#this actually probably doesn’t make sense

[ladycaramelswirl]

definitely not old

Aaron Hotchner x Reader

A/N: Did I create an extremely improbable scenario just to suit my need to create another highly improbable scenario? Yes. Do I care that it’s unrealistic? No. Please forgive any typos/ grammatical errors. 

CW: suggestive content, but not explicit (like 15+?). Use of y/n one time. (Technically this would probably warrant one of those hostile workplace environment seminars like they had for Derek and Penelope. But it’s funny? Idk this isn’t serious.) Sassy Hotch. Crack plot tbh. 

Also I know the timeline doesn’t really make sense, because JJ is a profiler and Emily and Rossi exist, but I imagined Season 1 Spencer while writing this! I guess it’s 2005? Btw I do not know how tapes work, so just pretend it makes sense please. This is so unserious. 

Summary: reader wife and Hotch are private people; the BAU team is nosy. Spencer is just constantly in the right place at the wrong time. 

Enjoy!

——————

The screen in front of you depicted horror - just not the kind the BAU was used to. The UnSub had confessed to leaving a message in an old tape. He had already been arrested, but you were all hoping it might contain something that might help the conviction stick. Only he was extremely paranoid, so not only had he left the message in a code, but he had spliced it into a tape he thought people were least likely to watch. His p***. It was the last thing to do for the case and everyone was trying to help. You all sit at the round table, and Spencer shifts in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. Derek laughs at his shyness and Emily laughs at the very unrealistic movements. She and JJ tilt their heads at the shape the two on the screen have put themselves into. 

“That does not look comfortable”, JJ mocks. 

The words are out of your mouth before you think. “Trust me it’s not”. 

Everyone at the table snaps their heads to look at you. 

“Damn Mama”, Derek laughs. “Who are you doing these moves with?”

You try to hold back a laugh. You were not ready to share about your sex life with your colleagues, no matter how close you were. Plus you’re pretty sure Aaron would not appreciate it. 

“That is inappropriate workplace conversation”, you say, pausing the video. “And you’re going to miss the next series of code”, you tell him, trying to get him to revert his attention back to the video. Emily grins at your attempted evasion.

“We already got all the code. She just doesn’t want us to tell Hotch she’s capable of all that. Doesn’t want to make the old man feel bad”.

“He’s not old. He’s only 5 years older than you”, you remind her. She puts a hand on her chest in mock offense like you’ve stabbed her. You roll your eyes. “And this is still inappropriate”.

“So it wasn’t Hotch”, Derek laughs. 

“You’re just annoyed because you haven’t tried it yourself”, you deflect, moving to sit next to Spencer who seems to actually be doing his job. 

“I’ve seen her do yoga and she’s very flexible, so if she couldn’t do it I don’t think you can”, JJ tells Morgan. 

“Oh you have no idea what I’m capable of”, he teases, which earns laughs from around the table. “I’m better than the old man for sure”. They all start laughing and talking about you and Hotch. 

You roll your eyes. “Wasn’t old in bed last night”, you mutter under your breath. You startle at the sound of a book hitting the floor and see Spencer’s bright red face. JJ, Derek and Emily look over in curiosity at what they might have missed, but you ignore them, attempting to give Spencer an apology for making him uncomfortable. He moves to drink his coffee in an attempt to avoid more of the conversation. Only he chokes on it because Hotch enters the room. 

“Have you finished working out the code?”

Everyone’s heads snap to him - JJ, Emily and Derek wearing matching grins. Hotch eyes you patting a coughing Spencer’s back.

“Are you alright?”, he asks. 

“Yes! Good! I’m good!”, Spencer squeaks, afraid Hotch is going to ask him why he’s so nervous. Aaron looks to you for some answers but before you can tell him it’s nothing, Spencer suddenly stands up.

“Got the code! Going to call the local PD. DA is waiting”, he warbles before you all watch him run out of the room. Hotch turns back to the rest of you. 

“Well then that wraps it up. Go home now, get some rest”, he instructs. Everyone starts packing up. You and Hotch walk towards the door when he realises there’s only 6 of you in the room. 

“Where’s Dave?”, he asks.

You’re about to tell him Rossi went to the bathroom when the Italian walks back in. Rossi immediately notes the paused video.

“Wow that looks uncomfortable”, he remarks. Everyone smirks in your direction. Hotch snakes an arm around your waist and looks at the screen. Then at you. 

“It was, wasn’t it?”

He smiles at the jaws dropping to the floor. 

“Good night everyone”.

—————————

A little bonus scene:

In his office later:

“You heard us talking before you came in the room didn’t you”, you question your husband. He was so private, he wouldn’t have said something like that otherwise. 

“They called me old”, Aaron grumbles, but his tone is amused. “Just wanted to shock them a little”.

You make your way over to his side of the desk, pulling him to stand up beside you. 

“Well Agent Hotchner, I have to tell you, there’s been some speculation about your performance”, you taunt. “Care to prove them wrong?”

“Last night wasn’t enough proof?”, he laughs raising an eyebrow. You run your hands up his chest and behind his neck, pulling him close. 

“The results were inconclusive”, you tease. He grabs your hips and traps you between himself and his desk, his mouth trailing kisses down your jaw. 

“Well I can’t have that kind of speculation going around”, he murmurs into your skin. Your breath hitches from the sensation of his lips on the sensitive spot on your neck. But instead of continuing, he pulls away and meets your eyes in a conspiratorial grin. “We should do an in house evaluation as soon as possible”.

You open your mouth to reply when the door swings open, Spencer finding you sandwiched between Hotch’s thighs and your blouse rumpled. His mouth drops open and suddenly all 187 iq points mean nothing when his brain loses function.

“Oh- I- um- sorry!”, he manages before running away. You stare at the slammed door then back at Aaron and burst into giggles. He drops his head to your shoulders and sighs. 

“I feel like a teenager”, he groans.

“At least you don’t feel old.”

—————————

Bonus bonus: 

Still in the conference room: 

“I want to go back to 10 minutes ago when I didn’t know this information”, Emily moans. 

“I think I need 5 more minutes before I can form a coherent thought”, JJ laughs in disbelief. Spencer walks back in.

“I finished my report. Where’s Hotch and y/n? Can we go home?”

“Probably doing it in his office for all we know”, Derek mutters.

Spencer’s brows furrow in confusion. “Doing what in his office?”

Rossi raises an eyebrow at Emily. “Is this kid serious?”

She shrugs back at him. 

“Spence, Hotch says we can go home. But you should probably report about what local PD told you before you go”, JJ tells him.

Spencer nods and makes his way to Hotch’s office. The rest of the team watch him walk away.

“You think we should have told him to knock before going in?”

“Probably.”

The sound of a high pitch yelp and the slam of an office door echo down the hallway. 

“Oops.”

[cressidagrey]

Lightning in a Bottle - Prologue

Summary: 

Eira Archeron was neither a Valkyrie, nor a Seer, nor the High Lady of the Night Court. She was actually pretty much useless. The only thing she wanted was to be somebody's first choice for once in her life.

Also known as: Azriel's shadows decide that if he doesn't treat his mate right... they'll just do it for him.

Warnings: 

Kinda Elain Bashing?, Low Self Esteem, Mention of Cauldron induced torture...

(super pretty dividers by @tsunami-of-tears)

As far as cauldron-made went…Eira Archeron was pretty much useless. 

She had neither the power of Death nor of Divinity. 

She was neither the prettiest one, that title belonged to Elain…nor the smartest one, which was undoubtedly Nesta. Or the strongest one like Feyre…And if she had tried to hunt like Feyre, it would have been more likely that she would have accidentally killed herself instead of bringing home any meat. 

As a human, she had been limited to cooking and cleaning and laundry, all of it with limited supplies and even more limited experience. She had tried. It had never been enough. 

So maybe it shouldn’t have surprised her that her uselessness continued on even when she was no longer human.

So if she wasn’t beautiful or strong or smart…what was she then? 

The dumb one? 

When the cauldron had burned every bit of humanity out of her…when it had ripped away all her hopes and dreams…when it had been so angry with Nesta after whatever she had done to it that Eira was just…Eira was just an afterthought, something it could hurt in response to her sisters and then leave gasping on that stone floor feeling like she was dying…

She had done her best to accept her lack of humanity afterwards. Nesta had raged…Elain had said nothing, suffering silently in the bed…and Eira…Eira had tried. 

Tried to make it better…tried to make it easier for everybody around her. She had tried. 

She hadn’t wanted to put even more on Feyre’s shoulders, not with the threat of impending war…and so she had done her best to be supportive and make no trouble…be agreeable and quiet and be helpful…

But she couldn’t be helpful. 

She was nothing but a useless appendage. With no powers, no great destiny stretched in front of her…

Not even a limb. Not even a fucking pinky finger. 

More like a skin tag. 

Completely useless. If cut off, it wouldn’t even bother anybody. 

They had made that clear to her over time. 

They had made clear what they thought about her, again and again, and now…now she finally realised it. She was a slow learner…but by the gods, she did learn. 

It started…slow in a sense. Comments, made offhandedly, that probably weren’t meant that way anyway…sometimes said to her face…sometimes overheard. 

“Stop your screeching, girl, I am getting a headache.” Amren. After she had finally…after months felt like singing again as she fixed the hem on one of her sister’s dresses. She had stopped singing then.

Amren had never brought it up again. But then Amren had never been particularly nice to any of them.      

“Don’t come crying to me if she bites off your head. I warned you.” Rhysand had told her drily when she insisted on visiting Nesta at the House of Wind every week after all of that had gone down… 

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Like make another ugly dress?” Seethingly said by Nesta…pitted against the one thing she liked to pretend she was good at…the one thing she could do and make money with…

It cut. Of course, it did. But it wasn’t even the worst thing thrown at her head by Nesta…so why was it the one thing that stayed in her mind? 

“We don’t need Eira. Quite frankly, it’s better if she doesn’t go. Elain is the prettier one, anyway.” Cassian…overheard by Eira before the rest of them had gone off to Hewn City. Eira left behind because…well the contrast of Elain badly dressed was enough, no need for Eira to…be what? A distraction?  

And it was true too. Elain was the prettier twin sister. 

Eira was just…common as muck as her mother had liked to remind her…Nesta was the smart one, the one who would marry a prince…Elain would marry for love and beauty…and Eira…well, she would make a good farmer’s wife as far as her mother was concerned.

Not pretty enough to garner a richer man’s attention…not smart enough to drag herself up the echelons of society on her own…To easily content as far as her mother was concerned. 

“As far as cauldron-made goes, she is pretty much useless.” Morrigan. Said in jest. Eira was quite sure of that…still, it had hurt. Because it was true. She was useless. 

No magic sparking at her fingertips…Using her magic was like pulling teeth…painful and a long process…And it never did what she wanted anyway. 

“Eira, find somewhere else to be. I really have more important things to do,” Feyre had said with a sigh…after she had brought her sister cookies and tea…after she had only tried to get Feyre to take a break from her work. 

Eira hadn’t tried that again either. 

And then the one that clinched it: 

“At least I found two males in my life willing to marry me. The one you have your ridiculous puppy crush on is never even going to look at you!”

Said by Elain…by her twin sister. She was frozen in place, staring at Elain wide-eyed as her sister sneered at her. 

 That was the last drop into an already overflowing bucket. 

Stress. Right? Just stress from wedding planning. Elain would have never said that usually. 

She wouldn’t have…

It was just…it was just stress…Just stress. 

Elain didn’t mean it like that. 

Right?

Elain flounced off…her wedding binder in tow…leaving Eira alone, sitting there, in the dining room, her chest aching. 

Eira was in a trance as she carefully put all the plates into one tidy stack…as she was thankful that it had just been her and Elain, every other person in their family busy with their mates or something else…Feyre and Rhysand gone with Baby Nyx for the evening…Nesta and Cassian off at the House of Wind…who knew what Mor and Amren were up to…

Or even Azriel. 

A sob threatened to take over, as she thought that name. 

She walked up the stairs…to her room…Her room. She locked the door with shaky hands. 

“At least I found two males in my life willing to marry me. The one you have your ridiculous puppy crush on is never even going to look at you!”

She collapsed on her bed, burying her face into her pillow and let the tears stream. 

Ridiculous puppy crush. 

All of that said because she had tried to talk to Elain about her choice of flowers for her wedding. Because lilies wouldn’t be in season when she married Lucien in Day Court in less than 2 months. 

And then Elain responded with that, because Eira clearly wanted to ruin her wedding with that factoid. 

“At least I found two males in my life willing to marry me. The one you have your ridiculous puppy crush on is never even going to look at you!”

The worst part of it was that it was the simple truth. 

Azriel was never going to pay her a second glance. 

He had always been more interested in Elain than Eira…he had on more than one occasion asked Eira questions about her twin sister…had made sure that Elain was comfortable and cared for…and Eira had sufficed as a source of information and nothing else. 

And after Elain and Lucien had become serious…well, Eira ceased to be interesting too. He hadn’t sought her out again. 

If she sat next to him at dinner, he was polite and quiet, bordering on silent. And then she tried to fill the silence and probably only annoyed him in the process. 

He didn’t want her. He never would. 

She starved down the sobs that wracked her body. 

It was probably high time that she accepted that, right?

High time to get over herself. 

High time that she reminded herself that…that she was never going to have him and that staring at him in ill-hidden affection only made everybody else make fun of her and probably made him deeply uncomfortable. 

So maybe it was better that she just…

At least he had never called her useless, she supposed. It could be worse…even when he never would want her. 

She felt the touch on her hand first…soft like velvet…like kitten fur…never warm, never cold. massive and somehow not… definitely not human. 

The shadows. His shadows. 

Sometimes they came to keep her company. At the start, she had thought that maybe he had sent them but nowadays she was quite sure that they had just liked her quiet singing while embroidery one afternoon. So quiet that nobody would hear.  It had taken her months to coax them out of their corners after that. They probably had just taken pity on her. 

Just like they did now. 

“Please don’t,” she choked out. She never wanted him to find out how she was feeling about him…never wanted to feel the pain of him outright turning her down. 

 And if his shadows came to check on her, they would report back in what they saw…and they didn’t need…didn’t need to worry about it. 

They never talked to her. Just sometimes they came and listened to her softly talk to them while she was sewing in the evening, about this and that...

It wasn’t right how she talked to you, the shadows whispered. 

They didn’t talk to her. Never. 

And now they did. 

Hell, even his shadows were feeling sorry for her, weren’t they? 

“Please don’t tell him,” she begged. 

He should know, they disagreed softly. Everybody should know. She should apologise to you. 

And what would that give her? Nothing. More embarrassment because everybody else got to hear all about her fledgling little feelings? Feelings she should bury deep and never examine again? 

“Please,” she begged again and the shadows seemingly surrendered, curling themselves up against her hands so that she could touch them. 

Don’t cry, they soothed her softly. Don’t give her that. 

Elain hadn’t said anything that was untrue. That was the worst part. It was true. And that hurt. 

Is there anything we could do? the shadows asked Eira softly. Anything at all to make this better? 

“No,” she whispered, choking out the words, another sob. Not anymore. There was nothing anybody could do. 

It hurt. It hurt so badly.  Just like the cauldron had.  Then she had wished she would die. 

Now…now she wondered the same once again. Maybe then it would stop feeling like this. 

She cried her eyes out, as the tears kept pouring over her cheeks…as she sobbed until her throat was raw and everything hurt. And finally, she just laid there…the shadows still swirling worriedly around her prone form. 

“Don’t you need to work?” she asked the shadows listlessly, tears tracking over her cheeks. “Don’t you have something more important to do than to try and comfort me?” 

Maybe take care of him?

You are important, the shadows snapped. 

Eira could argue that point. She was useless. So what did it matter? It didn’t. 

She wiped away the tears, but new ones just came pouring over her face and she stopped trying, let them run down her face and wondered how long she could stay in her room and never come out again. 

Would you like something to eat? the shadows tried again. So sweet. Trying to give her something, anything to comfort her. 

“No, thank you,” she whispered. Alone the thought made her want to throw up. 

She didn’t want to eat. 

She didn’t want to get up and talk to anybody. She didn’t want to even look at another person anymore. 

She didn’t…

What would you like then? The shadows tried softly. Would you like to plot revenge? they suggested. 

It was so stupid that she choked out a laugh. 

“For what? Elain saying what everybody else is thinking?” Eira asked, her heart painfully restricting. 

Nobody here actually wanted her around. If she disappeared forever she would do them a favour. Him especially. 

Elain had only said what everybody else was thinking. 

All three of her sisters had found their mates, just not Eira. All three of her sisters had some kind of power…just not her. All three of them had found some kind of place for themselves…and then there was her, living with her youngest sister, half seamstress, half nanny for her child, an unwanted appendage that was taken care of out of some feeling of duty and no other reason.

Elain had just voiced what she was thinking. The truth. 

It had been the truth. Plain and simple. And Eira maybe didn’t like to hear it but it didn’t…it didn’t matter. 

It was the truth. 

Elain had two men willing to marry her and spend the rest of their lives with her…and nobody wanted to spend any time with Eira. A husband wasn’t even something that had ever seemed to be a possibility. 

Even if everybody else is thinking, that doesn’t make it right. The shadows disagreed quietly. Your sister said that to hurt you and not for any other reason. 

“She’s stressed out with wedding planning,” Eira whispered. 

It had just been that. Probably. Maybe. 

That doesn’t make it right, the shadows disagreed again, twirling tighter around her wrist. We could ruin her wedding. Lilies and all, they suggested brightly. 

She shook her head. No. Elain should have the wedding she dreamed of. Eira wasn’t going to ruin it for her. 

“Don’t do that,” she said weakly.

We could at least steal her wedding binder, they told her mulishly, and Eira wondered if they disagreed like that with Azriel too.

Azriel…

What did it say about her that she fell head over heels in love with the first man who treated her with polite indifference? That she was so desperate to be loved that that was all it took? 

Did it matter? 

No. 

Elaine was right. He would never spare her a second glance. He was just as unreachable as any other male.

Nothing was enticing about Eira.  Neither her body, nor her mind, nor her magical power. What could she possibly offerany male? 

All the nightmares she had on a near-daily basis? All the fear and anxiety that swirling around her gut every day? 

She could sew on any buttons he lost along the way, she supposed. That was something.

The knife that plunged into her womb and twisted, took her by surprise. 

It shouldn’t have.  

Of course. 6 months had passed once again. 

“Don’t tell him this either,” she begged in a whimper. This was too embarrassing. He didn’t need to know about her cycle. 

Nobody did. She was the most modest out of all her sisters. The one with the most human ideas of what was considered to be decent, left…the only one who…

The only one left with her maidenhead intact, because everybody else was mated or married or very much in love and it had never mattered in Prythian anyway. 

Just Eira was left. 

Without a mate. Without a husband. 

Without ever having even been kissed. Nearly 26 and that…hadn’t happened for her. 

It probably would never happen anyway. 

Why today of all days? 

Why did her cycle need to torture her today?  How did she deserve this? Why not in a week…Though at least now she had a reason not to leave her bed for a few days.  

She could just stay here. 

Mope in her own Misery and self-pity…wallow in the pain that she knew would come…

Of course, it would. She had always had a horrible time during her cycle even as a human…as a Fae, it had become her very own personal torture. 

Maybe a bath would make you feel better, the shadows suggested softly as she already curled herself together in pain. 

She needed to get up and sort herself out before it got even worse…made sure that she wouldn’t get blood all over the sheets, but she couldn’t…She didn’t want to. 

And a bath…A stab of pure fear.  

“It’s like the cauldron,” Eira whimpered. Just like the cauldron. 

She didn’t bathe…she used buckets of water…even years later…still standing water was not something she could stand. Not without being reminded of her humanity being ripped away and traded for whatever this existence was. 

What if we make sure that it isn’t? the shadows asked her softly. It will be nothing like the cauldron, we promise. 

A bath…a hot bath that would help against the soreness of her muscles…that would maybe ease the cramps…

It did sound nice. So nice. 

So Eira just weakly nodded. 

That seemed to be all the agreement the shadows needed as they whisked her to the bathing chamber, in the blink of an eye.

She watched as they flitted about the room, turning on the water, dotting candles around the room, making it brightly lit with faelight and candlelight both. 

Lots of foam and bubbles appeared in the bathtub as well as numerous concoctions being poured into the water. 

She slowly toed off her shoes and opened the laces of her dress. Eira hesitated and the shadows disappeared, letting her undress in privacy…letting her walk to the bathtub and test the temperature…stare at it for a moment. 

It couldn’t look less like the cauldron if it tried. 

She waited for a stab of fear but nothing came. 

So she slid into it, let the warm water envelope her, the perfect temperature… A few tendrils of shadows came to keep her company, touching her chin so that she tipped her head back and they started to wash her hair for her. 

Eira couldn’t even remember the last time anybody had done that for her. 

And they did that…without even asking…just…just for her. 

“Thank you,” Eira whispered, not daring to close her eyes, but staring at the ceiling. “Are you sure you don’t have anything more important to do?” she asked weakly. “Isn’t your master going to be angry at you?” She didn’t want them to get into any trouble, just because they…they were taking care of her. 

You don’t want Master to find out, so he won’t, they said easily. Would you like some pain potions? 

If they gave them to her, she wouldn’t need to walk downstairs and maybe face her sister or gods forbid, Rhysand…and ask them for Madja. 

Nobody would need to know. She could have her privacy and her dignity left intact. 

“Yes, please,“ she breathed in relief as the shadows poured something or other over her head. One shadow brought her a vial, wrapping around her wrist as she uncorked and downed it. 

A bitter taste but it left her blissedly numb and tired nearly immediately.

“What’s that?” She mumbled as they hushed her, massaging her head.

It tasted differently than whatever Madja usually gave her…telling her that pain and discomfort were normal and that her potions would ease it…It was like pouring a bucket of water over an inferno. 

While this…this was quenching everything. Leaving her numb. 

Just a rather strong pain potion, the shadows promised her. You’ll sleep for a bit…We’ll talk more then.

Sleep… Sleep sounded nice…

She didn’t even think about feeling self-conscious when they pulled her from the water, rinsed her off and wrapped her in warm, fluffy towels. 

They laid out her favourite nightgown so she only needed to pull it on and pull back the sheets of her bed so she could slide beneath it. 

Even a hot water bottle was waiting for her…

Everything so that she would be as comfortable as possible… everything for her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, tears pricking in her eyes as she climbed between her blankets, the shadows fluffing her pillow and pulling the blankets as high as they went. 

It was weird…to have the shadows doting on her, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Eira was too selfish to protest this bit of attention…the only positive attention she had in years. 

They promised not to tell, so she wouldn’t either. Not when this was the sweetest thing anybody had ever done for her. 

She fell asleep between one breath and the next, safely and warmly ensconced in her bed. Deep dreamless sleep…When she woke, it must have been the middle of the night…and still, the shadows were there immediately. 

She whimpered at the cramps that were ransacking her body…and the growling of her stomach in hunger. 

She hated these cycles. Hated how weak they left her and how she wanted nothing more than to cease to exist. 

Are you hungry? You’ll need to eat before you can take another pain potion, the shadows told her worriedly. Not a lot, just a little bit, they promised. 

“I don’t want to go down into the kitchen,” she answered weakly, biting her lip. Not that she thought that she could safely traverse the staircase anyway. 

Eira just wanted to stay here…alone. Maybe with the shadows for company, as long as they wanted her…

We’ll get you something. What would you like? They assured her immediately. 

Everything in her body ached for something human, even when she knew that their food would taste like ash for her. She always wanted human things. The things she would never have again.  

“Maybe some soup?” Eira asked finally. “If that’s not too much trouble?” 

Of course not. 

They fluffed her pillows and helped her sit up…and then soup appeared…a bowl filled with clear broth with bits of vegetables and chunks of chicken and noodles…cooked to perfection…better than anything she could have ever produced and by the gods, she had tried…All of it, arranged on a tray, with two slices of perfect crusty bread and another pain potion. 

She took that first, and it made her pleasantly numb and tired…and so she weakly spooned as much soup as she could in her mouth afterwards… mopping up the last of her soup with the bread. 

She finished as much as she could before she was too tired and the shadows tucked her back into bed, curled up on her side…so they could fuss with her hair which was a mess as always. 

She felt like a child being fawned over and she couldn’t help but relax into it…let them do with her whatever they wished if they just kept being so…nice to her. 

Feeling better? they asked softly and she hummed. 

If you could be anything…do anything... what would it be? The shadows wondered quietly. The movements of them were lulling her to some space of safety and warmth and Eira considered the question. 

If she could have anything in the world…what would she want?

A heady question. 

“When I was…young,” she said softly… “I wanted a dashing knight to come rescue me, and whisk me away from that horrible cottage,” she said weakly. “That’s what I wanted since I was old enough to want anything.”

A stupid children’s dream. 

But sadly there were no knights in Prythian and even if there were any, they wouldn’t pick Eira. 

And now? The shadows pushed. 

“Somebody that loves me,”  she admitted quietly. “A husband…children.”

All of that…she wanted all of that. 

And she was never going to have it. 

We could find you a husband, the shadows finally said quietly. If that makes you happy…we could help you.

“Who could possibly want me?” Eira asked, her voice breaking. Who would want her? The answer was easy: Nobody. 

Only because Master is an idiot, doesn’t mean every male is, they told her tartly. 

She wanted to laugh but it ended in a sob. 

“He isn’t an idiot,” Eira disagreed. “He just knows that…I am not good enough for him.”

Not pretty enough, not smart enough…not enough period.

That’s ridiculous, the shadows hissed. 

It wasn’t. 

“He’s in love with my prettier twin sister,” Eira snapped. “I shouldn’t want him anyway. Why should I want to be his second or even third choice?  Maybe for once, I want to be somebody’s first choice! Maybe for once, I want to be treated like I matter! That my feelings matter…that I matter!” It burst out of her. The tears burned in her eyes at that admission. At…how unfair it was. 

What had she done to deserve this? What had she done? 

Eira immediately regretted that outburst though. “I am so sorry,” she blurted out.

They didn’t deserve to be pulled into her feeling unfairly treated. She should stop complaining. It wasn’t going to…

For what? the shadows snorted. You are absolutely right. You deserve to be somebody’s first choice. You deserve to be treated like you matter. 

She didn’t. 

Maybe you should go shopping, the shadows suggested with a sigh. The suggestion was so sudden that she stared at the tendril of shadow still wrapped around her wrist. 

“Why?” she asked with a sigh. 

The Morrigan does that if she feels bad. The shadows told her earnestly. Then she buys shoes and feels better. 

Ah. 

She highly doubted that shoes were going to solve any of her problems. A pretty pair of shoes wasn’t going to make anybody fall in love with her. Or want her. 

“What am I supposed to buy?” She asked quietly. “Just shoes?”

Stuff. The shadows answered easily. Whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy, they assured her. All your sisters have more stuff than you. You make them dresses and other things. But you never make yourself anything, the shadows said quietly. Nobody would say anything if you wanted things that are yours. 

Right. She had never bothered with that. Not after she had lost all her things together with her humanity…there had been some piles of necessities sent to them by Rhysand…and that had been that. 

She had never bothered to get more than that. She still wore those dresses of the very first weeks… and while she had made dresses for all three of her sisters…as human out of necessity, as Fae out of habit…she hadn’t made herself any in years.

Not since becoming Fae. Her new body felt…she hadn’t wanted to look at her new body for long enough to figure out how something should fit onto it. How it had changed….

These godforsaken ears were enough. 

Buy things for yourself. Like a new dress! Or earrings! Diamonds! The shadows suggested. Whatever you find pretty. 

“My ears aren’t pierced,” she said quietly, a yawn taking over her face. 

That brought them up short.

Master bought you pearl earrings, the shadows said suddenly, sounding perplexed. 

He had. Beautiful. Impersonal. Unwearable for her…a far cry from all the little trinkets he had given to Elain…

Still, for months she had stared at them and found them oh so beautiful…safely kept in their box in her drawer at her vanity table. 

Maybe that alone should have told her everything she needed to know about the state of Azriel’s affection for her. 

Namely it was non-existent when the spymaster of the night court didn’t even bother to check if she even wore earrings. 

And the earrings…well…they were only…one thing. Her room at the River Estate that she had been supposed to furnish to her liking…that was another. 

In the end, it had consisted out of her getting a set of the same bedroom furniture as every other guest room and her walls were painted cream like in every other room Feyre hadn’t gotten to yet. It was still as impersonal as it had been when she had moved in. 

She knew that Elain had stuff to litter her bookcases with…gifts from Azriel or Feyre or Lucien, her mate…even Eira had gifted her sister things. 

But all Eira had…were the dresses she had on commission laid out on her desk. Which she would need to return to the shop where she worked as a seamstress at soon enough once she was finished with her alteration on them…and well, that was it. 

No books, because her reading was absolutely atrocious…no little trinkets from any of her sisters…no paintings or art or anything really. 

Just…her sewing and embroidery supplies and that was that…and even these weren’t…held in one of these pretty little wooden sewing boxes on legs that would keep them tidily kept away…

Do you need money? The shadows asked her seriously. 

“What?” Eira asked weakly.

She made some money with her job. Not a lot…but some. All of it carefully stashed away to buy birthday or solstice gifts from…or little trinkets she saw in a shop and thought one of her sisters would like…that Nyx would like. 

Do you need money? They repeated patiently. To buy stuff? For yourself? 

“No, I have money. And I don’t want to owe anybody anything,” she answered quietly, her eyes slowly closing.

 She didn’t want to end like Nesta… were in the end, her habits were used to bludgeon her with…she didn’t…

You wouldn’t. The shadows assured her. We have our own line of credit. 

What? 

“How does that work? Do you have your own bank account?” she asked curiously, and she could nearly feel their amusement. 

We like playing the lottery. Everything we win, we put into Master’s Bank Account, they explained to her earnestly. He never uses it anyway. We could just put our winnings in yours instead. Master wouldn’t care.

It was so ridiculous that she couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Really?” she still asked weakly. 

Really! they assured her seriously. Enough for you to have a shopping spree! We like shiny things, they told her, making her laugh. Master never buys any. We’ll pick up some mail-order catalogues for you and then you can spend tomorrow ordering some things. Maybe some curtains to spruce things up a little. It’s awfully empty in here. 

Still, she couldn’t help but ask. 

“Why are you doing this?” 

Nobody should be treated like you are, they told her fiercely. Nobody should feel like they have no place anywhere.

[seraphinitegames]

A but late, but it's here...The Wayhaven Chronicles—Update 21/June/2024 

Was a week of checking off lots of boxes again this week!

I finished writing all the needed blurbs and tag lines for Hosted Games finally! It takes a looooong time to think about a bunch of different ways to describe the story, especially in only 45 words, 80 words, etc! But it was actually really fun breaking down what’s coming up in the story and thinking how to vaguely and mysteriously hint at it, hehe! ;D

I also took the opportunity to rewrite the big blurb for Book Four. I wasn’t completely happy with it first time around, so this was a great chance to rework that:

--

The Wayhaven Chronicles: Book Four

Time is a precious commodity.

Unfortunately, it’s a commodity you don’t have much of these days.

Keeping up with the exhausting training for your new career while balancing your deepening romance on top of juggling some kind of personal life doesn’t leave much time to relax!

But it wouldn’t be a Wayhaven story you’ve come to know without something new to add to that ever-growing pile…

Something stirs beneath the town of Wayhaven.

Something old.

Something powerful.

Something with a very keen interest in you.

-

Delve into the world of Wayhaven once more, where a new enemy is not only unleashed upon the town but unleashes its advances upon you—to your vampire lover’s chagrin.

Or if your heart has yet to find a partner…perhaps you'll succumb to the villain’s romantic attempts?

The choice is yours!

--

It’s still way too wordy, so I’ll probably work on condensing it a bit, but I love it a lot more now! :D

I also got started on Chapter Three! Like, I seriously got started on it and really slammed into that, lol!

The only thing I’m having a bit of trouble with is deciding where a certain POV should go, as I’ve decided to add in an extra Unit Bravo POV with Rebecca, but I don’t want that POV leading into another POV that isn’t the reader’s straight away…I’m not sure if that makes sense, lol! But I’m going to write it all in the order I have it planned and then see how it actually reads.

I should actually get all the way to finishing the first third of the chapter tomorrow, which includes those two POVs!

Hope you all have the most amazing weekend!

[mal3vol3nt]

Hi. You’re probably tired of seeing me dump stuff like this. (I’ll try to make this the last time). But I have to vent to someone. Because I see this one guy, claim to not hate Aang, only to villainize him to a ridiculous extent, acting like he’s unempathetic, forcing Katara to tend to his emotional needs and this user completely downplays Aang’s genocidal trauma. Not to be rude, but how much of a heartless prick do you have to be to invalidate genocide and the trauma it can cause. These fake fans should honestly keep their mouths shut about this show, they clearly don’t understand it.

the southern raiders episode needs to be freed from the zutara fandom i swear. i’m fully convinced they never actually watched that episode cause it literally ends with katara saying she still didn’t forgive yon rha and aang accepting that. he literally says “im proud of you”. it was never her anger at the man that aang disagreed with, it was the action she planned on doing—murder—that he wanted to talk her down from. not for yon rha’s sake, but for her’s. so even though she didn’t forgive him, aang respected that and was able to recognize the strength and validity in her decision. i’m so tired of repeating this rebuttal to this stupid as fuck argument

aang doesn’t force her to do anything in the entire series. katara has her own agency and free will to do as she pleases and not a single character has ever taken that away from her, and the one time where her freedom was threatened (by pakku), she fought for it and ensured she got her way. when yall say aang takes her agency away from her, you’re also ignoring the core traits of katara: her fierceness, her determination, her ability to recognize what’s right for herself, and her sense of justice

she never blindly follows or takes direction from anyone. when aang tried telling her and sokka to stay put while he made the trip to see roku in the fire nation, katara (and sokka) put her foot down and refused to listen. she demanded that they go with him, and he accepted them making that choice for themselves. when sokka tried convincing her to leave after she met up with haru and they had the chance to escape from the fire nation ship, she refused and said she wasn’t abandoning the rest of the earthbenders. her decision was respected by both aang and sokka. in fact, there are so many instances of her making her own decisions regardless of what anyone else says that it would be impossible for me to list them all. she never succumbs to what aang or anyone else wants, and she always makes her genuine thoughts on an important decision known. katara does not need anyone to tell her what to do nor does she allow anyone to tell her what to do. this is the same girl who single handedly changed the “no girls allowed” rule in the northern water tribe after having been told “you can’t do that”. yall think she would let aang walk all over her??? please put some respect on her name

now this may be a controversial take but i don’t care it’s the truth: comparing sokka and katara losing their mom to aang losing his entire culture and people is actually insane and insensitive but not for the reason zutaras think. its because absolutely nothing any other character went through can compare to what aang did, and to diminish his tragedy by saying katara’s trauma surrounding her mom’s death is somehow worse is actual insanity and i need yall to go to prison LMAO

katara did not witness her mom get murdered. that only happened in natla and i refuse to acknowledge that. she ran out of the tent to go tell her dad that a fire nation soldier was with their mom and when she came back, the man was gone and kya was dead. still insanely traumatic, but she was not literally standing there watching as kya burned to death

that’s literally what happened with aang. from his perspective, he had just seen gyatso only a few hours ago. gyatso was alive literally moments ago in his mind and then he was greeted with his decayed skeleton among the bodies of unwelcome fire nation soldiers. just like katara experienced insane whiplash from that heartbreaking change, to see someone alive only to come back to them gone, aang went through roughly the same thing

the only difference is aang didn’t just lose gyatso, he lost all his friends and mentors as well. and he didn’t just lose all his friends and mentors, he lost every single person who looked like him. and he didn’t just lose every single person who looked like him, he lost everyone he had grown close to and seen from the other nations. and he didn’t just lose everyone he had grown close to and seen from the other nations, he lost the animals native to the airbending temples. and he didn’t just lose the animals native to the airbending temples, he lost the native plants as well. and he didn’t just lose the native plants, he lost the structural beauty and integrity of the air temples. and he didn’t just lose the structural beauty and integrity of the air temples, he lost the ability to practice his cultural customs with others. and he didn’t just lose the ability to practice his cultural customs with others, he lost the ability to bend his native element with others. and he didn’t just lose the ability to bend his native element with others, he lost the time to mourn for all that he lost

i’m sorry to those of you who wanna believe your favs have suffered more than anyone else in the series, but none of their tragedies compare to aang’s. and i don’t believe in downplaying what the others went through to support a fandom narrative, but this is literally just me acknowledging the severity of aang’s story. to suggest any one else has gone through more is to be ignorant and nothing anyone can say will ever convince me otherwise

only reason yall think zuko or katara or sokka or toph or azula or whoever the fuck else is more tragic than aang is because all of their traumas are more relatable to the everyday person whereas aang’s is something that most people can’t even comprehend

[greenqueenhightower]

I know u won't get my point, but Alicent should have paid more attention to Rhaenyra and respected her and her father's wishes and not have installed her fucking son on the throne. Things started going south when she married Viserys and when she wanted to strip Rhaenyra off her birthright

How about, no?

*Long Rant Incoming:*

1) Viserys didn't talk about "birthright." In the eyes of the smallfolk, Aegon has the "birthright" to rule simply because he is a male Targaryen heir. Alicent's position was vulnerable because Viserys never actually promised Alicent that Aegon would be king but neither did he specify exactly what his role would be and that was the point… all his children wanted his attention and love, and a place to belong. Viserys didn’t know what he wanted. Before naming Rhaenyra his heir, he wanted a son so desperately that he killed his wife for it. His conscience pained him badly afterward, and he decided to name Rhaenyra his heir. Nevertheless, he wanted a young woman to sleep with; he didn’t want a wife, he didn’t want more kids, and he had already named his heir. But he married Alicent and had those kids anyway. He really was so irresponsible and on top of that, he tells Alicent in episode 3 that he thinks he probably was wrong in making Rhaenyra his heir because of his dream/prophecy, so ofc Alicent was worried. Honestly, he could have made his mind up about Rhaenyra and shut up about it. Or he could have actually thought of his other kids and given them some work to do and trained them for some position if he truly cared for them. From the moment they existed, they were his responsibility. And for sure it makes sense why his kids by Alicent, not having known any special love from their father, would want to finally claim a position for themselves.

So, Viserys set the Dance in motion by his choices. If he had supported his Targtower kids and ensured they wouldn’t be threatened by their mad uncle (Daemon; who hated them just because they were Otto's and Alicent's blood) in the succession, then Alicent would have fewer reasons to establish Aegon on the throne.

2) Alicent spent time with Viserys because she had always considered her own self in reference to the Targaryens. What was she if not Rhaenyra’s childhood companion? When Otto compels her to visit Viserys she doesn’t want to. She brings along the book of histories she used to read to Rhaenyra. What else can she offer to the Targaryens? This is what they like: to talk about their legacies and their histories. So she might as well read to him, right? There’s no harm done. And she went. She does the bare minimum whenever they are together: the bare minimum of eye contact and conversation. Viserys was SO PERVERSE that even with the minimum attention from a teenager he wanted to fuck her. Not even make her his wife because he didn’t want another wife. And you see how surprised Alicent is when he declares so matter-of-factly that he will wed Alicent, no questions asked. Because she was the easiest bride-but-no-wife choice of them all. She already had her father in court who was a megalomaniac, and Viserys thought that by marrying Alicent he was giving Otto what he always wanted: greater opportunities for social climbing. So he’d stay out of his way, right? That’s what he wanted all along, right? So I can have your daughter any way I like, right? (Because had he married Laena, can you imagine being so chill with Corlys as a father-in-law? Ofc he wouldn’t desire anything potentially restrictive for him.) And I’m saying that he didn’t want a wife because of what he’d done before to Aemma. He had already made up his mind that (to console his own conscience and to honor Aemma’s memory) he would make Rhaenyra his heir. SO HE DIDN'T NEED ANY MORE HEIRS. Then why does he get married and have some more?? BECAUSE HE IS AN IDIOT and because he just wanted a young bride. He is the reason the war began, and his reckless choices, not Alicent wanting some compensation for her years of mistreatment and suffering. Because even after he got married and had those kids he still had time to make things right but he didn’t.

So Alicent didn’t marry Viserys, it was the other way around. He lusted after her and wed and bed her. Teenage Alicent couldn’t and wouldn't go against the will of the King.

3) Regarding the friendship between Alicent and Rhaenyra it was actually the opposite: Alicent many times tried to defend her and had her back even when Viserys and Otto believed the rumors of her losing her maidenhood (which as an unmarried heir was an insult to the crown). Alicent didn’t want to believe it and she supported her! However, even earlier than that, Rhaenyra cast Alicent off without understanding or offering consolation for the predicament she found herself in. She never tried to understand Alicent and never really paid enough attention to what her friend was going through even before she married Viserys. Alicent was alone and without a friend and Rhaenyra should have paid more attention to her.

4) Things really started to go south when Rhaenyra betrayed Alicent's trust by lying to her and continuing to flout her freedom, special treatment, and life without consequences to Alicent's face. The reason Rhaenyra had bastards and married Laenor was her own fault in the first place. Alicent tried to encourage Viserys to look for any potential suitors for her, and Rhaenyra had every opportunity to make the right choice but no, she messed it up by seeking out Daemon and then sleeping with Criston, so she brought it to herself. After what she did, there was no suitor available apart from Laenor, and her father forced her to marry him because no one else would. And then she had three Strong kids, making every mistake after the other (although I understand her completely: she had to have those kids because she wanted heirs and because that’s her body her choice, you know? She can sleep with whomever she wants) but at the same time, the game they all play is political and during the time and age we’re discussing, it was a big deal if you had bastard kids, especially since there already were THREE legitimate male Targaryen heirs whose fate was unsure and further endangered by Rhaenyra's actions. But it wasn’t Alicent’s fault that Rhaenyra had those kids, it was her own choice and she had to live up to the consequences of her actions. (She did this once by taking her children away from KL because she, too, recognized that they were being pointed at too much and it was getting too obvious).

5) Alicent knew that Rhaenyra wasn’t going to hurt her kids but the system they were born in would. In case she became heir, for Rhaenyra to secure her succession and have no challengers, Alicent’s kids had to die. Those displeased by Rhaenyra could easily dethrone her if there was an active male heir free to roam around Westeros. Alicent's sons would always be a challenge to Rhaenyra. And maybe Rhaenyra hadn’t thought about it per se and I trust that she never had vile intentions towards the kids (despite the deleted scenes where she gives death stares to Aegon) and despite never calling them by their names or developing a relationship with her siblings. Her own council and her uncle-husband would advise her to kill them. Their position wasn’t safe. Viserys could have secured it by giving them land and titles instead of the throne and by having them bend the knee to Rhaenyra but he didn’t. So their position was very much vulnerable because again, he didn’t care at all what happened to them, but Alicent, claiming the throne for her son, and saving his life the only way she knew how, DID.

[squidthusiast]

Ok, but why do I imagine Eight being the unofficial child of Pearl x Marina?

Because I imagine Eight was minding their business and all of a sudden, Pearl would slam the paper down and said “You’re adopted now”

Basically OTH at the start of their world tour haha, I love that they took Eight with them.

I have more detailed thoughts under the cut for those interested in my ramblings, analysis and interpretations of the characters.

Disclaimer: This is my own take on it, don’t let it ruin your fun!

I personally don’t really subscribe to the fandom’s ‘pearlina moms’ headcanon.

On the one hand, I am an absolute sucker for the ‘found family’ trope, and I definitely think Agent 8 and OTH fit in it!

On the other hand, I think people immediately put Pearl and Marina into the ‘parenthood’ box, a little too eagerly. Not saying this specific ask is that, btw, it just reminded me of some instances i’ve seen.

I personally think that the relationship between OTH and Agent 8 is a little more nuanced & sibling-esque, for the following reasons:

1. Within canon, we often see 8 being referred to as a friend by both Pearl and Marina.

Pearl does it more explicitly (see that one interview at her house), whereas with Marina it’s more insinuated (ex. In the Side Order dev diaries, she starts calling Agent 8 as ‘Eight’, which is stated to be a name used by their friends).

Pearl seems to be an accidental-duck-parent of sorts who haphazardly collects octoling teenagers & young musical talent. It goes in line with her whole mentor-esque leader personality, and i’m sure these disoriented teens find relief in an idol who seemingly knows what she’s doing (she really doesn’t).

However she doesn’t act in a parental manner. More-so like your estranged gay cousin who hit it big in another country and is down to show your queer little butt the ropes.

Marina on the other hand seems to have a more empathetic approach with Agent 8 (opposite to Pearl’s brashness). Marina clearly connects with Agent 8 through their shared experience as defected octoling soldiers, and probably sees her younger self in them. She’s already caring as it is, but this is accentuated during octo expansion given the circumstances.

I feel however that, unlike Pearl, Marina has a bit of a harder time actually forming a bond with Eight at the beginning. Their similarities (seemingly) end at their shared experience, and probably leaves Marina awkwardly wondering how to approach them further. What we can assume though is that they become closer friends during OTH’s world tour, given the events described in the Memverse Dev Diaries.

Meeting Eight during difficult circumstances (OE) and helping them get out creates a sense of camaraderie between them, which probably devolves into genuine care, established friendship and a strong bond amongst the three overtime.

2. Pearl and Marina are very career-centric both in Splat 2 and 3.

It is reasonable that the two young idols, who see their fame and musical recognition rise spectacularly & fast, are not particularly interested in settling down at this point in their lives.

Now entering her late 20s, Pearl is most definitely still interested in keeping the ball rolling with Off the Hook’s international success. Her character often points towards restlessness, freedom and discovery. There has definitely been character development in regards to her maturity in Splatoon 3, but these aforementioned traits are still ever present in her demeanour & decision-making.

Marina on the other hand can be seen slowly blossoming from a supporting character to being her own person. She definitely develops more self-confidence by Splatoon 3, but is still naturally bashful. It’s clear that she is allowing herself to explore & open up to new things for her own sake. She remains a caring and somewhat nurturing individual, but she is at a stage where she’s learning to live for herself and not for others.

Parenthood (and all the responsibilities and sacrifices it entails) at this moment of their lives would probably freak Pearl out, and stunt Marina’s personal growth.

3. The age gaps between OTH and Agent 8 are too close for it to create a parent/kid bond.

This makes their relationship a little hazy in regards to roles; 8 is still young enough that they may seek out rolemodels and mentors (still relatively influenceable), but they’re also nearing their 20s. By this point they are fairly self sufficient, have a sense of their personal values & identity, and they are relatively responsible & mature.

Pearl and Marina are 8’s seniors by approximately 4-6 years. However, in Splatoon 2 they’re entering their early 20s and their career has just begun to take off.

They are both still relatively youngsters, albeit older & more mature(? glancing at Pearl) youngsters than 8. This places them in a position where they can guide 8 and offer certain support and resources, but lack the maturity and experience of a full-fledged adult. This would approximate their relationship closer to that of siblings in a family setting.

Pearl & Marina are also less likely to feel a duty towards Eight as an adult would with a child. Instead, the latter’s circumstances are more likely to incite feelings of rapport and compassion as a fellow young inkfish.

Now, with all of this said, I will acknowledge that friendship/found family is MUCH more nuanced than a strict binary.

From personal experience in my last years of college, I did find myself caring for my fellow freshmen as though they were my kids, in certain ways. Hell, I called them my kids.

I acted as a proud parent whenever some of them achieved something, attempted to pass down my knowledge to them, and was protective of them to a certain extent.

They also annoyed me sometimes, like younger people do haha. And i’m sure I annoyed them too!

So I wouldn’t put it past OTH to call Eight their kid and have this mentor/parent-esque rapport with them in certain circumstances.

This is all based both on canon & my own interpretations of it, but still closely aligned to what has been shown in-game.

So if you have a different interpretation of Agent 8 and OTH, that’s great! I love to see people’s personal headcanons. Ultimately, Agent 8 is meant to be somewhat of a blank slate for the players to mold, with some hinted-at personality traits of their own.

As long as you have fun with these characters, that’s all that matters. This is just my personal opinion on their relationship in-game.

If you read all of this, you deserve the biggest golden star for listening to my incessant yapping 🤲⭐️

Feel free to bother me about this or other opinions you may have in my inbox, just be kind please!

[xaharadesert]

MC Who Sleeps Like The Dead - Headcanon

Arcana Characters (Main 6) x MC

A/N: for another lovely anon! I just finished drawing one of my OCs to prepare for art fight, so I’m feeling a bit more inspired than usual! Please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes :) requests are open!

❤️Julian❤️

This is a man who runs on stress and caffeine, so he’s always up at ungodly hours of the night

Your ability to sleep through every instance of him stubbing his toe or bumping his head, or just generally swearing at whatever script or medical case he’s having trouble with at the moment is a blessing in his opinion

Of course, on the rare occasions that you manage to get him to bed, he’ll be as out of it as you are, if not more so

He flails in his sleep, and since it won’t be waking either of you up any time soon, there’s a good chance you’ll both end up with some mystery bruises

He’ll feel a bit bad about it in the morning, but it’s nothing some kisses can’t fix

🧡Portia🧡

Considering how tired she usually is by the end of the day, she’s a surprisingly light sleeper

This can be a problem for her when Pepi decides she wants to make biscuits and Portia’s the only potential victim around

So when you two start sleeping in the same bed, she sacrifices you to Pepi and makes sure she’s the one sleeping next to the wall

Pepi seems satisfied with this arrangement and leaves Portia alone, meaning she gets the sleep she needs and you get a cat to cuddle with while you’re unconscious

It’s also great for when she needs to get up early for work; she can make as much noise as she wants while she’s getting ready, and you’ll sleep right through it

💛Lucio💛

No no no, this will not do

Lucio operates under the assumption that if he’s awake, you’re also supposed to be awake

So if he’s having trouble sleeping while you’re snoozing away next to him, he will be trying his best to wake you up

His attempts will start with whispers and a couple gentle pokes, but when you don’t look like you’ll be getting up soon it quickly becomes less subtle

This man will fully kick you off the bed and onto the cold floor to get you up

If you sleep through that, he’s gonna get really close to your ear and scream

For the sake of everyone else nearby, you may need to learn to sleep less heavily

💚Muriel💚

He’s a light sleeper thanks to anxiety, and he doesn’t really understand how someone can sleep as deeply as you do

In the early days of your relationship he was a bit worried that there might be something wrong with you

Once he settles into the idea that you Will Not Be Woken Up before you’re good and ready, he takes full advantage of the extra alone time it gives him

It’s nice to just coexist with you and go about his day without worrying about waking you up

Once Inanna took a nap on you and he thought you may have actually suffocated under her, but turns out you were fine

He does not mention this to you when you wake up

💙Asra💙

While he certainly sleep often, he does not sleep heavily

If he’s sitting down, then he’s probably already at least 10% asleep

He doesn’t usually sleep in the traditional sense, and instead takes a few extended naps throughout the day

So when you’re getting your proper 8 hours, he may be laying awake beside you, gently rubbing your back and reading a book

He likes that his sleep schedule doesn’t affect yours, and that he gets to see you so peaceful and far from the stresses of life

💜Nadia💜

Most of her life is on a pretty tight schedule, so your sleep habits are not something she’s particularly fond of

If you’re asleep when she wakes up to begin her day, then she’s learned not to bother trying to wake you

She’ll kiss your temple and try to find some time to spend with you at the end of the day, but she misses the quiet moments you two could share while the rest of the world starts to wake up

Overall it’s not a hassle, just something she has to adapt to

Unless of course there’s an early morning event that you’re also supposed to attend with her

Then she’s trying to figure out the most gentle way to pry you from the hands of sleep (she may quite literally drag you out of the bed and start getting you ready before you wake up)

[tillywunderwing]

probably obvious detail in the new Inside Out movie that I loved

Spoilers for Inside Out 2 below!

So the entire story focuses on Riley’s belief system, and how the shifting hierarchy of her emotions affects that. Ultimately leading her to believe that she’s “not good enough”—which is framed as quite abrupt, but is actually set up for really well if you pay attention in the lead up.

In the start of the movie, we see Joy plonking a few memories down into the belief system, the strings spiral up, she plucks them and we hear an affirmation of some kind—“I am kind”, “I am a good friend”, etc. (Forgive me if these are misquoted, I only just saw the movie today lol.) Point being, they’re all obviously positive, but also, they’ll all firm beliefs. They’re almost presented as fact—it’s just, here’s a nice thing that’s true about Riley.

Fast forward to later in the movie when Anxiety puts in with a few of her own memories. There’s the obvious visual differences alluding to the instability of this new belief system (the jagged lines, the twitchiness, etc.) but other than that, it plays mostly the same as when Joy does it. There’s a new string, the string is plucked, and an ‘affirmation’ plays.

And they’re not openly negative! “If I work hard I’ll make the team.” “If I fit in, people will like me.” Riley does believe she can do those things.

But you’ll noticed that compared to Joy’s, all of Anxiety’s ‘affirmations’ are conditional.

It’s not an ‘I can make the team’. It’s an ‘I can make the team IF I do this’. ‘I will have friends IF I change myself’. It’s not something that Riley just believes is true, it’s something she thinks she has to change herself to make true.

And that’s why she ends up with that feeling of inadequacy—her entire belief system has been constructed on the basis that these good things are earned, not inherently given. Which isn’t in itself a bad thing, but because it’s all piled up on her at once, she gets overwhelmed and can’t cope with it. Which is a perfect representation of how anxiety can function in real life - that sense that you have to do or fix everything all at once, until you don’t even know where you can start.

It’s that feeling that you’re not allowed to be nice to yourself without ‘proving you deserve it’.

That was just something I really admired. It’s kind of only a small language choice in the dialogue, but it makes all the difference. It makes sense too - Anxiety doesn’t see Riley’s breakdown coming because on their own, all of those “if”s seem like perfectly manageable tasks. It’s when they all pile up that we see the worst of the effects.

[artdcnaldson]

ok ok ok, so what im thinking is something like this.

its summer vacation btw, probably the summer right before he goes pro/art leaves for stanford

patrick has never really been very invested in his parents lives, but he wasnt surprised in the slightest when they had announced their divorce earlier that year. everyone had seen that coming for years. what he is surprised by tho is you, walking around his parents - well i guess now just his dads- house in tiny pj shorts and one of his old shirts from the academy. one that he'd left behind in his room ages ago. who are you... and why are you in his house?

turns out his dad had moved on from the divorce very quickly. so quickly in fact that his dads new wife, your mom, and you had already been moved into the house. before patrick was even told about any of you. patrick is pissed. not because he really cares about his parents relationships, he couldnt care less, but he's pissed that he now wont have the second floor all to himself. he has to share it with you. not that you're even sharing a bathroom or anything, this house is enormous. but his space is being invaded by some chick he's never even met.

i want him to be so pissed at his dad that hes totally taking it out on you, teasing the shit out of you, always flirting with you in that infuriating but oh so attractive way. you cant really tell if he actually wants to fuck you, or if hes just an ass who gets off on being a perv and pissing you off. i want it to start as a way for him to spend the hours, summers at the house are boring and never ending, he needs some form of entertainment. but then slowly he starts enjoying the way you groan at him when hes whispering over the noise of the dinner party to sneak away for a quicky with him.

i need to be so confused on whether he truly means it, does he actually want to fuck you? its wrong, and its very dirty. i dont think reader would be like overly innocent here, shes had sex before, nothing crazy though. nothing like the things patrick tells her about, nothing like the nights he recaps in her unwilling ear over breakfast...

i just need him to be a cocky asshole whos insistent that he will make you beg for him by the end of summer.............. hope this makes sense

-🐞

GODDDDDDD fell to my knees sobbing shaking

As soon as he’s been forced through cursory introductions (And this is your new stepsister, she’s your age too), he’s slammed his door and locked himself in his room.

He can tell you’ve been snooping— his shit is all off-kilter and scattered. CD’s out of order in his organizer (it’s by genre, then alphabetical, it’s not that hard), DVDs removed from his shelf and stacked on his dresser. His TV turns on to MTV, which he doesn’t fucking watch. It should turn on to Spike, or nothing. Worse, the carton of cigarettes he kept stashed in his bedside table was gone.

So he walks over to your door, which you’ve decorated with fucking stickers and a dry erase sign that you’ve scribbled on in lime green marker (Keep Out!). He shoves the door open and finds you straddling the windowsill, one dangling out the window as you smoke.

“What the fuck, don’t you knock?” You snap.

He grabs the cigarette from your mouth and you slap at his arm. It tastes faintly like marshmallows, must be from your sparkly lipgloss. “Keep the fuck out of my room,” he says firmly, exhaling smoke into the air. Your room smells like fresh paint— he realizes then you’ve painted the walls pink. “And buy your own fucking cigarettes.”

You look at him, roll your eyes. “We’re siblings now, we’re supposed to share,” you deadpan. He grits his teeth. Because you’re wearing one of his shirts, you’ve got one of his CD players on your dresser playing the Pussycat Dolls. You climb back inside the window and he swallows hard at the sight of your shorts all ridden up.

You have a nice ass, honestly— he stares at it when you bend over to grab the rest of the carton. When you turn, his reaction time is delayed. You sneer when you realize what he was doing. “Take your cigarettes back, perv.”

You shove him out of the room and slam the door in his face. He grins. You’re pretty hot when you’re annoyed with him.

That weekend, you’re in a study that had been repurposed into a game room— big TV, ping pong table, a big, caved in couch. You’re curled up beneath a blanket watching some movie he’s never heard of.

It makes you scowl when he sits down, pulls your legs into his lap. “Can you not?” You mutter.

He shrugs, trails delicate touches along your calves. Your toes flex, you instinctively lean into his touch. “I’m bonding with you,” he says. “Isn’t that what mommy and daddy want?”

Your face turns in disgust. “Gross. I’m not calling your fucking dad that.”

He laughs, trails his fingers a little higher so they brush against your knee. “No? You don’t want to be my cute little sister? Don’t want a big brother to scare all the boys off?” You shake your head, but your thighs part slightly, inviting his touch higher. He feels your thighs tense, only a bit. “Oh? Now who’s the perv?”

You kick him hard, scramble out of his lap. “You’re disgusting, Patrick.”

He grins, watches you walk away. You made it too easy for him.

[presidenthades]

⚠️Spoilers for S.2 ep.2, kinda❓

DAERON EXISTS, LIFE MAKES SENSE AGAIN!

Anyhow, your thoughts on the new episode🎤???

Oh, and in celebration of show!Daeron's confirmed existence: mini tiny Joffron doodle ig? Made with love, not with skill☝️💚🖤❤️

Wait omigod I love this. Why does it perfectly encapsulate the two of them. 😭😍🥰 They really do have a reverse Hades/Persephone dynamic! Honestly I love this art style, it’s giving a chibi vibe that I adore. I’m going to link this to my HOTD artwork list.

Anyway yes, Daeron truthers rise up. ✊

(Obviously, S2E2 spoilers below the cut.)

First I’ll start with new thoughts on B&C. After my rewatch, most of my feelings about E1 remained the same, but I want to update my reaction to B&C. Helaena’s muted reaction made more sense to me the second time around. It is consistent with her character, and the BTS info about her visions makes it understandable why she seemed to treat Jaehaerys’s death as inevitable.

HOWEVER. Viewers should not be required to watch BTS commentaries etc. to have full context for the scene. The background info about Helaena’s visions should’ve been in the actual episode. If knowing about Helaena’s visions about her children’s potential demise is that important, they could and should have incorporated it I nto an actual scene. For example, instead of her opening scene being her embroidering, she could’ve been scribbling about that vision in her notebook.

If for some reason this was too difficult to film, there’s one small change they could’ve made to B&C which would’ve made a huge difference, visions or no visions. When Blood says both children “look the same,” Cheese could have responded with “just kill them both.” This instantly heightens the stakes and makes Helaena’s actions more understandable to even the most casual viewer: if she doesn’t point out Jaehaerys, then both her children die.

End of E1 rant. Onto E2 rant!

I’ve seen a lot of different reactions to this episode. Some say it was great, some say it was awful. IMO, your takeaway of how good the episode was probably depends on who your favorite characters are.

I think Rhaenyra and Aegon had the best scenes this episode. Otto also had some banger lines, and Helaena made me feel a lot of emotions. Daemon did not come away particularly well, Aemond was a little weird, Alicent continues to be frustrating, and I’m convinced that Criston is the writing room’s whipping boy.

TGC really got to show off his acting chops this episode. Personally I wish they could’ve spent more time on Aegon smashing the LEGOs and bludgeoning Blood, but that is a me preference. I think Aegon really did love Jaehaerys, AND he is angry about the blow that has been struck again him as king. Both these things can be true at the same time. The end scene where he’s crying alone in his room proves that his grief isn’t just a show.

And I don’t mind that Aegon’s decision to hang all the rat-catchers makes him seem violent and impetuous, because he is violent and impetuous. The scene is also framed so that you understand why Aegon did it; we see Cheese hanging with the others. And let’s be honest, if Rhaenyra did something similar to avenge Luke (eg burn down Storm’s End because Borros contributed to his demise, which would kill a lot of other people too), a lot of viewers would cheer her on.

(I was definitely thinking during the “Aegon fires Otto” scene that Aegon could really use a Jacaera to kindly knock some sense into him. 🥲)

Speaking of the end scene…omigod Alicent why. 💀 Conceptually, I understand there’s generational trauma going on. Otto was cold with Alicent, who is in turn cold with Aegon especially. But like. Holy shit. Give your son a 5-second hug. It would’ve been nice if they could at least show Alicent feeling conflicted, like she wants to comfort her son but feels incapable, so she walks away.

Backtracking a bit: I feel like Alicent is consistently made the focus of the story in places where she arguably should not be the focus, and I wonder if this is because the showrunners want to take advantage of the fact they’ve paid good money for Olivia Cooke. But I truly do not understand why it was Helaena and Alicent at the funeral rather than Helaena and Aegon. Otto said something about “our gentlest souls” but this could’ve been a great opportunity to showcase more of Aegon and Helaena’s complicated relationship and shared grief.

Whatever my other feelings on the scene, I do think Phia and Olivia’s acting was phenomenal. Helaena’s panic attack during the funeral 😱. I really just wanted to emergency evacuate her from that mess.

I’m going out of chronological order, but I’m going to backtrack again to Otto making the decision to have the funeral as a PR campaign. It’s very Machiavellian, and TBH I understand why he chose to do it. It is a huge blow against Rhaenyra’s reputation. But I feel like the show wants Otto and Daemon to be the only actual schemers on their respective sides. Everyone else kinda just whoopsies or white-knights their way through the narrative. I just want to shake the writers and tell them it’s okay for other characters to be villainous. There’s a reason Daemon is way more popular than Criston. At least Daemon fully commits to his bad decisions.

I kinda feel bad for Fabien Frankel because the writers seem to really have it out for Criston. They really want to make him the most hatable character. 💀 Imagine if instead we got a more Machiavellian Criston who intentionally decides to claw his way up from nothing to become one of the most powerful people in Westeros. Even if he does reprehensible things along the way, at least he does them purposefully, not because he’s incompetent.

I almost forgot to talk about Aemond, because he really has not been getting a lot of screen time these two episodes. The brothel scene was odd but not as odd as it could have been. I wish the writers would stop having his personality revolve around Daemon, but it’s probably their way of building up to God’s Eye. Honestly, I would’ve preferred a scene of Aemond with his family dealing with B&C aftermath rather than fucking off to the brothel.

Now, changing topics to the Rhaenyra and Daemon divorce scene. I think viewers’ reactions to this scene depend a lot on whether or not you’re a Daemon fan. He really comes off not great in the entire sequence from when Rhaenyra learns about B&C to when Daemon leaves. Also, it’s very obvious Sara Hess wrote the scene; she’s been vocal about how she dislikes Daemon, and a lot of what Rhaenyra says seems to be opinions that Sara has shared. I think Rhaenyra was right to call out Daemon for B&C and for lying to her face about it.

It may have been better if they had more buildup showing cracks between Daemon and Rhaenyra, because she’s also calling him out for a lot of stuff besides B&C. There was the S1E10 argument and choking scene, but some more interaction in S2E1 or E2 where they’re at odds would have made it fresher in viewers’ memories. But it’s not necessary, and I think the scene works as is.

Despite viewers’ feelings on this scenes, it was VERY well acted by both Emma and Matt. And it leads to Rhaenyra’s interesting interaction with Baela. Rhaenyra refuses to risk Jace and send him out on patrol near KL, but she tells Baela to do the exact same thing. It’s very subtle, and the scene is framed as a positive thing between the two characters, but this is probably the most morally gray decision Rhaenyra makes in this episode. She won’t risk her child, but she will risk Daemon’s child immediately after they fought.

The Mysaria scenes were interesting. I really don’t mind the show’s efforts to whitewash her. She’s horrible in the book, but show!Mysaria is actually sympathetic for the most part. She worked her way up from nothing but the people in charge of the system keep stomping her back down. I think her dialogue about Daemon/Otto/powerful men was heavy-handed foreshadowing that she’s going to end up serving Rhaenyra, who is notably not a man.

I don’t have a lot of groundbreaking comments about Erryk & Arryk. It was very emotionally impactful…and I wish the episode had ended either with them dying, or with the scene where Aegon is crying by himself, rather than ANOTHER Alicole sex scene. 💀

Overall, this episode had its highlights, and acting is phenomenal as always. But the writers really need to figure out what to do with Alicent and Criston, other than have the fuck all the time.

[bri-cheeses]

Thinking about murderous Barty and Evan….

Tw: Murder

Ok so I KNOW that Barty seems like the most unhinged one in Rosekiller and therefore seems like he would have killed the most people but. I personally disagree. While Barty is more… chaotic, Evan is calculated (while still having the right amount of the insane! factor) and would be more likely to commit more murders. This is because he thinks it through first and doesn’t get caught; Barty’s murder are more crimes of passion. And Evan targets more people (probably) because he’s stewing in it and thinking about it for a long time, while Barty needs something fairly big for him to think of it and cross that line and, well, go that far. I’m not completely sure if this makes sense, but basically if you were to ask them (and if they actually told you), you’d be shocked to find out that Evan had like… twice the amount of kills as Barty. And Barty’s just grinning manically with pride because yeah, that’s his boyfriend, isn’t he so smart??

They’re so unhinged, I love them

[ironunderstands]

I’m back, I just recently finished the 2.3 storyline and let me tell you, I fell in love with Jade’s character. She may not have been in the spotlight but she definitely is a highlight.

A like how self aware she is with saying that both her and oti are greedy merchants who want to be in control of the deal. She also seems to atleast have some fondness for Topaz and Aventurine calling them by either their real name (Jelena) or child, she seems to act as a big sister towards the two, which is reasonable enough since she is a senior and those two are probably one of the new members of the stonehearts. But lets be real Jade is like a double edge sword, she is sweet to those two but she is also patronizing in a way, seeing them as little kids and intentionally belittling them to some degree.

I like how while Topaz is totally a Jade fangirl she is aware that Jade is dangerous and should be handled carefully warning her team not to mess around with and warns Trailblazer about a certain stoneheart (probably Jade’s) and how she can see their deepest desires and to be careful. I did like that Jade saw Topaz actions in Jarilo as strategic with currying favor from the Astral Express which was totally not the case, its Topaz empathy towards Bronya, it shows that Jade sees everything as a give and take situation and has a “jaded” mindset. I do wonder what Jade wanted to help Topaz in going back to her previous position.

Now for the bonjade exchange, at first I thought it would be like a scam where Jade would trick her customers into signing contracts that would only benefit her but it seems it a bit more complex than that. She seems to take the phrase “equivalent exchange” to the extreme with her giving the customers what they want if they’re willing to pay the price. Since if you look at the example, sure Jade benefited from the wealth of the pepeshi but what about the other two? She doesn’t benefit from destroying the gambler’s relationship but she does the deal anyway and gives the gambler goodluck anyway, she doesn’t benefit from the intelleron’s memories so why did she make the deal? Simple she said it herself she wants to see the greed in people, their longing for something more despite the fact that they already got what they wanted. She’s built on the philosophy that people aren’t content with their lives and will seek for more, sure she grants your wish but then what? You want more which brings you back to her. You can’t say she’s completely evil, you know what you’re getting yourself into, she makes it clear that you are pawing something of value.

One more thing to add is how she says that the stellaron hunters ans the ipc are similar which makes me wonder, are the ten stonehearts closed to each other or are they simply using one another? Because from what I see Aventurine and Topaz while initially disliking each other, do care for the other and Jade seems to somewhat care for them and is willing to go with their plan, it seems these three are the “ip3” with Ratio being aventurine boyfriend who tags along for the ride.

I actually really appreciate your perspective on Jade, sorry for taking a while to respond to this.

What I like about her is that despite how manipulative she can be, she doesn’t really hide the darker aspects of her, nor the lighter ones either. The true danger lies in whether the parts of herself she’s showing you are real or not, the sweet philanthropist, the knowledgeable senior (in the sense of position) or the cruel businesswoman?

Jade is all of these, and how she uses people to her advantage is by making it unclear which side of herself she’s presenting to who and when.

Topaz knows how bad of a person Jade can be, but what allows Jade to have Topaz’s trust in her is by making Topaz feel as if she is an exception, as if Jade will never show her crueler side to her.

And that’s what makes their relationship so interesting to me, as Topaz truly could be Jade’s exception, or she could simply be just another investment, one which Jade is at the very least appearing to be fond of.

Only time will tell and personally I can’t wait for it to play out.

As for what constitutes as the IP3, it will always be Topaz, Aventurine and Ratio for me, as they were there first and their gameplay synergies much better with one another (also I am an Aventiopaz lover through and through)

Ultimately it’s up to a matter of taste, but personally I can’t wait to see more of Jade.

[gunilslaugh]

Black & White Pt.3

Kim Jungsu  Summary: You find out why Jungsu switched over to the darkside. (non-idol au) WC:~2.1k Warning: talks of murder

part 1 part 2

photo not mine credits to owner.

“Oh, y/n. You aren’t scheduled for isolation training.” You’re greeted by Master Young at the entrance to isolation. 

“Master ordered me to spend some time here,” you say. 

“You went to see him again?” Their eyes had a hint of disappointment in them. 

“There’s something he’s not telling me. I know there is and I know you’ve all given up on him. That you hate him, but I can’t. Something caused him to change. I’m gonna find out what,” you say. 

“Don’t be so reckless y/n. Even if it’s not by him, going out there can easily get you killed,” they scold you. 

“I know what the risks are and I’m willing to risk it,” you said. 

“I don’t get why you keep hurting yourself like this. Look at your energy pearl, it doesn’t glow anymore.” You looked down at the pearl that sat around your neck. It was true, it had lost its moon-like glow. Because after everything that has happened you started to be unsure if the world was really black and white. What exactly was black and what was white? Maybe everything was actually gray. 

“Maybe if it hadn’t glowed in the first place then I wouldn’t be so hurt right now,” you state. 

“Y/n please. Let him go. Stop hurting yourself,” they pleaded with you. You shook your head. 

“The pain will only go away once I know why. I know that Jungsu was born with a gray pearl,so what happened probably isn’t all that surprising to you officials. You guys knew that this could happen, but I was the person closest to him. Please trust me when I say I know he wanted his gray pearl to turn white. Something changed that and I won’t stop till I find out what. I’m not giving up on him.” 

“You have to be careful. I’m not just talking about Jungsu. You have the purest heart in a very long time. Those who live in the Black Shadows wouldn’t think twice about killing you to get your energy pearl and they definitely aren’t going to use it for good,” they warn you. Their warning gets the wheels turning in your head. 

“Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing is reckless, but I’m not stupid either. Plus I only ever manage to get a couple of steps onto Gray Bridge before Jungsu shows up. That says something right?” you insisted. 

“We both know there is no telling that it doesn’t. Enjoy your time alone. Let’s not mention this talk to others either. Your Master will have my head if he knows I didn’t try to talk you out of it.” You agreed and carried on your way into isolation. 

You settled down on a large rock. Sitting with your legs criss-crossed and taking a few calming breaths. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/n! Y/n! Where are you?” You can hear your Master calling for you. 

“I’m over here! By the rocks!” you hollered back. 

“Are you ok?” Your Master rushed over to you taking you by the shoulders. You’ve never seen him this frantic before. 

“Yeah I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” You looked at him confused. 

“Master Jason was murdered. It was his shift to look over isolation, but we found his dead body lying by the gates,” your Master explained. 

“What?...H-how could?” you say in disbelief. 

“Jungsu killed him.” Your heart plummets. 

“No, no he wouldn’t.” You shook your head, taking some steps backwards. 

“It was, he confessed. The guards are dealing with him now.” You took off sprinting. “Y/n!” You ignore as your Master calls after you. You had to see Jungsu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Those who live in the Black Shadows wouldn’t think twice about killing you to get your energy pearl” You recalled Master Young’s warning. It never made sense to you why Jungsu would kill Master Jason. Not to mention your Master was clearly concerned about your well being that day. He probably thought that Jungsu hurt you too, but you were completely oblivious to what happened just outside the gates of isolation. That’s what didn’t make sense to you. Why would someone just kill the guard? Why was he the target?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Go in there and you won’t come back out,” Jungsu threatens as he sees someone in a black cloak trying to break into isolation. 

“Why are you threatening me? We wear the same clothes, so there’s no way you care about these obnoxious people,” the intruder asks. 

“Yeah I don’t care about most people in this place, but if you touch the one in there, I’ll kill you.” Jungsu approaches the hooded guy. 

“You’re the one who killed the last guy aren’t you?” 

“Never saw me coming,” Jungsu answers. 

“Why are you trying to stop this? It will give us the power to put these high and righteous pricks in their place. We can banish them to the shadows. Make them our slaves,” the intruder raves. 

“I don’t care about that. The only thing I care about is the person inside there. I don’t care how many people I have to murder I won’t let them be sacrificed. Now I suggest you walk away while you still can,” Jungsu says. 

“Not a chance,” the intruder smirks before breaking in. Jungsu is quick to follow behind him.

A loud thud breaks your concentration. You look around the area surrounding you, trying to see where the thud came from.

“I told you I won’t let you hurt them,” Jungsu grumbled out as he tackled the guy to the ground. 

“Tough luck. I always get what I want,” the intruder grits out, landing a punch to Jungsu’s gut, and pushing him off of him. 

You can hear loud heavy footsteps coming from the woods. It immediately alerts you. They definitely didn’t belong to Master Young. You instantly sent out a distress signal. 

“They won’t get here in time to help you,” a guy in a black cloak appeared in front of you, catching you by surprise. You took off running. You ran towards the gates of isolation. 

“Running isn’t going to help.” The intruder appears in front of you again. You take several steps backwards, attempting to create distance between you and the intruder. “Wait a minute. Are you really the sacrifice? I was told your energy pearl glowed like the moon. I hardly see a sparkle on that thing. That guy definitely knew that you’re the sacrifice though.” 

“And I said if you came in here you wouldn’t come back out.” Jungsu shows up behind the intruder and snaps their neck. A gasp leaves you as you watch the intruder drop to the floor. “Don’t look.” Jungsu quickly came and covered your eyes with his hand. “I’m sorry I did that in front of you, but I was scared he would hurt you.”

“J-jungsu?” you say in a quivering voice. You bring your hand up to bring the one covering your eyes down.

“Y/n what happened? We saw the signal.” Your Master and Master Young came rushing in.

“Jungsu? What are you-” Your Master’s sentence cuts short once he sees the body laying on the ground. 

“He saved me,” you spoke up. “That guy called me a sacrifice.”

“I should get going.” Jungsu tried to walk away from you, but you clasped onto his hand, not letting him go. 

“Are you really still not going to tell me the truth? Do you really think it’s helping me?” You used your other hand to lift up your pearl. Showing him how it lost its glow. “It might turn gray at this point.” 

“Let us handle things here. You and y/n should talk. They won’t stop till they find out anyway,” Master Young said. 

You and Jungsu found yourselves back by the spring.

“You killed Master Jason to protect me didn’t you?” you broke the silence between you two. 

“I did it because I wanted to,” he answered. 

“Jungsu please,” you begged. “He called me a sacrifice. Master Jason wanted to sacrifice me right? He was the real betrayer not you,” you state. 

“I’m still a betrayer. Don’t see the clothes I’m wearing.” He gestured to his black attire. 

“You saved me tonight and you didn’t push me either,” you say. Jungsu didn’t say anything, remaining silent. You let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine if you won’t talk I will. Even if you were just fooling me the whole time. Even if I was just entertainment to you. Even if I should have never trusted you. Even if I’m not important to you. I don’t regret any of it. If I could go back in time. I’d do everything the same because I don’t regret loving you,” you reveal. 

“Loving me?” Your confession breaks Jungsu’s silence. 

“Yes, loving you. All the officials talk about my pure heart like it’s a blessing, but at times it felt more like a cure. You remember when we had to be partners for combat training? It was because everyone else was too scared of accidentally hurting me, but you flipped me without any mercy,” you chuckled. “It always seemed like everyone was extra nice towards me, but you weren’t. You were cold towards me like you were with everyone else. You were the only person who treated me normally. I forgot about the glowing pearl around my neck when I was with you,” you inform. “My pearl turned lighter before it became black,” Jungsu reveals. “It happened after we talked right here. When you said a gray pearl could turn light. Before that I never really thought that it was capable of changing. I was sent to live in this righteous place, but it was based on a lie. They gave me a fake pearl and forbade me from talking about my gray pearl. This was supposed to be a place of goodness, but I quickly learned lies still go on here. You gave me hope though. That I could be light if I wanted to be and you’re right I did,” he declared. 

“Then what happened?” You turned to look at him.

“I snuck into the backroom of the library one night to find the history books you told me about. Master Jason came in too. I didn’t want to get in trouble so I hid and I heard him talking to someone and sacrificing you. That’s when I realized that I wanted to protect you. I found the missing pages of the history books. That Discord War was caused because the people of the Black Shadows wanted to take over and to do that they needed power. That power was obtained from sacrificing the person with the purest heart. One that glowed like the moon. I knew what I needed to do after that. I was gonna protect you at any cost. Even if it meant turning my pearl black. Jason was gonna kidnap you while you were in isolation. I couldn’t let that happen, so I killed him. You were still in danger though, so I had to push you away. I had to hurt you, so that your energy pearl wouldn’t be powerful enough for the sacrifice. I had to hurt you to protect you.” After months and months Jungsu finally came clean. Jungsu went to the darkside, so that he could protect you.

“Couldn’t you have told someone? Certainly Master would have helped,” you say. 

“After finding out that Master Jason was a rat I didn’t trust anyone, but myself. Master did catch me one night after I made sure you got back to the institute safely. He knew something was up like you did, but I told him his main concern should be keeping you safe.” 

“You idiot.” Tears glossed over your eyes. 

“Why are you crying now?” Jungsu pulled you into a hug. 

“I really thought you hated me or something. I didn’t want to believe any of the words you told me, but I didn’t really have another choice either.” You clung onto him. Jungsu’s hand comes up to cradle the back of your head. After holding you for a few moments he pulls away from the hug. His hands cup your cheeks, his thumbs wiping away your tears. 

“I don’t regret loving you either,” he tells you. 

“Loving me?” Your eyes widen a bit. Jungsu nods, leaning in to seal his lips against yours. 

“Yes, loving you.” He kisses you again. 

You were Jungsu’s light and he was going to protect you at whatever cost. Even if it meant going crossing over into the dark to do it.

part 1 part 2

A/N: Villain Jungsu is wrapped! I hope that you all enjoyed this little series as much as I enjoyed writing it!

taglist: @purplelady85 @gingerjunhan @chewednails @ezlynkisses @mon2sunjinsuver @mxlly143

comment or message me to be added!

[bots-and-cons]

Oooh if requests are still open can I request one autobot either Optimus, Ratchet, or Ultra Magnus and one Decepticon either Soundwave or Dreadwing. Which ever you feel like writing for how they would react to their human charge (romantic or platonic) asking them to take care of their pet tortoise Shelldon when they die because African spurred tortoises can live 100-250 years. Thx ^-^

A/N: You actually sent this request twice, but I just deleted the other one. You can interpret this as platonic or romantic, I didn’t really write it specifically for either one

~Ratchet~

•You’ve had the tortoise since you were a kid and it’s very dear to you

•You know it’s going to probably live much, much longer than you and you don’t want it to go to some stranger or someone who won’t take care of it well

•You’ve shown Ratchet pictures of your tortoise, but you can’t really bring it to the base since it doesn’t really like being in the car

•It took you a while to gather your courage to ask him if he would take care of it, since he’s also going to far outlive you

•It’s a bit of a weird feeling to be surrounded by creatures who live so much longer than you

•His first thought is that you’re going to die in like the next week and you just haven’t told him you’re going to die of some illness

•You assure him that that's not the case

•Ratchet is a bit hesitant to promise anything, because how would he know how to take care of it?

•You promise to teach him and he sort of reluctantly agrees

•He actually finds that he quite likes Shelldon, it’s so calm and it gives him the sense that there’s no hurry with anything, sort of a serene feeling

•Ratchet likes feeding it lettuce and other greens that it likes and the occasional fruit such as apple slices

•He eventually pledges he will take care of Shelldon after you die, but he’s hoping that doesn’t happen for a long while

•When you do pass away, Ratchet actually takes really good care of the tortoise and it’s a nice reminder of you

~Soundwave~

•Soundwave quite likes earth animals and he finds a lot of them quite fascinating

•When you mentioned you had a tortoise, he did some research so he could ask you more about it

•He actually finds the name “Shelldon” to be pretty funny (he loves puns)

•You show him pictures of your tortoise and he shows you pictures of tortoises in hats and stuff like that

•After that you want to make a couple of hats for Shelldon and show Soundwave pictures too

•You’ve brought Shelldon to the Nemesis once, but it didn’t seem to like it, probably the whole flying thing or something

•The tortoise also bonks Soundwave’s foot because it’s such a dark color (if you know this video)

•When you ask him if he would take care of Shelldon when you die, he’s pretty surprised

•He of course asks if you’ve been diagnosed with something or if you’re dying

•You just chuckle and tell him no, but you know he’s also going to fat outlive you, and Shelldon too and you would like someone you know to take care of it

•Soundwave considers it for a moment, and eventually tells you yes

•He’s honored you would ask him that and that you’d trust him to take care of your pet

[lolitasturn]

puppy!reader

a/n : these are just my interpretations of !reader types that i cannot take credit for. i’ve been heavily inspired by multiple writers on this app, including princessbrunette, loveebot, starfxkr and donatellawritings. if any of these lovely writers (or others) see this and feel it’s a little too similar to their version of the !readers, i have no problem in taking it down.

* not my pictures - all found from pinterest

about her :

so, so clumsy; always getting into some sort of mess. most likely has adhd, causing her to talk until her bf shuts her up. head pats and kisses on the nose needed at all times. looooves getting attention from bf. random bursts of energy. oral fixation - needing to bite down or chew on something. always carries a walkman and somehow knows how to make mixtapes. ‘brown eyed girl’ by van morrison. can and will fall asleep anywhere, as long as her man’s nearby. fluffy socks and leg warmers. big chunky sneakers. minor coffee addiction. earmuffs no matter the weather. knitted sweaters and mini skirts.

with matt :

matt definitely calls her things like ‘bub(s)’ ‘bubba’ and ‘bubble’ and she absolutely eats it up. if she’s ever feeling overstimulated, he has no problem in giving her all the head (pats) and cuddles she needs to calm down again. she absolutely loves being on top - getting all her energy out bouncing on matt. sometimes she rambles too much about her day or anything she feels strongly about, which matt’s fine with, but when it gets to the point of her talking so fast her words slur together, he knows it’s time she stops - often resorting to kissing her to make you be quiet. it’s not that he doesn’t like her talking, he loves it actually, he just doesn’t want her passing out due to lack of breath. sometimes, when the triplets are out filming late, she can’t fall asleep; needing to feel him near you. when he is around, she’ll either be sleeping on him or getting her energy out somehow. she can often be spotted in the background of their vlogs, mindlessly following matt around. when she’s struggling to fall asleep, matt always takes you for a late night drive, letting her fall asleep in the car. he always makes her feel loved, giving her all the time and attention you need, she’s never afraid of showing how much she loves him either.

with chris :

both of them constantly bounce off each others energy, wreaking havoc to those around them. it’s mainly the pda that gets on people nerves - the two of them really don’t hold back. this doesn’t stop when the two are alone, it actually increases. chris does prefer to be on top, doggy style being his favourite position to fuck her in (for obvious reasons). but he does occasionally let her be on top, loving her yelps each time she slams down on him. sometimes chris does get a little tired out, which tells her that she should calm down a little too. it helps that he has some sense of control over her - she’ll do just about anything he tells her. he calls her things like ‘monkey’ and ‘bug’. she dresses in his clothes so much he forgets she actually owns clothes of her own.

a/n 2 : puppy!reader is probably best paired with matt, only because i feel he would help calm her more when she gets an outburst of energy. with chris she would definitely be more energetic and annoying to those around her (besides chris of course). so with matt she’s more mellow, whilst still being herself.

[minimoefoe]

Rewatch Thoughts: Empire of Death

Looking back at it now, that final shot of The Legend of Ruby Sunday was actually crap bc the resolution is just.. Mel obviously just pulls the Doctor away lmao idk. I love the hype of those final couple minutes but it shoulda ended on literally anything else going on in that moment. Like ending it just close on the Doctor rather than with Susan leaning in woulda been better I think

‘The greatest monster I have ever fought’ feels very generous liike I know by name he is like he’s literally God of Death or whatever tf but idk about greatest ever icl

The idea of Sutekh clinging onto the TARDIS since Pyramids of Mars is actually very cool to me I’m just not sure it logistically actually works bc the TARDIS has been through absolute SHIT. I’m supposed to believe Sutekh just waited through/survived all of that? I GUESS

Also am not sure if Susan being in every place the TARDIS has landed and killing ppl actually works bc like. Surely if that’s the case then the time the Doctor etc are in rn wouldn't even exist bc the Earth was destroyed in 1539 or something yknow. Timey-wimey bs is defo not my strong suit so maybe it DOES make sense idfk

I also wonder about the Doctor being alive bc 14 is on Earth and presumably dead now so then how has 15 not faded out of existence or something like that

I thought after the first ep that Sutekh doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to set up a tech company or care about anagrams but like. I guess he is, I have bigger things to worry about than if that makes sense tbh

I’m not sure I think it anymore but for a minute I was thinking it woulda been kinda cool if Susan wasn’t just Susan and instead was named after everyone the Doctor has loved through their life and it just happened that the final one we see is called Susan (bc they obvs gotta do the anagram for the Sutekh reveal). Like maybe she was called Clara in one ep and Rose in another and Amy in another etc

‘One thing keeps living despite me’ ‘The Time Lord’ ‘No, greater than him’ makes no sense sorry, we know that woman is just some random 15yo and there is, when you really think about, NO REASON why her face is hidden like sure she has a cloak (which RTD has said in the commentary isn’t even a cloak and is actually just time shrouding her which is such bullshit), but I think you could see her face when she has a cloak on like. I feel like it wouldn’t be that hard actually if you THAT desperate and were a literal GOD

Skipped the spoon woman scene. BORING AF sorry

Someone pointed out that 15 has metal on him (his belt?) which I didn’t notice but it’s funny he doesn’t, as far as I can tell, have the ring Rogue gave him on, at least not in the spoon scene and right after it. Why?

Him being shady about Four and Sarah Jane is weird

Mel with 6’s outfit and 7’s vest she’s so cute

I can kinda believe that a guy (dog) who knows it all would go a bit mad when there’s one thing in the universe that he doesn’t know I’m just not sure that it fully makes sense that he couldn’t know and also the reveal being that she’s just some woman is really boring 

It would defo be better if there was some mention of the DNA testing thing in 73 Yards, make it seem more connected  

Sutekh saying he’s ‘waited for so long’ when Ruby is showing him that screen… is he talking about Ruby’s mum’s identity specifically bc surely he’s been waiting like a year at most which considering he’s been sat on the TARDIS for like a thousand years doing fuck all, a year is probably like a weekend for him. Or am I stupid?

What the hell does ‘she’s too cold’ mean?

Death plus death equals life.. I’m not fully convinced that makes any sense. Or that any of that time vortex stuff made sense but OKAY

I have so many issues with this ep that I don’t really have it in me to think about how dragging Sutekh through the time vortex when we know he’s managed to survive in there before doesn’t really work. I guess you can say he latched onto the TARDIS fast back in the day and that kept him alive whereas now he’s just being dragged along and isn’t be sustained by the TARDIS at all. Works for me whatever

Mrs Flood calling the Doctor ‘clever boy’ makes me think she’s old af like even if she physically looked 25 she would be talking to/about the Doctor as if he is a child yknow. Like how the confession dial woman in S9 spoke to 12 like he was young af even tho he visually and Actually wasn’t at all

‘And now I must become a monster’ you put a Goblin on a church spike in your first ep lad. ALSO I don’t think this is monster behaviour, it was defo deserved

‘I think UNIT can use you’ is Kate’s fave thing to say

She was important bc we think she’s important… an interesting idea I guess? but in this context it’s a piss take I think like it just does not land for me at all. A season of building up that Ruby and/or her mum are mysterious in some way only for RTD to turn around and be like ‘Well the only reason she was seemingly important is bc of all of you projecting the importance onto her’ bore tf off actually

What kind of freak points at a lamp post like that in the middle of the night when no one can even see it shut the fuck up

15 tryna convince Ruby not to go see her mum is.. Interesting? It must be his jealousy bc that’s kinda insane

I think Ruby’s ‘ending’ makes me sad for the Doctor more than anything else like him being left AGAIN while she gets to go basically live what he dreams of living, finding her family. It doesn’t make me sad bc I’m gonna miss her (and we know she’s coming back anyways lmao). I’m just happy for her and sad for him

Ruby calling her birth mum her 'real' mum is certainly a choice. Oomf said it was on purpose so we'll see if it actually goes anywhere I guess. I won't get my hopes up

I think I love that he doesn’t say I love you back like yeah he’s been far more open than maybe any Doctor but he does have his limits, especially in a moment where he’s feeling like shit

Kate and Ibrahim holding hands and looking lovingly at each other makes me feel a bit ill. I think some ppl have been a lil dramatic in response to it bc like. ultimately Kate has never been canonically anything sexuality-wise, and BF doesn’t ACTUALLY count for anything when it comes to the show and neither does the actor saying she has a lesbian Kate headcanon, so RTD can do what he wants but also yeah I do think Kate has lesbian vibes or at the very least has no business getting with this random UNIT solider out of nowhere. Strange choice

Don’t wanna get my hopes up for who Mrs Flood is bc I don’t want to be burned again but I fear I am intrigued

Overall, some fun bits, some absolute waffle. 3.5 stars for now. 3 potential if I’m in a bad mood the next time I watch it