#this was a very ramble in phrasing but i hope it makes sense | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

1800-fight-me · 1 year

Text

Of War and Longing

Part Two for Of Duty and Honor

Part Three - Of Retribution & Desire

Aemond Targaryen x female!reader

Rating: E - Minors DNI!

Warnings: Explicit sex, pregnant reader, and reader is described as small so this could be considered a petite!reader, though there is no other description of the reader

Word count: 5.7k

Synopsis: You are finally reunited with your husband after he returned from war.

Author’s note: I am so excited about this! I really hope y’all like it!! P.S. Here’s a link to my masterlist if you’d like to check out my other writing! My askbox and taglist are always open! Come interact with me! Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Aemond Masterlist

“How long do wars usually take?” you asked your lady’s maid as she cinched up the back of your dress.

Brienne giggled, “Missing your lord husband already, princess?”

“Mmm I suppose. He is very handsome,” you said with a grin.

She giggled once again, making it clear she agreed with you but didn’t want to overstep.

“Patience is key in these situations, my lady,” she placated you with a smile.

She tugged at the lacings of your bodice and you sucked in a breath.

“Too tight,” you gasped out.

“So sorry, my lady,” she said as she hurriedly loosened the lacings.

Once you could breathe again you sucked in a few deep breaths.

She laced it loosely then came around to your front to survey her work.

“How have you been feeling lately, princess?” she asked carefully as she eyed you up and down.

“Not the best since Aemond left, I’ll confess. Helaena thinks it is the worry. I have trouble sleeping without him holding me. And I’ve been sick to my stomach thinking of him being harmed. I am not as strong and full of fire as the members of the family I married into,” you said as you blinked back tears.

“I understand your worry, you and the prince are extremely close for a married couple,” she said with a nod.

“But?” you asked as you sensed there was more in her thoughts that she had not said.

“Is it possible you are with child?” she asked gently.

“Oh, I suppose that could be true. I didn’t think of that- I don’t- I’m not sure why. I just thought it was the worry. W-we’ve been married for over a year now. I was starting to lose hope but he always reassures me to be patient. I-” you stopped your rambling as your eyes now started to fill with joyous tears.

“Perhaps you should visit the maester, my lady,” she said gently as she took your hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” you said with a smile.

________________

“I should send him a letter to tell him, don’t you think?” you asked the queen mother days later after she happily embraced you.

“Yes, absolutely, Aemond will be overjoyed to hear you are with child,” Alicent said as she squeezed your hands.

You nodded, thoughts already racing about how you would phrase the news in your letter.

“Do we have any news on the war?” you asked worriedly.

She rubbed your arm reassuringly. “It is going well thus far. I am hopeful it will not drag on for an extremely long time.”

You sighed in relief and smiled.

“That is a relief to hear,” you said.

She nodded sympathetically, “Try not to worry too much, it isn’t good for the babe.”

You nodded and withheld your comment that it would be nearly impossible not to worry over the welfare of your love.

She was thankfully soon distracted by queenly duties and you left shortly after to write to Aemond.

__________________

“Aemond,” you moaned as he licked your core.

He groaned in pleasure at your taste as he pushed two fingers inside you.

You whined in ecstasy as you threaded your fingers through his hair and held tight.

“Come for me, little wife,” he commanded in a deep gravelly voice that made your toes curl.

You body heeded his command and you gasped out his name-

There was a hand on your shoulder shaking you. You blinked as you woke and the flash of long white hair you saw as you opened your eyes made you bolt upright.

“Aemond?” you gasped out but as you blinked away the sleep you sighed deeply.

“What are you doing in my room, Helaena?” you groaned as you flopped back down and pulled a pillow over your face and ignored the urge to scream into it.

“Isn’t this really Aemond’s room?” she asked airily.

“We share it. He moved me in here when we were wed,” you answered with shorter patience than you usually show your sister in law.

“Hm,” was her only response as she looked around the room.

You pulled the pillow off your face and sat up to look at her. The endeavor was made more difficult by the roundness of your belly.

Dear gods, you missed your Aemond.

“Helaena?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here?” you asked gently.

“Oh! You said you wanted to go for a walk in the gardens with me today!” she said excitedly.

“Yes, but in the afternoon,” you said with confusion.

“It is the afternoon,” she said with a smile.

“It is? Are you sure?”

“Quite sure. It’s okay,” she said as she placed a hand on your protruding stomach and giggled as she felt the baby kick. “I slept late through the morning often when I was growing the twins. It is exhausting being with child.”

You squeezed her hand in gratitude for her understanding and comfort.

“I shall just need a few moments to get ready then,” you said and she grinned.

“I can have someone bring you some food before we go,” she said.

“Thank you, Helaena.”

“Anything for my favorite sister,” she said happily as she walked to your door.

You grinned and withheld your retort that you are her only sister.

Shortly after you were walking with her through the castle gardens.

“What were you dreaming of? It seemed to be an intense dream” she asked you innocently.

You turned your face from hers to hide your embarrassment.

“Aemond. I was dreaming of him,” you said.

“Was it a good dream or a bad dream? I’ve never had a good dream about my husband,” she said absentmindedly as she played with a flower.

“That’s because your husband is a prick,” you mumbled.

“Hm?”

“Nothing. It was a good dream,” you said quickly.

“Do you miss him?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, dearly. You miss him too, don’t you?”

“Yes. He is always very kind to me. Like my mother. Not like Aegon,” she said with a sigh and you couldn’t resist the urge to pull her into a hug.

She seemed confused but allowed you to do so, but only for a moment.

You wanted to tell her that you would ask Aemond to kill him, if only to end her suffering, but you knew that kind of talk was treason considering her asshole of a husband was king.

Surely everyone in the seven kingdom’s lives would be better if Aemond was king rather than Aegon, but no, you couldn’t and wouldn’t urge your husband to kill his own brother for political gain. Even though you knew a part of him coveted the throne.

The game of thrones was one you had no desire to play, but the family you were married into certainly did.

Helaena changed the subject to nonsensical comments that confused you but you chose not to reply. She made confusing statements rather often, you thought.

This time it was something about bugs growing and being reborn.

After your walk with Helaena, you were once again tired and hungry so you returned to your rooms, grateful that at least for now the schedule of a pregnant princess was not very busy.

You wrote Aemond again, he had only written you back twice, but assured you in his letters that he appreciated your updates and words even if he couldn’t write you back as often as he would like.

__________________

Aemond was covered in blood, exhausted, and desperate to sleep but other duties were required of him, even after a lengthy battle.

Good gods, what he wouldn’t give to tumble into bed with you right now.

You, his sweet little wife, now round with his child. He could picture you, pretty as ever, sleeping in his bed. A longing and possessiveness took hold in his heart and he once again cursed his brother’s war for keeping him away from you.

He yanked off his eyepatch, rubbed a hand down his face, and attempted to refocus his tired mind.

His page droned on as he read letters to him and Aemond shoved food into his mouth without tasting it as he plotted for the next battle.

“That one is hardly important,” he cut the man off and indicated for him to move on to the next letter.

Though he was in charge of the royal army he never expected to receive this many letters to have to wade through on top of his other responsibilities.

Though he clearly had a mind for battle strategy, he loathed the other burdens that came with his role. But as always, he would fulfill his duty to his family and bring honor to his house.

“This one seems to be from your lady wife. Would you like me to read it?” the timid boy asked.

“Mm.”

He scanned the table in front of him and picked up a token that represented a legion of his men while he decided where to place it.

“My love, I miss you desperately and am praying to all the gods for your safe and timely return,” the boy read aloud.

Aemond smirked at that. Of course you would subtly urge him to end a war as quickly as possible purely because you miss him.

“I hope things are going well for you and that you are safe. I think of you not only daily but nightly as well. Other women have told me my feelings are normal, that they went through phases of feeling particularly amorous towards their husbands when they were with child. Though, it is made particularly more difficult due to your absence.”

Aemond became distracted by thoughts of plotting for the coming battle and only half listened to the boy read aloud. He couldn’t feel guilty about it, he knew he would read your letter over and over again each night until you sent a new one, just as he had the rest.

“I touch-,” the boy stopped and when Aemond looked up his face was flushed red.

“Why have you stopped?” Aemond demanded.

The boy furrowed his brow and continued reading and Aemond looked back at the table before him.

“I touch myself in our bed nightly to thoughts of you. I think of your hands on me, your tongue-“

“Shit, boy, give me that,” Aemond snapped as he crossed the tent in two long strides and snatched the paper from his page.

“T-thank you,” the embarrassed and red faced boy said and with a roll of his eye Aemond dismissed him for the night.

“Fucking hell,” Aemond mumbled as he rubbed his hand over his face once again before he sat and read your letter from the beginning.

He read it over and over again that night with his hand on his cock and his thoughts full of you until he found his release and sleep finally pulled him under.

__________________

Your days were filled with visits with Helaena and her adorable children, lunches and brunches with the noble women of court, as well as assisting the queen mother with planning parties and dinners to placate the nobles, all of which you were expected to attend.

You were starting to feel jealous of Helaena, due to her uniqueness Alicent relied more on you to assist her with such things even though Helaena was technically the queen consort.

It was starting to become exhausting given your heavily pregnant state.

You didn’t mind spending time with the nobles. You made many friends since you moved to court and married Aemond and you hoped that was due to your own kindness and pleasant nature rather than the intimidation of your husband.

Many people were afraid of him. You understood why. His presence can be very intimidating with his large stature, sword fighting skills, and tendency to cause trouble.

But good gods, he’s so handsome. With his sharp chin and jaw, beautiful lips, long white hair, and muscular build. Your heart panged with longing.

He was always kind, gentle, and understanding with you and the others in his life that he cared for, like his mother and his sister.

You felt he would make a good father to your child and hoped and prayed that he would make it home before the birth.

Alicent called your name.

“Hm?” you looked up at her and realized it must not have been the first time she called your name.

“Are you feeling okay, darling?” she asked you with concern.

“Yes. My mind just wandered off. I’m sorry,” you said bashfully.

“Are you tired?” she asked with motherly affection and you nodded.

“Perhaps you should go and get some rest before dinner. I can finish up here,” she said as she placed a hand to your cheek in care.

“Thank you,” you gratefully said, then made your way from her chambers towards your own. You managed to have what you considered to be probably the best nap of your life before you were roused and readied for dinner with the Targaryens.

These dinners were always tension filled and awkward, but made worse for you by Aemond’s absence. Without Aemond’s protective and possessive presence at your side Aegon had grown bold with the lude comments he made to you.

Though Aemond may secretly covet the iron throne, Aegon not so secretly covets what is Aemond’s- you.

Though the threat of Aemond’s wrath still looms over him and holds him back from taking action, his comments have become too bold for your liking.

You also thought that being pregnant with his brother’s child would dissuade him, but unfortunately it seems that Aegon has perversions you don’t understand and never want to.

“You look ravishing tonight, princess,” King Aegon said to you as he looked over your form. It made your skin crawl.

Unfortunately you were seated between him and Alicent, so he was able to whisper to you without her hearing.

Your lip curled in disgust.

“No I don’t. I look like I’m nearly ready to birth your brother’s child,” you deadpanned before you turned to face the plate in front of you rather than look anymore at Aegon.

“Hm. It is too bad I already have a wife. Otherwise I would offer to wed you should my beloved brother meet his untimely end in this war,” Aegon said as he leaned closer to you.

You leaned away and resisted the urge to vomit.

“I’d rather slit my own throat, your majesty,” you said sharply, exhaustion and discomfort caused you to grow bold.

He laughed heartily and you wished you had it in you to vomit on his boots as you had done months before. Even though it had been an accident due to pregnancy giving you a weak stomach, he deserved it.

“I do so enjoy our back and forth, sweet sister,” he said.

“Ugh,” was your only response.

Thankfully Alicent placed a hand on your arm and pulled you into a discussion about her excitement for your child.

The dinner was nearing its end and your leg bounced impatiently as you counted down the minutes until you would be able to retire to your chambers.

The door opened and you looked up as you assumed the servants would be bringing in dessert.

“Aemond,” you gasped as the guard opened his mouth to announce your husband’s arrival.

Aemond strode in and as his eye met yours he smirked.

His hair was pulled back by multiple braids that were then bound together, his armor was filthy, but his face and hands looked as if they had been quickly scrubbed clean. He was beautiful and you’d never wanted him more.

“Hello, little wife,” he purred and you smiled from ear to ear as you started to stand, desperate to go to him, to feel him and know that he was truly there.

Aegon cleared his throat obnoxiously and placed a hand on your arm to stop you.

You shot him a look but his eyes were focused on Aemond.

“It is proper to first address your king,” Aegon said.

“Aegon,” Alicent whispered in a reprimanding tone but her protest was ignored.

Aemond glared at him until he removed his hand from your arm.

Aemond bowed only slightly and drawled, ”Your majesty, I have won you the war.”

The room burst into applause.

Aegon smiled, “The crown thanks you. Tell me what it is you desire and if it is within my power it shall be yours.”

“Perhaps I can answer that on the morrow, I am weary from my adventures and for now all I wish for is a good night’s rest and the company of my wife.”

His gaze once again landed on you and from his small smirk you knew his intentions for your shared time were far from innocent.

You bit your lip to hide your eager smile.

“Surely you also wish for a stomach full of King's Landing’s best food. Sit and eat with us, brother,” Aegon said with the smile of a snake.

Aemond pursed his lips in annoyance but conceded with a small nod.

The servants quickly rearranged the table so that Aemond could sit and dine next to you.

With long strides he rounded the table and soon stood behind you.

He pulled your chair back from the table and knelt before you.

“Hello, my prince,” you whispered as tears pricked at your eyes.

His smile, not a grin- not a smirk- no, his face bore a genuine, unrestrained, rarely seen smile as he looked upon you.

He cupped your cheek in his hand.

“Hello, my princess,” he whispered back.

His other hand found it’s home on your rounded stomach and he chuckled.

“How is it that you have become even more beautiful in my absence?”

“Ugh, you two are disgusting. Sit and eat and spare me from suffering through anymore of this,” Aegon said behind you and you rolled your eyes.

As Aemond rose from his knees, he pressed a swift but sweet kiss to your lips.

He pushed your chair back into the table before he took his own seat next to you.

Aemond ate enough for the both of you and you found it increasingly difficult to focus on the dessert before you as his hand roamed first your belly, then your thighs where they were hidden beneath the table.

A heat you hadn’t felt in far too long ignited in your core and licked up your spine at the feeling of your handsome husband’s large hand as he gripped your thighs and spread them apart.

You looked over at him and he smirked and took a large gulp of his wine.

You were ready for Aemond to drag you back to his rooms and make good on the promises you could see in his eye, but unfortunately now appeared to be the time for everyone to make toasts in his honor.

It was touching, it really was, to hear his family praise him for his efforts and success. He deserved every kind word and more, but as his hand cupped your core you found it increasingly difficult to focus.

Your small gasp drew the attention of Alicent and his hand slipped away as she leaned across him to address you.

“Are you alright, dear?” she asked in concern.

“Yes, quite alright,” you glanced over and saw the humor on Aemond’s face and couldn’t decide if you wanted to kiss him or smack him.

As she began to nod you continued, “Though I believe some rest would benefit us both.” You indicated your hand to Aemond and she nodded vigorously.

“Aegon, it is time to dismiss these two. Let them rest,” she ordered.

He sighed and waved you both away.

Aemond stood and helped you out of your chair. He pressed a kiss to your hand before he entwined your fingers with his and began to lead you away.

Aegon snatched at his arm and held tight as he leaned closer to Aemond in order to whisper to him.

“You do not truly mean to bed her in this state, do you? It’s disgusting,” he sneered with his nose scrunched in disgust.

You cringed at his hateful words and looked down at the floor.

“She is my wife to do with as I wish. Speak of her that way again and I do not fucking care that you are king, I will feed you to Vaghar,” Aemond said, his words heated with anger as he yanked his arm from Aegon.

Aegon laughed spitefully as Aemond led you away, his arm now tight around your waist.

Your head rushed with insecurities and shame. You were so caught up in the excitement of his return that you hadn’t considered the possibility. You’d heard the gossip of some women that their men would not touch them when they were on the bloody week of their cycles and when they were with child.

Surely, Aemond would not be that way. He always said that blood never bothered a warrior, but now you worried his eagerness to touch you was merely due to his time spent away.

Would he soon find you disgusting, as Aegon said he should?

You were once again near tears as Aemond led you into your shared rooms. He had been busy rattling off instructions to his knight, so he did not yet notice your distress.

“The bath has been prepared in your rooms,” your lady’s maid said with a curtsy as she walked past the two of you.

“Thank you, see to it that no one bothers us until midday tomorrow,” he said and she nodded before she threw you a wink and you gave her a watery smile in return before she exited the room.

The door closed with a resounding boom and you were finally alone with your husband.

He quickly shed his weapons, armor, and eye patch before he strode back to you.

Aemond leaned down as he tilted your head up with a finger beneath your chin but stopped as he saw the expression on your face and the tears that threatened to fall.

“What is the matter, my sweet little wife?”

You shook your head slightly but he gripped your chin and forced you to look him in the eye.

“Is this about Aegon’s vile words?”

“Yes, I’m sorry-”

He shook his head and interrupted you, his voice hot with anger, “Do not apologize. It is my piece of shit of a brother who should apologize.”

“Pay his words no heed,” he said softly and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

You nodded and did you best to dismiss all the worries swirling through your mind. After all, Aegon was nearly always full of shit and would choose to say whatever he deemed would hurt the most.

You know that Aemond loves you and has always made his desire for you blatantly clear.

“Come,” he ordered, your hand still in his, as he sat in his favorite chair by the hearth.

“Aemond, I am much larger than when you last saw me,” you started to protest.

He tugged slightly at your hand as he sighed.

“Woman, I have been at war for months on end and have craved your company each day. Sit with me, my lady wife,” his tone was near desperate and the unspoken plea broke your resolve.

You gingerly sat on his knees, nervous about your new larger size and weight but he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you fully into his lap.

He nuzzled his face into your neck and took a deep breath.

You melted into his embrace and warmth as his hand rubbed your swollen belly.

“You are radiant carrying my child,” he murmured into your skin.

You brushed your fingers over his.

“I’ve missed you dearly,” you said and you turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his soft lips.

He groaned as he deepened the kiss and entwined his tongue with yours.

He kissed you until you felt dizzy and drunk on his affection and you could feel his reaction to your presence beneath you.

His hands roamed up and down your form as you did your best to yank his shirt off.

He chuckled and took pity on you as he finally helped you to pull it off.

You pressed your lips together as you surveyed his muscular torso as his chest heaved with desperate breaths.

“Perhaps you need a bath,” you whispered as your fingers softly grazed the new pink scar across his side. Thankfully it did not look deep enough to cause you worry or concern, it had clearly been tended to well. You wondered if he had other new scars on his body.

“What I need is you, my love,” he grumbled as he pulled you back into a passionate kiss.

He nipped at your lip which caused a small whimper to escape you.

His nimble fingers unlaced the back of your dress.

“Stand,” he murmured as his lips grazed your jaw.

You did as he bid and he stood with you and helped you out of your dress and underclothes.

You stood bare and nervous before your husband but he smirked as if you were a meal he was about to devour.

He led you to the bed and gently laid you down and helped you to settle comfortably.

He kissed you sweetly before his lips began their journey from your neck down to the contours of your body.

“Aemond,” you whined as he paid special attention to your breasts, now larger than when he last saw you.

His hands gripped the flesh of your hips and ass as you moaned for him.

“Fucking perfect,” he groaned into your skin.

He kissed his way down your protruding stomach then the tops of your thighs as he settled himself between them.

You giggled slightly as you could no longer see much of him due to the interference of your large belly.

His head popped up and he shot you a questioning look.

“I can’t see you,” you said in explanation.

He smirked and kissed your stomach again.

“Then I shall make certain you can hear me,” he said confidently.

You bit your lip as you felt his nose nudge at the inside of your thighs. You heard him inhale deeply before he groaned in desire. Your toes curled and you became even wetter at the thought of him taking pleasure in the smell of you.

You both moaned in tandem as his tongue first tasted you.

“I have dreamed of this,” you gasped as he expertly swirled his tongue around your bundle of nerves.

“As have I,” he said and his hand gripped your thighs tighter as he licked and sucked.

You gasped out and struggled to lay still as the heat in your core tightened and threatened to snap.

He groaned your name and it was clear he derived as much pleasure as you did from this action.

“Aemond,” you gasped with a long drawn out moan as he continued his ministrations.

“Come for me, little wife,” he finally ordered and your body obeyed immediately as you had thought of those words each night for the past months as you touched yourself.

You moaned in ecstasy as he continued to guide you through it and only stopped when you attempted to wiggle away due to overstimulation.

He sat up and the smirk on his face almost caused you to pass out.

He wiped your juices from his chin with the back of his hand as he stared at you.

You reached for him but he shook his head.

He made quick work of his pants and was soon gloriously bare before you and his hardened length caused your mouth to water.

“Let me touch you, dear husband,” you pleaded as you attempted to reach for him once again.

He grabbed your wrist to stop you.

“I need to be inside you, you can touch me later,” he said dismissively as he once again manhandled you into the position he desired you in and placed a pillow beneath your back to prop you up.

You loved when he became demanding and impatient it filled you with a deep seeded pride that you were the cause of his desperate desire.

He kneeled on the bed before you and you whimpered with the need to be full of him.

He took himself in hand and you whined his name.

He grinned wickedly as he guided himself inside your wet heat and sank in to the hilt.

“Oh gods,” you moaned as you felt so deliciously full of him once again after so much waiting.

He stayed buried in you as he caressed every part of you within his reach.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your stomach before he finally pulled out then back in, his pace slow and gentle.

He groaned your name and you wrapped your legs around his waist to pull him closer, to feel him deeper.

“I am going to fill you, just as I did before I left, my pretty little wife. Again and again this night until you are too full of me,” he said, voice low and harsh.

You moaned as he sped his pace and managed to hit the spot inside you that made you forget any words other than his name.

“There is no better sight than you heavy with my child and whimpering in pleasure beneath me,” he moaned and intertwined his fingers with yours.

You whined his name as you felt the heat within you coil and snap.

His release followed your own after several more thrusts and he groaned your name as he came, head thrown back and his eye closed in ecstasy. You were certain he was the prettiest man in all of the seven kingdoms at that moment.

Sweat glistened on his neck and chiseled chest as he took deep breaths and you wanted to lick it off.

You were going to be insatiable tonight, you could already tell.

He pulled out of you before he laid beside you.

With a finger beneath your chin, he led your lips to his and kissed you deeply, sweetly.

“I missed you,” you said after he pulled back and smiled at you.

You smiled back and you realized you were perfectly incandescently happy in this moment.

“And I missed you,” he said as his hand began to rub your stomach once again.

You reached out and toyed with the ends of his hair where it was bound in braids.

“Who did this to your hair?” you asked, suddenly and irrationally jealous. Aemond never let anyone but you touch his hair.

“I did,” he said and you raised your eyebrows at him in disbelief.

“I may not be an expert at it, but I can manage a few braids during war to keep the pesky hair out of my way. It was either that or chop it off and I was certain I would come home to a very unhappy wife if I did that,” he teased and pressed a kiss to your cheek.

You giggled, “That’s true. I love your hair.”

“I know,” he preened. He pulled you closer to him.

“Perhaps you should let me wash it,” you offered.

“Only if you join me in the bath,” he said heatedly as he kissed you and licked into your mouth as you gasped.

It seemed you weren’t going to be the only insatiable one this evening.

Which is how you found yourself on his lap in the bath, once again stuffed full of him as you gasped his name and you both found your release in each other’s arms.

Eventually his hair and both your bodies were washed.

Sometime the next morning, after multiple other tangles in the sheets with your prince, there was a knock at the door that woke you both.

“Go away,” he called out and pulled you closer to him. He buried his face in your neck and began to pepper you with kisses.

“My prince, it is midday and the king is requesting your presence,” the kingsguard called back.

“The king can go fuck himself,” Aemond muttered before he pulled you to face him.

You kissed him on the lips but pulled back as he attempted to deepen the kiss.

He narrowed his eye at you but relented when you smiled and kissed his cheek.

“My prince?” the kingsguard knocked once again.

Aemond groaned in annoyance as he pulled himself away from you and got out of the bed.

“Give me a moment,” he snapped back.

You watched him yank on his clothes. He returned to you and kissed you long enough to fill you with need for him before he pulled back and whispered against your lips, “We shall finish this later, my perfect wife.”

You leaned in to lengthen the time your lips were pressed against his and he chuckled as he pulled back.

“See you tonight, my love,” you said sweetly and he grinned at you as he pulled half his hair back in his signature hairstyle and placed his eyepatch back in its proper place.

You watched him leave, he slipped through the door quickly without allowing any eyes of the guards outside to fall on you, protective as he is of you.

You let your head fall back into the pillow and sighed in happiness.

Your happiness only grew several weeks later when you gave birth to a beautiful little girl with Aemond’s gorgeous white Targaryen hair.

“She’s perfect, just like her mother,” Aemond said as he held her gently and stared lovingly at her precious face.

“You’re not disappointed that she is not a boy?” you asked nervously.

“Absolutely not,” he said and he looked appalled that you would suggest such a thing.

He strode over to you and leaned down to press a kiss to your lips.

“You have made me happier than I ever imagined possible, little wife, thank you,” he said sincerely and you pulled him into another lingering kiss.

“I love you,” you breathed out as you watched your handsome husband cradle your child in his arms.

“And I love you,” he said and his soft smile at you and his daughter was your favorite sight in all of the seven kingdoms.

Everything taglist:

@spideysimpossiblegirl @dinandgone @ohpedromypedro @littlemisspascal @tombraider42017 @kirsteng42 @just-here-for-the-moment @salome-c

Aemond taglist:

@fultimefangirl @dumpsterfirecee @adderess @flowerpotmage @theold-ultraviolence @lady-phasma @aemonds-war-crime

#aemond targaryen #house of the dragon #hotd #aemond targaryen x you #aemond targaryen x y/n #aemond targaryen smut #aemond targaryen x wife!reader #aemond targaryen fluff #aemond targaryen fanfic #house of the dragon fanfic #aemond targaryen x female!reader

916 notes · View notes

toournextadventure · 1 year

Note

I LOVE your Wednesday! I was wondering if you can write a Wednesday/gn!Reader where the reader writes to her a love letter and wants to give it to her with a black rose but they see Xavier give to her the cellphone so, thinking they're dating, Reader just throws away the letter and the rose.

Wednesday finds them..

Looky looky here, two fics in one day. This one was fun to write, I loved the idea!

im no poet

You were no writer. No amount of your rambling thoughts could compare to those of Shakespeare, Hemingway, or even Wednesday Addams. All those big emotions came out in actions, not words, and not even your mouth could keep up or properly convey all you wanted to. No, most of those big, bottled up feelings ended up left unspoken.

But for Wednesday, you gave it a try.

It had started with a very heated debate about the phrase “actions speak louder than words.” She, of course, had opted to disagree, claiming her words spoke pretty loud. They sure do, you thought as you shook your head and counter-argued. It was by no means an argument, much more of an actual debate with each side presenting their case.

You lost. Because, as you had previously pointed out, you were not good with your words.

Not a bad thing though, you realised once you sat down to try and write out how you felt. The first few paragraphs were messy; no structure, no reason, barely coherent. You crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the corner of the room, not even attempting to hit the trash can. But you pulled out another piece of paper and started again.

It took half a notebook before you could even start making sense of your words. Even then, it wasn’t what you wanted to say. How could you even start to explain why you were writing such a letter? Should you start it off with “Hello, I think I’m in love with you?” Words wouldn’t work.

Words wouldn’t work.

You put your pen to paper - the third pen you had ruined so far - and started explaining your emotions the only way you knew how: with actions. The feelings she envoked in you couldn’t be put into words, not so simply. No, because she made you want to live, and living was such a beautiful thing. That rare smile of hers made you feel as if you were running through the farm of your childhood. Laughing as you ran up and down the crop rows until your bare feet were dirty and tired and you collapsed in the field with the feeling of utter peace that only a child could experience.

Being with her made you want to do every little thing she had never considered was important to her. It made you want to bring her coffee whenever she was writing, or turning the page of her music as she played. You would connect your headphones whenever she came in because you knew she liked the silence. Or grabbing all the songs she enjoyed and turning them into a personalised record that she could use without having to switch them out all the time.

When it was all said and done, you had exhausted five pens, half a notebook, and came out with three pages of a written confession.

You had asked Miss Thornhill if you could raid the greenhouse. It wasn’t that you were a teacher’s pet, but you knew how to kiss up when needed. She agreed quickly, and all you had to give up were a few Saturdays of your time to help clean up and organise. A fair trade, no consideration needed.

The Black Dahlias weren’t in bloom, so you hoped Wednesday would settle for a black rose. That was still romantic, right? It was black, at least, that had to count for something. A small envelope, a single black rose, your bright shining face. What more could she want?

“I already put my number in it,” Xavier’s voice rang out even though he was talking fairly quietly.

He bought her a phone. The very thing she had adamantly refused to become a slave to. Yet she took it from him anyway. Oh, you thought with a furrow of your brows. Suddenly the items in your hand felt like lead, weighing you down and you almost wished they would drag you under the ground to escape.

It had been a crapshoot to make a move, you knew that anyway, but it still hurt nonetheless. Wednesday gave the equivalent of a smile, and you nodded to yourself in silent acceptance. You wouldn’t ever wish to put her in a position to “choose” between two people. So instead you turned around and started walking off. You only paused at a trash can to drop the rose and letter inside, patting the cold silver can twice before walking away.

You didn’t see Wednesday watch you leave with worry in her eyes.

“Go see,” Xavier said with a gesture of his head.

Wednesday didn’t hesitate to walk over to the trash can and pick up the rose and envelope. The sight of the flower made her heart race; had you gotten that for her? What had possessed you to get her something like that? You knew she was difficult to get along with, why would you go out of your way to get her a rose in her favourite colour?

And the envelope. It had her name on it.

“What’s their number?” Wednesday asked Xavier. He gave her a smile and gestured for her to hand him her phone.

—---

You practically fell onto the bench in the lockerroom of your hometown gym. After getting out of school a few weeks ago, you had thrown yourself into helping out at the gym. The owner was a family friend and he had quickly accepted your offer. It was an added bonus that he gave you full access to the gym, too.

It was almost time to start closing up, but you had managed to get a good workout in once everyone was gone. Hell, you deserved it, the girl you were in love with was very clearly not in love with you. In fact, she was nice and happy, and even though that’s all you wanted, it still hurt.

You never even told her, your mind thought.

“Oh shut up,” you mumbled as your head fell into your hands.

With a sigh, you pushed yourself up to your feet and grabbed your change of clothes from your bag. Maybe you just needed to change and get home so you could wallow in your self-pity and fall asleep with some Kitchen Nightmares on in the background. That would surely keep your mind busy. God, you were pathetic.

You were pulling your clean shirt back over your head when your phone vibrated against the bench. No one should have been texting you this late, everyone you talked to knew you were usually asleep. Besides, why would they be texting you this late? Didn’t they know you were in mourning?

The screen lit up when you held your face over it, still adjusting your clothes to fit properly.

Unknown Number: You forgot this. 1 Attachment.

“Oh fuck.” It was a photo of the rose and envelope with Wednesday’s name on it.

You: I’m sorry. You can toss it I didn’t know about Xavier

Oh god, why was this happening? Why did this have to happen? Getting silently rejected was hard enough, but now there was going to be humiliation too? You lifted your hands to grab the sides of your head as you started pacing, trying to keep yourself grounded. That’s it, you weren’t going back to Nevermore. Nope, you were going to run away, maybe live in the woods and find a Bigfoot family to take care of you.

The phone vibrated again and you rushed over.

Unknown: Did you mean it? What you wrote.

“Fuck!” You shouted. What did you say? There’s no way you could say “Yes, Wednesday, I meant every word of devotion that I wrote on that letter. Tell your boyfriend I said hi.” But if you didn’t let her know now, it was going to eat away at you until the day you died. Fuck fuck fuck!

You grabbed the phone and typed out the one word, but your thumbs stilled over the “send” button while your heart tried to beat out of your chest.

You pressed send.

You: Yes

“Oh shit,” you groaned. Your hands were getting clammy. “Why did I do that.” Oh god. Oh shit. Why wasn’t she answering? There goes any chance of even being friends again. You were going to have to change your name and run away. Surely your family would understand, right? Yeah, they could even help you come up with a new identity.

The vibration against the bench was about to send you into a frenzy.

Unknown: Call me tomorrow night. We can watch the new Scream movie.

You had never typed so fast in your life.

You: Is this a date?

The text couldn’t come quickly enough.

Unknown: Yes. But if you tell anyone, I will remove your tongue.

You stared at your phone in utter disbelief. A date. With Wednesday Addams. A real date with the girl you were highkey in love with. Your letter had worked. It had worked!

You: It’s a date

A smile took over your face as you put your phone back into your bag. You had a date.

“Fuck yes!” You shouted as you threw your fist in the air. You were definitely calling out of work tomorrow.

#wednesday addams x reader #wednesday addams #wednesday x reader #requests

1K notes · View notes

bananasfosterparent · 24 days

Note

I'm gonna be real, I'm very worried that Larian is going to try & make AA even more overtly the "bad choice" in their next patch (they promised some epilogue animations). I just really don't understand why the antis have to be so obnoxiously loud telling a company to change THEIR game because of a way they choose to interpret something. Isn't the whole point of an RPG that you're allowed to craft a narrative around the narrative-- but to pressure the writers into editing their hard work because they "don't like it" is just so,,,,..ugh

I just wish people would stop infantilizing the crap out of Astarion as a character. They give him all these sweet HC when half of them are just Wyll.. Like the "I can fix him" complex has rotted our society

Honestly? I'm not worried about it at all.

Mostly because I don't think Larian cares lmao At least, not in that way.

Get ready, it's 1am, I had my meds, and had some caffeine, so here comes ramble :D

They want to please their fans, and while spawn fans make up a majority of the Astarion side of the fandom, and there may be (speculated) peices in place to make AA seem worse in-game with these updates....I honestly don't think Larian as a whole cares enough to join in on the one-sided righteousness battle.

They made this game for the purpose that most AA fans (at least, ones I know) use it for: roleplaying, as you pointed out. And I'm very sure they aren't blind to just how one-sided the discourse is.

For example, on the official Larian Discord server, AA fans voiced their opinion on the Tav/Durge expressions in the new AA kisses. And from what I saw, the opinions were presently respectfully and with the roleplay experience in mind. How the expressions aren't ideal for evil roleplay. But after that, the same suggestions thread got clogged with anti-AA players begging Larain to "not destroy the narrative" they've apparently been telling and to not listen to us "delulu" AA fans. And the threads were locked by a mod and cleaned up, to "prevent bullying". I think Larian sees clearly who is focused on quality of roleplay and who is focused on arbitrary arguments.

Because the evil endings aren't supposed to be satisfying to those who don't play them. They aren't supposed to be a moral lesson to the player. It's not that meta (no matter how some people want it to be). It's not that type of game. The evil endings are supposed to be satisfying for those who enjoy playing those endings.

It's supposed to be a different experience. Empty and lonely, sure! But it's still meant to be rewarding for the player. Otherwise, it would be pointless to offer as a roleplay style.

I don't think Larian anticipated so many of us would prefer playing evil like this. I think the idea was for it to be a thing you do after you get bored of playing a few good solo runs. It also doesn't make any sense to spend time and money on an ending, just to slap the player on the wrist for choosing it. They see from the stats how often people make certain choices. People play evil in this game for a lot of reasons, but one big one is because it's just good, devious fun! And without any actual, real world consequences. And I think they see that more than anything. I assume you're also talking about the new evil ending updates?

This phrasing from the first article I saw about it is promising to me that these updates will be satisfying for those who actually enjoy playing/romancing evil--as a positive dark romance and not as some abusive romantic tragedy.

I hope "satisfying narrative conclusions" means that the player can enjoy it for their roleplay. And doesn't just mean the endings are rounded out, but the player gets "punished" in the end. I mean, what are you being punished for exactly? Having fun? SERIOUSLY. Any anti-AA fans lurking the tag care to explain exactly WHY you want people to be punished for playing evil in a video game? I really don't get that. And I don't think Larian cares to do that to their consumers.

Truthfully... I'm hoping the new evil ending fixes will fix Minthara's bugs for one thing. But I also am hoping that it will give us some good AA content. I don't even want to speculate... I'm just gonna wait and see!

AND YES. The infantilization of Astarion and the whole concept of "oh what a cute helpless silly lil bby gorl who needs saving from himself, must be protected and shown who he should be because my Tav/Durge knows best for someone they barely know who's a different creature from them entirely" is...just...

They want a mix of Wyll and Gale but with Astarion's face, voice, and body.

#so many people write Spawnstarion as Wyll/Gale in Astarion's body and AA as Cazedor 2.0 lmao BOTH are OOC.#ascended astarion #astarion #astarion ancunin #ask #anon ask

32 notes · View notes

armoricaroyalty · 1 year

Text

some dialogue tips

Okay, I expanded a bit on my thoughts from earlier and wrote...like 800 words? Here’s a collection of largely-unrelated thoughts about writing dialogue. I’m not an expert wordsmith by any means, but I’ve been doing simblr stories for about 2.5 years and writing creatively for much longer, so I hope some of this is helpful!

Read your dialogue out loud. In my opinion, the most important quality in dialogue is flow. Does the back-and-forth feel natural? Is the conversation stilted, or does it feel like something people might actually say? When you’re reading words on paper, it can be difficult to identify the rough patches. Your eyes are a different instrument than your ears and your brain processes speech and written text in different ways. If you’re stuck, read your dialogue out loud. The clunky phrases will jump out and be much easier to correct than if you left it on the page.

Different people talk differently. Dialogue is a tremendous vehicle for characterization, and I feel like I don’t see people discuss that point very often! What a character chooses to say and how they say it can tell us a lot about who a character is, where they come from, and what they value. You don’t need to strain yourself to come up with a completely unique voice for every single character, but if you remove dialogue tags and can’t tell whether a given line belongs to the 19-year-old stoner or their 65-year-old grandparent, you’ve missed an opportunity to imbue your characters with a lot of flavor and personality. Consider your characters’ personalities and ask yourself whether they’d use slang and profanity, whether they ramble or get straight to the point, whether they use complicated professional jargon or simpler and more accessible language, whether they hold back in conversation or say everything that pops into their head…

Most utterances are pretty short. In real life, it’s very rude to monologue or dominate a conversation without giving the other person a chance to reply. If one “line” of dialogue is more than one or two sentences long, the character will probably come across as if they’re delivering a monologue, not having a conversation. Break up longer lines of dialogue and include a bit of back-and-forth to keep the conversation flowing.

If a character is talking for a long time, spread the dialogue up across multiple screenshots. This is a personal preference thing, but if I’ve got a character who is talking for an extended period of time, I like to break the dialogue up across multiple screenshots. A screenshot with 4 lines of text is visually cluttered and makes it seem like the character is saying the whole thing in one breath. The same four lines of text distributed across 2-3 screenshots is visually neater and has a greater sense of pacing and rhythm.

Real speech is unpolished… There’s a joke among journalists that you can make anyone seem stupid by quoting them verbatim. In ordinary conversation, people often pause for thought, use filler words, and talk over one another. In my writing, I make heavy use of ellipses and em-dashes to try to give a sense of how the character is speaking, in addition to what they’re saying (perhaps I overuse them…) If you’re trying to represent ordinary conversations between ordinary people, including those kinds of verbal errors can bring a lot of life to your dialogue.

…but don’t strive for realism (strive for verisimilitude instead). Actual, real-life conversations are almost unlistenable (said the guy currently listening to a podcast). In real life, people often repeat themselves, interrupt one another, say the same things over and over, go on tangents, and say the same things multiple times in a redundant fashion. If you include too many of those kinds of markers in your written dialogue, your story can quickly become unreadable, even if it reflects a “realistic” manner of speech. In general, your dialogue doesn’t need to be realistic, it needs to feel real. (Verisimilitude basically means a sense of truthfulness [as opposed to realism] in fiction.)

People rarely address each other by name... This might be a unique-to-me issue, but when I reread my old writing, something that jumps out to me is how often I have characters use one another’s names in casual conversation. In real life, people very rarely use titles and names except in greetings and introductions. In general, if you have characters heavily using names mid-conversation, you should go back and eliminate a few.

...with some exceptions! In formal and workplace settings, using someone’s name or title is a verbal marker of respect. Characters in settings with formal hierarchies (militarizes, royal families) will be likelier to use titles and honorifics. Using a person’s name can also be a way to emphasize your point or express sincerity. You might also need to incorporate an occasional name or title in a heavy-handed way in order to deliver exposition or remind readers of the relationship between two characters. For example, I’ve got an upcoming scene where I have a character address their cousin as ‘Cousin’ in a very stilted way. I hate that it’s clunky, but I decided it was necessary because I thought readers would need the reminder that those two characters are related.

Conversations should build to something. In a back-and-forth, each new line of dialogue should move the conversation forward. Imagine this back-and-forth: A: How are you doing? B: Terrible! my car broke down. A: It broke down? But you just took it to the shop! B: I know, the mechanic lied to me about the repairs! The last line in that conversation has nothing to do with the first line in that conversation. If B had responded to A’s greeting by saying “the mechanic lied to me!” they’d seem slightly unhinged -- it’s an abrupt change of topic, but just two additional lines give it context and make it flow. When you’re writing these kinds of exchanges, you want to make sure that one character’s line makes sense as a response. If A had said “It’s good to see you!” instead of “How are you doing?” B’s reply would feel jarring, and you’d need to find a different way for them to introduce the subject of the broken-down car into the conversation.

I love to write guides. I should do that more, lmao.

#armorica tips

197 notes · View notes

instantartific · 9 months

Note

Yo, May I Ask If You Could Share Your Neonnova Ships? If You Don't Mind Of Course.

ও || NEONNOVA SHIP HEADCANONS / SCENARIOS

Appreciate the reason to ramble about my favorite middle-aged men, we love to see it.

This is a bit all over the place but I have quite a few thoughts about them, so! Hope you enjoy~

✧

Upon their first meeting, they nearly got into a "civil battle" as Neon insisted on phrasing it. This is because Nova very wrongly assumed that Neon was just "some robot Tatiana let into the lobby." Tatiana then had to have Neon stand down for the battle to end.

Neon always sits closer to Tatiana's end of the table at meetings yet sits facing the doorway (unless he's currently being spoken to.) This means he's sitting facing Nova's direction about 80% of the time. This would normally be fine as cream and wine if Nova was not mortally aware of the quiet pinging of a radar locking onto him in particular every so often.

They gradually ended up on better terms throughout working together over the years. This started as offhanded comments back and forth made across the table during meetings (usually one of them throwing an 'innocent' comment or joke at the other) and evolved into actual civil conversations whenever one could catch the other passing by.

They ended up spending more time together outside of work due to Neon discovering Nova's work on the NSR satellite. While... very confidently unaware of Nova's real intentions with it, all Neon could see is that the blueprints were developed in a, frankly, incredibly inefficient manner. And, frankly, he will not stand by while machinery like that is being set up for failure by a damn physicist that's never touched a wrench in his life. Nova was not a fan of this arrangement at first and yet Neon refused to let him live without "taking a crack" at the blueprints himself.

These little meet-ups grew into them realizing they have more in common than they initially thought. It turned out that both parties being a tad snooty led to some unnecessary disagreements. After long enough they'd initially meet at Barraca to work, but... let's be honest. Neither of them got anything done.

They ended up falling for one another at around the same speed. Neon was aware of it and allowed his feelings to naturally progress until he was absolutely sure of them. Nova couldn't make sense of them whatsoever and outright refused to allow that be the case.

The only way either of them ends up finally confessing is due to a misunderstanding. Neon would want to confess first but he'd want to let the other person take their time once he's absolutely sure of it. And Nova would likely outright refuse to believe that Neon could have anything for him that's more than their friendship (and at times he even doubts that) and Neon tells him to his orb that he's completely and utterly wrong. "You really think I don't care about you? Where did you even get that idea??" wrong.

Bonus little headcanons of them together for fun:

1010 joked about it in increasing amounts the more and more time they spent around each other. Neon usually paid it no mind or even laughed at them. Nova either considered himself more dignified than that or was utterly mortified at first but gradually gave in.

Neon puts his absolute heart and soul into DDR. He has tried to get Nova to play along. They both discovered that Nova's stamina nor footwork is all that great, actually.

Any time Neon has music playing around Barraca and Nova is in the vicinity, it is guaranteed Nova is getting swept up into the dance, no matter what it is. Neon slows down for him, of course.

Nova will occasionally, with full intention in mind, brush his hand against the back of Neon's head. Given his head is a radar, when it comes in direct contact with a person, it tends to amplify its signal. For Neon every one of his senses gets squared. Nova will chuckle at his very "dramatized reactions" to this.

1010 regularly run through training to keep themselves in tip-top shape. Aka they spar with each other for fun and Neon spectates. Nova was invited to join in spectating this and the two take bets. Nova's only ever won the bets once.

The first time Neon sees Nova's head in full color via one of his cameras, he stops everything he's doing to just... sit back and admire him.

Nova finds Neon's entire bodily autonomy incredibly fascinating and on several occasions asked to see his blueprints simply to study them. And ask questions as to how he can help the next time Neon needs anything fixed or replaced.

Neon is pretty known for making his incredibly childish and less-than-PG jokes and innuendos from time to time. While Nova was still figuring out what these strange feelings are, these jokes drove him batshit insane.

#THIS IS LONG BUT ANYWAYS...#nsr #no straight roads #nsr djss #nsr dj subatomic supernova #nsr neon j #neonnova

71 notes · View notes

unqrowned · 3 months

Note

Hi! Can I request Jacq from Pokémon SV x male reader? If you accept this request, thank you!! (^ o ^)

STAFFROOM SWEETHEARTS. — JACQ X M!READER

❛ ⠀♡ . ˑ⠀featuring : jacq

❛ ⠀♡ . ˑ⠀synopsis : a budding love is blossoming between you and your fellow colleague !

❛ ⠀♡ . ˑ⠀notes : male reader. fluff. teacher/teacher trope. plus general thoughts. brief reference to hassel/brassius. headcanons. not proofread. hope you enjoy anon ♡ !!

When you decided to seek out a career in being an instructor, not once did you think that you would wind up with a job to teach at Mesagoza’s well-known academy.

Clavell was more than pleased to welcome you to the faculty. You were invited to come to the academy and get familiar with the place before the new school year commenced.

During that visit, you came across some of your new colleagues, who all happily introduced themselves and offered to show you around the academy. All of them were incredibly kind, but you found your gaze continuously gravitating towards one in particular.

The slightly disheveled, easy-going man who looked like he’d appreciate a quick nap.

From the moment that his eyes landed on you, he smiled softly and greeted you with a cute, “Hello, hello!”

After that visit, you two started to become closer to one another. It was far too easy to fall into long conversations with him. Which only started to become a bit of a problem when you would both realize that you’re running late to your own classes.

Speaking of your class, you teach Pokemon Handling. The ways to care for various types of Pokemon and what’s necessary to ensure they live healthy lives.

There are times where your lessons branch off to the biology aspects of these Pokemon types, which leads to you and Jacq planning lessons to do joint classes.

It doesn’t take long for the students to pick up on how you stare at Jacq, most likely the most interested in his rambling, when he starts to get into specifics and the way that Jacq looks more energized and at peace when you’re stepping in to share your own knowledge.

This has led to these students coming up with theories about you two. A lot of speculations arise, questions going on whether you two were even interested in men. Regardless, there are those that compare the way you two are to Hassel and Brassius, which only spawns in more discussions on your guys’ relationship.

Of course, students being students, they attempt to ask in what they believe are subtle ways. Anytime Jacq asks if anyone has any questions, he’s surprised to see the amount of hands going on when he’s been accustomed to them being more prepared to leave over anything else.

There are no words to describe the shock that washed over him when the question pertained to you and whether he likes you. Of course, he’s chuckling lightly while he runs his fingers through his already messy hair as he struggles to come up with a response.

No, he’s not surprised that his students managed to pick up on his growing feelings. They’re a smart bunch and very observant. Maybe a bit too observant for their own good.

He’ll try to direct the conversation back to the topic on hand though he does mention that he likes you very much, in a platonic sense (not that any of his students believe that part) and considers you to be a brilliant instructor.

The rumors only grow faster once that happened.

If you thought it was only your students attempting to meddle however they can then you’d be very mistaken. The other faculty start to get involved as well in their own ways.

Salvatore offers cute phrases in other languages to say, and Saguaro talks a lot about how you and Jacq should go out on a picnic and the many sandwiches you could make together.

Once you both start dating, it’s as if everyone in the academy can tell. Many of the students are happy to see two of their favorite instructors with each other, especially when they caught on that they were crushing beforehand. The other faculty members tease you both for doing the slightest bit of affection in the lounge room.

Every time you head into the lounge room, you always have a second drink just for Jacq. And each time, he will thank you by pressing a gentle kiss to your temple.

There are moments where he feels so tired but one glance at you gives him the motivation to get through the rest of the day. He greatly appreciates that you’re able to sense when his internal battery is dwindling down and welcomes the cuddles that you initiate with him. Expect to have plenty of dates that involve napping together.

You’re the one to make sure that he doesn’t drown himself in his research. Jacq has the tendency to lose track of time, unless he has something scheduled with you, so you’re often the one that your other colleagues ask to go find him to pull him out of his work.

Anytime he discovers something new, you’re the first person he turns to. You always listen to him attentively. He does the same in return whenever you get in a rambling mood, especially when you’re caring for your or his Pokemon and talk about some fun facts about little quirks or things that the Pokemon like.

Whenever he catches you battling for any reason, whether you’re helping him with his research or you’re both simply out and about, he’s always in awe at your strength.

The second that you turn around to return back to him, he’s staring at you with such a tender look on his face. “That’s my boyfriend!” He praises, eyes closing as he smiles at you. Your strength and Pokemon is a wonder and he will never get tired of watching you.

#— ✦ ˙ 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 .ᐟ #— ✦ ˙ 𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑜𝒾𝒹𝓈 .ᐟ #i've never written for jacq but i do love him #i hope i did him justice!#pokemon scarvio #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon x reader #pokemon x male reader #pokemon jacq #pokemon jacq x reader #pokemon jacq x male reader #jacq x reader #jacq x male reader

47 notes · View notes

anonymous-dentist · 6 months

Note

Expanding on the Knowledge element thing.

Knowledge is the element of knowing, discovery, perception and learning which also involves memory, something that Cellbit lacks due to amnesia. Which I think its neat but here we go:

"To know everything is to lose everything"

The central part of the Horror of this element can be taken from this phrase. In knowing/discovering something that you shouldnt, a thing so horrible that changes who you are, what you are, your perception of reality will never be same for the worst.

Compared to the others Elements, Knowledge doesnt seem that bad at first. After all learning things cant be wrong right? But once tied to this Element people cannot stop, they must have the answer, the reason, the how's and when's. Even If the costs is too high. Once they started asking, they cannot stop.

Which I think that we all see clearly on Cellbit attempts to learn more the Federation. But the kick is that Cellbit has already lost "everything" once with the amnesia/memory wipe that the Federation did. The question is, what did he learn that the price was so high? ( of course this is expeculation based on Knowledge element themes)

Another folly of the Knowledge is that things must make sense. Knowledge supress the Chaos of Energy and put things in order. One of the things we learned into the late seasons of Ordem is that Knowledge needs to put logic into things, even If the end result is for the worse. Things don't just happen, that IS the Energy gimmick. There's must be a pattern that can be deciphered, a bigger puzzle with scattered pieces.

Which leads us to the third part of the Knowledge Element: Balance. For all actions there must be a consequence, for every problem a solution, to the results you want to obtain there's a cost. So all people who try to solve things with Knowledge, just end up creating either a different problem to others or a even worse outcome.

Okay sorry for the long ramble on the Knowledge, I hope it casted some light on It.

Ohhhh that makes sense. Very dark academia, I can fuck with that

#asks!#I do still think an ordem a.d. would end up here lol #rip to her ig #gonna get drafted into the evil librarian hivemind

36 notes · View notes

quicksilverdrabbles · 1 year

Text

Taliesin: I must say, you've a very good nose for finding injured people, Inigo.

Inigo: Thank you. They are just up this hill.

Kaidan: Peak's Shade?

Lucien: Oh dear, I hope S'vashni hasn't killed anybody again..

Xelzaz: No, this one is still alive.

Inigo: There they are!

Gore: *sitting on the ground with his leg caught in a bear trap*

Lucien: Oh gosh. I suppose asking if you're okay wouldn't be very helpful here.

Gore: N-Not really- *sees Morana standing near the front of the group* Uh.

Morana: *sighs, shaking her head. She pulls out her notebook and begins writing in it, showing the finished phrase to Gore* Hello, my name is Morana. No I am not here to kill you or lead you to your death. *she tilts her head, considering, before turning the notebook back towards her and adding more* Or enslave you.

Gore: You- What? I mean, the killing or leading me to my death I would have believed, but where did enslavement come from?

Morana: *points at Yaksha* That one.

Yaksha: Haha. She saved me from a slaver.

Gore: That.. makes more sense. But, if you're not here to kill me, then... *he stares at the group, confused. His gaze finds Taliesin, and his expression falls into a glare* You're here to imprison me. You're with the Thalmor.

Taliesin: What.

Morana: *waving her hands frantically* No, we're not. *turns to Taliesin* I told you to stop wearing those robes!

Taliesin: Well I don't have anything else to wear!

Morana: I just bought you new Vagrant robes!

Taliesin: When???

Morana: Like a week ago! I told you about them!

Gore: What is happening.

Lucien: Ah, Morana can't speak very well, so she uses sign language. Me, Taliesin and Yaksha can understand her, and the others are learning.

Kaidan: *speaking over Taliesin's arguing* Anyways, Taliesin won't imprison you or anything. If he were still a Thalmor Justiciar he wouldn't be alive right now. I'd have made sure of it.

Inigo: Yes, do not worry.

Gore: ... Right. I suppose I'll believe it for now.. Um. *he winces* Can you guys- just get me out of this thing?

Kaidan: Oh shit I forgot about that- Yeah, we'll get you out. Yaksha!

Yaksha: Right here. Please bite down on this while we get your leg free. *hands him a leather strip*

Gore: Thanks..

Morana: *looks over at Gore's muffled yelling* Oh, you got him free.

Xelzaz: *sigh* No thanks to you!

Taliesin: Don't you look away from me, I am still talking to you!

Morana: *shakes her head*

Taliesin: Don't roll your eyes at me!

Morana: I wasn't even looking at you!

Yaksha: *checking for broken bones and applying healing salve to Gore's wound* How does that feel? Better?

Gore: Very much so. Thank you, er..

Yaksha: Yaksha. And that's Kaidan, Lucien, Inigo, Xelzaz, Taliesin, Styx, and Morana.

Gore: Quite a crowd you all have. Cute nightmare dog.

Lucien: Isn't she?

Styx: *barks*

Taliesin: *still rambling* It's not as if it is my fault the Thalmor hunt anyone suspicious! Of course people like Kaidan are going to be targeted if they stand out enough!

Morana: You're really not helping your case here.

Gore: Er, my name's Gore.

Inigo: Gore? That is quite a strange name.

Gore: It's a long story. Any chance we could talk about it back in town?

Lucien: Oh yes- Yes of course! Is he well enough to stand yet, Yaksha?

Yaksha: I am unsure. If need be, I can carry him.

Gore: I don't think that'll be necessary, big guy.

Morana: *still arguing* For claiming to know so much about fashion, you're certainly attached to those ugly robes.

Taliesin: UGLY?! Why you-!

Morana: *perks up, hearing twigs snapping at the bottom of the hill* Wait shut up.

Taliesin: You dare tell me to-?!

Morana: I said shut up!

Inigo: You heard it too?

Morana: *nods* ...

Kaidan: Yaksha, watch the lad.

Gore: Who the hell are you calling a lad-?

Thalmor Soldier: Well the mutt couldn't have gone off far! Spread out and search for him! And be careful, there are hunting traps everywhere.

Inigo: *whispers, sword drawn* We go on your signal, my friend.

Morana: *nods, drawing her dagger and dousing it in poison* Go.

Morana: *taps Gore's shoulder*

Gore: *sitting by the fire, leg bandaged* Hm? What is it?

Morana: *showing him her notebook* How's your leg?

Gore: Fine. Your healer works wonders.

Morana: Yeah, he's the best we could ask for.

Yaksha: *competing with Inigo to see who can fit the most honey nut treats in their mouths*

Morana: ... Assuming he doesn't choke to death himself.

Gore: Haha! I can see there's no end of excitement with these ones.

Morana: Are you sure you're okay travelling with someone who used to be a Thalmor? I'll understand if you don't want to.

Gore: Hm, well.. It'll take some getting used to. I think I'll survive, though. As long as he doesn't try anything funny.

Morana: You sound like Kaidan.

Gore: Ha!

Taliesin: *walks out of the tent wearing his new Vagrant robes* ...

Morana: Well, how are they?

Taliesin: ... They are. Acceptable. I thought most Vagrant robes had conjuration enchantments though. Are these destruction?

Morana: I enchanted them myself.

Taliesin: ... I suppose I must thank you, then.

Morana: I suppose so.

Gore: I'm really gonna have to learn your sign language so I know what you're saying without that book.

Taliesin: It seems Lucien has taken up the mantle of resident sign language teacher, if you'd like to ask him.

Gore: I'll be sure to do that.

#skyrim #tes #the elder scrolls #modded skyrim #dragonborn #ldb oc #skyrim oc #kaidan skyrim #lucien flavius #inigo skyrim #xelzaz skyrim #taliesin skyrim #skyrim styx #yaksha mod #yaksha skyrim #gore skyrim #skyrim gore #taliesin is not staying in his thalmor robes in my party if i can help it #Morana oc

131 notes · View notes

pokemenlovingmen · 1 year

Note

A mlm pokeimagines blog? In this economy? God where have you been all my life.

Apologies in advance if its a long ask lol

Seriously though you would not believe how happy I got when I saw this blog pop up! Barely any mlm reader stuff so finding you got my lil poke men loving heart all excited!

If requests are open I was wondering if you could do Emmets reaction to a male reader who loves the fact that Emmet is so blunt? I've seen some stuff like this in the past were reader loves Emmet DESPITE him being so blunt but I love him because of it!! I find it useful and charming!! I have a hard time understanding most people because I'm bad at picking up subtext and stuff in conversation so characters like Emmet that are just blunt and honest are always appreciated!

Also, claiming 🐗 boar anon in advance lol

Hi hi boar anon!!! I’m glad you like my blog so much! I literally made it bc I couldn’t find enough male reader content, and as a trans guy that gendered language is really affirming to me. Also not being courageous enough to get into a relationship with real human people lmao I gotta be gay somehow!! Literally all of you who’ve come to visit me on this blog are so sweet. I changed the blog description up for a reason, it really does feel like I’ve invited a bunch of funny gay guys into my living room and we’re all sitting in a circle whispering about boys. Doing this makes me feel so stupidly comfortable in my own skin and so much like a part of the LGBT community when I’ve had to stand on the sidelines most of my life, I just can’t explain how stupidly therapeutic writing imagines for fictional men from a fictional monster battling game is LMFAOOO

And we’re always here for supporting the autism shit lol, you can pry my autistic submas out of my cold dead hands, my submas will always be pretty heavily headcanoned and a post appreciating those verrry autistic coded traits is a huge win for me :) Emmet deserves to be loved for just being Emmet

Straight (Gay) to the Point— Emmet x Male Reader

⚪️ — Emmet and Ingo have grown up with a lot to be self conscious about, from their appearances to the behavioral quirks they share and the quirks they don’t. Kids can be cruel when you’re neurodivergent so different. So when you get together with Emmet and he comes to realize you LIKE his speaking patterns, he’s floored.

⚪️ — Emmet has always had a lot to say, but he’s quite bad at phrasing things. Compared to his brother who is a constant stream of consciousness, just prattling on about anything and everything that crosses his mind once you get him into conversation, Emmet needs to carefully plan out each word and it never comes out how he wants. Sometimes it feels like with his more approachable appearance (even if some call it creepy) and Ingo’s ability to talk (even if some say he rambles too much), they’re just two halves of one fully functional person. But you like him. Not his brother. Not him and his brother. You like him. How crazy is that?

⚪️ — He doesn’t have time to waste on careful wording. Do that, and he’d be plotting his course of conversation for ages. And he’s rather aware of that fact, so one day, he offhandedly mentions that he’s sorry his bluntness can be so off-putting, and he really hopes he hasn’t said anything to offend you.

⚪️ — Imagine his surprise when you said the contrary! When he heard you liked him because he said exactly what he meant, and he was always so clear-cut and easy to understand, it was like a fuse blew in him. Growing up, he’d always heard the opposite, and while Ingo never criticized him for it, plenty of other people did call him out for being rude when he didn’t mean to be.

⚪️ — He feels verrrry comfortable in conversation with you, yes indeed. Your sense of communication with one another is very strong and any conflict gets resolved very quickly. Emmet is happy to just talk with you and not have to pretend to have conversational skills he doesn’t have. You like him, his brother likes him, that’s all that matters.

⚪️ — He wants to talk with challengers on the Battle Subway more freely, so he’ll often come to you about the best ways to translate the things he wants to say into more “socially acceptable” ways of saying them. Of course, he’s also fully aware that he can come to you and not need to jump through all those hoops.

⚪️ — Since he’s so comfortable with you, he’ll say just about anything to you or around you and knows he can say things to you that will make you laugh, while others would just shush him for it.

⚪️ — After all, nothing makes you laugh quite as hard as sitting on your bed only to hear “OH DEAR! THE GALVANTULAS ARE MATING ON THE SOFA!” from across the apartment. Like cool Emmet, you definitely did NOT need to hear that—also please make them stop??—but that got the best laugh out of you you’ve had in a while.

⚪️ — He’s genuinely just so funny without trying. Another iconic moment you can recall is when, on a Friday night, a particularly inebriated woman was getting a bit too comfy with Emmet, which he was oblivious to at first, too preoccupied with the joy of battling. When you did tell him, though, you ended up laughing your ass off as he gasped and ran off with great urgency to apologize to the woman, as he was unable to reciprocate her advances due to both being taken and, I quote, “a homosexual”.

⚪️ — You’ve definitely made him a lot more comfortable, even in public situations, which he doesn’t seem to realize. The Battle Subway staff has regularly mentioned Boss Emmet has been way chattier than he used to be (which still doesn’t mean anything dramatic, but it’s a big step to him and that’s all it needs to be!) And anyone who has a problem with Emmet’s mannerisms can answer to you.

⚪️ — You’re more than just Emmet’s boyfriend, you gel perfectly into his family. And granted, that family is only Ingo, both of their Pokemon teams and Elesa ever since she basically adopted them, but it’s perfect anyway. It’s not like Emmet has been telling his brother about how much he wants to marry you eventually or anything.

⚪️ — You have literally so many Joltik grandchildren already.

⚪️ — Since both of you can struggle with reading other people, you often put your heads together to try and figure things out. (If it’s anything like the attempts at two neurodivergent people trying to use their combined knowledge to socially navigate that I’ve been a part of, it probably accomplishes nothing, but at least you can both relate to each other’s struggles and have a good laugh about it at the end of the day.)

⚪️ — He acts like a little kid with a crush around you and when he’s not working, he follows you around like a lost puppy.

⚪️ — He also knows that when he’s specifically feeling insecure about his mannerisms, he can lean on you for comfort, because you unashamedly love that about him. All of it. One night, after a particularly rough day, you remember him cuddling up to you and getting teary-eyed about how much you love him.

⚪️ — Please stay in his life, okay?

#pokemon x reader #emmet x male reader #emmet x reader #submas x reader #pokemon male reader #🐗

95 notes · View notes

gt-jar · 9 days

Note

About your recent post, I first wanna say that I’ve been obsessed with Two Worlds Among the Stars ever since I first discovered it, and even if chapter 8 is a filler episode I’m sure myself and many others will still love it!

I don’t have too many ideas, but something I’d like to see in the next chapter is Noah’s true feelings starting to shine through, even if just barely. Maybe Noah could begin to realize that he can trust John, even if he doesn’t realize that he realized it yet (that probably makes no sense but I’m not sure how else to phrase it lol). It makes sense (to me at least) for it to be a chapter of slow new beginnings. Some of the stuff I mentioned might work well as a focus for chapter 9, so chapter 8 could be leading up to it.

Also, I completely understand the frustrations that come with having no idea what to write for the next part in a series, it can be VERY annoying. I hope you’re able to overcome this though, and good luck on writing the next chapter! I’ll be looking forward to it, even if it takes longer than usual.

Before I get into detail, let me just say that I'm gonna treasure this ask forever. Everytime I read something like this from one of my readers I want to hug that person so bad, because I'm just so thankful.

Like I said in this post, I don't care if my story isn't seen by hundreds of people, literally doesn't matter to me if my story has 20 or 2000 readers. I care about what my readers think of my story (like every writer) and ofc I'd like to know what they think.

So again...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING ME THIS!

It's a shame that you sent me this as anon (though very understandable), but just so you know... I wouldn't mind seeing you in my dms :)

I also wanna thanks everybody else who left a comment under my last post!

I didn't reply to any of those yet, because here is what I wanna do...

I'm going to list every idea and leave my two cents and... just ramble a bit? You won't believe how much rambling helps when I'm having trouble to write a chapter.

1. Anon:

When it comes to writing the change in Noah's (and John's) character, I like to sorta... sprinkle in little pieces of those changes. Like Noah secretly yearning for affection in chapter 7.

And I think that's exactly what chapter 8 is missing, because in chapter 9 (and the one after that) there's going to be a major shift in Noah's and John's relationship because... stuff happens and things get revealed :) You're in for some sweet hurt/comfort mixed with some fluff. (Super excited to write those two chapters, but being stuck at the one before that aaaaaaahhhhh)

But this shift needs to feel natural. So like you've said Noah's more vulnerable side needs to shine through, but I just... Dont! Know! How! Because while I want/need to sprinkle in one of those small soft moments, it can't be anything major.

For example: Noah yearning for affection -> John figuring that out right away and just giving it to him -> too rushed, doesn't feel natural, boring

So yes everything you've said is true, I just don't know how to write it :')

2. @da3dm:

Someone wandering in and discovering Noah is still alive.

Veeeeeery unlikely. The people from Noah's village don't care about him. He's just another orphan, it's not like they don't have enough of those already. And even if there are some people who took pity on him in the past, they certainly don't care enough to put their on life in danger. All of them "know" what happens when they cross the river, so no one in their right mind is gonna do that anytime soon.

2. @coffehbeans:

John questioning if he is doing the right thing.

Oooohhh boy, trust me John is questioning all of his life choices that led up to this point. He knows their situation is less than ideal, but what other choice does he have? (-> John's pov in chapter 4). He's already going behinds his chief's back by keeping Noah a secret and not immediately informing him about the situation, he won't dig his hole even deeper by bringing the human back and risking that more humans come to his place (or giant territory in general). He's doing damage control, but mostly he's trying to maintain the little control he's left. And let's forget that he's very much sailing uncharted waters.

John encounters someone that will make him question his decision.

I'm curious, who are you thinking of? Because like I said that someone being a human is off the table and a giant standing up for a human? One of John's tribe, that is hiding from Noah's kind? That doesn't care about humanity at best? Most of them might be against killing humans, but that doesn't mean they wanna mingle.

Introducing a character that actually cares about Noah.

I think I need to question all of my writing decisions, if you think John doesn't care :'D

He may not care about Noah on a personal level yet, but he definitely cares about his well-being, even though Noah doesn't get that (yet).

3. @mabelisthebatman:

Someone stops by to visit John.

Let's just say someone is going to visit John (but not in chapter 8), but the situation is not gonna unfold in the way you described. All I'm gonna say is, there can't be comfort without hurt :)

4. @small-but-oho:

John and Noah avoiding each other as much as possible.

Before I start I wanna say how much I enjoyed following your reading process :3 It's always fun to watch someone read my story "live". Absolutely love seeing a user leave a like on every chapter every few minutes, but it's even better when they reblog it aswell and leave a comment in the tags. Also really loved your insight and acknowledging that they both are overwhelmed and deal with raw emotions right now (would love to talk more btw). I think no one else on tumblr pointed that out yet.

As for your suggestions: That would be soooo in-character for them! Noah... for obvious reason, and John just doesn't know how to handle the situation and doesn't want to make it worse. If Noah wasn't sick this totally would've happened, after their "fight" in chapter 6.

I don't know if you read the 7th chapter, but with Noah being sick and acting so different in comparison to his usual self, John is worried and tries his best to help him, because even though they aren't on good terms John doesn't like to see the kid in pain.

To be clear I DON'T wanna belittle any of your ideas, I loved reading every single one of them! I just wanted to ramble (helps me a lot with getting a feel for my characters again after a long writing pause). Sadly I don't get character related asks very often, so I don't have many opportunities to just ramble/infodump/etc.

So again...

THANK YOOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!

Didn't really make much process on chapter 8 though. It's still missing something. But I finally figured out where I'm going to place a specific scene (chapter 8) and I thought of something I want add to chapter 9, so I count this as a win^^

#giant/tiny #g/t #g/t community #my-rambling-jar #ask #OC: John #OC: Noah

14 notes · View notes

sincerely-sofie · 2 months

Note

One thing I will say is that saying you "disagree with the term queer" Is Not A Great Look, but that could easily be a me not getting the wording as intended thing - The above assumes you mean just, queer in general though it feels more like you might've meant in reference to yourself? (Which is entirely fine - I'm of the opinion that any given label should be opt-in to anyone who's genuine about it rather than mandatory.)

Really, the main important thing I appreciate is being able to accept others where they're at. Being able to just say "Yeah, sure, ok" and go along even if I don't personally understand is honestly one of my core beliefs* too, and with minimal disrespect it's nice seeing this from a Christian. The little I actually know suggests something worth looking into, and the notion of an eternal soul is something I find fairly agreeable (if not strictly the outcomes of that.) Then again, I'm someone whose personal experience with religion can be described as a tangled web of jokes that ran too long and accidentally became character traits, so, maybe not the best judge of anything here. Also, wow, this post got away from me quickly. Originally meant to just put in the first paragraph and call it good.

*I draw a hard line the second that personal belief starts meaning harm to others. Believe what you want about yourself, but anyone saying someone else needs to change their ways (bar the very beliefs this targets, primarily meaning bigotry/racists) because of a thing YOU feel a certain way about simply can't be tolerated.

Thanks for the critique! Looking back, I definitely should have written “disagree with the term queer FOR myself” (which was actually the original wording I drafted) rather than “disagree with the term queer myself”. I was trying to cut down on my wordiness as I edited my response, but I ended up just making it a confusing sentence to read. Curse my proofreading anxiety.

I'll try not to get into it too much here because it'd probably derail this entire response to your ask, but I've got a lot of mixed feelings with most labels, especially ones that were formerly derogatory terms. My church has worked hard to pivot from being called “Mormons” because among other (honestly more important) reasons, the term was basically used as a snide and condescending way to refer to my church, and it quickly became the default phrase for addressing us. The fact that members of my faith were basically referring to themselves with an insult as I grew up in the church never really sat well with me, even if we took pride in it. I'm super impressed by those who can take once-painful words and make them into badges of honor, but for me personally, it's a real emotional minefield. Hence, in part, why I don't agree with using the term queer for myself. It's a matter of preference and personal implications.

Agh, I really rambled on for a while there. I hope that made sense.

For your second paragraph— it's sad to me that so many people have had such disheartening experiences with Christians. I swear, most of us are loving people. There's just an unfortunate amount of very vocal bible-bashers who forget that God's greatest instructions to us were to love Him and love others.

If you're interested, there's a lot of resources on my church’s website if you'd like to learn more about what we believe (though there's no pressure from me to read up on it!) I just felt like I should share because we don't believe in a Hell where people burn for all eternity.

We believe in three different “kingdoms” that everyone will be sorted into, with interaction between them being possible so families and friends can visit each other if they end up divided. The least glorious kingdom (for lack of a better term) is still an absolutely amazing place, full of light and happiness. There is a sort of Hell called Outer Darkness that I guess anyone reading about could see it as a form of eternal punishment, but people choose to go there themselves— it's a form of willing separation from God that happens when people who have an absolutely perfect knowledge of the gospel still choose to go the opposite direction. It's not somewhere you go because you drank coffee or swore in life. That'd be ridiculous.

… I opened my mouth and a missionary came out. Oops.

Anyhoo, that last paragraph is a big deal, Anon! People need to be able to choose for themselves what they'll do in their lives— any forced change is not change at all, and the second you do harm to another person that isn't in the defense of yourself or others, you're in the wrong. As you can probably tell from my tangent above, I'm an advocate for missionary work, which could be seen as telling people they need to change their ways, but the type of missionary work I stand behind is the kind that invites people to learn more— never forces— and respects when they say no. Always honor agency is my motto. Invite, don't incite. That sort of thing.

Thanks again for the critique! I appreciate your willingness to send it in and share your thoughts. I'll add a link to this ask in my original post so that if anyone else is confused by my wording, they'll be able to see this and get some better information.

#I'm running on so little sleep right now #I hope this is even half coherent #Let me know if I wrote anything confusingly! I tried my best but.#My brain is not at optimum performance atm #sofie answers asks

12 notes · View notes

coffeewithcutcaffeine · 1 month

Note

hello my darling lin 💞 i'm afraid i can't keep it to myself any longer, i must know all about your character tags, they're simply too intriguing 👀.

Ahhh, my loveliest Lizzie! Thank you so much for sending this ask my way, it was such a lovely and generous surprise to find in my inbox today! 🥹❤️ I have a lot of different tags for five separate works so, please, bear with me as I briefly try to elaborate on all of them skdskfjsksfjsk. I apologise beforehand for my seemingly endless rambles, though I hope it will turn out to be interesting nonetheless! 🥰✨️

VOIEVOD:

The majority of my tags come from my medieval magnum opus sksksk because numerous distinct characters are already detailed and elaborate in my mind — let’s dig into them! I do have to confess that some of these tags have yet to make a proper appearance, but I have prepared them in advance, just in case.

( oc: if i cannot move heaven i will raise hell ) — Vlad Dracula. This phrase is a well-known quote from Virgil’s Aeneid: “Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.” I have always felt that it perfectly encapsulates Vlad’s entire life — he is quite the prototype of a Machiavellian ruler willing to resort to more violent methods if needed (which we know very well from history, after all). Throughout the works, he repeatedly acknowledges his belief that he is destined for hell and expresses his willingness to sacrifice his soul for the greater good of his people. And he is also a very strong-willed and stubborn person who will always find a way to achieve his goals, whatever it costs him.

( oc: sanctuary ) — Cătălina. At first, I greatly hesitated to use this symbolism as I truly believe this remarkable woman is defined by much more than her role as the royal mistress and the mother of the voivode’s sons, and I try to depict that individuality of her character. However, this role does significantly influence her life and defines many of the decisions she makes. Throughout their relationship, Vlad sees Cătălina as his sanctuary because she accepts him as he is, loves him despite his perceived defects, and offers him a sense of belonging and peace. Sure, he loves that she keeps him on his toes, but this acceptance and the notion of having a kindred spirit give him the feeling of healing and safety. He can take off the many masks and let himself be exposed as he is, deep down. She also serves as a sanctuary for their sons, acting as the family’s anchor since they spend most of their time with her.

( oc: golden child; lion boy ) — Mehmed the Conqueror. His tag comes from the beautiful poem written by madzieloss on Tumblr, with the whole quote going, “Golden child, Lion boy; Tell me what it’s like to conquer.” I initially tried to use one of Mehmed’s poems from his diwan to make it a bit more personal, but this particular poem works perfectly because it encapsulates Mehmed’s whole essence — the Sultan of the Empire, the gifted child, the great conqueror. I also love using the recurring theme of gold and sun for his character. Gold represents the splendour of the Ottoman Empire, as well as his personal visuals (a lot of rich clothes and jewellery, the gilded Ottoman armour, his ginger hair and beard). Sun is the lovely little dichotomy seen in his character as it is both radiant and invigorating (his manners, generosity, education, intellect, aspects of rule), and merciless and blazing (his cruelty and the destructive sides of his politics towards other countries). Like the sun, he can either help grow or burn everything down.

( oc: the dragon ) — Vlad Dracul. I hate admitting that I could not come up with anything even remotely unique for Vlad’s dad as his moniker Dracul literally means “the Dragon” skdhskfskdks. However, the nickname was used for a reason, and we do not fix what isn’t broken in this house. The dragon’s role in medieval symbolism reflects a complex interplay between themes of heroism, morality, and the battle between light and darkness — on the one hand, the creature is seen as a protector and symbol of power, strength, and courage, but on the other hand, a dragon also represents a cunning and dangerous figure. He is called “the Dragon” both by people who admire him and despise him, so it shows the double meaning and the complexity of a ruler’s nature. At the same time, the meaning also spills over to his private life as he is both a figure of protection and (unwilling and unintentional) destruction to his family.

( oc: of burning martyrdom ) — Mircea Dracula. The eldest sibling is without a doubt the most tragic figure in the entire story, and I wanted his tag to reflect the tragedy and inevitability of his fate. He was killed at nineteen at the hands of his father’s enemies and in the cruellest way imaginable, and the “burning” part hints at some of the circumstances of his death. In his own way, he dies as a martyr because he dies refusing to give up his beliefs — and he is a martyr figure because the majority of his short life is marked with great struggles.

( oc: keeper of secrets ) — Alexandra. This tag is supposed to represent all the inner turmoil and complexities fighting one another inside Vlad’s younger sister. Because the two siblings share most of their personality and physical traits and are also close in age (there is a three-year gap between them), Vlad has always had a fond spot for his little sister and always considered her his little confidante — hence the meaning of keeping secrets. In return, Vlad has always been the brother who has granted Alexandra the most freedom and experience. She also keeps many secrets because there is a lot of her she has to repeatedly suppress inside of her — as I have mentioned, Vlad and Alexandra are quite alike, but Vlad’s personality tends to be accepted more while the same traits in Alexandra are often frowned upon.

( oc: cel frumos ) — Radu Dracula. My laziness shows here once again as that is Radu’s moniker, meaning “the handsome” or “the beautiful”. Radu has been given a fair share of horrible portrayals in media over the years, so I aim to further develop his character and show the varied aspects of his personality that are frequently overlooked. I initially tried to find something that would suit his complicated character but eventually settled on the nickname itself as it nicely shows the irony of his life and the most defining issue of his life — always being disregarded and reduced to only a sliver of his being.

( oc: cel mare ) — Ștefan the Great. (Or, as I like to call him, Fane.) There is no possible tag that would fit the famous Voivode of Moldavia and Vlad’s cousin (Vlad’s mother was a Moldavian princess) more than his own nickname, “the Great”. He is considered a national hero in both Romania and Moldova and undoubtedly earned his monicker through his actions.

OPEN HEART:

( c: i rise with my red hair and i eat men like air ) — Laura Levchenko. Her tag comes from Sylvia Plath’s poem called Lady Lazarus and, although I wanted to find a fitting quote from Lesya Ukrainka to represent Laura’s roots (that form a great part of her being), this one has the right amount of sharpness and edge fitting for my darling spitfire. Her fiery hair is undoubtedly one of her trademarks, and the quote also represents an independent spirit that will not be pushed down by being seemingly “inferior”. It also shows her own stance towards men, beginning with the painful experience with her dad and marking her whole life, as well as people who look down upon her.

( c: veni vidi vici ) — E.R. This is incredibly embarrassing because I was desperate to find something better for Ethan, something more fitting for his character… but there it is skdksfksldls. I do not think this quote even needs any introduction, so I will mention instead that “I came, I saw, I conquered” expresses the way Ethan achieves everything he sets his mind to, as well as the ferocity with which he pursues all his goals. When we compare his character to Laura’s, it might also imply the briskness with which he achieves certain things in life as a straight white American man — as opposed to Laura who is not only looked down upon for being a woman but also has to face a lot of xenophobia in her life. (You also want to re-enact the Ides of March on him sometimes but… I digress sksksk.)

CRIMES OF PASSION:

( c: this ghost sitting year after year upon my heart ) — Milena Rosa. This quote comes from Federico García Lorca’s play Yerma, in Spanish being, “este fantasma sentado año tras año encima de mi corazón”. I have to admit that I have yet to get myself familiar with Milena and craft her character in detail the way she deserves, but we know from canon that Jimmy’s tragic death greatly defines not only her own inner life (because she battles with all the demons his loss has inflicted upon her) but also the trajectory of her future career and the purpose she finds in her mission.

( c: bleeding sun ) — T.T. Trystan’s tag is from Lucie Thésée’s Poem, and the full quote goes, “Handsome as life and poison. Sun-blood handsome. Bleeding sun.” This was an instant fit because Trystan is undoubtedly the product of the environment he grew up in — Drakovia is both a place of beauty and vibrance, but we know its regime is bloody and deadly. Trystan will also never suppress the essence of who he is, and his character is both full of life and somewhat fierce (sometimes even violent) in nature. A lot of my worldbuilding for the story comes from my own experience as an Eastern European, and this little corner of the world is brimming with endless contradictions, so I tried to come up with something that would evoke that as closely as possible.

THE WAYHAVEN CHRONICLES:

( c: i am the sea and nobody owns me ) — Kimberley Cunningham. Kimble is my TWC newborn that I have only recently crafted into a character she should have been from the very beginning. Her tag is actually the legendary quote uttered by Pippi Longstocking which, apart from its fierceness, also fits Kimberley’s playfulness and carefree approach to life. She is a rebel through and through in every aspect of her life, which stems from the disastrous nature of her relationship with Rebecca. Her main objective in life is to do the exact opposite of what she is told, and she enjoys shocking people around her. But, just like the sea, she can be tempestuous and unpredictable, and some of her decisions can be quite destructive. Kimble ends up in the love triangle which kind of mirrors the rest of her life — initially harmless fun turns complicated and messy.

( c: a ribbon of loneliness ) — Sydney Brannagan. My poor baby Syd has been characterised through his melancholy since the very first moment, so I needed to find this little nugget that would instantly evoke his inner world. Then I found this quote by Jenny Slate that goes, “I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that there will always be a ribbon of loneliness running through who I am.” Loneliness runs through Sydney not only in the sense that he is such a sorrowful soul, but also because a part of him always feels so detached from others. All his life, he has felt like he has to prove his worth to his mother to feel accepted, and he also unconsciously builds a wall around him as the time goes by. In the professional setting, his personality does not stand out in any particular way — he is diligent and polite, some might even consider him a bit bland.

BLEEDING HEART:

I do feel like I need to give a bit more context for this interactive fiction beforehand, especially because there is only Chapter 1 out so far. The story is a retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula through the point of view of Mina Murray, and the first chapter already explores several wonderful themes I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on! I have a very clear idea of who I want Mina to be, how she struggles in the setting and society she lives in, and how her personality drives her emotions and decisions. I do not know if my personal HCs will align with the story as it progresses, but there is nothing this user cannot tweak to her liking skdhskfjfksks.

( c: growing fruit around cyanide ) — Wilhelmina Murray-Harker. Mina’s tag is a part of a poem from a collection called Swallowtail by Brenna Twohy and goes, “Peach pits are poisonous. This is not a mistake. Girlhood is growing fruit around cyanide. It will never be your for swallowing.” Essentially, it encapsulates the conflict between who Mina seems to be on the outside and who she truly is on the inside. I have always felt like the Victorian times were one of the most suffocating periods for a woman to live in, and Mina always has to suppress a huge part of herself to somehow “fit the mould”, hence how she grows fruit around cyanide. Just like the society, her relationship with Jonathan also suffocates her — her engagement is a choice made out of reason, but she does not feel fulfilled with him in practically any way, which ultimately drives her into the arms of Dracula.

( c: the master of the night ) — Count Dracula. His tag is just the tweak of the quote from Bram Stoker’s Dracula: “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” Since he commands all the creatures and phenomena of the night, I have changed the bit to the “master”. I wish I had anything interesting to add to his character but, so far, I am waiting to see what he turns out to be like in Bleeding Heart — I know we are able to make him be the big villain or give him redeeming qualities, so I will wait and see which route will seem more fitting to me though I do play around with the idea of making Dracula more redeemable and a different character more villainous). Also, Count Dracula the Vampire has absolutely nothing to do with Vlad Dracula the Voivode in my fictional world — I know merging the two into one character is very popular, there is even one novel that did this that I absolutely love, but… not happening here lmao.

#ask reply #lin rambles #character tags #( oc: if i cannot move heaven i will raise hell )#( oc: sanctuary )#( oc: golden child; lion boy )#( oc: the dragon )#( oc: of burning martyrdom )#( oc: keeper of secrets )#( oc: cel frumos )#( oc: cel mare )#( c: i rise with my red hair and i eat men like air )#( c: veni vidi vici )#( c: this ghost sitting year after year upon my heart )#( c: bleeding sun )#( c: i am the sea and nobody owns me )#( c: a ribbon of loneliness )#( c: growing fruit around cyanide )#( c: the master of the night )

8 notes · View notes

perplexingluciddreams · 8 months

Text

thing i write about brain and reality and unawareness, etc. - is very messy words just ramble. also mention phobia of things like bugs but think bugs is good to exist, just brain have bad paranoid thoughts from them.

very disjointed, hope make sense to someone 🤷🏻‍♂️:

reality distortion... ??

i don't "see" or "hear" things, just get so confused between what things i "see/hear" inside my head and what happens outside my head. like the wall that is supposed to separate the two is mesh instead of brick. i react outwardly to things that i only realise afterwards happen inside my head. (only realise AT ALL from other people look at me funny for laugh or make a noise or gesture or movement. before when have speech, even mouth scripts or say words. even sign language to thin air).

at home in my room there is not even the mesh filter there... because nobody else to give me a baseline for "normal" / "reality".

i have low awareness of my surroundings and would get often in danger from it (if i left the house). sometimes "wake up" and i just stand at some point between bedroom and bathroom and don't know or remember going there. almost relief that i can't leave house or go downstairs.

forget other people exist... sometimes forget i am real or don't feel real or don't know if i "make someone up" in my head, have to check phone contacts or social media or try to think of actual real people to compare. same with "make events up", but no way to really check that... except if it happen outside house then know afterwards is not happen in last 5 ish years at least. but things in past - memory is warped, cannot trust own brain for memory most of the time.

sometimes VERY paranoid about cameras and people watching. not as bad now homebound, but so so bad before when leave house for walks and school and especially with be alone in school, anyone could be watching!

see "bugs" out of corners of eye a lot, make full startle response and jump and heart race. imagine bugs crawl in orifices, get paranoid what if they are already inside me and try to get out and have to search body and touch to make sure. after there is ACTUAL bug or spider in room, have to check EVERYTHING, shoes clothes bottles drawers bedsheets. nothing feel clean all feel contaminated always imagine bugs go inside me. (this happen for long long time, long as i can remember but get worse with time i think).

when have moments of clarity can write things like this... is so important because next time this happen bad will search for words and not be able to find or explain to own brain. maybe not even remember i write this but maybe make a difference.

wrote this whole thing with brain think i am in ambulance?? and is like two different reality happen same time. sometimes i am just NOT HERE. like two places at once, one place in brain and one place physical. and both feel just as real 🤷🏻‍♂️.

often this "two places at once" thing happen really vivid with memories. and cannot even remember real age or year or order of life events. often think i am 6 or 8 or 11 or 12 or anything not 18. most often brain feel stuck at 10-12 ish age.

don't know where my mind ends and the real world starts

sometimes like another person talk to me in my head, say nice things and soothe and calm and help. give instructions on how to do a task or calm down or tell me to take it one step at a time. (used to think this was just my own thoughts, but now is definitely feel different somehow. like better words and grammar than me and more proper put together and slow and calm and even "sound" like different voice to mine, when "read aloud" in head. like is older girl/woman [maybe?] talk to me and help. and really feel like Not Me. but cannot find way to explain that).

she call me "good boy" even before i come out and know i am transsexual for sure. and say "well done" and use words and phrases i don't even think i KNOW, i learn words for this "person" sometimes. is so weird cannot explain. but is nice and help me. not afraid of it/her/whatever this is. used to talk me through tasks like toilet and shower sometimes. or just feel presence, or help "take control" of body and walk to quiet safe place at school. feel like is main reason i survive through school especially late primary early secondary.

sometimes find myself already outside bathroom door, didn't even know i need to go, but when i try i do have to and is main reason i avoid accidents when this happen. and feel like someone/something else just "take control" but in helpful nice way.

sometimes really feel like someone else is in my head too. or more than one.

maybe some things can be explain by "reflex" or "poor awareness" or "bad memory, just forget". but with how many examples i have from just "wake up" in place i don't remember go there... how many times i know i cannot do a thing and then suddenly find few hours later it is finished and only have vague "dream" memory of do it...

imaginations is stronger than memories.

#autism #autistic #words from my head #perplexingluciddreams #reality #unreality #bugs #tw bugs #spider #tw spiders #body horror #paranoia #paranoid #reality distortion #memory #memory problems #awareness #(some tags is just in case - would rather be careful)

20 notes · View notes

existential-labrador · 10 months

Text

So, SO, this post has been a long time coming. It’s my post about Tedbecca and the finale and all of the fallout. It’s gonna be long. It’s gonna be rambly. It may not make sense. It may be a mess. There may be no order to my musings. And I will probably be changing my mind on things even as I write them cause this is word vomit at it's best. Also I know a lot of what I'm about to say has already been said, probably more articulately but I just have so many thoughts bubbling away and it’s finally time for them to come out. Oh and fair warning, this is gonna be LOOOOOOOOOOONG. If you make it through, I’ll be seriously impressed. And if you don’t, that’s okay, this is mostly for me anyway.

Where to begin? Well, I guess firstly I really want to talk about Brendan Hunt’s comments in the reddit Q&A. I want to preface this by saying I don’t want this to be a personal attack against Brendan, that’s not cool. But his comments did hurt me and a lot of others, I know this was unintentional but they did and I kinda wanna unpick them. I just want it to be clear that my doing so isn’t an attack against him, I appreciate that sometimes it’s lose-lose in these kind of interview/Q&A situations and that it’s very easy to say the wrong thing. But anyway, I need to talk about it. It’s how I process and I’m someone who likes to understand WHY. Especially when it comes to stories and writing.

Firstly, the comment about people taking things personally. Really not good, but I think it was probably just very poorly phrased. Or at least I hope so. It’s not lost on me, the irony of me taking a comment about taking things personally, personally. I also know us getting upset about it only fuels the fire for those people who think we’re ‘throwing tantrums’ and have ‘no media literacy’ (more on that later) and that it perhaps only strengthens the point Brendan was trying to make. And I hope that point was, that it surprised him that people took their writing decisions as a personal attack against them, like they’d been doing it to deliberately hurt us. I can see why that would be surprising, if that's how fan reactions came across. The trouble is, Brendan's comment and others he made came across poorly. Paired with some writing decisions, it showed a real misunderstanding of how invested we were as fans. From a Tedbecca standpoint for example, the kitchen fakeout at the beginning of the finale. They say it was supposed to be an affectionate nod, which now I know, I appreciate. It's nice to know they weren’t doing it just to wind us up. So I can see why they’d then be surprised that we were so upset. BUT, again, it showed a real misunderstanding.

What they didn’t think about, what they didn’t see, is us investing everything into every episode and building things up to the point of driving ourselves mad. Wishing, hoping, praying, questioning ourselves, defending ourselves, analysing and over analysing everything, clinging on til the very end, BELIEVING (!) and TRUSTING THE WRITERS. This was our mantra. This was our faith. So when that finale opened and we saw that scene, it was like all of our wildest dreams had come true, it was relief beyond comprehension, it was vindication, it was incandescent joy, it was the ultimate payoff…only for it to then be a joke… The fall from that was the most painful fucking thing. To be built up to that level and then to crash down like that. Soul destroying. And then to have the airport scene at the end as a further fakeout, again with all of that build up. Man. The disappointment was and remains, beyond words. It would have been so much easier on all of us to just not have those fakeouts, we would have been disappointed sure. But to seemingly be given everything we’d hoped for and then to have the rug pulled out from under us. Oof. Fucking brutal.

The same can be said of the matchbook, which is actually even worse because I still don't understand why? WHY? I'm not trying to be an arsehole here, I'm not 'kicking off because I didn't get my own way'. I genuinely would just love to chat to the writers and hear them explain why this and other details were put in. I can only imagine their answer would come back to the soulmates thing. Which is fine, totally support platonic soulmates, but they just made it so confusing. The matchbook was linked to Rebecca looking for love, wasn't it? I suppose it could have been linked to looking for meaning and happiness and you could say Ted was trying to do the same. And perhaps the 'it shows you what was right in front of you all along' was meant to indicate the club for Rebecca and going home for Ted? Look, that doesn't add up completely to me, but I'm trying to make sense of it. This is why I would do anything to have a proper discourse with the writers because without a full explanation, their execution of whatever story they were trying to tell with Ted and Rebecca just feels confused and unfulfilled.

And look, I know the writers don't owe me or any of us an explanation. I know they had their story and their vision and that's up to them and it made sense to them and what they saw, but I wish they would stop insinuating (or outright saying) that we saw what we wanted to and made this up in our heads. Because if you are gonna tell us that, please be clear in explaining your reasoning and writing decisions to us. Please be clear in your writing and the story. And really, would it kill you to just say, "Everyone interprets things differently and that's wonderful. This isn’t what we were aiming for, but we love that people enjoyed it that way.”

One of the things that frustrates me most now that we've heard they were firm in Tedbecca not happening from the beginning is the wasted potential of Ted and Rebecca's friendship. Platonic soulmates is a beautiful concept and we would have loved it! If it had been explored properly and given the proper ending it deserved. It also would have allowed us to move on and focus on the show. But the constant in between with the fakeouts, a total headfuck. And to have it be a headfuck right up until the final minutes, whyyyyyy.

It’s not that we can’t understand or appreciate platonic relationships. We love those too! They’re beautiful! And I absolutely agree that they're aren't enough of them represented. But this one didn’t land right. Maybe Brendan meant his socially conditioned comment as an explanation. Like, media socially conditions people so we wanted to challenge that because this show was all about subverting expectations. Maybe that's why they referenced When Harry Met Sally so much, to make the point, actually, men and women can be friends. I mean, obviously, we all know that! (I actually think WHMS knows it too although I see why people think it sends that message.) But again, in that case, why didn't we see more of this beautiful platonic relationship? Especially in season 3! I have wondered if Ted and Rebecca's lack of screen time in season 3 was a deliberate move to deter people from the ship but have also considered that the writers may well have just wanted to focus on other characters and stories with the cast expanding so much and that less screen time for these two was a natural consequence. I also have felt retrospectively that Ted taking a step back was deliberate to show that these characters could thrive without him once he left. But still, more friendship please!

Now look, I appreciate that we obsess HARD. I appreciate we get carried away sometimes. And I 100% think the writers should stay true to what they want and their vision (well for the most part, more on that later) so I’m not saying the writers should be thinking about what the fans want here. What I’m saying is, it was poor judgement. Moments that were supposed to be affectionate came across as cruel. And then to be bewildered that we took it personally…total misjudgement of how much this meant to us.

Now Tedbecca as a romantic pairing aside, there was also misjudgment of how much these characters and their happiness meant to us and also a misunderstanding of why we were upset. We weren’t just upset about the pairing. We were upset that these characters didn’t get the endings we felt they deserved. And that goes way beyond Ted and Rebecca but this post is about them so that's who I'll focus on. Ted going home, though I am mostly reconciled to this now, still felt so sad and unexplored. @melliemd did a wonderful post (https://www.tumblr.com/melliemd/719859828851408896/one-thing-that-would-have-helped-the-finale-leave) about it not being that Ted went home being the problem but that he seemingly then disappeared from the lives of people in Richmond? Bizarre. Rebecca deciding she could travel and do whatever she wanted with her life and get to know herself, only to then decide to stay at Richmond without a scene to bridge the gap of that decision. Bizarre! For the record, I think she does belong at Richmond. But I truly felt she deserved some 'Drink, Sleep, Fuck' adventures round the world first. And to be paired off with essentially some random dude last minute? The fuck? And to have the whole suggestion that she's a Mother to the club only to then make her an actual Mother to some random child, frustrating! I thought that message of her being a Mother in a different way was so beautiful. And look, I appreciate that when it comes to women having children or not having children, there's always criticism and I 100% think her character wanted children and deserved to find that happiness buuuttt it just felt confusing. These endings were not satisfying. And regardless of platonic or romantic, you cannot tell me Ted's lack of proper goodbye to Rebecca was okay, it was just bizarre. So yes, we took this personally, because we were (and are) deeply invested in these characters and their happiness and them having the ending they deserved.

Now back to the ship, I’ve been thinking a lot about Brendan’s answer about Tedbecca being considered but never with enthusiasm. The thing is, the question was, ‘was Tedbecca endgame’ considered. Now if we’re looking at the confines of the show and we know that they were always firm in Ted going back to Kansas, then perhaps it never made sense to them for these two to have a happy ending. Perhaps the fixed point of Ted leaving negated any possibility for these two to end up together. Or at least I was thinking along these lines before Hannah said Jason was adamant that they were mates in the platonic sense!

I think the problem came in the determination that it had to be one or the other. And I know that sounds silly, how can people be platonic if they ever have romance. But the thing is, relationships change. The possibility that their friendship could grow and evolve into something more doesn’t erase the beautiful friendship they had before it changed. Does that make sense? I’m thinking about other shows and representations here. For example, you guessed it, my old favourite, Ugly Betty. Betty and Daniel have a 100% platonic friendship for most of the show and it is BEAUTIFUL. At the end of the show, it’s fairly open ended, although strongly implied that it’s heading towards romance. Now firstly, the open ending works beautifully and is what Tedbecca should have got (more of that below) but also the idea of romance doesn’t change or diminish the beautiful friendship Daniel and Betty had. It just indicated that after years of being friends, in a gorgeous platonic representation, they had become the most important person in one another’s lives and that their relationship had a beautiful foundation of friendship that could grow into something more if they wanted. The romance wasn’t because they were a man and a woman and HAD to get together. It just made sense that they probably would by the end of it given the journey their characters had been on and how their relationship had grown. I've seen a lot of people mention Monica and Chandler as another great example. They were genuinely platonic friends who become more, but that was never a given. We don’t love the 'friends to lovers' trope because ‘man must end up with woman’, we love it because the idea of two people building something from a strong foundation and knowing each other better than anyone else and supporting and bringing out the best in one another through thick and thin is GORGEOUS.

And on that point, let’s talk more about Brendan’s comment about people being socially conditioned to think a man and a woman should end up together in response to a Tedbecca question. This one hurt the most and was the most poorly thought out IMO. Well actually I’m not sure it was thought out at all. I’ve already said it in another post but I’ll say it again now, I ship characters based on who they are, their chemistry and usually their suitability for each other, not based on their gender. It’s mad to suggest otherwise and came across as incredibly condescending. It also again, showed a complete misunderstanding of the fans. I’m not naive enough that I can’t see what he meant, obviously the large majority of media is unfortunately still heteronormative and unconscious bias does exist, I appreciate that. And obviously I say this having already admitted that I thought the show featured a romance between these two before I watched it (based on scenes I’d seen on tumblr.) So I know I went in with pre-conceived notions. But this wasn't based on man and woman. This was based on, two people with matching baggage, supporting each other, helping each other grow, becoming best friends and being soulmates. And if you’re gonna blame me following a trope before I watched the show, blame enemies to friends to lovers, don’t blame man and woman. It was never about that.

As I said before, I totally get where Tedpendent shippers were coming from, it wasn’t my ship of choice but I could see Ted and Trent had chemistry and could work and be very cute together. That wasn’t my ship of choice, but only because for me, the characters of Ted and Rebecca (tropes aside) matched as people, regardless of gender, given their baggage and the growth of their relationship. And when I say baggage I don’t even mean the cosmic, soulmate, 1991, matchbook etc. stuff, beautiful as it was. I mean the fact that they have both just been through divorce, they understand each other like no-one else can, challenge each other, help each other grow, make each other laugh, are there for each other, have seen each other at their worst, their best and everything in between, the list is endless. They would make each other so happy! @lauranthalasahlasah did an incredible post about this (https://www.tumblr.com/lauranthalasah/718039664194387968/i-dont-want-ted-and-rebecca-to-end-up-alone-i) that I keep thinking about that says it better than I could.

I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a writer on a show like this and to have fans dissatisfied no matter what. But you know what, being a fan isn’t easy either. We’re often told we’re delusional no matter who we ship. And we’re made to feel like it’s our fault for wanting two people who would make each other so happy to end up together. Like we’re ridiculous for thinking it. Again, would it have been that hard to say, “I can see why people wanted that, it’s not the direction we wanted but it’s nice that everyone interprets things differently.” And yes, I appreciate they must have been EXHAUSTED with those questions by the end, they had them constantly, but please PLEASE stop implying that we're mad for even suggesting it. (Especially when you constantly and heavily refer to romcoms!) Wanting two characters you deeply care about to be happy (with someone perfectly matched for them) doesn't come from social conditioning, it comes from love. (And as Hannah Waddingham said, hope.)

Again, I understand why they wanted it to be platonic. And again, I respect that the writers wanted to stay true to their vision BUT I don't think the vision for a story should come at the cost of something that would have made a lot of sense for the characters. What I mean by that is, when I've written in the past, I've found it hard to let go of things I was firm on keeping in the beginning, but if they suddenly don't fit in the story, or if the story evolves past them, they have to go. And I want to be clear, I'm not comparing myself to these guys, I'm an amateur, they are professionals and they are sensational. And I'm not even saying Tedbecca had to happen, but what I'm saying is, being so determined that Ted and Rebecca could never happen, that they could only ever be platonic, because you wanted the show to subvert expectations, is where it went wrong. Being so firm in this decision you made so early on before the show started and grew and developed, that you won't even acknowledge the POSSIBILITY that these two characters - with all of their baggage and the evolution of their characters and their relationship (and Jason and Hannah's chemistry!) - could grow into something more, that's a mistake. It didn't have to happen, but an open ending would have made so much sense! Or if not even that, then outside of the show, just acknowledging that this could happen, would that be so hard? Stop being so headstrong in the platonic message that you ignore everything else about these characters and their relationship and the potential they could have had if that platonic relationship had evolved.

And being so firm in the platonic message, decided from the beginning, that you pair one of your main characters off with some random dude, how is that better? I'm not saying Rebecca can never end up with anyone and doesn't deserve to be happy. I'm not even saying that she wouldn't be happy with Dutch guy. She absolutely deserved to find love and her character genuinely wanted that. What I'm trying to say, is that pairing her off just for the sake of it and in such a rushed way, just felt wrong. Her character deserved better. You know who I would have loved to see Rebecca see outside of the airport? Keeley and Higgins. Her found family! I'm not saying it''s not okay that she ended up with a guy, that doesn’t lessen what a boss ass bitch she is or anything, but I think throwing someone in last minute which made it feel like it was for the sake of it and then at the same time telling us we're socially conditioned, is just a little bit hard to get your head around! All of that being said, Hannah Waddingham did say in an interview recently that she loved that Dutch guy didn't know Rebecca, so she could be old Rebecca without any of the baggage and be with someone not already involved in her life and all of her messy past. I did like that perspective. But I still think being with someone who knows you better than anyone else and has supported you through your trauma and has loved and been there for you through thick and thin, and who also happens to be your cosmic soulmate, is better.

But what do I know? I'm just a silly, socially conditioned, hysterical, media illiterate fan! 🤣

And on that final point, to all of those people out there who have deliberately been nasty or laughed at us or gone out of their way to tag Tedbecca in a shitpost - I feel sorry for you. If you feel the need to take time out of your day just to be nasty to people, that’s pretty sad. Especially in this fandom. You can laugh at us all you want but you know what? We didn’t get our ship, fine. But it’s still real to us, it’s not less because it didn’t play out how we wanted. And you know what else? We gained beautiful friendships through this ship. We formed a community full of hope and love and kindness. And nothing you say will change or spoil that. And for anyone upset, annoyed or offended by our posts because you were happy with the show, I am sorry...but you know what I do when I find continuous posts like that that I don’t like seeing? I unfollow the person. Simple as that. I don't go out of my way to personally have a go at them. Please try to do better people, it's genuinely pitiful in any fandom, but in a fandom for this show, about love and kindness, it's genuinely embarrassing.

P.S. my Tedbecca people, I fucking love you 💜

#ohhhh my this needs a contents page!#ted x rebecca #tedbecca

25 notes · View notes

deceptivemorals · 4 months

Note

META + Tristan (Because you subjected me to the arduous challenge of writing something concrete about these two with a meme first so now it is your turn to suffer. Best of fortunes!)

* send META + a word , a name , or phrase and i will write a head canon based off of this !!! || @lordofthestrix || accepting

first of all, i have to apologize because you already sent in a similar request in … may. i don’t always respond chronologically and i take forever but it's not forgotten. i also wanted to answer this properly and knowing that i tend to make things long, i needed the right time for it to be answered. and yes, after i finished this really long headcanon/meta post, i noticed that i rambled. i still hope this thing here makes sense and i hope you all enjoy reading it and discovering more concerning young!vampire!elijah.

tristan is a black spot in elijah's story. elijah avoids mentioning him or even worse, giving him recognition for anything that makes elijah elijah. however, tristan had an impact on what & who elijah is now.

to make this meta work, i have to go back a little further.

it is known that elijah is descended from a witch and a viking warrior. rich people (rebekah explains in tvd that they were rich landowners in europe), but simple people. i firmly believe that elijah has been trained to be an outstanding fighter (mikael says he is proud to call him his son which confirms this). even as a human, elijah was gifted in strategy, different fighting styles, the ability to hunt, etc.

elijah has always been naturally gifted at being charming and polite, but as already mentioned, he came from a simple family. he lacked what makes him today: the elitist behavior, the formal language, and the way of dressing.

but until he came to the court of the de martels, elijah had not considered that this attitude/lifestyle was a direction he could take that would complete him.

in the originals 3x01, klaus described the situation of the mikaelson siblings as the following:

"in the beginning, we were so naive. our mother had made us into beasts who fed on blood. but immortality was beyond our grasp, compulsion a trick we had yet to learn. all we knew was a fear of being hunted… that, and a terrible hunger."

but despite this, elijah is shown as the one who is capable of acting farsighted. he's the one who covers the tracks, who insists that they stick together, he's the one who made the rules (of not letting anyone live who saw what they are). i think it's fascinating to say that even finn turns to elijah to present his desire to split up. finn wasn't simply deciding that this would be the way it's done, he's asking elijah.

it should also be added that back then, the mikaelson siblings didn't see themself as vampire royalty, solely because a) they were still figuring vampirism out, b) they were the only one of their kind, c) because they were very much focused on being on the run.

nevertheless, even back then elijah appeared to be a natural leader although i think elijah also had an identity crisis during that time.

elijah was a man who had long had the age and the necessary maturity to lead his own life. he had concrete plans with tatia (i think they soon would have married and started their own family). his parents' decision to turn them into vampires deprived him of this life and stripped him of his wishes. he was no longer human, he was something he could not fully comprehend, something he considered a beast, tatia was dead (and as far as he knew it was her blood that he was forced to drink which made vampirism worse), they were fleeing from their own father, they were in an entirely unfamiliar environment, living in fear and suddenly it was he who was responsible for the welfare of the family, as even their eldest brother finn didn't seem to take responsibility and take leadership. suddenly he found himself being head of the family which wasn't an easy task, especially at this time of new beginnings. in addition, there were also feelings of guilt in connection to klaus which had been intensified by the whole vampirism.

he also had issues with being 'in control' / having the necessary (from him desired) self-control. i think that self-control was already important for elijah as a human being. a good fighter needs self-control, control over the situation and a clear head. i think it's something that was expected in his upbringing (mainly from mikael) and also some kind of protective instinct.

i think the desire for self-control has increased since he attacked tatia. he obviously does not remember, but the trauma of his loss of control remained subconscious. so yes, he strives for (self-)control and to be in control of the situation which gets harder as a vampire.

but how does that get us back to tristan?

funnily enough, elijah was the one who was totally averse to the idea of posing as nobles:

"masquerade as nobles from a land we do not know and whose customs we cannot begin to understand? ridiculous!" - the originals 3x01

his objections were overruled and they were on their way to a real castle, in an environment where they had to be careful not to attract attention and elijah was very aware that this was a dangerous decision ("we're placing our lives in the hands of a stranger." - the originals 3x01) while his siblings mainly saw the luxury of having a comfortable life.

when presented to the count, elijah was impressed by the building, the high ceilings, by everything. he could see the appeal of it, of being something more.

again, it was elijah who stepped forward to answer the counts' critical question of never having heard that his actual expected guest had children.

even later at the party, elijah is shown to converse with the count. on another day, elijah was the mikaelson-sibling in an axe-throwing contest with tristan. he seemed to integrate into this lifestyle with the right amount of confidence while it seems that the other siblings did not do so to that extent and rather focused on romance or feeding.

since the siblings had a very long stay at the court, elijah had a lot of time to watch and learn. he adapted to the 'correct' behavior and the proper way to speak. elijah is a quick learner. he is someone who does a lot automatically after having it picked up and considered it important, and he had copied most of it from tristan.

so why tristan of all people? why not the count? why not aurora?

i think he identified with tristan (a bit) over time.

they probably have roughly the same age and i think they did spend some time together. out of curiosity perhaps, out of sportsmanship (the competition of throwing axes, perhaps even swordfight etc.), out of recognizing that they are both brilliant minds.

although far from being as educated as elijah is now, he was even back then a smart mind with diverse interests, which have been increased during their stay at the court and the new possibilities that it brought (a library, for example). although i do wonder how they even communicated (how did the mikaelson siblings learn to speak french within a year after turning into vampires?).

tristan was an older brother who was always concerned about his younger sister’s well-being, even though elijah soon noticed that this concern was (almost) an obsession. nevertheless, this reflected what elijah felt for his siblings: concern for their welfare, and the need to protect them. they also shared their disdain for their respective fathers.

but above all, tristan radiated control. tristan always seemed (outwardly) self-controlled and he was in control of the situation. a (self-)control elijah was looking for and something he desired as being in control/self-control is up to this day an important matter to elijah.

tristan also radiated a matter of course to deal with power. it struck elijah how naturally tristan saw his position of power, how he rose above others, but mostly how he wasn't scared to use what was given to him. power wasn't a curse, it was a gift. of course, elijah’s power (even with his limited knowledge of vampirism at the time) differed from the power that tristan had, nonetheless, he learned how to handle/use power by watching tristan.

and even if elijah did not always approve of the treatment of tristan's (or the counts) subordinates, he also learned qualities of leadership from his time with tristan. something elijah had to deal with as his family relied on him (and not on the oldest brother finn). don't get me wrong, i think elijah was taught how to be a leader by mikael but that kind of (required) leadership was different.

elijah learned valuable things during his time in southern france and there are two quotes from 'game of thrones' that fit the situation:

"power is power" – people like the count martel & even his children radiated a different kind of energy when it came to leadership, power, and control. a unique power that elijah (and his siblings) now held as well. a power elijah learned to use and not be ashamed of doing so (the first time when he compelled aurora to despise klaus).

"power resides where men believe it resides. it's a trick. a shadow on the wall. and a very small man can cast a very large shadow." – this can’t be transferred one-to-one to the situation, but it’s also something elijah had learned. appearance is important, without the right clothes (and of course without the initial help from lucien), they would have been noticed immediately. the right clothes/appearance/demeanor immediately brought their family a different kind of power, and respect. through the right appearance, you can achieve a lot without having to play the real trump cards. in the originals season two, esther explains to elijah that he dresses the way he dresses because he subconsciously wants to be 'clean'. i don’t think that’s the only reason, he prefers his suits because they give him authority / strengthen the authority he has. because the right clothes are important to make an impression. his suits are like an armor.

of course, the second quote is no longer quite so relevant, because elijah is now a powerful man. appearances are no longer deceptive and he no longer has to hide behind a false facade to be considered powerful. nevertheless, it is still a valuable lesson when it comes to assessing others. opponents are sometimes just puffed-up pomp, to whom one attributed too much power.

what i find interesting, however, is that tristan (and i am referring to my interactions with @lordofthestrix) acknowledges elijah’s power/monstrosity, while he does not acknowledge klaus' position and considers him small (x) (x).

learning from tristan gave elijah direction and i think that also ended his identity crisis.

nonetheless, elijah was not blinded by the lifestyle. he knew the count was a cruel man (a warning lucien had issued). that not all gold is what shines and a beautiful appearance deceives, was also confirmed when elijah (and klaus) discovered how tristan tortured lucien. there was nothing noble in these noble people. elijah was admittedly appalled by that discovery because despite being a monster himself, elijah still did value humanity and decency.

elijah found the fact that a man was capable of such a terrible thing, although lucien, a loyal servant, had done nothing wrong, horrible and he was disgusted by it, especially because tristan felt entitled to give such a vicious punishment and didn't even question his position as 'judge'.

this behavior, this entitlement, and the lack of humility are also something that elijah still has in mind and that he condemns. my elijah had a magnificent exchange about this topic with @lordofthestrix here.

fun fact: this situation was also the moment when elijah should have intervened. not to stop klaus, but to finish off tristan as soon as he had made his threat to spread the news of their true nature. because even if this threat hadn't been a bluff, they would have had enough time to flee. it's something he regrets in retrospect.

i think it's interesting that elijah and tristan left together after the latter was done torturing lucien. i assume they made some kind of deal (which had nothing to do with turning tristan at a later point).

so what does it mean to say that tristan contributed to making elijah elijah? it was definitely not an active process in the sense that tristan had consciously taught elijah. elijah evolved through interaction and observation of the 'wordly power'.

and he embraced the qualities he had picked up in this place.

"we made each other" - the originals 3x04

without tristan, elijah would have taken a different path or would have taken much longer to become the elaborate, elitist man he is now.

he enjoys not only being 'vampire royalty', but also presenting himself as such: powerful, superior, unassailable. over time, the mikaelsons have repeatedly presented themselves as nobility, 1112 in italy and most prominently 1492 in england.

so yes, tristan did have a major influence over what elijah is now although elijah would detest having to give him credit.

#lordofthestrix #long post #⚜ perhaps i'm not making myself clear here. this is a headcanon ▬ headcanon #i hope this is what you had in mind #i'm really sorry it took me months #i also really rambled #😳

7 notes · View notes