#i swear to god this is how i presume everyone thinks of us

[corollaservant]

Night in the Net // Shigaraki x f! reader (18+)

Synopsis: You find yourself stranded in one hell of a sexist environment: the small town's internet café. Shigaraki's on the night shift. (3.6k)

Warnings: sex with Shiggy basically, mild degradation and misogyny from our fav incel, dom!Shiggy with a twist (no quirk obviously), use of “dollface” (i like it)

A/N: No dark themes here, peace n luv. Also.. yeah he is always linked to some gaming/electronic business ik!! but I like the trope/hc/almost canon.

You'd never imagine this was how your night would end.

Why are you there again? Right, your friends wanted to go to that after party, as if the club wasn't enough. What was supposed to be a night out ended up with you in the local internet café (the only after hours spot) while your friends decided to go to a house party with loud techno music, which definitely wasn’t your vibe. You and your friends lived close and would often call a taxi on your way home, money wasn’t enough for you to ride solo today though—you prayed in times like these that you at least had a job; you wouldn’t have to rely on anyone then. 

You knew pretty much everyone there, it’s not like the town had more than ten thousand residents and considering the age group and schools you’d all gone to, the internet café only had a few unknown members. On today’s shift was none other than Tomura of course, that guy was taking up as many shifts as his body would allow him to, apparently there was this rumor a family member was in crucial condition and they were in need. Tomura Shigaraki was one of these people you had branded as incel. Though hardworking (he kept a house of his own, cleaning and doing all chores by himself while providing for whomever he had), you still considered the guy as one. Now—you know the term is heavy, matter of fact, quite offending and serious as an allegation but it’s not like there weren’t rumors. Rumors he’d bash women and call them prostitutes, try to sleep with girls and trash them to his friends a day later, hating them for anything they did and claiming true love didn’t exist nowadays because “all women are sluts, who need money and validation.” Plus, he worked at the local internet café (should be enough reason), engaging in heated conversations with his friends and fellow streamers. God, one look in their chats and you'd get as violent as possible— (not much, you'd discovered it the hard way). Thus, it was no surprise that when you enter the place, you hear whispers and scoffs.

‘’The hell are you doing here?’’ A voice was heard from within, the café had the computer screens up front, a bar and a couch with TV in the back. Tomura was occupied in the designated bar the place had (you often wondered what kind of needs these people had—all they ever consumed was energy drinks and pre-packaged meals, takeouts were for reasons of competitive market prohibited).

‘’Just dropping by for a couple of hours, will leave soon.’’ You sigh as you take a seat on the couch, not bothering to talk to anyone, it wasn’t like they cared anyway. Loud noise and laughter can be heard all around, a couple of guys swearing and some younger boys excitedly standing above their screens. The store had a 16+ policy, but of course, no one ever checked so kids could practically stare unattended. Tomura also encouraged younger boys to play, such a piece of shit, you think, getting them to learn young. 

‘’Oh my fucking God, a slut just joined!’’ You hear some guy swear, presumably because a girl joined their online server. These guys were so disgusting, you cringe, it was no wonder they were celibate without wanting it. You stand up, you need to kill some time and you're feeling bored, you think about starting a fight with Tomura, how else could you have a little bit of fun?

You weren’t ever necessarily afraid of the guy, even though you had to admit, he looked intimidating. Quite tall with a pale complexion, ashy, dull hair and scars across his face; no one actually knew much about him and whether he was troubled, it’s not like he ever showed to work beaten up or high and usually kept a low profile. The only frightening thing this man had was his smile, it terrified you sometimes as it looked downright evil. 

‘’Getting them to learn young, huh?’’ You ask him, he’s washing up some cups from the previous round of gross gaming guys, who have now left.

‘’What?’’ He responds, not bothering to look up. 

‘’How to not get women, I mean.’’ You sigh as he huffs in annoyance.

‘’You should be grateful I let a female in my store in the first place.’’ He retorts, but doesn’t seem very angry, just ironic. Usual.

My store (you decide to skip over 'female') sounds funny but you choose not to comment on it. 

‘’So how long until you guys close?’’ You don't bother with the vocabulary—it’s routine at this point. It also never ends well and you had a great night so far, why ruin it now?

‘’Two hours.’’ 

‘’Mind if I sit on the couch? I’ll be quiet I promise’’ You ask—technically beg, as you see no other options.

‘’Ugh.. yeah I mind. There’s some guys wanting to use it, I have a group for GTA on the PS5.’’

‘’Seriously? People still play that?’’ You whine but force yourself to continue.

 ‘’Can I sit with you then?’’ It takes strength—but you say it regardless. You came to terms with the fact he was your last resort minutes ago.

‘’Sure. But you need to make yourself useful. Here, take this.’’ He hands you a wet sponge, ‘’Wash these up... carefully, while I go clean the floors.’’ He orders, as if you’re part of the staff (and new on the job apparently.)

‘’Do you actually want me to wash freaking dishes? I just came here to chill, I don’t even bother anyone!’’ You start feeling annoyed with the chores, you aren’t 16 and he isn’t your mom.

‘’You can always leave.’’ The running tap stops and he turns to you, practically shoving the wet gloves on your chest. 

‘’Or...you can stop being a brat and be of use during your stay, I have two hours left.’’ He smiles, that same smile that makes your skin crawl and blood boil as he moves away.

‘’Fuck! My dress, you asshole!’’ A wet patch now covers the too short dress as you glance at the time on your phone. 

Two hours. Two hours until your friends leave and he closes up anyway.

-

Tomura was at least true to his words. Within two insufferable hours of having to listen to appalling conversations between men (hardly to be considered as such), plate washing and the toilet being constantly occupied, the last customers get up to leave. 

You dry your hands and plop down the couch exhausted.

‘’Finally.’’ You exhale checking your phone, your friends hadn’t given you any life signs in the meantime, so you decide to patiently wait, they’d message eventually. Tomura is done sweeping the nasty floors from crumbs and dried Monster remnants, which he still has to mop (for the fourth time, you note and you've only been there some hours). You notice how restless he seems—the guy has been running the whole night after ignorant customers, who had not once shown basic respect for the order of the place yet never complained. Truly a shame he has such a misogynistic mindset, you think. He could get women, if he wanted to. 

It’s around 6:30 AM, when he presses a button to close the store's roll-up shutters halfway. Small light outside makes its way in but the place is still relatively dark, as he places the mop near the wall and takes a seat next to you.

‘’Fuuck, I’m so tired.’’ He sighs, making sure to spread his legs on the couch as much as he can, not caring (of course) about you also sitting on it. 

You always branded Tomura as an incel, that you knew about. But despite that, you now can’t help but feel for him, not knowing much about him at the same time. Sure, he technically isn’t the nicest guy but a look around would show you that he tries enough for a job kicking his ass. You find yourself sympathizing with a man, whose ideals you hate and try to brush these thoughts off.

‘’And why the fuck am I an incel anyway?’’ He asks, his head rests on the couch and his eyes are closed, he is scrunching severely—almost threatening to fall down. And he manspreads. A lot.

‘’W-well– I..’’ You never thought he’d caught on to that, stammering to stand your ground as you continue. ‘’Well, there have been rumors about you.’’ You say, but it doesn’t come off as confident as you’d hoped for. You also realize, it sounds kind of stupid.

‘’Reaaally? And you made sure to believe them, right?’’ His tone’s laced with irony but the way he talks like he whispers in a raspy voice doesn't annoy you anymore. It makes you more... uncomfortable? On the edge? Excited?...what?

‘’It’s not like you don’t claim it yourself.’’ You retort, finally finding some courage. You notice him looking at you as you awkwardly shuffle in your seat.

‘’All I’ve ever said was that I think women are good for nothing. And I still believe that, but I wouldn’t waste more of my time on that.’’ The statement makes you roll your eyes.

‘’How can you generalize a whole group of people, who are literally in no way inferior to you, you can’t tell me you’ve tried—’’ 

‘’Listen dollface, unless you want to change my mind there’s no reason to fuss that much, my opinion won’t change.’’

Unless you want to change my mind?

‘’I-I don’t.’’ You stammer, because the answer and pet name (dollface??) takes you by surprise and he laughs.

‘’Relax, you branded me an incel.’’ He jokes, ‘’don’t want the rape allegations on me too.’’ 

The more he talks, the more your mind races and you curse yourself. He seems..funny? He has a mole under his lips—fuck, it looks cute...He also looks good so (stupid as it is, yes!) you silently want his attention. Why can’t he just look you in the eyes more?

This is so wrong. He must've noticed your lost gaze as he speaks up.

‘’Wanna watch a movie?’’ He proposes and you nod, anything is better than the silence hanging in the air. Silence you caused. For thinking... things about him. 

Of course Tomura ends up choosing the most depressing film anyone can possibly watch in an internet café at 6 AM, Fallen Angels, and the dramatic cuts make it hard for you to concentrate. He at a certain point leans closer to you but you justify it, how else would he be able to see?

During this one scene, the woman pleasured herself with her legs closed, rubbing together and that’s when you feel a soft hand touch on your thigh. The dress you wore rode up, because your legs rested on the table ahead so it gave him the space he needed. The movement made you tingle and your core involuntarily contracted. The smooth fingers teasingly trailed up and down your leg, from your knees to your inner thighs. You didn’t want to look at him—he was too close and the scene seemed endless. But…he went on about it as if nothing was happening. 

Without saying a word, he carried on. A pad of his finger tip dangerously close to your now heated entrance, the images flashing before your eyes lewd, his hand tempting and threatening to reach your already soaked cunt—all this while the two of you hadn’t even shared a kiss. But he doesn't stop, looking ahead and acting like everything’s fine, until he touches your lower lips and you hiss, his finger traces the wet spot over your underwear while you try to move and speak up. 

‘’W–what are y—’’

‘’Shh..’’ is all he says. 

You want to tell him no. But no to what? You like the feeling of his two fingers against your folds. His palm moves your panties to the side and he stuffs them inside—they dampen from the fluids. How is he that quick? You can’t form a response but you’re about to ask him why—

‘’All that and I haven’t even kissed you.’’ He murmurs, gaze still fixated on the television ahead as you moan, when he slowly pumps them within your walls. Fuck, are you turned on by this?

‘’P-please..’’ You whisper, turning to look at him and for the first time, his eyes are removed from the stupid TV, a sly smile on his features as he tears away his hand.

‘’What is it? Want the incel to kiss you? Maybe even fuck you to prove a point?’’ He says and you frown.

‘’I—no, I have to go.’’ You get up, fixing (lowering) your dress—you have nowhere to go but you’ll figure it out eventually. You think staying longer only plays into his cruel intentions and whilst you can’t deny the pleasure he could give you, your pride’s in the way.

‘’You’re not going anywhere.’’ A wet hand clasps around your wrist and brings you on his lap, as he grins; you seem confused at the sensation. You are hiding the TV screen but he couldn't care less, he never paid attention to the movie.

‘’Feel the stain you left, too?’’ He says as he brings your face closer with the sticky palm grabbing you by the hair. You softly moan, noticing the small mole up close and feeling a bulge poke where your bodies meet. You sway your hips in a silent effort to have him initiate a kiss, you feel desperate and curse yourself again internally. He can only smile.

(You were so clueless, walking around in that slutty dress earlier—making him hard like that, did you even know it?)

He’s quick to kiss you, eager for more already, as mouths clash, teeth collide, the need you both have exceeds proper manners. You sloppily grind against him, the friction from a long outline beneath you makes it hard to think.

‘’I’m guessing, you’re really fucking the incel then.’’ He half smirks as he grabs you and repositions you to sit on his now fully hard cock that throbs in his pants; he lifts your dress above your ass and guides your hips sluggishly back and forth—he’s tormenting you and he enjoys it to the fullest.

‘’T-tomura..p-please.’’ You whine, the urge to have him inside you makes you blabber.

‘’Please what?’’ He slides a hand behind your waist, lowering it to find your slit from behind, his fingers pet your cunt and you moan. Loudly. He is tugging at your panties, the fabric annoys him and he wants full access and the words. The words to prove his point.

‘’P–please...fuck me already!’’ You breathe out and he groans to the sound of your voice. 

The ironic remark he prepared evaporates as he quickly pushes you back, just enough to not fall off his lap and quickly unzips his pants, thanking god for not wearing a belt. 

His pants and underwear are sloppily moved down his knees, as his cock jumps with a pop on his lower abdomen, stiff with a weeping tip. Pretty veins throb around it as your eyes widen.

Shit, he’s big, can you take him?

‘’I’d ask for a nice blowjob, dollface, but wouldn’t want the feminists after me.’’ He says as he brings you close, kissing you yet again, a string of spit runs down your jaw, as your hands roam his tangled, uncombed hair. 

He positions you on his cock, one hand snakes around your waist while the other one clings to the back of your scalp and you’re swiftly lifted by the head and pushed down on him, as you let out a scream.

‘’Shut the fuck up.’’ He hisses, quickly looking around, the sensation from almost his whole length makes you tremble, he feels too full, too painful...too good.

‘’Shit, c’mon now you got this.’’ He encourages as you hesitantly move up and down his cock, gripping his shoulders and looking at him; he seems more concentrated on the sensation than your body, staring at you while you wrap around his length.

‘’Fuck...dollface, this too much for ya?’’ He tries not to grunt and you give your best not to cry, each moment that goes by turning the initial pain to pleasure—your cunt adjusts slowly and bit by bit to his girth. 

‘’T-tomura... y-yes..it’s too much!’’ You whine, sweat forms in your forehead as his hand finds your swollen clit and circles it while your nails dig deeper in his shirt.

‘’You can take it.’’ He says, he feels you squeezing him in, you bounce with dedication on his legs, making the couch squeak as if on some sex tape—you want to bring yourself even closer. So nasty, aren't you? Acting righteous, only to fuck yourself on his cock like a desperate whore.

‘’I-ugh-p-please..’’ You try to speak but he secures his hand around your torso and sinks (lower than before) down the couch. Two strong hands force you to stay still in the air while he drills himself into you at a steady pace, kind of sloppily too. Both of you moan, the position gives equal pleasure, your clit bumps on his groin and his cock reaches your g-spot with ease.

‘’S–Shit, you’re squeezing way too much, haven’t you been fucked like this before?’’ He sounds annoyed but the stammer in his voice betrays him.

Not like this, you want to say but can’t really speak the words. Your weight falls entirely on him, he doesn’t mind one bit—he loves it actually, this skin on skin contact as he guides you on his cock, it feels surreal. He hits soft and spongy spots inside while you slowly fall apart. 

‘’T-Tomura right there..I ugh—I'm close!’’ The sensation overwhelms you, his eyes are still fixated on your face, yeah I can tell, he thinks. He gets off on your desperation, mouth parted all for him? Your eyes threaten to spill by the way he tears apart your cunt and morals bit by bit.. it’s–

‘’Tomura, aren't you closing yet?’’ Someone asks from outside, interrupting the moment. The shutters only reveal a pair of shoes. 

‘’Yeah, I’m on it.’’ Shigaraki stops composed, cockwarming you in a funny way, while a hand, his hand covers your mouth. Your eyes widen as slick trickles down his thighs in silence.

‘’Alright, see you then.’’ The man leaves and he cusses him out. (''Cunt.'')

‘’We’re not done.’’ He turns his attention back to you and seizes your face, bringing your mouth closer.

‘’Open up.’’ He orders and you do, clenching around him in anticipation.

He spits in it and closes the gap with his index finger. 

‘’Swallow or I won’t continue.’’ You quickly gulp down.

‘’So obedient all of a sudden, aren't you?’’ Sarcasm evident as he gives your ass a solid hit, before starting to get back on his pace, only more rough this time, he longs for your release on him. You’re moving up and down his length, trying to grab anything accessible really, his hair, the back of the couch, under his shirt and you feel your orgasm resurface stronger; the delay highlighted all of your senses.

‘’T-Tomura—’’ You shudder, as his cock hits your g-spot expertly–fuck, this guy wasn't some incel–and your swollen clit has to brush one last time past his groin before you feel an overwhelming orgasm take over. You clamp down his length and moan embarrassingly (Fuck Tomura! I–I'm...too good!) This time he lets you, he needs to hear this.

‘’Fuuck—agh, look at you dollface.’’ He hums, a feminist creaming herself on my cock, he wants to add but it’s too many words and you just came so he wastes no time. He brings your neck close to his mouth and bites on it, teeth sink into your flesh and hands force you all the way down. His cum spills inside and he groans, trying to stifle his moans by biting down the sensitive skin even harder. 

And fuck if that isn’t hot.

He keeps you on him, arms fasten around your waist with cum dripping onto his lowered pants but neither of you bother to care; ragged breaths and the sounds of the film still playing are audible as more light enters through the rolled shutters.

God must’ve been on your side that day because a message appears on your screen moments after you both wordlessly got up and cleaned yourselves in the bathroom. Tomura would have to clean again, you think, as the message on your phone signals your time to leave.

You turn to look at him, he has removed his shirt and small nail scratches decorate his pale back and you..smile. What the hell? Was this..? Oh no—You try to find an appropriate goodbye.

See you soon? Thanks for the mind blowing dick? You aren’t the incel I thought you were? Everything seems embarrassing at present time. 

‘’I-I’ll be seeing you soon.’’ You opt for that, stupid as it is, you still look at him in anticipation. He turns to you, hands on the mop cleaning near the couch and nods. 

Great, you think, that was a disaster. You defeatedly walk (actually stoop to get past the almost closed door) feeling like a hooker after a client, miserable and kind of used. This is always the worst part. 

You feel an arm touch your shoulder, you’ve only taken a few steps in the daylight.

‘’Take this in case you revoke your incel statement.’’

Tomura hands you a piece of paper and quickly disappears behind the store’s shadows.

[batterygarden]

oh no! your big brother's best friend is the only one around to help you put in a tampon 😣.

yuuta x fem & afab reader. 18+ MDNI.

cw: yuuta is his own tw, somewhat taboo dynamics bc he has viewed you as a sibling, graphic period descriptions and blood, um it's sexualized, everyone's adults, reader just hasn't used a tampon before, yuuta masturbating mention, 1.3k words

“I just- I don’t know what to do. She wants us to take pictures in the pool! Like, I can’t avoid it!”

“Um. Maybe one of the other bridesmaids could help?” 

“I’ve barely spoken to any of them! They’d think I’m so dumb, Yuuta!”

Yuuta can only lean against the bathroom door and bite his tongue, completely at a loss. He wonders if even the wisest man alive would know how to navigate this type of thing—his best friend’s grown little sister’s period troubles. 

“‘M sorry.” He says earnestly. 

He hears you sniffle and mumble how it’s not his fault. Then there’s a slam of what’s presumably a cardboard tampon box thrown to the floor. 

“God, these instructions aren't helping at all! It hurts!” 

Yuuta’s pretty sure it’s not supposed to, at least from his experience knowing people who menstruate. Tampons are, like, tiny. He catches himself before he can really pursue the train of thought he starts heading towards—one where he contemplates if you’re a virgin, and if somehow that could make it harder to put in. He has to mentally slap himself; he’s being disgusting. 

“The YouTube video I sent—“ 

“No, yuuta, I swear, my vagina’s just, like. Different from anyone else’s. I need a doctor to do this, not some video.” 

You’re talking through quiet sobs and he’s concerned and he cares about you but Yuuta also can’t help but think you’re being a bit ridiculous. Soon the both of you will be late to your own brother’s wedding. 

“I can’t do this! I'm really and truly starting to freak out, Yuu!”

“Okay, I think—“ 

“Can you just come in and help?” 

The breath is knocked from his lungs.

“Uhh..”

“Please Yuuta there’s no one else who can! We’ll be late!” 

Yuuta purses his lips, checking the time on his phone for maybe the third time in the past minute. 

“Um…” 

“Please, just come in”

Deep exhale. “Alright then, I’m opening the door.” 

When he does, he finds you exactly the way he expected, perched on your toilet with closed legs, your baggy tee barely concealing the space between your thighs—he’s glad to note that your hair and makeup at least seem to already be done and your dress is hung up and ready. He spots the tampon box on the ground in front of you, its contents spilling out on the bathroom tiles. Then his eyes find your hands hovering over your lap, one of them clutching a plastic tampon applicator, both of them with bloody fingertips. 

Yuuta squares his shoulders. 

“So what’s the situation?” 

He’s very consciously only looking at your eyes when he asks, staring too long anywhere else feels rude. 

“This thing is literally tearing up my insides everytime I try to use it—maybe I’m not putting it in the right way.”

“Kay,” Yuuta’s thoughts seem to be moving incredibly slow. “Uh, do you wanna try again and I could, like, read the instructions for you while you do it?” 

You huff, giving a nod. 

“Okay.” He fumbles with the box, sitting next to you on the edge of the bathtub. Another deep breath. 

“Place the tip of the applicator at the vagina opening…” he notices you doing so out of his peripheral. His cheeks could not get any redder. 

“Now slide it in, up to where your fingers are.” 

He notices the way you hold your breath when you try—then you squeal. 

“No, this sucks yuuta! I can’t even do that—I need to angle it perfectly parallel to my tummy so it won’t hurt and I just can’t.” 

He sees you’ve taken out the applicator again. 

“I honestly think you’re making this more complicated than it needs to be, yn.” 

“Well how would you even know?” 

“I mean. I’ve seen a woman put in a tampon before…” 

“The YouTube animation isn’t the same, Yuu!” 

“Uh, well… I meant maki.” 

Yuuta watches as just about every emotion on earth briefly crosses your face. 

“That’s—“ you shake your head. “Why?!” 

Suddenly he wishes he had just kept his credibility to himself. 

“She was my girlfriend at the time, it’s not like it was weird! What I’m trying to say is, you should just relax and not think about it so hard. I think you’re too tense and that’s why you’re getting hurt.” 

You hyperventilate a bit again—hopefully getting it out of your system—before nodding and trying again. This attempt ends in another sob. 

And there Yuuta sits, a foot away beside you, staring at the ceiling and praying to whatever god is out there for this moment to pass. 

“Yuuta—“ you sniffle, “can you do it for me?” 

…

Yuuta sighs a deep, long sigh. He… had an idea that’s where this was headed. And what’s he supposed to do? Leave you hanging right before a huge wedding which you’re both in the party of? While you’re crying and freaking out? 

“…alright, I’ll try.” 

He rolls up his sleeves, then he washes his hands, holding them up like he’s about to perform surgery.  

You offer the tampon. 

Gingerly, he plucks the bloody applicator from your fingers. 

He squats down in front of you then, eyes flicking to your sniffling face while wearing his own similar, very somber, expression. 

“You’re gonna have to open your legs.” 

Slowly, you do. 

And yuuta tries not to be weird about it—he doesn’t know what even constitutes a normal reaction here, but he can’t help but instantly engrave the image of your spread pussy, blood staining its lips and dripping out of it, permanently into his brain. He knows it’s permanent because he doesn’t want it to be. He knows he’ll think about it because he’ll try not to. This is some kind of test from the universe and he is failing. 

He stares for a second, instinctively catching every detail. The way red smears across the plush insides of your thighs, the way you clench yourself automatically under his gaze, the way a red drop oozes from your hole when you do. The shape of your lips leading up to your clit. 

He shakes his head microscopically to clear it, hoping you don’t pick up on his pause. He uses one hand to grip onto a thigh then, holding steady while he brings the applicator to you for the millionth time today. You make a worried noise. 

“Breathe for me?” 

When he hears you exhale, Yuuta eases the applicator in bit, angling it up whatever way feels natural, then he pushes the trigger so the tampon’s inserted. 

You make a surprised gasp, mumbling a little oh my god before sitting up straight. Yuuta knows it’s finally in there correctly. 

His hands are washed and he is out of that room faster than you could say thank you. 

The drive to the event is less awkward than it could be, thanks to the news podcast Yuuta always listens to and an interesting story spurring on conversation. But yuuta can’t stop thinking about it. He’s known you since you were kids—only ever looked at you like a somewhat annoying little sibling—but now his brain keeps reverting to thoughts of your warm little pussy every other minute. When you talk, when you look at him, when you hold his arm walking down the aisle before the bride. When you dance later in the night. And most importantly, when his fist’s around his cock in his hotel room later, turning in early even after one of your pretty cousins kept trying to get inside his pants all night. He might not have turned her down under different circumstances, but he knew he had to when his head kept reverting to you, eyes darting to find you at the reception almost every other minute. Drifting to your body whenever they did…

[ravencoloredroses]

I Choose You

Nyx x Reader (Eris’ daughter)

Summary: Nyx and Eris’ daughter have always felt an attraction towards each other, even if they can never actually be together.

Word Count: 4,086

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: I made this to fill my forbidden fantasies between Nyx and Eris’ daughter, but if you want more from these characters, check out All That Matters! It gives a different story line for these two! Thanks for reading and as always, let me know what you think!!

——————————————————————————

I suck in a breath as the strings on the back of my corset are pulled taut. Why I still have to wear corsets is beyond me, but I’ve learned to do what I’m told.

My father is High Lord of the Autumn Court. Which means as his daughter, there are specific rules I must follow and certain events I must attend.

Tonight we are attending an event at the Night Court, something about falling stars. The Night Court is where he is from. We’ve been in the same circles our entire lives, attending the same events and meetings. He’s absolutely perfect in every way, except he is the heir to the Night Court. A.K.A. my mortal enemy.

That’s a cringy way to put it but that’s exactly what it is. Our fathers only recently have started to get along with each other. I’ve heard stories of what my father did to the other High Lord's cousin Mor, but I’d rather not think about that right now. My father has shown me and my brother nothing but love my whole life, and I refuse to believe otherwise.

I hear my father’s signature knock on my door and I go over to open it.

“You look lovely darling.” He says pulling me in for a hug, careful not to mess up my hair. “Are you ready to go?”

I pull away and go to look in the mirror. My bright red hair is perfectly curled and is surprisingly soft for how much hairspray is in it. It’s in perfect contrast to my dark forest green dress. It has long sleeves and a modest neckline but still shows off the curves of my chest before it flares out around my waist. I’ve gone with a light makeup look today, letting my freckles shine through. My father meets my gaze in the mirror.

“I’m ready.” I say, spinning around to face him.

“Perfect.” He replies, grabbing my hand to winnow us away.

We arrive at the front door of a mansion and I see shadows shuffling around in the windows. It looks like there aren't a lot of people here, maybe they are coming later?

Just before my father knocks, the door swings open, revealing the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court. They are dressed in full black head to toe, but such a depressing color, it looks amazing on them.

“Welcome to our home! Happy Starfall!” They say, stepping aside to let us in, my father goes first and I trail behind.

The High Lord extends his arm and leads us to what I presume is the living room.

“Everyone is just through there.” He says pointing down a hallway. “Don’t be shy, I’m sure you’ll find some familiar faces.”

As I make my way down, I see him. Gods he looks amazing. Oddly, his suit is the same color as my dress. It was unintentional, but I couldn’t be more thrilled. He’s looking at me with an expression that says he’s excited to see me too.

We’ve never got to be alone with each other, there are always too many people around. After stealing a few glances, one of us gets pulled away. I can’t explain this feeling I have for him. I know we can’t be together. but that only makes me want him more.

“Will your brother be joining us as well?.” Rhys pulls my thoughts away from Nyx.

“No. Unfortunately my brother had other obligations tonight.” I lie. He’s sneaking away with his girlfriend that no one but myself knows about. I can’t help but feel jealous, he always gets everything I want. Our father has a ball and chain that ties me down, I can only go so far before he yanks me back.

That’s why everything about Nyx excites me, he’s got everything I want. He is everything I want.

I’m offered a glass of wine and gladly accept. I’m normally not a big fan of wine, but today I need a little bit of ‘liquid courage’ as they say.

Wandering around this mansion feels wrong, so I make my way towards the balcony. I peer out the window to make sure no one else is there and open the door.

I’m suddenly grateful my dress has long sleeves as I feel the cold air against my skin. I rest my arms on the railing to look out into Velaris. I hate to admit it, but this city is beautiful.

I hear the door behind me quietly open and close. I know who it is without having to turn around.

“It’s beautiful, don’t you think?” I ask when he stands next to me.

“It is, yes.” He replies. I look up to find him already looking down at me. I’m not the best at keeping eye contact, but I can’t bring myself to look away. His eyes are a striking blue and it makes my heart skip a beat to know that he’s looking at me. I glance behind me to make sure no one sees us together.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” He says, shifting a little closer to me. I turn slightly to face him and he places his hand dangerously close to mine on the railing.

“So have I.” I smile at him. We both look down to our hands as I slowly bring mine overtop of his.

“Do you- do you feel it too?” He asks. I look back to him questioningly.

“Feel what?” He looks shocked at first, but then sadness takes over his expression.

“Never mind.” He looks back to the sky. Feeling a bit bold, I place my hand under his chin and turn his head to look at me.

“Tell me, please. What do you feel?”

He looks down at my lips and back up to my eyes. I find myself doing the same. My boldness must have rubbed off on him because the next thing I know, he is pulling me close.

Then he presses his lips to mine. My shock only lasts half a second and then I’m kissing him back. I wrap my hand around his neck to play with his hair. He moans into the kiss, then his hands travel down my back, stopping at my waist.

I reluctantly pull back after a while for a breath of air and rest my head on his chest. He chuckles lightly, causing me to look up at him. “What?” I giggle back.

He shakes his head, still smiling. “I just can’t believe this is happening.” I pull him back down into a kiss.

“Me neither.” I whisper against his lips.

Moments later, I see a flash of light from the corner of my eye. I must have a confused look on my face because Nyx turns to face us towards the sky. “This is Starfall, my favorite holiday. Some believe they are spirits, traveling to return home. Others just see falling stars and are amazed by their beauty.” He pulls my back to his front, I lean my head back to rest on his shoulder. “What do you believe?”

He looks down and meets my gaze. “I’d like to believe that they are spirits, but I have no proof.” I nod and place a kiss on his chin.

“That sounds beautiful, Nyx. Absolutely beautiful.”

“I’ll have to go back soon, my family will wonder where I am.” He kisses my head and regretfully releases me. “I’ll see you in there.” Then he’s gone.

I stay there looking out at the sky for a couple more minutes. I just had my first kiss and it was with Nyx. I feel like I’m walking on a cloud, until I remember who we are and why we can’t be together. We have to figure something out. I need to be with him. Even if both of our families disown us. I can’t stay away any more.

Soon after returning to my father’s side he announces that we will be leaving. I look around for Nyx, but can’t find him. I mask my disappointment, say goodbye to everyone and thank Feyre and Rhys for inviting us over.

“The next ones at our place.” My dad says with a wink at Rhys and winnows us back home.

———

Two Months Later

Nyx’s POV

I give myself one look in the mirror and head downstairs to meet up with my family. As I come down the stairs, Uncle Cassian whistles at me. “Daaaamn, Nyxie Wyxie, who are you trying to impress?”

I laugh it off nonchalantly and move over to my parents.

“You look so handsome, Nyx. Don’t listen to Cassian, he’s just trying to rile you up.” My mother says. I give her a smile and sit down as we wait for everyone to get here.

It’s been over 2 months since I’ve last seen her and I couldn’t be more excited. I had hoped during Starfall that she felt the mating bond, but it doesn’t seem like she did. Even after we kissed, and my gods it was amazing. I don’t know if that was her first kiss, but it was mine and I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off my face for 2 weeks. All I’ve been able to think about is her.

So yeah, Cassian, maybe I am trying to impress someone. She has no idea that she’s my mate and even if she did, her father would never let us be together.

I’ve known that she is my mate for almost 2 years, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I have a plan for tonight though, I just need everything to be perfect.

“Okay so here’s the plan.” My dad says, drawing my attention. “It’s a ball, so there will be lots of people dancing around. It will be easy to lose sight of each other, but under no circumstances should we let that happen. Understand?” He says sternly. We all reply with either a yes or a nod. “Great! Now let’s go.” He grabs onto my mothers hand and she grabs mine, winnowing us out.

Loud music fills my ears as people push past me to get to the ballroom, my family and I follow. Over the years coming to these events, I’ve been one of a handful of kids my age. Y/N included. She’s always been the first thing I look for when I get inside. Now as I look around, it takes me no time to find her.

She’s looking around the room as well and finally her eyes land on me. Gods she’s beautiful. Everything about her is stunning. She gives me a big smile and eyes the door to her left. I’m not good at hints, but that one’s pretty obvious, so I gave her a smile back and nod. She walks towards the door and I get a full view of her dress. Dark green, her signature color, with gold lace trims. Her auburn hair is in an intricate braid that’s resting on her right shoulder.

Once she’s inside the door, I count to 60. A full minute might be too much time to make her wait, but I need to be sure my family doesn’t see us together. When I get to 56, I start walking towards the door. I look around to find my parents chatting with other High Lords, Cassian and Nesta dancing together and Azriel standing with his back facing me. Perfect. I pick up my pace and open the door she went through.

It opens into what I assume is a storage room. As I close the door I feel tiny hands wrap around my waist.

“Hey handsome.” She whispers. I spin around in her grasp and put my hands around her waist.

“Hi beautiful.” I pull her close and lift her up to place a kiss on her lips. She moves to wrap her arms around my neck and plays with the back of my hair. I melt when she does this, I love it so much. I can’t control the moan that comes out as she arches her body into mine.

I move to kiss behind her ear, and now it’s her turn to moan. I would give anything to keep that sound on repeat in my head. She continues playing with my hair as I kiss my way down her neck. “Nyx.” She says in my ear in a serious tone, that causes me to stop and look at her face. Scared that I did something wrong, I take a step back. She grabs my hands and has a panicked expression on her face.

“Please don’t leave. I don’t want you to go.” She says. I release a breath and cup her face with my hands.

“Then I won’t.” I promise as I rub my thumbs along her freckle filled cheeks and kiss her again.

She places her head on my chest and I move my hand to cradle the back of her head. “I mean like, ever.” She says and looks up at me. “I don’t ever want to be away from you again.” She starts to cry, I quickly wipe away her tears and pull her closer to me.

I know I need to respond, but I can’t think of what to say. I don’t want to be away from her again either. These past 2 months have been nothing but agony. I want nothing more than to run away with her right now and never return. But we both know we can’t do that. Not yet, anyway. I lift her chin up with my finger and press a quick kiss to her nose which causes her to giggle, just like I wanted.

“I can’t promise you a future, no matter how much I wish I could. What I can promise is the present, and right now I don’t want to do anything but be here with you.” I whisper and she pulls me down into another kiss.

This one is more intense than our previous ones, more needy. I push her up against the wall and lift her into my arms. She wraps her legs around my waist and bites my bottom lip while her fingers begin unbuttoning my shirt.

She gets to the third when the door behind us slams open. I gently drop her to the ground and turn around so she can hide behind me.

“NYX!” I hear my father yell.

“Y/N!” Eris yells from behind him.

My father comes over to me to pull me away from Y/N. Eris rushes over to her and grabs onto her arm. She looks at me scared and it kills me that there’s nothing I can do about it. “Please dad, just let me explain.” She pleads to her father.

“You can explain at the house.” He snarls and winnows her away.

“Noooo!” I fight out of my fathers grasp to try and reach her before they are gone, but it’s too late. I fall to the ground where she was and put my head in my hands.

“Get up Nyx. This is ridiculous.” My father says. I whip my head around and give him the death glare he deserves. “She means nothing to you. She’s the daughter of Autumn, son, she is destined to be your enemy.”

My mom joins me on the floor and rubs my back. “Nyx it will be okay, you’ll find someone else.”

“I don’t want someone else! I want her!” I snap back.

“As long as I’m alive that is never going to happen.” My father hisses. I stand up and move to be face to face with him.

“SHE’S MY MATE!! Did you know that? No, of course you didn’t. She doesn’t even know yet and still she wants to be with me. Do you remember what it was like before mom knew? That’s how I feel right now. It would be nice to have my father be there for me. Why do you think I never told you?” I scream out, he gives me a shocked expression. I bolt past the rest of my family before anyone has a chance to stop me.

Y/N’s POV

I’m still sobbing as I lay on my bed 30 minutes later. When we winnowed home I ran upstairs ignoring anything my father had to say. His knock on my door now is quiet, almost fearful. Good. This conversation isn’t going to be easy for either of us.

“Sweetheart, can I come in?” He asks from behind the door. I don’t respond, hoping he will take the hint and leave me alone. Instead, he pushes my door open and sits beside me on my bed. He breathes a heavy sigh.

“I wanted to apologize.” He starts and I jolt upright. I was NOT expecting that.

“W-what?” I ask, not believing my ears.

He nods. “I wanted to apologize to you. I spoke with Rhysand a couple minutes ago and he told me that you two are mates and I……..” He keeps talking, but nothing he says is registering in my brain.

“M-mates? Nyx and I are mates?” I ask.

“Yeah- oh you didn’t- you didn’t know that?” He asks. I shake my head, still struggling to understand what is happening. He pulls me into a hug and rocks me back and forth.

“Oh I’m so sorry sweetheart. I- I thought you knew.”

“Wait. Does Nyx know?” I sit up and look at him, he nods. I’m thinking over our past interactions trying to put the pieces together. That’s what the pinching was. Was that what he was asking if I felt? Why didn’t he just tell me?

“I really am sorry. It’s just that Nyx is the heir of the Night Court and you are my only daughter. I didn’t want to see you together, but since you are mates we will make it work. I promise.” He says.

“Can I go see him?” I wipe away my tears with the back of my hand.

“Of course you can.” He gives me a smile and winnows me to the Night Court.

I wanted to make myself look presentable after all the crying I just did, but I’m running up to Nyx’s room as soon as we get there. I don’t know how I know which room is his, I just feel it. I stop abruptly outside of his door and I’m about to knock when it swings open.

Standing in front of me is the most stunning male I’ve ever seen. He looks like he’s been crying as much as I have. It breaks my heart to see him like that and based on the look he gives me, he feels the same.

I jump up into his arms and he walks us backwards into his room. He kicks the door closed behind us and walks over to his bed. Nyx gently sets me down on his mattress and kneels before me. I place my hands on either side of his face as he rests his hands over mine.

“We’re mates.” I sob out. He looks scared of what I’m about to say, so I give him a smile to try and ease his nerves. He gives me a shy nod.

“Is that okay with you?”

“It’s perfect.”

He releases a sigh and pulls me into his arms. “We need to talk about some things.” He says.

“I know.” I pull back to look at his beautiful face. “I choose you, Nyx. I will always choose you. I don’t care what our parents think. Even if we live in a shack in the middle of nowhere. I just want to be with you.”

He wipes away my tears and looks at me happily. “Are you sure? Because I could definitely find us a shack in the middle of nowhere.” He jokes while peppering my cheeks with kisses. He rubs away his tears with the back of his hand and gives a soft chuckle.

“What?” I ask, giggling at him.

“Nothing, I just am so fucking happy right now. I don’t really know what to do with myself.” He laughs, but his face changes to show that he’s nervous. “Could you stay tonight?”

“Do you have something I could borrow?” I ask, gesturing down to my very uncomfortable dress. He fumbles around in his closet before returning with an oversized t-shirt and some boxer shorts. Nyx hands them to me and shows me where his bathroom is, leaving me to change.

His shirt fits me like a dress, it comes down so far you can even tell that I’m wearing shorts. I step back into his bedroom and find that he’s already laying down in bed. He pats the space next to him and I giggle as I jump under the covers.

He pulls my back to his front and wraps his arm around my waist. He places a kiss on my shoulder and says “I choose you too. I will always choose you.”

I smile and snuggle closer. “I know.”

I struggle to keep my eyes open, not wanting to miss a second of this moment, but I can already tell that this is going to be the best sleep I’ve ever had.

2 YEARS LATER

I stand up from my vanity and head over to my closet to get dressed. Today is Nyx and I’s anniversary and he’s taking me on a date, but he won't tell me where we are going. The only thing he has told me is what to wear. I pick up the beautifully wrapped box and undo the bow to reveal the most stunning dark green dress.

I turn towards the mirror to see myself. Not only do I look beautiful, I feel beautiful. That feeling isn’t a familiar one, but it’s beginning to grow on me. I’m so distracted looking at myself that I don’t notice my mate walking up behind me.

He wraps his large hands around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder. “You look gorgeous, darling. Are you ready to go?” He asks and spins me around.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, so let's go before I ruin this new dress you bought me.” I tease and give him a kiss. He chuckles and winnows us away.

We arrive in an empty ballroom and I look over at him questioningly. “I figured we should have another chance at attending a ball together.” He says shyly, taking my hand to lead me towards the dance floor. Suddenly, classical music begins to play and Nyx places a kiss on my knuckles.

“May I have this dance, My Lady?” He asks with a smirk.

“I’d be honored to dance with you, My Lord.” I reply and he pulls me close. My hand finds room on his shoulder as his find my waist. We slowly sway back and forth for a couple of songs before Nyx pulls back.

“Y/N, on this night 2 years ago I promised you something, and I told you that there was another thing that I couldn’t promise you. I’d like to change that tonight.” He begins and I already feel tears building in my eyes.

“Back then I said I couldn’t promise you a future, but that I could promise you the present.” He swallows and moves onto one knee before me, “Y/N Vanserra, I would be honored if you would allow me to promise you a future, our future.” He pulls out a small box from his jacket pocket.

“Will you marry me?”

I throw myself into his arms. “Yes!”

He picks me up and kisses me while we spin around. He grabs onto my left hand and slides the most beautiful ring onto my fourth finger. He pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, then wipes away my tears with his thumb. “I love you so much, Y/N.”

“I love you too.” I rest my face on his chest as we dance away the night. Our lives may not be perfect, but we chose how to live our lives. We chose each other.

[bloedewir]

Weekly delusional theory time yay 🥳

It's fun to think Solas is a tired mess of an elf who can't plan anything without screwing it all up. How can that weirdo possibly achieve his goal? More so, how did he even trapped elven gods?

By playing the game with well known rules. Like, idk, chess?

Look, the figures are different so as maybe the board but the rules are the same. And tactics. All he need is to be inconspicuous and discreet as always.

Distract the enemy, let them think they're winning, then strike.

It's already a proven strategy: take the unlucky one (Inquisitor/Rook), put them into the middle of worldwide catastrophe (Breach/Evanuris), step aside, offer your help, guide them wherever course you need, give them shelter (Skyhold/Lighthouse), look trustworthy, when all is over - say byebye and continue following your plan.

Yes there's still a few blind spots and something that can't be foreseed yet there's also a time to prepare yourself. Did Solas have a plan in case Inquisitor would've been failed? Presumably. If he has a plan in case Rook will fail? Presumably.

A part with Inquisitor' involving back in time was an improvisation but it paid off. Unintended risk it was however; not a comfort zone but odds depending play, like Wicked Grace. Quite efficient though. Why not try again but with some improvements?

Solas didn't know who Inquisitor is before the Conclave. Now (I'm like 78% sure) he knows who Rook is.

Varric chased Solas for some time and Solas was well aware of it. Varric didn't pick up Rook just before the beginning of the game. Their dialogue assumes they know each other (for some time, like weeks idk?). I bet Solas knew about "da4 protagonist", had time to look closer and fit Rook into his plans. That's why after all these years (10!) it was surprisingly easy to find him and even interrupt the ritual. Because it was intended.

(I won't be surprised if all this "ah help I trapped in the Fade" situation turns out to be a top tier wolf prank)

Right, but why make your life harder and involve a random mortal? As a wild guess: evanuris must be released to tear down the Veil. Seven gods, seven seals - get rid of them and follow your dream, destroy the Veil and restore your ✨perfect elvhen empire✨. Why risk and deal with two evanuris himself when you can move one of the pawns? Place your rivals against each other and look. Inquisitor won and proved mortals are not useless, so Rook can win too. And if Rook fails, you can intervene and finish the job.

I also think that's the reason why Inquisitor will be back. And I think Solas won't like it. Inquisitor is the one who can say, "What's going on here? Hey, I've seen it before. I know what you're up to". Without them Solas is quite comfortable with drawing a portrait of a tired lonely being who's easy to sympathize with. But a sudden Inquisitor's comeback can mess this up.

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve sympathy or he's a pure evil. He had enough time to turn his flaws and destructive feelings into useful tools. And if he uses his guilt/loneliness/despair when it's needed it doesn't make it a less real. The dude is complex like rocket science after all.

For now, as it seems to me, Solas intends to "replay" Inquisition because it went kinda well. Minimal risk as he may think. What the odds another mortal happened to be unique too? They doesn't even bear a ✨magnificent elvhen magic✨ mark! Poor bastard (affectionate), he doesn't even know what comes.. But I swear to gods, above and below, if he'll do that "what we had was real" thing again, I'll kill everyone in that game and then tear that freaking Veil down myself.

[thatguythatdrawsalot]

Ruby - Atlas Design Critique.

I'm ending things off with a post about Ruby, now I do love making these kinds of posts but I don’t want to make it a top priority because, of course, I wanna draw other things especially since I start college around the corner. These posts tend to take more creative juices from my small brain. Until then, just consider critiques/redesign posts on a hiatus. 

RWBY Archives

I’m glad you guys were able to see me talk about outfits in a negative, negative, neutral-positive, and now POSITIVE way, mainly due to being biased. The archives say pretty much the obvious in her having a new style and being more cutting-edge with the look aka more stylish. I think they nailed it as she looks more mature and better yet her corset is way more reminiscent of Pyrrha. You know? The friend Ruby wants to honor since she saw her die right before her eyes- I can keep gushing about how cool she looks but uh, again I’m being biased, she’s cool-looking but not… practical. As in this outfit isn’t necessarily good to wear in Atlas, or rather the tundras. I wouldn’t mind this if she was solely stuck in Atlas/Mantle but she goes on outside missions, why on earth is she wearing a mesh? If anything this outfit would serve better if she was in Vacuo. The outfit had an alternative version of No Sleeves and even her presumed Volume 10 outfit looks so identical to her Atlas design.

Amazing how even the best outfit in Team RWBY still doesn’t make her look warm for the climate.

Hair

Remember back in my Blake Critique post on how I said I hated the ‘Spitting-Image of Parent' trope in fiction? They could’ve given Ruby a ponytail to look similar to once again; Summer, but they didn’t they got Ruby’s messy bang out of her field of vision and swooped it to the left! She looks 100% cuter and combat ready and while everyone was excited at her for looking more like Qrow, I was excited cause her hair looked more like Taiyang’s hair in being swooshed to the left. Though I wish they gave a reason as to why Ruby changed her hair all of a sudden, when characters change hairstyles it’s usually to show a display of growth with a ‘Show Don’t Tell’ reason but I’ll be biased and assume Ruby just wanted to look more mature ever since stood her ground in Argus for a reason I don’t wanna rant about.

Primary Color - Red!

Ruby doesn’t fail in representing her color of Red. The long red cape already does the job well plus her red skirt, she’s a gold star for being a red-themed character. But when it comes to her sleeves, blegh. I’m sure people have noticed this by now but Ruby’s sleeves are light gray which is so similar to her skin tone, which puts more emphasis on her arms. I swear the first time I saw the teaser trailer and saw Ruby’s model, I thought they decided to ditch the sleeves but no. The sleeves are just super light like her skin. I think it would’ve helped the design if they either made Ruby tan like her sister or made the sleeves a darker gray.

Negatives?

I do love Ruby’s Atlas look but as I said I can’t be biased. As cool and cute as she looks it isn’t a proper outfit for the cold environment she’s in, she even shivers in the show canon. The sleeves matching her skin look weird. An open skirt is silly and what’s sillier is a belt holding it in place. I also really hate how Ruby’s cape was just… replaced. Back then I thought her cape had significance as she continued to wear it even when it was withered and tethered, but even back then I thought her Vale cape held more significance- but anyways it was just replaced. Whatever I guess- oh my god it’s the same cape with lazy fabric around her neck. They couldn’t give her a different styled cape? One where it’s held together by a string? Buttons? Pins? No?...

Redesign

Okay, I know it’s crazy, but I ditched the cape and emblem. I know, I know! I just used the canon logic and since the cape didn’t mean anything to Ruby for it to be replaced, she could just ditch it for now. I know the cape is an iconic element but I couldn’t find a way to incorporate it. I also ditched the metal emblem, I know it’s a ‘mother’s promise’ and her mom’s emblem but uh… she didn’t wear it in Volume 2, I didn’t think she would care to wear it now. I wanted the look to be different but I think I just made Ruby unrecognizable now. I know the formula is to have Ruby wear a cape and the metal emblem but I just… couldn’t. I’ll confess to you guys about something, the main inspiration for this outfit was Ruby’s Ice Queendom design. I love it and wanted to try to get Ruby with that similar vibe, but I can understand if everyone may not like this. No cape, no metal emblem, and looks a little more childish when Ruby is supposed to be mature. I get it, but I wanted to show you guys that you shouldn’t be afraid of drastic changes to designs. It can sometimes work and sometimes not. 

Conclusion

Ruby’s outfit is still arguably the best amongst her team even when it’s not climate-appropriate, as much as I nag about her sleeves being too close to her skin color and the decision of her cape being repaired I still do love it. It isn’t perfect I can admit that but she is on the top best Atlas designs for me. If this outfit was instead held off for Vacuo or a return to Vale, it’d be top fifteen at the very least in all of the designs we’ve seen across the show. 

But of course it’s just my opinion. If you love this design or hate the design, please share your opinion. I’d love to hear it! :D

[stellamalonesolaria]

BTS Kim Taehyung x reader | oneshot (drabble) | boy(friend)

pairing: fuckboy! bestfriend!taehyung x non specified! reader

warning: mild swearing.

author’s note: english is not my first language. also, this was an impromptu attempt to test my very mediocre writing skills.

————��————————————————————

“It’s negative.” Taehyung says as his hands snake around your waist, his lips leaving wet tiny kisses on your neck, causing you to leave a gasp, his fingers tracing tiny circles on your stomach, giving you goosebumps. You immediately try to pull away from him resisting the sensations he has made you feel. you push him back using all your pent up force as he raises an eyebrow, watching you in amusement.

“Good for you Kim”, you say almost satirical. you look up, gazing into his hazel brown eyes, he keeps his mouth shut as he anticipates you continuing your speech, which you do, “Tae, first off i don’t believe that the dick that’s been used up by almost the entirety of this town hasn’t caught any std yet, second of all, you can’t just hover over me while i’m working in the kitchen, like god one day of peace and a warm meal is all i ask of you and you cannot even provide me with that.”, Taehyung heaves as he hears your over dramatic rhetorics, “Okay drama queen, i get it, you’re just distraught right now because you were caught up with your cooking chaos and cooking makes everyone agitated but what i did was completely justified. Also the std shit is pretty offensive bae, might want to tone it down a notch huh?” his deep voice completely captivates you, leading you to melt into his arms as you hug him and snuggle into his arms, basking in his coffee like scent.

“Sorry Tae, you surprised me, I shouldn’t have pulled off the std joke and i wont ever as long as you keep your hands to yourself, okay boy friend?”. yes Kim Taehyung is just your guy best friend whom you’re sometimes very much so enticed towards, he is beguiling, enchanting and everything both men and women could ask for. he’s the embodiment of beauty, he looks like he has been sculpted very carefully by greek gods, the only sad thing is, this guy is a douche, he believes in fucking around for temporary sexual gratification and has been known as the ‘male bop’ of the town because of all the scandalous activities he has been involved with, especially, breaking every man’s ego and sneaking in every woman’s panties, you’re an exception to his rendezvous, or so you thought so.

Taehyung breaks the hug, forgiving you, “it’s okay sweetheart, maybe my actions were too straightforward and blunt, you know with all the hickeys I was trying to create.”, he says this with a husky voice, presumably ruining your underwear. “But a deal’s a deal.”. he says confusing you. “What deal Tae?”, you ask to which he answers, “You agreed to fuck me if I tested std negative deal.”, he throws this casually as you breathe out an exasperated sigh. ‘when did this even happen’ you think, and knowing you he deciphers that you probably don’t remember.

“Goddamnit Y/N, do you remember when i broke off things with Evie? That day, you and I got drunk and then at night, we briefly had an agreement with you being my hookup partner if i don’t have any sexual related disease? So I took your word and tested for it, turns out my dick is free of any potential threat that could’ve been an obstacle between you, I and sex.” You squeal in shock as these words leave his mouth, causing you to leave your mouth agape, wide and long enough for any housefly to enter inside and refuge there till you die.

You shut your mouth, processing his words as your nostrils flare up, your nose scrunching up in disgust, your eyebrows knitting together in scrutiny. “EW EW EW EW, Taehyung, you’re hot and shit, but I’m not sleeping with a manwhore who has bedded my arch nemesis as well as my step sister and the entire town and HOW COULD YOU EVEN SEE ME THROUGH THOSE LUSTFUL EYES, I WOULD PUKE NOOO”, you say as you cover your ears refraining yourself from hearing anything this attractive asshole has to say about screwing you.

You finally calm down after what feels like an eternity. “Taehyung, why don’t you just have sex with Seolhyun again? It didn’t matter to you when her and I were literally fighting over my ex so why not make love to her again now?”, this was war against Taehyung, you spat your words like fire.

“The only reason I fucked your arch nemesis in the first place was because you asked me to, so that you could maintain tranquility between your ex and you when you both were dating, plus, sex with her is so boring, she only wants missionary and someone she can submit to, like bitch, this isn’t vanilla bdsm and i’m not a slave to your boring ideas of what sex should be between men and women, anyways, sorry for the rant, are you up for some good ol’ sex or nah?”, Taehyung retorts, absolutely burning Seolhyun to ashes. You blink in remorse as you’ve been the one who coaxed him to sleep with her. You dismiss Seolyun’s topic by stuffing his face with the cookies you were baking while you try to politely decline his fuck buddies offer.

“What if sex with me turns out to be boring too?”, you say as Taehyung looks into your eyes, and with genuineness, he opens his mouth “Sex with you could never be boring. Infact, if I ever get you to comply with this entire sleeping agreement, I fear I’d need another partner for the rest of my life.”, this line, makes your heart race, you don’t say anything, as he just keeps gazing into your eyes, embracing your soul with warmth of his words and sincerity brimming in his eyes, you both clasp your hands together when suddenly your doorbell rings.

You get pulled out of the romantic ambience that Taehyung’s words had created as you dash towards your main gate entrance. There is a delivery boy standing in front of you which puzzles you as you haven’t ordered anything. The delivery boy looks at you with a smug expression on his face almost adding fuel to the awkward tense atmosphere which was already built.

“Ma’am, here’s your order.”, the delivery boy chimes as he places a packet of condom into your hands. Your eyes widen in shock and your cheeks turn crimson red as you look at the thing in your hand as if it’s the most illicit shit you’ve seen on your palm. You clench the condom packet in your hand as you make your way to the kitchen, where Taehyung is standing, devouring the cookies you’ve baked. You hold his upper arm, causing him to turn around as he looks at your flabbergasted state with cookies stuffed in his mouth.

“What is this?”, you ask clearly shooketh to the core, to which Taehyung replies nonchalantly, “a condom?”, you roll your eyes as you further ask, “what for?”, annoyance evident in your tone with a hint of mortification and shyness at the same time.

He smirks as he looks at your bewildered state, leaning closer to your lips, reducing the proximity between you two, his one hand grabs your ass, causing you to yelp, and his other hand gently puts your hair strand behind your ear while he says, “what else sweetheart?”

—————————————————————————

the end.

[littlemourningstarr]

Lovesick

Astarion always thought flowers a waste of a gift- but maybe, just maybe, he had been wrong about that.

Read on AO3!

Pairing: Astarion x Transmasc tav

Part of the Eternally Yours series!

Tags: fluff, like TOOTH ROTTING fluff, silly little vampire in love

The moment Astarion stepped into Bonecloak’s he was hit with a wave of different scents- all the herbs and flora mingling together in the air. It was different from the way Sekh’s workshop always smelled- his always had an Earthy undertone, a hint of fresh soil as he always had living specimens.

Derryth glanced up from the counter, where she had been jotting something into what appeared to be a large log book. Perhaps doing the numbers for the day’s sales.

She didn’t smile at seeing him, but did quirk her brows in recognition. Astarion moved quickly from the door, letting it shut behind him, the city’s nightlife rising behind him now that the sun had set. “Did your other half send you on a last minute errand?” she asked, voice still gruff but not unkind. Astarion presumed she was just never an overly friendly person.

“Not quite.” He paused at the counter, glancing about at all of the herbs hanging in clumps, quickly thinking he was in over his head- and that this had been a rather stupid idea. “Sekh doesn’t know I’m here.”

She closed her log book then, looking intrigued. After a moment of heavy silence and her unyielding stare, Astarion had to glance away.

“I was hoping you might be able to… guide me. I’d like to get some…” Astarion waved his hand around, “herbs or plants or whatever that he might find useful. And might also… look nice.”

He felt rather silly, as she continued to stare him down. “That look nice?” she repeated.

Yes, this was an incredibly stupid idea.

Astarion cleared his throat. “Something that may compliment a few… flowers.” The last bit was mumbled, and he could feel a bit of color along his cheeks, his ears. Gods how had anyone ever done this? He was right to think flowers were an utter waste of a gift.

Derryth finally cracked a small, bemused smile. The crinkles around her eyes deepened. “Most folk would just get flowers.”

“I’m not most folk,” Astarion retorted, adding, “besides, what use would he have for flowers? They would sit and die on a desk or a shelf. At least something here would be useful.” He gestured around him again. “But hells if I know what exactly.”

She moved around the counter, motioning for Astarion to follow her. He did, further into the shop, swearing he was seeing plants he had never seen before. He didn’t think that was even possible at this point- not with Sekh’s obsession.

“What color flowers were you thinking,” she asked, adding, “and what mayhem has that drow been up to in his lab? Maybe we’ll get lucky and we can compliment the color and his work.”

*

Astarion continued to feel utterly ridiculous, walking through the city, clutching a mess of herbs and flowers, all tied together in a golden ribbon. Was this what lovesick youths felt like? He couldn’t remember, but it had to be the most daunting feeling. He swore everyone was staring at him.

Most nights that would be fine, but this felt- embarrassing? As if everyone knew exactly what he was up to. As if everyone could read that he was going through some overrated, ridiculous, sappy romance tradition.

It was only worse that Sekh hadn’t gone out to the Elfsong that night for a drink, but had made his way out to Sharess’s Caress. Which, again, any other night Astarion would have been utterly amused by this, would have wondered what trouble the two of them might get up to-

His thoughts all jumped to a screeching halt as he stepped into the brothel, dodging a few already drunk patrons who were chasing about one of the courtesans- a pretty half elf with a long blond braid, who gave Astarion a little smile as he moved past him.

Astarion slipped past the patrons, off into the curtained room where music was giving the air a new life. It took a moment, but he found Sekh across the room, sitting casually with Sorn and Nym as if they were simply sharing a drink in any tavern. Which, he knew, was how Sekh was seeing it. He’d chat up the other drow happily until one of them was pulled away for a patron. There were plenty of nights where patrons tried to employ Sekh, even- drunk enough to notice realize he was in fact just a patron like them.

Astarion had scared off plenty of those types, in the past.

He made his way over, his drow glancing up when he was only a few paces away, the cup he was lifting to his lips pausing and hovering near his mouth. Astarion was far too aware of Nym and Sorn watching, as well, when he finally reached Sekh.

He cleared his throat, offering out the flowers and herbs, all tangled in their gold lace, feeling as if his voice simply didn’t want to work. “These are for you,” he mumbled, adding even softer, “my love.”

Sekh set his glass down, stood up and gently covered Astarion’s hand holding the flowers with his own. His mismatched eyes were dancing. His other hand was gently touching the petals of one of the flowers- a large white bloom that Astarion had no idea the name of. He had just gone on instinct.

He was truly thinking his instincts were broken, in that moment. His pulse was alive despite that he hadn’t fed yet, his heart thumping painfully in his chest, banging against his ribs. Why was he nervous? Why did something so trivial as giving flowers to his lover make him feel like crawling out of his skin? It wasn’t as if he needed to impress Sekh, he knew. They had years together now. And yet-

Sometimes, it all still felt so new.

Sekh’s mouth curved into a soft, sweet smile. He leaned past the flowers, pressed a very gentle kiss to Astarion’s cheek. “You,” he whispered, “are a ridiculously sweet man.” He took the flowers himself, carefully examining them, as Sorn and Nym both gave soft laughs as they watched.

“Flowers? In a brothel?” Nym mused, tracing her finger around the lip of her own wine cup. “You are indeed a strange one, Astarion.”

And while he couldn’t argue that, he also couldn’t bring himself to tell her that the idea had just struck him that day, and if he didn’t go through with it now he would have lost his nerve. Over flowers. Gods what had he become?

“I guess romance is far from dead,” her brother added, as Astarion glared at both of them. They took his annoyance with nothing but more smiles.

“Is this Weavemoss?” Sekh asked suddenly, fingers dancing along the purple wisps. Astarion turned his attention back to his lover, as Sekh added, “and this is Mergrass, and this…” he trailed off, his gaze lifting from the bundle in his hands to Astarion.

The vampire shifted awkwardly. “What good would just flowers be for you? I thought you could… use those…” He waved his hand, before he reached up, covered his own eyes. “I think you should simply stake me now Sekh, it would be less painful.”

Instead of the requested stake, however, Astarion got Sekh’s arms tightly around his neck, his lover embracing him. Astarion was barely able to lower his hand from his eyes in Sekh’s grip, as the drow peppered his cheeks, the corners of his mouth, with kisses. The strange, embarrassing dread was quickly replaced by a sweet soaring feeling, as Astarion drowned in the delighted sound of Sekh’s laugh.

“You said flowers were a waste,” he teased. The way Sekh was looking at him made the world melt away, around them. If Sorn and Nym were still watching, Astarion was oblivious.

“Well they are,” he said, even if he couldn’t bring his heart into the statement. “But perhaps… I thought you might like them.”

“Oh, I love them,” Sekh said, adding, “just like I love you,” before leaning in, giving Astarion a proper kiss. The vampire’s hands drifted to his waist, squeezed gently, as he began to feel dizzy over the warm sensation of Sekh’s mouth, the taste of wine clinging to his lips, his tongue. He felt…surreal.

When Sekh pulled back, he leaned up on his toes, pressed his forehead to Astarion’s for a moment, before he eased back, glanced over at Nym and Sorn.

“I think I’m going to take him out for a little hunt,” Sekh said, “then take him home. Seems only appropriate I get the chance to let him feel… special too.”

Sekh glanced at Astarion, and the vampire’s stomach was up in the most pleasant mess of knots.

“What a bore,” Sorn said, resting his chin on his palm. “Fly away lovebirds. Perhaps you’ll entertain us another night.”

Nym only rolled her eyes at her brother, before she shooed Sekh and Astarion off. The vampire felt Sekh take his hand, tangle their fingers together, as the drow led him quickly through the brothel, back out to the bustling streets. Sekh turned them away from the gates back into the city, his other hand still clutching his flowers and herbs tightly to his chest.

“Let’s find you a little beastie to devour,” Sekh said, “so I can devour you.”

Astarion felt his heart race over the idea. Yet- “I didn’t… darling, you don’t have to-”

Sekh paused, tugging Astarion up against him. The vampire could smell the subtle floral scent, mixing with the herbs- it was oddly soothing. “You didn’t do this just to get me on my back beneath you, I know,” he teased, “you don’t have to even try for that, Starshine. But I think I’d quite like to whisper into your ear all night how much I utterly adore you, if that’s agreeable?”

Astarion swallowed thickly, lost in the scents and the cool night air and Sekh’s dancing eyes. Had he ever felt so utterly a fool and yet a king before, in his life? Had there ever been a time, before this man, where he had actually known what it was like to be so hopelessly in love?

He swore that even if there was, lost in the recesses of his long dead memory, it would still pale in comparison to what he felt now. That giddy, safe feeling, that excitement over just seeing his lover smile.

That feeling that wherever Sekh was present was home- and he was finally safe to think that.

[lunaechaos]

Agatha All Along spoilers and the /possible/ identity of The Ouija Board (tm) spirit

(i've never done a theory post before so cut me so slack)

hello Agatha lovers! hope we're all good and frying our brains to come up with theories and analysis for the show, aren't we?

in light of the two episodes and the new teasers/tv spots that came out after them introducing Alice's mother as an actual character, i think we can assume she is the spirit the coven tries to contact via the ouija board. but why?

first, Alice's mother was revealed since the very beginning, which is very funny because i could swear this was Alice. this is literally from the first teaser trailer ever released for Agatha All Along, the new teaser and the ending credits of the show:

Lorna Wu to you guys.

we know for a fact from the 2nd episode that Alice's mother is lost inside the road and probably trapped in it, so Alice's wish must presumably be related to finding her. this is the part where things get a little blurry for me, because i have a few ideas as to how the mother-daughter reunion could happen:

while Alice finds her mother in her own trial, the disco inferno one, i don't think her appearance is the result of it being successfully completed, considering everything that also happens in it (remember the red demon-thing everyone?).

i'm also not sure it's just Lorna's spirit manifesting for them as i've seen some people suggest, because this would mean she is already dead. all that we know about her is that she is missing and lost inside the witches' road, not deceased.

if she really is helping Alice on her trial, then i believe something goes wrong (who could've imagined it) and she perhaps sacrifice herself to protect Alice? there were early theories that pointed out that the red demon could be Alice, but now i'm tending to believe it is actually Lorna.

there was a theory that Alice would die in this episode, which doesn't hold true at all. many sources who have watched the first four episodes have confirmed that the disco scene (aka Alice's trial) takes place in the 4th episode, and reliable leakers say that the ouija one is in the 5th. while we know Alice isn't with the rest of the coven in the scene where they're need-for-speed-ing on their broomsticks, we can only assume she's either gotten off of the road or died somewhere during episode 5.

now, let's talk about the ouija scene, shall we?

admittedly, i don't have much to work with this time except a bit of the lyrics of the ballad's sacred chant version. i'm sure most of us are streaming this song to the point it might get a bb hot100 entry, but after hearing Jac say that the entire show is based upon the ballad's lyrics, it's obvious that it contains copious amounts of foreshadowing. now:

"if one be gone, we carry on spirit as our guide"

this bit intrigued me because it clearly implies that the coven can be guided by the spirits of dead witches who walked the road. would it be the spirits of only the witches of the current coven doing the road? the spirits of all the witches who have died on it? both? i don't really know.

what i do know is that contacting Alice's mother, a witch who's been trapped on the road for god knows how long and probably knows quite a lot about it, who's composed the most famous version of the ballad and who's just died, does make sense. it might rely on a lot of things happening? yes, but i do believe it makes more sense than the theories that they're contacting Sharon/Mrs. Hart, Evanora or even Wanda (as much as i love de idea of Wanda giving Agatha hell even spiritually).

it's really either that (them contacting a specific person, which is usually how you do in ouija) or a random spirit.

anyway, this is valid as long as Marvel doesn't release another bunch of revealing teasers because my god, they're not slowing down at all. or as long as the episodes come out and i'm not proven miserably wrong. some final considerations without any particular order that are related to this post:

if Alice really dies, then she either dies at the ouija board house or by the hands of the Salem Seven. i'm inclined to believe it's the latter.

if Alice doesn't die, then she really has had enough of Agatha's ass and the murderous road and just peaces off of the road (which i think is unlikely considering the protective nature of her magic and character).

we know that the 3rd episode is Jennifer's trial, 4th is Alice's, 6th is Lilia's and 7th or 8th is Agatha's. 9th is the special, which i'm not sure if it's at all related to the story of the show.

which makes me wonder: where is Billy's trial? i'm actually tending to believe the 5th episode is where his trial takes place. Rio doesn't have a trial because of her status as green witch, and the ouija house is the only one not elemental-coded (and that weird Hydra-like facility, but i think this one is related to Agatha somehow). Jennifer's trial is related to water as we can see from the scenes where she's being drowned, Alice's trial is related to fire because of obvious reasons, and Lilia's trial is related to air (everyone flying and falling around, yeah?). which leaves this particular trial, and i do think it's a trial because of the outfits and the house and all, quite out of place. so yeah, my bet is on the possibility of this actually being Billy's trial.

Jac Schaeffer please let me take you to lunch i need to know what goes on inside your brain.

thank you for getting to the bottom of this long-ass post and i hope it's at least intelligible for y'all!

[goodnightmemes]

THE TUDORS SEASON THREE SENTENCE STARTERS (PART TWO)

s03e05 - s03e08

❛ We must set to work finding a new bride for the King. ❜

❛ It's true, he has an heir, at last, but one is scarcely sufficient. To be safe, he must produce another. ❜

❛ Poor lamb. Never to know his own mother. ❜

❛ Perhaps, someday soon, you yourself will have a child. ❜

❛ You're sheltering a traitor! I want to know where he is. ❜

❛ You are going to tell me, or God help me, I'll kill you, and I have the immunity to do it. ❜

❛ I've grown afraid of my own shadow. ❜

❛ Sometimes I think I do not want this child in my belly. ❜

❛ Like the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colossus of Rhodes, all things tend towards their ruin. Even great houses and the fools who build them. ❜

❛ It's illegal to carry arms in court while the King is in residence. The penalties are severe. ❜

❛ I trust you will now apprehend the villain and prevent any further violence. Otherwise, you will pay the price for your failures. ❜

❛ Everything he might touch is to be washed, and everything he might eat, tasted for poison. ❜

❛ What the King wills, the King must have. It's not to be argued with or crossed. ❜

❛ In the absence of the King there has been much malevolence and violence at court. ❜

❛ There are some who desire disorder with all their hearts, thinking of using it, at the end, to their own advantage. ❜

❛ You presume too far above your very base and low degree! ❜

❛ The King listens to him. That makes him dangerous to everyone. ❜

❛ Perhaps it is my fate never to marry. ❜

❛ I would think less of him if he were to accept such gifts in order to love me. ❜

❛ Though I cannot touch him, I swear I will make him eat his heart. ❜

❛ Death is not ready for you, yet. God has something else in mind. ❜

❛ I know what it is that we have both lost. We have lost our youth. There is nothing in the world, that can ever return it to us. ❜

❛ I will marry who I like! ❜

❛ I want to see my son. What have you done with my son? ❜

❛ Your son is unharmed. He will remain unharmed until we are sure that you are not all traitors. ❜

❛ I ask you, whether such dishonest and treacherous sons could ever have had an honest mother! ❜

❛ With your permission, Madam, may I ask if you would consider marrying the King? ❜

❛ Is it not strange that the King's Majesty was in so little space, rid of his three Queens? ❜

❛ Frankly, Sir, if I had two heads, then one would be at His Majesty's service. Alas, I only have this one. ❜

❛ How can you suppose that at my age, I am capable of plotting anything against anyone? I wish only to live a quiet life, away from this world. ❜

❛ You may well beg mercy, but whom shall say if it be granted or not. ❜

❛ Everyone has an agenda! And what I want doesn't matter! ❜

❛ My father told me that if you leave even a sapling in the ground, one day it will grow into a tree! And that little boy will have 40,000 troops flocking to his banner, and you will be the sucker! ❜

❛ I need pictures! Do you understand? I need to see them. I need to see the woman who's going to be my companion for life. ❜

❛ I'm afraid I was not born for happiness. ❜

❛ I swear he has poisoned the King's mind! And if I could, I would strip him from the King's side, and burn him. ❜

❛ You have ten seconds to get out of my court, or I will beat you like the dog that you are! ❜

❛ I see now what it takes for a man to make his way in this world. He must make a practice of hypocrisy. ❜

❛ I say to you, again, while you still have a free choice, will you live or die? ❜

❛ There's no doubt, now, he must be overthrown by force. ❜

❛ My conscience will not permit me to consummate this marriage because I feel there is some impediment to it. ❜

❛ I tell you, God will not grant me any more children if I continue in this marriage. ❜

❛ Not telling a woman what she must expect on her wedding night is like sending a sailor to sea with no biscuit. ❜

❛ He is charming and very good looking. I think you might like him a little. ❜

❛ I resent the King nothing, but others seek to undermine me, since I was born so low and they so high. ❜

❛ I hope you can forgive my impetuosity. I know we should have been formally introduced, but I couldn't wait. ❜

❛ May I kiss your hand? ❜

❛ I have found someone to amuse the King. ❜

❛ We ran a little wild. There was some fun in it. ❜

❛ I was told before that she was charming, intelligent, well-read, gracious. A true Princess. But nothing prepared me for her beauty. But a beauty that comes from inside. To me, she is the most beautiful creature on God's earth. ❜

❛ The King has noticed you. He may ask to see you. ❜

❛ You didn't step on my foot. How could you? Your feet don't even touch the ground. I wanted a moment alone with you. ❜

❛ Would you like me to kiss you again? ❜

❛ Do not sit there. That is no place for you. Traitors do not sit among gentlemen. ❜

❛ I left her as good a maid as I found her! ❜

❛ My pride has brought its punishment. ❜

[bestworstcase]

One thing that I've not been keen on in hindsight, is just how much what you call "pop writing advice" is not that helpful to me. Or how they get used by people in critique.

Because most of them tends to be exceptionally vague borderline nothing bits. Like a series having "good dialogue" or "bad dialogue", and unless it's the most incredibly obvious lowest common denominator kind of thing that anyone who listens could tell is bad dialogue, it's never properly elaborated on.

For example, they describe good dialogue as "witty, subtle, etc" or something else. Like okay, can you tell me what that even constitutes as? Any examples you want to provide? Is witty supposed to be two characters bantering with each other with MCU styled dialogue, or is it something else entirely? Is your definition of good dialogue supposed to just be empty snark that you jingle in front of people like keys while being devoid of any actual value? What is bad dialogue then; something you consider boring or you just not caring for that particular style of writing? Give me context dammit!

Like, maybe my mind just latches onto the weird things, but I'm always left with more questions than answers because of these kinds of advice and critiques, because there's never anything concrete to work with. Just a vague nothingburger that I'm expected to dissect without any clear context as to WHAT I'm supposed to get out of it.

mmmmhm. in general pop writing advice tends to approach stories as a product you intend to sell as widely as possible as opposed to, like, art, and when it's about dialogue or plot structure it often presumes a target audience of indifferently distractible readers/viewers who need to be spoonfed witticisms and action to get them to stick with a story. which is frankly insulting to readers and viewers as well as to writers.

anyway. i don't know if you were trying to fish for this but here's some actual advice, or at least how i think about some things:

dialogue -> what characters do not say is often just as important as what they do. if the character in question is lying or an unreliable narrator or otherwise untrustworthy, what they don't say is more important than what they do. it's almost always worth thinking about what a character might hold back in a conversation, and the things they might circumlocute around, and why. even scrupulously honest people can be forgetful, and nobody can say everything that's on their mind all the time.

dialogue -> is characterization. how a character speaks is one of the single most effective ways to make characters feel distinct from one another; if everyone sounds the same it's much harder for the reader to keep track of who is who. rhythm is everything. you can slow a character's speech down by using fewer contractions and using 'longer' syntax (not necessarily longer words, but longer sounds; 'moment' is a longer word than 'minute' because of the vowel sounds) and longer sentences; or speed it up with the reverse. no contractions at all can make a character sound stilted, overly formal, or very careful depending upon rhythm. try reading dialogue out loud to figure out the natural cadence of the words.

characterization -> i swear by this

plot -> is what happens when the circumstances of the world interact with character choices. 'deus ex machina' (and 'diablus ex machina') are not bad per se; the trick is to prepare the audience ahead of time by subtly establishing the possibility of such an intervention. the term deus ex machina derives from a convention of ancient greek theater, wherein divine intervention was a regular an unremarkable feature. to the audience of these plays, the sudden appearance of a god at the end of the story would not have felt abrupt or random because the gods were intricately intertwined with and present in day-to-day life.

thus, when translating this device into a story for modern audiences, it's important to develop a similar sense of immediacy and presence. deus/diablus ex machina is unexpected (so you don't foreshadow it) but should be explicable (so the audience already knows this kind of thing can happen) and ideally thematically cogent. i find that it's helpful to think of the world itself as a sort of 'character' participating in the plot in the same way the actual characters do.

theme -> think about theme the way visual artists think about color palette and cohesion. theme is what binds the story together into a unified whole. what purpose does a character's arc serve to the greater narrative? how does it rhyme with other parts of the story—or if it doesn't, is there a reason for breaking the pattern? do all the pieces fit together in a coherent way? you don't need to have an Idea or a Statement or a Concept necessarily, though it is helpful to be able to say in very broad terms what a story is "about" thematically, e.g. bitter snow is about liberation. because that gives you something concrete that you can use as a reference when thinking about what a character's arc is about and whether it fits or not.

[rocketturtle4]

The Sign and it's Magic and some WILD arse theories

This is not meta this is me cataloguing my brains current tracking of The Sign and it's magic - plus some wild ass theories I AM SO EXCITED (I also know nothing about the mythology/stories on which any of this is loosely based) (If anyone has done or does meta on this, particularly the magic stuff I am SUPER curious but not the best at scrolling tumblr rn so feel free to tag me)

Okay SO

So green eyed stabby boy got green eyed RIGHT AFTER Phayas necklace broke off so it's reasonable to conclude these thins are connected

He ?wasn't a willing vessel, did the Mors essence somehow sneak in with the purpose of killing Phaya

Then we had Tharn use magic while grasping HIS necklace (his necklace which I have NOT been paying enough attention to)

Phaya burned green eyed Mor (revealing his green eyes) AFTER the necklace got put back on, but I am PRETTY SURE Phaya has touched him before then, so that suggests something happened to awaken his powers, presumably the same thing that awakened Tharns (what is that thing? Stress? Proximity? Time?)

@plantsarepeopletoo pointed out we had water dream for Tharn and FIRE dream for Phaya which is FASCINATING especially with the reveal of the giant (?fire?) bird at the end of the ep that is presumably Phaya

Question

Has the necklace been suppressing their powers? - things changed when Phaya's got broken and then Tharn ripped his off to throw that punches

Random Thoughts

Okay so we have been repeatedly told that Tharn did very bad things in his past life and the Karma of that means he should have died as a child, and is still constantly in danger (and maybe even his parents paid the partial price with their deaths...).

We know Green Eyes is possessive of him and currently the doctor, and presumably has always been the doctor and presumably knows who Tharn was. (Abbot seems to know this?)

Tharn is a ?water spirit, I know nothing. Seems to be not disimilar from a siren who lures men to their deaths

We had the cop dead in the second ep (I think) in the ocean, still not clear if suicide but that Phaya investigated and was then lured out to sea - siren links

Green Eyes is the water dragon

and then Phaya is a fire bird? pheonix?

(OH MY GOD THE WINGS, THE TATOO, THE FOESHADOWING AHHHH)

Wild Ass Theories

OKAY SO lets assume Past Tharn and Past Doctor are both water spirits/gods, they were bound together in some way (married? or the mythological inter-being equivelent?).

Past Tharn lured men to their deaths (siren thoughts, linked to the man who died and the fact that Phaya got lured out into the ocean - also might explain the bad karma)

Past Tharn lures in Fire spirit bird who is injured, something something something they fall in love.

Green eyes isn't okay with this for a multitude of reasons shit goes down and ?everyone dies

Details unknown, looks like we're getting backstory next ep

BUT

We do know that Past!Phaya is also someone past!Tharn wronged right? so maybe past!tharn betrayed his love in the end, and that is how they died... or maybe past!Tharn killed himself after his love died as a result of Tharns betrayal...Maybe even swearing that in his next life he would give his own life before letting him die again (thereby explaining the focus of the visions)

Did green eyes die at all then or has he been living on, waiting for his love (Tharn) to reincarnate?

Phaya seems to be getting at least some memories back, more than Tharn so far. Phaya remembers him as a siren and now he remembers his past self too at least a little. Of course this is a dream, it may well be only half remembered when he wakes.

Other Thoughts

Of course this show also has a whole crime thriller thing which I am loving and I have thoughts and questions about that too, but they're mostly magic related... (why the vision of Tharns dad at THAT moment? was the truck vision of his dad, cause the show seemed to imply it was though his visions are normally future. Although he also saw that girl die which was in the past and seemed to be about proximity and perhaps the strength of her emotions idk. So what about that proximity triggered the vision)

I think that's emptied my brain, thankfully, GOSH I LOVE THIS SHOW

[being-of-rain]

I listened to The Last Day, Big Finish's lead-in to the TV Movie. It was more or less what I expected from the fact that it's a sequel to Dark Universe, co-written by that release's author and script editor. Which is to say, it reminds me of a lot of Event Comics from DC or Marvel: bombastic and full of spectacle, has a Big Deal premise and lots of characters crossing over, happy to do a character-assassination or few to make the plot work, and ultimately not particularly good.

I think I'll just write down my thoughts in dot point form. Spoilers ahead. There's a few positives mixed in there somewhere, I swear.

In case you don't know, the plot is that the Doctor takes over the universe (using all-powerful creatures from another universe that have decided to whatever he tells them to) in order to solve everyone's problems by destroying species and rewriting people's timelines. Ace puts together an over-complicated plan involving many of the Doctor's friends and enemies to stop him.

-The premise of Seven finally going full control-freak might make for a good finale to a character arc (maybe) with a story arc and writers that really do justice to the character. These were not that. Unless I missed something, there's no explanation whatsoever why the Doctor took over the universe - no inciting incident, one day he just got tired of not taking it over I guess.

-And honestly, the vibe I got from basically every EU story I've consumed is that Seven was more of a master manipulator in the middle of his life, and as he grew older he mellowed and grew tired of masterplans. So personally, this feels far from "natural progression" the writers claim it to be for Seven's final days.

-The story really didn't act as a great finale to any arc, really. It didn't feel like a necessary continuation to any of the characters' stories. It didn't even really do anything with Ace's anger at the Doctor that bubbles over at the very end of Dark Universe, too late for that story to do anything at all interesting with it. To be completely honest, I'm not even certain if the hero Ace of this story (as opposed to the Evil Ace also in this story) is supposed to be young Ace or old Ace. I assume Old Ace since she's on the covers? (and a comment made by Roz that I wasn't sure which way it was supposed to be read). But to be fair the cover uses a young Hex and Sally when they're supposedly several decades older in this, a young Seven because for some reason they don't have the rights to TV Movie Seven, and a young Mel when god knows how/if this fits into her timeline.

-The covers are also just bland in general. Marvel movie poster disease.

-One positive that Event Comics have that this doesn't is that there isn't any fresh new story arcs starting from this story either. Given how utterly disinterested Big Finish is in creating any ongoing arcs or connected series or anything that's not as standalone as they can make it, they can't really do big Event Stories. The events of The Last Day will be lucky to ever get mentioned again - which is wild when you consider this is the time the Doctor decided to take over the universe. I saw someone online say 'it's hilarious that the Doctor will spend their lives being ashamed of the War Doctor for picking up a gun when Seven did THIS' and it's TRUE.

-All this plus the fact its set in a universe where timelines are altered in order to bring back dead characters (and presumably return them to the grave by the end although they didn't go into that) makes this story feel much more like an alternate universe What If style tale, with about as much impact on the franchise as that would suggest.

This is going to be a long post, I can tell. But I want it to be just one post so... take breaks if you need to. Drink water. Now, what else.

-The story was naturally presented as the bringing together of lots of elements from Seven's life, but I think it's far more accurate to say it's the bringing together of lots of elements created by these writers specifically. The majority of characters, species, and concepts not from the TV show were created or mostly developed by Guy Adams and Matt Fitton, and considering how iffy I find so much of their combined bibliography, that was not a happy discovery for me. The Quantum Possibility Engine, a story by Adams without much impact on the franchise, is honestly more necessary required reading than Dark Universe.

-Probably the most obvious example of this is Mother Finsey, featured on the cover of Part One, who previously appeared in a single Third Doctor story by Adams. She has a fun premise, being an ex-companion of the Master, but it wasn't necessary to this story to include her.

-Another example is Stenn the Sontaran, is a specific Sontaran from the random Fitton sontaran story Starlight Robbery (which I absolutely wouldn't have known if not for the behind the scenes interviews). And the real reason that annoys me is: do you know who else is in Starlight Robbery? Elizabeth Klein! A fantastic Seventh Doctor companion who feels tailor-made not only for a Seventh Doctor final story extravaganza, but for this story in particular!! I don't know why or who made the decision not to include her, but it's hard to feel cheated when she was left out and so many other characters weren't.

Okay, I know I'm getting nitpicky and personal but honestly... I want to be nitpicky about this. I try to be so objective and fair in my reviews sometimes, let me be nitpicky about this one.

That said, we're up to a few things I liked!

-I did rather like Ace in this story (mostly). She's the one leading the plan to stop the Doctor, and listening to her fly around in the TARDIS coordinating plots and pulling strings felt so right to me. I've always loved the idea of her taking after the Doctor, learning from him in the way the TV show started all those years ago, so in that one respect, this story felt like it was culmination of decades of build up. Other stories have definitely shown parts of that, but this one feels the most like Ace carrying on the legacy of the Doctor. It feels wrong to be complimenting this story on how it treats the Ace and Doctor relationship, for reasons we'll come to later.

-My favourite single episode of the twelve-parter has to be the second one. Episode one's cliffhanger of Ace saving someone who turns out to be the Master, happily asking him to help save the universe, and him laughing his head off, put me in a gleeful mood. And that continued throughout episode two, in which Ace puts together her suicide squad of villains. Not even the out-of-place Mother Finsey or the obnoxious Garundel being part of it could dampen my spirits.

-When Big Finish announced that Kane, from 1987's Dragonfire, was returning, I rolled my eyes. But damn it if he didn't become my favourite part of this story. Hearing a fully-realised Ace face off against her teenage self's first ever villain, this time with flamethrower to make him sit down and have a civil conversation, was delicious, and worked wonderfully as the framing story for episode two. He was also a surprisingly good character in his own right, fiercely intelligent and quick to follow everything going on, but without being loud and annoying about it like the Time Lords and their companions. His airs of respectability made it extra fun for him to be walking around in a cooling survival suit like Mr Freeze. I never thought I'd come out of this thinking 'that was kind of a better sequel to Dragonfire than anything else' and 'I wish we got more Kane' but here we are.

-The Master was also incredibly fun. Guy Adams sometimes has a way of writing characters that's very... I'm not sure how best to describe it. Abstract? Philosophical? Slightly off? It'll sound like he's trying to get the best quotes or thinking points out of them, rather than what they might realistically say (like how James Goss writes, but less so). And while I might not like it all the time, it works great for the Master, especially when he's not the main antagonist. Instead he'll skulk around the other characters, enjoying himself and having lots of the best lines. Geoffrey Beevers is, as always, a delight.

That was a lot of good things! You can't accuse me of not finding things to like. Remember to stand up and stretch, by the way. Relax the tension in your shoulders.

-Now, to talk about the end. I was curious how it was actually going to tie into the TV movie, and remained so for most of the story because it was not obvious. In the end... well I only just listened to it today, but first impressions is that I don't like how they did it.

-At the time it was announced that the Master was going to be in The Last Day, I was hyperfocusing on the Master's timeline, so I was incredibly intrigued by Big Finish finally linking the decayed Master they introduced in 2001 to the next incarnation. In the final episode, his bitter ex-companion Finsey kidnapped him and simply dumped him on Skaro, which did feel rather contrived considering how much she seemed to want to personally finish him off.

-What annoyed me more (and now I'm going to get mad at something very niche) is that just before dumping him, Finsey makes a comment about the Master 'looking healthier' and he says that he picked up a new regeneration cycle while he was on Gallifrey. Beevers voice doesn't really change at all, so I guess they're saying that he didn't properly regenerate but just grew skin and a goatee (and switched his ragged cloak for a sharp suit) and it was the Beevers Master that appeared at the start of the TV movie? A few years ago Big Finish put some hard work and a fascinating story behind giving the Master a new regeneration cycle after the TV movie, but now they're apparently saying before that he just casually picked one up, didn't even use a full regeneration out of it and then lost the whole cycle immediately. That's even stupider than the Thirteenth Doctor getting her life back from the Master then dying again twice over the next day.

-Now on to the Doctor's ending. I'll tell you what happened. As soon as Ace gets face to face with him, he gives the whole universe takeover up, which was rather anticlimactic, but rather more in-character than deciding to do the takeover in the first place, so whatever. He goes to have a drink at a cafe with Ace and then she 'accidentally' gets a drink spilled on him. He goes to change clothes in the TARDIS and gets a call while there- from Narvin, telling him the Master has been killed on Skaro and would like to be picked up. The Doctor muses that if he wasn't in the TARDIS at this exact moment he would've missed the message and someone else would've gone (because Time Lords don't have voice mail I guess) and outside Ace says "Manipulative people always become something dark. I'll have to watch out for that. Hopefully I'll have a friend who loves me enough to stop me. Goodbye, Doctor."

-Now, I like the idea of tying the very end of Seven's life to Ace, the most important relationship in that life. But having her have him killed because he was too dangerous sure is A Choice. My conception of Seven's life story was someone who got worse and then regretted it and mellowed. This story suggests he got worse and worse until his closest friend had to kill him. Yowza.

-This continues what I hated from Dark Universe: the idea that Ace and the Doctor's relationship is ultimately bad. I hate that! I enjoy some depth and some toxicity to relationships but Ace and Seven just don't seem THAT bad to me, and are both characters I want to have happier endings. And these two stories feel like they treat the topic with surprisingly little depth either, both of them simply finishing with 'and they were bad for each other, The End' before they could start an interesting discussion!

-There's an Evil Ace in this story, an alternate timeline Ace who the Doctor picked to take care of Earth for him- by being its authoritarian ruler, of course. And I think her only real purpose in the story, apart from being a reference to Ace's many canon timelines (again a reference rather than a discussion), is to show how bad the Doctor and Ace can be for each other and for everyone else. But it feels so flat for me, because neither character would act like that! "Manipulative people always become something dark" is such a boring and shallow thesis.

-It's made clear that part of the reason Evil Ace can be so cruel and callous is her time studying with the Time Lords and feeling superior with them, which she did early during her travels with Hex. I do hope this isn't suggesting that the 'prime timeline Ace' (if there could possibly be such a thing) didn't train with the Time Lords, or it would've been a bad thing if she did. I like Time Lord Ace.

-On another topic, Narvin being the one to tell the Doctor to go pick up the Master is funny. Put that man in vital parts of Dr Who lore. He hates it. And it just makes it funnier when Narvin and the Doctor reintroduce themselves every so often like they've never met before.

-Oh, and the scene that Doom Coalition and Dark Universe share has the Doctor being told that the president has one more request for him, implied to be that he pick up the Master. So I guess this story (which is, I again stress, the sequel to Dark Universe) just ignores that jskldjf. Dr Who would truly rather die than have a coherent canon in any parts of the franchise.

Anything else I want to say? Oh the other companions.

-It was nice to hear a bunch of the companions again. They probably didn't need so many returning characters, and by the end I had trouble remembering who was where, but I can't blame them for going all out (or as all out as they felt like, anyway.)

-It was cute how Hex and Sally named their kids for Hex's mum, Hex's friend from his first story, and especially Evelyn <3 I hope Sally got some say in the matter. Honestly their segments were slightly too Family Melodrama for me, but that's personal taste.

-Probably the most boring episode was episode four which was just Mel and Benny running trying to avoid Hob from The Quantum Possibility Engine (and the DWM comics, but none of Seven's). Benny's always at least charismatic with a good actor, and I was worried that this was her only appearance, so I'm glad she returned in the second box set for some more wisecracks.

-Given the TV show's recent retcons, Big Finish forgetting its own plotlines, young Mel being used on the cover, and this being something of a sequel to her previous appearance travelling with Seven and Ace, it's possible this could be the last appearance of the Mel who reunited with Seven in A Life of Crime and had more adventures with him. As well as, I suppose, an opportunity to explain it away as a changing timeline, if you want to do that kind of thing.

-Lysandra died and I assume she came back to life at the end. Quite a few characters died but she was one of the only ones who wasn't either brought back to life during the story or was dead before it started anyway. I suppose Vienna Salvatori also fits into that category? So yeah they're both probably alive again, it's fine.

-Roz's death in the novels was actually a plot point, which is yet another time Big Finish has tied itself closely to the New Adventures in some ways while contradicting them in others (I'm thinking of the Master specifically). I don't mind though, that's something that's been going on for 25 years now. One day the EDAs might get the same treatment.

Anything else?

-The incidental music was bad. I think it was just recycled from previous audios, but even if it wasn't it almost always felt really out of place and took me out of scenes all the time.

-Oh Brax got a mention which was fun. In the Doctor's new universe he exiled Brax who then died, much to the Doctor's distress. Big Rip moustache man.

That's all I can think to say about this set right now. So overall it had it's fun parts, but failed to be much of a big event, and had a really bad take on Seven and his relationship with Ace.

[gingersnapwolves]

'tis the season for family bullshit

I swear to God, my family has ruined my ability to assess what is and is not normal. I have no idea whether or not my frustration is warranted so I'm going to turn to you, my lovely tumblr friends, to help me the fuck out.

For a little light reading, there's Last year's Thanksgiving debacle, plus epilogue, but all you really need to know is that there's a LONG historical precedent of my family ignoring the dietary needs of my wife and my sister and last year there was drama about it

I started this year off on the right foot by saying fuck the holiday itself, we are going to my MIL's. She had back surgery two months ago and although she's up and around, she's not up to cooking a Thanksgiving dinner so my wife and I are going over to cook for her. I told my family I'd be free Friday to make plans with them and they were welcome to come up to my place, which was met with some hemming and hawing and no real plans being made.

Relevant: recently, my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and although it's mild so far it is definitely noticeable

This is the email I just sent my father, brother, and SIL:

"Hi there, when I talked to mom yesterday, several times she talked about coming up to visit and reminding me that Dad couldn't drive after dark. I explained that there weren't any plans of that variety but sort of took that as maybe she had a subconscious desire to come up here? So I mentioned that I had offered to have everyone come up the day after Thanksgiving, in which case driving after dark wouldn't be an issue since presumably [brother] or [SIL] could drive. But I also told her that we hadn't made any firm plans and I didn't know what we were doing on that day yet. We are certainly happy to have you guys come up here if that's what you would like to do. I don't know if Mom actually wants to come up or if she was just confused about plans in general."

My brother's response: "Rex [the insane dog from this post] and Comet [the new dog they got a few months ago despite already having one poorly behaved dog] have daycare that day, so we could come up, but some subset of us would need to leave no later than 4pm to get Comet (pickup by 5pm). It would probably work best if I just brought mom and dad and the kids up and [SIL] stayed here.

Or, you could come down, since the dogs will be in daycare, it wouldn't be a problem to bring Yanli [our dog, who is generally well behaved but does not like their dog]. You would just have to leave before we got back with them, around 5:15 [because as per previous post, I refuse to go near their insane dog]."

To which SIL added: "Would you have [aunt] and all the kids too? I'm fine with hosting if we need lots of room to kick kids to other areas of the house:-) If you want to host, we can do that too. As [me] said, we haven't made any solid plans."

For one thing, I don't know why my aunt is involved and the reference to 'all the kids' makes me think my cousin is visiting and ... nobody bothered to tell me? Which, sure, fine. I really just want to reply with "look, if you don't want to come up here, just tell me that" but I genuinely don't know if that's warranted. They never actually invite me, they just assume I'm going to show up, so maybe they don't know how invitations work. I literally can't parse whether their response is rude or if I'm just reading too much into it. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this response and I'm afraid to reply to it and make things worse and I just ((((((OTL

[sasubaeuchithot]

Kakashi struggling to define what he feels for Sasuke I'm 😭😭😭

"His goals may have been placated for the time being, but his ruthlessness for his version of justice was still a part of him.

Kakashi had seen it a few times since the war; immediately after his release from Konoha’s holding cell during his trial, Sasuke had displayed a wicked determination to destroy all remaining Sharingan. Kakashi could do nothing but watch as the Susanoo demolished Danzo’s old headquarters, Root, way past the necessary point considering he had already burnt all of the preserved Sharingan to ashes with his Amaterasu. And then a week later Kakashi had received the shortest mission report- if it could truly be called that- he had ever witnessed. It was just two words on a rumpled piece of paper: ‘ They’re gone’ . It poorly detailed to him that Obito’s collection had been similarly annihilated.

Sasuke’s version of justice… He was still young. He pushed justice to the extremes that he was conditioned to see them as. He had extreme injustice done to him, so extreme justice should be handed out in turn. It wasn’t wrong in the literal sense, not in the world of shinobi. But he had not grown to see beyond himself yet, or that some injustices were more effectively dealt with by using less-extreme measures. In that sense, Naruto was good for him. No, it was more like they were good for each other. Naruto’s idealism needed Sasuke’s realism just as much as the opposite was true. On his own, though, Sasuke’s justice was ruthless, and he had more than displayed that Kakashi was not exempt from it."

I'm. Hm. Is it really ruthless to destroy every remaining Sharingan after witnessing Danzo's arm? While Naruto's idealism definitely needs Sasuke's realism, and vice versa, I'm still not sure that Kakashi really has a good understanding of either of his students', particularly Sasuke's, personalities? Convictions? Intentions? Those don't sound exactly right. I think the best word would be motivations.

"She would joke that she would get the best of him eventually. She never did" you just stabbed me in the heart. I forgot about this line.

"As Naruto smiled, Kakashi’s turmoil spiraled. Would this be the last time Naruto smiled at him? Always such a goofy smile, carefree, but so warm." I'M GOING TO CRY, HE LOVES HIM SO MUCH 😭

"Would this afternoon be the final straw keeping Naruto from deserting the village alongside his soulmate?" The way that this would never happen, Kakashi, how are you so close to understanding your students but still so far away

“He doesn’t like watching kids beat each other up.”

…That was something Kakashi had not expected. It did make sense in hindsight, if that were the case, why Sasuke had been so against doing the third exam at first. And then he caved after insisting that he was only going to fight Naruto. It had not seemed like something Sasuke would be sensitive to, though, with all of the blood he had seen in his life. He was certainly more than willing to shed some blood when he first took the exams."

KAKASHI I SWEAR TO GOD 😭😭

"We would like to test this presumed change of heart in a controlled way, where we will be able to quickly bring him down while he is unprepared for it, should he show his true colors.”

There are too many people who barely know Sasuke talking about him as if they do and I'm starting to get annoyed

"He is loyal to Naruto, and Naruto alone." I wonder how Naruto feels knowing that he alone has Sasuke.

While he's eagerly waiting for Friday, does he stay up at night to marvel at the fact that Sasuke is his most important person and vice versa?

I am so tenderly taken with the way that he is the only one who sees Sasuke as this vibrant, emotional, kind and ethereal creature as opposed to basically everyone else who thinks that he is ugly and cold and rotten straight down to his core.

I'm always on the verge of tears with them 😭

"Such a shame- that clan had such talented genetics!" Yeah, because that's why the genocide was such a tragedy

“Are you an idiot?”

Yes. Yes, he was."

BAHAHAHA the way you tied it up perfectly! I haven't read this chapter in such a long time wow.

Kakashi is such a mess, and I vividly remember that the first time I had read this, my only thought was that Kakashi's perception of Sasuke is sometimes close but still manages to miss the mark.

I also adore that you HIGHLIGHTED THE HYPOCRISY?? Hello, isn't Orochimarou objectively five million times worse, where the heck are your reservations about him??

for that first part about Sasuke's ruthlessness- I didn't convey how insanely vengeful he got when destroying root, because I actually wrote that entire scene out in detail in a bit of a prequel, which follows the very end of shippuden when Sasuke was put in prison, and what he did directly after. i actually haven't finished that short little prequel, but I did write the scene in which he destroyed danzo's headquarters. but make no mistake, he definitely used the pretense of destroying the remaining sharingan for his own personal therapy. all he needed to do was some controlled amaterasu- which he did do- but he followed it up by pulling out his susanoo and manually pulverizing the entire underground compound into one giant sinkhole. kakashi was there to witness it, which is why he comes to the conclusion that sasuke still had that ruthlessness in him.

a lot of kakashi's misunderstandings are rooted in his depression. depression makes you lie to yourself, and makes you think everyone around you is one step away from deserting you. so him thinking Naruto would leave the village because of him was, in kakashi's mentally ill mind, very logical.

as for how Naruto would feel knowing how he alone has sasuke's trust, he would actually be very sad lol. he would insist that there were plenty of others Sasuke should trust and open up to. he would see it as Sasuke being lonely, and would try to fix it. he does try to fix it in a lot of little ways. Naruto doesn't see honor in being the only person in Sasuke's life that he's comfortable with.

[see-arcane]

"Oh, my poor darling!" As she spoke, she took her husband's grey head in her hands and kissed it. "Lay your poor head here and rest it. All will yet be well, dear! God will protect us if He so will it in His good intent." The poor fellow groaned.

Jonathan's like, I love you but how do I tell you as gently as possible not to talk about God's will when I'm this close to going full Faustus. Also, your wording isn't helping things.

On the one hand, I get that Mina was just being herself, trying to keep Jonathan and everyone's spirits up. But at the same time, I know in my heart that the only thing Jonathan heard was--

Mina: Don't worry, Jonathan! Just because God didn't step in for Lucy, or for Mr. Swales, or for the sailors of the Demeter, or for that mother who got torn apart by wolves, or those children Dracula fed to his Brides, or presumably any of the other uncountable legions of innocent victims Dracula's preyed on for centuries, doesn't mean He won't take care of our predicament! But hey, on the off-chance it's God's will that He fumbles my soul and humanity too, could you and our new friends maybe swear to double-kill me to prevent my chances of coming back as a vampire? It's cool, just think of it like it's olden times, when husbands and fathers would murder their families to prevent their enemies from getting to them. Also can you give me an early funeral rite? It'd make me feel better. :)

Jonathan: ...

Mephistopheles, sliding into his spiritual DMs: lol, that's crazy. Want to look at our Unholy Vengeance package?

[xyvyl]

𝐹𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒷𝓎 𝒷𝓁𝑜𝑜𝒹 | Modern Family x teen! M! reader

Summary: Spending time with your family can be fun, I swear.

A/N: Starts in season one, Cameron and Mitchell have already adopted Lily. Does not follow the events completely. Want to be notified when a new chapter comes out? Let me know by replying to this, or any, chapter and I'll add you to the taglist!

Word count: 698

Warnings: Underage drinking, ooc Alex

Pronouns used: he/they

Type: Part three

Prologue | Part one | Part two | Part four

MasterLink

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, done with this boring chatting, move over Alex!" Haley interrupted the conversation I was having with Alex. "Oh my god, Haley! You always do this. Ugh!" Alex groaned in the background.

"So~ How are you doing on this fine evening?" Haley glances behind me, presumably at Manny. "I'm doing fine, thank you."

We just sat there for a few minutes. Until I got up and went to grab a drink.

"What are you doing? I was doing fine with him!" Alex hissed at Haley, who just shrugged. "And I just made it better by stopping this conversation." Haley replied with confidence.

Alex groaned, crossing her arms. "I am trying to get to know them, but you're ruining it with your flirting!"

"Oh! I was NOT flirting!" "You asked Manny for advice, which might I add, failed completely." Haley and Alex sighed in unison.

Haley's phone started ringing, "Oh it's Dylan, I have to take this!" And then she ran to pick up her phone. "Of course, she always does this." Alex says to no one in particular.

"So, I'm ordering pizza. What do you guys like?" I walked into the living room where everyone was gathered around, playing what seemed like charades.

Luke was the first to jump up, yelling, "Pepperoni pizza!" "I'll share with Luke." I nodded at Luke and Manny and glanced at Alex and Haley.

"We can share a pizza, Y/N." Haley winked at me, but got hit in the shoulder by Alex. "We'll just share a margherita pizza please." Alex corrected her.

I nodded and put it in the app.

"And now we wait. Can I join the game?"

"Uh, yea! Come join my team-" "Our team." Alex interrupted Haley.

I sat down next to Alex and Manny stood up and grabbed a piece of paper.

The doorbell rang, making me stand up and walk to the door.

"Pizza for Pritchett-Tucker?" The delivery man said with a bored tone. I nodded and accepted the boxes. "How much was this again?" "$75" I handed him the money and closed the door.

"Pizza!" Like ants they begun to swarm me as I handed them their pizza's.

"So, how is school? I need to know before I start." We chuckled, "It's really difficult." Luke told me. "I don't think they meant you Luke." Alex cut in. That made a few of us laugh.

After about 45 minutes we were almost finished with our pizza's. Luke sat at the bar, but it didn't seem like he was awake. It didn't seem like Alex and Manny were awake either, so it was just Haley and me.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable today. I didn't mean to." Haley apologized, sitting on a stool in the kitchen. "It's fine, just, please don't flirt with me." Haley nodded and took a sip of her drink.

I refilled my glass with some whiskey and took a seat on a stool next to Haley, "So, I heard you talking on the phone earlier. Who was that?"

Haley looked at me and said, "Why does it matter to you?" Haley chuckled. "No," I laughed "I just think I should know a little about you. Now that I'm your cousin, you know." We both let out a little laugh.

"Uh, yeah, that was Dylan."

By the time Haley and I finished our it was already midnight. "I think we should clean up, our parents will be here soon." Haley nodded and went to the living room to clean up the pizza boxes, while I cleaned up the alcohol and glasses.

Alex walked into the kitchen, looking very groggy. "Hey, what're you doing?" "Cleaning up, our parents will be home soon." I finished putting away the alcohol, but the glasses were still on the counter.

"Did you guys have a drink? I could use some water, mind grabbing a glass for me?" Alex rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Yea, here." I handed her a glass of water.

Haley returned with the boxes and empty glasses, throwing the boxes in the bin and putting the glasses in the dishwasher.

A little later the front door opened and the parents came in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist:

@enby-jellyfish @ilse235