#shes a bit scared of him at the beginning but after a while they're real cool with each other :3

[everythingwasnormalhere]

One of my fav things about TaTI is how 3 of them are the little siblings of the main kids

Imagine Karen and Ike meeting because Kyle invited Kenny to a sleepover, and the McCormicks were being shitty at that time so Kenny brought Karen with him, and she talks to Ike and they watch streams and become besties (which neither of their brothers expected since they're pretty different)

Meanwhile, Tricia and Karen meeting at school because they're both loners in their new class, finding out their brothers know each other, and organizing them a playdate (just so they get distracted and Tricia and Karen can hang out for longer lmao). And Craig and Kenny like "oh, so you're my sister's friend's brother-?" because they used to play together as kids and didn't expect that, but then they catch up and end up hanging out pretty often too (the girls are so glad because their brothers hanging out means they get to hang out too :3)

[bluecollarmcandtf]

I Don't Believe in Hypnosis

When I was a boy, my father taught me how to work hard and provide for my family. Farming ain't for weaklings. It takes a man to do what I do, and this work has given me a hard head and thick skin. That's why I sure as hell wasn't scared of no Hypnotist last Friday night!

As I linger in the cornfield, finishing up a hard day's work, I recall what happened that night...

My wife, Annie, finally got me to take her to the Fair. She'd begged and begged until I'd agreed. My girl dolled herself up and put on her favorite dress. I knew I'd made the right choice when I saw her, looking like the thin, bubbly girl I'd courted back in high school.

Together, we climbed in my truck and drove towards the sparkling fairground. The place was alive with music and attractions. We rode every ride, and I'll admit I enjoyed getting out of the house with my girl.

Then Annie saw a sign for some weird hypnosis show. I had no idea what my wife was talking about, but she said she'd seen it in movies: the ability to control someone's mind with a swinging watch or some crap!

I told her it was dumb, but she flashed me her big baby blues and sidled up real close. I could never say no to her like that. With a tired groan, I followed her into the tent and sat down to watch the stupid show. The rest was a blur.

...that was a week ago, and I shouldn't dwell on it now that I'm done workin' for the day. Hopefully, Annie has supper is ready!

Entering the house, I don't see her in the kitchen. I'm a bit bothered because she's usually got it prepared by the time I come in, but then it strikes me! I remember why she's held up! How could I have forgotten our guest? I'll bet she's too busy handling him at the moment to cook my dinner. They're probably both still in the bedroom, if I had to guess.

I chuckle at my mistake and march to the back of the house, peering past the door into my bedroom. I was right! My wife's still under the covers with the Hypnotist. They're both too occupied to notice that I've come in, but I know how to wait.

Quietly as I can, I step over to the bedside and lower myself to my knees. There's not much else to do, so I just kneel on the hardwood and watch them go at it until they see me waiting.

It takes a few minutes but the Hypnotist eventually notices and gives me a roll of his eyes. "The hick is back," he groans while sliding off my wife's back, "Don't you have something else you could busy yourself with?"

"I just got done fertilizing the field," I answer back, trying not to be disgusted by all his sweat that's soaking into my bedsheets.

"Fertilizing?" he asks with a toothy grin, "No wonder you smell like shit."

I'm not too sure what to say back, so I just keep my mouth shut. He turns his attention back to my wife, leaving me with nothing to do but wait some more. I know he's a fraud, but I respect the Hypnotist greatly. Let me explain how I came to invite him over. Honestly, that memory's a bit hazy, but I'll try...

It happened after the show. In fact, the show must've been over awhile since all the chairs were empty aside from the one that held my beautiful wife. Next to her sat the Hypnotist, looking just as oily, pale, and chubby as he'd looked at the beginning of the show.

That was when I realized I was standing on the stage.

I didn't even remember standing up, let alone leaving my wife and going up to the front! Brushing off my worries, I approached the man leaning on Annie's shoulders. He stopped whispering in her ear and gave me a sly grin.

"Enjoying my wife?" I asked.

"Certainly, I can't believe a fine creature like this could end up with such a pig," the Hypnotist licked his lips as he stared at her dress, "Invite me to stay with you."

"Stay with us," I instinctively answered, extending a welcoming hand. The Hypnotist didn't shake it, but he did escort my wife out of the tent with fingers creeping down her back. After that, I drove them home. He's been holed up in my bedroom with Annie ever since!

"Go grab me a beer," he says, jerking me from my thoughts, "Hurry up!"

"Yup," I stumble to my feet and hustle to the kitchen. The Hypnotist has had me fetching his beer all week so I know how he likes it. Grabbing the last cold bottle in the fridge, I race back and drop to the floor with a bowed head. This is how he likes his drinks presented.

"Believe in hypnosis yet, farm-cuck?"

I snort. Of course I don't. "Hypnosis isn't real," I retort, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor until he tells me otherwise.

How could I ever believe in something like hypnosis? The power to control someone's head is something that only exists in cheap movies. I hate to say it, but I think my wife is a bit of a ditz for believing in such a thing. I mean, this guy's been living with me for a whole week and he still hasn't done anything to hypnotize me or Annie!

"So you don't mind when a real man sleeps with your wife?" he asks.

"You jokin?" I laugh at the stupid question, growling "I'd kill any asshole who tried!"

"... but?"

"...but obviously you can do anything you want to my wife. You have more of a right to her than I do!" I add frankly.

"That's right," he snickers back, sneering down at me from the bed, "Pour that beer on yourself."

Without hesitation, I grab the beer and step back, popping the cap and raising the bottle high over my head. The ice cold liquid sends shivers down my spine, but I empty the bottle over my head anyway while the supposed Hypnotist howls in laughter.

I shiver at the feeling of cold beer soaking into my clothes, leaving a sticky layer of beer residue against my skin; not to mention the puddle sinking into the floorboards around my feet. Obviously, I'm uncomfortable and embarrassed, but I put the bottle down, satisfied by a job well-done.

"Are all country bumpkins as dumb as you?" he laughs.

"I'm not a country bumpkin," I snort with a clenched jaw.

"Yeah you are," the Hypnotist sneers back, "Remember? Tell me you're a country bumpkin."

Suddenly, it dawns on me that he has a point. I hate to say it, but I suppose I am exactly what he's saying. "I'm a country bumpkin," I agree.

"I knew I'd convince you," he snickers, "Now let me finish on your wife. Face the wall and listen to how a real man handles a woman."

"Ok," I answer reluctantly, turning around and leaning my head against the wall. I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel about this. I mean, here I am soaked in beer and hungry for my wife to cook me supper, and this jerk wants me to wait? I want to be mad; I should be mad, but for some reason I just don't mind. Even as Annie starts moaning louder and louder, I can't help but respect the guy. I mean, he's my guest so I want to keep him happy. Part of me is honestly just relieved that he's enjoying himself and showing Annie a good time while at it. She's obviously enjoying it.

They go on for another hour or so, and each time Annie squeals, my stomach lurches at the thought of him doing a better job than me. I just stare at the paint peeling off the wall and try not to picture what's actually going on.

"Alright, cowboy," I hear a tired voice pant from behind, "I'm done for now. Turn around."

I keep my eyes averted, but I can't ignore how out-of-breath the Hypnotist has become. What's even more disturbing is the brief glance I get at my wife, seeing the dumb smile stretched across her face. She's grinning like her entire world has been rocked, and she doesn't even bother to look in my direction!

My stomach growls under my shirt, "Do you think Annie could make some dinner...?" I ask quietly.

He shakes his head in disbelief, "Sure! Get up whore!," he smacks her on the ass, "Go make me some food."

My girl giggles and climbs out of bed, completely unashamed to be called a whore or walking around the house naked, scurrying to the kitchen. My heart sinks.

"Sorry son, she's cooking my dinner right now."

"But I just spent all day tilling and-"

"Don't speak!"

My mouth snaps shut, and my knuckles clench! How am I supposed to till the fields all day and come home to no food on the table? I'm the one who keeps a roof over our heads! Even still, I take a deep breath and relax.

The Hypnotist is right. I'll wait.

"Listen to me, hillbilly Joe. You're going to go to the store and buy me some more beer," I sigh, thinking about how dark it's getting, "Don't take the car. You'll run. Sitting on a tractor all day is giving you a pudgy gut!"

The Hypnotist gives my aching stomach a couple slaps before continuing his instructions. I can't help but notice his own belly flabs jiggling with every move. "Oh and while you're there, I want you to make a huge scene, heein' and hawin' like the dirty mule you are. If anyone gives you trouble, you'll piss yourself, and get on your hands and knees, licking their boots like the beta-cuck you are. Got it, bitch?"

Stunned, I freeze for a second as it all sinks in. I don't know why on earth I'd do all that, but in a daze, my feet lead me out the door and start jogging the first of several miles into town.

"Eeeeh-HAAAaaw!"

My voice breaks as I enter the store, shoutin' my presence with the most obnoxious donkey bray I can muster. My throat is raw and my lungs are aching. Running seven miles to the nearest store was a lot more difficult than the Hypnotist made sound, but hopefully it shed some pounds off that gut of mine. I'd never noticed it before, but I can tell I need to lose some weight! My already beer-soaked clothes are now even more wet and ripe with sweat.

"HEEeeee..." my voice catches as I notice a couple store employees staring at me. They're giving me dirty looks, but I'm here on a mission! "eeEeEH-HaaAaAAuW!" I bellow!

I stumble towards the back of the store, where they keep all the drinks. My legs feel like jelly, so I'm limping pretty bad. I realize I must look insane or drunk, but I'm just getting some beer for my guest! He needs beer! I grab the first case I see, scooping it up in my arms with another ridiculously loud cry of a mule.

Turning, I run face to face into a cop.

"You been drinkin' tonight, bud?" he gives me an unamused look.

I let the case of beer tumble to the floor. This guy is the deputy sheriff. Our town is small enough for everyone to know everyone, so I've chatted with him and his wife a few times. He's always seemed like a real stand-up man, and over the years, I've managed to get him to give me a casual nod whenever we pass.

"hheee-haawWH!" I throat brays in his face.

A warm feeling spreads through my crotch, and I remember what the Hypnotist told me back at the house. I'm pissing straight into my jeans. My cheeks flush red, but I don't move or try to hide it. Somehow, I know this guy is supposed to see this happen to me. It's like this is all a performance, and I'm the world's greatest actor!

I know what to do next. For the third time tonight, I fall to my hands and knees, staring up at the appalled cop with a gaping mouth and heavy breath. This position is feeling more and more comfortable, as the night goes on.

Without warning, I slam my mouth on his standard boots, extending my tongue and lathering it against the dusty black leather.

The deputy kicks me back and glares down. "Come on, man!" he growls, "You like making my job more difficult than it is? If you want to get piss drunk, do it at home!" He grabs me by the collar and drags me to my feet. "You're better than this! Think of that pretty little wife you've got waiting for you at home!"

His words hurt, but only leave me more confused. I'm not drunk! I wanted to do this, right? Why else would I have pissed myself and licked his shoes? Getting another glance at the officer's disappointed stare, makes my shoulders cringe out of embarrassment. I decide it's best to just keep my mouth shut as he pushes me past the place's staff and kicks me out of the building.

When I come to my senses, I make sure to apologize. He just frowns and tells me to get in his cruiser. Thank the Lord he's driving me back home. I think I would've passed out on the side of the road if I tried to run back.

We don't talk much while the cop drives. I mostly just sit in the back and stew on what I'd just done. The smell of piss, sweat, and beer makes my empty stomach churn. Why had my guest asked me to do this? Why had I even agreed? This entire outing had been a nightmare! That damned Hypnotist can't tell me what to do! When I get home I'll give that phony a piece of my mind.

"You find it hilarious," the Hypnotist says, and all of the sudden, I can't stop laughing!

I was ready to punch that fat ugly freak, but he has a point! Thinking back, I don't know why I'd been upset: it was hilarious! I was a complete fool! Just thinking about the disgusted looks of those employees made me fold over cackling. And that cop! He seemed more disappointed than anything! Laughing, I can feel the wetness where I'd pissed myself, sending me into another wave of hysterics! It'd disgusted me before, but now the humiliation of it all was just so damned funny!

"That was a good one," I wheeze, whipping a tear from my eye.

The man chuckles at me, taking a bite of the steak my wife is serving him in bed, "Laugh at your pathetic excuse for a husband, tits."

Annie stops feeding bites of steak into his mouth and looks at me for the first time tonight. Without hesitation, she bursts into laughter at the sight of me. I chuckle along with her, though the feeling of amusement is starting to wear off.

"Alright, now go sleep in the barn with the cattle, dumbass!" the Hypnotist mocks, "Your wife is going to massage me to sleep."

"Ok," I mutter, barely even maintaining a smile at this point.

I'll admit that I'm sorta glad to leave. Standing there while he and my wife just laughed felt wrong for some reason. As I trudge through the mud on the way to the barn, I see the glow of morning on the horizon. Soon, the rooster will crow and the cattle will be mooing up a storm, so I don't know how I'm gonna rest.

Food-deprived, sleep-deprived, cold, wet, and sweaty, I slump down in the old wood barn. As famished as I am, even the leftover slop in the trough is smelling good. I brush off the idea, and curl up in the mud with the cows. My clothes are too soiled to bother with cleanliness, so I ignore the flies and manure.

I pray sleep will find me quick. If that Hypnotist could actually do anything, I'd have him hypnotize me to sleep. It's too bad hypnosis isn't real. Even if it were, I doubt it'd work on a salt-of-the-earth man like me!

[piftamere]

megumi ending (wc : 1.4k ; cw : hospital room, brief description of the crash, mentions of death, a little suggestive)

in your hospital bed, you feel small, you look small too. you're paler than usual, dark circles surround your tired eyes. you broke your left arm and now a cast envelops it.

“never scare me like that again” and a couple “i love you”s can be read on the white bandages, written by yuuji and kugisaki. flowers, ballons and a teddy bear decorate your room.

satoru and maki visited you a few hours ago, they looked so worried. they brought you chocolates, fruits, anything you’d need really. they promised to come back tomorrow.

the doctor came by earlier, you're going to be okay. you should be out of the hospital in a few days. the police came too but megumi told them to come back another day. you’re thankful he did.

megumi, yuuji and kugi look exhausted but they're smiling, you don’t have the heart to ask them to leave so you can rest. their presence is comforting, you’ll sleep later.

your ribs hurt when you breathe and even worse when you laugh, but you still reward yuuji’s poor attempts at lightening the mood with a chuckle. you can tell he needs it, you all need it.

when you recognized the driver as satoru’s former assistant, your heart missed a beat. you asked her to stop the car, but she started ranting to you, accusing you of ruining her life, of using people then discarding them.

you were so scared, you really thought you were going to die in that car. she kept speeding while not focusing on the road. going on and on about how you were a terrible person. and when she swerved off the road to avoid another car, you saw your life flash before your eyes. you saw the faces of everyone you would never get to see again. megumi’s face.

you’ll never forget the fear you felt when the car flipped over.

your thoughts are interrupted by kugisaki standing up, “i’m gonna get something to drink, yuuji come on.” she gives you a gentle smile before leaving the room, yuuji doesn’t quite get it but he follows after her anyway.

she knows you probably want to be alone with megumi for a bit. he’s sitting in the chair next to your bed, he’s been there since you woke up, probably since long before that.

after they’re gone, your gaze wanders on his face. you notice the red around his eyes, his messy hair, his wrinkled clothes.

his hands are resting on his legs.

“megumi?” you reach out, gently squeezing his fingers to get his attention. his skin is warm, it's nice.

“it’s funny because i was doing the interview, answering the same old questions and i started talking about my love for music, how it’s my passion and the only thing i want to do in life, how i feel like it’s what i was born to do you know?” as you talk, you trace the scar on the inside of his palm, partly because you like the feeling of his skin on yours but mostly because you’re too shy to look him in the eyes. he tilts his head slightly, not sure where you’re going with this. “but while i was rambling on and on, something felt wrong, it was different from all the other times i’d given that same speech. because all i could think about was you. that’s how i feel about you too. i love you, and i’m tired of pretending i don’t.”

when you finally look up, part of you wants to laugh at the expression on megumi’s face. his jaw fell slack and he’s blinking rapidly at you.

“you love me? like “as more than a friend” love me?” he sounds incredulous

“yeah…” you chuckle awkwardly, playing with the rings on his fingers.

he blinks again a few times, to make sure this is really happening.

he really wants to kiss you, but he’s so scared of causing you any pain that he settles for his hand on your cheek. you lean into his touch.

“are you not going to say anything back megumi?” your brows are furrowed, you knew he felt the same but you were beginning to wonder if his feelings had changed.

he clears his throat. “yes sorry, i’m just having a hard time believing this is real.”

you chuckle, “you’re cute.”

he blushes a little at your comment. “i love you too, of course i do.”

he looks at you fondly, with so much love.

“and because i love you, i need to say something,” he starts, his expression suddenly serious. you nod, surprised.

he takes a deep breath and continues, "with everything that has happened around your career these past months i have to ask, do you want to continue? even with all the drama and risks? or do you want to leave everything behind? whichever you choose, i’ll follow you. when I visited my family a few months ago, i inherited a lot of money. i don’t want to bother you with the details, but basically, i’m set for life. so, you don’t have to worry about money anytime soon, even if you choose to give up on your career. i’ll take care of you, and i’ll help you find a new dream, if this one isn’t yours anymore.”

you’re taken aback by his honesty, “i love what i do megumi, so much.”

“when i got the call from the hospital and i didn’t know how you were, i imagined the worse. i was terrified that i might have lost you. you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and i can’t lose you. i know i can’t shelter you from all the dangers in the world, i just want you to know you have the choice.”

“okay, thank you megumi.” you reply, with a small smile.

you scoot over to the side of the bed, tapping on the covers to invite him to join you.

“come. you can’t say no i almost died today.” you look at him through your eyelashes.

”i’ll do whatever you want me to, you know that.”

megumi climbs on, careful not to touch your cast, he wraps his arms around you, gently, like he’s afraid of breaking you.

he hates that you’re in an hospital bed, hates that you’re hurt. there’s so many things he wishes he could do right now, but he holds back. he knows you’ll have all the time in the world once you get out in a few days.

still you notice his gaze trailing down to your lips before quickly coming back to your eyes a few time as you speak. he’s such an idiot, you think.

taking things into your own hands, you gently cup his cheek, bringing him slowly towards you. you feel his breath fan on your skin and he closes the gap between your lips. the kiss is soft, tender, but it leaves the both of you wanting more. you gently bite his lower lip as you pull away. his forehead rests against yours, he lets out a shaky exhale. you stay like this for a moment. it’s better than you could have ever imagined.

in his embrace, the tension that has been gripping your body since the accident begins to ease. the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calms you down. you finally feel safe, for the first time since the crash. the hospital room and the pain fade away, and all that remains is the warmth of his body against yours.

megumi takes a deep breath before speaking, “you know around 1 year after you moved in, i can’t remember why, but you were out of town. and i couldn’t find jiji anywhere. i spent hours searching and i was so worried i lost ‘your son’. i called you completely panicked and you just knew were jiji was hidden, and you knew exactly what to say to calm me down, and i went to look and he was there.” he sighs, content. “and before hanging up, you added, ‘it’s our son now megs.’ and i knew.”

“knew what?” you ask, curious.

“that i loved you.”

“that was years ago!!”

“yea it was.” he whispers, tightening his hold on you.

“I'm sorry it took me so long to realize i loved you.”

“you have nothing to be sorry about.” he says, kissing your forehead, before nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck.

fun facts :

yn and megumi moved into the same room a few months later because they kept sleeping in the same bed so it made no sense to have a second bedroom.

they turned it into a studio to write and produce their music

the new kitty is called Ponyo^^ (very original ik)

author's note

ignore if some things dont make sense :3

there's some stuff in common with the satoru ending, i hope it's not too repetitive if you've read both

megumi got his happy ending, just maki left and it's finally over!! 😗😗

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ tugging on heartstrings ⋆⭒˚｡⋆

as an aspiring solo artist, you dream of making it big in the music industry. With your talent and unwavering determination, you find yourself entangled in a web of romantic pursuits amidst rumors and betrayal. Will you emerge unscathed and manage to navigate your love life in the chaos of fame?

Part thirty-eight - the end

rbs and interactions are highly appreciated <3

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if you're name is crossed out i couldn't tag you, if it's not fixed in a week i'll remove you sorry :(

[merlinpotterandtherandom]

Harry and Draco have been secretly dating since 4th year and they manage to hide it pretty well, so well that not even his friends know they're in a relationship.

By the end of 5th year Harry and Draco have this huge argument, Draco knows that Voldemort will probably want to recruit him to the Death Eaters as a punishment for Lucius' failure so he tells Harry he wants to let that happen so he can be a spy to Harry and Harry, who has just lost Sirius, is not happy about it at all, Harry refuses to let Draco do it, Harry refuses to risk his boyfriend's life for something like this. But Draco manages to convince Harry to let him do it, Draco tells Harry that it's the best if Harry has his own spy so he can get unfiltered information. Harry still isn't happy about it, but after Draco did an unbreakable vow to run straight up to Harry if he felt he was uncovered or if Draco just feels like his life is in way too much danger, Harry ended up agreeing with Draco that it would be nice to have his own spy in the Death Eaters.

6th year comes around and Draco is a bit distraught by the task Voldemort gave him, so he tells Harry everything and shows Harry that Voldemort really did mark him, which he wasn't expecting Voldemort would do. Harry just gently presses a kiss close to the mark, 'cause he's afraid he's gonna accidentally activate the mark if he touches it, and then pulls Draco closer and kisses him and tells Draco he's gonna help him to fix the vanishing cabinet so Draco doesn't have to do it all alone. Harry really couldn't keep his eyes out of his boyfriend, he knew Draco was worried with his mother and with everything so Harry was really watching Draco like a hawk to make sure Draco was eating and sleeping. Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Dean, Seamus and basically all of the Gryffindors thought Harry was obsessed with and/or stalking Draco, and Harry was just like "No! I'm not stalking him!" and Hermione was like "So you admit you're obsessed then?" and Harry really didn't deny that he's obsessed, Draco is his boyfriend! Of course he's obsessed with his own boyfriend! But he couldn't tell Hermione that, so he just shrugged and moved on with the conversation. During all of this, Harry also insisted that Draco learns the Patronus, 'cause it's useful.

While Harry is with Hermione and Ron hunting Horcruxes, Draco is between Hogwarts and the Malfoy Manor. Draco sends Harry his patronus with information. Harry just smiles everytime he sees Draco's patronus, even though it usually brings bad news.

The battle of Hogwarts happens. Harry saves Draco from the Fiendfyre and Harry just can't control himself anymore and ends up pulling Draco closer and kissing him when they're out of the fire. Hermione and Ron are shocked when Draco actually just lets Harry kiss him and even kisses back. So when Harry finally kills Voldemort, he keeps ignoring everyone around him and keeps looking for Draco, Hermione pops up on Harry's side and points to a direction and says she saw Draco in there. Harry thanks her and runs to Draco, who he finds all alone outside the castle just staring at it and Harry just wraps his arms around Draco's waist and kisses Draco's cheek, Draco turns around after that and kisses Harry properly in the lips and then blurts out a "Marry me" and Harry is shocked so he doesn't answer immediately so Draco just starts trailing off about how scared he was when he saw Harry in Hagrids arms and how relieved he was when he noticed Harry was alive and how all of this just made him realize how short life can be and how he wants to spend the rest of his with Harry. Harry kissed Draco before he could say something else and said yes.

Harry testified for Draco, saying that Draco was his spy since the beginning, that Draco was never a real Death Eater and it was all part of their plan.

Harry and Draco's wedding happens just a week before they go back to Hogwarts for the "8th" year.

[woozvc]

notice you

0.8

w.c - 3.1k ish

okay, this is it.

you walk into the interview room, immediately hit by the bright lights and flowers around. it takes your eyes a moment to adjust to the light, maybe not wearing your glasses today wasn't the best idea. you take your seat and look ahead to them. they look unreal.

it never dawns upon you how good seventeen look in real life. almost better than their pictures. u smile at them, small bows and introductions before the cameras begin rolling. you see him and can't help but smile wider, he really is unreal.

the pd yells action and as if a new person, you're immediately more confident, reciting the script like it was engraved in your mind. "hello everyone, welcome to dingo's new show forever idol!, you've waited a long time huh? well we won't waste much time and introduce our guests for the first ep, a group who has always been very close to dingo. everyone please welcome seventeen!" small cheering by the staff followed by hoshi's "say the name" intro.

it's hard to say what exactly it is, but seventeen's energy is so calming. you don't feel like you're interviewing top idols, it feels like they're old childhood friends. the interview goes extremely smoothly, it's as if this is something you've done before. you're glad seventeen were able to make the mood a bit more lively and cheerful, they really are just a group of best friends.

asking the questions makes you understand seventeen more. the way hoshi always is excited to answer and ends up cutting someone off mid-sentence, how dk is always joining hoshi in his acts making sure he's never alone, seungkwan is always making sure that you're okay with hosting and is asking questions to you too. mingyu keeps laughing at everything and everyone and chan joins in to give small comments. vernon is usually quite, he sits back and just enjoys his members answers. sometimes he answers, and he's always answering in such a thoughtful way, it's admirable.

you wrap up your ending and the cameras are cut. you get up and offer to shake all of their hands, which they take eagerly. you get to shake vernons hand and he gives u a small smile. u return it and hope that the faint red tint creeping up your neck to your cheeks isn't noticible by him.

the pd says you guys can take some rest so they can film a behind video, ones where they run around asking them random questions. you excuse yourself from the group to the snacks aisle in the other room.

maybe it's because you're nervous, or scared, that u almost drop ur phone at the mention of your name. u catch your phone before it drops and see seungkwan and vernon before you"we surprised you huh? haha sorry but y/n we have a very serious and important question." seungkwan starts, emphasising the "serious and important" part.

you say a small yes when seungkwan hands the mic to vernon and he continues "so y/n fried chicken or ramen" a very serious question indeed u think. after a few seconds of thought u say your answer "fried chicken, it's my comfort food" and vernon gives u a victory high five with a smile while seungkwan looks to the camera in a rant about how fried chicken makes bloating worse and what not. honestly you couldn't pay attention, not when vernon looked at u.

the rest of the interviews were fun to watch, you got to know hoshi and dk LOVE having the camera on them and that dino likes being called handsome more than cute. never a dull moment with seventeen.

it's about 6pm when everyone is wrapping up to leave and u see jiwoo come in the room. she talks to a few staff and comes towards you.

"ready to leave?"

"yeah just let me check if I forgot something" you say as u turn towards the green room area. as you're about to walk you see vernon outside seventeen's room on the phone with someone. now you have 2 options, face vernon while going to your room Or just hope that you've left nothing behind.

"yeah let's go I don't think I'll leave something"

synopsis - you get invited to your first MAMA awards after debuting as a soloist. a dream come true for u. your fans are ecstatic but they can't help but notice how this one idol keeps stealing glances at u......and you can't ignore it either.

pairing — vernon x gn!reader

genre/s — smau, idol au, fluff, minor angst

warnings — a lot of cursing

previous | masterlist | next

note — giggling🤭 sorry for the late post I wanted to post the interview part on my birthday 😭😭 we grow older with simp hansol💯

also um english isn't my first language so forgive me if there's any mistakes just pretend I wrote this correctly. I'm going to try to keep this series mainly smaus but I feel like I needed to write this part out to express the interview moments a bit better 🫶

taglist :

@spilled-coffee-cup @atinytinaa @matchahyuck @wonwoos-wineparty @kawennote09 @weird-bookworm @idkwwhatimmdoiing

@maiamorrrrrrrrrrrr @thehao8 @blurryriki @atinytinaa @delicatewinterenthusiast @stqrrgirle @cloelinnnnn @sp1ng @venusprada @hellohannie @ahuihoeeee

@ddokye

@jeonghansshitester @cienlvrs @vernyangel

@thefroggybazaar

[caughtthedarkness93]

So I've got some Acolyte thoughts again after giving the last episode a couple days to percolate and talking to my partner about it. Spoilers under the cut.

So the thing about the characters we've seen die so far - Yord and Jecki - is that they are non-essential characters, in effect. They have a role in the story, but not a load-bearing one. The story isn't about them where the story emphatically is about Mae, Osha, Sol and our new Sith friend. The show is at its core about the relationships between these four people. It's probably going to spin off in some really wild directions given where the last episode ended, but Mae and Osha, Mae and Qimir, Mae and Sol, and Osha and Sol have so far been the primary defining relationships that keep the story in motion, and there's burgeoning hints at a pre-existing relationship with Sol and the Sith Lord and the last episode's ending strongly suggests a big part of the next episode is going to be about building on the beginnings of Osha's relationship with the Sith Lord that was established when she saw shit go down in the last episode, especially with the implications that there's more to the story of what happened to the witches that raised her.

So it makes sense for those two to die, as their stories are secondary to these four core characters who define the conflict of the show. They're secondary characters who have intrigue and are involved in that conflict, but they're not the ones guiding it, not really.

But what I find really interesting about this is that they are both very loyal adherents to the Jedi Order and the Jedi Code as it is understood at this point in-setting. Look at how they both are introduced. Yord enters the story reuniting with his old friend Osha. Where she greets him warmly and happily, he's very much all business and arrests her pretty much immediately without really bothering to listen to her or corroborate her story or check her alibi in any real way. This sets up his extremely by-the-book nature which, of course, extends to his view of the Jedi Code. Jecki, meanwhile, is introduced chastising her master for his nostalgic attitude towards Osha because to her it looks uncomfortably like attachment - as we know, that's forbidden for the Jedi. It also sets Sol in contrast as someone who has a bit of a less strict view of what is ideal in a Jedi and how one is supposed to act.

So when we lose them, we don't just lose two characters we'd really started to feel some affection towards, we lose our two characters who are most attached to the order's rules. And what we're left with is a Jedi school flunkout, everyone's new beloved Jedi dad who loves you in a way the Order doesn't seem to like much, the very face of unhealthy codependency, and a fucking Sith Lord. The least messy of these characters is clearly deeply wounded by the past and struggles to contain his emotions at times. And now, his emotions have become a huge part of the show's battleground, and he's lost the two strongest anchors to the Jedi way when he needs them most.

And while we're at it, it also deprives Osha of the same. When Yord comes to see her, she's genuinely excited to see him again and proud of him for making Knight. When she decides to leave before the Khofar mission, she goes out of her way to say goodbye to Jecki. It's clear the two have developed a bond over the course of the story.

All that's left for Sol and Osha is an existing connection they have with each other - the very connection the fallen Jecki enters the scene criticizing.

That on top of how this show is very interested in the Jedi Order and how it navigates is place in the galaxy - as both a religious institution and a political institution and the way those impulses conflict with one another. Already we've seen aspects of how scared the Order is of this getting out. And if the Jedi believe the Sith have been extinct for a millennia by the time of TPM, there's gonna be another shoe that'll drop - especially if Qimir is part of the Rule of Two's lineage. Either this will all get buried or we'll discover things are not how they seem in some other way.

This is gonna be real interesting, I'm sure.

[grassbreads]

The more I linger on it, the more I think this might be the most subtly unhinged thing in all of SGRS. What do you MEAN you dated for eight years and never told each other your real names???

Miyokichi talks after the breakup about how she was putting on a "professional front" with Kikuhiko. As a survival technique, Miyokichi tends to make herself into whatever she thinks the man she's with wants from her, and in this case, that means she presented herself as her idea of Kiku's idea of a "good woman" for a full eight years while they were together. She probably would have tried to go on like that forever if he didn't break things off.

Yet at the same time, I think she's rightfully upset on some level that Kiku never looked at her more deeply. We see very little of their relationship, only the beginning and the very end, but given what we do see, it seems like Kiku never quite stops holding Miyokichi at arm's length. He goes along with things and initiates some level of closeness (like leaning into her when he's upset during the rain), but he doesn't push her to get more intimate.

Kiku looks scared when Miyokichi talks about dying during their breakup, he defends her personhood to his master, and he wants to bring her back to Tokyo with along Konatsu and Sukeroku when he finds them, so it's not like he doesn't care about her at all. But while he treats her his own version of decently, he never tries to get to know her on a deeper level. He doesn't take initiative to look for who she is behind her front for him.

(Personally, I'd blame his disinterest in knowing her largely on his own fear of being known, but we don't have time to get into that right now).

The problem with Miyokichi's frustration with being taken at face value, though, is that she doesn't know Kikuhiko's real name either. She most likely never asks, just like Kiku never asks hers. I think she falls in love with the idea of dating Kiku as much if not more than she falls in love with him. He's safe and well-mannered and very handsome, and I think his distant coldness is a comfort to her on some level because neglect, though an unhappy business, is what she has experience with.

Miyokichi likes the idea of ~being the woman~ and supporting Kiku emotionally. I'm sure she encouraged some playact of emotional intimacy between them. I'm sure they found comfort in each other in a very real way sometimes. But, if she got to know Kiku too well, she would have seen things about him she didn't like. Could she have truly known him without knowing he didn't love her the way she wanted? She never quite looks deeper to see whether he's really the type of man that she needs him to be.

I think Kiku is a bit more at fault for the dysfunction in their relationship overall. Whether or not he was ever properly attracted to or in love with her, he's quite clearly an inattentive boyfriend to an egregious degree. Who the hell goes traveling for an extended period without saying a word to their partner?? But he's not the only one that lets their partner pretend to be something they're not.

Kiku and Miyokichi are both very talented actors. Boyfriend and Girlfriend are roles that they're both playing. They're the happy heterosexual couple! Miyokichi seems to latch onto Kiku in large part for the sake of her safety (and because she doesn't know how to exist without a boyfriend in her life). And however much pleasure he may or may not get from Miyokichi's advances, I think Kiku stays in the relationship with her at least in part out of a sense of social obligation. She's beautiful and hitting on him. Young men are supposed to have girlfriends. He's encouraged to date to get experience for his rakugo. Is saying "no" even an option?

But because they're both playing roles, because they're both invested in Doing A Relationship as much as they're invested in each other as individuals, both of them skim along the other's surface. Neither of them ever volunteers to tell the other their real name, and apparently neither of them ever tries to ask. They spend eight years together, but those years are spent dating the personas of Kikuhiko and Miyokichi, not daring to look at the people underneath those masks.

[quirkle2]

I've gone through your zombie au, but I don't think we've seen Mob's headspace before? I'm reaaaally interested to know what goes on his head during the time he's a zombie (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

i think it's a bit like wading through a swamp. every step u try to take in the water is slowed and sluggish, and every thought that mob has as a zombie is the same. every emotion takes twice as long to process and act upon, and every outside stimulus is met with a very delayed reaction

i do think he's constantly trying to piece together answers though, on why things are the way they are. he's constantly trying to grapple onto old memories that are foggy and distorted, and he feels like there's something or somebody missing from their current gang, but as he soon as he remembers reigen and teru's faces (or even their parents) and feels even a little bit of grief, his brain does a soft reboot and he has to start over. juuust on the edge of noticing something is off, that something is missing, but never quite having the brain power to hold onto the answers

he knows he's with ritsu, and he knows this new girl with them is a friend and is likely to be trusted, since she brought ritsu back safe and sound and healthier than he was before. he also knows that something is seemingly Wrong, Very Wrong, with how ritsu is acting almost constantly. when his brother looks at him, there is Grief there, but mob has trouble pinpointing whether its grief or smth else, and he hasn't a clue why it's there to begin with. he thinks maybe something happened a while ago, to make ritsu upset—mob can never put his finger on it, but he knows ritsu is Sad, in the purest and most basic form, so sometimes he'll certainly try to cheer him up like he always has in the past. when he tries, he's not sure why it seems to make it worse

even though this sounds frustrating, i don't think zombie mob even has the wherewithal to Be frustrated at this—it's not like he's rly aware that he's A Zombie, he's just . a being, yaknow? he doesn't differentiate zombies from humans, and he's not rly aware he's sick, or that anything is wrong with him. he's just him. as far as he knows, this is how he's always been. the fact that he can't remember certain things beyond a set point or that his mind is working leagues slower than it used to is simply not known to him

in terms of their Situation, mob is mostly unaware of what they're even doing most of the time. in his eyes, they're simply wandering from destination to destination with no real goal in mind, and since mob doesn't rly have any goals of his own other than Live he's perfectly content with following ritsu around

ritsu is his brother.ritsu is good and kind and he loves him, and despite mob's slowed down brain, he still knows, fundamentally, that he's the older one, that one that is supposed to look after the younger. which is why mob never leaves his side even when ritsu is asleep—u can't just leave ur brother alone like that ! it's also obviously why when ritsu is attacked by literally anybody, mob's instincts kick in and he goes to town on the fucker

no, he does not horrify himself by biting into throats, and no, he is not aware that it's quite a drastic measure he takes. the taste of human flesh does not alarm him—it's simply a New taste, like trying a new food. in his mind this is natural and not something to think twice about. ritsu is surely very scared afterward bc he was attacked, not bc he's currently cleaning human blood from his brother's mouth. obviously.

[riddles-n-games]

Now that you've read the brothers Hawthorne, do you have any averyjameson headcanons or theories?

Hmm, first theory: Jameson's revelation to Avery about Prague will be a major plot line for them in discovering another incident like the Hawthorne Island fire but not covered in The Grandest Game. It might mean that at some point or another, Prague will be a destination to revisit and who knows, maybe a continent-wide European adventure for our fave duo and this time with all the brothers included. In the meantime, I think they will be too busy setting up the Grandest Game but I believe they will try their best to look into the situation and see what they can find out just nothing major yet. Maybe Avery will ask Toby if he knows anything but I don't know if she will feel like she is risking him because of Eve's takeover of the Blake fortune.

My second theory is that between TBH and TGG they will go to Scotland and stay at Vantage, perhaps also have a more formal introduction to the Johnstone-Jameson family while they're there. Kind of hope that Jamie gets to meet his grandmother. Something just tells me his next big plot might revolve around both his grandmothers since his paternal grandmother was also mentioned quite a bit because of Vantage so I can't help thinking JLB wants us to infer something important there. Going back to Avery and Jameson, one part that stood out to me was when he brought up the fact that she gave away most of the foreign properties to the foundation and then asked her what she thought of Scottish castles. I'm questioning if he meant it like a question of co-ownership to curate the place together because his uncle did say he would pay for the upkeep of it or if they still hadn't visited the Scottish estate that formerly belonged to his grandfather and so they might make a trip to both Vantage and the Hawthorne property in Scotland because Avery hadn't given that one away yet. I also theorize that when she was about to answer him she was already getting an idea for a dare. Something to do with cliff climbing, likely. Also, that scene when they were running for the cliffside after the first clue was given in the Game, I couldn't help but think of Max's words in The Hawthorne Legacy and it felt like such a callback to that. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) would have been such a great song to pair with that scene.

Anyways, onto some headcanons! Headcanon 1: So after their UK trip, Avery starts teasing Jameson about being part British by indirectly messing with him. She randomly makes references to Sherlock Holmes (the one featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, of course), purposefully brings up Downton Abbey at least twice when they're scrolling through shows to watch or just straight up leaves an episode running on the TV when Jameson is in her room (she deliberately goes around a corner and tries to catch a glimpse of his expression but when she does, he always looks stone-faced, better than Grayson's it actually scares her). On karaoke nights, she always chooses a British singer's song for him to sing when it's his turn (mostly One Direction and Adele). For his birthday, she invited a bunch of famous British actors and singers (she actually managed to get 1D to get reunited for that and if Max, Xander, and Jameson weren't the biggest fangirls that night🤭). Avery also begins calling him nicknames like Your Highness, Duke, His Excellency, etc. He just rolls his eyes every time. In other attempts to rile him up, she uses British slang and tells him that he should be inclined to use more of it now that they know he’s part Brit. Meanwhile, on her birthday, he got her back by getting a real tiara (with Oren’s help, duh) for her to wear for the day and it was made with emerald and orange topaz gemstones. She took it with grace and they had a Cinderella moment when they danced in the Great Room alone after everyone left.

Headcanon 2: On a more serious note, some days, Jameson’s mind gets occupied by thoughts of his father and he gets really quiet and withdrawn from everyone. Usually, in those situations, he ends up on the roof and with the knife in hand, constantly twirling it. While everybody else leaves him alone, Avery finds him up there and she never says anything, just comes up to him and hugs him from behind (Jameson secretly loves her hugs a lot). They stay like that for a while, in complete silence, until he turns around and hugs her back but not without a forehead kiss. Then, he’d take her hand and trace little symbols onto her hand with his thumb. Some she would recognize, others are just random. It becomes their unspoken version of Tahiti as they try decoding what the other signs.

Headcanon 3: Since the night he told his secret to Avery, Jameson’s mind often wanders back to his grandmother and his grandfather’s words about the way a Hawthorne man loves: only once and never frivolously. He reflects on his grandfather’s love for his grandmother, Toby's love for Hannah, and then looks at his own relationship with Avery. Although he wouldn't tell a soul, it's obvious enough that he seems settled on her and just knows she's the one. She is his endgame. There would never be anyone like her, not before like Emily and no one after. One day, he takes her to the treehouse and tells her what his grandfather told him and Grayson that Fourth of July a few years back, the Christmas that they got the treehouse and why it looked the way it does now. Avery just listens and at the end asks him, "So, what now? You have that look in your eye." Jameson tells her he plans to have the treehouse fixed, to add more stuff than there was before, make it better than the old man made it originally. Then, he tells her that he's been thinking about them and everything that happened so far and she's a bit confused where he's going with it until he pulls out a promise ring. Avery is taken aback, reasonably so, but she accepts it and finds on the inside that it says Heads or Tails, calling back to the way they started their relationship and they kiss.

Hope you enjoyed this!

[xoxoavenger]

Hiii can I please request Jack Thompson x female reader who has powers like Scarlett witch. You can decide what happens etc. thank youuu 💕

Terrified

pairing: Jack Thompson x Fem!Reader

word count: 3322

warnings: some angst but also the fluff

12 Days of Christmas Masterlist

main masterlist

Y/N woke up screaming. 

She woke up screaming most nights, which is why she sacrificed extra money to live on her own, why she almost ruined her friendship with Peggy because she couldn't accept the offer of living with her. It's why she was terrified to spend the night with her boyfriend, Jack. There had been countless nights over the nine months where she had caught herself almost asleep, about to spend the night, before she realized what the hell was happening and left, despite Jack's protests. 

"I can sleep in the other room," 

He thought it was about modesty.

She always made up excuses to leave, kissing him as passionately as she dared to try and assuage his mind. It didn't change the fact that at the end of the day, she was terrified that she was going to have one of those stupid nightmares and wake up screaming, and man would that scare Jack off. 

She knew everyone had nightmares. But not everyone had these kinds of nightmares. 

"You're not coming with me!" Steve yelled at her. They were in the plane on the way to rescue Bucky and the rest of the POWs Hydra had taken. Bucky's family had taken Y/N in when she was young, her father having never been around and her mother dying from some sort of illness. 

"Bucky is my brother! I'm not leaving him!" She knew he would never leave her, would never give up if it had been her in his place. 

"You're not apart of this!" Steve shook his head at her, and she frowned. 

"Just because I'm not in the army doesn't meant that I can't help!" She cried. "I've been with you guys since the beginning! I'm just as much apart of this as you!" Steve wasn't hearing it. 

In real life, she had grabbed a parachute and jumped out of the plane after Steve. In real life she had snuck into the compound quickly. In real life, she went straight to Bucky while Steve was left behind fighting. Her dream showed none of this. Her subconscious didn't care.

"Bucky! Oh my God!" She screamed, going to his side. He barely moved his head, and was quickly trying to free him. 

"Y/N?" He muttered, voice hoarse and body pale. 

"What did they do to you?" She questioned, still trying to free the restraints. 

"You have to go," He said as she got one arm done. He sat up, grabbing her hand. "Please, they're coming," He begged, but she wasn't listening. 

"Steve's taking care of it, don't worry-"

In her dream, every night, they shoot Bucky. In her dream, they take her and do unspeakable things. 

In real life Bucky wasn't shot, just electrocuted. In real life, she was knocked out quickly. In real life, she was barely conscious when these things happened. In real life, she can only remember these things happening when she goes to sleep.

In her dream she is vividly living through it. 

Sometimes she wakes up when they shoot Bucky. She wakes up and has to remind herself that Steve was successful a few months later. That they only had Y/N for half the time they had Bucky, that Bucky didn't die there, he died later on and now Steve is dead and-

It usually doesn't work. 

She knows Hydra did experiments on her. She's still finding out about those. 

~

"Good morning," Peggy smiles as Y/N steps into the office, putting her things down on her desk. They both know that the only reason they are the only two girls in the office is because the government felt bad about the damage that wreaked havoc on their lives. 

Welcome to the 40s.

"Good morning," Y/N tried to be smiley, but she wasn't getting enough sleep to do this over and over again everyday. 

There was no way she could tell people what she was going through. No one would understand. 

"Jack came in a couple minutes ago, went straight to the back. He seems to be a bit on the wrong side this morning." Peggy was still smiling, but this information made Y/N want to scream. 

Of course Jack was upset this morning. The fight they had gotten into at three A.M. was definitely responsible for that.

"What happened?" Peggy asked, mood immediately shifting as she took in the look on her best friend's face. Peggy was insanely good at reading people, and after all that the two had gone through she could read Y/N like a book. 

"Well," Y/N briefly thought about lying, but one look at her best friend's face told her she had to tell the truth. "It's a long story." She tired, but Peggy just glared. 

"It's a good thing our desks are right next to each other, isn't it?" Peggy questioned, already prepared for that answer. Y/N nodded, taking her spot across from Peggy. 

"Jack wanted me to spend the night last night, since it was so late. And as much as I want to, there's just too much going on right now." Y/N tried not to think of the look on Jack's face when she had slipped up, when her eyes went red and her hands began to glow. 

He was terrified. 

"That's not a long story." Peggy commented as she began to go through the paperwork stacked on her desk. Y/N took a deep breath and avoided Peggy's eyes.

"I'm having nightmares." Maybe if she told part of the truth, Peggy would let her off the hook. 

"You've had nightmares since you met Jack. What else is going on?" She looked at Y/N then, squinting as if she were trying to preform an X-Ray with her naked eyes. "Are you," She led off, eyes briefly trailing to Y/N's midsection. 

"No!" She shrieked, probably too loudly, because the other men turned to stare. "It's not that." Y/N looked down at her hands, the ones that had started to glow. The ones that scared Jack. 

She never wanted to hurt Jack. She knew he would never hurt her, that he would try and kill anyone for putting their hands on her, but she never thought she would see the look of fear in his eyes when he looked at her. 

"Then what is it?" Peggy asked, still going through the papers. Y/N began to copy the motion, hoping that if she were doing something normal this next part would seem better somehow. 

"Do you remember when I was captured by Hydra?" Y/N asked. Of course she knew Peggy remembered. They both knew that even though they never talked about what happened over the war, they remembered every detail. 

"Yes," Peggy answered, slowing her work. She knew that what Y/N was about to say was important, much more important than nightmares. 

"They were trying to recreate the serum. They tested it on Bucky, but we never found out if it actually worked." She took a deep breath, because she was about to drop a truth that she probably should have told Peggy, and Steve, when she was first rescued. "They tested it on me too." 

She had whispered the words, but she knew Peggy heard them. Even as she was silent, Y/N knew the sentence had gotten across.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, sounding confused. "I'm not sure I understand. You were tested on by Hydra?" 

"From what I remember." Y/N answered, not looking at her friend. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" The us in that situation was clear, and Y/N tried to block out the fact that half of that group was dead.

"One of you already knew." Y/N tried to be funny, but it was clear it didn't land. 

"Why are you telling me this now?" Peggy tried not to sound brash, but she was confused as to why Y/N was bringing this up now, when she was supposed to be talking about the fight with Jack. 

"Something has been happening." Y/N closed her eyes, no longer feeling the need to pretend she was doing work. "It started when the nightmares got worse, and then there was a tingling in my hands." She looked down, willing the red power to come to the surface just a bit. She lifted a hand to show it, pulling it back once Peggy saw. Her eyes widened, and Y/N couldn't look at her anymore. 

"Y/N,"

"I don't know what's happening to me." She whispered, tears in her eyes. "And last night, Jack was upset that I couldn't stay the night. I started to tell him about the nightmares, but I got too emotional and it happened." She took a deep breath, looking up and away. 

"What did he do?" She asked, and Y/N just shook her head. 

"He was terrified." She shrugged, as if that were the obvious answer. Her throat was closing with emotion and her eyes were beginning to well with tears.

"Of you?" Peggy asked, because she was sure there was no way Jack actually was scared of Y/N. She had seen the way he looked at her, like she was the only person in the world. Peggy would have never thought that Jack would even think about being afraid of Y/N in any way. 

"Yes. And who wouldn't be?" Y/N got up, not able to stay at her desk any longer. 

"Are you sure that he was afraid of you?" Peggy questioned, sure that Y/N must've been mistaken.

"What else would it have been?" Y/N asked. Peggy didn't have the answer, but soon the Chief was coming over anyway. They had to end the conversation quickly, but one look from Peggy told Y/N this wasn't going away.

"I need you two to go on a stakeout." He had said, and Y/N just stared, waiting for the rest of that assignment. "We need more information about one of the targets. Here's the file, read in the car." He dropped the file on Y/N's desk, and she just nodded, watching the chief walk back to his office. 

"Looks like we're going out today." 

~

"Where's Y/N?" Jack had asked when he had finally gotten out the the interrogation the Chief had made him do. He had gotten to the office early in the morning, hoping to catch when Y/N had come in. He desperately needed to talk to her, but he knew better than to follow her home last night. 

"Why, did you not get enough last night?" One of the guys asked, and Jack rolled his eyes. Him and Y/N had tried to keep their relationship a secret, but it was obvious after awhile. Although they weren't big on PDA, the boys still loved to give Jack shit. 

"I know you want to live vicariously through me, Jenkins, so I regret to inform you that I actually need to talk to her." Jack shot back, not in the mood for a witty comeback. 

"Chief sent her and Peggy on a stakeout." Daniel told Jack, knowing that his friend was going to be pissed. 

"Where?" Jack was packing his stuff when the Chief came out. 

"You're not going anywhere, butterfly boy." Jack tried not to show his anger at the nickname. "You didn't finish your paperwork." He nodded to the papers on Jack's desk. 

"You only told me to do the interrogation." Jack said, knowing that everyone was watching now. "You don't understand, I seriously need to talk-"

"I don't care," Chief Dooley admitted, making Jack have to take a deep breath. "You're at work, Thompson. You can talk to your girlfriend later." Everyone went back to their own work with a couple chuckles, and Jack walked to his desk, trying to forget about his personal problems. 

"Why do you need to talk to Y/N so bad?" Daniel asked as he walked over to Jack's desk. The two had gotten closer more recently, and although he knew he shouldn't ask, he wanted to be a good friend. 

"We got in an argument last night, and I did something I shouldn't have." Jack knew that it was miscommunication, that the look of fear he displayed was not received in the way he meant it. 

He wasn't afraid for himself. He was concerned for Y/N. It was clear she wasn't okay, that she was terrified, and he would do anything to take that away from her. He wasn't afraid of her. He was afraid for her.

But of course he couldn't tell Daniel about that. 

"And that's urgent?" Daniel didn't want to be rude, it just came out. He had never heard that the couple had gotten into an argument that couldn't wait before - they always put work first and figured their own problems out later.

"It's complicated." Jack muttered, starting the paperwork. 

"Sounds like it." Jack closed his eyes and cracked his neck, trying not to take a jab at Daniel. 

"How's Peggy?" He asked instead of saying something he knew he would regret. 

"Ha ha." Daniel rolled his eyes and walked away, knowing he wasn't getting the full story. 

Jack needed to talk to Y/N. He had to explain. 

~

"This is a fool's work." Peggy complained as they sat outside of the cafe. They were waiting to see Michael Carlye come out of the office, because as soon as he did they were to grab a file from his desk and leave. 

"Well, at least it gives us something to do." Y/N muttered as she took a sip of her drink. 

"Maybe you should talk to Jack." Peggy offered, staring at the door still.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that terrified look on his face really meant 'I want to talk all about this.'" Y/N didn't wait for Peggy's response, because all the sudden Michael was walking out of the building, whistling and not even knowing that the SSR was out for him. 

Wordlessly, the two got up, leaving their drinks and a couple dollars before walking across the street. 

"Let's do this quickly," Peggy grumbled as they slid right by security. The only perk of being a woman in the 40s - no one suspects shit. 

"What were you saying about quick?" Y/N teased as they waltzed right into the unlocked office. "I can't believe he just keeps this shit out like that." She said, grabbing the file out of the first drawer in his desk. "I mean seriously, this guy is," She trailed off as she heard Peggy whipping out her gun, turning to see a man in the doorway with a pistol pointing toward them. 

"Drop the file, and I'll pretend I never saw you." The man said with a gross sneer. 

"Drop the gun and I won't shoot you." Peggy fired back, gun steady in her hands. 

"That wasn't an option." The man said. Just as he shot, Y/N dropped the file and put her hands up, not even thinking as she stopped the bullet just before it hit Peggy. 

"Shit," Y/N whispered, not even sure how she had done it. "What do I do?" Just as she had asked Peggy, the man tried to turn around and yell, but Y/N shot out her other hand and pulled the door shut. 

"What are you?" The man screamed, and Y/N just blinked, not sure how to answer that. 

"What do I do?" She asked Peggy again. They knew it was only a matter of time before someone came and tried to see what the commotion was. 

"We have to run!" Peggy said, but she was still holding the gun up. 

"He knows!" Y/N cried, dropping the bullet. There was no way to spin the tale of her stopping a bullet midair.

"You're the only one that knows," Peggy walked forward, standing in front of Y/N. "So if this gets out, I will find you, and we will ruin your life." The girls heard shouting and they knew their time was up. 

"Out the window." Y/N instructed, using her new found magic to flip up the window and was jumping out. Peggy jumped out as well, and just as she was about to shut the door Y/N remember the file. She quickly reached out with her magic and grabbed it, sliding it through the window as Peggy shut it.

"What a nice office view." Y/N said, realizing they were a foot away from a narrow alley. 

"Back to the office?" Peggy offered, slipping into the alley. 

"Do we have to?" Y/N asked, knowing what was waiting at the office. 

"Well," Peggy started, but they heard yelling from behind them. The girls turned to see some men coming at them, the dumbs who tried to shoot them in the front leading the group. 

"Shit," Y/N muttered, because they were trapped. She could use her powers, but she didn't know exactly what that would entail. 

"You have to do something," Peggy muttered, because they were very out numbered. 

"I don't know what I can do." Y/N admitted, but when the first gunshot went off she caught it, anger beginning to boil in her veins. Without thinking, going based off her rage, she pushed her other hand toward the group and let herself explode. The two girls watched as the men blinked before opening their eyes, pupils red. 

"What did you do?" Peggy asked, walking toward them.

"No idea." Y/N ran past them, not sure how long the men would be out.

~

"She's here." Daniel muttered as he walked past Jack's desk, trying not to laugh as Jack practically fell out of his chair trying to turn around. He got up and quickly walked over to her, feeling bad for thanking God that she was looking for the Chief and not looking at him. 

"Y/N," He called when she was close enough that he knew she wouldn't run. He watched her eyes widen as she turned to him. He was about to speak when he realized she was close to tears. 

"Jack, I'm so sorry," She started, moving her hand to grab his arm but then aborting the motion, looking in his eyes for fear. 

"What happened?" He asked, looking over to Peggy, who had a barely contained look of shock and something else that Jack didn't have the time for right now. "Why are you sorry?" That got her to stop in her tracks. Peggy continued on, probably to debrief the Chief. Y/N was thankful they had thought of their alibi in the car.

"What do you mean?" She looked genuinely confused and slightly scared, and Jack grabbed her hand and walked her to an interrogation room for privacy. "Jack, I'm so sorry, I-"

"For what?" He asked again, confused was to why Y/N was apologizing. He was the one that needed to apologize. 

"Everything," A couple tears fell down her cheeks and she quickly wiped her cheeks, not looking at him. 

"Sweetheart," Jack tried to smile to somehow make Y/N feel better. "I need to apologize." He admitted, putting his hands on her face and pulling her face up to make her look at him. 

"It's all my fault," She said as way of explanation, causing Jack to just shake his head. "I didn't know-"

"Y/N," Jack grabbed her hand, pulling her close and trying to get her to calm down. "I wasn't afraid of whatever is going on," He cringed at his word choice. 

"That's the problem; I don't know what's going on." She whispered, sounding unhinged. Jack understood why, but he was fighting not to tale a step back. Y/N would never hurt him - he knew this. He trusted her. 

"We can figure it out, I promise." He put a hand on her cheek, trying to figure out the best way to comfort her. "Whatever is going on, I'll be here." He hoped she believed him, because he knew he meant it. 

"Right," She smiled, but it didn't seem full. "About, um, that," She looked toward the door, knowing that right now Peggy was telling the Chief all about their fake story.

"We'll work on it." Jack smirked, reading her mind. She nodded, tilting her head up and letting him press his lips to hers.

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @roxaya @iluvblueberrymuffinz @thefandomplace @punzoquack @icequeen1371 

[alrightbuckaroo]

I'm not sure if you're still doing these, but 22 for the Spotify Wrapped Drabbles please 💜

Hello Dalawa! That'll be The Visit (She Was Here) by The Cyrkle (a fun little [now defunct] sunshine pop band from the mid 60s!) It's a bit of angsty song despite the sound so I hope you don't mind a little heartache that also ended up being much longer than I planned it to be:

Carlos' fingers are interlocked with TK's; they hold onto one another as if that's what their hands were made for.

Carlos has never been more in love and it scares him. Each and every day, Carlos finds himself falling that much harder and he's worried that one day he'll reach the ground and never know how to get up again.

Then TK will casually tell him something that's anything but casual, like, "I never liked that shade of yellow until I saw it on you," or "I never understood my mother's favorite song but then I met you," or "I dreamt about you last night, I can't believe I get to wake up to the real thing," and just like that, Carlos is no longer scared because this is a man who loves him just as much as he does him.

At the moment, they're walking through the farmer's market and making ridiculous puns that no one but them will find funny. That's fine though, who needs the rest of the world when the embodiment of your world is standing right next to you.

After leaving the farmer's market, they go home. Carlos tells TK he can call it Carlos' apartment but TK says he likes the way 'home' rolls off the tongue. As Carlos opens the front door, he hears the faintest sound of a beep, but chooses to ignore it.

Once dinner is finished, they both get ready for bed while listening to Neil Young's Harvest Moon. TK's a romantic so he loves romanticizing the mundane and Carlos loves letting him. As Carlos spits out his toothpaste, he hears that fainting beeping once again, but this time it's the tiniest bit louder

Now, they're in bed, treating the silence as their favorite song. Carlos is rubbing his thumb across the ridges of TK's knuckles, holding on because all he ever wants to do is hold TK's hand.

"I feel like I've dreamed you up," Carlos whispers, softly and tender. He presses an even more tender kiss to TK's knuckles and TK begins to chuckle. Carlos' eyebrows knit together at the sound, and he swears he can hear that beeping again.

"That's because you did, baby," TK pulls his hand away from Carlos' and leaves a trail of heartache in its wake. He runs his fingers through Carlos' curls but his fingers feel lighter than ever; almost as if he's not there.

"What?" Carlos can hear that incessant beeping start to get louder.

"You dreamed me up," TK explains, his touch feeling akin to the feather, it's there, but barely just. "I'm not here."

"But I need you to be," Carlos argues, reaching up to grab onto TK's hand but when he does, it's like TK's hand becomes sand in his palm; grains flowing through the spaces between his fingers.

Carlos sits up in the bed, trying to ignore that damn beeping, and he waits for TK to sit up and join him. He waits for TK to sit up and say that he's playing some cruel practical joke even if he's not known for playing them ever before.

Instead, TK continues lying down, looking up at Carlos with dewy emerald eyes and a sympathetic smile. "It's time to wake up, baby."

Carlos jumps awake, propelling himself from the sheets and breathing erratically. He looks over to the nightstand, grabs his phone and puts an end to the incessant beeping.

He looks to the other side of him and sees that one half of the bed is still made. He sighs when he remembers; this is what he was scared of.

He wakes up, goes through his morning routine in a bout of silence that seems especially loud. He listens to the weatherman say that there's winter storm coming and Carlos thinks it's fitting, he's in hell so why not have it freeze over.

He makes breakfast for one before going to work; after work, he comes home and has dinner for one.

Later, as he's showering, Neil Young's Harvest Moon begins to play through the speaker and Carlos couldn't be in more of a hurry to try and change to the next track.

Now, he's in bed, waiting to go to sleep and scared that when he starts dreaming, he's going to do it all over again.

send me a number 1-100 and i will try to write a short drabble based off whatever song that corresponds to in my spotify wrapped - here's #63

[gayofthefae]

TW: comparison to suicide

Will's arc is an ingenious one, really, because I talk a lot about it in relation to his queerness but that's more of a sub-arc to relate to the greater show's theme. His arc makes complete sense and no sense at all at the same time. And it is a perfect bookend. And it is dramatic irony.

To me, Will's character is written into the show as someone who is so loved that it tears a hole in the universe, to put it simply. We are introduced to him for a moment but throughout season 1 he is characterized to us by how everyone around him falls apart at his loss.

And he doesn't know it. Not really. He sees himself as a mistake. And some people sometimes make him feel better, but to say that someone makes you feel like less of a mistake is also to say that feeling like a mistake is your baseline.

If I wanted to go into the suicide allegory in relation to his long-term targeting by Vecna, I could even argue for the idea of a young boy, hated by nearly everyone, attacked by Henry - or suicidal - hanging on for a week after the attempt by hiding in nostalgia and childhood joy all while we watch just how deeply his loved ones are impacted by his loss as they fight to get him back. And it works. And he knows how hard they worked. But he still didn't see it in the same way we did. And he's feeling symptoms again after the event. He's open about some, but others he's more hesitant with. He is vocal with his mother about being resistant to treatment. He's scared of his own mind, fighting for his life. He's isolated - mentally, by Henry - and this isolation causes his symptoms to worsen rapidly. But he fights and he fights hard. And what ultimately saves him is his loved ones coming together and demonstrating directly to him their love for him, breaking through his shielded perception and getting through to him that they love him just that much. Then his life is back to normal again for a bit. Except not quite. He can still feel an echo of what he felt again every now and then - a chill. A signal that it isn't completely over. And his loved ones still love him but that message hasn't been maintained. Some days are like they were before everything but some days he's brushed off, building to the point of downright rejection upon confrontation. And after that, he knows definitively that it's back. And someone else is hurting by it too, and everyone banding together to help that person really helps to put the group back to how they were all together and mend that rejection a bit too. But they can't save the person like they could Will. They get close, reminding him of that same childhood joy to hide in. But there isn't any around him now, so it's not quite enough. And he moves away, hoping a change of scenery will help. And it does. He isn't bullied at his new school. His family is financially secure. He doesn't feel that looming feeling he did. He misses his friends and he's upset about things like that, but he doesn't have that looming feeling anymore. Horrible things happen he doesn't stand down and even those moments don't bring the feeling back and they band together and they go to fight them. And things get really fucking heartbreaking honestly but like fifteen-year-old-normal-kid heartbreaking. And other people are going through it again too. And they can't save most and they're late for one but they're able to bring her back. But she's not fully back. And with everything happening, the town is getting worse and worse. And he's back in that town. And he feels it again.

And I'd say this is a safe bet of an analysis based on Noah Schnapp pictured in a harness, likely for a Vecna attack, and Vecna attacks being suicidal-allegory in nature. In Stranger Things lingo, he's been targeted by Vecna from the beginning and he'll likely be attacked more specifically than any of the others in season 4, maybe more like Nancy or with a more personal dialogue like El.

But in real-world representation, he's a kid who was attacked by his town, it broke him down, and he's not the only one. Time and time again it is emphasized in our faces the way a close-minded town encourages or turns a blind eye to abuse, abuse of children who die under that weight when they have no other support.

[vexic929]

And here's Nyx! (this one's long, sorry, she's got a backstory I'm really proud of)

Born Nikoletta Bordeaux, she grew up impoverished on the streets of New Orleans. The threat of Belle Reve always loomed over her head, but crime was the only way she was able to stay afloat. She began running a voodoo scam since she was a teen, claiming to be a descendant of Marie Laveau who could communicate with spirits from beyond and even read the future. Of course, none of this was real, and that idea of "voodoo" is flawed to begin with, but gullible tourists lined her pockets enough to stay alive. It also gave her a confidence, and an ability to lie without blinking, that would eventually suit her very well in Belle Reve.

Shortly after becoming an adult, she was kidnapped off the street and taken to STAR Labs, where she was experimented on in an effort to study an undiscovered "shadow realm". She was sent to the realm and eventually manages to escape, but not unchanged. Any skin-to-skin touch will leave a permanent ink-stain on another person's skin, even the slightest touch. She also learns to dive into shadows and step back into the shadow realm, and now lives between worlds

She continues running her scam, supplementing it with some B&E and thievery now that she can slip into the shadows to escape, but eventually gets caught and sent to Belle Reve. From there, she spends years building a reputation as the Queen of Belle Reve - she collects a gaggle of followers, and a handprint ink-mark becomes the symbol of who to kill (once, there was an inmate who came in after charges against minors... she walked right up and slapped him clean across the face, leaving a handprint on his cheek. he didn't make it through his first day in prison). Her word becomes law... who will pass their sentance in silence, and who becomes the scapegoat.

Technically, she could slip away at any time, since there's no way to keep someone imprisoned when all it takes is a shadow to escape. So instead of trying to police it, she comes to an understanding with Amanda Waller... Nyx doesn't raise too much fuss, keeps things neat, and every once in a while, Amanda decides she wants an inmate gone off-the-radar, and it gets done. After all, better to be the Queen of Belle Reve than another broke kid on the streets, right?

When Abner Krill arrives, Nyx immediately decides he's off-limits. Her followers say he's dangerous, destructive, unstable, but she sees a scared young guy who's like her in a lot of ways. She ends up protecting him, though they rarely meet face-to-face. There's a bit of understanding between them: being experimented on, given too much power and being plagued by it, they're the same. Nyx also protects Cleo, seeing her almost as a younger sister and finding charm in her love of animals.

They're placed on the same team during the Corto Maltese mission, and Nyx finds perhaps the first real connection she's had in her life - the first that wasn't manipulation, blind following, or fear. She finds herself holding hands with him, with gloves carefully in place to avoid giving him what she now associates as a death-mark, and even shares a kiss (through a napkin) while they're in the club. During the final fight, she gets there just in time to save him from Starro (hated that death btw) - she shoves him in the back, fueled by panic alone, and quite literally pushes him into the shadow realm.

She wakes up in the hospital, bruised and battered and exhausted from the fight... and finds him asleep on the chair beside her. Holding her hand. No gloves. No marks. Once they get reacquainted, he takes off his shirt and shows her his back - two inky handprints over his shoulderblades, and a spray of dark rays like tattooed wings covering his entire back from the force of the shadows she'd left in her panic. His mission suit was ruined too, looking like someone had dumped a bucket of ink on it (she'd left the marks through his mission suit, it was so much magic). However, something about expressing so much of that shadow energy has rid her of the excess, and she can now safely touch people without leaving a death-mark (though she can still choose to mark things with shadows if she needs to)

oooh I love her and her backstory so much omg!!! (I also hated that death lol I like this ending way better) so much good angst and I love her with Abner, he deserves love, so cute <3333

[sylvaridreams]

I have to be at work in 6 hours and I haven't slept I'm gonna story dump and you're gonna like it. Aeris and Alba's shared past and how Caithe raised them both kinda etc. at some point maybe this gets written out as a real fic... someday.... 😴💤💭🐑

Caithe fills in as a mother for Aurene, because Aurene needed a mommy and she helped raise her alongside Alba, and she has that connection with her etc. but Caithe's mothering ability did not just pop up on the spot like Ohhhhh i know how to be maternal okay ^_^ because ALBA was her first. who she nabbed while he was still in the dream and said hey you have a destiny, you have a duty to fulfill, i need you to come meet your maker, NOW. and when the shadow of the dragon was defeated and Alba finally fitfully awoke Caithe was kind of. stuck with him.

and she realized quickly that this very shy, easily frightened, naive little sprout NEEDED to grow up and fast. he was clingy and didn't want to be far from her, he didn't want to leave the grove, he was scared to go do Valiant work by himself. and she's like (nervously) Alba dear you have a Wyld Hunt to fulfill you know! haha! go on.

and it's like. This isn't a "oh we can wait 10, 20, 30 years for Alba to be ready and comfortable with people and capable with weapons! no rush, baby steps!" situation, because Zhaitan is growing stronger and his minions are heading further and further north. there HAS to be action QUICKLY. and Alba's not going to be able to do jack shit about an elder dragon when he's too shy to talk to the Valiants, or when he's too afraid of hurting himself or anything else to swing a sword properly. he has to grow up. now.

so AERIS. Who awoke within a couple hours after Alba, who we've wrongly looked at her dream and said OH!!!! another elder dragon dream? so soon after the first! well you should ALSO get ready to slay a dragon soon! clearly that's your purpose! -- Caithe looks her over and is like. well. she's kind of snappish and gets mean quickly. she could use to grow out of that herself. and Alba needs a companion that he can rely on a little bit, but who will push him to do for himself and grow. well…

so Caithe introduces them (takes Aeris aside and is like toughen him up but don't be cruel about it) and then (takes Alba aside and is like try to endure her okay she doesn't have any other friends) OKAY YOU SPROUTS GO HAVE FUN.

so Alba and Aeris start doing minor Valiant work in Caledon and it's like. they learn quickly that certain things don't mesh well with the other. Alba learns he has to do things for himself and speak up and not just tremble and stay out of fights or Aeris gets angry. and he can't just cry when she's snappish or when things go wrong because she gets angrier. and Aeris learns that she can't just boil over at him because he'll cry and she CAN'T stand crying, it's so obnoxious ughhh. So she learns to mellow out and bottle it up, and he toughens up a bit, and as they work further north (because Alba is less afraid of venturing away from the Grove, after a couple weeks with Aeris. Sure, we can go to the Bay. We can go further too!) they both become kind of playfully competitive! it's friendly competition for now. I can do this faster/more than you! I'll race you there! I'll get it done before you do!

and after a few weeks as they're really learning about the world and themselves it kind of turns into. well we both have a Wyld Hunt! both of us are meant to slay an elder dragon….

I'll kill mine before you do! and they're also rooting each other on because they're good friends after a few weeks, but there's also this determination to do it first. to Win!

and then Trahearne returns from Orr and Caithe calls them (mostly Alba) back to the Grove. and Alba meets Trahearne for the first time and is deeply impressed by his demeanor, by how smart he is and how he carries himself, and develops the beginnings of his dumb crush on his eventual superior officer.

Treahearne is like oh good this is him. Okay the heads of the three orders are here, and if you're to kill Zhaitan, I'd like to send you with one of them for training and prep. okay? good lad 🚶‍♂️off to my work lalala

Caithe is like :burning: pulls alba aside. Okay so there are three options. The Priory is a loooot of reading and boring classes. SOOO boring. So dry. And the Order of Whispers… well they hear a lot of juicy stuff, but then they can't talk about it with anyone 😦 sad! and then the Vigil… well I think you'd do quite nicely there. they can take anyone with any skill and mold them into a proper soldier

and Alba's like (missed the part where she called him a ditzy skill-less gossip) you think i could be a proper soldier 😮

Aeris: what should i join Caithe: whatever, anyway Alba I know you'll choose what's right. for you! (joke btw. Caithe gave her genuine advice too just less guided. make your own choice girl)

so they go to convene with Trahearne and the heads of the orders and Alba is like. dead set on Vigil because it's what Caithe said he'd excel at! Aeris joins the priory because she feels she needs to know more about Kralk if she's going to kill this thing, surely SOMEONE would have killed that elder dragon already if we knew HOW. (and then she spends years wasting oodles of Priory money that they keep granting her until LWS4, for her Kralk/branded research. and then she gets forcibly ejected from the Priory, stripped of her rank, asked not to return to the premises, etc.)

obviously in personal story its a lot of running back and forth from the grove to wherever the orders have you go and then you choose one and then you go on missions with your mentor etc. doesnt work for me. I see the orders as needing new recruits to live on site to learn their jobs. etc. so Alba leaves the grove to go live at the Keep. and it's his first time REALLY away from Caithe and from Aeris and he's. he's lonely. and shy. and retreats into his shell a bit and becomes a very easy target for bullying and hazing, because he's a quiet sylvari and kind of feminine in his mannerisms and speech and he's not very strong as of yet (training will fix this) and all the other recruits can see that he's GETTING preferential treatment despite all his shortcomings from Laranthir, then from Almorra, just because he had some stupid ass sylvari "dream" 🙄 whatever i dream all the time. last night I dreamt I slayed a huuuuuge monster beast so they should really give ME preferential treatment. not him.

and being "subtly" kicked down and talked down to and targeted during trainings and shoved around all the time has him. feeling not so good about any of it. Everyone keeps telling him that killing Zhaitan is his big destiny but it feels further and further away every day, with every training drill, with every meal that he eats alone (away from the mess hall because he's learning that the bullying doesnt STOP when there's a large group of people around, it gets louder.) so he eats his meals in some dusty old supply room somewhere and spends all his free time alone and miserable and missing Caithe and missing Aeris and writing letters that he can't bring himself to send, but he wants to give up and just go home. he doesn't like this place. he's clearly not meant for it. they must have picked the wrong sylvari for that dream about the dragon. so he should just drop it and leave. but Caithe might be mad at him. or disappointed. and Aeris will make fun of him, if she doesn't yell at him for it. there's no clean way out where he runs home and everyone welcomes him back and says yaaaay you left the vigil yaaaaay. there's just enduring being bullied by the recruits and the soldiers that rank directly above them, or there's going home a loser.

and I think Laranthir like. tries to keep up with him and check in occasionally within the first couple weeks or the first month or so. but Alba won't tell him what's happening, because he DID tell Laranthir the first time he asked and Laranthir punished the recruits that were tormenting him, and no one could prove that Alba ratted them out but you know. people just know. who else would do it?

so he doesn't confide anything and keeps his mouth shut and just grits his teeth but he wants out sooo bad. The Vigil is not what it was sold to him as. Caithe said they'd mold ANYONE into a soldier but he's not malleable like that. He can't be turned into that.

And things only turn around Because he meets Meisi. and works with him in small ways and is able to make friends with him. and that's how he becomes the Commander 😊 yay

and then Aeris. Aeris struggled just as much at the Priory if not more so. she's not people-persony by nature any more than Alba. She snaps and gets quite mean when she does. She doesn't necessarily Get boundaries with people, so she can.... come off as Mean-mean when she's trying to be Playful-friendly mean.

So the state of affairs for her heading into the Priory is that she joins, she's assigned a roommate, that roommate within a couple of weeks requests a transfer, she's assigned another roommate, that roommate requests a transfer, word spreads, this sylvari is downright unlikeable. she becomes a pox. you don't even want to be seen with her, she's such a blight on the priory. just socially. she's unpleasant and when she does involve herself she's awkward and kills conversations and starts arguments more often than not so don't BOTHER.

so she buries herself in studies. whatever, so people don't like her. whatever. she has an important wyld hunt to fulfill. she spends all her waking hours attending lectures and reading and studying and building a case for her first research trip to the brand. they assign her Sieran as a mentor NOT because she was showing exceptional promise but because she was like. visibly struggling socially to collaborate with people, and the Priory heads were like ok if shes going to do Anything about an elder dragon she needs to learn that. so they paired her up with their most volatile mentor candidate.

which is Good for Aeris in many ways and allows her chances to do research she would have otherwise been denied. Sieran dies at Claw Island and she's miserable because she did actually like that sylvari-- but i think this also allows her to meet some of Sieran's other friends and past teammates and sort of. branch out a bit. meet other people and communicate with them.

and Eventually she has her own research team that are interested in her field of study and she has her first research grant and here we go out to the brand to kill kralk right away yay! alba's gonna lose! <- main goal

then of course come the years of failure. of ah... that didn't work. well, next time. of bags of gold passed hand over fist. bring us results. we need to see the math, we need to see the magic laid out BEFORE it's cast, we need to see your full hypothesis and then we need you to make it work. and she never does. and Alba kills zhaitan a few months into this. and she's trying to be happy for him but she's also so neck deep in studies to kill kralk it's like. awesome. thanks for writing me. enjoy your celebration. sure, if you're ever in LA maybe i can take a couple hours off to come get a drink with you, sure.

and alba keeps going on to kill bigger badder things. and she's falling behind so steadily, so far behind that it's downright sickening. at some point she'd felt like she was ahead and now alba's killed a god. and the priory wants results. and she's getting mean again. snapping at her researchers. some of them quit before the elona trip. can't stand her anymore. she's become so hard to work with (wasnt she always though?) people she'd come to consider dear friends walk on her.

whatever. whatever, it doesn't matter. she's in elona. she's doing her research in the heart of the brand, where it matters. she'll get to the bottom of this. Alba is going after Kralkatorrik next. she has to hurry. she tells herself he won't do it, won't steal this from her, but also. does alba even remember her? Does Alba recall that this IS hers? so there's urgency. there's stress. there's this anxiety that he's going to do it, he's going to notch an arrow and slay HER dragon and all these years of research and gold and desperation will have been Nothing. she gets worse. the research doesnt produce results that work, results that make sense, and her team has nothing but excuses and guesswork to give her. at her lowest point she hurls a microscope across the makeshift thunderhead keep lab and two of her last researchers get up and leave.

at thunderhead keep-- because at this point she's gone to join them. this is where Alba's going to steal her dragon. this is where he'll do it. and he at LEAST can see that she needs it. he can at least pity her enough to hand the kill off to her, to include her in his little rallying speeches and talks about strategy. everyone politely ignoring how wilted she is, how many petals she's lost already. can she even swing a sword in this state? they're all wondering. wonder no more: she can. at least he's including her. at least he's willing to pass the blade for the killing blow.

and then the battle in the keep goes wrong. Alba rushes in for the killing blow and -- shes not even sure what she does, if she throws herself at him to stop him or if something knocks her off the ramparts, but she stops him. and kralk blasts the three of them, Aurene included, and then it's like a horrible nightmare, watching her dragon draw back out of the hole in the keep, one eye gone, mouth wide and sharp like a smile, just for her.

she gets up. alone. doesn't know where Alba is. he could be dead. he might be. some part of her is afraid and some part of her is hopeful. she's wounded, but not badly, nothing structural. so she makes it to Aurene first. before anyone. stands there staring at the dead granddaughter of her prey dragon. she knows they dont have a chance now, without aurene. the chance they had before... was stretching it.

the others join her. find her. they can't find Alba. relief. it's all relief. Alba couldn't do it either, it wasn't just her. And look. They were both equally close to Kralkatorrik. she walked away practically unscathed. he's a corpse in the rubble somewhere. in the end, she won. she outdid him in this small way.

then she hears Braham call out to him, "Commander…" He's approaching. With help. Clearly can't walk right. Clearly isn't functioning right. Eyes unfocused, glassy-- head injury. But he's alive. And it's her tipping point.

How dare he keep going? How dare he live another day to hunt her dragon? She should gut him on the spot but she chooses niceties. Their youth together taught her to use kid gloves with him. You have to, with Alba. At least she can yell at him as much as she wants. She doesn't remember most of what she says, just "your fault" "your doing" "all for fucking Alba Moonseeker." "You couldn't stand to let anyone else take the glory for one fucking second and now she's dead because of YOU."

She's up in his face. he's trying not to cry and failing, and he starts to apologize to her, has the NERVE to start trying to say he's sorry, and she shoves him back and storms off. Caithe's eyes on her back. She regrets that Caithe is there. She holds respect for Caithe. She might never have mothered Aeris in the same way she did Alba, but she was something. Some figure to look up at from below. The parental figure of your dear friend who checks in, makes sure you're alright before going to coddle her own. They'd never really kept in touch. Caithe wrote her a few times and she'd never found time to write back. Eventually the letters stopped. Aeris is certain the last time they'd met was in Caledon, all those years back, but she makes no mistake that Caithe remembers her from then. And so this is how Aeris turned out, Caithe. Miserable, alone, with nothing to show for it.

But it doesn't make any sense to her. She's done the research, all of it. For years. For years she's struggled and strained towards her Wyld Hunt, and her Wyld Hunt says she must kill the elder dragon of crystal and fury and she's tried time and time again so why? Why can't she kill Kralkatorrik? She is missing something. Some vital piece, somewhere out there in the world, some final key that slides into the slot and throws the whole puzzle wide open. Tyria is a vast land. She barely knows where to begin. But she picks a spot and goes looking, winds up in Desert Highlands. Near Glint's lair. And finds something else that remains. Brand shards she's seen before, in the Riverlands. Crystals.

She realizes that she's standing at an elder dragon's remains long before the emotion hits her. For a long, silent period of about five minutes she just stands there, taking it in. Alba fought Balthazar here, she knows. The locals talked about it enough. And Aurene's brother, Vlast, he died here defending the Commander.

Vlast died here. This is all that's left. Scorch marks, ground up crystals. Shards everywhere, far as the eye can see.

She knows a little about Vlast. Not a ton. He wasn't the subject of her studies, she didn't narrow in on him. She was busy with his grandfather.

And here's his final resting spot. It hits her hard. Loud. She cries and wails into the desert winds, because it's inexplicably agonizing. It hurts so much, knowing that Vlast died out here, young and alone. Was he afraid? Was it a hard choice, giving up his life for the Commander? It had to have been. She can feel his fear all around her, suffocating her; she can feel his pain and she wails and screams for a long time, cries it out. Her pain too. Years of her life, and she finally gets it. It was never Kralkatorrik. Not even for a minute. She knows now who the dragon in her dream was. And she'd missed her chance, ages ago. She'd been in Elona before Vlast died. If she'd gone looking for him…

It hurts. She's never known anyone who failed their Wyld Hunt, but it's unbearable. She hunches down on the ground, curls in and covers her head and screams until everything has left her. She's hollow. She could blow away in the wind.

so while Alba was raised by someone with his best interests at heart, struggled going into the Vigil but eventually made a dear close genuine friend and excelled... Aeris was genuinely screwed from the beginning. and it DOES all come back to her Dream being misinterpreted, and that only happened because Alba's dream less than two hours prior was such a huge deal and so urgent to interpret-- they'd rushed on hers. They'd filled in some gaps with guesswork. Must be Kralk. Guess your purpose is to kill him, much like Alba over here. They couldn't have KNOWN and it wasn't Alba's fault that he awoke before her but once Aeris realizes what happened, that the turning point was at the very beginning after all, she resents him deeply. If he'd stayed dreaming for another day, she would've been first. They would have figured hers out properly. Instead she's lost everything-- her Wyld Hunt, her scion, her friends, her whole life, her Kralkatorrik... she has nothing to show for her lifelong obsession, her non stop drive to the edge. He has all the glory. And he'll finish it while she's away. She knows he won't wait for her return.

And she probably also knows that she can't bear to be there, when Kralkatorrik dies.

Another sylvari finds her, huddled, curled in on herself on the plateau, and takes her back to his tent. Tryllwenn. He reminds her that they've met before, but she has zero recollection of this guy. He's sharing a tent with a charr who comes and goes at odd hours, and Aeris spends close to a month drifting in and out of full consciousness-- sometimes sleeping, sometimes awake but not fully aware. Grieving. Mourning everything that she's lost to this twisted obsession that they handed to her at birth.

the two leave her mostly alone for about six weeks. Tryllwenn brings her meals, feeds her while she stares into space. The charr (Tego) barely seems to regard her. Eventually, Tryllwenn sits down in her field of vision and informs her that she needs to go find Alba and make her peace with him, that Kralkatorrik is dead and there's no undoing any of it. You can only go forward. You can only advance.

So Aeris spends the next half a year trying to find Alba to make her peace with him. She has no idea what that means. She's certain it has something to do with an apology from him and closure for her. She's ready for that.

anyway it's near 3 am now and i might die if i don't Tryyyyy to sleep so that's all. I don't think much of this was new information but i love to tell a story again and again and again n_n

now look at this image

[paranorahjones]

The 1975 song 'About You' was written about Lockwood and Lucy particularly in The Creeping Shadow, no I do not take constructive criticism.

Dive into this with me.

Down to the fact that it's nearly a duet, this song is THEM. I'm gonna break down the lines that stand out to me and explain why.

Let's begin. Listen along, if you like.

I know a place It's somewhere I go when I need to remember your face We get married in our heads Something to do while we try to recall how we met

Starting off strong with the second half of the first verse, which immediately brings to mind the quote from TCS, where Lucy talks about imagining Lockwood "going down on bended knee" to beg her to come back. Not quite a marriage proposal, but let's not pretend she hasn't thought hazily about that scenario as well.

Do you think I have forgotten? Do you think I have forgotten? Do you think I have forgotten About you?

And on to the chorus. To me, this is coming straight from Lockwood. It SCREAMS 'conversation in Lucy's apartment' to me. Lucy tries to pretend that she was unbothered by her departure from Lockwood & Co. and then by Lockwood's sudden appearance, when in fact she's an emotional hurricane internally. Lockwood, on the other hand, barely tries to disguise how much he wants her back in his life. He makes an effort not to pressure her or scare her, but he can't keep himself from telling her that there's "no one else I would want at my side." look at that, another proposal parallel

You and I (Don't let go) We're alive (Don't let go) With nothing to do, I could lay and just look in your eyes

I don't think I need to remind anyone how much these two love to gaze into each other's eyes; yes, I'm bringing show canon into this. But really it's both. Lockwood regularly finds Lucy's gaze in the books, so much that she notices, and she of course can't stop looking at him ever.

Wait (Don't let go) And pretend (Don't let go, oh) Hold on and hope that we'll find our way back in the end (In the end)

OKAY HELLO?????? THIS IS WHERE IT GETS REAL

This is literally the plot of the beginning of TCS. Both of them pretending that they're okay being apart, that they don't miss each other desperately, and yet still holding on to hope that they'll find their way back to each other. Lucy hoping that Lockwood will come after her, Lockwood spending all winter trying to figure out how to bring her back (his literal words). And (as I imagine them) Lucy's "don't let go"s begging him to hold on to her, even though she had to leave for his sake, in her mind.

Now on to Lucy's bit.

And there was something about you that now I can't remember It's the same damn thing that made my heart surrender And I'll miss you on a train, I'll miss you in the mornin' I never know what to think about I think about you (Don't let go) About you (Don't let go)

This paints a perfect picture in my mind of Lucy's turmoil in trying to be okay with leaving Lockwood behind, but surrendering to the fact that she can't let go of him. She misses him everywhere, in everything that she does. The frustration and the tension of her undeniable feelings are EVERYWHERE here.

It's also worth noting that those last two lines are Lockwood literally telling her, again, that he's thought all winter of how to bring her back and how much he misses her. He doesn't pretend.

And then the chorus repeats.

So anyways there's that, this is one of my favorite songs and reading The Creeping Shadow has given me a whole new reason to cry about it.

[acourtofladydeath]

🎵💚 There’s frost on the moon and snow on the ground, but with you around there’s spring in my heart ❤️🎵

Hi it’s Santa!

I hope you’re doing well 🥰 Did you get up to anything for Halloween? (and if so what did you dress up as?)

Now that it’s November I’m personally so ready for it to be Christmas and I’ve been daydreaming about your gift.

I wanted to ask if you have any headcanons about the other Vanserra brothers, their relationship with Eris, Eris’s relationship with Beron and with his mom, Eris’s hounds?

And regarding Azriel, your headcanons about his shadows, his childhood, his mother, his time working under Rhys’s father, his relationships with Rhys and Cassian?

Lay it all on me. Do not hold back. Feel free to deviate and elaborate to your heart’s content. Your responses are what I’ll be harvesting details of their backstories from (I want to incorporate as many of your headcanons as possible since it’s your gift after all.) I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to ramp up the angst!

— Santa ❤️

Hi Santa!! So nice to hear from you!

I dressed as Peter Pan for Halloween this year, went to my lectures on campus, saw my professor's baby (he was dressed as an adorable little dragon. His parents were very excited for my costume but he, as a 10 month old, did not get it), and then did meal prep while watching ghost hunting videos.

It is 100% Christmastime, with a 3 day break for Thanksgiving mid-November and I'm so ready. I may start decorating this weekend.

Santa, I'm gonna need you to buckle up for the answers to these questions cuz HERE WE FUCKING GO.

**note that these headcanons do not always work together, at the same time, or in the same fic. I just have lots of feelings on how this could/would go. I have many thoughts on many characters, and my interpretation of a character tends to change from fic to fic. Personification is different between fics and I love exploring different histories and interpretations of characters to see all of the "what ifs" and "okay buts" of fandom. This exploration and variety is part of what I love most about fanfiction. Below are some of my recurrent headcanons for these characters and their history, again these are my own opinions and not mean to be taken as the only interpretation or even the only interpretation I like to read/write.

Eris & The Vanserras

Eris and LOA are very close in age, leading to a very close relationship between the two of them, but also a lack of parenting in favor of friendship.

Eris is considerably older than his other siblings, or at least much more mature, and basically had to help raise them. This led to animosity between the brothers due to his having to order them around for their own damn good and to protect them from their father. He did whatever he could to shield them from Beron. I love exploring how this plays out. If they reconcile, then how? (I think so, and I hope so. I personally explore some of this in my fic And So Our Life Begins, and more so in the ASOLB spin off A Second Chance. They all have names and personalities and ).

He has done more to protect his mother and brothers than they will ever know, and he would rather that they didn't know because he doesn't want them taking pity on him. (I explore this a bit in my fic: The Soft Heart & The Shadow)

Eris basically raised Lucien himself, but instead of animosity, it lead to a very close relationship between the two despite the age gap. I also HC that Eris saw Lucien had power that was definitely not of Autumn, and he and LOA got in a fight about it. Not because he's mad she did it, but because he's scared about protecting them both.

Eris loves his hounds. He's very strict with them, but they're also some of the only people (besides Lucien and occasionally LOA) that Eris can let down his mask around, and they're some of the only living things that have seen the real him before he eventually opens up to Azriel. Because of this Azriel interacting with the hounds allows him to see more of Eris when he's still very skeptical of the male, and is part of why he's convinced to trust him and be his mate. I feel like the hounds are trained similarly to service dogs. When they're outside Eris's personal cabin/room, they're constantly working and putting on their best behavior, but when they're in that personal space, they're the most loving little affectionate puppies that ever existed.

Beron hates his son. Let's get that straight right now. HOWEVER I wonder if he respects the lengths Eris is willing to go to maintain his own power and protect his brothers, even if he hates that he's doing it. Like he might hate what Eris is doing with that power, but at least Eris has the wits and desire to USE that power. Just food for thought there with that one.

Azriel & his past

Azriel hates his father and brothers, and I think this is likely a large part of why he feels about Illyria as strongly as he does. He saw the worst of Illyria in those males, and I wonder if he has a hard time dissociating that awful image from the image of what Illyria could be, and the positive males that already do exist within it (people like Balthazar).

Azriel was a pawn for Rhys's father. He wasn't a person, just a tool to be used, and I think he still sees that interpretation of himself and his worthiness to this day. I think it greatly affects his self worth and his humanization of himself and his feelings. He struggles to see his value as a person with valid thoughts and emotions, because for so much of his life his value was that of a "thing". He sees himself as a weapon because it's what he had to be to survive within Rhys's father's court. I don't think he's ever had time, opportunity, or even a thought that he could be something else. I feel like his experience going from prisoner to training camp to expendable Night Court tool has greatly affected his mental health and his ability to stand up for himself. He will do what's asked of him because it's what is expected, even if it will break him in the end.

Azriel's Shadows came to him to protect him from the shadows and to protect him from himself. I think the darkness he had to get to in his own mind to pull those shadows to himself is deeper than he will ever admit. I love seeing the shadows have their own personalities and actions separate from what Az asks them to do. They're pesky little beasts that he loves dearly, but also can annoy the shit out of him when they don't do as they're told.

Azriel loves his mother and will do whatever he can to protect her, but neither feels like they can fully open up to the other. They're so worried about protecting each other they don't feel like they can truly reveal their feelings. She won't talk about her traumas, and he wont' talk about his because they don't want to burden each other. But they both know the traumas exist and want to try and help the other the best they can even without having the full story.

Azriel is a chronic pain sufferer from his hands. He doesn't say anything to anyone, and he only goes to Madja when it's so painful he literally can't function. I feel like he hides this too well, and even if he didn't hide it, he wouldn't accept help. I don't think he knows how to accept help.

Azriel & The Bat Boys (& Nesta)

I feel like Azriel feels like an outsider in most relationships of his life because of his past, but truly loves his found brother. I wonder if because of Az's relationship with Rhys's dad, he sometimes struggles with the dichotomy of working for someone who does actually care for him and sees him as a person.

I'm not sure Rhysand actually knows the extent to which his father used Azriel, and I wonder if this affects their working and friendly relationship. This is not a fully fleshed out headcanon for me, but it's an idea I keep coming back to.

I definitely think that Cassian and Azriel are closer to each other than they are to Rhys. I don't think this necessarily in a bad way, but with the power/boss dynamic and the fact that Cass and Az spend more time out in the field, in Illyria, and spent the entirety of UTM together there's a closeness there that they don't have with Rhys.

Look, y'all can disagree with me on this, but Cass and Az have most definitely fucked. It's canon that all 3 fucked people in the same room together, but I feel like Cass and Az have fucked each other and fucked other people together. IDK how you're a 500 year old anything and aren't very sexually open.

If Azriel is going to open up to anyone emotionally it's going to be Cassian or Nesta.

Nesta is not a bat boy, but I HC that she and Az are best friends. I think they are the only two in the IC who can truly understand the depths of each other's pain. Their traumas are so deep and profound, and neither really wants to admit their weaknesses, but together they don't feel so alone and can maybe start to heal. I think Eris can also be this person for Az and Nesta. I'm so here for any type of fic that discusses their pain (I regularly inhale @kale-theteaqueen's fic The Whole Truth because it gives me all of the feels and is so accurate to how I see Nesta and myself in Nesta. The way Azriel and honestly most of the IC are depicted in that fic. I also feel like their fic Burning From the Inside Out also depicts them (Nesta and Azriel specifically) closely to how I view them. And as a chronic pain sufferer myself, it's near and dear to my heart. Basically just read their masterlist, because I also reread Of Death and Resurrection regularly for the same reasons listed above, and I love the Rhysta friendships they develop as well.

Okay. Could I keep going? YOU FUCKING KNOW IT. Should I? Probably not, I've spent way too long writing this up already and I've gotta cut myself off so I can work on my WIPs. I'm still probably forgetting something I'll remember later on...

Please let me know if it's okay to keep recommending you fics when I answer your questions, sometimes it just feels like the best way to address them. As usual, please let me know if you'd like me to further describe/elaborate on anything here! I hope you're doing well, and it's so great to hear from you!! I'm really looking forward to this reveal and the fic!!