#I don't know where this thought came from but now I've done a bunch of doodles for it so | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

justwearthegoddamncardigan · 4 months

Note

could you possibly do a platonic gladers thing where reader was the first to come out of the box? like they came up with the note like teresa but “the first” if that makes sense 😭 anyway the reader is just sort of a parental figure to everyone? whatever gender you’d like to put and scenarios, the thought just popped in my head. ofc do this only if you’d like to!! pls don’t feel obligated!! love ur work <333 /p

HI LOVE THIS!! Thank you for the request ❤

Everyone loves Y/n

Platonic gladers x gender neutral!reader, set during tmr (movieverse)

3k - longish fic but worth it if you love platonic love 🫶

Warnings: discussions of Newt's suicide attempt; but more like the recovery after it, still please take care everyone, also language warning

1. Alby

You're the first one. Welcome.

You stuff the crinkled note back in your pocket just as you've done so many times before, re-examining it and hoping for some clue as to why you're stuck in here alone.

Except- you're not alone anymore.

The boy stands beside the Box, staring around the same way you did when you first climbed out, exactly 30 days ago.

Come on, Y/n. Time to go. You take a deep breath, resolving yourself, and you step out from where you'd been standing hidden in the trees.

The guy notices you immediately and takes a defensive stance, understandably hostile and scared. "Who are you? Don't come any closer!"

"Woah, hey," you raise your arms nonthreateningly, continuing to move slowly towards him. "It's alright."

"Where am I?" demands the boy.

"To be honest, I haven't got a clue," you tell him. "But you've got no idea how happy I am to see you."

His eyes narrow. "What?"

You shrug. "I thought I'd be alone here, forever."

At his silence, you continue. "So I've been here for a month. I was sent up in this Box, like you, with a bunch of resources and... hey, they've sent more stuff," you say happily, peering into the Box.

"Alright listen man," you say. "I don't really have answers for you, but I did start developing a routine for how to live here, and I'd love for us to work together."

The boy holds your gaze for a second, before giving a single nod.

You let out a sigh of relief. "Great, wonderful. I'm Y/n, by the way." You stick out your hand to shake. "Oh- memories. Your name is all you get, everything else is gone. But hey, let's make new memories here, together." You flash a cheesy grin and clap the guy on the shoulder.

You don't know how someone conveys sarcasm in a single look, but the new guy manages it just fine.

2. Minho

"Here, this way- shit."

You turn the corner and see the wall sliding into place, sealing off your exit.

"Which way now?" asks Minho, fear evident in his voice.

"Uh- that was already my backup route," you say honestly, backing away from the closed wall. "Just follow me, we'll find another way back."

You start down a lane, moving faster now, admittedly guessing your way through the paths and taking turns on instinct, aiming for the vague direction of the Glade.

Somewhere across the Maze a Griever lets out a screech.

"Yeah, okay," you mutter. Shuck. "In here, quickly," you direct, pushing Minho ahead into a smaller lane.

"Alright, here's the deal." You squat down, forcing Minho down with you, and keeping your voice low. "If I'm right, we're close to the Glade now. There should be a right turn at the end of the path next to us now, then a left and a straight shot back to the Glade."

"What if you're not right?" hisses Minho, wincing at the Griever's screech.

"Then we're dead," you say flatly. "Cause that Griever's in the same direction we're going. By the sound of it, we'll be running the path right beside it's lane."

"What."

"Look, Minho. Do you trust me?"

He hesitates, before; "Yes, fine. Let's go."

You shoot him a grin, patting his shoulder. "Perfect. Follow me, stay close."

You run through the route you'd explained to Minho, feeling your blood chill as you get closer to the Griever, its screeches becoming deafening.

You turn to check on Minho, who gives you a firm nod despite the terror you can see in his eyes.

The two of you turn into the final stretch, separated from the Griever by a single wall, and you sprint back to the Glade, heart pounding in your chest.

You collapse into the grass, breathing heavily as Minho falls in beside you.

"What the hell happened to you two?" demands Alby, running up to you and Minho.

You sit up. "Maze changed, and there was a Griever near the Glade," you explain. "Too near."

"Bloody hell," says Newt, hands balanced on his hips. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

So far you and Alby have been the only people to enter the Maze. Today was meant to be a beginner's run for Minho, your newest Glader and technically the Greenie even though he's never acted like it. You wanted to build a team of Runners, to see if more people could help with searching for an exit.

You look to Minho, still bent over in the grass. "Let's talk in the hut," you say, patting his arm.

"What did you think?" you ask, after you've both gotten water and a few minutes to let the adrenaline fade.

Minho flicks his gaze up at you, before dropping it. "I freaked out. I don't think I'm cut out for this Runner klunk."

You hum softly, tapping on the table Gally had lovingly built and sanded until it shone. "Do you think everyone was immediately good at their jobs?"

"Running is different," responds Minho, dodging the question.

"You were fast," you say. "I think you'd beat any of us in a race if we bothered to test it out. And you've got a level head, which is the most important thing when you're in the Maze."

You lean forward. "But you also need the guts to set foot in the Maze in the first place. And Minho, you were the first volunteer to run with me today. That's exactly the bravery we need in Runners."

You're met with silence. "If I asked you to be a Runner," you say quietly. "Would you say yes?"

"You could be asking the wrong person," hedges Minho.

"I don't think so," you say.

"I- why? Why me?"

"Because I believe in you," you say simply. "I think you could do it."

The silence stretches as you wait for Minho's response. Then; "Okay, I'll do it." He gives you a nod, expression resolving.

You sit back, a mock-thoughtful expression on your face. "I mean, I said if I asked you, this was really more hypothetical-"

"Y/n, I swear-"

You let out a laugh, and Minho rolls his eyes at you, grinning.

3. Newt

Overtime, the Gladers have grown into a wider community, with new jobs and groups slowly added.

Alby steps into the leader position and you move into your gardening job, as well as mentoring the Medjacks on the side. You tend to pick up a little of every job, passing what you know to newly formed groups until they can develop on their own.

Minho's grown far beyond what you could have expected from him, moving on to memorising routes, constructing a scarily detailed Map, and hand-picking the new Runners.

Newt becomes a Runner too, and you almost lose him.

They're some of the worst memories you'll ever have, that day Minho ran in in the freezing morning, screaming for help. The Medjack hut was finished literally a day before, and the Medjacks themselves were barely trained to patch up the Slicers. So everyone turned to you... And you were so, so, out of your depth.

You'd built a temporary brace for your own twisted ankle from your first month alone in the Glade, but for this you were completely unqualified and unprepared.

It’s been months now, with Newt slowly healing overtime. You worked with the Medjacks to set up a few movement drills, but it’s been painstakingly slow progress.

“I want to try walking again.”

You lift your gaze to Newt in the dark. “Now?”

“I wanna go outside.”

You hesitate.

“Come on, Y/n, I barely got five steps in today before Jeff made me sit down again. I’m fine, I promise.”

“You’re fine when the Medjacks say you’re fine,” you reply.

“The Medjacks don’t know shit,” retorts Newt. “They’re just making stuff up as they go. That’s what we’ve all been doing.”

“I trust them,” you say steadily. “Alby and I chose them for a reason.”

“Y/n, can you please just let me outside.”

You let out a breath. “Fine. Take your crutches.”

You don’t go far; the ground is too uneven and the crutches slip in the grass. You end up dropping them near the top of a hill.

“Here, let’s sit.”

You reach a hand out to Newt, which he thankfully takes, letting you help him down so you’re both lying back on the grass, facing up at the night sky.

“It was a good idea,” you say, breaking the silence. “I get why you wanted to come out.”

"Yeah," says Newt. He jerks his chin upwards. “The stars, they’re what I’m here for.”

You tip your head back, following Newt’s eye line. “You know, my first night here, I hadn’t built a place to sleep. I just lay on the ground like this, looking up at the stars.”

Newt shifts, moving one hand to point upwards. "I recognise most of the constellations," he tells you.

"Really?"

"Yep. That's Orion, right there. And over there is Gemini. And that star is Sirius, in Canis Major."

You search your mind for a hint of a memory, trying to call up knowledge you might have had before being put here.

"It's all bullshit," says Newt.

You turn to him in surprise.

"The stars," he says, still staring upwards. "None of them should be arranged like that, the constellations wouldn't be that close, or even in the same area, if this was real."

"Oh," you say, voice soft.

Newt lets out a flat laugh. “I don’t know why they let me keep this knowledge, when they’ve taken everything else away.”

He sits up, eyes flicking down to you. “…sorry.”

You shake your head, sitting up and turning to face him. “It’s okay. I’d rather you say this stuff than keep it bottled up.”

“Right,” says Newt. “I guess we should… get back to the hut.”

Neither of you move to get up.

“Newt,” you say. You face forward, resting your arms loosely around your knees.

”Yeah?”

“Please stay with us,” you say, voice quiet. You turn to him, letting go of your legs to gently take his hands. “We need you, I- we- okay, let me just-” You take a deep breath. “Listen, we’re gonna get out of here some day. And I want to sit with you under real skies, with real stars, so you can tell me each and every constellation you see. Cause I know your nerdy ass studied all of them in another life, and I don’t know, when we run out, we can just... make up new ones? I think that’s something I want to do with you.”

“Yeah, okay- yes. Okay.” Newt’s eyes are wet, and he squeezes your hands right back.

“And talk to us,” you continue. “When you’re struggling, or hurting, or… anything. Just talk to us, Newt. Please. We need you, and we care about you, so much.”

“I’ll try, I’m trying.”

“That’s all I’m asking,” you say.

“God, okay,” you start, after staying there under the stars for a while. “Look at us. Let’s get back in the hut, c’mon.”

You help him up, handing him his crutches.

“So, we’re trying,” you say, looking Newt in the eye.

“Yes, we’re trying.”

You get the smallest of smiles from him, and count it as the biggest win.

4. Gally

"First he breaks all our rules, then he tries to convince us to abandon them entirely? These rules have held us together for years, why are we questioning them now?"

You frown slightly, taking in Gally's words from your seat at the back of Council Hall.

"If Alby was here, he'd agree with me, and you know it."

You watch pain flicker across Newt's face for a second, before he speaks. "Let's take a break. I want Minho, Gally, and Y/n in here, the rest of you just give us ten minutes."

As the others clear out, you join the three in the centre of the room.

"Newt, this really isn't complicated. That shank broke our rules, and he needs to be punished," says Gally.

Newt sighs, and you notice how tired he looks. He needs Alby. "You're not wrong, Gally, but..."

"Y/n, what are you thinking?" asks Minho, jerking his chin at you as Newt trails off.

You raise your eyebrows. "You know I have no say in this, Min. I'm not a Keeper, or any kind of leader. I'm pretty much just here to watch the meetings."

"Seriously, Y/n?"

"Fine," says Newt. "Then suppose we're asking you as friends asking a friend, not as a council leaders or Keepers."

"I don't-"

"Just speak, Y/n," says Gally exasperatedly.

"I- alright, the idea that Newt's having right now, mine's the same."

"Well, we'd love to hear it from your mouth," says Minho drily.

"Yeah Y/n, what am I thinking?" Newt crosses his arms, lifting a brow.

You sigh. "Punish Thomas for breaking the rules, but make him a Runner."

"You can't be serious," says Gally immediately.

Newt shrugs. "They're right, that's what I was thinking."

"I'm down to train him," says Minho. "I think he'd make a good Runner."

"Good. Call the Council back in then, we'll make the announcement."

"You're making a mistake," says Gally angrily. "Tell the others without me." He storms out as the rest of the Keepers file in.

"Gally-"

"Nah, Fry."

"I got him," you say, nodding at Frypan.

"You're alright," you whisper as you brush past a stressed-looking Thomas. You squeeze his shoulder reassuringly, and he gives you a small smile of gratitude.

You shut the door behind you, chasing Gally down as he storms into his hut.

"Gally wait-"

"I don't want to hear it, Y/n."

He slams his door shut, closing you out. You sigh, and let yourself in.

"Get out of my hut, Y/n."

"Stop, Gally," you say sharply. "Just listen."

Miraculously, he stays quiet, leaning back on the wall and crossing his arms.

"I... I know you're scared, Gally."

"What-"

"Oh my god, just hear me out," you huff, rolling your eyes. "Okay, so yes, we just got attacked by Grievers, right here in the Glade. And yeah, it's probably linked to Thomas. And- yes, making him a Runner and letting him pretty much just fuck around and find out could put us in danger. ...But he's also the closest we've ever been to understanding the Maze and this whole place. I think he's the key to getting us out of here."

You sit down on Gally's bed, gesturing for him to sit down beside you. He lets out a huff, but reluctantly takes a seat.

You look him in the eye. "Gally I've been here for three years, and it's great. We've built a structure, a life, a goddamn society. But I really, really want to see the outside world."

Gally scrubs a hand over his face, dropping his gaze. "Yeah, I know, Y/n. I'm just- I'm trying to keep everyone safe. Newt and Minho are blinded by this hope, they're believing too much in one guy who's been here for literal days."

"I know, I know. But we need to take that risk, if we want to get out of here, alright?"

Gally sighs, then nods. "Yeah, fine."

"I'm gonna help Thomas, and Newt and Minho in whatever plans they make."

You hold out your fist. "Promise me you'll follow the plans we make, and stick with us. Don't... you know, make your own group and stay here and get killed, or whatever you were planning to do."

Gally rolls his eyes at you, and reluctantly brings his fist up to knock against yours, following through with the handshake the two of you used to do after building something, back when you used to help out with the other jobs. "Yeah, yeah, we get it Y/n. You've been here the whole time, you know us sooo well, you can read our minds."

You grin widely. "Damn right I can."

5. Thomas (everyone loves Y/n)

"Do you think this'll work?" asks Thomas, chewing on his lip worriedly.

"Of course it will," you say. "Have a little faith in your plan, Thomas. You don't need approval from me."

Thomas huffs out a laugh. "Thanks. It's nice to hear you're confident, though."

You raise your eyebrows, smiling a little confusedly. "I mean, I'm glad my support motivates you."

Thomas squints his eyes at you. "Y/n, you know you're like... super respected, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, everyone looks up to you. You don't notice the way people turn to you in tense situations and stuff? You're kinda like an understated leader, I guess."

"Ah, right." You smile at him. "It's cause I was the first person here, which I do get credit for, I don't know why. Totally underserved, Alby's the one who built this place."

"Bullshit." You turn in surprise as Minho walks in, Newt following behind him.

"What?"

"Undeserved credit, my ass," says Minho, crossing his arms. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be a Runner."

"Yeah," says Newt, coming over to your side. He props an elbow on your shoulder, grinning at the frown you send him. "And you know what," he says quietly. "If it wasn't for you, I might not even be here."

You smack his arm. "Don't even say-"

"Gally, tell Y/n we love them," interrupts Minho.

"Huh?" Gally lifts a brow, before nodding. "Yeah, everyone loves you, man. Don't take it personally. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't even be on board with this plan right now."

"Ugh-" you pinch the bridge of your nose.

Thomas leans in. "Told you so."

"God, let's just do the plan. Let's go, everybody out," you say hurriedly, shoving Newt out, ignoring Minho's snickers.

You stand between Minho and Gally as Thomas and Newt explain the plan to the Gladers, feeling yourself surrounded by friends; family.

Time to get out of here.

The end chapter is cheesy but I love it thank you for reading <3333

#the maze runner #platonic gladers x reader #alby x reader #minho x reader #newt x reader #gally x reader #thomas x reader #my writing

266 notes · View notes

astorytotellyourfriends · 9 months

Text

The one thing that everyone seems to know about Eddie Munson is that when he's not out touring the world with his band, Corroded Coffin, he makes a point to be as invisible as possible in order to spend time at home with his family. Eddie, along with his wife Chrissy of seven years and their two young children, graciously invited Vogue into their Hollywood Hills home that's about as secluded as you can get while still having that coveted Los Angeles zip code.

Vogue: I have to admit, given what I've seen of Corroded Coffin on stage, I think I expected your home to reflect a bit more of that personality.

Eddie Munson: [laughs] You can thank Chrissy for that. She's the brains behind this whole operation, I just do what she tells me.

So there's no hidden dungeon in the basement?

Hate to burst your bubble, but nope. I've been trying to get a sacrificial altar for the backyard, but I haven't found one I liked yet.

Really?

[laughs] I'm kidding. But I had you going, right?

You really did. But that's what you've always done, right? Leaned into the mania of Satanic Panic and made it work for you?

Yeah, I guess so. I mean, people are gonna believe whatever they wanna believe anyway so I might as well give 'em what they want, right? Plus, [laughs] it's a hell of a lot of fun.

What's it like having that devil-worshipper stage persona with two young kids at home? Do either of your kids know what their dad does for a living?

Oh, yeah. They [redacted] love it. Wait, can I say [redacted]?

We can't print it, but you can say it.

[Redacted] yeah. Our little one doesn't really get the whole stage thing yet, but she sure looks cute in those big-ass headphones.

And your other daughter?

Oh, if she could be on stage with me every night, she would be. On our last tour, we had this gimmick where Gareth rigged a bunch of blood packs to his drums to explode during the encore and she thought it was the coolest [redacted] thing in the world. He even offered to let her do it when we were in rehearsals!

And did she?

Maybe.

From the look on your face, I'm guessing she did.

[laughs] Don't tell Chrissy.

Scout's honor. Until this article comes out, anyway.

[Redacted]. Is it too late to say off the record?

Way too late.

[Redacted]. Oh well. Worth it. She had the biggest [redacted] grin on her face when she was covered in fake blood, it was priceless.

Seems like you might be raising a mini version of yourself. Would you support your kids following in your footsteps and joining the music industry?

[Editor's note: At this point in the interview, the eldest Munson child came running out of the back door and pounced on her father, who took it in stride and continued answering questions as though he didn't have a six-year-old hanging over his shoulder.]

I mean, if that's what they wanna do, then hell yeah.

[gasps] Daddy said a bad word!

Daddy did not, Daddy said hell.

Mommy said hell's a bad word.

Mommy also said you were supposed to stay inside, didn't she?

Pip was crying. She misses you.

Do you need a moment?

[laughs] Believe me, if I took a moment for every time I wanted to be with my kids, I'd never get anything done.

Because you love us so much?

Exactly.

How much?

To the moon and back.

That's a lot!

Sure is, kiddo. Now shush and let the nice lady ask her questions.

Ooh, ask me! Ask me! I got lots of stories.

If you don't mind?

It's your funeral. [laughs] She'll talk your ear off if you let her.

What do you think about your dad being a rockstar?

[shrugs] It's okay.

Wow, thanks for the endorsement, kid. You heard it here first: being a rockstar is just okay.

Would you rather he had another job?

[shrugs] What other job?

I dunno. Playing music's the only thing I've ever been good at.

Nuh-uh! Daddy's good at lots of things.

Like what?

Telling stories. Playing with me. One time, he built me a big castle out of pillows and chairs and blankets and we played in it all day 'til Mommy said it was time for dinner. And then we all went to bed in it. Like camping!

Camping? When did you go camping?

Mommy let us sleep outside and said it was like camping. It was when you were gone. I don't like when you're gone. It makes Mommy sad. And then I'm sad. And Pip's sad. You're not going away again, are you?

No, baby. I'm staying right here with you.

Good. [to Vogue] Do you wanna see what Daddy brought home for me last time he went away?

I'd love to.

Okay!

[Editor's note: just as quickly as she came, Munson's daughter ran off to go fetch the present from inside the house.]

Do you need a minute?

Nah. It just… [sighs] never gets easier, you know? Hearing how much they miss me when I'm gone. I miss them all the [redacted] time.

I'm not surprised. Just from the last five minutes, I can see how much she adores you and I can't imagine what it's like to leave that behind, even when it's to go on a worldwide tour.

It's tough. I love my job, don't get me wrong. It's what's given us this house, all the [redacted] that the girls need, anything they could ever want, but… [shrugs] I dunno. Sometimes giving it all up doesn't sound half as hard as leaving them is. Maybe that's just me being ungrateful.

I don't think so. I think it means you're human. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you know? Torn between two worlds.

[laughs] Now there's an idea for an album. The dichotomy of being a rockstar and a father.

I'd listen to it.

Hell, so would I.

(might continue this with a lil follow-up fic of chrissy and eddie reading the interview before it goes to print... thoughts? 👀)

#hellcheer #eddissy #chrissy x eddie #hellcheer fanfic #stranger things #stranger things fic #hellcheersource #just a lil something me and shia cooked up earlier today #the hellcheer brainrot is still alive and well

195 notes · View notes

onesidedradiostatic · 2 months

Text

Intro Post + FAQ!?!?!?

STRIPES TRUTHERS DNI!!!!!!!! (this is a joke)

I'm not replacing my pinned post because I like my pinned post. it's special to me. it describes my blog in a single gif. but I'll link this in my bio.

hi! I think this was long overdue. first of all, introduction!

I'm pink! she/her, 19, filipino-chinese, 🇸🇬

I am an asexual sapphic on the aro spectrum! I'm not repulsed in either department though, I consider myself mostly sex-neutral and romance... idk, ambivalent irl, favourable in fiction.

keep in mind that hazbin hotel itself has a lot of explicit humour, so canon-typical level of that kind of humour should be expected here. however, outside of text-only nsfw jokes, I typically don't post or reblog nsfw art (and IF I did, I would use community labels/appropriate tags). I may also tag certain text-only nsfw joke posts as #suggestive, just as a precaution.

and now the FAQ...

FAQ

Other than one-sided RadioStatic, what do you ship?

I've actually done this before, but decided I'd update it a bit.

cherrivel is only there because of the need for velvette to have someone at the hotel to be obsessed with, refer to this post. it is currently unserious and could easily never come up in my posts I just thought to include it because of that one time I brought it up. other crackships may come up if I find it funny (ie adam x mammon).

this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, I do not like any reciprocated romantic alastor ships, I'm not here to police anyone for what they do in fanon, but all I ask is no one send me anything of the sort. I interpret alastor as a repulsed aroace, and the dialogue in which his asexuality is implied in canon implies to me he would never pursue dating (rosie knows alastor wouldn't be dating charlie because he is aroace, which implies she knows he is an aroace that doesn't date**). so that is how I choose to portray alastor in my posts.

**TO BE CLEAR, there IS nuance to this. because action =/= attraction. funny situations such as a fake date with vox as a distraction that he doesn't like at ALL entertain me. but I do not believe he is the type to pursue it under normal circumstances.

regarding qprs... well, as you can see, I really only care for qpr radiorose, but this is the part where it comes down to personal preference. qpr radiostatic largely depends for me, maybe if it's like an au where they never had a falling out or something but otherwise, I don't personally really see it, but that isn't to judge anyone who does. HOWEVER, I do like thinking about their past friendship, here's a post I made before regarding alastor's side on it.

Who's your favourite character?

unfortunately, it is the stupid tv man in my pfp. alastor is my second favourite though if that's not immediately obvious (wow tumblr user @onesidedradiostatic's faves are vox and alastor who could've guessed?)

Do you know [insert pre-series information here]?

I need to clarify, I am NOT a pre-series hazbin fan. I only got into hazbin properly at episode 5-6's release, prior to that I had only watched episode 4 out of curiosity due to twitter discourse. any information I have regarding pre-series stuff comes from the wiki, tumblr posts or anons who have informed me of stuff. my main source of information is the main series, that is how I first consumed hazbin after all.

What the fuck is the "Lucifer's Commissions Saga"?

it all started with an anon talking about the most unrealistic thing about vox owning an alastor body pillow being that alastor was able to be printed on it without glitches. I then dropped a stupid idea I had in my head for a bit about lucifer being offered 50k to make a sexy alastor painting for vox. one reblog later. well. it turned into vox commissioning lucifer for the body pillow. and then a bunch of asks came in related to it and it turned into a saga which is now my legacy. feel free to scroll through this entire thing. also a fanfic of it by ChaoticAce2005 now exists. go check it out. AN ANIMATIC BASED ON ONE OF THE POSTS BY NATAKARANIA ALSO NOW EXISTS. CHECK THAT OUT TOO.

The original post mentions Val commissioning Lucifer for the art for Vox, Val is canonically a talented artist, why would he do that?

in my defence, I kinda forgot about that when I posted the original joke. later asks, I've mended that val HAS drawn for vox before but vox nitpicked too much and val's not always willing to do a fully rendered sexy alastor... so vox has to outsource. and he just happens to do so to the king of hell.

Hey, hey, listen! What if Vox doesn't have a crush on Alastor but wants XXX instead!?

hey, I respect you! I respect your opinion and hc. but this blog is built around that concept specifically, I like vox wanting something he can never have, wanting romance from a guy who literally cannot feel the same way about him. so I'm probably not gonna be as passionate about other takes. but your opinion is valid! I'm just not really sure what you want me to say other than respectfully disagreeing.

Why don't you use RadioSilence for one-sided RadioStatic?

radio silence is the name of another book made by the author of heartstopper, alice oseman (which I heard also has a canon aspec character!). even though it is already a used tag for this ship, I refuse to contribute to flooding the book tag with hazbin hotel. it's already an issue I see even when searching #radio silence with the space, I think those in that fandom should be allowed to search for content without being flooded by content from another fandom. please understand.

I instead use #onewaybroadcast in accordance with this poll. I still use the regular #radiostatic and #staticradio tags in addition to it for more reach and because vox's side still technically counts under it, if anyone doesn't like specifically one-sided radiostatic for whatever reason, they may filter out the specific tag or block me.

Tags

#osrs.txt - all text posts, including asks #osrs.art - self-explanatory, art done by me #osrs.mp4 - videos which can range from compilations, shitpost edits to high effort edits #osrs.helluva - my helluva boss reactions/liveblogging and related stuff

#radiostatic parent trap subplot - the short series of asks joking about the torn picture vox has reminding them of the parent trap, turning into a crack subplot #projecting irl experiences onto radiostatic squad - where a bunch of anons came together to recount irl experiences with incels and say "yeah this is vox" #the ays - angel dust realising he and alastor are the reason for the vees' focus on the hotel and decides to brand both of them as the ays #lucifer's commissions saga - everyone's favourite as explained above, and also the biggest arc on this blog (my legacy) #alastor's modern sexuality label crisis - started with alastor misinterpreting "asexual" as asexual reproduction, continued on to him misinterpreting more modern sexuality labels #vox's stupid fucking turtleneck - it started with me trying to start up a debate on the colour of vox's turtleneck in the vox and val photo and escalated into people in my notes and askbox trying to gaslight me into thinking the turtleneck has stripes instead of it being a KNITTING PATTERN. this is what the STRIPES TRUTHERS DNI is referring to btw #cursed yellow val - tag name taken from andy-solo1, started as a response to the turtleneck discourse, I believe the turtleneck is a similar colour to val's wings therefore yellow turtleneck truthers are implying val's wings are also yellow #respectless anons - started with an anon trying to correct colour names and saying "not to be velvette..." and ended up with other anons being kin assigned characters #all the fucking parodies - there's been 2 parodies for you didn't know and 2 for respectless by others based on shit from this blog now, this tag is needed #the fanon val killjoy beef - tag made for the made up concept of valentino and katie killjoy beefing, started from this post

#osrs.intro

42 notes · View notes

porlatamconlouis · 20 days

Text

louis in panamá! louis back in latam!!! louis is back in his spirit home!!!

the crowd was amaaaazing! listen, every louis show i've been to holds a special place in my heart for different reasons. but being in a crowd where everyone around you gives out the same energy, even when they don't fully know some songs, is something i've been craving for a long time now, and it's just the beginning and i'm sooo excited. the venue itself was kinda meh inside, the way they used the space was terrible in my opinion but as a brightside, gaby and i had lots of space to jump and dance and lose our entire minds.

the setlist order change threw us off, but god i love it. the 'chemical' cover... idk how to explain it but the videos i've seen so far (which haven't been many, i'm on wifi most of the time) don't do it one bit of justice. his voice! his voooooooice! that's all i kept saying throughout the song. because i didn't know the song, and the arrangement was so punk that i thought it was a song from an early 2000s pop punk band that i wasn't recognizing. but duuuude, his voice. i hope we get a good version, because that boi whined away with his whole chest... honestly. and i can't fucking wait to see how more and more comfortable he'll get with the song and more people singing it with him, and just... yeah!

oli, krystle and helen were in the open space where there were no chairs, right in front of us... oli walks to not draw attention to himself, but boi, most of us know you by now. i didn't see anybody coming up to them which was nice. they went to the sound booth for a big chunk of the show. and during ooms krys and helen came back to jump and dance to the side there. i loved seeing them like that!

the happiness we felt when we saw lucia coming down! gaby and i were jumping up and down screaming "lucia! lucia is back! lucia!", hajshajshs. and theeeen, at the end, as i always do if possible, we went to the soundbooth to thank my friends (jdelf, tom and oli c.) for the show, and we thanked them for bringing lucia (the lightbulb) and not leaving her behind, and they were amused (and probably a bit weirded out (they've seen me in the same shirt at least 4 times lmao)) and saying thank you for appreciating them and just yeah. i like to think maybe they already knew her name was lucia, but also, i'm glad someone on the ground straight up told them how fucking appreciated she is. 💚 look at herrrr! (lol)

living all my favorite songs live again was so cathartic. didn't know how much i needed it, wow. also, how are we gonna call that insane set of songs before the encore? my vote is for "rip steve's arms" or "no breathing mix" or "lose your shit time". because going from 505 to bty to kmm to ooms is fucking wild, man. it was absolutely incredible, i think i ascended a little bit and was fully exorcised, thanks.

oh! the kmm lights? soooo good! i know they've been done at all the shows after '22 but like... idk. it felt a bit extra special? and he sensed it as well, he couldn't contain his little smiles. and he gave it a shout out. literally everyone knew they had to do it. so cool!

as a sad note, during sibwawc, the lights from the stage weren't really colourful, they just kinda went from orange to white from what i remember. gaby and i waved our flags for the entirety of the megamix (and a bunch of other songs too, hajshajs, duh) and since we were going off the whole time, and not as many people were, he did see us all the way to the back and pointed at where we were and we looked at each other and just kept going. we then corroborated our stories in the hostal, hajdhaj. enjoy the following video as if you were next to us and just jumping around, okay thanks (when you see everyone else jump around that's when he comes to our side).

anyway, i wrote all of this while on the airplane that's gonna take me to puerto rico, which is a bit delayed. oh, and el puma rodríguez is on this flight, lmao. iykyk. some ladies, while boarding, just stood in front of him and took a selfie, eeep. right, here's some carpet photos.

i'm so lucky i get to do this insane adventure, i'm so happy.

(meant to save this in drafts while the video uploaded but guess it got posted instead, hajshajsh. anywaaaay... thanks for the lovely notes, loves.)

#jules blah blah #show ciudad de panamá

42 notes · View notes

thenightfolknetwork · 5 months

Note

Back when I was in school, I thought it'd be great fun to create an urban legend or local cryptid. I got some friends together, managed up some costumes, snuck out at night, wandered around looking creepy. And it was; great fun, that is. Sure we were all tired the next day whenever we did that, had weird scrapes and bruises from stumbling around in the dark, and at most we ever heard someone mention that they thought they saw "an animal" out where we were lurking; but we were out with friends, doing something we probably weren't supposed to do, we were young, it was wonderful.

We grew up, as tends to happen. We found more interesting things to do late at night. A bunch of us moved away, including myself. Gradually, we mostly lost touch with each other. I mean I could probably still contact all of them if I really needed to, it would just be awkward. I never mentioned those "adventures" to anyone, because as I got older, it just seemed more and more embarrassing, plus -- as I came to realize -- INCREDIBLY insensitive to the creature community. For the last few years, I've been trying to forget all about it.

Until recently. I was chatting with my mother on the phone, and she mentioned that in the past few weeks, there have been Sightings in the area. She'd never shared it before now, because it was just some minor local gossip, except she'd seen it herself the day before; just a glimpse, but what she described, it matched how we'd dressed up, how we'd moved, even the places we'd done "appearances" in.

My first rational thought was that maybe she'd known the whole time -- as a kid, you're a lot worse at being sneaky than you think you are -- and this was just a very time-delayed prank on me. But I looked into it, and it's not just her telling this to me; I won't bore you with the details, but if this is her prank on me, it's better planned and coordinated than most military operations.

There's three explanations I can think of. The first is that one of my friends has decided to start it up again, after all these years, for whatever reason; or they'd shared it with someone who decided to do the same. On the face of it, this would be easy to check, but that's not taking into account the crippling awkwardness that doing so would entail, plus I know for a fact that the person who'd be my best suspect for doing this, doesn't live within easy travel of the place any more. There's other reasons that make this option seem unlikely to me, but they involve personal details I'm not going to share.

The other possible explanations I can think of, are more up your alley. That either somehow a bunch of dumb kids managed to close-enough replicate what an actual being, that actually exists, is like, and now one of them is there, maybe as a coincidence, or maybe to find the "other one" (which never actually existed, because it was just us). Or that somehow, that same bunch of dumb kids managed to accidentally CREATE a being. To put it in the silliest possible way that my brain keeps repeating on endless loop, accidental catfishing or accidental parenthood.

Should I look into this further? Do I need to swallow the awkwardness and talk to the others? Come clean in public with what we'd done? (I don't think any of it was technically illegal, plus we were children at the time, but it would still be even more awkward than my current benchmark for 'extremely awkward'.) Is it none of my business? Should I start actively hiding any involvement? I go back there about once a year, to visit my parents, and it's a few months still before I'd be expected, so I have time, but I'd need to have a plan in place first.

First of all, reader, I'm glad to hear you have since come to understand how incredibly inappropriate and insensitive your actions were when you were a teenager. I hope young sapios today are a little better educated on the matter of treating liminal cultures and identities with respect, but I confess, it is not a particularly robust hope.

I hear your concerns that you and your friends may have participated in some kind of accidental manifestation. I think I can put those fears to bed. Bringing forth an entity through the power of imagination alone is an astonishingly difficult feat, and one which requires a great deal of concentration, dedication and, frankly, natural magical talent. It would be unusual to the point of near impossibility for a group of teenage pranksters to stumble their way through such a working without knowing it, and even more unlikely that the effects of that working should remain hidden for so long.

I think it equally unlikely that you somehow happened upon an accurate representation of an existing, but as yet unknown, genus. The creature community is vast and varied, and the chances of you managing to cobble together anything like an accurate representation of a genus you've never seen before seems highly unlikely.

However, there is always the possibility of… let us call it “suggestion”. When you think back to that period, is there anything you can remember that motivated you to design the costume as you did? If you can trace your inspiration directly to, say, a particular book or a certain film, then we can set this aside as a possibility.

But if at any point you felt your decisions were driven by something less tangible – if it felt as if “inspiration” had struck, and you moved by shared instinct, all seeming to strive for the same end without communicating that end to one another – then we might start to consider the possibility of external influence.

This could also explain why these sightings have started again. Rather than being a living creature suddenly coming out of hiding, this sudden apparition seems more likely to be another group of young sapios, subject to the same external influence as you and your friends were all those years ago, compelled to don the same costumes and cavort in the same places.

Quite why anyone or anything would be exerting psychic/phasmic influence to this end, I can't guess. There doesn't seem to be any harm in it, apart from inducing sapio teens into insensitive behaviour – and let's be honest, it's even odds they would have done that anyway. And in any case, I think this explanation falls firmly in the “none of your business” side of things.

I say, draw a line under the affair, and move on. Someone in your town may be playing silly buggers, but as an erstwhile silly bugger yourself, I'm sure you can allow them their bit of fun.

#answered #the nightfolk network #monstrous agonies

64 notes · View notes

thegrimreaperisanerd · 7 months

Note

hi :) binge read your de fic that you have posted on ao3 last night and really enjoyed all of it! excited to see any updates. was wondering if you have any rec for other fic youve read and enjoyed-- i am not god's bravest soldier and do not enjoy trudging through tags and was wondering if you had read anything yourself that you really enjoyed lolol

Hey, thanks so much!!! Sorry it's taken a couple days to answer this, I'm poor as shit and have two jobs now wah... capitilism...

I'm working on the next 46' chapter, It's about 70% complete and I generally let it sit for an evening once it's done then re-read it the next day to catch the vast majority of mistakes (I edit everything myself) so I'd say expect that in the coming days.

I have some thoughts! I... Have never been asked for fic recs before so I'm gonna list a bunch in no particular order that I enjoyed, and reasons why. I will note that I tend to enjoy meaty plot-based works over fluff, so that's what I'll be recommending. Anyway!

Paddling Out (THE REPEATER CORPSE CONUNDRUM) - @transhitman - So this is the first DE fic I read and it set the bar pretty fucking high. YOU'VE GOT: a very cool and insular setting (don't get me wrong I like fics where they travel around Revachol too, but there's something to be said for building a set and living in it for a while) YOU'VE GOT: extremely harrowing tension and pale-fuckery YOU'VE GOT: some genuinely beautiful, heartfelt moments (I don't want to spoil anything but "people don't need your permission to care about you" kinda undid me) YOU'VE ALSO GOT: Amazing art?! Always a bonus, I wish I could draw people lol

Have You Heard The News That You're Dead? - Wizardlover - Time Loop shenanigans hell yeah! Basic premise: Kim is *unable* to save Harry's life after he's shot at the tribunal, each time he dies he Reawakens in Martinaise on the first day and desperately has to try and find a way to either prevent the Tribunal entirely, or survive it. I think the major draw to this one is how well it's characterised and how well that lends to the major source of tension: trying to convince THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SKEPTIC that you *a man he 'has only just met'* is actually stuck in a time loop. Juicy shit.

The Case Of The Man Who Two-Thirds Wasn't There - @glisteningceruleaneyes - We got another case fic here, gang. This is one of those "they travel around Revachol" numbers I previously mentioned. A lot to love about this fic; the minor OCs are all loveable (or at least well-written, looking at you Mr. Bigot-All-Rounder), the elements of writing in the game's style (particularly use of Harry's 'to do' list that you find in the ledger, you don't see that as often!) are all fantastic. Also without spoiling too much I'm a sucker for hurt/ comfort :) I like when bad things happen to our specialist guy :) ALSO! alternating chapters, Kim vs Harry's perspectives contrast REALLY well! Just a super enjoyable read. - On that note I also wanna include a special mention: there's a podfic for this one and since I mentioned my two jobs, I've been listening to audiobooks at work (I'm a cleaner. It's very boring) and that was a fun change of pace!

The Emergent Causeway - hal_incandenza - Now you KNOW this one is good because it's the only *unfinished* fic I'm recommending. Again, We've got art! We've got a brand new (non-Revachol!) setting that still feels excellently Elysium! We got that excellent balance of humour and misery from the get go! EXCELLENT murder mystery so far, I am intrigued AND also there's a fucking puppy. Hell yeah. This one's from Kim's perspective and does a really good job of it, nothing like a man being begrudgingly sent on holiday and being somewhat relieved to have a corpse to deal with.

A Spilled Kaleidoscope - @spilledkaleidoscope - I'm actually recommending a series here. Real definition of "came for the art, stayed for the writing" I mostly have a soft spot because I got to watch a few "haha, what if-?" musing text posts become a series of written chapters and INCREDIBLE DRAWINGS HOLY SHIT. Like, you really just draw hands for fun, huh? This person made a pact with some sort of devil beasts to draw hands very good, at the bare minimum we can read their fiction.

Nothing To Lose But Our Chains - Lepak - I almost forgot this one and I honestly can't believe it because this is one of these ones that you need a cigarette afterwards. Good fucking god. This is probably the best fic I've ever read in terms of not shying away from the heavy themes that make Disco Elysium such a beautiful, moving game. It tackles a racism in many forms, particularly how people like Kim (in working for the RCM) and immigration laws do their part in upholding racist systems, despite the way it hurts him too. Of course, it's also excellently written with tense scenes and some real funny moments. A real good'un here.

The Catacomb Killer - SupposedToBeWriting - Give Harry more memory loss. Make him convinced he killed a kid. Make *Kim* convinced he killed a kid... Then the plot thickens. I won't lie I can't remember fuck all about this one because I was mostly drunk when I read it, but if it was good enough that I kept reading instead of smoking a spliff or something then it must have been excellent... I will re-read it when I have the time, lmao.

MURDER ON THE AIRWAVES - @randomisedmongoose - I'm just a really big fan of murder mysteries and gore. You show me somebody with brain matter pouring from their earholes and I'm like "yum yum, more of that please." I am a sucker for curious methods of murder and this one's good for that. Lots of trekking back and forth like in the game again. More ACAB - always good.

I did not mean to include this many...........................

Oh well. Here's my list, there are plenty of others I've enjoyed but these are just the ones that came to mind! Thanks again for reading my fic! Always makes me happy when people let me know they enjoy my writing :3

#hey if i tagged u in this and u don't want to be tagged then PLEASE lemme know and i'll remove u #likewise i dont know if everyone has tumblr so if u know somebody does ping this post their way and if they wanna be tagged let me know and #i'll do that #fic recs

56 notes · View notes

desultory-novice · 2 months

Text

Suggested Listening: Re_Birthday (lyrics)

I don't really mind the quiet...

Especially in my head. It's been...kind busy there for a while.

I never bothered to count how many there were. More numbers were good. That was all. Or so we believed. But looking back, it was pretty miserable. Like on bad blizzard days, when they'd pack everyone into one room? It was that, only they never let you back out.

If there's one thing I'm tired of, it's how dark it is. See, we don't "see" things the way other species do. Yeah, I know: giant eyeball. But that was like...our brain. What we saw was the form of things. Their composition. But we didn't see light. We didn't see color.

I think...that was on purpose.

Because, and I know this from experience, when you're trapped in complete darkness for long enough, you'll listen to anyone who provides you with even the faintest hope of things changing.

I spent way too long listening, unaware or more likely, uncaring that I was only dragging more voices into the same morass I was mired in.

But that's all over.

Someone stopped it. Came in like a star on the spring breeze and brought light and hope and dreams back to the world. And the voices have all faded. The others, they've been freed, I think.

I don't know for sure because, well, I'm still here.

...But I think I might be the only one here now. I don't know if it's because I was their "favorite," or because my sins were worse than most, or if there's some other reason I'm still around.

I can guess what you're thinking about now, but it's okay.

I don't want you to cry over me, because I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not getting out. I thought it was that damn collar that started it. But, now that I've got all this time to myself to think, I'm pretty sure...I've been trapped for way longer than that.

Maybe the darkness is just who I am?

You see, sometime back, I learned that a long time ago, when Earth still used a bunch of different languages, my name had a slightly different meaning that the one it has now.

One guess what that was.

...So, yeah...

That's why it's okay that I'm still here. And I'll be fine, even with the things I said. Listen, if me taking in all the darkness means that you're left with nothing but light, then I've done my job right.

Miss you, though.

And sorry I scared you last time we met. I kinda hope you never figured out that was me, but I think you probably did, after a while.

I won't be upset if you're mad at me for that. Or for lying to you about, well, a lot of stuff. For hiding what was going on with me.

I've got some other stuff I should apologize for too, but...I'd feel better if you never had to hear about those... Heh. Guess I'm taking more than a few secrets with me to my "grave."

...Sorry if calling it that sounds depressing.

It's a pretty poor excuse for a grave too. It's got the "laying still in the dark" part down, but come on. I know I wasn't THAT great of a guy, but aren't graves supposed to come with fl...

"Pfffpht!"

...Suddenly... ...Miraculously... ...It wasn't all darkness anymore.

There were bright blues and purples and yellows and whites. Raining down on me where I slept from what had to have been heaven. They fell and they fell and they fell until I was practically drowning in them.

...Forget-me-nots.

"Okay, now you're overdoing it, silly girl."

Thank you for the inspiration, @driftwoodmfb

#Apologies AU #Noir (human form dms)#I keep rediscovering old stuff that influenced Apologies #Noir's definitely got some 'Servant of Evil' DNA in him

20 notes · View notes

luvyblossom · 10 months

Text

Love me (not) (Pt.2)

Hello Lovelies!

This ended up being way longer than I intended it to be. The drama has started!! As always please let me know what you thought and interact with this work. Reblogs are always appreciated!

Enjoy Part 2

Warnings: none in this chapter but series contains smut (MDNI)

Series Masterlist

----------------------------------------------------

The next morning, you woke up to find that Hyunjin hadn’t cuddled up to you during the night. He was always a clingy sleeper so it was odd to see his back turned to you. You always woke up before the alarm usually staying still so Hyunjin could sleep longer but today you were able to get up. You sat up, the movement of the mattress letting Hyunjin know you were awake.

He was awake too. He turned quickly towards you. “ Good morning.”

“Good morning,” you said with the warm smile that was all the sunshine he needed. Before you could get up he pulled you back down to the bed and into his arms. You let out a whine but did not fight him.

“Just 5 more minutes. I didn’t sleep well.” Hyunjin whispered into your hair. Your heart did this silly little thing where it skipped a beat and then sped up until it was pounding in your chest as if it was trying to run away. The loud thuds of your heart were the only thing you could hear, you worried they were so loud that Hyunjin could hear too. Your heart often did this around him.

You gave Hyunjin his allotted 5 minutes and then wriggled out of his grasp, relieved to be able to breathe again as your heart beat slowed down. He tried to grab at you again whining, "You don't want me to get any sleep."

" I have class Hyunjin," you laughed after looking at him pouting, still in your bed and still with his eyes closed.

"Skip class. You're ahead anyways. I need a nap." Now his eyes were open looking at you.

" Then take a nap."

" I don't like to sleep alone," he said this quieter. You hadn't known that about him. You thought he usually came by to get a break from all the boys.

You tried not to read into it too much. " I'm sure you can find someone to sleep with," you laughed, "but please not in my bed."

Hyunjin sat up. "I've never actually slept with any of them. They usually leave and I don't let them stay." You learned another thing you hadn't known about your friend. Again, you decided to let the confession go and not read into what it meant that you were the one he slept with. You could never let yourself think too much when it came to Hyunjin, you would go crazy if you did. Instead of giving him a reply you walked to the kitchen and started your coffee maker.

You heard a groan and then the creaking of the bed as Hyunjin got up and joined you in the kitchen. You started cooking Hyunjin's eggs the way he liked them. It was Friday which meant Hyunjin likely had some party to go to and he wouldn't be staying over.

"You're not coming over tonight right?" You asked as you put his breakfast in front of him.

"We're hosting a party at Sigma Chi tonight," he confirmed. "You know you're always invited."

You had absolutely no desire to attend any of those parties. You didn't mind drinking but the atmosphere was always overwhelming and there was always a tipsy creep around. "You know I don't like to go to those. Plus I have a bunch of work to catch up on."

" You should let loose once in a while. You're always working and you never do anything else with me but study," Hyunjin was giving you a little pout. He had tried to get you to attend so many parties. You always denied. What you would dread the most is when Hyunjin would inevitably disappear with some girl for the night and leave you to fend for yourself. It was the being alone part that bothered you, you assured yourself.

"It's not really my thing Hyunjin. You know that."

"If you come I'll show you the piece I'm working on."

That was an intriguing offer. You had never really gotten to see any of Hyunjin's art, only a few projects he's done for his classes. " Can't I just come to see it when there's not a party? You're going to be preoccupied anyways."

"You have to earn a private showing," Hyunjin winked at you. " And I will make sure you have fun, I won't leave you alone."

You weighed your options. You knew that some of your girlfriends were going as well so you wouldn't have to be completely alone. " I'll think about it."

----

"Hey" you greeted Felix as you rushed into your lab. You had just barely made it in time.

"Hi" Felix gave you his bright smile and began to pull out the things you needed.

"I don't know how you're so cheerful this early in the morning," despite saying that you smiled back at Felix, his smile making yours come easy.

"It's easy when I've got you as my lab partner."

That made you blush. Felix periodically said these sweet flirty things that made your ears turn a bit red. You always brushed it off not knowing what to say in return.

"Okay our percent yield isn't bad" you showed Felix the calculations to confirm it was right.

"Yeah it looks good." You both packed up and started heading out. Before you could part ways, Felix turned to you, " Are you and Hyunjin a thing?"

You were used to this question. "No we're just good friends."

"Okay. I'll walk you to your next class." Felix was really quiet as he walked by your side, swinging his arms nervously. "Are you going to the party at Sigma Chi tonight," he asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"I don't know. I don't usually go to those types of things."

Felix didn't respond for another stretch of time. It was strange to have him so quiet. He usually would talk your ear off.

"You should come," he finally said, " Um, we could go together."

You thought about it. Felix's company would get you through the night. You would get to see Hyunjin's art and he would get off your case about 'letting loose.' "Sure, come for 9?"

Felix let out a large breath of air. He had been holding it in waiting for your reply. You made him so goddamn nervous. "O-okay great, yes. See you tonight y/n," he gave you a big grin as you walked into your class.

-----

You slipped on your sneakers when you got the ‘I’m here’ text from Felix. This was the first time in a long time you had taken the time to get ready. You chose to wear a black crop top with a short pleated black skirt. Spending time on yourself, doing you makeup and your hair had actually been fun. You walked out of your apartment feeling confident.

Felix was waiting for you right outside your building. You smiled and waved at him as you walked up. He was in all black like you. A t-shirt that hugged his arms but was slouchy in the torso and black pants. He had a sort of long mullet that really suited him and he was standing there - waiting for you - looking, staring at you as you walked towards him.

“Hey” that’s all he could say. Too nervous to say anything else at the moment. The walk with Felix was so quiet. You didn’t know what was up with him today. You decided to start the conversation.

"So, what do you do aside from bio labs?" Although you had spent hours with Felix weekly, you didn't know much about him.

"I do taekwondo. I have a few matches coming up so it's been busy."

"I know who to go to for self-defense lessons now."

He turned to you with a smile that lit up his eyes. It was so excited and genuine that it caught you off guard as his eyes looked into yours. " I would love to teach you!"

Your heart pounded for the second time today but caused by a different catalyst. You didn't have to suffer too long because you both had reached the party.

Loud music and so many people, you would need alcohol to make it through the night. You turned to Felix, "Drinks?"

He nodded and you began your trek through the crowd of drunk students to the kitchen. On the way, Felix had been stopped by three different girls asking him to join them or dance; he had respectfully declined all of the offers. When you finally got to your destination you were greeted by a table full of alcohol and Seungmin "Hello pretty lady! Nice to see you finally join us," he said as he gave you a quick hug and handed you a glass.

Seungmin was one of the members of the frat and a good friend as well. He looked over at Felix and gave him a quick greeting and a drink before getting close to you,"Brought a date?"

You elbowed Seungmin which was enough to get him to cut his teasing short and leave you and Felix.

"Sorry about all that," Felix nervously scratched the back of his neck again. You understood he was referring to all the times he's been stopped by girls in the crowd.

"No worries, I'm very used to it," you laughed. It hadn't bothered you but you had heard Felix quietly tell them that he was already here with someone and that had made your heart beat a little bit faster. You weren't sure if this was a date or if you were here as friends; you didn't know the answer to Seungmin's question.

While Felix and you spoke and drank you looked into the crowd trying to see if you could spot Hyunjin. When he did finally come into view you saw him with his arm around Jess's waist. You felt a knot in your stomach. You chose to ignore it and turn your attention completely to Felix, hoping he would once again be the perfect distraction.

"Do you want to dance?" The alcohol had given Felix some confidence and allowed you to loosen up.

You followed him to the makeshift dancefloor that was made in the living room by pushing aside all the furniture. It was crowded, forcing you and Felix to sway close to one another. After the first song, Felix found the courage to place his hands on your waist and pull you a bit closer. It felt natural as you placed yours onto his shoulders now swaying to the beat of a slower song.

Felix had held you with just his fingertips but as you placed your hands on him, grazing the back of his neck, he allowed his hands to rest on your waist. His palms were hot against the exposed skin of your back but they gave you goosebumps like you had just been hit by a chill. He pulled you even closer, your chest now touching his and sending another chill through you. The alcohol in your system allowed you to keep swaying as you ran your hands first down his arms feeling his toned biceps. Then you ran them back up to trace over his collar bone before dragging them down his chest. His chest was hard and as you moved down you could feel the definition of his abs. You didn't know he had been hiding all that, it made sense that he did taekwando you thought to yourself. You ran your hands back up his chest before tracing over his neck and finding your way to the back of his neck to tangle into his hair.

The whole time Felix's eyes focused on you, taking in the way you admired him. When he felt your hands tug at his hair he let out a sharp breath, not knowing that he had been holding it in. You looked at him, studying his features. Moving from his eyes to the freckles that peppered over his cheeks and nose until finally landing on his pink almost pouty lips. "You're so pretty," it came out hushed as you moved your fingers to trace over his jawline.

Felix let out a chuckle that sounded like it had a hint of a groan, "I should be saying that to you-" He stopped speaking as you moved your fingers up to trace his lips. You looked back into his eyes, your thumb still making its way across his bottom lip which was now slightly parted. You could feel your heart pounding, drowning out the music and noise around you as you continued to match his fiery stare. Felix followed suite as he brought one of his hands up to your face to gently move a stray piece of hair behind your ear. He ran his finger down to your chin, tracing your cheek before tilting your face up to him. His face moved closer to yours at an agonizing pace. Finally his lips hovered right by yours, almost touching-

"Ah!" You yelped as you felt a hand snake around your waist and pull you back. You collided into something hard behind you. As you recovered from your surprise, you looked at Felix to see him looking behind you. You turned around to face a muscular chest before pushing away from the assailant to see who it was. You looked up to see Hyunjin glaring at Felix. He looked down at you as he felt your push.

"Y/n, you didn't tell me you were coming." His eyes were dark pools. His words sounded harsh making you feel as though you had done something wrong.

You glared back at Hyunjin recovering from the surprise. You mouthed to him ' What the fuck??' You turned around to face Felix, there was a significant distance between the two of you. You pushed against Hyunjins forearm, that was still wrapped around your waist, to walk towards Felix. Hyunjin just tightened his hold on you pulling you closer against him, "I promised I'd show you my paintings." He started to turn with you pressed against him to get off the dancefloor.

Before you were forced to follow you turned and gave Felix an apologetic look. "I'm sorry! I'll be back," you shouted so he could hear you over the music. Felix gave you a little smile and a nod before you were quite literally dragged out of his view. Hyunjin didn't let go of you until you reached his bedroom. He opened the door and lead you in, finally letting you go and closing the door behind you two. Before you could start to go off on Hyunjin you were stopped in your tracks. Jess was perched on the end of his bed as if it was her place.

"What are you doing here?" Hyunjin asked. Jess walked past you slightly pushing you as she went and draped herself on Hyunjin.

You couldn't do this. You were fuming as you walked out of his room, slamming the door behind you. You had maybe had a bit too much to drink you realized as you stumbled down the stairs. You decided that it was not enough by the time you reached the last step, proceeding to the kitchen and downing some shots before finding your way to a beer pong table where Felix was expertly aiming his ball. He stopped when he saw you and held out the ball gesturing you to join him. You grabbed for the ball but ended up missing completely and stumbling into him.

"Are you okay?" Felix asked, his face was painted in concern as he held you up.

"I'm fine," your voice betraying you as your words slurred and tears started to blur your vision.

"Let's get out of here?" It was more of a statement than a question but you nodded in agreement. Felix helped you out the door and to the sidewalk where the music was no longer ringing in your ears. "What happened?" He looked at you as he wiped away the tears that had streamed down your face.

" Hyunjin is an ass." You said conclusively. You sank down to your knees, feeling so exhausted. You could feel the concrete on your bare legs. You were too tired to move, too tired to cry and too tired to feel. You would have laid down if Felix wasn't holding you up.

"Y/n, get up. We need to get you home."

"I'm tired," you made no move to get up. "Home is too far."

"I live close to here. C'mon." Felix was kneeling in front of you so you could climb onto his back. You used the last of your energy to climb on, greatful for your saviour.

" You're stronger than I thought you would be," you slurred on and let your hands briefly feel his chest. " So muscular." Felix chuckled in response.

He didn't make you walk at all. You don't know how but he maneuvered his door open and carried you into a bedroom allowing you slip off him and onto the bed. You felt him take your shoes off and then he left the room. You were already dozing off when Felix returned. You felt something wet on your face making you whine as it disturbed your sleep.

" Shh. I just have to take your makeup off and then you can sleep." Felix hushed you. You opened your eyes to see Felix focused on carefully wiping your face. You smiled. " What?" Felix asked, seeing you staring at him.

" You're like my hero. Thank you." Your words were genuine despite coming out slurred.

A blush set over Felix's face as he continued wiping away your makeup. " Okay all done. Sleep tight y/n." He pulled the covers over you and turned off the light before leaving the room.

_____

Your head was pounding. You squinted as you opened your eyes, the sunlight pouring in through the window was too bright. Your eyes adjusted as you rose up onto your elbows and looked around. You were not in your room. The room you were in had a desk with a full gaming set-up. There was a shelf crowded with medals and books and the rest of the walls were covered in band posters. You found the strength to get out of the strange bed and venture out. You were met with an unfamiliar man sitting in the living room only further confusing you.

" Felix, she's up." He didn't bother greeting you but you were happy to hear a familiar name. Felix popped his head out from under the kitchen island which was right behind their living room.

"Y/n, how'd you sleep?" He asked as he walked to you and handed you a glass of orange juice and an aspirin. He guided you to sit on the couch. "This is Minho, my roommate." Minho gave you a small wave but didn't bother to look at you.

You took the pill and gulped down the orange juice. As you sat you started to remember your night. The almost kiss, Hyunjin and Jess and the stuff you said to Felix. You started to turn red, feeling embarrassed at the actions of drunk you. "I slept okay. I -uh sorry."

"I don't mind, it's not everyday I get to be someone's hero," Felix teased.

You groaned and buried your face in your hands not wanting to look at him. He just laughed at your reaction before getting up. He placed a plate with pancakes on your lap when he returned. "I don't think I can eat," the embarrassment and alcohol making you queasy. Felix however, did make sure you ate and drank a bunch of water before letting you leave.

“Thank you for everything." You said as you opened the passenger door. He had also insisted on giving you a ride home. As if he could get any sweeter.

" I hope you figure it out with Hyunjin." He gave you a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"There’s nothing to figure out. He shouldn't have dragged me away like that." You started to feel the anger again as you rubbed your temples. " I owe you one."

As you got into your elevator you finally checked your phone. Felix had charged it overnight to make sure it wouldn't die. You had 20 missed calls and atleast 10 texts from Hyunjin. You decided not to open them until after you'd had a shower and maybe a nap.

You opened your apartment door to be greeted by Hyunjin. He had dozed off on your couch, still in his clothes from last night. Your heart softened just a bit, feeling bad that he had come looking for you.

Your entry into the apartment had stirred Hyunjin awake. " Y/n?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He saw it was you and he was fully awake now. He stood up. "Where The Fuck Were You?"

Hyunjin had never raised his voice at you before so his tone took you by surprise. His question managed to wash away the slight bit of sympathy you had felt for him earlier, replacing everything with rage. You didn't shout. " That is none of your business."

" What the fuck do you mean it's none of my business?" Hyunjin walked over to you, your strong front beginning to dissolve as he moved closer. He took a deep breath and let it out, softening his gaze as he moved his hand to your face to gently move a stray hair out of your face. "I was so worried about you," he said in a much softer tone that sounded like your Hyunjin.

Your anger had completely dissipated at this point, your breath hitching as you tried to find words while he stood this close to you. You instead chose to bury your face in his chest so he'd wrap his arms around you. You were still exhausted and just wanted comfort. Your heart had been doing somersaults consistently for the past two days and you needed everything to be calm. It was a marvel how this man could make your heart jump but put you at ease so easily.

Hyunjin let you relax in his arms. The conversation wasn't over but he felt your exhaustion. He was tired too having barely slept last night while trying to find you. You looked up at Hyunjin torn between staying the way that you were or going to bed. " You can shower first," you decided bed was the move.

You crawled into the covers next to Hyunjin, your hair still damp because you had been too lazy to blow dry it. You were ready for a real rest until it was interrupted by Hyunjin, "We still need to talk."

You didn't look at him. "About?"

"About where you were last night and why you ran off."

You were only ready to answer one of those questions. "Stayed over at Felix's place."

Hyunjin tensed. That was what he had dreaded hearing from you. He tried to keep his tone even, "Did anything happen?"

You turned over onto your stomach propping your face on your arms so you could look at him, "Why are you being so nosy?"

"I don't like him."

You rolled your eyes. " Is that why you dragged me away last night?" Hyunjin refused to reply. "I'm not crazy about your hookups either. You'll live. At least he tries to be nice to you."

"What happened?" Hyunjin wouldn't drop the subject.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes - you were so drunk. Could you even consent?" Hyunjin was so tense waiting for an answer from you.

"Jeez. He was a perfect gentleman and nothing happened. He carried me cause I was so tired, let me take his bed, removed my makeup, made sure I ate breakfast and drove me home." You couldn't help but smile as you thought about how sweet Felix had been. You knew he was nice but he had been so gentle and caring with you.

Hyunjin should have been relieved, happy to hear what he had wanted. But a sinking feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as he saw you sit there grinning while talking about him. Was it because he was too used to you only smiling at him? Hyunjin tried to get rid of his thoughts. He was the one with you, Felix had not even been invited up. He dragged you in towards him, holding you tighter than he usually did causing you to yelp. "Time to sleep."

--------------

You woke up as the sun was setting, a bit disoriented from the prolonged nap. You grabbed your phone from your beside table opening it to see a text from Felix: Hope you got some rest, are you busy next Friday?

No, I don't think so

His reply came quick. Do you want to go on a hike?

I would want that

I'll pick you up at 6. We can watch the sunset

You let out a giddy giggle as you kicked the air. Butterflies were fluttering in your stomach. Your outburst woke up Hyunjin. He groaned with his eyes still closed and pulled up the blanket to cover his face. “What?”

“Guess what”

“ What?” He said not moving.

“I think I have a date.” You were still giddy. “ It may not be a date though,” you weren’t sure if maybe Felix didn’t feel that way about you.

Hyunjin’s eyes opened and he shot up when he heard you say the word ‘date.’ “ With who?”

“Felix. I mean he asked but maybe he doesn’t like me like that. What do you think?” You opened up your texts and shoved your phone in Hyunjin’s hand.

He read the very short conversation with his brows furrowed. He looked at you now, his chocolate brown eyes filled with dismay.

“What? Do you think I misread the situation?”

Hyunjin looked away from you. “ Uh- no I don’t think you misread the situation. You want to go out with him?” He avoided your eyes not wanting to give away the bitterness that was spreading through him.

“Yes I do. I think I really like him.” You hoped the feeling was mutual. You weren’t sure what you expected, but you liked him and it was nice to feel special to someone. “I will make dinner tonight!”

“I should get going I can’t stay over tonight. I told Jess I’d see her.” Hyunjin got out of bed and slipped on his hoodie, still avoiding your eyes.

"I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” this time you were able to stomach her name. Felix was the right choice, you didn’t have to push away any feelings.

Hyunjin said a quiet goodbye to you before walking out the door.

He didn’t call you the next day.

-----------------------------------

End of Part 2

This is an original work. Do not republish or repost this work in any form, including translations.

©LuvyBlossom

#felix x reader #felix x y/n #hwang hyunjin #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin smut #skz #skz fluff #skz x reader #skz imagines #stray kids #skz smut #skz felix #skz stay #skz scenarios #hyunjin #seungmin #lee know #kpop #kpop fanfic

68 notes · View notes

likeadevils · 3 months

Note

I've seen people say she has a habit of choosing the wrong singles for albums. Aside from Lover, i think she's done pretty well in that area? What are your thoughts?

i dont think she's bad? but i think her single choice did lead people to view her as a worse songwriter than she actually is. especially lead singles were consistently the most frivolous songs on the album between for red, 1989, reputation, and lover. like for the general public that will only hear the lead and maaaybe second single, unless a later single blows up, it's just. financially lucrative but not gaining widespread artistic respect.

which i think is a big reason why she's blown up once a) she put all her songs on streaming and b) tiktok came on the scene. like, you're adding structures to throw fan favorite songs into the general public's face-- stuff that wouldn't have worked on radio, like enchanted or all too well, or stuff that just never got it's day in the sun like don't blame me or cruel summer. like, folklore and red tv where also massive turning points, but giving the general public actual, physical evidence of how good her deep cuts where across all her albums goes a long way, too.

(specific album thoughts under the cut)

i think debut and fearless have excellent single selection. speak now is a tricky album to pick singles for and i think she did the best that she could but was also just kinda cursed for that album.

red is weirder-- wanegbt is a perfect lead single, but i think it set off a pattern of like, frivolous lead singles that didn't end up in a good place. but on its own, wanegbt is perfect and i wouldn't give it up. i think begin again is a fascinating second single and i'm not sure i would make the same choice but i understand why she did it. in general the country singles off the album are a bit weak, to me, but then i wasn't immersed in country radio in 2012/2013 so i don't know what was popping off in the market. BUT i do think i bet you think about me would make a good touch back song, which is one of many reasons why i think it should have made the album. or hell, even throw in all too well, once you know you're leaving the genre in a couple months. just a big swing with a lot of artistic merit and nothing to lose. also holy ground should've been a single.

1989 is where i think the pattern starts-- at least for the lead single, not the rest of them, it's hard to go wrong with picking a single for 1989. but in terms of what to start with, shake it off is an interesting choice. like, i think shake it off is a necessary part of the story she's telling on 1989, but it doesn't gel with the rest of the production as smoothly, so establishing it as like, "yeah, shake it off, we've all heard it" goes a long way to smoothing over any little mental speed bumps. that being said, it's not the best song on the album, and blank space and style are, i think, the more natural lead single choices-- blank space especially establishes the "i don't care about my reputation" element of shake it off, but from a more cynical place that could be fun to build off of. also it proves that she's serious about the album being 80s pop

reputation is tough one. there's no song on that album can't be clowned on to hell and back, and there's no way the next taylor swift single wouldn't have been clowned to hell and back after 2016. i guess you could make a big swing and go new year's day, which isn't as meme-able, at least, but that's not what taylor was going for and it would have been false advertising. so like, i don't know. maybe don't blame me or i did something bad instead of end game. but i do like the story lwymmd -> ready for it -> end game -> delicate tells, i think it's neat. and even though it kinda ruins that story, you gotta go getaway car for the closer. like i get that negotiations with bmr had likely broken down and she didnt want to make them a bunch more money, but getaway car -> cruel summer is a once in a career album handoff. sonically, story wise, just. it all clicks

every swiftie on earth knows their opinion on the lover singles but i think anyone can admit that this was the album that really set in stone her reputation of bad single selection.

folklore is just a fun thought exercise, like you basically get one single. definitely one music video, and the cardigan music video is general enough that you can kinda click it into another song, so you can go as far as to say you get this music video, find the song for it. cardigan is very understandable and obviously not a Bad Idea, but with the benefit of knowing the fan favorites, august is just, kinda perfect? i think seven would've also really worked. but also its an Album, not a single, and i don't think a song could've ruined that

evermore is similarly fascinating. i think willow is just kinda meandering and hard to grab onto as a song, but it lends itself well to that music video she made and the music video is a good overview of the full album. that being said, i would've gone no body no crime-- i think you can make a really engaging mv of it without having two people in the same room together, which flows with covid regulations pretty well. or tis the damn season, but i admit that personal bias clouding things (but like? it functions as a christmas song, so you could get airplay in december! and it sets up the main storyline of the album!). but similarly to folklore, hard to drive down public opinion of this album with one single.

midnights solidly breaks the curse, to me. like there were songs on this album that would've set it off on the wrong foot, and then anti hero was the perfect song on every level. as for other singles, they shouldn't have done that to ice spice's verse. that was so mean why did they do that just have it be the beat that's on the rest of the song it works so much better

#asks*#this took so long but i was basically typing or thinking about it from like the minute you sent it so anon if youre still here i love you

21 notes · View notes

aesethewitch · 6 months

Text

Spirit Work: Connecting to Spirits through Food

We've all got to eat. I'm a huge proponent of casual, every day spirit work and devotions. In my post about Hanging Out, I briefly mentioned sitting down for a meal with your chosen spirit(s) to bond. That concept goes beyond just eating together, of course. There's far more than just eating when it comes to food.

Food as Devotion to Spirits

Food is the heartbeat of culture. Consider where your ancestors came from.

If you talk to folk practitioners, especially ones who do spirit work with ancestors, they'll tell you about all the things they've learned about their culture, their history, their people, and where their beliefs came from. Well, maybe -- folk practitioners are often a secretive bunch, and for good reason. Our practices are highly personal, constructed from local and family beliefs, cultural hand-me-downs, and word of mouth.

Even if you aren't a folk practitioner, there's value in looking to the foods and ingredients that were (or still are) crucial to the culture you come from. Especially if you work with your ancestors, but this can apply to deity and other spirit work, too.

And this doesn't just apply to immigrant US Americans whose families came from Europe, either. Think about where you live now, too. What did your grandparents or great-grandparents like to eat? What dish is your hometown renowned for? What's your country's signature dish?

Research is devotion. The time you spend asking questions or reading about the foods that formed the foundation of your culture's existence is time devoted to the spirits connected to that culture. Even for spirits with whom you have no ancestral ties, like deities from other cultures, researching the foods they were historically offered is valuable.

Taking time to learn how to make a dish and then taking the time to actually make it is a great offering. So long as it's done conscientiously and with purpose, it counts.

When you sit down to eat, dedicate the meal to the spirit(s). Set a place for them at the table and put together a little serving of everything on offer. The contents of the meal don't necessarily matter. Hell, I've set aside a chicken nugget and little pile of french fries for spirits before. Offer the first bite, a taste of whatever the spirit would like. Then, dig in and know that you're sharing a meal with that spirit.

The idea is that learning about, making, sharing, and consuming the foods that have been made for years -- centuries, even, sometimes! -- forges a strong connection. It's all about learning and appreciation.

Food as Connection... to the Living

There are few experiences more powerful than sharing a meal. Cooking for someone, having someone cook for you, going out to eat, going through a drive-thru -- it doesn't matter. People have been gathering to enjoy meals since time immemorial. Food is love, I really do believe that. To consciously choose to share a meal is an act of love.

I'm of the perhaps controversial opinion that the most important spirit work occurs with the living. Living, breathing, human people. We all have spirits, and we nurture ourselves every day. But do we nurture each other?

When we die, we don't really know what happens. There are countless theories on the subject, and I don't plan on revealing mine currently. If you work with spirits, chances are you've got your own thoughts; and even if you don't, you might still have thoughts.

The vast majority of spirit work we see in books and online occurs with the intangible spirit world. Deities, ghosts, Fair Folk, and the like. There's nothing wrong with that, necessarily, but I do think practitioners who don't turn their attention to the living are missing out.

Making connections with the living is critical. My views on spirit work have been massively impacted by interactions with volunteer programs, community outreach programs, and events in my community.

Don't wait until they're dead to respect them. Whoever they are, don't wait.

If it's your family members, ask about their favorite foods. What did their parents make them, and when? What's their go-to secret ingredient? What do they make for the holidays, and why? What traditions do they follow? Why do they make this particular soup on this particular day?

If it's your community leaders -- who can absolutely be your ancestors, too, even if you've never met them in person -- talk to them about where they came from. What did they eat as a child? Where do they like to go when they eat out, and why? Would they share that cookie recipe with you from the last community potluck?

Understanding the living will help you understand the dead. Not only will you form strong, lasting connections to people who care about you in your life, but it'll also strengthen your ties to those who are gone. Spirits of your ancestors will recognize your efforts to learn and preserve the memories of the people in your family and community. Your deities will see you reaching out and learning, and they will appreciate it as devotion to the culture they came from.

You don't need to be a fabulous cook or even cook at all. It all comes down to the effort you're putting in. Learning is enough. Reaching out is enough. The work is enough.

If you like my work, consider tossing a tip in my Ko-Fi tip jar! Support helps me keep making posts like this one consistently.

#aese speaks #witchcraft #witchblr #spirit work #food #spirit offerings #deity offerings #food offerings #spirit worker #ancestor work #deity work #community #witch

50 notes · View notes

popironrye · 29 days

Text

Are The Lost Boys Poly or Platonic?

Answer - Yes?

If I could lore dump a little, I'd like to add after seeing discussion on this topic:

When I created my trio of lost boys ocs (Blair Stevie and Mavin) to write a love story between them +star and the boys, I thought making them all poly would be more interesting to write about. See I don't much care for writing and art that involved the boys all sharing a single (usually woman) stand in where all the romantic stuff is done by one or more boy at a time with this stand in while the others just kinda wait their turn. OC, self-insert, reader insert or otherwise. It always came off to me as harem-ish and there's nothing wrong with that OF COURSE, it's just not what I'm into.

And with my ocs specifically, I also could have gone the hetero monogamous route, since there are 4 women and 4 boys. That being Blair with David, Stevie with Dwayne, Star with Paul (which I really do ship btw), and Mavin with Marko but the lost boys always had this queer coded side (even though I am shipping them with women) and having my girls, Blair specifically being a bisexual women who falls in love with Star is something I wanted to focus on, not to mention I like my ocs with all the boys. I think they can get a different equal level of romantic enjoyment with a different boy, and therefore my girls are poly with the boys as well as Star. Standard convention of romance kinda seems like a nebulous rule to follow when you have immortal vampires and witches in the mix, so why not make them all bi and poly?

Now of course, I do have a story in the works where everyone is one big platonic family. Judy and her daughters. 'The blood sucking brady bunch' as I've so affectionally called them. In this work, Judy and Max are romantically involved but they're the only non platonic ones as the boys acting as Max's sons and Judy's actual daughters begin to pal around like step siblings and they behave as such. In that work, I also put a lot of emphasize on familial love with Judy being a caring mother who would do anything for her children and having her take in the boys as sons she never had. I also want to see Judy pull Max out of his shell. He kinda distances himself from the boys and to him it's for their own good and keeps him out of the trouble they're always getting into, but Judy knows what's it like having 3 teenage daughters of her own that get into trouble. Max is a much more involved father figure to the boys with Judy's help as well as a figure to her little girls.

Ok, so I dumped a lot there, but I hope this shows that writing to boys platonic or non platonic are both valid and depend on the work they're used in. XD

But what about you guys? Please share how you've charactized the boys in your own work! I'd love to hear about your own ocs and sonas! 😍

#shipping #shipping discourse #fandom discourse #discourse #the lost boys #oc lore #story ideas #lore dump #witchy vibes #the blood sucking brady bunch #share your thoughts

14 notes · View notes

thathomestar · 11 months

Text

The 3 main things wrong with Destiny 2 right now

I've been enjoying my return to Destiny 2, but this has mostly been carried by the sublime gameplay. Most other aspects of the game are in desperate need of refinement, but these three are the major problems that are truly keeping the game bogged down in mediocrity.

Complete lack of narrative cohesion

It's no secret that "sunsetting" was one of the worst possible decisions Bungie could have made for Destiny 2. Removing whole swaths of the game that people paid real cash money is obviously awful, but the knock-on effects of this have been somewhat dire, primarily the fact that you can no longer experience a fairly important chunk of Destiny 2's story within the game itself.

New players starting Destiny 2 for the first time right now have no real entry point to the story. They get the New Light tutorial quests, which are terrible at introducing the world compared to how it was done in Destiny 1. If they bought the DLC, the earliest campaign they can play is Shadowkeep, one of the weakest stories in the game's history and one that makes no sense to new players. Not to mention that the seasonal story model, where you buy a battle pass every three months to access the new story content, locks out the story after the season is over. If you missed the big story moment from a past season, it's fucking gone forever! Fuck you!

There's not even an in-game cutscene viewer or a bare-bones written summary of the events that have transpired. There's an in-game timeline, sure, but it only gives you a sentence or two about the general events of a given DLC's story. It's basically nothing. Do you seriously expect people trying to understand the basic story of the game to go watch hours of Youtube videos to catch up? That's complete horseshit.

Confusing and aggravating pricing model

Some Destiny Youtubers have been stirring the pot recently about microtransactions, and this is not really about that. I'm talking about straight up purchasing the game. A recent change Bungie has made is a Legacy Collection, which bundles all the previous available campaigns together in a single pack. This is good! Why are they still available to purchase separately from the bundle? Like seriously, look at this store page:

This is a whole bunch of redundancy, and it only serves muddy the waters. "This is so people who have some of the DLC don't have to rebuy the ones they already own when they buy the bundle" that's stupid. There's two solutions to this: either A) have the bundle recognize which DLCs you own and offer a discount based on that (this is possible to do on Steam already), or B) just lower the price of the whole bundle to the price of the latest included expansion (which is Witch Queen, so $30) so people won't feel that bad about rebuying something they own. The latter is what FFXIV does. Buying the latest expansion gets you all the ones that came before it bundled in for $40. Easy. Makes sense.

Then we have the Forsaken Pack and 30th Pack. The Forsaken Pack should just be included in the free to play portion of the game. The fact that they culled Forsaken from the game but still charge money for that content is insulting, though the 30th Pack is arguably worse. $25 for a single dungeon and a single exotic weapon. For the record, dungeon keys, which give you access to two dungeons, is $20. A complete slap in the nuts ripoff.

Speaking of dungeon keys, the fact that dungeon keys have to be bought separately from its corresponding expansion is moronic. Regardless of the reasons Bungie does what it does with dungeon keys (or excuses people come up with for it), it ends up feeling like squeezing people for every dollar they have.

I know at the end of the day, Bungie is a business, and they need money to pay their staff and survive as a studio, but they really need to give some thought into how people actually purchase their game, the process they go through, what they see and encounter along the way, because for a lot of people it's really, really off-putting.

Lack of meaningful player interaction

So Destiny's whole thing is that it's an MMO, right? At the very least, it takes a lot of elements from more traditional MMO games. Something it does not do very well is get people to actually mingle with each other in a meaningful way.

When I play FFXIV, I can strike up a conversation with people hanging out in the main cities if I so desire. There will be people willing to engage in some small talk at the very least. You might tell someone you think their character looks cool, you emote at each other, maybe even add each other to your friends list. You basically cannot do this in Destiny. Text chat might as well not exist with how little I see people use it, and almost nobody opts in to voice chat during activities. People occasionally emote at each other in the Tower or in the field, and that's about it. I've made friends with random people playing FFXIV. I have not made friends with anyone playing Destiny.

Destiny also lacks a proper Group Finder feature common in most other MMO games. They've toyed around with adding matchmaking to raids, but that feature has been in Beta™ for roughly 7 years, so it's safe to say it's never going to properly get off the ground anytime soon. People trying to find pick-up groups for harder content have to use external sites (or know a guy who knows a guy, which is how I've gotten through most of D2's raids).

They have taken a small step in the right direction with player commendations, where you can rate whether people on your fireteam were fun to play with, were a stout ally, or fashionably dressed. This is good! But they really need to make it easier to communicate and form groups outside of matchmaking from within the game to truly take a big step forward.

just about the most interaction i ever managed to get in the tower

To summarize, you can't experience a large portion of Destiny 2's story within the game, trying to buy the game itself is convoluted and the pricing structure is all over the place (and kind of high in my opinion), and for an always-online MMO-style game, it's challenging to find groups or even make friends with other players. Destiny 2 feels like a game that is in desperate need of some true backend maintenance and development, but that kind of work doesn't translate into profit, so it is heavily minimized.

A player starting for the first time right now is not going to know who Cayde-6 is outside of a couple of references. He has been effectively excised from the game. Why should they care about his return in The Final Shape?

#destiny #destiny 2 #destiny the game #bungie #long post #ths writeups #this game is a mess but i'll keep playing it for now #and continue to complain about it because it could be so much better goddammit

54 notes · View notes

upthewitchypunx · 6 months

Text

You all seemed very confused about my last post, trust me, I'm just as confused about the casting a spell that binds someone's sexuality, but I guess that's where we are.

Look, I try to be a compassionate person, but sometimes when you reconnect with someone who was close to you over 20 years ago and invite them to live in your home it doesn't always go well.

I don't like talking about other people's stories, especially online, but this has affected our life and our home and brought chaos into our space. So, this is my story.

This old friend seems to have it together, paid rent early and had a job lined up before they got here. It seemed they were having a bit of trouble adjusting. After a few months it was clear they were going through a mental health thing for the 3rd time in 2 months and making wild accusations and doing hurtful things like smoking cigarettes and massive amounts of weed when they know they have a lung problem and abandoning cats with no food or water or not paying all their rent or giving 30 days notice before they leave town, you just have to cut ties.

This was the last straw. The one before was 2 weeks ago when I was accused of thinking they wanted to use magic to steal my partner and that somehow because I knew stuff they didn't I was making them feel bad about it and that they think I think they just want to steal all my ideas.

I was compassionate. I stayed calm. I said I was confused, asked if she was okay. A few days later she came down crying to apologize, said she wasn't okay. We talked. I told her about the Oregon Health Plan and how she could get some help. She seemed grateful and she did and had an appointment lined up.

Then last week we left for Astoria for a night and she was there at 4 pm to bring a package in but by 1pm the next day when we got home most of her things were gone except furniture that wouldn't fit in her car. We didn't really notice the things gone at first and thought maybe she had gone on a little trip because the cats were still here so we fed them and got them water, then messaged her after a few days. She claims she had a medical issue and called an ambulance. Then her family came here and towed her home. The time line doesn't make sense. Her family is a 12 hour drive away. How long was she in the hospital? How long did it take to pack her car? Why did she leave the cats? Why didn't she tell us on her own about the medical emergency?

I'm a pretty forgiving person, especially if the person is honest and isn't trying to take advantage of me. It often bites me in the ass, but at least I know I can sleep at night and treat people to my own ethical standard until I hit a point.

Last night we got more confusing messages declaring we actually wanted her cats all along and the whole binding her sexuality thing. We decided that it wasn't worth putting effort into this relationship, she's with her family now, we aren't getting blood from a stone, and that we had done as much as we could, calmly said we were confused and hurt and will find new homes for the cats, and blocked her.

I don't usually air someone's personal issues online, but this is someone you will never know, they probably won't see this, I don't really care if they do, and this is my blog and this is an incredibly frustrating, emotionally laborious, and financially unexpected experience we are going through right now and I just need to vent.

I've already contacted a cat rescue about the cute nice cat and the hissing mean cat that won't come out of the closet. Now I need to get rid of a brand new IKEA bed frame, a couch, a big clothing rack, 2 poorly constructed book shelves, a TV, a bunch of clothes and shoes, a record player that doesn't work, a giant stack of new age books, and a bunch of other random shit.

Oh, and cleanse the house of that nonsense before finding a new housemate, which a friend of a friend is interested in.

All of this while we are working to make the shop on the first floor browsable.

Please do not make disparaging comments about someone who is seriously going through something. I don't need to hear it. It won't be helpful or have a point. I'm not mad, just annoyed and wishing people had better communication.

#tw mental health #tw mental illness

42 notes · View notes

starry-blue-echoes · 11 months

Text

okay so I went on a walk and my brain started rotating the Merstars AU SO hard so I'm just going to yeet a bunch of random bullet point thoughts that I came up with and see what comes out of it-

the "world" the AU takes place isn't really like "real" life and is instead a super huge archipelago with hundreds of thousands of islands of varying sizes and kinds

Mers and other various Sea Magics are pretty well known as A Thing That Exists. Is it accepted? Depends on the location and the people, and Mer Hunters are unfortunately a pretty common thing, but it's slowly started dying out. This is actually thanks to Speedwagon since after Jonathan's death he started trying to use his influence as a Very Important Wealthy Merchant to change public opinion, and it's actually been working

Jonathan was a pretty well loved and very social member of the mers. He wasn't their leader by any means, but almost every mer in the archipelago knew about him, and his murder pissed a LOT of people off. Luckily thanks to Speedwagon, since then relations have gone from "it's on fucking sight" to "don't approach me and I won't approach you"

Morioh is one of the more isolated islands and a bit of an exception to the above thing, being the most accepting island in the whole archipelago. Honestly, at this point like half the town has at least a little mer blood in them, but they are primarily human passing. There are a couple of full blooded or half blooded mers that hang around, but Josuke was one of the first ones born in the town in a long while

currently debating how exactly the Morioh Trio are gonna be, since I want them to be a "full blood, half blood, human" trio for the funnsies, but other than Josuke I don't know which should be which. My current thought process is 1) Okuyasu is the full blooded and when he was younger he had a run in with Hunters which is where his scars came from since his dad more or less just fucked off and left him at their mercy at which Keicho had to save him which led to the two of the moving to Morioh, Koichi is the human and is Their Little Guy, is super familiar with how to work around mers and climbs them like a god damn jungle gyms, or 2) Koichi is the full blood and a really small mer but still Big for humans, he's a cuttlefish, got separated from his family when he was little which led to him being adopted by the Human Hiroses and Okuyasu is human and the resident Normie Guy, he's recently moved to Morioh and is getting used to how Positive human mer relations are here

still trying to figure out how the Stand Arrows work, since Stands..... aren't really a thing now. Probably some kind of super powerful Sea Magic thing going on, maybe turn partial mers/humans into full blooded ones?

the "Italy" of this world is a collection of islands that are under Passione's control, aka a group of pirates that have a literal fleet. Diavolo and Doppio are brothers, with Diavolo being a half-mer (maybe lion fish? I'm still deciding tho) and Doppio being a full human. Doppio is the face of the operation, but his brother is always lurking in the depths below the ship and even makes a couple appearances as the True Boss in human form. Trish is by extension 1/4 mer and they want to kill her so the truth about Diavolo won't get out

Passione, despite all the shitty stuff they do, is actually a surprising area of Human Mer teamwork. There are a lot of hybrids and even full blooded mers to the point they're almost the majority. For the most part people don't care what you are as long as you get your job done, and honestly if what they did wasn't drug trade and trafficking, they'd be pretty cool

the Bucci Gang don't have a whole lot of mer blood, and any they do have is pretty distant to the point they're almost human save for a couple little features (they also don't get full transformations), with the exceptions being Trish and Giorno. Trish I've explained, but Giorno is...... Really Really Weird with what he is. His birth mom was a mer, but Dio had mostly been using her to try and lure other mers so by the time Giorno was actually born she was killed. Giorno was then taken in by the Shiobana's, which obviously sucked ass, but he was able to pass as a human for a shocking amount of time because Sea Vampire Genes fucked with his aging, so he also looks a lot smaller than he should be. He's also been forced to stay in his "human" form for much longer than is strictly healthy which ALSO fucked with his size and health

Giorno is gonna be a giant sea snake, because I think it'll be funny because That's The Traditional Sea MonsterTM. Maybe during the final fight with Diavolo he gets shot with the arrow and falls off the ship all dramatic and everyone thinks he died but SIKE he suddenly grows to full Absolutely Fucking ENORMOUS Size And Kicks Ass

Jolyne is a siphonophore, I don't make the rules, she's Really Fucking Long

61 notes · View notes

wingedblooms · 1 year

Note

First off - I love your blog. The way you connect things for Elain/Elriel is *chef's kiss*. I've been rereading ACOTAR and came across something that might be useful for your theories (or maybe not at all but is, at the very least, interesting or maybe is completely dumb and irrelevant lol). This is also long... so sorry.

In ACOFAS chp. 24, Mor talks about "Rhys's request." She states "her blood called to her" and told her to "Go on the wind." Seems a little witchy to me. Especially because of how she describes witches at the Illyrian war camp.

Now what is VERY interesting happens a few lines down: "She had not mentioned it these past few days in Velaris." At first, it's easy to assume that she's talking about "Rhys's request", but as I'll explain I don't believe this is true. Next: "She knew Azriel would say no, would want her safe. As he had always done." This literally cannot be related to her traveling to the continent for Rhys. In chp. 14 of ACOFAS, we have Rhys's POV and he's talking to Mor. Talking to himself, he says "I debated asking her if she wished to know where AZRIEL AND I THOUGHT she might fo first." Clearly, Azriel is aware of Rhys's plan. This would not be news to Azriel and would not "cast a shadow."

Back to ACOFAS 24, "Cassian would have said yes, Amren with him, and Feyre would have worried but agreed. Az would have been pissed and withdrawn even further into himself. She hadn't wanted to take his joy away from him. Anymore than she already did. "

I think whatever decision she is trying to make has to do with Elain. I don't have a lot to back this up off the top of my head tbh, but Mor's mention of "joy" sticks out to me. We know earlier in ACOFAS, Azriel laughed a very "joyous" laugh. We also know that since that night, he has kept Elain's present to him on his nightstand at the HoW to look at every night. I don't think this is a coincidence. ACOWAR thru ACOSF provides plenty of instances that showcases Azriel's protection of Elain, as you know. Also, the fact that she thinks "Cassian would have said yes" sticks out to me. ACOSF shows that Cassian doesn't want Nesta involved with the trove and goes all alphahole when Azriel says Elain shouldn't mess with it because it would mean Nesta would have to. Cassian agreeing to Elain going with Mor somewhere would mean Nesta wouldn't have to.

What's weird is no mention of Rhys here... which suggests to me that he already knows what's going on with Mor. My thinking is whatever decision she is trying to make has to do with the hissing she shut out a few lines up in the same ACOFAS chapter, as this discussion occurs right after that. It makes me wonder if Elain is somehow involved with that hissing, too...

Finally, "But she'd have to tell them, regardless of what she decided, at some point." This means there are 2 things at work here: 1) the "news" and 2) her decision (which cannot be about going to the continent).

I realize this might make no sense but have you noticed this? Am I overanalyzing? Probably lol. But what could this be about??

Thank you so much for sending this intriguing ask! I’ve been taking a break from tumblr due to a bunch of life stuff, so I greatly appreciate your patience. Your ask inspired me to go back and review these sections before responding and after rereading, I do think the sections you highlighted are focused on Mor and her mission on the continent. BUT, they helped me notice an interesting parallel between Mor and Elain that aligned with something I had in the (at this point, endless) drafts, so please read on.

Warning: spoilers for all three series—TOG, CC, and ACOTAR—are below.

I’ll start with Hewn City, which (in part) seems to motivate Mor to accept Rhys’s request. HC has a different kind of darkness than Velaris. It is described as eternal, rotting, and smothering, and it withers all life. (No wonder those families are eager to get out of there. 😅)

There was no light in this place. There never had been. Even the evergreen garlands, holly wreaths, and crackling birchwood fires in honor of the Solstice couldn’t pierce the eternal darkness that dwelled in the Hewn City.

It was not the sort of darkness that Mor had come to love in Velaris, the sort of darkness that was as much a part of Rhys as his blood.

It was the darkness of rotting things, of decay. The smothering darkness that withered all life. (acofas)

I was struck by this language because it reminded me of Elain’s black dress in HC—the unflattering dress that seems to suck the life from her. But in Velaris? Elain is a curvy, glowing goddess wrapped in amethyst velvet. Is it possible that Elain, like Mor, is bound for adventures beyond HC? Or is Sarah setting us up for one of her infamous contradictions?

With scaled beasts of stone and sneering courtiers, HC is also associated with hissing (we’ll circle back to this when we get to the parts you referred to).

And the golden-haired male standing before her in the throne room, amongst the towering pillars carved with those scaled, slithering beasts—he had been created from it. Thrived in it.

The sneering tone. She could still hear the hissed insults beneath it, whispered long ago in her family’s private suite, whispered at every meeting and gathering when her cousin was not present. Half-breed monstrosity. A disgrace to the bloodline. (acofas)

Even though she was born and raised in this smothering darkness, Mor is eager to escape it. And like everyone else in the IC, she dons a mask of cruelty when she is there. She is never able to be herself there.

The words came out of her without thought. And her voice, the voice she used here … Not her own. Never her own, never down here with them in the darkness. Mor kept her voice just as cold and unforgiving as she corrected, “To what do we owe this pleasure, High Lord.”

This mask is something she is accustomed to now, but we have a hint that it did not come as easily to her as it did for Feyre. The fated High Lady of the Night Court became the mistress of HC with far more ease:

Feyre had fallen into the role of mistress of this horrible city with far more ease than she had. Clad in a sparkling onyx gown, the crescent-moon diadem atop her head, her friend looked every part the imperious ruler. As much a part of this place as the twining, serpentine beasts carved and etched everywhere. What Keir, perhaps, had one day pictured for Mor herself.

It’s also not surprising that Lady Death dominated her first event in the rotting darkness of HC. But the third sister? Like Mor, Cassian indicates that the cruelty of HC bothers Elain. And yet she still insists on going and supporting her family. She dons the equivalent of a black grandma dress and Cassian thinks about how it sucks the light and life out of her…much like the darkness of Hewn City, withering all life.

Mor used to enjoy her role (punishing Rhys’s detractors, especially her family) in HC, but we start to see that change in acowar when her father and Eris grow closer. Then in acofas, their solstice meeting triggers one of her most traumatic memories, possibly because Eris wears the same mask of indifference now as he did then:

Eris wasn’t fazed. Nothing had ever disturbed him, ruffled him. Mor had hated it from the moment she’d met him—that distance, that coldness. That lack of interest or feeling for the world. “Then I would suggest to you, High Lord, that you speak to your dear friend Tamlin about it.”

And like the hissing insults of HC, he is also compared to a serpent.

Eris’s mouth curved in an adder’s smile. “Because Tamlin’s territory is the only one that borders the human lands. I’d think that anyone looking to expand would have to go through the Spring Court first. Or at least obtain his permission.”

While Sarah has hinted that Eris is more complex than what we have been led to believe (we know there is a reason for his behavior), he and his court seem to be as cold and cruel as HC, rotting beneath a beautiful veneer:

Warm, buttery sunlight through the leaves, setting them glowing like rubies and citrines. The damp, earthen scent of rotting things beneath the leaves and roots she lay upon. Had been thrown and left upon.

A pale, beautiful face appeared above her, blocking out the jewel-like leaves above. Unmoved. Impassive. “I take it you do not wish to live here, Morrigan.”

She would rather die here, bleed out here. She would rather die and return—return as something wicked and cruel, and shred them all apart.

He must have read it in her eyes. A small smile curved his lips. “I thought so.”

She wished she could grow claws—grow claws as Rhys could—and rip out that pale throat. But that was not her gift. Her gift…her gift had left her here. Broken and bleeding. (acofas)

Eris’ behavior makes Mor wish to become a monster, like the clawed monsters lurking just beneath the skin of the High Lords. It is also reminiscent of witches, who (as we learned from Cassian) become something other—something cold and wretched. In Erilea, ironteeth witches grow iron teeth and claws, and are known for ripping out throats. Mor specifically wished for claws that can rip out throats…but that was not her gift. Six chapters later, Elain asks about changing form, and in the next book, her sisters note how she seemed to grow claws…

“Look who decided to grow claws after all,” she crooned. “Maybe you’ll become interesting at last, Elain.” (acosf)

And showed some teeth…

“Elain showed some teeth,” I observed. “I wasn’t expecting that.” (feysand bonus)

This reference to claws and teeth reminds me of a few things: court inheritance, as that is what Mor specifically compares it to in this scene; shapeshifting (1, 2); and witches (especially ironteeth witches in Erilea). It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that we first learned about witches in the Illyrian camp, where Mor snorted and stepped aside to reveal Elain after Nesta was accused of being a witch (and of course I’m still hoping something will come of that accusation). Illyrians possess an explosive power (raw killing power that, if not controlled through siphons, can kill the wielder) like ironteeth witches, who have a combination of demon (Valg) and fae heritage. There are theories that Illyrians might have demon and fae heritage as well.

In addition to their solstice experiences in HC, and growing (metaphorical and/or actual) claws, Mor and Elain share other similarities:

golden features and warm eyes

arranged romance with an AC male (via family and/or mating bond)

embodiment of light and color

powers that uncover/verify hidden information (both respond to specific questions and weigh the words of others)

I wouldn’t be surprised if they shared another connection in the future: working as spy and courtier and ambassador to secure peace. The sections you mentioned in your ask seem to refer solely to Rhys’ request for Mor, but the more we learn about the position, the more it seems fitting for Elain as well.

“Az can infiltrate most courts, most lands. But I might need you to win those lands over.” Because the pieces that were now strewn on the table… “Treaty negotiations are dragging on too long.”

“They’re not happening at all.”

“You wouldn’t need to be gone for months. Just visits here and there. Casual.”

“Casual, but make the kingdoms and territories realize that if they push too far or enter into human lands, we’ll obliterate them?”

I huffed a laugh. “Something like that. Az has lists of the kingdoms most likely to cross the line.”

She glanced sidelong at me. “When would I need to leave?”

“Not for another few weeks, maybe a month.”

She nodded, and fell quiet. I debated asking her if she wished to know where Azriel and I thought she might go first, but her silence said enough. She’d go anywhere.

As the spymaster, Azriel gathers intel from multiple sources and uses that information to protect and serve his court. He already has a list of kingdoms on their “watch list,” and this is what Rhys seems to refer to in this scene. While he might be in possession of this list and the general strategy, Rhys often operates alone and keeps secrets from those he claims as family. It sounds like Azriel does not know that Rhys has asked Mor to carry out this mission, which is similar to him asking Cassian to step in and play spy in the Band of Exiles because Azriel is juggling a lot at the moment…but he still has time to train Valkyries? More likely, it’s hard for him to work closely with Lucien at this point given how he feels about Elain, and Rhys knows that because of his conversation about tracking Lucien’s movements in chapter 7.

Rhys offers this position to Mor because they are trying to establish lasting peace.

“You always have a choice. If you don’t want to go, then it’s fine.”

“And who would do it instead? Amren?” A knowing look. I laughed again.

“Certainly not Amren. Not if we want peace.” I added, “Just—do me a favor and take some time to think about it before you say yes. Consider it an offer, not an order.”

This position requires someone who can win others over, someone who is a peacemaker. Later, Mor describes what this position would entail:

How far away the continent seemed, Rhys’s request with it. To go, to play spy and courtier and ambassador, to see those kingdoms long closed, where friends had once dwelled … Yes, her blood called to her. Go as far and wide as you can. Go on the wind.

Mor would be playing spy and courtier and ambassador (and yes, @whysterian, I agree that go on the wind sounds very witchy 😍…it also sounds a lot like an owl). She seems eager to serve her court in this way, but as Mor thinks about the offer, the hissing voices of her past—her family, Eris—start to invade her thoughts and she shuts them out.

But to leave, to let Keir believe he had made her go with his bargain with Eris … Coward. Pathetic coward. She shut out the hissing in her head, running a hand down Ellia’s snowy mane.

We now know that Mor accepted this mission and it is not going well…

“I’ve spent weeks in that blasted court,” Mor said, poking at the flaky pastry beside her teacup, “freezing my ass off, trying to kiss their cold asses, and their king and queen refused the treaty. I came home on the earlier side today because I knew any more last-minute pushing from me would be unwelcome. My time there was supposed to be a friendly visit, after all.”

because of the human queens:

“Why won’t they sign it?”

“Because those stupid human queens are stirring—their army still isn’t disbanded. The Queen of Vallahan even asked me what the point of a peace treaty would be when another war, this time against the humans, might redraw the territory lines far below the wall. I don’t think Vallahan is interested in peace. Or allying with us.”

And who was tasked with monitoring their activities? Azriel.

Az ran a thumb down Truth-Teller’s black hilt, the silver runes on the dark scabbard shimmering in the light. “What about the human queens?”

“We continue to watch. You continue to watch.”

“Vassa knows that the Queens of the Realm will be a threat until they are dealt with,” I said at last. Another tidbit that Lucien had told us. Well, Az and me at least. “But unless the queens step out of line, it’s not for us to face. If we sweep in, even to stop them from triggering another war, we’ll be seen as conquerors, not heroes. We need the humans in other territories to trust us, if we can ever hope to achieve lasting peace.” (acofas)

But they are stirring again and he can’t tackle this issue on his own (or through the source he might usually interact with). Enter, Cassian. Rhys asks him—the last person you’d expect, who also happens to be dismissed as a loyal dog much like Elain—to play spy out in the open. They need information from a trusted source and that is no longer Lucien, their emissary who is becoming increasingly loyal to the Band of Exiles.

“Az and I have good reason to believe that the human queens are scheming again. I need you to look into it. Deal with it.” (acosf)

Rhys went on, “Azriel is juggling more than he’ll admit right now. I’m not dumping another responsibility on him. This task of yours will help him.” Rhys flashed a challenging smile. “And let us all see what you’re really made of.”

“You want me to play spy?”

“There are other ways to glean information, Cass, besides peeking through keyholes. Az isn’t a courtier. He works from the shadows. But I need someone—I need you—standing in the open.

He needs someone who can play spy in the light. Through his spying out in the open, Cassian learns that the three remaining queens have scattered to the winds:

Eris said, “I have it on good authority that the other three queens have scattered to the winds.” Cassian tucked away the information and the questions it raised. How did Eris know that? “Briallyn has been residing alone in their palace for weeks now. Long before my soldiers vanished.” (acosf)

And Koschei, the mastermind whispering on the wind, has been influencing them for quite some time.

“Why was he imprisoned?” Cassian asked. “The story is too long to tell,” she hedged. “But know that Briallyn and the others sold me to him not through their devices, but his. By words he planted in their courts, whispered on the winds.” (acosf)

Most importantly, they are still a concern at the end of Nesta’s story:

But Nesta smoothed his bunched brow, as if she could see those worries there. “Later,” she promised. “We’ll deal with all that later.” Including the remaining queens, Koschei, and a still-looming war. (acosf)

But will Mor and Cassian continue to play spy, ambassador, courtier, etc? Negotiations on the continent are proceeding poorly because of the human queens who have scattered on the winds. What does that mean for the stability of their territories? Someone will need to locate them swiftly and, at some point, convince other leaders not to claim vulnerable territories as their own. Sadly, Cassian’s efforts have yielded little information on the whereabouts of the queens. And Mor can’t seem to leave Vallahan fast enough after her latest attempt to convince their leaders to sign a treaty. Enter, Elain.

Why Elain? We know she wins over others easily (her staff adored her, and everyone and their mom wants to protect her), gets answers to her questions with ease, keeps secrets as well as the spymaster, and routinely surprises others with her stealthy appearance. She can maneuver silently in the light and among the shadows. And unlike her sister, Elain tends to be a calming presence, more of a peacemaker.

“You still can barely talk to Nesta,” I said. “Yet Elain you can talk to nicely.”

“Elain is Elain.”

“If you blame one, you have to blame the other.”

“No, I don’t. Elain is Elain,” he repeated. “Nesta is … she’s Illyrian. I mean that as a compliment, but she’s an Illyrian at heart. So there is no excuse for her behavior.” (acofas)

Illyrians were strong, proud, fearless. But peacemakers, they were not. (acofas)

And Rhys hints that, as a gardener, she is willing to get her hands dirty for a pretty result—like peace.

Cassian will likely be occupied with the Illyrians and the Valkyries. Mor, who can hold her own against any illyrian…

There was a reason she’d held her own in battle, and could hold her own against any Illyrian. My brothers and I had overseen much of the training ourselves, but she’d spent years traveling to other lands, other territories, to learn what they knew. (acofas)

…might return to Prythian and join Valkyrie training in Azriel’s place as @offtorivendell predicted in this post.

Mor grinned. “You mind if I start joining you once this business with Vallahan is over? I never got to train with the Valkyries before the first War, and after it, they were all gone.”

“I think the priestesses would like to see you,” Nesta said, and glanced to Cassian to make sure he didn’t mind. He waved a hand. (acosf)

Elain could use her powers to track down the queens (as she did with the Suriel, who traveled like the wind) in real time and play peacemaker on the continent. Spy and courtier and ambassador. This would also bring her closer to her two love interests—one a spy and the other an emissary—and heighten the tension between them. These tasks are even more important with the looming threat of the Asteri (who may be connected to Koschei, creator of chaos and influencer of human queens). Divided as their world is now, they are an even more vulnerable target.

So while I don’t think those sections are about Elain (yet), @whysterian, I do think they might foreshadow her future as a peacemaker who is more than ready to get her hands dirty.

#elain archeron #mor acotar #spy and ambassador and emissary #maasverse #hosab spoilers #tog spoilers

101 notes · View notes