#I was so emotionally attached to that ram

[thymeandmint]

so after about a month of stability in the main tank ive decided to try and introduce GBRs again. I've opted to get a slightly larger/older pair than previous, hoping that they will be a little hardier. Both of them have arrived and look supremely healthy which is really relieving, since the last pair i got one was very pale and sad and the other had a gill issue. They seem super lively and are already curious about everything in the tank, I'm just hoping they dont pick on my little ember tetras. I've already decided if they do bother my tetras too much, I'll move them to my 30L temporarily and i'll rehome them.

I've also decided to add back some kuhli loaches, as the ones atm are a little shy, so im hoping bringing the numbers back up will help them be more confident!

[zeltqz]

selfish, selfish lover | haitani ran

syn. being in a no strings attached relationship with ran is hard, especially when he's so emotionally unavailable for your tastes.

notes. originally this was going to be for shuji because....duh, but then i had a dream of this exact scenario with ran instead. so ofc ima so a 180 and write toxic ran. love that shit saurr muchhh

“This is the tenth time your horny ass called me over this week.” You dropped your bag onto Ran’s nightstand, ignoring the way it landed toppled over, some items rolling onto the floor.

You moved to sit on his bed and Ran looked at you from his desk. He closed his laptop and turned on the chair to face you. You watched his eyes linger on your outfit, a slow smirk curling onto his lips. “I didn’t ask you to dress up for me tonight.”

“It’s not for you. I was out and you called me.”

“You still look nice tonight.”

“Tonight?” you asked, crossing your arms together. “What do you mean tonight? What about yesterday? Or the eight other times this week alone you called me to fuck?” you complained as Ran stood up from his seat and made his way towards you.

He stopped in front of you on the bed as you glared up at him, face in a deep scowl. “You good? Why so upset?” he asked as he cupped your face with one hand, long fingers digging into your cheeks as he tilted your face to look up at him.

“I’m not upset,” you said, tone clearly upset.

He didn’t have the time, nor energy to debunk why you were acting up right now. “Yeah, whatever.” He shrugged his shirt off and for a moment you felt your frustrations disappear. 

He gently pushed you flat on your back on the bed and climbed on top of you, arms caging you in against him and the mattress. He leaned down and marked your neck with kisses. You sighed softly and tilted your head back, moving your fingers to his hair. The feeling of his lips against your skin was long missed and he barely gave you time to marvel in the sensation before quickly moving down. 

He hooked a finger past the hem of your dress, so tight it was clinging to your skin, and slid it up and over your hips. He grabbed at the flesh of your ass and thighs as he kissed down your stomach, fingers deftly caressing and massaging your thighs. 

He shedded your clothes off with ease, undoing your bra in record time and flipped you over onto your stomach, pulling your hips up so your ass was in the air. You arched further,  pressing your ass back against his hips to feel his hard cock pressing against your ass through his boxers.

“Love your body so much. Fuck,” he groaned, the low raspy sound making a moan escape from you. He gripped the flesh of your ass with two big hands, spanking once to elicit a long moan from you into the sheets as you gripped them tight. 

He slowly inserted a finger, then two, gently fucking them into you. Your hips stuttered and you struggled to keep the lower half of your body up in the air. He scissored his fingers, curling them at the right angles to make you scream, clutching at the sheets in desperation. His fingers were drenched in your slick when he pulled them out, using that to lube up his cock. 

“Get the condom in there.” He gestured towards the bedside table. You reached over with shaky fingers and slapped around until you found one, reaching behind you to hand it to him. 

He opened it and rolled it down the length of his cock, his boxers pulled to his knees as he lined his cock to your entrance. “You ready?”

“Yeah, just hurry up.”

He slowly inserted himself, a low groan escaping him as he tilted his head back, biting his lip to stop himself from moaning as his cock sank into your warm heat. His hands rested against the sides of your ass, holding you in place.

“Shit,” he grunted, snapping his hips to shove his cock deeper in you. You screamed and clutched at the sheets almost painfully, your knuckles turning a different colour. He pulled you back to meet each of his thrusts, ramming his cock into you with enough force to knock you off balance. You collapsed onto your chest, your hips still in the air as he continued his ravenous thrusts. 

He leaned forward until his arms were on either side of your head, the new position forcing his cock to hit at a deeper angle. He grinded his hips down into yours. 

“Fuck you feel so fucking good,” he murmured, bending down to whisper in your ear. “Best pussy I ever had.” 

You couldn’t verbally respond, unable to even come up with any words as you moaned continuously. Your thighs ached from the position, your back now starting to suffer. Whenever it came to fucking Ran, he always chose the positions hard on your body whether he meant to or not. Your favourite was always to be facing him, wanting to have as much contact with him as possible, touching him, kissing him, running your hands greedily along his chest and back muscles. 

“I’m gonna, fuck.” He slammed his hips against yours one more time and groaned as he came into the condom. He waited a few seconds to catch his breath before slipping out of you. You felt empty when you heard him slip off the bed, tugging his boxers back up. He headed back to his desk to grab his phone.

“Ran,” you said sternly, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Hm?” He didn’t look up from his screen to even acknowledge you.

“I didn’t finish.”

“Finish what?” 

“Didn’t finish my exam. What the fuck do you think, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, still not looking at you. You heard the text message swoosh sound effect as he texted someone back, and your chest ached at the thought of it being another girl. Though you two never made things official, you still weren’t seeing any other guys, and assumed he wasn’t seeing anyone else either. After all, if he was, why would he call you almost 8 times a week just to hook up with you.

“Oh my god.” You genuinely wanted to punch him. “I didn’t cum. I can’t believe you’re making me spell this out to you right now.” You know you sound so whiny right now, but the fact he’s not even paying attention to you has you feeling beyond frustrated.

He looked up from his phone at you as it finally registered. “You didn’t?” You shook your head. He finally turned off his phone, tossing it on the edge of the bed, landing beside you. “Oh shit, baby. ‘M so sorry. Lemme make it up to you.”

The cloudy fog in your mind had finally lifted, all bright sunny skies now. “Really?” you asked a little too hopefully, watching his every move as he rounded the bed again, sitting down next to you. 

“Yeah come on.” He pulled your knee over his lap to straddle him and kissed you soundly. You kissed him back just as eagerly, desperate for some kind of attention and affection, lacing your fingers in his hair.

He reached inside his boxers and pulled his cock out. “Wait, make me hard first.” 

You agreed and slid off his lap, onto your knees on the floor. His hands curled into fists on the sheets as he watched you lap at his cock. You sucked the tip into your mouth, flicking your tongue up and down the length of his cock. You finally took him fully in your mouth, bobbing your head as you attempted to take him deeper in your mouth.

“Fuckkkkk,” he groaned, throwing his head back, moving his hand to your hair to help you take it deeper. Your nose pressed into his pelvis and you gagged as he held you there for a few seconds before pulling you off. His cock was coated in your saliva and your breathing ragged as you panted, trying to catch your breath.

“Come here.” He moved both hands behind his back as you clambered back on top of him, fitting him back up to your entrance. “Fuck yourself on me till you cum,” he ordered, saying the words against your lips. 

You nodded and slowly sank down on his cock, moaning softly into his mouth when his cock curved at the right spot. With each roll of your hips his hands grip onto your hips, crescent shaped fingernails digging into your skin as he fights the urge to control your movements, but he stops himself, reminding himself that this was for you not him.

As you bounced on him, he wanted to reach out and touch your tits, grab and squeeze them, lick them as they bounced in his face but he kept his hands to himself. You wished he could do more to help you finish, just even touching you or whispering dirty things into your ears would do wonders, but you didn’t want to ruin the moment by begging so you kept it to yourself. 

You wished he could touch you too. Wanting him to play with your clit, use those fingers of his to good use, but he’s just keeping his hands to himself. It’s so incredibly frustrating, especially with this position. You want to kiss him, wrap your arms around his shoulders, mark him with your lips, but you feared you weren’t on that level. It wasn’t so bad, you thought as you neared your orgasm. You felt your thighs beginning to ache, the familiar warmth inside your abdomen coming to light.

“Oh fuck, I’m close,” you whisper, closing your eyes to focus on the feeling. You grinded against his hips, chasing that feeling and trying to make his cock hit that spot inside you. 

His phone pinged and you ignored it, continuing your movements. He, on the other hand, grabbed it. You felt yourself getting closer, opening your eyes to see him back on his phone, smiling down at his screen. The all too familiar heat dimmed out as you realised his attention was no longer on you, and back on that stupid phone.

Your hips and movement slowed to a steady grind, the passion from earlier now gone. You just want to go home.

“Oh I’m cumming,” you lied straight through your teeth, a hollow feeling adding to the iciness already in your chest when he doesn’t even respond. Seriously, why the fuck were you here? 

You slipped off him and began to search for your clothes.

“Oh, you’re done?” He locked his phone and set it down beside him. “That was quick.”

“Yeah whatever.” You re adjusted your dress in the mirror and grabbed your bag from his nightstand. “I’m going now.”

“Alright bye.”

When you entered your car, you fought from breaking down where you sat. You were unsure why that was so humiliating. It was when you realised that the reason his subtle neglect hurt more this time was because you actually liked him, and subconsciously wanted him to like you back. The two of you never used to do aftercare, so you were unsure why you expected it now. You both barely spoke during it, or barely kissed and actually made love like you wanted to. It wasn’t worth it anymore though. His priorities were clearly set elsewhere and so were yours. 

That night you vowed to yourself to ignore the next time he texts. It's been a week since that incident and he finally texted you this afternoon.

ran: yo? U busy tonight?

You: yes. Leave me alone

ran: okay cool. When are you free? I miss you 

You: I don’t. sorry I can’t do this anymore. Whatever you call this shit. I want to stop

ran: why?

You: because its not worth it anymore. I want to focus on my studies and getting into med school. I skipped so many classes whenever you would text me and i just wanna focus on myself. 

ran: i never forced you to come. That was your choice

You: i know. I never blamed you did i? plus the way you treated me last time just made me feel horrible and i dont think i want to continue anymore

ran: where is this even coming from?did you not finish last time?

You: I didn’t. maybe you would’ve noticed if you actually gave a fuck about the person in front of you and paid attention. just forget. I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. Just move on. Ur hot you can find another fuck buddy in no time 

You: oh and don’t text me again. Thanks

ran: tf? you can’t just say all this and leave

You: watch me

2 missed calls

ran: so ur really just gonna ignore me instead of having an actual conversation about what’s bothering you? And you said my communication was shit

ran: man, whatever 

You blocked him that night. It hurt for a few days and you would go back and reread the conversation, wondering if you really handled it that well. You knew you had to be harsh because if you didn’t he’d use his sweet words to try to coax you back in. And the last thing you wanted was to repeat the cycle.

The next few months fly by without any contact with Ran. Despite having some mutual friends, like your neighbour Kakucho, he always gave you a heads up when Ran was coming to a party, or hangout so you could stray away that day. You caught up on all your missing work, retook some exams and overall found your mental health improving. You got sent a letter from your dream med school telling you you’d been accepted and you were overcome with joy. All your hard work paid off, all the late night study sessions in the library, staying up till 6am revising. 

Kakucho simply lived down the road from you and you all but skipped on your way to his house, pounding on his door and smiling from ear to ear when you heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. 

He opened the door, eyes wide when he looked at you. 

“I got in!” You held up your acceptance letter up to his face to see, bouncing on the balls of your feet. 

“What?”

“I got in! LOOK !” You shoved the letter more in his face and he had to pull back a bit to read it. 

His eyebrows rose as he processed the information, a small smile on his face. “Oh shit. Congratulations. But I think you shou—”

“Can you believe it?! My work finally paid off. Holy shit, I’m going to uni,” you said as you shook his shoulders relentlessly. “Do you understand what this means to me?”

“I have a brief idea, but—”

“I could use some alcohol right now. You got some?”

You pushed past Kakucho who was doing his best to guard the door to prevent you from entering. He sighed, unable to get a single word out and followed you to the kitchen as you slapped around his cupboards for some liquor.

“(Name) I seriously don’t think you should be here right now.” As if to prove his point he heard footsteps coming down his stairs. “Ran—”

“Yeah Whatever.” You clicked your tongue and waved him off flippantly. “Ran has nothing to do with this, or my success. I did this by myself. This,” you held the now wrinkled piece of paper back in his face, “won’t hurt my feelings, make me feel like shit, and tell me everything I want to hear so it could fuck me one last time. This shit is real. I’m going to fucking med school Kaku!” You cheered again. 

Someone started clapping in the hallway, a slow pace that sounded nearly sarcastic and your excitement came to a halt, leaving your body and melting as you met eyes with the man in question. 

Kakucho sighed and stepped out of the doorway to allow Ran entry into the kitchen. He had the decency to keep some sort of distance from you, but the way he was biting his lip to stop from smiling at the sheer shocked look on your face was just as aggravating. 

“Oh, you got in? Congratulations.”

You frowned, looking at Kakucho who didn’t want to meet your eyes. It clicked to you that this whole time he was trying to warn you that he was here, but you stubbornly ignored all his attempts. Even though you knew of this, you still couldn’t help but feel bitter at both of them for the lack of insight.

You crossed your arms, fixing the tall man with the hardest glare you could muster. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Didn’t realise this was your house?” he questioned. You felt his eyes on you heavily, thoroughly examining you before breaking out into a chuckle. 

“What the hell is so funny?”

He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nothing. Just think it’s funny you got in despite how much you skipped.”

“And who’s fault was that?” 

“I didn’t force you to come.”

Your eyes narrowed and you felt your temper rising before Kakucho stepped in, placing a hand on your shoulder. 

“Alright you two that’s enough. I seriously don’t want any drama right now, so can you both take this outside and fix it, or let it go?”

You glared at Ran for a few more seconds before whipping your head to glare at Kakucho. “Let it go? What do you think I’ve been doing for the last god knows how many months!”

“Oh yeah about that. When are you gonna unblock me?” Normally you’d find his smiles charming, but now they’re only used as a weapon to aggravate you even more. “I’m still hurt about that.”

“Oh please.” You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to stop yourself from going insane. You couldn’t even look at his face. 

You turned to look at Kakucho, seeing the apprehensive look on his face and calming down a little. “I’ll see you… later.”

He nodded and pulled you in for a hug, patting your back. “Congratulations, seriously. I’ll take you out to celebrate later this week.”

You pulled away and smiled tensely at him. You turned to walk away, feeling Ran’s eyes linger on your body as you walked past him. You made it down the front steps, gaze fixed to the ground as you all but stomped your way out. 

“I’ll be inside in a sec,” Ran said before closing the front door, catching up to you in no time. He grabbed your arm and you flinched, pushing him off you. 

“Don’t touch me.”

“Calm down. Just wanted to say congratulations.” You stayed silent, hoping your glare was harsh enough to turn him to stone. “Silent treatment, huh? How mature.”

“Oh fuck off. What do you know about maturity,” you spat back before you could stop yourself. Mentally you were screaming at yourself to just book it home, stop giving this man any of your attention. But he had gotten the last word too many times and your pride didn’t allow you to step down. 

“Aw come on. You still can’t possibly be mad at me.” You fixed him a look that screamed are you serious?  “You may think everything I told you was bullshit, but it wasn’t. I really did miss you, you know?” He lifted his hand to cup your cheek but you slapped it away.

“You know those words mean less and less if you say it to every single girl you ever fucked.”

He wrinkled his nose, crossing his arms over his chest. “Fucking sounds so crude.”

“Well you can’t call what we did passionate love making,” you said, voice dripping in sarcasm. 

It either went straight over his head, or he played into it because he shrugged and asked, “why not?”

“Why n—” Oh whatever did you see in this man? He was so infuriating. “Because it wasn’t!” 

He took a step closer, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Why not though,” he asked slowly, leaning in closer to your face. He still had that smirk slowly curling on his lips, and you wanted to slap it off and kiss him at the same time.

“B-because there was no after care. We barely spoke outside of it, and it just feels like I don’t even know you anymore. We used to be close before this too.” You were in shock with how honestly you answered, your vulnerability and insecurities surrounding the matter coming to light. You hated how quickly he made you switch up, your mind and body at war with themselves as you strugged with what to do.

Ran let the silence stretch out as he stared at you, your glare growing even deeper. He slowly stood back up, nodding. “Gotcha. So next time, before we fuck, I should talk to you for hours before and after to make you feel special. Got it.”

“Ran, you know that’s not what I meant.” You sighed, pinching your nose bridge. Seriously, what was the point convincing this twenty year old man of basic human empathy? “You know what, forget it. I forgot you’re too far gone to the point you struggle to have conversations with girls without trying to get in their pants.”

“You don’t know that. I’m an excellent conversationalist.”

“I highly doubt that.”

He shook his head and chuckled, the sound grating your ears. You turned to walk away. He took a step closer to you and grabbed your arm. Your feet found themselves glued to the floor when he turned you back around to face him. He pulled you close enough your chest brushed against his. You could smell his cologne, the same one that was always so dizzying and made your head feel warm. He reached down and cupped your cheek, the size of his palm nearly engulfing the whole side of your face. His thumb ran down the curve of your cheek, past your mouth, to your chin and he sighed deeply. 

“You hosting a celebration party?”

You swallowed thickly when you noticed his eyes fixed your lips. “Not me, but my friends are—”

“You gonna invite me?” He flicked his eyes up at you, smirking.

Someone needed to slap you, or douse you in cold water to make you snap out of whatever trance he’s got you in. You know you should be mad at him, and your anger is completely justified, but the way his other hand lingered on your lower back, pulling you closer to him is making you rethink everything.

“Well?” He hummed, tilting your chin up to force you to look into his eyes. 

“I don’t know.” You finally unglued your tongue from the roof of your mouth to respond to him. 

“What’s the worst that can happen? I can’t spend your special day with you?” You looked past him to glance at the road, but he nudged your face back to face him. “Hm?”

“I said I don’t know," you said with a sigh, staring down at the gravel beneath you.

He nodded, backing away from you and you felt like you could finally breathe. “I’ll probably just show up anyway,” he said simply and you rolled your eyes. Of course he would. “So it’s best you might as well invite me so I can feel more involved. Makes it feel more legit, yanno?”

You let out an airy chuckle. “I’ll think about it.”

He smiled and you had to force yourself to keep a straight face, not wanting to show him that he was affecting you. Hell, he probably already knows. With how close he was there was no denying he didn’t hear how fast your heart was racing. After all these months of no contact, your feelings for him still haven’t left. That was the most disappointing thing.

Leaning down to your level, he planted a kiss on your cheek. He slowly trailed his lips over to your ear, whispering, “Don't forget to text me," before backing away from you. You stiffened at the feeling, his voice echoing inside your mind as you watched him with pure disbelief on your face as he walked backwards to the house before disappearing inside.

[dogma-kingslayer]

What is könig like as a leader?

I think he’s the type of man to be very career oriented, when he’s in uniform and on base, work is on his mind

As a leader I believe he’d keep his distance from anyone without some serious ranking (at least in the army, as a PMC soldier i think he’d only talk to a select few) because this man was a colonel, there’s like 5,000 people below him, perhaps also only speak to a few for work reasons. Conversation would be straight to the point and blunt, he’s certainly not a man who dances around his thoughts, he might stumble his words to find a better way to word it but that’s it.

I also believe he’d keep his distance to avoid getting attached to soldiers, colonels are someone who’s served for ~20 years, and they’ve certainly seen a ton of faces, and seen people die. I think he’d keep his distance to avoid someone’s death hurting him emotionally.

Sure, I think if he sees a recruit struggling he’d help, or if something happens he’d lend a helping hand, he’s an officer, not a monster. But I don’t think he’d do much else outside of that. Sort of appear, offer tips and then disappear again

I don’t think any skill is perfect in his eyes, and there’s always something that can be improved on, maybe he doesn’t even believe in ‘experts’ or ‘aces’ because there could always be something to be improved on. “Make that shot with less bullets” “shoot further and in less time” “you’re wasting ammo!” Sort of thing, he doesn’t believe in perfection and scrutinises every single thing in training with the mentality “in battle there is no second chance”

But he is also out there fighting in the front lines, and being a human battering ram so he’s at the front of the team. I don’t think he doesn’t care about his soldiers, he’d certainly avoid taking them into an area where it’d be too dangerous or too risky, he’d help get an injured comrade up and out of danger. I also believe he’d be seen comforting injured comrades outside of battle, then go to his office to write up plans and form new tactics to avoid less casualties.

In the PMC he’s no different, considering it’s smaller than his brigade of soldiers, he’d know their names and their small quirks that makes them what they are. He’d listen to what his soldiers have for plans and form an accurate and thought out plan before a mission, and with knowing his soldiers better he can put individuals in specific roles and positions where their expertise are on show. He’s certainly not any less harsh on them

Overall I believe he’s incredibly career oriented and perhaps a bit of a perfectionist for battle plans and tactics, he acts like he doesn’t care for the soldiers below him but does in his own unique way. He’s a good leader who knows the best tactics and doctrines for battle, maybe even someone who can be seen revising other countries tactics in battle to improve his own soldiers’ tactics. He wants the best for the soldiers below him but shows it in different ways

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

okay but were megumis emotions affected too

I don’t actually consider this a spoiler because it will never ever be answered in SGG directly (and it’s already been heavily implied in the text itself) but I’m answering under the cut anyway.

Yes, but not exactly in the way that Yuuta’s were.

Most people on the receiving end of reverse cursed technique aren’t effected emotionally, which is part of the reason why Shoko and Gojo genuinely didn’t know if reverse cursed technique did anything at all. And that’s because I figured the person experiencing the most direct effects would be the person generating it.

They’re the battery, right? They feel the full force of the flow. I figured the person on the receiving end only gets a small piece of that, so while they just feel a bit peppier, the person making the reverse cursed energy gets a way heavier hit. I think it was recently made canonical in the manga that reversed cursed technique is much less effective on the recipient than it would be when healing yourself, so I think canon confirms it.

Shoko could never generate reverse cursed energy on a level that anyone would have actually been impacted by, emotionally speaking.

Yuuta however is a fucking nuclear power plant of cursed energy and has been flooding Megumi with outrageously high levels of reverse cursed energy. Megumi absolutely felt the emotional effects, but they’re much less noticeable with him, because he’s so fucking unconscious most of the time.

But reversed cursed energy is personalized. It makes you feel whatever feels best to you. So he hasn’t been inundated with Yuuta’s same feelings of “you are not alone” that Yuuta gets when he uses it.

He feels safe.

Megumi’s a character who just has never really had a sense of security. His parents were highly unreliable and left him and his sister to fend for themselves. He probably experienced food, housing, financial, and safety insecurity. Then, he was abused, which would have shattered his own sense of personal safety and trust in the adults around him. He was raised to join a profession almost certain to kill him. The closest he probably had to a safety blanket over the years was Gojo, and the Zenin just ripped that away with their most recent stunt.

He’s in pain. He’s blind. He’s afraid and he’s vulnerable. He needed urgent medical aid for days that was denied to him until a few hours ago. He needs to rest and heal but he can’t because he’s terrified and blind and hurt.

I think Megumi just really, really wants to feel safe right now. And so that’s what reverse cursed technique made him feel.

He’s not super aware enough to process it, but he is as aware of it as he is of anything right now. And he’s rammed right into the same blockade as Yuuta: Yuuta’s brain, when inundated with feelings of not being alone while holding Megumi’s hand, made a tie between Megumi and that feeling. Megumi’s brain, when inundated with feelings of safety when Yuuta was holding his hand, made the same tie. And he hasn’t gotten the same speech from Shoko about what reverse cursed energy does. All he knows is that he only feels safe when Okkotsu-senpai is holding his hand.

However I also decided that you could not waterboard that fact out of him.

So there’s no way of confirming any of this in the fic past implying Megumi’s attached to Yuuta too—like with asking for him when he woke up, trying to keep hold of his hand, being concerned as to whether it hurts him to help him. Megumi will crush these emotions into a small, secret ball, and then one day he will die. He’ll never tell.

[dont-eat-the-algae]

Rereading my old WrathiKale Fic and everytime Kale brings up Alycia I roll my eyes

So much has changed since I wrote that. I was really trying to keep Kale straight with bisexual leanings but Kale was having none of that. By the end of the fic, he was actually Bi, and now that I'm rewriting it, the man is gay and closeted until the end. Alycia is his ex-wife. Originally, they loved each other very much. Now? Alycia helped Kale bring his people to Azeroth. The people needed a leader, and teh leader needed a queen/consort, and Alycia was willing, so he married her, thinking love would come later. Alycia was attracted to a mask Kale wore to stabilize his kingdom; one of confidence, bravado and masculinity. Thing is, while Kale has these things, it's more inwardly focused. Once the Kingdom was founded, he retreated to his library. Alycia realized she'd been "tricked" (She hadn't been, Kale was adamant about the realities of their station.) and bullied and emotionally abused him. Conceived a child during the most awkward sex Kale has literally ever had. (He's only ever had sex with Alycia and Wrathion) and that was all he did for her. Alycia took several lovers, and Kale was perfectly fine with it; he felt zero attachment to her or their sham of a marriage. She took every chance she could to belittle and mock him, going so far as to do it in front of other racial leaders! When Varian married Kayleigh, Kale and Alycia had been invited and he witnessed her berating him. Very sad shit. Kale finding Wrathion was lightning in a bottle. Realizing he was attracted to him opened so many delicious things, including his sexuality. Wrathion loved Kale long before Kale realized he loved him. He craved his attention and touch and did whatever Kale wanted to be close to him. I'm trying very hard to make the relationship borderline uncomfortable, even toxic at first, to really ram home how deep Wrathion's feelings are. He's submissive to NO ONE but Kale. It becomes far more even keeled once Kale realizes the depth of his feelings, the emotionally immature ass he is. There are certain realities I have to face, with Kale being raised by Nefarian. A lot of shit can't be learned from books. Relationships are one of them But yeah. They settle into the coziest, sweetest relationship you'll ever see. (I also used a lot of age defining terms. I think I forgot I'd aged Wrathion up, and rereading it is like. EW! Even with Wrathion being 23, they have a significant age gap. If Wrathion wasn't a dragon, Kale would never have gone for him, ever.)

[flaming-thing]

WELL I've caught up now. Almost. I have one reblog to reply to I think? But as far as the actual chapters go, im all caught up! (And I deleted the first reblog that didn't post at first, I saw it had popped up a few minutes after this one)

That's a pretty good philosophy for real life I think. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat animals

He figured out *something* was up. That dosent mean he knew what it was! He couldve just followed everyone else! Good point about canon though, he must've heard something to go and investigate it

That actually makes it even funnier. He's fighting someone around the same age as him, and bam. Very (very) large assassin just poofs out of nowhere

I was gonna ask if they know that Claudia's a dark mage already, but ezran and callum have literally already told them. Poor corvus though, this man has tried so hard to be intimidating and it just. Dosent work

Rayla would actually rather die than run away from a fight, I fear

Ah yes, he saw all the adults sprint in one direction and decided that the best course of action would be to follow them

Probably all threw to be honest. He is definitely that much of a goof, and is also definitely just being petty, but i wouldn't be surprised if he was just used to being the one to make comments like that (also probably didn't want to annoy the people pointing weapons at him)

Ram actually has a very good reason to be pissed

It is one of callums finest moments

Oh he should DEFINITELY apologise for that. I mean he won't, but he *should*

"This time" know what did claudia ever do to deserve this (many things I know)

He's just a very forgettable person! And I love corvus I think his character is great, he's just so easy to forget

Soren is a TERRIBLE liar

You'd have thought they'd have at least ONE conversation prior to getting to the nexus about what they're gonna say if people find them

And she somehow made it even less believable than they were before

Hmm I suppose I can give them that one them

I was actually quite happy not knowing that information. Why are people's 'threat' and 'flirt' voices the same?? What sort of evolutionary advantage could that possible provide?? Just why??

Ah yes. I'm sorry claudia I do think your design is amazing but. It's not really a competition

Callisto just bullies everyone. Actually you know what scratch that they ALL bully everyone. Affectionately, most of the time

This gives the impression that runaan and dadnaan are two different people sharing a body who occasionally flip whose controlling in based on the circumstances. (What with all the assassin stuff I actually wouldn't be suprised if this is close to the truth, but it's still quite funny)

He is Not Doing Good right now. At least they'll have the whole night to be cuddly and protective of each other

And he dosent even realise that he's a God therapist! Or he does, actually either one would be very in character. He either has absolutely no clue, or knows exactly how good he is

The elves are just glorified cats. You have convinced me

Girl is emotionally attached to those swords (I mean i dint blame her ethari made them)

He *knew* she was his daughter, but didn't want to admit it to himself because of tiadrin and lain

Different Path Taken Ch27 P2

Runaan's perspective takes over - his reaction to the fight, and to hearing Rayla's story about it afterwards.

They were about to settle the children for bed after a last meal when Callisto’s tone instantly caught Runaan’s attention, tense and alarmed. “Does anyone else hear that?”

Glancing at them and twitching his ears in the same direction as they all froze, Runaan’s blood ran cold as he recognized the sound of metal clashing against metal.  He quickly ran his eyes over who was present.  The other elves were all close by, with the exception of Ram and Lujanne, who were standing a little apart from them with Phoe-Phoe and Ava.

“Rayla,” Her name came out in a rush of breath as his heart clenched with the realization.  She was the only one missing.

He bolted for the noise with barely a further thought, trusting that Ezran and Callum would be safe near Lujanne in the heart of the Nexus.  A few of the moths that fluttered around the Nexus flew along his path, guiding him directly to the fight.  He heard the words of Dark Magic and Rayla’s cry of pain lit a rage in his heart that he ruthlessly caged for use when it wouldn’t get in his way.

There was space between them when he arrived, sensing the others around him.  He trusted them to take appropriate positions and dropped from the trees directly between Rayla and the swordsman who had drawn back to strike at her again, brandishing his own comparable swords to block him.  Around him more blades unfolded and flickered into existence.  Skor took up a position behind the human swordsman, a blade poking into his back.  Callisto flanked Runaan, far enough away to block any attempts by the swordsman to dodge in their direction.  Andromeda’s sickles both wrapped around the neck of the mage, forcing her to lean back awkwardly against the older woman.  Ram flanked them just as Callisto was doing, twirling throwing daggers between his fingers.  Corvus, surprisingly, had kept up and stood between the other two humans. 

Everything went still for a moment.  Both humans and Rayla were breathing heavily.  Runaan tilted his head and angled his ear back towards her, heart pounding erratically in his chest. “Are you all right, Rayla?”

“I’m fine,” She spat, and he could just imagine her flattened ears and the curl of her lip just from her tone. “I had it!”

“Sure, if it makes you feel better to say so,” The swordsman sneered from in front of him and Runaan narrowed his eyes, baring his fangs at the man.

“Stop!” Callum’s shout took them all by surprise. 

“Callum?” The mage asked in disbelief.

“Don’t fight each other,” Callum ordered, and Runaan noted the moths fluttering around him.  Something in the Nexus had approved of this - guided the boy to their sides.  He frowned deeply. “You’re not enemies.”

Every fiber of his being protested this, but the swordsman was actually lowering his blade at Callum’s urging, wasn’t even holding it up to block any attacks from Runaan. 

“Your friends tried t’ kill me!” Rayla protested. 

“They kidnapped you!”

“She threw mud in my face and some got in my mouth!”

Fascinating.  The mage was angry about their supposed kidnapping, but after being called off, the soldier’s priority wasn’t to contradict the prince, but to gripe about a petty grievance?

“Okay, okay,” Callum said, skidding in next to Runaan and putting his hands out in a calming gesture.  His back was to the elves, placing himself firmly on their side. “Knock it off a second.  Just let me explain.  First of all, Claudia and Soren, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’m really glad to see you.”

“Are you kiddin’?” Rayla squawked. “They attacked me!  How can ye be glad?”

“They bring dark magic to a sacred site,” Ram spat. “And violence to a place of grief and peace.”

“Bup bup bup bup bup!” Callum held up his fingers at them both to silence them. “Yeah, they’re two of my oldest friends, and I am glad to see them.” He turned back to the mage and soldier. “But not glad to see you trying to murder my new friend, Rayla, who happens to be-”

“She’s an elf!” The soldier half-shouted, but his sword remained low and he gestured only with his hands, going lower rather than looming over his young friend.

“But a good elf,” Callum contradicted, and Runaan’s back nearly straightened with offense. 

Rayla shot up beside him to speak her mind as he saw Skor’s expression twist unpleasantly behind the soldier’s shoulder. “What do ye mean ‘but a good elf’?” She demanded angrily.

Runaan was slightly grateful for her fury as it drew her into his eyeline, and he could glance her over and be sure almost right away she had no major cuts or lacerations.  He would check later for anything internal or beneath her armor.

“She kidnapped you and Prince Ezran, how can she be-” the mage started, and broke off abruptly when Andromeda’s sickles tightened on her neck.  They weren’t yet drawing blood but the threat was clear.

“There was no kidnapping,” Callum said firmly. “We went with her and the others by choice.  We knew about all of them when we left.”

“I can confirm that,” Corvus said seriously, lowering his own weapon and looking between the other humans.

The swordsman narrowed his mud-encrusted eyes at him. “And who are you exactly?”

Interesting that he didn’t know.

“I’m Corvus.  One of General Amaya’s personal trackers.” Corvus didn’t miss a beat in replying coolly. “She sent me to find and recover her nephews safely.  And who exactly sent you?”

The swordsman paused for a moment, looking from Corvus to the mage and back. “. . . Also . . . General Amaya,” he said slowly.

Corvus frowned. “Really?” he said just as slowly, brows angled skeptically. “Odd.  I would have thought she’d send one of her own.”

“Commander Gren is uh, indisposed.  So Lord Viren sent us in his stead.” The mage explained, and her fingers spread a little wider as Andromeda huffed from behind her. 

Alarm bells went off in Runaan’s mind after the other suspicions they’d had all seemed to link back to Lord Viren, but none of them seemed to have any effect on Prince Callum.  The boy shrugged it off with a roll of his shoulders and a shake of his head. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.  It’s . . . good to see some familiar faces.  The elves have been really helpful with a lot, but . . . knowing what happened to Dad . . . it’s just nice to see an older friend too.”

Both humans frowned. “You . . . already know what happened to the king?” The mage asked tentatively. 

“Yeah.  We were with the elves when the magic that was holding them to the task just broke, even though they weren’t anywhere near him.” Callum said, not seeming to notice the alarm in the teenagers’ faces as they exchanged glances. “Listen, it’s late.  Why don’t we all just go get some rest and cool off.  Everyone lower your weapons, and we’ll explain everything in the morning.”

Runaan waited until the swordsman sheathed his blade to fold his own again and sling the bow across his chest.  Skor’s lip curled but he reluctantly stepped back, holding his own sword neutral again.  Callisto leaned on their glaive rather than folding it up again, eyes narrow. 

“Mages first,” Andromeda’s voice was smooth and lyrical the way it got when she was teasing or threatening someone.  

“Age before beauty,” The mage sneered in reply.

Andromeda chuckled humorlessly. “Cute.  But I said it first, darling.”

“How would that work?” Ram asked idly. “Either way I think that works out in Andromeda’s favor.”

“Don’t be a bully, Ram,” Callisto taunted a bit with a smirk. “From what Ezran’s said, Claudia’s only sixteen, she has time t’ grow into herself.”

Claudia looked furious, but she lowered her hands and she smiled when Callum looked at her.  Only once she had relaxed did Andromeda unhook her sickles from around the young woman’s neck and let her stand up properly. 

Runaan turned immediately to Rayla with everyone disarmed, crouching beside her and running his eyes critically over her. “Rayla, come here.” He ordered, tugging her into reach the moment she let him touch her, tucking her in to examine her.

“I told ye, I’m fine, Runaan,” She protested verbally, but she let him pull her in, and she knelt in front of him to let him fuss. “I had that.”

Thankfully, the others began to move back towards the buildings for warm beds, leaving them alone, and Runaan made a mental note to thank them for the privacy later as he examined her hands.  They were bright pink under the mud that he brushed away, and she winced when he touched them, as if they were just barely burned. 

“What happened to your hands?” He asked, his tone more neutral than he felt.

Rayla took a moment to respond and when she did it was reluctantly. “The mage, Claudia, she threw somethin’ on ma swords and made ’em too hot t’ touch, while I was holdin’ ’em.  It’s just a little through the mud though, I’m okay.”

Runaan wiped the worst of the mud off her hands around her gloves and took her wrists in his hands, holding them together, breathing carefully before looking her in the eyes.  Her ears were laid back and her eyes were wide with worry. “How did they catch you?” He asked evenly. 

She straightened her back and replied dutifully as always. “They tried t’ use a spell on me, but I didn’t fall for it,” She said. “It was supposed t’ be a sleep spell, so I faked it, I grabbed a blue rose and pricked myself t’ stay awake, and then when Soren was ready t’ attack me, I took him by surprise instead.”

Something cold settled in the pit of his stomach and Runaan narrowed his eyes at her. “You knew what you were going up against,” He said slowly.

Rayla shifted uncomfortably, catching his displeased tone. “Yes?” She confirmed hesitantly. “Sort of.”

“I am just trying to make certain I understand what happened,” Runaan told her, covering her wounded hands with his own. “You discovered what you were facing - that you were outnumbered and one of your opponents was a mage - and you chose to fight instead of retreating for the reinforcements you knew you had available?”

Rayla winced. “I thought I could handle it.” She said weakly. 

“That is besides the point.  Have I not taught you to use every advantage you have at your disposal?  That includes asking for help!” Runaan reminded her, his fingers tense around hers though he carefully didn’t compress them. “You could have asked anyone, it didn’t have to be me, anything that meant you weren’t going into a fight outnumbered, against a ranged opponent with no real ranged weapons.”

Rayla shrank under his censure. “I just thought . . .”

This was exactly what Ram had warned him about.  She had thrown herself into things to prove herself to him again, and Runaan stopped himself short of scolding her, suddenly realizing it would only fuel her to fight harder.  To do this again, over and over until -

Until she felt she’d proven herself to him.

He took a deep, slow breath and let go of her hands, carefully setting aside his own reactive anger and fear for her, and touched her chin to raise her eyes to his again. “You have nothing to prove to me, darling.” He said firmly, knowing too well that it was virtually useless - but trying to reassure her was all he had.  What else could he do, in this moment? “I am not saying you weren’t capable.  I am saying I wish you had called on the resources you had while you have them.  Just promise me you will do better about that.  Please.”

Rayla blinked at him, as if confused by his step back from how harsh he had been with her.  She bit her lip, looking at first one eye, then the other, studying his face before nodding slowly. “I’ll work on it.” She promised. 

“Good.  Now come here.” He tugged her in and Rayla went willingly.  He let his knees fall to the ground so he was kneeling too, allowing him to get a little closer to her to hug her against his chest, nearly hidden by his hair and arms settling around her comparatively tiny frame. 

When they parted she tucked the braid he’d given her behind her ear carefully and glanced over her shoulder. “My swords are in the mud,” She confessed, and he let her go to pick them up.

“Let’s go get your hands seen to,” He said firmly when he saw her wince a little as she folded the butterfly blades and tucked them against her back. “Then you are sleeping with me again.”

She snorted but she was smiling a little, looking down at the path rather than at his eyes. “Okay, Dad.”

His voice caught in his throat again at the title, and he tucked her under his arm as they walked back to their building at the Nexus.  The others had all disappeared into somewhere by now, and they saw no one as they mounted the stairs, at least.

Lucky for the mage and soldier, honestly.  His temper still hadn’t fully cooled, though he had set it aside to care for his cub.  His daughter.  

As he put the soothing cream on her hands, somewhat unnecessarily, to make her more comfortable to sleep, he was transported back to years in the past when he had applied this same cream to her itching spots after she first discovered what he did.  The tiny frame scowling bitterly at his hands, refusing to look at his face.  The way she had complained the entire time.

There was no complaining now, instead it was sighs of relief she tried to hide.  She still wasn’t looking at him, but it was interest on her face, not bitterness.  It was still the same little girl he had held all those years ago, though.  The same face whose hands he had bandaged time and again to prepare her for training. The same one he had patched up after her experience with the river on the blood moon.  The one he had placed sun’s tears poultice over her scrapes and bruises every day after training for years on end.  The same one he had held on his lap while Ti- while her mother did this for her after her first experience with nettles at the tender age of four.  The same one he had steadied in his hands as she brandished a little stick like a sword.  The little bundle he had handed over to Tiadrin in that little copse of trees on the plains before they reached Moonshadow Forest, when she had gone into labor early.

She wouldn’t remember all of those.  She would remember mostly the ones that featured only him and Ethari, with comparatively few from her other parents.  

What closure could there possibly be for him down this thought trail?  Her other parents were dead.  He would never get to confront them about their choices, never get to tell them how their selfishness had hurt him.  How he had set his own dreams of having a child aside to take care of theirs, only for them to be gone so long she became more his than theirs.  

Rayla didn’t comment on how heavily he scent marked her when he was done soothing her hands, or how he cuddled her where she couldn’t move without his knowledge when they settled into bed.  She just huffed a little at the position and submitted to it.

Skor was right.

Rayla was his.

He would never let anything stand in the way of that again.

[t2r-secret-acc]

Big ol rant warnin, Overwatch 2 related ship stuff

You ever have a new character introduced to an interest you have and the shippers go wild and you get very emotionally attached to a rare pair very few people care abt?

Yeah, me too. What’s the rarepair you ask?

Sigma x Ramattra.

“Ew wtf why?”

LISTENNN TOOOO MEEEE!! HEAR ME OUTTTT!!!!!!

Zenyatta and Ramattra have a voiceline where the reminisce about how they used to count the stars with one another. I personally see Ram and Zen as brothers and I feel this experience of intimacy between Ram and his brother brings him great comfort. He’s known to be a very broody character but I feel this is one of his few good experiences. I like to think that Ramattra feels very deeply for the stars because of this.

Sigma on the other hand, his entire life is everything space related. The man dedicated his life to the subject and even (sort of) harnessed the power of a black hole. I like to think that even with his bad experiences with it, he still is fascinated by space and loves the stars.

“ok… so what?”

IM GETTING TO IT LET ME FINNNISHSHEHSHSH

Anyways!! Ramattra’s first seen in 2019 in a cutscene where Doomfist praises him for the way he fights for what he wants but that his plans are destined to fail. That is, unless he joins talon. Maybe then he’ll actually have a chance in getting what he wants for his people.

I don’t think ramattra ever got the chance to join talon because if i’m correct on my overwatch lore, Doomfist was taken in by overwatch soon afterrr… BUT IF HE DIDD JOIN TALLONNN

Ramattra and Sigma would have first known each other from Talon.

“Ur point is?”

MY POIIINTNTNTNNTATAH!! My point is, maybe there in Talon, they were each other’s soft spot.

Both characters are decently introverted and not very energetic either compared to the rest of the bunch. I feel with a lot of characters in talon, a lot of personalities clash. I don’t feel that way about Sigma and Ram, though.

Talon manipulates Sigma; he’s a disturbed individual and they use his issues against him. Sigma doesn’t know this, but Sombra does. Sombra seems to be the only character that cares for Sigma’s wellbeing but doesn’t really do anything to help him. She just says in a voiceline that if Talon ever gives him trouble to come to her.

If Sig and Ram ever got a chance to speak, I feel the two would have a mutual sense of admiration for the other. Ram would feel Sig’s dedication and work on harnessing the power of a black hole is inspirational. Sigma would probably be very curious about the void accelerator Ram holds.

Idk I feel like they’d like a lot of the same things and I just feel like their personalities would just be very cute with one another.

If my hands ever learn how to art again, i may be able to draw them together but i dunnooo !!

[k1ng0fn0b0dy]

Grim Reaper 💛

(He/Him pronouns)

(Realistic dsmp)

(1000+ words)

Description: Lady Death asks you to care for her favoured's son. Tommy is begrudgingly easy to get attached to.

[Read more under the cut]

{《☆》}

"No! Please! I'm not ready-!"

"To die yet, I have so much to live for." You roll your eyes, pointing your scythe at the trembling man's neck. "I've heard it all before. I'm not here to give mercy, all threads must be cut eventually and you, mortal, are no exception."

He screams, withering in pain as you press your scythe closer and his souls separates from his body. A shadow of the man, you easily slice through them and send them to the aether.

Unequipping your scythe, you take a moment to stretch your wings before you give two strong pushes and get thrown into the air. Flapping your wings, you raise yourself above the clouds and start gliding more leisurely.

The sun shines in your eyes, casting a soft glow against the milky white clouds that cover the sky aplenty. Your raven black wings contrast sharply against the pastel colouring of day, your connection to Lady Death.

A gift, she said one day. To the son I never had.

You had devoted yourself to her that day. Now, every day of your semi-immortal life is lived to serve Death. It is a life you will never give up, willingly or unwillingly.

Y/N, she softly calls. It reverberates in your chest, and you swoop down instantly. It's a sharp fall, but you pull up barely and are through the narrow cave entrance. Find me, my child.

The portal, in all of its golden glory, stands looming above you. It only takes a second to get there, only two to be transported to Lady Death, and another to drop to a knee as she smiles gently at you.

Next to her stands another winged man. His wings are a more gentle green, with darker feathers spread throughout his secondaries. Their bucket hat, striped green and white, swivels as the man turns to look at you.

It is the man from the paintings. Philza, The Angel of Death, as his title is officially known.

You narrow your eyes, glancing up at Lady Death. She tilts her head and you take it as a cue to stand. Philza gives you a tight smile, turning back to Lady Death.

"Kristen, please. He wasn't-, Tommy shouldn't have died."

You flinch at his common use of her name. Philza really is as close to Death as the stories depict. But he is still foolish for wishing to reconnect the thread that has already been worn thin with death.

It is not your place to decide who lives and who dies. She firmly rebuffs, sympathy still etched onto her immortal features. But if this mortal truly is that important, I can have Y/N look over them.

You keep your face impasse, even if part of you wants to disagree. You do a majority of Lady Death's work so that she can focus on her husband, but she still spends so much time on building up souls. It's odd for you to even think of doing anything else.

Philza frowns, anger and understanding deep-set in his tense shoulders. He spares you a glance, accessing you most likely.

In any other scenario, you wouldn't even entertain this thought. But this mortal is special to him, and therefore to Lady Death. You will treat him only kindly.

You give Lady Death a small bow and take off towards The Land of The Dead.

{《☆》}

"OH FUCK OFF!"

You land in the centre of a gym, a small section of the Land of The Dead. It smells sweaty and emotionally repressed, so you look around for the boy who you've been assigned to watch.

The group of men, an odd group, watch you. One, in shock. They're young. Likely your charge. Another two in amusement, one wears a mask and another wears a worn trench coat. The last, a hybrid ram who eyes you with a neutral glance and goes back to their beer.

You step forward, bowing to the blond who steps back towards Trench Coat. "TommyInnit, Lady Death has assigned me as your charge."

"What the hell?" They yell, the brunet wrapping an arm around them protectively. You blink, mortals were so finicky.

"Have I upset you?" You ask, eyeing the one glaring daggers at you. "It wasn't my intention. I am merely here on behalf of Lady Death and her favoured."

They blink aggressively at you, anger seems to be their main solution. Definitely leads back to the emotional repression you had sensed a mile away. "Her favoured?"

You purse your lips, furrowing your brows at the ground. "You mortals refer to him as Philza Minecraft?"

"Dad...?" They mutter quietly. You nod along despite not understanding fully. "Would you like to go see him?"

Tommy scowled. "No."

"Okay," You pause, unsure of what to do. Handling mortals has never been your job, only collecting their souls. The others have gone about their own business, but the brunet glances at you a lot. Its uncomfortable, you want to get out of here. "Would you like to go for a flight?"

That makes them pause. They tilted their head, watching you with bright blue eyes. Then, they shrug. "Why not."

{《☆》}

You left him for an hour to help with soil collection and he gets revived.

You are done with humanity. But sadly, you've gotten attached to the tiny human who enjoys head pats and rain.

"My lady," You bow. "I know now that Tommy is alive, my mission to watch over him is done but..."

Lady Death grins. You've finally gotten attached to a human. And one of Phil's!

You frown as she giggles, giddy. She smiles gently at you when she's done. Of course you can go. I'm glad you found someone you can call a friend.

"Thank you," You rise, smiling awkwardly. Humanity is strange but now you were going to deal with it on the daily. "I will be sure to check in regularly."

It's not hard at all to hop between world. What will be difficult is finding Tommy when you arrive.

{《☆》}

[i promised this like 3 days ago lol. all men do is lie sadge... anyway i have a technoblade one next and then a platonic tubbo and ranboo one. hopefully I'll remember to post the techno one on Wednesday at 6pm bst ]

[L0v3, k1ng]

Masterlist

[paneerlajwanti]

Didi can you draw a mandala on the song Mohe rang do laal

"so it's like drugs?" "it's better than drugs, jeremy"

my admiration, obsession and absolute fixation for mohe rang do laal in one sentence, thank you so much for this ask okay i will now use this as an opportunity to write a whole essay on this beautiful beautiful song,, im so emotionally attached to this song and everything,, no because,, but the way that this one song single handedly revives so many many suppressed memories,, 2015-18 goki would be real proud of me 🤌🤌🤌

• i was KNOWN in my friend circle in ninth grade who would randomly break into dance and go "marodi kalaai" while twisting wrists

• i play this song (and try to dance) every single time i feel disconnected, disconnected from music, katthak, krishna and "happier times"

•well as the social, cultural 'misfit' i was in my new school, fresh out of my starplus mahabharat insanity, recruited by the baahubali fandom and newly into bajirao mastani , i obviously didn't find people who vibed to my frequency. i basically live in this fictional universe with exactly the vibe that this song creates. now that i wrote this whole damn paragraph i DO NOT know why the heck i even wrote in the first place

ive said it once ive said it twice, sanjay leela bhansali knows exactly what he's doing with aesthetics, cinematography and costumes and music,, baaki ka ram jaane,, ive read this a number of times over the years, slb was trained in indian classical music so my mans knew exactly what how and it fitted so perfectly.

•pandit birju maharaj ji singing and he choreographed this song, what more could we ask for??? and deepika trained under his guidance for this song and she did so well so aayee hayyee to that. the absolute grace and nazaakat this song has. oh

•shreya ghoshal absolutely entirely destroyed every single being with this song. she reached a whole new level of, not that she has ever been any lesser of a singing goddess, but oh this just transports you. it's such an enchanting song and that's exactly what krishna has done right?

•symbolism and meaning i will scream no but the way "mohe rang do laal" and asking lord krishna to colour her life, to fill her life with red, the colour of love (and also asking hand in marij,, hmm im tears now)

•the way that "marodi kalaai mori, choodi chatkai, itraati toh chori se garwa lagaye, haree yeh chunariya jo jhatke se cheeni, main toh rangi haree, hari ke rang, laaj se gulaabi gaal" >>>,

•no in this essay i will. can someone sob next to me and appreciate this line and just cry??? okay ie dont think you get it. the wordplay between haree (green colour) and hari (a name of krishna) ??? very gareeb attempt of translating and explaining the lines let's go???

•so when she said he held my wrist in his hands and twisted it, my bangles broke when i pulled back, he held my green chunari and snatched in with a jerk, i was coloured green in the colour of krishna, and my cheeks blushed as i shied away

•the ambience and the mood set, also the way that rao is just full of adoration for mastani, my mans ranveer neednt act, its just so natural for him please, mastani so beautiful i lost myself there, i think i will disintegrate,, oh and also while im at it kaahe chhed and mohe rang do laal are sequels like literal metaphorical sequels of each other. i shall not elaborate, i don't need to because i basically explained the para above.

but oh i love this song so much it just,, too much pyaar i have for this song please don't ask me more about it because i won't stop talking

[redladydeath]

@storm-ismyusername

Moving this one onto my main blog since it's almost entirely OC talk, a whole rabbit hole of AUs, and basically completely unrelated to RAM.

Oh the scenario you made with Husk and Ondine sounds so fascinating!! I would love to know more. (I have the mental image of Ondine singing sadly on a stage that’s contained in a fish bowl (like a mermaid trapped in a fish tank).)

That's a cool image. I'd originally imagined her just going from patron to patron, making sure they're "having a good time," but it'd make sense if she did performances, too.

Would Ondine become somewhat famous?

Not really. She and her family still struggle to stay afloat, and she's not particularly well-known outside the casino. Even in the casino, she's just another pretty face– only difference is she's a mainstay while most others come and go. If she is well-known, it's just because of how many rich/powerful people she's been seen hanging off the arms of. Professional arm candy.

How abusive is Ondine and Husk’s relationship? (Is it weird that I want to put them in a toxic relationship?)

Sort of similar to my interpretation of Vox and Angel's in the mainverse, just if they also fucked on occasion. Husk isn't like Val, getting super riled up and possessive over the relationship; she's just another whore, but she's one who it's beneficial to hold onto. He has fun when they play their flirty little games, but he's not truly emotionally attached to her. It just feels nice to have a pretty young woman on his arm when he feels like it and off helping the business when he doesn't. Despite the fact that he and Husk agreed they could fuck anyone they wanted, Angel can be kind of spiteful and petty with her, especially when he and Husk aren't getting along.

Ondine just takes it all without complaint. This is just her job. Husk usually isn't cruel to her, and she can't say she blames Angel for being a bit jealous. Yes, Husk is triple her age, but this is Hell; there are much worse things out there than having to sleep with an older man who treats her like a trophy every once in a while (even if he is a cat (then again, she feels she has no room to judge– she's slimy and cold-blooded, and not in the metaphorical sense)). Yes, Angel can be mean sometimes, but letting herself get too worked up about it would just be a waste of energy. Could be worse. She has no right to complain. That phrase has haunted her ever since she was a child, clinging to her like a leech and draining her of her will to ask for more.

Since they both died in the 70s would Ondine be one of the first souls Husk owned before he became a big Overlord?

Not sure. Option one is that she was "on her own" for a good few years until she found a guy who she was sure would take care of her forever and gave him her soul to seal the deal. He would've done as he said if he hadn't lost all of his contracts at the Gambling Overlord's casino. If that's too fanfic-y, then there's option two, where Husk reeled her in before she really knew what she was doing. Ondine was (and still sort of is) pretty easy to manipulate and will bend fairly quickly to those who speak with enough confidence/authority. Option three is the less dramatic but more realistic path where she just decided to work for him because the money would be more consistent and she knew she'd be good at it.

Sinners from the same time period tend to feel more connected to each other. Even if everything else about the relationship is purely transactional, there's still a feeling of connection there, especially so if you've known each other for as long as these two have.

Would Sarah become a party girl to cope? (Spends all night clubbing and drinks herself to death to cope with her, waking up hungover after her brother or mother took her home.) How would her brother and mother feels about Ondine destroying her body like this,

Sort of, but in a different way than she was when she was alive. In life, she partied a lot to distract herself from the pervasive sadness and constant feeling that she didn't belong anywhere. In death, it's become a habit. She's been doing this for decades and doesn't remember any other way it could be. It's not a downward spiral anymore, just an unhealthy baseline. Thomas used to be scared for her; now, Fineas just worries about her. Helen/Queenie isn't very forthcoming about it, but she feels like it's her fault that her daughter is like this. She set the example that you deal with your negative emotions by drowning them in substances, so it's no surprise that Sarah ended up doing the same. She hates that she "did that" to her sweet little daughter, who could've had so much more.

Is Ondine technically the breadwinner of her family?

She definitely makes the most money out of the three of them. Helen's just a common hooker and Fineas' scams can go wrong or take a while to yield results, so Ondine has the most reliable and consistent source of income. Her mother and brother aren't happy about it (everyone wants to protect the baby of the family), but that's just how things have shaken out.

What would Vox’s reaction to realizing The Gambling Overlord owns his daughter’s soul?

Outrage and a desire to get her out of there ASAP. This verse's Vox tends not to get too irate about things anymore, but reuniting with his daughter, only to realize she's been stuck in a situation like this for decades, would get him pretty riled. How could he have let this go on for so long?! How could he and Alastor not have come across her sooner...

Wonder if Ondine and Velvette ever met in passing?

Possibly. Niffty and Husk tend not to bring non-bodyguard staff with them when they go to visit each other, but they do so frequently enough that Velvette might've been to the casino once or twice.

@storm-ismyusername

1 - How does 60sMindbreak!Vox condition different from regular RAM? (Can he remember specific events? Is he less scatterbrained and distractible? Does he break less things while at the hotel?)

Vox would probably be significantly more mellow than his main RAM counterpart. He's still distractible, high-energy, and struggles with short-term memory, but he's far more stable. There's not a 50 year gap in his memory, he doesn't have the trauma of the torture or his confinement to grapple with, and he's more or less acclimated to the way his mind works now. No one's afraid that he's going to suddenly fall apart for no clear reason and set the building on fire in this verse– he's just Alastor's offbeat, old-fashioned friend/lackey who probably shouldn't be left alone for long periods of time.

2 - Since Alastor broke Vox before he became an Overlord does he have less powers/is weaker than regular RAM?

It's sort of a weird situation. They're equal in terms of power level since neither has any active contracts anymore, but their levels of experience are difference. Main RAM Vox had become very adept at using his powers before the broadcast, after which he lost control over them, although there's still a bit of "muscle memory" there. 60s Vox never had those years of refining his powers, but he isn't starting from scratch like main Vox is. Not sure who would be more powerful since it's not exactly clearcut.

3 - How is Vox's relationship with Velvette different from canon? How is Valentino's relationship with Velvette different from canon?

My interpretation of canon Vox and Vel's relationship is that he's her mentor. He respects her abilities, but still can be a bit condescending to her. Velvette sees him as old (despite his best efforts) and kind of cringey, but she also recognizes that he's incredibly clever and his advice is worthwhile. For Valentino and Velvette, I think Valentino's opinion of Velvette changes with his mood. Sometimes he thinks she's cool and fun, other times she's a spoiled bitch who needs to get off her high horse. Velvette repeats Valentino as an overlord, but not as a person. His temper tantrums are ridiculous and she's not sure why Vox puts up with him– the sex must really be that good. However, Vel's not one to turn down partying with someone just because they're a pain to deal with sometimes. Her and Val can totally get along, so long as he's not stepping on her toes.

In this AU, Vox isn't as self-impressed as he is in the main verse, so he sees Velvette as more of a friend than someone whose raw potential he needs to mold. He might still have his quasi-paternal moments, but he mostly talks to her as an equal. Valentino tries to shut her out at first, but as time goes on, he realizes how fun and clever she can be and starts opening up to her a bit. Velvette starts off her character arc thinking that Vox is a freak and Valentino is a miserable shit. She ends it feeling like she's finally found her people. Yeah, they're freaks, but they're her freaks. She doesn't want to part ways with them; maybe if all this redemption shit doesn't work out and they all break free of their masters, they could be a team.

4 - What does Velvette think of Charlie, Vaggie, Sir Pentious (if he's still there), and Alastor? What does Valentino think of Charlie, Vaggie, Sir Pentious (if he's still there)?

Velvette's giving "sullen teenager" during her first month or so at the hotel. Like mainverse Angel, she doesn't take any of the redemption exercises seriously and can be kind of a bitch to deal with. Her and Vaggie clash a lot because of her attitude. Charlie is endlessly patient with her and thinks that once she can get her to open up, she'll buy in. Velvette bullies Pentious if he's around. Eventually, Velvette starts to chill out and becomes a bit softer with the OG hazbins.

Valentino is also hard to deal with. He's moody, thinks Charlie's mission is laughable, and is prone to making deeply cutting sarcastic remarks. His relationships with the original cast are similar to Velvette's, being mostly antagonistic until they start growing on him a bit. It takes longer for him to come around than Velvette, though.

5 - What would Velvette's reaction to seeing Mindbreak Niffty scuttling around the hotel? (Such a contrast to the cutthroat woman she worked under.

It makes Velvette's hair stand on end. She may not have liked Niffty, but this is just scary, seeing her turned inside out like this. Velvette was already leery of Alastor, but now she's actually afraid of him.

6 - What would Valentinos react to seeing Mindbreak Niffty so helpless? Would he try to hurt her (but she would like the pain) or has he grown enough of a conscience to just ignore her instead?

I'm not confident enough in my characterization of Valentino to say. We could meet in the middle and say he does something to hurt her as revenge, she reacts positively, and he's freaked out, deciding it's not worth it.

7 - Would Niffty and Vox's relationship be slightly different?

Depends on how malleable Vox's grasp on reality is. He could forget that she used to be Velvette's boss/accept Alastor's claim that Everything's Fine, She's Part Of The Team Now and start treating her like a friend, or he could be a bit more hesitant.

1 - Velvette and Valentino making fun of Alastor's stupid haircut while Vox tries (and fails) to defend it. (He secretly thinks it looks stupid too).

Valentino and Velvette are high school mean girls and Vox is trying not to give in to peer pressure (but there's a mean girl deep down inside him too, just waiting to come out).

2 - Thinking about when Vaggie flung the Hotel residents into a literal war zone. Velvette doesn't know how to fight! She was a regular teenager before dying and was snatched up by Niffty quickly after arriving in Hell so never learned to fend for herself. I can see Velvette completely freaking the entire time, potentially using Sir Pentious as a (in)human shield, and relying entirely on Valentino and Vox to not be brutally maimed or worse. This would probably be the moment Velvette became actual friends with Valentino and Vox. (Also when she realized how dangerous Vox truly is when he electrocutes an entire block. (Vaggie just assumed Velvette could fight and is horrified when she learns she threw a non combatant in the middle of a literal war zone. She would definitely apologize afterwards.)

Velvette probably has some self-defense skills, but not enough to hold her own in the Doomsday District. She definitely would try to use Pentious as a meat shield and is lowkey in awe when Valentino and Vox suddenly reveal themselves as highly competent fighters. Vaggie might've been too preoccupied with her musical number to notice that Velvette wasn't fully participating in the fight (until Val gave her one of his guns, that is).

3- After Vaggie finds out how Alastor maims Valentino including removing and selling his wings) she tries to reach out to him. At first Valentino pushes her away and lashes out, thinking it's pity when really it's empathy. Vaggie finally managed to break through his shell when she hand sewed him an eyepatch. After that he doesn't completely push her away and they start to become kinda-sorta-almost friends, eventually.

Vaggie and Val, the two most prickly people in the hotel, making nice. Charlie would be proud if she wan't preoccupied with the "Alastor's been abusing my friends" realization.

4- I think Valentino's eyesight looks like this:

Don't know enough about low vision to dispute this. He probably has depth perception issues given how he's missing an eye.

5 - Husk, Niffty, and Angel Dust are nicknamed The Glamours~ by regular Sinners because of their glamorous looking lifestyles and how much time they spend together.

Cool

6 - Alastor's a lot softer with Vox than in regular RAM He's a 1-3 out of 10 on maliciousness, breaking Vox was a complete accident and he tries his best to be kind to him. (Still a monster to Valentino though.)

That would be interesting, and has the potential to be kind of sweet in a messed up way. Alastor might've taken what happened with Vox as a lesson: don't be reckless with your powers and don't act out of anger. He ended up breaking his friend because he got too caught up in their fight and tried something rash. It'd make him even more infuriating to deal with from Valentino's perspective though. Alastor maintains that he's not hurting him out of spite (well, not entirely), he's just doing what's necessary to correct him. Valentino thinks that's a crock of shit, but if he says so, he's putting himself in danger.

60s Swap: Valentino experiencing phantom pains from his missing wings (and arm).

Mental image of Vox and Val sitting together quietly as Val "flexes" his missing arm. Vox doesn't know what to say or do, so he just decides to be there with him.

60s Swap: Velvette takes Angel Dust's role where would she take the group in episode 3?

Velvette probably wouldn't volunteer a location, she just sits there making snide comments until Vaggie snaps and tells her that if she's so smart, why doesn't she pick the trust exercise? Velvette takes them to the mall. The exercise is "trust me with your credit cards." Vaggie wants to throttle her but– shit, where did Vox go?

What would Velvette, Vox, and Valentino think of Lucifer and vice versa?

Vox is excited to meet royalty and tries to schmooze with him (the effect is slightly ruined by the fact that Vox is talking so fast, Lucifer thinks he's on coke). Valentino doesn't really give a fuck, but enjoys watching him and Alastor bicker. Velvette's curious at first, thinking Lucifer is going to be some cool, cunning anti-hero, and is lowkey disappointed when he turns out to be just some cringey dad. His and Charlie's reconciliation may have touched her just a tiny bit, though.

[silkling]

Hi Silkling, could you please write a TFP story where Sierra discovers the Autobot's secret and joins up with Team Prime? TFP never really did much with her, and I think that a shame. I think Smokescreen would make a good partner for her.

Absolutely! Great to see you again in my ask box! :D your last prompt was super fun to write to, so I’m looking forward to this one! Now, I admit, I never paid much attention to Sierra, and the show didn’t give us a lot to work with, so I’m going to have to come up with some of her characterization. And I agree. So I’m mashing her with Smokescreen. It’s gonna a be great. I love Smokescreen very much! I even have a whole AU of my own for him. He’s a tiny happy dumbass and since Sierra has basically no canon personality, I can make her be his long-suffering but still very fond best friend.

———————————————————————————————————

Sierra had been having a good day. Emphasis on the word had. It was the weekend. She had packed a small picnic, grabbed her favorite book, and hopped on her bike. She’d ridden out to the popular hiking trails, intending to take a short hike and finding a nice place to spend the afternoon with a her novel and her snacks. The sun was out, the weather was great, and she had nothing to do today. It was perfect. So, of course, the laws of the universe demanded that something go wrong.

‘Murphy is a cruel bastard and and I’m going to punch him in the face when I see him in the afterlife.’ She thought viciously, staring up at the hulking titan that had just crushed her lunch and bike under a single massive metal foot with a sense of numb disbelief. ‘At least I still have the book.’ She ignored how the thought echoed with a note of hysteria as she shoved said book into the messenger bag over her shoulder.

“Are you Sierra O’Niell?”

She was only slightly surprised when the massive robot spoke. Because why wouldn’t the giant robot that had just moments ago been a jet be able to speak? Honestly, what even was her life at this point. She was more concerned with the fact that the thing knew her name. Her initial instinct was the demand how it knew her name. But she’d seen the movies. She knew that would only confirm it’s suspicions.

“Who?” she forced herself to ask instead, surprising herself with how steady her voice was. It was the shock, she told herself. It had to be. It was making her emotionally numb. “What are you?”

The robot seemed startled, before it snarled something that was most definitely a curse. It started speaking, though not to her, and it took Sierra a moment to realize it must have been talking over some sort of built in communication system. “-wrong human, Soundwave! This pathetic fleshling you pointed out to me doesn’t even know who I am talking about.” It paused. “What do you mean it’s not the wrong human? I just told you-“ it cut itself off. “Ah. I see.” A sinister grin twisted at metallic features. “Thank you, Soundwave. I will return with my prize shortly.”

Oh, Sierra did not like the sound of that.

Sure enough, the robot turned to face her when it was done. “It seems you lied to me, little fleshling.” it sneered. “My associate tracked the signal of your personal communications device. You humans never go without it, I’ve been told.”

She blinked. “You hacked my phone?” she sputtered, and oops, she’d just confirmed her identity. ‘Stupid, Sierra.’

It’s face twisted into a cruel expression of glee. She did not like it. “Indeed.” It began bending down, and then a large hand was reaching towards her. “You shall be coming with me, human. Soundwave has seen how Jackson Darby is fond of you.” it purred. “You will make a lovely bargaining chip against that pathetic human runt and his Autobot protectors.”

And wait, this was because of Jack? How did he come into all this? If this thing was after her because of him, that had to mean he knew about it and it’s…friends. Did robots have friends? She didn’t know. And wait, Autobot?

She stiffened, scrabbling away from the large metallic hand, shunting those questions to the back of her mind to be answered later. Escape the terrifying metal monster now, murder Jack for pulling her into this later. Clearly though, the robot disliked her attempt to flee because it only growled and stepped towards her again.

That’s when she heard the roaring of a powerful engine. It made the robot pause too, and they both looked to where the sound came from. Then, over the crest of a hill, a white and blue sports car came flying in. It had red accents and bold 38s painted onto its doors. Sierra was impressed. She was no car person, but even she liked this one. Only, the car started breaking apart once it hit the ground, unfolding and growing into the form of, you guessed it, another robot.

Sierra despaired for her luck. ‘Murphy is going to die a second time for this. He’d better be prepared.’ She thought with vicious hysteria.

Except, to her great surprise, the new robot didn’t try to help capture her. No, instead it rammed full force into the tall jet robot that had tried to snatch her up. Said jet yelped before quickly getting back to its feet. Sierra heard the should of metal and gears shifting, and saw the newcomer’s large hand change to some sort of weapon, though not one she could recognize.

“Terrorizing humans now, Starscream?” it taunted. “Can’t say I’m surprised, you always were one to sink so low.”

The first robot, Starscream, apparently, snarled in outrage. “Pathetic Autobot!” it roared, and oh, so this newcomer was Autobot?

Except, from the two names she’d heard already, that didn’t sound like the type of name these robots seemed to have. She did notice the little face badges they wore, the white bot bearing a red one proudly on its shoulders while the jet robot wore a smaller, pointier face on its chest. So maybe those had something to do with the whole ‘Autobot’ thing? Hell if she knew. Sierra was clever, and she’d always been good at puzzles and mystery solving, but she didn’t have enough information for this whole…thing.

“I’m not the one who’s picking on defenseless humans, ‘Con!” the car robot barked, smirking at the skinnier jet.

The jet only snarled, lifting an arm that she was just noticing had a freaking missile attached to it, and the white robot stilled briefly, before shooting her a frantic look and oh, would you look at that, she seemed to be right in the blast radius of the missile, and oh god she was going to die-

Except, there was that shifting sound again, but much larger, and then car robot was leaping towards her. It hit the ground in car form, it’s driver door open as it slid sideways in her direction, and then she was swept up into it and the door slammed shut. Tires squealed, and then they were peeling away to the sound of a missile screaming and impacting where they had been a half second before. The jet roared in outrage, but the car robot was speeding straight towards civilization, and it seemed to want to avoid that because when she glanced at the rear view mirror she saw it leap into the sky and transform before flying away.

Sierra slowly sat up from her ungainly sprawl, pulling the seatbelt across her chest on reflex before sitting back against the driver’s seat and wheezing. Her heartbeat, which she only just noticed had been thundering wildly in her chest, started to slowly calm, and she had to force herself to take deep, even breaths to keep herself from hyperventilating.

Now, Sierra wasn’t an irrational girl. She was among the top students of all her classes, she was smart, she knew a lot about various topics, and she had a good understanding of how people worked. She was clever, she knew she had a good head on her shoulders. She kept some of her interests closer to her chest, and she played the good, polite, quiet girl for the adults, because she wasn’t without manners, thank you very much. All that meant, though, was that she wasn’t prone to screaming in terror and running like a madman when she was freaked out by something. She would prefer to understand something rather than be irrationally terrified of it.

This, though? This was a bit much, even for her. As her heartbeat calmed, a sense of nausea built in her throat. “Excuse me, robot?” she squeaked. She wasn’t even sure if she could communicate with it while it was in car mode, but it was worth a shot.

“It’s Smokescreen.”

What?

“What?”

“My name is Smokescreen. Not “robot”.”

It sounded miffed. Which, okay. That was fair. If someone called her just “human” she’d probably be upset too. Hell, she had been upset when that other one, Starscream, had called her a “fleshling”. Smokescreen’s voice also sounded very male, and she paused before asking.

“And you’re not an “it” either, then?”

“No, I’m a mech.” A pause. “Uh, a male, by your definitions.”

“Okay. Smokescreen. Well, I’m Sierra, and as grateful as I am for your rescue you should really, really stop and let me out. Humans don’t handle extreme stress very well and I’m about to be sick.”

“Sick?”

Oh god, did robots even get sick?

“I’m about to vomit. Which means I am very close to expelling internal body waste, and it will be right in your seats if you don’t let me out so I can barf behind some rocks.” she informed him tightly, fighting down a gag.

There was a brief moment if silence as Smokescreen seemed to process her words, before he turned off the side of the road, drove behind some rocks, and popped open the door. “Please don’t be sick in me.” Oh, now he sounded sick. Sierra felt a little bad.

She didn’t say anything to that, instead stumbling out of the car and out of sight, before promptly bending over and tossing her breakfast. She gagged on bile, and after a moment of pause to make sure there was nothing left in her stomach, she stood and made her way back to where Smokescreen was waiting. She pulled her water bottle from her bag, taking a sip and washing out her mouth with it before spitting it to the side, and then she proceeded to drink everything left in the bottle. She tucked it away, turning to her impromptu ride, and opened her mouth to speak, when-.

“Oh slag.” He beat her to the punch.

She was confused, recognizing that as a curse of some sort, and then she heard the beeping from his radio.

“Um, hold on for a minute, alright? I gotta take this.” He sounded anxious, and didn’t give her a chance to answer before there was a click as he did just that.

She heard muffled noises over the radio, though she couldn’t make out the words being said.

“Um, yeah. There was a ‘Con signal. I was close so I checked it out.”

More radio noises, angry sounding ones.

“I know, I know! But I was closest and no one would pick up their comm. so I thought I should st least check it out! It was a good thing too, Starscream was there and he was about to snatch up a human!”

A pause, and then an explosion of garbled noise from the radio. Sierra got the feeling that Smokescreen was wincing.

“Well what was I supposed to do? Let her be taken? Plus she’d already seen him so it wasn’t like seeing me was going to do much damage!”

A growling noise, followed by a hiss of static.

“Yes, Ratchet. I know. And I am sorry, alright! I know I went against code again but if I had waited a human would’ve been in Deception hands and as new as I am to this planet, even I know that’s bad!”

Wait, planet? Was this giant ass robot an actual alien? That…honestly made sense. With that day she’d had, she wasn’t even surprised. Smokescreen was still having his discussion with…whoever was on the other end.

“Yes, I’ll bring her back to base. I’m not going to apologize for saving her, though.”

More angry static.

“Yeah yeah. I get it.”

He sounded tired, defeated. Sierra felt bad, and wondered what was being said to make him sound like that when he’d been so bright before.

“No, you don’t need to send a ground bridge. I’m close to the base anyway. I’ll be there soon.”

There was a click as Smokescreen disconnected from whoever called him, and then she could tell he was talking to her when he spoke next. “Mind hopping in? I gotta bring you back to base. The boss can explain everything. I promise you won’t be hurt or anything.”

Sierra hesitated for a moment, then sighed. She knew she probably shouldn’t, but at this point what was the harm? Besides, her gut instinct was telling her that, based on what that Starscream character had said about Jack, she wouldn’t have to worry about being hurt. Not if Darby spent all his free time around these weird alien robots and came back fine. Mind decided, she slipped into the car’s open door. It shut on its own, and she buckled herself in once more.

“Thanks.” He sounded grateful. And then he was driving off.

He wasn’t saying anything, and neither was Sierra, and she let herself be alone with her thoughts. They drove for a while, and Sierra let herself enjoy the landscape that passed by Smokescreen’s window. He really was a nice ride, she mused. Sleek and fast, and his engine purred quietly as he drove along the highway. She didn’t know much about cars, but she knew his car mode was a good one.

Soon enough, they were coming towards a large mesa. Smokescreen drove right toward its side, not even slowing as he approached, Sierra tensed, about to protest, when a previously invisible door opened in the rock face. She shut her mouth, her eyes blowing wide. Oh. That explained that. Their base was hidden in plain sight. Which…she supposed was fitting, for alien robots who disguised themselves as cars and jets. Smokescreen took them through a tunnel, and then they were coming into a large central chamber. Sierra peeked out if the window to see two other robots there. One, stocky and painted in red and white. The other…was absolutely massive. He towered above the red and white bot, and she had a feeling he’d tower over Smokescreen too. He was broad as he was tall, with wide shoulders and a heavy looking chest, his metal armor painted in red and blue. Sierra didn’t know how she knew, but she just knew that this large one was a he, a mech, as Smokescreen had said.

The door at her side popped open, and after brief hesitation she unbuckled herself and stood up. There was that sound of transformation behind her, and she glanced back to see Smokescreen rising to his feet in his robot mode. Then a voice spoke and she snapped her head around to see the large bot speaking.

“Greetings, young one. My name is Optimus Prime. My companion is Ratchet, and you have already met Smokescreen.”

Ratchet. That’s who Smokescreen had been talking to earlier. “I’m Sierra.” she said after a moment. “Sierra O’Niell.”

Optimus tilted his head downwards in her direction. “May I inquire why Starscream was attempting to abduct you, if you know?”

“You’re very polite.” she remarked dryly. “He said something about wanting to use me to get to Jack Darby, so that he could in turn use Jack to get to the “Autobots”. I’m guessing that’s you guys?”

Optimus shared a look with Ratchet, then looked back at her. “Indeed. Myself and my team are Autobots. Starscream is a Decepticon. Our factions are enemies, I am afraid.” he explained. “We are not from your world, Sierra O’Niell. We hail from a planet called Cybertron. Our two factions were at War on our home, and that War destroyed our world. The Deceptions came here, searching for energon, and we have followed them to keep them from destroying your planet and it’s people in their quest for it.”

Sierra turned that over. She’d guessed they weren’t from Earth, so that wasn’t a surprise. The rest of the information was new, though. And appreciated. “What’s energon? And how does Jack fit into all this?”

Optimus sighed. “Energon is an energy source, and the very lifeblood of every Cybertronian.” he explained. “It is a natural resource that was once common on our home, and somehow Earth too produces it in great abundance.” he explained. “Jackson, Miko, and Raphael became involved with us by accident. They were seen with my Autobots when they mistakenly were pulled into a battle with the Decepticons, and the Decepticons assumed they were our allies. In order to protect them, we took them under our watch and guard to ensure they could not be harmed.”

So, Esquivel and Nakadai were part of this too. She shouldn’t be surprised. She’d seen the cars that picked those two up, now that she thought of it. Speaking of which….

“Jack’s motorcycle is an Autobot, isn’t it? And Miko and Raphael’s cars?”

Optimus hummed. “Indeed. Arcee, Bumblee, and Bulkhead were the ones to initially partner with and save the children in that first encounter. After they were brought into the fold, it made only sense to assign them as their Autobot guardians.”

Sierra nodded as she took that all in. Then she frowned. “I’m involved now too, aren’t I? I would have been involved regardless, if the Decepticons were really after me, but Smokescreen saving me just means my involvement is going to be more pleasant than it otherwise would have been.”

Optimus and Ratchet shared yet another look, before casting their gazes to Smokescreen. The white bot fidgeted under their combined stares, head ducking and looking uncomfortable. “While we are not pleased that the youngling acted on impulse and charged into battle against protocol, we are pleased that he saved your life, young Sierra.” Optimus said after a moment.

Sierra blinked. “Youngling.” she repeated in confusion. Then she narrowed her eyes. “You’re not getting him into trouble for saving me, are you?” she asked heatedly. The very idea insulted her.

Optimus twitched as if startled, then rumbled a soft chuckle. “Youngling, yes. It is a term used by Cybertronians to refer to those of us who are not yet fully grown. Smokescreen is the equivalent of a human teenager.” he explained. “And worry not. In this instance, we can overlook the breach in regulations. It would send a poor message to punish a bot for upholding the Autobot creed.”

Sierra relaxed at that, nodding. Then she narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to want to have a discussion with you later about why you’re letting teenagers fight in a war, but I know now isn’t the time.” she said threateningly.

Both older bots startled back and her tone and words, and Smokescreen squeaked from behind her. She turned and drew a harsh line across her mouth before he could say anything, and she watched as he stared, slack-jawed, before closing his mouth with an audible clack. That done, she returned her attention to the apparent leader. There was one more thing she wanted settled.

“You said the others got guardians, right?”

A nod.

“Well, if I’m going to need one, and something tells me I will, then I want this one.” she jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Smokescreen.

Optimus’s eyes narrowed in what she realized was a faint smile. “If Smokescreen agrees, then I have no issues with that.” he hummed. “All I ask is that you remain here until our liaison with the human government arrives. Agent Fowler will want to discuss some matters with you before you return home.”

Sierra blinked. So the government knew about all this. That was good to know. It meant she wouldn’t get in trouble for conspiring with aliens if it ever came to light. She could also understand why they kept this whole thing a secret, even if governments hiding things from the public wasn’t always a good thing. In this case, it was a good thing.

“As long as I’m home before my curfew.” she agreed.

Another bow of that great head, and then Optimus was turning to stride away. Presumably to make contact with this Fowler. That left her and Smokescreen with Ratchet.

The stocky bot glanced at them, then turned to that odd console she’d noticed earlier. “Smokescreen will show you around.” Was all he said, waving them away with a dismissive flip of his hand.

Sierra, taking that as her cue, turned to the youngest bot. She thrust out her hand. “What do you say? Partners?”

He seemed confused, before slowly crouching and extending his hand to tap a finger to her palm. “Yeah, sure.” he seemed a little awed that she’d want to partner with him.

She smiled. “Good. In that case, why don’t you give me a ride and show me around your base?”

Smokescreen seemed confused. “Ride?”

“On your shoulder. I’d like to see it from your perspective.”

He blinked, then shrugged and put his hand, palm up, on the floor. Sierra took that as her que to climb up, and he carefully transferred her to his shoulder. Cool. Very cool. She just wanted to ride on the giant alien robot, and now she got to. That was cool.

She saw him look at her out of the corner of his bright, shining blue eyes, and she smiled warmly. “Well? Show me around your home, big guy. I’d like to get to know you.”

Smokescreen perked up, the little protrusions on his back wiggling with his apparent joy, and Sierra grinned a little wider. Oh, he was cute. How a giant robot could be endearing, she didn’t know, but he did it. He was sort of like a puppy. A giant, metal, alien puppy. She held on as he started walking, and she listened with half an ear, processing and noting what he told her as the rest of her mind turned over the events of her day.

It had been stressful, and scary, but now that it was all done and she was fine…

‘Yeah.’ she thought, watching her new partner eagerly show her around the small, hidden base he called home. ‘I think I’m gonna like it here.’

———————————————————————————————————

And that was that! I hoped you like it! It was fun to write. The show didn’t give Sierra a last name or a real personality, so I had to kind of do that bit myself. And I was right! I did enjoy writing this. The prompt inspired me to write this faster than I thought I’d be able to. I do not expect to be able to fill a prompt this quickly again. Unfortunately. Also, Sierra is definitely going to be the straight man to Smokescreen. He’s going to need it. Badly.

Until next time, friends!

[poeedamerons]

I'm loving the drama, for real but it DOES bother me how they are portraying Lee Hwi/Dam I as this slightly incompetent and emotional person.

Hear me out.

Acting emotionally, as we know is a behavior related to women and acting more rationally is related to men in society. We know it's bullshit said for misogynistic reasons to play women incompetent (even if there is some truth to it) and they are doing this to Dam-i.

Instead of using her grandfather for her personal gain (aka become a king) she is still attached to the hurt and even after all these years living in court she would rather show her deslike towards him so everyone can see instead of playing the literal game of thrones. I know she hates him and she is right, but she is not HER but HIM, and her grandfather is the only person that will do ANYTHING to ensure he actually becomes king.

Also, her stint with Ji Un in the archery field shows how she let's emotion guide her, when she knows how that would spread through the palace and give the queen more ammo against her and make the king even more frustrated with her behavior.

Plus, she is isolating herself because of pain and hurt. She is totally on the right to be disgusted with them BUT it's a game. She needs to play it of she wants to win. She should have done just like King Cheoljong in Mr. Queen and started her private army. She should be doing like Ha Ram in Lovers of the Redy Sky and creating and network of spies so she can be on top of all rumors and happenings.

Only having an Eunuch, a Lady's maid and one (aging) Commander on your side is not SMART. It's not thinking strategically or in a rational way.

So, it does bother me how barefoot she allowed herself to be while acting emotionally. And the show does imply that. That as a woman she is bound to not be as rational or as that capable of saving herself. They are even giving her Ji Un and Hyun as protectors, like she can't do it by herself.

[goblincave666]

analyzing tw personality types #2: mason hewitt - ENFJ 7w6 so/sx

wanted to do mason next bc he’s cool and one of my favourite ENFJs in existence

also if you dont know what these numbers and letters mean: ENFJ is mbti, fe/ni whatever is mbti theory, 7w6 is enneagram, and so/sx is the enneagram subtypes. this post assumes you know more abt it so this is more intended for tw fans experienced with personality theories/personality theory tumblrs that happen to know about tw. cool? cool.

(also i’m doing this super late at night so if it’s disorganized or confusing thats why)

dominant fe

ok i think out of every mbti function, fe is always the most obvious in people, because it deals with other people/ethics outwardly. but even then mason is very obvious about his fe.

fe is concerned with social harmony and group values, and so is mason. he spends a lot of time and goes out of his way to help the other characters study, most notably liam and corey, and is super eager to figure stuff out immediately after finding out about werewolves. he seems to really like making everyone else happy and being involved in things.

basically he’s generally pretty attuned to how other people are feeling which pointed me in the dominant fe direction.

auxiliary ni

aha moments are pretty common with ni users. they often unconsciously process information, and it takes sensory things to activate their ideas, which is where the se comes in.

a huge example of mason’s ni was when he was watching the lacrosse game in 6x4, and seeing two lacrosse players in midair reminded him of the beast v hellhound mural, which reminded him of parrish, which reminded him of how parrish got the ghost rider at the party to leave. ni works in a very linear way, it just moves in a straight line until it comes to a singular conclusion.

it’s rare to see mason actively brainstorming, because ni is an unconscious function. he gets ideas a lot but they kinda just come to him, also illustrated by scott in 6x4 when he’s like “you always figure something out.” and mason does after sitting on the bleachers for a little while. the one time he does consciously try to connect dots, when he’s trying to figure out what 68 meant in 6x13, he struggles to get anywhere.

ni also comes to singular ideas. mason doesn’t usually try to deliberate between two different ones, when he has an idea he sticks to it unless new information pulls him in another direction.

so yuh

tertiary se

okay so usually when he doesn’t have time to plan in negative situations, he just rushes into them. se kinda works together with ni for ENxJs, but also as kind of a backup plan. se functions as a sort of you see what you get function, so using se in stressful situations means just going for it without thinking.

there are a lot of scenes where he goes after enemies that could easily kick his ass with just a baseball bat. he almost rams his car into a wall because he can’t think of a plan when the blueprint of eichen house doesn’t match up in 5x16. basically when his ni doesn’t give him ideas, mason just goes with his gut.

tertiary functions are also generally used with either overconfidence, or just a bit worse than say an aux/dom se user, so mason’s spur of the moment plans not exactly panning out would make a lot of sense.

inferior ti

contrary to mbti stereotypes, inferior ti doesn’t make a person stupid!! it just means a lack in purely logical sole judgement, and an insecurity surrounding that. mason is brilliant and one of the smartest characters in the show, but he’s also very emotionally attached.

“they must have had someone up there. that’s the only logical explanation.”

“how do you know?”

“logic. corey has a hunch.”

basically mason just immediately latches onto corey’s logic and doesn’t actually have his own logical explanation prepared for himself. and that’s fine, corey was right, but it’s just a very fe/inferior ti thing to say. ti doms, even if they outwardly agree, will want to come to their own concise conclusions in their heads.

when everyone at school is prepared to kick the shit out of liam and know damn well he’s a werewolf in 6x14, mason stays optimistic and tries to sugarcoat things for liam. the reality, the logical explanation is that things are very bad and not good, but mason still acts optimistic in favour of social harmony.

i also, despite it just being the writing not being great, like to think this is sort of the reason he might’ve ignored/not noticed holes in his memories. mason seems more than capable of realizing he was the beast, but may have not wanted to accept it. also could the show have elaborated on how mason felt about it more? it makes me extremely sad but i still want mason angst it would give him way more depth dude

there’s also the part where they need information on the chimera pack, but mason doesn’t ask corey about it since “theo leading an evil chimera pack didn’t exactly come up in the conversation.” enough said.

7w6

literally only a 7 would be in actual mortal danger from a wolf, and instead of freaking about almost dying, immediately get hyped because he found out his friend was a werewolf.

7s are intensely and infectiously positive. they see everything with wonder and excitement, and just try to get as much fun as they can out of life. this can lead to ignorance of negatives, which mason definitely does, but we still love him for it anyways.

i think a huge 7 example was the after images episode where mason can’t stop seeing the faceless corpse everywhere. instead of telling liam, hey, i want to stay over because i’m having nightmare hallucinations, he pretends he’s completely fine and just wants a sleepover. and he does a hell of a good job of it at first.

7s, especially the countertype social 7s, which mason literally is, tend to ignore any negativity in front of their friends. mason wanted everything to seem fine with liam despite everything being very not fine in the slightest.

this is the attitude he maintains throughout the show too. of course he doesn’t blindly ignore negatives, the 6 wing will do that, but he definitely works around them. he’s always upbeat and i kinda see him as the positivity that holds liam’s pack together.

so/sx

sp: This energised Seven is a great networker, gathering a ‘family’ of close supporters and motivated by wanting the best for everyone. They love the good things in life and may risk becoming self-interested and pleasure-seeking. This subtype is generally good at getting what they need to have fun and feel safe, but may also be good at rationalising and defending whatever they want to do.

sx: The dreamer, the idealist, the romantic … the SX Seven sees reality through a rose-coloured filter, connected to the possibility in everything. Their enthusiasm and optimism may seem unrealistic or naive as they tend to believe in the good in everything and everyone. They want the world to be more than dreary and dull and may embellish reality and dislike relationships that have become boring and predictable.

so: This countertype acts against the gluttony that characterises the Seven, tending to mistype with Enneagram 2. They are generous and have a strong desire to be of service, to create a better world. They will sacrifice their own needs to serve the needs of a group or person they support. They can be judgemental regarding selfishness in themselves or others and they hope to be appreciated for their sacrifice.

so if you search up your run of the mill 7 description, the negatives may not sound like mason, as 7s tend to be kinda irresponsible and reckless, and i think that’s because mason’s a so seven, which is literally the countertype & goes against the typical 7 behaviour.

it was a close call between sp and sx, for second, but i feel like i’m leaning towards sx more because of how excited he got about the supernatural at first.

conclusion

idk what to say even but i should probably go to bed now. also mason is very cool. also also did you notice that corey is an ISTP so he literally has the same functions but in reverse order??? opposites attract

[reddiewrote]

@asheescribbles

Like a hummingbird, Asmodeus thought fondly. So speedy and efficient yet calm and still, visiting every flower on the bush in the blink of an eye, no petal left uninspected, not a drop of nectar unharvested. Where Asmodeus is relaxed and leisurely, Raphael is immediate. She didn’t give his mind time to wander. Which was a little frustrating, actually, considering Asmodeus’s way of thinking had always been more aligned with a game of strategy than an honest conversation. He needed time to think if he wanted to win therapy, something that was both normal to want and possible to achieve.

He sipped his tea (she did ask nicely) as he listened to her chatter, his eyes following the movement of her soft hands while she prepared her own cup of tea. His was sweet, spicy and hot. Hard to ignore and not the typical taste profile of his preferred beverages, it assisted in keeping his focus pinned in place, reminding him exactly where he was and who he was with. By design, he knew. Raphael was a good doctor. Clever. Then she was looking him over, and he lifted his eyebrows with lazy intrigue, waves of fresh questions washing out the answers to the last ones he’d been forming in his head. But she was complimenting him in between the inquiries, and that felt nice. He did not enjoy hearing that the version of himself he had chosen to present was perfectly fine; he did, however, like hearing that his shoes were pretty.

“What, this old thing?” Ha-ha. “I like to shake things up a little every decade or so, keeps things from getting stale. I’ve been thinking of growing out a bit of scruff,” he mused with a smirk, scratching the underside of his chin. “What do you think? Would it suit me?”

Asmodeus had been fond of sporting an androgynous sort of form when human culture allowed it, something easily manipulated to suit… various needs, but long, long ago, he’d found himself as far as identity goes aligning firmly with the masculine. Something about the testosterone of the bull and ram, he’d say. Though on the rare occasion that he’s out of his human suit and accompanied by the two other heads, the royal we prefers to be called “they.”

“I’ve taken on more of a reserved role, back…” what was he going to say, ‘home’? He needed a new word. He wasn’t exactly sure where home was anymore. Everywhere he went felt like a visit. “… where I’ve been, as of late. I’m not doing as much tempting personally these days, spending more time behind a desk Down Below and minding the Circles, pushing papers.” He seemed pleased with this, though. Asmodeus had once quite enjoyed sticking his fingers into human affairs and meddling in the volatility of society, raking the higher value souls in with his own dirty hands, but at this particular point in time the humans seemed to be making plenty of messes on their own and no longer really needed his intervention to damn themselves. This meant that it no longer mattered to him if business men, members of the clergy, Hollywood elites, or politicians liked them young and boyish or not. A more distinguished form was more befitting of a king, a few grey hairs more suited to a man who walked with a cane half the time. Not today, though. Today it was just him and his shiny shoes.

Asmodeus was appreciative when Raphael pulled him quickly through topics of conversation like a struggling fish on her line. The time didn’t matter, really, not to him. But nine years can be significant to a human lifespan, sometimes the difference between visiting a retirement home or visiting a grave, and Asmodeus had always struggled with the terrible habit of growing emotionally attached to select mortals every once in a blue moon. But that was a problem to sort out another time.

“You certainly are full of questions for me, aren’t you, angel?” He chuckled, much preferring the ones that required explanation rather than introspection. He’d been to so many, though, in search of the unobtainable; how could he ever expand on the finer points of all of them? How could he be sure he remembered them all?

“I was… all over, I suppose. It was rare that there wasn’t a demon carrying my name in each space, but it did happen. There were a few in which they’d never Fallen at all. A few were I’d been eliminated, in the First War or after. One where I was a cat, oddly enough?” That had been a stranger one, admittedly. He didn’t stay long. “A great many where the local Asmodai were only Princes or Princesses of Hell with much less sway in the chain of command.” And a great many more that were… awful, but the honey in his chai kept him present. “It’s infinite. Infinite possibilities. I could walk a thousand years more and never find a corner. If you can think of it, sweetheart, it is most assuredly out there somewhere.”

@asheescribbles

Nine years.

The comfortable warmth he’d been feeling was suddenly intruded upon by an abrupt jab of ice through his veins.

Nine… years?

With such a well-practiced pokerface, the shock he experienced was almost imperceptibly displayed with just the slightest widening of his eyes, and perhaps the tightness that suddenly hit his smile.

Nine years? Nine years?

He’d come into existence before anyone had ever started counting, 3,000-some-odd days were but a flash in the pan. But he’d always experienced that flash in real time, in chronological order. Perhaps he did need that check-up after all…

… What had she just said? He was listening, but hadn’t heard much of it. His pretty blue eyes blinked quickly back into focus, hoping she hadn’t noticed him falter.

“Ah, of course.” Asmodeus shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to keep the easy relaxation he was so well known for in place, and… struggling.

“A walk sounds lovely,” he said, in typical fashion, with little to no interest whatsoever in what might be good for him. Walking, walking, walking, endlessly walking and yet somehow, more of that was preferable to the alternative. Suddenly, an old feeling - insecurity. He gestured awkwardly towards the door behind him. “Shall we?”

[astrochats]

Astro Scales: the breakdown by sign

In our first post, we introduced the Astro Scales system and discussed each element’s heart and head values. In this post, we will further break down each element into its three signs, and explain what distinguishes the signs from one another.

The Astro Scales system derives its name from a pair of scales, where we envision head and heart values being weighed against each other. Some signs weigh the head value above the heart value, some weigh the heart value above the head value, and some place an equal weight on both values, balancing the scales.

For example, while all fire signs struggle with the primary conflict of now vs. later, we argue that the charging ram Aries weighs now, the fire heart value, above the head value of later. By contrast, the archer Sagittarius believes in the value of biding their time, despite the draw of fulfilling their desires immediately; thus Sagittarius weighs head over heart. Meanwhile, proud Leo, king of the jungle, constantly balances immediate reward against delayed gratification. 

We observe these 3 configurations of the scales (heart over head, balancing both, head over heart) in all 4 elements, giving each of the 12 zodiac signs its own distinctive character.

***

Fire signs (now vs. later)

Aries: now

The first sign in the zodiac, Aries the ram bursts into existence with an uncontainable life force, as if to announce to the world, “I am here.” It’s therefore no surprise that Aries leads with the heart value of now over the head value of later. Although Aries understands on some level that waiting can lead to greater rewards, the cost of forgoing the immediate rush of instant gratification is often too high for this impatient sign. More so than any other fire sign, Aries embodies the action principle of fire: a flame’s existence depends on a continued fuel source, or it will be extinguished. Thus it is important for Aries to feel a sense of forward momentum with all of their actions, and stasis is very uncomfortable for them. Aries may feel anxiety about not getting what they have set their minds to and if they cannot follow through with their plans, they can feel lost and unlike themselves. It’s instinctual for Aries to prioritize the desires of their heart above the head. This means that while Aries is very good at making decisive moves to instigate the outcome they desire, others can feel steamrolled or ignored in Aries’ hasty actions.

Leo: balancing both

Ruled by the Sun, Leo is a sign that flourishes when it’s in the spotlight. Leos are generous with their warmth and their love; being around them can feel like basking in warm sunshine. Leos shine brightest when surrounded by other people, and their need for continuous attention from others explains why Leos balance the heart value of now against the head value of later. For Leo, balancing these values means pursuing all of their immediate desires, while making concessions so as not to lose their audience. The lion is the king of the jungle, and like all kings, Leo walks a fine line between luxuriating in all the perks of being at the top, yet always being aware of the precariousness of their position. There is always someone next in line, waiting to usurp a king who shows weakness or loses the support of his followers, and proud Leo feels keenly the cold shadow that descends upon them when the spotlight is turned on someone else. For this reason, it is rare to see two Leos in one group of friends. Though people are quick to characterize Leos as overconfident and self-absorbed, these traits can be attributed to this sign’s tendency towards idealism and a general wholehearted optimism for life. 

Sagittarius: later

Although Sagittarians may be known for their impulsivity, a second look at this sign reveals a surprising willingness to bide their time. Note that of all the fire signs, Sagittarius is the only one represented not by an animal, but by the archetype of the archer -- the hunter, who must lie in wait for the perfect moment to strike, reflecting how Sagittarius weighs their head value of later over their heart value of now. Another aspect of the Sagittarian mythology involves the figure of the centaur, a half-human, half-horse. While Sagittarius may feel the primal urge of now from beneath its hooves, its higher faculties are able to temper these urges. Ruled by Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion, Sagittarius is willing to take a gamble on waiting until later in the hope of reaping greater rewards. Sagittarius feels most like themselves when they have the freedom to explore various options and are able to escape when life gets too restrictive. These tendencies result in the endless optimism and adaptability Sagittarians bring to all of life’s ups and downs, but can also result in an impression of flightiness and unreliability.

***

Water signs (feeling vs. fantasy)

Scorpio: feeling

Of the three water signs, Scorpio alone is represented by a non-water-dwelling animal. Compared to the dark, nurturing ocean depths where Cancer and Pisces live, the harsh, flat desert where the scorpion dwells contains few hiding places; here, everyone is stripped bare. Similarly, this sign favors the heart value of raw feeling over the head value of fantasy, which they see as a watery world of self delusions and concealments. Even as they are drawn to the boundless promise of the mystical and fantastic, Scorpio accepts that they live in the physical world and must adapt to its harshness rather than seeking escape in dreams. Scorpios feel things intensely, and they have a hard time hiding or masking their emotions, seeming even to revel in the darker side of their nature. Since they see the world and other people with clear eyes, without the veneer of idealism, they find trust and vulnerability difficult. Scorpio’s combination of intensity and penetrative perception gives them a magnetic quality, which can be attractive to many. But when tangling with this guarded sign, know that physical passions do not necessarily translate into emotional intimacy.

Cancer: balancing both

Cancer the crab walks between the watery world of fantasy and the earthly sands of real sensation. Though they are often stereotyped as sensitive and moody, this reputation stems from the tug-of-war between Cancer’s heart value of feeling and head value of fantasy. Far from being mutually exclusive, this sign’s heart and head values often feed into and build upon each other. For a Cancer, real-life feelings are heightened by their fantastical imaginings, while their fantasies are imbued with real attachment. For example, in everyday conflicts, it comes naturally for Cancer to cast others in the roles of hero and villain. Conversely, this sign’s romantic daydreams can replicate or even surpass the giddy euphoria of actually falling in love. Because Cancers attach equal weight to their fantasies and their lived emotions, it can be extremely painful and disappointing for this sign when experiences don’t live up to the expectations set by fantasies; this is when Cancer may retreat without warning behind a spiky exterior. However, a person who is able to coax this sign out of their shell will find a uniquely soft and nurturing nature: a Cancer’s affection is given wholeheartedly and without reserve.

Pisces: fantasy

Pisces the fish lives entirely submerged in the ocean depths of fantasy, so much so that Pisceans often seem to inhabit their own plane of existence. With this sign of dreams, the subconscious, and the spiritual, the head value of fantasy comes so naturally that they may have difficulty separating fantasy from their emotional reality. For Pisces, fantasy involves a predisposition towards creating deeper meaning from the apparent randomness and chaos of life. This may morph into existential dread if Pisces begins to consider the possibility that reality is actually random and devoid of meaning. Everyday, practical matters tend to fade into the background in the face of these looming existential questions, which may contribute to this sign’s “head in the clouds” reputation. While Pisces, like other water signs, is highly emotionally attuned, their fixation on fantasy can make it difficult for this sign to express or indeed, truly experience their immediate feelings. This results in Pisces’ susceptibility to absorbing the feeling currents of others around them, as well as their reputation for empathy and sensitivity. A Pisces who is too detached from the truth of their own feelings can become oversensitive and withdrawn.

***

Earth signs (conviction vs. compromise)

Taurus: conviction

Famously stubborn, Taurus’s stability comes from their firm heart value of conviction, which they weigh over the head value of compromise. Because Taurus’s sense of identity is so grounded in their personal convictions, being confronted with the necessity of compromise can feel like an affront to Taurus’s self-image. This is why Taurus, more than any other sign, is known to fear change despite recognizing the importance of growth -- after all, compromise by definition requires us to leave our comfort zone in some way. Like the immovable bull, Taurus prefers to stick to what they know and trust, not only in their beliefs but also in their habits and environments. While they are aware, as all earth signs are, that there are times when we must prioritize practicality and/or the common good, it costs more comparatively for a Taurus to repress their innermost beliefs. Although this sign may come across as stubborn and obstinate at times, others know that they can trust Taurus to be honest and reliable.

Virgo: balancing both

The maiden associated with Virgo embodies purity of course, but also carries a sheaf of wheat, representing the harvest. These two symbols encapsulate Virgo’s balancing act between their heart value of conviction and their head value of compromise: while it is important for Virgo to uphold the purity and clarity of their personal convictions, this service-oriented sign may not always find it necessary or appropriate to impress these convictions upon others. The harvest is emblematic of humans’ interdependence with each other and with nature; Virgo’s approach to compromise follows a similar principle of being conscious of how your actions affect others. They are careful not to be offensive or take up too much space, and tend to disdain those who act rudely or thoughtlessly. Balancing conviction and compromise can be a struggle for Virgos, who feel they must remain true to themselves even as they wish to avoid making a fuss. This may account for some of this overanalytical sign’s tendency towards anxiety and neurosis. Virgos treat each word and action they put into the universe with extreme care, but even so, they may stay up late at night regretting their decisions.

Capricorn: compromise

Even as the mountain goat Capricorn steadily ascends the mountain, it never loses sight of its grounded perspective. Capricorns weigh their head value above their heart value; although they have as strong a sense of their convictions as other earth signs, it is unlikely that a Capricorn will allow these private convictions to interfere with their ability to compromise. Compared to other earth signs, Capricorns tend to come across as more patient when dealing with people because they try to accommodate everyone’s differences in order to move forward. Another way to understand this value could be “compartmentalization,” something that comes naturally to this sign. Some may call Capricorns cold because of their ability to put distance between their actions and their personal feelings/allegiances; they would simply call themselves realistic. Compromise serves most Capricorns well -- in the long term, they will be able to build respect, recognition and a reputation of dependability in the eyes of others.  

***

Air signs (knowledge vs. faith)

Aquarius: knowledge

Ruled by Uranus, the planet of revolution and rebellion, Aquarius the water bearer is characterized by independence, originality and humanitarianism. Aquarians are not known to be followers; their determination to walk their own path emerges from their heart value of knowledge, which they prioritize over the head value of faith. If you want to recruit Aquarius to your cause or way of thinking, you’d better be prepared to explain every step of your logic. For Aquarius, blindly following a belief that is not their own feels like a betrayal of the principle to seek truth. Even if an Aquarius hasn’t yet developed their own perspective on a subject, they are eager to pick holes in someone else’s viewpoint in order to better understand the other person’s logic. Since Aquarians tend to forget that most people’s beliefs include emotion as well as logic, this sign runs the risk of coming across as cold or unemotional. Yet it is equally common for Aquarians to attract those who admire their unique perspective. 

Libra: balancing both

Portrayed as a pair of scales, it comes as no surprise that Libra is the air sign that balances the heart and head values of knowledge and faith. The heart value of knowledge gives Libra a clear view of their own beliefs, though they are unlikely to offer these opinions unless pressed or in the company of someone they fully trust. This is because Libra wishes to avoid conflict and maintain a sense of equilibrium in most situations, and it comes naturally to this sign to reflect other people’s opinions back at them, telling others what they most want to hear. Libras are seen by some as indecisive or “fake” because their behavior can change depending on their company. However, this is not to say that Libras are simply humoring the other party; they believe that each person has their own truth that they live by and they are willing to reconcile disparate opinions with their own, especially when faced with an emotionally charged appeal. In this way, this harmony-seeking sign can manage knowledge and faith simultaneously without sacrificing either; the result is Libra’s distinctive charm and agreeable nature. 

Gemini: faith

Gemini’s ruler Mercury is the fastest-moving planet in our solar system. Accordingly, Gemini, the mercurial twins of the zodiac, always thinks a million thoughts at once. Their talkative, loud exterior tends to mask their propensity to overanalyze and doubt their own logical flow. Gemini weighs their head value of faith over the heart value of knowledge: it is often easier for a Gemini to take someone else’s words as truth rather than stick to their own knowledge, unless the other person’s opinions strongly contradict systems that they already know to be correct. Although Gemini is much maligned for the stereotype of being “two-faced,” this sign isn’t being consciously duplicitous; they are simply so faith-oriented that it is difficult for them to maintain their former beliefs in the face of someone else’s forceful opinions. A Gemini’s fluid, fast-paced thought process can accommodate many different and conflicting truths in rapid succession -- to arrive at a single, final truth is the real challenge for this sign. For Gemini, knowledge seems less like a stable destination and more like a never-ending journey of considering each possibility and perspective.

***

Thanks for reading! xxx fon & bells 

p.s. Our ask box is now open!

[nightskyhoseok]

Desire (M)

Request: Request: namjoon with 3, 14 and 68 🤔 thank you love! 😘

Pairing: Namjoon x reader Genre: Smut, Best Friend to Lovers!AU Warnings: masturbation (f), big dick Namjoon, dom!Namjoon, unprotected sex (be safe y’all), light dirty talk, pretty tame for the most part Word Count: 1.5K

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It was no secret you had a crush on your roommate, Namjoon. All of your friends and even his friends knew it, but it seemed he was too oblivious to notice, despite everyone’s constant teasing and jokes about the two of you. Though it seems like such a thing would bother you, you actually didn’t mind it. If Namjoon never knew your feelings for him, things wouldn’t become complicated in the long run. You were, after all, his best friend, and it wouldn’t be surprising if you chose to live together after college.

You let out a loud sigh, scrolling through the movie section of Netflix aimlessly, the remote loose in your hand. Your cheek was pressed up against the pillow and your arm was losing feeling underneath you. You shifted and laid on your back, twisting your neck to look at the TV. Finally, after minutes of deliberation, you chose to watch a stupid romance movie. 

You honestly hadn’t expected the movie to be so emotionally investing, but instead of rolling your eyes at every character, you were biting your nails in anticipation, waiting for the two main characters to finally get together. When it finally happened, you found yourself sighing in relief. 

Of course, the fact that there was a sex scene didn’t go unnoticed. Something inside you switched off, and your mind wandered to Namjoon, thinking about the way he looked when he left for class this morning. His hair was messy and he wore a see through black shirt, perfectly showing off his muscles. His jeans were so tight, you had to force yourself to look anywhere else than his crotch.

As the two main characters fell into bed and into one another, you found yourself slipping a hand down your shorts to rub yourself through your panties, a small moan escaping your lips. You turned your head back and rested it against the armrest, shutting your eyes as you lost yourself in a world of pleasure, eventually sliding your hands past your panties to swipe at your dripping slit with a finger.

You pushed your finger in, thumb teasing at your bundle of nerves, and you arched your back slightly, the image of Namjoon flashing in your mind. God, what you would give to have his fingers in you instead of yours. The thought made you curse under your breath, along with a whisper of Namjoon’s name. 

You picked up the pace, inserting another finger as you bit your lip to surprise your moan, but ultimately failed at the thought of Namjoon hovering above you, doing this to you instead. 

“Namjoon-“ You choked out a moan, tilting your head back. You were so lost in your world of pleasure that you didn’t even hear the front door open, and it took a few seconds to register the voice that followed.

“Y/N?”

You shot your eyes open to see Namjoon standing in the doorway, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Shocked from the sudden intrusion, you yanked your hand out of your shorts and covered yourself with a blanket, heat flushing to your face.

“Fuck, when did you get home?” You cursed, looking anywhere except his face.

“You just moaned my name,” Namjoon said, a smug smirk taking over his demeanor. 

“You must be hearing things,” You denied, beginning to roll back over to the TV to exit the movie, the main characters moaning loudly on the screen. 

“Then am I wrong if I say you were touching yourself to the thought of me?”

You froze, and ever so slowly looked at him as he walked toward you, darkness filling his eyes. You gulped and rushed to your feet, trying to get up and leave when Namjoon pulled your back by your wrist and connected your lips. 

You froze in shock again as he moved his lips against yours, but easily melted into the kiss after a moment. Namjoon cupped your face and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. He swiped his tongue on your lower lip, asking for permission, which you gladly granted him. Your tongues fought as his hands travelled down your body, eventually landing on your ass to squeeze it. You jolted and moaned into the kiss, earning a low groan from Namjoon. 

He pulled away, resting his forehead on yours as he took a moment to catch his breath. He smiled and sat you down on the couch, pushing you gently to lay you down before climbing over you, hands roaming over your body. Namjoon leaned down and attached his lips to your neck, sucking until he left a bruise. Your fingers gripped at his hair, pulling slightly. He hissed and nipped your skin, mumbling against your neck.

“Don’t tease me, baby girl,” He warned. Curious to see what happened, you pulled at his hair again. Namjoon cursed and pulled away, standing up to strip out of his clothes. Your eyes immediately landed on his cock, and you felt yourself clench around nothing at his size.

“Fuck your cock is so big, I don’t think it’ll fit,” You said nervously. Namjoon laughed and climbed back over you, tugging down your shorts and panties swiftly as he spoke.

“You can take it, baby,” Namjoon hummed, looking at your glistening core before swiping his fingers over your slit, making you shudder out a moan. “Can’t you?”

You nodded, gripping at his arm beside you as he positioned himself between your folds, sliding the head of his cock up and down, coating it in your arousal. 

“Namjoon, please,” You whined, wanting to just feel him inside you already. He hummed and slowly slid inch by inch into you, a loud moan falling past your lips at the feeling of him stretching you out so perfectly. Your walls gripped him as he slid in until you were completely full to the hilt. 

“Fuck,” Namjoon moaned, throwing his head back slightly. He gave you a moment to adjust, then pulled his hips back just to snap them forward again. You cried out, digging your nails into his arm at the feeling of him finally inside you. You bit your lip as Namjoon set a steady pace, thrusting in and out of you with ease due to your wetness. His cock filled you deliciously, you never wanted him to leave you. 

Then, it was like something switched on in Namjoon. Maybe it was the way you were weighing underneath him or the feeling of your walls gripping his cock, but he suddenly sped up, ramming into you with no remorse. 

“Fuck! Namjoon, fuck-“ You moaned, arching your back as he pounded into you, small grunts accompanying each thrust. He rolled his hips against yours, pushing deep into you. “Don’t go so deep!”

“Fuck, baby. You feel so good. So tight,” Namjoon moaned, leaning down to kiss you as he continued his thrusts, sending your body jolting with his movements. You moaned into his mouth, hands gripping the back of his neck, relishing in the feeling of him ramming into you without mercy. 

When he hit your g-spot, your legs began to tremble and his name fell from your lips as you threw your head back, squinting your eyes shut.

“Aw, your legs are trembling~ does it feel that good?” Namjoon smirked, watching you unravel beneath him. You nodded furiously, fingers dragging down his back hard enough that you knew there would be marks the next day. 

“Yes! Yes, so good! Namjoon, oh my god!” You cried out. Namjoon gripped your hips and slowed his pace, letting you know he was close, and by the way you were clenching around him, he knew you were close too.

You felt a coil beginning to form in your lower stomach as Namjoon pushed in and out of you, his hips stuttering slightly.

“Fuck. You gonna cum, baby?” Namjoon moaned, hand teasing your clit. You whimpered out a small ‘yes’ and gripped at the couch. When Namjoon hit your sweet spot and pinched your clit at the same time, you absolutely lost it, and found yourself screaming out his name as you released yourself around him. 

The feeling of you clenching around him had him groaning, bringing him to his release as well. He pulled out of you and stroked himself a few times, then released himself on your stomach, white strips of cum painting your skin. 

You both sat there, heavy breaths filling the room when Namjoon suddenly leaned over to kiss you, his hand cupping your face. You smiled and kissed him back before pulling away, whispering against his lips.

“I can’t say I’m mad you came home early,” You laughed. Namjoon pecked your lips and smiled back.

“Me either,” He said. “Do you have classes tomorrow?”

“No, I’m free.”

“Good. We’re going on a date. Wear something nice. Preferably something that shows off your ass now that it’s finally mine.”

You laughed and kissed him, wondering why you ever fell in love with this loser in the first place.

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