#could it be...? me... finding a way to not despise the sacrifice ending...?

[the-priestess-of-dawn]

Actually though now I AM getting the urge to essaypost about the sacrifice ending because... it occurs to me that perhaps "For once, I'm glad you and I are the same." might be a more significant line than I ever realized... If the Chrom ending represents Robin fundamentally changing as a person, then the sacrifice ending represents them NOT changing... but Chrom is insistent in both endings that Robin will always belong with him and the Shepherds. In the sacrifice ending, Robin comes back from death because of the strength of their bonds... but what does that mean?

You know, if you look at Medeus's death quotes in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery...

“Nngh… Defeated again… by humans! Know this, Altean prince… That light which surrounds you is only a temporary respite. So long as the darkness in your hearts continues to sustain me… I cannot be… destroyed…… Rrraaahhh!!!”

“GWAH…! WHY……? WHY… HAVE I… BEEN DEFEATED… SO EASILY…? IS THIS… THE POWER… …OF NAGA'S… Binding Shield…? KNOW THIS, HUMANS… THIS LIGHT IS ONLY A BRIEF RESPITE… SO LONG AS EVIL LURKS WITHIN THE HEARTS OF MAN… SHOULD THIS ACCURSED SHIELD BE LOST, WE SHALL RISE FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL… DO NOT… EVER FORGET…”

It seems to me that Medeus is saying that human hearts have the power to bring him back. I mean, yes, it could very easily be a metaphor. In fact, I think it largely IS figurative, but... The point is that this shit keeps happening because humans want it to happen, right? Like, Medeus was resurrected by GHARNEF; he basically just seized the opportunity this human gave him. Why wouldn't he expect it to happen again someday?

And Grima, of course, was revived by the Grimleal. We've got no word on whether Grima wanted their followers to do this after their original defeat (in fact, technically we do not not even know whether Grima consented to giving any humans their blood. It COULD be that they bestowed it on their followers as a show of favor. I also absolutely would not put it past the Grimleal to have collected Grima's spilled blood after the final battle with the First Exalt and used it for their own purposes... Especially because I do think that's most likely what Forneus did with Naga's blood to create Grima in the first place.). Regardless, Grima answered their followers' call and did exactly what they were asked to do.

And then we have Robin coming back. I think most of us presume that there was no specific revival ritual, but... still, fundamentally, isn't the same principle at play? The Shepherds called and they were answered. And Robin came back as Robin, Brandless and free from the power of the fell dragon, because that is who their loved ones asked for, and that is who Robin wanted to be, and I think in a world where magic exists then it makes perfect sense that a strong enough wish could literally manifest as a spell. (Tharja says in her supports with Ricken that "Curses are a kind of magic that gives life to dreams." so I'm inclined to think that this is very much how magic is intended to work.)

So the sacrifice ending becomes a twist on the cycle. Because the thing is, Robin chose destruction. Robin chose to use their power as Grima to bring about a final end—only in this world their conclusion is not that the world is unable to change and therefore must be destroyed, but that THEY are what cannot change and must be destroyed. "For once, I'm glad you and I are the same." They are embracing it. They are the fell dragon and they can't change but they can do the one thing they always do and destroy. This OUGHT to be a tragic ending where we're all left with the bitter feeling that nothing the hero OR the villain did ever truly mattered at all.

But we're challenging fate, right?

And the thing that Robin has that their future self did not is, of course, all the Shepherds reaching out for them. The original timeline Shepherds thought that Robin betrayed Chrom and then... presumably ran off to serve Grima or whatever (since nobody knows that Robin BECAME Grima). And so there was no one to beg Grima to come back and be with them. No shared wish strong enough to create a miracle. The tragedy played out straightforwardly.

But it was never inevitable. The tragedy didn't happen because there is something inherently wrong with Grima's being. Of course it didn't. They were not alone because they were unlovable but because Validar and the Grimleal had everything set up to ensure that Grima could not do anything but turn to them. ("These followers of Naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. Kill me, and you incur the wrath of the Grimleal as well… Would you truly choose to be so utterly alone?" Validar knew exactly what he was doing.)

So with the sacrifice ending... perhaps we're really saying that Robin never needed to change. That even if they never give up this perspective of theirs—that they're a no-good and repulsive being, that they're powerless to change anything, that all they can do is destroy—they're loved anyway, and there is room for them in the world no matter what.

[spectrumos]

I have to say I love miquella. I adore his aspirations and desire to relieve the suffering of others.

but he has suicide bomb soldiers in the Haligtree!

I aint TRUSTING someone who can charm people and has fucking SUICIDE BOMBERS. No matter what justification you have for that! Whether they figured out how to do that on their own, or Miquella just intended to give them a blessing, or whatever you can think of.

A leader who commands that level of belief and fanaticism, whether intentional or not, NEEDS to look in a fucking mirror.

LIKE, HOLY FUCK

Soldiers shouldn't WANT to sacrifice their lives! A kind leader would want them to try to fucking survive, yeah?

I know I couldn't stand the idea that someone, BECAUSE of their belief in our cause, or worse, their belief in ME!? would choose to MARTYR themselves rather than run!

Edit: I've taken a closer look at the haligtree soldier ashes and it says they only started exploding after he'd been gone for a long time.

But it still reflects on Miquella's existing pattern of leadership.

Idolatry.

I understand that he likely views this as completely normal, due to what culture he was raised in, but you shouldn't be a ruler and literally a subject of worship at the same time. If Miquella never came back, and his charm broke, the people there would still worship him.

Soldiers who decide to blow themselves up just to get you back home rather than organize and work together to improve their situation is highly reflective on you as a leader.

acting like Shadow of the Erdtree was a straight up lie, a retcon, and betrayal of the previous writing on Miquella is honestly very fucking irritating.

It's a consistent expansion on his character. Someone who's so desperate to do the right thing that they're utterly blind to the folly of the actions they've taken along the way, or FAR worse, rationalizes and justifies them?

Someone who's childhood taught him that nobody could be trusted to help him if they're not loyal to his cause. maybe too loyal.

Somebody who refuses to shed blood as sacrifice and instead sheds himself. But dooms the world in doing so (Were the tarnished not there to stop him) with the fucking strongest man in the world at the vanguard?

How is he going to spread his order? Hugs?

I find it disturbing he seems to accept the necessity of war but would rather sacrifice his own judgement than sacrifice lives for godhood.

I don't know of that's weird of me but whatever.

screaming

Additionally, the defense of Miquella's charm being "he used it in an ethical way" is fucking laughable and I utterly despise it.

That power is unethical.

Full. Stop.

Coercion is already evil. (Yes, our society does it all the time. It may effectively be a natural part of life, but it's still used to oppress.)

And directly influencing someone's mind in a way they literally cannot resist (the only person who could resist it was the tarnished because we got his great rune) is far worse!

No person, god, or BEING can just use a power like that ethically. The power to do that is a temptation in and of itself.

Try to look at things from an angle of power imbalance, will yah? There's a reason power corrupts etc. is a saying.

Whenever a person holds great power, no matter how pure their intentions, they will misuse it and cause suffering.

Which is why I could never willingly let Miquella become a god. I'd sooner see him dead than that, because there's no way he could possibly make himself "pure" enough by removing fucking pieces of his very self!

A god who never feels doubt, indecision, fear, and love?

That's just a tyrant with even more tyranny than before!

A leader HAS to doubt their actions! If they cannot doubt, there's no room for anyone to protest their decisions!

The options, given his powers, are coercion, literally either killing those who resist, or fucking brainwashing them!

in the end, this game, and this dlc, are

A FUCKING.

TRAGEDY.

ALWAYS HAS BEEN!

Rant over. Sorry if this hurt anyone's feelings, I'm just so irritated it's turned to anger, and I NEEDED to let it out.

[gendrie]

arya and melisandre are really interesting foils to me. i don’t think it ever gets discussed, though. theres not really a lot of overlap between arya fans and team dragonstone fans i guess lol. but arya and melisandre are the only female povs to truly practice sorcery. theres so much to compare and contrast between them. at the start of the series arya is only 9 years old. she is just a child and the youngest female pov. melisandre is much, much older. we don’t even know how old, but she’s been practicing magic “for years beyond count” so...she’s the oldest pov by far. 

they're represented by contrasting elements: water and fire. melisandre has a serene aura. arya has a more wild temperament. melisandre is statuesque. arya is petite. both are described as being slender and graceful. they speak several tongues including high valyrian. 

While the boy was gone, Melisandre washed herself and changed her robes. Her sleeves were full of hidden pockets, and she checked them carefully as she did every morning to make certain all her powders were in place. (Melisandre, ADWD)

Last of all she threw her cloak across her shoulders. It was a real mummer's cloak, purple wool lined in red silk, with a hood to keep the rain off, and three secret pockets too. She'd hid some coins in one of those, an iron key in another, a blade in the last. (Arya, TWOW) 

they’re both fairly unconventional for their gender too. neither could be called a “proper” (ie: submissive) lady. they are driven and dangerous. melisandre comes to be seen as stannis’ “true queen” but she views herself as a knight in her own way. she casts an illusion to look very appealing and yet she’s also deeply intimidating to most. stannis is impressed with melisandre’s ability to inspire fear even in grown men. 

“I have ships . . . and I have her. The red woman. Half my knights are afraid even to say her name, did you know? If she can do nothing else, a sorceress who can inspire such dread in grown men is not to be despised. A frightened man is a beaten man. And perhaps she can do more. I mean to find out.” (Davos, ACOK)

Gendry and Hot Pie did not question her choice. She had the map, after all, and Hot Pie seemed almost as terrified of her as of the men who might be coming after them. He had seen the guard she'd killed. It's better if he's scared of me, she told herself. That way he'll do like I say, instead of something stupid. (Arya, ASOS) 

arya has a fierce reputation to those who know her but she’s only a small child and vulnerable so most don’t view her as a potential threat. she shares her soul with a ferocious direwolf and aims to embody those traits herself. she is a leader by nature. arya has gotten boys to follow her command despite being younger and a girl. 

Melisandre paid the naked steel no mind. If the wildling had meant her harm, she would have seen it in her flames. Danger to her own person was the first thing she had learned to see, back when she was still half a child, a slave girl bound for life to the great red temple. It was still the first thing she looked for whenever she gazed into a fire. (ADWD) 

relatively speaking, we don’t know a lot about melisandre, but we do know she was a slave at one point and likely from humble origins. she has devoted her life in service to r’hllor. whatever connected her to her old life is a distant memory. 

“We are but servants of the God of Many Faces." "Valar dohaeris." All men must serve. "You know the words, but you are too proud to serve. A servant must be humble and obedient." "I obey. I can be humbler than anyone." (Arya, ADWD)

arya has been enslaved too, but she was born the daughter of a great lord and lady. as her house has fallen arya is driven across the narrow sea to the temple of the many faced god. she is trying to be a servant of god, but the results are mixed. arya has a lot of previous allegiances because of her place in the world. she will not be able to make the sacrifice in the end. 

"A shadow is a thing of darkness." "You are more ignorant than a child, ser knight. There are no shadows in the dark. Shadows are the servants of light, the children of fire. The brightest flame casts the darkest shadows." (Davos, ACOK)

"All gods have their instruments, men and women who serve them and help to work their will on earth. “ (Arya, AFFC) 

both of their storylines are deeply involved with religion. arya is in religious training currently and she has significant interactions with all the major religions in asoiaf. arya is tolerant and curious. even if she is a bit skeptical of the gods in general. the gods she truly follows of the old gods of the north. 

Through the leafy canopy she could see the bone-white branches of the heart tree. It looks just like the one in Winterfell from here. If only it had been . . . then when she climbed down she would have been home again, and maybe find her father sitting under the weirwood where he always sat. (Arya, ACOK) 

for a character who hasn’t stepped foot in the north since her first chapter weirwoods are an important symbol in arya’s storyline. they represent her faith and culture, her identity and her family, her past and her future. they show up in every book for her in one form or another. 

The weirwood was the heart of Winterfell, Lord Eddard always said . . . but to save the castle Jon would have to tear that heart up by its ancient roots, and feed it to the red woman's hungry fire god. I have no right, he thought. Winterfell belongs to the old gods. (Jon, ASOS) 

melisandre would have burned the weirwood at winterfell if jon had accepted stannis’ offer to become jon stark, lord of winterfell. that’s why he rejected it. 

The red woman walked round the fire three times, praying once in the speech of Asshai, once in High Valyrian, and once in the Common Tongue. Davos understood only the last. "R'hllor, come to us in our darkness," she called. "Lord of Light, we offer you these false gods, these seven who are one, and him the enemy. Take them and cast your light upon us, for the night is dark and full of terrors." (Davos, ACOK) 

melisandre is not tolerant or curious. she views any religion that is not r’hllor as false. arya is familiar with r’hllor too. she has seen men rise from the dead before. she knows thoros of myr another red priest who receives visions too.

Soon she could even feel the heat in the air, as red R'hllor's worshipers lifted their voices in prayer. "For the night is dark and full of terrors," they prayed. Not for me. Her nights were bathed in moonlight and filled with the songs of her pack, with the taste of red meat torn off the bone, with the warm familiar smells of her grey cousins. Only during the days was she alone and blind. (Arya, ADWD) 

a major factor in this faith is fear of death and darkness. that is what melisandre preaches. she is terrified of the dark and won’t even let the lights go out in her chambers. which i think is a fascinating character trait for a character as old as her. fear of the dark is a trait associated with children. but arya, the child, learns early on to not fear the darkness. 

She had no time for sleep, with the weight of the world upon her shoulders. And she feared to dream. Sleep is a little death, dreams the whisperings of the Other, who would drag us all into his eternal night. (Melisandre, ADWD)

mel is afraid to dream and rarely sleeps because of it. she associates both with the great other. 

Some mornings Arya did not want to wake at all. She would huddle beneath her cloak with her eyes squeezed shut and try to will herself back to sleep. If the Hound would only have left her alone, she would have slept all day and all night. And dreamed. That was the best part, the dreaming. She dreamed of wolves most every night. A great pack of wolves, with her at the head. (Arya, ASOS) 

even if she sometimes struggles with nightmares(/depression) dreams have been a great source of comfort for arya more often than not. 

“The night is dark and full of terrors, the day bright and beautiful and full of hope. One is black, the other white. There is ice and there is fire. Hate and love. Bitter and sweet. Male and female. Pain and pleasure. Winter and summer. Evil and good." She took a step toward him. "Death and life. Everywhere, opposites. Everywhere, the war." (Davos, ASOS) 

the stance that melisandre takes is somewhat extreme. she subscribes to a completely black and white morality. melisandre's entire mission is to fight against death. she has done a better job than most. but even melisandre the red priestess of asshai cannot escape death forever. 

The kindly man chuckled. "He is a man like any other, with light in him and darkness. It is not for you to judge him." That gave her pause. "Have the gods judged him?" (Arya, ADWD) 

the faceless men are, obviously, a problematic institution, but they are teaching arya valuable lessons. the order is represented by the colors black and white - but they’re not at war. they are in balance. imo, this is going to be the outcome of the war to come. you cannot beat death. the faceless men are right when they say “valar morghulis”

"You are safe here. This is the House of Black and White, my child. Though you are young to seek the favor of the Many-Faced God." "Is he like the southron god, the one with seven faces?" "Seven? No. He has faces beyond count, little one, as many faces as there are stars in the sky. In Braavos, men worship as they will . . . but at the end of every road stands Him of Many Faces, waiting. He will be there for you one day, do not fear. You need not rush to his embrace." (Arya, AFFC) 

the hob&w, according to the kindly man, is “a place of peace” where death is “not the worst thing” and “always gentle”. the many faced god is the god of death and is therefore, likely, the great other from an entirely different perspective. death, despair, darkness are all parts of the human experience. they are often painful and scary, but everyone has to face them. 

Jon Snow turned to Melisandre. "What sorcery is this?" "Call it what you will. Glamor, seeming, illusion. R'hllor is Lord of Light, Jon Snow, and it is given to his servants to weave with it, as others weave with thread." [...] She made it sound a simple thing, and easy. They need never know how difficult it had been, or how much it had cost her. That was a lesson Melisandre had learned long before Asshai; the more effortless the sorcery appears, the more men fear the sorcerer. (Melisandre, ADWD)

"This will hurt," he warned her, "but pain is the price of power. Do not move." "Mummers change their faces with artifice," the kindly man was saying, "and sorcerers use glamors, weaving light and shadow and desire to make illusions that trick the eye. These arts you shall learn, but what we do here goes deeper. Wise men can see through artifice, and glamors dissolve before sharp eyes, but the face you are about to don will be as true and solid as that face you were born with."

She probed around inside her mouth with her tongue, but found no holes or broken teeth. Sorcery, she thought. I have a new face. An ugly, broken face. (Arya, ADWD)

they might be on opposing teams but the skills they use have quite a bit of overlap. both utilize sorcery and bloodmagic. these are difficult, costly, painful things to learn. melisandre is a very impressive sorceress because she’s studied her craft for so long. she is able to work several glamors at once. she’s also able to do her whole shadow baby assassin thing. 

if arya stuck around with the faceless men long enough she would learn glamor too. it’s not the faceless men’s trademark, though. they use bloodmagic from valyria to create disguises that cannot be seen through using the faces of the dead. arya’s been trained and has a sharp eye to begin with. i think if her and melisandre met arya would be able to see past her glamor which would be a really cool perspective. 

"The heart is all that matters. Do not despair, Lord Snow. Despair is a weapon of the enemy, whose name may not be spoken. Your sister is not lost to you." "I have no sister." The words were knives. What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister? Melisandre seemed amused. "What is her name, this little sister that you do not have?" "Arya." His voice was hoarse. "My half-sister, truly …" (Jon, ADWD) 

“I told you that the Lord of Light would hear your prayers. You wanted a way to save your little sister and still hold fast to the honor that means so much to you, to the vows you swore before your wooden god." She pointed with a pale finger. "There he stands, Lord Snow. Arya's deliverance. A gift from the Lord of Light … and me." (Melisandre, ADWD) 

arya is completely unaware of melisandre’s existence, but the opposite is not true. melisandre has become an important figure on the wall. she is the one who comes up with the idea to send mance south to rescue “arya”. it seems melisandre is going to become a valuable ally to jon snow (she’s gonna bring his ass back to life lbr) and in the fight against the others. 

The king would only want to marry [Arya] to one of his own men, Horpe or Massey or Godry Giantslayer, and the gods alone knew what use the red woman might want to make of her. (Jon, ADWD)

it’s likely her and arya will cross paths at some point. it’s one of the meetings i’d be most excited to see. 

[catacropolis]

Twisted Wonderland Fear and Hunger AU

Jamil Viper

Jamil Moonschorching

The Deceiver

Growing up as a servant for the Asim family meant that every day was filled with strict responsibilities and menial tasks. His main duty as a servant of the Asims was to tend to the every whim of the heir of the Asim silk industry, Kalim. He hated him. The Asim silk industry was a thriving and highly successful conglomerate of fine and expensive fabrics. And their heir Kalim was probably the least fit person to run the company. As pampered as a pet , Kalim was a naive fool and Jamil despised him for it. He had spent years of his youth trying his hardest to teach the young heir about the responsibilities of his position and prepare him for his life ahead of him and yet he couldn't understand how the young man couldn't grasp such simple concepts. 

He would find himself spending his off time dreaming of what life could be like if he were Kalim. To him it was clear as day that the heir was incompetent and Jamil himself showed such promise. Above all he wished for a better life for him and his family. They were all talented and strong willed individuals. It seemed frankly ridiculous why they were not in power as he grew older. 

When Jamil reached the age of 13 his family began training him in studies of Gro-goroth The god of human sacrifices. Utilising his teachings he became skilled in magic associated with Gro-goroth.  When getting involved with the old gods he has been warned about the corruptive side of Gro-groth’s power. Learning to balance his power to the best of his abilities the underbelly of the Asim house assisted in Jamil's training believing that he would become the ultimate bodyguard for the heir. 

Unbeknownst to them, Jamil's hatred towards Kalim grew day by day. His patience wearing thinner before after years of his loyalty to the house he snapped. He had hurt Kalim . the person he had dedicated his entire livelihood to protecting. A part of him reveled in the power that his actions gave him but the realisation of the consequences dawned on him like an angry cloud. 

If the head of the house found out about his actions he and his family would truly meet a fate worse than death. 

With what little resolve he had left he fled the house and swore vengeance upon Kalim if his family was endangered . wandering the endless deserts of his homecountry he found himself on a train headed to Prehivil. 

Jaim and kalim both embody multiple roles in twst alone one that stuck out to me recently was chapter 7s connection to jamil being the genie 

And in a way it makes a lot of sense so the design is also somewhat reflective of that 

He's still trapped in this life that he desperately wants to escape from but he's lived this life for as long as he can remember so he doesn't even know how to live outside of that responsibility but he also so desperately wants to escape from that life 

Twst Jamil has expressed his interest in leaving. leaving the scalding sands and his old life behind and exploring the world and going somewhere that he has never been, that's nothing like the life he's had to live till now. 

Unlike the genie his master can't just wish for his freedom and it will be granted . kalim doest have that power his father does . 

 (I have a lot of thoughts about the complexities of Jamil and Kalim as people their dynamic is so convoluted and morally gray on both ends that neither is completely innocent or guilty and it's so fascinating) 

( could you tell that Jamil is one of my fav characters to think about ) 

 The multiple heads of the snakes is a combination of a few different design ideas 

First, its a reference to the snake hair Jamil gets in his ob design.

Second, i wanted to feel a lot like a gorgon head of snakes.

Third, the multiple heads represent Jamil's inner conflict of wanting to escape from his old life but not knowing how to since it's all he's ever known ( ex . Levi after the war returning to Prehevil despite all the pain it caused him because other than war Prehivil is all he knows and despite not liking the town doesn't know where else he could go )

The deceiver is a being of self-interest trapped by outside forces and despite its monstrous power, it can't break away from its own chains. In losing himself he loses any chance to find the life he wanted for himself. trapped in a fate controlled by higher powers once again.  His legs twist together into a solid pillar forming like an incomplete snake's tail. His appearance shifts into one resembling a naga . his legs becoming one restrict his movement only further imprisoning him into the reality he finds himself to be in. 

He is the deceiver yet he hides no part of himself. An example I could correlate this to would be Samaries moonscorching. dysmorphia is the embodiment of Samries view of herself and her deteriorating body and yet when she becomes dysmorphia she is happy in a way  and calls herself radiant 

Similarly, the deceiver shows the hidden truth and most vulnerable aspects of jamil that he keeps hidden from the world 

Samarie was one of the inspirations for his moonscorched form 

One of the abilities the deceiver would have is mind control ( ex the father snail enemies)

A lot of his attacks would probably be less physical and more mental/ psychological attacks that drain mind 

 Jamil would become the deceiver Day 2 morning  if the player during day 2 morning fails to encounter jamil and doppleganger kalim 

In the interaction, Jamil is within the city of Prehevil when he comes across a doppelganger Kalim if the player does not expose the doppelganger to Jamil his encounter with Kalim will escalate  causing him to Moonscorch ( ex Samarie and Marina)

for more information about this au

Au Masterpost

[000-pawz]

" fantasy romance tropes " bnd series masterlist °｡⋆⸜ 🪽♡🪄

coming soon!

a/n: i was listening to dawn in the adan by ichiko aoba and got inspired to start a series! i barely see any fantasy stuff on here and i'm a big lover of it so here this is :3 <3 (p.s. there won't be an order to posting! it'll be random >3<) i tried to put my own spin on these tropes, so i hope you guys look forward to them! <3

"bloom for me" - sungho x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

angel sungho x human!reader | modern-day au, forbidden love, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

"sungho has been assigned to be your guardian angel, to look after you from afar, and to make sure you stay out of harm's way. the only rules? don't get too close and never interfere with true fate. but when you find yourself in a dark place, unsure of whether life is truly worth living, sungho finds himself unable to simply sit around and watch you fall apart. he wants to show you the light; even if he must sacrifice everything he has even known for it."

"night life stars" - riwoo x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

elf!riwoo x human!reader | old fantasy au, forbidden love, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, strangers to lovers

"growing up, you've always been told to never pass the flower field in the woods and to stay far away from elf territory because everyone knows that elves are the most violent creatures in the forest. one summer, a drought spreads throughout your village, and while fetching water from a stream in the woods for your family, you end up slipping and hitting your head on a rock. when you finally wake up, your eyes immediately lock on to a pair of glimmering green ones. eyes that belong to the enemy itself."

"safest sounds"- jaehyun x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

hybrid!jaehyun x human!reader | modern-day au, hybrids & humans, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, strangers to lovers, living together

"after another tiring day at work, you're walking back to your apartment when you hear soft cries coming from an alleyway. with your undeniable curiosity, you go to find the source of sound—and much to your surprise, you find an abandoned hybrid curled up in a ball, shivering from the cold. with a promise to take him to a shelter when the sun rises, you let him come home with you so he can eat and have a warm place to sleep for the night. in the morning, though, you discover that this hybrid has already claimed you as his owner."

"seneca" - taesan x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

magic!taesan x non-magic!reader | modern-day magic, rivals to lovers, fluff, hurt/comfort

"han taesan. the bane of your existence. he's been your academic rival at your boarding school ever since you transferred a few years ago, and you have despised him ever since. on your way home one day, you end up encountering some people looking for trouble. in the blink of an eye, taesan is there to help you get away, but something is off. might it be his glowing hands and eyes? no, no, no. you must only be imagining things... but taesan's threat to keep everything a secret says otherwise."

"dance on the moon" - leehan x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

mermaid!leehan x human!reader | pirate au, angst, emotional hurt/comfort, hidden love

"there's nothing more that you hate than working as a maid on this deck. your captain and crew are worse than scum and you miss home every day, but you must do as they say if you want to survive. one stormy night, the crew catches a mermaid in their net while in the pits of the sea and your captain declares to sell him on the market as soon as they reach land. but when you become tasked to watch over the poor mermaid every night, you end up promising to help him escape back to his home. maybe he could find a way to help you escape too."

"seek for warmth" - woonhak x reader ˚ ⋆｡˚

vampire!woonhak x vampire!reader | vampire au, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

"woonhak never asked to be a vampire; he never wanted to live a life he didn't choose and be cursed to live forever. thankfully, there's another fledgling in the coven who sees the light still shining in his undead eyes. you're there with him through the insatiable hunger and the yearning for a past he never had the chance to live, holding his hand through it all. eventually, he begins to find solace in your warmth despite his fingers being cold to the touch."

masterlist

[sebadztian]

So, I saw a couple of posts about a topic that's so common in Kuro, it's starting to get old: How antis despise Sbcl (and its shippers) and what's wrong with this pairing (and Yana too somehow??).

Those who've been following me for a while know that I kind of ship Sebaciel. I might even have written a fanfic or two about them.

In most of my works, they're often decipted as this lovey-dovey romantic couple who are so attached to each other. They're this 'perfect' couple that everyone envied because they're just so sweet. A lovely story about a boy and his domesticated demon butler-slash-boyfriend.

But here's the thing...

If they started to hug and kiss and says 'I love you's in the manga, I'm probably going to drop it real quick. Why? Because that's not what Kuro is about.

Kuro is a dark story about a boy who has lost everything, who has had his world taken away from him and the length that he's willing to go to achieve his goals.

It's a story about humanity and its ugliness, about what being human is like, about how manipulative, greedy, deceiving, revolting, and ignorant humans could be. But at the same time, it also talks about humanity's strength, resilience, empathy, and forgiving nature.

Even the way 'love' is decipted in the story is not the kind of 'love' that would make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

In the Kuroverse, the word 'love' has different meanings for different characters.

For Lizzy, love means being Ciel's 'perfect' wife, even if she has to sacrifice a part of herself.

For Madam Red, she had loved - and lost - two of the most important people in her life and her conflicted feelings were what led her down that path.

For Sieglinde's mother, her love for her country and her husband has pushed her to sacrifice her own daughter.

For Agni, his love and devotion to Soma has led him to a path of redemption and in the end, it has cost him his own life.

For Joker and the rest of the circus troupe, they love each other so much, they chose to turn a blind eye towards the error of their way, choosing to sacrifice their own humanity for each other's sake.

And for our Ciel, he loved his brother so much that he chose to 'kill' himself to keep his brother 'alive'. (Of course there's also the whole thing about the low self-esteem stuff, but we're not going to talk about that here).

And for Sebastian, well, love means cats. He's simple like that.

So, if you're here screamig at us Sebaciel shippers about a pedo demon, about how Ciel & Sebas hate each other, about how wrong it is to ship them, and how Yana has never meant for them to be a couple...

My friend, you're wasting your time, breath, and energy because WE KNOW.

We know Kuro is not about some romantic couple who lived in a nice neighbourhood and they're friends with their neighbours whom they say 'Good morning' to whenever they leave the house in the morning.

We know that Kuro is not a story about love and romance and all things awesome. In fact, Kuro is very, very ugly. And yet, it's exactly why it's also so fascinating and beautiful.

This is a story where the protagonist is a demon who sees humans as grasshoppers. But at the same time, he also finds them fascinating. It's like this whole Kuroverse is Sebastian's own personal research lab and the other characters are his lab rats, with Ciel being his favourite hamster.

If you're looking for sweet romance, you're not going to find it in Kuro. That's what fanfics and AUs and all those headcanons are for.

And if you still don't get it... Well, then you probably should read something more lighthearted...

[2346khith]

Bi Han’s irony and pain

So I was doing some research for my mortal kombat au when I came across Bi Han tower ending from the first game.

This stuck out as a little weird to me because well… retiring? From the Lin Kuei? The clan who kills people without remorse? Who are willing to kidnap children to recruit to their ranks? Who will sacrifice their members to create cyborgs. Who are willing to team up with know threats to Outworld? Yeah, if anything I think it more likely Bi Han was going to run away from the Lin kuei and you live off the money he got from the kill. But then that got me thinking… since is from first timeline, he was born in America and raised there with his mother right? What if he was specifically trying to run away to America to find his mom. Okay yes I know that probably not what they intended but ,at least for me it makes sense. We’ve already other timeline Bi Han’s having high reverence for their mothers.

What to say original timeline Bi Han the same. But that got thinking on how that might explain Bi Han actions. Again hear me out. We know Bi Han tends to be more hotheaded and aggressive than his younger brother. But what if the reason for that isn’t arrogance or bloodlust but anger at the Lin kuei itself. Imagine your just living your life as a normal child when all of a sudden you’re kidnapped but some strange people to work for them, forced into hard training regime your body isn’t used too and forced to commit horrific acts at such a young age. We don’t know how old Bi Han was when he was taken but we do know he was a kid when it happened so his mind and sense of self were still developing and he had some time to live a normal life before he was taken. His stubbornness and hotheaded nature were a result of him angry at the Lin kuei for taking what essentially his life away. And maybe his more aggressive ways could be due to trauma caused by the Lin kuei, damaging his mental state. This might also explain Kuai Liang as well. We don’t know how old he was when he was kidnapped but what if he was only a baby when it happened. He wouldn’t have know any other life other than the Lin Kuei. The harsh training and killing wouldn’t affect him as much because in his mind it this was normal. He wouldn’t have a reason to be more angry or aggressive because to him this was fine. Heck who knows maybe while Bi Han may have become more aggressive he could’ve taught his brother about morality to ensure his brother didn’t go down as much of a violent path as the rest of the Lin kuei. Maybe this is why he spared Sareena, not just because of mercy specifically but because he saw another soul who was forced into a life they didn’t want and he was felt bad for her and wanted to give her a chance. But honestly the thing that stuck out the most was the complete irony of his situation later on his life. This is a version of sub zero who constantly fought for his freedom, yet when it was in his grasp, he was killed. And when he entered the Netherrealm, even there he wasn’t freed as he was then made into a servant of Shao Kahn and Quan Chi . Maybe that why he hates his brother in that timeline. Kuai Liang escaped the Lin Kuei, he was free yet he went back to the Lin kuei he wasted his chance which Bi Han in his alter state despises. Or maybe he was envious of the time Kuai was free, feeling that it should have been him. Maybe he tried to take over the Lin kuei to destroy it or build it into something else so no one else would feel the pain he felt. I know all of this seems illogical and stupid and it probably wasn’t what Netherrealm had intended but I can’t help think what could’ve have been, something that could’ve made Bi Han more interesting. But nope now we got a Bi Han Lin kuei extremist who just completely evil and not broken. But hey the noob sailboat trailer gave some interesting hints, which could redeem his character. But then then again, we’ll have to wait and see.

[imminent-danger-came]

Very very sorry for the spam but you are the only person outside of my immediate friend group who enjoys both shadowpeach AND dragonfruit in the very specific way that I do 🛐🛐🛐

Like I am the BIGGESTTTTT believer in aroace swk who has only ever really loved mcq in That Specific Way. Like not romantic but also not completely platonic— he loved him and he loved him in a way he never loved anyone else which is what mattered most. And mcq I see as...idk! Maybe he's aroace too, regardless I think he also loved and only loved swk BECAUSE he was swk. That is all that ever mattered to him. That it was swk. Loyal to a fault; even after swk hurt him so much, even after he hurt swk just as much. (Haha this is just like I'm Your Man by Mitski—)

And I do NOT see them as cutesy or as like a sweet and domestic couple. They are FAR from over their many, many issues and they will always have that bit of toxicity and hurt no matter how much they may hypothetically mellow out bc the ways in which they hurt each other WAS unforgivable. But the thing is, does that even matter? Does it matter if they'll still love each other anyways? If, in the end, all they ever wanted was to be by each others side even as they were covered in each others blood and blinded by their own heartbreak, anger, and hatred. Love. Obsession. Whatever it was that they felt for each other.

I also like,,, even if they somehow hypothetically hot their shit together enough to be a "functioning couple", I do not see them w any of the typical relationship labels like I think mcq would hurl if u called swk his boyfriend, husband, lover, etc like PLEASE I understand not everyone will have the same opinions and ship dynamics and I respect it, but I have a very specific view on their relationship and they are neither romantic or platonic, but a secret third thing. But they are also actually both. Whatever it is, it's love. A love that grew sharp and bent in its intensity when that love festered into a hatred that edged the line of obsession far too many times to ever be "normal" hatred.

Okay I think I've ranted enough. For now. Thankyou very much if u read all of this I have so very many shadowpeach thoughts 🛐

OMG HELLO

You are the only person outside of my immediate friend group who understands shadowpeach the way I do

I could honestly also read Macaque as allo, but no matter what their relationship is so aspec/arospec to me. Like whatever their bond was, it didn't matter because they had each other. Until they didn't. Until they knew their relationship was one of hatred. Until it was somehow even more complicated.

What drives me crazier is at this point, they would both choose MK over each other. It's pretty clear that Macaque expected Wukong to sacrifice himself in MK's place v ("He needs to know it's not all on him" "It doesn't always have to be you!" "Get the kid you idiot" "Wukong..."), because that was what he was willing to loose. He had already lost Wukong before, but MK? He's someone neither Macaque or Wukong could bear leaving them (the way they left each other). Like s5 committed so hard in the run motif ("You're the one always running off!"), and MK has been set up to be the one to leave Wukong since like s2.

It's also rare for me to run into another dragonfruit fan!! Tbh it is kinda just the text, but I find them so interesting. Like what if Mei handled the worst parts of Red Son better than he ever did. What if their mentor/mentee dynamic parallels MK and Macaque ("You don't use a weapon, you ARE a weapon! - "Don't use the flame Mei..." "Be the flame!"). What if Red Son knew Mei would stop at nothing to free his parents, the way he stopped at nothing to free her.

But also, what if Red Son was Mei's silly rabbit.

I know some people despise 5x05, but the truth is that Red Son has always been a support character to Mei. Even in AHiB, Mei and Red Son are often singled out together (ilu Mei saving MK and "I'll handle this" scenes). It's more obvious in 1x06 or 1x08, where Mei and Red are both racers and, of course, "Red flames are cool! Want to see some green ones?". RoTSQ focuses entirely on Mei and Red Son's relationship, which is continued into 3x06 and beyond.

Thank you for the rant it was a good read!

[albondiguilla007]

Time travel Sirry

This is definitely my guilty pleasure. Sirry feels very taboo at times, (especially if you have a Marauders background lol), but god I love it. Their dynamic is usually so explosive and breath-catching, ughh. The yearning, the anger, the trauma!

Anyways, here are some of my favorite time travel fics. If you’re new to the ship I’d recommend starting with Chained, you’ll be hooked in no time.

Enjoy!

✨ and I Looked Back on a Broken World / 183k / “This is the most stupid thing you’ve ever done!” Hermione yells after Harry. Then she blinks. They’re no longer at Grimmauld Place and, sitting huddled together on a familiar four-poster bed with red hangings, are four teenaged boys, staring avidly at them. Well, this is just brilliant, she thinks. “And you didn’t even get the year right!”

Or: the one in which Harry is done with the war and thinks it’s time he got something he wanted for a change. He misses his godfather, goddammit.

Hermione’s and Harry’s friendship is top-tier. Plus, I’ll always have a soft spot for Harry interacting with the Marauders. Must read.

✨ Chained / 66k / Harry accidentally time travels to 1979, where he gets captured by the Order of the Phoenix. There's a catch — from the moment they set eyes on Harry's Dark Mark, they despise him.

*

“Finally awake… Death Eater?” the man spat spitefully.

Harry never would have imagined meeting like this.

The words “I can explain” were stuck on the tip of his tongue. But all that came out was a soft, strangled, “Sirius.”

The Sirry fic by excellence. Simply mind-blowing. If you’re gonna read any of these fics, let it be this one.

✨ The Man Out of Time / 23k / Harry gets hit with a piece of the veil, and falls into Sirius's past. And back again.

Loosely inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife.

I loved the dynamic between Harry and Sirius. It’s pretty different from other Sirry fics, which I enjoyed a lot. Plus, the drama? Cheff kiss.

✨ Time Turned Back / 182k / Broken and angry after losing Sirius fifth year, Harry recklessly puts himself in harms way, dragging Hermione along for the ride. Now they are stuck in another time with some all too familiar faces. Will the time with lost loved ones heal Harry or end up doing more damage?

✨ The Laws of Defence / 60k / The one where Harry gets sent back to 1977 to finish off Voldemort before he could get started, but he didn’t anticipate having to mark homework in between hunting horcruxes. Again.

✨Shattering Timelines / 80k / After realizing the war destroyed almost everything he ever cared about, Harry sets out to find a way to go back in time to save his family and fix it all. Even if it means destroying his timeline in order to protect his family.

✨ dogged / 11k / "I'm handsome," Sirius says, hugging his pillow in the dark. "I'm smart. I'm strong. I'm charismatic. I have experience with tons of people, who wanted to shag me and liked me a lot. I defend him, I admire him, I've been nice to Sniv-- Snape, lately--"

James groans. "Go the bloody fuck to sleep!" Peter, the lucky sod, is dead to the world and lets out a loud snore.

"I need Professor Evans to give me a chance," Sirius continues. "I could be so good for him. He needs someone like me. He's so--" Sirius yelps as a Stinging Hex hits him in the face from the direction of Remus' bed

✨ Better im the Morning / 20k / When Harry sacrifices himself to protect the ones he loves most, Voldemort's Killing Curse sends him hurtling back in time to 31 October 1981, but he arrives too late to save his parents. A grieving Harry decides to rescue Sirius Black from a future of misery and imprisonment and brings Sirius to hide in the Hut-on-the-Rock.

Momentarily, Harry and Sirius try to forget all that they've lost.

[eris-snow]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

Tags: Izuku x gn!reader, angst, lots of angst, I was feeling angsty, implied bakudeku?, I want what they have.

Y/n sacrifices the memory of themself to save Izuku's life. Consequences, consequences

"Izuku?" You say. No one hears you, no one knows you. Then again, you've known that already.

Even still, you can't help but try.

It's the beginning of fall, the summer breeze fading away as leaves turn from green to pretty shades of red. The window is clear when you look inside. The house is empty, though, and you assume that he must be out for patrol.

Walking down the streets of Japan dulls your senses, bit by bit. It used to be the other way around when you were still around, your senses roared and your guard was high, but here, there is no need for that. Why was it necessary, when you're nothing but a ghost in this world?

Some people call it a blessing, you call it a curse. Fantastical, magical, even. But so, so cruel.

You love it, but you despise it.

You long for it, but you're repulsed by it.

But you've never once regretted what you've had to do.

Eyes searching, your footsteps echo with purpose. Just a touch of green, even a hair. You could find him in a crowd, your eyes draw to him like bees to a hive.

You just have to look.

Izuku?

He's there, of course. Always there, with his yellow scarf, and big green eyes. There with his pretty smile you'd fallen in love with and a heart of polished gold. He's so, so beautiful, scars and all.

You reach out, maybe if you call his name, he'll hear you.

"Izuku?" You try again.

His eyes don't waver, but he's not looking at you.

"Kacchan!" He says instead, as Katsuki swats him on the head. "Idiot, it's Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight when we're on the job, shit nerd!" Katsuki snarls.

You retract your hand, as both boys breeze past you. Of course they would, you're just a spectator, after all.

"I was thinking of having Katsudon-"

"No."

"But Kacchan-"

"NO YOU UNHEALTHY FUCK."

You smile, a little sadly, but are still grateful he's safe.

He looks so happy.

"You've meddled far too much in this story." The villain whispers. "Give it up, outsider. You weren't meant to be here."

It's true. It isn't right, for you to be here. It's not your place.

"But I still wanted you." You say, voice cracking.

Your feet stumble, one after another, as you weave through the crowd, following them silently.

Stalker, your mind whispers, freak. Get a life.

It's all you've ever learnt how to do, because you never did, have a life. Just play doll fantasies and isekai aspirations.

They do end up getting katsudon for dinner, even if Katsuki's mad about it. You've always known he's had a soft spot for Izuku. You've always known the competition you were against.

In the end, what you had with Izuku wasn't substantial. No matter how much you wanted it. It's like wearing an odd pair of socks. Even if it fits, both of you didn't match.

"Ah, shit." You whisper, feeling your vision blur, as you wipe your tears away, shaking your head. A lump settles in your pharynx.

No, no, this is right. This is correct.

This was how it was meant to be.

The tears don't stop coming. "Kacchan, stop! I promise, I'll do my paperwork next week. You never let up on organisation, Kacchan. Remember that one time when we were still children? You had a space for each toy box, a drawer for each category of game..."

You look up, and they aren't there anymore. Panicking, you spent about five minutes trying to find them when you realise them already making their way out of the restaurant.

"Ah, son of a turkey leg, it's raining," Katsuki complains, as Izuku chuckles at his side.

"Turkey leg?" He teases, opening up his umbrella.

A sob bubbles up your throat. A curse, a fucking curse this is.

"He'll forget all about you, and that's okay, isn't it? It was only when you came here did everything start going wrong. Don't tell me you thought this dream could last forever. Come on, didn't you say you wanted to be a hero?"

"Izuku," You whisper, voice broken and cracked. He doesn't hear you.

They walk, and you follow. Into the plunging rain, or flames of the underworld, or on the bloody battlefield or fire or hail, you follow because that's all you've ever known how to do. You follow, even though it hurts.

"How's that injury holding up?" Katsuki asks, checking his partner over. Izuku shakes his head. "I'm alright. Was sure a scare, though. I thought I wouldn't make it."

Everything is in place, as it was always meant to be.

The rain beats down on you mercilessly, and you feel cold. So, so cold. "Shut up, nerd. Of course you did."

You know you did the right thing because it stings so badly.

But I want that too.

You sniffle, as you see them, under their stupid umbrella with their stupid faces and stupid heart eyes.

I want it so bad.

Your hand is outstretched, and you watch your hand sink through his hand, eyes glossing all over.

Why can't I have what you two have?

At the heart of it, you're just a greedy child throwing a tantrum because things didn't go your way. Impulsive, self-absorbed, Living out a fantasy that ruins a carefully crafted story with characters real enough to fall for. Even so, as you see them, happy, the memory of you wiped from this world as you're left to wander as a ghost, you cower at how out of place you were no matter how much you tried to make yourself right at home.

"Izuku..." You whisper, as they turn away. The rain is pouring, and your sweater is soaked.

"Why can't I have a happy ending too?"

---

I watched some of Season 7, and a lot of edits

[duchess-of-mandalore]

Do you have any thoughts on what Satine and Obi-Wan's lives and/or the galaxy at large would have looked like if she'd survived the events of The Lawless?

Oh man, this premise has an infinite number of answers depending on where you go with it. But I think I can give some general principles.

Like ... for example, Satine survives The Lawless but Order 66 is subverted. Actually, I wrote a fic about that (Tethers of Inconvenience), where Satine pursues an arranged marriage with a senator from Kuat (Giddean Danu, a character in the RotS deleted scenes) who would be able to help her rebuild and protect Mandalore, which she finds difficult to do on her own since she humiliated Palpatine and the Senate in TCW Season 2.

But more generally, if she survives The Lawless, I think Obi-Wan takes her back to Coruscant and she lives with Padme. She begs the Senate and Jedi to assist in dealing with the mess on Mandalore. I think that Bo's able to take the planet back, and she and/or Korkie lead since her brainless, idiot, fake-news-believing people are still convinced that she killed Pre Vizsla with her own hands and caused the downfall of their city.

Then, let's say that Order 66 does happen. You've got two diverging roads: 1) Obi-Wan is able to find her and bring her to Tatooine with him, in which case they get to raise Luke together and have a kind of strangely (im)perfect happily ever after living a quiet life neither one of them had before (wonderfully explored in @mg024's Two New Hopes) ...

Or 2) He can't get to her and has to leave her when he goes into hiding, like in @the-obiwan-for-me's Krennictine AU. This has a similar premise to my Marriage AU but with Orson Krennic. In both our AUs, I think we're of the same mind that Satine never loses her personal idealism, but she becomes much more practically minded. I think the run-in with Maul proves to her that "Even extremists can be reasoned with" is much, much too hopeful. I think she's always prepared to sacrifice her personal happiness for her people if need-be, but there's always that piece of her that's longing for her happy ending.

Imperial-era Satine is fascinating because she's the one who characterized the idealism of the Republic but who was really spared suffering by dying before the rise of the Empire. Personally, I think that Palpatine would take very great joy in trying to smash her like a bug once he has no guardrails, given that she was one of the only people who publicly stood against him during the Clone War. I mean ... we kind of forget that after the Republic and the CIS, the largest political entity at play in the Clone War was the Council of Neutral Systems, led by Satine. She's a symbol of the Republic era and she wouldn't go quietly into the night once the man she's always despised proclaims himself Emperor.

I think Palpatine would immediately try to take over Mandalore (canonically, he did within the first year of his reign because he was still using a clone trooper army). In a SatineLives AU, whether he immediately succeeds would probably rest on whether she's willing to negotiate for her people's freedoms (like Bo did with Gideon in The Mandalorian), but even if she did, Palpatine would probably just renege on any agreement they had.

In general though, I lean more toward her giving up any claim to the throne permanently because she thinks Bo (and a Korkie hardened by both The Lawless and the rise of the Empire) can meet Mandalore's needs more than she can.

And if that's the case ... if she has no Mandalore and no Obi-Wan ... I could see her doing something like creating a relief organization that essentially goes from planet to planet cleaning up the effects of the Empire and then eventually becoming a secret organization focusing on saving and rehabilitating injured rebels. It's her way of maintaining her pacifistic ideals in a world where she no longer has the ability to remain fully neutral.

If anyone has any thoughts on these ideas or others of your own, I'd love to hear them!

[legitalicat]

From The Book Emerges a Man (Part 1) - Miraak x Reader

AN: This is my first official request made by my spiritual twin the lovely @foxyanon ! It is also my first proper Skyrim fanfic! I was surprised to find I enjoyed writing this as much as I did. I think I may be a Miraak girl now. Also Miraak's appearance is inspired by both this fanart by buttery_roll on Instagram!

Masterlist here!

Summary: Hermaeus Mora, often regarded as a demonic trickster, has sentenced you to be responsible for Miraak for the rest of his days. You can't help but despise the former Dragon Priest. Until you realize that he's only human.

TW: Tentacles (not inherently sexual in context but still), violence, weapons, mentions of blood, tension, forced proximity trope, TENSION, talks of a cult, enemies to friends, no romance YET, Hermaeus Mora, vampires, no reader description except wears a dress

Pairings: Past Miraak x OC

Word Count: 3.3k

The First of the Dragonborns and the Last Dragonborn. You could imagine the bards singing of this legendary battle for the rest of the Era. A mythical tale centuries, maybe a few millennia, in the making.

Yet, you couldn’t do it. Staring at the former Dragon Priest before you, an arrow notched in your bow as you were prepared to release the final piercing blow, when you came to the realization. Hermaeus Mora would only use you to the end of your days. Yet, if Miraak were to live, you would be free. Having slain his dragons, Miraak was no longer a threat to Nirn.

So, you dropped the bow and turned away. You would exit the way you came with the Black Book. You were free, and free you would remain.

“No,” Hermaeus Mora said, appearing before you as the Wretched Abyss.

“I leave. He lives. You lose,” you said angrily. “I am tired of being the plaything to bastards who won’t handle their business themselves!”

“You wish for me to handle my business myself? So be it,” his voice echoed around you as though it emerged from the very air of his realm.

Tentacles emerged from the oily pool behind you and wrapped themselves around your neck. For a moment, you were ready. Sovngarde was a better fate, where you were revered and rewarded for your sacrifices to the world, than to be at Mora’s will for the rest of his days.

“You think I will kill you? No, foolish mortal. It is not your time, and it is not your fate,” Mora said to you, toying with you. “You are slated for more…divine prospects.”

“Fuck you,” you uttered as the tentacles squeezed tighter, inadvertently lifting you off the ground.

“Even fate may be changed should one so desire,” he told you, your vision going fuzzy at the edges as you struggled for air. “And since you have decided you shall change his, he is now yours. After all, you have a debt to be paid.”

He dropped you, his tentacles retreating to the ooze. You gasped for a breath when you hit your knees. The fuzziness disappeared as you stared at the ground. He couldn’t be serious.

“Miraak, the First Dragonborn, the betrayer of the Priests, the First Servant, your final task is to serve the Last Dragonborn until your last breath. You shall leave Apocrypha a mortal man once more, the clock beginning where it froze when I first brought you. This shall be your new fate.”

That was what brought you home to Skyrim, Miraak by your side. You knew it was easier than continuing to fight. You had relative freedom while forcing this betrayer of Men and Mer to help you in your duty to Nirn. It felt like justice enough.

Your first night back in Skyrim, you made your way by carriage to your home, Lakeview Manor. You had thought the first person you would bring there, aside from your housecarl Rayya that is, would be your husband. Never had you imagined you would be forced to share your home with a long unimportant Dragon Priest.

“This is where you will keep me? This…hovel?” he asked as you began to dismount the carriage. “I was a king!”

You pulled him down by his robes, and flung him into the dirt. You put your full weight on top of him, sitting with a knee on either side of his chest. You pulled Mehrune’s Dagger from its sheath on your side and held the blade to his throat.

“A king?” you snarled. “You were a tool, a puppet, to be used by Mora until your veins ran dry! And now he’s stuck you with me. Tell me, little worm, do you feel the threatening aura of this blade now? Now that you can once again die by a mortal’s hand, do you feel the fear you brought upon others?”

The fact he still insisted upon wearing the mask and robes from his days as a Dragon Priest infuriated you to no end. It kept you from seeing the fear this blade now instilled in him. You could feel it in the way his muscles tensed under you. The nikriin (coward) was so used to preying on those he could control and manipulate, he didn’t know how to play fair.

You moved your dagger from his throat and cut away at the fabric holding his golden mask in place. In anger, you threw it far from where you two were and watched it as it disappeared down the hill. And if the Divine were good, you would never see the stupid thing in your life again.

You were surprised when you turned back to face him. You had not known much of the Dragon Priests, if you were honest, at least not before you were declared Dragonborn. So, you truly had not expected the man before you.

You would be surprised if Miraak was younger than forty, at least physically. There were fine lines on from the outer corners of his eyes. His hair was darker than you had expected, black with white peppered throughout. It was fast approaching his shoulders, a few wisps resting across his face. His beard was much the same in terms of coloring, the short coarse hair following along his jawline and trailing around his lips.

What captivated you, though, were the scars and his eyes. The scars, you suppose, could’ve been expected. He had championed a rebellion against Dragons, and you were all too familiar with them at this point to think the scars, that dragged across his face from under his right eye and disappearing into the left half of his beard, had been made by anything other than the claws of dragons. His eyes were overwhelmingly stunning. A sliver of a black pupil surrounded by a bright yellow that faded into a burning orange, his eyes looked reptilian.

“I earned my kingdom, Dragonborn,” he growled.

You pushed yourself off of him, practically growling in pure frustration as you sheathed your dagger. You began to walk into the house, thinking of ways you could send him back to Oblivion, when you stopped. Your old friend Faendal had always told you your heart was too big, and as you thought about the man who had been alone for over a millennia, you could understand why. You almost felt a pity for him now, as mortal as any other man with everyone he had ever known dead.

You did not turn back to face him. You merely took in a few deep breaths, smelling the smoke from the hearth’s fire floating into the sky above and the lake all but a stone’s throw away. And it felt calming. That was why you picked this place.

“Go to the lake and take a bath, you stink of horse and sea. I will have my steward bring you a set of clothes, leave the robes. I want no other connection to the atrocities you’ve committed in my house. We stay here for a week, then I have other holdings I must tend to,” you told him before walking into the home.

Your week went by rather quickly. Thankfully, both Falkreath and Whiterun were close enough to Lakeview that you could check on them during the week. The Jarls and their stewards had no news for their holds, each citing the end of the war as better news for their jails. None of your contacts in either offered a different story. At least for now, all seemed right in your favorite corner of the world.

Until you returned to the manor and found Miraak struggling to wrestle your cow into a single place so that he could milk it. You didn’t even really understand what you were seeing as you watched this insane man. He was wearing standard tavern clothes, the only clothes for men you had in your possession, and just kept wrapping his arms around the cow in a multitude of places. You could only assume he was trying hold it one position, at least.

You looked to Rayya, who was leaning against a nearby tree with a smirk on her face. You walked over to your steward.

“What is going on??” you asked her.

“You told me you wanted him to earn his keep. The ignorant fool won’t accept the fact that he is failing,” she said, chuckling.

“So you think it better to allow him to stress out my cow?” you asked.

“I tried, my Thane. He would not listen to anyone but you,” she told you. She shook her head and walked away, no doubt to do her rounds of the property.

Sighing, you walked over to the pen that held your cow and chickens. The chickens may not have been smart, but they had at least managed to keep out of his grasp. Your poor cow, that you had named after Faendal after one too many Black-Briar Meads, was mooing indignantly as she kept trying to step out of his grasp. She was just a little too slow to accomplish it.

“What are you doing?” you asked him.

“This cow will learn it’s place. It will listen to me,” he told you, not even bothering to glance your way as he repositioned his grip once more.

“Oh my fuck are you truly that much of an idiot?” you asked him as you pulled him off the cow.

He stood straight and looked down at you. He truly was an imposing force. Without his padded robes, he was still broad shouldered. You were near certain he was a solid wall of muscle, taller than you by at least a head.

“Rayya cares for her every day, you are a stranger to her. She has no trust in you, she will not willingly give you what you have not yet earned,” you snapped at him.

His eyes, which still dazzled you, moved down to look directly at his feet. You could see Miraak’s jaw clench and release a few times over.

“I…I apologize, Dragonborn. I merely thought I should earn my keep here,” he said quietly. “I know that you more than anyone is paying a price near too high for Mora’s trickery.”

His apology was sincere. So sincere, in fact, you were rendered speechless. The last few weeks had been so intense, between the Mora’s decision, the journey back to Skyrim from Solstheim, and the duties and detours you had as was your duty to Skyrim. You had never once suspected he may, after so long, feel some inkling of regret for his actions.

“Just…my stewards, anyone I employ, really, they know what they are doing. You can trust that their instruction will be true and fair,” you muttered. You began to side step him when his arm grabbed you.

You had been travelling light since your return, trading your normal armor for a green dress that you saw that tavern woman wore. It felt freeing, to some degree, to be able to go at least just a few days without armor stiffening your movements. So, his hand touched your bare skin. Goose pimples popped up over your entire body as his heat spread over you and your blood rushed to your cheeks.

“How was your trip?” he asked you. Surprised, you turned to face him. His handsome face once again took your breath away.

“Uneventful. Thank the Divine,” you said. His eyes traveled to your chest, where an amulet to your favorite Divine rested.

“I didn’t take you for one of piety,” he commented.

“I never was but being a god sent piece to move about the board, you gain an appreciation,” you muttered.

“I shall get our things ready to ride for Solitude tomorrow,” he said. He let you go and walked into the house.

It was supposed to be a simple ride. You had made it so many times and so many ways. You had even chosen to stick to the roads this time to avoid any such event.

But pesky vampires didn’t care much for plans. They were getting more courageous, some even coming out in the broad daylight. Which is exactly what these did.

There were at least ten of them. It was one of the larger groups you had come across. And when one laid slain at your feet, another came. They were overwhelming you.

Until he saved you.

In moments that were almost too quick to comprehend, he had cut down any vampire that had touched you. There was a fire burning in his eyes as he moved his sword about. You stood there, stunned, as the blood of vampires drenched him when the last of them were dead.

He looked at you, that fire seeming to consume him. Miraak closed the distance between you, pulling your dented helm from your head to toss it aside, and took your face in his firm hands.

“Are you hurt?” he asked you. His eyes searched your face. Your armor had thankfully kept any of their attacks from reaching your flesh.

“Yes,” you whispered.

He looked like he was at a loss for words entirely. His gaze softened as he looked you over once more. And if you were crazy, which despite all the blows to the head you most definitely were not, you would have sworn he looked a little teary eyed.

“Let’s set up camp for the evening. It would be night soon, and you should rest,” he said quietly as he released you from his hold. You watched as he walked away into the nearby forest.

You looked as the sun was beginning to set over the mountains. Thankfully there was enough light left to arrange your camp. You got to work silently on building a simple lean-to with enough room to fit both of you. You had hidden it a bit past the tree line, giving you perfect view of the road without being seen from it.

Miraak returned to your side not long after you were finished making a fire with a deer he had shot down and dressed. And so you watched as he butchered it down into smaller slabs of meat. Once it was on the fire cooking, the stars already shone bright in the sky.

“You can’t milk a cow but you can field dress a deer?” you asked him. You were both sitting by the fire, and you glanced up at him.

The firelight danced across his features. It seemed to make the scars even deeper. His eyes practically glowed at any time, but seemed ethereal now.

“It is not much different than slaughtering a Dragon. More pliable, but that typically works to my favor,” he answered with a shrug.

“I have to ask. You were…I mean you were a dragon priest. The world laid at your feet, you only had to answer to the dragons. Why ruin all that, why turn on them and seal your fate in Apocrypha?” you asked him.

Until you had spoken the words, you didn’t realize how much you desired an answer. The stories from the Merethic Era were scattered at best. Most of them had been deemed so impossible that they were nothing but a legend. Even Miraak’s story had been lost, and his was truth.

“The Dragons were cruel. Simple as that,” he told you with another shrug.

“No. That was known by everyone once they arrived in Tamriel. That’s not a good enough answer. So the truth. Now,” you said firmly.

He sighed and leaned forward a bit. He adjusted the meat’s position over the fire before looking to you.

“There were barely better to us than they were the men they ruled over. We were given control, sure, but at what cost? They fed us their barely edible scraps, instructed us to build temples until our hands bled. They didn’t even allow human companions for us, only them. It is not a great wonder many were able to scatter and bury the dragons, we were used to being alone,” he told you. You leaned back a bit, resting yourself against the shelter.

“There was a woman,” he said quietly.

“Isn’t there always?” you muttered. If he heard you, he didn’t acknowledge your words.

“This woman was…she was beautiful. One of your Divines personified, if I ever cared to wager. There was no other explanation for how one as stunning as the stars could exist on Nirn,” he said. His voice was soft, heavy.

“You fell in love,” you whispered.

You had never imagined a man such as him in love. In the few stories you had managed to hear, he was not exactly the warm and fuzzy type. More akin to the dragons he once served than a rabbit. And his ferocity in the fight against the vampires earlier felt like proof of that.

But then you thought of the way he looked at you. The way he touched you, or held you. How ever since he joined your company, you hadn’t so much as even gotten a scratch. How he seemed to always be aware of the next step, ensuring that no harm came to you.

Your heart began fluttering against your chest like a thousand butterflies has been entrapped inside you. You had been so preoccupied with hating him and hating how he had been thrust upon you, you had never thought of him as anything but a monster.

“I did. But like I said, our lives were dedicated to the Dragons. We were allowed nothing more. The rest of the world…the dragons made their lives torturous, yes. I will not deny that, and I will not deny the part I played. But, at least they got to share their life with someone.”

You nodded silently.

“When Alduin found out I dared break one of their many rules, he made me watch as they tore her limb from limb. My dear Thildys, whose only crime was being the object of all my desires. And if that were not cruel enough, The World Eater marked me for eternity with his claws still dripping with her blood,” he said.

Your heart ached for him. You remembered how you felt when you found Kodlak had been killed. The betrayal from the universe felt as real as any wound you had suffered. You weren’t even in love with Kodlak and you killed the Silver Hands to avenge him and the entire Glenmoril Coven just to give him way to escape the clutches of Hircine’s Hunt.

You thought of what you would do for a person you had loved. Especially if the beings you considered gods made you watch while they tore your love apart. And you felt a burning desire within you to destroy anyone who had so much as whispered your name. You couldn’t begin to fathom what it would feel like for real.

“You rebelled in revenge,” you said.

“I did. I thought…I thought if I overpowered them I would have the power to turn back fate. They feared me, for a while, as I amassed followers and slew Dragons. And then I began to lose, the rest of the Dragon Priests circled Alduin and fought against me, turned my allies against me. Then Mora promised me that if I served him, he would give Thildys back to me. That is all I have wanted all this time,” Miraak finished his tale.

You were waiting for some lament about how Mora tricked him. That seemed to be the status quo wherever Hermaeus Mora made himself known. He would promise powerful people the world, and all they got was an earful of lies.

But yet nothing of the sort fell from his lips. He merely pulled the meat off the fire and portioned both of you out some. You noticed he handed you a larger slab. Before you could protest, he spoke.

“You have her eyes, Dragonborn.”

[banditophi]

⟣ Synopsis: Being fond of you brings him in a delusional state.

⟣ Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x F! Reader x John “Soap” MacTavish

⟣ Warnings: Unrequited love, Jealousy

⟣ This is my work, my writing. Do not steal or repost elsewhere.

Touching you is a crime and an honour. Oh, your skin silken-like, a brush against you is a luck and a violation.

Hearing you is a melody to me and a pique. Your demure of a tune brings me great pleasure and pain.

Seeing you is heaven-like and dreadful. How you turn my glimpse into a stare, it is concerning.

At the far end I situated myself, isolated from the throng yet close enough to adore and loathe you. A glass imprisoned in my hand, a Bourbon poured and a thought buried deep yet it always find its way back to the surface.

Must you be be so heedless? Heedless how you make everything about you, or perhaps it I that does so?

Must you appear where I have to be? Is this your way of teasing me? Perhaps I am delusional.

I cannot be.

I make note of your advances and never- not once they were a mere coincidence. Shall I play along to this game you began?

If you are the prize then I shall.

How graceful you are, I observe your every motion in secrecy. How you sway your sculpture-like vessel left and right. How I want to place my hands on you, you are unknowing of.

A lad- someone’s son you are dancing with, appearing as jolly as ever. It is one of things I am fond of and detest about you.

“Did not think you would come, LT.” A voice uttered, disrupting my thoughts and doing.

It is no other than Johnny, a sergeant from my task force, my friend and the lover of the woman who I was ogling not too long ago. A lucky bastard he is.

“A change for once.” I responded, avoiding his gaze and turning my head to the glass in my hand.

Halfway full, halfway empty.

Johnny reached below the table to grab something and divulges a present. “Bonnie over there-“ He began, before handing me the decorated box, “-wanted me to give this to you.”

The sergeant is proud, as he should be and there I admire the details of my gift from you.

Guilt and thrill you give me.

You should be ashamed.

He is a good man.

And the cause why I began to despise you.

For I cannot touch you as you are his to touch.

For I cannot hear you in a way that I please as you speak of his name.

For I cannot see you without him by your side.

For he is my brother and you, his lover.

For what we have is forbidden and unkind.

Perhaps this drink of mine is clouding my thoughts or you are ambling in my direction. “I see you received my gift, Lieutenant.” You spoke, shyness and exhaustion apparent in your voice. Johnny moved to give space for you and you collapsed beside him, your arm finding its way to his bicep. “I am sleepy, when can we go home?” You questioned him as if I was not there, negligent of how I would feel. “Soon, hen, soon.” He murmured in your hair before giving your forehead a peck.

You make me ill.

How could you behave this way in front of me? You pull me in and string me along, only to bring me pain.

Does it bring you joy?

Does it entertain you?

What is it that you want?

To make me fight for you?

To make my feelings known?

Yet I could only watch and restrain the battle in my mind.

I love and hate you.

Oh, how I would love to be in his place for I cannot take you away.

Yet I could only watch and have a drink from the glass to my sacrifice.

[ac3ofspad3s-on-ao3]

so I lowkey forgot about fic friday until like 3 seconds ago so I'm going to talk about an au based on this post by Sircantus with the current name Anyone can be a Princess.

There's like, nearly 5k words and I was liking it, I had some people who also liked it but I fucking don't so it's getting used for scraps when I decide to make a new version.

Version 1.0 was that Techno got summoned by Sofia, but not the usual way, not through a blood sacrifice, she doesn't even want him to kill someone for her. Her amulent summoned him, because according to that he's a princess????

She wants help preventing a famine. So, he makes a deal with her. (Techno's like, a demon or god or something) He'll help her with the potatoes and she'll help him with becoming a princess. The deal has to be made because Techno can't choose to accept or deny summons, once a sacrifice is made, he's summoned and has to do as his Summoner commands.

The overarching theme was going to be about autonomy but that fell flat.

There was an A and B plot, A was Techno helping Sofia and everyone trying to not tell Sofia that Technoblade is famous for murdering royalty and defeating armies single handedly and is not in fact a princess.

The B plot would be that Techno keeps getting summoned between 2 waring kingdoms, with sacrifices that keep getting larger and larger. And would eventually end with Techno, being summoned seeing his temple piled high with bodies and only the king left who's gone mad. The king tries to tell him to storm the castle and kill the king and his children.

Which would mirror a previous scene, one that explains that long ago Techno was summoned to steal an amulet from a princess. Sofia's Amulet, and for some reason that amulet decided Techno qualified as a princess that could be summoned to help.

But instead of killing this new princess Techno saves her, he protects her and takes her somewhere safe.

my main gripe is that the A plot wasn't well developed, so Id add more scenes to that, I think I'd keep the B plot because it's fun and I do like the themes. But I'd start from scratch if only because I fucking despise editing shit and trying to find places to insert new scenes.

It has taken a back seat in terms of my other wips but maybe I'll work on it this summer if I have the time.

Anyway, here's a little snippet of it.

Sofia insisted that Techno join her and her family for every meal, citing their deal as a reason when he suggested he eat alone. How could he learn how to be a better princess if he didn’t learn proper table manners? Long ago someone had tried to teach Techno etiquette to prepare him for the first of many meetings with ambassadors from neighboring kingdoms. On the night of the dinner he’d forgotten everything and chose to eat nothing at all. The ambassador he’d met with had talked himself into a peace treaty and trade agreement that heavily favored the Arctic Empire before dessert had arrived. After that he didn’t bother to relearn. Kristin sometimes tried to but as long as Techno was better at eating then Tommy she didn’t really care for proper table manners. Sofia and her two siblings Amber and James made a game of who could correct Techno’s poor manners first. The game quickly devolved into yelling and Techno kept “forgetting” which fork was for what, if he bothered to use a fork at all. Tommy would be proud. “Even Sofia was better with her table manners when she first came to the castle than you are!” Amber loudly, a look of disgust on her face when Techno had once again abandoned the cutlery and used his hands to eat. “Amber, there’s no need to shout.” The Queen said, glancing between her daughter and the Blood God. Techno ignored her. “Of course Sofia is better than me with all of this, she’s stayed in the kingdom all her life. I travel all over, in some kingdoms people do eat with their hands, in others they use two sticks to pinch the food and eat it. After enough travel you forget what’s done where and do what’s most comfortable.” That placated the children somewhat as their attention was drawn towards asking Techno about his travels. But their corrections never ceased, no matter how many times their parents tried to get them to stop. It was entertaining, Techno had no plans to hurt any of them, and couldn’t hurt Sofia if he wanted to. But none of them knew that, and he was having far too much fun to tell them. If they did know they’d probably try to execute him, he hated the feeling of rope around his neck, so he kept quiet.

[deathbealady]

on fixing the end of ACOWAR to create a better transition into and story for Nesta

In my unending grief over how Nesta has been destroyed by the narratives of ACOFAS and ACOSF, I wanna talk about some absolutely wasted potential in the series. Because although I believe there’s plenty of stupid, unnecessary bullshit throughout the series, I find there’s a specific moment that was the death knell for me: Rhysand and Amren’s deaths and near immediate resurrections at the end of ACOWAR. It cheapened their sacrifice, and I think that in the interest of honoring the stakes of the battle/war, they should’ve stayed dead. But since we know SJM won’t let her precious bat stay dead, I would like to instead offer a way to have him not be permadead in a way that’s compelling and can fix a lot of the bullshit, including the shitty attitudes of characters I pretty openly despise (primarily Rhysand, Mor, and post-ACOWAR Cassian, but I think this version could fix a lot more!)

It’s gonna get a bit long, but I promise it’s worth it! Picture this:

Feyre realizes Rhysand is dead. She’s screaming and crying, demanding that the other High Lords bring him back. They all give that tiny bit of power, but it doesn’t work. Why won’t it work?

That’s because this time, only 6 of 7 High Lords have given their power. Someone, perhaps Tamlin, realizes this, and asks Feyre if the power has transferred to her; it hasn’t. At this point, Nesta and Elain are with her, holding her and doing their best to console their sister. The Inner Circle are in shock. Rhysand is gone but the High Lord’s power hasn’t gone to Feyre, nor any of them. It’s not gone to Keir, not to… anyone. Is the Night Court just going to be without a High Lord now?

Helion, with the knowledge of all the vast libraries of the Day Court, suggests that maybe the power hasn’t transferred because Rhysand is not quite dead. Even if that’s true, Rhysand certainly isn’t alive; Feyre can’t feel him through the bond. Maybe it’s at this point that Lucien steps up and takes a long, hard look at Rhysand. The gold eye whirrs and clicks; it looks as though the bits of power offered by the other High Lords is sustaining him, but only just. Thesan takes a look as well, trying to see what healing he can offer, if any, but Rhysand is essentially comatose and on magical life support.

It’s at this point that Nesta whips her head up and asks what that humming noise is. Everyone around her stares at her in confusion, what noise? “It’s so loud, how can none of you hear it?” She turns the crying Feyre into Elain’s arms so she can focus. She stares at the Cauldron, realizing that it’s the source of the sounds she’s hearing.

Nesta closes her eyes and tries to concentrate, trying to peer into the wretched mind of the Cauldron. Though she doesn’t understand what her sister sees in him, the loss of Rhysand has broken Feyre in a way that nothing else in their lives ever came close to achieving. So, as terrified as she is to face the Cauldron like this, she knows Feyre had been brave and strong for them for so long, and she wants to try and do something for her sister this time.

As it turns out, the hateful thing that had stolen the humanity from herself and Elain had been seeking yet more vengeance against the Archeron family. When Feyre had been trying to mend the broken Cauldron to prevent the world’s destruction, the Cauldron itself thought to take Feyre’s life in exchange. It was the perfect retaliation for a number of perceived slights: Feyre’s previous attempt to neutralize its power, Nesta’s success in clawing out more power than the Cauldron had intended to give her, and Feyre’s use of it so Amren would shed her fae form, which had resulted in its destruction in the first place. The Cauldron was ready to kill Feyre, if her mate hadn’t gotten in the way.

It’s unclear if he’d made a bargain with it or what, but it seems that Rhysand is essentially trapped and held hostage in some strange limbo of the Cauldron’s making. As a High Lord, he was powerful enough that he just narrowly survived, if that’s what his current state can even be called. Like it or not, if Prythian is to have any hope of surviving in the aftermath of the war, they need to bring Rhysand back to first restore balance. And to get Rhysand back from the Cauldron, they need the power of something Cauldron-born to break him out.

From here, we would begin Nesta’s story. As much as I hate to center much of Nesta’s journey around bringing Rhysand back, I think it’s necessary for a number of reasons.

The loss of Rhysand is a huge blow to Feyre. I imagine she would be inconsolable, having lost him after she had fought so hard for so many years. In his absence, she can hardly keep herself together enough to work with the IC in running the Night Court (not that they do much of it anyway, but you know…). I don’t think it’s something she can come back from so easily, and I think seeing Feyre like that would light a fire in Nesta to act. If I recall correctly, Nesta and Rhysand’s relationship, though hardly cordial, only became really adversarial post-ACOWAR. Nesta setting aside whatever feelings she has toward Rhysand to bring him back for the sake of Feyre is something I can see her doing as an act of love for the sister she just began to get close to in adulthood

Nesta journeying to try and bring Rhysand back would show the IC a different side to her. It would mean interactions with them that didn’t dredge up old trauma for her in the worst ways possible, and they would learn to appreciate her on her own merits. They would also have to give an actual shit about her not falling victim to her depression, self-hatred, and fear. Nesta is their only hope of rescuing Rhysand, and they have to give her the same care and respect they gave Feyre if they want their High Lord back

Nesta could’ve been the one asking to train. She wants to learn to wield her powers properly, not just because she can feel them eating away at her, but because she knows she’ll need to be able to use them to retrieve Rhysand. And she even admits that although she isn’t good at combat and doesn’t want to be a warrior, she’ll need to be able to hold her own in a physical fight, so she asks for Cassian’s help in that

With Rhysand and Amren gone, and Feyre out of commission, the Eris alliance could’ve been Mor’s decision. They had tried asking Lucien first, if he could help Nesta learn to manager her powers, but her flames are stronger than his, and different. And as much as Mor hates and fears him, she acknowledges that Eris has decades, if not centuries of mastery over his flames compared to Lucien; he could be the key to Nesta taming hers. If they want a chance at getting Rhysand back, that’s what it’s going to take.

We could have a compelling love triangle between Nesta, Eris, and Cassian here. Eris, shrewd and cunning, sees through to Nesta’s potential. And, ever the courtier, he has the charm and wit to draw her attention like all the heroes of her favorite books too. He sees his perfect match in her, and tells her as much. Cassian, on the other hand, is inexplicably keeping Nesta at arm’s length despite their undeniable attraction to each other. He hasn’t forgotten what he said to her when the King of Hybern was poised to kill them both, but he’s scared. He would’ve been leaning on Rhysand and Feyre to help him navigate a courtship with Nesta, but they’re both unable to help him. He doesn’t know how to approach her after so much has changed, and now he’s relying on her to save his lost brother. To top it all off, he has that “brutish bastard” chip on his shoulder and fears he can’t compete with Eris

Maybe this time Cassian could actually make good on his fucking promise to protect Nesta

Nesta saving Rhysand might finally drag his head out of his ass far enough that he might learn to respect her. Maybe even respect her and her power enough that maybe he would offer her a spot as his second in command, in place of Amren. Of course it’s for his own benefit by keeping her alliance to the Night Court, but also in a bid to keep her around for Feyre and Cassian’s emotional well-being. Nesta is still torn between her feelings for Eris and Cassian, but where once she had given up hope to fit in with Cassian’s chosen family, she’s offered a specific position in recognition of her deeds and abilities, from Rhysand of all people

Maybe Beron fucks up Eris’s chances with Nesta by saying something to make her think Eris had been manipulating and using her. It’s not true, or maybe not entirely, but it’s enough that it deeply affects Nesta and she can’t trust Eris as she did before. She won’t break the alliance, she and the Night Court need him just as much as he needs them to support his bid for High Lord of Autumn, but the relationship is irreparably damaged

Beyond this, I haven’t thought much about what I would do to give Nesta a better storyline. I think there are plenty of ways to still work in a lot of elements existing in ACOSF (Nesta befriending Emerie and Gwyn, wielding the Dread Trove, facing Briallyn, etc.) while vastly improving both the development of individual characters and relationships between them. And although I admittedly haven’t thought too deeply on it, I would argue that you could still explore the mental health struggles Nesta experiences without abusing her the way that ACOSF did, and I’m almost certain it’d be a far more healing storyline than the bullshit SJM gave us.

Anyway thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Also for the record, I cannot write this out as proper fanfic because I simply do not have the time or patience, and more importantly I am not a writer (trust me, you don’t want me writing it anyway, it’d be shit)

[kawaii-queen-kaiju]

AOT got me. Specifically, Akuma no Ko. However. All the English translations I can find are clunky, and don't flow very well imo, so I took a shot at it! Free to use if anyone wants :3

~ A cold iron bullet is what I call ‘justice’

With every shot, I’m closer to being a hero

Just close your eyes now, reach out and touch it

The soul of a devil, dwelling in this body that I own

If I'm just no good then, what makes them much better?

The only difference is which wall we’re stuck behind

There’s no point in mourning the fate that we’re born with

Because in the end, all of us will fly free!

If we had wings like birds, to soar up in the sky

We could go anywhere we might possibly dream

But if we have no home, to which we could return-

-Would it mean a single thing at all?

I don’t want to live my life just to survive

This world is crueler than we can change

But through it all, I will love you just the same

Even though I’ll have to lose it all

It won’t mean a thing, just as long as you are safe

Even if it’s all one huge mistake

I can never bring myself to doubt

That throughout everything, there is no greater strength than keeping your belief inside yourself

Rain all around us, stinging like iron

Such a sad scene, like something straight out of a movie

War is so senseless, parading as honor

‘Why should I care about these people I don’t know?’

Then why do we fight them, despite all that we say?

We really can’t hide all of these dark things we think and feel

There’s no explanation, despite how you might try

You just can’t deny what enigmas we are!

If you could take these words, and put them on a page

Not a thing could convey what they actually mean

The only truth there is, is what you can observe, and

the world you see, and nothing else!

I don’t want to live my life just to survive

This world is crueler than we can change

But through it all, I will love you just the same

Even though I’ll have to lose it all

It won’t mean a thing, just as long as you are safe

The ghost of who you once chose for your own

The corpses of those lost way down the road

Growing inside, I’d realized the devil that I’d had to become.

Everything I’ve done, justice and sacrifice, my heart became the devil’s I’d despised

~