Tumgik
#which I think could be very interesting if we took a look at the power position adolin holds
acourtofthought · 3 days
Note
Regarding Lucien’s scars. I think it’s basically a headcanon in the fandom that Lucien still has the scars on his back from being whipped, but if those are present in canon too, that could be interesting. Howeverrrr… the facial scar must be kind of a big deal for Lucien. Amarantha attacked him 50ish years ago and then within a few days she organized that masquerade ball “in Lucien’s honor” - the masked theme was a scheme to help him basically hide what she did to his face. Then the masks were plastered to the faces of everyone in Spring Court because Tamlin didn’t accept to sleep with Amarantha. So here’s Lucien, hiding his scars for 50 years no matter how uncomfortable the whole mask situation may have been… but now his facial scar that he cannot hide anywhere (unlike Azriel’s hands) is just in full view for anyone who looks at him. I think there is no question about it. He must be self conscious about it, especially since he thinks Elain is the most beautiful female he has ever seen and she doesn’t reciprocate anything yet. People have been writing about it here on tumblr recently but I really hope SJM explores Lucien’s character from this perspective too. I assume he must feel very inadequate compared to Elain. She has so much (family, friends, connected to the IC, safety and security, beauty, etc.), whereas Lucien refers to himself as a whole lot of nothing. He doesn’t have a home or even a court, he’s basically all alone in the fae world, his closest allies are two humans who so far don’t have much power or influence in Prythian. I assume he is probably also unhappy with his looks after such a traumatic experience. I hope SJM explores this, I think that would be a really cool addition to Elucien’s healing journey. Even though Lucien is quite snarky and cocky outwardly, his inner monologue seems very self conscious. Ahhh SJM give us the angstttttt
I AGREE!!!!!! I think while there are sincere aspects of Lucien's personality that are (hahaha, I just accidentally typed snocky which was my brain getting confused on whether I wanted to type snarky or cocky first) snarky and cocky, I also feel it's a default mechanism too. Lucien is known to take care in his appearance and he is aware of appearances. Even in book once he was a bit of a fashionista, commenting on how Feyre's tunic wasn't as pretty as a dress and being amazed at how positively fae she looked when she did finally put one on. There's also this: Lucien said, "True. But indulge me: you're a human woman, and yet you'd rather eat hot coals than sit here longer than necessary. Ignoring this" - he waved a hand at the metal eye and brutal scar on his face-" surely we're not so miserable to look at. Lucien must be constantly aware of others looking at him and I'm guessing he's never sure if it's about the eye or if his scars are unappealing to them. For someone who does care about appearances, whose job it is to talk to High Lords and make friends to be a successful emissary, there is definitely an inner discomfort he's trying to brush off through his nonchalance and jokes about his appearance. I think you're right. Elain is beautiful to the point that people talk. Eris somehow heard across courts that Lucien's mate is a real beauty. She had heiresses jealous of her at barely thirteen. Her mother commented that if her beauty held, she'd be able to secure them a decent match on the marriage market (Elain was 11). So Lucien comes along and not only is he given this super special, sacred bond with her but she turns out to be the most beautiful female he'd ever seen all while knowing that she's in love with someone else. And there he is, with no home, no family name, a scar running down his face and one eye. I would take Lucien in a second and we know that many in the ACOTAR world reference his good looks but you can see how he would struggle with his appearance. You can see how Elain literally took his breath away and she did not seem effected by him (I imagine we'll find out that wasn't the truth in her POV but it's how he perceived it at the time). He thinks she doesn't want him or need him and I definitely think we're going to find that he's been feeling very insecure about her perception of his physical appearance.
50 notes · View notes
Text
Hot take of the day is that I think sanderson not letting adolin murdering sadeas have any real consequences killed like 95% of interesting debate on the morality of it
167 notes · View notes
signedkoko · 2 months
Note
HEHEHHEE OPEN REQUESTS???
Hello koko! I was summoned by your open requests, and I just had an idea, how about headcanons/one shot for Alastor and Vox (separately) with a reader who has powers a bit like Toge Inumaki in JJK?( I saw that you were watching JJK so I assume you know how his powers works) like what do they think about it? how do they react when reader uses her powers? How they communicate with her?
THANKS FOR READING MY REQUEST DEAR KOKO! HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT
-🐚
Alastor | Vox X Reader [Romantic]
In which your speech causes action, so you can't speak unless you wish to control others. Reader is female.
Tumblr media
When you first came to the hotel, Alastor was not impressed
You were certainly a gorgeous sight, but it was ruined by the device in your hands that you had your nose buried in, screen lighting ruining your face
It took him quite a while when he heard strings of words emanating from the device to realize you were speaking through it, your fingers pressing on keys faster than he could follow
You introduced yourself to everyone that day, as a new hire for the hotel, and how you couldn't speak but hoped it wouldn't get in the way
He was certainly irked by the device in your hands, but it was funny to see someone so weak that they had to rely on a flimsy device made by an even flimsier overlord
Truly a shame
You learn the hard way not to get too close to him while using your device, or else it starts to act up and get damaged
Alastor still spoke to you; of course he did! Because he was amused knowing you couldn't retort
But eventually, without noticing, he would talk more and more, filling every aspect of the silence between you
You were the best listener, both since you had no choice and because you didn't give any shitty advice
The only thing that weirded him out was the weird clicking he started to hear around you
Something about it was so familiar
J-E-R-K-J-E-R-K-J-E-R
When he looked down at your hand and saw a clicker in your hand, he realized what you were doing
Of course he knew morse code by heart! He studied all sorts of things, but he wasn't sure why you'd do things that way when you had a much easier device
Unless you did it just for him?
R-K-J-E-R-K-J
" And who are we calling names, my voiceless companion? "
Y-O-U
Still, it's very touching to see you go from using your phone to putting it away when you come to him to talk
And not much changes since you can't get out too many words with your morse method
One evening, while on a walk together, Alastor was reciting to you how he'd come to work for Charlie and how she sang on the news for so many to see! When a group of assassins surrounded the two of you, angel steel weapons were on full display
Before Alastor handled them—which, let's be fair, would be no issue to him—you pulled quicker on the draw
" COMATOSE. "
You yelled it with your hands clamped over Alastors ears, and the instant the word came out, they all dropped, beyond unconcious
Alastor laughs, because wow, that was quite the display!
But he's already dragging you over them to continue talking, now teasing you for treating him like a helpless damsel
He was certainly glad that he hadn't made an enemy of you when he first saw you, because you may stand a chance against him with an ability like that
Tumblr media
Most sinners had some kind of ability that grew with their power, often souls under contract or training enhancing them
Vox himself had plenty of tricks under his sleeves, and he'd seen the most pathetic of abilities to those worth cowering before
But he'd never heard of something like yours
Overlords loved showing off their resources, which could include people who became very useful in battle
You were a 'friend' of Zestial, though, while most jumped at the opportunity to introduce themselves to other overlords, you only waved
Of course you piqued his interest, because when he ran his servers over you, he found little to nothing beyond pictures
After several days of stalking video feeds, he caught you and Zestial together when—oh fuck! You sign!
While he could have just waited for the next opportunity, Vox was far too invested in your story and opted to pay Zestial a visit, if it meant he could see you
From what he could tell, you were using ASL, so once he bumped into you he began signing his typical introduction
Something about his heart sparked when he saw you smile, the way those curious eyes sparkled
He was immediately embarrassed when you revealed he didn't have to sign because you could hear
But he was all healed when you signed that you were very glad to have met someone else you could talk with
Vox is used to the overstimulation of noises from news, music, footage, all of it always beaming into his head so much that the silence around you is eerie and takes him awhile to get used to
Zestial certainly has an ace; one Vox is jealous of
Since you got along so well, you and Vox schedule meet-ups so you can interact, seeing as he and Zestial are almost exact opposites
The first time he witnesses your powers is when Alastor shows up at one of your meetings, and he was certainly trying to embarrass Vox in front of you
But Vox was your friend, and you had no tolerance for Alastors threats
" Silence. "
From your lips poured a thick fog, which whisped its way over Alastor's mouth, forming a seal that prevented him from speaking
The radio demon wasn't pleased, but he wasn't about to act up a scene right now, so he turned and left
Vox immediately fanboys because, oh my FUCKING GOD, you showed him!!!
Wait, you can talk? You sound like that?
YOUR POWERS DID THAT???
He is about to waste your evening asking all kinds of things, you probably can't sign as fast as he can ask, too
Tumblr media
Author's Note - Conch anon gets only the BEST of the BEST!!! I did like writing these anyways though, because i adore Inumaki...thank you for requesting!
1K notes · View notes
whateversawesome · 5 months
Text
Some Theories about Anya's Name
Who would have thought a short chapter would bring so much information and discussion? But then again, we're talking about Anya, agent of chaos (according to her papa).
Tumblr media
After that chapter, there's plenty of theories flying around, so I decided to make this post to compile, explain and expand these theories 😉
Ready?
Anya is an acronym: This one is pretty clear has been a popular general theory. It means that the letters of her name stand for something else. What exactly? We don't know yet, but it probably has to do with Project Apple and the infamous lab Anya was created.
Anya...Ania...OstANIA: If you live near small children, you probably know that when they are learning how to talk, they do it by picking up words adults say and many times they say those words wrong. While discussing with some friends, I imagined those scientists constantly saying the word Ostania in front of that little girl. Maybe baby Anya thought that was her name because she heard the word OstANIA all the time, but she couldn't say it right.
Anya, the foreign princess: This one is very simple. It means that her name was spelled differently in her country of origin. This theory is vague, but I do believe a third country could be involved in all this mess. Also, it would make sense for Anya to be hiding in Ostania, if she was born and kept captive in a different country.
Anya...A N/A: This one is one of the most interesting theories! A N/A would mean something like "Non-applicable". You probably think this doesn't say much, but it really does. In the first few chapters of the story we learned that Anya was adopted and returned 4 times. Instead of a child, she was returned as if she was a piece of clothing. Even though it's been barely mentioned, we've also learned that people that participated in Project Apple didn't treat the subjects nicely (see how they treated Bond). Those people called Anya "subject 007". They didn't even give her a name. If we think about it, Anya is very "non-applicable". She was created in a lab, she has a strange power, so she's not like the other kids, she's been adopted and returned 4 times...
The A N/A and Anya being treated like an object instead of a human being fits the Spy x Family premise of the story, which is: Humans like Twilight, Yor, and Anya are used as weapons instead of being treated like humans. The story is about them regaining their humanity through love and family.
So even if A N/A says nothing about Anya, it says a lot about the story.
Tumblr media
Look at this little girl. This illustration was heartbreaking. Do you know when it takes place? It's right before he meets Twilight. We see that it's the same filthy orphanage Twilight visited on chapter 1 and this is not Anya's first orphanage, so that means this illustration happened after she was returned again. The way she's facing the door, her body language, the way she holds Mr. Chimera by the hand is so sad. Here she is, once again, in a place she doesn't want to be, where nobody will take care of her...alone 😭
Enough of that or we'll end up crying...🤧
Some other things to take into consideration about her name:
Mr. Chimera: Since this is a visual story, that panel of Mr. Chimera tells us that this plushie is involved in Anya's name. If you've read certain fic, you know where I stand on that. In this case, I think that yes, the person who helped Anya escape gave Mr. Chimera to her. However, I don't think it was exactly that character (you know who). It probably was someone else, maybe even a new character we don't know yet. It could also be a scientist who took pity on Anya or disagreed with the use of children as lab rats, and helped her escape. We don't know yet.
Twilight: One of the most beautiful panels on that short chapter was seeing Anya's eyes lit up when her papa told her the correct spelling of her name. Did you see it? Those were the eyes of someone who had just learned something new about herself and by doing this, Twilight made her even more human.
Tumblr media
One more thing...I've seen speculations about the next arc of the manga being about Anya's past because of this short mission. In my opinion...I don't think it'll happen yet. Why? If it was the case, this would have been a longer chapter and the actual beginning of the arc.
I believe Anya's past will be one of the last things we learn, because there's plenty of things to resolve and a lot of information we don't have. Stories are like puzzles; this chapter was an important piece, but we're not working on that part yet.
1K notes · View notes
rongrii · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
I recently started redesigning characters from HH for my and my friends au’s, first one I did was Lucifer :D
He quickly became my favourite character, and I really wanted to have my own take on him.
I would really appreciate if you gave me you feedback and thoughts! I know text I wrote is long, but I really tried to make things interesting <:) I do not support Viv, I pirated the show and I know it’s flaws, so I am trying to fix them how I like.
First of all, visual design changes. I want to say that I didn’t put “animation friendly design” as my priority, in show I would like to decrease amount of his details, but here it’s not very important.
Facial features changes:
- I wanted to make him look more interesting, adding goat symbolism in his eyes, nose, horns and ears. He looks kinda strange in show if think about it, angels there don’t have any noses? It bothers me a bit.
- Here I am taking a turn into making Lucifer and Satan into once person, unlike in the show. I just wanted and It seemed more logical to me. His hair is now wavy/curly, I took inspiration from paintings and sculptures where Lucifer is depicted with wavy hair.
Outfit:
- His shoulder pads(if I am using the right word) have small details on them which I repeated on his coat. I change his bow tie to a tie mostly due a personal preference, and now eye and appears only in his demon form is visible at all times.
- Hat now has a single big apple in the middle, and snake can be either on staff or the hat. Staff now has dark wooden texture that flows into the apple, resembling a tree.
Now onto character role, personality and behaviour changes.
Trying to be equal to God:
- Biblical reason to Lucifer’s fall was his pride and desire to be equal to his creator. If we had this motivation for him in the show, it would be much better. It suits person who lives in circle of Pride, it may explain why Lilith took Charlie away from Lucifer in that one scene, it adds depth into Charlie’s daddy issues. I love for how dorky and unserious he is the show but here, I wanted to follow another path, of making Lucifer actually prideful, terrifying king of hell.
- God sees everything. In attempts to imitate it, Lucifer the same way sees and knows about most of what happens in hell. You notice how much eye ornaments are on the streets? I took this idea in Lucifer being able to spectate whenever he wants on any place eyes are placed in. This extends to every ring, having even more power than Vox and his cameras. Lucifer’s eyes on his cape may also appear in situation when he decides to watch sinners and demons, as well as pupils shift form. He also knows every soul who enters and leaves hell, like Sera.
- I often see points about Lucifer being God’s favourite in the past. This could be incorporated in the story, making even more sense for Lucifer to be so prideful. Charlie could face the same consequences, + Lucifer could treat her like Charlie is a God’s son, like Lucifer himself is. More depth and angst into Charlie’s relationship with father, yay!!
Other changes:
- He could use more coldness to the sinners. I don’t think it much matters to him if they are killed, more than that, Lucifer would kill the sinners like exorcists do, if they are not acting how he wants to. But in hell, you can’t run away from Lucifer like it is possible from exorcists. It would make him more scary.
- He and the royal family because of the first point are respected. Lucifer’s pride wouldn’t allow him to treat him badly.
This is not all, put the post is long already and I am still thinking things out. I will make part 2 with his full demon from and more thoughts, so stay tuned!
Thank you if you read all that, and even if you didn’t and just liked the art. Tell me if I got things wrong and I have mistakes in my research of Lucifer in religion. Have an awesome day!!
317 notes · View notes
anthurak · 6 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Something I’ve been thinking about when listening to ‘Crooked’ is how Ozzie seems to really relate to Fizz with lines like ‘I think you’re messy but I’m messy too’ and singing about his own ‘crooked heart’ and how he finds Fizz’s imperfections beautiful.
And I think this could get really interesting if Asmodeus and the rest of the Sins are fallen angels just like Lucifer. I mean imagine what Ozzie’s sense of self-image is like if he was an angel who left or was expelled from Heaven and took on this new form in Hell?
Like we’ve always wondered why the Sins look the way they do, particularly in contrast to the demons they seem to rule over. Asmodeus rules over the succubi and incubi yet is this multi-headed fire-rooster, Beelzebub rules over the hellhounds yet is some mashup of a fox/canine and a bee, and now Mammon rules over the shark-demons yet is some weird spider/pine-tree thing.
What if the reason they all look like this is the RESULT of them being Fallen Angels? Specifically, the result of their expulsion from Heaven? What if this is the whole reason for them being ‘embodiments of sin’ in the first place? What if it was all originally intended as a PUNISHIMENT by Heaven for whatever transgressions they may have committed? Something meant to ‘curse’ them when they fell.
In which case, I think it’s all too easy to imagine why Ozzie empathizes, relates and connects so much with Fizzerolli and his struggles. Because Fizz is going through a struggle likely all too similar to one that Ozzie may have gone through, what ALL of the Sins likely went through after their fall. Expelled from their home, having their bodies massively changed and told it was BAD. And I think Crooked shows how Ozzie coped with it: By embracing what he had become and finding the beauty in it, something that he now uses to help Fizzerolli, showing that there is no shame in all their crooked, messy imperfections, and that there is even beauty in them.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And I imagine that ALL of the Sins did more or less the same: They embraced and OWNED this ‘curse’ Heaven sought to ‘punish’ them with. Embraced these ‘sins’ they are supposed to embody and made them their own. It’s why Ozzie and Bee are able to express this very positive interpretation of Lust and Gluttony respectively. As a way of making a new life for themselves and also probably a big ‘fuck-you’ to Heaven.
Tumblr media
Now that’s not to say that ALL of the Sins were able to do this in a positive manner, Mammon being a clear example. I imagine that as we are introduced to the rest of the Sins, we’re going to see more of a range of positive and negative ways they’ve chosen to express the ‘sin’ they embody. Like even Asmodeus has been shown to have had his hang-ups on Lust and Love being exclusive, leading to him keeping his true relationship with Fizzerolli secret.
Tumblr media
Though it’s clear over the last couple episodes that Ozzie isn’t worried about that anymore.
And I think that in particular is REALLY interesting, because it implies that the Sins aren’t actually bound to a particular way of indulging. Rather, the way they express their ‘sin’ is not by compulsion but by CHOICE. Which I think puts all of the Sins’ actions in a pretty interesting light.
Like it means that Mammon being this petty, skeevy, manipulative asshole isn’t some grand, nebulous ‘Embodiment of Greed’ thing, but rather simply a Mammon thing. The product of his own personal issues and hang-ups. Which also weirdly enough implies that there’s hope for Mammon. The possibility that he doesn’t HAVE to be this way. Admittedly it would almost certainly take a (pardon the pun) HELLUVA family intervention to have a hope of making that happen, but you never know. It would certainly be in keeping with the themes of the show.
All in all, I’m finding more and more the possible backgrounds of the Seven Sins to be VERY compelling. Not just for ‘The Lore’ reasons, but because it further develops the Sins as characters. It takes these monstrously powerful and ancient beings and shows them to be far more grounded and, for lack of a better word, human than we might give them credit for.
521 notes · View notes
monstrifex-art · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Howls in the Heights
Art and story by me, for the TF anthology Shifts from the Shelves.
Story:
Smoke hung in the air like an unanswered question. Between the blotchy wallpaper and the liquor-stained floorboards, the poker room couldn’t accurately be described as “nice.” But Donovan owed me a favor, so for the time being this space in the back of his bar was mine. The faint music of a jazz combo leaked under the door, distant and a little sad. I stretched, twine running through my fingers as I looped it around the tack pinning a balding man’s mug-shot to the wall.
“That one’s kind of handsome,” Rita mused from behind me.
I scoffed and shot a glance over my shoulder. Rita stood close enough that I could smell her perfume. She was watching me map my thoughts on the wall with casual amusement, her dark eyes skimming lightly over the collection of newspaper clippings and photographs.
“Maybe he was. But he’s not looking so good anymore.” I uncapped a pen and drew a large red X over his face. “Handyman Wharton was a real piece of work. But no one deserves to die like that. These murders… in all my years of investigating, I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“Mmm, sounds to me like he had it coming,” she breathed as she leaned her chin on my shoulder. Rita was beautiful in a way that made it hard to think straight. She had wavy hair that fell like a black curtain on one side of her face, eyelids and lips done up in a matching smoky coal. Tonight she wore a cocktail dress that poured smoothly down her curves. The thin fabric left very little to the imagination.
Rita and I had crossed paths in a couple chance encounters over the last couple weeks. She had a habit of turning up just as things were getting interesting, and making just about everything a little more complicated. For some reason she seemed to take a shine to me. We’d started spending nights together, and she proved as enthusiastic between the sheets as she was on the dance floor. Maybe more so.
“I’m getting close,” I murmured softly. “All these bodies—there’s a pattern here. Crime barons, crooked cops… someone is making a power play for this city’s underworld. Whoever they are, they can’t hide from the truth.”
Rita slid off my back and glided over to the card table where she’d left her lighter. She sat, one leg crossed over the other, and took a long drag from the mouthpiece of her cigarette holder.
“I like watching you think, Detective. It’s like watching an old car struggle up a steep road.”
“This car still has some miles left in it,” I chuckled. “See here—Wharton was a regular at the Glass Eye. You remember, where we met at the craps table. And here, if my sources are right, Wharton was smuggling ammo for the Pinstripe gang. They’re based out of Turnstile, where you took me to see that boxing match. Hell, if I didn’t know any better Rita I’d say…”
Something cold ran down my spine. Old instincts flared to life, telling me I’d just stumbled into something big. My eyes flitted from headline to headshot, arcs of twine adding up in an intricate equation. My thoughts clicked like a typewriter, checking hunch against evidence, step-by-step. It was impossible but… the data points aligned. How could…
“Ahhh… starting to put the pieces together, are we, darling?” Rita’s voice found me from far away, as if I was at the bottom of a well. I turned to face her, limbs numb.
“You…”
She smiled, white teeth flashing in the smoky gloom. “Of course it was me, dear. It was all me. All along.”
“But… the bodies. They were torn apart. How did you…”
She laughed in that pitying little way she did when she knew something I didn’t. The melodic sound of it almost made me want to laugh with her.
“Mhmhmm aww, you still look so confused! Don’t worry sweet thing, this one is above your pay grade.” She stood with a little flourish, like a magician’s assistant. “Here. Perhaps a demonstration will make you understand.”
A part of my mind, not sure which, suddenly sounded alarm bells. An instinct to run pumped through me, made my heart beat fast and my perception sharpen. Rita was just standing there, but some awareness deep in my hindbrain was screaming danger. Predator. Flee.
I gritted my teeth. Not yet. Not when I was so close to the answer.
A shiver ran across Rita’s pale skin, starting at her back and working out to her limbs. I could see her hair stand on end. She stretched, luxuriating in the movement. Her lips parted, and a long sigh streamed from her throat like a release of pressurized air. “Hahhhh… You’re about to see who I really am, dearest.”
A quiet snapping noise, then another. Dozens of meaty clicks inside her like the sound of dislocating joints. Rita pitched forward, bending double in a violent motion that knocked the card table behind her slamming to the floor. She gasped, lurching upright with an ecstatic grin on her face. Her eyes! They had changed, darker around the edges and brighter in the middle. Her pupils reflected light like burning headlights. I couldn’t look away.
“All the rest, it’s an… affectation. Like a favorite dress that I wear around town.”
Her elbow-length gloves were starting to tear. I could see dark fur through the rips, black claws cutting neatly through the satin fingertips. She groaned, and I could hear the timbre of her voice roughening. Something cracked in her legs. Her feet shifted, pushing her taller inch by inch as they extended into long sinewy paws.
Her dress clung tightly to her curves as her frame broadened. The cloth strained, her collar line deepening as the flesh of her shoulders and chest rippled with new bulk. I could see her nipples pressing through the black cloth, erect with sensation.
She gestured to the dress, to her glittering necklace and sheer stockings. “This, all these pretty things. It used to be me… Gruuhh.” Her voice faltered as an involuntary growl rattled through her. She smiled sweetly, regaining her composure. “But not anymore.”
The fabric gave with a loud tearing noise as a large tail, black and shaggy, thrust out behind her. She took a few balancing steps forward, then reached up to brush the hair out of her face with one clawed hand. Her breathing was coming deep and heavy now, hot fog mingling with smoke in curls around her smile.
“Don’t get me wrong, darling. I do love our little song-and-dances. Being the stunning vision on your arm is a treat! But the real me can’t dazzle a cocktail party in quite the same way.”
She grimaced, and I could see her teeth lengthening into interlocking fangs. Fur crept down her face, pressing in at the edges of her cheeks and trailing down her nose.
She blinked and stared deep into me with those burning eyes. “I clean up pretty nice, wouldn’t you say? I certainly had you fooled!” She cackled with a wild abandon that approached madness.
Her shaking laughter choked off into gasps as she convulsed with another surge of growth. The wet sounds of her bones rearranging were almost drowned out by the noise of her widening hips and shoulders finally tearing her dress to ribbons. I could just see her face masked in shadow, distorting and stretching as her mouth extended into a snout full of pointed lupine teeth. Rivulets of saliva dripped from her black lips.
I stumbled away instinctively, felt the pins of my map wall dig into my back. Stray clues drifted to the floor like leaves. I could feel my cheeks burning hot as I tried to look away, but I couldn’t pull my eyes from her nakedness as it was torn free before me.
Between gasping breaths, she laughed violently. “YOUR FACE!” she snarled, muzzle curling into a feral grin. “You weren’t this SHY when we MADE LOVE LAST NIGHT!”
She was right, of course. I had seen every inch of her in our evenings together. But there was something about seeing her this way—it was rawer, deeper, more intimate and carnal. I was enraptured with a fascination that had never possessed me during our previous dalliances. I couldn’t understand it. I was hopelessly lost in the rhythm of her shifting flesh. Why? The scene before me was horrific, so why was I feeling this way?
“You’re… I just… I…” I stammered, struggling to put words in order.
“You still WANT me, DON’T YOU?” She was shouting now. “I can smell your desire… What is it you always say? YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM THE TRUTH, DETECTIVE!”
That was it. I was more attracted to her now than I ever had been before. What was wrong with me? Why did my heart feel like it was about to pound its way out of my chest? I shut my eyes, turning away with a strangled cry.
“I don’t understand! Please… I can’t, I don’t…”
“LOOK AT ME, DARLING.”
I blinked toward her, seeing only blurred glimpses. I saw the fur bristling from muscle-laden thighs, the tattered sweat-soaked remnants of her dress stretched over her rippling abdominals. God, parts of her were still so human. She wasn’t an animal or a person - she was something monstrous in-between. She was a terrifying beast, but she was still recognizably… her.
“LOOK AT ME!” she roared, and the room shook. I cried out, and opened my eyes to behold her entirely.
She was beautiful.
She was so beautiful it hurt.
I stepped toward her, and fell into her arms as she embraced me. We fell together to a gasping heap on the floor. We began anew, pressing ourselves into one another with bestial fervor.
The case would have to go on a little while longer.
614 notes · View notes
spirantization · 2 months
Text
I'm surprised at the hate that Sokka's character arc from NATLA is receiving. To me, Sokka's development and characterization was one of the strongest adaptations the series made.
In the original ATLA, Sokka's character arc revolves around him unlearning his own misogyny. He makes pointedly sexist comments throughout the early episodes like "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!", "There's no way a bunch of girls took us down!", etc.
Sokka's comments have a strong narrative purpose: they give a platform for women in the show (Katara & Suki mostly) to refute his attitude. Katara emphasizes traditional "women's work" (cleaning, cooking, sewing, etc), which forces Sokka to confront its inherent value. Suki is able to prove to him that women can fight too and he learns to respect female warriors. It's a great character arc and it's well-executed.
It's also characterization that is in direct response to the culture and feminism of the 90s and early 00s. The representation of women in the media at that time was...oof. It was not great. One-dimensional love interests whose only purpose is being saved by the male protagonist, mostly. Female protagonists were not as common, and certainly not ones who were depicted as being able to fight, and certainly not in cartoons. Female protagonists in animation were almost exclusively princesses.
ATLA was progressive in this regard. Katara was a complex female character in a time when there were not a lot of them, in media in general but especially in animation and kid's shows. (I grew up in the 90s; there were no characters like Katara in animation on screen for me.) ATLA incorporated the zeitgeist directly into the story, which is why we have Sokka learning to overcome his sexism in his interactions with Strong Female Characters.
If you go back and watch the original cartoon now, Sokka's sexism feels a bit dated. It's a very 90s, Girl Power, "girls can fight too" style of social commentary. It doesn't match with the media landscape of today. We've got 20 years of media with female superheroes behind us. If your message is "girls can fight too!" the response for the most part is going to be "yes, we know that. And?"
So imagine you're adapting the original ATLA for a live-action remake. You want to keep Sokka's character arc intact, but you want to update it for the 2020s. So what do you do? You look at the conversations that are happening today.
The 90s were about "girls can do everything boys can do", but the 20s are over that. The conversation is more about gender: gender expression, gender roles, gender dynamics. What does is mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a man?
Sokka's character arc in NATLA is focused on this question: What does it mean to be a man? At the beginning of the series, it's his identity as a warrior that defines him. He needs to be the warrior, the protector, the leader. He's constantly trying to reaffirm this part of his identity, and it's completely tied up in his perception of his value as a man. Instead of his interactions with Suki being about "how could girls possibly be warriors", it shifts to Sokka saying "I'm ALSO a warrior" and trying to justify that to Suki (and mostly himself).
His arc over the series is about him accepting other aspects of himself and relearning how to define his masculinity. He can still have value as man without being the greatest warrior. He can still have value as a man by using his skills as an engineer. He can still have value as a man by offering compassion and kindness to others, like the little girl with the doll & Yue in her final moments. Instead of rigidly defining himself by a specific set of gender roles & expectations, he learns how to define himself through his own strengths and qualities.
I know there are a lot of people who are upset at this change to Sokka's characterization, and the most common thing I see is that it results in changes to Katara's character and her anger in response to Sokka's comments. I think there are valid criticisms to be made about how the show handled the adaptation of Katara's character, but I won't go there with this. In terms of Sokka and his characterization, it was well-done and thematically consistent with the original. It's not an exact port, and it never needed to be. It's still a feminist arc that centres on unlearning harmful misogynistic worldviews, but the focus has shifted from external (roles of women) to internal (his role as a man). And his journey is one that people would benefit from seeing represented.
295 notes · View notes
buckybarnesb-tch · 9 months
Note
Hiii! I was wondering if u could do a royalty au with the yandere Mikaelsons! It can either be human or vampire but like image THE AESTHETICS OF IT!! And can u somehow include rebekah as well!! I can leave the rest of the plot up to u or if u want I can also send ideas :)
I Don’t Want a Crown -Klaus M.
Tumblr media
For something like this I could see going vampire but no, I’m going human on this. I’m excited to try it out!
Tumblr media
Your father thought it was an insult.
You were your fathers youngest daughter, the only one currently unmarried as he had married off your sisters already to make necessary alliances. The Mikaelson family was a very powerful ally, they were close with the king and queen but your father only wanted you to be married to the eldest, Elijah. Elijah however is already betrothed.
Elijah was happy to marry you to his younger brother, Niklaus, who you hadn’t met but you had heard some truly horrific stories of him beheading and gutting his enemies.
Your father dismissed you so that he could talk to Elijah alone and you happily exited the stuffy room, exploring the castle before making your way outside. You were enjoying the overcast sky before coming across a man leaning against a tree and seemingly sketching something in a book. You paused as you walked passed him to look and see him drawing an image of your horse that was by the stables.
‘That’s very good…are you an artist or something?’ You questioned and he paused to look down at you before smiling.
‘Or something, it’s a nice hobby. I’m glad you like it. I’m Nik, lovely to meet you.’ He took your hand, kissing your knuckle softly and bowing as he did which made you smile. Many men that greeted you didn’t think they had to bow to anyone but your parents, this man was a stranger and showing you more respect than your regular suitors.
‘I’m Y/n, it’s a pleasure. Well, I’m sorry to have bothered you Nik.’ You turned to walk away when he quickly fell into step beside you.
‘I can’t leave a beautiful girl to walk alone now can I? What kind of a man would I be?’ He held out his arm and you took it as you walked through the gardens. ‘So, why are you taking a stroll alone on such a dreary day?’
‘Oh I love days like these, and I love walking in the rain…much to my fathers dismay but that somehow makes it better.’ You teased and he seemed to like it. ‘Rainy days are the best kind. And I suppose I needed to get away. My father has been trying to marry me off to some rich family, though which one is anyone’s guess. It’s exhausting meeting potential husbands every day, and not one of them actually interested in meeting me. Just my father because it’s his choice and I will do what I’m told. Then I’ll get married to a man who is cold and cruel and just as happy to make me do what I’m told. I’m not ignorant enough to think I should be free to fall in love, the world isn’t that kind but shouldn’t we at least like each other? I don’t want to become my sister, married to a man who beats her with only the intention of filling her with a son…and now I’m ranting my problems to a stranger who only asked about the weather. I’m so sorry Nik-‘
‘I asked why you were walking, you answered. And I don’t think it’s an outrageous request to want to get along or a husband who will not beat you. A man should respect his wife, she is the one who will raise his children and give him a happy home to come back to every day, warm his bed yes but that should be more than one sided as well.’ You tried to hide your blush at the topic but he definitely noticed. ‘You’re a lovely women. You should be taken care of, and regardless of what a man is like with other men he should be a gentleman with his family. I’m sure your husband will prove to be a good man, at least to you.’ You smiled at that, his optimism being refreshing.
‘It’s a nice sentiment, though the man my father is meeting with now is trying to marry me off to an apparent madman. Of course those are just rumors, everyone deserves a fair chance.’ He looked stunned by your words as you sat yourself on the rock wall overlooking the ocean. It’s where you came to read often, it was peaceful and you loved watching the waves when it stormed.
‘You have a refreshing outlook on life. I like how sweet you are Y/n. Any man should be honored to have you, I know I would be.’ He sat beside you, kissing your hand once again, his blue eyes being the kind you want to get lost in for hours.
‘Well, I’m an optimist I guess. Besides, it’s not just him that’s a possibility. My father is meeting with someone else today, I suppose he feels slighted that I’ve been offered a second son, dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life but my father is nothing if not sensitive.’ You joked and while he laughed he looked…angry? He hid it quickly before standing and holding out his hand.
‘We should get you inside, it’s going to rain any second Princess.’ He walked you back to the castle in silence and while it wasn’t uncomfortable, you felt the need to ask as you got inside.
‘Have I offended you? If I have, you have my sincerest apologies my Lord, I don’t-‘
‘Nonsense! You have done nothing of the sort.’ He reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear and the way he looked at you was so…heavy. ‘Now, you go get yourself warmed up and dressed for dinner. I’m sure I will see you again in a bit.’ With that he bowed and was gone, leaving you to realize how late it really was and rush to get ready for dinner.
When you arrived you were greeted by your mother as your father spoke to a man who must be in his early 40s. Very close to his age at least. ‘Y/n, your father has invited both of your suitors, Lord Aslan and Lord Mikaelson to dinner tonight. He would like to speak with both of them freely and see which is the best match, please be on your best behavior?’ Your mother begged.
‘Please tell me that old man is my suitors father?’ Your mother looked at you with hard eyes and you knew to shut up as you all sat down to eat.
‘Should we wait for the Mikaelson’s?’ Your mother asked and father rolled his eyes.
‘Can’t even be on time for a potential alliance. How disgraceful.’ Lord Aslan spoke and now you rolled your eyes.
‘Apologies my Lord, my brother has had to leave, our sister is having a bit of trouble. I’m sorry for my tardiness.’ You know that voice.
‘We can understand that. Young women are a handful, I should know, my wife gave me 5.’ Everyone knows your father hates that your mother gave him so many girls before a boy but he still brings it up. You looked up to see Nik sitting in the chair across from you and smiled politely, but you’re sure he could see it didn’t reach your eyes. ‘Gentlemen, this is my daughter Y/n.’ You waved politely, Nik smiling while the man beside your father leered at you.
‘The pleasure is mine Princess.’ Lord Mikaelson greeted, the other man laughing suddenly and gaining everyone’s attention.
‘She’s not a Princess. A Lady, maybe, and a lovely one at that.’ You cringed, taking a drink from your cup and trying to ignore his eyes on you.
‘Every women should be treated as a Princess by her husband. Do you not agree my Lord? I’ve met many Princesses, they don’t hold a candle to you Darling.’ The blush is back and this time you can’t even pretend to hide it.
‘Thank you my Lord, you are sweet.’
Tumblr media
The rest of dinner was your father speaking to Lord Aslan while he leered at you and you spoke to Nik back and forth, finding the rumors about him to be insane. He couldn’t hurt a fly. Or so you thought.
After they had left and you were getting ready for bed your father knocked on your door, letting himself in with a stern look on his face. ‘You behaved very rudely at dinner. You didn’t once try to speak to Lord Aslan.’
‘He was staring at my chest all night and he didn’t speak to me either, just you. He wants me to be his wife and doesn’t even want to know anything about me? No thank you. Besides, I loved speaking with Niklaus, he was sweet and he wanted to know me. I would much rather-‘ you were about to finish when your father cut you off with a hand around your throat, eyes angry and determined.
‘You think I care what you want? Your opinion means nothing to me child, it’s the men that matter and I will not be offended by being offered a second son for my youngest girl. I’m being given land and an army by Lord Aslan, plus a dowry that is worth much more than you. You’ll make yourself happy where ever I put you like a good daughter and a good wife! You are set to marry Lord Aslan in a fort night. That is all I will hear on the matter.’ When he stopped speaking he finally allowed you to breathe, pulling his hand away and watching you collapse to the floor, gasping for air. ‘Sleep daughter. You have lunch with your husband tomorrow and you must be presentable.’ With that he was gone and you were left alone to change into your night gown, holding a cold compress to the quickly forming bruises on your throat.
You were in too much pain to relax and sleep, every time you moved your neck or swallowed pain shot through your throat and didn’t leave you with the ability to get comfortable. You had finally given up trying and ended up on the loveseat with a book and an inability to stop the tears despite your pain. You were going to spend the rest of your life with a man who doesn’t care for you at all. Niklaus would move on and find a new wife, some lucky girl to have a good husband and a good life and you hate her. You were trying to calm yourself when you heard a knock on your French doors making you look up before it happened again. Quickly you wiped your face before moving to the doors to see a familiar face, waving casually.
‘What are you doing?’ You asked, opening the doors and allowing him to slip in and watching as he looked around your plain room.
‘I am to be your husband, I’m allowed to see my wife, aren’t I? I want to get to know you better before-we…why are you crying?’ You quickly wiped your face again and he stopped you, taking your hands in his and brushing the tears away.
‘Niklaus, you have to go. You can’t be here-‘
‘I will not have you cry, why are you upset, I can-‘
‘You can’t fix it! You are not going to be my husband! I told you, I’m not going to be married to a second son and what I want doesn’t matter! You need to leave, please? You’ll be killed if you’re found in here!’ You pushed at his chest but he didn’t budge, pulling you close and tilting your head up, inspecting the bruises on your neck gently. ‘My Lord-‘
‘Husband.’ He cut you off, clearly angry but not acting on it. ‘I’m sorry if you got confused Princess, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, your father seems to want to irritate me. There was no chance of any other man marrying you, I have already decided that you’re mine. You are not to worry about that, do you understand?’ He asked it so softly you felt like you were dreaming.
‘But my father-‘
‘Do. You. Understand?’ His eyes were a stormy blue, like a raging sea, impossible to tame but he never once made you feel like you were in danger with him.
‘I understand. But my father will never agree. He’s stubborn and cruel-‘
‘You haven’t seen cruel Princess…and you never will. I promise you that. And this-‘ he touched your neck softly, his eyes hardening when he looked at the bruises. ‘This will never happen to you again. Not in this lifetime, you are my wife, my Princess to protect and no one will ever harm you. No one will get close enough to try. Tomorrow you’ll go about your day like normal and not speak a word of this, then you will get the news that you are being married to me. Now come, Princess’ need sleep.’ He suddenly lifted you into his arms and carried you to your bed, tucking you into the blankets and holding your hand.
‘I can’t sleep. My neck hurts and I-‘
‘Shh.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle, reaching up to open your mouth and you didn’t fight him as he pored it onto your tongue, making you swallow. ‘Now relax, you’ll sleep just fine my darling. Don’t you worry about that.’ He pressed your hand to his face, kissing your palm and sighing, his stubble scratching your hand roughly. As he began standing your eyes fell, heavy with sleep and you felt a kiss on your cheek before you fell asleep.
Tumblr media
You slept well into the next day and you were awoken by a maid just before lunch, helping you into a dress that covered the marks on your neck. You went to the gardens for your lunch but Lord Aslan never showed up.
Your father was furious for the rest of the day and you didn’t see him at dinner but your mother told you that he was in a meeting. Walking back to your bedroom that night you turned to see familiar blue eyes looking down at you, waiting outside your door. ‘Nik?’
‘Hello my darling wife.’ He pulled you close to his chest and into your room, the door shutting behind him. ‘Our wedding will be held in 2 days time, everything is being taken care of, you won’t have to lift one little finger. I want you to have the best wedding day ever.’
You pulled back, looking up at him confused. ‘I’m engaged already, he told me-‘
‘Your father is an idiot, and he knew not to cross me yet he did so anyway after finding out that I wanted you as my wife. That’s his problem. The other…I hesitate to call him a man, isn’t an issue anymore. He was found dead in his home this morning for looking at things that didn’t belong to him.’ You stared up at him in shock, not sure what to do. ‘I told you, I like how sweet you are and any man should feel honored to have you. I do, and I always will. I will protect my sweet girl until my dying day, and not once will your innocent eyes be forced to see anything even resembling violent. I know I’m not the best man, but I will take care of you love, and I will love you for the rest of eternity…do you want to be mine?’
You didn’t know what to say to that. ‘I’m already yours-‘
‘I will see to it that you live like a nun for the rest of your life if that’s what you choose, but I would much prefer you be mine. I love you Y/n, but it’s your choice.’ His honesty spoke volumes and I nodded my head without hesitation.
‘Yes. I want to be your wife…I love you too Nik.’
Klaus was the best husband she could have ever dreamed of and he was true to his word, she never saw any violence…even when she ordered it.
Tumblr media
Klaus Mikaelson Masterlist
I Don’t Want a Crown Moodboard
626 notes · View notes
arista-stl · 2 months
Text
The reasons why I think Stella and Bloom's friendship is amazing and is not something we often see
Tumblr media
Or why Fate is trash
One aspect of Winx club I always loved growing up was the friendship between the girls. They all love each other, despite their very different personnalities and having some rough times.
While I could write an essay about almost every duo in Winx club, I do think that Stella and Bloom are the most interesting to analyze.
Even though they are part of a friend group, the show doesn't try to hide the fact that Stella and Bloom are each other best friend, they even say so themselves.
This friendship is truly groundbreaking when we think about it, for one simple reason: Bloom and Stella's archetypes usually hates each other when depicted together in media.
Hear me out.
Stella is the girly girl, the mean girl, the popular girl with a big mouth who can appear shallow. Plus, she's blond. She bases a big portion of her self-worth in her apperance. Basically, she's the Regina George of Winx Club.
Bloom, she's not like the other girls. There's nothing wrong with her, she's attractive and a sweetheart, yet she attracts attention for being different (in the show there are a few reasons for this, first she's from Earth and she's also the keeper of the Dragon Flame, making her a god-like existence in the story). She has messy hair, dresses in jeans, doesn't really care about her apperance... She's a fish out of water type of character, the character everyone can and wants to relate to. She's the Cady of Winx Club.
These two were designed to hate each other.
Taking into account Stella's nature, we expect her to hate Bloom out of sheer jealousy. Bloom doesn't try and gets all the attention, she's the new girl who turns out to be the one girl more powerful than her, she's also a princess. We could say that everything Stella can do, Bloom can do better.
And yet...
Stella would kill a bitch for Bloom. Never in the show does she display any sort of ill feelings toward Bloom, on the contrary, she spends her time trying to get her to be more confident in herself and her abilities. She's sweet with her and does her best to uplift her. I can say with confidence that Stella is the one person in the show who loves Bloom the most (tied with Daphne), like Sky doesn't hold A CANDLE to her.
When Bloom leaves on missions by herself she's worried sick, she's always clinging to her, teasing her, looking out for her. She's always the one there for Bloom when things get hard (when the Trix steal her powers, when Sky gets engaged to Diaspro, when she thinks of her family...)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And Bloom, she just loves Stella. She's the reason her dream became reality (it was her meeting with her which caused her to learn her true nature), and Stella took her under her wing to make it easier for her to fit into this new world. She saw from the beggining that Stella was willing to lie for her, to fight for her and she couldn't help but love her, even if she had a big mouth and quite the personnality. Stella brought lightness and laughter into her world, she was her anchor.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
For real, just look at her reaction when Stella throws herself from the cliff in season two. She spends the episodes after that obsessing over finding and saving Stella.
These two can't live without each other even though one is the 'your typical mean girl' and the other is 'not like the other girls'.
Heck, everytime the villains freaking spy on the Winx these two are all over each other.
Tumblr media
I think the heart of their friendship is their first meeting. Stella was what Bloom had dreamed of all her life: she was a real fairy, the living personnification of her dreams. She's the one who made her dream a reality. As for Stella, she was saved by a human who risked her life and stood up for her even though she didn't stand any chance and didn't know her. Bloom was just lucky she turned out to be a fairy. Bloom then took her to her house and took care of her, without expecting anything in return, which caused them to bond instantly.
Tumblr media
That relationship was freaking transgressive for the time, and Fate's writers deserve jail for what they did to their friendship. Bloom and Stella fighting over a boy and Stella turning into the typical insecure and jealous mean girl? Hell no.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Look at these queens 🥹
366 notes · View notes
bookofmirth · 3 months
Text
What could happen to the Prison in acotar5?
As a preview, this post is going to be hella long. It focuses on things we learned primarily on acosf and hofas. It also discusses the Illyrians and the Valkyries, Pegasuses, the 8-pointed star, and the fallout from Avallen being restored by Bryce. 
The tl;dr is that I think that the Valkyries (and potentially some Illyrians) could serve as guardians for the Prison, along with being a neutral political force and army in Prythian, not aligned with a specific court but rather being a balance between them all. 
Before you proceed, be aware that I tend towards analysis of the current content of the books, not theorizing about what will happen in the future, so this may not read like theories that other people in the fandom come up with. A majority of this is facts from the books, with me tying things together to think about the implications.
Part one: what we know based on HOFAS
First, it's helpful to get some context for what we know (for sure) about the Prison:
It was the land of dusk (not a Court in the way Prythian currently has courts).
After the events with Fionn, Theia, Helena, Silene, and Pelias, the land was mostly abandoned.
When Silene returned from Midgard, she created the Prison in order to hide the Harp, using the monsters she put there to deter anyone from looking for it. Silene decided if this place was seen as cursed, then let it be cursed.
We also find out that Silene left her portion of Theia's light under the Prison, which Bryce then took.
There is also a large cache of firstlight remaining under the Prison.
When Bryce used Truthteller and Gwydion/the Starsword to heal Avallen, Pegasuses appeared again.
Avallen and the Prison are in "thin" spots in the universe that make it easy to travel from one planet to the other (fwiw, this idea is not unique to sjm. See: Stephen King.) These spots are identifiable by the mists that surround them.
These thin spots are also on the nexus of ley lines, where energy flows.
It stands to reason that when Bryce "unlocked" Avallen, the energy and magic that it now experiences will flow to other places along the ley lines, IE the Prison. It's also implied that the land keeping the power imprisoned is one of the reasons it grew sick.
Bryce's actions in hofas have implications for Prythian. While the above is related to the Prison, we also have:
Nesta now has possession of the Starsword/Gwydion
Azriel's reaction to Truthteller and the Starsword being together
The 8-pointed star (more on that later)
Part two: what we know based on ACOSF
So based on this information, we need to go back to acosf and look at what sjm left for us. 
The main thing to keep in mind is that Nesta found the Harp in the Prison, and that it was laying on an 8-pointed star. 
One of the main dangling threads from acosf - that we know to be canon, that is not a theory or supposition - is that the Illyrians and the Valkyries are going to continue training together. We know that Mor is interested in training with the Valkyries. From hofas, we know that Nesta is every bit as well trained now as she was in the months since acosf.
Now, there are a couple of partially-fulfilled statements from acosf that I think are relevant here, in addition to Valkyries and Illyrians continuing to train.
The first is the wish that Nesta made on the friendship bracelets. 
"I wish for us to have the courage to go out into the world when we are ready, but to always be able to find our way back to each other. No matter what." (chp 59)
We know that in the Blood Rite, the second half of that wish was fulfilled. The first half has not been fulfilled yet. That gives us very good reason to assume that the first half will be fulfilled.
All three of them, Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn, will go out into the world at some point in the future. 
There is another, much larger implication that was made in acosf:
Nesta smirked. “If we are to be Valkyries born again,” she said, “maybe we should combine the Illyrian and Valkyrie techniques.” She’d meant it in jest, but the words rumbled through the space, as if she’d spoken some great truth, something that made fate sit up. Azriel turned to them fully this time, eyes narrowed. Like those shadows had whispered something to him. A chill breathed down Nesta’s spine. Cassian stared into their faces. Like he beheld something he hadn’t seen there before. (chp 44)
And the later on:
Gwyn whispered, “I am the rock against which the surf crashes.” Nesta straightened at the words, as if they were a prayer and a summons. Gwyn lifted the blade. “Nothing can break me.” Cassian’s throat tightened, and even from across the ring, he could see Nesta’s eyes gleaming with pride and pain. Emerie said, “Nothing can break us.” The world seemed to pause at the words. As if it had been following one path and now branched off in another direction. In a hundred years, a thousand, this moment would still be etched in his mind. That he would tell his children, his grandchildren, Right then and there. That was when it all changed. Azriel went wholly still, as if he, too, had felt the shift. As if he, too, were aware that far larger forces peered into that training ring as Gwyn moved. (chp 60)
SJM used similar phrasing in the same book for which we know the consequences: 
Strike after strike, and Cassian could have sworn the world paused as she unleashed herself with the same intensity she brought to training.
This is when Nesta is Making the weapons, which we find out later is actually a significant moment, not just Cassian being hyperbolic about how great his mate is. Then, when Nesta is using the Mask and Harp to heal Feyre, the world also pauses. This phrasing is used when something important is happening - even if we don't know what the implications are, yet.
Given that we know for sure that the Illyrians and the Valkyries are going to continue training, and there are loose threads because we don't know the implications of fate/the world standing up at Nesta's, Emerie's, and Gwyn's statements and/or actions, there is a very, very good chance that the Valkyries will continue being a big part of acotar. 
My final point about the Valkyries is that in myth, they rode horses through the sky - not Pegasuses because those are from Greek myth, and Valkyries are Norse. But they fly through the sky on horses nonetheless. (This is literally the only piece of evidence I have coming from outside the books.) Pegasuses are connected to Avallen and likely the Prison. We know that Helion keeps some, but they are struggling to breed/thrive. (We also know that sjm loves to take what she wants from myth, so it’s not a stretch to think she’d shrug at the Greek/Norse distinction.)
All of this together tells me that the Valkyries have more story coming, and it is connected to the Illyrians'.
Part three: The 8-pointed star
A common thread between both series is the 8-pointed star. There are a few ways in which it is used:
Nesta and Cassian's bargain tattoo in acosf. They both had this tattoo on them - an Illyrian and a Valkyrie. 
Bryce also has the 8-pointed star on her chest that glows when she is near people who will aid her or who are part of the Starborn line. When she took the piece of Theia's light, it went into her star and powered her up.
The Harp was resting on an 8-pointed star in the Prison, where Silene left it.
In HOFAS, Bryce put Truthteller and Gwydion into the slots of an 8-pointed star in order to revive Avallen.
When training, Cassian teaches the Valkyries the 8-pointed star sequence. This is a series of moves that they make with a sword, and is an Illyrian technique. 
Cassian walked her through eight different cuts and blocks. Each was an individual move, he’d explained, and like the punches, they could be combined. (chp 38) “I’d thought today would be a good day to integrate the eight-pointed star, but if you’re already complaining, we can wait until next week.” (chp 44) Nesta lifted the sword and executed a perfect arcing slash. Her weight shifted to her legs just as she flipped the blade, leading with the hilt, and brought up her arm against an invisible blow. Another shift and the sword swept down, a brutal slash that would have sliced an opponent in half. Each slice was perfect. Like that eight-pointed star was stamped on her very heart. (chp 50)
And finally, at the end of HOFAS, Bryce gives Gwydion to Nesta and tells her to explore the 8-pointed star:
“I think that eight-pointed star was tattooed on you for a reason. Take that sword and go figure out why.”
Note that it’s not just a matter of the star, anymore. Both Cassian and Nesta were tattooed with it; Bryce used Gwydion and Truthteller to activate the star in Avallen. And now, Nesta is in possession of Gwydion with knowledge about the Prison and a connection to the star. There are elements coming together, and those elements are connected to both Illyrians AND Valkyries. 
My thinking is that the 8-pointed star is the symbol of the dusk land, the Starborn Princes in Midgard (Theia) and in Prythian, of the first and only High King. If that land is where the Valkyries will be reborn and where Starborn power is from, and we know it is the source of a huge cache of firstlight, then that star is a symbol of what has been lost - and what is about to be revived.
So now the question is - what part will the Valkyries and Illyrians play?
Part four: What might happen to the Prison?
To sum up the above, and adding on a couple of small points that don’t fit elsewhere:
We know that the Illyrians and Valkyries will continue training
We have very heavy-handed phrasing around the world/fate paying attention to the idea of the Valkyries being reborn and working with Illyrians.
We have the connection between Valkyries, Illyrians, and the 8-pointed star because it is also an Illyrian sword technique that is being taught to the Valkyries.
We know that the Prison is going to go through some changes akin to puberty.
In addition, we have Gwyn being allowed to write the Valkyries into the books she is researching. 
SJM has also said that Nesta’s story is going to continue.
Since we know that the Prison is going to change and there are these characters and groups poised for action - I haven’t even touched on Ramiel and the Illyrians being created by the Dagsteri, Azriel and his connection to Truthteller and Enalius, and his reaction to the TT/Gwydion, and will do that in a separate post - we can make some predictions about how that might look. If it’s going to make sense, sjm has to think beyond the magic system that she has… sort-of established, and past the involvement of individual characters. There are a few things to take into consideration with the Prison.
It is very likely that Pegasuses will return to the island as it is suffused with magic and energy again. 
There are also other, unforeseen magical consequences as the magic flows back into it, thanks to the ley lines being “unblocked” by Bryce. 
It may become easier for people/creatures to travel between worlds, given that it is a thin place that has been "unlocked". 
The Prison is still full of prisoners! They are monsters that Silene gathered to hide the Harp, but... does that mean they just get released? Get slaughtered? Do they now have access to the power of the island? What is going to happen with them? 
The High Lords cannot all be trusted to stay within their own courts, minding their own business. Beron is the most obvious example, as he has his eye on Spring while Tamlin is Suffering. 
If there were another court established, one that sits on a huge reserve of firstlight, that could be a huge point of contention amongst the courts. Even if the High Lords don’t want it for themselves, they wouldn’t want anyone else to have it on the chance that one of them would use it against the others. In acomaf, Rhys explains that the Prison is keyed to his blood and that he has jurisdiction of it; however:
“Do all the High Lords have access?” My words were so soft they were devoured by the dark. Even that thrumming power in my veins had vanished, burrowing somewhere in my bones. “No. The Prison is law unto itself; the island may be even an eighth court. But it falls under my jurisdiction, and my blood is keyed to the gates.” (chp 18)
We don’t know yet what that reserve of firstlight is going to mean for the island.
To me, it makes sense for us to have a more neutral third party come in. One who doesn’t have ties to a specific court, but could act in all of their interests. 
Enter: the newly reformed Valkyries. 
I have had a personal headcanon that the Valkyries, once fully established, could create another political/martial entity in Prythian that can help balance the power between all the courts, and provide support when needed. This is how they worked before, which Cassian talks about in acosf: 
“The Valkyries fought when even the bravest males would not. The Illyrians tried to forget that. I fought against males who were my superiors, arguing to help the Valkyries. They beat me senseless, chained me to a supply wagon, and left me there. When I came to, the battle was over, the Valkyries slain.”
Valkyries and Illyrians don’t have the best history, but given that Cassian tried to help them, and that they are working together now, this could be a way of righting a wrong. It could help to explain why fate/the world is taking note. 
The Valkyrie ethos makes sense for this sort of neutral position, too:
“A clan of female warriors from another territory. They were better fighters than the Illyrians, even. The Valkyrie name was just a title, though—they weren’t a race like the Illyrians. They hailed from every type of Fae, usually recruited from birth or early childhood. They had three stages of training: Novice, Blade, and finally Valkyrie. To become one was the highest honor in their land. Their territory is gone now, subsumed into others.”
An improved Valkyrie force, especially if they continue learning Illyrian techniques and recruiting from women across Prythian, could be a big factor in upcoming conflicts with Kochei or any other villain sjm comes up with. They would ensure that the firstlight would be used fairly, so that no court is advantaged or disadvantaged unfairly. It would continue the threads that sjm has left for us, while also giving us space to explore questions that have yet to be answered (such as Azriel’s connection to Truthteller and Enalius). While I think that Nesta would keep her home in the House of Wind, the Prison island would be a good place from which the Valkyries can work - both guarding the monsters that are there, and keeping the firstlight safe.
I believe that Nesta will be the most important character when it comes to reviving the island; while it is heavily implied that the island is already going to have access to its powers thanks to being impacted by Avallen's healing - it is likely already on its way to healing - Nesta with her connection to the 8-pointed star, the Harp, possession of Gwydion, and the Valkyries can help bring stability to the place.
Thank you a million times to the people who helped me fact check and keep things straight, or just listened to me rant about this: @hellacioushag @lily-thesuriel @elains @aionuel @yazthebookish @fracturedarkness and @/michaelanoelreads on TikTok :) @highqueenmorrigan (Mary I forgot you brought up the sword technique thank you for that!)
255 notes · View notes
barblaz-arts · 2 months
Note
HELLOOO!! Im in LOVE with all your Chaggie (and Wenclair obv-) art!! I was wondering if youd be up to share your thoughts on the other hazbin characters? Simply cuz Im very curious and youve been a favourite content creator of mine for a while whose opinions and takes on different things i value A LOT! So id love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the main cast(and more if youre up to it hahha)!
Tumblr media
@phantoswordsman15
The main cast huh
Hmmmmm I dont particularly hate them, but I have some opinions that people might not like and I'm aware there's a lot of uh sensitive people in this fandom, so I never said them unprompted
But since you asked!
Alastor
Let's start with the infamous Alastor. I think he's a very entertaining character! His horde of simps annoy tf outta me when they're being misogynistic and homophobic towards Chaggie and Vaggie, but I quite liked him when I make myself forget certain parts of the fandom. He's funny and conniving and intriguing. The fact that he apparently sold his soul is super interesting to me. I'm on board with the people theorizing that he sold his soul to Lilith. I bet he's cozying up with Charlie so that he can use it to break his contract somehow. Feel like he also used the deal with (presumably) Lilith so that he could be strong enough to be the overlord he became.
With that being said, I'm really surprised with the direction they took with him. You'd think that with him being a favorite of the showrunner and the fandom, he would probably be portrayed as the coolest mf in hell. But I really like that it isn't really the case within the show. Certain denizens dont even know him and older overlords like Zestial seems to scare him and Carmilla just dgaf about him. Hell, Alastor's loss to Adam was a lil embarrassing ngl. Like. I know he's one of the oldest human souls and that's why he's powerful but... It's Adam.
Something about him that I noticed is that he seems to be more bark than bite. In particular in his duet with Lucifer, initially Lucifer had the upper hand because he's objectively more powerful, humiliating Alastor with his angel magic, but what Alastor used to his advantage was his words and charisma, as can be expected of a radio host. He's always taunting his enemies, but does it actually make him stronger than them? He "won" that duet with Vox but Valentino said Alastor only"almost beat" him when they had an actual fight. He ruffled Lucifer's feathers but at the end of the day Lucifer is still leagues more powerful than him. He talked big when he was fighting Adam but he almost died and had a breakdown over it.
He's really a lot less "cool" than I expected the show would have him be portrayed as. Kinda pathetic honestly, how he's so insecure and angry whenever he isn't the strongest guy in the room. And i actually really like that! He reminds me a lot of Rumplestilstkin from Once Upon a Time.
Something I kinda hesitate to say tho is... I dont want him redeemed. I dont want him to actually care about the hotel crew and change his ways. I like him as the fucked up man he is and really want to see how fucked up he can be, just so that if he ends up being the huge antagonist, his downfall would be all the more satisfying. Like yunno that moment when Light/Kira was finally defeated? I wanna feel that again.
Angel Dust
I love him! We found his dialogue a lil annoying at first in ep 1 but the writers did a lot better in ep 2. He's a neat guy. His character gives interesting implications for me as to what makes a person a sinner in this show. While you have people like Alastor who obviously ended up where they did because a cannibal murderer, I get the feeling Angel ended up in hell because he was abusing his own body, which is a sad thing to think. If I remember right from my own catholic upbringing, abusing the body is considered a sin because your body is a temple. To think that Angel could be in hell for poisoning himself, not for harming others, is just sad man. I look forward to seeing more of his journey.
I'm not touching on how his SA was tackled btw. While I'm a victim of sexual assault myself, what i experienced was far from what Angel does on a REGULAR basis,so I don't feel like i have any personal or professional right to say anything about it. Not every victim's case is universal anyways. All I can say is, his line about purposefully damaging himself so he could be broken enough to no longer be Valentino's "favorite toy" hit me harder than I ever expected this show to.
Husk
Confession: I... I dont feel all that attached to Husk at all, I am so sorry Husk stans 😭
Okok that feels so mean to say I'm so sorry. I actually hesitated to say anything because I dont want to hurt people's feelings. But since you guys are asking and I dont like not being genuine, I'm telling the truth.
A lot of my feelings about Husk is heavily affected by the fandom anyways to be perfectly fair. Why? Because a lot of criticisms against Vaggie is easily applicable to Husk, maybe even more so, and yet I dont see even the same level of hate towards him that Vaggie received because his chemistry with Angel is so much better than Chaggie... Apparently...
I just dont see Husk as a character outside of being a plot device for Angel's development yunno? I get it, he isn't a main character like the main 4 are(Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, and Angel), i just find it hard to well and truly like him because of the fandom's double standards. When we found out someone was gonna die in the finale, my brother and I actually thought it was gonna be him because he doesn't have a big enough role to play in the plot to be a HUGE loss, but has a significant enough connection to a main character to have an EFFECT. He very much just felt like the love interest for Angel and nothing else. Which isnt necessarily a bad thing, but is frustrating when i see sooo many people label Vaggie as such(when she isnt!) and hate her SO MUCH for it.
I wanna see more of him tho I really do. Like the man used to be an overlord. He said he wanted to find someone who could relate to "the gruesome ways in which he's damaged" but what does that even mean? Yes i know about the castration but aside from that what suffering is Alastor putting him thru when all he has to do is be a bartender rn? There must be more and I wanna see it and finally feel for him.
Nifty
I love her a lot. That's it. The character ever. Her gremlin energy reminded me so much of Peridot, it's great. Kimiko Glenn did a fantastic job as the comic relief character and I hope she gets her own song next season. Her basically being everyone's little sister was kinda adorable even tho she's probably the scariest person in that hotel next to Alastor. I hope she gets to stab Valentino next. Just kill that MOTHerfucker
Tumblr media
177 notes · View notes
final-script · 10 months
Text
Royal In The Paddock | CS55
Tumblr media
Pairing: Carlos Sainz Jr. x PrincessOfSpain!Reader
Sumary: The Princess of Spain for the first time in the paddock.
Warnings: English is not my first language !!!There are probably many mistakes (I will correct them later).
Gif: overtake
----------------------------
It was very unusual for the Spanish royal family to participate in this type of event.
This was because most of the time, they were busy in real duties outside the country, but this time that did not happen, at least not with you.
Your parents did have to fulfill some duties, but you were completely free, which excited you since you had obtained permission and were going to attend the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time.
You were thrilled by the power, at last witnessing, what you saw, almost every weekend on TV
(…)
In the company of your assistant and a bodyguard they received the paddock of the GP of Spain.
Many surprised faces around you and you understood them, it was not very common to see Spanish royalty in a Grand Prix.
The group moved through the terrain, meeting several of the pilots and directors along the way, exchanging a few words with each one.
The Aston Martin and Ferrari teams were the teams with which you spent the most time, these being the teams that had a Spanish driver, they were all very kind answering your questions, also surprised about your show of interest.
(…)
I thank God for the training for public events that I have had over the years.
Thanks to that I was managing to behave, if I was excited to be in a GP, but I was also excited to meet the Spanish Driver, dressed in Ferrari red.
Little did they know but you had a little secret love for him.
After today, hopefully I will be allowed to attend the next GP.
C- I hope I arrived on time and that Fernando has not overtaken me, but it would be a pleasure if you could join us and watch the race from here on the wall of Pits. I observed my assistant and he gave me the go-ahead.
I think that for a moment we were leaving aside some orders but nothing and nobody took away what I lived.
P Y/N- It will be a pleasure to accept the offer. I felt the touch of my assistant, which indicated that we had to leave, which was all for today. -I would like to stay longer, but I must go and I hope it will be a good race for both.
I shook hands with those present and left the garage with my companions.
(...)
Arrive earlier on race day so you can chat with some spectators in the area.
I was able to meet the families of Ferrari drivers and even some celebrities.
I screamed internally when Carlos came up again to talk to me.
P Y/N- How do you feel for today?
C- I want to believe that I am lucky and even more so if you are supporting me.
P Y/N- Please leave you for my mother, at least while she is not present.
C- okay, then, I want to believe that I am lucky and even more if you are present.
I could feel the heat rising up my face, I just hoped the tone didn't change much or at least I didn't notice it.
P Y/N- I don't think you need luck, you have the wit.
A couple of hours later, I didn't give him the winning trophy, but a solid second place.
After handing out the trophies to the guys on the podium, I went back to Ferrari's hospitality, where I had been offered to stay, until the people calmed down a bit and I could leave with peace of mind.
(...)
I enjoyed a snack, until I saw Carlos appear again through one of the doors, this time he no longer wore his race suit but still, he looked very good.
C- princesa (princess). It caught my attention even though I was already observing it. -I came to say goodbye, I know that soon he will leave and I wanted to wish him a good trip back.
P Y/N- Thank you for seeing you approached, it gives me the opportunity to thank you for the beautiful hospitality you have given me this weekend, the only thing I regret is not having been able to give you the winning trophy, I hope next year it can be.
C- hopefully it is, but… If you are not very bold of me, there is something I would like to ask of you, if possible and if you agree, clearly.
P Y/N- I definitely have no way of knowing if you don't tell me. We both laughed.
C- tell me if I'm being daring , but… I don't want to have to wait until next year to see her, I would like to invite her to dinner. Wow, I think I didn't expect that or maybe I did, but in my dreams.
I think I stayed quiet too long but….
C- you know that… Forget it, I'm sorry I was daring.
PY/N- What?… NO, wait, sorry, you're not being daring at all, I just didn't expect it. I managed to tell before he walked away.
C- then what does it say?
P Y/N-I would love to have dinner with you, only first I have to finish with some commitments, then maybe we can meet, although to fix that I think I will have to have your contact.
Smiling quickly he gave me his phone and I myself scheduled my personal number.
P Y/N- I apologize if we delay in meeting.
C- when it's okay, I understand you're busy, in fact I will be too, I just wanted to make sure I would see her again.
P Y/N -I can only say, I do not know when it will be but I hope it will be soon.
C- Mee too.
With our lives, I didn't know where this was going, but I wanted to find out.
---------------------------
ANOTHERS
Royal Wedding - Carlos Sainz Jr. x PrincessOfSpain!Reader
No More Secret - Mason Mount x Reader
643 notes · View notes
seetangus · 4 months
Text
Taking care - Azula x gn reader
[masterlist]
Hello, thank you so much for liking my writing and for requesting! I hope I got everything right! Also, I am not familiar with anything about mute people but I tried my best to make it work :)
Azula x gn reader fluff, 2.202 words, warnings: bad treatment of prisoners, abuse of power, crying
Tumblr media
This took very long to write and I am sorry for that. And something went wrong with answering to the request again, but hopefully it still reaches you as a little belated Christmas gift
In the midst of the night something woke you up. It was the clinking of keys - after having spent almost two years in the asylum, you knew this sound by heart. But why would the guards unlock something at night? Slowly, you stood up and made your way towards the door of your cell to hear the happenings better.
After only a few moments it was clear what they were doing - right after they pushed the door leading to your hallway open, a female's muffled screams of protest echoed through the halls. They brought a new inmate.
For you, this was probably the most exciting thing that had ever happened to you here, as you lived alone in this compartment of the building.
Even though the guards had gagged the new prisoner, her screams still made you shudder - they emitted pure rage and despair. It was understandable, though. Given the circumstance that the woman's voice sounded rather young and most people who got taken here would never leave this unpleasant place for the rest of their lifetime, she had a reason to be upset.
You felt bad for whoever this was; she sounded like she needed help instead of punishment. However, it could be that it was only your innocent (naive) character that made you think such things; most people imprisoned here were mass murderers or worse.
However, you had other things to worry about for the moment, as the guards were coming closer to your cell, and if they realised you were awake at night-time they would probably punish you, so you hurried back into your bed, or rather onto your wooden plank with a tattered blanket.
You did so just at the right moment, because right after you had laid down, you heard the noise of the guard's keys in the keyhole of your door! A moment later, your door opened with a noisy screeching noise that would have startled you even if you had been sleeping, but just to play it safe you continued to pretend to be asleep.
Despite the woman's muffled cries now being audible in your room, which should have definitely woken you up, the guards seemed to truly believe you were asleep, one of them roughly shaking you at your shoulder to wake you up, making the shoulder hurt.
You now hesitantly sat up in your sleeping place, looking at the guards and the women they brought into your room - or rather rolled, as she was put in a straitjacket and placed on a movable chair for movement purposes. "Meet your new cellmate.", one of the guards said in an unmistakably gloating tone, "Since this lunatic can't do it herself, you will make sure she eats her daily rations and doesn't shit herself, got it?" You nodded. "Great", the guard responded, "but you don't need to take it too seriously. Wouldn't be a great loss if we got rid of her quickly." With that the guards left.
Maybe you s h o u l d be worried that you were left alone in your cell with what seemed like a raving maniac, but something seemed familiar about that new person, although you could not quite make it out in the dark - also, you pitied her for how the guards treated her. The guards often picked on you too, but they didn't ever say they wouldn't mind you being dead - well, not directly.
< • ◇ • >
Since the guards had closed the door and left, the woman had remained completely silent. Not one tone had left her lips, and she had not moved. Since she also did not show any kind of interest in you, you decided it would be best to go to sleep again. Doing so was hard, as you were very curious and scared of your new cellmate, but tomorrow would be a hard day, so you had to sleep well. As the new woman did not move or make noise, eventually you returned to your realm of dreams again.
And a dream it was that revealed to you where you had seen the woman before. You had heard that you often dreamed about things you had experienced but forgotten, and this was such an instance. You had already met the woman - well, “met” was an exaggeration, but you had seen her: she was princess Azula of the fire nation, and when she had been old enough to enter the war a few years ago, there had been pictures of her all over the place. That had been just a few weeks before you got imprisoned.
After waking up there were many questions in your head: Why was Azula in this Asylum? Was the war over? Was the whole royal family of the fire nation imprisoned? Who ruled the fire nation now? Etc. etc.
You could have worried about these things the whole day, but in this Asylum there wouldn’t be any information or news accessible. There never were. Azula would also not talk to you… you had heard of her character before you got here. Even the few things you had heard of her were quite enough to make you reevaluate your situation. If she treated you like she treated anyone else, you were in a very bad place. Not that the asylum hadn’t been bad before, it just made it worse. You would have to be very cautious with her.
“Are you finally awake?” You were pulled out of your thoughts by her condescending voice. Her arrogant voice. Her beautiful voice.
You could hear in her words that she was a born ruler; you immediately sat straight up and nodded with your head. When you looked up at her again, you flushed brightly; she was beautiful. And even sitting chained to her chair in a straitjacket her gaze looking down at you from above made you feel goosebumps.
You felt fear, but also admiration.
“You probably know who I am, so let me be clear: as long as I am held in this unworthy place, you will serve to my needs in any way I want. Understood?” You gulped and nodded again. The disproportionality of being a prisoner yet wanting to rule others and succeeding was fascinating to you.
Anyways, once the guards arrived to bring your food, things seemed a lot different. The guards pushed you around like usual, but they seemed to find it especially entertaining to humiliate Azula. They didn’t only make fun of her but also sprayed some of her food on her and leaned her chair in an uncomfortable position, her obviously unable to get out of it on her own. Azula screamed at the guards in anger, but you could hear how her voice got weaker.
Once the guards were gone, you immediately relocated her chair to a normal place. Given that you weren’t exactly able to do sports in this place and you already lived here for some time, this was a lot harder than you expected, but you succeeded.
You then thought about cleaning the food off her, but that would involve touching her and you were very reluctant to do that. She was not well right now, she was very vulnerable and everything that happened to her now could hurt her, you saw that.
But you were here to help her, weren’t you? You did not care if she wouldn’t thank you for it or if she deserved to be treated like this, she was human and you were too, and that was reason enough for your heart to break when seeing someone endure such pain. 
Hesitantly, you moved towards her and began brushing the food the guards had sprayed over her jacket off with your hand. To your surprise, she said nothing, she only looked at you in an appraising manner. You dared not to look up at her face even though most of it was covered in loose hair that had been swirling around during the rough treatment by the guards.
After cleaning your hands you figured it would be best to do as the guards had told you yesterday and try to feed Azula. You picked up the wooden spoon and filled it with the porridge that was served here and moved it towards her mouth. But to actually reach it, you would have to move away her messy long hair.
You gulped. That would not be easy. You laid down the spoon again and moved your hands towards her face. When you touched her hair she first pulled back but didn’t resist anymore when she understood what you were doing.
You very carefully split her hair in the middle and moved it to the sides. You gently brushed it behind her ears, uncovering her beautiful face that was now close to yours. Your fingers meeting her warm skin sent shivers through your body as they had for years now not felt anything but the hard and cold stone of this cell. Her eyes resting on your face did not make this easier as well, as you felt your whole body heating up.
With a reddened face you pulled back and began feeding her the porridge. At first she was hesitant and it was obvious she didn’t like the food, but she knew she could either let you feed her or starve. So she held back her pride.
< • ◇ • >
It continued like this for some time. The guards insulted her and made things worse, you cared for her and made things better. In the beginning, she was rather dismissive and unwilling towards your efforts, but she got used to it.
Sometimes she ranted to you about the guards, her brother and the Avatar. About anything really. She talked about the revenge she would get, how she had been unfairly betrayed and defeated in an Agni Kai only because of dishonest tactics of her enemies. About how the Avatar was evil and needed to be removed from this world. You knew most of that was probably a lie, but you could not help but believe every single word that escaped her mouth.
Once she had, in a very demanding manner, asked about your name and why you never talked to her, but you had been able to make her understand that you were mute. To your surprise, she was very understanding and even seemed sorry to some degree for asking you so harshly. It was very rare to see emotions like in that moment on her face. Luckily, you had been able to show her your name, even with no paper being available in the Asylum: you had, with much work, formed each letter in the thick porridge you got to eat daily using your spoon. Azula had then started referring to you by your name, which always made you feel butterflies.
Months passed and Azula raged at the guards every day. However, today something was different. When the guards made fun of her she still was angry like always, but when they left she was quieter than usual. She did not start ranting, nor did she ask for her food. She simply sat in her chair motionless, her head lowered.
You got closer to her and lifted her head up. You could tell she did not want you to see her right now as she turned away her face. But as you felt increasingly worried for her, you turned her face to you again and then brushed her hair behind her ears like you had done many times now.
You felt the warmth of her skin, but also your fingertips got wet. You had brushed through tears that were flowing down her cheeks. At first, you were shocked as Azula despised showing any form of weakness, but when you realised what this meant you were more than happy; for the first time since being here, maybe for the first time in her life, she was honest with herself and opened up to someone else, in this case you, about her emotions!
She still was embarrassed to cry in front of you, but you tried to assure her that everything was alright. As you couldn’t take her bound hands you cupped her face with your hands and smiled at her.
“Y/n,”, she said with a very small but incredibly beautiful voice, “please give me a hug.” First you couldn’t believe your luck, but when you carefully sat on her lap and laid your arms around her it felt like paradise, especially being drained of any human affection after years in the Asylum.
“Y/n?”, Azula continued, some confidence building up in her again, “I’m going to get us out of here.” You hugged her more tightly and she answered by resting her head, that was the only body part she could move, against yours, your cheeks touching eachother.
229 notes · View notes
fanttasttica · 3 months
Text
Family
Helion x reader, Rhysand x daughter reader
You never knew your parents and yourself. One day you decide to leave your home and try to find something about yourself and your family. You come to the Day court, where you meet their cunning High lord, who also happens to be your mate. But your mate isn't the only person you found..
warnings: mentions of nudity
words: 2764
Tumblr media
It was a nice summer day. A wind gently caressed your cheeks, as you were looking at your friends, who were enjoying the day with their families. Fathers, mothers.. siblings. That was a luxury you have never known. You never knew your father or mother. The closest thing you had to parents were Christian and Lucille, who found you one day and raised as their own. You actually thought they were your parents, until they came clean when you reached your eighteen birthday. They knew you deserve the truth. Since then, you were jealous and happy at the same time for your friends, who had families on their own. You were watching them from a smaller distance, as they were laughing together wishing you could have something like that too. Not that you were not grateful for Christian and Lucille, you loved them but.. You wanted to find out who your parents were. Whose violet eyes were looking at you in the mirror? Did you have the same black hair as your mom? Was your smile similar to the smile of your father? Those were questions you earned an answer for.
You grew up in the mountains in Night court. Your village was quite small, nothing extraordinary here. It was not far from the borders the Night court shared with the Day court. You could walk there maybe after two or three hours. That means that sometimes you meet people traveling between these two courts. People who were more than willing to share stories. That was how you found out about Amarantha being dead. You knew her, of course you did. Everyone in Prythian did. She trapped all High lords under the mountain, took their powers.. They were helpless until one day a human girl named Feyre freed them. You were fascinated by her story. She was now your High lady, finally being happy with Rhysand, your High lord and you found that really nice. That they found each other after all that. You heard all stories about them and about other High lords and interesting people from travelers, merchants.. You were always listening to them very carefully, until one sunny day, when you decided to stop being the listener and become the traveler, narrator, yourself. It was an opportunity to get to know new places, people.. and maybe find out something about your parents.
“Are you sure you want to go? I mean..it can be really dangerous.” You smiled at your friends. “I am sure. I love you guys, I love this place but.. I just want to try and find out something about my parents, about me. And I think that's the thing I cannot accomplish here.” She sighed and nodded as a sign that she understands you. “Well.. I will not stop you, if that is really what you want. Just.. be careful and don't forget us.” You hugged her tight, trying to find back tears. “How could I ever forget you? You are my best friend, sister, even though we don't have the same parents. I will never forget you, don't worry. And also.. this isn't definitely the last time you see me. I will come back.”
It has been almost two months since you left. After almost a month of traveling, you came to the town which was surrounding the palace of Helion, the Day court´s High lord. Probably the sexiest male alive. You had only seen him once, from afar when he was walking and talking with some of his friends near the shop you worked. You found a job in a smaller café, simply because you needed money and you also quite quickly fell in love with the city and wanted to spend some time here. You weren't sure how long you were going to stay.. A few months? Year? But it didn't really matter. Your job did not only provide you with the money , no. It also helped you meet a few nice people you befriend and could spend time after work. It was nice, the days were not the same as in your old village. Every day brought something new, new skills you learned, new friends.. But the one day that stood out above all the days.. was the one when you met your mate.
It was almost noon when the bell rang and he walked into the café, where you were currently working. Helion stood in the doorway and was looking around the place as if he was searching for something, or rather someone. And then, suddenly, he looked at you, his already big smile grew even bigger. At that same moment, you felt something in your chest, in your heart. Mating bond. It snapped immediately, taking the air from your lungs. You blinked a few times, not daring to move or look away from his gaze as he walked closer to you. “Hello my little sunshine.” 
From that moment, you didn't spend a day without a stolen moment with Helion. You found out that he already knew about the mating bond. It snapped for him a few minutes before he came in, as he was casually walking around the café. He saw you and needed only a few minutes before you he plucked up the courage to go talk to you. You decided to take things slowly. He was coming to the café, where you chatted when you were working. After a week he invited you to a date, to a beautiful restaurant, theater, then he took you on the picnic.. And that's basically how you ended up waking up in his large bed, with nothing but sheets on your naked body. 
You two were seeing each other for almost three months. It was already winter, but that did not bother you. Helion was hugging you, his big and warm body was better than any blanket in the whole world. You were enjoying this quiet morning in his embrace, when you felt he was already waking up. His breathing changed and grip on you strengthened, as if he also wasn't ready to wake up and leave your bed. You giggled at him, whereupon he grunted. “Is there something funny, sunshine?” You sighed happily. “Just one certain High lord who is behaving like a little child who doesn't want to share his toy with anyone else.” He chuckled, turned you around, so you were now lying on your back on the comfortable mattress and he was towering over you in all his glory. You bit your lips at this sight. “But I don't want to share you with anyone else.” He started placing soft kisses on your neck, which was full of hickeys from the previous night. “I don't think that's possible. My shift is starting in an hour and you also have a lot of work.” You argued, trying to keep your thoughts clear, even though the idea of ​​spending the whole day with your mate in bed was more than tempting. “That's why I want you to quit. You know I can take care of you, I want to take care of everything you need or want” This time it was you who chuckled at his idea. “And what would I do? Spend all my time in your bed, waiting for you to return? It would be boring.” You caressed his beautiful face. Admiring his beauty, before he spoke again. “You could always come with me to the meetings, sit on my lap and warm me.” He winked at you, as you punched him slightly in his biceps. After that his face grew more serious. “I love you Y/N. More than my court, more than the sun, more than everything else.. Just say you want this and I promise I will give you everything in the world. I will make you my High lady. My equal. Just one word is enough.” 
It wasn't that hard a decision. You loved Helion with your whole being. You couldn't imagine a day without him. So you finally agreed. You gave him your answer that day, in the evening, when you served him dinner made by you. It was simple, private and even though Helion was known for parties, he really appreciated this. Mainly because after the meal he could immediately take to to the bedroom and fuck you all night without any disturbance. The only thing that was left to declare you his High lady. You urged him to wait a little. When you officially accepted the bond you also moved to his palace the next day and you simply wanted to get used to the new surroundings and to the bond, which was now stronger than before. He of course agreed to your wishes. But you still were slowly making plans for the celebration, because you decided to make this event publicly. Helion thought that it was only fair for his, yours, people to have an opportunity to witness this moment, when the first High lady of the Day court was crowned. And believed him, wanting to also make people happy, to make a good first impression and that was probably not possible if you were hiding in the shadows on that important day. You also decided to invite your and some of Helion's friends, which also included some other High lords and their families. You personally invited Thesan - High lord of the Dawn court, High lord of the Winter court and his wife, Tarquin, who was Hugh lord of the Summer court and lastly.. High lord, High lady of the Night court and their Inner circle. 
Before every meeting with other High lords you were incredibly nervous and Helion was trying to calm you down as he could and he was successful, but this time.. It was different and you weren't sure why you felt this way. Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, your hands were sweating.. Maybe because you were supposed to meet the only other High lady that existed? Or maybe you were just nervous because you have heard a lot of stories about all of them? Rhysand was the most powerful High lord, his mate had powers of all seven High lords and her sisters were made by the Cauldron.. Not mentioning Cassian and Azriel, who were alive for more than five hundred years and killed more people than you have met in your lifetime. “Don't worry Y/N. They are really nice and don't bite more than me and you are already used to that.” Helion winked at you and you rolled your eyes at him. This was something about him that you absolutely loved and at the same time found annoying. He was such a flirt. “I know and I believe you. Honestly.. I am not sure why I am so nervous.” You as and at the same time tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. Before your mate could respond to you, you heard the sound of the door opening. You looked behind you and to your surprise you met the same eyes you had  and they stared back at you in shock.
There was silence as the others entered the room as well. They were looking at you with shocked expressions and you returned it, mainly to the man that had the same eyes as you. And after a few moments you noticed that the eyes were not the only thing you shared. You also had the same hair, similar features. In the end it was Helion who broke the silence. “I.. I never realized that.” It wasn't surprising he was not very receptive to these things. “That's.. How?” High lady asked, turning to face her mate, who also finally recovered from the shock. “I have no idea, Feyre darling.” He took a few steps towards you. You looked at Helion, not sure what to do. What to say. Was it even possible? Was this really your father or was it some cruel joke made by the Cauldron? How did it happen? “It's her.” You heard a sweet voice from the group. A girl, a woman, in a pink dress came closer. You shared a confused look with your mate. “The girl from my visions. Rhys's daughter.” 
To this moment, the only person who almost made you faint was Helion but when that woman said those words.. You had to grab your mate's strong arms, because otherwise you would be laying on the ground. This did not go unnoticed by your father and your mate, who grabbed you by your waist, holding you firmly. It was not only supporting in standing, it was calming you at the same time. Your father looked with worry. “Are you okay?” He asked you, you nodded in response. “I am, it's just.. a shock.” He smiled at you. “That's understandable. It's a shock for both of us. Well.. for all of us. He turned to his mate and Inner circle, as if he was having a quick conversation with them. After that, they came closer, introducing themselves with bright smiles. You have learned that the lady who was obviously a seer was Elaine, sister of your father's mate. It was Feyre who introduced herself to you last. It was a little bit weird for you, since she was a little bit younger than you and practically your step-mother, but she seemed nice. “By the way, what are you doing here? And how did you find my daughter, Helion?” You almost forgot they didn't know. Inviting High lords to your celebration was also a moment when Helion introduced you to them as his mate for the first time. He looked down at you and you gave him a simple nod. “Well.. she is my mate. And also my future High lady. We wanted to invite you to the celebration personally.” 
Once again, they were shocked, especially your newly found father, who was looking between you and Helion. You wanted to say something. Something that could make this situation a little bit less weird, but couldn't find the right words. In the end, silence was broken by Cassian's and Morrigan's augh. “Well, I did not see that coming.” Your aunt said with amusement in her voice. You smiled nervously, wanting nothing more than to disappear into the thin air. “Congratulations, it's amazing.” Feyre told you kindly and shook Rhysand's hand, so he would wake up from his trance. “Yeah.. congratulations.”He looked from you to Helion. “You better make her happy.” His words warmed up your heart. It was nice of him to look after you only after knowing you for maybe ten minutes. Maybe you were an adult, but that didn't mean you couldn't create a loving bond with him. After the first shock, you finally felt happiness. You had a parent! A father! And at that moment you realized something. With a hope in your eyes you turned to Elaine. “Do you also know who my mother is?”
The smile on her face and the faces of the others froze. Well, except for you and Helion, since you didn't know anything. Elaine swallowed hard, making eye contact with both your father and Feyre, again having some type of silent conversation. After a while, your father sighed. “Your mother.. Well.. Things get a little bit complicated here.” He breathed out. “Maybe you already heard of her. It is.. Amarantha.” It had to be incredibly hard for him to say that. After he said that, he looked away, hurt from memories that came back only after saying her name out loud. 
Of course you were in shock after finding out who your parents were. Being the daughter of the most powerful High lord and also a person who imprisoned not only him, but also your mate and a lot of other people.. Being the daughter of the person who killed and who was the main villain of many people's nightmares wasn't the best thing that could happen to you. But you were lucky to have your mate and also your father on your site. After finding out, you were really sad, angry, ashamed and also worried about what other people would think. What would Helion think? But luckily, he didn't care at all. He supported you, when you were recovering from the news and trying to accept them. He supported you when you tried and later successfully created a bond with your father, but also Feyre and their Inner circle. You were very lucky to have him, to have all of them. You finally had your own happy family.
136 notes · View notes
abbeym28 · 6 months
Text
Carry Me Out
Tumblr media
In which you and Satoru realize you don't know what to get Megumi for his birthday, and in which Satoru comes up with a simple way on how to know.
Third drabble, could be read stand alone again! Sorry this took so long to get out! Almost 2,000 words! This has been a work in progress for a while, and to be honest, I have no idea why I finished it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Tumblr media
Megumi’s birthday was coming up.
You’ve been there for two of his birthday’s, but this year, he was turning ten. Obviously, this was a very big deal for you and Satoru.
The problem you are facing is that when the two of you asked what he had wanted, Megumi just shrugged and told you that he wanted what he would normally get. (Which since being under the care of Satoru, was pretty much a mix of money, books, toys, candy, or other things Megumi was interested in. Sometimes he asks for things for his dogs, so treats, balls and chew toys will occasionally be added to the pile.)
So, a week before the day of your adopted son’s birth, you and Satoru held a private meeting between the two of you to brainstorm.
“I think he said he wanted monster high dolls. And some pokemon cards, as well as a disk copy of that latest Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle iteration. Also, a day spent looking at candy shops.” your ever-so-helpful boyfriend was lying down across the length of your shared bed.
You hit him with one of your pillows as you paced around, anxiously tapping a pen onto a notepad. “Satoru, those are all things you want.” you paused, thinking a bit for a little. “But actually, I will put monster high dolls down. I think I caught him staring at the Sweet 1600 Clawdeen the last time we went to Target.” You jotted a few notes and then looked back at Satoru.
His arms were settled behind his head and his eyes were closed, his sunglasses placed on his bedside table. Satoru still smiled as he confidently whispered, “See, I’m helpful.”
You rolled your eyes and groaned before you flopped down next to him, face first. Satoru began rubbing small circles onto your back and you turned your head to look at him. His blue eyes stared back into yours, which was slightly alarming and caught you way off guard.
“I know this is super important, but you should take it down a notch. It’s not good for your skin.” You sighed.
“Satoru, it's Megumi’s 10th birthday. Two digits! My skin doesn’t matter as much as him having a good birthday.” He pulled you closer to him and he pressed a kiss onto the top of your head.
“Okay, you know what? I’ll talk to him. Maybe, all he wants for his birthday is some quality time with daddy, the strongest sorcerer and man in the whole wor-”
Satoru wasn’t able to finish his sentence before a pillow hit him in the face and you were out of the room.
Tumblr media
Satoru decided that the best way to get answers is to catch Megumi off guard.
So, he was going to do something he hadn't ever done before- pick him up from school. At first, he had left it up to Nanami to drive his kids around, but pretty soon it was you who took up that spot.
He had to admit, something about watching three of the people he loved most come crashing through his front door, all in a mess to shed off school related things just to get a snack quickly, warmed his heart up in way’s he figured would never be possible.
Satoru leaned onto his (expensive) car door, arms crossed in front of his chest, a smirk on his lips as he greeted other random parents who were also waiting for their kids.
The sun was beating down pretty bright onto his face, extra bright from the reflecting of the white snow all over the ground, so even with his sunglasses he almost missed the school doors opening. But, he did have his six eyes and multiple other powers that allowed him to doge the punch Megumi had thrown at his knees.
“Why are you here?” Megumi went in for another swig and a kick, but Satoru picked him up before he could. Megumi squirmed as his dad placed a wet kiss on his cheek.
“I’m here to pick you up! Aren’t you so happy?”
“Dad!!!”
“Tsumiki!!!”
Satoru placed down Megumi so he could sweep up his daughter, who was running right at him, matching huge smiles on both of their faces.
“What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great, ‘Miki. Just figured you guys would want to see my face a little sooner than normal.”
Tsumiki giggled as Satoru pressed a bit more of a softer kiss onto her face.
“All right, let's get in the car and go home! Snacks are waiting for you.” He set Tsumiki down in the back seat, buckling her in and then patting her shoulder. Satoru shut the door and then jogged to the other side of the car where Megumi was struggling to reach the door handle and get in.
Satoru opened the door and smiled at him, but Megumi just scowled and climbed up, using all of his strength to get in the seat and buckle himself. The drive started quiet, the jolly holiday music softly playing from the stereo.
“So…. Megumi. Your birthday’s coming up, isn’t it? Is there something you would like?” Satoru looked at his son through the rearview mirror.
Megumi grumbled something, too low for even his sister to catch.
“What was that, oh sweetest child of mine?”
“I said I want you to disappear.” Tsumiki gasped and Satoru tutted as he made a turn, getting closer to home.
“How about you make a list! All of the things you want, all on one paper! It would make both of your parents very happy!” Satoru’s sing song voice made Megumi scoff.
“Megumi! That is such a good idea!” Tsumiki spoke excitedly.
Megumi turned towards her fast while a smile grew larger on the dads face.
“We can work on it together! I’ll help you! Oh my gosh, this will be so much fun!” Megumi’s expression soured.
This, he thought, would not be fun.
Tumblr media
You were doing dishes when you heard the loud crashing that walked through your front door. Wiping your hands on a towel, you walked over to find your family struggling to take off your boyfriend's shoe, the left one.
Well , Tsumiki was trying to help.
Megumi was repeatedly hitting Satoru in the leg with his small light up sneakers.
“You have big fat feet! Get out of my way!” You couldn't help but giggle as Megumi yelled at Satoru.
“Gumi, there’s hot chocolate on the table for you. How ‘bout you leave your dad alone for now, hmm?” Megumi’s eyes brightened despite his continued grumbling as he left Satoru standing, still struggling to get his shoe off.
“Is there one for me too?” Tsumiki perked up, stars surrounding her as she asked you that.
“Of course!” She yelled a quick hooray before running after her younger brother. You moved closer to your boyfriend as a pout settled onto his face.
“How did you even get your shoe stuck on?” Kneeling down, you laughed at him as you tried to loosen the laces a bit, tugging on a few places to help widen the hole that still was hugging his ankle.
“They must be older than I thought.” Satoru shrugged. “Are they always more happy to see hot chocolate than they are to see me?”
There was a slight hint of jealousy and pettiness in his tone, making this even more hilarious for you.
“Hey, stop laughing! This is a really serious situation!” The shoe you were pulling on popped off, making you fall back a bit. Before you really could though, Satoru attached one of his hands to the area just between the middle of your back and your waist.
“Oh! You got my shoe off! Thanks hun!” He pressed a kiss onto your cheek and then tugged you up, keeping you in place in front of him, still in the doorway. “Anyway, I had a genius idea! Megumi’s going to make a birthday list!" There was a pause that was filled with silence.
"Tell me that I’m a genius please.”
You snorted as a response to his need to inflate his ego. “That is smart, good job Toru.” You put your hand on his cheek and he seemed to snuggle into your palm as a smug smile grew on his lips.
“Do the kids have paper? You should probably get some down for them.” Your brows furrowed as you moved away from him (killing the moment in the process) and towards the dining table where both your son and daughter were nursing their hot drink as they watched Sofia the First on the tv Satoru set up on a portion of the huge kitchen counter.
You pressed a soft kiss on both of the tops of their heads before getting some markers and then sitting down besides them.
“Honey! I got the paper!” Satoru came back over to you guys, pressing a wet and loud kiss onto you and Tsumiki’s cheeks before getting hit in the face by Megumi.
“Stay away from me, old man.” Satoru’s expression turned from ecstatic into despair as he sat down in the chair next to you, his head finding home on your shoulder as he and his son engaged in a glaring match.
“Still salty, huh? You literally have hot chocolate!”
“I don’t enjoy seeing your face right when I get out of school. Don’t you think you've extended your stay here?”
“This is my house! And I’m on vacation. You will be as well, so prepare to see me even more!” Megumi stuck out his tongue which caused Satoru to huf and to bury his face more into your collarbone.
“Are you sure he deserves a good birthday?” He muttered to you. You pushed him off of you (which was a bit of a struggle) and slid the papers and markers to be in front of Megumi. He gave you the cutest confused look you have ever seen.
“It’s for your wish list sweet boy. You can write whatever you want on there.” He nodded, a little bit of blush colored his cheeks.
You could almost also think that he was excited.
Tumblr media
Megumi handed his list to you after you had tucked him in and read him his favorite children's book about dogs. He didn't say anything when he did, so you took it with a thank you and an I love you.
You settled into your own shared bed with Satoru after you had done all of your nightly routines. The lamp from your bed side table was alight when you decided to read your son's list.
“So? Are his demands doable?” Satoru slid into the sheets beside you and pulled himself closer to you, wrapping one of his arms around your waist in the process.
“Most of them are. He is really good at making lists, it turns out.” Satoru hummed as you continued to skim through Megumi’s scribble writing. It was the second to last one there that made you pause.
A day with my family doing fun stuff.
The words were drawn on slightly lighter than the other items on the list.
He spelt doing with a b.
All of the letters were closer together and looped, as if he didn’t actually want you to see what he had written.
All of those things melted your heart for some strange reason.
“Hmmm. That was cute of him.” Satoru cuts through your thinking with his slightly teasing words. “Oh. look at the last one!”
And so you did, only to find a less sweet wish, but still as cute as the one before it.
Replace Satoru with a dog.
177 notes · View notes