#who were willing to go to extreme measures to get rid of them

[blakeswritingimagines]

Dating Yandere Kuai Liang Would Include:

Kuai Liang was extremely dangerous as a yandere if he has feelings for you. He was loyal, and caring, yet obsessive and jealous, not to mention possessive. He was known for his short temper as well when it came to his significant other being around other men. If he deemed a person as a threat, he would not hesitate to get rid of them by any means necessary. In his eyes, no one was worthy of having you besides him.

Well at first, he would seem quite stern and distant from you. You would notice him always trying to figure you out, but he wouldn't tell you anything much. He would be like this for maybe a few months, but one day- He snapped. You say something that rubs him the wrong way, or you seem to be flirting with someone else, or you just do something he doesn't like. His facade slips and it's clear he likes you. He would try to control himself and keep it quiet, but eventually, he would cave.

In addition, he was extremely clingy as well. He always wanted to be with his beloved, constantly watching over you and never letting you out of his sight. He was known for his intense displays of jealousy when another approached you and for his temper flare-ups whenever you showed interest in a person other than himself. In short, he was an obsessive, jealous, possessive, and dangerous person to cross when it came to matters of the heart.

Kuai Liang was loyal and dedicated to you, but this could be a double-edged sword. He was willing to do anything and everything to protect you and make you happy, but he could also be incredibly possessive at the same time. He wanted you all to himself, and he wouldn't tolerate any other guy in the picture. He was obsessively jealous and protective of you, and he would go to extreme measures to keep you safe. On the other hand, if he deemed you the slightest bit unfaithful, he could become volatile and lash out in anger.

Kuai Liang was overprotective. He would do anything to protect you and keep you safe. If someone hurt you, he would do everything in his power to make sure that person regretted the day they met you. He was known for being extremely aggressive and even violent towards anyone who hurt you or tried to get in the way of the two of you. No one would ever bother you because they knew the consequences of harming you, but mostly because they feared Kuai Liang.

Kuai Liang could also be manipulative when he was in such a state. He would not hesitate to manipulate and deceive you if he felt like it would get him what he wanted from you. Also, he was quick to anger and had a short temper, which made it easier for him to get angry quickly. His feelings were often intense, so he was unpredictable with how he would react, sometimes being overly affectionate and loving, but other times being emotionally cold and distant. He is possessive to an obsessive degree and would not tolerate anyone touching you or making you uncomfortable.

He'll make you feel guilty anytime you are not with him or didn't text him immediately when he asks. He would use every advantage against you, trying to make himself look like the victim whenever possible. He would try to twist the situation to make you seem like you were being unreasonable or inconsiderate. If you refused to do something, he would use guilt tripping and gaslighting to try to get his way. If all of this failed, he would eventually resort to threats or emotional manipulation.

Kuai Liang was extremely possessive in a scary way. He was not only possessive of your time and attention, but he was also possessive of your body. He would not tolerate anyone else even looking at you without his permission. He was quick to defend against any other man who showed interest. In his eyes, you were his, and he would defend that claim in any way possible. This also included not letting you wear certain clothes that may attract attention from other men. He had to be the center of your life.

Kuai craves total control and submission. once he has his eye upon you, he will do anything and go to any length to keep you at his mercy. he wants every aspect of your life at his fingertips. From finances to social media, Kuai wants to know what his lover is doing, who you’re talking to, and where you’re going at all times. he also wants to know any intimate details about you and your life, no matter how private or personal.

He knows how to use guilt and fear to get what he wants. he can be very skilled at gaslighting his lover, he also has a tendency to be controlling and coercive, using threats to make you comply with whatever he says/asks you. he’s also very good at making arguments and is quite persuasive, especially when he knows he has the upper hand.

Kuai can be very vindictive and vengeful when he feels like he’s been wronged, even if the person involved was innocent or made a simple mistake. He will go to extreme lengths to get back at the person who he thinks wronged him—including harassing, stalking, blackmailing, and even causing physical harm. He will also hold onto grudges for long periods of time, even if the original slight was minor or trivial. this can lead to dangerous situations, as Kuai will not stop until he feels satisfied.

While Kuai can appear to be loving and protective on the surface, his obsessive and possessive nature often hides hidden depths of insanity. When he feels threatened or betrayed, he can become cold and callous, often displaying symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and other mental health disorders. Under this facade, Kuai's deep sense of insecurities and feelings of inadequacy manifest in his desire for control over you, and a paranoid need to keep you close by. this can lead to him becoming violent and unpredictable, as he lashes out in blind rage and seeks to regain his control.

Kuai has a low emotional intelligence which can lead to communication issues between him and you. He struggles to recognize and acknowledge his own emotions, let alone understand the feelings of others. This can lead to him acting impulsively or irrationally, saying things he doesn't mean, and having a hard time managing his outbursts. Kuai's inability to regulate his emotions can also lead him to do things that he wouldn't normally do, and this can cause serious harm to both himself and you. he often finds it difficult to understand other people's perspectives, and often blames himself for situations.

In some cases, he may even kidnap you and lock you away in a secluded location in order to keep you completely under his control. This creates a sense of danger and thrill for him, which fuels his desire to keep you close despite the risk involved.

As a yandere, he obviously has an unhealthy obsession with you; He needs you more than anything else in the world. You are the center of his universe and everything you do or say is important to him. He is desperate to keep you by his side at all times and will do whatever it takes to ensure that.

If you try to escape or resist his advances, he may become enraged and respond with physical abuse or sexual coercion to force you into submission. He may also engage in gaslighting tactics to make you question your own sanity and beliefs, making you believe that you truly do want and need Kuai just as much as he needs you.

If you ever tried to break up with him or expressed any desire to leave him, \he may become enraged and lash out at you violently. He'll react negatively and not care what he does to you in that moment, as a way of trying to maintain control over you and prevent you from leaving him. His delusional mindset convinces him that he is justified in his actions because he is the only one who truly loves you and deserves to have you by his side. In his twisted logic, killing you would not be seen as a crime but rather a necessary act of self-defense to protect the sanctity of your relationship.

If someone tries to intervene and stop him from carrying out his plans, he'll see them as a threat that needs to be eliminated. He'll become increasingly desperate and unhinged, resorting to violent tactics in order to remove any obstacles standing in his way. He'll frame the interferer as a stalker or worse in order to discredit them and make it easier for him to get away with his actions.

If you agree to marry him, he sees it as the ultimate symbol of your commitment and devotion to each other. It is something that he has always dreamt of and longed for, and it would make him feel like he had finally won your heart and soul. However, this can also increase his level of possessiveness and obsession, making him even more determined to protect your union from any potential threats.

He sees having children with you as the ultimate expression of your love and devotion to each other. He may become extremely excited and eager to start a family, feeling like it solidifies your bond and makes your relationship even stronger. He may become extremely possessive over the pregnancy, refusing to let you do anything that may harm the baby. During the birth process, he becomes extremely overprotective and controlling, refusing to let any medical professionals interfere or influence the delivery in any way. He'll also become extremely possessive over the newborn child, seeing it as another extension of your love and loyalty towards him.

Fetish play – using specific materials like leather, latex, or silk to enhance the experience for him.

Voice kink/Dirty talk - coaxing, encouraging, and degrading you during sex is incredibly arousing for him. He loves calling you filthy, nasty, and vile things while pleasuring you, or telling you exactly how much he plans to take advantage of your body.

Cum Play - He also loves giving you a big ole' gooey load shot directly onto your stomach, chest, face, or wherever else he feels like it, leaving you covered in his seed.

Edging - He loves experimenting with different types of edging techniques, like teasing you with a vibrator or his fingers until you're practically begging for release, only to pull back at the last second and start the process all over again.

Spanking – there's just something so deliciously wrong to him that he wants without fear of causing any real harm. He loves the look of pure submission and desire that crosses his partner's face when he starts spanking, and the sound of skin smacking against his palm is like music to his ears.

#kuai liang #kuai liang x reader #kuai liang x you #kuai liang x y/n #yandere kuai liang #mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #mortal kombat x you #yandere mortal kombat #mortal kombat imagine #kuai liang imagine #tw yandere #yandere #dating would include

[scover-va]

Oh god, I just had a TERRIBLE thought /pos

So like,,,in Pony Island and Inscryption, we get a name for who we're playing as. In PI, we play as Theodore, and then in Inscryption, we play as Luke Carder (or Kaycee in KM) ...But despite the player themself being an integral part in The Hex (helping complete the hex ritual, and irving directly talks to the player at one point in Lazarus' section), we never actually learn who it is in universe. And it being an in-universe character we're playing as makes more sense, considering Theodore and Luke.

So this kinda. Sparked a thought in my mind, technically two. So, outside of, like, Bandito7, Reginald, and Lou (and the random streamer bandito mentions during The Sphynx's boss battle, plus I'm not entirely sure we actually get Reginald's proper name til Inscryption), we only get 2 named real-world characters in the entirety of the game. And you guys get to sit here and read about me going into detail about why both options are both cruel in their own ways.

First, my girlboss blorbo herself, Carla Dosa. We learn in Walk how Lionel feels about her, and we know that Carla was willing to go to extreme measures to ruin Lionel's fucking life, even using satanic methods to make Sado an INCREDIBLY powerful game character. Even without including Sado specifically, we know she modded the Boss Rush mod in Waste World, which Lionel shows to have veeeery negative feelings about the modders. So, if we were going through The Hex as Carla, form her perspective, shes seeing all these characters that her ex-boss and ex-friend either created or bought, learning about why each of them are here, and seeing what the hell is up with Reggie, the whole "Lionel wants this" event. Maybe she takes that at face value, believing Irving just as Reggie did. Maybe she listened to the files Lionel sent her beforehand, knowing Lionel felt bad. Maybe she knew Lionel was better than that back then, knowing he didn't really mean any harm by wanting to get rid of Reggie. But that scene plays out, and she's pretty much powerless to stop what happens next. She puts her cursor over the empty space, and moments later, she's seeing the guy she hated most getting murdered, and she knows exactly who did it. She sees the character she used to ruin his life escape into the real world, and only Carla would know the real danger behind that. Maybe she's looking for Sado now, going on a wild goose chase as Sado continues hurting people

And then there's the even worse possibility. We play as Lionel. He plays through each of his games again, worried about his characters that he's now been forced to come to terms with about being sentient. He recognizes Reggie, knows exactly who he is, despite none of the patrons ever referring to him by name. He plays along in Lazarus' chapter, learns what The Artifact is, what Irving was talking about a few weeks ago. He watches Irving get shot and killed, and tries to boot up the Gameworks program, but to no avail. He practically just sentenced someone to death, but at least thought 'thats it. The others are okay'. Maybe he'll reach out to Gamefuna about Irving's ai being gone. He plays through Walk, reminiscing at old memories. Feeling bad for putting the SoL failure on Carla. Maybe he considers trying to find a way to reach out again, despite being blocked, to give a genuine apology. After he sees this through, first. And then he watches the "Lionel wants this" event. He's appalled, because that is *not* what he wanted. He wants to find a way to apologize to Reggie personally, because he honestly isn't sure if he can get Reggie to find his apology. He helps carry out their plan, because he's naive and stupid, the dots not connecting in his head. And then he sees himself on the screen, and by the time reality sets in, a hand is already launching itself out of his screen to kill him.

I honestly like the idea of Lionel being the player, because it makes sense as to how Reggie would be able to get to Lionel's computer specifically, despite the fact that Reggie would, for obvious reasons, *not* have any of his files on Lionel's computer. That and it is so incredibly fun yet heart wrenching to think about, the idea that Lionel unknowingly aided in his own death.

#the hex #the hex game #the hex spoilers #inscryption spoilers #pony island spoilers #tagging spoilers for those 2 games just in case #scov.txt #lionel snill #carla dosa #i suddenly thought of this and just. made myself so sad /pos #this fuckin game man

[lunastwilightblog]

The Volturi are the good guys and Bella is the up-and-coming villain

I’m on my computer for this as I know it might be long, but bear with me (insert Emmett pun here) 🐻

So wait - the Volturi are the good guys? But didn’t SM write them as the bad guys? 

Well, yes, SM did write Aro and co in as the antagonists of the series, but bear in mind that originally she didn’t write most of New Moon to happen, or the entirety of Eclipse. There was Twilight and Forever Dawn, which we’ll sadly never read. Her vision of the Volturi and their role as the evil villains who wanted to separate Edward and Bella became distorted as she had to flesh them out more and show their role as the governing body.

Then she wrote the Illustrated Guide and revealed their history and the horrors of the world without their authority; with the Romanians being as brutal as they were, the constant terror humans lived with and the fracturing of the world into many unstable and violent vampire-ruled empires (plus with way more children of the moon running about, probably as far west as - at least - central Europe). 

When the Volturi were coming to power they were laughed at with the idea of their law, a significant reason the Romanians didn’t take them seriously. But now they are extremely popular.

This isn’t just because Aro created vampires to go out and sing his praises. Volturi rule has been a blessing for both humans and vampires.

For humans it’s the obvious: they are not living their lives in fear, they are not subject to massacres (except if caught in newborn warzones), their population has been able to grow and expand, modern medicine and technology have been able to flourish, society is much more stable, people need to flee areas much less (if ever) so they can stay put and complete research/live to meet their grandkids/etc, and not have to serve a vampire in the local castle. 

For vampires it’s actually quite similar: with the human population growing to as large as it is today when at the time the Volturi came to power it was (estimated to be) only 210 million globally, vampires have been able to grow to even greater numbers also, and feed more often than before. If a vampire 2000 years ago killed 5 people in a town it would be an outrage the humans would certainly have noticed, however kill 5 people in a place as big as London, LA, Paris, Singapore, Bucharest... it would likely not be noticed very much, if at all (depending on who you kill).  

Humans like to measure things in percentages. Those 5 people is a huge number to a town of 2000 - that’s 0.25% of the whole town’s population. It would be talked about, and relatives of the dead/missing would all know each other. Yet kill those 5 in a city of 12 million (as is London), that’s only 0.00004167% of the population. And chances are, the dead humans’ families don’t even live in the area (or could be in another country entirely) never mind know each other to realise there was a mass murder.

So vampires, as long as they hide from humans, as is the only law (besides no immortal children or consorting with werewolves), they have a lot more freedom nowadays than they did before the times of the Volturi. There are so many people that they can easily get lost in a crowd, move internationally, and not be pressured for allegiance by a local vampire warlord (before meeting Aro, Caius ran afoul of the Romanians, and he barely escaped with his life).

With there only being one authority, and one that does not interfere with your day-to-day life, is a dream come true. As long as they don’t break this law that is very easy to abide by, they can do whatever the f*** they want.

Carlisle would have never been able to get a job as a doctor if he was known to be a vampire, nor could any of the Cullens have entered education of any form. They’d be stuck sneaking into libraries after closing, and googling. Edward would have never met Bella (neither would Edward’s ancestors have immigrated to America - in fact, Europeans may have never discovered America in the first place. The whole Cullen coven aside from Carlisle might never have been born).

So what the Volturi have done (despite many of them having not-so-savoury personalities corrupted by hunger for power or violence) is bring peace to the world, get rid of tyrants, increase the food supply, allow a greater amount of freedom, and the first kind of trials and justice ever seen in their world. Sure, Aro uses trials to find new talent, but it’s still a world away from before.

Which leads me on to the events of Breaking Dawn, and Bella.

So. Maybe controversial, but: the Volturi did absolutely nothing wrong in Breaking Dawn.

They turned up thinking a serious crime had been committed. They stopped to talk (which Vladimir certainly never would have done!), considered the evidence and processed new discoveries and discussed their legality, decided there was no crime to punish, and left with only the informant dead. Yes, Irina had been innocent in the way that she strongly had believed she had been telling the truth and her memories must have presented good enough evidence to Aro initially, but their witnesses had come to see justice being served, and in the vampire world that is execution. Aro could have continued with prosecuting the Cullens for something he now knew was false, or execute Irina instead.

(Side note: she did kind of deserve it too. She didn’t bother to check her evidence, she wanted revenge for Laurent’s death so her accusation wasn’t coming from a place of good intentions but instead she was willing to have her friends and family killed for Laurent. She was also forcing Aro into a position where he had to prepare himself to kill Carlisle, whom we know he cherishes. Remember also that Aro turned down Laurent’s application to the Guard because he’d followed the Romanians for a while, so he won’t have been entirely trusting of Irina anyway, her having been Laurent’s mate).

Anyway. Onto Bella.

So Aro’s impression of Bella after New Moon seems to be positive. Why? Well, through Edward’s thoughts he saw that Bella was able to keep The Secret. He had heard how much she wanted to be a vampire. In addition, Marcus showed him how strong Edward and Bella’s bond is. Both of them knew, that if E & B’s love was almost as strong as Marcus and Didyme’s, that no matter what Edward currently said or thought about Bella being turned it was invalid. If Bella were dying, he would turn her for sure, which happened. Then the obvious, that Edward had already proven he could not live without her.

Bella was trustworthy and probably going to be turned. Alice showing proof was just a formality so Aro could say he had evidence rather than admit he’d just made assumptions (and Alice having had that vision may act as proof that his assumption was correct).

Therefore, from Aro’s perspective, Bella was a human who wanted to become immortal so much that she would rather die than not, and she was already following his law. She was no issue. 

Yet.

Bella, knowing the law, should have been very grateful that she was left alive. Edward not being executed and she not being killed or forcibly turned on the spot... Aro had been very nice to them.

And again, in BD, he was very nice to them. Some people will inevitably say that he was weak in not killing them all. I mean, they stood beside Vladimir and Stefan! They have an army of wolves fundamentally opposed to vampires! Aro has lost Good Reputation Points by sparing the Cullens. He held as close to a trial as vampire society has ever had, and rightfully pronounced the Cullens innocent.

So shouldn’t Bella like him? He has spared her life and the lives of her loved ones more than one, and proven that he can be spoken to and conversed with properly and is willing to admit he was wrong. With Aro, we know it’s important to look more at what he does than what he says, and what he has done is be very kind to the Cullens (though who knows about the future?).

Yet Bella was creeped out by him when they met and interpreted him as a threat to Edward’s life. As she loves Edward, she’s always going to be of this mind, and first impressions are important.

Vampires are stuck with the mindsets they had when turned. An example of this is Esme, who was turned after her baby died and she tried to die too. She is permanently feeling maternal. She was turned only days after giving birth. Before knowing this, Bella even describes her as maternal and the mother of the family. Huilen also has a lot of care for Nahuel, being his aunt, because of her love for Pire, and while she was dying, Pire begged Huilen to raise him. Joham does not seem to have this parental love for his son and daughters; he never really knew Pire and was never affected by her love for Nahuel, and did not meet him until years after he was born. He’s only genetically a parent. He doesn’t have the protective mindset. When he was turned, he was a curious scientist (in fact, it was even why his creator turned him). He sees the world and people as things to study.

Anyway.

When Bella was turned, all she was thinking about was Renesmee. She begged Edward to get the baby out and didn’t care for her own life.

And she will be forever stuck in this high alert, must-protect-my-baby mode. Then for weeks as a newborn vampire, she was thinking of Aro as a threat and preparing to fight him. Compounding that, he was a threat to her daughter.

Both of these things will have had a significant effect on who she will have become after her newborn phase ended. It is impossible for Bella to ever like Aro now, even if she tried.

Her dislike of him, and willingness to fight against him, will be forever engrained in her brain.

This is dangerous.

Bella found the Romanians weird, but she didn’t dislike them per se. She would probably be willing to stand with them against the Volturi again.

We can take an educated guess and assume that sometime they will rise up again - and Bella might stand with them (though I highly doubt any of the other Cullens would).

Bella was not a problem for Aro until she stood beside Vladimir and Stefan. 

Here is this vampire who can block most of his coven’s gifts, stuck with an intense dislike of him, who he has seen with his own eyes stand with his enemies. He has every right to be nervous now. Her love for her mate is almost as strong as Marcus’s bond to Didyme - how strong is her bond to Renesmee? Likely more. Aro knows the threat in that. He knows that Bella may be viewing him in the way Marcus feels when he thinks of taking revenge on whoever killed Didyme.

Nobody wants the Romanians back in power. Those who lived under their reign and those who have heard first hand stories told to them all know very well that life under Vladimir would be horrible, brutal, awful for all beside his close coven members (though considering he had a very large coven that was often squabbling amongst itself, it was probably miserable for a lot of them too).

But Bella is young. She has no memory of the world before the Volturi, and knows no one with first hand experience of that world other than the Volturi. She will have heard that it was horrible, but she has no emotional or personal connection to the near-ancient past, and vampires who lived during that time are disappearing. No one lives forever.

Then, she is American. Like Garrett, she values freedom, and the Volturi are the only oppressive vampire force either of them has ever known. Despite them being the least oppressive in vampire history, Bella and Garrett haven’t experienced the alternative. They are a government that is at times harsh, is corrupt, and executes people. They go to war and they obliterate their enemies. Bella doesn’t see that the Volturi is the least bad government her world is ever going to get, and that they’ve granted her so much freedom. She is unable to see that because, in her youth, she has nothing to compare them against.

By standing against the Volturi, Bella isn’t just standing against Aro, Caius, and Marcus. She is standing against the peace they have brought between vampires, against humans living without fear, against modern civilisation itself. She stands a representative of the next world order, and Aro can sense it.

#bella swan #bella cullen #aro volturi #volturi #the volturi #the volturi coven #volturi coven #edward cullen #esme cullen #pire twilight #huilen twilight #nahuel twilight #Joham twilight #garrett twilight #irina twilight #Irina Denali #carlisle cullen #cullen family #cullen coven #THETWILIGHTSAGA #twilgihtsaga #twilightsagaedit #twilight renaissance #twilight revival #twilight renewal #twilight resurgance

[lamelinam]

The maid and the Cat, Ren and Akira: some musings

What gloomy love brightened the half-lives of the Sohmas’ most Cursed ones?

I often wonder what the relationship between the former Cat and his attendant would have looked like, twisted and sad as it must have been. Precious little is shown about those two, and only through Kazuma’s pov. We know she took care of and pitied the Cat, to the point that she even slept with him and bore his child. This is not unlike Kureno’s relationship with Akito. She might have treated him with the same kindness and devotion, distant, perhaps harmful, yet selfless.

Selfless? I think another way to extrapolate on the story of Kazuma’s grandparents is with Ren and Akira’s relationship.

Many great meta writers have already pointed out that those who fill in the positions at the extremes of the Sohma hierarchy, the Cat and God, or in this case the Cat and the idolized, deified family head, are foils to each other and are the ones that are dehumanized and isolated the most.

But now I think that you can also compare the way the previous Cat and Akira both chose ("chose" being a relative term in the case of the Cat) a romantic partner.

(Akira wasn’t God, but as the family head, he was worshipped just like Akito. His sickness also contributed to making him stand apart. Not only was he kept inside the compound because of his frailty, the hold that death had on him blessed him with this ephemeral, divine aura. “Was it the sorrow that befell him at such a young age that gave him that otherworldly beauty?»)

Both Kazuma’s grandfather and Akito’s father were doomed, Akira to die an early death, Kazuma’s grandfather to live the life of a living dead. Both were buried alive in the Sohma estate, either at the outskirts or at the center of it.

Both reached out to their progeny. (But Kazuma rejected the offered cake, and will endeavour to atone and honour his grandfather’s memory. Akito clung to every memento she had of her father and will need to learn to let go of him.)

And both the previous Cat and Akira found some measure of comfort in the affections and arms of their female caretakers, Sohma servants who saw their loneliness and expressed their compassion, though not in a particularly healthy way: Kazuma’s grandmother acting out of pity, Ren out of obsessive love.

It’s interesting to me how their respective position was reflected in their partners’ feelings : the imprisoned, despised Cat, Kazuma’s grandmother looked down on. The respected, otherworldly beautiful Akira was adored by Ren.

Kazuma sums up his grandparents’ relationship thusly:

Those correspond to the main "duties" that a wife is traditionally supposed to provide her husband.

The day-to-day caring.

Childbearing.

Attending their husband’s deathbed.

Obviously Ren wished she could have skipped the second one and be there for the last one. (I headcanon that she had prepared her last words years in advance, finding small pleasures and comfort, on the back of the wave of despair anticipating Akira’s death, in rehearsing the declarations of passionate love she would address to the dying man.)

The Cat’s companion attended her partner’s deathbed, seemingly very composed, even cold, as seen in Kazuma’s memories, while Ren, deprived of her husband’s last moments, that she felt were “stolen” from her by Akito (in reality by the maids :@), was mad with grief.

"The only one who can save him"

Those parallels make me wonder whether or not the Cat’s companion might not have developed a saviour complex, like Ren, both believing that they were the only one able to save this lonely, condemned person they were taking care of, and relishing it.

“I love you” vs "I pity you"

On Ren’s side though, it seems that she believes she truly saw Akira, as the person hiding behind that otherworldly aura, filled with sadness and fearful of death. Seeing that Akira agrees with her ("Ren noticed I was lonely"), fought against the Sohma leaders and regretted on his deathbed that he and Ren couldn’t reconcile, I believe this is not a delusion of hers. Her love was genuine and passionate, and she and Akira were happy. Unfortunately, that happiness didn’t survive her pregnancy, for she was also jealous and obsessed.

Kazuma supposes that his grandmother believed that she was doing something good. I wonder at her expression. It is shadowed, enigmatic. Is it a smirk or not, is she sad or not? i wonder whether she was selfless in her pity, like Kureno, or selfish like Kagura, perhaps feeling better by «sacrificing» herself in associating with the Cat for the sake of a miserable soul.

(Whatever you can say or imagine about her, Kazuma doesn’t seem to suffer from the stigma of being the Cat’s grandson, nor does he bear any trace of an abusive upbringing - in fact, he was among those doing the abusing - or even the echoes of the previous generation’s, so my guess is that she was an okay mother and grandmother... which would have made Kazuma’s disappointment and hurt at her words all the sharper... Like Tohru thinking of the zodiacs members she finds so kind and adorable secretly looking down on someone else she realizes she cares about more than she thought.)

There is no way to know how the Cat reacted to a pity-love. But considering Kureno and Akito’s relationship, this might also have been but a superficial balm, and potentially just as hurtful. Then it depends on the interpretation. Kureno’s pity cocooned Akito and kept her from moving forward, but the Cat was condemned anyway to an eternity of imprisonment. Moving forward was forbidden to him. And if his self-worth was already completely destroyed as his role and his treatment are meant to do, he might have just felt grateful towards the attendant. There’s no way to say for sure whether he would have been hurt or not by the truth, and I don’t know which option is the saddest!

... but I know what could be sadder. Because is the maid entirely to blame? We know that in Fruits Basket, love requires a measure of selfishness. The one cursed with the Cat has no self, no existence, no wants and no future, and they accept this fate. They believe they deserve it. (Which is why the Cat's Room doesn't need bars in the manga, nor locks. Rin was under lock and keys because either Akito didn't completely trust her to keep her word or she didn't want someone to discover her.)

It would be very difficult for someone to fall in love with a person who has renounced to everything, perhaps including love. Because who's to say that the Cat loved the maid too?

Recognition vs indifference

How depressingly fitting that we don't even learn the Cat's name, while Akira’s is remembered by all and echoes back and forth in the later part of the story.

Ren marrying the Sohma family head was such a big political deal it provoked a family schism. The Cat’s story with the maid gets completely ignored. It is probably known, just not "officially recognized", says Kazuma. Like everything related to the Cat, it was relegated to the back of the minds, in the dusty closet of the things that are uncomfortable to think about but that you tolerate if it doesn’t upend your little world-view. Ugh, some maid is being inappropriate with that monster! Well, as long as she doesn’t free the loathsome creature, who cares. (And she wouldn’t, because she’s no Tohru.)

In contrast, the maids of the main family thought that Ren was stealing Akira from their grasp. Ren didn’t seem to care for the family, and in a way, her love allowed Akira to also escape from them, "snatched away" by "that woman”, for the old attendant. Unlike the Cat’s attendant, Ren felt like a threat to the Sohma strict hierarchical system. (Fortunately, God will be born to bring back the right order of things, phew! Certainly she he will accomplish what Akira-san was momentarily too misguided to do and rid us of that woman!)

Inheritance.

Both women's profession of their true feelings deeply marked their progeny and the way they view relationship, whether personal or not, romantic or filial.

While her mother affirmed that "a woman only needs one man", Akito leaned on the love of the zodiacs ; Kazuma viewed and loved Kyo as a human and dreaded that his son would find himself in the same situation as his grandfather but also with the same kind of companionship. (His reaction to Kagura speaks of a long-held anxiety). But Ren's hatred for Akito coloured the way Akito interpreted her words, while Kazuma’s grandmother’s declaration shook Kazuma, his personal relationship with his grandmother notwithstanding.

This comparison isn't about good or evil, neither to judge those characters. Furuba isn’t about that. Obviously, they are not blameless. But it is very difficult to say whether or not Kazuma’s grandmother was wrong to act out of pity if it provided a bit of comfort to a prisoner. And is it surprising that Ren developed this saviour’s complex when it seems she was the only one willing to breach Akira’s isolation bubble?

Anyway, Takaya-sensei is really good at making foils. Either because she does it on purpose or because her characters are so deeply intertwined with the themes of the series the parallels appear on their own. But in this case, I don’t think it’s for nothing that the chapters recounting Ren and the Cat’s attendant stories follow each other (chapters 114 and 115).

Of course, this meta is less an analysis and more suppositions and conjectures (frankly, I wonder if I might not as well have written a fanfic). From the little we see, the Cat’s companion and Ren work as distorted yin-yang mirrors, their differences highlighting the similarities of their situations, from the ugly effects of the inner workings of the Sohma cult to the messed up inner workings of the heart. Genuine but obsessed, jealous love... Pity, perhaps self-serving, in the guise of martyred love.... One thing I can say for sure is that these two both gave me chills in their own way.

#ren sohma #cat's companion #the cat spirit #zodiacs #fruits basket #fruits basket manga #fruits basket season 3 #fruits basket meta #love vs pity #meta #akito sohma #akira sohma #kazuma sohma

[ladyeliot]

Damn melody.

Request: @mostly-marvel-musings​ : Well hi there!! If you’re up for it, could you do a no. 1 and 7 with Tony Stark from your Superhero prompts please?!

Pairing: Superhero!Tony Stark x Villain!Fem!Reader

Summary: You have been trying for a long time to get the documentation that explained the creation of his AI, and that time you almost succeeded.

Warnings: SMUT⚡(+18). Touching, unprotected sex, dirty talk.

Word count: 2186

A/N:  This is the first time I write a smut, I’m afraid. Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

Superhero vs Villain!Reader Prompts

The confrontation had made your insides scream in pain. You prayed that nothing and no one would stand in your way as you drove to your lair at extreme speed. The meeting with Iron Man had been planned from the beginning, your chances to get the documentation where the process of development of his AI based on his own genetics was located had been scarce during the last months, but that day you almost made it. The word “surrender” was not in your vocabulary and never would be.

You arrived at your hideout on the outskirts of New York County with barely a breath. Your body was full of bruises and you felt how blood could wash over your face. Your radar sense could do little at that time, Tony had prepared for your arrival and his AI had restricted the electromagnetic emissions that helped heighten all your senses. So that confrontation was catastrophic, little could your martial arts and combat strategy skills do against the legion of drones that awaited you.

As soon as you stepped on the floor you stood in front of a mirror, your appearance was sickly, your right shoulder was dislocated and that was accompanied by the cut on your forehead, making you look like the ruin personified. You slowly lowered the zip of the black lycra suit that was sticking to your body, preventing the pain in your shoulder from making you squirm even more.  You left the upper part of your body uncovered, covered only with a bra, which showed a series of hematomas covering the abdomen. Internally you found yourself cursing that person and his power, and you imagined the day when you would finally finish with him.

You took a breath and looked at yourself again in front of the mirror, your eyes had darkened from the rage you felt, that was the best time to place the dislocated shoulder bone, but your internal receptor regions, which were slowly recovering, emanated a signal in your body. You quickly grabbed one of the knives hidden in the back of your ankle and stood on guard. The house was dark, all silent, but a slight breath came into your ears, and it was not yours.

You came down the stairs slowly, the breathing could be heard more clearly, that meant you were approaching it. Your sense of smell quickly discovered who it was and where it was. It was impossible for you to return after what had just happened and better still, how had she found you and how had she overcome the security measures?

“Why do you have a room full of pictures and articles about yourself?  you opened the door very carefully and there he was.

He wasn’t wearing the Iron Man suit, instead he was wearing a black Tom Ford suit, accompanied by a red tie, but even so, you knew perfectly well that that didn’t mean he didn’t have his Iron Man suit on him. Tony was in the middle of your small private laboratory, specifically observing a corner where there were photographs of you analyzing facial changes when your emitting and receiving regions were set in motion. The hand holding the knife was shaking from the pain in your right shoulder, and when Tony looked away from you he noticed.

“An interesting sight,” he said, gazing at your naked upper body. He reached into his Tom Ford’s pocket. “Just like this place.”

“What are you doing here?” you spit out those words as if the life in them was gone.

“I only care about you,” he approached the center table and picked up a small gadget in his hands. “External receiving regions, very interesting. Is that what has kept you away from my lab so far?”

Your breath accelerated as you contemplated the behaviour of the person in front of you, he walked around as if nothing had happened and his indifference made your blood boil. Finally he stopped and watched you pointing at your shoulder passively.

“That looks painful,” he said, arching his eyebrows. “I think I’d better put that on you.“ 

"Don’t you dare come any closer…”

“Okay,” he raised his hands and put them back in his pockets. “I just wanted to be nice.”

His tone of voice definitely contained hints of impassivity, but also of disdain and arrogance, all of which shaped that man. So, thanks to your own pride, which gave you strength, you took a breath and in one quick movement put the bone back in place, hiding the moans of pain while clenching your teeth very tightly. The last thing you wanted was to give him the satisfaction of seeing you suffer in front of him again.

“You’re enjoying it,” you said, getting your breathing back to normal. “What do you want? Have you come to gloat over your success?”

“No, that’s not my style,” he said without hesitation and then pointed to the knife you were holding in your left hand. “Why don’t you put down that knife so we can talk like civilized people?”

“Do you think that after today I’m going to be in front of you without a weapon?” you held your breath, chin up.

A smile of arrogance spread across your opponent’s face, causing your body to quiver. Tony, noticing the event, smiled slightly and took a step towards you, which caused you to step back away from him. The tension of the environment was evident, and your uninvited guest had the ability to take control in such situations.

“Are you scared?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Scared?” you stood firmly keeping your gaze fixed on his. “Why do you think I should be afraid?

"Perhaps because if I had wanted to, you would have been dead…” he looked at his watch indifferently. “Two hours.”

You mumbled, clenching your fist around the knife and wanting to stab him as soon as he got a slip.

“And if you’re so sure of it, why didn’t you?” you asked, leaving your lips half open and arching an eyebrow, as Tony continued to approach with airs and graces.

“And what are you waiting for to finish up and put that knife through my neck?” he asked, leaving his lips half open a short distance away. “Stop flirting and kill me.

How could he dare to think what you were flirting with him about? You knew you had all the power at that very moment, as he had said you could put an end to that story, but your body was extremely blocked, and his last words didn’t help either. All your senses were heightened at that moment, you felt the touch of the dried blood on your forehead, you listened to his breathing intensely as it crashed into your face and you could smell his woody perfume mixed with the whiskey emanating from his mouth.

“Like what you see?” Tony whispered, drawing a smug smile on his face that caused your gaze to turn to his lips. 

“You’re not taking me to bed,” you spit out the words finding some lucidity in your brain. "Ever.”

Tony’s lips opened to show how his tongue slowly danced to his lips. You knew what his game was, you had seen it on several occasions in the charity galas he organized, and you were not willing to fall into it, as it was surely a distraction to achieve something. He was only a few inches from your body, your breasts were almost touching, a subtle movement from one of you and the contact was made. He was teasing you, gloating while keeping his gaze fixed on your lips.

“Who said it had to be on the bed?” 

You felt his fingers touching your naked belly, slowly caressing each of the bruises that the dispute with Iron Man had caused you. He turned his gaze to them but quickly turned it back to your lips. Your jaw tightened but when you felt Tony’s lips fall slightly on your right shoulder the tension in your body dissipated. You closed your eyes and let his lips run down your neck, making his tongue come into play as well. Although all your senses were on his actions, you held the knife firmly in your left hand. 

“Look at you…” he whispered a few millimeters away from your neck. His voice was hoarse and it was killing you. “Two hours ago you wanted to kill me and now you’re moaning at my touch.”

With your eyes still closed, your mouth curved into a smile of arrogance.

"Look at you…” you imitated his words. “Two hours ago you wanted to kill me and now you can’t resist putting a hand on me.”

You opened your eyes to meet Tony’s dilated pupils, radiating uncontrolled lust. In one swift movement he guided you to the nearest wall behind you, causing your body to collide with force and severe pain in all your contusions. You couldn’t stop a small moan from coming from inside your throat, a mixture of pain and excitement.

“I think thats the first time I’ve heard you moan…” he said, brushing his teeth against your skin before biting you.  “It was like a fucking melody.”

Another groan came from between your lips. You wanted to touch him, you needed to touch him. The knife slipped from between your fingers leaving a dry sound when it hit the ground. As soon as you were free of it you reached for his tie, but he quickly spun you around hard preventing you from having any chance to touch his body. You could have easily gotten rid of his tether, especially when his defenses were so low, but you did not. Tony quickly unzipped your suit leaving your whole body exposed.

Your legs opened up in need, and he soon realised that gesture, unsubtly holding his hand so that his fingers touched your clit, while he brusquely brought his length to your ass.

"I haven’t even touched you and you’re already this wet.” His voice was so dark that it caused your wetness to intensify.

“I haven’t even taken your clothes off and you’re already this hard” you gave a half smile as you bit into your lower lip, feeling his fingers dancing on your folds.

“Oh baby, you know, you really shouldn’t tease me,” he muttered, bringing two of his fingers inside you, causing both of you to groan.

You didn’t know if it was Tony Stark’s possessive behaviour, or the intensification of all your senses, but your body began to tremble. As if the marks he’d made on you that day weren’t enough, his tongue was marking your neck.

“You take my fingers so well don’t you?”

“Shut up and take your pants off.” You ordered to blindly reach out to meet his cock, which was begging to be released.

“Oh honey, you sound so needy” he mocked increasing the speed of his fingers inside you while his thumb stimulated your clitoris. “Let’s see how quickly you can cum.

You moved your hips to intensify the friction, while he, with his other hand, unzipped his trousers and released his erection. You felt that the climax was near, your legs could barely hold you and your breath, which was broken between moans, informed you that you were going to fall down in just a couple of seconds. It was just when you were on the edge that Tony withdrew his fingers leaving you empty, but not for long.

He grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to his body to slide into you with one blow. That feeling of pleasure that you experienced when you felt him completely inside and heard his moaning in your ear, made you free yourself from all the accumulated tension. Tony brought his hand back to your clitoris, slowly rubbing your thigh, sending you to the edge.

You groaned in desperation, calling out his name as if life were your own, which caused you to squeeze his cock even harder.

"My name sounds so good when it comes from your lips,” Tony intensified the speed of friction, crashing into your hips with more force. “Shit, you’re so adorable that I think I could even forgive you.”

The warmth of your interior continued to be latent until you felt it overflow inside you, filling you with all its pleasure and desire. Your breaths were completely out of sync at a frantic pace. Tony held you by the waist, avoiding putting his fingers on the bruises.

“Please remind me again why we are having sex,” you said leaning your forehead against the wall and trying to return to your normal breathing.

“Do you really need me to explain?"  Tony whispered, kissing your naked back as he pulled his cock out from inside you, causing a soft moan in your throat.  "There’s that damn melody again…”

Tag list: @imerdwarf @mycosmicparadise @lavendertales

Requests/Taglist Open (DM)

MAIN MASTERLIST

#tony x reader #superhero x villain #tony stark x reader #female reader #smut #drabble #prompt #marvel #mcu #marvel fan fiction #ff #fanfic #tony stark imagine #y/n #robert downey jr #rdj #superhero x supervillain

[jade-marie]

Heyyy. With all this supposed romantic jealousy and like you said ‘dick measuring’ game that Nick and Rio are playing, I think about the scene in the car after Beth got Rio arrested and Nick got him out. Rio said: “so what do you want to do about [Beth?] and Nick said “not what you want to do.” This scene makes it seem like they have a plan that they’re BOTH in on to deal with Beth. I’m at first I thought they were playing good cop/bad cop (I still think they are) but now Rio is clearly uncomfortable with Nick’s plan. What the fuck is going on because I am confused?

Also do you think the dynamic between Nick and Rio will become clearer by the finale? They seem to have a very complex relationship and wow, who would have thought utilising one of your best and most underused character that LITERALLY DRIVES THE WHOLE MAIN PLOT would make the show interesting again 🤔

Hi, doll! Ok, you’re gonna have to bear with me because my brain is messy at the best of times and I’ve had a non stop headache since yesterday morning, so making sense of my thoughts is hella difficult right now lol. I’m just gonna break this up into sections to help me keep track of everything!

P.s. I’m sorry this got long 🥴

Rio and Nick’s dynamic

So, from what we’ve seen so far, Nick is extremely narcissistic, manipulative, and selfish. In my opinion, he doesn’t really seem to have a very strong sense of self or morality, he just becomes whoever he needs to, in order to achieve the goal at hand. Whether it’s kissing ass at the golf club, playing politics, or having Rio thrown in jail/beaten with a stool. He’s always thinking about the long game, always about the bigger picture, he likes to use every situation/person to his advantage. He seems to have some sort of resentment and/or jealousy towards Rio and that comes out a lot in his desire to take from Rio. He took his dreams of being a boxing a boxer, his freedom, trivial stuff like the burger and the basketball. I also think he wants to take Beth but they’ve not made it clear in what capacity he wants to take her. Whether it’s because he’s clocked that Rio has/had genuine feelings for her, or because he thinks Beth is a business asset. Either way, he sees that Beth is a sore spot and he’s going to keep pushing as a way to exert power and feel like a man.

Rio, on the other hand, likes to see immediate results, and he can be pretty impulsive. He’s also very self-assured, he is who he is and he doesn’t change that for anyone. He literally has a giant tattoo across his throat which he displays proudly because he doesn’t care how anyone else sees him. But he has a natural charm and charisma that he can use when he needs it, without having to become a completely different person. I think he’s a very emotional person, regardless of how much he tries to hide it, which can make him pretty reactive to situations – see: basically every interaction with Beth.

They’re wildly different people and this would cause conflict in itself because they immediately want to handle situations differently, like with Annie being kidnapped. The girls owed him money, Rio was mad about it, and he wanted an immediate resolution to that problem, whereas Nick didn’t care so much about the short-term financial issues, in comparison to the long-term benefit to him of keeping Beth onside. Within their organisation, the structure is still kinda murky because he doesn’t seem to be the boss, but then he does and ehhh. Supposedly Rio handles all the illicit stuff and then Nick pushes through city contracts to shell corporations he owns and also makes money from that, as well as keeping Rio out of jail. The actual power imbalance between them still irks me because Nick is literally a councilman. He has no real clout. There’s no reason for him to have such a hold over Rio, especially when Rio knows exactly what Nick is and he also knows that Nick wouldn’t have dick without him. But I digress.

The conversation in the car

I definitely think that conversation is very relevant to what’s happening with Beth right now. In that moment, I think Rio wanted revenge, plain and simple but he was also thinking long term. I don’t think he was planning on going out to kill her, but that’s where Nick’s mind went because he severely underestimates how much of a “big picture guy” Rio can be hence telling Rio, “not what you want to do”. Presumably, there would’ve been a discussion between them off screen where Nick decided exactly what was going to happen and how they were going to use her. My guess is that going forward they were basically going to play a game of ‘good cop bad cop’. Nick offers himself up as the friendly local councilman, shows concern for Beth, helps her etc, while Rio is more menacing than ever. Rio is reluctantly going along with this plan because of the stupid power imbalance, but I think he’s got something up his sleeve. I think the discomfort we’re seeing from Rio stems from their difference in opinion on how to handle Beth, Rio chafing under Nick’s control and also the resentment Rio holds because of Nick’s constant routine of taking what’s his. I kinda spoke about it in this post.

Last time Beth got Rio arrested, he shot Dean - he’s not shy when it comes to payback. Typically, he’s always quite reactive to situations and that can (has) come to bite him in the ass but he knows this. He was there. He knows that every time he pushes Beth, she pushes back with equal force, so he needs to immobilise her. While Nick just wants to use Beth to benefit himself financially, by using her to push through contracts for shell corporations etc, I think Rio wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He can use Beth as a shield for his business and make money off her, then later on, I think he probably wants to use her to get rid of Nick and potentially let Beth go down with him as payback for her betrayal (at least, I think that was his original plan but he may soften to her and end up forming an alliance once Nick is out of the picture).

Romantic Jealousy?

As for the jealousy, it’s still not the word I’d choose to describe Rio. It probably fits, to a degree, but I always associate it with pettiness and wanting stuff you don’t have - i.e. Nick. With Rio, it feels more possessive over what he already has because he knows Nick wants to take it. This now extends to Beth because she was and is his, at least in a business sense. I don’t think he’s ever been particularly jealous of her in their personal relationship because neither of them ever truly gave into whatever it was. In business, she worked for him, she answered to him, if she needed help – she came to him, and he’s created that dynamic with Beth by keeping her isolated from his wider organisation. He was effectively trying to mentor her and make her in his image. Now, Nick comes along and suddenly Beth’s going to Nick for help, Beth’s doing what Nick says, and she’s looking to Nick as a mentor. So, once again, Nick is taking what belongs to Rio. That’s why I think he reacted the way he did in the strip club. He realised that he was about to lose to Nick again, and he wasn’t willing to let that happen, so he pulled out the ol’ carrot and stick. He took her money away as a punishment, made her think on her feet, and then rewarded her for a job well done. He showed her that she doesn’t need Nick because then Nick has no hold over her. He’s showing Beth that she can get shit done on her own, but also reminding her that he essentially made her what she is. He taught her. He believed in her. He asked her what she gained from being on the city council and doing what Nick tells her, knowing full well she gets fuck all out of it because he knows Nick. Then he gave her a reward to make ‘team Rio’ all the more appealing. Yes, there could well be some romantic feelings under that but I don’t think that’s what’s driving Rio right now. I think this is firmly about him and Nick, while Beth has become another toy for them to fight over.

#rio x nick #good girls nbc #rio good girls #nbc good girls #beth boland #brio #gg season 4 #rio x beth

[patt-writes-stuff]

Cotton Candy

Pairing: Midoriya x female! reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: maybe some curse words?

Genre: very light angst and fluff

A/N: This took SO long. I had writers block but thankfully I’m pretty over it now! This is my first piece for the summer binge event hosted by @bnhabookclub

Summary: You may be in an amusement park but you’re far from amused. Instead, you’re just sadly eating cotton candy.

Crossed Off: Cotton Candy

Prompt: “Why did you choose me?”

Class 1-A was spending the day at a theme park near U.A. Everyone had been looking forward to this for weeks now, even Bakugou, though he would never let it show.

Everyone, but you, that is.

Under different circumstances, you'd be over the moon. A whole day of rides, friends, and games? The definition of perfect.

You had been excited for today’s outing up until this morning. Now, you were sitting in a picnic table next to some food stands, eating cotton candy, and being sad.

You tore off a piece of the cotton candy, letting the sweetness of it disintegrate in your mouth. So far, it wasn’t doing an excellent job of getting rid of the bitter taste in your mouth. With a sigh, you recalled what had soured your mood so much.

You had been getting ready for the outing, excited to spend the day with friends. Just as you were finishing up, there was a series of frantic knocks at your door. A bit startled by the sudden noise, you opened the door, curious as to who was in such a rush to see you. The group wasn't leaving for another half hour.

A very frazzled looking Uraraka greeted you upon opening the door. You let her in, ushering her to sit on your bed and waited for your best friend to speak.

After a couple of seconds, she spoke. ”I want to confess to Deku today!”

Oh.

She wanted to confess to Midoriya. The very same Midoriya you were crushing on. You could practically feel the air being knocked out of your lungs.

She took your silence as a sign to continue. ”I don’t know how to do it,” she flopped dramatically onto your bed as if to further prove her distress, ”Will you help?”

”I don't know Ochaco, ” you said, looking away from her and instead focusing on the trinkets on your desk, ”Isn't Mina better at these sorts of things?” You didn't want to help with this in the slightest bit. Sure, Ochaco was your best friend, and you'd do just about anything for her, but walking on hot coals sounded more appealing than helping your best friend and your crush get together.

”Please, ” she begged, stretching out the ’e’ sound while she gave you the best puppy eyes she could muster.

Goddammit, your people-pleasing ways would surely be the end of you.

”Fine, ” you said, letting out a sigh.

Uraraka broke into a grin, letting out a ’yay’ sound. ”Do you have any ideas?”

”The amusement park has a Tunnel of Love ride, how about that? The amusement park we're going to has one.” you proposed. If you ever were to confess to Deku, you'd probably do it somewhere like that. Not that you had ever thought of that, though.

”A Tunnel of what?” She inquired, looking at you in question.

”It's this two-person boat ride that goes through these dark passages. It's supposed to be romantic and private, I think.” you spoke as if you hadn't done any research on them.

Ochaco let out a pleased gasp. ”That’s perfect! Thank you so much, ” she pulled you into a bone-crushing hug, ”You're a genius!” she exclaimed as she raced out the door, most likely to finish getting ready.

Shaking your head, you took another piece of your cotton candy. You always craved sweets whenever you were upset, and cotton candy was the first thing you could get your hands on.

It's not like you could be upset with Ochaco for asking you for help, she didn't know you also had a crush on Midoriya. You hadn't planned on keeping it a secret at first, honestly. You were going to tell her, back when you didn't know she had a crush on him. Then, at a sleepover, some of the other girls had teased Ochaco about her crush on the curly green-haired boy. They'd gushed about how perfect the two would be together. She’d been embarrassed but pleased that other people thought they were an excellent match.

You remember feeling sick that night. The more you thought of it, however, the more you could see what everyone else meant. They were always helping each other become better heroes. They just clicked.

You wanted Ochaco happy; she was your best friend. And you wanted Izuku to be happy too, even if that meant he’d be with another girl. They could be happy together.

So, you made it your mission to get over Midoriya. The task, so far, had proven to be much more complicated than you had initially expected. The problem was how incredibly sweet and attentive he was. He was always so willing to help you with homework, or training, or listen to you ramble about the stupidest of things, and he seemed so fascinated by everything you said.

He was just so perfect. His fluffy green curls had you itching to touch, to brush them off his face while he was writing on that hero notebook of his. His rambling, while admittedly a bit concerning, made you swoon. You could, and often did, get lost in his pretty emerald green eyes or counting all the freckles you could see on his face. He was just so… entrancing. You could just watch him for hours.

God, you’re horrible. Your best friend is probably going to get with this boy today, yet here you are pining over him like a lovesick fool.

”I’m a lousy excuse of a friend, aren't I?” You asked your cotton candy woefully, eating another chunk of the sweet treat.

”I think you're a great friend, ” a voice behind you declared. You jumped in surprise; you weren't expecting anyone to respond. You looked back to meet a pair of concerned green eyes. Those eyes are much too pretty to look so worried. ”Are you feeling better now?” he asked, sitting down next to you on the picnic table you were currently occupying.

”Huh?” was your ever so eloquent response. You cringed at how dumb you must sound.

His expression didn't shift from concern, however. ”You weren't feeling well earlier, remember? You said the roller coaster had made you dizzy. Are you feeling better?” He seemed to inch closer to you subconsciously.

Oh, right. You'd forgotten. You'd told your friends the last ride you'd been on had made you feel sick, and that you'd rather skip out on the next few remaining rides and find somewhere to sit. The Tunnel of Love ride was the last one of the day, according to Iida’s extremely detailed schedule, so you hoped to stay away until it was time to go back to the dorms. You loved your friend, sure, but you weren't a masochist. You knew seeing them together would be far from easy, and you hoped to keep all the negative feelings at bay until you were in the comfort of your room.

Midoriya, being the absolute sweetheart he undoubtedly is, had been quick to offer to keep you company or even to take you back to the dorms. You'd be a big liar if you said you hadn't been tempted to take him up on that offer, to postpone your inevitable heartbreak for another day, but one glance in Ochaco’s direction had been enough to shoo the idea away.

You'd forgotten what you had told everyone, honestly. You were as lousy as a friend as a liar.

”Yeah, I'm feeling much better!” you said in a cheery faux tone, throwing a reassuring smile for good measure.

He looked down at your cotton candy, a frown growing on his freckled face. God, you wanted to kiss it away. ”Why are you sad?” he asked, looking up from the cotton candy to meet your eyes. You swore you felt a jolt of electricity run down your spine when your eyes met.

”I'm not sad, ” you denied, shaking your head. You are lying through your teeth, but he didn't need to know that.

”You always eat sweets when you're sad.” he countered, obviously not buying it.

You looked at him, wide-eyed, ”How do you know that?” You wondered aloud. Darn, his observant nature. You gulped down the rest of your cotton candy, trying to get rid of the incriminating evidence, and threw the paper cone in the trash can next to the picnic table.

His face flushed, going bright r, and l he covered his face with his hands, mumbling a bunch of excuses you couldn't quite make out. Adorable.

”I’m feeling a little better now, ” you spoke softly, trying to ease his worries, feeling slightly guilty for flustering him so severely. You glanced down at your phone to check the time. It was almost time for the Tunnel of Love ride. Taking a deep breath, you said, ”Um, I think Uraraka had something to ask you. You should probably head over there now, so you don't miss the last ride.”

”She already asked me, ” he said, fidgeting with his hands a bit, looking straight ahead. ”I- uh, I said I couldn't. There's someone else I want to go on the Tunnel ride with.” he gave you a meaningful look. You ignored it, mistaking it to be simply a projection of your feelings onto him.

”Who?” you asked incredulously. If not Ochaco, then who could he possibly like enough to go on the literal Tunnel of Love? Perhaps Todoroki? He is pretty handsome; you'd admit that.

”You, ” he revealed, a newfound determination taking over his features despite his face being cherry red.

You felt like your brain was going to explode. Midoriya liked you? What? Since when? You weren't sure what to think. On the one hand, yay, on the other, what about Ochaco?

Before you could say anything, you heard a call of your name, along with Midoriya’s. The pair of you turned your heads to find Kaminari jogging up to the couple of you.

“Hey guys!” he exclaimed, full of pep, utterly oblivious to the charged atmosphere. “Iida told me to come to get you guys. We’re about to get on to the boats. We need to get going; otherwise, we’ll miss our place.”

Midoriya stood up, grabbing your hand and tugging you up. Instead of letting it go once you were out of your seat like you thought he would, he intertwined his fingers with yours and led you through the crowd of people. From the corner of your eye, you could see Kaminari's surprised expression at seeing the two of you holding hands. It only lasted a second, however, and after that, he gave Midoriya a not-at-all subtle thumbs up. It only made the poor boy blush even more. He was practically glowing. You were a bit worried. Could someone pass out due to excess blushing?

When you got to the line, most of your group was already in the ride, Ochaco included. You weren't sure whether you were glad or not. You weren't sure how to feel about anything.

Izuku, ever the gentleman, helped you onto the ’love boat.’ It was one of those canoes they have in the Venice Canal, and it was, for lack of a better word, obnoxiously pink, with glittery red hearts of different sizes all over.

The first minute or so in which the boat floated through the ride’s dark passages was spent in awkward silence.

“Why did you choose me?” you asked, breaking the silence. You turned your head over to look at Midoriya even though you couldn't quite see him in the darkness.

”What do you mean ’why’?” he asked. Though it was too dark to see his expression, you were sure; his brow was furrowed in confusion. Maybe slight worry.

”I mean, why ask me when Uraraka asked you? She's cute and positive and kind and-”

”I think you're all those things too, ” he said, effectively cutting you off.

Your eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, meaning you could make out Midoriya’s face reasonably well. And, God, were you glad you could see his expression. A stray curl or two were in his face, and you almost reached up to tuck it back into place. His eyes, only half-open, weren't quite meeting your own. Instead, they were trained between your eyes, mouth slightly agape. He was leaning towards you steadily. His lips met yours, and you closed your eyes shut. Every inch of you was tingling, and you felt like fireworks were erupting all around you.

The moment was cut short by the intrusion of sunlight. Upon realizing the ride was over, you snapped away from him, reality finally settling in.

You just kissed Midoriya. The same Midoriya, your best friend, was going to confess to today.

You were such a horrible person.

Thankfully, none of your classmates had spotted the kiss. Otherwise, all hell would have broken loose.

You stood up quickly, not quite meeting Izuku or Ohaco’s eyes. Instead, you practically jumped out of the boat, and sped walked towards the amusement park.

Midoriya tried to approach you in the train station, but you excused yourself, claiming you had to go to the bathroom. The look of hurt in his eyes was enough to make you want to cry.

When the train arrived, you once again chose the cowards way out by going into the cart that neither Ochaco nor Izuku were in. Sitting down, you key put a sigh.

You liked Izuku. And Izuku liked you. But Ochaco also liked Izuku. Only Izuku didn't like Ochaco; he wanted you.

You used the train ride to clear your head. You decided that before you talked with Midoriya, and apologized for being so flaky, you had to speak with Ochaco. No boy, no matter how amazing he is, us worth losing a lifetime of friendship.

You hoped you wouldn't have to choose, though.

Once you got out of the train, you tracked down your friend. She was talking with Tsuyu, her back facing you. Taking a deep breath, you walked over to her, tapping on her shoulder.

“Can we talk?” You asked, voice quiet, hesitant.

The two of you walked in awkward silence, not quite sure on what to say, several feet behind the rest of the class so you could talk privately. You tried your best to keep your eyes away from Midoriya’s back, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. There was an appealing aspect to everything the green-haired boy did. Even the sight of him talking normally with Iida and Todoroki drew you in. He was a flame; you were a moth.

As if he could sense your staring, he turned to look back. His eyes locked on yours, and from afar, you faintly see the steadily growing blush that adorned his face. His lips quirked up in a small smile, and he sent you an equally small, unsure wave. Cute.

Growing flustered yourself, you sent a small wave back before looking away, eyes meeting Ochaco’s. She had been watching the entire interaction, a sad sort of a smile adorning her face.

”Why didn't you tell me?” she asked. She didn't sound mad or disappointed like you had imagined she would. She just seemed confused.

Guiltily, you looked down, bruising yourself by counting the cracks on the pavement while you thought of what to say.

”I didn't want you to be upset, ” you answered.

She let out a laugh. ”Upset about what? About you having a crush on a guy I'm not dating?”

”I just- I'm so sorry-” you began to apologize profusely before being interrupted by your friend.

”You have nothing to be sorry about. You like Deku, and he likes you. Who am I to get in the way of that?” the question was meant to be rhetorical, you knew that, but you answered anyways.

”But Ochaco, you have a crush on him, ” you stated. You couldn't quite understand why she was acting so calm about this.

” It's just a silly crush, ” she said, racing you off, ”I'll get over it. Your friendship means much more than that. ”

You smiled at her. ”I think so too.”

The two of you continued talking after that, the awkwardness that was previously there dissipated. Ochaco filled you in on everything you missed while you were gone. Bakugou had gotten angry at a carnival-style target game and had blown up the target, resulting in Iida scolding him while poor Kirishima tried to keep some semblance of peace between them.

Once you arrived at U.A., you and Ochaco headed towards the dorm rooms, much like the majority of your classmates. It was late in the evening, after all. You spotted a familiar head of curly green hair. As if sensing your nervousness, Ochaco placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder before scurrying off to her dorm room, saying a quick ’Good Night Deku’ along the way.

Once the two of you were left alone, he started speaking. ”I am so sorry for kissing you! I guess I just got caught up in the moment and forgot to ask if you were okay with it. God, you probably hate me-”

”No!” you said, a bit too forcefully.

You felt like you were falling for him all over again. You had ditched him. Yet here he was, fidgeting anxiously in front of your doorway. This boy was going to kill you with that sweet nature of his.

He looked at you, a bit shocked by your reaction. You felt your face heating up. That had been sudden, hadn't it?

Clearing your throat, you spoke. ”No, ” you said, quietly this time, ”I enjoyed the kiss. A lot.”

The surprised ’Really?’ he let out made your face break into a grin. He was adorable.

”M-me too, ” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

The two of you stood there for a couple of seconds, merely admiring the presence of each other.

”I should go, ” he said softly.

Feeling particularly brave, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. He seemed to melt into the embrace, letting out a happy hum. After a few moments, he pulled away. Red-faced and smiling, he wished you good night before heading back to his dorm.

You entered your room, wasting no time in changing into your PJs and flopping on top of your bed, a massive smile on your face.

You may or may not have squealed into your pillow

#bnhabookclub #midoriya izuku x reader #izuku midoria x reader #deku x reader #izuku x reader #midoriya x reader #midoriya izuku #izuku midoriya #midoriya #deku #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #mha x reader #bnha x reader #patt’s creations

[dany-is-my-queen]

Born To Be Yours | Part IX

Sansa Stark x Fem! Baratheon! Reader (Daenerys Targaryen x Fem! Baratheon! Reader eventually)

Season 1-8

Word Count: 2,883

Note: Sorry for the delay :(

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8

“I’m glad nothing serious happened to you or your friend.” Tyrion poured himself some wine and you accepted to drink with him.

“Me too.”

“I know you are a hero but I sense something else here... why you keep taking those risks for her?” He curiously asked.

“She has no one...” That was true, still, you were trying to keep your feelings buried.

“You love her.” You hid your blush behind the silver cup. He chuckled. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. She seems to be a good Lady. With all that your brother has done to her having you is a blessing.”

“You... you’re okay with it?” Loving her in secret was one thing but saying it out loud to someone was a different one.

“Of course! I could never judge you. You don’t dictate your heart, you have all my support, Y/N.” He warmly smiled, you bent down to hug him. This is one of the many reasons you love your uncle so much.

“Thank you, uncle.”

“Now I fully understand why you did that yesterday. Does she know?” He walked to the balcony gesturing you to follow him.

“No. And maybe it’s all in my head.” You brushed it off. “She sees me as her very good chum who saves her from my horrendous family.”

“Or perhaps she’s just afraid to admit it. After all, you are the princess. It’s not that easy. You’ll figure it out.” He tapped your shoulder. Could Sansa really feel the same? Nothing’s impossible, you just have to give it time and be patient. But with the way she looks at you... how you find comfort in her embraces... how she gently touches your hand...

You made your way to the Stark girl’s room to check on her just to find the door wide open and a scared Sansa with the bed stained of blood, her nightgown had red stains too.

The Hound was there, you scowled. You knew he was going to tell Cersei, and that was the last thing the redhead wanted. Shae arrived shortly.

“Good morning.” You said.

“Princess.” Sandor and Shae greeted. Your gaze landed on Sansa, the tears were threatening to come out. She didn’t say anything.

“I will inform the Queen.” He stated and left. Sansa threw herself into your arms. You could feel her tensing and quivering.

“Hey hey, it’s gonna be fine. He’s not gonna touch you.” You promise her, you would do anything to keep him away from her, even if that meant being punished.

“You should take a bath before you meet her grace.” The young handmaid said.

“I’m going to wait outside until you are finished, then I’ll escort you to my mother’s chambers. Don’t worry, my lady. I got you.” You assured. Her features relaxed and you gave her a small nod.

You tried to come with excuses for your mother to not force her to carry Joffrey’s babies immediately but nothing with a valid point seemed to be compelling enough.

After she was done you headed to her big room. “How is your wound?” You added to soothe the hike.

“Better. You are a very good healer.” She shyly answered.

“One of my many gifts.” You winked to ease her nerves. The Queen Regent was already expecting her, yet she was not very surprised when you showed up behind Sansa, you let her entered first.

“My love, what are you doing here?” Cersei asked you, raising her eyebrow.

“I... thought I’d give Lady Sansa some advice, I flowered almost two years ago. I know it is grubby at first.”

“It certainly is. But her mother prepared her, didn’t she?”

“She told me. I thought... it would be different.” Sansa confessed.

“In what way?” You both took a seat.

“I thought it would be less... less messy.”

“Wait until you birth a child. You’re a woman now, do you know what that means?”

“I’m fit to bear children for the King.” Yes, your heart was breaking again.

“Is there any rush?” You intervened and Cersei faked a sympathetic smile.

“The sooner the better.” She made a flick for you to keep your mouth shut. Your jaw tensed. “A prospect that once delighted you. The greatest honor for a queen. Joffrey has always been difficult. Even his birth, I labored one day and a half to bring him into this world. You cannon imagine the pain. I screamed so loud I was sure Robert would hear me in the Kingswood.”

“His grace was not with you?”

“Robert was hunting. Whenever my time was near, he would flee to the trees with his huntsmen and his hounds. The only time he was with me was when Y/N was born. I’ll always remember how she wrapped her little hand around his finger, she smiled at him and that was the only time in my life I saw a tear fell from his cheek. It was too emotional.”

You missed him so badly, the stories he used to tell you about Westeros, the adventures he had when he was a young Lord, the thrill in his eyes when he saw you swing the sword for the first time, he taught you all about archery, about bravery. When you were feeling low because of Joffrey and your mother he would carry you in his arms and then ride far from the city in your horses. You missed those days cause in the dark moments he was your hero.

“You never told me that before.”

“You were your father’s favorite.” Then she referred to Sansa. “Joffrey will show you no such devotion. You may never love the King but you will love his children.” She told her calmly.

“I love his grace with all my heart.” Sansa lied in her usual innocent voice.

“That’s very touching to hear. Permit me to share some womanly wisdom with you on this special day. The more people you love, the weaker you are. You’ll do things for them that you know you shouldn’t do. You’ll act the fool to make them happy, to keep them safe. Love no one but your children. On that front, a mother has no choice.” Was it so hard for Cersei to love you as much as she loved your siblings? To support you and be there for you?

“But shouldn’t I love Joffrey, your grace?”

“You can try, little dove. My sweet daughter here, she will be marrying some Lord very soon. I think it’s time for you to start your own family.” The blonde abruptly added. Sansa felt her stomach twist itself into an uncomfortable knot.

“That means I will have to leave you, mother.” You complained. Cersei doesn’t want to end up alone, Jaime is a prisoner, you don’t know if you’re going to see him again. But she doesn’t want you to abandon her, deep down does she care? A question you often ask yourself.

“You grew too fast. You are my oldest daughter, any man who has your heart will be very lucky. Many of them are interested in you.” Your eyes were set only on Sansa Stark, even if you couldn’t be together.

“But I’m not interested in them.” You pointed out. Was she trying to send you away just because you were willing to keep protecting Sansa at all costs, or did she really wanted to get rid of you?

You and the northerner walked out. You let go of those thoughts. Focusing on her again you broke the silence. “There’ll be a battle soon. My uncle’s army will arrive anytime. Joffrey is going to be busy. I’m always here for you, Sansa.” You reassured once more, for her to know she’s not alone.

“I feel trapped. But when you’re around... you make everything better.” Hearing that made you feel a wave of joy. She blushed and gods, your face was the color of her hair too.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” You said smiling sincerely at her. She smiled back at you.

The following days passed so very fast, now you were helping uncle Tyrion do some researching on books to find information to use for the incoming battle. The King himself apparently is occupied torturing people and animals to care for his Kingdoms. Bronn was there too, your uncle thought he’d come with some ideas for the defense of the city.

You were distracted, to say the least, your mind wandering in the redhead beauty, in how she seemed to be troubled almost all the time.

“Dear niece, I need your cleverness.” You came out of your trance.

“We are very lucky to have you as Hand of the King, uncle, otherwise we’d be doomed. And I mean it, no sarcasm. I want to join you in the field.” Tyrion wasn’t expecting to hear that statement. You knew you could be effective.

“What? Absolutely not. The last time in the riot the gods were good and you were unharmed. This is way different. I know you are brave, just like Robert was, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Let alone the fact your mother won’t allow it.”

“I can take care of myself. Joffrey won’t last a moment there. Maybe I can coax him to fight along his men.”

“I wish you could. He won’t listen.”

“I’ll do it anyway.”

“So stubborn. My brain might explode before I find something helpful. ‘A History of the Great Sieges of Westeros.’ By Archmaester Shevelathin. Shevelatesh.”

“Ch’Vyalythan.” You corrected him.

“Are you sure?” You shrugged.

“My Princess. Lord Hand. Commander. I must compliment you on the Gold Cloak’s performance last few weeks. Did you know there has been a marked drop in thievery?” Lord Varys said entering the room.

“How did you accomplish this?”

“Me and the lads rounded up all the known thieves.” Bronn nonchalant replied.

“For questioning?”

“No. It’s just the unknown thieves we need to worry about now.”

“We’ve talked about this.”

“Have you ever been on a city under siege? Maybe this part is not in your books. See, it’s not the fighting that kills most people. It’s the starving. Food’s worth more than gold. The thieves love a siege. Soon as the gates are sealed they steal all of it. By the time it’s all over, they’re the richest men in town.”

“Yes, I believe extreme measures are warranted. Ah ‘The Great Sieges of Westeros.’ Thrilling subject, shame archmaester Ch’Vyalthan wasn’t a better writer.” Varys referred to the big book on the table.

“Uncle Stannis knows King’s Landing, he knows where we are the strongest and where we are the weakest. We need to be cautious. Take him down before he arrives at the gates.” Now you were focusing, strategy was essential.

“That’s it! The Mud Gate. A good ram will batter it down in minutes, and it’s only fifty yards from the water. That’s where he’ll land.” Tyrion affirmed certainly.

“If he does attack at the Mud Gate, what is our plan?” Varys curiously inquired. Tyrion looked at you, and then back at him.

“Wildfire.” He said.

After discussing the tactics you went to share some time with Sansa, she is one of the few people who gives you peace. Little Tommen was on his reading lessons. She was embroidering a red scarf with two lions on the top. Your heart warmed at the sight of it.

“Shae is not here?”

“I dismissed her an hour ago.” Then she stood up. “A present for you.”

“Why do I owe the pleasure?” You admired her flawless needlework.

“Because you always save me. You are always there for me. I don’t know how can I ever repay you.”

“You don’t have to, you know I do it cause I love you I’m your friend. But I appreciate the gift though. It is a very fine design.” She flushed, seeing her like this is very cute.

“You think... your brother is going to defeat Lord Stannis?”

“Brave men will fight. I have faith in them and in my uncle’s plan. I-I might... get involved.”

“Is this a bad joke?” She looked at you perplexed.

“I’m afraid is not.”

“Y/N, you could die! You are strong but still too young to go to war. And you are a princess.” Sansa winced. You squeezed gently her arm.

“I won’t die. I heard uncle Renly had in his Kingsguard a female warrior. And what about Visenya Targaryen? She was a fantastic skilled warrior as well. She fought alongside Aegon in his conquest, and in the First Dornish War. Also, she was a dragon rider, she bonded with the one called Vhagar. And had a Valyrian steel longsword named Dark Sister. I wish I had one.” You commented, utterly excited. Sansa didn’t really like the topic but her eyes lighted up every time you talked about something you were passionate about.

“You never cease to amaze me, you know so much about these things. I understand now why Arya and you got along so well.” And it’s true, you wished she was here, you missed the youngest Stark girl running around the castle. “But still, I don’t like the idea of you being out there. It’s too dangerous. You said you weren’t going anywhere.” She mumbled the last sentence.

“Trust me.” You held her hands on your own.

“Just be careful, please. Don’t leave me alone.”

“I will be. And I’ll never leave you.”

You were walking side by side with the King, Varys, and Tyrion on the eastern walls.

“If my uncle Stannis lands on the shores of King’s Landing, I’ll ride out to greet him.” Joffrey smugly spoke.

“A brave choice, your grace. I’m sure your men will line up behind you.” Tyrion subtly jeered.

“They say he never smiles. I’ll give him a red smile from ear to ear.” You rolled your eyes, knowing he wouldn’t stand a chance against him on his own. Lord Varys and your uncle began to converse with each other.

“Hey, Y/N. I heard you want to join us in the fight.” He said in a mocking way.

“You think I’m not capable?”

“Exactly. You are a woman. Not that I really care about what happens to you. You’ll die out there.”

“You have little faith in me, big brother. But still, I’m way better than you in almost everything.” You squinted your lips. “No! In absolutely everything. Don’t worry, I’ll pray for our victory.”

“I already know your whore friend has flowered. I’ll come to visit her right after I kill our uncle.” He hissed and you didn’t punch him right away right there cause you held back your fury. He was provoking you, you would get your knuckles bloody for Sansa if he goes too far.

“...They say he burns his enemies alive to honor the Lord of Light.” You joined the conversation between the two men.

“The Lord of Light wants his enemies burnt. The Drowned God wants them drowned. Why are all the gods such vicious cunts? Where is the god of tits and wine?” Tyrion wittily questioned.

“In the Summer Isles, they worship a fertility goddess with sixteen teats.” Varys responded.

“We should sail there immediately.” You smirked.

“Lord Varys, do you know anything new about the Targaryen girl?" Some nights you wonder, if your father hadn't won the Rebellion she would be here, this would be her home, she was exiled so she could survive, she was forced to marry a savage, her family is dead, the world is such a cruel place... and when you are a helpless girl it gets worse, what if things had turned out differently? And you were the one on the other side of the world, maybe that's one of the main reasons why you sympathized with her.

“This morning, I heard a song all the way from Qarth beyond the Red Waste. Daenerys Targaryen lives.”

“That’s a relief.” You said.

“A relief? She has three dragons. But even if what they say is true, it’ll be years before they are fully grown. And then there will be nowhere to hide.” Varys argued.

“She’s on the edge of the world, the least of our problems.” Uncle Tyrion tried to sound unconcerned.

“Three baby dragons? How is that possible?” They were extinct for almost three hundred years. How she managed to bring them back?

“Princess, do you consider it was wise to let her live? If you knew then what you do now... would you persuade his grace to give the order? She might be a threat soon enough, she will claim the throne-“

“Maybe she’s not interested in it. Not everyone is. Especially the rightful heirs. She did nothing wrong.”

“Yet.”

“I don’t regret my choice. I wouldn’t change it if I could.” You were confident, she’s innocent, one game at the time, you thought. Just because her ancestors were evil doesn’t mean she is evil too.

“You are so selfless, and good. Westeros might need a Queen like you.” Varys remarked.

“I’m no Queen, my Lord.” The throne belongs to you more than to Joffrey that was for sure, but how can you overthrow snakes that know your weaknesses and can use them to sting and hurt you the most?

#game of thrones fic #got #game of thrones imagine #sansa stark x reader #sansa x fem baratheon reader #baratheon reader #house baratheon

[arsenicpanda]

Your favourite Riverdale episodes for Bughead?

Omg, thank you SO MUCH for humoring me!  Now then, favorite episode for just bughead?  Ooh, that's a tough one, so many good choices!  I'm gonna give you top six becaue I suck at choosing.  Actual thoughts under the cut.

- 1x06: This and 1x05 are the OG bughead episodes, but I pick this one over 1x05 because it has The Kiss, among other things.  Like, Jughead trying to break through the orderlies to get to Betty?  Amazing. Betty taking Jughead with her to go see her sister?  Excellent.  Jughead climbing through that window and making two literary references in quick succession?  Fantastic.  Betty's face and Jughead's sigh after their first kiss?  I love it.  Jughead has clearly been wanting to kiss her for SO LONG, and Betty has a face of, "Oh, I didn't realize how much I wanted that, but it turns out to have been a lot."  And Jughead's adoring face at Betty's "The car!"?  Iconic, he loves her brain so much, thinks she's so amazing.  It also has Jughead's "We're all crazy" and "We're not our parents.  We're not our families", which are both SO GOOD.  And Betty opens up to Jughead and is so vulnerable with him!  And it's a good episode for their investigations too, with the SoQM and then the looking for the car in the rain.  Bonus points for Jughead's scandalized reaction to what looks like, of all things, brick weed.  As an episode, it really showcases both a shared interest (solving mysteries) and a willingness to be vulnerable and honest with each other.

- 2x12: The dynamic duo back again!  I love how, when the chips are down and Jughead needs someone's help, he goes to Betty, even when they're not together.  He trusts her, and she is completely down to help him immediately.  And help she does!  They do some great investigation here, it's so fun, and they look great while doing it!  Betty's dress is gorgeous, and Jughead's Serpent jacket over his suit jacket is such a hilarious look in concpet and yet it somehow works!  Also, Betty immediately noticing that something is wrong with Jughead at Veronica's Confirmation party and going to find him because she's worried was just the sweetest, as was Jughead's "She's one of us" (or whatever he said to that effect) when Betty was voting with the Serpents.  Also?  Betty not freaking out when Jughead said he cut Penny was quality.  She is not afraid of the fact he is a crazy person!  And, of course, there's their first time together, which is so slow and sweet.  Jughead apologizing for being a dumbass and Betty going "I can handle it" about his ~darkness~ was so pure, as was his "Or you could stay. ...Stay."  The way he put his hand on her dress!  So tentative, so sweet.  And also?  The way they just got RIGHT to it, with Betty straddling him immediately and Jughead making the quickest work of that dress.  And Betty's "I want all of you tonight" while hiding the Archie kiss secret!  She didn't want to ruin the moment, this closeness with him, so she lied, which is pretty classic Betty, tbh, and a great contrast to Jughead's admission of doing some stuff with Toni "but not everything" and also being like "she's a pal" because what a great way to describe a friend.  Also, omg, Jughead apologizing Betty for her getting dragged into the witchhunt against the Serpents and him was so sweet!  Also amazing was when Jughead said that Sheriff Keller suspected him of decapitating the statue and Betty just replied with a playful smile, "And...did you?" because she knows him, she knows he'd pull some crazy stunt like that but also believes him when he says he didn't.  And we get jealous Betty, which is QUALITY.  And the fact that they're both like, "So, have you, uh, done anything with Toni/'anyone'?  Not that it's my place.  But, uh, have you?", just trying to be nonchalant but they are INVESTED and QUIETLY NERVOUS and JEALOUS BUT IN A WAY THEY FEEL BAD ABOUT.  This is the closest we get to pining bughead, and I love it, I will take it.  They continue to be so vulnerable with each other, it's precious.

- 2x19: RISE, DARK BUGHEAD, RIIIIIISE!!  We get some quality bughead investigation, and also they TIE CHIC UP IN A BASEMENT WITH DUCT TAPE AND INTERROGATE HIM!  Jughead punches him to try and get him to talk, and Betty's reaction is just to gently cup his face!  Betty briefly chokes Chic and Jughead is just stading there supportive!  They are 100% down with each other's extreme measures, just completely on the same page there.  I love seeing each of them going full The Ends Justify The Means, and this episode I get to see them go about it TOGETHER, how amazing is that?!

- 3x16:  Ok, their morning spent talking together, drinking coffee or tea or whatever, at Betty’s window because THEY LIVE TOGETHER OMG!  They’re fucking PLOTTING in the goddamn MORNING; when I was a teenager I dragged my ass through mornings, but these two are like, “Let’s discuss ways to defeat Gladys the Drug Lord,” just completely awake.  These are the things they talk about in the morning!  They are so fucking weird!  Also, the adoring face Betty gives him and the nose boop, too cute.  While I’m not big on Seventeen in terms of music (I don’t think they pull off the singing, which I don’t fault them for because musicals are HARD in terms of the vocal range they demand.  Also, Jughead just sounds off somehow and it distracts me.), I love it as a bughead moment.  I appreciate their desire for something normal, it’s so sweet, even if I think that they wouldn’t be very good at living “normal” lives at this point; I think they crave investigations too much.  Also, Jughead getting on his knees in a way that is very proposal-esque (his second pseudo-proposal!  Third time’s the charm, so WHEN DO I GET IT???) is QUALITY.  And Betty just does such a great job of comforting the saddest Jughead.  Also also, they BURN DOWN THE TRAILER AND HAVE SEX IN FRONT OF IT WHILE IT BURNS!  That is LEGENDARY, that is the kind of quality, mutual fucked-up-ness that I want in my ships!  And it’s preceded by Jughead being all, “I’m okay because you’re here with me”, the sweetest fucking sentiment.  Also, the return of the crown sweater, if just for a moment.  This is just Betty and Jughead being a team, being willing to do crazy things to help each other, and also they are apparently turned on by arson, which is just amazing.

- 4x16:  A whole episode of Betty and Jughead being smug and gloating, I literally couldn’t ask for more.  Everything about them is amazing in this episode and the gloating whodunnit scene, the way they set each other up for each piece of their explanation, and also Betty’s “the worst thirty-six hours of my life” and then they hold hands and it is FUCKING PRECIOUS.  Also also?  Betty and Jughead both going to extremes to protect/avenge the other.  Like, they both go full The Ends Justify The Means, with Jughead literally beating the shit out of Bret both as a method of information extraction and, lbr, just regular vengeance in Betty’s name and with Betty waiting in the darkness of Donna’s room to surprise her, rip her grandmother’s legacy from her, and leave like a boss, all because Donna tried to kill Jughead.  Like, Betty promised to go after Donna specifically, and she did, saving her info for personal blackmail that she can guarantee will work as opposed to relying on the justice system, which can be shaky.  These are both fucked up things to do!  Jughead’s especially, tbh; it isn’t official police brutality because there are no cops involved in the beating, but it is certainly adjacent to that since Charles let them in and turned a blind eye to their actions and then used their actions/threats to his benefit.  That’s fucking dark as hell and I love it (within a fictional context, of course, and even in that context I’m only chill with it because Bret has the money to otherwise escape all consequences).  And then, after they’ve both done all that, they’re so soft together in a couple of other scenes, it’s the cutest thing ever.

- 4x19:  DARK BUGHEAD YESSSS!  Granted, it’s fictional dark bughead, but I love that not only did Jughead write a dark story where he and Betty are murderers who do things like kill their friends to get rid of the weak link after Betty’s comment of “Or we could kill him”, and not only do we get to see those scenes, but Betty was completely on board with this story.  Not only was she on board with the original killing of Mr. Honey, but she was like, “Ooh, we killed Reggie to keep him from cracking under pressure and revealing our dark truth, how very sexy of you, Jughead”. They are so weird!  And Jughead’s “So no one is going to know the perverted truth about us...but us” was hot as hell, as was the fact that he followed it up by tugging her bak by her ponytail to kiss her while having his other hand lightly resting on her neck.  That is some explicit G-rated stuff!  Also, they were absolutely about to makeout in front of an open door in the Blue and Gold before they were interrupted by Kevin.  That is so wild!  Also, Betty editing Jughead’s work is always a win.  He values her opinion so much!  She loves his writing and thinks it’s amazing despite the fact it isn’t very good!  I love it, I love them.

#asks #go-ldy #Riverdale #bughead #thank you SO MUCH for humoring me! #my thoughts on Riverdale let me show you them

[melmoths]

james and thomas can build a happy life together post-canon.

i'll go out on a limb and say that it's the only plausible scenario for them - and not simply because i feel like they deserve it, but because i feel like their narrative arcs lead to that conclusion no matter what. 

of course the road to recovery would be long and hard, considering how deeply traumatised they both are, but once you accept that james mcgraw and james flint are not two separate people, that both james and thomas knew this, and that thomas is not a static character, no other future makes sense for them - whether they choose to retire and live a cosy domestic life or to dedicate themselves to another cause bigger than them both.

first things first: when silver claims that the man who reached savannah was not james flint, but james mcgraw he's lying. it's a lie! and not in the sense that it's something that he knows "deep down" even if he wishes things were different: it's a plain, old-fashioned lie, and he doesn't believe in it, not even for a second! he stands in front of madi, after having destroyed everything she's ever worked for and condemned her people (and many others) to centuries of oppression, and he lies.

'cause if he truly thought james was out of control and blinded by his rage over losing thomas, if he truly thought that getting thomas back would "kill" flint and his desire for revenge, if he truly thought thomas' death was the only reason he was fighting england, why bring james to savannah in the first place? why sell him into slavery? silver could have simply freed thomas (a man that he knew was innocent, by the way!) and let the two of them start a new life together wherever they wished - but he didn't, because he knew that james was truly fighting for the cause at that point, that he would have finished what he'd started because it was the right thing to do (and that thomas would have probably joined his efforts). killing him would have turned him into a martyr for the cause, so he had to remove him from the action entirely and spread the rumour he'd retired, and the fact that he chose for james the prison thomas was already in doesn't make it any better (eat my whole entire arsehole if you think otherwise).

i also want to stress the fact that not even james thinks james mcgraw and james flint are two different people. sure, james talks a lot about creating a persona that he later wants to get rid of, but he never truly believes he can separate himself from his own actions; that's why carrying their burden becomes harder and harder as time goes on. and on top of that, an element of performance is always present in the way he thinks about himself: he's a closeted gay man in XVIII century england! he's forced to live in a state where he has to lie constantly if he doesn't want to experience systemic violence. 

but he's always fully aware of who and what he is (despite being ashamed of it, at least before meeting thomas). he knows he's got a tender, gentle side and a much more violent, flawed one: he knows he possesses the potential for great violence - maybe he's not aware of how far he can go, but he knows he's capable of causing great harm, although it doesn't necessarily bring him joy (in fact he tends to opt for violent solutions only when he feels trapped, but changes his mind when shown another way that might lead to his desired outcome). james flint is his persona in the sense that he's a version of james mcgraw in which his "good" side isn't allowed to exist - a hyperviolent façade that doesn't fully match his true self, and a façade he has to keep up almost everyday until he's done what he needs to do (i know people like to call him "unhinged" a lot, but if you exclude his mental breakdown after miranda's death he's always in control of his actions).

and again, i think thomas and miranda were aware of james' violent side. miranda might have seen it first-hand, but i do think thomas knew about it as well. their connection is so deep ("my truest love," hello?) and they seem to know each other so fully that i don't think a relationship between them could have worked otherwise. maybe thomas heard of the fight that broke out between james and the officer that insulted him and miranda, and that got him thinking; maybe he worked it out otherwise (although i do believe they eventually talked about the fight, and about hennessey's weirdly protective attitude); but the fact that he's the one to come up with the pardons, unbeknownst to james, is pretty telling. it shows that despite his privilege thomas is instinctually more capable of understanding why disenfranchised people might turn to violence (i.e. piracy). and if he's ready to forgive all the pirates, all the violent men, why would he not extend the same courtesy to the one he loves? 

when he wrote "know no shame" he wasn't simply telling james not to be ashamed of being gay; he was telling him not to be ashamed of any part of himself, including the one that's more prone to violence, because at that point i don't think james truly believed himself worthy of being loved in his entirety, and thomas felt he had to fix that. and he succeeded - not immediately, of course, but by the time he'd come back from nassau james had fully internalised his message, based on the way he talks about his relationship with thomas to miranda and his wish to get away from london with the both of them (and ten years later, when james and miranda fight, he tells her that he does not feel ashamed of having loved thomas, but only of his inaction once thomas had been locked up in bedlam).

for this reason i don't believe that thomas would be "disgusted" by james' actions when they eventually reunite in savannah. i'm not saying he would enthusiastically condone all of them - he wouldn't go "hey, darling, good job on snapping your quartermaster's neck!", for example - but he would understand the motive behind them. he would understand why james - james who believed him dead, james who'd been stripped off the career he'd worked so hard for, james who had truly lost everything - felt like he had no other choice and put himself through so much pain. when james arrives in savannah i don't think thomas believes in reconciliation with england anymore.

i've noticed a weird tendency in this fandom to idealise thomas, to deny his growth in order to present him as flawless, as exclusively kind and "good" and stuck in time (often in opposition to post-london james). i hate it! 

first of all, i feel like this angelic persona does not fit his characterisation at all. he is a good man, but when his father says he's impertinent and self-righteous, or when miranda talks about how he'd basically make people wish they were dead during his salons, i don't get the impression that thomas is a tall giant who simply smiles at everyone and can do no harm. he's an extremely opinionated man that wants to do the right thing even if that makes him unbearable to the people in his proximity because, as james says, he truly believes in what he's saying and, just like james, he's shown to change his mind when presented with new facts; he's open to new ideas, and that's why he comes up with the pardons. 

second of all, we're talking about a man who's been betrayed by those closest to him, who's been imprisoned, tortured and dehumanised to the point that no one questioned his apparent suicide, who's been enslaved for ten years and subjected to yet more and more horrors. why would he not be a changed man, in the same way james is? why would his own ten years of hell not have stripped him of any trace of naivety he had left (the naivety inherent to his privilege and that had led him to believe that gradual change was the best solution), in the same way james was stripped of his after learning of peter's betrayal and seeing miranda killed in front of his eyes? just because this change happens offscreen for thomas it doesn't mean it doesn't happen at all. 

if anything, i would say that the conceptual passage from gradualism to revolution might have happened sooner for thomas than for james. let's also remember that when silver asks james if he'd trade the war to have thomas back again, james says thomas wouldn't want him to. he believes him dead, but he knew him well enough to be certain that if he were alive he'd agree with him that no compromise can be made with a colonial empire.

i'm also convinced that thomas always knew (or at least very strongly suspected) james was captain flint. he was imprisoned and isolated from the rest of the world, sure, but plantations didn't exist in a bubble where no news about the outside world could reach them (and the show makes it clear so many times). thomas is an extremely intelligent man. i doubt he would have had a hard time connecting the murder of his father, the rise of captain flint, the events of charlestown, the existence of an army of people still willing to follow a pirate captain in battle despite the pardons and tom morgan coming to look for him in savannah (although i suppose he thought james had found out he was alive and was going to get him out). when james shows up looking very much like a pirate, thomas is clearly happy beyond belief - but he doesn't strike me as someone who had no idea james might come to him someday.

that's why i think that any scenario in which james and thomas drift apart is not only completely unjustified, but extremely cruel and partly motivated by a desire to justify silver despite all evidence of him being a massive piece of shit. and justifying silver is justifying the english empire and all the atrocities it has inflicted - and i can't stand for that. in truth, i can't stand for any scenario in which two people who loved each other so dearly and were so harshly punished for it and for wanting to better society, even if just a little bit, don't get some measure of peace and happiness in which to heal together.

on a side-note, all the people who claim thomas was exactly like woodes rogers and that james' war was not really revolutionary because he was only waging it for selfish reasons fail to understand that:

1) thomas was trying to challenge the status quo and to defend a group of disenfranchised people in an age where criminals were seen as less than human and death sentences were extremely common, while woodes rogers was trying to preserve the status quo and to get rich in the process without giving much of a shit about pirates at all; 

2) every revolution or civil rights movement is at least partly motivated by selfish reasons: people don't want their loved ones and future generations to go through what they've gone through, and often seek some form of retribution in the process. and frankly, i don't care how "selfish" someone's motivations are as long as their actions lead to a more equal world and to better conditions for the people who inhabit it - and i'd rather fight alongside those who try to challenge hegemonic powers, whatever reasons they might have to do so, than be a passive observer of all the horrors that happen around me as long as they don't affect me directly.

anyway, love is real, james and thomas burn that plantation to the ground and silver sucks me good and hard through my jorts 

#black sails #flinthamilton #i regret to inform you all that love wins in the end!! motherfuckers!!

[omgkalyppso]

Honeyed Words

How many fics have this title? Probably a million. I wrote something featuring @esaari‘s tes breton oc Philip, and my imperial oc Oretia. Enjoy!

.

The grass was cold and wet from vestiges of the midnight frost puddling under the weight of the midday sun. Summer at Winterhold. The worst possible time to be a tome, or scroll, or a visitor. Inside the College, papers were kept magically dry and well kept, but as soon as you stepped one foot into the city, everything wilted with the humidity, including the people.

The citizenry was more amenable to the mages and their initiates since the reconstruction, after the civil war, but that did not forestall all of their prejudices, Philip had noticed. They phrased their suspicions of foreigners, of which he was no longer considered, as warnings of unstable mountaintops, roads that were thin with ice and awaiting unwary travelers, and beasts that roamed beyond their hibernal caves, but he heard the truth behind every bitter courtesy. ‘You are as unwelcome by the land as by our hospitality,’ they cried.

It was why they still lacked a dedicated blacksmith, a tanner, a wheelwright, fishermen — and Nine help that poor dentist who’d tried to move in four months past.

There were new bodies to fill the houses that had been built — carpenters and farmhands, tailors and midwives, but it was no wonder they still had to rely so heavily on the summer caravans.

The largest of the year was present now, the one that circled from Windhelm to Whiterun and Dawnstar, leaving Winterhold with both the last selection from Windhelm and the benefit of what the caravan had collected on its journey, just before they finished their circle and headed back home. The gamut of their venture was nearly complete, and so Philip felt triply insulted by the price being demanded of him to carry scroll and missive — which included a painstaking transcription of an extremely valuable book — to the new astrologer in Windhelm.

“Thirty gold is more than fair,” he insisted. “Twenty would cover a gold a day for the service, and fourteen was the cost last year.”

“Thirty might be fair,” replied the nord man, who was clearly dealing with other problems — but none of them were Philip’s, “but eighty is the cost.”

“Set by you, unreasonably.”

“Are you calling me unreasonable, my lord?” The title had been wrong, but Philip’s choice of words had been fumbling. He needed this, it was important.

“I misspoke. Surely, you are a man who knows his worth and his services, and so, you must know, that it is not up to the College to champion the losses of your caravan. You are headed to Windhelm anyway. I will offer forty, far more than you’d require.”

The nord nodded to someone standing outside of Philip’s periphery, and his shoulders tensed. The temptation to invoke others to grant weight to his title and his person was present, for he was on good terms with his Thane and his Jarl, and Skyrim’s champion of the war; but so too was he Archmage now, and whatever his personal insecurities, knew that he demanded his own respect. He shrugged his elbow towards the person who approached from his side, striking them, if lightly.

“I am not some common miscreant. Do not look to demean me. There are other couriers.”

“Then find one,” replied the nord.

Philip looked to the imperial woman at his side as she spoke and frowned in surprise. She was hobbling a little, unsteady on her feet, and not the manner of muscle he’d expected the nord to be summoning.

“And I wasn’t hired to help with customer service, Herknir. This doesn’t look like a case of banditry.” Her accent was thick and southern, and Philip flinched to look at her more directly as despite her words she still laid a hand upon him — but it was gentle, so much so that he couldn’t even feel it through his robes, on his upper arm, a signal to wait and not a reprimand. Philip took a step away from her anyway, disinterested in her reassurance.

“Take the illustrious Archmage for a walk, Oretia. I can smell the enchantments on him, and I won’t risk the safety of our men to the whims of secret, magical documents without collateral.” Philip blanched, he hadn’t expected Herknir to be thinking of anything beyond what he could get with the money. Herknir pointed a finger at him, to further cement his point, “If it were a message from one of your initiates back to their parents or their sweetheart in Windhelm, then that is one service; but you should know that your time is worth more, and you should be prepared to pay more in the future. Cool your head. Try Tilly’s honey-pops, and come back to me when you’re willing to talk business.”

“Sorry about him,” Oretia sounded exasperated, and Philip had to wonder if she had felt suitably chastised by Herknir over the course of her time with the man, as he did now, sent for a walkabout like a petulant child — though one who had been flirting with the crackle of magic on the edge of his fingers. “And me, I had assumed you were a nobleman. I should not have placed my hand upon you.”

“It is nothing,” Philip assured her, dismissing the perceived insult with a smile — tickled by the idea that she would more readily lay her hands on a Thane. They wove their way through a crowd, where the locals parted naturally by his presence. There was nowhere for Oretia to hide her stumbling.

“But perhaps I owe you an apology? Did I set you so off-balance?”

“Oh!” she laughed. “No, I— My legs are sore. I’d spent the last four days climbing up and down your mountains.”

Philip snorted, infected by his companion’s good humor. “Whatever for?”

She sighed, smiling, wistful. “To see my sister. It had been a few years and she’s settled up there. I thought that, seeing her would make it easier to accept, but now I’m less sure than ever about leaving; but you don’t need to hear about that. What was Herknir so upset about? Do you really have secret, magical documents?”

The way she exaggerated the word was light, teasing, and free of ill-will Herknir had managed to fit into the word.

“I—” Philip scoffed, “I suppose I do. The documents themselves aren’t magical, but few things that leave the College can be described otherwise.”

“Secretive?” Oretia prompted.

“For certain,” Philip assured her.

She seemed to take a measure of him then, a once over with suspicious eyes. Philip wondered what she saw.

“I could leave you now,” she suggested, tilting her head. “I rather doubt you need my company.”

Philip thought of the trader and patrons, and wondered whether for the moment she might need his. He wondered if she was asking for the freedom of privacy or to socialize with a friend from the caravan, but outside the College and inside Winterhold, his friends felt ever fewer, and Oretia had been friendly enough as to prove distracting from his other worries.

“There are a great many things I don’t need, but enjoy regardless. Of course, you’re free to go, and I’ll make my way back to Herknir in due time, but if you’d like to point me towards those honey-pops…?”

Philip felt any lingering stress melt off his shoulders when Oretia brightened.

“They’re very sweet, but delicious,” she insisted, directing them now with purpose. “There are some with raspberries caked in which are wonderful in tea, but they’re just as fine as a little delight.”

Philip bought ten for a gold piece, a strange assortment of things to pocket, even wrapped in wax paper as they were, but Oretia was right, they were good, as the two of them found a bench shielded by the cold of the sea, but still hidden by the warmth of the sun, as they each enjoyed one of the candies for a few silent seconds.

There was something about the way others seemed to have more time for trysts, and he wondered whether another person might take this time to proposition their companion. The pair of them with lips flush and spit slick from their choice in dessert, people might even think they had done something elicit when they returned to the main road. The air was thick and the blossoms were sweet, and Philip wondered whether he’d simply been surrounded by familiar faces for too long, that the blush upon a stranger’s cheeks would send his mind so far from his original intentions. He pat himself down, confirming the location of his missives, before plucking the honey-pop from his lips and assuring Oretia, “Thought I’d dropped something.”

He sighed, resting his hands on his knees. “Tell me about your sister? Might I know her?”

“No,” Oretia answered quickly. “Wylla Cosmotius — err, Wylla Ienith now, I suppose. She might have spent some time here, but wouldn’t have made a name for herself. Found the Shrine of Azura by accident, and then spent a few years “adventuring,” or whatever you might call it, with the priestess, to whom she’s now married.”

“Cosmotius?” Philip echoed. “‘Of the stars?’”

“Mm,” Oretia hummed in agreement. “A name I imagine Wylla was glad to be rid of. Pretentious ancestors. Not that the title of Archmage is any less assuming.”

“I?” Philip hesitated. “I didn’t choose that. And it’s practical, the position is what the title says, I oversee other mages, and am one myself.”

“I didn’t say it was wrong, I said—”

“You implied it was pretentious.”

“And you became defensive,” Oretia observed, amused. “Is my good opinion so important?”

“As important as any other,” Philip said, dismissive, shrugging. “There are a lot of things said about The Archmage, meaning both myself and my predecessors. I do my best to improve those rounds of gossip.”

“I apologize, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.”

Oretia bumped a knee against him. She went on, “My sister went through a lot, as a mercenary and … well as an imperial in Skyrim during the civil war. When I was a child I would think of how one day marriage might separate us, but I hadn’t expected to be lost to her when she needed me before that. To be treated as a guest, and not as family, when I would see her again. I worry that she could die on that mountain, and if I were to be in Windhelm, I should never know.”

“And so you’re thinking of staying?” Philip remembered. “Do you ply a craft? There are still incentives to settle in Winterhold.”

“The city is known for surviving winters without me. I don’t know how useful I could be, or how interested people would be in buying leathers, or how abundant the game is year round for the purpose of gathering supplies. I feel I don’t know much of anything lately.”

“If it’s any consolation I find that to be more true with each passing year.”

“Even for the Archmage?”

“Especially for the Archmage,” Philip groaned. “There’s much to learn and more to discover. That’s why I need to see my post sent to Windhelm.”

“I could take it,” Oretia suggested.

“As a reason not to stay?” Philip inquired, furrowing his brow.

She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t just stay all at once. I have employment and friends and possessions. But I might come back. Settle. It wouldn’t hurt to be owed a favor by the Archmage.”

He hesitated, surprised and unsure. Philip wondered whether he could get her in trouble with Herknir, and whether she was even trustworthy to begin with.

“I couldn’t make a pact like that,” he said quickly, in regret.

“I’ll take the fourteen gold?” Oretia offered. “And no favor.”

“Thirty then,” Philip suggested. “And maybe dinner, if you return?”

#tes #skyrim #oc tag: oretia #long post #my writing #i made this #the fanfiction i mean #bless esaari's approval and excellent oc's #i'll probably write more of these two sometime #<3333333 #esaari's oc: philip

[thechildoflightning]

Vergilius

Title: Vergilius

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairings: none

~~~

Summary: Vergilius. Vergil. Virgil. Different spellings for the same Roman poet.

For some reason no one talks about the fact that Virgil's name does in fact fit the dark sides naming pattern.

-

Or: Logan and Virgil have a discuss about the name 'Virgil' and what it means.

Warnings: none

[ao3 link]

~~~

Vergilius

It’s after a meeting with Thomas- who is once again panicking over the simplest of decision making, though to be fair, a large part of that is Virgil’s responsibility as well- when Logan corners him.

Virgil recognizes the situation for what it is right away. Logan gets this shine to his eyes, not quite a twinkle, more of a glimmer. Virgil knows what that look means. Logan is curious and he wants answers and he won’t leave until he gets them. 

It's one of Logan’s best traits, his determination and dedication. It’s also one of his worsts.

“Why Virgil?” Logan asks, once he’s fully entered the room and checks that they are alone. (Logan’s not subtle to begin with, and it’s Virgil's job to notice the things others don't, he’s not going to pass over Logan’s sweep of the room for what it is. Logan’s making sure that they are truly alone).

“What?” Virgil replies, “Logan I have no clue what you’re talking about. I’ve literally done nothing.” A brief course of panic. “Wait, why- Logan is something wrong?”

“No, no, no,” Logan confirms, and Virgil relaxes. He lets his muscles and fists untense from where they were coiled and ready to strike as if he had the physical ability to fight every single problem away. 

“Not ‘why, comma, Virgil,’” Logan clarifies, “why Virgil.” Or attempts to clarify, because Virgil is now even more lost than before. 

“Why the name Virgil?” Logan asks, “Why not change it completely.”

Virgil blinks at Logan. Once. Twice. 

“What?” Virgil asks, completely thrown off balance and one word rebuttal coming off slightly harsher than he intended. He trusts Logan- he does- but vulnerability has never been his strong suit and his name- well… but Virgil’s working on it. He is. He’s trying. 

(Why does he feel like trying is never good enough).

“I don’t understand why you would keep it. I thought you would have changed it,” Logan remarks, oblivious too or plain ignoring Virgil’s inner turmoil.

Logan’s dismissal of his name stings more than Virgil’s ready to admit, and he realizes he has to do something fast. Because Virgil is his name, of course it is, and he’s not getting rid of it. But Logan- are the other light sides mad at him for keeping his name? Do they think it ties him to the dark sides that much more?

(Virgil’s so tired of being a dark side. So tired of everything he does being marked bad. He’s still having to relearn that he is not fundamentally a bad person after all these years).

“Logan,” Virgil says weakly, not sure how to build his defense on this particular subject, “Logan it’s my name.”

“I know,” Logan agrees, “and I would have thought that you don’t like it. You have already taken small measures to change it. I thought it was strange you stopped at that. Do you not wish to change your name? Am I mistaken?”

“I-” Virgil stutters, trying to gather his thoughts on the matter. Because Logan’s right. Virgil doesn’t like his name, doesn’t like how it rolls off the tongue. Too many syllables, too much weight, too much history. 

Virgil is a small change. But it’s so so so much better. 

Virgil is Virgil. 

“I- I mean- yeah- I don’t like my original name. But Virgil- Virgil is better.”

Logan considers him for a moment, watching Virgil with a steady gaze before giving a slight nod.

“Alright,” he agrees, “as long as it works for you.”

Virgil nods, and thinks that’s it. 

But Logan hovers in the rooming, leaning forward slightly. Virgil can practically see his mind racing. It’s obvious he has something to say. 

Virgil raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes Logan?”

“May I ask two questions?” Logan asks, “the second might be uncomfortable or invasive. You may refuse to answer at any time, even if you give me consent to ask it now.”

Virgil mulls over the words and reminds himself that this is Logan. He would never hurt Virgil intentionally. Unintentionally- sure, but it’s happened in the past. It could certainly happen here. 

But Virgil’s willing to take that risk. 

He nods. 

“I don’t understand why Virgil is acceptable to you,” Logan prefaces, “Virgil is nothing but a shortened version of Vergilius, and both names along with Vergil- spelled with an ‘e’- are all alternate titles for the same historical poet. They seem so completely connected together that I don’t understand how you could find one comforting and the other repulsive.”

Which is fair. Like Logan said, Virgil is one of many spellings, but all the spellings refer to the same name. It’s like when people sometimes spell Kaitlyn with a “c” or a “i” instead of “y”. Alternate spelling, sure, but the same name. 

That’s all Virgil has done, switching from Vergelius to plain old Virgil. 

“So,” Logan continues, “My question for you is wherein lies that difference? What allows you to be comfortable with Virgil but not Vergilius?”

Virgil has an answer. He’s thought about this for quite some time himself, even if he had never expected anyone to ask him about. But Virgil represents anxiety, and he double, even triple checked his own name, his own reasoning to determine that he was completely satisfied with it. 

Now how to explain it in words?

“We all started with names,” Virgil says slowly, “Intentionally or not, Thomas assigned us names that fit us when we were formed. Right?”

“Yes- well not exactly,” Logan responds.  Virgil raises his eyebrows at him. “The names Thomas gave us represented how Thomas perceived us when we formed, not necessarily are true authentic selves.”

Virgil gives a small nod of acknowledgement. 

“Fair enough,” he allows. “So- Logan, a question for you. Why were you named Logan?”

“Logan. Logos. Logic,” Logan reciters, “the principle of reason and judgement.”

“Right,” Virgil agrees, because his has always been one of the easiest to make sense of. “And I’m Virgil. Again with the Greek and Roman origins. Potentially coming from the term ‘vigil,’ to keep watch. As anxiety that’s my job. Then the connection to the poet- which sure that takes us closer to Roman’s territory but the few times Roman and me have actually gotten along is when we’ve mixed his creativity and the way I feel emotions- specifically surrounding anxiety and fear- to create art.”

“Yes,” Logan agrees. 

Virgil nods and considers how to continue. He knows what he wants to say but he has to think about it for a moment and calculate the proper way to present his feelings to Logan. Logan wants facts, knowledge, logic. That isn’t Virgil’s default and it takes him a minute to speak Logan's language. 

“Your name fits your role. My name fits mine. It’s not a name I chose, but I feel that it fits me well. It- my name allows me to be more than anxiety. Anxiety has always restricted me, made me be one thing. Virgil gives me the freedom to choose and be myself while still providing comfortable familiarity. I don’t have to limit myself to a simplified emotion. I can just be… Virgil.”

Logan studies him for a moment, eyes sweeping across his body as if searching for a lie. 

“Okay,” he eventually says, “I can understand that. But then why not keep Vergilius?”

Virgil gives a weak smile. 

“I thought that would have been obvious.”

Logan frowns. 

“Your name doesn’t make you a dark side.”

“But it matches the undeniable pattern,” Virgil points out. 

Logan hums but doesn’t protest. It’s not like he could. Virgil’s right. 

Roman. Patton. Logan. 

Remus. Janus. Vergilius. 

“It hurts,” Virgil admits finally. And it’s hard to admit but he’s trying to be vulnerable, trying to open up and he’s going to give Logan the benefit of the doubt. (Even so his heart beats louder and his breath grows slightly shorter and his fingers and toes curl tight and tense up). “It hurts to know that somewhere in Thomas’s subconscious, he sees us as good and bad.”

Logan's frown grows deepens. 

“That’s an over simplification of the complex roles each of us carry out.”

“I know,” Virgil says. He didn’t once upon a time. He used to truly believe that there was good and bad and that he was bad, that he hurt Thomas no matter what even when he tried his hardest to be good. But those days are mostly behind him. Mostly. He still had some bad days. “I know that Logan. But Thomas hasn’t always seen it that way.”

“Do you think Thomas sees you that way now?”

A few weeks ago Virgil would have said yes- that Thomas only thought he hurt them and would be glad to get rid of Virgil and the pain he brought with him. 

Now though…

Thomas told him that he was wanted, that he was needed, that he was loved. 

What a strange concept. 

“I-“ Virgil hesitates, “I think Thomas is learning to see shades of gray.”

Logan nods. 

“And you are of course aware that Thomas was raised religious.”

Virgil snorts. 

“No shit Logan, it wasn’t like I was there for all of it or anything.”

“You weren’t?” Logan friend, eyebrows knitting in, “I was certain you had formed by then, am I-“ Logan pauses, clears his throat and adjusts his glasses, “right. Sarcasm.”

Virgil quirks a smile and gives a small nod.

“Got it in one teach.”

Logan straightens his posture, hands coming to rest in front of him and head up. Virgil recognizes it as Logan’s “I’m about to give you a shit ton of info posture.”

“Okay then. Well then you are aware that Thomas was raised with the awareness that things were either good or bad. Thomas was raised with extremes. And as he grew, he eventually started to learn about shades of gray. But as a very young kid it’s hard to see things as nuanced and detailed as they actually are. Add religious teachings that emphasize that good and bad are opposite absolutes and it makes sense that a young Thomas’s brain divided us that way. But that does not mean we still are that way.”

Virgil is- quite honestly Virgil is touched. He’s used to putting up strong walls, ready to fight back against whatever tries to hurt him. He’s still getting used to the idea that people actually want to interact with him and being validated so strongly by Logan almost makes him glow. 

“I know,” Virgil says softly, “I know. The world isn’t black.” Vergilius. “Or white.” Something entirely new. “It’s grey.” Virgil. “And I- I’m not exactly sure where I fall now. I’m not- I’m not a dark side, but I don’t think I’m a light side either. I’ve uh- kinda created my own little space.”

Logan looks at Virgil with his piercing gaze. 

“Ah. I understand now. Thank you Virgil.”

And for some reason, Virgil thinks Logan really understands it. His name, and so much more.

(There’s so much more than light or dark).

“Yeah sure. Anytime.”

Logan gives him a final nod and turns to exit, leaving Virgil to his thoughts. 

Just before Logan passes out through the doorway, he turns around. 

“Virgil?”

“Yes.”

“You have a nice name. It is- admirable that you chose to keep parts of it and alter the rest to best define you.”

Warmth. warmth everyone, sleeping across his body and into his heart, through his entire being. 

“Thank you,” he manages. 

And then Logan is gone.

If this is what being accepted is like- well, he might want to get used to it.

~~~

Taglist Below

-message me to be added or removed-

@mewithanie @eddies-spaghetti @lemonyellowlogic @savioursailor @goldteethandacurseforthistown @gattonero17

#ts virgil #ts logan #platonic analogical #sanders sides #ts sides #character study #fanfiction #fan fiction #mywriting #ao3 #colupdate

[noturhotmilkovich]

sandy's fam. about info

Henry Milkovich

Name: Henry M. Milkovich

Age: 58

Nationality: American

Occupation: drug lord, pimp.

Known siblings: Terrance ‘Terry’ Milkovich

Marital status: married / separated

Spouse: Joana Garin

Known children: Viktor Milkovich, Felix Milkovich✞, Alexandra ‘Sandy’ Milkovich.

FC: Karl Urban

Bio.

Henry is one of Terry’s older brothers. He has a tough and charming personality, which has allowed him to get almost everything he ever wants. He lacks compassion and care for others but knows how to fake it like a real professional. He’s ambitious and willing to go through extreme measures just to get his way.

Even though, he gives no fucks about his brother Terry, he’s been a helping hand whenever it’s been needed and has no problem on getting his hands dirty if people need him, he often says: ‘If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself’.

He met Joana at a party when she was pretty much just a teenager, he was her dealer and eventually the pair got romantically involved, even though, Henry never put a hand on Jo during the time they were together, he was emotionally and psychologically abusive. He raised his first son to be just like him and he’s very proud of the way he turned out, which is why he’s kept him under his care all this time.

During the pregnancy of Felix and Sandy, Henry always suspected that Joana was having an affair with someone else, including his brother Terry, which is why he always hated both of his younger kids. and turned extremely abusive with them during the time they ended up under his care, as he thought they weren’t his.

Being an addict and a drunk, Henry was always molesting his daughter and nieces as well and taught his son Viktor the same way.

One of Sandy’s worst memories of her father, apart from all the years of physical abuse, was from the time he found out she was a lesbian, as he explicitly warned her that he’d ‘take the fag out of her’ even if he had to do it himself. Just weeks after this incident, Sandy moved out of the house and went on living with her girlfriend.

Since then, Sandy has had minimum to no contact with her father, as a part of her still believes he will keep his promise.

Joana Milkovich (née Garin)

Name: Joana A. Garin

Age: 48

Nationality: Russian/American

Occupation: unknown.

Known siblings: Rebekah Garin, Anika Garin

Marital status: married / separated

Spouse: Henry Milkovich

Known children: Viktor Milkovich, Felix Milkovich✞, Alexandra ‘Sandy’ Milkovich.

FC: Jennifer Connelly

Bio.

Joana moved to America when she was still a toddler, she was raised by her two older sisters for the most part since the age of five, when her parents died of unknown causes, this made her land in different group homes along with Rebekah and Anika and grow a reckless personality.

By the age of 15, Joana was deep into addiction and had fallen for her dealer, Henry Milkovich. Just a few months later, she became pregnant of her first child Viktor and never really had a sense of motherhood grown into her. She did her part but allowed Henry to do whatever he wanted with their child, keeping her journey of addiction as a top priority.

She had several encounters with some of her husband’s brothers, but nothing she really remembers well, given she was most of the time under the influence of some kind of drug.

She became pregnant with Felix and Sandy, and tried to take them under her care and become a better mother, however, this didn’t last long, and she ended up abandoning them while they were still young.

Over the years, she’s been in and out of her children’s lives causing all sorts of trouble. She is responsible for her children’s overdoses and Felix’ death at the age of 15.

She’s currently working on everything she can, under Sandy’s name, which has caused her daughter several problems, including prison time, more than once. From all her children, she still keeps in touch with Viktor.

Viktor H. Milkovich

Name: Viktor Henry Milkovich

Birthdate: April 27th, 1981

Parents: Henry and Joana Milkovich

Nationality: Russian/American

Occupation: drug dealer, second hand at her father’s business / hitman.

Siblings: Felix Milkovich ✞, Alexandra ‘Sandy’ Milkovich

FC: Michael Huisman

Bio.

Viktor was the first born of Henry and Joana Milkovich and the only child that Henry shaped as his prodigal son. Viktor is a charismatic and charming psychopath just as his father, he has the looks, perfect smile and charming persona that naturally attracts people to him.

He lacks empathy and compassion and has a strong loyalty towards his dad’s ideals as he’s never known better.

He grew close as well to his uncle Terry and helped him out every now and then, when he needed to get rid of someone.

Viktor has no problem with getting his hands dirty and will do anything to achieve his goals. He’s a resourceful man and knows his way around situations and people as well.

He has a strong feeling towards his sister that’s far from fraternal.

He was there, the night his little brother died and is suspected to be behind his death as well, since he was providing the drugs that night to his mom, andhated Felix.

Felix Milkovich

Name: Felix Milkovich

Birthdate: February 14th, 1989

Death: February 14th, 2004

Parents: Henry and Joana Milkovich

Nationality: Russian/American

Occupation: dealer / student

Siblings: Viktor Milkovich, Alexandra ‘Sandy’ Milkovich

FC: Daniel Sharman

Bio.

Felix was the second child of Henry and Joana Milkovich, and one of the youngest deaths in the family. During the short course of his life, Felix didn’t live a happy childhood in the slightest, however he was a boy with a compassionate heart and a good soul who tried his best to overcome the obstacles that were put in front of him almost every day.

Since he was very young, he had to look after himself, while looking up for his little sister whom he immediately grew attached to, the moment she was born. With only eight years old, one of Felix’ most difficult moments was when his mother abandoned him and his sister on a cold night of December, he remembered walking for hours to his dad’s home and selling the drugs his mother had left him, just to feed Sandy and keep themselves warm and not die.

From a very young age, he was a real fighter and grew a tough personality to keep himself alive in a complicated world. However, Felix suffered of severe depression and drug addiction, which eventually ended his life when he was only 15. Felix was very close to some of his cousins and was always fun to have around.

#shameless #shameless rp #sandy milkovich #sandy milkovich rp #milkovich #sandy milkovich headcanon

[kalinara]

So, it’s the second day of Rip Hunter Appreciation Week.  Today’s prompt is “perfect episode”.  Honestly, this feels more like a fanfic prompt to me, and I only ever write fanfic once per year.  It’s thing.

(One year I did actually write what I’d consider an episode-type fanfic, that’s here, if you’re curious.)

I don’t think this really counts as an ideal episode, per se.  But there was a plot idea I had at the end of season 2 that I would have loved to see in season 3, because I think it would have added some interesting layers.

See, my biggest problem with the end of season 2 was that the resolution of Aruba pretty much made Doomworld pointless.  Doomworld was interesting in its own right.  And there were some interesting lessons learned by our characters, especially Mick.  And yet, because of the way Aruba ended, we got none of that.

Doomworld never happened.

In some ways, I think that’s a good thing.  I don’t think Sara or Amaya, as characters, particularly benefit from having been turned into mindless murderers.  And I wouldn’t want Jax to have the memory of abusing Martin, to the point where Martin couldn’t even stand to be near him.

But Mick, having betrayed the team, learns that he actually doesn’t want to do that.  It’s growth.  (And I suspect that a Mick who remembers Doomworld would have been less likely to betray the team again...and again.)

Rip was driven to the point where he actually assisted his team in willingly breaking time.  That’s fairly important too.

And the thing is, while watching Aruba, I saw something interesting.  There were versions of the characters where it was very easy to tell which one lived and which one died: Sara, for example, had those lovely shirts.  Jax was depowered.  But Mick’s harder to tell.  And Rip’s main difference was a hat.  

At the end of the episode, Mick wants to go to Aruba, something future Mick talked about earlier.  Rip decides that the team is ready to be on their own, and then turns around and fires them in favor of a Time Bureau he’s created after leaving them.

So what if, and this is my proposed ideal plotline rather than episode, because ideally this would cover a season: what if the Rip and the Mick who died were the ones from the Past.  And the Doomworld ones survived?

In a way, I think this would make a lot of Rip’s behavior in Season Three make more sense.  This is a Rip who spent a year in what is essentially solitary confinement, who was driven to help break time itself.  Wouldn’t it make sense then, that he’d be SO adamant about defeating Mallus, if he remembered being one of the people who caused him to exist?

I’ve had trouble with certain of Rip’s actions in season 3.  They weren’t as bad as some of the others, sure, but it’s very hard to imagine the man who couldn’t even kill Vandal Savage in cold blood to save his family would then be so callous about the lives of his fellow Time Agents or watch multiple versions of the same artificial woman die, just to replace her with another one.

But a Rip who spent a year alone, wondering what Eobard was doing to his friends, who ended up helping to break time.  I could see that Rip going to extreme measures to both sideline his original team, but still reluctantly encouraging them anyway.  I could see that Rip becoming just a little callous, as he focuses so much on his goal, which he helped cause, and without characters like Sara, Ray, Jax and Martin to help pull him back.

So I suppose, in my ideal episode, that would have come up.  Ideally, Sara Lance would not have been willing to leave even an enemy in the hands of an organization that she considers totalitarian, especially once she realizes that he’s right and Mallus is a threat.  And that he’s the only one who actually has any real information about it. 

Ideally, there’d be at least an attempted rescue.  And ideally, there’d be a discussion afterward.  Rip’s an anachronism, just like what they used to stop.  He has one purpose: to stop this thing that they caused.  Even if it destroys him.  (And maybe the anachronism thing is something they might have in common.  Which could be quietly acknowledged as well.  I miss the days when Mick had at least some vague semblance of depth.)

Honestly, with the exception of Return of the Mack and Zari, I’d be fine with just getting rid of season 3 entirely,  But something like this would have been very interesting to me.

Alas, they went a different route.

#rip hunter #ripweek

[andcurioser]

So. Let’s talk about Veronica Mars. *deeeeeeeep sigh*

Ok, friends. It’s been a goddamn whirlwind for me. I actually went to the Veronica Mars panel at Comic Con, which I thought was a highlight at the time. They screened the first episode before the panel, and I was all ready to report back to you all that it was real good and to get excited for the new season, but then Hulu had to go and drop the whole damn series during the CC panel, which was a STUPID thing to do (or, at the very least, an extremely stupid thing to announce to the panel at Comic Con - the exact people who would not be able to watch it until after Comic Con, putting them at risk for some really big fucking spoilers. It’s genuinely surprising to me how little the people who are in charge think about these things. If you want to do a surprise drop (which, why, but whatever), sure, go and do it, but definitely don’t announce it to a room full of people who can’t enjoy it and expect them to be excited??). But regardless. That was just a wtf moment. I was still filled with enthusiasm and excitement and happiness that this show was back and seemed to be in good form. 

Oy. 

Cut to Tuesday morning. I got back from Comic Con on Sunday night, and life goes on, so of course I hadn’t watched 8 hours of TV by Tuesday at 7AM. Which is precisely when my dear friend, whom I adore, but who is apparently an idiot, texted me about how terrible that VM ending was and how upset she was. Now, because I’m a good friend and I know what she likes and we’ve discussed VM at length, it took me all of four seconds to know the gist of what happens in the end. I didn’t know the how or why, but I certainly knew the what. Cue fun spikes of anxiety and random bursts of rage, because what the fuck. Truly, what the fuck. But I placed my certainty at 99% and hopelessly clung to the 1% chance that I was wrong, knowing full well that I wasn’t. This obviously completely stymied any excitement I had for the show, and I dragged my heels for a full month before finally finishing the goddamn show just to get it over with. And now we’re here. 

I’ve had a month to ready myself for what I knew was coming. It was both a blessing and a curse, since while it pretty thoroughly ruined my good time, it also meant that I wasn’t totally blindsided by that ending. And man, I would have been blindsided, because there was Z E R O reason for that. None. And now I’ve read all the articles in which Rob Thomas tries to explain his reasons, and they’re all nonsense. Absolute idiocy. All I see is a guy who always, always resented the fans for loving a character he didn’t want us to, who tried and tried to redirect us to one of his preferred creations without success, and just when I thought he’d finally accepted defeat, he pulls the most nonsensical of fuckery just to finally win the battle. Fuck you, RT, forever and always. I can’t fucking believe that I allowed myself to think you’d finally seen the light. What a ridiculous fool I was for giving him the benefit of the doubt. 

Since I knew what was coming, I could look for the signs all throughout the season. So I searched for foreshadowing, or at least a narrative through-line. And let me tell you: there isn’t one. The season finally, rightfully seems to address Veronica’s deep-set trauma and trust issues but treats them like a problem and not a secret superpower, and it seemed like the show might expect Veronica to grow up along with the viewers who’ve aged 15 years since the first season? I was excited to finally have Veronica be the problem in a relationship, frankly. It was hinted at with Piz, but glossed over because there was only so much time in the movie, but it was realistic for her to have some trouble adjusting to a long-term, committed relationship, and I was excited to see that journey! I thought it was such an interesting path to go down, watching Veronica grapple with what she wants (or maybe just thinks she wants) vs. what she’s always known, or thought she knows. Lots of stuff there! Good stuff! And you get all the way to the end, when she’s finally decided to try. It isn’t fixed, it isn’t perfectly, she’s definitely got a long way to go, but she’s taken a few tentative steps into an uncertain future. And all of a sudden, quite literally, boom. It’s all gone. 

Listen. I was never going to be a fan of getting rid of Logan. However they chose to do it, it would always feel wrong. I have never trusted Rob Thomas to handle Logan well, because he’s always had this undercurrent of anger in every interview I’ve read, this frustration that people love and respond to Logan when he wanted them to love Duncan! Then Piz! Then anyone else! His creations took on a life of their own, and RT hated it. RT was one of the ultimate examples of writers/show runners who were simply watching a completely different show than the rest of us. I could never understand how he wrote such interesting stuff for Logan but didn’t want us to root for him. It never made any sense. But I didn’t think he would sabotage his own show this thoroughly. 

Because here’s the thing: I was never going to like him getting rid of Logan, but I could have understood it. I could have gone along with it if it had been done right. Frankly, the way it was building, it wouldn’t have been a surprise, nor would it even have been a bad choice, to have Logan break up with Veronica at the end of the season. And if RT couldn’t handle Veronica not being the aggressor, fine, make Veronica do it. She decides she isn’t willing to put in the work to change that Logan needs from her, and she ends it. Fine. Could work, at least for a few seasons. Let her deal with the loss, knowing it was something she chose, and see how it affects her priorities as she continues on. Certainly could be interesting! 

You know what isn’t interesting? This. This is the only - the ONLY - plotline that’s a watered down repeat of a previous story. Veronica Mars, traumatized and hardened by the shocking loss of someone close to her? Quite literally, been there, done that. I know RT has been trying to recapture the magic of season one for every season and iteration since, but just repeating the storyline? Really, really missing the mark. There isn’t anything new that can be added to this. We’ve done this. This will only ever be a pale imitation, a tacked-on sequel hitting the same beats with less force. Lilly was a fantastic inciting incident that yielded a tight, well-thought-out season arc. But why would we want to start over 15 years later? What’s to be gained from this? Literally ANY other ending would have yielded multiple storytelling options, branching out with so many possibilities on where the characters could go. This is the only one that simply slams doors shut. 

The few supporters of this ending I’ve seen around the interwebs keep saying things like “this show wouldn’t work if Veronica was happy!” Hell, Rob Thomas is saying the same thing. And to that idiocy, I can only say 1. of course it would, if you write it well, dumbass, and 2. if you think Veronica getting married immediately = happiness, well, what the hell show were you watching? The marriage, much as it could represent a step forward, was still VERY CLEARLY a huge, impulsive jump that was more a reaction than a measured decision. And that was something I was looking forward to seeing. Fresh off of a near-death experience and a renewed assurance of her love for Logan, Veronica marries him thinking that’s the end of their troubles, only to realize that it’s just another complication. Now Veronica has to deal with the new experience of having no quick exit strategy. All the problems they had throughout the season still exist, thinly covered by the veil of newlywed bliss, and she has to reconcile her happiness with her frustration and uncertainty. Logan still disappears at the drop of a hat because of his job. She still puts herself in danger for the case and uses loved ones and acquaintances alike to her full advantage. They hide things from each other. They love fiercely, they trust the other with their own lives but can’t trust each other to take care of themselves. Doesn’t this sound like a complicated, tumultuous relationship full of narrative possibilities? 

Well, forget it, because why break new ground when you could retread old storylines? Yeah, that’s what we all want. Great job, RT. So smart. 

Something that keeps bothering me is that if RT didn’t want Logan around as the happy husband at home but didn’t want to write more relationship drama between them? He already had the perfect excuse to ship Logan off for entire seasons at a time. Look, Logan’s deployed, oh no, he can’t even skype, he’s undercover! Cool, problem solved. No more Logan, but in a way that still maintains possibilities for the future should we want them. Ideal. Again, options. All you want are places for your narrative to go. Multiple roads it could take so it doesn’t become predictable. 

This is predictable. This is boring. This is trite. Our heroes, struck down in their highest moment of happiness. Holy fuck, it’s dull. It doesn’t feel edgy. It feels derivative, a tired rehash of a narrative structure that should have gone out of vogue ten years ago. The whole thing just exhausts me at this point. 

And I’ve read Rob Thomas’s justification for why he did it. They’re all flimsy, but if he wants to go do a Sherlock-style, Ms. Marple mystery series, flitting in and out as he pleases, fine. It won’t be the worst show in the world. Veronica’s still a fun and interesting character, and I’ll always enjoy watching her. But removing her from Neptune, and more importantly, removing her from all of her meaningful relationships, takes away what made this show special. The new version RT is pitching could be fun enough. But it’ll still be just one in a long, long line of mystery shows that don’t have much claim to my emotional investment. I might watch, but I’ll forget about it the second it’s over. It certainly won’t be the kind of show with a fanbase that will still be interested in watching more 15 years from now. Rob Thomas won’t be getting one of those again. 

So yeah, that’s that. I have much more to say, but really I just wanted to get this rant out so I can put it all behind me. I learned long ago that I can’t trust shows and showrunners, and it’s a lesson I learned partly, if significantly, from Rob Thomas. I suppose it’s on me for letting my guard down, but I guess my hope got grandfathered in from an age when I didn’t immediately mistrust the things that were supposed to make me happy. I’ll know better next time. 

#veronica mars #veronica mars spoilers #just in case #so i'll just be here selectively ignoring canon because frankly i know better #the ending was so stupid and tacked on that it's honestly pretty easy to ignore #mostly i'm just fired up about a showrunner mistreating his fanbase so badly after they've stuck with him through so much #just a baffling misuse of the support he was so lucky to still have #so i'll be cherry-picking the parts of s4 i liked with one hand and flipping rob thomas off forever with the other

[lovelahela]

❛ 'til death do us part ❜ ─ bloodbound.

⇢ pairing: jax matsuo x dark!mc (maia)

⇢ genre: angst, death

⇢ song: everybody wants to rule the world

⇢ description: they could never understand the power she could culminate. the changes she could make to the world. so be it. no matter. she can always make a better version of them.

⇢ word count: 1743

⇢ notes: should i make a mini-series of dark mc? also i wrote this in one go and didn't review it so i apologise if it sucks and u wasted ur time ajdjsjcjs

        Succumbing to the inviting arms of malevolence that seemed so warm but were so, so cold was one of the most tempting challenges you could face. Even the strongest of wills could take so much before crumbling uselessly, pathetically at the hands of a good-enough lie — in her case, a lie that promised her safety and normalcy even at the hands of a god-like power.

        She stood in front of the kneeling woman — the broken woman, whose face told a thousand tales of love, loss, and absolute pain. She was gazing up at her, eyes shining with a heavy coat of tears, but rather than conveying the emotion of devastation, they showed just how hopeless she truly was. "Do it, then," she had whispered, the tone of her voice hollow. "Kill me."

        Maia could feel the weight of her decision crashing down on her. Eyes were locked on her, questioning and worried, as she stared down the woman who destroyed everything — Rheya Apostolous. She had lost so many at her hands... Lily. She had lost Lily.

        When the scene of her best friend dissolving into ash flashed through her mind, the flicker of unimaginable power and fury grew inside of her. Slowly, her otherwise warm brown eyes began to glow an eerie yellow that reminded them of the sun's light itself. Her facial expression contorted into an appalled sneer. "Good riddance."

        An indescribable sensation coursed through her flaming veins, spreading a comforting warmth throughout her body. It was incredible, how it gave her an extreme sense of utter euphoria unlike any other thing. It didn't matter how much delicious food she ate, how much she indulged in adventurous activities abroad, or how many times she spent passionate nights with Jax — nothing in the universe could compare to this power.

        Maia held out her hand towards Rheya, as if reaching out to her, and the latter immediately began straining against the torture inflicted on her decaying body. All those millennia in which she "graced" the Earth with her presence began to rewind as her hair began to grey from its roots and her smooth skin wrinkled unnaturally while its colour turned to ash. Her blood shot out of her body and floated in the air before two strands winded like a DNA helix.

        And she absorbed them. She took in Rheya's blood, disregarding the sound of her limp body falling to the floor, and paying her full attention to the key to Godhood. It was as though her body crackles with electricity raging at thousands — no, millions of volts, except it made her stronger rather than rot her lifeforce. Her eyes shone bright because she could see the world in a whole new light, like a canvas she could reshape to her will.

        "It's... It's amazing!" laughed Maia, completely astonished with the state she achieved. "I can create life!" She held out her palm in front of her and watched with all but crazed eyes as a flower materialized out of thin air. 

        "My God..." whispered Kamilah behind her, overtook with shock and — this was a very rare occurrence — at a loss for words.

        Maia spun around to face her friends and a grin stretched across her lips almost maniacally. It only faltered for a second when she saw the looks of sheer horror and gradually growing distrust they were giving her. "I can bring back Lily!"

        Just as Maia uttered those words, plagued with delusional and false hope, the delicate flower withered in her hand. She frowned distastefully. "I just need..." She turned her gaze to the thousands of people seated in the opera, dazed and slowly waking up from the psychic hold their minds were strained by. "More power."

        "Maia, this is unnatural." Kamilah's voice was still uncharacteristically quiet and she spoke as if she were tip-toeing on eggshells — except those eggshells would annihilate the world if cracked.

        "No, this is brilliant! I know now! I know what she felt!" Another crazed laugh echoed through the opera, sending shivers down the trio's body. 

        "This is wrong, Maia. Deep down, you know it." She was taken aback at the tone of Jax's voice. Who was he, a weak little spec on what was now her world, to patronize her? She was a force of power. A blessing to the Earth. A Goddess.

        "You don't understand, Jax, I can bring back Takeshi!" Maia spoke with slightly less enthusiasm, words laced with an underlying threat. "I can bring him and Lily back!"

        Once again, she faced the audience, ready to put an end to their miserable little lives, when she saw them start to recover. A few began to point, scream, cover their mouths with terror. Her hands clenched, and her vision burned. Who were these people to look at her like that, to judge her? Tiny, insignificant things. Droplets in a torrent. What were their lives, compared to her pain? What were their screams, compared to her power? They had no idea what she could do. What she could become.

        "I could be a Goddess!" Her voice boomed, bouncing off the walls of the opera, vibrating with raw rage and madness.

        "Maia, no..."

        She whirled around to glare at Kamilah, face contorted with burning fury. "You don't understand! You can't understand!"

        Her anger was no longer targeted at the world, at its injustice and the ego of the petty mortals who inhabited it. It was directed at Adrian, at Kamilah, at Jax. They were gazing at her with such fear, such distrust... like she was still a reckless human rather than a Goddess made flesh. "Just watch," she had growled. "Just wait and see. I can make this right."

        "You sound just like her!" exclaimed Adrian incredulously, facial muscles slack with shock but body tense and ready to fight or flee. 

        "NO!" They flinched at the loudness of her yell. "Rheya was consumed by anger and vengeance. She was foolish and irresponsible, unworthy of this power. I will use it for good."

        Maia looked at them, one by one. "Don't you get it? I can give you everything you've ever wanted! Jax, I can rid the world of injustice! I can topple all systems of oppression, protect the vulnerable and the voiceless! Kamilah, I can bring your brother back!"

        She winced. "Don't... don't go there."

        "Adrian... all you've ever wanted was a better world! A peaceful world! I can give you that! I can give you the world you've always dreamed of." Maia spread her arms wide, beaming, as if to welcome them into her embrace.

        "Not like this. Not with more pain and death." He frowned at her, showing all signs of heartbreak, instilling a sense of offense inside her.

        Her grin faltered yet again. "Death is temporary. Pain is temporary. And if you don't understand that... I can show you."

        She reached out a hand to the crowd again and began to draw their blood, their life, drowning out their screams, when a hand reached out and a touched her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Jax, looking at her with softened eyes and a concerned frown. "Maia, listen to me. This isn't you, okay? You can still come back from this."

        Maia scoffed. "God... I thought you'd understand. You of all people! But you're just like the others. You can't see what I'm capable of!"

        His eyes met hers, and he looked achingly vulnerable and sincere, scared and loving all at once. "You're right, okay? I don't know. I don't know what feeling you're going through right now. I don't know what this power has done to you. But... I do know you're hurting. I've been there. Believe me, I've been there."

        He took a deep, shaky breath. "And I do know how easy it is to give in to that hurt. To let it define you. To become a monster. And I know... I know you're better than that. I know you're amazing."

        Jax extended a hand toward her, cautious yet welcoming. "I love you, Maia... please come back to me."

        She met his eyes yet again, cold and soulless. And with an empty, monotone voice, she said a single word that stroke unimaginable fear in their hearts: "No."

        And with that, shrieks of agony and horror rang in her ears, but no matter. They're only insignificant humans, and they're contributing to a good cause. A great cause. They're giving their lives to being back Lily, to exterminate the evil in the world. 

        "NO!"

        "STOP!"

        Stubborn little things. They'll learn to come around eventually. How could they not? After all, she is their new Goddess. They will bow down to her, or die opposing her.

        Maia cackled, euphoric, as power beyond measure overwhelmed her every sense. The humans were drained of their life, of their blood, as their bodies withered and decayed. Flowers bloomed all over the stage. It was amazing, intoxicating. Then, something else began to form mid-air — blood, muscles, gone. And Lily was reborn from the ashes.

        "YES!" Her entire body tingled like never before at the sensation of such potential swimming in the blood that ran through her veins. But then, Lily withered just like the humans in the seats. And suddenly a stake was protruding from her chest.

        Maia looked sideways to see a crestfallen Adrian, shaking his head continuously in denial. "I'm so sorry, Maia... I had to... I had to... I'm so sorry..."

        The stake melted away into nothingness. She sighed disappointedly. Did he really think that would work? On her? With a simple wave of her hand, Adrian disintegrated and was left fluttering in the wind as specs of grey. No matter, she'll make a new Adrian. A better one. One that will obey and serve.

        She ignored the cries of despair that burst out of her friends' quivering lips and let herself float in the air towards the rooftop. The crisp wind of the night encased her, caressing her practically glowing skin. Maia stared down upon the thousands of humans walking along the streets, laughing, eating, crying, faces illuminated by the faint glow of the towering buildings — each of them a small step forward to reviving Lily and reshaping Earth to her will. All important to achieving Godhood.

        And as she reached out her hand and began to feed, the world was lost to blood and death.

#my fingers hurt from typing this #so m sorry if it got shitty towards the end #anyway i miss bb #jax matsuo #pixelberry #choices fanfiction #playchoices #bb choices #bloodbound #adrian raines #kamilah sayeed #lily spencer #jax x mc #jax matsuo x mc