#I can't believe you made me choose between them I almost wanted to not choose and just make a jemily set

[lesbianladysif]

Make Me Choose: @ladyylesbian asked Emily Prentiss or Jennifer Jareau

[meanbossart]

I have another intense ask about bhaalist AU drow...

Would drow be “forced” to procreate? And how would Asatrion take that information? If Astarion is his consort, would he be jealous of concubines? Would this also contribute to his overall dissatisfaction during his time trapped at the bhaal temple? Or Would he be happy that his lover has distractions, so he can have time alone - maybe plotting his escape?

I’m overall curious about how drow and Astarion’s relationship falls apart in your AU

I don't think so! Not that I care about biblically following canon or anything like that, but there was nothing throughout the story that made me think procreation was a requirement in Bhaal's plan. If you take the scrapped ending into consideration, it seems to be more of a punishment first and foremost.

Not to say I don't believe it to be a part of the man-made gospel in some form or another. Sarevok seems fairly invested in this idea of generating bhaalspawn that are pure of blood, and this is an agenda that he subtly pushes onto DU drow throughout their years operating the temple: that said, like it often is, Bhaal is silent on the matter.

There seems to be a lot of conflict within the cult about what Bhaal wants and how he wants it, and I choose to interpret his failure to clarify as part of the Murder God's nature, as well as a fun nod at the (dys)functionality of real-life cults where you have several people claiming to have a direct connection to a god.

But back on topic, there IS the heavily implied Dark Urge To Multiply. A few instances where durge or someone around them suggests that, eventually, having children will be an irresistible biological necessity. There are a few ways to interpret this! But I can't help but notice that this theme is absent in a route where you do willingly become Bhaal's chosen - maybe its a failsafe Bhaal cooked into The Dark Urge in case his child became a weenie? To possess them with the need to spread their seed around until SOMEONE down the family tree stepped up to the role?

This definitely turns out to be the case in DU drow's redemned route, where he is plagued with bouts of breeding-related mania and depressive episodes that come and go as a result of a nest remaining empty, But I hadn't really considered this for his Bhaal-embracing self He definitely harbors an obsession with procreating in that AU - but... I'm not sure that's Bhaal's doing anymore. I think he just wants for there to: A) Be more of him around. B) Create a tangible, undeniable connection between himself and Astarion that cannot be severed.

A theme with DU drow is that he is aggressively monogamous. This remains constant in every possible iteration of him and it's a pillar of the character - he is devout to a partner until the end whether they want him or not, and so, Bhaalist DU drow would be violently opposed to the idea of being sexually involved with anyone besides Astarion. If Sceleritas or members of the temple insisted otherwise, he would balk and them push them off into a Chasm. If Bhaal demanded him do it, he would jerk off into a vial and hand it to whoever he deemed pretty enough to mix up with, and then probably kill the child as soon as it was born, anyway - because it's not right.

DU drow (again, in all iterations) almost believes there to be a magical component to true love that affects a person's life beyond just their choice in long-term partners. Just like he once decided that Orin was his forever-mate, he's now decided him and Astarion are intrinsically linked, that they are stronger together than they will ever be apart again. And It is particularly romantic to him (a matter of ironic fate, really) that the Murder Prince's true love would be undead. In DU drow's mind, and SPECIALLY in his Bhaal-embracing version, this is simply the universe's plan for him, and to divert from it in any way (by, for example, procreating with someone else) would be blasphemous.

Now, obviously him and Astarion can't have biological children for a plethora of reasons. But this is fantasy. Bhaalist DU drow would simply not stop until he found the best way to create someone that could be, spiritually and physically, considered their functional blood-offspring. Through Alchemy, magic, ritual, whatever it may be - as long as it works and works according to his high-standards. I suspect he would have specialists shipped in from wherever they may be in the realms to look into the issue, and probably someone who's sole job is to research the matter, though I'm not sure he would ever be satisfied with the results.

I think Astarion would be utterly checked out of the matter.

[tonowarii]

Hi, I love your page aesthetic it’s so cute! Could I request a Neteyam x reader fic where the reader thinks Jake is cute. And Neteyam gets all jealous and grumpy! Like super cute and fluffy. Thanks!!

-👶🏽

aaa thank uu!! and also thank you for bringing this idea in my head 🤠 so short im so sorry

You— What?

neteyam x gn! omaticaya! reader

"What are you saying?" Neteyam said as you sat across from him.

You sigh dreamily to tease him further, propping your chin on your fist. "I just think that your dad is cute...I mean look at him! And with the way he's looking now-" You smile, seeing Neteyam with a sour face in your peripheral vision as you looked at his dad standing, talking with his friend Norm.

"You- you find my dad 'cute'?" Neteyam said almost in disbelief.

"Yeah, I do." You said. In all honesty, you just found his dad cute, attractive, but nothing more. But once you learned that you fawning over Neteyam's dad gauged these reactions from him, and you being in a teasing mood, decided to spur him further.

"I can't believe you." Neteyam huffs, wanting you to look at him, instead, you were looking at his dad.

As if on cue, Jake turned and spots you looking at him, he sees you with his son and he sends a small smile your way before Norm had his attention again.

"My Eywa he smiled at me!" You squealed, acting like you were about to fall over as you swooned.

Neteyam looks between you and his dad. He pouted. "You know, his son is more good-looking." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh! I remember, Lo'ak looks really good in those braids of his." You smirked, finally looking at Neteyam.

Neteyam's mouth formed into an 'o' as he shakes his head once more.

"No, not him, the other one!"

"Hm?" You tilt your head at him. You chuckle, seeing your mate being grumpy and jealous all of a sudden. Neteyam scrunches his nose at you, before he was tugging you towards him, making you stumble on his lap as your arms went and wrapped around him.

"I said, I am more good-looking than any of them. Why choose me?" Neteyam whispered to you as you pulled away from him.

You laugh, grabbing both his hands and pressing kisses to his knuckles. The action made Neteyam's demeanor break as he returned to his old self, eyes looking at your lips before darting at your eyes, warmth spreading his cheeks.

"You big baby, of course they're nothing compared to you, my fine warrior." You say, squeezing his hands.

Your words filling his ears sends his tail perking up, swishing behind him.

"But you're dad is really cute I'm not going to lie-"

"(Y/N)!"

[30somethingautisticteacher]

The Calendar

"How are you this hot? Like, it should be physically impossible for someone to be this good-looking," Buck said, his eyes still glued to the 2014 LAFD Charity Firefighter Calendar.

Tommy chuckled, a mix of amusement and affection in his eyes.

"It's not even a contest-" Buck started.

"You're right, baby, it's not a contest," Tommy interrupted gently. "It's for charity. Remember?" He paused, then pulled Buck in for a hug. "But if they don't choose you for this calendar, it will be a travesty."

Buck snuggled into his boyfriend's embrace. "It's just... the results come out today, and I have all this nervous energy. I don't know, I'm just all over the place."

He took a deep breath, his voice softening. "This calendar just means so much more to me, you know? It's not like when I was competing with Eddie seven years ago for vanity's sake. This year, they're specifically seeking LGBTQ+ applicants, and part of the proceeds go to a queer charity."

Tommy nodded, understanding in his eyes. "And you almost didn't even apply."

"Yeah," Buck admitted. "But with you having already been a calendar model, and Hen not being interested, I felt like I had to step up, you know? This calendar... it's about representation."

Tommy's arms tightened around Buck. "And that's exactly why you deserve to be in it. You're putting yourself out there for something important."

Buck lifted his head, meeting Tommy's eyes with a small smile. "Thanks, babe. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Luckily, you'll never have to find out," Tommy replied with a wink, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Now, how about we find something to distract you until those results come in?"

A flash of lust appeared in Buck's eye. "What did you have in mind, Mr. November 2014?"

Tommy's lips curved into a seductive smirk. "Well, I was thinking we could review some of my poses from the calendar. You know, for research purposes. In case you need some... hands-on inspiration."

Buck's eyebrows shot up, heat rising to his cheeks. "Oh really? Would this research involve a practical demonstration?"

"It just might," Tommy said, his fingers tracing a teasing path down Buck's arm. "After all, I want to make sure you're fully prepared if you make it into the calendar. It's my duty as a veteran calendar model to show you all the... angles."

Buck's breath hitched, his grin turning sultry. "Well, far be it from me to turn down such a generous offer. Lead the way, Mr. November. I'm ready for my private photoshoot."

Tommy took Buck's hand and led him towards the bedroom, the air between them crackled with anticipation. As Tommy gently pushed Buck onto the bed, Buck's phone suddenly vibrated on the nightstand. His eyes widened, and he practically jumped up, grabbing his phone with trembling hands.

"I made it!" Buck exclaimed, his voice a mix of excitement and disbelief. "I got in! I'm Mr. September!"

Tommy's face lit up with pride and joy. "That's amazing, baby! I knew you could do it!"

Buck stared at his phone, rereading the message as if to make sure it was real. "I can't believe it. I'm actually going to be in the calendar."

Tommy pulled Buck into a tight embrace. "Believe it, Evan. You deserve this. I'm so proud of you."

Buck melted into the hug, his earlier nervousness transformed into elation.

As they pulled apart, Tommy's eyes sparkled with mischief. "So, Mr. September, ready to celebrate?"

Buck grinned, his earlier excitement now mingling with a different kind of anticipation. "Absolutely. I think I'm ready for my close up," he said with a wink.

As Tommy's hands found Buck's waist, pulling him close, their lips met in a passionate kiss. The room seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them, lost in their own private celebration.

It was several months later that Tommy stood in front of his open locker at Harbor. His eyes landed on the LAFD charity calendar pinned to the inside of the door, open to September.

There was Evan, grinning widely in his turnout gear, the bi pride flag draped over his shoulders like a cape.

Tommy shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. He couldn't believe that this amazing, goofy man was his. Evan, with his endless enthusiasm and big heart, who could go from sexy firefighting hero to adorable dork without missing a beat.

Chuckling to himself, Tommy closed his locker and headed out for his shift. Yeah, life with his Evan was certainly never boring.

[marvelfilth]

Just to be clear

Pairing: Jenna Ortega x f!reader

Warnings: oblivious™ reader

Summary: you get the girl... eventually

Masterlist

You've never felt like you belonged in this industry. The people you've worked with were kind, compassionate and totally devoted to their craft, so creatively gifted it almost made you feel bleak in comparison, so you never felt like you could share your ideas with your fellow actors, you didn't feel brave enough to come up to a director and offer him your thoughts on the scene you were about to play out. You never thought you'd fit in enough to feel comfortable in the studio, cornered between blue screens and people dressed in superhero costumes, not when you got your first Golden Globe and not even when you got your first Oscar.

You still couldn't wrap your mind around the fact that you were nominated in the first place, let alone won, but the awards under your belt gave you enough credibility to pick and choose between roles offered to you, and you used it to your advantage, disregarding scripts sent to you to check the cast instead, only picking films with people you actually wanted to meet.

Your manager always tried his best to keep his hands to himself when you did that, barely holding back from slapping the back of your head every time you threw away an Oscar worthy script, huffing and rolling his eyes as he typed away on his phone.

That's why, when a script to Scream 7 landed in your mail, you snagged it away before he could burn it. After all, you've been a fan of the franchise for a long time now, you couldn't let an opportunity like that pass.

He groaned and banged the back of his head against the wall repeatedly when he saw the script in your hands, muttering something under his breath. You just smiled and made him schedule a meeting with the director.

You didn't regret your decision.

The first time you met the cast you felt a bit timid, seeing how familiar they were with each other, laughing and exchanging jabs around the table, before falling silent when they finally noticed you lingering at the door.

"Oh my god it's true!" Jasmine screeched, jumping up from her seat. Her eyes shone so brightly, you couldn't help but smile. "When Jenna told me you were casted I laughed in her face. I can't believe it!" She came to a stop in front of you, holding you by the elbow as she led you to the table. "What are you doing here with us peasants?"

You chuckled, feeling at ease and she blabbered on, gesturing wildly as she introduced you to the people in the room. Relief flooded through you with each smile sent your way, and soon enough you were seated at the round table, actively engaging in banter and laughter, your eyes crinkling in the corners and your grin so wide it made your cheeks hurt.

Working with them was as easy as breathing.

While Jasmine and Mason never failed to make you feel welcomed with their harmless jokes and good-natured teasing, Melissa took the role of an older sister, always making sure you felt comfortable around other actors and filming crew, showing you around the set and taking you to her favorite cafés. It made you feel warm all over and each night you returned to your rented apartment with a content smile.

Jenna, on the other hand, was an enigma. While everyone else took a direct approach from the first day, not shying away from questions about your previous projects, gossiping about people you've worked with and dragging you around the city whenever you had free time, she seemed to almost tiptoe around you, greeting you with a simple smile and tilt of her head and never uttering more than five words in your presence.

At first, you thought you did something wrong, your eyebrows furrowing each time she brushed past you, headphones around her neck and a small smile in place as she greeted you with a simple wave of her fingers. You always made sure to send her a small wave in return, your expression growing even more confused every time she ducked her head, her falling hair hiding a flustered expression she tried so hard to keep from showing on her face.

When you asked Melissa about it almost a month into filming she just laughed and shook her head, muttering something about clueless teenagers. It left you even more confused.

The next day after that conversation Jenna approached you during lunch, sitting beside you on a bench and offering a single earbud with that small smile in place. You beamed and took the offered item, spending the next forty minutes happily munching on your fries and listening to her playlist, occasionally stealing looks at the beautiful girl beside you.

A fry fell from your grasp each time your eyes met.

If you thought you spent a lot of time with Melissa and Jasmine, you were wrong, because now, three months into filming, you felt like you and Jenna were joined at the hip.

She grew bolder after your every interaction, monopolizing your lunch time at first, then moving on to picking you up in the morning and driving you back after a long day on set, and recently she chose to drive you both to her place instead, claiming she needed someone to watch the newest movie with, which usually ended up in you staying in her guest room after hours of heated discussions.

The mornings after those nights were your absolute favorite.

You'd wake up from your alarm to find her humming in the kitchen, cooking the two of you breakfast. She never made anything requiring much effort, sticking to scrambled eggs and toast, but sometimes you'd wake up a little earlier to surprise her with a new recipe, setting the table for two and waiting for the grumpy brunette. The smile she sent you at the sight never failed to make your heart skip a beat.

It was perfect, really, save for one thing.

Somewhere along the lines you started to fall in love.

You didn't know how it happened, you didn't expect it and you certainly didn't plan on it, but at the same time you weren't surprised.

Jenna could charm the pants off anyone without even trying, and the way almost every conversation you had with her almost always turned flirtatious made your heart swell in your chest.

"I love this shirt on you," she said one night after the movie ended, reaching forward to straighten the collar of your shirt, "you should wear it more often."

Somehow the shirt ended up in her closet, and when one day she wore it on set you almost face planted right on the ground, catching yourself at the last moment.

"I thought you wanted me to wear it more often?" You asked her at the end of the day, your cheeks reddening slightly at the way she smiled and hugged the fabric closer to her body.

"I think it looks even better on me."

You laughed it off and let her roam your closet that same night when she dropped you off, feeling warm all over at the sight of her being so comfortable in your space.

Melissa was the first one to notice the change in Jenna's wardrobe, but she didn't say anything, instead simply sending you a knowing smile and a thumbs up.

Jasmine, however, didn't notice until a few weeks later when the five of you were having a movie night at Mason's place, all tucked in the spacious couch spreading along the length of the room.

Jenna just came back from the kitchen with freshly made popcorn for the two of you when the movie was suddenly paused, making everyone in the room groan.

"Come on!" Mason threw his hands in the air, falling back against the cushions.

"What the hell is that?" She pointed a finger at the hoodie Jenna wore that night, your hoodie. Her eyes narrowed to slits, darting between the two of you and you could almost see the gears turn in her head. "Are you two fu-"

"Jasmine!" Melissa cut her off, taking the remote form the taller girl and unpausing the movie, shushing any attempts at asking questions.

You chose to ignore what was almost said, turning to focus on the movies when you felt your neck prickle. Knowing what it meant you kept your gaze pinned to the TV, ignoring a certain pair of brown eyes boring at the side of your head.

A hand sneaked up your thighs to rest at the edge of your shorts. "Are you okay?" She whispered, her voice quiet enough so only you could hear.

You nodded, not daring to look back at her, and placed your palm on top of her hand, lacing your fingers. She exhaled and slumped against your side, nestling her head on your shoulder.

Neither of you moved until the movie ended.

×××

All of it would've been perfect if you were the only one on the receiving end of her undivided attention.

Mason, who broke up with his girlfriend before filming started, seemed to always keep an eye on her, sending her secret smiles and whispering with her in corners of the set. She gladly followed him whenever he called her over, sharing quiet laughs and short hugs. You always looked away whenever you caught them, your knuckles turning white from the grip you had on your chair.

You kept telling yourself you didn't have a right to feel jealous, but deep down you knew it was a losing battle.

Maybe when she offered you an earbud she took your heart in exchange, gently cradling it in her soft palms only to squeeze it hard each time she walked away with Mason's arm slung around her shoulders.

You certainly felt like it when you noticed her drunkenly dancing with him after a game night you had at Melissa's place, all giggly smiles and sloppy steps.

You barely managed to take your eyes off the scene, focusing back on the cards you had, but no matter how hard you tried you couldn't concentrate, your mind still keen on what you knew was happening mere feet away.

Sighing, you sent an apologetic smile to the other two women and stood up to fix yourself another non-alcoholic drink in the kitchen, walking past the dancing pair and failing to notice the way Jenna reached out to grab you, almost falling at your feet before Mason managed to keep her upright.

You leaned against the counter, no longer interested in the drink and this night in general. Maybe it was time to go home.

A second later a pair of slender arms slid around your waist from behind. "Take me home?" Jenna asked, her words slurred against your back as she struggled to keep her balance. You turned around out to wrap an arm around her waist, keeping her pressed firmly against you.

You think you felt her hum against your neck before she pried away to look up at you, keeping hold of your shoulders.

You looked up from her glossy eyes to look back at Mason who was now throwing himself at the poor Melissa, almost crushing her in a hug.

Fingers wrapped around the back of your neck before your face was tugged back down, your breath hitching in your throat when your nose gently bumped into hers. "Why are you looking at him?" She pouted, her other hand coming up to cup your jaw, keeping your face firmly against her own. "Want you to look at me," she mumbled, failing to stay upright as she fell against your chest. It didn't stop her from muttering something you couldn't figure out as her hands circled your waist once again.

You closed your eyes, your grip on her waist hardening as you fought the urge to scoop her in your arms and kiss the pout away. You almost gave in to the urge when you felt her hands sneaking past the hem of your shirt to rest on the bare skin of your back, taking a deep breath you pulled her along to tell everyone you were leaving.

She fell asleep in the passenger seat of your car, your right hand tightly clasped between hers as she dozed off, quiet snores reaching your ears. You couldn't bring yourself to wake her up, instead carrying her to her apartment, barely managing to keep both of you upright as you unlocked the door with your key.

When you finally reached her bedroom she started to stir, turning her head from the spot on your shoulder to take in her surroundings. She let out a content breath at the sight of her bed, falling back against your shoulder, the grip she had on your neck was almost iron clad and you couldn't pry away no matter how hard you tried.

"Jenna," you stirred her gently, "Jen, let me go."

She hummed and pulled you against her, the two of you falling against the soft cushions.

It was the first time you slept in the same bed.

×××

"Wanna tell me about it?" Jasmine called the next morning, surprisingly chipper considering the amount of drinks she had yesterday.

"There's nothing to tell." You bit the inside of your cheek, sending a look to the girl slumped behind the counter.

She woke up with a nasty headache, groaning as she tried to shield her eyes from the sun with the back of her hand. You made fun of her only once, when you handed her water and Advil and immediately scurried away to make coffee when she threw a pillow in your face.

"Sure seemed like something," her tone was smug and you could already hear the start of her interrogation, but a groan from Jenna made her stumble over her words. It was way too quiet for a moment, before she finally screeched, "I knew it!"

Enduring her teasing turned out to be much easier than you thought, especially with Melissa's constant warning looks and Jenna's death glares sent her way whenever she as much as smirked at you. Eventually she relented, stomping her feet and grumbling about how unfun you were.

That left only Mason to torment your thoughts. He didn't do anything wrong. Hell, if anything, you were the one in the wrong with your unwarranted jealousy. But every time he stole Jenna from you during lunch, every time he jokingly jumped on her back between takes, both of them tumbling to the floor in heaps of laughter, made your chest constrict with that ugly feeling, leaving you to wallow in your misery as you tried your best to not pay attention to the pair.

You felt like shit every time he happily brought you sweets from the local bakery, pulling you tightly against his chest and ruffling your hair. He started doing that a long time ago, claiming it was his way to make you feel at home. It worked before, when you were blissfully unaware of your feelings towards a certain brunette, but now it left you feeling empty.

He was a great guy, anyone would be lucky to date him and the fact only spurred your jealousy even more.

You blinked when he waved at you, a confused expression on his face and you realized you were staring at him all this time.

"You spend a lot of time looking at him." A quiet voice came behind your shoulder.

You turned around to face Jenna, her stare so intense it almost made you look away. Almost.

"You spend a lot of time with him." You countered, crossing your arms.

Her brows knitted, frustration crinkling in her eyes. "That's what friends do."

You huffed, and finally looked away, the weight of her stare becoming too much for you to handle. "Right."

There was a blissful moment of silence before a chair scraped loudly against the floor.

"I'm going to kill you both," Melissa hissed, rising from her seat and throwing her script on the chair she occupied a second ago. "I'm this close," she pinched her thumb and forefinger until they were almost pressed, "to locking you two in some supply closet so you could finally figure this out. So please, please go away and talk like adults."

"We are talking…" you hesitantly spoke up, taking a step closer to Jenna.

The seething look the older woman sent your way almost made you stumble.

"We'll talk," Jenna cut in, taking you by the elbow and leading down the hall to a supply closet. The situation seemed so absurd you couldn't help but chuckle, Jenna's glare shutting you up not even a second later.

"Do you have feelings for him?" The words left her lips as soon as the door closed behind you.

You stopped dead in your tracks, staring at her, your mouth hanging open. The idea seemed so ridiculous you couldn't even form a sentence to deny it. She closed her eyes, crossing her arms against her chest. "So you do," she whispered, defeated.

And then it hit you.

She was jealous.

You thought back on the night she was drunk, the way she held you, not allowing you to look at him, demanding you to look at her instead, and today, when she caught you staring at him, she confronted you about it. You almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

The girl you fell in love with thought you were trying to steal her potential boyfriend.

You took a deep breath, blinking away the tears, your voice wavered, "I don't care about him like that." Her head shot up, her eyes focusing on your face swirled with emotion you couldn't decipher. You continued, holding her gaze, "You should go for it, though. He'd be lucky to have you."

No matter how much it hurt you to say this, you had to. He made her happy and she deserved to know she had nothing to worry about.

But as soon as the words left your lips you immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say.

"What? You think I have feelings for him?" She gaped, staring at you incredulously.

You didn't know why, but you felt really stupid at that moment. "...yes?"

She breathed in, and took measured steps towards you, leaving a few inches between you before reaching up to pull your face down, pinning you with her eyes. "And what? You want me to chase after him? Want to give me advice on how to get the man?" Her words were laced with something dangerous, and you felt like this moment was about to change your whole life.

You swallowed. "I- if that's what you want," you whispered.

She stared at you in silence for what felt like ages, before scoffing and turning around on her heel, stomping away and leaving you to your thoughts in the dimly lit space.

That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

"What the fuck did you do?" Melissa cornered you right after the filming wrapped for the day, tugging you by the elbow to her trailer, and pushing you on the uncomfortable couch.

"I think I screwed up."

"Yeah, no shit. Tell me everything."

And you did. You told her about the first time you caught yourself staring at Jenna, about the first night you spent at her apartment and the morning after that, full of soft smiles and gentle touches. You told her about the way you felt whenever you saw her wearing your clothes, how it made you giddy and full of hope. You told her about the first time you felt jealousy coursing through your veins, all those weeks ago when Mason snatched Jenna away for the first time. You told her how elated you felt when she fell asleep snuggled against you, snoring away in the crook of your neck. You wiped a stray tear and told her about what you said just hours ago.

"You're both idiots," she groaned, but pulled you into her arms, holding you tight while you tried to blink away the tears.

×××

It didn't get easier after that, if anything it all became even worse. Jenna avoided you like a plague, disappearing from sight when your eyes met, and hiding behind Mason whenever you tried to approach. You tried your best to not let the hurt show on your face, after all, you were the one to push them together, but judging by the worried look on his face, you did a very poor job.

Jasmine took it upon herself to lift your spirits, taking the empty spot by your side during lunch and carpooling with you after long days of shooting. You could see questions swimming in her eyes, could see the way her eyes darted to you whenever Jenna entered the room.

You couldn't answer her questions when you yourself didn't know the answer.

Jenna was supposed to be happy by now, but the dark circles under her eyes and slight tremble of her hands told you a different story.

You tried asking Melissa, but she just shook her head and rolled her eyes whenever you bugged her about it.

"Figure it out yourself," she said after two weeks of you begging her for answers.

You tried hard, you really did. Doesn't mean you were successful.

When the director mentioned a wrap party taking place next month, dread filled your stomach. With your mind constantly preoccupied with Jenna you didn't even notice how much time has passed.

It was time to do something.

"Are you stalking her now?" Mason asked you as he rounded his car after a long day of filming.

You blinked from your spot on the hood of Jenna's car. "Maybe."

He snorted, opening the door. "Just tell her already."

You tensed, knitting your brows. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh my god," he grumbled, throwing his head back to look at the night sky. He straightened then, and briskly walked up to you, taking hold of your shoulders. "She's in love with you." He punctuated each word with a shake to your shoulders.

He waited for you to process his words before he took a step back, watching the gears turn in your head.

You gulped, hopping off the hood, shaking your head in denial before thinking back on the conversation you had with Jenna a few weeks ago in that small supply room. The way she looked so small and defeated when she thought you had feelings for Mason, the way she stared at you when you told her she was wrong, waiting for you to say something before you screwed it all up.

Want you to look at me, she said all that time ago.

Oh God.

"She's in love with me," you whispered.

Mason almost jumped in relief, closing the distance between you in two short strides, and pulled you in his arms, pressing a kiss to your forehead, before he suddenly tensed, pushing you away. "I'll leave you to deal with that." He muttered before scurrying to his car and driving off in record time.

You looked behind your shoulder just in time to see Jenna approach you with pursed lips.

"What was that?" She asked, avoiding your eyes.

You turned around to face her, your lips stretching in a grin so wide it made you look like an idiot, or a love struck fool. You bounced on your heels, barely managing to stop yourself from lunging at the smaller woman, your eyes roaming around her form, drinking her in after so many days spent staring at her from across the room.

She finally looked up when silence stretched for a long awkward moment, her brows disappearing behind her bangs at your excited smile. A corner of her mouth went up almost unconsciously, your happiness so contagious she found herself relaxing.

And then she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Under her scrutinizing gaze you felt like the air was sucked from your chest, but you braved on, taking the chance to make things right.

"Well, my original plan was to jump in the car with you, hoping you wouldn't throw me out." You began your rant, training your eyes on the small logo of her t-shirt. Your t-shirt, you realised after a second, the sight giving you enough confidence to look her in the eye. "I prepared this really long speech about my stupidity and jealousy clouding my thoughts and influencing my actions, and it ended in professing my feelings for you. My romantic feelings, just to be clear. Also there was a bit about fighting Mason for your affections, but it was recently pointed out to me that it's probably no longer necessary..." you trailed off, suddenly hesitant.

What if the weeks you spent gaining courage made her feelings change?

You took a deep breath and looked up just in time to see her throw herself at you, pulling you in a bruising kiss. You squeaked in surprise, eyes growing comically wide as she settled in your arms, her hands circling your neck to pull you impossibly closer.

Her lips felt like heaven, so soft and responsive and gentle, gliding against your own, her tongue swiping against your bottom lip, and then you were pushed against the hood of her car, her hands trailing down your body to hide beneath the fabric of your shirt, gripping at the burning skin of your waist hard enough to leave marks.

You pulled away for a breath, her body tensing before she saw the adoring look in your eyes and your blinding smile. "Do you want to hear the speech? I have it memorized." You asked, nuzzling your nose against her cheek.

"I want you to be quiet," she muttered, her fingers threading through your hair to pull you closer. "And you're on probation, by the way," she said, before pulling you in for another passionate kiss, pulling little whines and moans out of you as she dipped her other hand in the back pocket of your jeans, squeezing you possessively.

"Just to be clear," you mumbled between kisses, "I'm in love with you."

Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled away, looking up at you, her eyes wide and vulnerable. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." You pulled her against your chest, burrowing your face in her soft hair.

Later that night, when the two of you lay in her bed, trying to catch your breath, she burrowed into your side, mumbling something against you, her soft breath sending shivers down your spine.

"What was that?" You tugged her chin up.

Her eyes opened, alight with mischief. "I said I was the one to mail you the script."

"What? Why?"

She groaned, ducking her head. "They thought you'd never agree to a movie like that, completely disregarded my suggestion to ask you, but I had to try, so I stole the script and mailed it to you."

You bit your lip to keep yourself from grinning at her confession. "And why was it so important for me to be in this movie?"

"I wanted to meet you," she murmured, placing kisses over your collarbone, "because I've been enamored with you ever since Jasmine made me watch that stupid Marvel movie all those years ago."

You let out a surprised oh, your heart hammering against the ribcage and your mouth hanging open as you tried to process the information.

"Just to be clear..." Her hands came up to cradle your head, her thumbs trailing circles on the sensitive skin behind your ears, her eyes shining so brightly it felt like they lit the whole room. "... I'm in love with you, too."

×××

When you walked on set the next morning, your arm slung around her shoulders and her hand around your waist, almost everyone in the room let out a collective ear piercing squeal.

[feroluce]

NO OK BUT I'M STILL NOT OVER BOOTHILL AND DAN HENG AND THE JADE ABACUS IN ENA'S DREAM!!!!!

For some extra context, I have a whole henghill manifesto I wrote over here, but the tl;dr is that Dan Heng decides to use the Jade Abacus of Allying Oath to save the Express Crew the first time. Boothill urges him to think it over carefully, but he doesn't stop him. And then, the second time Dan Heng decides to use it, we get this instead:

And just! That's so!! so!!!

Because like. We see in the first battle against Sunday that that Jade Abacus is effective, like we really do just get an entire army lead by a whole-ass Emanator of The Hunt right to our location and ready to fuck shit up. It's important. It's incredibly valuable. That is a huge amount of power to hold in the palm of one's hand.

But Tiernan's relic works the same way.

Galaxy Rangers are terribly dangerous. Boothill comments on this when discussing Acheron's motives, because he can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to get The Hunt on their asses. They're considered to be on a level even above The Annihilation Gang.

And now, with the burial relic, he has a way to get thousands of them, almost immediately, and all in one place.

And you can't tell me that wouldn't be something extremely useful to Boothill, like literally life-saving. He's wanted by the IPC. He makes his living as a bounty hunter. His whole driving motivation in life right now is to do whatever he can, up to and including throwing away his own human body, to ruthlessly hunt down one man and kill him in revenge. Like that has to be dangerous, the IPC is a massive entity with far-reaching influence and money and power and weaponry. He surely must have already had some close calls.

Like can you imagine it? Galaxy Rangers are solitary creatures. If Boothill were to find himself near death, he would probably be all alone. Do you think he had regrets? Did he wonder if anyone would find his own burial relic? Did it feel the same way it did when they melted his flesh, replaced it with metal? Did he lay there with his vision slowly blacking out until he thought of home, and family, and the little daughter who he never even got to hear her first word, until he was so full of fury that he could prop himself up on his rage like a crutch and find help?

Tiernan's relic would have been like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Just for one time, no matter where Boothill was, someone would find him. The Galaxy Rangers aren't sociable or organized between themselves, but they help their own. Someone would save him.

He chooses to give all of that up to help Dan Heng.

And I just cannot get over it, especially the wording of it, the pause before he speaks, the gentle way he tells him to hold onto his once-in-a-lifetime treasure...!! He wants Dan Heng to leave this to him! He wants him to keep this precious item that will help him save his companions again in the future! And maybe it's just...wishful thinking, me reading too much into it? But I mean. Just the way he says it...

I really do think it comes from a place of deep kinship and respect. That there's a lot of thought and feeling behind that statement. Something from one Pathstrider of The Hunt to another. Boothill fought for his home and his family, he fought really really hard! But. Sometimes that just doesn't matter. And now he's watching Dan Heng fight for his, too.

When he made that decision the first time, Dan Heng was in the parlor car of the Astral Express. He was completely removed from any danger. He could have chosen to get the hell out of Dodge and not look back. Obviously we know he would never even consider such a thing, but it was technically an option, and Boothill watched him decide to go back into the proverbial lion's den for his friends anyway. And I'm sure that was part of what sealed his decision, to later use Tiernan's relic instead of the Jade Abacus to summon enough people to disrupt Ena's Dream. Because he greatly values ideas like righteousness and justice and saving people, and Dan Heng so beautifully embodies all of that and then some.

Boothill doesn't have people to protect anymore, only ghosts to avenge.

And there is just something so endlessly endearing about him wanting to help Dan Heng, to make sure his friend doesn't go through that the way he did.

[frigidwife]

do you think louis chose/believed armand over claudia in the scene after armand threatens and chokes her? i was under the impression that louis reflexively disagreed with claudia because he didn't want to believe it, but the fact that he also reflexively lit armand's photo on fire makes me think his response to claudia ("he wouldn't do that"/"sit in your choice") was a denial of the real horror he was feeling, that he did believe her and just wished it wasn't true. i rewatched that scene and when he notices the picture is on fire, he waits a second before putting it out, which makes me think his commitment to armand following this scene wasn't out of genuine love, but a strategic choice made out of fear, the same way he martyred himself for lestat to turn claudia. i still see people talking about how much louis and armand did love each other, and i was briefly convinced when madeline called it out (though that scene also contains claudia thanking armand for not treating her like a child, so the legitimacy of the entire scene is thrown into question imo). but after rewatching the season, i don't think they were that devoted to each other. between the actors deliberately playing their flirtations super awkward, the fact that louis never commits until armand threatens claudia and his commitment itself following louis' pattern of chaining himself to his current lover/shark for claudia's survival (a pattern the show goes out of its way to emphasize with lestat's retelling of her turning), and the fact that armand apparently did choose the coven over louis...idk. maybe i'm biased and just sick of the idea that armand and louis' love is some torrid gothic romance when it seems clear that louis and armand's insistence that it was in dubai is deliberately at odds with what we saw, despite how hard they were trying to make it seem that way. even the way they gassed up their first meeting felt staged, and if we're supposed to understand that louis and armand's growing physical distance in dubai denotes emotional/romantic distance as louis' memories are restored, it seems in line to realize that the distance isn't what's new, nor is the performance of love; it's the realization that it is a performance. SORRY this got long, i feel like i'm going a little crazy because i feel the show is saying the exact opposite to much of the analysis on here. in a way i would love to be convinced towards a different perspective because then i could just relax

no i agree with you completely ur not insane and neither am i.... i havent watched that episode in a while but the way the events are sequenced it's not even ambiguous--the relationship with armand is strategic and it has been since the beginning. like i dont think louis's "he wouldn't do that" is even a denial of the kind of person armand is. Bc in the previous episode armand literally almost killed louis for the same secret he's just threatened claudia about. so why would he actually disbelieve her? (laying it out like this i'm realizing why the victim blaming interpretation of louis as ditzy is so prevalent lol.) his frustration reads to me like: i've already sacrificed my freedom and happiness so you can join the coven that you love so much, and now you're saying you don't like the coven? you can't tough it out and trust i have armand handled? the disbelief in "he wouldn't do that" is not that louis wants to believe armand is a better person; it's that louis wants to believe his control over armand is more complete, bc otherwise claudia is right and his sacrifices are doubly pointless. this is the same pattern we saw with louis and his siblings as a human--telling grace to worry about herself, telling lestat how they were four months from bankruptcy; he takes pains to keep them ignorant but then is frustrated they wont register his sacrifice; they see it as him pushing them away (literal knife to paul's throat). louis starting to burn the photograph is him giving up--claudia is ungrateful; this task is impossible. but then the dream lestat which is ofc just louis calls claudia "our daughter" and that's when louis stops burning the photograph of armand. at the reminder that no matter how he tries to accept her as grown and autonomous, she's his child first. and then you can see him double down and regroup--get rid of ghost lestat indulgence to commit fully to companionship with as much control as he can leverage

[20001541]

I was thinking about this panel the other day and how the narration tells us that afo choose that particular kanji for yoichi's name is because he saw yoichi as a gift that was given to him.

then I also remembered this line when he's talking to kotaro, "children need siblings because nobody else will help them out"

I feel these two panels show that afo saw yoichi as the one good thing in his life growing up. he's living in complete destitution, he has no adult to take care of him, society doesn't bother to help him and he's considered a diseased creature majority of them. the only thing he has that stays by his side on a consistent basis is yoichi, that tiny weak thing that has been there with him from the very beginning.

focusing on that word "need", I believe afo was speaking from his own experience here and not simply saying this just to get kotaro into the idea of having another child. for a long time the only one that ever acknowledged his presence was yoichi and because of that he grew deeply attached to him. of course yoichi's acknowledgement wasn't enough for afo in the end and he wanted to get the world's attention, but the fact that he emphasized how children need siblings because no one will help them out shows how much yoichi's presence in those days meant to him.

he needed him because without him who would've been there to give him some comfort amongst the chaos that surrounded him? who would've talked to him and kept him company during those quiet nights when hiding out in abandoned buildings? humans need affection from other humans in order to thrive, there's been literal studies done about how loneliness can kill you. afo wouldn't be the exception to this rule, yoichi helped him get through those dark days.

I think afo would've turned out much worse if he was forced to grow up alone. at the end of the day afo just wants people to acknowledge his existence and yoichi gave him that as a child. the only one who ever did willingly for many years and that made a huge impact on afo's life.

going back to how he named yoichi, I think it shows how he sees yoichi as the one good thing the universe decided to grant him amidst all the ugliness in his life. everything else he had to take by force, but yoichi was the only thing granted to him freely. so he viewed him as something precious and irreplaceable, something that must be held onto tightly to a suffocating degree so it could never leave him. unfortunately that attitude is what ultimately caused him to loose him for good.

and it all just leads to this

you're different than everyone else, you actually mean something to me. you're the only one who was there when the world turned it's back on me. I can't keep going on without you the world loses it's colour and ceases to have meaning. everything I am is tied into you so without you I am nothing. you have to stay here with me I love you more than anything.

tragic the way things ended between them, and almost poetic in how the thing afo loved the most is what brought about his ruin

[sunny-ssunset]

Choose your soulmate!

Yandere south park x GN! Reader

Level four

TAGLIST: @giyusdarling @wowowpx @mikkies

♡Just quickly, Sorry not updating choose your soulmate much, I have been working on a bigger chapter for pretty in pink, Also I don't actually have any strong opinions for or against smoking, I just made a silly goody comformist joke, Just letting everyone know I meant nothing mean by it lol AGED UP!

"Wanna chill here for a bit?" Kenny smiles, awaiting your response, His patience resembling a puppy.

>Sure!

>I should head to class<

Kenny looks slightly bummed out, but ghen remembers you spend at least a little bit of you're time with him "Thats okay, I get it. At least you spend some of your time with me!"

Kenny +10 Affection!

As you walk over to class, You spot a group of goth kids that seem to be in a cloud of cigarette smoke...?

>Walk past and pretend you didn't see anything<

>Say that smoking isn't aloud in the premices

Walking past them you accidently inhale a bit of smoke OH NO!

Side affect!

-Nicotine rush!

You feel nauseous and lightheaded.... This is what you get for not smoking conformist!

You're vision blurries and you feel very sick until OH! How convenient! A rare Kyle broflovski has appeared!

"Woah Y/n... You good? You look a bit out of it? Here let me help you." Kyle takes you to go sit on a bench outside quickly, helping you regain your conciousness.

"You seem pretty late for class.... Let me check your time table." Kyle memorises your time table and then puts it back in your pocket. "Hey you have Maths with me! I'll take you there since you aren't really able to walk."

On your way to class, Kyle natters away, "Anybody caught your eye yet?" He smiles.

>Kenny is pretty cute I guess....<

>I like Nichole, She is sweet.

>I think you are kinda hot!

Kyle's eye twitches and he conpletely stops, Like before the screen turns black, Then it replays the entire cutscene....? What the hell? I swear this game is broken

>I like Nichole, She is sweet<

>I think YOU are kinda hot!

What the hell? This is getting fucking weird.

Kyle's eyes widen. His smiles drops and this time, the screen doesn't go black, Kyle turns to you however, "Love me Y/n. I'm begging you I don't care If its fake. Just love me. Love me, Love me Love me, Love me, l̦̹͜͠ő̞̰͜͞v̷̴̵̧̛̱͎̝̥̫͙̝͖̻̼̙̠̳͈̯̦̫̌ͮ̃͌ͯ̉̐̒̚̕͜͟͞͡͞͝e̸̡̨̦̞͍̼̦͔̥̙̤̮͍̲̫̗ͪͣ́̉̌̾͋̄ͬ̀ͬ̀̂̂ͧ̃̓̈́͑ͭ͘͘͟͜͜͝͠ m̦͓͐͐̅e̷̡̡͍̫̻͍͖̻̖͓͙̬͍̼̾͋̔̈ͫͩ̽̔͒͛̽̍͊̕͜͞͡, l̦̹͜͠ő̞̰͜͞v̷̴̵̧̛̱͎̝̥̫͙̝͖̻̼̙̠̳͈̯̦̫̌ͮ̃͌ͯ̉̐̒̚̕͜͟͞͡͞͝e̸̡̨̦̞͍̼̦͔̥̙̤̮͍̲̫̗ͪͣ́̉̌̾͋̄ͬ̀ͬ̀̂̂ͧ̃̓̈́͑ͭ͘͘͟͜͜͝͠ m̦͓͐͐̅e̷̡̡͍̫̻͍͖̻̖͓͙̬͍̼̾͋̔̈ͫͩ̽̔͒͛̽̍͊̕͜͞͡ l̦̹͜͠ő̞̰͜͞v̷̴̧̛̱͎̝̥̫͙̝͖̻̼̙̠̳͈̯̦̫̌ͮ̃͌ͯ̉̐̒̚̕͜͟͞͡͞��͝e̸̡̨̦̞͍̼̦͔̥̙̤̮͍̲̫̗ͪͣ́̉̌̾͋̄ͬ̀ͬ̀̂̂ͧ̃̓̈́͑ͭ͘͘͟͜͜͝͠ m̦͓͐͐̅e̷̡̡͍̫̻͍͖̻̖͓͙̬͍̼̾͋̔̈ͫͩ̽̔͒͛̽̍͊̕͜͞͡.

Then, The finally goes black. You get the feeling something is watching you, Your face goes pale, You want to stop playing but you can't....

The same scene plays.

On your way to class, Kyle natters away, "Anybody caught your eye yet?" He smiles.

>Kyle.

>Kyle.

>Kyle.

>Kyle.

>Kyle.<

Kyle's grip becomes almost painful. "You know what I can't believe you feel the same way." Kyle says between clenched teeth.

Kyle +10 Affection

You wanted to stop playing. You really did. But you feel like you can't stop, Like your fingers are being forced.

dividers by @petal-pxl

[deadlysoupy]

i cannot express just how grateful i am that the devs decided to make rook so unique, in almost all areas of the game

like, obviously it's not da origins level, because that was a miracle in of itself and might never be repeated, but it's still so commendable, especially if we fairly compare it to inquisition

because think about it. we get like, what, six or seven faction backgrounds that you get to choose, and then you get a special relationship with people inside that faction? are you fucking kidding me that's awesome. not only that, but we also get a background, we get to know what our rook did before the events of the game, and we can decide how they react to it. do they feel remorse? regret? freedom? sure, you may need to add a little bit of context yourself for some factions, but that's the fun part! you get to make a little guy and develop them in your head! you're building them in-game

not to mention the combat and skill system of the game. there're seven companions and they all have their classes, and you can pick between two styles of fighting (except for rogue i guess, kind of) and your spec ties into a faction. you feel very unique because you can just be whatever and no other companion will repeat after you (or you repeat after them)! isn't that neat!

compare that to inquisition. who tf is your inquisitor. they're literally just a Guy (gender neutral). when you pick a spec they're all the same as your companions. how is this in any way making my inquisitor stand out. they're just a vessel, an empty plot device. they walked into a room and people pushed them into being a religious leader. it literally could have been anyone else. the only interesting choice i remember from inquisition that actually made me remember that they're a person is when you talk with casssandra about whether or not you believe in god. that's it

you become a symbol in 1/3 of the game. you aren't a person, your decisions matter to the whole world now, and you can't be biased about it. the game wants you to be analytical, but it doesn't want me to act like my character, i'm basically playing a Build Your Own Empire simulator

so don't you even start telling me rook isn't interesting, or that they're nobody. they have a story, a pre-existing one, but a story nonetheless. just like hawke does. we're roleplaying a specific character, and if the game does most of the work - that's fine by me, i'll just fill in the gaps and make my rook feel richer and have interesting dynamics with the veilguard. if you can't imagine your rook in Situations, i'm so sorry for you, because i'm having so much fun with them

[pink-amethyst-tarot]

💌A Message From The Universe💌

P I L E 1 ~ P I L E 2 ~ P I L E 3

How to pick: Take a deep breath and choose between the three images above. It corelates with the message that is meant for you. Trust your intuiton; only you know what is truly best for you.

P I L E 1 ♡ ~ A New Perspective

Ten of Wands, The High Priestess, The Emperor, The Moon, Eight of Swords (Reversed)

You feel burdened. You feel disconnected from yourself and your intuition. I feel that the man problem, is that you don't trust yourself or your inner voice. Let that voice guide you. Listen to yourself because you know what is best for you. You don't have to listen to everyone who thinks they know what is best for you. With it being the holiday season and Christmas is days away, you may be around family that isn't all that supportive of you and what you want with your life. They have put you down since you were a kid but know that you are not that kid anymore. You are capable of standing on your own two feet and it's time to stop making excuses for their bad behavior. You don't have to keep that kind of negative energy in your life, even if they are your relatives. Just because they are blood related, doesn't mean you have to call them family. For a lot of you, this person is a father figure in your life, but they haven't treated you the way that a father should. You were a kid and you deserved better then, and you deserve better now. Your anxiety around this is very loud but you know what you want to do more than anything. You know what path you want to take, and you know what people you want to cut off. Let yourself be happy. Go into this new year prioritizing your wants, needs, desires, hopes and dreams. It's time someone chose you and who better than yourself. Open up your heart and your mind to new possibilities; a world where you can have what you want. It's time for a new perspective.

Channeled Song: I'm Tired by Labrinth ft. Zendaya

now the tide is rollin' in // I don't wanna win // let it take me, let it take me // I'll be on my way // how long can I stay // in a place that can't contain me // hey Lord, you know, I'm tired // hey, Lord, you know I'm tired //

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P I L E 2 ♡

King of Pentacles, Seven of Cups (Reversed), Four of Wands (Reversed), Nine of Wands, Ace of Pentacles

You have been doing some spring cleaning around your life. You have been making changes that you saw needed to be made and it has really brought you back to reality; almost like you are sobering up. You could also be on a sobriety journey and if you are, know that I am very proud of you and I'm rooting for you. If no one else is in your corner, know that I am. You have been doing a lot of hard work and you should be celebrating yourself but, for some reason, you aren't. You may have this mindset of believing that you can't celebrate because there is so much more work to do. That may be true; we are all works in progress. That doesn't mean you shouldn't celebrate and be proud of how far you have come! I'm so very proud of how far you have come. You're looking at all that you still have to do, but you aren't paying attention to what you have done. You can rest, relax and bask in your victories. Take a break because you have earned it. You are meant to be prosperous, and you have new opportunities coming in and you should be confident in taking them because you worked hard to get them. Again, I am so proud of you and all that you have done. Keep going and do not give up.

Channled Song: A Brand New Day by The Wiz Cast

everybody, be glad // because our fear and dread is gone // freedom, you see, has got our hearts singing so joyfully // just look about // you out it to yourself to check it out // can you feel a brand new day? // can you feel a brand new day? //

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P I L E 3 ♡

The Star (Reversed), Two of Pentacles, Four of Swords, The High Priestess, Ace of Pentacles

Your head is not in the right place, right now. You are too focused on the negative and it seems that you have lost hope. You're working to balance things on your own and that is only making things harder for you. You may feel like you're at sea and the boat going up and down with the harsh waves. Let go of the things that you don't need and ask for help with the things that you cannot. I'm getting that you are very overwhelmed at this time. I'm seeing juggling and everyone keeps adding more and more balls, making it so hard to keep up. You don't have to take it. You are allowed to rest and to have some peace and quiet. You may be feeling like you can't take a break right now because, if you don't do it who will? I'll counter that with, why was it set up for you to be the only one who is able to handle things? Why is it you or nobody? Why can't people do it themselves? Sometimes, you just have to say, "if I have to do it, it's not going to get done," and that's that on that. You know that these people are capable and able. They just know they can rely on you to always do it. Stop being reliable. They need to learn to do things on their own and without you because you are not going to always be there.

I don't have a specific channeled song, but I am seeing vacations, beaches and just relaxing, which you deserve, so if you can get that, I suggest that you do.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. THESE READINGS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. no guarantees are implied. These readings are not a substitute or replacement for any professional help or services. My readings are not a substitute for any form of professional legal, medical/psychiatric, relationship, religious/spiritual or financial/ business advice nor consultations. You should always see a professional legal/trained adviser for help in any matter. I am not responsible for any decisions/ actions you take.

[originalgenshinscenarios]

Variable Barricade crossover!

We're so back!!! Kinda. Who knows? Not me! I've had it almost done for like a month but I just felt so unmotivated it was kinda sad because I still really like working on this 😔

If you want to join the taglist just send an ask or dm me!

Reader here is female and has established background

Cw: Age gap (Reader is 18 and the ladies are ages 20-24) |First chapter| <= Previous chapter (Miko's route)

No matter how much time had passed, you still can't bring yourself to trust the four suitors. You don't feel like any of them are taking you seriously. Turns out, Ayaka has rather interesting connections and they're more than happy to help you out.

But now your problem is dealing with an even more obnoxious group…

Part two: chapter 1- The gang is here.

Waiting around for Ayaka is sometimes the most tiresome time of your day. A lot of students approach you and all that polite smalltalk is just so exhausting. You just managed to get to your classroom, but someone unexpected approached you. It was Kuki Shinobu, you never really talked. But how much you wish that wasn't the case. She seemed so… cool.

"Good morning L/N. I was just told to tell everyone that we don't have a homeroom today" she explained and as you looked at her you wanted to talk to her more.

"Good morning Shinobu, thank you very much for the information" you were pretty happy. Even though it was a pretty basic conversation if you can even call it that.

There was something inside you that wanted to speak with her just for even a little bit longer, but you didn't even know what you'd bring up with her. In the end you stayed silent.

That is until Ayaka showed up.

"Good morning Y/N. How was your weekend?" she had that look that made it clear that she will be a little nosy "You promised to take it more seriously, so how is the suitor situation going for you?" 

"I went on a date" you weren't sure if what you did could even count as a date… but maybe that was enough for Ayaka. You already told her enough about what happened between you and Miko so maybe she won't be mad about you staying in the same spot once again.

"Can I ask who was the lucky lady?" her looking so happy to have you progress made you rather guilty for getting her hopes up.

"Well, all of us watched a movie together, does that count?"

"So I'm guessing you were only spending time with them as a group besides that incident with Miko?" Ayaka sighed as both of you already knew the answer for that "You have no idea how that lack of your romantic spirit worries me…"

"I did spend some time with them separately too, but it's nothing worth mentioning" 

"Alright then, let's do it a little bit differently. Can you tell me how you view your future with them? After all, whoever you choose will end up being your wife so you need to think about it in that way" she pointed out with a hopeful tone.

"I think I can do that" you know that Ayaka isn't the type to push it, but at the same time you just don't want to see her so disappointed.

"Let's start with Miko, what do you think being married to her would be like?"

"Miko hm..? Well, she has her charms. But she only ever sees how someone can entertain her. So I'd be more her jester than her wife" you could definitely see how she'd just mock you in your everyday life, of course she'd also have her good moments… but being married to her would just be a constant humiliation.

"I see, perhaps she wants to help you be more self-aware?…" she tried to play devil's advocate, but you weren't going to accept that.

"Do you truly believe so?" your question made her drop it.

"Let's just move on, what about Ningguang?"

"She seems serious enough… but at the same time I feel like this is just a test to her. Like she wants to prove something to herself… I'm not entirely sure how she'll act like once she does complete her goal" she does seem little competitive about the whole thing. So you wouldn't be surprised to find out that it was all about reaching a goal and not about the "reward".

"When I talked to her she gave me an impression that she's genuinely interested" she wasn't surprised by your skeptical approach by now.

"Well, I disagree" you knew you were stubborn. But you couldn't be too stubborn about something as important as this.

"And Yelan? You mentioned that she's sweet to you" she was really trying to get you to agree on at least one thing.

"That's true but, it doesn't seem like this is care in a romantic sense. It might sound a little weird but she's sort of acting more like a guardian angel?" You couldn't find a different word. While you appreciate her taking your feelings to account you just can't help but think that it's more of a pity thing.

"That still sounds pretty romantic. She's like your knight in shining armor" she tried to lighten up the mood and help you think of it differently.

"It's not what I said" you correct her, even though you know what she was trying to do.

"My apologies, I was just trying to help you see it even just a little bit differently. Then I suppose it's time for me to ask about Eula"

"I can't read her at all. She snaps at me often and I get a feeling that she doesn't even want to be here" but you can't help but wonder just how and when did she meet your grandfather.

"Maybe much like you, she's the type to keep her feelings to herself. She doesn't have to have a reason" 

"Yeah, gaining back status and money sounds about right" now that you thought about it you could definitely see it. She did lose everything and an opportunity like a marriage with you would set her back to a wealthy lifestyle, minus the expectations since as your spouse she wouldn't have to do literally anything.

Ayaka sighed at that "If that's how you see it" she paused for a moment "But I think I have an idea as to what we could do… if you're willing to accept some help"

"What is it?" you're honestly scared to ask… but surely Ayaka wouldn't hide much from you?

"I think it's better if you see for yourself. Let's go to our usual spot after school, okay?" Nevermind. You just have to leave this to your imagination. 

-

All those classes you had to go through were making you quite the wreck. What did Ayaka mean? How much are you going to regret agreeing?

The two of you are sitting in your favorite cafeteria "So… are you going to tell me what are you plotting?"

"I'm not plotting anything, I just asked a friend to help you out" she looked proud to admit that and you decided not to comment.

You waited in silence, each time a girl entered you wondered if she was that friend but turns out that they were strangers.

That is until a girl wearing a facemask came in. Once she looked at Ayaka and then you, she turned around to leave and that's when Ayaka followed after her to stop her.

She had her hair tied in a very specific way, her eyes looked very intimidating but you couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity when you looked at her.

"I should've known it was about her" the girl rolled her eyes when Ayaka tried to stop her from leaving.

"You promised to lend us our aid, please…" she pleaded.

"Ugh, fine. But don't you dare tell anyone about this" the girl had a very annoyed tone.

"Hello, I assume that you already know me..?" you enter the conversation.

"Y/N don't you recognize her?" 

"There's no point in playing the guessing game" she sighed "I'm Kuki Shinobu"

When she said that, it was almost like just now your brain registered even knowing someone with that name. She looked so… different. 

"Oh- I'm sorry for not recognizing you" apologizing you take a closer look, although she did look completely different you really should've noticed that it was her…

"Don't be, not being recognized is my goal after all" she shrugged.

"Right." now you feel even more like an idiot…

"So, Ayaka, what did you bring me here for?" Shinobu was quick to put everything back on track.

"Oh, I just wanted you to help Y/N with her suitors. You spend so much time on dates and all, I figured you'd be able to give her any advice" 

"I'm not as experienced as you make me out to be. But alright, I'll help out. It's just so you won't tell anyone about my secret though"

"I'm grateful for your help regardless!" you didn't mean to sound so excited about that… but just the idea of getting a new ally/friend is what makes you this way. But that's just a hunch…

"Okay…" she sounded slightly weirded out by your enthusiasm "So, what's the problem exactly?"

"It's a bit tough to explain" you try to gather your thoughts. I mean, there is a lot you could say here. This whole situation is nothing but problems…

"I can already tell you're thinking too hard about this. I get it, it's about marriage after all. But if you don't have any trust in them and you don't plan on doing anything about it… then there's no reason for you- or them- to waste time if what you're looking for is something serious" she paused "Then again, they really must be taking you seriously if they agreed to potentially marry you so quickly" 

Those words were like a trigger… That's it! The main issue (now) is that you don't know if they're thinking of you so seriously! "You're right Shinobu! I need to check just how serious they are about me!"

"That's not what I meant…" Shinobu sighed

"But how do I do that..?" You pause for a second but Shinobu takes that for an opportunity to say something "But what about you? Do YOU take them seriously?"

"Huh..?" You were surprised by the question, of course you did… at least you treated them better than they do you… right?

"She might be onto something" Ayaka looked at you "Think about it, we need a way to both let you see them in different light- while also help you see if they care about you"

"Why do you insist on making this so complicated…" Shinobu looked defeated over how much you were scheming "Alright, before you get any crazy ideas let's settle for this. We'll see how they'd react if someone were to hit on you"

"Hit on me..?" You looked at her.

"Not me. I'm not exactly best at acting something like that out when I don't mean it" she shrugged. 

"I think that's a great idea, of course only if Y/N will be willing to execute it"

The idea of some stranger hitting on you wasn't something you'll agree on so easily "Hold on just a moment!" your protest was loud and clear "If not you… then who?"

"A friend of mine" she doesn't elaborate.

"Are you going to tell me more or..?"

"You'll see when he gets here. So, are you willing to agree to this or not?" A guy will help you out..? So not only a stranger but some guy will hit on you? Then again if he's a friend of Shinobu he might not be so bad…

"Alright. Fine. Let's do it…" 

After that Shinobu got in contact with the mysterious guy. Meanwhile you contacted Thoma so he can prepare some excuse to call them over one by one. He didn't exactly like the idea but at the same time he knew that it'd help you feel more at ease… so he decided to help.

-

The three of you were first waiting for Shinobu's friend before you started contacting the suitors. You didn't have to wait long but as you heard someone call out to her you were quite surprised by the sight.

The dude was very tall and had rather intimidating attire, if not for his friendly smile as he approached you three you probably wouldn't want this guy anywhere near you. He offered his hand for you to shake and said "Hey! Name's Arataki Itto- the one and oni leader of the Arataki gang ready to help out!" he was full of energy… wait did he say gang??

"I'm Y/N, and this is Ayaka" you shook his hand gently.

"Shinobu filled me in and I'll say it right now I don't like the idea of making you uncomfortable. BUT a friend of Shinobu is a friend of the gang and for friends of the gang we move mountains if that's needed! So if I need to act like a jerk, you'll get a 5 star performance!" His loud voice was slowly starting to overwhelm you a little.

You definitely had to ask more about the gang. You can't allow yourself to be associated with a bunch of criminals "Say… about this gang-"

"It's just how he likes to call our friend group" Shinobu cut in before Itto got to respond. As true as it was, it definitely offended him a little on how she put it. However, her being straightforward with it gave you quite the relief.

"How about we start calling them over?" Ayaka changed the topic and that's exactly what you did.

-

First to be called over was Ningguang. When you looked over at Itto his demeanor changed from friendly to one that made you cringe on the spot… but to be honest any man flirting with you would make you feel that way. 

His words just went over your head. Even if your short interaction made it clear that he wasn't a jerk, you couldn't help feeling uncomfortable which almost made him break his character.

But he didn't have any opportunity to slip as Ningguang pulled you away from him, confusing the two of you.

She just walked off, hugging your arm and leading the way “This way, it's more crowded there and we'll lose the guy in no time” she said calmly, she was actually surprised Itto didn't follow after you, but it was just getting rid of the problem altogether. It took you a moment to speak up “Thanks Ningguang… but uhm…” now it was for the awkward part… after being “saved” it was time to explain it “This was a test”

“A test you say?” she raised her eyebrow “Well, how did I do?” by the look on her face, you really couldn't tell what was she thinking of your deception.

“You did… well I suppose” you answer without really thinking about it.

“We're heading back to test the rest, I assume?” she started to lead the way back, with a nod you followed her in silence.

-

Second one that was put to a test was Eula. When you gave Itto the sign, his act was up once again the moment you saw Eula. This time his act was a little bit too convincing or Eula was too pissed to even stop and think… when she walked up to him she didn't hesitate to twist his arm “Can't you see that she isn't interested? Looks like someone has to teach you some manners-”

“Eula wait!” you interrupt “It's all an act!” upon hearing that, she released poor Itto from her grip “Hmpf! Joking about a matter like that is unforgivable” she crossed her arms as she glared at the both of you.

“Sorry!” both you and Itto speak at the same time.

“Why are you apologizing?” Shinobu joins in the conversation after leaving her hiding place with Ayaka and Ninguangg “It was part of the plan”

“Hm? And who are you?” Eula turns to Shinobu “and what are you doing here?” she looks over at one of her rivals.

“I'll handle things from here, call over the next suitor” Shinobu said as she led Eula out back to the hiding place.

-

Now you only need to wait for Miko… who probably is suspicious of something by now. And Itto now knows that he can pretty much expect anything… so he only hopes Miko’s approach will NOT end like Eula’s. 

Upon hearing Itto’s comments she just smirked “Hello, darling” she ignored the big guy “My, my to think I'd catch you flirting, with a man no less” she clicked her tongue “And here I thought we were supposed to take each other seriously” you could feel how fake the hurt in her voice was, but even though you were aware of it… you recognized how it must look to her “Miko- wait…”

“Oh I'm not going anywhere, but we will talk about this later” she smirked “You still have to test Yelan, don't you? Where am I supposed to wait?”

Without talking much about it you showed her the way to the rest.

-

And last was Yelan. Itto didn't notice her as she stood behind him. She gave you a questioning look, almost as if she tried to ask without using the words “Is that guy bothering you” but she was pretty subtle about it compared to other women. But it was pretty obvious that you didn't want someone- a man no less, hitting on you. From the look on her face it was clear that she could tell that something was off about the situation but she finally spoke up “Can I help you with something, sir?” She placed her hand on his shoulder, remembering how his arm got twisted last time, he moved out of the way immediately.

“... Did one of us do something to that poor guy?” She held back a laugh “Either way, I hope you're okay” she was clearly talking to the both of you before she spotted the others and you joined the group.

-

After everything you start all going your way home, but you quickly go to stop Shinobu (, Ayaka and Itto) who moved in the opposite direction “Wait a moment!”

“Do you need something?” 

“I was wondering…” you trail off “would you mind if we… talked more often?”

For a second she didn't reply, her silence was making you nervous on top of the fact that you asked something like that near witnesses. But before your anxiety claimed you she finally responded “Sure, but avoid talking to me in school, alright?”

“huh, why?” The spectator- Itto asked the question for you.

“I just don't like attention. And with someone as popular as you people would start talking before we even know it. So either avoid me completely or only talk to me through text” she explained, she didn't seem thrilled with the aspect of being your friend but that just might be because you can't read her emotions too well due to her mask.

“Sure thing! You won't hear a word from me then” you quickly affirm her and go your way for your driver to pick you up before Thoma gets too worried about your absence.

After you were out of hearing radius Ayaka started a conversation “What do you think of her suitors?”

“I definitely don't want to get on their bad side again…” Itto looked at his hand, remembering Eula's strong grip.

“They seem normal enough… but what I think of them is irrelevant” Shinobu decided to not say anything more, however she didn't say everything that's on her mind.

“I see” Ayaka had a slightly suspicious tone. But she knows that's a conversation for later.

-

Next time you were in school you were still thinking about Shinobu… was she really someone who considered herself your friend? She helped you, sure but if not for Ayaka you don't think she'd give it much consideration if any. Yet you can't help but feel joyous about having another ally. You wanted to talk to her… but you must remember your promise and not be overly clingy. Not like you can even consider looking for her considering you couldn't see her around.

Your phone buzzed suddenly, you look down and see a text from Shinobu “Come to the cafeteria” is all it said. Weren't you supposed to avoid each other? Or better yet, isn't the cafeteria supposed to be closed right now? With those questions in mind you make your way over there and sure enough the doors were open.

“How did you-”

“I said I left something important so they gave me the keys. And that wasn't actually a lie. I didn't want to carry it around so…” she went to retrieve a backpack that was neatly hidden behind the curtains.

“What's inside?”

“A gift, it's a prototype- but… I think you could use something like that”

“A bunny?” You tilt your head as you look at something that looks like a little mascot.

“It's something my family company is developing- we call it Rabi. It might look like a toy but it has plenty of features. Give me your phone so I can install the app” as you waited for it, Shinobu began a bit more detailed explanation “Since you're so anxious about what are your suitors up to, Rabi will basically record whatever you're missing out on”

“Isn't this… kind of wrong? I may not trust them but that doesn't make it okay to invade their privacy”

“It's up to you how or if you'll use it. Besides, you can always just make it record the living room or something”

“Okay but how do I explain… this to everyone?”

“It's a toy from the looks of it. You really don't have to think too hard about this. Just say it's a robot animal and that'll be all they need to know”

“... Why are you even helping me?” You felt dumb for asking so many questions at once but you couldn't help but be curious.

“I do it because I know that otherwise Ayaka won't let me hear the end of it” despite her harsh words her tone didn't match it due to how soft it was. It was clear to you now that you can count on her as a friend. But the whole thing with Rabi… it still feels a bit wrong.

“Do you really think I should-” before you finish the sentence you got cut off.

“Whether you use it is up to you. You can use the functions or just turn it off and put it up in your room as decoration.” she paused “Besides, you're too nice to them. They're pretty much strangers to you so you don't owe them any bit of trust”

“Okay but… how do I use it?”

“It's very beginner friendly” after she saw that the app was done downloading she started to explain some of the basics functions, just in case.

-

Once you came back home with your new companion the suitors looked quite surprised. None of them asked questions though, their silence made you feel awkward so you just told them everything yourself “It's a robot pet okay? I got it as a gift so don't mess around with it!” You cross your arms after placing Rabi on the ground “It's programmed to take walks around the house so don't mind it” without letting them chime in you walked back to your room.

As you sat down on your bed you looked through Rabi’s eyes. The video quality could use some work but at least the sound was good.

“What do you think about our new roommate?” Miko teased “I'm glad it isn't an actual rabbit” she stretched on the couch.

“She really does find new ways to surprise us, doesn't she?” Yelan looked directly at the robot “What do you think? Hidden camera or something?” When she said that you could feel your heart beating faster, there's no way she'd figure it out so soon!

“I rather believe that she trusts us” Ningguang defended you… which made you slightly more guilty about the camera actually being there.

The women didn't speak much more about the new companion, you put your phone away and laid back down.

As you thought back on all recent events you could hear the robot walking just outside your room. Letting it inside you took time to examine it a bit more. It was just… so cute. You couldn't fight the urge to play with it for a moment. 

But your playtime was over as soon as you heard your doors opening, it was Thoma but you didn't feel any less embarrassed about being caught.

“That's an interesting gift…” his warm smile didn't make you feel any less dumb.

“I got it from Shinobu, she was helping me out the other day… and well, this gift is a form of help too”

“Hm? How so?” 

“Well… it records things… I just… can't help but still feel anxious!” Upon your confession, Thoma let out a soft chuckle.

“I'm glad you're looking out for yourself, but trust me- if they done or said something I think you should know- I'd tell you”

“I know, but you really can't be around the house all day. I know you wouldn't keep anything from me”

“Alright, enough about that- I'm more curious about Shinobu anyways. How did you get to know her?”

“Ayaka introduced us”

“I see… we're talking about Kuki Shinobu- right?”

You only nod but you can't help but feel a little suspicious of how his tone slightly shifted as he asked about your new friend.

“She sounds like a nice person, giving you such a thoughtful gift and all…” he trailed off, he didn't know her so of course he tried to bait you into telling him a bit more without him having to ask directly.

“That was very nice of her, although I can't really tell what she's really thinking… I'm glad to have made a new friend”

“Alright, that's all I wanted to ask. I'm sorry for barging in before. I'll leave you to whatever you were up to” he pats Rabi for a moment before leaving, returning your embarrassment from before.

-

As Thoma walked downstairs he started looking for more information about Shinobu. He picked up his phone and made a call.

“Hey there, it's me again… I just wanted to ask for a quick background check if that's okay with you?... Kuki Shinobu, and please make it quick if you can”

Unknown to Thoma, Eula heard every last word. As he turned around he put on his polite face “Is something wrong, Miss Lawrence?”

“The way you're acting, actually. You better stop that before she hates you” she warns him.

“Thanks for the advice but, I'm just doing what a good butler should”

“You sure sound convinced of it” she shot him a judgemental glare, but it didn't phase him in the slightest.

“Calm down now, I'm just looking out for her” as the tension started to rise another voice was heard from a distance “Eula, could you come here for a second?” Miko called for her.

“Go on now, surely you don't want to keep her waiting” Thoma said to Eula who didn't look like she was going to leave… but after a moment however she scoffs and leaves the hall, allowing Thoma to continue his research.

He just didn't want anything to happen to you…

-- TAGLIST

@audre-falrose @frozengenderfluid @watamehorns @bebeluvvv @fandangotales @yumi-genshin-writer

[sassyangelchild]

Once again thinking about posting some thoughts about the recent arc/chapter from Kagurabachi and it ended up being a wall of text so...

Samura and Uruha (Sword Bearer Assassination arc)

Spoiler for up to Kagurabachi ch58

"Those people died for me. I can't just throw away my life!"

But before that "I understand where you're coming from."

He's not shying away from the idea of them being part of the evil that should be rooted, he acknowledges that notion as valid, but he *can't* throw away his life when people who cared died protecting it. It goes against his own consciousness.

"I was ready to die at any time. For three years (...) I lost my will to live."

He's not afraid of death.

"We'll give our lives so you can escape. You'd better survive or we'll curse you."

Meeting Chihiro or Hakuri is not what made him fight for his life, it was the sense of duty. Uruha giving up would make the sacrifice worthless and he can't allow that.

Samura is fighting because people have died for them, believing them heroes when not knowing the whole truth, because whatever happened back then was so bad he believes they are the greater evil right now since they weren't even held accountable for it.

And then despite the overwhelming advantage an enchanted blade gives, Samura takes the regular sword to duel him.

"It's just our egos. All that remains is to battle to the death."

I feel like Samura acknowledges that while Uruha understands why he's doing this (they committed sins and didn't atone as they should have, even if Uruha doesn't agree with how he wants to handle it he seems to agree to some degree), he can't ask him to just not defend himself because Uruha is also bound by his duty to make all those sacrifices worth it.

It's not that Uruha himself is afraid of death, he's just stating he can't go along with that kind of plan because other people died to make sure he lives the same way Samura won't stop because other people died for them when it shouldn't have happened, when they weren't the heroes everyone believed.

They both understand even if they can't agree because it's the weight of others lives that motivates them.

Samura choosing to fight with a normal blade, giving Uruha a chance to fight fairly, really makes it feel like it's a clash of ideals and perspectives, the same way Sojo and Chihiro's fight was, the same way it's been for other fights between enchanted blade users since the war ended. They both have different takes from the people who sacrificed themselves for their sake.

Like he said "It's just our egos. All that remains is to battle to the death."

So that's what they do. Uruha isn't throwing his life, it's a battle.

If Uruha dies is going to be honoring the deaths of his comrades, fighting for his survival (even if the odds didn't look that good from the start since Samura was his master, is older and more experienced and is the one whose goal right now is to kill).

"Guess I'm going to hell too."

"Yes (I'm going to shoulder this alone). Nobody else has to endure this hell."

He's saying he will bear with the consequences and will make sure they pay for their mistakes, but since he's the winner Uruha doesn't need to concern himself with it any longer. Uruha doesn't need to feel regret because he followed through and fought to survive until the end, (maybe this is a stretch but) he doesn't need to keep enduring the burden of their past and the weight of all those lives.

When they met again they almost got no time to talk, the only personal stuff Samura got to say was right before the beginning of the fight:

"Uruha. You've been through a lot. Get some rest."

We've seen Samura cares for others, one could say that perhaps too much.

He cares and that's why he feels so responsible for every death.

I can't say I'm glad with what he did and I don't agree with how he is doing things, I'm not forgiving him for this because while I believe there is truth in what he says and they must have done something truly horrible back then betraying his former allies and friends is too much when what we've seen from Uruha is a good person with no intention to harm anyone in the future (young Uruha posing in that photo with Rokuhira destroys me, he looks so young) but after seeing that dialogue again I do believe from his pov at least he is letting him "rest" from the hell.

There is a lot of stuff I've probably not mentioned because it was already too long but yeah I don't believe someone like Samura is capable of doing this without feeling something which doesn't mean I have to like it but yeah. If there are mistakes or it seems a little nonsensical it's because I wrote this at 4am (the brainrot is strong)

[fridayth13]

—when they hate you (or do they?)

↳ mammon, leviathan, mephistopheles, thirteen, and raphael × gn!reader (separately)

↳ genre: fluff(?), enemies to lovers-type beat | wordcount: 1.7k | warnings: cursing, lower demon tries to eat you (mammon), kissing mention (thirteen), you get locked in a closet by solomon (raphael)

↳ notes: when i tell you i worked on this for months 🤡 hfdfjkgdgjfdgjdg

—mammon

between the demeaning remarks from mammon and the fact that you wouldn't take his shit from day one, one can probably guess there'd be a problem

but lucifer appointed him to escort you and show you how things are in the devildom, so it's not like mammon could just say no

but eventually your constant bickering seemed to create a fifth type of migraine for lucifer, so he let mammon off the hook and told you to choose another one of his brothers to escort you around rad

you, being you (and still feeling very petty about mammon's comment of you needing a babysitter. like he was one to talk) you did not listen

the freedom was thrilling, in your defense

after being constantly followed and berated by mammon everyday, being able to go around campus without anyone telling you where to go made you a bit excited

that is, until you found yourself cornered by a random lower demon looking for a snack

but before you could even consider making a run for it, the demon stiffened, their previous predatory sneer freezing into a grimace

they fell to the floor immediately after

and there stood mammon, glaring down at them, his fist positioned upwards like he was ready to land another punch

his glare rose to you

"if you're gonna run around rad all willy-nilly without an escort, at least know when you're bein' followed. idiot."

you merely blinked at him, still reeling in surprise

mammon tore his gaze away. if it were anyone else, you'd almost say he looked flustered

"oh come on, don't go lookin' at me like that! what, did ya really think i'd let some lowlife snack on ya? lucifer'd murder me on the spot!"

you didn't even notice you dropped your bag until mammon picked it up off the floor, carrying it on one shoulder. he gave you a rougher-than-intended nudge on the shoulder

he still wouldn't meet your eyes

"come on, human, let's get ya to class"

—leviathan

it all began.. with the tsl trivia quiz. and then it went downhill from there

though leviathan honored his word and gave you a pact and you began respecting his otaku expertise, on a personal level? yeah no

maybe he was still butthurt about the quiz..? you didn't want to assume the worst about him. you barely knew the guy after all

but also he tried to kill you over his hyperfixation. maybe you had the right to assume whatever you want

and honestly, you were bound to get tired of it at some point

"you're just a random normie anyway lol"

"what, you think i'll just let some normie into my room?"

"ugh, i can't believe a normie beat me at a gamee."

forget tired, honestly, you were getting sick of it

you decided you've reached your limit on a random thursday morning

"hey, normie, pass the salt, would you?"

you ought to throw it at his head at this point

your teeth ground together in irritation

you didn't even notice that you'd crossed the room and moved around the entire dining table until you had the demon's collar by the fist

"i have had it with you!"

"wH- eh?" leviathan could only sputter as your grip tightened on his shirt. "what is your problem?"

"what's my problem? what's your problem?"

you didn't catch the hitch in his breath, the growing red of his cheeks, too blinded by annoyance to look anywhere but the narrowed pupils of his eyes

"would it kill you to have some manners, goddammit? i haven't done a single thing but breathe near you and all i hear is normie this, normie that, do you even know my fucking name?"

levi gulped nervously, but he surprised you nonetheless

"..m....mc.. your name is mc." he mumbled.

you were silent for a moment. but even after all the shit, you decided it would have to do for now. this wasn't worth being late to class over

"i'm not done with you.. demon."

you let go (he heaves a sigh of relief below you) and pick up your bag and leave. simple

all the while, levi watched you leave with his heart hammering in his chest

—mephistopheles

let's be honest, it's not very hard to make an enemy out of mephistopheles

even if you weren't an angel, as a human, you managed to get on his nerves just fine

you'd think with his status and titles and riches that fighting with him on a near daily basis would have some serious kind of ripple effect against you

but you quickly learn that no, he was just the most dramatic bitch in the universe

we been knew

but this only served to annoy you more, really. it was clear that he didn't even take you seriously enough to fight you properly

instead, he resorted to being petty and snarky and obnoxious about literally everything and you wanted to break his stupid nose with his stupid cane

depending on who you are, you would be delighted or very irritated to know that you get on his nerves just as badly!! :D

he knew the demon brothers were a bunch of oafs from the start, but honestly, the way they tumbled over each other to kneel at your feet was just a whole new level of pathetic

you were just some random human exchange student, after all. how great could you really be?

that was what he thought until one day, when his younger brother came barreling into the newspaper club room, completely unannounced, for his first surprise visit to his older brother's school

before mephistopheles could question him, he noticed you standing awkwardly in the doorway

"meph, did you meet mc?" his brother's bright grin seemed like a slice out of the sun as his eyes darted between you and your so-called enemy

obliviously, the kid continued rambling on. "your school is really really big, and i got lost after dad dropped me, but mc found me and brought me to you!"

huh

mephistopheles raised his eyes to meet yours. he couldn't quite read the expression on your face. but he didnt push you further

"is that so?"

(as he soon learned, you were actually pretty great)

—thirteen

in thirteen's defense, you were not the target of the trap

obviously

(so clearly, it was solomon's fault right?? riiiight???)

but you didn't seem to think that way. and to her discredit, you did still get caught in it

upside down and dizzy, the rubber rope latched around your ankles and wrists bouncing with the slightest breeze, you swore you would get her back for this

and you did:

after setting you free, the day after, she reset the trap. all you needed to do was push

in your defense, being stuck upside down for hours, even if on a mere accident, was not fun in the slightest

you were even late for class :(

unfortunately for both of you, the reaper seemed to take this as an act of war

and so ensued your rivalry

unfortunately for everyone else, you were both incredibly stubborn, headstrong, and dramatic

so more often than not, other people ended up falling victim to either of your pranks

belphegor gets caught in a tickle machine intended for you, mephistopheles suffers a bucket of ink falling from the door onto his head, not to mention the time lucifer got hit face first with glitter glue

legend says you were both almost suspended

but that wasn't even taking into account how much everyone hated being there for your verbal fights

satan has had to leave so many rooms just to keep from getting irritated at your antics

it isn't until asmodeus intervened one day that some of the poor witnesses figured out how to make a little entertainment off of this predicament

"good heavens, would you two just KISS already?!"

and, well, in asmodeus's defense, it had just been a joke on his part; a way to get you both to shut up

but much to both of your discredit, neither of you were all that good at hiding your blushing

—raphael

it started with solomon, being the good, amazing, wonderful peacekeeper with no ulterior motives that he is, he hatched a plan to get you and the angel to make up

a plan that was totally not for his own entertainment whatsoever, no

he even got luke to help him out :D

and that was the story of how you and raphael got locked in a room together <3

"luke, please let us out. right now."

a muscle ticked in raphael's jaw as solomon laughed from the other side of the door

"sorry!" luke exclaimed. "we can't open it just yet! not until you talk and make up!"

"solomon....." you warned

"tsk tsk tsk. come on, mc, we're only trying to help you. both of you"

"define 'help'." raphael muttered

you snorted at his quip

"well, for one, the fact that spears rain from the heavens whenever you fight"

"that is none of your business!"

you couldn't help but laugh at his words, even as he glanced your way with incredulity. if anything, the bewildered look only made you laugh again

"guys, you know i could just summon one of the brothers to let us out right? why bother with all this?"

"i know you can, of course," replied solomon. "but. you know. we'd much rather you didn't"

"we just want you two to stop fighting.." luke said

your shoulders slumped at his voice. luke, at least, was being serious

you glanced sideways at raphael. he met your gaze, and the look on his face told you he was thinking the same thing

the angel sighed. "..okay"

"okay what?" luke asked

"we will try to get along."

"really?!"

raphael chuckled. "yes, really" the soft smile on his face faded as he saw your expression

"what."

"nothing, nothing, i just don't think i've seen you smile so nicely before" :)

"which would make sense, given that you're annoying"

"you-"

"haha," solomon chuckled. "they're getting along already"

"it doesn't sound like it.."

"guess it's our time to leave, luke"

"wait, wh- HEY. solomon, put me down!"

you and raphael exchanged glances

"who shall i call?"

"lucifer"

you shared a short, conspiratorial grin

"just what i was thinking"

dividers from @clutteredfun

[velvet-vox]

V and Doll; trauma, mental disorder, and low empathy.

(Warning: this post is slightly outdated and contains some incorrect medical terms that don't correspond to the modern classification of ASPD. You can still read it if you are curious, but don't take anything stated here as hard facts. They are not.)

Very recently on my notifications I received a reblog by @aroaceweirdos101 to a response I've made to a post talking about how Doll went through so much more pain than V, and it made me realise that the response in question was actually, like, really good.

I had genuinely forgotten and underestimated how good of an analysis of both V, Doll, mental health and societal stigma it really was.

Now, of course, I disagree with the sentiment that Doll suffered more than V and fully believe that out of the two V endured way more pain and trauma than Doll; yet, although the responses in the comments checked out with what I previously said, they felt... meaner?

Like, the answers went to the opposite extreme of the original comment and tried to downplay Doll's trauma in comparison to V's, almost implying that Doll was a b##ch (which she was) for snapping as hard as she did when V still managed to retain a sense of restraint; and I disagreed with that, so in response I wrote this:

*Look, I believe both Doll and V are interesting characters, and although I feel more sympathetic towards Doll, I definitely believe V went through so much more pain than Doll and had way more reasons to snap and be the way she is now, but I just really hate people who use that as an excuse to label Doll has the more evil of the two or "she was always just a psycho, she just needed an excuse to snap"; it's especially disheartening when people straight up interpret her as unreademable or pure evil, when V and N's body count is 10 times higher than Doll's.

Also, I'm sorry but I really can't stomach the possibility of Liam redeeming the genocidal war machine and not the broken orphan created by said psycho, it literally would be the fictional pinnacle of "since these are the protagonists, they can get away with as much as they want and are always in the right"; I'm fine with the way Doll died because it was done by Cyn and there wasn't any moral lesson to be gained from our protagonists about it, but if it was done by N, Uzi, or worst of all V again, it should have played out like "we have reasons to do the things we do, and you have yours, unfortunately we're on opposite sides and you are hurting us so we must kill you now".

The human (worker drone) mind is extremely fragile, and some people, due to a probably inherited and undiagnosed mental illness or a particular personality type, are more at risk of snapping then other people, yet instead of being understanding towards those who are born with more issues than others (especially women, look up Azula or Ashley Graves) we tend to isolate, demonize and then kill them because they were incapable of fitting into the larger societal standard of acceptable social behaviour, even when said society never did anything to help them meet its unreachable standards because it required too much work from society's side to give you the special attention you needed in order to make you work and fit in.

V was a quiet kid because she was shy, Doll was a quiet kid because she was introverted. Those are two very different types of people and one of them (Doll) was inherently more at risk of developing mental health issues than the other due to their personality type and how it's stigmatized.*

Here's also the original post made by an anonymous user on @md-confessions

Also, here's the link to another post still talking about V and Doll. I made two comments in response, but neither of them is particularly well thought out and since you can't correct them I left them as they were.

Now, back to the highlighted part:

I want to use this response as a springboard to talk about the main differences between Doll and V when it comes to their different handling of their decaying mental health and why it's unfair to say that one of them was worse than the other based on their actions and attitude towards the problem.

(Also, all of the Murder Drones characters are extremely complex, and the fact that the show doesn't have filler makes it harder to get a good grip on one's particular mindset, so if it seems like I'm talking more about Doll than I am about V, it is because V is the most complicated character in the cast and I'm not as confident to talk about her as I am with Doll; it took one entire year to finally understand Doll as well as I do now, so V is a touchy subject for me that's why I might not do her justice).

First of all, it has to be said: Doll is a sociopath, V isn't, despite appearing like one. And that's ok.

When I say that I feel more sympathy towards Doll than I do for V, this is what I mean: I don't sympathise with Doll heartlessness more than I do with V jackassery; rather I understand and relate with Doll's low empathy since I also have low empathy as well, and it is quite common for people like us to be misunderstood for uncaring individuals.

It's the same reason why I and many others tend to like villains and sympathise with them more than we do with the heroes (Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2 is the perfect example for this); it's quite common for villains to be written as individuals with low empathy, as an highly empathetic individual tends to be harder for the audience to buy as an antagonist, since you need to justify why someone this caring is committing all this heinous and terrible stuff, but if that person is already unemphatetic by nature, than it's just a matter of establishing their goals and motivations. These people also tend to be ostracized by their environment and go through a gruesome and violent death because it's socially acceptable to let these despicable individuals find comeuppance through death since they lack the traits that make a person traditionally good.

So, when people use the "So what? She's got dead parents. Many others do, including Uzi, who's also infected with the Absolute Solver, yet they have not become cannibalistic serial killers obsessed with revenge" as a slight against Doll it's not entirely fair because from what we've gathered in the show the other worker drones don't suffer from sadistic impulses and sociopathy like Doll does, even if they (Rebecca) are pretty uncaring. (Side note, Uzi also suffers from sadism/sadistic impulses, but not from sociopathy, hence the main difference between the two).

V, on the other hand, despite what her introduction and psycho girl persona might trick you into believing, was never a sociopath nor did she struggle with low empathy, she was, instead, a pretty timid maid who suffered through unspeakable physical and psychological trauma that led her to adopt this fake identity to cope for the atrocities that she was now committing for the company (Absolute Solver) and the safety of N; V cared about N in a pretty normal person kind of way: she kept N at arms length and hid the truth from him so that he wouldn't get hurt, all while detaching herself from the actions she was now committing, not saying Doll wouldn't or didn't commit any of these actions, but V did them in a way that better aligns with someone who doesn't suffer from sociopathic disorder.

Speaking of N, since he has been mentioned, I'll say that while Uzi suffers from sadism but not low empathy (she has shown to be pretty empathetic many times), N doesn't suffer from sadism but from low empathy; as better explained by a section of this post made by @melissa-titanium :

N x Doll

Don't believe me? Then maybe you should rewatch the series again because N's unemphateticness is his own can of worms to delve into.

But back to Doll, it's time to dissolve (😏) one of the oldest misconceptions surrounding her character:

Doll reached out for help. A lot. She just didn't have any luck with it.

Call me crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that the fandom wide spread belief that Doll rejected all the help that was handed to her to be a massive lie, and in fact, Doll actually tried to reach out way more than you thought, arguably, even more than Uzi:

The impact that Yeva's education has had on Doll's life can only be noticed in this way: Yeva extended her hand to Nori and she accepted it, thus, it is fair to assume that Yeva taught Doll to be pretty open to others and to give a hand to someone in need (the show was rewritten after the pilot, so ignore the incongruences with Doll's initial characterization), and in fact, after enduring the trauma of watching her parents die, she opened up to Lizzie for help and support, unfortunately, Lizzie wasn't exactly the right person to talk about these things (no offence to her, all of Uzi's classmates suck for one reason or another, including Uzi herself, I guess that's what happens when you are stuck inside a bunker your whole life), after all, Doll was still killing and cannibalising her classmates.

Then, before she went back to gain her revenge, she tried to get Uzi on her side, which wasn't an attempt to open up, but she was still willing to connect, even if for the wrong reasons. Finally, once she discovers that Uzi also has the Absolute Solver, she promises to help her out, and at this point, Doll wishes to talk it out with Uzi, but because she is surrounded by the Disassembly Drones (V), she can't.

And now, for the most interesting discussion, there's this brief and frankly weird moment in episode 5 where Doll compliments Khan for raising Uzi, and while Khan laughs it off immediately, since he is a dumbass, this could have been a perfect opportunity for him to reach out to Doll and reason with her, since she's clearly putting aside whatever her objective actually is to talk to him, but he doesn't catch on, and this leads Doll to immediately closing herself off again and returning to the mission, and like, maybe we all kind of underestimated how much significance this moment carried, but consider this:

Doll, at this point in time, has been living out in the cold for what... a month? Six months? A YEAR? If we exclude J and Cyn from the equation, this is probably the only social interaction she ever had since The Promening, yet, because of Khan's lack of touch, she immediately reminds herself of the massive disconnection between her and the other workers (eh ehm sociopath) and thus storms off rapidly; this moment is actually quite painful when you look at it from this perspective, yet it's also, the only interpretation that makes sense? Otherwise how do you explain the existence of this moment when Murder Drones is a show infamous for his high plotting and lack of filler? They had to go out of their way to animate this, so why did they play it off in this way?

Tessa is a meanie

Penultimately, and again, I want to bring up a post by @capnsaltsquid since that's where I got the inspiration to write this paragraph off, Doll opened up to J and Tessa to get the answers she was seeking, yet not only Tessa shot her in the face for s###s and giggles, but then proceeded to fraternise with her parents murderers, and at this point, she closes herself off enough to realise that she might have to unintentionally kill Uzi and leave everyone in the dust if she wants to get anything at all.

But unfortunately, that is not the case, she dies of a lonely, meaningless, gruesome death, and at this point, she still tries and finally succeeds in reaching out to Uzi, and yet, like all of her previous tries, this is unsuccessful, as Uzi has other things in mind right now.

To wrap things up nicely, both V and Doll went through severe amounts of trauma and handled said trauma in a similar yet also different way, since they are different individuals who process emotions and love differently, thus the actions they took made sense for the person they were and should only be judged in the context of their writing and characterization.

Want more?

[hollowed-theory-hall]

you know, i’ve never really understood or given any thought as to why ootp had always been my favourite book of the franchise even as i was entering adulthood. but now, i can admit that harry’s inner turmoil and anxiety and staggering sense of hopelessness spoke to me in a way no other book had.

as a kid, i kept wondering why, just why i can understand so perfectly, why every stretch of page used for character analysis made so much sense to me, kept me focused and hungry to know more about how he dealt with everything.

but now i can clearly see that ootp is, in my opinion obviously, the most emotionally charged of the books for harry. it’s raw, it’s painful and it’s really fucking overlooked — his psychological and physical trauma, the loneliness, the anger.

which brings me to my two slightly related questions. how do you think the rest of the series would’ve played out from this moment of the timeline forward if:

sirius wouldn’t have died in the ministry raid, nor afterwards;

harry would’ve somehow found out about dumbledore’s schemes, gotten the whole picture of the man himself and just how much he has influenced his life.

OotP is indeed incredibly emotionally charged, and I love it. Just started reading it again cause I felt like it. Harry's anger in this book is *chef's kiss* I love Harry's anger with a passion and OotP is feeding me so well.

Now, for your questions:

1. If Sirius didn't die

Well, I think this potentially changes either everything or very little depends how you choose to write it. I think I wrote about this already a bit about it but I can't seem to find the post now...

Anyway, it really depends. Like, you could make it change basically nothing:

Like, the summers left for Harry might be a bit better if Sirius has cause to argue for Harry to come to live with him, if not, then Harry still stays less time at the Dursleys overall. Slughorn would still teach and so would Snape in sixth year, but Sirius would be free to help the Order more since he was exonerated by the ministry between books 5 and 6.

6th year would go down more or less the same except Sirius would tend to take Harry's suspicions about Malfoy and Snape more seriously. Whether that causes one of them to do something rash depends on the writer.

Dumbledore would still die at the end of the year though (because he's still picking up the ring) and book 7 would start more or less at the same point. Except Sirius would now be with the trio throughout the Horcrux hunt. So, there potentially won't be camping in the woods bit! Yay!

But, like, it doesn't change much. Especially because Harry didn't tell Ron and Hermione he was going to walk to his death so they wouldn't stop him, he isn't going to tell Sirius either. They might track down the Horcruxes quicker or slower, again, depending on the writer.

You can also choose to change everything and have Sirius as the DADA teacher in 6th year and have Dumbledore drag Harry to get the memory from Slughorn another way. Like, with most what-if scenarios, it's kinda up to the writer's interpretation.

2. Harry figures out everything

I don't think this changes much. I mean, in book 7 Harry has this very realisation. Hermione keeps insisting Dumbledore did care about him, but Harry doesn't really believe it. Harry never fully trusted Dumbledore and was never Dumbledore's man and in book 7 he does lose his faith in Dumbledore:

Dumbledore’s betrayal was almost nothing. Of course there had been a bigger plan; Harry had simply been too foolish to see it, he realized that now. He had never questioned that his own assumption: that Dumbledore wanted him alive. Now h saw that his life span had always been determined by how long it took to eliminate all the Horcruxes. Dumbledore had passed the job of destroying them to him, and obediently he had continued to chip away at the bonds tying not only Voldemort, but himself, to life! How neat, how elegant, not to waste any more lives, but to give the dangerous task to the boy who had already been marked for slaughter, and whose death would not me a calamity, but another blow against Voldemort. And Dumbledore had known that Harry would not duck out, that he would keep going to the end, even though it was his end, because he had taken trouble to get to know him, hadn’t he? Dumbledore knew, as Voldemort knew, that Harry would not let anyone else die for him now that he had discovered it was in his power to stop it. The images of Fred, Lupin, and Tonks lying dead in the Great Hall forced their way back into his mind’s eye, and for a moment he could hardly breathe: Death was impatient. . . .

(DH)

And Harry never would've ducked out becouse that's who he is. Depending on when he found out and under what circumstances, he might be angry, betrayed, sure. He might shout at Dumbledore like after Sirius' death in OotP, he might get depressed, he might lash out at everyone, but when the moment comes, Harry would always choose to walk to his death if he feels that is the only chance to defeat Voldemort.

Sirius, Ron, and Hermione would be the ones to argue against this more than Harry would. They would be the ones screaming at Dumbledore while Harry traps himself in his own mind, processing his own imminent demise. Just like the trio reacted in first year when Harry told Ron and Hermione Dumbledore planned for him to face Quirrelmort:

“D’you think he meant you to do it?” said Ron. “Sending you your father’s cloak and everything?” “Well, ” Hermione exploded, “if he did — I mean to say that’s terrible — you could have been killed.” “No, it isn’t,” said Harry thoughtfully. “He’s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don’t think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It’s almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could….” “Yeah, Dumbledore’s off his rocker, all right,” said Ron proudly.

(PS)

Harry accepts it as something that needed to be done. That he was the person meant to face Voldemort because Voldemort is his responsibility. His burden to bear. Harry doesn't really care for his own life as much as he cares for others' lives. It's Ron and Hermione who are horrified and call Dumbledore insane on Harry's behalf. With the bigger plan leading to Harry's, it would be the same. Harry would accept it as what needs to happen and Ron and Hermione (and Sirius if he's there) are going to be the ones trying desperately to find another way.

Harry is going to be betrayed or angry, yes, but he would go along with the plan if he thinks it's what's best for everyone because it's who Harry is.