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shirefantasies · 1 month

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Why is Tolkien so charitable regarding Frodo's missteps? After all, Tolkien conveniently and entirely blames all of Frodo's missteps regarding his handling of the ring on the ring itself. "I do not think Frodo's was a moral failure. At the last moment the pressure of the Ring would reach its maximum -- impossible, I should have said, for anyone to resist."- JRR Tolkien. One can't imagine him saying anything remotely like this about the others who tried to take the ring. It's only Frodo's actions that Tolkien excuses by saying that anyone in Frodo's position would have done the same thing.

Hi there! Not sure if this comes from dislike of the character or just Tolkien’s handling, but if it’s the former I know I have characters I wouldn’t want someone to push me to like so I for sure will be surprised but respectful if Frodo is a character you don’t enjoy. Having people try to change your mind can be exhausting and annoying lol, so this’ll focus on just how I take things in the story personally! I am by no means a huge Tolkien scholar, but here’s how I take that situation with the ring and some evidence for the points as I at least see them (with some general agreement from other fandom and analysis discussions and conventions with other LoTR fans as well!). Hope this is at least an interesting read and I’m pretty darn flattered you chose me to ask this to ☺️

1. The ring bears a heavy weight (literally) on everyone’s decisions interacting with it, but I’ve always taken the story and Tolkien’s words on it as a bit of commentary on the folly of man, and as a religious person the concept of original sin. I.E. that we as humans (men, hobbits, dwarves, and even elves included in this setting) are simply not perfect and cannot be. Part of that evidenced in quotes like that from Tolkien himself but also scenes where even characters seen as beacons of good, strength, wisdom, morals, etc. do show temptation by the ring or that it would turn good intentions to evil. Galadriel and Gandalf, for example, are some of the most powerful beings and they tell Frodo that they would become corrupt and misuse the power they already have and that of the ring. Boromir as a character shows this too, because he is held overall pretty blameless too despite doing a bad thing. I love Boromir personally but nearly every fan on here I interact with does too and many discussions are had around his desperation, his life experiences up to the point of the fellowship’s travels, and how we all believe him to be a good man that made bad decisions out of both the influence of the ring and the pressure put on him to be his people’s hero. So I hold Frodo and Boromir especially on an equal ground of people who are flawed and strained, people tired of fighting and who just want an escape, frankly, a solution they don’t feel is coming especially not through the dark lens of the ring and its temptation to trust the way it warps you.

2. I think part of why Frodo gets emphasized in what can seem like the ‘oh he did no wrong’ narrative comes from the simple fact that he’s one of the characters who holds/interacts with the ring the longest. Besides characters like Bilbo and Gollum, we don’t see as much detail on a long time spent with the ring- in fact, beyond the what the Smeagol flashbacks do Frodo is the main indicator of it all for readers/viewers. Most of the other characters only touch/hold/carry it briefly, not for months like he does. So the weight of it does not fall as heavily on them, but we do see that Sam, the chief hero of the story (Tolkien’s words!), even hesitates before giving the ring back to Frodo after carrying it for a fraction of the time. Would Sam have been driven that much further down by it if he had been the one to carry it? I believe so, though it would have manifested differently (Frodo is more a quiet, brooding type who spits venom on occasion where Sam is much more a man of action and outward anger, so the ring would have twisted that and I think he would have been more tough and explosive while Frodo got nasty if that makes sense). Bilbo and Gollum take on similar traits when they try to snatch the ring and I believe Frodo would have descended further into those, too, with even more time carrying the ring.

3. If we’re looking at LoTR also as a showing that absolute power corrupts, we have to have someone like Frodo fail. We have to show even a ‘little guy’, someone young and joyful at the beginning of the story, someone with innocent beauty, falling to it for that very idea that anyone would. It’s almost easier to believe that one of the aforementioned beacons of power and strength like, say, Gandalf, would fall because they already have power to go to their heads. We see this with Saruman, for example, and how he literally falls from grace and dies trying to dominate. But a hobbit and a young innocent one falling when he has nothing of the sort is more telling and tragic. He never wanted this, in fact though he is brave enough to take it on he also tries to give it up numerous times because of the pressure that ultimately threatens to crush him. It’s a cautionary tale that’s sad because it’s true- pressure and power get to us.

4. I totally agree that Frodo made some bad decisions on his own, too! Once again, nobody’s perfect so as an author I can see why it’s realistic to have him screw up, but for sure I would not blame the ring on every single bad thing Frodo has done! The ring definitely amplifies and warps things, but one of the biggest tells of that is Gollum. Sam doesn’t trust him and is right to do so, and while Gollum is very essential to the story, Frodo does let fear and a desire to do every single thing right (again, pressure, imo a big theme here lolol!) take over the decision to trust their shady guide and then the ring takes the stress of that and Gollum’s words and twists all his feelings of exhaustion and resentment against Sam.

5. We’ll never know for sure, but I’ll wrap this up by saying I do personally believe that Frodo is by far not the only person who would fall in this way. He isn’t a perfect character, either, but that is exactly why what happens happens. But then that logic can by applied to many others too, like not only more obvious targets like Boromir or Gollum but even Gandalf, who feared what he would do with ring in hand, would succumb. The concept of the folly of man is especially interesting to me outside of ‘man’, like in the case of Saruman who is supposed to be of great wisdom and purity as a white wizard, but even he falls short. Even the Valar can fall short. Tolkien to me exemplifies the idea shown biblically that anyone can fall, even angels like lucifer/Maia and Valar like Sauron and Morgoth, if they let greed follow their hearts or do not trust the guidance of others. In this case, for Frodo that was Sam. Distrusting Sam gets him in world of trouble, Tolkien lists Sam as the chief hero, and to me the other core of Lord of the Rings is that NO ONE in that story can do it alone. Frodo would have died and fallen all the way without Sam. Rohan had to come to Gondor’s aid. The Three Hunters would not have succeeded if just Legolas or only Aragorn set out and I firmly believe that. Friendship and trust are what keeps us afloat, and Frodo’s mistrust in that, greatly amplified by stress, exhaustion, and indeed the ring, is his undoing. Human nature and evil temptation are a heck of a combo, friends!

Again, hope you find this an interesting read and even if you still don’t personally enjoy Frodo as a character I understand! I hope this comes across as just an analysis, for I don’t like debating and want to be respectful. People with the ‘I’m right, you are wrong’ mentality are a huge turnoff for me so I try to avoid that type of thinking. Thanks again for giving me a lot of food for thought anon, feel free to stop by more if you want to talk so long as this blog can keep a tone of study, not debate 🫶🏻

#lord of the rings #lotr #frodo baggins #the one ring #analysis #lord of the rings analysis #once again this is just how I see and interpret things! I am no scholar :)#thanks for an interesting ask and a chance to rant about something I love! hope it was interesting at least #ask #anon

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lyomeii · 1 year

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dear twin brother

-> warnings: yandere themes, platonic relationships, male reader, mention of death, spoilers for manga (I think?)

-> request by anon! hello, I'd like to request platonic gojo satoru & megumi from jjk with a reader who's megumi's twin or younger sibling, with reader being frail in some way (maybe they're a non-sorcerer or have a chronic illness); I think their overprotectiveness would increase after what happened to tsumiki. apologies for the long rant, hope you have a great day!! (if it's not not much to ask for, please make reader male or gn, thank youu)

-> a/n: a requer for jjk? I missed writing for them, specially for megumi and gojo :D I love them, so I adored writing this one! Hope you enjoy it. Sorry for taking more time than expected, got sick recently and I am not getting better, but no worries! writing is my medicine!

-> gojo didn’t expect to see you when he took megumi and tsumiki into his care, actually he does recall that toji mentioned you being the twin brother of megumi, yet you are completely opposite when compared to him.

-> fragile. that’s how gojo perfectly describe you, even with you being capable of seeing curses and know about the sorcerer world, you don’t have any special ability like your brother and to get matters worse, your health is horrible, always getting sick and spending most of your free time at hospital.

-> that tricked him since he brought you home with him and your siblings, many of the elders expect you to have a similar power like megumi, but they got disappointed when hearing about your conditions and considered if you should be around your brother, yet they didn’t since you luckily wasn’t affect for the heavenly restrictions like Mai and maki were.

-> of course knowing it about the sorcerer, yet have no special ability nor interest to join it, you began attend a middle school with your siblings. The quite life of yours was what you always desire to experience, not only you don’t visit the hospital as much you did before, but staying at megumi and tsumiki, even though your brother get in fights and gots sometimes brats by tsumiki, you love seeing them interact in such monotonous situations and not inside that white boring bedroom.

-> megumi is someone who might not show his feelings most of the time, keeping they usual neutral expression that rarely change at all and slightly angry most of the time. Yet, people who have already seeing you two interact, they can tell how much he deeply cares about you, you are his brother and other half, not to forget you are so fragile compared to him or tsumiki, he has the duty to protect you all the time in any way.

-> his behavior only got worse when tsumiki got cursed and fell into a coma. Megumi couldn’t believe that he let that happen and unfortunately, there is no way to awake her neither he knows if she might awake at all. That’s leave you and him alone at gojo’s who got also got worried about your state, they both know how your health got slightly worse when you heard about the incident.

-> with him entering the jujutsu high and gojo becoming a ‘teacher’ there, both feared what could happen in their absence. There couldn’t bring you as a student, since you got no curse energy and you don’t have any interest to step inside the school’s ground, that made them thinking of possibilities and chances to lock you inside the jujutsu high.

-> one day, coming home from school and planning to buy something in the convenience store, a curse spirit show up and attempt to kill you, luckily no warm was done when gojo appeared and save the day. The event made you so worry about your safety and of course, you finally listen to his request to stay at the school’s ground with him and your brother.

-> oh. He was so happy to see you agreeing to him and finally moving in to jujutsu high, but he can’t never let you know this attack was all planned by him and megumi. They did scare you, but it was necessary to show how easily you got get injuries in the outside, now let’s move in to the safety with him and your lovely brother.

-> now you are homeschooled, even staying at the school ground, they found better to you learn by yourself when most of the students are considered ‘chaotic’ ( Megumi’s words) and could easily being a bad influence in your life, yet that didn’t work after a while.

-> Itadori and Kugisaki met you earlier than he wanted, with their personalities being the complete opposite of his, they befriend you faster than he wanted. The second years also met you and become confidants in your life, maki sometimes trains you in secret since she fears that someone might try to attack while they in missions.

-> your life change a lot since tsumiki’s incident and there is not much you can’t do about it. Even loving your brother and your legal guardian, they are quite overbearing in your life, they do have good intentions, but you miss going outside without any of them or the students following you like shadows.

-> but what you can do about it? The last time you told them you were going to the market to buy something for the dinner by yourself, you felt many eyes following your figure and a man approached you to say something, only to the man himself disappear in your eyes. aren’t you naive to think you could walk around by yourself? Think twice.

@lyomeii stuff || don’t repost

#yandere headcanon #yandere imagine #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere male #yandere platonic x reader #yandere platonic #yandere jujutsu kaisen #yandere jjk #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk headcanons #yandere gojo satoru #yandere megumi fushiguro #megumi fushiguro x reader #gojo satoru x reader #male reader

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honey-minded-hivemind · 1 month

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Ooooooo

I have come, with something!

So, imagine reader is a young adult instead of the teen. They already gone through the system, was never adopted, so they have a lot of resentment to parents and such. And they actually work in the school as an assistant teacher. The team thing happens and when reader realizes they were being used, they quit, and after, cut out anything showing they’re a mutant. Maybe filling the claws way down to look like normal nails, or if it’s like wolverine’s, they use a rock to break it.

How would everyone react to seeing reader after that, either fresh from their self mutilation, or some days after?

Thanks for reading my rant!

🌂

Oooooo... Okay, okay, that's interesting! I still plan to have Reader as a teen in the main au, but Reader as a young adult? Not bad, if I say so. I'm going to count this as an au of the Smilodon AU, because I have an idea for how Reader finding all of this out goes, but... I really like this ask. So good job! Let's do it-

If the others, the X-Men and Brotherhood, saw Reader like that... I think they'd feel nauseous. Light-headed. Sick. Because their... whatever Reader is to them, is missing parts of their mutation, the parts that were part of them. Their claws... they're filed down, hardly there anymore.. Their fangs... not near as long or sharp as they used to be. And the small bits of fur or fluff that used to dot their arms and legs... they're gone, leaving the skin underneath. This isn't what they wanted. They wanted Reader as their, well... okay, they had used Reader. They didn't want to, in the end, and the teens wanted to stop it, but- They just couldn't. They tried. The adults... they feel remorse. A bit scared. Because now they know Reader can and will harm themself (and likely had before). When Xavier looks deeper into Reader's thoughts, he sees their inner-self, and it isn't a monster or a beast or an evil person... it's a scared, lonely, hurt child, who wants love, but has been denied it so long that they don't trust anyone. And after what all they've done... Reader doesn't even trust them anymore...

Xavier, Scott, and Jean would try to speak rationally with Reader (their version of rational). It goes out the window real quick when Reader's thoughts turn darker, sadder, spiraling. Scott wants to know why Reader did what they did, because he's sorry, and wants them to know they care. He wants them to see it their way. But he mostly wants to make things better between them. Jean wants to help Reader, and comfort them, but now there's a literal mental wall between them, full of bitterness. She wants to reach them,, to stop them from doing this to themself... Xavier wants to convince Reader they meant no harm, and to give them and the X-Men a proper chance to make it up to them. He knows that Reader will be hard to convince. But they have to hold out hope. If worse came to worse... they can try and move Reader in with them, albeit unwillingly. It might be the only way to keep an eye on them and their health...

Kurt, Kitty, Ororo, and Beast regret getting Reader's hopes up, only for the truth to come out about why they started trying to befriend them in the first place. Seeing Reader remove parts of their mutation, leaving them almost defenseless... Kurt feels scared. He has a visible mutation as well, and while he hid his with the holo watch, Reader didn't have something like that. And they got rid of parts of themself! It's... it's so hard to look at... Kitty wants to hug Reader, wants forgiveness. She's so sorry about what happened, she wants them to know that! But... why would Reader hurt themself? Are they hiding any other wounds? What If they hurt themself again?... Storm is doing her best to stay calm and motherly, which sadly doesn't get her very far. She knows they've hurt Reader, and it doesn't feel good, for Reader or for them. But they need to own up to it. The best they can do is apologize, and hope Reader forgives them, or at least doesn't hurt themself further. Perhaps getting Hank to talk with them would be better... Hank would try and help them, would try to talk with Reader. He wants to provide therapy, or at least get them to have a medical exam. He needs to know how bad they hurt themself. But they're not budging. He doesn't want Charles to force Reader. No. But if they want to help them, they need them under their care. And sadly, Reader does not want to be under their care or protection after everything...

Rogue, Evan, and Logan feel guilty. They know they didn't trust Reader at first. That they didn't want to give them the benefit of the doubt. But seeing how bad it's hurt them, that they'd rather hurt themself than them... It's a tough pill to swallow. Reader already had trust issues. They already didn't have a high opinion of themself. And they just made those a whole lot worse. Rogue is truly sorry, wanting to have Reader stay with them so they don't hurt themself or disappear. She's scared that if they look away from them, they'll be gone. That Reader will leave, or worse, be dead. Evan wants to apologize, but he also wants Reader to give them a second chance. Even his aunt is in on it, and maybe Reader would believe two of them over just one? He really wants them to not give up on them... Logan knows he hasn't handled knowing Reader very well. He knew about some of their past, and wrote them off as a bad influence. And they weren't. They're the cub of his "brother" (he doesn't know if that fuzzy maniac is his brother or not), but they've never even met the guy, let alone know who he was. It wasn't fair of him to get mad with them, to treat them as a potential threat. Seeing them harm themself though... It makes him realize that they had every chance to go after all of them, but instead they turned on themself. And for that... he realizes he shouldn't have been been hard. So cold.

The Brotherhood teens want to throw up. Their favorite assistant teacher, the one who tended to see the best in them, is missing parts of themself, or has cut them down. And it scares the cr*p out of them. This is their favorite teacher! Their go-to adult in school when things go wrong or people won't leave them alone! And they've. Hurt. Themself. They didn't want to use them! They swear! But... they're not sure this is an easy fix. This isn't as simple as saying sorry. This had consequences, and they've (mostly) learned that one has to own up to them, no matter what they be. Lance doesn't want to imagine Reader leaving them. They're the one adult he trusts. And now they're scared, or at least wary, of all of them. The X-Teens are in the same boat, so while he hates to say it, he might have to work with them to get Reader to stay, and hopefully heal and regrow their claws and fangs and fuzz. Todd feels sick. He didn't realize they could do that. They could actually remove parts of their mutation? Just like that? Thinking about it gives him shivers. Who would give their powers up? Who'd willingly hurt themself? He understands why they'd do it, he just wishes they hadn't. Fred wants to hug Reader and cry. His favorite adult (who's only a few years older than all of them) just hurt themself. And is upset with them. And is sad. He doesn't want them to be upset! Or hurt! He's trying to apologize, and is on the same boat as Lance to get the X-Teens help in apologizing, if it means Reader might forgive them. Pietro knows what they did. He knows it was wrong. Is he sorry?... Yes. But he still wants Reader with them. Seeing them they way they are... he still thinks they should be with them, even more now. They need help. His dad can get help, okay? H*ck, if they have to, they can pull Sabretooth in, okay?! He just... he doesn't want Reader to hurt themself even more. They're nice, and pay attention to him and his sister, good attention. How can they let them hurt? Wanda is asking Reader why they did it. She wants to know Reader's perspective on this, on why they did it, how they feel about them all. She doesn't want to hurt them, and she won't, but Reader needs help. She will not have her favorite adult die on her or hurt themself, so they'd better hurry up and go to her father or Xavier and get them involved, otherwise, they're going to have a problem. Mystique feels for Reader. Being distrusted by everyone. Having mutations that single them out. It hurts. It hurts her even more knowing she has hurt Reader with her actions. But this proves to her Reader needs a team. A group. She's grateful Reader hasn't taken their anger or hurt out on them, like their father might have. She knows they deserve it. But... she isn't sure if they should turn to... the X-Men... blegh... or to Magneto... who she's mad with... And unfortunately, those are her two options. The joys of being an adult, being responsible... Hopefully they can reach Reader before it could be too late...

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autismprotocol · 4 months

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TMAGP Theory Board (S1 Episode 6)

Hey sorry for the slight delay in posting the weekly theory board because some new characters were added and I ended up drawing character cards for all of them (they will also be included below)

Anyways heres this weeks theory board update

What happened in Episode 6: Introductions?

This week's incident report was wild! I'm guessing we've met our first Protocol Avatar you guys and they are amazing!! I believe that Needles is one of the first emerging avatars in this world and an avatar of the flesh (that could also explain why the flesh has been so prevalent so far in the story maybe because it was able to influence someone into becoming an avatar first and therefore will get a head start in manifesting into the universe.) going off of that I find it super interesting how when Needles calls the emergency operator they don't appear afraid of them this could be just be this specific person is not afraid of needles like he said, but I think it would be cool if that operator is meant to show how this world is new to the powers, so the sense of fear of them has not had a chance to build yet

Ok lets talk about Celia First of all I love her and I really hope nothing terrible happens to her but I'm more interested in the fact she is not new to the TMAG canon. back in The Magnus Archives, Celia was originally a statement giver named Lynne Hammond but she is later introduced back in as one of Georgie and Melanies cult members. after the change Lynne lost her memories and began going by Celia because she couldn't remember her name both Archives Celia and Protocol Celia share the same voice actor (me and my roommate have been checking every new voice to see if they have any connection to the Archives universe after the Chester and Norris having Jon and Martin's voices happened) I started thinking maybe this is just this universe's Celia and not Celia being transported along with Martin and Jon. But if that was the case she would be going by the name Lynne not Celia ( because the change never happened so her memories stayed intact) Nope this is without a doubt Celia from the Archive Universe. This begs the question why is she at the OIAR? she seemed to be a normal citizen not associated with the ceaseless watcher was there something more to Lynne's original statement? I'm guessing she didn't just happen upon the OIAR by accident Her connections to TMA are to strong maybe she's looking for Jon and Martin who she knows would be the most likely to be transported to somewhere else with her. what will be her reaction to hearing Chester and Norris then?! Theres so many questions with this character and I cant wait to find out more about her

Also lastly this was not related to the events of this weeks episode but I updated the Augustus(Jonah) character card and instead of having a silhouette I made a crusty looking Jonah Magnus illustration hope you guy like it as much as I do (even though it is of the crustiest stinkiest man)

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this update and thank you for reading all the way through my hyper-fixated rants about these silly lil goobers. Reminder the ask box is open 24/7 if you have any thoughts to share about any tma/tmagp related topics. Hope you guys have a amazing week and I'll see you guys next Thursday.

-Echo

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keegansgf · 2 years

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"my angel, my paradise"

pt.2

pairing: Keegan P. Russ x fem! reader

word count: 2.2k

synopsis: You got injured enough to need a recuperation period. It's unsafe to leave you alone on Rorkes ghost hunt, so Keegan is left to watch over you.

tags: injured reader, comfort, coworkers/friends to lovers, fluff

A/N: My friend gave me the idea for this fic so thank you <3 I hope you guys enjoy this fic!

Having two more ghosts on the team has been easier for all of you. Logan and Hesh Walker may be good at what they do– but it never stops inevitable injuries during battles from happening. Three gunshot wounds to the thigh aren't enough to take you out, yet they're enough to decrease your performance until you recover. Being stuck laying on a thin cot didn't help stop your mind from wandering, now that you have time to think about your position. What if the federation gets one over your team? What if the team falls because of your own failure?

Your thoughts were cut short by the sound of doors opening– Elias and Keegan stood next to your cot, Keegan closer to the foot of it. He occasionally made comfortable eye contact with you. You could see Logan, Hesh, and Merrick outside the door's small window with their gear, fully armed. By the looks of it, they were heading out soon. Elias was here to fill you in on what you assume to be the same mission the rest of the ghosts were doing, which was nothing new– but why was Keegan here? You didn’t mind his presence– in fact, you welcome it.

You and Keegan rarely have moments where you're alone, but when you both have the time, you have a few conversations about mundane or personal topics. He’s caught your eye the more you’ve gotten to know him. Underneath the cool, cold guy act, he loves dogs, music, and adventure. It almost felt like you were a teenage girl memorizing your high school crush's interests. You patiently listened to your check-in, taking in any new information so your return wouldn’t need much of a catch-up. Elias was about to finish his update.

“–It would be a dangerous idea to think about leaving a ghost alone, knowing Rorke is hunting us down. I'm leaving you with Keegan. I doubt an attack will happen here, or at least not now– But we can't take any chances, understood?"

"Yes, sir." You responded. Thankfully, your question got answered without the need to ask. You were happy to get some more time with Keegan. It’s been a while since your last one-to-one talk with him.

"Good. If anything goes wrong, you both know basic escape protocol." With that, Elias walked out of the room, taking the rest of the team, leaving you and your coworker alone. Keegan isn’t much of a talker outside of missions, even with you. He’s always happy to listen to you rant about anything you like, no matter the topic. You and him are always in harmony, except for now, your own thoughts are taking over, stopping you from starting your usual conversations.

The silence was interrupted by the occasional buzz of the white LED lights, which served as the background noise for your mind to wander to those same worries earlier. They get louder the more you look at your bandaged wound. The fear of being a failure is something you’ve struggled to cope with– but it isn’t any easier when this affects your friends… your family. On your breaks, you’re told stories about your coworkers' happy lives before the war started. Those stories were about hiking, sightseeing, and enjoying simple hobbies– average things before the downfall of society. Maybe in another life, you and your friends live calmly and happily. You didn't notice your company taking notice of your distracted demeanor.

“Hey, you okay?” Keegan seemed to notice your spaced-out expression. The earlier mentioned harmony you shared included reading each other pretty easily. During the first few conversations you and he shared, you caught his interest too. Your mannerisms were what interested him the most. You were so expressive. He always paid close attention to how you would look up while recalling a memory, or how your eyebrows furrowed while bringing up something upsetting. He could tell your worries were related to your injury. It almost looked like you were creating another hole staring into your thigh by how hard you were staring at your bandages.

“Yeah, just a few thoughts circling my head. Nothing new.” You weren’t exactly lying, but you sure were minimizing.

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t ask. You like to downplay a lot.” He caught on quickly. Keegan has always been observant– of his surroundings, situations, and even people. To your team, he’s been an older brother of sorts. Perhaps it was just the desire to seek some type of ‘family’ as comfort during a war. Something about the way Keegan interacts with you is far from a brother. It almost felt like he was more of a lover, something you wish was your reality. He works well on the field– but he’s more than a killing machine. He’s sweet and comforting, like a warm cup of hot chocolate on the coldest of winters. You glance at him and collect your thoughts to avoid scrambling your words.

“I’m just disappointed in myself, or disappointed that I got this injured.”

“Why is that?” Keegans' full attention is on you.

“It’s hard to ignore the feeling that you’ve failed your team when you’re... excluded. Even if it’s for recovery purposes.” You look up at the lights above your cot before continuing.

“I don’t want it to sound like I don’t believe in the ghosts, because I do– I just get worried about them, it’s even harder to process because they’ve been like one big family. I don’t want them to end up like this… or worse.” Keegan takes a moment to process your words before he thinks of a response. After around four seconds, he takes a deep breath and takes a seat at the edge of your cot.

“They’re going to be okay, y/n. Injuries aren’t some sort of weakness. Hell, I know you’ll recover quickly, but I need you to take the time to heal. You’ll be back out soon.” His tone was softer than usual– it’s the tone he uses when he’s alone with you.

“Trust them the same way they trust you. If you’re able to come out alive, they’ll be okay too.” If it were up to him, you wouldn’t be here risking your life with him. Something about you was so pure, an unfitting description for this line of work. There’s never a day that goes by where you’re not checking in on your friends after a mission, or taking the time to get to know them personally– asking about pets, family, or their favorite things. Just like you do with him. You were the first person to treat Keegan like a friend. He wasn’t just a respected teammate or just a ghost, but a true friend in your eyes, maybe something more. He watches you take in his words, hoping it relieves your stress in the slightest bit. You look him in the eyes and smile. That same friendly, warm, raw smile that had him obsessed with you. Your hand reached for his.

“Thank you, Keegan. That calmed my nerves a bit.” You smile in appreciation. He calmly nodded in response. His eyes darted to your interlaced hands. He subconsciously lightly tightened his grip on your hand. Why couldn’t you have met under different circumstances? You’re his light, his escape in this hellhole of a war. The long conversations you two would have were precious to him. He remembers everything you say, just like what you do with him. How you would’ve decorated your home, your disliking for overly sweet foods and drinks and how it stings your throat, your favorite color– Everything about you was perfect. He looks at your wounds and looks back up at the room.

“Nothing hurts?”

“Not a lot.”

“Hungry?”

“Not really.”

“Are you cold?” “A little.” He stood up to grab an extra blanket from the cabinets, disappointed that he had to break the contact from your hands. He tossed the blanket over you, checking that you were as comfortable as possible. Maybe this was his form of special treatment– treatment no other soldier would see or receive. This was him behind closed doors... next to you. He’s truly a softie, especially for you. If he could take your place in that cot, taking the pain in your place, he would.

He loves you.

“Keegan?” His eyes met yours the second he heard his name come from your mouth. The way you said it was sweet and powdered with love. It drove him crazy– in a good way. He glances back at you as a silent cue to continue. You began to speak again once you got his attention.

“What do you want to do after this is all over?” The question took him by surprise.

“I don’t really know. I’m sure I never want to go through this again.” He jokes. You both softly laugh.

“Ever thought about settling down with someone? Perhaps a lover?” He tensed up after hearing that.

“I have.” He sat back down, linking hands again. That lover was you. All he wanted was to see you in a white dress and a veil, with a golden band signifying your mutual love. You felt him drawing shapes with his thumb on your palm. You sighed softly at the action.

“Me too. Maybe I’ll move somewhere quieter, like the countryside. I’ve always lived in the city– even growing up.” You reminisce the memories of cars constantly driving down the street as late as 2 am. Nothing ever seemed to stop in the city of your childhood. Not much has changed in that way– now you’re constantly moving around, hoping to see another tomorrow. The city was Keegans’ last guess on what type of area you grew up in. The city is chaotic, dangerous, and forever awake. You were so down to earth, despite citylife doing anything to sweep people up. He’d do anything in his power to live that quiet life you dreamed of right at your side.

“–But back to settling down with someone, I think I want to do that too. A break from hazards is one thing, but I hope I share it with someone else.” You looked up at the ceiling trying to picture the sight. Keegan looked at you, then looked down at his feet.

“What about your special someone–”

“It’s you. I love you.” He interrupted, letting his impulsive thoughts win. He was pleading deep down that he didn’t make a fool of himself, that you reciprocated his feelings. You snapped out of your trance. It took a second to hear that correctly. You looked into Keegans’ eyes, shock being present in your expression.

“Really–? I mean– you’re being one hundred percent serious?” There was doubt in your head. You were telling yourself this was too good to be true– but this is Keegan. He wouldn’t do or say anything to hurt you. He was too enamored with you, drowning in love to be lying. His thoughts are consumed by everything he adores about you. He picked up your hand and brought it to his masked lips. You took that as his confirmation and sat up, being careful of your leg pain. Keegan turned his body to face yours better. You leaned into him and wrapped your arms around his torso as he embraced you. The warmth made you happily sigh as you let out a soft giggle. The feeling of euphoria washed over you. He really loves you, and you love him.

“I love you too, Keegan.” He rested his head over yours, lightly rocking you from side to side. It felt unreal to hear that out of your mouth. He goes back and forth from how you both made it official to thinking about his future with you. Your, no, both of your shared futures, hand in hand.

“After this is all over, I’ll make sure that quiet countryside life you dream of comes true– I promise. No more war, no more dangerous circumstances, nothing. Maybe we’ll get a dog together.” You hummed in response, feeling drowsy from the amount of emotion and the long day you’d had. He kissed your head through his mask, holding you tighter. You look up at him and pull his mask high enough to expose his lips. He leans down to share a short, sweet, soft kiss. No matter how short, it was a kiss full of love and adoration for each other. Keegan felt as if his life was complete. He could call you his and you could call him yours. Your head leaned against his shoulder as the both of you enjoyed the comfortable silence. Keegan pulled away slowly and motioned you to lie back down, sensing your tiredness by how your grasp around him was loosening.

“Rest up, okay? I’ll wake you up if I have to leave.” You nodded and got yourself comfortable. Keegan lovingly kissed your head and brushed his hand over your hair. You’re his to protect. He’ll do anything to keep your comforting, gentle smile on your face. No matter how dangerous things get out there, he knows how to keep his promises. He’s promised your teammates that they’ll win the war together– but he promises that you’ll live in the home of your dreams outside of rolling green fields full of wildflowers and berries. He’ll wake up next to you to see the morning sunlight making your skin glow and go to sleep seeing the moonlight cast a halo behind you, like the angel you were– his sweet angel, his paradise.

#keegan p russ #keegan p russ x reader #keegan x reader #keegan p. russ #keegan p. russ x reader #cod ghosts #cod ghosts x reader #call of duty #call of duty ghosts #fluff #keegansgf

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amethystfairy1 · 6 days

Note

Sorry, Allay anon here to apologize.

I think the whole thinking about the Allay mutant kind of goes against the going past your whole timeline thing? In case you were planning any Allay mutants or anything.

Also, I didn't realize there was a whole index about the different hybrids and mutants, and didn't realize that the correct term would be mutants, so apologies again.

Also, thinking back on it, the whole rant felt sort of diminishing of intelligence with how much I explained stuff, and also it may feel like I was taking your au out of your hands. That truly wasn't my intent, and I realize that my over excitedness of it may not parse well through text?

Just a whole lot of apologies for that, I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries or anything, and I just wanted to apologize for that.

I hope you have a good day, stay hydrated and eat and sleep well and take some breaks.

You don't need to apologize at all! I loved your ask about the Allay mutants you came up with and I 100% encourage folks to come up with that sort of thing and PLEASE send it to me, I don't want you to feel bad about that at all! I promise I loved it and you didn't overstep at all, the fact that my AU made you feel creative and inspired and you came up with so many ideas made me so so so happy!

Let me clarify something about that little timeline rule that I'm sure you must've seen in @silver-sunray's TTSBC: Beyond post! What I mean by that is specific events that haven't happened yet. That's why the given examples are a Flower Husbands wedding and Cub's hybrid reveal. Both of these events are things that might happen in TTSBC's future, so I would rather not have folks writing fic or things along those lines that portray those events because they haven't actually happened, and I want to have a chance to write them first 😅

This rule does not apply to hybrids/mutants that have not yet appeared in TTSBC. If you wanna write about an Allay mutant OC, go for it! Please, by all means, I would love to see what you come up with for them! If you want to participate in TTSBC: Beyond with them, all you gotta do is make sure they fit into the TTSBC universe, which I will say they totally do because I did read your ask and I loved it!

It's just that I got back in town from a long, very fun, but also very exhausting con weekend this week, and your ask was so lovely, detailed, and interesting that I didn't want to half-ass a response, so I wanted to give myself a few days to try and restart my brain cells before I typed up a reply to you! I'm so sorry if my taking so long to answer made you think I didn't like it, because that is not at all the case!

Imma go type up my reply to it right now as a matter of fact 🏃‍♀️💨

But yeah, do not apologize because there is nothing to apologize for, I promise! And Thank you for the well wishes, hope you are having a lovely day as well! 💖

#fanfic #ao3 fanfic #through the sky blue cracks #ttsbc #ttsbc au #ttsbc: beyond!

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abstractnaturaldisaster · 1 year

Text

Steddie Flower Shop / Tattoo Parlor AU

I am so floored by the response! It is absolutely so fun that y’all want to read my silly stories! This is a relatively short update but I am working on the rest! Hoping to post the full story by Valentine’s and I might also post an AO3 link at some point if anyone would like that I Part One I Part Two I Also on AO3!

***

Chrissy and Eddie had been taking bets about what type of business was opening up across the way. Eddie’s guesses had run the gamut from hipster coffee shop to hipster hairdresser to hipster high-end taxidermy while Chrissy had more or less stuck with her original guess of a speakeasy style bar. Eddie was starting to close up shop for the day when some guy in an honest-to-god sweater vest and jeans ran over.

“It’s too late to place any orders today. Sorry if you need to apologize to your wife and 2.5 kids and forgot until the last minute.” Eddie had to admit the guy was pretty infuriatingly handsome. If you were in to normie core, that is.

“What? I’m not- okay, uhm. I’m actually here because I just rented the place across the way and I wanted to ask about setting up a recurring weekly arrangement?” Steve asked.

“What?” Eddie yelled over Judas Priest.

“It’s a wonder you can ever hear anything over all this noise.” Steve gestured towards the speaker.

Chrissy had overheard the exchange from the backroom and cut Eddie off before he could start ranting about real music, “Yes, we are interested in setting up a recurring weekly bouquet arrangement for our new neighbors, Eddie.”

Chrissy turned back around to lower the speaker's volume and pulled Eddie and Steve into the shop and onto stools by the workbench Eddie uses for arranging. Eddie glared at her but they’d just lost one of their regular accounts to some online service that was apparently way cheaper than what De Lucas’ could offer.

“Sure. What were you thinking, dude?” Eddie asked Steve.

“Just something nice for our front desk. Not too big and maybe nothing that people are commonly allergic to? But I’ve seen the arrangements you load up for delivery and I trust your eye. I’m not a live flower expert.”

“Of course, big boy.” Eddie noticed Steve flush a little bit at the pet name. Eddie reached behind Steve to grab one of the flyers Chrissy had made for company floral services. He purposely invaded Steve’s space a little more than necessary just to see if he could get the guy to flush a little deeper.

“Uhm, thanks, man. I’ll get out of your hair since it’s late. Sorry.”

“I’ve got time for you now if you want to talk through anything,” Eddie couldn’t resist biting his lip a little bit. Steve was apparently very easy to ruffle and Eddie sure did love antagonizing his hipster neighbor. “Tell me a little bit about your place?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s a tattoo studio? Just me and my friend’s helping run the, like, business part of it.” Steve responded

“You tattoo?”

“Yeah. Really fucking well actually,” Steve pushed back. It seemed like Eddie had hit a nerve.

“Shouldn’t you have like at least one tattoo?” Eddie’s brain to mouth filter had apparently stopped working. He shouldn’t be actively shitting on a potential customer.

“Who says I don’t?” Steve answered with a wink. It was Eddie’s turn to feel a little faint as his imagination took a little too much creative liberty thinking about where Steve’s tattoo might be.

Thankfully, Chrissy took the awkward silence as an opportunity to step in and work with Steve to confirm what level of floral arrangement he was looking for, how often he wanted a new arrangement, and if he wanted pick up or delivery.

“I can stop by and pick them up. Wouldn’t want you to go through the trouble of adding me to your schedule since I’m just across the way. Any chance I could pick one up tomorrow around lunch time? My first client is coming at two.” Steve asked.

“Noon’s great, Steve!” Chrissy reached out to shake Steve’s hand while Eddie was still working on slowing his heart rate back to a reasonable rhythm.

“Amazing, thanks so much guys!” Steve called as he headed out of De Lucas’ and back across the street.

“Woah, Eddie. Truly a masterclass in both flirting and getting new clients. I should have taken notes,” Chrissy said once Steve had made it halfway into the road.

“Hey, fuck you.”

“He speaks!” Chrissy patted Eddie’s head and added, “You’ll have to get better at interacting with him since you’ll be seeing each other once a week now.”

Eddie dramatically sighed and laid his upper body across the workbench, getting little pieces of flower refuse stuck in his hair.

“I’m so screwed.”

You wish, babe,” Chrissy cackled as she grabbed her bag and headed out for the day.

***

Part 4 now available here!

Taglist: @maya-custodios-dionach @eboyawstenn @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sadcanadianwinter @thehumblefigtree @throwbackthrowaway @micheledawn1975

I think I caught everyone! I seriously am so genuinely amazed by the reception!

#my fic #steve x eddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #steddie #tattoo parlor / flower shop AU

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throneofsapphics · 9 months

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hello! absolutely love your writing, and i have a request. could you write a dorian havilliard x female reader one shot where the reader is a waitress who is nice and kind and always joking around and it’s after the war and dorian is learning to be happy again and it’s kind of a falling in love montage from dorians pov, please? i’m sorry for all the instructions, but i have this very detailed scenario in my head and i lack the writing skills to make it real. thank you!!

ps: sorry for the rant, and sorry if i accidentally sent a request twice!

tuesdays

Dorian x f!Reader

Summary: Dorian lives a second life, every tuesday.

Warnings: nightmares, not proofread

A/N: thank you for the request and don't be for the instructions! this was so cute. I hope I did your vision justice!

Dorian liked to shift, alter his features enough he was unrecognizable and spend time in his city. Time where nobody was gawking, where he could stroll the streets of rifthold, and feel almost normal.

He found himself drawn to a particular cafe. It wasn’t fancy or formal, run by a family - he recognized the names as some of the rebels Chaol used to work with.

Every tuesday, he’d make his way down there at noon. Right when he knew she would be working. It hadn’t started that way, originally he just enjoyed the tea and pastries. He still enjoyed them, of course, but her presence made everything sweeter. The laughter, the casual jokes, and utter comfort of knowing he’s being treated like a regular citizen of Rifthold.

“Where do you go, every tuesday?” Chaol asked him. He knows his friend has wanted to, for weeks now.

“Out,” Dorian replied mildly. Chaol raised an eyebrow but he wasn’t ready to share this part of his life yet.

He watched her make her way over, laughing and balancing a star on one arm, asking a woman how her mother was faring. Another about her new baby, cooing at the small figure in her arms.

“Back again?” She teased, approaching his table. He grinned at her. The same greeting, each time. He loved it. Dorian almost flinched at that word, echoing in his mind.

“Of course,” he recovered smoothly, “I’d never miss the chance to try one of your mother’s new creations.” Every tuesday, they would roll out something new. A trial run, and if successful, it would reappear the next week.

“I’d be sad if you did,” she smiled, a small laugh escaping her lips. He saw how her eyes lit up, shining with pure joy. No visible shadows haunting her. Were there any? He wanted to know.

“Are you alright?” He blinked, refocusing his vision to see her worrying her bottom lip. “You spaced out for a bit there.”

“Sorry,” he cleared his throat. “I’ll take your pick.”

The slight worry left her eyes. “As expected,” she winked before making her way back across the room.

Darkness enveloped him, pressing in on all sides as an unintelligible voice hissed at him. Then - a soft laugh and a hand. He held on, letting it tug him out of the darkness.

Dorian shot up in his bed, his heart pounding out of his chest. He knew exactly who that laugh belonged to.

Six weeks later, she slid into the booth across from him. His eyebrows rose in surprise. For the first time, he was late - nearly an hour, held up by some obnoxious courtiers.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” she admitted, a sheepish smile on her face.

“I’d never miss our date,” Dorian replied without thinking and watched as her cheeks reddened, knowing his were doing the same.

“Well,” she glanced at the clock. “I’m off at noon tomorrow, if you’d like to take me on a real date.”

“I’d love to,” he didn’t hesitate, and watched her pulse flutter.

Dorian had never really taken someone on a date, he realized, with some horror. This was a bad idea for a thousand reasons - all of which he could and would dismiss.

They strolled through the markets, he brought flowers from the castle gardens - those were interesting to sneak out, and ate fried fish by the docks. He watched how the sun glinted against her hair, the smooth curve of her neck, the blue shade of her tunic - a blue that would perfectly match his natural eyes.

One date became the second, and then a third. She wrung her hands together anxiously. SHe never hid her emotions - never tried to, always wore her heart on her sleeve. Something he loved about her. Loved. That word kept popping up in his mind, over and over.

“I figured out your little secret,” she cast him a sly smile. His stomach dropped, throat growing tight.

“Pardon,” he choked. She sucked her lips inwards before pressing them in a tight line.

“You can change your appearance somehow. Your eyes aren’t always the same shade of green.

Relief and a smidgen of disappointment flooded through him. If she’d figured it out on her own, this might have been easier. Did that make him a coward? He’d think about it later. “I’m flattered you spend so much time studying my eyes,” he deflected.

Her entire body seemed to flush.

Dorian puzzled, for weeks, over how to tell her. How to tell the woman he was slowly falling … in love with who he really is. Preparing himself to accept whatever reaction there would be - anger, fear, rejection. He prepared for the worst.

The darkness, the nightmares still came but there was always a soft laugh or a hand to lead him out. Always hers.

They sat on a lush green hill, overlooking the city. A beautiful, serene, secluded space he scoped out in Raven form a few days before.

It took him nearly half an hour to build up the courage, to tell and show her who he really is. Well, his true name and appearance. In veiled terms, he’d told her of his past, and she told him of hers. For all intents and purposes, he was more of himself with her than almost anyone else.

She watched him, studying his true form for a few minutes before a mischievous glint crossed her eyes. “It’s about time.”

“You knew?” He gaped.

“I knew.” She confirmed.

In that moment, Dorian decided he’d make her his Queen.

#dorian havilliard x y/n #dorian havilliard x reader #throne of glass x reader #throne of glass fic #throne of glass imagine

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talkfantasytome · 6 months

Text

It's Instinct - Chapter 1

The Archerons arrive at their townhouse in Yin, settling in for a season of society.

Warnings: Emotional Abuse | Word Count: 3,251 | Read on AO3

It's Instinct Masterlist

a/n: Hello @dustjacketmusings!! Idk which you'll see first, but yes, it is I, your secret santa! I was soooo excited to get you and to have the chance to build something special for you! I hope you like it. I took into consideration your enjoyment of magical/supernatural AUs, am sprinkling in some rivalry, and definitely there will be some angst (I hope it comes across well). However, my schedule did not allow for me to write a short book in one month - how rude - so this will be some time in the making, but hopefully you'll enjoy taking this journey with me!

And thank you @acotargiftexchange for putting this all together and organizing this lovely exchange!

"Will you stop shaking your leg? Honestly, one would think you have to relieve yourself."

Her mother started on a new rant directed at Nesta. Droning on about proper, ladylike behavior again. A lady doesn't reveal her needs. A lady doesn't display extreme emotions. A lady doesn't fidget. A lady doesn't shake the carriage.

Nesta knew all these things. She was typically very good at them. But it took every ounce of will in her to remain even this calm as they neared Yin.

The scent of the dew unfathomably mixed with the first snow of winter grew with each mile they traveled. And the rattling of the wheels seemed to sing to the beat of "closer, closer, closer". Nesta's heart picked up the rhythm, beating along and growing in strength.

She hadn't seen Yin since her graduation day. That night her mother whisked them all back home and then on to a three-year tour of the most eligible bachelors the continent had to offer. Disguised as an opportunity to hone her power further, to learn from the best Reason masters in the world. Unsurprisingly, her mother didn't care to hear much about those lessons. Her thoughts and conversation revolved entirely around what Nesta would wear to the next ball, who she should speak to, what she should ask about, who to accept dances with, and regular emphasis on keeping her thoughts to herself.

For families who cared so much about intelligence and power, they seemed far more interested in finding a vapid and thoughtless jewel to adorn their sons' arms.

Not that the sons had much to offer. Nesta found their conversation bland and mediocre. They had nothing to say that was challenging in the least, save for their misogynistic undertones and expectations.

It shouldn't have come as such a shock that Nesta didn't manage to secure a 'suitable' marriage. The ones that were determined enough to make an actual offer never lasted longer than a week into the planning, much to Nesta's pleasure. And even more so to her mother's chagrin.

Nesta couldn't regret it, though, no matter how unpleasant her mother could be. As excited as she was to travel the continent, to learn from the masters and take in new knowledge they didn't teach in Prythian, she was ready to go back. Back to the city that had stolen her heart in her three years at the Academy.

She hadn't expected to be back so soon after they returned from the continent. But apparently her mother was in a rush, worried that news of her unfavorable disposition would reach Prythian before she could get Nesta married. And Yin was the only place in Prythian where they might find an appropriate match by her mother's standards. The only place that held families rich and powerful enough for that, though none so much as those on the continent - as her mother kept reminding her.

"It's really no wonder you couldn't find a husband. Your lack of self-control will be the destruction of this family."

Her mother had managed to pivot back to Nesta's horrible showing on the continent by the time they finally reached their town house. Her favorite subject.

"Eileen," their father sighed.

"Don't start with me, Owen!" she snapped before he had a chance to say anything else.

He let out a breath and gave in, opening the door to their carriage and leading the family into the house. Nesta was surprised he even bothered trying. Absent is too kind a word to describe his presence in Nesta's upbringing. He never cared for his eldest. Nesta sometimes wondered if she were really his.

The three sisters followed their parents in age order, not one of them feeling a sense of relief for being in the town house. It was never a home for any of them.

From the street, the house gave off a sense of welcome and life that would be drowned out the second Nesta stepped into the foyer. No one knew the lie that was the façade of this house. How the perfectly kept up flowers, bushes, and crawling ivy and morning glory was all just a front for the despair that laid within.

Inside was more of the same. Pristinely decorated, it was designed entirely for show. A place for the family to rest the few times a year they were in Yin. To help keep up appearances, ensure everyone knew they maintained a certain degree of wealth. Everyone who was anyone had a house in Yin. And while many wealthy families did permanently resid here, the Archerons main estate was in the port city of Adriata. It was far easier for their father, as a tradesman and merchant, to do his business from there. And when he had business in Yin, he often didn't bring the family, knowing he'd be able to keep his trip shorter that way.

Nesta hated this house. It was worse than the manor by the sea - at least that one was large enough she could hide, avoid her mother when it wasn't time for her various lessons. The grounds were sprawling. It was so easy to find a tree on the edge of them to settle under and read. It was well decorated, always perfectly clean and ready to entertain visitors, but it was still lived in. Books and notes and clothes were strewn about her room. Flowers from Elain's garden adorned almost every table. Feyre's paintings were hung in the private rooms of the manor. Their father's favorite treasures could be found accenting various rooms, a great conversation starter for those curious.

This house had none of that. It was filled with the latest trends in home décor. The right rugs and settees, tables made from the finest of mahogany or whatever wood was currently in season. Paintings only from the most famous of artists, flowers from some boutique shop, and there was not one ounce of character in any of the bedrooms. Any family could live here and no one would know.

She never truly felt at home in the manor, but here she was a prisoner. Made all the worse by her adoration of Yin. It was easier to be trapped far away from the city than to be just one wall away but unable to enjoy it.

Nesta reached her ordinary room, draped in fabrics of pale blue and silver, and plopped down on her bed. The journey from Adriata was long. She was certain she could've slept for two days, but before she could adjust her body to be properly on the bed, she heard a knock on the door.

"Nesta?" Elain's soft voice called from the other side of it.

"Hmmm?"

Taking that as an invitation, Elain opened the door and walked in, followed quickly by Feyre. They shut the door behind them and walked over to Nesta. "We were going to walk to the market and wondered if you'd like to come with," Elain offered.

"Get some fresh air," Feyre added. "Away from mo-oof." She was cut off by Elain's less-than-gentle nudge to the stomach.

Nesta let out a sigh and sat up. The stresses of travel were weighing heavily on her, but getting out of the house and into the city did sound wonderful. "Yeah," Nesta agreed. "Let me just change first. I'll meet you in the foyer in 15 minutes."

Her sisters nodded and left the room, likely to change out of their travel clothes as well.

The trunk with her dresses had already been brought up to the room, the carriage carrying their things likely arriving before they had. She walked over to it and quickly dug through her clothes, picking out a simple, purple grey dress. It had some minor detail on the torso, but was plain enough it wouldn't draw too much attention.

She pulled off her shirt and skirt and threw the dress over her, using the external straps to tighten the waist enough to show off her figure. The floor-length skirt shimmered slightly in the light breaking through her windows, giving off a slight glow to the fabric. She walked over to the mirror and took out her hair, the updo disheveled from the journey. She brushed through the long, golden brown locks and then re-did it, sticking it right back up into her favorite braided coronet style.

Nesta grabbed her deep purple, valor cloak and fastened it as she made her way out her room and down the stairs. The fur trim around the hood was already beginning to warm her up, and the delicate silver flowers at the bottom popped with each step she took. Elain and Feyre were already waiting for her in fresh dresses, pulling on their gloves and chatting quietly.

"Are you ready?" Feyre asked as Elain handed Nesta her own gloves.

"Absolutely," Nesta replied.

Sharp footsteps that had all three girls straightening sounded behind them. "And where are you three going?" their mother's pointed voice asked.

"We were just going to take a walk to the market, mama," Elain explained in a sweet voice she used to get her way. It almost always worked.

"We just arrived. Surely you three have to get settled in your rooms."

"Yes, but we've been traveling for so long. We thought getting some fresh air and sunshine would be good for us."

Their mother looked at each of her daughters, moving an assessing gaze from one to the next. "Fine. Be home in time for dinner."

"Yes, mama," the three said in unison. They turned and hastened through the door before she could change her mind.

Once out of the house they each took a breath of relief. Nesta was bristling with excitement as she took in the city around them. The clouds were as white and fluffy as ever, drifting across the azure sky. It was midday, and yet something about them looked as if dawn were still lingering, a rose gold glow lining them.

With their house residing in the Rì chū - as the locals called their neighborhood - it was only a short walk to the Lí míng Market, the unofficial center of the city. The true center was still a mile away, filled with golden buildings where business and politics took place. But the market, that was the social center. Shops lined the street and stalls filled it, displaying goods from all over the world. Political hopefuls would gather in the center, preaching their opinions and fighting for change. Old friends would meet in the various cafes to catch up over cups of tea. New lovers would wander the aisles, browsing aimlessly as they sought to know each other better.

There was always something to see or do at the market, always something to entertain. But what Nesta loved best was the variety. People from all over Prythian lived in Yin, and you could see them all at the market. Their different dress styles and how they wear their hair, the various accents and intonations they speak in. It was all here, in this bustling market.

They were browsing a small jewelry stall when Elain let out a loud sigh. "You know, as lovely as this city is, I do wish we could've spent a bit more time in Adriata before coming here."

"Speak for yourself," Feyre said, her eyes tracking a pack of boys around her age that were passing them. "Did all the guys look like that when you were at the Academy, Nesta?"

"Like rowdy, eighteen-year-olds? Yes." Nesta didn't even bother looking at the group, more interested in a rose pendant painted to look like flames.

She could hear the roll in Feyre's eyes as she responded, "Cute, Nesta. I meant cute."

"I wasn't paying that much attention," she explained, placing the pendant down. It was beautiful, but her mother would never let her wear it out. Even looking at it she could feel eyes on her, as if her mother was watching all the way from their house. "Some were cute, some weren't, I'm sure. But if you're truly interested, you could always enroll in the Academy."

Feyre let out a loud snort that drew more than a few eyes, but Nesta tried to ignore it, moving them along to the next stall. "As if I'd be allowed to," Feyre lamented. "Mother didn't allow Elain to enroll."

"Really? As I recall it, Elain opted not to enroll," Nesta countered.

"What?!" Feyre pivoted, eyes on Elain, who suddenly found a new stall she wished to see halfway across the market and rushed off. "She never told me that." Her voice softened slightly as she slid up to Nesta's side.

Nesta turned to give Feyre a small smile. "I think she was worried you'd think she was staying for you. You just assumed she didn't have the option, it was easier to keep it that way."

"Was she? Staying for me."

"Not entirely. She didn't want to leave you alone, but she also wanted to stay for father. And, in the end, she's not as interested in our magic. She was more interested in staying home, getting to spend time on her hobbies and the garden. But it was her choice. Believe me. I tried to convince her to go."

Feyre let out a contemplative sound, her eyes moving to the clocks made from wine bottles that were displayed on the stall in front of them. "I still doubt I'd be allowed to enroll, assuming I could get in."

"You'd get in. You're an Archeron."

"Doesn't change the mother of it all. She'd never let me go. She'd never spend that kind of money on me."

"Feyre," Nesta sighed, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Nesta," Feyre parried. "Don't pretend. Our whole lives, everything has been about you. She doesn't care about us. Only you."

Nesta simply shook her head. "That's not true."

It wasn't about Nesta.

It never was. Not one thing in her life. Not the dance lessons, the private tutors, the fancy dresses. Not even her birth. As her mother always said, she was bred. No, she wasn't born or conceived or made with love, but bred. Like a prize show pony.

It was one of the reasons Nesta enjoyed her time at the Academy so much. The freedom. She could stay up all night, engrossed in a book if she wanted to. She could spend hours in the various museums, devouring chocolate from her favorite shop, or strolling through the Lí míng Market.

It hadn't been perfect freedom. Her mother's eye was far-reaching, she still kept Nesta 'in line', but the boundaries were far larger than Nesta had ever experienced. She just needed to stay away from Instinct - the other school of magic. Emotional, raucous, intense - they were dangerous. Nesta had heard the stories of Reason practitioners who'd gotten mixed up in Instinct. It never ended well.

Feyre could lecture her all she wanted on how Nesta was given everything. How their mother's life revolved around Nesta, but it never truly did. Their mother's life revolved around their mother, and Nesta was a mere tool in the process.

Her tone turned sharper. "Well, that's how it looks to me." And with that comment, Feyre stalked away.

One day Feyre might understand, but Nesta sure hoped that would never happen. That her mother would never shift her focus to Elain or Feyre. She prayed to the gods every day that they would never know what their mother's 'caring' felt like.

Leaving her sisters to their own interests, Nesta continued her path down the aisle of stalls, stopping whenever something caught her eye. She never lingered for long, unable to shake that feeling that she was being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck remained upright, a tingling sensation spreading through her body.

Nesta was sure she was growing paranoid. There were hundreds of people at the market. Plenty probably looked at her for a moment, but surely no one was watching her. And her mother hated the market, she certainly wouldn't have come out to it just to watch Nesta shop.

When she reached the end of the aisle, Nesta looked around for the tenth time, her eyes scanning every divot and alleyway when her gaze fell upon a pair of bright, hazel eyes that were clearly following her. Even being caught, they remained on her, a spark igniting in them, mesmerizing Nesta and holding her stare. She lost her breath for a moment. It took a minute before she gathered the strength of will to break away from his gaze and look upon the face those eyes held.

His face was nearly as intense as his stare. A strong jaw and high cheekbones, with a scar through the left eyebrow, half-hidden by some of the dark hair that fell in his face. His lips were spread into a knowing smirk. It ignited something deep within her that she couldn't quite name.

He was leaning against a lamp post, his ridiculously muscular arms crossed over his just as insane torso. Even in that stance he was daunting. She could only imagine what he'd be like at full height.

Meeting his gaze again, she finally realized what it was she was feeling.

Fury.

The audacity of this man, to watch her go through the market. To give her such a smug grin, as if he knew she would come up to him now that she's seen him. She had the mind to do just that and tell him off. Before she could, she heard her name being called.

"Nesta! You must come see these!" Elain exclaimed, walking up to her and grabbing her hand, beginning to pull her toward some stall. Nesta looked to her sister reflexively, and when she looked back the man was gone. As if he'd disappeared on the wind. "Nesta?" Elain asked, noticing her sister not moving.

"Sorry," Nesta breathed, turning to Elain. "I was lost in thought. What are we looing at?"

Elain grinned widely and led her to a stall selling cloak clasps. Feyre was already there, holding up a beautiful clasp of stars. Nesta wasn't entirely sure how the designer was able to make a full clasp of defined stars, but there it was in her sister's hands, one of the most beautiful cloak clasps she'd ever seen.

"That's lovely, Feyre," Nesta said, the best peace offering she could provide. Feyre gave her a big smile and nod, her form of an acceptance.

"And look at these!" Feyre held up two others, a floral bouquet clasp and one of silver flames.

"Oh, wow!" Nesta could hardly get the words out as she took the clasp of fire and examined it. She'd never seen its equal.

Feyre could never full explain it, but whenever she was painting a representation of her sisters, she always painted these three symbols. Flowers for Elain, stars for herself, and flames for Nesta. Nesta's favorites were always the ones where she turned the flames silver, 'like your eyes,' she would say. Not that Nesta's eyes were actually silver, but apparently they could look that way in some lightings.

"It's just too perfect, isn't it?" Elain asked, already reaching into her coin purse and handing money to the keeper of the stall for all three of them.

"It's more than that. It's fate," Feyre agreed.

Nesta smiled softly as she wrapped her hand around her new clasp. "It's certainly something," she murmured.

a/n: I hope no one minds some sisterly moments. It wasn't truly purposeful, but there's something about giving the sisters a better bond that felt right for this fic.

I stuck with East Asia as inspiration for aspects of this city - particularly the names for now, but I'm going to be trying to work in more around fashion and other things throughout the fic - because this is meant to take place in the area that would be the Dawn Court in canon Prythian.

Pronunciations - I am linking to "word hippo" for the words I used. They have a little speaker icon you can click on to hear the pronunciation, as technically the English spelling is the phonetic spelling. I did speak with a native Mandarin-speaking friend to make sure I got the right words, but she could not help me with phonetic spellings, so this is the best way to do this, I believe.

Lí míng | Rì chū

Tag list: @live-the-fangirl-life @generalnesta @secretlovelybeauty @julemmaes @boredserpent @autumnbabylon @moodymelanist @sv0430 @nesquik-arccheron @gwynrielsupremacy @katekatpattywack @moonstoneriver77 @swankii-art-teacher @lemonade-coolattas @emily-gsh @my-fan-side @champanheandluxxury @imsointobooks @sayosdreams @simpingfornestaarcheron @imsointobooks @perseusannabeth @shinya-hiiragi @a-court-of-milkandhoney @pintas3107 @embersofwildfire @superspiritfestival @thewayshedreamed @lunabean @xstarlightsupremex @mis-lil-red @wannawriteyouabook @dealfea @bridgertononmymind @daydreamer-anst @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens @hiimheresworld @c-e-d-dreamer @kale-theteaqueen

#nessian #acotar gift exchange #nesta archeron #it's instinct #magical au #historical-like au #period drama-ish #but with magic #emotional abuse #archeron sisters #cassian #angst #a court of thorns and roses #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar fic

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kookblurx · 10 months

Text

always and forever - kth

→ SUMMARY: Falling in love with him was easy.... so easy that it didnt felt real in the end.

→ GENRE: one-sided love, drama, sadness, heart break

→ RATING: 13

→ NOTE: hey guys, so i came up with a new theme and yes i deleted arranged marriage. im really sorry to everyone who wanted to keep up with it but i needed some change. i will upload one shots from now on and maybe some short fics about various kpop groups ( ofc also about BTS ). hope you will enjoy them.

BTS MASTERLIST ♡.°₊ˎˊ˗ ONE SHOT PLAYLIST

meeting him felt like a truck had hit you. full speed into the right spots. seeing his smile while he talked with the others in the office, stole your breath as you hid behind your computer screen. you could see the little sparkles in his eyes whenever someone cracked a joke. after a week you could memorize what his favourite coffee was and how he always made his way to the snack corner, first thing in the morning. it was weird. you knew all his habits but his name was still a mistery to you. you were never interested in the man who worked in your company but something about him was different. how he talked, walked, how he treated everyone with respect and how he always had a bright smile on his face. it made your heart skip a beat ever single time. it felt like you were back in highschool, experiencing your firsl love all over again.

the moment of truth came as you were ordered to bring some documents to the floor he was working in. your hands became sweaty as the elevator slowly reached the 5th floor. would he be happy to receive the documents from someone as plain looking as you? nervously you fixed your hair in the mirror before the doors slowly opened. it was now or never. pressing the folder against your chest, you made your way over to his desk. of course he was surrounded by other co workers, especially woman. for a moment you stopped. it would be so easy to give the documents to someone else, telling them you are in a hurry. no. like this you will never be able to ask him for his name. taking a deep breath your feet carried you over to the crouded desk. pushing yourself past the other woman in their pencil skirts, you finally managed to get to him. clumsy as you were, it was inevitable that you bumped against his shoulder.

"Im sorry"

you mumbled while pressing the folder against your chest. instead of getting mad at you he flashed you with his beautiful smile again, before reaching out his hands.

"thank you ... uh ..."

this was your chance to introduce yourself, to finally take a step closer to getting to know him. as the other woman looked you up and down ... your voice became stuck inside your throat. they were all so beautiful compared to yourself. he surely doesnt want to know your name, he had plenty of company. his eyes, however, were still glued to you, waiting for an answer.

"Me? ... Oh im Y/N"

"Thats a beautiful name. I'm Kim Taehyung"

since that day everything changed. you finally had the courage to greet him in the mornings and even spent your lunchbreaks with him. taehyung was an easy going guy who, to your suprise, didnt liked the attention he got from the other female workers. he preferred to be alone but he was fine with your company. you were easy to talk to and didnt tried to get into his "pants". your days had been filled with so much joy that you wished that this would never pass. that you two would keep continuing like this.

"You know .. I dont even get it. Why do they all seem interested in me? The day i got here.. suddenly everyone swarmed me. Not only the females but also my male co workers"

taehyung kept munching on an apple piece you had shared with him while he kept ranting about the attention he got from his co workers. like he did every single day. you couldnt help but laugh at it everytime. it was funny that a guy like him wasnt aware how he effected others with his presence. he wasnt even aware that your heart nearly jumped out of your chest whenever his fingertips accidentally touched yours.

everything could had be perfect, it could had stayed like this forever. just the two of you spending their lunchbreaks together and hanging out in bars after work. that was enough for you, at least for the time being. after a while taehyung stopped spending his lunchbreaks with you. no one knew where he always went during his breaks but taehyung was always back on time when the break ended. somehow he looked brighter than before, he was literally glowing whenever he had the time to meet you. something had happened in his life and it made you feel uneasy.

it was one of those nights you two spent at your favourite bar. the air was chilly as they were annoucing the first few days of december. sipping on your glass of alcohol your gaze went over to taehyung. even today he was more busy with his phone than talking with you, everything you said hitted a wall. it was hopeless. something, or someone was keeping him on his feet. grabbing your glass more tightly you made a decision. nearly at the same time the two of you turned around to face each other

"Taehyung I - ... !"

"YN ... You know- ..."

blinking in suprise you started to laugh. finally he had looked up from his phone to talk with you.

"You go first. You were on your phone the whole time so .. tell me, whats up"

suddenly taehyung became extremely nervous, you never saw him like this before. his cheeks grew red and he kept fidgeting with his phone inside his hands. somehow he seemed ... in love? no that cant be right? someone like taehyung wouldnt fall in love that easily with someone like you.

"You see ... I ... met someone! Thats why im always on my phone. She is really sweet and we both hitted it off immediately after i met her in a bar. I didnt knew if i should tell anyone about it yet but ... you are basically my best friend so .. i thought you should know it first!"

best friend. hearing those words from the person you love the most, sent daggers through your heart. with all the strenght you had left, you gave him a smile.

"Thats ... Thats awesome! Im happy for you Taehyung"

that night you cried into your pillow as your heart shattered into tiny little pieces. it was your fault. your fault for not telling him sooner, for being happy to just spend time with him .. it was your fault for thinking he would be by your side forever.

as expected it spread like a bush fire that kim taehyung found himself a girlfriend. she was a beautiful woman who worked one floor underneath your office. beside her appearance she was also really kind and tried to befriend you. she said "friends of taehyung are my friends too!" it made you sick to your stomach that she was literally perfect. perfect for him.

days, weeks and months went by without a single change. your heart still ached whenever you saw taeyhung in the parking lot with his girlfriend. they always held hands with each other or he kept embracing her as he said goodbye. you thought that, after 5 months, it would become easier. it didnt. for you, taeyhung was the perfect guy. a guy you could picture a future with but he wasnt meant for you. you two werent meant for each other. if fate would had wanted that .. it would had given you the courage to confess to him sooner. that woman was his destiny. you were just a by stander in his story. a friend. a best friend.

after a year of working in the same company, taehyung announced his engagement with her. everyone was invited to the wedding, including you. you wanted to decline but it didnt felt right. like in the past you were too scared to speak up. you didnt wantes to ruin his happiness. taehyung was too important to you, even now after all this time.

the wedding was beautiful. taehyung and his wife were beautiful. looking up at the sky while the freshly married couple shared a dance, a tear rolled down your cheek. it felt bittersweet watching the love of your life getting married to someone else. carefully someone placed a hand on your shoulder, quickly you wiped away your tears. after turning around you noticed that it was one of your co workers. in all this chaos of the last year you had forgotten his name. a soft smile was seen on his face as he gently squeezed your shoulder

"it hurts huh?"

"what do you mean?"

with a motion of his head he pointed at the newly wed couple

"that girl over there, the bride.. i had a crush on her for weeks. sadly it never worked out"

you werent really sure if you heard that right. fate was a tricky thing who liked to hurt people in the messiest ways. but it also loved to bring together the people who needed each other the most. with a smile on your face, you faced the stranger as he offered to go over to the bar to grab some drinks.

after the wedding the stranger you met there kept visiting you at your desk. by now you finally were able to get his name. he was Hoseok, in short, Hobi from the same floor as you. he worked as a secretary for the boss so you hadnt seen him much around. healing each others hearts wasnt an easy task but it was better than handling it alone. none of you could avoid gazing at the person you lost. whenever taehyung walked past you or the woman ... one of you always followed them with their eyes.

love hurts. one sided love hurts. it shatters your heart into million little pieces. while one person is happy, the other drowns in sadness. it took you 3 years to finally fell out of love with taehyung. him switching companies also helped a little bit. you two still talk sometimes. not often but taehyung made sure to meet you at least 4 times a month. the last time you saw him he told you about the baby which was growing inside his wifes belly. he sounded so happy as you tried to swallow the tears and the sadness. even if you got over him, seeing him so happy and sharing stories about his family .. still stung a little bit.

the contact between you two became less and less .. and finally after 5 years ... it stopped. you hadnt heard from him. he never called back and you didnt even knew how he was. if he still worked in the same company, if he moved .. if he was still together with her, nothing. while living your life to the fullest you never had managed to get rid of the photo you took of him one summer day. from time to time you took it out of your drawer. remembering the good times you two shared with each other. despite everything ... you still hoped that he kept his bright smile. no matter where he was right now. you hoped ... he would never lose it.

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maudeeloise · 1 year

Text

My Little Troublemaker || w.a

Pairing : Wednesday Addams x reader

Warning : none

Request : So the plot could be the plot threatens Wednesday so the students who are bothering her like staring or something like that and the reader intervenes and takes them away and then she continues her investigation and the reader is all the time by her side to keep her safe and then when she writes her novel he keeps her hydrated and brings her meals Light and after a long day Wednesday asks them to cuddle in the most aggressive way and the reader laughs lovingly and pats her on the head like my little troublemaker.

A/N : omg this is so cute!! i really love this idea. thank you so much for requesting. i hope you enjoy this one!

You and Wednesday were like a pencil and an eraser — two complete different things that goes together.

Ever since your first meeting at Enid’s birthday party, you became unseparatable.

You never left her side — not that she minded — especially after you noticed how some other students treated her.

“Hey, pigtail!” A voice roared across the hall, catching you and Wednesday’s attention one morning.

“What do you want?” You hissed.

“I heard there’s a murder mystery going on.” He snickered as he ignored your question. “Thought you would be interested to investigate.”

Wednesday tilted her head, silently telling him to continue.

“It would be delightful if you do.” The corner of his lips slowly pulled up into a smirk. “In case you would join the victims… six. feet. un—“

Before he could finish the sentence, your grip found Wednesday’s arm and pulled her away.

Your steps were rapid, hoping that you would reach the exit as soon as you could.

Those students who would take every chance to bother her, never really got into Wednesday’s nerves — in fact, she barely cared.

However, you had always felt the need to protect her at all costs.

You might seem to be the protective one, but frankly Wednesday was the sunshine protector too.

She would listen to your rant and stories about everything — even little things that was barely necessary to talk about.

Wednesday would kill anyone who hurt your feelings.

Fortunately, she never did.

The worst she ever did was poisoning a student’s drink because they wouldn’t stop bothering you with your new hairstyle which seemed odd.

Wednesday might hardly tell you stories, but when she did, you would sit and listen — mostly was about her murder investigation.

You were by her side all along during her investigation and you helped her the best you could.

Each night, you would stay at her room to give her a company while she finished her novel.

“Here’s some drink.” You offered a glass of water on Wednesday’s desk, pushing it closer towards her typewriter. “You need to stay hydrated.”

Her fingers abruptly stopped pressing on the keytop.

The clicking sound stopped as the room fell silent.

Her eyes trailed from her work to the water then up meeting your eyes.

“Thanks.” She said as she wrapped her fingers around the glass and brought the tip to her lips.

Sometimes after a long day and she had finished a few chapters of her novel, she felt tired.

She would silently approach you whom was sitting on her bed with your phone.

“I want to cuddle.” She said in monotone. Her face showed no expression.

You raised your eyebrows, confused on the way she was asking, but surprised that she requested to do so.

It took a while before you laughed at her and opened your arms — a gesture to invite her into your embrace.

Once her head found its place on your chest, you wrapped your arms around her.

You softly pat on her head. “My little troublemaker.”

A soft smile formed on Wednesday’s lips at the nickname, but she tried her best to make it seemed invisible.

#wednesday addams x you #wednesday x y/n #wednesday x you #wednesday addams fluff #wednesday fluff #wednesday addams x female reader #wednesday addams imagine #wednesday addams x reader #wednesday imagine #wednesday #wednsday addams

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sleepwrites · 1 year

Note

I would like to request headcanons with Sun wukong, MK, Mei, Red son and Macaque with a s/o (platonic) who is clever, adventurous, loves solving mysteries and down to Earth.

I hope it's not too detailed. You can omit a few details if you'd like.

Aw no worries! My first platonic request as well! Apologies for the brief response as well! Ps: all of this happens after LBD’s defeat.

Who are you? Sherlock? (Macaque, MK, Mei, SWK and Red Son with a platonic!reader who likes solving mysteries)

Macaque

You showed up at one of his shadow plays and after his show was over you asked to speak with him.

He was suspicious, of course he would be, but agreed to meet you outside anyway.

Turns out you were just a person who was investigating a missing person who was last seen at one of his shows.

He had asked if you were a detective of private investigator but you denied and said you just wanted to help out.

He was confused but intrigued. To put it simply, dude was bored and wanted to tag along with you.

Was legitimately shocked when you solved the case WAY before the police did.

He sends a shadow clone to check on you while your snooping around if he cant.

You fill him in about MK in exchange, tell him if he got involved on something he really shouldn’t have, stuff like that.

All in all your pretty fun to hang around. He likes listening to you ramble about a recent case and how you figured it out. The more complex the better.

Sometimes he would suggest a really dark motive or story for a disappearance and you would just stare at him. He wouldn’t understand whats wrong lol.

All in all, emo monkie boy is a nice to talk to while figuring out who performed a, admittedly impressive, bank heist.

You showed up at the noodle shop one day, frankly you were a nice bit of interest after LBD’s defeat.

Hilariously enough, when you went to the counter to order you ended up interrogating asking him a couple of questions about a stolen artifact, the thief had last been seen eating at the noodle shop before practically disappearing.

Pigsy kicked you out (ofc course) but MK felt a bit bad and met you outside under the excuse of cleaning up the front.

He found it so cool how smart you were! You always noticed little things he couldn’t. He loves how smart you are, you two balance eachother out.

He, like macaque, will accompany you while you go to see a potential lead just incase things get ugly.

Please explain whats going on once in awhile he will get so lost sometimes.

If you get really frustrated about a mystery of your’s he’ll try and cheer you up with a bowl of noodles and some advice.

Coincidentally, his advice led you to solving that mystery, he was really proud of himself after.

Mei

She caught you snooping around her house, plain and simple. You were investigating the infamous ‘Monkie Kid’ and you figured you would start with the girl most publicly helping him.

She was surprisingly ok with it when she found you. She though it was cool and happily told you everything.

She was kinda confused when you looked a little disappointed after her info dump. You explained how you actually liked solving puzzles and mysteries.

She got real sad after that and bought you a butt ton of puzzles to apologise.

She would totally tell you riddles and stuff like that.

Also likes listening to your rants about a recent case, its like ASMR to her lol. Bestie could fall asleep to that.

She’ll drive you around the city to find things and stuff like that. She doesn’t mind too much because she likes to spend time with you.

If you need to go undercover she’ll POUNCE at the chance to play dress up with you.

Red Son

Bumped into while on a walk through the city. You ended up in some trouble and Red just happened to pass by.

He helped you out and you thanked him profusely. Red kinda just rolled his eyes and walked off.

He met you again when he saw you again at a museum (dont ask why he was there) writing something down about another stolen artefact.

You noticed him and waved. He didn’t really know what to do and awkwardly waved back.

He did end up helping with the burglary, you two were the literal dream team. Your smarts, his smarts? Un-beat-a-ble!

Would brag about how you and him could take over the world if you two wanted to. You just laugh and ask if he would supply you with infinite sudoku.

You like hanging around Red Son aswell. He provides a fresh perspective on a lot of your cases.

Over all, angry fire prince is a wonderful partner in (solving) crime.

Sun Wukong

(Sorry Swk fans I can’t think if a meet scenario)

Honestly? Thinks your a nerd at first. I mean why sit around and scrounge for clues all day when you could be out there busting up bad guys?!

After he sees you solve a puzzle in a death temple adventure in less than 5 minutes he admits he thinks your smarts are cool.

Usually watches over you while your walking around a shady part of the city looking for clues.

You taught him how to do a lot of puzzles. Rubiks cubes, sudoku, wordles etc.

No listen, you two are the TRUE dream teams, you being the brains him being the awesomely handsome brawn. His words not mine.

Just imagine for a minute, remember that death temple I referred to earlier? Yeah imagine you trying to figure out a super complex puzzle with Swk trying to stop the walls from crushing you two. PEAK bonding experience I tell you.

He respects your skills, really! But he wont say it out loud. Hes too prideful.

#lmk #lmk x platonic s/o #lmk mk x reader #lmk macaque x reader #lmk swk x reader #lmk mei x reader #lmk redson x reader

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canopiancatboy · 9 months

Note

Hello! Your mech is Amazing! 😍😍😍 I just wanted to ask if you would want to rant about why you like Lancer so much? I've dipped my toes into it and liked it a lot but everyone seems to have their own reasons for liking it and I'm curious what yours are!

Thanks so much! And Sure why not

Lancer really scratches all the itches for me, and does grab-bag style science fiction perfectly. It knows its a conglomeration of other IP, it just asks, "what if we could do it right this time?" Beyond just the general hopeful tone, it cuts to the point and is very straightforward about its politics. It is removed enough from modern day to avoid a lot of discourse, but it is explicitly leftist, and a huge source of hopium. I tried to think of a list of properties Lancer lifts ideas from but really it's just everything, put through a really refreshing lens. I was really on board reading the core rulebook, and then when I got to No Room for a Wallflower I knew this was really something special. I have a big thing for bittersweet, learning, and second chance stories, and the whole backstory to Union and that particular campaign really hits the spot. You can come from pretty much any angle and find enough solid material in their books to make really good role play out of, and to top it off its engagingly written and interspersed with really great art.

Oh, and as far as actual game play goes, it's pretty much perfect for me. Feels like a blend between pathfinder, Warhammer, with some Battletech in there too. I've grown to love hexes over the years and hate measuring things now, and getting to use grids or hexes is nice. The mech building is easy enough for idiots like me and encourages trying out new things and finding wacky minmaxy builds, and the way you make NPCs I think is really well done.

For the corpro states, Horus is interesting and kinda 4chan, SSC makes sexy, sexy robots and I want to see their toes, IPS-N makes the utilitarian ones that seem the least complicated, and Harrison Armory needs to be destroyed, both for their crimes and reliance on heat gimmicks, I play enough battletech I do not want to be sweating constantly here too

I hope this helps

#ask #lancer rpg #lancer

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swirlysmile · 2 years

Text

enemies to lovers

reader is a pilot, callsign not established

timeline is a BIT janky

warnings: there are some innuendos in here, some swearing, name calling, good natured rivalry, poorly written, bad military knowledge. you get the gist

word count: 1.9k

I can’t be who you want me to be.

You grimace from across the room. Hangman is playing pool, Coyote by his side, and he’s probably insulting Bob. Poor Bob, who has never done anything to Hangman, but is always the butt of his cruel jokes.

Coyote says something with a smile, and you can almost hear the sound of Jake’s laughter when you see his body shake.

“He is so, so insufferable!” You say to Rooster. It’s the third time he’s heard this rant, and he might agree, but that doesn’t mean he cares. So, instead of listening, Rooster takes another sip (gulp) of his beer and absentmindedly nods. He’s staring in the direction of some pretty lady who just walked in.

“I’ll leave you to complain.” He says, patting

your shoulder

You groan a little, because you aren’t complaining, just sharing a strongly worded opinion about one of the cockiest, most annoying, arrogant, and awful people you’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Hangman is paying no attention to you, even when Coyote mentions the death glares he’s receiving.

“She’s just jealous.”

“What’s there to be jealous of, Bagman?” Phoenix asks.

She receives no response, Hangman is too busy lining up the pool stick to make another painfully perfect shot, a winning shot.

Bob groans at his loss while he’s putting the cue back on the wall.

“Who knows what she’s jealous of, but it’s gotta be something. I mean, there’s no way anybody could hate me without being envious of something?”

He makes a sort of shrugging gesture, almost like he’s implying that it’s obvious.

Phoenix almost laughs.

“I’ll leave you to ponder with your, very, wrong thoughts.”

She pulls Bob to the bar, near where Rooster is sitting.

“Good morning aviators!” Maverick grins. “It’s time we take a little detour.” And you don’t like that idea because whatever detour Mitchell has planned is bound to end badly.

You’re hoping, praying, the whole way to the beach that this will end well.

Hangman is driving the cramped car you ended up in, claiming that carpooling is good for the environment. You can't argue the facts, but maybe you could have carpooled with someone less, douchey?

“Dogfight football? The hell does that mean?” Yale asks, and he makes a valid point.

“Offense and defense, at the same time.” Maverick replies. He sounds like he’s a kid who’s just been struck with the best idea ever, and it’s a tad funny.

“A chance to beat Seresin? I’m in.”

“C’mon sweetheart, you know you love me.”

You end up on the opposite team from him, thanking whatever god decided to take pity on you today. Everyone is running around, their focus on winning has been lost. You would be having a great time too, but you keep reminding yourself that Hangman is near you.

Maverick taps out, but the rest of the team keeps playing. The scores out the window- not even Hondo is keeping track. The teams have mixed and switched, yet you’ve still managed to stay away from Hangman.

“I’m out.” You say. You run up the beach to the small cooler that Maverick brought along and grab water out of it.

Gradually, the game gets smaller and everyone comes over to the cooler. Maverick is ranting about ‘team building exercises’ and Bob is pretending to be interested, or maybe he really is? It’s hard to tell.

You feel arms wrapped around your waist, and you wish you didn’t know whose they were when you glanced down.

“Seresin, put me down.”

“Could at least pretend like we’re friends.” he says, hauling you towards the water. You don’t know his motives, but guess he’s doing this out of pure assholery.

“I’m not much of an actor, hence why I decided to be a pilot.”

He’s ignoring your every kick, shout, grunt, basically anything you do to try and get out of this death trap.

“Cat doesn’t want to go for a swim?” He jokes before throwing you into the shallow water.

“You’re a douche.”

“Born and raised, baby.”

You start walking away, up the beach.

“Where are you going?”

“Walking home.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to be in a car with you, so I’m going to walk home.”

He scoffs. “You’re so childish.”

You offer a shrug in return and keep walking.

He’s sitting in one of the chairs looking all high and mighty when he brings up Rooster and Maverick’s past.

Dickwad.

Rooster lunges at him, and Maverick is continually yelling “That’s enough!” but it’s not helping. Hangman won’t stop talking.

“I’m cool, I’m cool.” He smirks, and it is infuriating.

When he leaves, you chase after him. He’s walking down the hall without a care in the world.

“That was such a dick move, Seresin.”

“I know.”

“And you’re not going to apologize?”

“No.”

You groan, and you’re about ready to turn around again, but you think about what he said and it makes you mad all over again.

“You’re tormenting everyone. You’re being an awful coworker, and friend. I hope you don’t get picked for this mission, especially to be a leader. I wouldn’t want you leading me, or my friends. You’d kill everyone on the mission, and still manage to make yourself look like a savior.”

He sighs and rolls his eyes. For a second it looked like he was affected. Just a second, then he went back to looking like a total douche without a care in the world.

“Let’s face it sweet cheeks, I can't be who you want me to be. Stop trying to fix me.”

It’s the mission date, and you already know you’re not an option. There was a mishap with ejection that resulted in you gaining a sprained wrist and being unable to

fly. Your head is spinning while Maverick is calling the team, and you’re hoping that he won’t call on Hangman.

Sure, it’d be funny and bruise his ego- but with Phoenix and Bob up there? You don’t trust him at all, he knew you didn’t, but Maverick didn’t, and frankly Maverick wouldn’t care if he had decided Hangman was the right choice.

“And for my wingman, Rooster.”

Your heart stops. This is both the best -and the worst- possible outcome. Hangman is put on reserve, only to be sent out in case of an emergency. But Bradley is out there, and he’s an amazing friend. Even though he doesn’t like to listen to you rant about your hatred of Jake, he has redeeming qualities.

“Good luck out there.” You say to him, giving him a hug that he reciprocates immediately.

You do the same for Phoenix and Bob, and when Hangman approaches Rooster, you get anxious.

He stands there for a second, and you don’t know if he’s going to punch (or kiss) Rooster.

You can’t hear anything over the roar of engines, but you can only hope that Hangman didn’t say something shitty to Rooster before a suicide mission.

You take that as your cue to leave and sit by the comms, reminding yourself that ‘hey, maybe they’ll make it out of this alive.’

You’re over analyzing every word they say, and your head is pounding.

“Permission to launch?” You hear Hangman over comms after Maverick goes down.

“Denied.”

“He is so annoying.”

When Rooster goes down too though, every thought of Hangman is pushed out the window. Did you just lose your best friend?

Hangman requests permission to launch again, but you hardly hear it over the ringing in your ears.

You just sit there, tears brimming, heart aching.

“Permission to launch?” he asks for the third time, and you just scoff.

“Granted.”

Phoenix runs into the room, sitting next to you. Bob does the same, comfortingly rubbing your back. You wish it was you up there, saving Rooster and Maverick. Not for the bragging rights, but so you could ensure that they’re really safe- not just a glory ploy for Hangman’s autobiography.

“This is your savior speaking,” he starts, and you almost scream in joy. Your friends look just as elated, and surprised, that Hangman managed to save them and only be a little bit of a douche about it.

Right as they land, you follow the rest of the team towards Bradley and Maverick, but falter when you see Hangman standing to the side.

“Thank you.” you speak tenderly. He wraps his arms around you to reciprocate the hug you initiated. It shouldn’t make you feel so warm and fuzzy, but it does.

A little reunion-celebration later, and you’re standing on the other side of Hangman’s door, trying to build up the courage to knock and apologize.

“Uh, hi.” He says, swinging the door open. You’re still standing there, dumbfounded. He has his keys in his hand, and you immediately step out of his way.

“Sorry Seresin, I just-” you stop yourself, almost turning to walk away when he questions you. “I want to apologize. I was out of line the other night.”

He just laughs and runs a hand through his blonde hair.

“It bothered me more than it should have. I told you I couldn’t be who you want me to be, but I don’t know if that’s true. I tried really hard.”

“I'm proud of you, Jake. You saved my friends today, and my sanity.”

He runs a hand through his hair again, like it’s some kind of nervous habit.

“Thanks for talking some sense into me. I needed it.”

“Thanks for listening.” You said, nudging his shoulder.

It goes silent for a minute, then you remember he was about to leave and stutter out a nice goodbye.

“Don’t you want to come to the Hard Deck?” he asks, his head tilted.

“I didn’t know I was invited.”

The music is blaring, the lights are blinding, and the drinks keep coming. It’s nice to drown your sorrows with some alcohol.

Everyone’s celebrating, and how could you not? The entire team dispatched came back in one piece, safely. The only damage? A few scratches, two planes, and some bruised egos.

And Hangman is paying, so may as well get some drinks.

Tonight’s different though. He doesn’t find a random, pretty girl to take home. Instead, he’s directing all his energy at you.

When you step outside and gesture for him to come too, he follows.

“Look, Seresin, I don’t know what you’re doing with the flirting but I’m not interested in being a one-time thing.”

“So you are interested in being a long-time thing?”

“Depends on what you mean by that.”

“As in, a relationship?” He chokes out, face flushed and if you didn’t know any better, you would have assumed it was the alcohol.

“Maybe.”

His hands snake around your waist while you reach to wrap your arms around his neck. He doesn’t even really lean in, he just jumps at you. His lips press against yours, kiss simultaneously soft and hard. His lips are a little chapped, no doubt matching your own.

“I should have tried that a long time ago.”

“I would have broken your nose.”

“With the extra steps?”

“Maybe so, Lieutenant.”

He laughs and leans in, “I could do this all the time.”

“I’m sure you could.”

#hangman #jake hangman seresin #jake ‘hangman’ seresin #lieutenant seresin #hangman x reader #jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #top gun #top gun maverick

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anewp0tat0 · 11 months

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hey so who are your favourite characters in black butler? like a top ten or something

heyyyy thanks for asking! sure, always nice to cover the basics. ofc this will probably not be surprising to anyone who's heard me rant for a while now, but I'll explain it anyway.

top 3 first:

1. Ciel: an atrocious guy with very little social personality, and one of the best written protagonists I've personally read. I'm just really into digging through this guy's brain, and when he isn't destroying people he's doing things that end up being funny.

2. Sebastian: another well written protagonist, despite the fact that we know absolutely nothing about him other than the fact that his personality is "cats, I'm better than everyone, except for agni maybe". I remember in my first year in the fandom a friend and I had a like 2 hour long text conversation about how much we hated and loved Sebastian. terrible guy, couldn't have the series without him, leaves a lot to think about.

3. Grelle: she's just as if not more atrocious than the last 2 cause she made these awful decisions herself, but that doesn't stop me from respecting her work ethic and just thinking she's awesome in general. and aside from how cool she looks, I think her inner thoughts and relationships with her coworkers is so curious, there is a lot to explore here. compelling character for me.

and following:

4. Elizabeth: she's one of the purest characters out there and she is so complex. a good amount of people hate her or just find her annoying for whatever reason, but I think the trend here is that the more flawed the character is the better. she's trying so hard to please everyone. probably one of the most relatable characters in her own way.

5. Soma: the source of joy in my life, God I wish he was my friend. he and Agni are basically equal in my ranking, I think they're just the kid mentor duo, but unfortunately only one of them has the chance to keep developing... ;;;^;;;

6. Agni: "agni" was good every day of his life until the end. the only thing he did wrong was out of loyalty for Soma, Sebastian should be jealous of him cause he is all the butler that Sebastian will never be. plus he just cries sometimes and I respect that.

7. Ronald: this is such a fun guy, and yet I am capable of having long conversations about him and everything that he could have possibly been through, it has been done. his workplace dynamic is perfect. everyone needs a Ron.

8. Finny: another pure being, he's such an interesting and honestly rare character, I don't often see other people like him in media, so obviously he's interesting. he's one of the only characters in kuro who have deep trauma and yet doesn't act negatively on it, either because he's unable to comprehend it at length or because his love and positivity for all things is just stronger. also he's Ciel's big bro fr.

9. Meyrin: she's awesome, Hollywood and feminists alike wish they were able to write a strong female character like her😏 she's freakishly powerful and one of the most feminine people out there, and she deserves that after what she's been through. I will never stop supporting her, she's everyone's big sis and she's adorable.

10. Bard: proud dad to all the servants, he's the wacky beer uncle that we all wish we had. he's conservative but just give him some time cause he does care about people and what makes them happy.

hope this satisfies you and doesn't completely contradict your own list of favorites! have a good day

#my asks #thanks for the ask!#kuroshitsuji #black butler

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katzell · 1 year

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your thoughts on the marvelous mrs. maisel finale? especially, the conclusion of the lenny and midge’s storyline?

Thank you so much for the ask!

I've been thinking about it for weeks, so it's time to get into it. I'm going to mainly address the Lenny and Midge part of the question, mostly because addressing everything else would make this far longer than it already is. And boy is it long. Here we go!

After years of ranting and raving, I now know when there is a version of a show I am watching and a completely different show the writers are creating. When I realize the show I want isn't something the showrunners are interested in, I cut and run.

I nearly dropped Maisel many times over the years as it became clear Midge was never going to have her big break before the finale. It would rather spin its wheels and have more family dinners and musical numbers than grapple with the real dangers of being in show business in the 1950s and 1960s. Midge and Lenny was the only thing that kept me going, and paradoxically it was because Lenny was going to die rather than in spite of it.

I never carried an ounce of hope that Lenny was going to escape the real fate of Lenny Bruce. When the Palladinos introduced Lenny in the pilot, they never meant for him to be a regular character. It was supposed to be a fun nod to the comedians of the time and the kind of comedy the Palladinos were inspired to explore in the series. And then Luke Kirby gave a mesmerizing, unforgettable performance. From that point forward, ASP was always very careful to make most of the characters who populate Midge's world fictional versions of real people. The decision to call him Lenny Bruce and not David Blake (or something better) put limits on what that character could realistically be or do.

For ASP, saving Lenny would have meant undercutting the few ties to reality Maisel had established. And I I agree with her. Especially given how little the show really seemed interested in exploring the darkness of that world. Sexism, racism, antisemitism, homophobia were all present, but the tone was always more light and whimsical. Which is why we got so many interminable boring overindulgent musical sequences.

Knowing that Lenny's death was coming filed in some of the shadows the show itself danced (literally) around. It also allowed me to enjoy Midge and Lenny as a pair of star crossed lovers who could have saved each other, but ultimately don't because of both their own faults and the societal forces around them.

Accepting those limits, I found really beautiful tragedy in Lenny's final two appearances. The opening scene broke me. I was prepared for him to die, but I wasn't prepared to watch him fail. Immediately after the episode I was upset with that narrative choice, but rewatching his previous appearances I came to agree this moment carries more narrative weight than one terrible phone call ever could. Midge watching Lenny fail and not confronting him after was set up in season four. And it's a tragedy of miscommunication on both their parts that comes from a place of love and respect.

Lenny told Midge when he woke up on her couch that he never wanted her to save him again. He was so embarrassed at the idea of Midge seeing him at his worst that he fled her home without his shoes, without using the bathroom, almost in a state of undress. Lenny also made clear to Midge that his drug use wasn't something he would discuss with her in the hotel room. Lenny so desperately wanted Midge to be impressed by him. And yet that desire ultimately prevents any chance Midge has of actually getting close to him. At Carnegie Hall, he realizes for the first time how carefully Midge listens to him and appreciates him. The thought terrifies him. Suddenly his best self seems like it might ruin Midge. So he bolts.

Lenny and Midge could talk about the struggle of comedy and even nod to the ways the world was inhospitable to people who lived outside of the accepted cultural mores of the time, but Lenny could never bring himself to share with her the nature of his addiction. For Lenny, this subject was far more taboo and unspeakable than religion, race, and sex. Because unlike those topics, society saw (and still sees) addiction as a personal failing. For all that Lenny could call bullshit on some things, he internalized this myth. If Lenny had been more honest with Midge, if he had gotten out of the cab and gone back upstairs, if he had let Midge know more about his drug use, if he had asked Midge to bring an umbrella to support him for more than national television appearances, Midge would never have let him fall on his own.

Midge remembers everything Lenny ever said to her. His words are maxims, even prophesies. Midge believes Lenny even when she shouldn't. We see her quoting him often. She carries his fortune with her for the rest of her life. It's such a clear indication of her love for him, but it's also a tragedy. Midge probably let herself believe that the paraphernalia she found in the bathroom wasn't a big deal, because Lenny had promised her it wasn't. By the time she had heard enough to know differently, the damage was done. If Lenny hadn't told her not to save him she would have tried to pull him out of his spiral with everything she had. As it was, she sent him Susie, her best friend, her greatest asset, the lifeline she had relied on over and over. But it just wasn't enough. Midge couldn't meet him at the club and respect what he had told her. And Midge always, always tried to do what Lenny said.

That miscommunication, that tragedy, is heartbreakingly rendered by Rachel Brosnahan and Luke Kirby. Without explicitly saying anything, we know Lenny wants Midge to walk through that door and to try to rescue him. And we know that Midge wants to do just that, but cannot bear the idea of being rejected by him.

In the end, at least, we have that scene in Chinese restaurant which I think might be the most visually stunning scene of any of Midge and Lenny's encounters (I'm sorry Miami club, you are a close second!) It's a nice final reminder of what Lenny did for Midge: he acknowledged she deserved a place amongst the elites of the craft. I only wish there had been room for Midge to also validate Lenny. I would have loved her to give him some parting words that he might also treasure.

There are other ways of tragically ending Midge and Lenny's journey that I would have loved to see, but given the Palladinos disinterest in really exploring the nasty, dark, ugly parts of show business in the 1960s, I am not surprised we didn't get them. That can be a project for a fanfic writer who doesn't want to "fix it" so much as "make it worse." (Go for it fanfic writer! Sometimes we need sad things!)

I also have my own ideas of what would be a happy ending for these characters (see Midge and Lenny's Alternative Adventures). But I think the key to landing those stories (for me) is to confront this miscommunication so that Midge and Lenny can both accept and demand more from each other and to build up a new, less brittle kind of respect that comes from real intimacy. I want productive fights that tear through artifice and expose the mess underneath. Only then do I think they have a shot of saving each other from their own worst instincts.

Does that mean I liked it? Hahahahaha I don't even know. I respect it. It lingers. I felt something. And that's better than most series finales. And Midge and Lenny remain sensational.

#rachel brosnahan #luke kirby #midge x lenny #the marvelous mrs maisel spoilers #the marvelous mrs maisel #tmmm #midge maisel #lenny bruce #asks #series finale thoughts

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