support this.

All those years ago, however, there is nothing but the raw edge of death against life and Ériu remained as concerned for his siblings when in true danger as he ever was. The only difference is that now he knows exactly what's coming

[itsmaferart]

SxF · 65 ··· Desmond's mother

Warning: This contains spoilers for the manga.

Last time I talked about this chapter from Yoru's perspective, regarding her adventure in the mall, where she met a possible friend, ending up in a volleyball game. That nice woman ended up being, nothing more and nothing less than Melinda Desmond. Damian's mother and Donova's wifen

It is here where the fans burst with emotion at the range of possibilities that history showed us.

However, I really feel that there is nothing conclusive to analyze the Desmonds in depth. Except for Damiand, the Desmond parents have had very brief appearances (so far) with no information regarding their "intentions". Everything around them is a mystery.

Although, I have read a lot of other fans' impressions on the internet and they all seem interesting to me. At this point, I think any plot twist is possible. Endo can surprise us at any moment with a new character or event, and we are all stunned.

So, like everyone else, I'm going to fall into the speculations and theories:

Who is behind the war?

I couldn't tell if Melinda is or isn't a spy from Ostania, let alone that she is the "final boss", since this statement seems too hasty to me.

Personally, I believe that behind the war there is not "one person", but rather this is a vast network of individuals whose ambitions can be achieved through war. And whether these are direct allies or not, there are a lot of loose ends that we don't know have a connection to the Desmonds.

To begin with, I doubt that Desmond is just a "puppet", his life as a "strange" and "inscrutable" man, added to the distrustful look he gave Loid Forger as he walked away (Just as Twilight looked at him too) , implies that he is someone difficult to go through.

I am more inclined to the theory that Melinda may be an ally of her husband, fulfilling other roles and functions within the "possible" organization to which they belong.

We are all curious that Melinda looks like such a sweet and kind woman, but she did not appear the day Damiand entered Eden. Which, implies that she is not exactly "a selfless mother"

There's something strange about this whole thing and it's...

Since his first appearances, Damiand has made it clear that the education he received from his family is the greatness of the Desmonds, and that they should not get involved with people who are not on the same social and economic level. Interestingly, Desmond showed no problem talking to Loid Forger. Surely, he tries to maintain a civilized and "apparently" friendly posture due to his political role and treating another father of a family badly would affect his campaign.

But, curiously, Melinda did not show contempt for Yor at any time and none of her friends "contempt" her, on the contrary, they were all very kind and wanted Yor to join their "social group"

Perhaps, this is due to the contrasting personalities of Donovan and Melinda, as husband and wife. But also, it can be a "strategic" role, for both, as cover, and as they exercise control with their closest allies/friends.

This would make sense, since WISE is not directly looking to kill Desmond. Since, he is not behind the war, but he may be the main connection to all this web of events that are happening: terrorist attacks, assassinations, the division of the secret government into a radical sector and the other not, the Apple experiments. .. etc

Although, I'm surprised that WISE has never sought out relationships with Desmond's wife or eldest son, or because they don't come close to the Desmonds' existing friendships. Everything revolves around Donovan in a direct way… and the strategy of approaching Damiand does not seem very feasible (He is just a boy)

I don't know if in reality every Desmond has a social circle so closed that in reality, they are just as impenetrable. So, Yor having entered the club is something that no one could do unless they have the support of an insider… which seems to be the case with the chapter.

Could Melinda Desmond be the intellectual equivalent of Twilight?

When I say "equivalent" I mean it could be a person who is on the same level as Twilight when it comes to socially integrating with other people and manipulating. Although, she may not be a "real spy"… or maybe she was in the past. The only role you have to play now is that of mother and wife

Now, I can't help but notice a bunch of similarities in Twilight and Yor's meeting (Chapter 2) - Melinda and Yor (Chapter 65). Although both chapters have different developments, there are certain similarities

1. Yor's dilemma:

In both chapters, Yor questions "normality" and her own eccentricity. Although Yoru has been growing up according to the plot, she still can't get rid of the idea of ​​"not being a normal person", feeling left out. And although Loid and Anya have declared that they love her as she is and her role is perfect. Yor seems to need someone who is "in her shoes" - Yor longs to experience so many things that her constant fears make her fear failure and she doesn't allow herself to relax and enjoy herself freely.

2. Casual encounter (But very convenient)

In contrast to Twilight, Yor's encounters seem to happen on a casual basis. And well, it's consistent with her, since Yor doesn't plan anything as he doesn't have a reason to. Of course, these coincidences occur few and are momentous events.

While going to a tailor shop Yor ended up in a deal with Loid Forger, her fake future husband. Here Yor ended up meeting a friend and they ended up in a volleyball match.

I think this event was coincidental, mainly because of Melinda's surprised reactions at the end of the chapter and how Endo focuses her eyes

This always happens with Twilight when his gaze is a visual resource for the viewer to understand when he is "lying or not"

The radical difference is that we can always see Twilight's POV. But we can't know what goes through Melinda's mind (at least for now)

3. Their reaction to Yor's force.

Twilight and Melinda seem to be the first people (other than Yuri) to get to see Yor in action. Far from feeling scared and fearful, they see this as something incredible!

Here I wonder if Melinda could see Yor's strength, and like Twilight think "this woman is perfect for my plans". Although, Melinda does not necessarily want to hurt Yor. He is more likely to want to "have her around" as a possible friend or ally. Since not only is he interested in using her to win a friendly game, but she seems insistent that he join "Lady patriots society"

And it's funny, because, if you remember… Before all the events of Camila's party, Twilight's intentions were to join Yor as two people who do each other a favor, while he weighed a seduction plan.

What if Melinda, in that short time, has the same idea? Integrate Yor enough until it is easy to convince her in the future of something

4. Symbols

This was one of the most relevant details for most readers. Symbols often subtly represent that the character belongs to "something." Some are more obvious than others, like the Twilight pin that represents WISE

Interestingly, they are both "eyes".

I don't know if these are surveillance "cameras" or not, as you think. Or are they just, jewelry with some connotation of belonging to "some organization" Although it would be interesting if Melinda turns out to be/was a spy. Now working with her husband.

These skills to socialize, belonging to a club with the women of the highest spheres of power (an invaluable source of information), the innocent interest she shows for Yor make her suspicious.

Melinda's role as mother, wife and friend may be totally real.

But he uses his real facade for his true intentions A lie covered by truths. Which is totally strategic.

I don't know why these two panels give me the same feeling

Regarding the Strix mission

At this point we all have a collective idea: How is Twilight going to react? This was the most convenient move and he didn't even have to watch (I'm sure it will be a funny face)

This may be your ticket to Desmond's plans. But it is something you may have to do carefully. For if Melinda becomes as smart as we think she may be, she can tell if Mr. Forger is a man to watch out for. Added to that, I don't know what plans Melinda has, and if they could put Yor at risk

(We know that Yor is invulnerable) to almost everything. But I'm sure Twilight won't want to risk her danger anyway… but… It's worth the mission, isn't it?

I'm curious how Melinda plays. If your interest is to become close friends with Yor, and try to make Damiand get closer to Anya (Although I would be surprised since she doesn't seem interested in her son) (Damiand only seems close to his brother and it seems that the relationship is not very good )

I also wonder if Melinda could have an impact on the Forgers' relationship as a couple, if she tried to absorb more of Yor's time by squeezing her a bit from her family?

What do you think?

[harveyhawkscripts]

[A4A] Cuddling Your Half-Dragon Roommate [Modern Fantasy] [Roommates] [Insomnia Comfort]

AN: Welcome to the finale of Monsters for Mental Health May! Thank you to everyone who voted. Apologies if this one seems a bit rushed; I just got back from my trip and boy, are my arms tired! This one might be in the running for The Great Script Rewrite (pending). Anyway, please enjoy ^-^

Usage:

- Okay for monetization

- Please credit me as Harvey Hawk :)

- Tweaks, improv, and pronoun changes are okay! Just please do not rewrite the script completely.

Synopsis: In a modern fantasy setting, the listener has trouble sleeping due to insomnia. Their roommate, a tsundere half-dragon just back from a grueling double shift, helps them finally fall asleep. 

Google Doc

Key:

[SFX and Action]

(.) Short Pause

(...) Longer pause

(Voice instruction)

Word Count: 990

—

[Footsteps]

HALF-DRAGON

(Exhausted) Ugghh... Gods, I hate evening shift. 'M always dead afterwards.

[Muffled TV noises]

[Footsteps stop]

Tch, really? They left the TV on again? They're so damn absent-minded.

[Door unlocks, opens, closes, and locks again]

(Surprised) Oi. The hell are you doing up? It's, like, two AM. Don't you have commissions due?

(.)

How could I not? You haven't shut up about it.

(.)

(Slightly irritated) Yeah, well. I do listen. And I would like to not listen to that damn TV all night. So, shut it off and go to bed.

[TV turns off]

(.)

I don't care if you sleep or not, just go to your room and be quiet. I just had a shift from the depths of hell and if I don't get some rest, I'm going to lose my shit.

(.)

Listen. You're my roommate, so I tolerate you to an extent. But you do not want to get between a dragon and their sleep.

(.)

(Growls) Half dragon. Quit nitpicking! What is your deal tonight? You're normally so chill - which is why I chose you as my roommate by the way - the hell is your damage?!

(.)

Oh, for fu- there's nothing to be scared of! I put up wards! You know I did!

Look, if I check the magic wards, will you finally let me rest?

(.)

Fine, I'll put one on your door.C'mon.

[Footsteps]

(Whispers) Tu...tela

[Claws scraping on wood]

There. Go to bed.

(.)

Then get a glass of water. Quietly. Goodnight.

(Sigh) What is it now?

(.)

There are blankets in the closet. Problem solved.

(.)

What?! What more could you possibly want?!

(.)

(Sigh) Shit.

Look, don't - I didn't mean - I ... Ugh. I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have yelled. I just... I had an awful day at work.

(.)

No, you're right; it's not an excuse. I'm sorry. But I'm too tired for guessing games right now. Why don't you want to go to bed?

(.)

Insomnia...You never told me about that.

(.)

Uh, because I'm your roommate? You ever think that you being up all hours of the night might affect my sleep schedule?

(.)

No, I'm not going to find another roommate. I don't want another roommate. Idiot. I'm going to help you.

(.)

What do you usually do when you can't sleep?

(.)

Suffer? Shit, okay. No wonder you act so out-of-it. You're always tired.

(.)

You do too! You leave the peanut butter out and I always have to nag you to get your clothes out of the dryer. I just figured you were an airhead.

(.)

You're still a hell of a lot better than other roommates I've had. At least you haven't set anything on fire... yet.

(.)

Heh, sorry. But seriously. Going too long without sleep isn't healthy, dingus. Next time something's bothering you, just come to me, got it?

(.)

Yeah, really. I don't keep you around for the hell of it, you know.

(.)

It means... Well, it means....

(.)

(Growl) Don't make me say it!

(.)

Obviously I like you, idiot! I wouldn't live with you if I didn't. I... enjoy being your roommate. And if something's wrong, you need to come to me for help.

(.)

Because I said so! Anyway... let's find a way to get you to sleep.

(.)

Nah, I don't have any sleep magic. Not my thing. We might have some tea in the back of the cupboard.

(.)

Already had some, hm? Okay. Have you tried a warm bath?

(.)

Alright, check that off the list. Oh, I know! There are these, uh, audio stories for sleep online. Like, narrations and stuff. What about that?

(.)

Not even that works. Damn. Uh... Well, do you know what's causing your insomnia? Stress? Maybe you eat too much junk. I know you have a sweet tooth.

(.)

Huh? What'd ya say?

(.)

Scared and what? Little louder.

(.)

Lonely...? Ah. Oh. Hmph. Well...

(.)

(Hesitantly) Maybe I can... stay in your room. On the floor. If it means I can sleep.

(.)

Where the hell else would I sleep?

(.)

D-don't be ridiculous! Why would - I mean, you - I can't sleep in your bed!

(.)

Because that's - we aren't dating. It'd be weird. Besides, you probably kick in your sleep.

(.)

Oh, yeah, you totally do. I can tell.

(.)

Aw, c'mon. Don't give me those eyes.

(.)

(Growls) ....Fine. But kick me once and I'm going back to my room. Now c'mon. I just finished a double shift and I'm about to pass out.

[Door opens]

Um. What the hell? Where am I supposed to sleep?

(.)

I mean your bed is overrun with stuffed animals. I don't know how you expect to fit on there, let alone the both of us.

(.)

Look, if you want me to sleep with - uh, next to you, then you need to shove some of these things aside.

(.)

(Sarcastic) Sorry. Friends. You'll need to shove some of these friends aside.

(.)

A little more.

(.)

There.

[Blankets shift]

Go to sleep, roomie.

[Blankets shift]

[Blankets shift]

[Blankets shift]

Be. Still.

(.)

(Sigh) What's wrong?

(.)

Yeah, well, there isn't room for me and your big teddy. Cuddle one of your smaller plushies.

(.)

Arm support? Geez, you're so high-maintenance. Fine. Come here.

(.)

Because I'm letting you wrap an arm around me. Obviously.

(.)

Yeah, I'm sure. Get over here.

[Blankets shift]

(.)

Of course I'm warm. I'm a half-dragon.

(.)

Quit fidgeting. Just... curl up to my chest.

(.)

There, comfortable?

(.)

Good.

(.)

Nah, it's not weird. It's actually... nice. Heh, your breath kinda tickles.

(.)

It doesn't bother me. Go to sleep, roomie.

(.)

You're still tense.

(.)

Hey, it's okay. How about this? Let me trace my claws down your back real gentle... There, just focus on how that feels. I'm going to wrap my tail around you now. Like a weighted blanket.

(.)

There we go. I've gotcha.

(.)

Gettin' sleepy?

(.)

Good. Hey, before you go to sleep I gotta tell you something. It's important.

(.)

You totally owe me breakfast in the morning. I'm thinking pancakes.

(.)

(Chuckles) Okay, okay. I'll help make it.

(.)

...Yeah, I can stay with you tomorrow night, too.

(.)

Goodnight, roomie.

END

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Falling Part Two | Jeon Jungkook

Summary: Your choice of becoming a guardian to forget about the life you spent with Jungkook might be the place that you wished you had never come to Pairing: Angel f!reader x Fallen Angel Jungkook Word Count: 3.4k Warnings: Talks about doubting God and questioning why he let's bad things happen to people on earth as well as leaving heaven to join the devil. This is not meant to be harmful to any religion and I don't want to cause any doubt in God or your faith so if you feel that would affect you then please do not read. Nothing super in depth but still wanted to preface it with this. a/n: Thanks for waiting for Part Two! I hope it was worth the wait! I'll be turning this into a few part so maybe one or two more. Let me know what you think :) Read > Falling Part One | Jeon Jungkook

Days without without him have been hard and nights have been even harder, with most nights not even getting a wink of sleep. No matter how much I toss and turn the image of him falling have been burned into my memory. I start to question myself and wonder if there was anything I could've done differently?

Should I have taken his change in behavior more seriously? Should I have spoken to his friends or the people he works with to see if he had been talking to them about falling as well? Should I have talked to him about it a bit more instead of just believing that he wouldn't right away?

I decide to call one of Jungkook's old friends over to see if he can somehow make sense of this with me because I just know if I don't talk about this with someone it will continue to eat me up inside.

"Hey" Jimin says walking through the door with a pained expression. "Hi" I say and he brings me in for a hug. He has such a healing embrace that sometimes it helps me forget about it all and although it's only for a moment it feels nice to have someone care about me again. We weren't super close in the past but ever since Jungkook fell he's made sure to check up on me whenever he can.

We catch up for a bit before he finally breaks, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong or did you really just call me over here for small talk?" he says, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore. I clear my throat and take a second to gather my thoughts before I finally start to him about it all. 

"Do you think he did that because he realized he didn't want to be with me anymore?" I say, sitting down on my couch with my hands in my lap, my gaze locked on them since I don't think I could make eye contact, worrying that he might think that that might've been one of the reasons he left.

"He left because he loves you" he says catching me off guard. "That doesn't make any sense. If he loved me then we would still be together" I say shaking my head not wanting to believe what he's saying. "He left because he knew the doubt he had in his heart would've eventually poisoned you and destroyed your trust in God right along with him. He knows how painful it was for you to see how upset he would get when he saw someone walk through those gates before their time. How much he would take that to heart and in turn would break your heart right along with his" he finally says, not pulling punches anymore.

"I would take all the heart breaks I had while he was here if I could just have him back. I don't care about anything anymore I just want him back" I say finally breaking in front of him. I had held my emotions in around others and only cried in private but I just can't take it anymore.

He pulls me in and finally takes up the role of being my true shoulder to cry on. "I need him" I sob, letting out all that pent up pain and frustration but no matter how healing it can be to let it all out it will never be enough. He's a fallen angel now, and fallen angels can not come back to heaven no matter how hard you try.

"Have you thought about taking up a new role? Like one that would get you away from the places that remind you of Jungkook. One where you can keep your mind off him and allow yourself the time and space you need to heal?" he asks once I've calmed down.

"Is there even something like that that I could do?" I ask, trying to figure out what his thought process might be but I guess the idea he's about to propose was far out of my scope of remedies that I'm caught off guard by the thought of it.

"You could always apply to be a guardian. You know, ask to be assigned to a new soul and watch over them. That's something that I know you would be great at. You're compassionate and protective and I know your faith is strong enough to help carry you through all the trials and tribulations that soul might go through" he says trying to offer up something that might help occupy my mind. "You would have to put all of your time and attention into looking after them so you wouldn't have time to think about anything else" he says.

I take a second to digest what he's suggested and see that it might be just what I'm looking for. "Heaven is meant to be a beautiful, joyful and fulfilling place and if you're not finding that here you can always help protect someone by using your God given talents" he reasons, bringing me closer to a final decision.

"You could always ask to see what you would be getting yourself into. There are plenty of records to go through so you'll be prepared for what's to come. Most of it really is trial and error though. Sometimes the things you try to protect them from are things that they openly seek out but that's just in their nature" he says trying to give me the good along with the bad.

"They need guardians for a reason right?" I question, ultimately understanding what point he's trying to get across. "Exactly" he says giving me a smile, hoping to relieve any pressure I may be feeling. "Just think about it, okay?" he questions placing a hand on my shoulder. I nod in response and we end up talking for a little while longer before he heads back home for the night.

Laying in bed I'm again plagued with the memories of the day he fell. How sweet he had been that morning and how cute and cuddly he had looked with his hair still in disarray from having just woken up. I'm sure those were the memories he wanted me to be left with but I've been scarred with the image of him plummeting to earth and watch time and time again as his wings get tarnished and stained with black soot, never to regain that pure white glow ever again.

After taking a few days to think about it I've decided to go ahead with the guardian assignment. "You ready?" Jimin questions, accompanying me to the gateway. "I think so?" I say still not too sure about how I feel about this. "I know so. Don't worry you're gonna do great! I believe in you" he says giving me one last hug and watches as I walk towards the gate keeper who gives me a ring to place on my left ring finger.

"What's this?" I ask looking it over curiously but putting it on nonetheless. "It's a communication device, in case you need help of some sort" he explains plainly. "I'll be able to communicate with other angels?" I ask curiously, not having heard about this. "Yes but only when necessary. We need you giving as much of your undivided attention to the soul you're guarding" he says sternly making sure to maintain eye contact with me.

"But you can contact me whenever you want right Yoongi?" Jimin says throwing his arm around the man's shoulders that I now know as Yoongi. "Yes, you are granted one angel that you're able to communicate with to answer any questions or concerns, just keep it to a minimum" he says now opening the gates and handing me the soul of the child I'll be watching over.

"Got it" I say taking it with both hands. I turn and give Jimin one last smile and he makes a hand motion at me, encouraging me to keep going. I take a deep breath and take that final leap, starting my descent down to earth and being guided by the light to where I'll finally start my journey along with this brand new life.

Seventeen years later...

"Lana get up it's time to get ready for school" her mom yells, waking the both of us up from our deep slumber. Luckily as a guardian angel I'm able to sleep while she sleeps and I'm happy she does a lot of that because the amount of trouble she gets herself into has me running ragged, using up quite a bit of energy. I still haven't materialized so having to use spiritual energy instead of the physical energy I will soon gain is proving to be more taxing the older she gets.

"Lana wake up" I whisper. I know she can't hear me but it still send a little spark, getting her somewhat kickstarted for the day and thankfully she embraces it this time, hopefully avoiding another even louder wakeup call from her mom. "Lana!" she yells again after not hearing a response from her yet. "I'm up" she groans out loudly, both of us hoping that'll be the last of it.

After stretching and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she gets up and heads to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth before starting on her hair and makeup. Luckily she's the type that is good with leaving her look relatively simple so she hasn't added vanity to her tally yet. Yes I am unfortunately tasked with the job of tallying her sins as well. This job really is a lot more work than I thought it would be, so most days I don't even have time for a thought that isn't solely about Lana.

Don't get me wrong Lana is a good girl, she's responsible and takes care of the people she cares about. But everyone is always at risk of a change of heart at this impressionable age, so I'm always worried about her. Going through the school day for the most part can be describes as ordinary and just when the second half of her senior year rolls around a new boy shows up at school. The kind that's dressed in black and various pieces of silver stuck in his face and a tattoo crawling up his neck in the form of burnt and twisted branches.

These are the days that I pray as hard as I can, hoping to get her to take another hallway through the school to avoid running into him but looks like he has his sights set on her, making it a point to bump into her on purpose, making her drop all her books on the floor. "Oh my gosh I'm sorry I didn't see you there" Lana apologizes, she's too sweet for her own good when it comes to talking to boys, especially ones that she finds attractive but I can't help but roll my eyes at his cliché tactics of getting a chance to talk to a girl.

"No worries it was probably my fault" he says crouching down on the floor to help pick up her books. "Oh trigonometry?" he questions picking up one of the thicker books. "Yeah, kind of a math nerd I guess" she says brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Is your teacher Mr. Harden?" he asks, clearly curious in learning more about her. "Yeah I'm actually headed to his class right now" she says finally getting a better hold on her books.

"Aren't you going a bit early? We don't start up our classes for another ten minutes" he asks, still holding onto the book for her. "I like showing up early" she laughs shyly. "Really sticking to that nerd title huh?" he laughs giving her a sideways smile. "I guess so..." she says trailing off not really knowing how to respond but the mystery boy opens his mouth to say something but Lana decides to interrupt him before he can.

"Can I have my book back?" she asks and he takes note that he's still holding it, I guess not realizing the fact that he still had it. "Why don't I carry it for you? I could take the rest of your books off your hands as well if you'd like. I'm actually taking that class so it's the least I could do after bumping into you" he says fixing the strap on his bag that had started slipping down his shoulder.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. Plus wasn't I the one who bumped into you?" she questions now looking up at him making eye contact with him for the first time and I notice how her eyes widen and heart rate picks up. 'She's got it bad' I say to myself, cringing at the thought of how much trouble she's about to get herself into if she hangs out with this guy, let alone dates him. "Don't worry about it" he says and takes that opportunity to grab the rest of her stuff from her hands and turns to make his way to the classroom.

"Wait!" she calls after him, the hallway quickly filling up with students walking around to get to their lockers and grab their stuff for the next class. He pauses for a second off to the side and waits for her to catch up so she doesn't lose him. "What's your name?" she asks when they're out of the busy main hallway and he smiles at her clear curiosity about him. "Jae" he says simply, not giving up any more information, waiting to see if she'll dig further. "Just Jae?" she asks wanting to know more. "Yep just Jae" he laughs a little "You're Lana right?" he asks and she's surprised for a second

"You know my name?" she asks with a tilt of her head. "Not until a few minutes ago. Your name is on your binder" he says nodding down towards the first item on top on the pile of things he's carrying for her. "Oh right" she says laughing nervously, thinking he might've asked someone about her. "Nice to meet you Lana" he says giving her a smile that makes her heart flutter.

Another thing about being a guardian is that I know exactly how she's feeling at all times which makes it easier to understand why she does the things that she does and how I can support her and guide her better.

"You too" she says and they continue on towards their class before Lana decides to speak up. "You're the new guy right? The one that everyone has been talking about?" she asks, I swear this girl never knows how to play it cool. "That depends, what have they been saying about me?" he says with a smirk. "That you're dark, mysterious, quiet and cute" she lists off being straight forward with him. "And what do you think? Do you think I fit the bill?" he says turning around to face her, leaning up against the wall in front of their classroom.

"Dark, yes. Mysterious, yes. Quiet, from the past few minutes I personally would say no" she responds and he chuckles a bit at that, again making her heart flutter. "And what about cute?" he asks, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards her, her eyes getting wider. "What about cute?" she says backing up a bit, trying to maintain some space between them still. 

"Do you think I'm cute?" he questions, cocking his head to the side. "I-" but before she can respond she is ironically saved by the bell. "Oh that's the bell, we should probably head in now" she says quickly making her way around him and scurrying into class. I watch as he smiles to himself and mutters "Cute" before making his way into the classroom right after her.

"Is this seat taken?" he asks, walking over to sit next to her and before Lana can respond the teacher answers for her. "Yes they are. Just stand off to the side and I'll figure out a place for you" Mr. Harden says and she looks up at Jae with an apologetic smile mouthing a quick sorry to him. "Of course Sir" Jae says and places her things down gently on her desk, going to do as he was instructed. 

"What's your name son?" Mr. Harden asks to which Jae perks up a bit, giving his name in return. "Well go ahead and take that seat over there so we can get class started" he says waving his hand towards a seat that is a few rows down from Lana's seat. She unknowingly follows Jae's ever move with her eyes until he takes his seat and notices her staring at him. She turns away and faces towards the board after glancing at him once more, and sees that he's giving her a sly smile. 

Once class ends she starts to pack up her things and before she's even able to pick up her books Jae is at her desk scooping them up for himself to carry again. "Don't you have your own classes to get to?" Lana questions, laughing at Jae's antics. "Yes, but I have a free period next. Can I walk you to your next class?" he questions with a tilt of his head. "Sure" she says and walks out of the class with him trailing behind her. 

"So, Jae" Lana starts, obviously still not letting up on her curious nature. "Yes?" he say falling in step with her. "Why did you switch schools?" she questions "Don't feel like you have to tell me, I'm just curious" she says realizing that she might be touching upon a sensitive topic. "Let's just say it's a family matter" he says simply. 

She mouthes a quick 'Oh' under her breath and soon a somewhat awkward tension starts to build. "I guess you could add another point to the mysterious category" he says trying to lighten her spirits, showing that her question didn't bother him. I mean it makes sense for someone to be curious about something like this so it's nice to see how easy going he is about it, even if he wants to keep it to himself. 

"Well this is me" she says stopping in front of her next class and turning to face him. "Thanks for letting me walk you to your class" Jae says and she tilts her head at him confused. "Shouldn't I be the one thanking you?" she questions. "You're welcome" he says making her smile from his cheeky tactics. "Thank you" she says and reaches out to take her books back from him, and as cheesy as it sounds when their hands touch a sudden spark of electricity goes off making her jolt back. 

They make eye contact for a moment and before either of them can say another word the bell goes off again. "I'll see you later?" he questions after giving her her books back. "Um yeah, see you later" she says nervously and watches as he disappears down the hallway. All I know is that I'm gonna have my hands full with this one, and I really can't say I'm looking forward to it.

Just when Lana walks into class the wind gets knocked out of me when suddenly the bracelet I once shared with Jungkook starts to light up leaving me frantic. "Jungkook?" I choke out, feeling overcome at the thought that he might be near. This bracelet should only be acting like this again if we're in the same realm, meaning that he's somewhere out here, and he's definitely close. 

I look around frantically hoping I might catch a glance at him but I'm not even sure what I should be looking for. I try to access his location but it seems like I'm not able to use that anymore since he fell, yet for some reason it still tells me he's here. The only reason he would be here would be if someone's guardian was replaced by a fallen angel and he has materialized. 

The one place I've escaped to to come and forget about him seems to have just turned into the place that I will surely be trapped in and forced to exist along side him. Forced to see what the consequences of his actions have led him to become... 

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