#most rulers have to be arrogant

[riddlerosehearts]

thinking about how people who watch the emperor's new groove and somehow come out of it shipping pacha and kuzco, or thinking yzma only became evil when kuzco fired her and that she would've been a better ruler than him, are both so wrong in so many different ways and are also missing one of the things that i absolutely love about the movie. which is that, the way i see it, pacha and yzma are counterparts. as parental figures to kuzco.

like, just to get this out of the way first, yzma was a dismissive asshole to a peasant whose family was starving. and yeah, if kuzco had been in her place he definitely would've also done that, which... is why she would not be a better ruler than him. she'd just be the same because they're both horrible people in the exact same ways. her reaction to being fired is to plot murder, and as soon as his funeral is over she sets everyone to work on replacing paintings of kuzco with paintings of herself and covering the palace with imagery that makes it clear that it's all about her now. i'm not even sure why this is a discussion tbh.

and also, kuzco is literally a teenager. he's barely 18 years old. source: in the movie, yzma says at his funeral that kuzco was "taken from us so tragically on the very eve of his eighteenth birthday." she also claims in the movie to have "practically raised" him, to which kronk replies "yeah, you'd think he would've turned out better". and sure, she could be exaggerating, but what evidence do we have that she is? we learn absolutely nothing of his parents, who are never mentioned even once in the movie, or of anyone else who could've raised him, and she's his advisor who for some reason sees no problem with attending to royal duties in his place. most likely because she's his regent. also, i'm not exactly a fan of the sequel tv series "the emperor's new school" but it does have something that backs up my point: kuzco is revealed to be an orphan and just before his father went and got lost at sea, he asked yzma (who was also his advisor) to take care of kuzco if anything happened to him. so, yeah, the writers who worked on the series clearly thought that yzma genuinely did raise kuzco, and nothing in the movie contradicts this.

and i find the idea of her being his only parental figure for pretty much his whole childhood incredibly interesting because, and this also goes back into why she wouldn't be a better ruler than him--she mirrors him as a reflection of what would've become of him if he'd never met pacha. they're both incredibly arrogant, power-hungry, selfish, and cruel, with a tendency to blame their problems on everyone but themselves. yzma was even originally going to have her own reprise of kuzco's theme song "perfect world", which i really wish had been kept:

[ID: Lyrics that read:

I'Il be the sovereign queen of the nation And the chicest chick in creation I'm the cat with all the cream and ooh-la-la This deadly concentration Will put an end to my frustration Now this perfect world begins and ends with moi

What's my name? Yzma, Yzma, Yzma Yzma (what's my name?) Yzma, Yzma (What'd you say?) Yzma (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!) Yzma. End ID]

(this song can be fully heard in "the sweatbox", the documentary about the making of the movie, and is also on youtube btw)

anyway, i'm sure yzma would not exactly have been the most nurturing or hands-on guardian, especially given that she and kuzco don't exactly treat each other like family. but it makes a lot of sense to think that her behavior influened kuzco's throughout the years. and for the entire movie, she remains determined to kill him. when he tries to reason with her and admits that he should've been nicer, she says the same thing to him that he originally said when he fired her. she never grows or changes and in the end, she hurts the one person who was willing to stand by her (and even then, kronk had never fully been on board with her plan) and he ends up trying to crush her with a chandelier. kuzco on the other hand is able to realize the error of his ways, come to regret who he was in the past, and start taking steps toward being a better person. his theme song gets a reprise where it's changed from a song about one person being the center of the world to a Power Of Friendship song. why? because, as i've already mentioned, he has pacha.

pacha, who similarly to both yzma and kuzco is in a position of authority as the leader of the village but unlike either of them is gentle and humble. who isn't afraid to stand up to kuzco and be honest with him even though he's the emperor, who agrees to take him back to the palace but has no obligation to be so helpful, kind, and caring toward him--and just about every reason not to be--and still chooses to be anyway. pacha who is 45 years old (also stated in the sweatbox documentary) and can see that kuzco is practically still a kid, not a single day over 18, who has time to grow and change. pacha, who already has a wife and two kids with another on the way, but practically treats kuzco like one of his own. who acknowledges that if kuzco dies all his problems will be gone and then still worries about him and goes out of his way to rescue him after he wanders into the jungle. who sees kuzco shivering at night and covers him with his poncho, who carries him when he's genuinely too weak to keep walking, who refuses to give up on him even after repeatedly being betrayed by him because he believes there's good in everyone.

also, while yzma ends up repeating kuzco's harsh words of dismissal as she tells him of her plans to kill him, kuzco had previously repeated pacha's words that "nobody's that heartless" after he saved pacha's life. and as the movie progresses kuzco and pacha's relationship becomes more and more equal and is constantly contrasted by moments of yzma being cruel and unappreciative of kronk's kindness. a good example of this is how kronk is constantly being forced to carry yzma everywhere on his back while yzma literally walks all over him and steps on his hands when she gets down, whereas when pacha briefly carries kuzco after the latter collapses he tells him he'll have to walk the rest of the way later and kuzco doesn't even protest.

idk if i'm even explaining well what i'm trying to say here. but basically, if yzma actually raised kuzco and contributed to his current behavior, then she and pacha both are figures who guided him and helped him grow. only yzma helped him become the tyrant that he was at the start of the movie, who was selfish and callous and saw everyone else as beneath him. whereas pacha helped him see the value in being selfless and considerate of others. and in the end, yzma is stuck as a cat and nobody is concerned about her. kronk has found a new job that makes him genuinely happy, while kuzco has decided to build a hut on the hill next to pacha's and effectively joined his family. in the sweatbox documentary it's even mentioned that chicha and the kids were at risk of being removed from the film, but it was decided that they needed to be there because having just pacha as a single guy who lived alone wasn't interesting enough--kuzco needed to go from having basically an empty world where he had nobody to being able to come together with pacha's whole family. and i just think that's incredibly satisfying and beautiful. it also leads up to one of the few things i really do enjoy about the emperor's new school, which is the fact that during the show kuzco moves in with pacha and chicha and pretty explicitly thinks of them as basically his parents while he's like a son to them.

idk. i feel like my mind went in a million different directions while i was writing all this. but i guess i just think that for all of the praise the emperor's new groove gets for its comedy and for how hilarious yzma and kronk in particular are as a duo, the movie also has a lot of genuine heart that gets overlooked. kuzco's character growth and his unique dynamic with pacha is, for me, really what elevates the movie from just a funny movie that i like to one of my favorite disney movies. and i wish more people appreciated that aspect of it and saw it as a found family story in the same way that treasure planet, brother bear, and lilo and stitch are all found family stories.

#disney #the emperor's new groove #help i wrote a whole essay about this movie #and i didn't even mention how much i love the way kuzco's home life is contrasted with pacha's #ugh. they have one of the most interesting and unique dynamics ever in a disney movie. i love them #love how kuzco gets away from yzma's toxic influence by way of accidentally being adopted #by the guy whose village he almost destroyed for a theme park #they're ENEMIES to FOUND FAMILY.... sobs #kuzco #pacha #yzma #kronk

[astroesque]

Vedic Astrology Observations: Part 2

#28. Sun dominant men and moon dominant women are the archetype of “bad boy good girl”.

#29. Mars dominant men seem to be attracted to Venusian women the most.

#30. Most Venusian women are a natural blonde. Not all Venusian women are blonde ofc, but if you see a blonde, it’s highly likely she could have some prominent Venus energy.

#31. Mercury dominant people are very sociable and pleasant to be around. These are some of the most talkative and interesting people out there!

#32. Politically conservative men are generally attracted to Cancerian women (sun, rashi, or ascendant).

#33. Moon dominant men can be very manipulative when it comes to women since they are usually in tune with their feminine self so they use their innate knowledge of women and feminine nature to manipulate them. (They’re still the finest tho lol).

#34. Martian and Saturnian women have the ability to build muscle fairly easily. For Mars (more of a slim thick type, toned but curvaceous) and for Saturn (ripped appearance, fit and skinny, supermodel look even if petite).

#35. Mercury influenced women (either Mercury ruled luminaries, Mercury aspecting the luminaries, or Mercury being the planet ruler of the luminaries), are generally very petite in stature.

#36. Purva Ashadha people can come across as arrogant or bossy even when they aren’t trying to and it’s usually because they are very confident in themselves and can lean towards a superiority complex. (But they are very loyal people and make great friends!)

#37. Dhanishta people might have an affinity for dance, music, or other art forms due to the symbolism of Dhanishta nakshatra being a drum.

#38. Rahu dominant people can come off as crazy or chaotic due to the disruptive nature of the planet.

#39. Ashlesha people are very sharp minded and shrewd. They make great businesspeople and are hard to deceive.

#40. The most masculine nakshatras imo are: Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Phalguni, and Magha.

#41. Rohini and Hasta individuals are some of the most comfortable people to be around. They’re very personable and have easy going personalities.

#42. Dhanishta people have the natural ability to gain fame and popularity.

#43. Sun dominant men are the “manly men” who represent the archetypal masculine energy, have a traditionally masculine appearance, and can be players. This is similar to how Moon dominant women are the archetypal feminine.

#44. Revati women are very sweet but can also be bullies at the same time.

#45. Jyeshta people are usually the most successful ones in their chosen fields whether it’s career, sports, etc. They are very determined and learn to become the best at whatever they choose to pursue.

#46. UBP people make for some of the most loyal, caring, and devoted spouses that if they have break up with someone, the other person will eventually want to come back to the Uttarabhadrapada.

#47. Magha people have the tendency to be very nationalistic possibly to the point of bigotry. They usually are also very proud of their ancestry/heritage.

#48. Shravana people are very good listeners, hence the symbol of Shravana being the ear. They truly are the best people to go to if you want to rant out your feelings/say something because they will truly listen to you try and understand you on a deeper level.

#49. Saturn dominant women and Sun dominant men are the definition of a love-hate relationship. Saturn hates the ego of Sun yet she knows how to cool him down whenever necessary which makes for a very interesting and balanced dynamic in the relationship.

#50. Moon dominant women are naturally very intuitive and may be psychics, tarot readers, or well versed in astrology. Ketu women have this trait too of being very spiritual.

#51. Swati women are probably the most friendly people around and these women literally have no enemies and even if they do they are usually still friendly with them and pleasant to everyone regardless of who they mean to them.

#52. Rahu people are naturally very rebellious and find faults in society rather than in themselves. This is opposite to Saturnian people generally conforming to the rules and finding faults within themselves rather than other people.

#vedic astrology #vedic astro notes #sidereal #sidereal astrology #nakshatras

[ivi-ivisek]

FNAF DCA The tree and the frog AU

Sun and Moon are one of the oldest maybe even the oldest spirits of nature, meaning that they are also the most powerful among their kind. Sun and Moon were not brothers but very good friends who share forest and shore, bonded for as long as they've existed, helping one another to take care and protect their lands and everything that lives in there. They remember times when humans foraged and hunted in their domains with spears and arrows

But time's changed. humans slowly deviated from old wasy and start loosing the conection with nature. But that was fine maybe there was a rulebreaker or two but it was fine. They dealt with rulebreakers accordingly and they were more than happy to guide those who wnated to follow the old ways.

Sun and Moon raised many generations, taught them all necessities to survive and be one with nature. They used to be highly respected by humans. But it was getting worse and worse. Humans become greedy, selfish, arrogant, thinking that they can do and take whatever they want.

Moon become more aggresive and less generous and forgiving. For him all humans were the same - corrupted, too much to be helped. He thought that it would be better if all humans were gone. So what if he just wipe them off... Sun and Moon argued a lot about this. Sun agreed that rulebreakers have to be punished but what Moon was doing wasn't about punishing anymore, it was just hatred towards humans. One day they had very serious quarrel over what Moon did so they stopped talking to each other.

The old-time friendship is now broken, will it ever heal? Maybe with a little help things may get better. Only time will tell....

Hejkal/Leshy Sun

The guardian and ruler of the forest

Commands all flora and fauna of his forest

Shapeshifter - can change into any local forest flora or fauna and change his size to be either as small as a blade of grass or as tall as a tree

Vodník/Vodyanoy Moon

The guardian and ruler of the waters

Commands all flora and fauna of his waters

Shapeshifter - Can change into any local aquatic or semiaquatic creature

#fnaf dca au #the tree and the frog au #dca the tree and the frog au #fnaf moon #fnaf sun #leshy sun #hejkal sun #vodník moon #vodyanoy moon #slavic folklore #slavic mythology #digital art #my art #character reference

[mysicklove-main]

Pairings: King Merman! Bakugou x Human! Fem! Reader

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: Just fluff.

Summary: You meet a merman one day and find yourself with your very own trading companion. You exchange gifts of the land and sea. The two of you were fine until Katsuki says he wants more from you.

𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

Katsuki Bakugou gets everything he wants. The underwater kingdom is his, and whenever he wants or needs something, with a flick of his webbed hands, it appears. He is worshipped and maybe even feared by all of the seas. King Bakugou, the warrior ruler of the sea.

Except for a mate. No matter how many mers, both male and female, his court presents him with, he never feels anything toward them. His mother scolds him for not even meeting the young candidates, but he doesn’t give a shit. He gets what he wants; he will know if they are worthy just by a single glance.

So on some days, he forces his mother to watch the throne while he swims and swims just to clear his mind. He picks fights here and there with other sea creatures just to test his strengths. After he wins his battle against his third great white, he realizes he needs something stronger. Something to really pique his interest.

A human. Well, from afar, they look pathetic with their gangly limbs, but it is common knowledge to a mer that they possess weapons that can easily kill any creature of the sea. But this is Katsuki Bakugou we are talking about here. He isnt just some mer. He is the most powerful being of the sea. No one, including a human, could beat him. 

So, the arrogant bastard took toward the surface to find the closest human. The water becomes more shallow, and not that he would ever admit it, but adrenaline fills his veins when he gets closer and closer to the shore. 

Luckily for him though, a human was close. In the water, too. He was dreading trying to coax one into the ocean. Katsuki snickers at the strange limbs called legs kicking to try to keep the human afloat. It was so embarrassing for them. One flap of his tail, and he is yards ahead of them. It was incomparable the strength between the two species. 

Without much hesitation, he grabs the submerged legs and pulls. They scream, of course, when they lose their precious oxygen and are surrounded completely by salt water. Their arms flail, and their legs continue to fight their way to the surface, but it’s all in vain. After all, this is Katsuki’s element.

Wanting to get one glance at the human before making a swift and easy death, he turns the figure around, and his eyes widen.

You were pretty. Prettier than any of the other mers he has ever seen. Even if your face is contorted in fear, he takes a second to admire your hair, eyes, and lips. They were all so cute. Exactly the way he likes them.

And your strength was actually impressive. Although you were no match for the king, you were definitely putting up some sort of a fight. He actually had to grip you tighter so you wouldn’t squirm away. Both of you knew it was a losing battle, but still, you really tried. You definitely had survival instincts.

As Katsuki gets distracted admiring the creature, you get one lucky hit and manage to kick him right in the nose. He hisses out and lets you go. 

He could go out and grab you again easily but didn’t feel the need to. After that fight you put up, you deserved to stay alive. Stay alive, so Katsuki can meet you again.

You were just trying to take a dip in the ocean, really. After all the stress you have had this week, you deserved it. A nice relaxing day by the beach. You were not planning on almost getting drowned.

You swim swiftly toward the dock and yank yourself up before the creature tries to grab you again. You didn’t see much except for flashes of blonde hair, red eyes, and an orange tail. What was that thing? Some sort of fish? It just didn’t make sense. What fish could pull you down into the water? The beach was completely private, so it’s not like you could tell a lifeguard what happened.

You shiver and grab your towel before heading inside your beach house. You began to ponder, desperately trying to figure out what the strange animal was. After about an hour of research, you came to the decision that it was definitely a mermaid. Many studies have shown that they do, in fact, exist but are extremely rare to find.

It seems absolutely insane to you, but what else could be able to hold onto you like that? And that tail…It was huge. 

You aren’t going to go near the beach for a while. Even so, though, you really did want another glance…I mean, seeing a real-life mermaid is crazy! Once little peep of the mermaid surely wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Three weeks. Katsuki has managed to escape his royal duties to see your ass, and not once have you come back even close to the water. He has scouted the area over thirty times and found the small shack you call home. The mer lets out a scoff as he watches your shadow move back and forth inside the building.

He has thought about throwing something at the building but thought against it. He didn’t want you to think he was a violent maniac (even if he was) with your first real meeting. So, he boredly swam back and forth, waiting for you to come outside again.

He was in luck because at around 5 pm, you did finally open the door of your shitty shack and step outside. He quickly dove into the water to watch from below the surface. The last thing that he needed was to scare you back into hiding. 

His eyes follow your figure as you walk toward and onto the dock that bridges into the ocean. You look nervous but determined, and Katsuki can see you holding something but can’t determine what it is. 

Suddenly, your loud voice calls, “Hello!” over and into the water. You flush in embarrassment for doing something so silly. But you continue anyways, “If you are out there, mermaid, come over here!” It probably wasn’t the most convincing way to lead the visitor over, but whatever, you were desperate.

Katsuki smirks in triumph. He only knows very little of the human language due to his studies as a child. All he knows is that you greeted him and said the word “mer,” so you must be calling for him.

So he pops his head out of the water with a small smirk on his face. His orange ear fins are spread wide and on display. His scarred tail, from all the fights he has won, beats against the water as he watches you. He gently displays his sharp canines with his smirk. Like always, he looks like the strongest being of the sea. 

When you take in his appearance, you scream and fall onto your butt.

Katsuki lets out a light bark in laughter, watching you fall. He couldn’t blame you; those strange limbs looked hard to use. If he were human, he definitely wouldn’t struggle, but he bets Denki or Eijiro would. 

He puffs out his chest and made himself look as large and powerful as he could in the water. “Hello, I am King Explosion Murder or King Bakugou, ruler of the undersea.” He stood there waiting for the excitement or shock that usually comes from hearing his title, but nothing came. “Ruler of the undersea. Did you not hear me extra?” Judging from your frightened appearance, trembling on the doc, no, you did not understand. 

And then he remembered. Of course, you don’t understand. He isn’t speaking in your tongue. To you, it must have sounded like a bunch of trills and clicks.

Katsuki opens his mouth to speak but growls. He doesn’t remember how to speak your language. It’s unnatural for mers to do it, but nobility are taught it, just in case. However, that was when he was ten, and he hasn’t practiced since.

Upon hearing his frustrated growl, you point your knife straight at him and threaten him. “S-Stay back! I have a knife, and I know how to use it!” You didn’t, but that was beside the point. You shouldn’t have come out here. It was a stupid idea. Curiosity did kill the cat, and you’ll need more than satisfaction to get you out of this situation.

The blonde doesn’t understand any of your words. The only thing he understands is that you are holding out a knife toward him. A gift! Already? Katsuki is known to be bold, but here you are, offering a courting gift on day one. I mean, it made sense, considering his physique. You must have seen how powerful he is and were quick to pounce. Eager, he likes it, and he can’t really blame you.

He huffs out pride and lets out a click in thank you. Then, quicker than lightning, the blonde snatches the knife from your hands and into his. He holds it up to admire it, unaware that you’re currently freaking out without your weapon to defend yourself. He scoffs at it. It was sharp but not even close to his very own canines. He turns toward you and pulls the knife up next to his teeth to show the comparison. He is once again unaware of how you pale drastically.

“Stay.” He uselessly commands before diving down back into the water, knife still in hand. You cock your head to the side in confusion at his disappearance, but realizing this is your only time to escape, you begin to book it down the dock and toward your home. 

You don’t get very far. Katsuki, effortlessly fast, grabs your foot before you can return to the sand. You stumble forward and land on your knees, causing you to hiss in pain. A small scrape forms on your left knee.

He huffs in annoyance. “I said stay, you idiot! Look what you did!” 

The loud growls cause you to tear up. This is it, isn’t it? He has got to be growling so much  because his prey got away. It was a stupid idea, all of it. You were going to die, and nobody was going to find your body and–

Katsuki grabs your leg and licks the wound on your knee like he has done countless times with others during battles. After all, mer saliva has healing properties. Then as your eyes widen in shock, Katsuki pushes an orange sea shell toward you. He set in the water, just earlier for you. He lets out an annoyed bark when you don’t reach for it, and hearing the warning, you quickly scramble to take it. The blonde smirks in triumph and continues back to healing you.

You shiver when you feel the tongue back on your knee. It was like a cat’s tongue. The prickles gently nick at you. But, with all the courage you can muster, you tear your gaze away from the creature and onto the sea shell. It was light orange, and absolutely massive. Seriously, it was about the size of your whole hand. But, it was pretty and shiny in the sunlight. 

You spare a glance at the blond, who is still completely focused on the task at hand. You could guess that he is trying to heal you for some odd reason. It made your heartbeat begin to return back to normal. Why would he heal his prey from such a minor wound if he was going to kill anyways? But why would he want you alive?

Then, you look to the right of him and see that in his hand, he is still holding the knife. Your eyes widen in realization of what is happening. “Trade! You want to exchange items with me. From the…human world?” The mer tears his mouth away from your skin and furrows his eyebrows in confusion. You point to the knife and then the seashell. “Trade?” You explain.

Katsukis eyes widen in understatement. So, the human word for “courting” is “trade”! Only a genius like himself would be able to figure that out so quickly. He lets out a soft grumble and nods his head. Then, realizing if this relationship is going to work, Katsuki has to tries to try and speak in your tongue. “Chr–aye-dd”

Your mouth falls open at the attempt of your language. The whole thing was absolutely insane, and now the strange creature is trying to communicate with you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so you continue speaking. “Yes, Trade! But say “Trr” instead of “Chr” You enunciate the sounds, so he understands.

Katsuki grumbles stubbornly when you correct him. Only his mother has been one to nag in, nobody else has the guts to do it, but here you are correcting him within the first greetings. You were bold; he had to give it to you. He also likes that. So, for your sake, he tries again.“Trrr-aye-d”

You laugh at this and smile gently. “Yes! Thats it! Trade.” You once again point to the knife and the seashell. 

Seeing you smile, Katsuki lets out a trill and nods. Without much permission, the blonde rests his head on your leg, careful not to touch the wound. Then the hopeless mer begins to daydream. This was going perfectly! Not even one day of knowing him, and you have already allowed him to court you. Now, it was smooth sailing from here. He just needs to bring you a couple more gifts, and finally, King Bakugou will have his very own mate! 

You, on the other hand, are freaking out a little bit. A merman is here and resting his head on your legs! Nobody would ever believe this was happening. 

You tear your gaze away from him for a second and notice that the sun is almost down. Although the mer seems friendly as of now, you didn’t feel comfortable with him enough to stay with him during the dark. So, you try to gently get it up without disturbing him too much.

His daydream comes to an abrupt stop when you begin to move your legs. He groans in annoyance. “Stop.” He commands, which comes out in a small bark. You ignore him, considering you can’t understand him, and Katsuki slides back into the water. 

He lets out a low growl, and your eyes widen. He wasn’t having second thoughts about this little exchange, right? So as you get to your feet, you quickly say, “Tomorrow, I will come back, and we can trade again. Okay?”

Katsuki looks scepitical. He only got out the word tomorrow and trade. Which definitely is a good sign, but does he trust you enough to keep your word? If he has to wait another three weeks, he is going to absolutely pissed. But then again, you seem to like him a lot if you already began wanting to court him on the first day of the meeting. Plus, you allowed him to touch you, once again, another good sign. You have got to like him.

So he sighs and trills a goodbye before swimming back down into the deep blue sea.

Katsuki Bakugou was adorable. It’s been about a week since you have known him and you have visited him every morning. He seems to be rather attached to you already. One day, you overslept and missed his meeting, and the next day you got an earful of mostly growls and barks. You thought it was adorable that your new friend missed you.

Currently, it was Friday, and exactly a week since you guys have been talking to one another. You learned his name and even have gotten him to speak in small sentences. He seems to pick up the human language very quickly. You wonder if it was a mer thing or a Katsuki thing.  Either way, you praise him immensely, and he acts like he doesn’t care, but its obvious by the red ting on his cheeks he does. He also teaches you the language of merfolk. Your vocal cords don’t really do the barks or clicks justice, so the two of you continue to speak in your language.

Not only that, but the mer was heavily physically affectionate. It was hilarious, considering the fact that he would insult you on being a “weak human,” and then the next minute, would curl into your lap as if nothing had happened. 

In all honesty, no matter how much of a brat the mer was, it has been one of the best weeks of your life.

“Human. Att–tention. Now.” The orange merman demands when you stop running your fingers through his soft blonde hair and stare off into the distance. You chuckle at this and continue to pet him. You are glad you taught him the word “attention” because before that when he needed it, he would take to softly biting you. You have small bite marks all over your leg because of the overgrown, needy creature.

A small, content smile falls on his face as he nuzzles into your legs. Courting has gone absolutely perfectly. You were gentle and warm but were able to put up with his shit. A perfect match the two of you are. 

Of course, every once in a while, you do say some stupid things. “Katsuki, do you think I can meet some of your mer friends?” The merman looks up at you and gives you a familiar glare. You smile in return, hoping to encourage him. 

It doesn’t seem to work because he lets out a cat-like yawn and closes his eyes again. “Friends, weak. Stupid,” He grumbles, and you roll your eyes.

“I bet we would get along considering you call me weak and stupid,” You remind, and Katsuki opens his eyes back again to glare at you.

He lets out a series of trills and clicks on accident before sighing and switching back to your language. “On–ly need me,” He challenges, and you give up the argument. Katsuki was as stubborn as a mule. If he didn’t want you to meet his friends, you won’t.

All of the sudden, Katsuki rolls off your legs and into the water. You tilt your head to the side, but the mer just grumbles out a, “stay.” and lightly bites your calf to get his point across. You, like always, flinch at the bite, but let him, knowing that denying him makes him even more upset. Besides, it’s probably a sign of affection.

Then, he dives back into the water, leaving you alone. A couple of minutes go by, and eventually, he pops his head back above the water. He raises his webbed hand and shows a squirming fish in his hands. You give him a questioning stare, but before you can ask, he plunges his sharp canines into the body. The fish dies immediately, and you’re left in shock at what the hell just happened.

He then offers the fish to you. “Eat,” He barks, and you shake your head, disgusted by the fish placed so close to you. Katsuki doesn’t like this answer, and he glowers at you. “Food. Eat. Hun–ted for you.”

Even if you are used to his demands, you are not willing to go that far for the sea creature. “That will make me sick, Kats. I can’t eat raw fish, but I really appreciate the offer.” Katsuki stares at you for a second and then, like usual, lets out a series of annoyed trills. He grabs the fish and quickly begins devouring it, bones and all, much to your horror. 

Once finishes, he looks back up at you with a satisfied smirk. “Good Hun–ter.”

You nod in agreement, “Yes, you are a fantastic hunter Katsuki, way better than me.” He chirps and nods, preening at the statement. You roll your eyes and laugh at his behavior. 

And then he sighs and, like usual, begins his goodbyes. He seems to be a very busy creature, only being able to meet for about two hours a day. You wonder what is taking up his time. Another mer? Maybe he has a family? But he never mentioned either of these things.

You don’t get time to ponder on it, because Katsuki rubs against your legs one last time before saying his usual statement. “Trade. To–mor–ow”. To which you nod and wave your goodbye with your new pink seashell that you add to your collection.

He nods before falling under the water and disappearing.

You begin to think more and more about Katsuki. Even if he was another species, you couldn’t help but be attracted to him. His muscular upper body, his soft blond hair, his piercing red eyes, and even if you hated the canines in the beginning, they are beginning to grow on you. Plus, he has the best personality. Although it is a little aggressive at some points, you know he has good intentions. 

He is sweet to you, under all of the insults, and is exactly your type (well, if he was human). So, like a normal person of your age, you begin to daydream what it would be like, to be more than a trading partner with the strange, but enthralling creature.

It’s been about three weeks, and the two of you have been “trading” almost every single day. Things like forks, coins, small mirrors, and cups have been given away while you receive an abundance of seashells and old jewelry that has fallen into the sea. Katsuki goes out of his way to find the nicest items he can. After all, he is a king, and his mate deserves only the best.

Katsuki knew he was doing a perfect job courting you. You are happy with him, he provides for you semi-well (only because you won’t take his food), and he is a fantastic protector. Often times the red-headed shark tried to talk to you, but Katsuki manages to scare his friend away every time. He isn’t going to risk you falling for some other extra. You were way too eager to court with him (even if it did make sense considering his physical appearance), and he didn’t want to play the odds of you accepting some idiots advances. You were his, and he was yours. That’s how things are supposed to go. So, today is the day he was going to ask you to be his mate. Then, the two of you are going live happily ever after.

He leaves his mother on the throne, like always, and grabs the ring he has planned to use. It was gold, and he removed the previous gemstone and replaced it with a pearl he had found when scouting the area for any threats. He knows that rings are weirdly important to humans, so, it was probably a good idea to get one. Then, he heads to your guys’ meeting spot.

You were waiting at the dock with your feet in the water. He swims up to you and lightly traces his hand up the bottom half of your leg. Then, like usual, he lays his head on your legs. You smile and pet his hair, “Hey, Katsuki.” He lets out a small click in greeting.

“I brought you something,” You continue, and Katsuki’s ruby eyes look up at you, slightly intrigued. You always gift him the strangest things. You pull out a tennis ball, and Katsuki squints at it before snatching it from your hands. He then begins to assess it. He rubs his cheek on it, then bites it gently, and finally growls at it, just to make sure it wasn’t anything dangerous. Once completely satisfied that it was safe, he trills in thanks. In your broken language, he says, “Good gift. M–Mine better.” to which you chuckle and nod, not willing to argue with the guy.

He pulls away from your legs and back into the water. A second goes by, and he is back up above the water and smirking as confident as ever. Katsuki quickly reminds himself of the stupid human customs he is trying to follow. He has practiced this sentence about a billion times. He forcefully, and a little nervously, thrusts the gold ring into your hold. “I K-King Katsuki Bakugou, take you, Y/N L/N to be” He lets out a small growl in frustration when he forgets how to pronounce the last part correctly. “To be…my mate.” He puffs his chest out while he waits for the tears and your acceptance.

But much to his surprise, you begin to giggle as you grab the pretty ring. You admire it and praise him on how beautiful it was. You have never seen a ring like this, it was pretty. You place it on your pointer finger and smile. Then you pat his head lightly and say, “Yes that is how wedding ceremonies go! How did you learn those lines? And I love the addition of “king.” Great touch Kats. Actually, did you know that I happen to be the Queen of the human lands?”

Katsuki has never been more confused in his life. Firstly, you put the ring on the wrong finger. He read so many slabs that told him that you were supposed to place it on the one next to the pinky! Secondly, you didn’t even respond to the declaration. You just praised him on his abilities. Thirdly, you are a queen?! Would this mean that your two people can finally live in peace? This seems like the most important question, so he says, “You–Queen?”

You laugh once again and, this time, shake your head. “No. Sorry I was just teasing you, Katsuki. I couldnt help it since you said you were the “king” of the sea.” He furrows his brows. Did you think he was joking? He has left his people abandoned for you daily, and you don’t even believe him!

“I am King! You are my Q-Queen! Mate!” His newly learned language gets choppy when upset. He grabs onto the doc with his hands and looks up at you with a scowl.

You tilt your head to the side. “Mate?” 

Poor Katsuki goes into another hissy fit. He growls and grumbles, and you furrow your eyebrows, used to his dramatics. You don’t know exactly what’s pissing him off, though. 

You are pissing him off. You guys have been “trading” for two weeks now, and you don’t even know what mates are. What do you think these entire interactions have been about? “We trade. Now we mate.”

“Like animals do?”

He uses his tail to propel him above the water. Now he is almost your height when you are sitting down on the dock. He only does this when he really needs your attention. The scowl has deepened, and this time, you do flinch. “Like mer do!”

Was Katsuki joking? About the king and the mating thing? You have never heard him joke before, but also, what was he talking about? You guys originally were trading items, and now you guys are friends. Did you confuse him somehow?

Your thoughts were suddenly cut off when Katsuki leans forward and pressed his lips onto yours. They are wet and a little salty, but still soft. You are just glad that you can’t taste fish on his lips. Your eyes widen for a second, but then gently kiss back for a second, and Katsuki pulls away. Red tints his face, and you probably match his furious blush. “S-See! Mate.”

Oh. So this entire time, he has been wanting to get with you? You use your hands to cover your face in embarrassment, but Katsuki is quick to remove them with a short but scolding bark. “We trade. Now we mate.” He repeats.

You realized that you confused him this entire time. He misunderstood your definition of trade. “You court and then mate. Not trade Katsuki. Trade is when you exchange items, like merchants do.” 

Katsukis face contorts into disgust. Like the lower-class people? He is a king, for christ’s sake! How did you think that he was trading with you like some lowly extra? He didn’t need your useless items (yes, he did, he actually loves them all)! He lets out a series of growls and barks in the mer language at your misunderstanding. Finally, he, in your tongue, says, “Stupid human!” 

Although you haven’t known Katsuki for that long, you know is not mad specifically at you, just upset. I mean rightfully so; you have misunderstood his attentions this entire time. You have got to make it up to him. So, you lean over and tilt his chin upward toward you and cut off his growls with a soft kiss. He, of course, shuts up and kisses you back intensely. 

He hates craning his neck to kiss you, it makes him feel small, and he is the strongest creature under the water; he should never feel small. So without much hesitation, he grabs onto your figure and pulls you into the water. 

You screech in surprise as the cold water hits you, and Katsuki grins. He presses his lips against yours again and effortlessly holds you above the water. Eventually, you pull away with a trail of salty saliva. “You are going to have to recourt me.”

Katsuki frowns as his face fins pin straight back on his face. “Why?” 

“Because I didnt know you were trying to courting me. I want to enjoy it this time,” You hum, and Katsuki flicks a tad bit of water into your face. You scrunch your face up and whine, and Katsuki laughs low.

His orange tail flicks into the water. “Idiot human.” But, he still nods in agreement. It wasn’t like he was going to force you to be his mate. If needed to be, he can wait.

Your smile turns mischievous. “And you have to court me like a human does.” This time Katsuki does growl in annoyance. Human ways are so tedious.

“No.”

“Awe I guess I just got to find a human “mate” to court me….” You fake pout, and Katsuki grips you tighter. He can see right through your bluff, but pissing you off right now in such a nice moment does not seem like the best idea.

“Fine.” You give him a peck on the lips for his compromise. He in return, grabs your hand and replaces moves the ring from your pointer onto your ring finger. He lets out a satisfied click with the new placement. Now both mer and human will know you are his.

As you watch Katsukis ministrations, you think back to what he said earlier and hum in thought. “Hmm and Kats you were just  joking about being a king right?”

Katsuki laughs mischievously and a little arrogantly. Your eyes widen at the response. “Right, Kats?”

“Nope.”

You squirm in his hold, but he wraps his tail around you, preventing you from leaving. “I can't be the ruler of a kingdom that I’m not even from! Plus I'm not even a mermaid!”

But Katsuki was already lost in thought, daydreaming once again of the future. Besides, there are many ways to get you changed into a mer, it wasn’t hard. “King and Queen Ex-plo-sion Murder. The most powerful mates of the sea.”

“Katsuki!” 

#bakugo katuski #bhna fanfiction #bakugou x reader #katsuki x reader #bakugou katuski x reader #mer!au #Mer!Bakugou #Mer!Katsuki #merman #bakugou katsuki fanfic #merman! Bakugou x Human! Reader #fantasy!au #bnha bakugou #mha bakugo x reader #king! bakugou #King! Katsuki #female!reader #mello.writes

[obsessivevoidkitten]

A Royal Pain In The Ass

Yandere Male Alpha x Male Omega Reader (CW: Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, INCEST, non-con, male reader, a/b/o, ass eaten like it is groceries, blowjob, marking, biting, knotting, musk, general yandere behavior, necromancy, assassination, minor character death, angst, pain, violent sex, breeding, forced feminization, size difference) Word Count: 2.9k (This is probably the worst thing I have ever written, but I think I covered all the appropriate warnings. Sorry for any mistakes I did proofread, but I did not have this beta read.)

Your father, King Esmer, had been among the wisest and most powerful kings in all the world. He had led decisive victories in war, chosen brilliant advisors, and knew when to rule kindness and when to rule with a bit of a sterner hand. Overall he had been much loved by all the classes and had truly united his kingdom, alphas, betas, and omegas alike. But as he grew older many in the royal court began to fear that your brother, Prince Vairthold, would become a tyrant of a monarch. He had always been a bit of a demanding brat, but as he grew so too did his arrogance and entitlement, and when he presented as an alpha he became an accomplished warrior, his powerful muscles and keen instinct allowing him to become a terror on the field. It did nothing to staunch the growth of his ego. Your father could not see it, as blinded as he was by denial and love for his first born, so he would not hear of it when his advisors wanted him to choose another heir. Perhaps one more malleable and temperate such as you, his younger son, an omega. “He will grow into the role,” he would always say, “I had to learn and change a lot too when I first started. Besides, most lords just would not accept an omega ruler.” And that would be the end of the discussion. But once Esmer had passed his successor wasted no time in changing how things were to be done. They were, in the grand scheme of things, very minor changes at first. Statues built, mundane orders carried out, nothing too unusual or threatening. But within months your older sibling allowed a dark sorcerer in the court in a high advisory position. Dark magic was not something that had been allowed in any capacity previously, but your brother had searched long to create someone to place in this position. When he finally had the magic user that he so desired he became not just arrogant and demanding, but colder and crueler as well. He did not go out slaughtering people, though laws did become more draconian, with several inmates disappearing in the dead quiet of night. He also revoked many of the laws and rights that omegas had previously enjoyed under his predecessors, making them basically under the ownership of their alpha or beta relatives unless they were single and had no family. You, being an omega yourself, were almost never allowed out of your brother’s sight, even being forced to stay in his bedroom. The only time you were not with him was when he was off in the darkness of night consorting with his dark advisor, and even then he left the bulkiest beta knights he could find to guard the door and make sure you had zero chance of escape. Your older sibling had always been far too possessive over you, some people, including your late father, might have mistaken his behavior as merely how a protective alpha is supposed to act around their smaller omega family members. But you knew better, you could tell there was something impure about the way you caught him leering at you, something off about how he had kept away any and all courters, something wicked in the way his expression changed when you were in heat and he caught a whiff of your scent. He had never been particularly mean to you, perhaps a bit of bullying here and there, but ever since he had changed the laws and the status of omegas he had been a lot more gruff with you. Not tolerating any dissent. If you resisted he would not hesitate to slap you across the face, but if you cooperated and did not complain he would often reward you with little gifts for your good behavior. Over time you learned never to complain, and so far nothing terrible had happened, but you did not trust his intentions at all. You dreaded to think what would happen if you had your heat now when he was always so close. He had not just forced you to sleep in his bedroom but to make a nest for yourself there too. You knew what it implied and you did not like it one bit. But a few months into his rule, as he started ignoring his court less and less, right as your heat was starting, he died. He was assassinated in his sleep. You were not involved at all in his murder, how could you be when you were constantly under the watch of him or his guards, but you did not raise a huge fuss over it either. You had been freed. Just in time. But it was only a delay of the inevitable. Soon after you had been crowned all those who had been involved with the assassination died, one by one. It was as if there had been some curse on the act of killing your brother and there was fear and dismay among the court and kingdom as a whole. You had never really been raised to rule, you mostly went by the advice of your council, they may have been using you as a puppet king to talk through, but they were good honest people who had wanted the best for the kingdom. With so few of them left you were buckling under the weight of your responsibility. But it would not be yours for long. After the last traitor of your sibling had been done away with, a few months into your reign and right as your heat was starting again, your brother and his wizard, who had gone missing after your brother’s murder, came sauntering into the castle, right in front of the throne as you were holding publicly addressing the problems of your lower-born subjects. There were whispers and murmurs among the guard and the present nobles. He looked different, blueish grey skin, dark rings around his now violet eyes, and his bright blonde hair had faded a bit, but he was still unmistakable as anyone but Vairthold. The deceased king. You, and everyone else present, were shocked and speechless. Had he faked his death? Why did he look so odd? Terror and hopelessness filled your heart as you knew immediately he had been responsible for the deaths of those involved in the plot against him and you were sure you would be next. He ordered the guards to remove everyone from the room except you. They hesitated briefly but decided that if your brother was not dead, and he seemingly had the ability to kill anyone who had tried to stand against him, then he was still their rightful king and they better be quick about following his orders. Vairthold smirked at you as they did his bidding while slowly approaching you, causing you to slink back against the throne with your arms in front of you protectively. The guards had left along with his magic using companion, so you were alone with him and he could do whatever he wanted with you. He wordlessly plucked the crown from your trembling form and placed it atop his head instead. “Awe, don’t be scared, little prince. I was mad at you for not avenging me, but I know you are just a weakling little omega doing what you were told. I am sorry I left you like I did, you must have been so terrified, but I wanted to become a lich, and I had to get rid of all those who would have stopped me.” You could not bear to meet his gaze, your lip trembled in fear, and your eyes were beginning to fill with tears. A lich was an immortal abomination made of magic that few believed in. If he truly was one then this couldn’t get any worse. Except it could, because under all the fear and anxiety there was another scent that had just graced your brother’s nostrils. Your heat. He began nuzzling his nose at your neck and underarms. In a rare act of defiance, perhaps forgetting exactly what he was for a moment, you tried to push away his head with all your might but he just chuckled and pinned your hands to the side. He had never been this brazen before. “It’s good that you’re feisty sometimes, shows that you’re strong, bet you’ll make us lots of strong heirs. I’ll forgive you for being uncooperative this time, putting you in front of subjects today when you’re in heat is bound to make your head a bit off. I should kill them all.” At his mention of heirs you redoubled your efforts to push him off, to somehow wiggle out of his grip, there was no way you could let this monster put anything inside of you. “N-no, this is my throne n-now! Y-y-you have to stop!” It was a pathetic display really, but a bit surprising coming from you. He smacked you with enough force to sting, but you knew he was not really trying to hurt you, just trying to remind you of your place. “Awe, that’s too cute, if you wanted the throne all you had to do was ask~ I will let you use it later.” He quickly disrobed and ripped off all of your clothing, leaving you bare beneath his hungry gaze. All your squirming and panicked pleas did nothing to stop him bending down and assaulting your neck with sloppy licks and kisses. You could smell the musk practically radiating off of him, it was making you dizzy, his smell had never interested you in the slightest and it still didn’t You could tell by his pheromones that he was a virile and fertile alpha, in any other alpha it may be attractive, but it only made your brother more terrifying. He did not have the same opinion of your scent, it had been driving him wild for years, but now was the first time he could freely indulge himself. He alternated between sniffing and licking your underarms and neck, he had longed for this for years and no one could stop him now. After making sure that you both utterly reeked of one another, he got between your legs on the ground in front of the throne and put your legs over his shoulder. Your mind felt distressed to the core, but your body had different plans, you could not control how it reacted. Especially when under the direct affections of such a powerful alpha during heat. You felt disgusted with yourself when you realized your cock was rock hard and felt slick start to leak out onto the throne beneath you, but your brother was thrilled. The smell emanating from your desperate little virgin hole was divine and he wasted no time at all in pulling your ass close to his face and sliding his tongue right in. The flavor was even better, so full of your pheromones, the taste was so intimately yours and he knew he was the only one that ever had or ever would get the chance to savor it. It was a royal treasure that only he and he alone was worthy enough for. A small involuntary moan escaped your attempt at stifling it and encouraged him to keep going. You really couldn’t help it, you were so grossed out, scared, and overstimulated that you were crying even as you instinctively spread your legs wider for him to get better access. You could feel his warm tongue sliding all around your entrance, stretching and warming it up. He pulled his face away from your ass and sniffed and licked at your precious little nuts, they were so tiny and delicate, unlike his big alpha balls. The scent you had there drove him wild. He started sucking on them before licking up your relatively small shaft and sucking your cock until he felt you buck into his mouth and cum all over his tongue. He moaned softly as he swallowed it all down. “I’m disgusting. That was wrong,” you muttered under your breath as you stared blankly at nothing in particular. “How could someone so sweet and perfect be disgusting? How could you think something that felt so good could possibly be wrong? Don’t worry princess, I know something that will feel so good you won’t even be able to form thoughts like that~” That was enough to jolt you from your post-orgasmic daze and revulsion, as your brother leaned over you, greedy hands busy groping and caressing up and down your sides. “I’m not a princess!!” You shrieked as you rocketed upwards from the throne and headbutt your lustful sibling as hard as you could. The unexpected impact caused even a large alpha such as himself to stumble backwards. You did not waste a fraction of a second to exploit the opening and started to get up past him. But he was no stranger to physical combat and knew how to recover quickly. He grabbed your arm and pulled you over to himself with great force. He sat on the cushioned throne and lifted you easily, forcing you to face him as you straddled his lap. When you felt the force with which he was grabbing you and saw the violence in his eyes as a small trickle of blood flowed from his nose you immediately regret assaulting him. “Let me be VERY clear, I am the king. And you ARE my princess. And when we are married you WILL be my queen. And there is nothing you can do about it.” You instinctively whimpered softly at the anger of the bristling alpha. He ignored it and focused on putting you in your place, submitting to him and impaled on his cock. Vairthold lifted you up and slammed you down on his cock. You screamed loud as it stretched and hurt in ways you had not conceived of. You knew he had stretched you. You knew there would certainly be blood. Even your slick couldn’t make this painless when he was driving into you so forcefully while you were so tense. “This could have been a lot easier on you, but you wanted to play rough!” With his hands gripping your sides painfully he lifted you up and slammed you back down on his dick repeatedly, thrusting upwards into you each time for added force. With each thrust you whimpered and yelped out in pain, your mind breaking a bit by bit. It felt like you were being stabbed. His nails began digging in, bruising your sensitive flesh as he only escalated the force he was using, you thought you were going to pass out, you even began to welcome it. “Puh-plea-ease, p-please. I’m s-s-sorry. I’ s-sorry. I-I’m sorry.” You sniffled and stammered, tears and snot running unattractively down your face, though your “partner” didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. “Say... You’re... My... Princess…” He spat each word through gritted teeth, emphasizing each by painfully pulling you down on his cock. “I-i’m your p-pr-prin-ce-cessss.” You struggled to form the words but once you had the change was immediate. He began slowing down to a much more merciful pace before pulling your trembling form close to him. It was still extremely painful, given the abuse your hole had just endured, but you tried to not focus on it. You could not bear to look at him so you just buried your crying face into his chest instead. Vairthold took this as a sign that you were willingly seeking comfort from him as your alpha so he slowed down a bit more. As he slowly slid his cock in and out of you, a mixture of slick with a bit of blood leaking down his shaft, he licked, kissed, and nuzzled the sensitive scent gland on your neck to try to comfort you. You had hurt him, but you had submitted to your king, so you didn’t deserve anymore pain. “You’re being such a good girl for me, I am gonna put so many babies in that belly.” You sobbed a bit louder but made no movements against him. He stroked your back soothingly as his knot swelled up inside you, tying the both of you together right before his cock spasmed and began filling you up with seed. As he came he bit down on your neck hard, officially marking you as his mate. By the mercy of the gods you finally passed out, sparing you the pain of being conscious while tied to your alpha. King Vairthold licked your neck clean of the blood he had just drawn and cuddled you protectively, his instincts telling him to keep his mate safe at all costs. When his knot finally allowed him to, he slid out of your ass before bundling you up and carrying upstairs to your private chambers. He cleaned you off carefully and laid you in your bed, before sliding in beside you and wrapping his arms around your waist. As he lay there with his princess in his arms he could scarcely wait for the preparations to turn you into a lich to be completed. He was going to keep you with him for all eternity.

#yandere a/b/o #a/b/o dynamics #a/b/o #yandere alpha x omega reader #omega male reader #yandere boyfriend #My OCs #My OC Vairthold

[cult-of-a-buttercup]

GUYS THEY’RE FINALY READY

Headcanons for each Bishop + a brief introduction to each of the mini bosses and witnesses!

Shamura:

Before their injuries, Shamura was known for being patient and powerful amongst other beings. Yet, they weren’t unapproachable: they loved answering any questions their followers and siblings could have, both to spread their wisdom and to show their own greatness. They were very caring as a sibling, usually scheduling visits to each bishop in the little free time they had. Though, they would come off as arrogant or patronizing, treating those around them as…well, stupid.

After Narinder’s betrayal, they isolated themselves completely. They often ignore their followers, and those who are too persistent are given a warning or simply become food for the more beast-like spiders in Silk Cradle. They suffer from depressive episodes and lash out at random followers for minor mistakes, earning a reputation of a merciless ruler after the imprisonment of the One who Waits. Despite this, everyone still respects them greatly- or pity them. The true reason why they’re constantly upset is because of their own loneliness. Even if they gathered all three of their younger siblings, it would simply not be the same. Narinder was the one they loved most, after all.

Shamura prefers robes and dresses before pants: fitting their stinger inside a pair is terribly awkward if not impossible.

Their favorite colors are gold and black: elegant and simple.

Sometimes they train with their soldiers to test their strength- more often than not they get carried away and exhaust them.

They spend most of their free time in their library, reading and writing documents of the Old Faith if their injuries allow them to.

Their injuries make them have terrible migraines and headaches: thanks to the crown, most of their memories are intact.

It made their powers of reading the future work less and be less precise as well.

Their favorite way of executing heretics is decapitation. They like to do it themselves, but they have too many things to attend to.

Focalor (they/them): Picked for their nimble feet amongst the caverns.

Originally a village hunter before being picked as a high priest.

They are rather quiet, and prefer to spend time with younger spiders or on their own. Shamura appreciates it and often comes to them when they need information on the wildlife. They were noticed when Shamura visited a hunting village and they had managed to bring the most amount of prey.

Vephar (she/it): Picked for her ability to identify poisons

Originally a healer before being picked as a high priestess.

She is a bit more chatty than her companions, and likes to catch up with fellow followers. She tends to Shamura’s wounds when they allow her to, changing their bandages and cleaning away the ichor. It was noticed when one of Shamura’s healers was bitten by a poisonous creature and was the first to recognize the symptoms.

Mauras (he/them): Picked for his prowess in fight pits

Originally a warrior of Shamura’s army before being picked as a high priest.

He’s rather rude and enjoys poking fun at his companions almost as much as he enjoys training and sharpening both his own and Shamura’s weapons. While doing this, the two of them sometimes talk about battle techniques and about the cult’s army. Shamura noticed him when holding an annual fight pit, with about ten warriors fighting each other, where he emerged victorious.

Allocer (she/he/them/it): Shamura’s Witness.

Originally a silk farmer before being assigned as a Witness.

Allocer witnessed Shamura’s transformation into a divine god. She was granted a life of service to them as a personal request.

Allocer is more reserved and wise, much like the god he serves. If they aren’t right by Shamura, she might be tending to the needs of their followers. Since their injuries, it tries to keep everything in order for them. Shamura noticed her when they were first traveling the land as a young god and caught their attention when showing a good amount of knowledge of the caves and villages.

Kallamar:

Before his injuries, Kallamar was known for treating himself like the king of kings. Living lavishly and vainly, the squid only accepted the best of the best and adorned himself with the finest of jewels: his high priests and witness were gifted what he wouldn’t take. As for his followers, they were also treated highly, often having quite luxurious amenities when compared to the rest of the Old Faith.

After Narinder’s betrayal, he became a paranoiac. He only trusts his high priests, and often thinks his followers are plotting against him when he can’t make out what they’re saying, and if a follower can’t answer the questions he makes (or he simply dislikes the answer), they will be used as a testing subject for new sicknesses and parasites. Deeply insecure because of his now ruined looks, he gloats and decorates himself more than ever, often taking everything rather than just the best. Because of this the amount of luxury his followers recieved has decreased, but not enough to be dethroned as the “better cult.” He has cut off most ties with his siblings, fearing they could be plotting something against him next.

Kallamar keeps anything that is remotely shiny- even unworthy gifts from followers. His collection is locked behind his treasury, and only his witness is allowed in there.

Favorite colors are cian, gold and black: they combine with him!

Spends a lot of time in healing bays, playing hard to get with followers who need healing. After a couple of praises and gifts he becomes more than willing to help.

His injuries don’t let him hear very clearly what others are saying, and sometimes make him have auditory hallucinations. His crown manages to soothe this, partially.

Though he uses experimentation as a way of punishment and execution, his official favorite way is drowning and/or suffocation (underwater and on land, depending of the species)

Saleos (he/him): Picked for his quickness in battle

Originally a farmer before being picked as a high priest.

He’s rather stubborn and straightforward with the people around him. Can be usually found patrolling the edges of the cult or checking prisoners are in the pillaries. Kallamar often asks him to bring followers to question, and first caught his attention when he caught a thief stealing from his crops.

Haborym (he/them): Picked for his magic abilities

Originally a potion maker before being picked as a high priest.

Rather quiet and a bookworm, Haborym can be found making new spells or training younger soldiers when he isn’t stuck in a book. The new spells are perfected for Kallamar to use, both in fights and experiments. He first caught the bishop’s attention when brewing a potion to make all of his army more resistant to magic.

Baalzebub (it/them): Picked for his remarkable aim

Originally a soldier before he was picked as a high priest.

A serious and hard working priest. It’s usually practicing its spells or patrolling with Saleos when Kallamar isn’t asking them to bring followers and to kill those who refuse to answer to him, right there and then. They caught his attention in a shooting practice.

Astaroth (he/it): Kallamar’s Witness

Originally a sailor before being assigned as a Witness.

Astaroth witnessed Kallamar’s transformation into a divine god. He was assigned a dutiful life of service by Shamura.

Astaroth is rather adventurous and vain, though its wishes for new things have begun to fade as they take the lead on ruling Kallamar’s army. Since his injuries, he keeps them updated on what’s happening among followers to help with his paranoia. Kallamar noticed him at first in his first sermon and as a merchant.

Narinder:

Before his imprisonment, Narinder ruled his small portion of lands under the rules of the Old Faith boringly. His hunger for more showed in every aspect of his ruling, often wishing for things he could not do without having to extend his grasp upon life, death and land, therefore breaking the rules. His lands were significantly smaller to the ones of his siblings, for Shamura feared he’d become too greedy if they showed him he could have more- this had the opposite effect, of course. When Narinder started his own faith, which never got an official name during its short duration, he was able to rule as he truly wished: his most loyal followers were promised immortality, and those who didn’t wish to die yet were able to give offerings in exchange for a longer life for themselves or their families. His lands were going to expand over oceans and over mountains, over the stars if he could reach them. Of course, all of this was cut short when Narinder was imprisoned and turned into his prophesied form: The One who Waits.

He kept part of his promises as best he could: all of his followers were granted a place in the heavens, as a way to thank them for sticking through despite being clearly at a loss. Those who converted back to the Old Faith after his imprisonment were severely punished for their betrayal and sent to purgatory. Narinder at first tried to see the positive side: he wouldn’t have to give another sermon in his life and he could do as he pleased as long as his chains didn’t pull too hard on his poor fur. This mentality worked for about a century before his hunger for more- this time revenge- kicked in again. Slowly, he lost himself in that, forgetting many things as he awaited a single lamb…

Despite his cold nature, he really enjoyed sunbathing.

His favorite colors were white, black and red. Then just black and red, after being imprisoned in the very white afterlife for many centuries.

Used to spend most of his time in cemeteries, overseeing spirits who weren’t ready to move on or who just didn’t know they died yet.

The shackles he was forced to wear have spikes inside, to not only keep him restrained but also punish him.

He never had a favorite way of execution: whatever killed the heretic quicker so he could do as he pleased in purgatory worked.

Yiaster (she/her): Picked for her keen eyes

Originally a librarian before she was picked as a high priestess.

A simple minded and honest priestess. She was able to read people very well, often being more logical than her fellow followers. She was usually reading through scrolls to help Narinder with his workload, and even helped him make important decisions. Some notes she had made along some old scrolls were what allowed her to be noticed by Narinder in the first place.

She was actually the first to see something was wrong when Narinder’s siblings came to imprison him, and was killed while trying to protect him. Now, she has a place in the heavens next to his other priests and priestesses.

Orbatia (he/him): Picked for his passionate heart

Originally a preacher of Shamura before he was assigned a new position upon Narinder’s cult.

A compromised and emotional ever since he was a young follower, Orbatia was assigned a new place as a priest by Shamura when they noticed Narinder could use a hand in taking care of his cult. His ability to preach sermons among his fellow followers was remarkable, and Shamura hoped that this would also inspire their younger brother to see the beauty of the Old Faith and its rules. It didn’t quite do the trick.

Orbatia was never fully committed to Narinder, as a result he dismissed Yaiste’s warnings about his siblings when Narinder was about to be killed and fled when faced with a fight. He converted back to the Old Faith upon Narinder’s imprisonment, and his soul remains somewhere in purgatory.

Repiuc (she/him): Picked for her wisdom in death

Originally a mortician before being picked as a high priest.

A morbid and mischievous priestess, Repiuc sorted corpses among the cult and documented the particular reasons for their demise. He was able to tell quite well, and had the most workload when Narinder was busy doing something else. He caught Narinder's attention when the bishop noticed part of his job was already done with some corpses- with the same skill he had, too.

At the time of Narinder’s imprisonment, she was killed while working with a stab to her chest- with his last breath he yelled and made everyone notice the reality of the situation. She, like Narinder’s other followers, rests in heaven.

Aixiloas (they/it): Narinder’s Witness

Originally a follower of Shamura before being assigned as a Witness.

Aixiloas witnessed Narinder’s transformation into a divine god. They requested to be assigned as his witness and were granted a life of service.

They were quite easy-going, checking on the different smaller needs of Narinder’s followers so they could relax around the land. They were first noticed slacking off during a sermon from Shamura- though the spider was offended, Narinder found it somewhat funny.

The day of Narinder’s imprisonment, they fought fiercely against three of the other witnesses, and almost came victorious if the bishops hadn’t intervened.  They hold a special place in heaven, and used to check on Narinder while in the afterlife before he became obsessed with revenge.

Heket:

Before her injuries, Heket ruled over Anura with an iron fist, for feast had to be earned through hard work. She didn’t like luxuries such as fine clothes and jewelry, and would give hers to Kallamar to wear her usual robes- which were covered in mud from crusading and tending to incredible amounts of crops. She liked doing things herself, often believing that if someone else did it for her it wouldn’t be right. Her followers were the most hard-working and the best cooks among the Old Faith- Heket was proud of this and often boasted about it.

After Narinder’s betrayal, her grip on her followers only tightened. Those who didn’t do things right at the first try were executed on the spot. Those who dared say something about how she did things were simply eaten. If you’re in her way, she’ll simply walk over you and possibly kill you anyways. She became rather cruel, often laughing at the faces of those she killed unnecessarily before continuing to go about her day, enraged. Her anger and resentment shows through her actions and way of being, and she refuses to admit it since it’d mean admitting she’s weak from still holding a grudge towards her heretical brother. She tries to spend time with Leshy, but he doesn’t seem interested in seeing her.

When she’s alone or bored, she catches flies with her tongue. Sometimes followers get in the way of a fly, but she doesn’t seem to care much about eating them along with the insect.

If you ask her, she won’t say she has a favorite color- but she likes warm tones and gold to match with her clothes and land.

Due to her injuries, she can’t croak anymore. Before that, she’d croak when she was caught off guard or when being really happy. She found it embarrassing.

Her injuries also affected her speech, which is why she uses her crown to communicate without using her voice.

Her favorite way of executing heretics is making them starve- either tied to a tree or hanging from the branches. Of course, that is if she isn’t hungry.

Gusion (he/him): Picked for his knowledge in herbs

Originally a cook before being picked as a high priest.

A rather reserved and anxious priest, Gusion tends to the kitchens of Heket’s army. Heket trusts him enough to let him oversee her cooking to strengthen all of her followers, and sometimes even listens to his advice when making new recipes. He first caught her attention when he perfectly sorted about ten different types of mushrooms after a missionary.

Eligos (she/them): Picked for their unique abilities

Originally a follower before being picked as a high priestess.

A  proud and easygoing being, Eligos was born with a set of wings. They allowed her to do a lot of things quicker and better than other followers, from collecting harvests to fighting. As such, Heket sends them to oversee the cult. She first caught the bishop's attention when effortlessly dodging her tongue.

Zepar (she/her): Picked for her knowledge in battle

Originally a soldier of Shamura’s land before being picked as a high priestess.

A stern and non-talkative ex-soldier, Zepar was raised in Silk Cradle before being transported to Anura as a request from both Shamura and Heket. She is the head of Anura’s army, and first caught Heket’s attention when the bishop was visiting Silk Cradle during a sparring practice.

Bathin (she/it): Heket’s Witness

Originally a farmer before being assigned as a Witness.

Bathin witnessed Heket’s transformation into a divine goddess. She was assigned a life of service by Narinder.

Being a common farmer, she had always worshiped Heket after it noticed the young bishop’s powers amongst its land’s harvest- when she was picked as a witness, she was more than glad to oblige. She oversees the cult’s farmers, and is also in charge of handling information given to her by the priest and priestesses.

Leshy:

Before his injuries, Leshy ruled over Darkwood with the help of Narinder and Heket. Being the bishop of chaos, his lands were overall messy, filled with both heretics and eager followers alike. His ruling was lacking in rules, but had plenty of rewards for those who followed his doctrines thoroughly- and those who followed his doctrines were usually the ones who executed others who refused to listen, along with heretics. Due to this, a lot of the time he found himself closer to his followers when compared to any of his siblings- which was frowned upon in the Old Faith.

After Narinder’s betrayal, Leshy’s ruling became even more chaotic. Without the help of Narinder, and not wanting to receive help from Heket because of how angry she always is, he was basically left alone to do whatever he wanted as long as it didn’t break the Old Faith’s doctrines. His cult lacks many things, such as an army, different temples to worship him, or a central village around his temple- but it is also the cult with the most followers, being lousy in rules and having plenty of space for anyone willing to settle down between many chaotic cultists. The closeness between him and his more chaotic followers remains, even stronger since some of them wish to bring revenge to their beloved bishop.

More often than not, he’s underground digging tunnels around the land. It allows him to somewhat check what his followers are up to, and sometimes even listen to gossip.

His favorite colors are brown and green. They remind him of his lands and of himself.

Due to his injuries, he can’t see without his crown. This, however, sharpened his hearing quite a lot.

His favorite way of executing is letting whoever he’s going to kill run through the forests of his lands while chasing them- whether he or his followers get them is part of the fun.

Amdusias (he/him): Picked for his eagerness when serving

Originally a follower before being picked as a high priest.

Being a novice addition to Leshy’s priests and priestesses, he is open to learn from the other priests and priestesses while trying his best. He first caught the bishop’s attention when he noticed how often Amdusias was tending to things of the temple, which led to Leshy giving him a place as a priest.

Valefar (she/it): Picked for her insight of the cult’s needs

Originally a follower before being picked as a high priestess.

Hard working and organized, Valefar had always kept a close eye on who her fellow followers killed, where they planted their crops and, sometimes, when they worshiped Leshy. Due to this, once she caught Leshy’s attention with her knowledge of his own lands, he trusted her with the management of the cult.

Barbatos (they/them): Picked for their brutality in battle

Originally an executor before being picked as a high priest.

A boisterous and crude creature, Barbatos enjoys punishing heretics and bringing down villages- they do so with incredible expertise and skill, leaving almost no one alive when they set their eyes on a particular place. Leshy sees in them a fire for Chaos that can’t be dissipated, and first noticed them when executing lambs.

Agares (she/them/it): Leshy’s Witness

Originally a follower of Heket before being assigned as a Witness.

Agares witnessed Leshy’s transformation into a divine god- She pleaded to Heket to become his witness, and she allowed it.

Being a follower in charge of serving Heket while she traveled between lands, when they first saw the chaos of Leshy’s lands they were incredibly drawn closer when comparing it to Anura’s strict doctrines. Now she makes sure Leshy doesn’t get too bored, mainly by bringing heretics for him to kill.

—————

AND THEY’RE FINALLY DOOOONEE I HOPE ALL OF YOU LIKE IT AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME ABOUT ANY THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS YOU HAVE!!! ❤️

#cult of the lamb #cotl #cotl ocs #cotl headcanons #headcanons #cotl shamura #shamura #bishop shamura #cotl kallamar #kallamar #bishop kallamar #cotl narinder #narinder #cotl toww #the one who waits #cotl heket #heket #bishop heket #cotl leshy #leshy #bishop leshy #witness allocer #witness astaroth #witness bathin #witness agares #cotl witnesses #I dont have enough tags for all of the mini bosses :(

[deathmetalunicorn1]

A RoR request!

Boa Hancock reader who is reputed as the most beautiful woman in the world, something that Aphrodite herself acknowledges when she entered the arena. She still possesses OP Boa's characteristics which is being prideful, arrogant, selfish and a man hater to protect herself from being enslaved in her childhood. Since she ate the Mero Mero fruit she can turn her opponents into stone if they're ever attracted to her, which flabbergasted the gods and human warriors alike. After effortlessly defeating a lower god she proudly proclaims the iconic quote "no matter what I do, the world will always forgive me! Why's that? That right, it is because I am beautiful!" Shocking everyone in the arena with her egoism. After the fight she quickly rushes to her lover and acts like a teenage girl having a crush, which no one will ever expect or believe if someone tells them that the great pirate Empress acts soft, compassionate and kind around her lover only.

The partner can be anybody else! But I wanna emphasize on Qin Shi Huang since they're both rulers hehe

Bonus if Aphrodite wants to befriend her and share beauty secrets to each other!

I hope this request is comprehensible, thank you~!!

My queen! Best girl ever!!! Thank you for requesting this!!!

-Perfection, that’s the word many used to describe you, even Aphrodite, who was in awe of your beauty. Men and women alike adored you; they couldn’t help but stare when you passed by- you radiated confidence and power.

-You knew that you were beautiful so those foolish enough who believed they could flatter you with mere words were sorely mistaken.

-Their praise meant nothing to you, coming from those beneath you, your cold glares had them swooning over themselves, but why wouldn’t they? You were the most beautiful woman in the world after all.

-Only a very small handful of people knew the truth about your past, you had been enslaved by cruel men as a child, and escaped as a young teenager, fleeing with your sisters.

-The massive scar on your back, after burning the brand off of you, was the only blemish on your body, but you always kept it hidden, your dark secret.

-Brunnhilde approached you to request that you fight on behalf of humanity, and she had to admit that you were intimidating, your eyes were cold and dull, staring down at her as if she were trash before you stood from your throne and approached, heels clicking beneath you, “I will fight for you, Valkyrie. There is too much at stake if I leave the fighting up to all of these men.”

-She gave you a firm nod, thanking you before leaving. You folded your arms, staring after the Valkyrie before you turned, looking at two photographs you had on a table, one of your sisters and one of the man you loved, “Really too much at stake.”

-Heimdall introduced you and the cheers were near deafening as men and women alike, humans and gods, roared with cheers, adoration on their faces, seeing you walking out.

-Aphrodite smiled softly, leaning her chin on her hand, “Ahh my dear friend, I can’t wait to see you battle. It will be stunning.” You had found a good friend in Aphrodite, as you both were incredibly beautiful, but instead of competing, you compared beauty tips and through it, you became close friends.

-As you walked out, Heimdall stood in your way, still hyping the crowds up.

-A sharp kick had him flying head over heels and many were stunned by your actions. He sat up, “Why did you kick me?!” your sharp glare had him instantly blushing, folding under your gaze as your stance shifted, a hand coming to your hip as you spoke, “You dare speak to me in such a way- you scum!” as you finished, you were leaning so far back that you were looking at the sky, pointing a finger at him with your other hand.

-The crowds and Heimdall both went crazy, celebrating that you did your ‘extreme looking down pose’ as you stood back up.

-Your opponent was a cocky man, who was leering at you as if you were meat and he was a starving dog, making you glare slightly.

-The match started, and you instantly lifted your hands in front of your chest, “Mero-mero-mero!!” a heart shaped beam came from your hands and instantly turned him into a stone statue, leaving him immobile before you walked over, a hand on your hip before roundhouse kicking him, shattering the statue, “Perfume Femur!”

-Jaws were dropped all around, the match lasted less than 30 seconds!! Before the crowds went wild, seeing that you had won so easily.

-Many were angry, demanding to know about that ability of yours, but since you came to Valhalla with it, after you died, it was a part of you, so you were allowed to use it according to the rules.

-You lifted a hand to your lips, breathing out lightly before brushing your hair back over your shoulder, instantly getting everyone blushing hard again, “No matter what I do, the world will always forgive me! Why’s that? That’s right, it’s because I am beautiful!”

-Your giant ego was shocking for so many; you were so arrogant! But those who tried to be angry with you couldn’t help but look at you in adoration, you were truly so beautiful, they couldn’t stay mad at you.

-You then heard a voice call out, “Y/N!” gazes turned to a man who was smiling brightly, waving at you, many in shock that he called to you so casually as he ran over, entering the arena.

-Jaws dropped as he took your hands, “You did it! You were amazing!” but your reaction was even more shocking as you instantly flushed, pulling away as you held your cheeks, turning from him, looking like a shy teenager!

-Qin Shi Huang-  He adored you, you were a ruler just like him and he admired that you created an island nation of nothing but women, to keep them safe and raised them all to be fierce warriors. He was a little oblivious to your reactions around him, when you would get shy and flustered, not seeing it how others saw it, seeing how cute you acted. Many were jealous that he had managed to get to you first, but that was something that drew you to him, he didn’t treat you like an object or a prize to be won, he treated you as a person, he treated you like the empress you were. When he would praise you, others around you couldn’t help but watch you scurry back behind a pillar, hiding and holding your bright red face, your voice coming out a bit higher in pitch. You really were too cute.

-Kojiro- Jaws were dropped all around, how did Kojiro get you?! They all turned to stone in shock when Kojiro hugged you, picking you up easily and spinning you around, “I’m so proud of you Y/N! But I knew you were going to win! You’re the best!” your hands came to your mouth as a sharp gasp escaped you, a flush taking over your full head, thinking to yourself, ‘Is this- is this a proposal?!’ your thoughts immediately went to your wedding with Kojiro as he beamed up at you. Kojiro held your hand, not paying any attention to your flustered self as he led you backstage. Kojiro treated you like a ruler, you were an empress and a warrior, you were not someone to be taken lightly, and his laid back, friendly nature, just seemed to draw you to him. He seemed not affected by your beauty, which was unheard of, but after realizing that he loved you for you, not for your looks, you fell even harder.

#record of ragnarok #ror x reader #ror qin shi huang #ror kojiro sasaki

[arceespinkgun]

One thing I really love about the UK Marvel continuity is how it handled Decepticon leadership. All of the leaders were so unique and well-defined characters! There are so many civil wars among the Decepticons that I actually lost count. I think they each show different aspects of Decepticon culture, too. In this post I wanted to showcase the leaders and discuss why I really enjoyed the way they were portrayed!

Megatron: used to be the equivalent of an Olympic athlete. Started the War by preying on political unrest caused by preexisting tensions between the city-states, an aging Autobot council who wouldn't listen to their one radical voice (Emirate Xaaron), and a lack of resources. He started the War with a plan to equip giant engines to Cybertron to pilot it around the universe to conquer other planets lol Megatron is a dictatorial strongman at heart, and his major trait seems to be his indomitable will. No matter who tries to brainwash him or how embarrassed he ought to be by his defeats and stupid mistakes, he keeps going shamelessly.

Shockwave: used to be the ruler of Tarn, and constantly tries to take leadership from Megatron, probably missing the control he had over his city-state. Has a brains vs. brawn dynamic with Megatron, but tends to get extremely frazzled when things don't go his way and don't follow his twisted, self-serving idea of what logic is. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't emote.

Starscream: used to be a figurehead dictator of Vos. Generally tries to backstab whoever's in power, which is probably informed by the fact that he wasn't #1 in his own city-state back before the War. Also, props to Starscream for killing more people than Unicron (the majority get repaired, but still)! Something I find interesting is that Megatron preyed on the war between Vos and Tarn, but usually Starscream and Shockwave work well together in present-day, which suggests the whole war thing was entirely about power and not personal. They're both also ultimately cowards out for themselves.

Soundwave frames Wild Rider when, of course, Soundwave had been the real traitor the whole time

Soundwave: this continuity has such a good version of Soundwave... unlike Starscream, whose treacherous actions are big and loud, Soundwave's treachery is quiet. He serves under nearly every leader and never faces the consequences of blackmailing and betraying any of them, until eventually he is left as the ultimate leader in at least one future timeline. He is such a snake!

Straxus: initially was the leader of the Decepticons while Megatron was on Earth. Despite only being leader for a short time, he leaves a lasting impression with his absolute brutality in the way he melts POWs down to make ingots, beats his own soldiers, and is obsessed with taking over Megatron's body. He also has lasting impacts on the story overall because the identity of Megatron becomes questionable due to Straxus's attempts to subjugate his mind with his own.

Ratbat: originally kinda like Straxus's Laserbeak, Ratbat takes over and becomes one of the most intelligent leaders! He used to be an auditor and his entire philosophy surrounds being as energy-efficient as possible. He even gives Shockwave a negative performance review LMAO Interestingly, he's positioned almost as more of an enemy to the Witwicky family than to the Autobots at times. He also likes to use his own enemies as test subjects and slaves. Eventually, though, his string of successes leads to him being too arrogant for his own good.

Scorponok: wow, I don't even know where to begin. Introduced as the archenemy of Fortress Maximus, he becomes a Headmaster commander by teaming up with the evil Nebulan politician, Zarak. Scorponok begins as a complete mess, with hilariously idiotic plans like using bubbles against his enemies or humiliating the Autobots by having his soldiers defeat them in wrestling matches... and on Earth, he and his soldiers live in a dump. Literally, they live in a dump. He also has more truces than battles with Optimus Prime as he comes to know him, never having seen him until Earth. But Scorponok's ineffectual villainy and eagerness to team up with the Autobots actually leads up to something, as it becomes clear that he actually wants what's best for all transformers but needed to be inspired by Optimus Prime's compassion and support to become confident enough to risk losing the Decepticons' respect and aim for peace. Scorponok (and Optimus) show the strength that lies in choosing to give up conflict and try for peace. In some ways, Scorponok is more like Optimus Prime than Optimus is in this continuity!

Thunderwing: really fascinating. At first he kinda comes across like a generic distillation of what a Decepticon leader is, with all the traits you'd expect of one, and he even takes a test to become one... not the norm given that it's usually backstabbing and civil war that decides who comes out on top. He also thinks he fails the test because he gets distracted by revenge, but then he passes because that proves he's a true Decepticon!!! It's Thunderwing's relationship with the Matrix that is especially interesting. He's obsessed with it, but it's the Matrix's own desire to have new experiences that's corrupting his mind and eventually possesses him. Thunderwing is actually honorable and it's his goodness that allows him to temporarily fight back against it. By current TF standards, Thunderwing would actually be a Prime, since he opened the Matrix, but the Matrix isn't benevolent here. It's more like a little kid that wants to learn by acting out, and Thunderwing is a casualty of that.

Decepticon leaders don't look like this anymore!

Megadeath: the reason Thunderwing is like That™️, and the reason five specific prominent Autobots are the way they are. I mention him because he only appears in a single story in one of the annuals, yet his actions were so unspeakably horrible (the Autobots he traumatized certainly thought so) that he's one of the most sadistic Decepticon leaders ever.

Galvatron: such a multi-faceted and cool villain, that I already made a whole post about him! Notable for his cunning, his fears, and the fact that he was made from at the very least both Megatron and Straxus.

Bludgeon: introduced as part of the Mayhem Attack Squad, which is the Decepticon equivalent of the Wreckers. Specifically, he's introduced hunting down former Mayhems for fraternizing with Wreckers! Bludgeon hates the possibility of peace and loves war, to a religious degree. He thinks he believes in honor, but to be honest, he really doesn't. He's also incredibly fake in that he will pretend to be all for peace just long enough for the Autobots to let their guards down. I'm impressed by how much I love to hate this character given how short Bludgeon's time on-panel was.

There are a few other minor ones that appear as well, so there are even more! I'd like to say that while it probably shouldn't be given that this was like... the first continuity ever, as a fan who became introduced to TF during the Aligned continuity, the way the Marvel UK stories approach Decepticon leadership is so refreshing.

One reason is that Megatron is not portrayed as special just by nature of being Megatron. Yes, he started the War and founded the Decepticons, but he's not given more respect from his troops or his enemies automatically, and he gets his shit rocked constantly. Shockwave's intro was to immediately beat him up and take over, and Megatron embarrasses himself constantly. That's not to say that Megatron isn't worthy of being a Decepticon leader, no—but it means he's often shown clawing his way back up and constantly battling legitimate threats to his position. As a fan, it made me respect him a lot more.

Another thing I appreciate is the way the Decepticons are humanized. There are a lot of blatantly evil ones, but there also many of them who have a sense of honor and goodness, and it's clear that both many Decepticons and Autobots feel stuck and don't even remember why the War started at this point. And even the Decepticons who lack compassion or honor have very understandable struggles, such as facing trauma and trying to overcome it.

Along with the above point is the way the story of Scorponok is handled. I love that Scorponok is a Decepticon leader who always secretly held values that align with Autobot values, but then he ended up stuck in this bloodthirsty culture and endless conflict where he felt like he couldn't do anything, and I love how this is slowly foreshadowed throughout the comic. His friendship with Optimus is also excellent. I really enjoyed how they didn't meet until Earth and slowly became friends as they continually teamed up against greater threats. I appreciate that the Decepticon leader who's best friends with Optimus isn't like... Megatron, who started the War. I feel like a lot of newer continuities make the War center on the falling-out of two friends, which I think is a ridiculous way to handle the conflict.

Speaking of Megatron and Optimus, I appreciate how this continuity just doesn't have a lot of the dynamics that are typically present regarding these Decepticons. Megatron and Optimus are definitely each other's oldest enemy, but their conflict is de-centered in the narrative and they never had a falling-out. Instead, they always disliked each other from before the War. It's actually Shockwave who becomes the nemesis of both Optimus and Megatron for many issues! A lot of Optimus's deepest trauma was inflicted by Shockwave. Also, Megatron and Starscream still have a conflict, but that conflict is rarely present. Starscream causes problems for everyone and is mainly linked to Shockwave for a long time. And as I said before, it's Optimus and Scorponok become friends.

I think a lot of the approaches this continuity took with the Decepticons should be used in the future!

#transformers g1 #transformers marvel #Megatron #Shockwave #Starscream #Soundwave #Straxus #Ratbat #Scorponok #Thunderwing #Megadeath #Galvatron #Bludgeon #my analysis #maccadam #long post

[arrenlebanen777]

ASTRO OBSERVATIONS ❁

WARNING: Could include Content +18 

 ❁Those who have the 8th house ruler in the 11th house as Venus(Vedic): Usually Vedic astrology falls short here, they only say that this is about group s*x, earning money through s*x, winning a spouse through s*x (wtf), honestly I know people with this position and it is not like that, I am disappointed to see this in Vedic astrology... It actually means that Yes, you can be quite sensual and you have a charismatic aura that attract people easily, but it doesn’t mean group s*x or gaining money/spouse through s*x or all that type of shit, it means that you have refined sense for art, and that you can work in high status places like being an architect or something like that, and you are a person who likes high status things and who is quite concerned about popularity and reputation, and in s*x matters you are quite open-minded and usually you have fun here, but you can get caught up in pretty empty s*x, just for sensual pleasure, and actually can have very shady friends that are involved in shitty/secretive things. If you have this placement in Vedic astrology prove me wrong.

❁Lilith in a man natal chart doesn't mean the type of woman he fears: Is his inner child wounds, his repressed/violent/raw/shadow side. So women who have personal planets signs or have the energy of his Lilith, can make them feel really uncomfortable or not at all (depends on the maturity of the person) since they trigger this suppressed energy, which can generate friction in the interaction or it can even generate s*xual tension, leading to a healing/regenerative s*x, BUT NO FEARING!. So if you feel empowered because you trigger wounds in other human beings, it’s dark and it only talks about your psychological issues.

❁Your co-ruler of a house(intercepted sign), Doesn’t have less influence in your life and is not less important at all, actually having two rulers of a house could influence your life almost equally, it is just they get activated on different moments of your life. For example: if you have the ruler of your 8th house in the 11th house and the co-ruler of your 8th house inside the 8th house, you could feel the influence of your co-ruler more powerful than the ruler because it’s inside the same house and that is very powerful in astrology.

❁Capricorn rising: Girls with this position could feel a lot of anguish, they have a lot of discipline, Serious appearance, but they are sweet sweet people once you know them a little more(cancer DC), girls with cap AC have beautiful cheekbones, but there could be skin problems as well, and men with this position have very masculine bodies/appearance. ❁In vedic astrology a malefic/benefic planet doesn’t mean that is negative/positive, they all have their light and shadow side. ❁I find so annoying reading those astrology posts about your future spouse like serously that not depend on astrology, it depends on you, your vibration and what you do with your life. So if you're sitting there waiting for it to show up in any moment... You have no idea all the influences in your life that can complicate that, such as: your limiting beliefs, your fears, Solar return influences, your subconscious, Traumas, Arrogance, immaturity, etc...and in fact we can quite transcend our natal charts and attract the person/relationship we want/deserve, have you heard about manifestation? ❁To all the people who have asteroid Eros(433) in the 11th house/Aquarius: You are really in to group s*x, orgies or anything like that? or in reality you are into mental stimulation, mental compatibility and trying new things? (i read you) ❁If you have placements in hard aspects(conjunction, square, opposition) with Saturn, Don’t be afraid, because the only thing that Saturn is asking you for is maturity & integrity to express those energies(planets/asteroids/archetypes) of your chart in the most mature/authentic/honest/transparent way possible, that is why a lot of people don’t like Saturn, because they are very immature, lacks integrity and just want to fill the void of their egos…and Saturn is not going to support that. Because probably in your past life(s) you handled those energies like shit, and in this life Saturn comes to correct that.  ❁The other day i read a post from a person here in the community giving an incredible theory(if you know who it is, I give all the credit to that person): Your birth chart is your Sun persona chart(personality/ego), Moon persona chart(Emotional needs), Venus persona chart(what are your desires), Mars persona chart(Ambitions and s*xual desires), and like that... it is a good theory but it falls short in some planets, For example: Mercury( i see the mercury persona chart of a lot of people and they are very similar), and due to the social/transpersonal planets influence too. “But if you really want to know yourself more deeply and fulfill the desires/needs of each planet/asteroid you have, look at the persona chart of each one of them”. ❁Vedic astrology sometimes falls short with Venus. ❁Venus aspecting Neptune or Neptune in 8th house: They might like/love when they see their partners/lovers crying, it kinda turns them on. “I have this and I find it really beautiful when I've seen them cry, I find it so pure, watery, spiritual, otherworldly and honest. And yes, it kinda turns me on too lol” Anyone relate to this? (I read you) ❁Men with Mars in Scorpio or Aspecting Pluto/Pluto in 8th house: Doesn’t have big d*cks, in fact it's quite average, but if they like you, they can stay hard and strong all night, because Pluto here gives raw power and that is a very intimidating stamina and libido that is not easily transmutable. ❁Men with Mars in Pisces/Aspecting Neptune or Neptune in 8th house: Here it gives the illusion of a Big D*ck, their p*nises have an special energy that can easily cause sensitivity and even org*sms to their partners, their energy it’s like chi/Prana/life force and that can be quite regenerating/even addictive. Here is not about big stamina or crazy libidos... Is about connection, adaptability & merging.

❁Men with Mars in Cancer or Aspecting Moon/Moon in 8th house: Something strange and magical happens with these individuals, their d*cks grow depending on the emotional connection they have with a person, it means that if they honestly connect with you physically, emotionally and mentally, their d*cks can Grow a lot, to the maximum range that their p*nises can, and sometimes it can grow a little more than expected if they are in love with you, but if the connection is poor and shallow, their d*cks retract and tend to shrink, because their d*cks are one with their hearts/emotions. ❁Men with Mars in Capricorn or Aspecting Saturn/Saturn 8th house: Something similar happens with the moon aspect, but here Saturns asks for maturity, so if they go out with you and they find you important in their lives a lot of stamina and endurance will be unlocked, usually their d*cks don’t grow like with the moon aspect but they get hard as a rock, and Saturn has an other side:”He is dirty AF” so if they find you important (or not at all, the other extreme), they can be very nasty and like demons in bed.

#vedic astrology #vedic astro observations #vedic astro notes #mars in scorpio #mars in cancer #mars in capricorn #mars aspects #capricorn #astrology observations #astrology posts #astrology #astro notes #astrology obs #astrology blog #astro observations #zodiac side of tumblr #zodiac tumblr #8th house #11th house #venus #lilith #lilith aspects #pluto #moon #mars in pisces #neptune #saturn #venus aspects #astro community #+18

[hmshermitcraft]

Before Wels came to Hermitcraft, he had served many lifetimes as a knight under various rulers. Being vaguely immortal with his set of skills meant he was, most often, a guard of high rank. He’d pledged his fealty and sworn oaths to so many men under gods alike that the memories all started to blur together.

When Wels came to Hermitcraft, he expected nothing more or less from their ruler, Xisuma. Having lived hundreds of lifetimes serving and protecting those above him with his life, the thought of anything different never crossed his mind.

However, Xisuma and his council, known as Hermits, had always been destined into difference.

“Wait, what? No, no, we don’t really do the whole… swearing oaths thing here. You… you don’t have to be my knight, if you don’t want to. You get to do your own thing here!”

Wels believed Xisuma’s kindness to be ignorance at first. Only an arrogant or pure idiotic ruler would turn down the undying loyalty of a knight and this ruler is not arrogant. Despite his doubts, Wels didn’t argue any further; he knew better than to argue with a ruler, however dim or kind they seem to be.

It was a few days after Wels’ arrival that Xisuma visited him. They talked for a long while about where they came from, their remarkably similar devious siblings, their plans for the future, and so much more.

The conversation began to wrap up before Xisuma remembered the gift he had for Wels.

Wels spent that night changing out the plain gold fastenings of his armor’s visor and cape for the inexpertly made yet sentimentally perfect golden sunflowers Xisuma had made for him.

#submission #hermitshipping #welsuma #tangletek #weekly theme: flowers #wels tag #xisuma tag

[onemustalwaysbecarefulofbooks]

Why I Dislike Rhysand, Part 2: #NotMyHighLord

Part 2 in the rant I have suppressed for the past several years. Rhysand Stans, be warned, this is not for you. Be prepared to see critiquing of SJM’s writing as well. Proceed at your own risk!! 

I feel like this section of the rant is going to be the one that most people have seen, heard, or expressed themselves already. I myself have seen many posts and takes on this before. There will probably be the least amount of original ideas in this post. Nonetheless, I can’t turn down an opportunity to finally say it in my own words. 

In Part 1 of my rant (and many other posts), I discussed how Sarah J Maas blatantly has an insane sort of obsession with Rhysand. It is impossible not to notice and acknowledge if you read the series from start to finish. All it takes is about 2 minutes listening to her speak about anything related to him for you to see it as well. He is unequivocally Her Favorite and she has demonstrated that by deeming him to be THE MOST of many different things, especially in comparison with others. I made a post last summer about how I really struggle to define what I think of Sarah as an author overall. She has given me some of my favorite fictional characters of all time, written scenes and exchanges between characters that I carry in my heart and soul and overall provided me with an endless amount of entertainment. On the other hand, a GLARING fault I find there to be with her is that she often writes in an extremely puzzling and contradictory way: beating us over the head with something about a character she presents as being true, verbally stated through the dialogue of characters or through the narrative of the story, while having these characters act and behave in a totally OPPOSITE way to the way they are being described by everyone. And this obviously contradictory behavior is never addressed by anyone in the story--or if it is, the ones calling attention to it are vilified and shown in a negative light, even though they are providing commentary on actions carried out canonly by these characters. 

In the simplest form, it’s like this: The author creates a character who others routinely say is the most kind, unselfish, loving, and generous person to grace the planet. An opportunity will NEVER be lost to state these things, through the narrative and through the dialogue of other characters. The fandom comes to accept these things as totally canon traits. You hear the author repeat these same beliefs. The character becomes a favorite of the fandom, who praises him/her for being so kind and selfless. You get excited to read about such a character and open the book yourself. . .only to find scene after scene where the character acts in a way that is cruel, selfish, and arrogant. All while everyone else continues to laud them for being so wonderful. There is a direct contradiction between what you’re seeing and what you’re being told. Tons and tons of readers seem to find nothing unusual about this. You’re left with the feeling that you’re in some kind of insane asylum where nothing makes sense but no one questions it. 

This is the feeling I get whenever I hear about what an amazing High Lord Rhysand is. 

As we’ve established, SJM is obsessed with Rhys. Therefore, she automatically makes Rhys the best at whatever he does. One day I’d love to do a drinking game where we take a shot every time someone reminds us that Rhys is The Most Powerful High Lord In Prythian’s History (he should really just get that phrase trademarked at this point). But in addition to that, we are also often reminded about what a good, just, fair, and progressive beloved ruler he is. 

Rhys as High King: he could think of no other male he’d trust more. No other male who would be a fairer ruler than Rhys. And with Feyre as High Queen. . .Prythian would be blessed to have such leaders. (Cassian, ACOSF, page 451) 

There are a lot of ACOTAR lines that provoke actual visceral anger and disgust in me. This is probably in my All Time Top 3.

Yeah, Rhysand is SUCH a great High Lord!! Didn’t you know. . . there are no slums in Velaris!!

There’s just, you know, female mutilation going on in the mountains!

Where to even BEGIN unloading? 

I guess I’ll begin here: One of the reasons I strongly dislike Rhysand as a character is because he’s a terrible High Lord.

(And what makes me infuriated and passionately dislike Rhysand is the fact that we are beaten over the head by what an exceptionally wonderful High Lord he is despite the glaring faults shown in the text). 

I really really fail to understand how anyone can believe any differently, when it is canonly stated that two thirds of Rhysand’s court are hellish and terrible places. Women are oppressed and mutilated, people who are brutal and cruel are basically given free reign to do as they please, there is not an ounce of respect given to their so-called true ruler. 

And Rhys, “The Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s History” has done. . .nothing. Nothing to truly change either of these places. 

Let’s start with Illyria. 

We all know how horrible life is for Illyrian females. They are forbidden to train, are viewed as vessels for breeding, and have their wings clipped at a young age so they can’t fly. Cassian’s mother is raped by an Illyrian warrior and then worked to death, when her body is dumped off a cliff. Azriel’s mother has her young son taken from her by the male who sired him and relies on his mercy as to when he can be released from his literal prison cell to see him. Rhys’s mother was starving herself so she wouldn't get her period, which is when her wings would have been clipped when she was saved from her fate by his father’s mating bond. Emerie and her mother are horrifically abused by her father, resulting in her mother’s death. Emerie tells Nesta and Gwyn that he would slam her head into walls, crunch her fingers in doors, and that he broke her fucking back. Like most females, her wings are clipped so she’s unable to fly. Upon her father’s death, she gains control of his store much to the displeasure of her male family members who frequently harass and threaten her about it. 

It’s plain to see that these are not randomly occurring isolated situations. Abuse can happen anywhere, with anyone, but there is CLEARLY a cultivated system of abuse and oppression among Illyrian females. Rhys tells us that he has banned the clipping of Illyrian female wings and is slowly working towards implementing changes that will allow women to have more freedom and choices. He tells Feyre that the Illyrians are “slow to change” and that it will take a long time to completely undo the way they’ve lived their lives for centuries. 

I’m sorry, I call BULLSHIT.

The attempts we’ve seen towards this so far in the story have been half-assed at best. Rhysand makes these laws but doesn’t put anything into place to actually enforce them. In ACOMAF, we get this from Devlon, the war lord who rules over the Windhaven camp:

“Another inspection? Your dog,” he jerked his chin toward Cassian, “was here just the other week. The girls are training.”

Rhysand’s strategy to prevent female wing clipping: Tell the violent sexist males with all the power in the camps that it’s banned. Send Cassian in once a week to check up on it. 

That’s it. 

Allow me to demonstrate how utterly ridiculous and contradictory this is.

In ACOMAF, we have the scene where the IC visits the Court of Nightmares (oh don’t worry, we’ll touch on this place in a bit). Right before their departure, Keir insults Feyre and calls her a whore. (Sidenote: no one should ever be called a whore and I am no way in the SLIGHTEST defending Keir but honestly, I don’t know what Rhys expected. It’s like when Rhys goes out of his way to act evil and do evil things and then everyone takes offense to people calling him evil. He dresses Feyre up in skimpy revealing clothing, has her sit on his lap on his throne, and proceeds to basically finger her in front of an entire throne room of people. It’s stated a million times that fae can sense and smell arousal, and both her and Rhys are both completely turned on by this. Feyre calls HERSELF his whore: “The High Lord’s whore. Who I’d become Under the Mountain--who the world expected me to be. The dangerous new pet that Mor’s father would now seek to feel out.” Like. . .buddy, you have her play and act the part of “The High Lord’s whore” and make a public scene in front of a man who has no respect for women, and then are enraged when he calls her a whore. What did you think he would do?? How did you think he would respond?? It’s almost like he was purposely trying to goad Kier into a reaction so he could punish him for it, honestly). 

ANYWAY. . .Keir calls Feyre a whore. And Rhys loses his shit:

Night exploded into the room.

People cried out. And when the darkness cleared, Keir was on his knees.

Rhys still lounged on the throne. His face a mask of frozen rage.

“Apologize”, Rhys said. My heart thundered at the pure command, the utter wrath.

Keir’s neck muscles strained, and sweat broke out on his lip.

“I said,” Rhys intoned with such a horrible calm, “apologize”.

The Steward groaned. And when another heartbeat paused--

Bone cracked. Keir screamed.

And I watched--I watched as his arm fractured into not tow, not three, but four different pieces, the skin going taut and loose in all the wrong spots--

Another crack. His elbow disintegrated. My stomach churned.

Keir began sobbing, the tears half from rage, judging by the hatred in his eyes as he looked at me, then Rhys. But his lip formed the words, I’m sorry.

The bones of his other arm splintered, and it was an effort not to cringe.

Rhys smiled as Keir screamed again and said to the room, “Should I kill him for it?”

No one answered.

Rhys chuckled. He said to his Steward, “When you wake up, you’re not to see a healer. If I hear that you do. . .” Another crack--Keir’s pinkie finger went saggy. The male shrieked. “If I hear that you do, I’ll carve you into pieces and bury them where no one can stand a chance of putting you together again.”

Keir’s eyes widened in true terror now. Then, as if an invisible hand had struck the consciousness from him, he collapsed to the floor.

Rhys said to no one in particular, “Dump him in his room”. 

Now. . .does this in ANY way, shape, or form seem like a man who has trouble getting people who are opposed to him to do what he wants them to do?????????

Rhys doesn’t even move off of his throne and he has Keir groveling on the floor with his arm shattered into pieces. It takes no effort whatsoever on his part. He is, after all, The Most Powerful High Lord in Prythian’s History, in case you’d forgotten. He later laments to Feyre about how ashamed he is for her to see “that side” of him. Feyre says:

“You’re my friend--and I understand that you’re High Lord. I understand that you will defend your true court, and punish threats against it.”

DO YOU SEE THE RIDICULOUSNESS AT PLAY HERE.

Sarah. You can not have it both ways. You can not have Rhys claim that he is “doing all he can” to defend the Illyrian females and protect them from the violent males in their lives and then simultaneously give us this scene. Keir hates Rhys’s guts and I’m sure would gladly not only refuse every order he gave him, but also run him through with a sword. Does it seem like any bit of this matters in this moment? 

One of the responses to this I stumbled across on Reddit literally floored me. Someone brought up this very argument, that Rhys had more power to control the situation in Illyria if he really wanted to, and I saw several people respond with: “Well, if he literally tried to control them, either through physical intimidation or mind control, then he’d be a tyrant, and that’s not who Rhys is. That’s not who he wants to be. Is that really what you’re suggesting?? You want him to be a tyrant who controls people???”

Um. . .YES???

Like. . .do these people hear what they’re saying??? Do they understand the concept of “context matters”????. Do I want Rhys to walk around flaunting his power over innocent law abiding citizens of the Night Court who are minding their own business and not hurting anybody? Obviously no. But do I want him to use his power in a meaningful way to punish people who are physically mutating and beating women to death??? Hello??? The lengths some people will go to to defend this man is incredible.

What is the POINT of Rhysand having all this power if he doesn’t use it to defend the good and the innocent??? What is the POINT of him being “tHE mOsT poWERful HiGH lORD in PryTHIAN’S hIsTorY” if he sits on his power while innocent people in his court are being abused under his watch???

Spoilers for Queen of Shadows: To me, this is like someone saying Lysandra shouldn’t slit Arobynn’s throat in his sleep because it would make her a murderer. Is that what I want??? For Lysandra to be a murderer?? Does the average person deserve to have their throat slit in their sleep?? No. But does Arobynn?? YES. 

These Illyrian males, if they are behaving in the ways we hear about in the story, DESERVE to have their asses handed to them by Rhysand! They DESERVE whatever punishment comes their way! Don’t want your arm shattered into a million pieces?? Don’t fucking mutilate and beat your wife!!! Easy as that!!

For real change to come about in the Illyrian camps, there needs to be a zero tolerance policy, with public punishment and humiliation, to send a message to everyone that this kind of thing will no longer be tolerated under any circumstances. There needs to be trustworthy people from Rhys’s court stationed there at all times to actually enforce this. I’m not saying that there wouldn't be things that slip past the enforcers, or that Rhys and the Inner Circle have the power to actually change the will and opinions of the males who do this kind of thing. They almost certainly won’t gain any respect from these males. But at the end of the day, it’s very simple. You don’t have to like it, or us, but you WILL stop partaking in this behavior. If you don’t, your consequence is going to be so severe you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it. 

One might ask, This seems pretty straightforward, why hasn’t Rhys attempted anything like this already?? If these males are willing to commit such evil deeds, why even waste his time at all with them? Who CARES if they go rogue and refuse to fight for him anymore? Could it possibly be because he needs the Illyrian soldiers as the main component of his armies? He doesn’t want to outwardly anger these war generals so strongly that they no longer cooperate or associate with him? 

So, what you’re saying is. . .Rhys turns a blind eye to female abuse in his court . .because he needs the might from these people in his armies.

If I’m wrong and you have a rebuttal, I’m all ears. But I’m not really sure what other conclusion I’m supposed to arrive at. Rhys CAN control, humiliate, and intimidate powerful people who go against him. But he’s choosing not to do it here. . .why? Because controlling and intimidating people is bad?? Even if it’s directed towards those who are killing and mutilating innocent people?? I don’t understand and I don’t think I ever will. 

Honestly, I thought the reason Illyria was being left as such a mess was deliberately done, because that was what Nesta’s story and arc was going to revolve heavily around. When they announced in that teaser way back in 2018 that she was going with Cassian to train in the Illyrian mountains, I was fully convinced that that was how she was going to “find herself”, by changing the lives of the Illyrian women and empowering them. I thought she would be a major catalyst in whatever happened there. And. . .that’s not what happened. Maybe that part of the story is still yet to be told, maybe she’s saving it for Azriel’s book or something. . .who knows. For the time being, I guess it’s just there for aesthetics, so the Bat Boys can have a tragic backstory. Still, even if it DOES change in later books, I would still be left wondering why Rhys, who Sarah claims is as different from the other High Lords as humans are to fae, didn’t do something about it sooner. 

On the subject of Illyrians, let’s talk about Feyre and her shape-shifted Illyrian wings for a minute. I’m sure everyone knows what I’m going to say, and you might argue that this is a critique of Feyre’s character and not Rhys’s. I both agree and disagree with that and to explain my reasoning, we’re going to have to back up a little bit. 

I made a post a couple years ago about how Feyre’s title as High Lady holds no real weight in the ACOTAR world and is nothing more than a fancy title and a sign of respect from her husband. Which is admirable in it’s own right, but it’s not truly what all the stans make it out to be. It’s stated as canon fact in the series that the High Lord is determined by whoever this mystical force (is it supposed to be The Mother? I don’t even know) in each court chooses. It’s not a monarchy. If I don’t like my High Lord, I can’t go out and kill him and declare myself the new High Lord. The magic of the court decides who it is. That’s how you end up having people like Tamlin, who have no desire to be High Lord become one. 

Anyway, all of this means that Feyre is NOT equal in power to Rhys, no matter what title he gives her. Let’s pretend their dumb-ass suicide pact doesn’t exist and Feyre can live on if he were to die. If Rhys were to die, Feyre wouldn't continue on as the magical High Lady ruler of the Night Court, while they all just did without a High Lord. The magic would select someone else to be the High Lord, with no regard for her. Feyre is only “High Lady” because Rhys says she is. She has no magical tie to the Night Court. She is a ruler in title only.

Don’t like it? Doesn’t sound very feminist?? Yeah, I’d agree. And for some insane reason, TAMLIN is blamed for the lack of High Ladies in Prythian rather than, uh. . .the woman who created the magic system that made it this way!!! 

(Seriously, the fact that Tamlin is shit on for telling Feyre there are no High Ladies is asinine. Tamlin is not giving personal commentary, he is stating fact. Remember how shocked everyone is when the IC shows up to the High Lord’s meeting in ACOWAR and Rhys announces that Feyre is High Lady? There AREN’T any High Ladies of Prythian! But in ACOMAF, SJM has Rhys tell Feyre that there absolutely are. This is what I mean when I say SJM makes Rhys say and do completely nonsensical things simply for the sake of inflating him as a character. Logic doesn’t have to enter the conversation, if it makes him look good, that’s all that matters. Even if it directly contradicts something SHE wrote!!! It’s mind blowing, honestly). 

Wow, I got REALLY side tracked!! Anyway, you get the point: Feyre’s role as High Lady is really just a fancy title with no true magical tie behind it. But despite this, she is still Rhys’s wife, and therefore a certain level of respect is expected to be given to her. 

And if I were an Illyrian female, I’d find it REAL hard to conjure up any of that respect. 

In my opinion, SJM is guilty of not truly writing these characters with the scope that their immortality entails. Feyre is physically mature and an adult by human standards. But what constitutes an “adult” by fae standards? The IC is collectively thousands of years old. I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have a hard time seeing someone in their early twenties as someone super young and naive. Especially if this someone wasn’t born a fae and was only transformed into one within the past couple years. 

Think about it. . .how many times have you had a conversation with someone who is older than you, maybe by generations, maybe by just several years and they’ve made comments about how young you are, or how “one day you’ll feel differently” or “one day you’ll understand”. They speak with a wisdom that they claim comes from simply existing longer and going through phases of life you haven’t reached yet. 

Now imagine somehow being over 500 years old and interacting with someone who is 21. They’d be an infant to you!! 

My point in saying this isn’t necessarily to say that I think Feysand’s relationship is creepy because he’s so much older than her. It’s really to say that, as I’ve stated, you can’t really hold Rhys and Feyre accountable in the same way as far as being high fae leaders goes. She hasn’t been alive even a fraction of the amount of time he has and she wasn’t born a fae. This isn’t her fault and I don’t think it’s something she should necessarily be disrespected for. She’s definitely smart and capable of making her own observations and decisions but at the end of the day, I don’t think you can really argue that it falls back on Rhys to help to guide and navigate her through this political life they lead. Rhys had been leading a country for 500 years by the time Feyre was shitting in diapers. Their experience is NOT the same. 

So at the end of the day, I think that Feyre’s use of Illyrian wings says as much about Rhys as it does about her. 

Imagine the pain and the anger you would feel as an Illyrian woman to see your so-called “High Lady” flaunting the wings you were born with and using them to escape to the freedom of the skies, something you had been denied of against your will. She knows nothing of the trials and tribulations you face each day, the abuse you endure. She was not born into your culture, nor does she take the time to try and help you, or get to know you, or learn about you. But she shifts the Illyrian wings onto her back and takes to the sky to do really important things like have sexual intercourse with the High Lord above the most populated city in the court, while you remain trapped on the ground. Imagine the anger you’d feel at your so-called High Lord, who allows his new wife to flutter around Velaris on perfect un-maimed wings, while claiming he wants to advocate for and protect you but does the bare minimum. 

To be clear: I most certainly hold Feyre accountable for this thoughtless decision. She is more than capable of deciding for herself what she feels is right and wrong. But as I’ve stated, I have a really hard time not also putting part of the blame on Rhys here. As I established, Feyre was not born into fae culture and she is a child compared to most of the fae living in the Night Court. Rhys, on the other hand, is over 500 years old, has Illyrian culture in his bloodline, and has been living among these people, leading them, for almost his entire life. I’d like to think he’d have the foresight to pull Feyre aside and explain to her that while she may not have initially considered it, it could be viewed as disrespectful and offensive for the Illyrian women to see her gallivanting around with Illyrian wings when most of theirs have been clipped. 

If I were an Illyrian women, I think it would be nearly impossible for me not to feel a strong bitterness towards Feyre and Rhysand. One could make the argument that Feyre is young and naive and doesn’t truly understand Illyrian culture. The same argument could NOT be said about Rhys. 

So thanks, High Lord, for flapping around shiny happy Velaris with your wife and her fake Illyrian wings, having kinky Illyrian wing sex, while doing the bare minimum to help and protect the women who were actually BORN with Illyrian wings. 

Alright, moving on from that mess, let’s touch on the Court of Nightmares. 

Now, a lot of what I have to say here is going to be the same as what I said about Illyria. But honestly, I feel like this place gets the even shorter end of the stick. 

One of the most truly bizarre things to me in the ACOTAR series is this idea that the people of Hewn City/the Court of Nightmares are somehow just all evil malicious wicked people who are happy to live sequestered in this underground kingdom. This is a super weird notion and I’m not sure at all how Sarah validates it. Especially when a character like Mor exists. You’re telling me she was the only “dreamer” born into the Court of Nightmares? No one else is suffering the way she was? I don’t get it. 

I’ve heard the argument made before that it’s quite possible that this kind of wickedness is specific only to Mor’s family. I’ve heard people say that we’ve never really seen anything in the Court of Nightmares other than the household she grew up in. So it’s actually quite plausible, people say, that the rest of the court is just a normal court, there’s no evidence to suggest that this kind of abuse is happening among the entire group of people. (They claim we are “reaching” for things to blame Rhys for). 

Yeah, NO. Sorry, that’s just a willfully stupid take. Here’s what we hear about this place from ACOMAF:

“The nobility of the Night Court fall into one of three categories: those who hated me enough that when Amarantha took over, they joined her court and later found themselves dead; those who hated me enough to try to overthrow me and faced the consequences; and those who hated me, but not enough to be stupid and have since tolerated a half-breed’s rule, especially when it so rarely interferes with their miserable lives.”

“Are they--are they the ones who live beneath the mountain?”

A nod. “In the Hewn City, yes. I gave it to them, for not being fools. They’re happy to stay there, rarely leaving, ruling themselves and being as wicked as they please, for all eternity.” 

That was the court he must have shown Amarantha when she first arrived--and its wickedness must have pleased her enough that she modeled her own after it. (pages 175-176)

Not enough to convince you? Here’s Mor explaining it in her own words:

“In the Court of Nightmares,” she went on, that voice falling soft and a bit cold once more, “females are. . .prized. Our virginity is guarded, then sold off to the highest bidder--whatever male will be of the most advantage to our families.”

‘I was born stronger than anyone in my family. Even the males. And I couldn’t hide it, because they could smell it--the same way you can smell a High Lord’s Heir before he comes to power. The power leaves a mark, an. . .echo. When I was twelve, before I bled, I  prayed it meant no male would take me as a wife, that I would escape what my elder cousins had endured: loveless, sometimes brutal, marriages.”

“But then I began bleeding a few days after I turned seventeen. And the moment my first blood came, my power awoke in full force, and even that gods-damned mountain trembled around us. But instead of being horrified, every single ruling family in the Hewn City saw me as a prize mare. Saw that power and wanted it bred into their bloodline, over and over again.”

Is everyone sufficiently convinced now? Okay great. 

And Rhys, by his own omission, allows them to “rule themselves” as a reward for not being foolish enough to challenge HIS authority.

But do they REALLY rule themselves?? Take a second and scroll back up to read the excerpt I already included where Keir calls Feyre a whore and Rhys absolutely wrecks him. Who does it seem like is really in charge here? 

I’m sorry, I get viscerally angry over this. In the Court of Nightmares scene, Keir is written 100% completely and totally as Rhysand’s groveling little bitch. He is literally nothing compared to Rhys. Rhys is total power and domination. Seriously:

He led me the few steps onto the dais--to the throne. He sat, smiling faintly at his monstrous court. He owned every inch of the throne. These people. (page 409)

Before Rhys, Keir was nothing more than a sullen child. Yet I knew Mor’s father was older. Far older. The Steward clung to power, it seemed. 

Rhys was power. (page 411) 

This entire scene honestly disgusts me and is so stupid. Rhys swaggers in and the entire throne room drops to one knee in submission. It’s told over and over that he exudes raw power that no one there can even hope to compete with. We’re told he “owns” the people, that Keir is nothing more than a child compared to him. He snaps his fingers and orders Keir to bring Feyre wine and he does it! Mor calls Rhys “Your High Lord” when speaking to Keir. Keir “grovels” when Rhys suggests that the wine he brought them is poisoned. And then the ordeal where he starts shattering bones in his arm one at a time, forbidding him from seeking any healing on pain of death, eventually knocking him out. 

SO IF THIS IS THE CASE. . .WHY. TOLERATE. KEIR. AT. ALL????????????????

If this is how easy it is to control this man, why on EARTH is he given one INCH of control in this place???? The whole scene loses its meaning entirely. . .why do they need to STEAL this orb from him?? In ACOWAR, why does Rhys need to BARGAIN with him about the use of his armies??? (at the expense of Mor’s feelings and security!!!!) Why are these people ALLOWED to treat females the way they treated Mor??!? 

There are two answers here and both of them are shitty:

Option 1) SJM just wants to write scenes to fulfill her dark!Rhys fetish. She needs the Court of Nightmares for her Rhys aesthetic. That’s where the true reason for scenes like this begin and end. She wants to write scenes where we all marvel and swoon at Rhys’s “raw power”. We don’t need logic, it has no place here. We’re supposed to ignore everything else and just swoon over Rhys, as usual. We’re not really supposed to think too hard about Keir because he’s literally just a prop that is there for the purpose of having Rhys flex his power. It’s the epitome of wanting to have your cake and eat it too. She wants all aspects of what makes Rhys sexy and doesn’t care how she makes it happen. She wants the hot, powerful, wicked High Lord we got to see in ACOTAR, but she also wants the saint she made him out to be in the rest of the series. So we’re just supposed to ignore the fact that in making it plainly obvious that he is able to control these people means that he should be able to apply this to making innocent people’s lives better down there but isn’t. 

Option 2) Rhys is deliberately allowing the wickedness and evil behavior to continue to put on a front for the rest of the world. He says that the Court of Nightmares is the version the outside world gets to see of the Night Court. It’s how Amarantha came to design her own court with it as an inspiration. It’s why everyone has such a negative view of the Night Court. Rhys is praised by the IC and pitied by much of the fandom for the “sacrifice” he makes in putting on this evil front and lets the world believe of him, in order to protect his “true” court--the Court of Dreams, the City of Starlight. I’m sorry, what sacrifice???? What is Rhys sacrificing of himself by doing this? He sits on his throne in total control and power while others grovel at his feet. I’m supposed to feel sorry for him that his reputation is being tarnished by the rest of the world seeing this while people like Mor are having nails driven into their bodies because they went against their family’s wishes regarding their virginity and marriage??? No, I’m sorry. The only people I feel sorry for are the people he is doing this on the backs of. Because the fact of the matter is: Rhys needs an evil court to put on this show for the rest of the world. And you can not have evil people without evil deeds. And you can not have evil deeds without victims. Evil people are evil because of their actions to other people. 

So Option 2 is. . .Rhys is allowing people to be abused in the Court of Nightmares and not putting a stop to it because he needs an “Evil Court” smokescreen to protect his REAL court. 

Again. . .do you see why I have such a hard time liking him???

Also, after ACOMAF the whole world knows about Velaris anyway. So there’s no need for a smokescreen evil court anymore. But has anything changed?? NOPE. 

Not only that. . .but if this is the face he puts on for the people of the Hewn City, this is who most of the people there probably believe him to truly be. If another female, or anyone else really, is in a horrible situation like Mor’s, what would make them think that Rhys is someone they could approach or reach out to for help? They're probably terrified of him! The whole situation is just so fucked up and awful. 

What’s also fucked up and awful is the fact that while all of this exists in both Illyria and the Hewn City, Rhys has a shelter/sanctuary in Velaris for abused women. Sorry, get your fake feminism out of here. You can’t stick that detail into the story and expect it to erase blatant abuse of women happening in two thirds of Rhysand’s court. . .under his watch!!!!! When he has the power to stop it!!! 

I’ve heard many people try and make the claim that Rhys is written to be contradictory in this way to prove that he is a “morally gray character” and to that, I call total bullshit. For one, allowing the blatant abuse of women when you have the power to stop it isn’t “morally gray” , its borderline irredeemable. And two, I’ve said it before. . .listen to SJM talk about Rhys. Read the ACOTAR series. This woman is so far up his butthole, I’m wondering if he somehow offered her her own riverfront mansion. She honestly believes him to be God’s gift to humanity!! 

So again, we’re back to my same age-old question: Is SJM a good writer or a bad writer?? I don’t really think it’s as simple as sticking one word on her writing to label it one way or the other. As I said, I’ve gotten immense enjoyment out of some of Sarah’s work and have been blown away by the places she takes her characters and stories. But in this case. . .it’s objectively awful. You’re giving me this character who you’re constantly telling me is good and righteous and incredible, beating me over the head with the level of worship he gets by the narrative, but then you’re making him do things that are like really blatantly terrible. And he faces NO accountability for it! Like???? You are the author??? You can control the things he does?? If you really believe that he’s that great, why don’t you just write him that way??? Why beat us over the head with how great he is, only to make him do awful things and then completely ignore them?? I’m telling you, it’s almost bizarre. . .like she’s seeing just how far she can go with what people will excuse. It's mind boggling!! 

(Honestly what’s even more mind boggling is the sheer number of people who lap this up and accept it completely. For the life of me, I can not understand how people are so blind to this stuff!) 

You can’t have it both ways, Sarah. You can’t tell us Rhys is the most powerful high lord ever born and expect me to believe that there’s nothing more he can do for Illyrian females and the “dreamers” of the Court of Nightmares. Especially when we’ve seen him demonstrate otherwise! Like I said earlier. . .if he’s not using his power for good, what is even the point of it?? 

So, to sum up: We are told over and over again how utterly powerful and incomparable Rhys is as well as what an honorable and giving High Lord he is. We see raw power displays from him where he swiftly and forcefully exerts brutal punishment on those who offend or go against him without so much as breaking a sweat. Despite this, he adopts a passive view on the Illyrians, banning wing clipping and the mistreatment of females but not doing anything to really enforce it, and continues to allow females in the Court of Nightmares to be abused and brutalized because he needs his evil Night Court aesthetic to protect the IC and Velaris. 

My Ick Factor is OFF THE CHARTS. 

And let me just end by saying….try and picture our Queen and Savior, Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius allowing the mutilation and abuse of women in Terrasen because “change is slow to happen”….and she needed some armies. AELIN WOULD NEVER.

It is a dream of mine to see her humble Rhys.

So, yeah. . .Rhys is a terrible High Lord. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

Part 3 is probably my most highly anticipated rant---we’ll call it “Let’s Talk About Tamlin”. Coming soon! 

#acotar critical #acomaf critical #sjm critical #anti rhysand #illyrians #court of nightmares #morrigan

[somedaylazysomeday]

A Boon - Part Five

Thranduil comes to visit you in Esgaroth - one ruler to another.

Thranduil x fem!reader

Rating: Mature. Minors DNI.

Word Count: 3,600

Warnings: the pressures of ruling, romantic pressures, mentions of alcohol, mentions of mortality, sleeplessness, weapons, brief fear of intruders

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You surveyed the stretch of boards ahead of you. These boards were still yellow, freshly hewn from fallen trees. They were bright against the gray waters of the lake and the gray-brown of the older, weathered boards that made up most of Esgaroth. Still, you were displeased. “This is progress, but it still leaves at least a ten minute trip by boat to reach the shoreline.” 

“Surely that is short enough, Queen?” 

You shook your head. “We are discussing farmers. At the end of a long day in the fields, they may choose to swim rather than wait for a boat or fall asleep at their oars. We can hardly afford to lose any farmers. We shall have to continue construction.” 

“But majesty,” one of your advisors protested, “if we continue, we will block the lake. Kings Thranduil, Bard, and Thorin will surely object.” 

It was a fair point and you nodded to acknowledge it. “Then we shall simply have to be more creative as we search for solutions.”

“Perhaps a bridge of some kind, far off the water…” one mused. 

“My queen!” an official called. You turned, already knowing what you would find. As you had expected, Thranduil waited on the main boardwalks of town. “Elvenking Thranduil of the Greenwood has arrived and wishes to meet with you.” 

You waved back, made your excuses to your advisors, and started back up the wooden boardwalk toward the small elven delegation. The trip was not short, but Thranduil never seemed anything less than endlessly patient as you walked. 

When you finally arrived in front of the elves, Thranduil gave an elaborate bow, took your hand, and pressed a lingering kiss to your knuckles. “My lovely Queen of Esgaroth.” 

“Thranduil.” 

A look of amused exasperation crossed his beautiful face as he straightened and you stifled a laugh. Thranduil had been officially courting you for months and he still insisted on keeping to the utmost standards of society. You, however, eagerly dropped his title whenever you could get away with it. 

“I have business with King Bard, but I could not resist halting our progress to visit the famed Beauty of the Waters.” Thranduil leaned closer. “Why is it that I never find you in your throne room?” 

The reception hall had been your coronation gift from the Kingdom of Greenwood. It was ostentatious to a remarkable degree, especially when set against the backdrop of Lake Town, but it had been the only thing that stopped Thranduil’s complaints about the rest of your coronation. The ceremony had been plain, certainly - perhaps even stark - but there were other things in Esgaroth that needed funds. It seemed a shame to waste gold on yourself.

“We both know that real business takes place outside of a throne room,” you reminded Thranduil. “Besides, I worry that Smaug will come back to steal the ridiculous gems from the walls.”

Thranduil sniffed, pressing a hand to his chest. “I hand-picked every one of those gems. They remind me of your eyes.” 

“They’re… all white?” you reminded slowly. 

“Yes,” he agreed, unperturbed. “But I did not choose them for their color. I chose them for their sparkle. Their fire. That is what matches your eyes. They are your defining feature, you know.”

For all that you thought he was an arrogant, over-confident ass sometimes, Thranduil did know how to deliver a compliment. To hide your flustered state, you asked, “How long will you stay?” 

“I must be in Dale by sunset,” he told you, regret in his tone. 

With a glance around, you scoffed. “You must leave in minutes if you will arrive there by sunset! You might have just waved from your boat as you passed by.” 

Thranduil was unbothered by your caustic tone. “Ah, but then I could not have done this…”

He swept his long robes back, lowering gracefully onto one knee. The people Lake Town drew closer behind the elven guards, watching the scene with eager expectation. 

After an appropriately long pause, Thranduil started, “My dearest queen of Esgaroth… You enrapture me. You have always done so, from the time you were a bar maid, and it has been my delight watching you rise to the challenges of being queen of what was once called Lake Town.

“Our kingdoms have been joined in matters both of diplomacy and trade to the benefit of all our people. I believe it is time we join in a more permanent alliance.” Thranduil paused, looking up into your eyes with a wide gaze of his own. “Will you agree to be my queen?” 

You smiled down at him, wrapping your hands around his. “No, Thranduil.” 

An appreciate chuckle ran through the crowd. Thranduil stood, not looking distraught in the least. “Very well. We shall depart for Dale. Accompany us to our boat?” 

“Of course,” you agreed, placing your hand on his proffered arm. You chatted pleasantly on the way back to the elves’ boat as the people of Esgaroth called sympathies to Thranduil and wished him better luck the next time. 

Thranduil had been proposing marriage to you since the week after your coronation. It had become something of a spectacle for your people to watch his attempts. There was even a betting pool on how long it would be before you gave in. It was a salve to your ego that there were a number of people who bet you would never agree to marry Thranduil at all.

“I shall return soon,” Thranduil announced, brushing your knuckles with his lips once more before he climbed into the elegantly carved boat. 

The elven guard who had been trailing behind you paused by your side for a moment. “Your highness?” 

“Yes?” you asked expectantly. 

“It was the bar maid line, was it not?” 

You smiled despite yourself. “Among other things.” 

The guard shook his head. “I begged him to reconsider that section.” 

“I believe you.” You offered a small smile to the elf. “Thranduil is a victim only of his own hubris.”

The guard hastily stifled a laugh before he climbed into the boat. You waited long enough to wave as they rowed swiftly across the shining waters of the lake. After an appropriate amount of time, you strode to your office, waving away teasing questions about when you would finally allow yourself to be caught. 

There was far too much to be done. 

Lake-Town - or Esgaroth - was not what it once was, but not all of the changes were negative. Most of the people who had survived Smaug’s attacks had chosen to follow King Bard to settle Dale, but Esgaroth had kept almost a third of its original population. And the town was bolstered by the ever-flowing tide of merchants and travelers who chose to settle on the lake instead of further into the mountains. 

Yes, Esgaroth was growing and changing, developing into a fine community with the makings of an actual economy. There were days when you questioned whether you had been made queen as a joke of some kind and if the townspeople would take it away from you. But there had been no hints of that. 

It probably aided your rule that you weren’t queen full-time. You still ran the Ripple, though you had needed to hire additional help for when you were fulfilling royal duties. Contributing to the local job market - and alcohol provisions - definitely helped your popularity among Esgaroth residents.

The Ripple was nearly empty when you stepped inside. Storr beamed at you from his place behind the bar, giving a bow so deep that you worried (or hoped) that he would bash his forehead against the shining wooden surface. 

“My queen!” Storr cried, drawing the attention of both patrons. They lifted their tankards at you; they knew you well enough to know that was the only acknowledgement you truly welcomed. “To what do we owe this honor?” 

You scowled at him. Storr didn’t take the expression to heart. You had largely left him in charge of the Ripple when you were doing other things around the town, and he had handled the responsibility with grace and a level head. You appreciated everything he did for you and your business… and both of you knew it. 

Still, you filled your tone with steel and venom as you said, “This is my bar, Storr. If you’ve forgotten, perhaps it’s time for me to find a replacement.” 

Storr only laughed, and the sound made you smile back at him. You accepted his brief hug when he had stepped around the bar. “You know I hate when you bow to me.”

“Why else would I do it?” he asked, patting your shoulders as you pulled away. “Kirna and Kell say hello.” 

“Give them my love,” you said instantly. Storr’s wife Kirna had been one of your staunchest supporters even before the town had decided to make you its queen. And his son Kell was wise beyond his four years… and far more energetic than you remembered being as a child. 

“Of course.” Storr sighed. “I know you are far too busy, but remember that you have an open invitation to come for dinner.”

“I am never too busy for friends,” you protested.

Storr cut you off with a loud laugh. “You’re too busy to sleep and eat, let alone visit with lowly town residents.” He winked at you, continuing before you could refute that statement. “While we are on the subject, what brings you to the Ripple this afternoon?” 

“Honey mead.” You glanced toward the back room where you stored the mead as it went through the process of fermentation. None of the casks were visible from where you stood, but you looked anyway. “I need to bottle a few casks. That double batch should be ready for consumption next month.” 

Storr grimaced. “That will be a busy night. Will you be here to help?” 

“I- will do my best,” you said carefully. Sadly, the truth was that you couldn’t know for certain where you would be when the mead was ready. It all depended on what was happening in the town. “I’ll see if I can find someone to come up for extra support for the first few nights.”

The first sign you had of an impending conversation was that Storr followed you to the fermentation room. He had always avoided it, claiming that the smells gave him a headache. 

“What is it?” you asked as the door closed behind him. There was a tangle of fear in your stomach as you waited for whatever news he had. 

“Nothing bad,” he assured. “More a question than a concern. But you will dislike it.” 

That did nothing to soothe your nerves. “Go on.” 

“Perhaps you should consider hiring additional help on a permanent basis,” Storr said, clearly choosing his words with care. 

“I… did hire help…” you reminded slowly. “We have five employees for you to manage, and I assist here as often as I can.” 

“You do, and everyone appreciates your dedication to the Ripple.” Storr’s gaze dipped to one of the casks, studying it like it was fascinating. “But the demands of being queen mean that you can’t be here when you say you will, even if you do your best to come. And the problems will only grow worse when you marry Thranduil.” 

The stinging ache of guilt in your chest was frozen in place at the unexpected conclusion to Storr’s point. “Thranduil? He has no bearing on this situation. I have no intention of marrying him.” 

Storr aimed a dry look in your direction. “I heard he proposed earlier.” 

“And I said no,” you told him. “As I always do.” 

“Yes, but you will not refuse him forever.” Storr shook his head, looking somewhat mournful at the idea. “The two of you have been courting for almost two years. Marriage is the eventual goal of courtship, is it not?” 

“Technically speaking…” you trailed, trying not to look as uncomfortable as you felt. With a sigh, you chose to confide in your friend. “I will not marry Thranduil. I cannot. It could never work between us, not for any real length of time. He sees me as I am and is blind to the way I will be. The years will weigh me down in a way that will not happen to him. If I am the only one to see our future clearly, it is my burden to keep him from making that mistake.” 

To your surprise - and mild hurt - Storr seemed to find that amusing. “Such disdain for your Elvenking, even after so long a time… But now, as back when you first met him, I believe you may be misjudging Thranduil.”

You huffed out a sigh. "I do not understand you, Storr. First you claim to be concerned that I will marry Thranduil and now you seem to be angling for that very result. Was my argument that unsound?" 

"No, I think Thranduil is more determined than you seem to believe." 

You opened the first cask of honey mead, letting it hiss slowly as you moved to the next. With the sound of a half-dozen snakes filling the room, you turned to Storr and frowned. “I believe I am at least his match in determination, if not more. You should not be so certain that he will convince me.” 

Storr dragged a hand over his face. “I am not trying to start another competition between he and you. Or even myself and you. I am simply saying that you are more likely to listen to reason.” 

“And how has marrying an immortal elven king become a reasonable option?” you demanded. 

“When you started courting him.” That seemed like a jest and you narrowed your eyes at Storr. He made a helpless sort of gesture. “What I mean is that he pressed your courtship. He encouraged your placement as queen of Esgaroth. Now he is insisting that the two of you be married. Maybe it is not reasonable for him to push for this, but your reasons for fighting him are ones that will be to his detriment, not yours. Do you want to marry him?” 

You began pouring the settled mead into gallon jugs. They would be prepared for the final fermentation process when you were done, and ready for consumption only a few weeks after that. You had hoped that the delay in your answer would distract Storr, but he watched you and waited patiently. 

“That is not the point,” you said eventually, avoiding the question entirely. “Thranduil does not think about the future.” 

“I disagree,” Storr said decisively. “I believe he thinks almost exclusively about the future. Most elves do. We now get enough of them in here to know. Maybe Thranduil just believes the present outweighs the future.” 

“He is wrong.” You punctuated your point with a sharp slap, using the motion to force a cork into the mouth of a bottle. 

“Have you explained your reasoning to him?” 

It was a fair point, and you grimaced. “No. But only because he has not given me the chance.” 

“Then he will only keep asking,” Storr pointed out. “And he may eventually grow discouraged by your refusals.”

You laughed at that, and Storr eventually joined you. It was difficult to imagine Thranduil being discouraged by much of anything. He pursued what he wanted whole-heartedly until he had gotten it, without exception. 

But still, you were thinking about Storr’s words long after you had bottled your mead and left the Ripple. In fact, you were thinking about them so hard that you had trouble falling asleep that night. 

It was ridiculous, and you were half-tempted to take Storr up on his offer only to lecture him at his home. The day had been long and your body was exhausted… but your brain refused to stop tossing up possibilities for the future, and you were dragged reluctantly along for each scenario. 

When the knock sounded at your door, you were grateful for the interruption. 

However, you were not so grateful that you left behind the light, elven-forged short sword that Thranduil had gifted you. He had intended it for decorative purposes, meant to adorn your hip as you were crowned queen, but he had warned that elvish weapons only dulled after hundreds of years of constant use. The short sword would serve as a handy weapon if your unexpected guest was less friendly than you wished (or far too much more).

When you opened the door to find Thranduil on the other side, you let the blade dip until the tip was nearly brushing the floor. The Elvenking’s dark brows were arched high on his forehead, his gaze moving quizzically from the sword to your face. 

“Late night sparring practice?” he drawled. 

You shook your head and stepped aside to let him in. “I was not expecting to see you again tonight. Did you not arrive in Dale by sunset?” 

“I arrived with time to spare,” Thranduil assured you, closing and locking the door securely behind you both. “You need a larger home. One befitting the role of a queen. If there are none in Esgaroth to your liking, I could always have something constructed…” 

“Thranduil, focus,” you commanded, watching the glow of amusement on his face. “What happened? Why are you not in Erebor now? I thought you were meant to be treating with King Thorin?” 

“I seem to have offended him,” he said, offering an unconcerned shrug. “He ordered me to leave and I believed it was best to oblige him. His youth gives his temper an unwise edge.” 

“He’s older than anyone I’ve ever met,” you argued, grimacing at the dry look Thranduil gave you. “Present company excluded, of course.” 

“That may be,” Thranduil sniffed, “but it makes him ill-suited for leadership, especially in a situation like ours, in which so many kingdoms occupy such a small space.”

“His people seem to believe his leadership is excellent,” you countered. “As do the people of Dale. Besides, I believe your opinion has not been requested.” 

“And yet it should have been,” Thranduil climbed the ladder up to the second floor of your home with ease and remarkable speed, offering a hand to pull you up the ladder after he had reached the top. “Considering that mine is the largest of the kingdoms. And I hope to make it still larger when our kingdoms combine.” 

You sighed. “I lack the energy to have this argument once more. Not today. Can we discuss something else?” 

“Of course,” the Elvenking soothed, drawing you into his arms. You settled in that embrace, your cheek pressed against the delicate weave of Elven fabric. It did not muffle the steady beat of his heart, and you were thankful for that. “Perhaps you would like to tell me why you are awake so late.” 

“I… would rather not,” you hedged. If you even hinted at the way Storr’s words had been eating at you, Thranduil would consider you as good as wed. And while you disliked the idea of him losing interest and moving on, your concerns were valid enough that they demanded a solution. “Why are you here, Thranduil? I am happy to see you, but-” 

“-but I was hardly expected,” Thranduil finished for you. “As I said, Thorin removed me from the halls of Erebor, but Bard is still there. I decided to send my guards back to the Greenwood rather than stay in Dale. And when I saw the candlelight behind your shutters, I came here instead of returning to my own kingdom.” 

“Because it’s closer for you to return to Erebor tomorrow?” you asked. 

Thranduil laughed softly. “You know Thorin well enough to know that I will not be welcomed back into his kingdom for at least a fortnight. No, I simply concluded that my time would be far better spent here.” 

You stared up at him, making note of the soft fondness that filled his haughty, fine-boned face. “You… are too kind.” 

“Do not mistake my honesty for simple flattery,” he told you, pressing a kiss to your temple. “I enjoy your company and I prefer to think that you like mine as well. No, I know for certain that you enjoy my company. I would know if you did not - you are far too honest not to have told me so.” 

You huffed out a laugh despite yourself and Thranduil smiled. With the barest hint of pressure against your lower back, he urged you toward the ladder that took you up to the highest floor of your home. “Come, it is surely past time for you to be in bed.” 

The idea of the Elvenking himself ordering you to bed would have made you laugh if only it sounded less appealing. So you let him shepherd you upstairs and into bed. When you had gone to answer the door, you had only pulled on the minimum amount of clothing to protect yourself from the lake breezes. It took only moments to undress once more.

Thranduil never suffered any crisis of confidence, so he stripped bare and slid between the sheets beside you. The warmth of his body next to yours put you in an even deeper state of relaxation, especially as his hand found yours beneath the cover of your quilt. His thumb traced gentle strokes over the back of your hand, almost hypnotic in its steadiness. 

Maddeningly, you still could not fall asleep.

---

Author's Note - There is definitely going to be a second part tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

#fanfic february #fanfic february 2024 #lord of the rings #the hobbit #the hobbit thranduil #thranduil #elvenking thranduil #thranduil x reader #thranduil x you #fem!reader #reader #reader insert #reader insert fanfiction #reader insert fanfic #reader insert fic #not suitable for minors #minors dni

[sotwk]

According to the lay known as “The Fall of Gil-Galad”, upon this elven-king’s death, he was “the last whose realm was fair and free, between the Mountains and the Sea”.

…say what now? Excuse me, dear Middle-earth minstrels, but you seem to have forgotten about THIS GUY:

King Thranduil Oropherion is the Sindarin counterpart of the “High King of the Noldor”, and therefore comparable to the renowned High King Gil-Galad, but is sadly not given the same amount of recognition in stories and songs.

Allow me the honor of “singing” the ways Thranduil is very similar to Gil-Galad:

(1) Both were born in the First Age, and as young elves witnessed the destruction of the cities they lived in: Thranduil in Doriath and Gil-Galad in the Havens of the Falas. They were exposed to war and bloodshed at an early age and experienced living as refugees.

(2) Both survived and possibly participated in the War of Wrath. (You know, that really terrible, bloody, decades-long war that literally broke the world--that war.) According to certain interpretations of the film “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug”, Thranduil likely did fight in the War of Wrath, where he “faced the great serpents of the north”. Elven warriors of the First Age were incredibly fierce warriors out of necessity, and if Thranduil survived those great battles when he was about 150 years old, that makes him extra badass. 

(3) Both inherited their kingships from their forefathers. Gil-Galad’s claim to the Noldor throne (like his canon parentage) is a little murky, but he is related to Fingolfin whose line was pretty much wiped out, so only Elrond or Galadriel could have challenged his claim (which they didn’t). Thranduil’s claim is far more direct as the son of the first King of the Woodland Realm and ruler of the Silvan people.

(4) Both were warrior kings. Because canon stories of Thranduil are very sparse, we don’t know for sure which wars he did or didn’t participate in during the Second Age. What DID he do those 2,000+ years while his father was establishing and ruling the realm? Honing his warrior skills seems to be a fair hypothesis. How else would he have developed the deadly skills he exhibited at the Battle of Five Armies? How else would he have kept the foul creatures of Dol Goldur at bay without a magic ring? It’s very possible he’s seen more time on the battlefield than official historical accounts say. 

(5) Both fought at the Battle of Dagorlad, during the War of the Last Alliance. Gil-Galad fought hard and valiantly to the end at Mordor, slaying Sauron by his own spear. Because Oropher died at the first onslaught, it was likely that Thranduil had to exit the war early, either to bury his father and their slain soldiers, or because he himself was injured. There may have been enough time for him to rejoin the Alliance at the Siege of Barad-dûr, to avenge his father and salvage his family’s honor and pride. But Thranduil, whom people mistakenly dismiss as arrogant or proud, was a king who valued his people and the soldiers under his command. It would have been easy glory to join the Siege since by then the war had been all but won (and won by the blood of his people, might I add). Thranduil chose to stay with his kin and help them through the loss of their king and many loved ones, and to reassure them that they were in good hands with him as their new ruler. 

It’s a big, sad shame that Tolkien was not able to write more stories about Thranduil, his family, and the Mirkwood elves. Based on the theories we, his fans, are able to formulate about him, it seems he may have been the most successful, even most benevolent, Elven ruler of them all. He will just have to get his glory and renown in the “songs” and “lays” of our headcanons and fanfics. 

Looking for more Thranduil content?

Introduction to SotWK

My Headcanon Masterlist 

My Fanfiction Masterlist

Thank you for your support and interest!

#king thranduil #thranduil #thranduil oropherion #thranduil fanfiction #thranduil headcanons #lotr fandom #the hobbit #battle of the five armies #lee pace

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

The Divine Feminine II - Welcome to Hell (Sneak Peek)

Guuuuuys I was supposed to post this for Halloween but could not finish it since I had a busy weekend and then a busy workday today! However, here is a sneak peek! Hopefully I can finish writing it in the next few days and post it all!

Read: The Divine Feminine** - Amidst his sadness after his wife leaves the Underworld, Hades (Harry) encounters a human woman who brings him to his knees.

No warnings for the sneak peek:)

WC: 1.1k

“You’re everything.” He mumbled against her ear and she tangled their fingers together, “Wish you could be with me forever.” He sighed.

This made her smile. Y/N had never really felt like she had a place in the world. She had always struggled to fit in, to find a place in it where she felt like belonged completely, maybe she wasn’t meant for this earth? But she had no idea what Harry’s world was like. She was curious, but she also realized that in order to be down there she’d have to die and she didn’t want to die. Not yet at least. There were so many things that she still wanted to do and experience…like tornado chase, travel to Europe, or see her favorite band live at least once. As much as she had grown to love him, he was Hades. He transcended time, he was the god of the underworld. He was the ruler of the afterlife, the highest judge in the universe, at the end of their life every single being answered to him for the way they’d spent their time. He was justice. He was vengeance. He was a god. It baffled her that a being as simple and fragile as her could even catch his eye.

“You shouldn’t think so highly of me, love.” He spoke quietly and she smiled.

“And why not?” She inquired.

“You’ll make me too arrogant.” 

“As if you needed any help with that.” She quipped with a grin and he swatted the side of her thigh quickly and she giggled. "You should stop hearing my thoughts." she reminded him.

“I want to show you my world. Everything that I can offer you whenever you’re ready to join me.” He said, completely ignoring her little reminder because of course he was going to continue reading her thoughts.

“What if I’m old and gray by then?” She questioned and he squeezed her tighter.

“I can become old and gray too or restore you to whatever age you desire to be.” He said and she hummed.

“That’s fascinating.”

“It is.” He agreed, “You know, there’s…a spell that can grant you temporary immortality. I could learn more about it and perform it on you, that way you can see everything there is to see.”

“Hmmm… a vacation to hell? Sounds nice.” She said teasingly and he chuckled and kissed her bare shoulder.

“S’paradise too, you know?” He said.

“I thought that was Olympus.”

“No, that’s where most of the other deities live.” He explained and she hummed in understanding.

“Is it dangerous? The spell?” She asked.

“I don’t know, I’ll have to consult Hecate, she’s one of the goddesses that also dwells in the underworld. That’s her area. We can weigh out the pros and cons together.”

“Alright, it’s worth looking into I think.” She decided, “And what about your wife? The first day of Autumn is just two days away.” She pointed out and he hummed.

“I’ll talk to her. Tell her about you. I think she’ll be glad that I’ve found someone other than her to keep me happy.” 

***********

Every time Persephone made her descent back to the realm of the Underworld Hades would throw a bash for her. It was an absolute lavish feast and everyone was a huge part of it, Admittedly, Hades had been very distracted with his favorite, little human so he only had two days to plan this feast whereas before he encountered Y/N, he’d begin planning at least a month in advance.  As soon as Hades arrived back in his realm one of his fellow deities conjured themselves.

“Are we having the feast or not?” Thanatos asked.

“Yes. I know I’ve been gone a lot-”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it. The dead remain dead, all is in order.” He assured his friend and Hades smiled.

“Thank you.”

“You deserve this. You never have your fun.” He said and Hades chuckled.

“Let’s ummm, make this feast more intimate, yeah?”

“Alright.”

“And ummm, let’s search through Elysium and the Meadows for some musicians. Just the better ones.” Hades said and Thanatos nodded.

“Nyx and Erebos did start setting up the great hall in their home a few days ago.”

“And your brother?”

“Wandering about the world. After you were gone more than a week he also took a leave. We shouldn’t count on him for any of this.” Thanatos said of Hypnos.

“Alright, fair enough.” Hades chuckled.

“I must tell you, Persephone is a bit…unsettled.” Thanatos warned. 

“Why?”

“Hecate overheard Eros bragging about “striking the ruler of the underworld with his arrow to fall in love with a human”. Boastful little prick…” he huffed and Hades sighed, “Ever eager to gossip, Hecate mentioned this to Persephone, or so I’ve been told by Hermes.” Thanatos explained.

“Unbelievable.”

“I told them it was just Eros being a prick. We all know how bitter he still is over Persephone’s rejection all those millennia ago…” 

“Can I be honest?” Hades said and Thanatos nodded.

“Of course.”

“He’s not just being a boastful prick…I think he succeeded.” Thanatos was shocked to hear this. 

Anyone who knew the pair knew that the one with an unwavering and undying devotion in this marriage was Hades. He never even thought to gaze upon another being. And anyone who knew Persephone knew that despite her mostly pleasant and benevolent manner, she had inherited the jealously and wrath of her father, Zeus. She could be cold and senseless in her wrath. Hades knew this and it worried him for Y/N.

“If what you say is true then your human is in danger.” Thanatos said solemnly.

**********

Hades had been unsettled after his conversation with Thanatos. He had mentioned to Y/N that he would be rather busy until Persephone’s return and she fully understood this, but he needed someone to protect her from any possible attacks that his wife might hurl at the unsuspecting and fragile human who had his heart. 

Typically he would call on his own wife or Hecate when something or something required the utmost protection, but these two were the ones who’d been consorting all summer long and likely had turned against him to some extent. Persephone was reasonable, maybe he could convince her to not harm Y/N. But what worried him was that she was all alone on earth without anyone there to guard her. Hades wasn’t all that excellent in his practice of spells, but he did find himself at his altar, performing a spell for Soteria - the spirit of deliverance and protection - for Y/N. Being Hades, the spirit realm was always more susceptible to his wishes. And it gave him peace to know that his offering was accepted. 

#hades!harry styles #hades!harry #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles au #supernatural!harry styles #boss! harry x reader #harry styles x reader #harry x y/n #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry styles writing #harry styles fluff #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfic #harryween #0nlythrowharrybeaux

[skaikruswan]

Hi! I found pouty Morpheus super cute! Could you please write a Morpheus x goddess!reader who always shows affection for Morpheus. But one day she accidentally ignores him because she has too much work. Eventually our emo boy gets upset about it. Thanks❤️❤️❤️

Divine intervention

WC: 1,4 k Ao3

Relationship: Morpheus x f!reader

Notes: fluff, first meeting, missed date, pouty Morpheus

Dear anon, thanks for the prompt! I am sorry it took a while. I hope you enjoy!

If you liked this story, i have written others.

You know a secret, an important one, one that saved you from the oblivion that has claimed so many deities. Humans hold power over gods. So many gods and goddesses believe, no, consider themselves to be worthy of their dedication and worship, without even caring enough about humanity. It’s selfish and arrogant, and sooner or later, this attitude will be their doom. 

You have had many names over the ages and various aspects in several cultures. In the end, it didn’t particularly matter to you what humanity called you, as long as they called you at all. 

You walk among humans, listening to their struggles and pleas, offering a kind word or a much-needed pat on the back, helping them in any way you can. You give them hope and sympathy, the light at the end of a tunnel, the warm blanket in a cold night. Some people notice that you’re not human: you see it in their widened eyes, their reverent gaze, or their sharp inhale. But most of them are simply glad that you’re here. 

You don’t need temples or sacrifices; all you need is the warm feeling in your chest as you see them get better, to know that you helped them. 

Each time a person you helped has dreams about you, you feel equally content and queasy. You feel honored and glad that you made such an impact on them, but you worry as you just entered the realm of a being much more powerful than you are. But all your worries were simply worries. Morpheus, Dream of the Endless and ruler of the Dreaming, doesn’t consider you a threat. You still remember your first meeting.

Lexie, a lovely young woman just survived a dangerous operation and got a new pair of lungs, after endless weeks of hoping and praying. In her dream, she was standing on top of a mountain, screaming from the top of her healthy, functioning lungs, and how could you not smile, when her joy was this wonderful and infectious? 

“You are the reason she has such a positive dream,” an unknown, deep voice declared, you turned around to see Morpheus. Dressed in black, his dark hair a mess, his blue eternal eyes peering at you, you felt the endless power radiating from him. 

“I am sorry sir, I shall leave your realm at once,” you apologized, every atom in your immortal body vibrating as you inclined your head in a respectful manner. 

“You are helping the dreamers. I sense no evil intentions. You can stay.” 

             __________________________

One shared dream has become several, and over time you stopped walking on eggshells around him. To be honest, it is really nice to have someone to talk to. Immortality gets rather lonely and despite the comforting presence of humans, you still don’t have anyone to really connect with. Your last friend, a minor deity of peace, did not make it through the 20th century. Watching them wither and fade in front of your eyes forever tore a piece of your heart from you. 

Morpheus shares your vision on humans, that immortals serve them instead of the opposite. He has told you that he had only recently realized this. It had been in a dream, the lake over which they were rowing reflecting the dark, starless sky, when Morpheus had confessed the atrocity he had suffered through during the last century. 

You impulsively had reached out to hold his hand, your thumb stroking over the back of his hand. Your mind had called you a fool while your heart was soaring, and for a moment, you had held your breath.  

“Thank you for your time, and for listening to me.” He had smiled at you for the first time, and you felt your heart skip for a beat. His other hand had covered yours and you hoped that the darkness hid your big blush. 

“I’m glad I’m here.” 

                ___________________________

You almost saunter as you walk through a crowd, smiling at a heartbroken teenager, dropping some change into the cup of a homeless, and stopping an elderly man from walking in front of a car. Morpheus and you will have a date tonight, and the prospect makes butterflies swarm your stomach. You wish you could say that you have experience, but when it comes to matters of the heart, immortals are just as lost and confused as mortals. 

You had been cautious and gentle at the beginning of your relationship. In the privacy of a dream, you had held his hand, brushed your fingers through the silky strands of his hair, or pressed a featherlight kiss on his cheek. But you didn’t want to showcase your relationship, fearful that the residents of the Dreaming would gossip. 

“My love, you have nothing to hide or fear. Let everyone in this realm know that I enjoy your presence and affection,” he had declared, softly pressing his lips against yours, and you had felt sunlight light up inside your veins. From this day on, you hadn’t held back, showering him with affection, showing the world how much he means to you. 

Matthew once called lovey-dovey, his caw sounding like laughter as he soared over you, interrupting your picnic date in Fiddler’s Green. Merv told you in secret that there were nightmares and dreams betting on how often you would make the boss smile during one day. Lucienne kept giving you an almost amused look every time you waltzed into the library, knowing that she would have to answer a question about Morpheus, so you could surprise him better. 

__________________________

You’re glad that tragedies still affect you, that you still feel the pain and sorrow that seems to sniff out any positive emotion as a storm would sniff out a candle; it means that your heart hasn’t turned to stone. You’ve seen deities grow cold and unbothered. You’ve sworn that it would never happen to you. 

You feel their need for you, you hear their despairing thoughts and broken-hearted prayers, and steel yourself for a long day.

A minute turns into an hour, an hour turns into several. You can’t deny them in their hour of need, so you offer everything you can. 

While you’re immortal, you still experience exhaustion, and you drag yourself to your home, immediately falling into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

       _______________________________

Morpheus has shown you how to enter the Dreaming, and you find yourself right where you want to be: the palace. It is surprisingly empty, except for a group of naiads who disappear into some people’s dreams in a burst of spring water. The throne is empty, so Morpheus must be somewhere else. Council seems to be finished. 

You wander into the library, expecting Morpheus to maybe discuss something with Lucienne. The librarian is seemingly looking for something, pulling out books and tomes with a small frown on her face. You announce yourself by clearing your throat and wait until Lucienne has finished her task. 

“It’s good to see you, my lady. Do you have any more questions?” she asks as she adjusts her glasses. 

“Just one actually: where’s Morpheus?”

“I don’t know, I’m afraid. After the council was finished, he left.” Lucienne glances around before leaning forward. “He seemed a little displeased.” Regret and embarrassment twist knots into your stomach as you realize why that might be the case. You missed the date! 

“I’ll look for him, thanks Lucienne.” 

       __________________________________

You find him in Fiddler’s Green, at the exact spot you’ve had you picnic date. It’s dark, so he perfectly blends in with the shadows. With his back turned towards you, he can’t see the way you bite your lip, but he can hear your hesitant steps. Nobody likes being stood up. 

“I am sorry for missing our date.” You don’t regret helping those in need, but you regret that Morpheus waited here for you, and you didn’t show. You feel a stone drop inside your stomach. While you were never into gossip, even you have picked up that Morpheus doesn’t take rejection kindly. 

“I waited.” Morpheus turns around and you bite the inside of your jaw to freeze your facial expressions. Dream of the Endless is pouting, and you will remember this image forever. Lucienne was right. 

“I will make this worth your wait,” you promise, giving him a coy smile as you slowly approach him, fluttering your eyelashes for good measure. 

“Surprise me, goddess,” he challenges, giving you a small smirk, one you wipe off his face as you crush your lips against his, burying your hands into his hands and angling his head as you put all your love into this kiss. 

#the sandman #the sandman x reader #morpheus x reader #dream of the endless #dream x reader #my writing #my sandman fics

[contrivedchaos]

Being a high Seraphim is not a stress-free job. There’s the constant screening of incoming souls. Determining which ones need to be dealt with directly, and which can be pawned off to the nearest Dominion or Archangel, who eagerly await orders at Heaven’s every beck and call.

Despite holding one of the most prestigious positions in all of Heaven, and sitting atop the highest court known to the immortal realms, Sera of the Seraphim is not immune to what those plebeian Winners would call the common migraine.

Particularly now, after word has spread that the first Sinner ever to be redeemed from the trenches of Hell had magically materialized in her boardroom that very morning. And said Sinner is currently being given the grand welcome tour by Emily, while her sister and superior looks down at her tablet, frantically flipping through her records aimlessly, trying to figure out how the fuck this is actually happening to her in the first place.

As if Adam’s death during the Extermination hadn’t been enough, now she has to deal with the fact that Souls can be redeemed. That she was wrong, possibly about everything, and will now have to explain to Heaven’s elders how this was allowed to happen under her watch.

Sighing heavily, Sera puts her tablet down on the table. She uses her fingers to scratch her forehead several times, trying to release the gnawing, heavy ache that’s begun punching behind her eyelids. She takes a sip of water, and then downs the entire fucking glass, trying to process all the events rapidly unfolding right in front of her, and having no idea how to even begin explaining any of it.

Lute and the Exterminators had been hit hard by Adam’s passing, and his former second-in-command is already taking charge of his entire fleet. Sera had already spied on the smaller angel during her impromptu meeting with Lilith, realizing that an entirely different house of cards may be soon about to fall, once Hell’s ruler and his daughter find out their matriarch has been staying here for the last 7 years.

That contract had been Adam’s business. It had nothing to do with her, so she’d figured she could stay out of it, blissfully unaware. However, she’s not sure now how she could ever be so lucky, not when that arrogant, pompous imbecile had always been trying to test her limits, and never knew when to keep his fucking mouth shut. Or call it quits, when it looked like he actually might have underestimated Hell’s forces so badly.

Soon, all of Heaven will know about her own lack of foresight and incompetence. It had been her job to keep the First Man in line. Keep him sated with his own pet projects, and keep him happy, even if it meant putting her own people at risk by allowing him to play army. The court elders didn’t need to know how she’d done it, just that he was content. He could get away with slaughtering thousands of innocents, so long as her own hands were free of blood, and the other Winners under her care, the important ones, remained safe.

Sera groans loudly into the room, laying her head atop her arms upon the table, coming to grips with the fact that with Adam gone, this mess is entirely hers to clean up now. No matter how much she doesn’t want to, she’ll have to be the one to handle the PR of a Sinner ascending to Heaven, as well as the political nightmare that’s about to unfold once Charlie Morningstar finds out she’d been right all along.

She’ll let Emily handle Sir Pentious for now. If she’s lucky, maybe the Seraphim of Joy can distract their people long enough that they don’t even realize the implications of what his ascension means. In the meantime, she can figure out how to deal with Lilith and Lute, and the absolute mayhem she needs to prevent from happening in the world far down below. As well as preventing the fight from coming to her own door.

Adam had gone off for days at a time after other Exterminations, celebrating and participating in such horrid debaucheries, that his absence may not be missed for a few days yet. That could give her some time. Time to form a plan on how to deal with Hell’s denizens, and figure out what her next step should be on the matter of redemption, depending on what answers she can uncover.

The trouble is knowing who she can trust with this type of information. She can’t go to Lucifer. She hadn’t exactly been kind to him by agreeing to cast him out, and he’s the type to immediately tell his daughter that her plan had worked, which would be horrible for her. She’s not ready for the types of gossipy, accusatory headlines that could come out of a disaster like that. 

She also can’t talk to anyone else in the angelic court; they’ll immediately report her to the elders, and then she’ll be done for, and may never be able to serve in any official capacity in Heaven again.

The more she thinks about it, the more anxious she becomes. The more anxious she becomes, the more her head throbs with pain. The more her head hurts, the more water she drinks, which isn’t actually helping. Oh, Heaven’s to Betsy, is her only solution really going to be reaching out to her?

They haven’t seen each other, or even spoken, since Lucifer fell, and the prospect of turning to her of all people leaves a dry, chalky taste in Sera’s mouth. Makes her feel a little woozy, and like she has to lay her head on her arms once again, to stop the spinning, twirling dizziness of the room, that only serves to make her headache even worse.

There really is no other option. Every other road, every other mental map she tries to chart, ultimately leads to total, near-immediate retribution. What she needs now is to be discrete. And hope that at least some of the rapport she used to hold with this particular person…well, that there’s any of it left to draw upon in the first place. Her social goodwill is running ridiculously low at the present moment, so that’s honestly the best outcome she can reasonably expect at this time. 

Sera sighs. She stands up, and she paces. Sits down again, then stands up, and paces some more. She drinks more water, and paces again, before slumping in her chair like her bones are made of marmalade, and screeches like a barn owl out of frustration at what she has to do.

Activating the screen on her tablet, she scrolls and opens an old, nearly forgotten folder, which contains a number of certain contacts. Lucifer is in there, as well as several of the Goetia. And even some of the friendlier Deadly Sins and overlords, who she never actually calls, but thinks it’s in her best interest to keep on hand, just in case.

She starts at the bottom of the list, and then scrolls up, unintentionally dragging out this dreadful, uncomfortable feeling, for as long as she possibly can. When Sera finally reaches her number, she stares at it for much longer than necessary. Her body tightens, and she swallows her heart that has jumped up into her throat. Her finger hovers precariously over that little icon, and she fluffs up like a bird trying to get water out of its feathers.

She looks at the name next to the icon one last time, mentally fortifying herself for what’s to come. Then her finger drops onto the screen, and she pushes it, screaming silently within the endless void that is her own head, at the drastic step she is about to take. 

She watches as the calling icon appears on her screen. After the second ring, her heart finally sinks back down into her chest. After the third, it’s already crawling up her esophagus again. 

After the fourth, the call remains unanswered, and she is immediately taken to voicemail, which is honestly so much worse than she had anticipated. 

Sera listens and prepares herself to hear that voice once again. And when it comes, she is filled with a multitude of fuzzy, complicated feelings. She almost wants to hang up, as the pre-recorded callback message echoes endlessly between her ears, like the pattern of soft drums:

“Hello, this is Carmilla Carmine. I’m not available right now. Please leave a message, and I’ll return your call as soon as possible. Thank you.”

#hazbin hotel #sera hazbin hotel #carmilla carmine #carmilla hazbin hotel #emily hazbin hotel #fanfic ideas #fanfic mapping #story mapping #my fics #mine #sera x carmilla #carmilla x sera #angelic ballet #seramilla