#He doesn't get it from my side of the family

[ohnoitstbskyen]

... at the risk of reigniting Discourse™, what on earth is anyone in this thread talking about?

Like... literally the whole point of the movie is that Luke ISN'T himself when Rey meets him. He has, quite literally, fallen to the Dark Side.

Everything he has tried to build has turned to dust in his fingers, and even despite becoming the heroic saviour of the galaxy, he had to be confronted with the fact that his dark side will not leave him. He had to face the fact that even resisting the temptations of Palpatine and redeeming his father was not enough to help him overcome it once and for all.

Because Luke is his father's son. For better: he has all of Anakin's courage, all of his kindness, all of his hope and optimism and burning desire to make a better world. And for worse: he has all of his flaws. The anger, the temper, the furious love forged in trauma that so easily gets turned towards violence.

He looked at his nephew, the child of his best friend, and for just a moment felt the impulse to destroy an innocent in order to safeguard a future he's desperate to protect. For just a moment, he felt what Anakin felt on Coruscant, walking into the temple to find the younglings.

Because (in his mind) he wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough, wasn't pure enough, his temple burns and his apprentices die and he loses Ben to the Dark Side. He fails himself, he fails Han, he fails Leia, he fails the galaxy he promised to protect. He fails as completely as his character possibly could.

And Luke is his father's son. He has his father's temperament, and his melancholy and loneliness, and his vulnerability to catastrophizing and spiraling. His is a family with a history of volatility and depression in response to intense trauma.

So when Rey finds him, yeah, you're right, he isn't Luke Skywalker anymore, because he is depressed to the brink of suicide, and has made every effort possible to kill Luke Skywalker away from the galaxy, short of turning the saber on himself. He has fallen to the Dark Side, and submerged his true soul in a dark, nihilistic, hopeless shell, just like his father did before him.

And on the subject of Rey being Luke's adoptive daughter - hey, guess who redeems Luke from his nihilistic darkness, just as Luke redeemed Anakin? Luke's sarcastic taunt that it's stupid to expect him to just walk out and confront the entire First Order with a lightsaber becomes the moment of his greatest redemption when that is exactly what he does, and he does it because Rey believed in him.

Not only does Luke single-handedly face down an entire evil imperial army on his own and humiliate a Sith Lord in single combat, he does it non-violently. He does it by using what is inarguably THE most iconic and thematic Jedi Force power - the very first Force power we ever see anyone use, and the one most associated with his first teacher. From across the fucking galaxy, Luke Skywalker defeats an entire First Order army with a fucking Jedi Mind Trick.

And look, The Last Jedi has problems, and I can complain about them all day, but I simply will not accept the idea that the movie did any disservice to the character of Luke Skywalker, or to the original trilogy.

It uses George Lucas' own most famous narrative philosophy, "it's like poetry, it rhymes," to explore Luke's character as deeply as it possibly can. The original trilogy establishes with all the subtlety of an anvil that Luke has his father's flaws, and the full capacity to become him, but rather than have Luke fall to darkness and become a Vader, it explores what falling to the Dark Side means for Luke, especially in light of his experiences.

He doesn't become a Vader, a self-hating killer turning his inner turmoil into external violence (which is what Kylo, desperate Vader-fanboy, does. Hey, narrative parallels!). Rather he retreats into the reclusive "it's not my business, I won't get involved, stay on the farm and keep your head down" isolationist curmudgeon that his adoptive father Lars tried to raise him to be. He saw his father turn the violence outwards, so he turns it inwards instead, but the consequences are the same: it gives rise to an evil empire.

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

Luke is saved from that fate because, as people point out above, Rey is so very like him, and it is her heart and her courage and her faith and her love that restores to him the light that he had lost. She literally brings him A New goddamn Hope. A future to believe in. Something for which it is worth attempting the impossible.

Luke becomes one with the Force after performing what I think is inarguably the greatest feat of Jedi Force mastery ever shown in a piece of Star Wars media; and he does it after confronting his darkest failure, the deepest representation of his fears and anxieties and self-hate (Kylo Ren), and telling him, to his face, "I did not fail, and I will not be the last Jedi."

Again. People don't have to like The Last Jedi. It is flawed. You don't even have to like the version of Luke it presents, you have every right to have wanted a different take on him. But I simply cannot accept the idea that the movie did not respect or care deeply about his character because it demonstrably did. It cared about him enough to see his flaws, not just his qualities, and tell a story about the whole of him, warts and all.

Luke Skywalker's character isn't premised on simply being good and staying good - it's about choosing good, especially when good is the hardest possible choice.

me remembering that luke and rey didn’t even have a good relationship and we didn’t get to see them as a parental relationship or even as friends

[ckret2]

i am FASCINATED by the little scraps i've heard about bill's uncle. am i allowed to know more about him. and if the answer is no do you have a chapter estimate for when i am

yeah sure, I already made a post on Bill's mom, I've finally got enough material to make a post on Bill's dad.

Bill got his gorgeous eyelashes, warm color scheme, black limbs, and personality from his mom. He got his shape, his brick lines, and his slitted pupil from his dad. His dad's a self-made businessman*! (*His dad got suckered into joining a multi-level marketing scheme and now he makes money by suckering other people into joining the MLM scheme.)

And: his dad has a brother. They're twiiins!

Bill keeps targeting twins. (The Stans, the kids, TBOB says Pyronica's got a twin sister Hydronica...) I imagine Bill's twin obsession is rooted in something close to home.

Because Euclid & Euler's eye split in half mid-development, they have unusually oval-shaped eyes—a common sign of twins. They've been going to an optometrist since they were toddlers to deal with poor eyesight and floaters in their peripheral vision. They've had a mix of surgery, corrective lenses, and medication to narrow their field of view to the area they can see clearly. So when baby Billy said he was seeing "bright white dots" on "the outside of everything," Euclid went aha! He knows exactly what Bill's seeing!

He did not, in fact, know what Bill was seeing.

Bill's parents didn't regularly visit family, but Euler was the one relative they saw most often. He was the first person to snap out of the "haha it sure is funny how Bill can guess when somebody's about to knock on the door" rationalizations to realize that Bill really could see things no one else did.

And since Bill's parents are sort of disasters who think starting a cult is a great get-rich-quick scheme, Euler was one of the most emotionally stable role models in Bill's life. It sure is a good thing that Euler was a constant presence and nothing happened to him during Bill's tender formative years!

"But wait," you say, "you told us that Bill got his shape and slit pupil from his dad. But wouldn't that mean he got genes for a square? And how could he have gotten a slit pupil if that wasn't a genetic trait, but a consequence of an eyeball splitting in half?"

Triangles and slit pupils don't run in Euclid's side of the family. But squares and twins do.

I imagine Bill's twin obsession is rooted in something close to home.

"So Steve exists in your headcanon—?" No. He's a stillbirth his parents pretend doesn't exist. He's a crime Bill committed before he was born. He's the imaginary phantom Bill's parents are searching for when they look at Bill—starting fires, hallucinating, spitting up his medicine—and wonder what he'd be like if he was different. He's a symbol representing a source of unconditional love and support that Bill deserved and needed, but never had. Steve's all those things—but he doesn't and never has existed.

And there at last is my Euclid headcanons post. If y'all are interested & didn't see it, here's my Scalene headcanons post! And some headcanons about shape twins that still basically work post-TBOB, we just know now that Euclideans don't need a line and a polygon to reproduce.

(95% of my headcanons about Bill's dad & uncle are pre-TBOB. The only difference is that I originally designed Euclid & Euler as green trapezoids that had split from a hexagon. Trapezoids so that Bill and his dad could do this, green so that Bill's dad could be the original color Bill was designed as before the Gravity Falls crew made him yellow & so that his family could be money-colored: gold-colored Bill & mom, dollar-bill-colored dad.)

(After TBOB/TINAWDC revealed his dad's a triangle and either red or blue, I decided to make the twins blue-green (because I wanted to keep in that "bill's original color scheme" reference) and finagle it so that Euler could still be a trapezoid; after Pyramid Steve came out, I suddenly had a really good thematic reason to make them blue-green. I'd been playing with the idea of making Bill a shoulda-beena twin, Steve finalized that decision by giving me a physical design that could tie into Bill's extended family.)

[shroompette]

It's not like his mates didn't know about you; Soap always bragged about the sweet little bird he had at home. They just had no idea that he was being...literal.

After the latest successful mission, Johnny invited them for a dinner at his place. They arrive around seven, with bottles and flowers as gifts for the missus, but she's nowhere to be found when Johnny beckons them inside. "She'll be here any minute. Bird gets antsy if she doesn't have a flight before dinner." He opens the window wide and peeks out, as if looking for you. Ghost huffs. "She a bloody Batman or something?"

Johnny simply chuckles and crosses his arms on his chest, leaning against the radiator.

Not even five minutes later, a tiny European robin lands on the inside windowsill. They recognize the bird; it was Johnny's favourite to draw. At least that's what they assumed when they watched him flip through his art book during missions. Pages and pages of birds, but this specific one appeared the most often; raven, cardinal, canary, robin, crow, swan, robin, robin, blue tit, swallow, robin, woodpecker, robin, hummingbird, pigeon, robin, robin, robin...

"Aye, there's my little feathery luvie," Johnny coos, finger gently stroking down the orange patch on the bird's chest.

Gaz and Price exchange a slightly concerned look while Ghost gives him a deadpan stare.

"I told you, one of these days, you'll stand too close to an explosion and it's gonna fuck with your head."

Johnny glances at him briefly, opening his palm and letting the robin hop into it. "Dinnae know what yer talking about."

"Son," Price began, a tired look on his face. "You...you don't think of the bird as your partner, do you?"

"What else would she be?" he questions, looking genuinely surprised, as if there's nothing unusual about claiming the little chirping thing in his hand is his girlfriend.

Gaz lets out a snort of disbelief, unsure if he should laugh or be seriously concerned for his friend.

Before anyone can say anything else, the robin flaps its wings and its form contorts into a human shape. Suddenly, there you stand. Dolled up and dressed in a cute little flowery dress, a bright smile on your face. The men sit there completely flabbergasted while Johnny, wearing the most shit-eating grin ever, leans in and kisses the top of your head before introducing you: "Guys, this is my darling bird."

After fumbling out awkward apologies and introducing themselves, the men dine with you two, asking how you met and where you're from. They're surprised to learn Johnny came across you while he took a trip to his motherland during leave.

When he wasn't with his family, he'd spend the days in the forest, sketching whatever caught his eye. At one point, it was you. A cute little thing, perched up on a branch, singing sweet melodies to which he started responding with whistling. That supposedly caught your attention and you started posing while he sketched you. This would happen daily for nearly a week before you flew down and sat on his shoulder, looking at all the drawings of you, seemingly pleased.

One day, he brought you a pebble. It was just a goof, a funny little thing he remembered his superstitious granny saying whenever he'd walk with her in the nature as a little lad and point out all the different birds in the trees. "If ye give a pebble to a female robin, she'll bring ye a pretty lass to cherish."

He was eager to see what you'd do with it and nearly fell on his ass when you shifted to a human in front of him in all your naked glory, holding the pebble in your palm, eyes sparkling and soft chirps flowing from your mouth. He had a very difficult time explaining to his Ma and siblings who this bare lady clinging to his arm was when he brought you home.

You still chirp when you talk, but your speech is pretty clear. Soap looks like a lovestruck puppy, heart-eyed, hanging onto your words and you're no better; pressed against his side at all times, batting your lashes and holding his hand under the table, your ring finger adorned by a golden band with the fateful (proposal) pebble in the middle.

masterlist

[urstruly-ghst]

the challenge - rook hunt !

in which the challenge you set out for is now in full swing (inspired by epic: the musical with the song, the challenge).

authors note: epic the musical my beloved. i love love love this request submitted by @padf-0-ot ! thank you for waiting; im sorry it took a while, im managing tho

requested ask !

cw: may not understand if you don't know the context of epic/the odyssey

rook hunt

wearing the crown was a heavy responsibility, it had been placed on you since you were born. it was what came to be with the blood you hone beneath your skin. however, that duty carried was always alleviated with rook by your side. he was the one who made your crown a secod thought, contrary to what you grew up with.

but, it soon occured to you it would be heavy on your head once more; rook hunt was lost in a mission, it was supposed to end quickly, but he didn't return. neither did his comrades. there was no word, no letter, not even a sign from any other kingdom. that worried you, that worried the kingdom. each one of your subjects looked at the empty throne beside you, sharing that worry and fear (or perhaps, they all share the glory of seeing you reign alone.)

each men rally up, their thoughts of ascending to the social ranks clouded their empathy. the suitors know how grievous it must be to be alone, holding onto the hope that rook was not dead, but they also seem not to care. there was no king, no one to share your burdens, surely you'd want company?

no matter their attempts to take the throne, you'd stall. it was an array of stalling, you used up every excuse you can try. first it was grief, second was the state was in a crisis, and now.... they've grown impatient. it has been years, yet the throne gets colder as the king fails to return or send a sign. will he ever return?

"i refuse!" you yell as the council all stare. it was you who had the power, why was the council allowing such arrangements to happen?they sat in front of you, the crown, and begged for you to marry a suitor.

how dare they ask that from you? after all your work to keep the crisis at bay, they repay you with a torturous task?

"your majesty, this is what would further benefit our kingdom. you have stalled long enough." the eldest council proclaimed as they showcased data and news from the kingdom. morale is low. especially after the storm that struck your shores.

you glare as you saw the undeniable problem and the solution was clear as day. you couldn't hold onto the thrown nor the crisis forever, but...

you had hope. rook hunt was out there, you could feel it in your bones. there was no way he'd be dead. the council looks at you, waiting on your next word, your plan.

"i have one more challenge. this is the last one. bring me to the armory." you say as you surrendered. but even if you surrendered, you wouldn't allow them, not even for a second, to think they had their wishes granted.

---

you glare as you held your husband's bow as the guards open the gates to your throne room. the suitors chattered amongst themselves but soon silenced as they saw you enter.

"this here is my husband's bow." you say as you raised the bow, it was sturdy, comically large, and a symbol of his prowess. "it has long snapped, but none can restring it. my challenge is this,"

you unveil the axes that were lined up, "whoever strings this bow, and shoot through these axes cleanly..." you hesitate, "will became the new king, my new husband"

"that's what those were for" one suitor said, "it doesn't make sense!" the other proclaimed

the mumurs were loud, each suitor boasting or complaining over the challenge, you glare at them as you see them scramble to get to the bow.

among the crowds was your husband, rook, who stood silent by the pillars. rook laughed at how gullible these men were to believe that they can even string the bow. it takes a wit of the hunt's to know how to string it, it was a family heirloom. it curved weirdly, deceiving those who do not know to string it properly.

but he watched, in amusement. it was all their efforts that made it a comedy. rook watched each suitor try and try as they struggled to even get the string on the end of the bow. rook watched as each suitor soon gave up on even the bow, feeling the dismay build up. in his ragged clothes, rook hid in the shadows noting every weakness and strengths of each man.

“such a shame, these men seem to lack the knowledge to know a deception” rook muttered in sadness as he circled around them. the last suitor dropped the bow and screamed in the room,

“screw this competition. don’t you see we’re being played?!” it was an outraged yell as they point at the throne room, as if they’re trying to yell at you for this competition. and by virtue, they were being played, rook can appreciate this from the man. At the very least, one man knew his queen’s wit. 

as the suitors gather around feeling they’re now understanding the consequences of their foolish parade around the bow, rook swiftly takes the bow and strings it with ease. unknown to him, rook was being watched by the sidelines. you were there, seeing him in silence, not recognizing him and had your heart beat in anticipation as the bow was being strung.

thwack! 

the arrow flew gracefully to the end, hitting the target on the wall. the chatter died down, as the riot that was bubbling over ended. the arrow stabbed firmly on the end of the target, it made the suitors shut up. rook revealed his identity by letting his hood and shadow go, revealing a disheveled man who’s eyes were tired but victorious.

“mon dieu! it was painful to watch this challenge be failed by my country’s men, it is a simple test of wit.” rook smiled as he waved the strung bow, and the men were confused, it looked so normal in the king’s hand. 

“how?!” one yelled, the others were scrambling trying to see if this was a trick, did he hide the other bow? who was he? how dare he win the challenge!

“rook?” you whisper as you open the throne room, the light shining brightly.

“mon amour.” rook replied with a smile. 

[rosetyler42]

1. For the most part, Lucy enjoys her supernatural vampire powers and uses them alot. But she rarely uses her hypnosis powers except when she feels she needs them and won't use them to harm others. She believes her powers should be used either for fun, harmless scaring, revenge, or helping others. In general: You gotta have a good reason to use them.

A. Lucy has vampire powers being a vampire-leaning dhampir. She can float, shapeshift, fly as a bat, has super strength, super speed, super senses, vampiric charm, hypnosis powers, magical telekinesis, etc. Her convictions come from 2 things: Having a mom who was fearful of hypnosis, her family's values, and the stereotype of monsters as evil.

B. A situation where she had to use hypnosis on someone to help them, or when someone had REALLY pissed her off.

2. Lucy and Lizzie both use their powers for this.

A. I already went over Lucy's powers. Lizzie is a dragon: She can shapeshift, king fu fight, fly, breathe fire, create chi dopplegamgers, etc and was trained to be the protector of the magical community.

B. I know Jake was tempted by money and girls or making his life easier, so Lizzie might have similar temptations.

3. Lucy likes to float around alot for fun, lifts her brother in big bear hugs, use her magic to hold and handle things, and likes to charm people to get what she wants or get out of things. She also has a natural ability to sneak around she uses for both pranks and exploration. Her vampire abilities give her a big boost, but she does like to use them to help others too.

4. In HT, Magical powers are only common in certain monsters and those of monster descent. Lucy has her powers because of her vampire ancestry. Vampire-leaning Dhampirs are between monsters and humans when it comes to power. They aren't quite as strong or powerful as a full vamp, but they're far more powerful than the average human. Humany leaning dhampirs are similar to humans with few subtle vampire perks. Lucy is probably on the powerful side for a dhampir due to both her Dracula and Van Helsing ancestry and her love and pride in being a monster and drive to use her abilities. Most vampirey dhampirs are probably closer to Dennis.

For Lizzie, while there's a whole magical community in hiding from muggles in a similar arrangement to Harry Potter and MIB, Dragons are considered the most powerful and thus are the leaders and protectors of the magical world. Much of my story focuses on when Lizzie is 13-14, a common age for dragon powers to emerge.

5. N/A

6. Lucy and Lizzie's are both hereditary. Lucy is half vampire and Lizzie is a dragon. HOWEVER, there are other factors. For dhampirs, how their parented can determine if vampire abilities emerge. If they are over protected and suppressed, for example, they may not develop them at all. More abusively, the powers can be scared out. However, in the case of Simon and Lucy, it's mostly personality and luck which side of their ancestry they favor. Vampire abilities are connected with fangs. If the little late fanger doesn't get their fangs by age 5, they probably never will. Those that DO get powers have to be taught how to use them though.

For Lizzie, dragon abilities largely lie dormant until about 13, with some displaying them at age 8. They need to be trained to fully master their many powers though. However, sometimes dragons never get their powers and they remain humani-locked like Jake's mother. It's unknown if this happens in reverse where a dragon becomes draconi-locked.

7. For Lucy: she's allergic to silver and garlic as part of her vampire ancestry, albeit not as severely as a full blood vamp like Mavis or Drac. She can't hypnotize people wearing glasses or contacts, probably can't hypnotize some characters whos mind is totally broken (like Fiddleford), much stronger characters (like Bill, although she might be able to hypnotize anyone he's possessing), or ones without eyes (like Sammy) and it's possible her powers could be drained by magic like Agatha Harkness' or perhaps suppressed by things like GENT towers. They probably also get weaker of she's sick or malnourished. For Lizzie: Her biggest weakness is sphinx hair, or talisman killdragonosa. This can both drain her powers and can possibly render her unconscious. She can also become so fat it's hard to fly, and the shapeshifting potion negates all other dragon powers for 48 hrs.

OC Questions * Magic * Mini-Edition

1. Which oc thinks supernatural powers should only be used for a great purpose?

1a. What powers do they have, and what makes them think that way?

1b. What scenario might test their convictions?

2. Which oc thinks supernatural powers should only be used to help others?

2a. What powers do they have, and what led them to think this way?

2b. What scenario might test their convictions?

3. Which oc uses their supernatural gifts for petty things like winning a foot race, a trivia game or gambling?

3a. What power do they have, and what leads them to use their powers this way? How much of a boost do their powers give them?

3b. Do they use their powers to help others, too?

4. If supernatural abilities are fairly commonplace, how do most people tend to use them? What is the average strength (literally or metaphorically) of any supernatural power?

5. If supernatural abilities are not commonplace, how does that impact your oc's thought process on using them?

6. How do people get supernatural powers in this world? Are they hereditary, a singular mutation, a gift bestowed, item-driven, etc.?

6a. Is there more than one method of attaining them? Which is most common? How many abilities is it possible for one character to have?

7. Can powers be lost or suppressed? How so?

[giuseppe-yuki]

rancher!oscar piastri x reader headcanons

random headcannons for my fic come over, baby! (shameless promo 😔) *headcannons might not make total sense without reading aforementioned fic

the farm

after The Situation™, mama piastri is more than welcome of your presence at the family home

door has to be OPEN during the day though (she sends basil to guard the door)

you and hattie become besties and bond through bullying oscar <3

you hang out on their family farm during breaks from college so much nicole has assigned you chores to do as well

namely watering the garden and collecting the eggs in the early morning

oscar loves tagging along (only so he can take the chance to make out with you behind the chicken coop cause he can't when his sisters and his mother are in the house with y'all)

y'all are banned from the atv to travel around during morning chores because.. yeah.

when fall comes, apple picking in the family orchard!!!

although you may be a city girl, you know how to make a bomb apple pie

nicole makes cider :)

its nice to drink, curled up in oscar's bed with a classic movie illegally streamed on his laptop.

(most of the times, the movie doesn't get watched, anyways)

the apartment

your parents live in a fancy schmancy apartment in the city

they're always away on business trips or vacations so you basically have free reign to use the apartment when they're away

when you invite oscar for a "sleepover" in the apartment when your parents are in malibu for a random vacation, he gets excited at the prospect of seeing how you grew up in the city

baffled of your lack of backyard

no fresh eggs 💔 ? ?

"jesus christ, can the cars SHUT UP?" - oscar at 12am

he likes to watch the shiny supercars that sometimes pop up on the streets below rev their engines and zoom past your balcony

gets a little sick from looking down from a high height though, since the apartment is located near the 20th floor

"holy cow, do you think this is what being a cloud feels like??" - oscar leaning dangerously precariously off your balcony

college

when you both are not at oscar's house for break or your family apartment in the city, you both are at school

oscar studies engineering (duh)

since you study a whole nother field, you are located on the other side of the campus, which is kind of annoying

he likes to walk you to your classes even when that means he is going to be late to his own lectures.

(he knicks the notes off of his mate lando, anyways)

commonly sends you stupid videos in the middle of your lectures

often takes you out for lunch in his banged-up weird-orange pick-up truck that most likely has engine problems

study sessions in the library!! (he gets overwhelmed by your flashcards and you almost cry looking at his physics problems)

when essays are written and worksheets filled out, you sleep at oscar's dorm (the RAs in your female-only dorm crash out if they find out - god forbid - a boy is in your room)

oscar likes kicking his poor roomie (lando) out for a few hours when y'all get more intimate lmaoooo

a/n: lil headcannons to fill in the time while i work on my full fics :)

as always, my inbox is open to all your thoughts, headcannons, or questions for any of my works! (no fic requests please!)

[marshbarks]

i stopped in the middle of a game to type this. there's a slime about to attack me. whatever.

au where stan moves away a lot lot lot earlier. they met a little later. he only knew kyle for a couple years; long enough to form a bond neither of them will ever be free of. long enough to both fall in love.

and stan remembers certain things super clearly. kyle's birthday, for example, and the smile that kyle flashed when he showed up at the arcade to celebrate. yeah, all of kyle's other friends were there, sure, he was happy for that! but stan was a little late, so he'd gotten into a little bit of a funk. wanted his best friend at the party. its obvious how the entire mood of the place shifted once kyle caught sight of stan's hat at the entrance, getting his hand stamped to come in. they locked eyes, as they always do, and stan almost ripped his hand out of the attendant's grip with how fast he shot it into the air to wave. they spent most of the party side by side.

(eric and kenny are also in town at this point, but ken also ends up moving away because of family stuff. so for a while, its just eric and kyle still in south park. stan's there from age 9 - 12)

so then 5 years later, at 17, stan has re-met with kenny --- ken walked into the dispensary with one hand in their hair, the other holding a note, trying to read off their dads fucking order- sighing and dragging their hand down their face and mumbling behind their palm, just shoving the note into stan's hands. and stan tried small talk. mentioned how he had a friend as a kid with an orange parka like that- ken's face splits into a grin and they're like "yeah? did you? mhm? tell me all about 'em, marsh." and stan freezes, then he's rolling his eyes and laughing and being like dude cmon you can't just let me make an idiot of myself like that! kenny, holy shit- hold on. let me pack this bag and then i'm taking my break---

and they form crimson dawn. jimmy's out in LA too, trying to work the comedy angle still. hoping that being out somewhere high profile will do the trick. leo moved out of his place and is crashing at kenny's family's house while he works on getting on his feet. being the Only Guys From Their Fuckin TOWN out here, of COURSE they form a lil meetup at stan's place (which his dad is sooo proud of their big house, stan cmon PLEASE bring your friends here [what friends, dad?] to show off my wealth) and the band isn't even a thought at first. stan's always had his passion for music, but it hasn't ever been something he's taken seriously.

until jimmy picks up a notebook and sees some lyrics stan was fucking SUFFERING trying to write- and being someone who is well-versed in the art of rhyming for limerick purposes (one of his favorite forms of comedy)- he offers some help with the words. stan panics at first- no its okay seriously thats not even anything important- but leo looks it over over jimmy's shoulder and compliments him. and then before they know it, leo is softly singing the revisions to himself and kenny is humming a melody along- and it doesn't take long for the idea to plant itself.

and they've been performing now for a decade. honestly, they're still not super big. its all gigs in local clubs and bars. most of their music is passion projects and personal feelings in the songs. they've all got lives to lead, recruited someone into the group who films all their performances to put online. and.

every year, if they perform around may 26th, stan stamps something on the back of his hand. normally its just whatever he had on hand. sometimes it's a drawing from someone else in the band. sometimes its a stencil- it doesn't matter. all that matters is that he sings the same song as a celebration to a birthday he'll never forget. to his best friend, even now, and he throws his arm into the air, facing the crowd. the memory doesn't sit with the others as hard, and stan won't explain it. says it's an important tradition to him!

and this year, kyle stumbles across an uploaded video while he's trying to find new artists to listen to and sitting through a random youtube mix.

[toffee4you]

Honestly I'm surprised at how much actual hate I've seen towards the Dawn Armor announcement (mostly Twitter). Just because he's wearing the armor doesn't mean he has to slay/harm Malleus.

Reasoning and anticipated outcome below cut

The reasons:

Already, Silver and Dawn have shown parallels. While they both wish for the unity of fae, humans, etc., Dawn followed any order despite knowing it was wrong because he didn't want to betray Heinrick (and by extension, his family). Meanwhile, Silver was already shown to go against Malleus's order for the greater good (early book 7 in Sebek's dream, when he refused to fall asleep even after being bashed for his disobedience, and fled from Malleus to save him and everyone else). There's also things like rabbitfest where he was completely warranted to dust those delinquents, especially since everyone else initially wanted to do that too, but he immediately went for a passive approach. That's not as strong of an example because there's no lives on the line, though.

Another thing we're forgetting is that Silver and Dawn likely had vastly different environments growing up. Silver was raised by Lilia, a fae who advocated for peace between all species. He also has peers who don't harbor any particular hate towards fae because the modern world is more tolerant. Meanwhile, Dawn might have had good intentions, but from what we see, at least some of the humans he grew up with had little regard for fae (Heinrick). And, judging by lines about their greed and lack of care for the environment, it's highly probable that most others had the same lack of regard. It's a little hard to follow your beliefs when it'll seem like betraying everyone else who you want to protect, ESPECIALLY your family. This leads to what I believe is one of the key differences.

Heinrick manipulated Dawn by telling him it was for Leah's happiness and her father's health. Maleanor is not someone Dawn has personally known, making it less of a loss to slay her in order to save what's important to him (as terrible as it is, and undoubtedly, it was a hard but wrong decision imo). On the contrary, Malleus is a part of Silver's family + his liege, and that's important to him. He's doing this to save Malleus and everyone else, not just to save one side like Dawn was.

Also, Malleus is doing this with misplaced intentions to make everyone happy, and the others seem somewhat aware of this (most definitely Silver, who saw his reasoning from beginning to end). Meanwhile, humans back then probably tried to dehumanize fae (especially Maleanor) by labeling them as the evil ones. No one is actively advocating for Malleus actually be slayed, giving Silver more room to follow his own will, unlike Dawn. So, not only was he raised to follow his will, but his environment is a lot more forgiving. As a matter of fact, if the others also advocate for not harming Malleus, there's really no reason AT ALL for Silver to hurt him.

Besides, it seems like TWST has been trying to represent a theme that the world is slowly changing, and issues do get resolved after overblots. Think of fairy gala. When Dawn said the line praying for all intelligent beings to live in harmony, he was about to slay Maleanor. When Silver said the line, it was because they actually SUCCEEDED at bringing the species together. History did not repeat itself, and I think it would be counterintuitive/more difficult for book 7 to end if they tried making Silver harm Malleus.

Also, did we forget how shaken Silver was when he realized he was related to Dawn? And how he had a whole character development realizing that even though he shared genetics with Dawn, he was still different and he was loved? Then vowed to save everyone? Super counterintuitive to go back on all of that for the sake of angst.

The conclusion:

In my opinion, I think the Dawn Armor has potential to be the opposite of "traumatizing" for Lilia. Sure, at first, he'll probably get a spook seeing that armor come out, but I think he trusts Silver enough to take the right route. I think it might finally give Lilia some internal peace when he sees Silver wield the same armor to save Malleus instead of slaying him, like a good ending version of what happened years ago. I also think Dawn Knight himself would be proud of Silver for doing what he failed at, assuming he's watching over Sil from the ring. At least, that's what I'm personally hoping for.

Feel free to throw tomatoes at me like a medieval villager if I'm wrong tho 🫡

[milessunflowers]

CONGRATS ON 100 FOLLOWERS!!!!!!

perhaps t4t omega!oscar x alpha!reader? (fluffy or suggestive, idm!! let that amazing brain go crazy)

TY VINVIN COULDNT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT 🫶🏻

trans!omega!oscar piastri x trans!alpha!reader

synopsis: he's just so cute and delicious that you can't resist him

author's note: vinnie fr be feeding into my oscar addiction and i am loving it so tysm vinvin for constantly reminding me how gorgeous this man is

FLUFF!

you both borrow each other's clothes all the time

especially when you guys are dysphoric

it helps a lot weirdly enough

and when one of you guys get top surgery, you guys are right by each other's side

so cuddly and clingy

especially after a bad race/race weekend

you guys would go on cute dinner dates all the time

oscar's family absolutely adores you

you love his scent bc it's a soft beach-y scent (at least to me that's what he would smell like)

you love making dinner together even though a lot of the time it ends up burnt

oscar's nests are so cozy that you guys could spend all day cuddled up in the blankets/pillows/clothes

oscar i feel like would be a koala at night and just cling to you so tightly, his nose pressed right to your scent gland because it's a comfort thing

also you guys have a teddy bear that you guys have deemed to be your child

loves late night drives where you guys just watch the stars

SUGGESTIVE!

hes so loud in bed

especially during his heat, like not even covering his mouth can keep him from being heard anywhere

loves riding the strap on

lowkey bratty but in a good way where it's just small things you don't mind

like scratching up your back or leaving one too many bites to cover up

in return you leave him with a slight limp

his scent makes your brain go crazy during heat/rut so like you guys don't leave for days at a time

loves seeing the small marks here and there on his chest and thighs

literally will trace them with his fingers and ask you to leave more

refuses to shower afterwards without you which totally doesn't end up in like two more rounds

loves having your scent (and cum) all over him

TAGS! (if you want to be added lmk!)

@op-81-lvr-reblogs, @koalapastries, @justaf1girl, @ghostking4m, @spoonfulofmilo, @seonghwaexile, @alex-wotton, @raizelchrysanderoctavius

[lexicrvg]

On a random night in 1989, Ice and Mav have a fight about their future together. Ice wants to quit the navy and love Mav in all the ways he deserves, out and proud, but Maverick doesn't let him. He knows Ice wants to climb through the ranks and get stars on his shoulder, he can't be the reason Ice misses this.

That night, they broke up. Ice couldn't bear be with someone who didn't love him just as much as he loves them, and Maverick couldn't tell Ice he wouldn't give up flying for him.

Ice quits the navy. He would've done it with or without Maverick.

30+ years go by, and their lives haven't even once crossed paths, not even at Slider's wedding nor Sundown's funeral. It seems like the universe had separate plans for them, and it stuck this way.

(They were at both of these events, but Wolfman was in charge of "Not let Mav and Tom see each other" and he always aces a task)

Until Wolf's retirement party, that is. With him being the center of attention, he gives Hollywood the most important task of his life, Wood have other plans tho, he's very easily distracted by his husband's beautiful smile and when they're least expecting it...

"Hey" Maverick says, sitting on the bar, side by side with Tom.

"Pete!" Tom opens a big smile "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, right." Mav takes a pause, looking at the other up and down. "You look great"

And he did. Being away from the navy must've given Tom 10 years of his life back.

"You look exactly the same," Tom laughs. "Like, scarily so."

Pete laughs with him, although the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. In just 2 minutes, between seeing Tom from across the room and engaging in conversation with him, Mav noticed he seems... happy.

"I think I've been time traveling in those jets," he jokes, and Tom laughs. Again.

Tom didn't have such an easy smile back then. It rubs on Maverick the wrong way.

"How have you been?" Tom asks, after taking a sip of his vodka.

Maverick did not have a good answer to that question. Miserable? Missing you every day of my life? Discharged?

"Good" it's what he settles for. "You?"

Something in Tom's eyes twitches, like he's well aware Maverick's lying to his face, he says nothing about it, and Mav doesn't give him a chance to. He spots the ring on Tom's finger and, before he can help himself, he asks:

"What's her name?" Earning yet another laugh from Tom.

"I know it's been a while, but I'm sure you remember I'm not particularly interested in women." Tom plays with his ring and adds: "His name is Grant, and he's..." Tom searches for something in the room, then points. "... right there."

Against his better judgment, Mav turns to see where Tom's pointing. He regrets it immediately. Grant is gorgeous.

He's the exact opposite of Pete. For starters, he's tall, taller than Ice, taller than Slider whom he's talking excitedly with. Grant's hair is silver, and he carries a smile that would make Mav swoon if the situation was any different.

"We met in 2001" Tom continues, smiling lovingly at his partner. "Got married in 2016, and..."

"And...?"

"Our kid came to our lives in 2019. She just turned 10."

Maverick feels like he's going to throw up. Husband and daughter. Tom had both a husband and a daughter while Pete was still in weird terms with Bradley and as single as he's ever been. It wasn't fair. He was the one who didn't want Tom and now... Now, Tom has been living a happy life with a family he could only dream of when he was in the navy, and Pete still held onto a tiny bit of hope that he would get Ice back.

It wasn't fair. Not at all. He might die of regret.

"Listen, I gotta go to the restroom, " Ice said, getting up. "You stay here! I'll be back. We have a lot of catch-up to do, " and walked away.

Mav downed the rest of Tom's drink in one go, very disappointedly realizing it was water and not vodka.

"Hey, shortstack!" comes from Ron Kerner, looking a bit tipsy, bringing Grant on his arm. "I want you to meet my dear friend, Grant!"

"Yeah, I..."

"Grant, this is Pete Mitchell, Tom's wingmen" hearing Slider refer to him as Ice's wingmen did something weird to Mav's heart. "Mav, this is Grant Kazansky, he's..."

"Ice's husband, yeah, I heard."

Both Slider and Grant giggle at this. Grown man. Giggling. "He hates being called Ice nowadays," Grant explains. "He says Iceman is someone who should stay in the past."

"Sorry, old habits." Mav opens an awkward smile.

"Can I get you a drink?" Grant offers. "Something stronger than Tom's water."

"I thought it was vodka." Mav murmurs.

Already gesturing to the bartender to bring a drink, Grant says: "He stopped drinking when our princess came to our lives."

"And yet I'm her contact emergency" Slider interrupts.

"Because you let her eat ice cream before dinner!"

And isn't this nice? Maverick thought to himself. Him, his biggest love's husband and fucking Ron Kerner all sitting together and having a nice chat!

Before he could actually throw up in front of these people, he excused himself and went to get some fresh air.

Not even 5 minutes go by before someone sits down besides him on the sidewalk.

"He talked about you." Grant says, offering Mav a glass of something that might be whiskey — or apple juice, you never know.

"Good things, I hope." Mav says, taking the glass.

Grant snorts, but doesn't answer. Awkward silence rovers between them.

"Do you love him?" Pete asks, breaking it.

Without missing a beat, Grant answers: "More than I ever loved anyone."

Something twists in Mav's stomach, but he ignores it.

"That's good. He only deserves good things."

But it went without saying. Grant knew Tom deserved only good things, hell, Ice knew it. He would never settle for less than he deserves, and that's why he's with Grant and not Maverick.

"He's lucky to have you," Pete finishes, swallowing the bitter taste the words leave in his mouth.

"I'm lucky to have him." After a beat of awkward silence, Grant adds: "You should come by to dinner."

Mav must've heard it wrong, so he waits for Grant to correct himself. It never comes.

"What?"

"Dinner at our place," Grant explains. "He'd love to get you back in his life, he treasures his friends a lot."

Friends. Right. That's what they are. No.

"We haven't been friends in a long time," not since 1986, he lefts unsaid, since we started dating.

Grant seems to think about it, then decides, "Now it's a good time to reconect. Enjoy your drink."

Then he walks back into the bar, leaving Mav and his thoughts alone.

It all seems a bit crazy for him. Ice — sorry, Tom — has a husband. And they've been together for more than twenty years. A husband who loves him dearly and isn't afraid to say so. A husband who goes to navy events just to celebrate Tom's old friends. A husband who looks like could and would kill anyone who did Tom wrong. A husband who sat down with Tom's ex and invited him to dinner just because.

Pete thinks he should accept the offer. Just to see what Tom's been up to and meet his daughter, would she like him? Would she call him "Uncle Mav"? He should call Slider and check on what to wear and say...

Oh. He doesn't know what to say around Tom. They're strangers now. The man who he once shared a house, a bed, a life, and a heart with is now a stranger to him.

The realization does something to him, something very bad. He takes a sip of his drink and decides this day could not get any worse.

Huh. Whiskey. A good one. At least Grant knows his liquor.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

What Happens At Home: Final Part

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Summary: A new team member joins due to her traumatic past, hoping that she can give some insight before more people are killed. Meanwhile, you get the house ready for Spencer's mother on Christmas weekend.

Season Six Masterlist

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

"Agent Hotchner. You should see this." Felix moves a small TV to face Hotch. It's an interrogation tape of one of the sixty-four suspects. "This guy is Frank Morris."

"I do? How do I know that?" Felix asks.

"I run the damn neighborhood watch," Frank glares.

"That means you're walking around at night."

"You said the profile could include somebody in the neighborhood watch, right?"

"That's where Agent Y/N comes in."

"I know the unsub's energy. I can match it to whoever is in the crowd."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm a psychic. I see energies. Everyone has a different base energy, and the unsub left a lot of it behind at the crime scene."

"That's not possible."

"She's the real deal, and we trust her wholeheartedly. Let us focus on scanning the crowd, you focus on bringing Frank in." Hotch doesn't give him time to question you. "We're going to try something else. Can you make some officers available to run a sign-in table at a community meeting tonight? One of the things we're going to be examining is body language in a group environment."

"Body language?"

"It's something that the unsub won't be able to control even if he were to try to."

"Right. Okay, I'll have some uniforms detailed for the meeting."

"Will you also tell Brinkman that the unsub will display something that he can't control?"

"Sure," Felix nods and leaves.

"Do you think they'll be able to keep that to themselves?"

"Let's hope not."

"Hotch, Might be able to point out the unsub but you told me that I have to have facts and evidence to back up my claim. Is this going to happen tonight or will you arrest whoever I say to?"

Hotch sighs and takes you off to the side.

"We can only hold someone for forty-eight hours without cause. If we get him now, we have a clock running. If you point him out, we can be better prepared and gather evidence before bringing him in."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Don't think I don't trust you. I do. I take everything you say into consideration."

"Thanks, Hotch," you smile.

At the most recent crime scene, Derek and Emily found a laptop owned by the latest victim. Once Derek brought it back to the model home, he hooked it up for Penelope to sift through. Aubrey was a writer so you're hoping she kept some kind of journal. Maybe she noticed someone following her or she felt weird about something. It's a stretch but you have no doubt if there is anything to find, Penelope is going to find it.

With the suspects who are left, Penelope looks to see if any of them have a tech background that would allow them to modify a remote control of a garage. It might be how the unsub is letting himself into the houses.

Marjorie's family was out of town. Jill was strangled in her laundry room while her family was camping outside. The unsub was able to get through the entire house only to find a room where someone was awake. That doesn't sound like someone just randomly checking garage doors to see if one will open. This unsub stalked his victims and reprogrammed a garage door opener to work on his victim's doors.

As soon as six rolls around, you're in the back which has a great view of the entire church. People are filtering in, but none of them are the unsub yet. Derek and Emily show up after looking at each of the crime scenes.

"We just came from the last victim's house. The unsub used the garage as access. Maybe a remote door opener made to be universal. The police are saying it's random, but how could you randomly find a woman so vulnerable? Garcia's going over backgrounds again, trying to highlight anyone with tech experience," Derek explains.

"She's also doing a full workup on Brinkman and Ruiz. They had that kind of access. Has anyone seen Ruiz?"

"I saw him a while ago," Rossi answers Hotch.

"He set up everyone filling out forms, but I haven't seen him since," Spencer says.

"We need to ask for help in a different way. Tell people that we're looking for someone who might have seensomething rather than someone who did something. No one thinks that their friends or neighbors are capable of this. We should get started."

Hotch walks to the altar to address everyone inside the church while you stay in the back. The unsub has not entered the building. You didn't even have to go inside the crime scenes to see his energy. It was pouring out of it like a disease. Hotch gives a brief overview of what's going on in a calm manner so that no one panics.

"We're hoping that someone may have seen something and not even realized it. Maybe you have a neighbor who takes his trash out late, works on his car in his garage, or anything that might put someone outside at an odd hour and allow them to see something."

"Is there anything we can help you look for?" Emily asks Ashley.

"It won't be overt. The kids probably won't be afraid of their dad."

"They won't? These guys have explosive tempers, don't they?"

Your dad did.

"Definitely. Anger wasn't normal at my house. Usually, when it happened, when he exploded, it was an anomaly. A surprise. If anything, my father was overly solicitous. Too nice. If I wanted anything like bicycles, toys, and dolls, all I had to do was ask. In groups, he always held my hand. Always. Sometimes so tight, it almost cut off the circulation. I can never remember him putting me on his lap or holding me in any way."

You look away from her as you think about your own dynamic with your dad. You had the complete opposite experience with him. He was scary when he was angry. When he punished, he punished. Afterward, he'd feel so bad about how he reacted that he'd give you anything you asked for. He was overly affectionate for you and loved to hold you as a kid. It stopped when you got too old for it, but he always loved hugging you. You never saw an issue with it. You still don't, but you're confused why dread and doubt are creeping up your back when you think back on it.

"Are you okay?" Derek asks and nudges you.

"My dad did that stuff for me."

"Your dad isn't a killer."

"Yeah, I know," you whisper.

"He'd always have these talks with me. He was terrified someone would take me," Ashley continues. "He knew what was out there. Men like him. Maybe this unsub recently bought gifts for his kids. My dad used to buy me things all the time."

"What kind of gifts?"

"Anything. Everything. I told you, there was nothing... My whole life, there's only one thing I wanted that I couldn't have."

"What was it?"

"A pet."

After Hotch is done talking to the crowd, he walks over to your group, and you shake your head at his questioning look.

"He wasn't here, Hotch. I didn't see his energy anywhere. I don't think he's here but he could have blended in. There's a lot of people here. Energies tend to mush together in large crowds.

"We're gonna start with the people who didn't show and cross-reference with families with no pets," Emily explains.

"No pets?"

"I remembered I wasn't allowed to have a dog or a pet of any kind. It was more than a rule. It was a big problem for us," Ash says.

"That could be something."

"I'm sorry I couldn't point him out."

"We don't expect you to point him out. We're hoping you can help us once we have things narrowed down. Plus, I believe Y/N. If she says he wasn't here, he's probably not here."

Spencer returns with a list in his hands. "Out of the sixty-four suspects, eighteen of them didn't show up."

"Okay. Prentiss, take Ashley back to the model home, go through the eighteen names, and add the pet information." Emily nods, and the two women leave. "Is Garcia's working on technical backgrounds?"

"Yes," Derek nods.

"Okay, get her the eighteen names. Did Ruiz ever get here?"

"No. Neither did the security chief."

"As far as I'm concerned, we have twenty no-shows."

An officer walks into the church and over to your group.

"Agent Hotchner? Detective Ruiz would like you to meet him at Main and Oak. There's been another murder."

You immediately head over to the house to see Felix talking with the distraught husband of the victim. He is sitting on the front porch steps with his head in his hands, crying his eyes out.

"I know, Mike. I'm sorry. We're doing everything we can," Felix sighs.

"The unsub's killed two nights in a row. It's a major escalation."

"We need to start over," Hotch says. "I think we go back to the beginning. Local PD gave us a list of sixty-four out of the seventy-one possible males. I think we throw that out and start with the original seventy-one."

"What about Ruiz?" Spencer asks.

"He's definitely on the list."

"He didn't do it but that doesn't mean he doesn't know who did it or isn't covering for him," you whisper.

You head back to the model home but Emily and Ashley aren't there.

"Hey, Reid, where's the list of people that didn't make the meeting?" Derek asks.

He hands the list to him. "Right here."

"We need to look at all seventy-one files. We need to eliminate suspects our way, not theirs."

The files of everyone are on the dining room table, and you grab a handful of them to look through. Spencer drums his fingers down the sides of the folders and frowns in thought.

Derek takes out his phone and dials Penelope, putting her on speakerphone.

"Garcia, are you ready?"

"Yes. What do you got?"

The front door opens and Detective Ruiz walks in. Everyone looks at him like he's the suspect, and he senses the hostility.

"What's up?"

"There are only sixty-seven files here. Where are the other four?"

"One of them is mine, and the other three are the victims' husbands."

"Why would they automatically be cleared?" Derek asks.

"Wouldn't they? I mean, if you're gonna check them, you might as well check me."

"We are," Rossi states. "Detective, where are the missing files?"

"Right over here."

Felix grabs the files and hands them over to Hotch.

"Garcia, we need you to run a few more names. Phillip Long."

"Long has no suspicions on his record, no arrests, and no technology either."

"Drew Jacobs."

"Drew had a couple of arrests for assault when he was younger. I'll give you more details on that in a second. Is this the husband of the woman whose computer I went through?"

"Yeah."

"She was really unhappy with him. She said he was distant and he left her alone at night."

"He was wandering outside," Felix says. "As a matter of fact, before his wife was killed, he was my top suspect."

"He's an IT expert who travels around the world," Penelope says.

"He's a tech. Thanks, baby girl."

Emily and the Chief of Security walk through the door just now. "What's going on?"

"There was another murder during the meeting."

"Where's Seaver?"

"I thought she was with you," you say.

"No. I left her here."

Hotch takes out his phone and calls Ashley who picks up immediately. He places her on speakerphone so everyone can hear her.

"Agent Seaver," she answers.

"Ashley, where are you?"

"Without a doubt, sir."

"Where are you?"

"Yes, sir."

A look of realization falls over Hotch's face.

"Can you get out of there?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that. Mr. Jacobs told me that his daughter was frightened, and as soon as I can make her feel better, I'll come back."

She hangs up and you look at Hotch who is worried for her.

"Jacobs has her. She has no gun. Let's go."

"Son of a bitch," Felix curses.

You rush over to Drew's house. Based on the energy you can see floating out of the house, there is a child inside. It's like Ashley's childhood all over again.

"Prentiss and Morgan, take the back. Make noise. Let him know he's caught. It may be the only chance she's got."

You go with Htoch through the front door, and you keep your gun aimed in front of you.

"FBI!"

You make your way upstairs to see a little girl with tears streaming down her face and Drew standing behind Ashley with a knife to her throat.

"Drop the knife," Hotch demands.

"Daddy!"

You walk over to the little girl and pull her into you to keep her from running to her dad.

"Drop the knife!" Rossi yells.

You turn Drew's daughter toward you so she doesn't have to see what happens next. Drew pushes Ashley to the side and lunges at Hotch with the knife. You cover the girl's eyes just as her dad is shot twice in the chest. You don't waste any time in getting the girl downstairs so that she can't see her dad's dead body lying on the ground.

Case closed.

Spencer stayed true to his word and flew to Las Vegas to pick up his mom while you went back home and got the guest room ready for her. She's been having more good days so her doctor allowed her to take Christmas weekend away from the facility. Spencer texted when they landed in Virginia and once again when they were pulling up. You open the front door and smile when you see Diana.

"Diana! I'm so happy to see you! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, dear," she smiles back.

"Why don't you two sit down and I'll make some tea for you two," Spencer offers.

You lead Diana to the living room and sit with her on the couch. You wanted to wait until Christmas morning to tell her the news but you can't contain your excitement much longer.

"We have some news, Diana."

"What is it?"

You hold out your left hand to show off the beautiful diamond ring. "Spencer and I are getting married. We're engaged." She gasps happily and grabs your hand to inspect the ring further. "We'd like you to be there."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she grins.

"Would you like to watch some Christmas movies?" She nods and leans back in her seat. "Great. I'll be right back."

You walk into the kitchen where Spencer is and slink up to his side.

"I like how happy you make my mom."

"She makes me happy, too. Afterall, she gave birth to you."

Spencer leans down and kisses you, utterly and completely in love with you.

"Children begin by loving their parents. As they grow older they judge them, sometimes they forgive them." – Oscar Wilde

x

Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[ihaznoclue]

Are your requests still open? 👀👀👀

Can I ask for TFP headcanons for Bumblebee, optimus and Arcee?? With a reader based on Jinx from arcane? (Jinx reader as a Decepticon that eventually joined team prime(??)

I just had this idea in my head and I can't stop thinking about it

Jinx is a really complex character and has so much potential, I love her

Pairings -> Bumblee, Optimus Prime, Arcee x Reader

Warnings -> Mental health Issues

Note -> Reader is based on Jinx from Arcane and switched from Decepticon to the prime team

Genre -> Fluff

Bumblebee

You relationship with Bumblebee is a bit complex

Meaning that you have no idea what he is saying as all you heard is beep and boops

You remembered when you were on the side of the Decepticons, Megatron talked about the scout of the autobot team and how he ripped his audio box out

Meaning that he has no voice

I mean you were feeling bad for the poor guy but you just didn't really care that much as you had your own problems to deal with

But being in the autobots team for a while now you started to realise that they never yelled at you for something, they never told you off or did anything to you

Bee respected your privacy and personal space as you told that you didn't like to be touched

Bee wanted to get closer to you, so he tried some stuff that he thought you would like

Maybe some parts that he found from a mission for you to do your inventions

He heard from Miko that you like to create and fix stuff

You appreciated it, thanking him and then went your own way

You felt like you found a family

A family that you hoped you wouldn't mess up on

Optimus Prime

Ever since you came to the autobots teams

Optimus always welcomed you in open arms even though you didn't some horrible stuff in the past when you were with the Decepticons

Optimus knows that you didn't mean to do any of that since Megatron is very manipulative towards his colleagues

Spite you being a 'criminal' he knows that you were kind of messed up int he head

He knows your past, he knows how your past was when you were younger and he is willing to help

But for now he is going to respect you and your boundaries

Optimus will often tell his friends they should keep a safe distance from you as he was told you didn't like to be touch because of 'reasons'

You felt like Optimsu was becoming a father figure to you

He was gentle and never disrespected you

He sort of pulled out your other personality which was rare of people to see

Whenever you are doing something, like fixing or making your inventions

He will always tell the others that you are busy and need some space on your own for a bit

Optimus doesn't want you to feel like your on your own

He wants you to feel like you are wanted

Arcee

Okay you know when Smokescreen was like coming to earth in a decepticon pod and Arcee had to take a while to warm up to him

Yeah I feel like she would be like towards you after being on the Decepticon warship and all

Thinking that you were a spy or something that would get information from the autobot team and then spread it out to the cons to defeat the autobots

But instantly she notices nothing from you

You were a distant sometimes loud and chaotic person

But she decided to keep an eye on you for a while until she knows your not working for the cons

When she does warm up to you, she would try to keep a conversation but if she knows that you are not int he mood to talk she would leave you be

Sometimes she would catch you fixing your gun or your machine gun

She would be tense about that but would ask you if you are use to guns

You were very talented when you were little always getting the target so you decided to show her some of your skills of your own

You and Arcee would be quite close in my opinion

-A<3

[yukidragon]

if Shaun is no longer a religious person, does he detest Ian more now, how hypocritical ian is especially if Ian planned proposing to Alice?

I'd say it's hard for Shaun to dislike Ian more than he already does just for how badly he hurt Alice. There are certainly plenty of personal reasons besides what happened to her that rubbed this cat daddy the wrong way as well.

Content Warning: this post contains talk about religious trauma, weaponized religion, childhood trauma, cheating, toxic family relationships, toxic romantic relationships, codependency, death of close family members, grief, mourning, and other such heavy topics.

Also just a quick reminder that these headcanons are what currently apply to Sunshine in Hell. I'm still in the process of building up the characters and their backstories for my personal telling of this tale so things might change later as I develop them more. The more I play with the characters, the better I get to know them and allow them to grow.

Shaun's Family and Religion

Shaun was never a religious person, not even as a kid. His exposure to it was mostly from his grandparents on his mother's side and his uncle Abraham Cofer, who're very devout Christians. Religion was a complicated thing for his family well before he was even born.

His mother Leticia Cofer distanced herself from her family when she married Shaun's father, Antwon Durand. Leticia became disillusioned with the particularly overzealous brand of Christian faith that her parents believed in and pushed on her all her life, and over time she taught herself to push back against them. In her teen years she dabbled in other faiths to find something that fit her better, and as a rebellion against her parents. Eventually she found comfort in Wicca and witchcraft. Naturally, when her parents found out, they hit the roof. There were screaming matches and they threw practically all of her things out, even if it didn't have anything to do with her new beliefs.

Needless to say, this abusive controlling environment pushed Leticia to move out of her parents' house the second she turned 18 in spite of their protests.

Antwon had always been Agnostic, with no real positive or negative opinions about religion as a whole. His philosophy is to believe in the things he experiences for himself firsthand. Also faith, or lack thereof, doesn't make someone a bad person - it's the choices they make and the way they treat others that decide a person's moral character. Let people believe in what suits them as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.

That isn't to say Antwon was entirely unfamiliar with Christianity. He did have appreciation for the mythology of religions, particularly how crazy, dark, and creepy the stories could be. He loved the goth aesthetic and all things creepy and spooky in general.

Leticia and Antwon met in college and they clicked almost instantly. Although Leticia did move away from her parents, she didn't want to cut them out of her life and struggled to improve their relationship. Even though their relationship wasn't healthy and was very painful, it's not that easy to cut out loved ones, or forget the good moments they did have together. Antwon helped her reinforce healthy boundaries, which, naturally, her parents did not appreciate. When they found out he wasn't Christian, they made it no secret that they disliked him and constantly took passive-aggressive snipes at him. They would never approve of their daughter dating a "godless heathen," which led to many moments of friction between them.

Antwon helped encourage Leticia to embrace her witchy side and she in turn encouraged him to express his more unusual tastes openly without fear or reservation for what others might think of him. They became a real life Gomez and Morticia, creepy, kooky, and very shamelessly in love. They even had a midnight wedding at a haunted house, illuminated by candles with black and red as the wedding colors, including the wedding dress.

Leticia's parents threw a complete fit at this wedding that "spat in the face of God," straining their relationship even more. It got to the point that security had to force her parents to leave the venue. After that, they refused to recognize the marriage between Antwon and Leticia, as it hadn't been "sanctified by God," and even referred to Shaun as a bastard born out of wedlock.

As you might imagine, the connection Leticia had to her parents was dangling by a thread by the time Shaun came along. Despite all their many arguments, despite all the scenes made and hurtful words exchanged, she still wanted to have a relationship with them. It can be hard to cut ties with someone you love after all, especially when you've been seeking their approval all of your life. She tried so hard to make it work between them, but they stomped on her boundaries at every turn and tried to make her feel guilty for having them in the first place. Eventually, the only reason they were in contact at all was because, if she cut them off, that meant cutting off her brother Abraham as well, who lived with them.

Abraham served as something of a bridge between Leticia and their parents. He and their parents were practically a package deal. He understood that she felt stifled by all the restrictions put on her, as he had grown up with strict rules too, but he simply couldn't understand why she was going so far to "spite" their parents and their faith.

The reality was that Abraham didn't truly understand just how suffocating the rules were for women. He couldn't appreciate how harsh it was that they were expected to give up their autonomy to men, first their father then their husband. They were to defer to the man in their life in all things, to obey without question, to change themselves to suit what that man felt appropriate, and to practically treat the man in their life like God himself.

Abraham was raised to believe in his role as the man of the house, the one who leads in the name of God. The man speaks His word and always has final say. Abraham could never really see why that was wrong and why Leticia would hate "God's plan" for her so much.

Leticia wanted to hold onto the hope that she could open her brother's eyes to just how toxic their parents' and the church's teachings truly were. If she cut them all off, it was the same as giving up on her brother, who she used to be so close to when they were little.

Sadly, Abraham only grew more and more indoctrinated as the years went on as he got more involved in the church. He grew close to others of the same faith and followed in their father's footsteps, even inheriting the funeral parlor that their family had run for generations.

The relationship between Abraham and Leticia was strained by the time Shaun was born, but neither of them were willing to give up on the other. Not yet.

Antwon and Leticia decided to raise Shaun without any sort of religious teachings. They felt it best to let him decide for himself what he believed when he was old enough to truly understand the implications. This, of course, did not sit well with Leticia's family, as they were constantly trying to get her to stop acting "foolish" and come back to the faith. Their attempts got even more outrageous over time, growing almost unhinged after Shaun was born, as they wanted to "save this innocent child's soul from damnation." More than once they tried to get in contact with Shaun behind his parents' backs and teach him "the truth in God."

The final straw was when the grandparents managed to secretly get Shaun baptized behind his parents' back. He was too young to understand what was going on, or why he never got to see his grandparents or uncle Abraham afterwards. All he knew was that his parents were upset for some reason that they never adequately explained. It was only when he was in his late teens that he was told the full story.

Leticia and Antwon went no contact with her family for several years after the baptism incident. They only got back in contact again when her father died, shortly followed by her mother. Abraham and Leticia managed to reconnect and somewhat reconcile at the funeral after the loss of their parents. Things were tense but civil between them, at least for the most part.

Shaun didn't get to know his paternal grandparents, as Antwon's father passed before Shaun was born and Antwon's mother died while Shaun was too young to really form any memories of her. Shaun's few memories of his maternal grandparents were kind, at least as far as he was aware at the time, but then suddenly they and uncle Abraham weren't allowed to come by anymore. He had thought of them fondly, but learning the full truth cast a dark shadow on his previously warm and happy memories of them.

Sadly, in the present day, Shaun only has one living family member left - his uncle Abraham. His parents died unexpectedly - a fatal car crash. His only solace about the gruesome incident that took his parents was that they were at least together in the end.

The death of his parents hit Shaun hard. The three of them were so close, with so many common interests. His parents helped him flourish his love of horror movies and all things dark and gothic. They were his biggest fans, always cheering him on with whatever he wanted to do in life. They loved everything he made, even his haphazardly thought out and poorly edited analog horror shorts.

They were there to congratulate Shaun when he won his first ever independent film awards for the student film he worked so hard on in college. That film was what ultimately started his career as an up and coming director in the present day.

It was his last film they ever saw. The last time Shaun saw them in person, they were telling him just how proud of him they were, and how they knew that he was going to do great things.

Shaun was still in college when his parents died, and he was devastated. It was only with the help of his friends that he could handle it all.

It wasn't easy, especially when Abraham kept arguing with Shaun about the details of the funeral. Abraham insisted that he might not have been able to "save Leticia's soul from Hell," but he would be damned if her remains were not at least put to rest on holy ground beside their parents. He refused to accept that Leticia actually stated in her will that she wanted to be cremated, with some of her ashes made into diamonds and the rest scattered into the ocean. It was blasphemy of the highest order! Abraham didn't care what Shaun did with Antwon's remains, but he would bring hell to his nephew's doorstep to make sure his sister "came home" for her final rest.

Ultimately, for all of Abraham's poisonous words and protests, for all his declarations that Shaun would be damning his mother's soul to hell for his blasphemy, for all the shouting and tears between them, Shaun was the one with final say. His parents had planned ahead and left Shaun with the power over their estate. All Abraham was left with was a few parting words from Leticia to him in her will, and a few old keepsakes from when she was a child.

Abraham didn't attend the ash spreading ceremony. His parting words to Shaun was that the last of his family was dead and damned. Whether he was implying that Shaun was dead to him as well or that he didn't see Shaun as family at all, it was never clear. All that was clear was that he never wanted to see Shaun again. After all the hell Abraham put Shaun through, the feeling was mutual.

Not that it was easy for Shaun to cut off the only living member of his family that he had left. It would be years before he would tentatively try to mend fences despite their rocky past. Even though he has good friends by his side, a part of him still aches painfully for the family he lost.

But Abraham is nothing like Shaun's late parents. Try as Shaun might to open his heart to his uncle in spite of everything, there is no love between them, only a connection by blood that cannot stand against stubbornness, pride, and zealotry.

Religion, Collage, and Relationships

Rewinding things a bit, let's go back to Shaun's early collage days. The start of collage was a bright time in his life, one filled with hope and optimism. He arrived on campus his first day bright-eyed and excited for classes and to see who he would wind up rooming with. He was surprised when the college dorms didn't strictly go with same-sex matchups, but he wasn't about to complain. His new roomie was very sweet, polite, and even brought a batch of delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies to welcome him as her new roommate.

Shaun couldn't help but think he hit the jackpot. Alice was cute and a bit shy, but she warmed up to him quickly. She was also into goth like him! Sure she went for the pastel cutesy side of goth, but he was happy to be paired with one of his people.

They even had a class together during their first semester - a creative writing class that focused on horror. They sat next to one another and chatted often. Shaun found it so easy to talk to Alice and bounce ideas off of her. For someone so kind and soft, she could come up with some diabolical twists for a horror story, and he was only too happy to help her in return.

Shaun had experienced crushes before, but Alice was special. She wasn't just attractive, she was a good person that he enjoyed spending time with and was just so easy to have fun with. He wanted to see where things could go between them, but, sadly, his hopes were dashed when he found out that she already had a boyfriend.

It was... fine. Shaun insisted to himself that he would be fine with things as they are. At least at the start. He did his best to stop crushing on Alice and just be her friend, knowing that it wasn't going to happen between them. Unfortunately, his feelings for her only grew as they spent more time together. They became comfortable living together and shared many wonderful moments together. Try as he might, he simply couldn't stop longing for more.

Shaun has always wanted what his parents had. They're the ideal couple in his mind. He wanted a partner who just completed him so perfectly. With how well he and Alice clicked, he couldn't help but think, if only...

But Shaun was no homewrecker. He tried to shake off any romantic or sexual feelings for Alice and focused instead of becoming friends with her and Ian. More friends the merrier, right? If he and Ian became bros, then surely his crush would fade away, and he'd be okay with things as they are.

Only... Shaun and Ian didn't mesh well.

Shaun did try to get along with Ian, he really did! But somehow Ian always managed to rub his fur the wrong way. It wasn't just that Ian had shit taste in anime, but many little things kept happening that annoyed Shaun, small conflicts that didn't matter on their own, but slowly piled up over time.

Ian felt threatened by Shaun in spite of himself. Sure he would swear up and down that he was secure in his relationship with Alice, even convincing himself that was truly the case...

But Shaun got along with Alice so fast. Too fast. The only other person Alice clicked with so quickly was Ian himself, and that was because she was the one who reached out to him when they were little kids. She was always so wary of people, just like Ian. She understood how cruel people could be, such bullies...

Ian never suspected Alice and Shaun of anything untoward. How could he even dare think that way of his partner? He did try to get along with Shaun despite his confidence issues, but he couldn't help but compare the two of them. Shaun was tall, muscular, handsome, confident, charismatic, funny, witty, smart, strong, and overall just everything Ian didn't see in himself. Who wouldn't fall for Shaun? Even Ian's heart would've skipped a beat if he didn't have Alice.

Heck, Ian probably would've gotten a crush on Shaun if not for his jealousy and insecurities.

Alice and Shaun had so much in common... was it more than Ian and Alice had in common? It was hard for Ian not to compare their relationships, or to be extra clingy. What made his insecurity worse was the fact that he and Alice had been a couple for over a year now, but they still hadn't had sex yet.

They were adults independently living on their own. It... might be sinful, but everyone in collage talked about sex like it was nothing, and the two of them were in love! They were a couple! The church might think sex before marriage is wrong, but Ian was trying to shake off the toxic teachings of his mom. He and Alice had talked about sex before, and they both agreed that it wasn't wrong to have it outside of marriage.

The issue wasn't sinfulness, but something far more personal. Ian understood all too well why Alice struggled with physical intimacy, especially when she was still dealing with certain traumas, but it made him feel inadequate, as if he was lacking as a partner.

If Ian was someone like Shaun, could he and Alice have already made love by now? It was an unfair thought to have, and Ian knew it, but that doubt kept niggling at him every time he saw Shaun and Alice together. It seemed so effortless for Shaun to make Alice laugh and goof around, when it took so long for Ian to get that far with her. Even after all these years, he still had moments of awkwardness and insecurity even when it was just him and Alice together. Things developed so slow in their relationship. He was awkward as a child, coming out of his shell painfully slow and letting her take the lead far too often, then fumbling with his crush and trying to confess his feelings. It took him so long to get to this point, and things still were going slow! They kissed and cuddled, but her hesitance to take things further just made him feel all the more filthy and sinful for wanting it so badly.

Sometimes little doubts crept in Ian's mind, intrusive thoughts about Shaun and Alice living together. With how easy a time Shaun had getting close to Alice, it'd be effortless for him to take things further if given the opportunity.

Ian didn't doubt Alice for one second! Never! He knew her better than anyone. He knew why she was hesitant to get physical, why she was slow to warm up to people. Shaun was... he was her assigned roommate. She had to live with the guy, so she just wanted to get along. Nothing wrong or suspicious about that at all!

Ian knew how hard Alice tried to get along with others. He had the same struggle to connect with people... so why was it so easy for her to get along with Shaun?

With other people they interacted with, Ian didn't feel quite so jealous. Sure, he worried Alice would find someone better than him, but she was never as close to them like she was with Ian. It was an anomaly that Shaun had gotten so close to her so fast, which left Ian feeling insecure and especially clingy. It made him push a little more for physical intimacy and reassurance.

Alice did pick up on Ian's jealousy after a while, and she was quick to reassure him that things between her and Shaun were strictly platonic. In fact, Shaun practically felt like a big brother to her. She was the oldest child in her family, always responsible for all her younger siblings, and when she hung out with Shaun it felt like she got to be the younger sibling for a change. They joked around and had fun just like she did with her siblings, but she didn't have pressure of being the eldest and being in charge. The only person she wanted to be with romantically or sexually was Ian.

Talking things through did make their bond a bit stronger, and gave Alice a push to get more physically intimate with Ian, even if it was to her detriment.

Alice and Ian did always assume marriage was where they were headed. They did discuss it a couple of times, but as a far off thing in the future, something to think about in more practical terms after they graduated college. Classes and trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their futures was hard enough without pressuring things to go too fast with marriage. Not to mention Ian had a lot of baggage that had to do with the church's influence on marriage.

Because marriage was this nebulous, far away thing, Ian and Alice didn't feel the need to discuss the topic with their friends. Ian wasn't anywhere near ready to propose to Alice at the time either.

Though the thought of proposing did pop up when Ian was drunk and worried he might not get into that prestigious acting college in California. If he couldn't make it - and why would he - then maybe they could just be... together? He was so insecure that, even while drunk, he couldn't just come right out and make it clear that he was hinting at proposing.

Alice insisted that they would be together no matter what happened, and that Ian was definitely going to get into that school. She did catch what he was implying, but her focus at the time was reassuring him and making sure he drank water to minimize the next day's hangover.

When Shaun's parents died, Alice was there for him. Although Ian still had lingering insecurities, he supported her spending so much time with Shaun during that time. Just like after Alice's breakup later, she and Shaun had comforting movie marathons and slumber parties on the couch. She held Shaun when he broke down and cried despite trying to hold it all in. They were close enough for him to be vulnerable with her in his time of need, and he'll always be grateful that she was there for him and helped him deal with his uncle's horrible behavior.

Ian did try to offer Shaun support, but it was kind of fumbling, especially since he was still trying to figure out his own beliefs. Touching on religion was a sore spot for both of them, and Shaun, being worn thin from Abraham's toxicity, snapped when Ian tried to cheer him up by insisting his parents weren't in hell, no matter what Abraham said.

...

"No, they're fucking not in hell!" Shaun snapped, his eyes welling with tears he refused to let loose. "They're fucking dead. They're gone, and I'll never see them again. Ever!"

Ian stammered a bit for a moment, tensing up at the sharp tone that brought back memories of his mother lashing out at him for not placating her correctly. "I-I just meant that... I mean... you'll see them again someday in Heaven, I'm sure-"

"Shut the fuck up, Ian!" Shaun snarled, as all the little irritations with Ian built up and exploded out of him. "There's no such thing as Heaven, so stop feeding me bullshit trying to make me feel better!" He choked on a lump in his throat for a moment. "They're gone okay! My parents are fucking gone. When you're dead you're gone! Gone! Gone for good! You're gone and all that's left is a sack of meat left to rot!"

Ian choked a little himself. Unlike Shaun, he couldn't hold back his tears, his body quaking a little as he stepped back from the grieving man. "I... I'm sorry..."

Shaun took a deep, shaky breath to steady himself before turning away from Ian. "Just... just shut up, Ian. Things are shitty enough without you making it worse."

"I'm sorry," was all Ian could whimper as Shaun stormed out of the room.

...

Poor Ian did mean well, but he accidentally touched a nerve when Shaun was already raw and hurting. It certainly didn't help their already strained relationship. Alice could only do her best to try and soothe them both when they were upset.

Ian talking about religion did feel hypocritical to Shaun. Shaun didn't know all of the trauma and abuse Ian went through related to religion, but he did know that Ian was uncomfortable with the subject. Bringing it up in this situation in an attempt to soothe Shaun felt more like making fun of him at the time.

Even in the modern day, Shaun doesn't know much about Ian's home life. Ian wasn't forthcoming about it, and Alice wouldn't betray his trust by telling anyone something so personal. Even after the breakup, Alice wasn't comfortable mentioning such intimate details even with a close friend like Shaun.

So what little Shaun has pieced together over time is that Ian has "mommy issues" and may or may not be religious. It was never clear to Shaun with the way Ian sometimes would make religious-leaning comments like mentioning sin or Heaven. Shaun doesn't know what Ian's religious beliefs are and frankly doesn't want to know.

Although Ian couldn't do much to help while Shaun was mourning the loss of his parents, Alice managed to be a huge support for him. Even today he sometimes tells her that he doesn't think he could've handled it without her help.

Alice and Shaun did a good job of helping one another make it through tough times. Alice invited Shaun to come to her family's home during the first holidays without his parents so he wouldn't be alone. Halloween was especially hard for Shaun, as it was the most important holiday for his family. Being surrounded by the King family was a little painful in reminding Shaun of what he lost, but they were all so welcoming of him and kind. It made him feel less alone.

Though Shaun did find it a bit hard being around Alice's parents, as their relationship reminded him painfully of his parents. Ambrose and Lycoris are so lovey dovey with each other, just like his parents were. Although they made an effort to tone down the public displays of affection when he was around, it was impossible for him not to think of his parents when they looked so lovingly at each other. Close couples so deeply in love with one another would always remind him of Antwon and Leticia, at least a little bit.

In a way, spending time with the King family both helped and hurt Shaun. It reminded him of what he lost, but their presence left that empty space in his heart a little less empty during a time when he was aching with loss. Alice went out of her way to cheer him up and helped him feel part of the family.

It did help Shaun a lot more than it hurt to be an honorary member of the King family during holidays. When he healed more and noticed the hurt a little less, he felt a little guilty that a part of him wanted to become a real member of the King family.

Alice had become someone precious to Shaun by this point. His affection for her deepened beyond just a crush. She was his best friend. She had invited him into her family when he lost his. Her feelings for him might not be the same as what he felt for her, but she had become someone truly special to him. Although he tried not to, he did imagine what it might be like if he married Alice and joined her family as her partner. He could see her being his Morticia, just like Leticia was to Antwon and Lycoris was for Ambrose.

This guilty little dream did come back to bite Shaun in the conscience after Ian cheated on Alice. Sure, Shaun didn't do anything to sabotage their relationship or outright say that he wanted them to break up, but in his heart of hearts, a part of him did kind of wish for it to happen so he might have a chance.

The guilt just made Shaun that much more determined to forget about his crush and just be there for Alice as her friend. He didn't make a move, didn't even hint at his feelings. Whenever they popped up, he squashed them down as best he could and focused on helping her move on from a relationship he knew all too well now was far more toxic than he ever would've dreamed.

But it was hard. All the sleepovers, all the times Shaun held Alice so close in his arms... he wanted to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her... and he felt like such a scumbag for it.

In a way, it was almost a blessing for Shaun when he eventually had to move away for another college too. He didn't want to take advantage of Alice during such a vulnerable time. He stayed long enough that she was stable again after the breakup, but he needed space to clear his head. Alice had become someone who meant so much to him because she was there during a vulnerable moment in his life, and he returned the favor for her.

After learning about just how toxic Ian and Alice's relationship was with its codependence and lack of communication, Shaun knew the right thing to do was to take a step back. It was the best thing for both of them. The last thing he wanted was to ruin what they already had by doing things the wrong way.

Besides, Alice never thought of Shaun that way. Shaun might have had guilty hopes, but he knew full well that his crush was one-sided. The last thing she needed was to be burdened with feelings that she couldn't return.

At least, not yet. Maybe someday. He hoped. Or maybe he would find someone else who completed him in a way he never thought possible.

Shaun and Alice did connect right away, but it wasn't an explosion of love that swept them away like what Leticia and Antwon found with each other. What Shaun and Alice have is good and wonderful, but it's not that same passion. He might long for it with her, but that bond of love like soulmates isn't there, no matter how much he wishes that it might appear one day.

As sad as it is that Shaun's crush on Alice won't be reciprocated, the platonic love of friendship that they share is one that he will always be grateful for and will fight to keep in his life. Even if they won't be lovers, their friendship is still warm and wonderful.

Although Shaun won't get that wild spark of undying love and romance with Alice, I have a person or two in mind that he will find it with. Gomez needs his Morticia after all.

As for Ian and Shaun's relationship... I don't think it'll ever get better. Maybe it'll become civil at some point, but I doubt they can become friends. There's too much bad blood between them now. Their complicated pasts with religion was only just one of many factors that made it impossible for them to connect.

Shaun does see Ian as a hypocrite in a lot of ways, but the biggest way is claiming to want only Alice when Ian himself proved that to be a lie.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[anika-ann]

It's heeeeere😍😍

Alright, alright. First let me say I already love it, even if you're breaking my heart🥺 then again the gorgeous art clued me on that.

If he had a partner maybe this wouldn't be so bad? Maybe people wouldn't constantly come up to talk to him because he'd be dancing himself, someone in his arms, looking at him lovingly...

Oh the opening is already so sad🥺 but I live for the longing for a partner and it's so understandable he'd like someone to share both joy and the recently found burden with🥺

They look cold, although he has a smile plastered on his face. Fake niceties like Steve has grown used to.

OUCH. But also yes, that's probably how it is with many people for him now😭

"Black isn't really your colour." Steve's brows furrow. What was that supposed to mean? "You know many families waited for the old crone to finally step down and let you be the king. Women shouldn't hold that much power, especially when there's no king at her side to keep her in check."

I really went from wow that's rude to THE F*** DID YOU JUST SAY-

"Whatever deal you're referring to will not stand with today's laws. So you can stop badmouthing my mom and trying to get me to marry your desperate granddaughter now." Steve spits.

#proud in fact, even if the crazy deal holds, he really should stop badmouthing the saint Sarah Rogers the former QUEEN mind you- but also if the grandfather throws Steve's words about reader on her later on I will throw hands☹

He wishes she was here... That he wouldn't need to mourn her so publicly while also keeping his tears in to not seem weak. He wishes he could wear the dark blue suits she got for him because according to her that's the colour he looks the most handsome in. He wishes she could brush his hair out of his face one more time. Just once more with that sweet smile that was reserved for him only.

MISS MA'AM HOW DARE YOU to portray his grief so well, missing his wonderful ma' in big things and small ones 🥺 (not to mention the ENDING, don't get me started)

How you wish you had someone to share a seat with... to share a life with. You wouldn't have a stranger next to you. You'd have a partner. You could cuddle and mind your own business at the same time... or play a game? Would you get upset at them winning Uno? Or would you love them too much to get frustrated?

Oh I adore how her longing mirrors his. That gives me a bit of hope🥰

"You visit your family that you never see and you show up dressed like some slob. You could wear something nice every now and then." (...) You greet everyone and listen to your siblings' judgments until your grandpa stops them.

They do not deserve her, period😤

"Well I recently met the young man and reminded him of this deal. He's more than eager to fulfill it and marry you. He'll collect you and bring you to Brooken tomorrow." He squeezes your arm, a smile plastered on his face. You can't do anything but stare at him and then burst out in laughter. They were messing with you. Or playing along with your grandpa's dementia... But no one else was laughing.

Love her reaction. Fuck the grandfather's lying ass.

“It's not all that bad… at least he's handsome!” Your friend tries to reason. “Plus you'd be a queen! No more shitty job that doesn't pay you enough. You'd live in a castle and wear pretty dresses.” She offers and is met with a heavy sigh.

The friend spitting facts 🤌

“Yeah that's great but at what cost? My freedom. I really love my one bedroom apartment. You know why? Because it's mine. I can do what I want."

Yeah this makes me super sad for her, because she broke away once from her shitty family to be free and now she's wrestled into their claws again AND a marriage.

“Who knows maybe your family had blackmail material on the royals.”

"Dating must be hard when you're a king.”

“Listen, I gotta go… but give it a chance? And if he's an asshole and you need out, you text me and we'll come to break you out ok?”

...again though, love her friend saying the real things🤭 and her standing her side. #friendshipgoals

Your eyes fall on the monstrosity of dress your mother picked out for you. Maybe if you truly wore that pink pile of whatever the seamstress had left over, he'd run for the hills and you'd still be free.

😂😂 I'm sorry😂😂 good for her, save some of her spite. But that also makes me wonder if Steve will think she's trying too hard and will think she really is desperate to marry him even if she is only forced to do it too🥺

Oh the feels😭 can't wait for you to murder my heart with next chapter🥲

Not the game they play

Steve Rogers x reader

Words: 4.1k

Summary: An arranged marriage flips your life upside down. What you thought you knew about your family doesn't seem to be true at all. How will Steve and you navigate your life together?

Warnings: angst, mentions of death, a swear word here and there, insulting of Sarah Rogers, yes that needed to be a warning, difficult family relationship, if I missed anything please let me know

A/N: This is the first part of a series. I had this idea for over two years with some scenes already written out or well thought through. Thank you all for encouraging me to finally do something with it. But don't come for me, you wanted this!

I promised to tag the lovely @ronearoundblindly 🩷

Divider by @saradika-graphics

Chapter One - Cannot stop the rain

The constant bustle of people and their conversations were a white noise like no other. One you can't concentrate on too long, especially when you have to hold conversation with whoever thought it was his turn to smooze a king.

Steve hates galas. He hates the pretentiousness that came with them and the people who attended but most of all he hates that he had no choice but to go. A king missing one of these was only excused when a serious matter arose. And those don't come by easily when you need them. He yearned for the times when he didn't need to attend these things, back when his mom still was the reigning queen and shielded him from this world. But with his mom gone he had to step up.

Gone where the days he travelled the world, studied art and made new friends. So easily replaced with duty and grief... and a stupid crown on his head. He was lucky enough he could hire his friends as staff, lucky enough his oldest friend was his right hand man and never left him alone for too long. James Bucky Barnes, his childhood defender, his best friend, his right hand and occasionally, much to Steve's dismay, his wingman. If only that would have worked out already. He seems to be casually watching people dance but in reality he watches the couples spend quality time together at a stuck up event. If he had a partner maybe this wouldn't be so bad? Maybe people wouldn't constantly come up to talk to him because he'd be dancing himself, someone in his arms, looking at him lovingly...

"Senator Lee is coming up next" a smooth voice mumbles over his shoulder, Sam Wilson. A friend he found in college, a politics major and his chief of staff. Steves eyes find the older gentleman approaching him. He's talked with him before, quite often actually, and he was always so kind and encouraging.

The small talk with senator Lee went by faster than Steve anticipated. Before the next person could swoop in to talk to him he excused himself to the restroom. Bucky, his honorary security detail for the evening since he refused to take his actual one, made to follow him. "It's just the bathroom Buck. I'll be fine and I'll come straight back here." he says lowly, his eyes rolling at the antics. He didn't need this much security before he became a king. Bucky hesitates for a moment, his eyes flickering to Sam who looks a bit unsure himself. "I mean... It's just the bathroom... No danger there. Nat wouldn't go inside with him either right?" Steve lets out a sigh at Sam's statement. Natasha, the head of security, ruled with an iron fist. She had all of them so scared they wouldn't dare to disobey her orders... except maybe her husband Clint but he got free passes for life.

"Right... Just come right back here?" Bucky looks at him and with a sigh and a nod Steve agrees. Before they can say anything else and before whatever lady just seems to approach them can start to talk, Steve hurries to the restroom. He locks himself in a cabin just for a few moments alone. But even those aren't truly alone.

The door to the restroom opens up not too long after him and of course that person takes ages to do their business. With a silent grumble Steve finishes up and leaves the cabin to wash his hands. Just then the door to another cabin opens and an older gentleman with thinning grey hair, in a three piece suit steps out. His eyes meet Steve's in the mirror as he walks up to the sink area himself. They look cold, although he has a smile plastered on his face. Fake niceties like Steve has grown used to.

"King Rogers." He acknowledges and Steve simply gives a nod. He isn't even safe in the fucking bathroom!

"Black isn't really your colour." Steve's brows furrow. What was that supposed to mean? "You know many families waited for the old crone to finally step down and let you be the king. Women shouldn't hold that much power, especially when there's no king at her side to keep her in check. Who would have thought it would take her to die for you to finally step up." The man seems calm and collected as if he didn't just insult Steve's mother.

"What the fuck did you say about my mom? Old crone?!" His blood was boiling and he was this close to hitting the old man if it weren't for his manners. His mom raised him better but she wasn't here to keep him in check was she?

"Oh calm down Steven. No need to get all flustered and angry. Hold your tongue before you say something you'll regret. We'll be one happy family soon after all." The man smirked and calmly dried his hands. He teaches over and turns off Steve's tab, the blonde frozen from anger. What did he just say? He must be demented. "What?" Is all that Steve can bring out. Confused and angry and still so so close to punch that guy.

"Oh you don't know. Can't say I'm surprised, your mother shielded you a lot. Now I have to do all the explaining. That's why women should never be in charge.” he rolls his eyes. “Are you familiar with the Hastings family?" The man hands Steve one of the towels and casually leans against the sink. Hastings? Steve has heard that name before... Wasn't that the royal family that fell from grace three generations ago? His eyes flit to the man.

"Sounds familiar." Is all he can grid out. What is this man on about? Is he just here to gossip?

"Clever boy." The smirk on the old man's face is uncanny. As if he can read Steve all too well. "You know exactly who they are but instead of going off to gossip like all the other royals out there you keep your answer neutral. What a good king you make." Steve's confusion grows.

"What does the Hastings family have to do with us becoming one?" Steve bites out. "Ah straight to business. Just how I like it. You see the Hastings family and the Rogers family go way back. Many, many generations in fact. King Joseph Rogers the first and King George Hastings even made a little pact, that yes, still stands today." His eyes search Steve's face and his grin looks so satisfied. "That the families will unite as soon as there is a male and female heir born into the families. Now ever since then both families only bore strong sons with an occasional daughter that was out of the age range for marriage. That is until roughly 30 years ago. When you and my granddaughter were born just two years apart." Steve's brow lifts. The old man was a Hastings. Wanting to fulfill a deal that was made over a hundred years ago... Bullshit.

"Whatever deal you're referring to will not stand with today's laws. So you can stop badmouthing my mom and trying to get me to marry your desperate granddaughter now." Steve spits. The man just grins. "Oh, it will Steven. Here let your lawyers check this and then get back to me about when my granddaughter can move in with you. " He laughs and hands Steve an envelope before he walks out of the restroom and back into the gala.

Steve's eyes fall on the envelope, it's burning in his hands but he needs to get this checked. He can't marry someone because of an old deal. He can't marry someone with a grandfather daring to insult his mom that's not even been dead for a month. Steve's eyes start to burn with tears. His mom shielded him from so much while she also did her best to prepare him for this life... He wishes she was here... That he wouldn't need to mourn her so publicly while also keeping his tears in to not seem weak. He wishes he could wear the dark blue suits she got for him because according to her that's the colour he looks the most handsome in. He wishes she could brush his hair out of his face one more time. Just once more with that sweet smile that was reserved for him only.

He takes a shakey breath and swallows the lump in his throat. A brief look in the mirror, a deep breath, straightening his tie. He can't show weakness. Not here, not ever. 'Safe the tears for your bedroom, Rogers.' the voice in his head commands. He wipes away the stray tear that got caught in his lashes, pockets the envelope and with another deep breath makes his way back to his friends.

They're chatting, most likely teasing each other. As soon as Bucky sees him both heads turn to Steve with a concerned gaze swiping up and down. They seem to come to the conclusion that he's okay and relax. "We need to leave." he says as soon as he reaches them. His tone more urgent than he wanted to. "Why you got diarrhea? Took you pretty long in there... I told ya to lay it easy on the hors d'oeuvres." Bucky teases with a grin that immediately falls as soon as he sees Steves eyes. Sam can't even get his joke in before Bucky declares that they're leaving. He leads Steve to the host of the gala for a quick goodbye and then out to the car they came in.

Within 10 minutes they're on the road. For the first time with only the three of them in the car, Steve pulls up the divider for privacy. Shielded from Sam and Bucky, he allows himself to spill a few tears for his mother before he can make it to the safety of his bedroom. He knows that will be away for another few hours, especially with the envelope that's burning a hole into his pocket.

Ever since you were young your family hasn't cared much for you. The only thing that was important to them was that you did exactly what they wanted... in every aspect of your life. You got the education they wanted, you went to college for what they wanted and you hid your interests to make them like you. At the beginning of your twenties you finally broke out of that circle. You moved far away with your friend and only occasionally visited for important matters, much to their dismay. Just like you were now.

The train ride never isn't boring, even with a good book and music. The most thrilling plot or the most beautiful lyrics couldn't distract you from the stranger sitting next to you. Somehow you always had the luck of them eating something disgusting, talking loudly on the phone, constantly bumping into you or being a stranger to the concept of headphones.

Your eyes wander over to your friend and her husband for the millionth time. They were sitting together, cuddling, yet somehow each minding their own business. Her husband looking out of the window, headphones in, music on and daydreaming. Your friend reading the newest book from her favourite author. How you wish you had someone to share a seat with... to share a life with. You wouldn't have a stranger next to you. You'd have a partner. You could cuddle and mind your own business at the same time... or play a game? Would you get upset at them winning Uno? Or would you love them too much to get frustrated?

You let out a sigh. You've been single for so long... a partner was still written in the stars and wouldn't come by anytime soon. So you'd have to deal with strangers next to you on the train, the couch for yourself and your family constantly badgering you when you'd move back and find a partner. It's not like you planned being almost thirty and still single. As a child you dreamed about being married with children at this age. Maybe having a little house and a dog. You wanted to be surrounded by friends, leave your family out of it as much as you could. Just enjoy life with your partner. But here you were, still alone. Maybe wallowing in self pity at a life that could have been would be a good way to pass time till you were back at your family's place.

You pull your suitcase after you. The walk from the train station wasn't too long and you know better than to ask anyone to pick you up. You don't want to inconvenience them or owe them. Last time you asked your mother and she made you wash all the dishes from the family party by hand after you played waitress during the entirety of it. You'd rather choose walking 30 minutes to the house than do that again.

As you come closer you spot your grandpa's car in the driveway. He must be here to oversee the preparations for his birthday party tomorrow. You briefly look down at yourself, jeans and t-shirt. It looks good enough but you already know you'd be criticised left and right. Never enough for them.

With a deep breath you ring the doorbell and wait. It's not too long before the door opens to reveal your mother. She takes in your appearance and sneers before she greets you. She steps to the side to let you in. "You visit your family that you never see and you show up dressed like some slob. You could wear something nice every now and then." She grumbles before she goes to the living room to announce that you're here. Well if you knew your grandpa would be here a day early you would have tried to wear something nicer. You leave your suitcase next to the door and follow her into the living room. You greet everyone and listen to your siblings' judgments until your grandpa stops them.

"Enough. Let's not ruin this joyful day for our family." He announces before he gets up and stands next to you. Joyful day? What happened? Did he finally win the lottery? You look at him confused.

"You all need to learn to not criticise her so much anymore. After all it would be a bad image to her fiancé and the press." Everyone nods along as if what he said did make any sense. Even your father who usually only shows interest for the drink in front of him, nods along. Has he got dementia since the last time you visited? "What?" Is all you can bring out at which your mother scoffs.

"Well dear... It took you a long time to find a partner, which in hindsight I'm very grateful about. You know our family has a long history and its history and glory shall be restored soon enough.” Your grandpa declares like it's some victory. “Many hundred years ago our ancestors made a deal with the royal family of Brooken. The first heirs of opposite sex shall marry and unite our families. It just never worked out age wise until you came along. Born just two years after the now reigning King Steven Rogers." He explains and you're absolutely sure they all lost their damn minds. No royal family would make a deal with commoners, especially back then.

"Well I recently met the young man and reminded him of this deal. He's more than eager to fulfill it and marry you. He'll collect you and bring you to Brooken tomorrow." He squeezes your arm, a smile plastered on his face. You can't do anything but stare at him and then burst out in laughter. They were messing with you. Or playing along with your grandpa's dementia... But no one else was laughing. They all looked rather serious... And the house looked so clean... Was this not a joke?

"This... This has to be a joke...?" You say, looking at him with desperation. "Why would it be? You'll restore the Hasting family's glory and finally be of use to us.” your heart breaks a little more. Were you truly this worthless? Did nothing you did for them before count? You look up at them, desperate to find any sign that this wasn't true. That they were playing a prank. The stone faces of your parents and siblings look back at you. This... This wasn't a joke. They'd marry you off to some stranger. To a king? To gain what? What about your life? What about your place? Your job? You can't just leave that behind for some king who's probably a huge asshole... Your long fought for freedom taken by your family and that guy. Back under control, every move watched and criticised.

The rest of the day has been cruel. Your family was between joy at your engagement to a king and anger at you trying to refuse. In-between all the explaining, that really didn't give you any new information or any that would make sense of the situation, you texted your friend which promised to call you later.

“It's not all that bad… at least he's handsome!” Your friend tries to reason. “Plus you'd be a queen! No more shitty job that doesn't pay you enough. You'd live in a castle and wear pretty dresses.” She offers and is met with a heavy sigh.

“Yeah that's great but at what cost? My freedom. I really love my one bedroom apartment. You know why? Because it's mine. I can do what I want. And in his castle? I probably won't even be allowed to hang a picture on the wall. There'll be people watching my every move and reporting back to him. I'll be just as miserable as I used to be at my parents place.” The white of the ceiling starts to become blurry with the tears that are about to spill. “What if I can never see you again? What if he won't let me have any friends?” Your voice breaks at the thought.

“He doesn't look like he'd be such an asshole. He looks nice and the articles write nice things about him too.” She reasons. “Yeah and who has big influence on the press? Him. Of course they wouldn't write anything bad about him.” You complain. “They have written not so nice things about him. Especially with him grieving his mother…” that you do feel sorry for. They seemed to have a good relationship, losing a loving parent isn't easy. “Give him a chance. You never know maybe he's a prince charming.” Her voice sounds encouraging.

“What does a king even want with a commoner? Why would a king make a deal like that hundreds of years ago? I don't get it…” you question. “Who knows maybe your family had blackmail material on the royals.” At that you snort a bit. “Maybe… he seems eager to get married. My family is eager for this. Why am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?” Your hands pick on the scratchy blanket your mother put on the guest bed for you. “Because you're the one who loses a lot for this. Your family gains royalty… at least they'll be royal adjacent? I mean they do have the stick up their asses like royals already. And he gains a wife? Dating must be hard when you're a king.” She muses. “His last relationship was six years ago. His ex left him for another prince and got married like a year after.” You hum at the information she found. His whole life could be found on the internet which makes you wonder what he even knows about you? Your family didn't even know you so he couldn't even get something accurate from them.

“Listen, I gotta go… but give it a chance? And if he's an asshole and you need out, you text me and we'll come to break you out ok?” you sigh at your friends offer but ultimately agree. You'll try, it's not like you can leave the house and flee without your family noticing and coming for you anyways. You place your phone on the nightstand and cuddle up in bed. Your eyes fall on the monstrosity of dress your mother picked out for you. Maybe if you truly wore that pink pile of whatever the seamstress had left over, he'd run for the hills and you'd still be free.

"Sorry Steve... I can check a few more things but this is airtight... They can force you to marry that girl..." his lawyer says. Steve sighs and looks up from his desk to look at the brunette who meets him with a warm empathetic smile. Maria Hill, top of her class, badass in their softball team and brilliant lawyer. Steve recommended her to his mom when the old lawyer retired. Maria showed her wits and was hired within two hours of her interview.

"There's no way a deal from over a hundred years ago still holds up! You're telling me there was not a single occasion where this desk could have already been fulfilled? Aren't the Hastings fucking hornballs with so many family members? They're not even royal anymore! How does this hold up?" Bucky rants, clearly trying to protect his friend. Maria meets his eyes and lifts an eyebrow.

"Well if you want to go through the entire family trees and history to try and prove that be my guest. Matter of fact is that King Joseph and King George thought of everything in their agreement. Even the downfall of royalty... Or in this case the downfall of one royal family. This seems to be their way back. Making Steve marry the granddaughter so at least she is tuly royal." Maria says dryly. "I will check it over once more. I think we all should get as much rest as this night still offers but... don't get your hopes up Steve." She adds as she gets up and takes the contract that was in the envelope before. "What if we kill her. Can't marry someone that's dead" Bucky suggests and immediately gets a slap on the back of his head from Sam.

"As your lawyer I would advice against the murder of the future spouse of your best friend. You'd be one of the first suspects and I'm sorry to say this Barnes but your pokerface isn't as great as you'd like to think." Maria states before she looks at Steve. He's exhausted, his face in his hands, his hair ruffled. "Go to bed Steve." She says softly, worried about her friend.

Steve let's out a sigh and gets up. "Dismissed. Good night." Is all he can say before he drags himself out of his office and up the stairs. His mind is a flurry of thoughts that just won't shut up no matter how much he tries. He lets out a sigh as soon as he reaches the third floor. To the left is his room, to the right the room of his mother. His legs move on their own, carrying him to the portrait of her that's covered in a black veil. In the last month he often stood in front of it. He wished it good night before he'd get in bed. Just like he planned to do today.

"Night mom..." He whispers, the tears in his eyes returning once more. "This is all so hard without you… you would know what to do with this stupid deal… I wish you were here." his voice breaks at that. He gulps and tries to hold back his tears. He isn't in the safety of his own bedroom yet. But he isn't sure he's gonna make it till there. His eyes wander to his door, so far away, and back to the portrait. He gulps and moves towards her door. Her room is safe too. Even if it brings sad memories.

He softly closes the door behind him, his eyes falling onto her bed. He'd often sleep with her as a child. When he had nightmares, when he was upset about his father dying, when he was sick. Just one more time he tells himself and takes off his shoes. He can sleep in the sweatpants and shirt he put on earlier, he doesn't need a fancy pyjama set. Hesitantly he slips under the yellow covers. His nose immediately fills with her scent. Her favourite laundry detergent mixed with her perfume and he can't hold back the tears any longer. The dam breaks and he sobs into her pillow. After many minutes of crying he falls asleep enveloped by her one more time.

[vaguely-concerned]

can you even imagine what a fucking horror show the early game is from spite's perspective, though. not only is this funky forcibly severed little slip of the fade having to deal with the reverse cosmic horror of physical reality as perceived by a spirit and being trapped in it against its will -- existentially confused and disoriented and hurting and nothing makes any kind of sense, at the mercy of human cruelty at its most deliberately sadistic. and then the one source of comfort and compassion and some kind of safety and clarity that lucanis surely must have been to him in the ossuary despite everything just goes and shuts himself in his room inside with a seemingly passive aggressive number of locks between them and no explanation and won't speak to him and they're STILL in the fucking ossuary. rook came and found them and they could be free now (rook is here!) and still lucanis keeps them in the ossuary even though he PROMISED he promised they'd get out of there together!!! what the fuck DO you think at that point? like did he trick me that whole time??? he wasn't like zara before, so why is he doing this to me now? why isn't he saying anything? 'he won't move. I can't reach him'. at least in the ossuary they had a deal, a goal, a hope -- each other. at least he wasn't entirely alone, before.

this poor poor poor little spite spirit really was ferried into the real world like 'hey welcome to reality! as your first introduction to it you're first getting horrifically tortured and then getting to vicariously experience one of THE most distressing and harrowing psychological conditions the human brain can cook up for itself (a fully fledged and deeply entrenched freeze response flaring up with catastrophic severity due to an unbroken ongoing and unlikely to let up any time soon chain of Unfortunately... Recent Events). I think spite is being extremely reasonable and patient about the whole thing, when you put it into perspective. I'm not saying let him eat the self-lighting candles or anything, but he's got some extremely valid points along the way lol. spite is not only child-like, the metaphor work going on is a lot more pleasingly flexible and complex than that, but he is also helplessly existentially dependent on lucanis in a way that, if anything, is a heightened version of the way a child (or child part) has to depend on a parent to navigate the world and survive.

tl;dr: we truly don't give enough sympathy to spite for having to live in the head of lucanis dellamorte. a place even lucanis dellamorte would prefer not to be. to be fair to him I think lucanis would be the first person to agree with this lol

[scootersscooter]

donald davenport is an interesting and dynamic character TO ME