#and there are probably better laws around me getting out of an abusive situation if I had to

[the-qalankhais-sweetheart]

Look, y'all, I probably wouldn't be in Starfleet anyway - I'd probably be a civilian SLP consultant on the ship to lend my skills to planets as a gesture of goodwill or something. Star Trek all the way, especially if it means I can meet and woo Elnor 😎

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

Sorry, it's kind of a long ask...

hi hello!! I really enjoy your au, and the small tidbits I find here and there paint such a vivid picture in my mind. I was wondering if you could indulge me just a little. What where the moms' reactions to meeting the Omega daddies? Specifically Samantha?

Canonically, I don't think Ron ever talked about his father besides the fact that his dad died on a fishing trip and was never proud of him. I imagine he probably opened up a little to his wife, but that was it.

Followup on that tidbit, how would Ron's anchor work? Is it like traveling through Willy's mind and seeing things from his perspective, or is it an owl house "jump through these paintings of his memories and see for yourself" situation? And since we know about the doodler's influence on that course of events, do the moms see it? (Let's be honest, the dad's are not perceptive enough to see anything besides Ron struggling).

I really enjoy your au and artwork, keep up the good work :D

(sorry that only willy and barry get neat sketches here, i realized i had no real design for either of them and so took a second pass with references LMAO)

no need to apologize for a long ask! im really glad you like the au and my art, thank you so much!! sorry this reply took so long ":]

i actually think about this a LOT, because a massive staple of my specific take on this au is that the moms... arent supposed to be here! the dads were supposed to be taken instead, just like in canon, and so everyone is quite confused throughout their interactions XD like you point out - samantha doesnt know who willy is, and in fact, no one knows who anybody else is besides morgan and bill :]

their first interactions, pre-reveal, are mostly confusion on both ends. the moms have no fuckin clue whats going on. the omega daddies are scrambling to figure out what went wrong and come up with reasons why the moms suck (not hard to do). by the time the reveal comes around, the o-dads are on steadier footing, but the moms are still utterly flabbergasted. only morgan and carol ever met their fathers-in-law, and well. obviously frank is not a villain here, so only morgan recognizes anyone LMAO

as for what samantha knows of willy and how she reacted... she doesnt (didnt) know what he looks like, and she doesnt know the full of ron's experiences in childhood. she just knows, like you said, he was an abusive father who died on a fishing trip when ron was young. she definitely knows more than most, ron has opened up to her about it, but she doesnt know the details. upon meeting him, shes. well. less than impressed! samantha is notably a very forgiving and kind character, even to those they are enemies with, but willy (and the o-dads as a whole) is someone she never gives any benefit of the doubt. as soon as she learns who he is, shes over it and very on board with "well lets just kill the guy." she hates his ass!!

as for rons anchor, im still uh. not entirely sure! but it would be more an owl house jumping-into-memories thing, not traveling through willys mind instead. though that would definitely be an interesting take... not what im going for, but something to explore in the future :3c and i dont know if the moms are all that observant either LMAO so while theyd probably have a better chance of noticing the doodler, i think they would still be mostly focused on little ron :') i do really wanna do a bigger post talking about the anchors at some point, since i have them all more figured out now than i did initially. however, logically, i should just get over myself and write the fanfiction LMAO i just am not a long form writer so that seems daunting ":]

[theboywithburninghands]

Alright. This chapter is quite short, but heavy. Probably the darkest the story will get. I’ll include all the triggers obvs, but just be prepared okay? It’s also the third to last chapter, I can’t believe I actually made it this far… @fernstarsblog I owe you big time.

T/W: Violence, lost teeth, parental/sibling abuse, drug addiction, withdrawals, vomit, era appropriate sexism

Primum Peccatum Ch. 15: Hey, Brother…

Two days came and went. Jax’s symptoms grew slightly less severe over these 48 hours, but not tremendously. He was still vomiting several times a day and his fever had peaked back to 101 degrees. The first day of just one drop of opium, he had been scarcely lucid enough to speak, what with the fever and his insomnia soft-boiling his brain. Pomni read quietly at the desk while Jax stared off into space, occasionally muttering something in delirium or vomiting into his sick bucket until the sun rose.

Luckily, he dozed off around eleven in the morning the second day, and managed to sleep undisturbed until nine that evening. He was still feverish upon waking, but his mind received long overdue rest and put him in a better mood, even if that meant staying awake for another night. Pomni utilized his impromptu nap to get some sleep and rest her voice as well, and was thus more than up to the task of staying awake with her fiancé again.

Pomni began another novel with him that evening, The Box by Eudes Lafitte. It was rather fitting for Jax’s situation, a novel detailing a nameless narrator’s time looking after his wealthier friend’s flat and pets, and losing grip on his reality from the isolation. Pomni thanked The Allfather that she was there to look after Jax, and he wasn’t entirely alone like the narrator of that story.

It wasn’t until 3:30 in the morning when Jax’s eyelids finally began to droop, and he fell into a gentle sleep. Pomni tucked him in (not too far up, though, she didn’t want him to sweat), and went downstairs to one of Mr. Kinger’s moth-eaten armchairs, on which she sat and dozed for a few hours. She awoke to the sun peering through the dust-smeared sitting room window, and she promptly rubbed sleep from her eyes and got to her feet, putting on her sunhat. She would be right back at Jax’s side as soon as she obtained his medicine delivery.

She had sent a telegram to the hospital two days ago that she required more medication for Dr. Altonicus Romero Krolik’s youngest brother. Since Alton worked there, he could obtain what was needed anonymously. Pomni refused the eldest Krolik brother’s offer to pay out of his own pocket for the medicine. She had a good deal of crowns stored away for emergencies, and mailed the appropriate number of them to Alton. He was impressed at how accurately the flat envelope was addressed. Most mail going to the hospital was turned away for not including a proper attention or department name, and thus circled the limbo of non-delivery for ages. His future sister-in-law accepted none of that, no sir. Alton telegrammed The Rooker Estate that he would be sending someone to the island with a parcel of medication first thing the next morning.

Pomni was drowsy, but relatively content as she walked down the hill towards the pier. It was a pleasant early summer morning, the air warm and the breeze cool. The sky was baby blue, with a white and fluffy platoon of clouds slowly advancing on the horizon. They might gray out and bring rain later, but that wasn’t an issue. Perhaps it would serve as a natural soporific for Jax, allowing him to rest his overworked mind.

She had almost made it down the hill when a figure stepped into view. Pomni felt her stomach knot upon recognizing them.

“Pomni. Well, just who I was looking for!”

Boone wore the same orange waistcoat that he wore for the dinner the previous week, but was clad in a different white shirt, this one having ruffles on the front.

“Good morning, Boone,” Pomni replied.

“You say my name as if you were cursing. Tell me, what have I done to offend you so?” he asked.

“I’d rather not idly chat with you. You’re here for a reason, aren’t you?” Pomni demanded.

“Goodness sakes, how hostile. And here I thought we were family,” Boone said, grinning.

“By law only, and even then, not yet.” Pomni replied, arms crossed.

“Very well. My father sent me here to deliver this medicine for Jax,” Boone showed Pomni a small white paper bag.

“I’ll see that he gets it, thank you,” Pomni held out her palm.

“Don’t be hasty, Pomni. I have a few questions regarding the contents.” Boone replied.

“The contents of the medicine bag? That would be medicine.”

“Liar,” Boone chuckled. “I had a look inside on the way here, and I saw a bottle of opium. Tell me why.”

“I don’t much wish to tell you anything, Boone,” Pomni snapped. “You showed me just how trustworthy you were with sensitive information. Shame on you for doing that to Osvaldo, might I add.”

Boone put a paw to his heart in mock pain.

“Oh, shame on me, truly! Listen, little lady. My father would have found out eventually. If I hadn’t told him, and Osvaldo sang at your ceremony, my father would have tanned his hide five times as badly for being ‘womanly’ in public. It was thanks to me that he escaped with just chores and a slap in the face.”

“What a savior you are. Are you also here to have Sister Ragatha nominate you for Sainthood?” Pomni asked.

“Perhaps. Now, tell me why my younger brother requires opium to get over the flu.” he asked.

Pomni chewed her thumbnail. She absolutely couldn’t let Boone in on what was going on. She racked her brain for anything that might assuage the rabbit.

“Opium is a pain relief drug. The flu, in case you were unaware, causes aches and pains throughout the body. You can put two and two together, can you not?”

“Liar,” Boone said again. “Opium is a Physick for pain, that much is true, but only for extreme pain. Not for something as minor as a flu. I’ve read about it in some of Alton’s books. Broken bones or surgical scars or pain brought about by cancer. Not a flu.”

“If I am a liar, Boone, then how do you explain the fact that Jax is currently bedridden with a fever and nausea? Is he playacting, perhaps? What purpose would such an idiotic ruse serve?” Pomni ground her teeth together. As much of a rascal as this beastman was, he was drifting much too close to the truth.

“That’s a fair point, his condition looked extremely genuine. But I wondered on the boat ride here, what sort of disease mimics the flu and yet requires opium to cure it? And then, eureka!”

Boone held out his paws with a wolfish smile. “Opium withdrawal! Very similar to the flu and eased by nothing but poppy. Soooo, Jax has a laudanum habit, does he? Well, that’s simply unacceptable for a new bride! I’ll simply have to inform my father, won’t I? He’ll know precisely what to do!”

Boone turned to walk back to the pier. Pomni felt her blood freeze. He couldn’t ruin everything now, not after Jax had suffered so much already! She had to slow him down somehow, what would get him to stop?! She selected the first question that came to her mind, and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“What did you tell Jax the day you pushed him off that bridge?”

Boone froze mid-step, like a wind-up toy that needed cranking. He put his bare foot down, and turned to Pomni.

“I beg your pardon?”

Pomni instinctively took a step back. His eyes were piercing and his voice deadly soft. She was alone out here with him.

“…I said… I-I-I asked what you said to him, that made him fight you. The day you pushed him from-”

“I didn’t push him. He fell. Did he tell you that I pushed him?” Boone’s voice was cold, the edge of a knife on one’s skin just before it slit it open.

“He did,” Pomni said, unable to stop the words now that they were unspooling. “He told me you made his childhood miserable, and he told me that you said something so awful to him that it makes him sick to repeat it. Tell me what it was.”

“I did no such thing,” Boone murmured.

“Now who’s lying?” Pomni shot back. “It seems to me that you’re in denial. I would be too, if I hurt a family member that badly!”

“You don’t know a thing about me,” Boone said.

“I know that you’re a bully! You’re frightened of your father and bored constantly, so you take it out on those who don’t fight back! The textbook definition of a bully!” Pomni took several steps back at this point.

“Who do you think you are…?!” Boone growled.

“I think I’m right about you! You’re a narcissistic, selfish little twit!”

“You BITCH!!!”

Boone lunged for her, throwing the medicine bag aside. Although he was the shortest of his brothers at five feet, ten inches, that placed him a head above Pomni. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye and tackled her to the ground. Pomni shrieked in terror, grabbing his face in retaliation. He reared back, prepared to grab her about the throat with a look of deranged vengeance on his face.

There was a swoosh, and a sharp, wet crack as a flash of gold hurtled through the air and directly into Boone’s skull. The rabbit fell from Pomni, who scrambled away and pressed herself against the trunk of a pine tree. Someone in a red tailcoat clutched a cane tipped with gold, stepping into the woods before Pomni could say a word. The Gentleman in Red..?!

Boone, on his back in the middle of the road, made a sound like a sob mixed with a groan and spat out a mouthful of blood, a single, shiny white object in the middle of a puddle of red. He arched one leg and managed to push his body forward, rolling over and spitting out more blood onto the hard-packed dirt. He shakily rose to his feet, whimpering, before stooping again to pick up his luxated tooth. He ran a thumb along his teeth to locate the empty space, wincing from pain upon prodding it and trying to fit the tooth back in its place, to no avail.

Pomni kept her eyes, wide and frightened, locked on the beastman. Eventually, Boone’s yellow eyes met her blue, and they stared for a long while. He took a step.

“Keep back,” Pomni ordered immediately. “Put another paw on me, you reptile, and I’ll drive my thumbs into your eye sockets.”

Boone said nothing, turning and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the dirt road. He looked at the tooth in his palm.

“Milk…” he said.

“What?” Pomni snapped.

“I need milk. A cup of milk. To save the tooth. I read it in one of Alton’s books on first aid-”

“You’re utterly deluded,” Pomni said incredulously.

“No, I’m not, I’m- I know these things!” Boone insisted.

Pomni only stared.

“Stop looking at me like that!” Boone cried.

Pomni said nothing.

“STOP IT! V-Very well then! I apologize! Is that what you wanted to hear?!” Boone shouted, pacing back and forth and clutching his ears.

“Get out of here, Boone,” Pomni said. “You’ve done quite enough. That would be the best thing to do… Just… Leave.” She hadn’t taken her eyes off of him.

“I…I won’t.” Boone replied, spitting out more blood. The wound seemed to be staunching. “Why is my brother battling an opium addiction in the first place..? You owe me an explanation for that.”

“I owe you nothing,” Pomni replied icily. “But, if it will inspire you to leave, very well.

“When you pushed Jax off that bridge, he took opium for the pain and became addicted. We’ve kept it a secret from everyone in your family barring Altonicus and Kali, because we know your father will-”

“It wasn’t my fault…” Boone interrupted distantly.

“Shut up. We know your father will react violently. Not just towards Jax. All of us. Alton, Kali, perhaps even me and you. And I know you find the pain of others amusing, but-”

“I do not! I-” Boone began.

“Shut up! I assume you aren’t as amused if you’re in the line of fire. So, if you’re going to be a quisling, so be it, but know that you’re undoing weeks of progress for a problem that was your fault in the first place! I can assure you, cretin, that if you intend on causing mayhem because you’re bored, I will make it my life’s mission to see you in agony as well! I’m sure your father would be delighted to know you lost that tooth trying to put your filthy paws on me, and that you caused the injury that-”

“STOOOOOOOOOPP!!!”

Boone’s scream caused birds to scatter from the treeline in shock. He had grabbed hold of his ears and clenched his eyes shut. He crouched to his knees and wrapped his arms around his legs, burying his face into the backs of his elbows. Pomni could hear sobbing.

They remained as they were, her against the tree and him in the middle of the road. Pomni slumped back, eyeing the quivering green and orange ball that was Boone.

“You have a choice now, Boone. I can’t promise you a reward, but-”

“I told him that…” Boone interrupted. “I… I told him that it was his fault.”

“Pardon?” Pomni inquired. She leaned forward just a touch. Not too close.

“I told him that it was his fault.” Boone said, his eyes puffy and red. “That father was like this. Alton and Oz told me that he used to be completely different when our mother was alive. He would give them rides on his shoulders, or take them on hikes, or, blazes, even smile now and then… and then she died after having Jax. And I never knew that mother, or that father.”

Boone spat out a last mouthful of blood, smaller than the previous.

“The father I grew up with may as well have been a stone. I don’t believe he’s ever told me ‘Well done, Boone.’ a single time in my entire life, and the same for my brothers. Apart from Dr. Perfection, Altonicus R. Krolik, and even then, it was just a handshake. Can you imagine that? Eight years of blood, sweat and tears in med school and my father can scarcely manage the most basic of congratulations! But if we got in trouble, oh, would there ever be consequences! Floggings and skipped meals for all! There was one time, when I was sent to the headmaster for too many tardy demerits, that father made everyone at the house pretend as though I wasn’t there for a week. If anybody spoke to me or even acknowledged me, he would crack them across the palm with his cane… By that Thursday I was sobbing for anyone, even Zuzanna, to just look at me.”

He put his head back in his arms and let out a series of fresh sobs. Pomni remained beneath the tree, knees drawn up to her chest as well. She waited for his tears to subside, mouth slightly open and blue eyes wide. Eventually, Boone picked up his head from his arms.

“I did make Jax’s life a misery. It was a loathsome thing to do, but I felt so powerless otherwise… And it’s done nothing, because I’m still powerless, aren’t I? Still trapped in that house with that thing I call father and having no prospects… It hurts. It hurts unbearably so that I haven’t created anything in my life… only problems.”

Pomni looked at the rabbit for a long time. Boone pressed his tongue to the void left by his missing tooth, but did not raise his eyes to her. She licked her lips.

“Boone. Do you recall what I said earlier?” she asked cautiously.

“I am aware you think me a reptile…” Boone said.

“Not that, you ignoramus! …Apologies. But I meant the fact that you have a choice.” Pomni said. “I understand now that you regret the past. Well, there’s nothing to do about that. But… If you want to start making amends, hand me that medicine bag, turn around and return home. Say nothing. Make any plausible excuse for the missing tooth. Understand?”

“You needn’t speak to me like a child,” Boone replied. “We are the same age.”

“Then act it,” Pomni said. “Do these things, and that will be something you’ve… helped create, as it were. I promise you nothing else.”

Boone attempted one last time to fit the tooth back in its socket, only to catch it in his open palm when it fell from his mouth. He groaned, touching a glove to his face and examining his paw. His fingers came away tinged with red.

“May I at least have a handkerchief..?” he asked.

“I haven’t got one. And even if I did, no. You attacked me, have you forgotten already?”

“…I am sorry.” Boone said. “…I won’t lay a hand on you again, Miss Shutnyk. I am sorry for that and for the hateful name I spoke.”

“If you truly are sorry, do as I asked and breathe not one word of what happened this morning. Hand me the medicine bag.”

Boone gathered the supplies that had been jettisoned from the bag, including the thankfully intact tincture bottle of laudanum, placing them back where they belonged and placing the bag at Pomni’s feet.

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

Boone turned to leave. He held his tooth in one paw, staring at it like a beggar given a single measly crown. His face was smeared with blood, the expression vacant.

“Boone,” Pomni called. The rabbit turned to look at her, mouth very slightly agape.

“If you aim to tell your father, just know that The Gentleman in Red, the one who cudgeled you? He will be watching.”

This was something of a bluff. Pomni didn’t know the first thing about that man, not even his name… He must have owned a carriage service he operated on the mainland, but why did he keep showing up on Primum Peccatum? And where had he gone just now..? Nothing about him made even a sliver of sense. But, that was to her benefit, since she could make up any tall tale about him to frighten Boone.

Boone looked at her. She hadn’t moved from her spot under the tree.

“…I’ll see you at the wedding, Ms. Shutnyk.”

[bigenderanne]

Today was the first time I've checked my inbox since I wrote my side of the situation. I'm working on another post in my drafts now that's bringing out more emotions in me so it might take awhile as it goes more into detail my history with transphobia and abuse, but I wanted to write some more quick and to the point (and less triggery) for those of you who are checking in on me, and to answer a few questions that have repeatedly come up in my hundreds of asks.

Most of the asks have been supportive and checking in on my mental health and physical safety. Thank you for that! Obviously my mental health is still a little shaken, and I'm uncomfortable with the fact she knows we've bought a new house, but I believe we are physically safe. That being said, it is part of the restraining order that's she's not allowed to interact with us on the internet in any way, shape, or form, nor is she allowed to use any electronic means of communication to interact with us, either. This is why I have refrained from responding to any of her posts. It would be completely unacceptable for me interact with her with the expectation she cannot reply.

This leads me into restraining orders. No, you cannot get a restraining order on anybody for any reason. You certainly cannot get one "just because you don't like someone's hair color" as one asker put it. We had to provide evidence that it was necessary for our peace of mind and safety. Stalking is incredibly hard to prove, and "professional" stalkers know the laws and how to skirt them. I am lucky that she didn't. I've worked with people who have been stalked, due to the nature of my job, and will say I had it pretty easy in comparison, just due to the fact she was being so blatant.

I'm obviously not going to name names because she may be reading my blog, but if anything I say upsets her she only has herself to blame. Someone involved in the group chat had been lurking, just due to the fact they joined for the fandom and when it devolved into her talking about how much she hated me, they lost interest. However when she started talking about the intervention, they'd gone back and taken well over a hundred screenshots and compiled them into a folder. In these screenshots were also pictures she had taken of us from afar. Mostly pictures of me at clubs, or at arcades, or drinking/vaping, sometimes talking to men (strangers, people I never spoke to before or since, so I don't even recall these men, but I am a very chatty person and strike up conversations with people I don't know often) insisting that I must be having sex with them based on body language. If anybody even tried to say that I was just probably being friendly, she would immediately tell them she was going to kick them from the group. (She started the channel.) She would often post memes she found on the internet with the theme of how extroverts are terrible and simply leave my name as the comment. It seemed to have become a meme itself within the group chat: they'd find a meme about extroverts that was cruel, or even just a meme about how introverts are so much better, and simply respond with my name. This led to them using my face as a meme and simply reposting the extrovert meme texts around my face. The picture used was one she had taken of me sneezing, which looked absolutely ugly because I was sneezing. (To the handful of asks who made comments about me being an extrovert automatically made it ESH and all extroverts are obnoxious: try hard not to stress too much about starting high school in a few weeks. Freshman year is hard on everyone.)

Outside of the groupchat, although the photos she had taken of me without my consent was probably the only evidence really needed, "Mike" did recount the many, many times she would show up to events "coincidentally" or how she was shopping at all the places he shopped at the same time he shopped despite the fact she lived on the other side of the city where there are more stores closer to where she lives. Furthermore, many of our friends corroborated that she would often ask them what we were doing, if we had plans, and would often show up to events they were at but if we were not in attendance she would leave as soon as it was apparent we wouldn't be showing. Since we had all noticed this behavior, and die to my job I am well aware of the warning signs, we had all began writing down and taking pictures of these incidents, such as how her car was parked outside Mike's street (where it was public property) until two am a few times. The people that were in my house, I have come to find out, were minors, so im trying to be forgiving. I have not spoken to any of them since, and frankly I have no desire to ever speak to, or see, them again, but they are young and she absolutely had them convinced I was cheating. I ought to have called about her entering my home without permission, but I didn't. I didn't want to get cops involved.

Also, there has been a few "lesbians uhauling lol" comments that I can only assume are from terfs, so I don't particularly care, but for those who may be worried about the living situation for non terfy reasons: we have known each other for four years and been best friends for at least three of those four years. We got even closer this past year. Also, I was renting and the screaming did piss off my landlord and even though I explained the situation and I wasn't given an eviction notice, I didn't feel safe staying there because I started getting text reminders about noise complaints for, like, doing laundry in the afternoon. I brought up moving in together to his apartment, but we realized both of us were first time home buyers. He has good credit and doesn't have any school payments, so his debt to income ratio was practically nonexistent. I have great credit, although my DTI is higher than his. The mortgage was more than half what either of us were paying for rent. So really it actually made financial sense as well. We had been casually discussing it before we started dating, moving in as friends/roommates.

I feel like I'm doing as okay as I can, considering the circumstances. I'm a private person so I won't be putting my actual blog title nor hers anywhere. I have no desire to attract more attention to my blog, which is honestly just destiel, Good Omens, OFMD, and other ships. It's not a personal blog at all and I'd like to keep it that way.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 120 (Apr. 11, 1988) - “The Arsenal of Freedom”

Teleplay by: Richard Manning & Hans Beimler Story by: Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin Directed by: Les Landau

The Breakdown

The USS Drake has gone missing after being sent to investigate a planet (Minos) whose entire population has ALSO gone missing; so naturally the Enterprise has been sent to figure out why there are so many missing people connected to one planet.  On a probably-unrelated-note, it turns out the Minosians were arms dealers who sold super advanced weaponry, but I’m sure that won’t be relevant to the following 45 minutes.  Anyways, the Enterprise arrives at Minos to find zero signs of life, except for a hailing frequency originating on the planet’s surface.  Obviously Picard accepts the call, but it just turns out to be one of those un-skippable YouTube advertisements for a highly advanced weapons system, and Picard is like “That was weird. We should send some people to the surface to check that out.”

For what must be a first for this ENTIRE crew, Tasha makes a rational security decision in convincing Riker to keep the away team as small as possible, in the interest of general ship safety (since there is absolutely no sign of the missing Drake, which I honestly think is a MUCH bigger red flag than Picard is making it out to be).  Riker agrees (taking only himself, Tasha, and Data), but gets himself caught in a statis field almost immediately, so Picard throws caution to the wind and beams himself AND Dr.  Crusher down to help out… somehow.  Although, credit where credit is due, Picard does have the foresight to leave Geordi in charge of the Enterprise with orders to abandon him and the away team if it means protecting the ship.

Naturally all this leads to a double-jeopardy situation.  Down below, the away team keeps getting attacked by little killer drones that regenerate-and-adapt every time one gets shot down; meanwhile separate drone starts attacking the Enterprise, slowly picking away at the shields (oh, and it can cloak, making it tough to kill).  Geordi finally figures out a way to outsmart his mechanical nemesis by using the displacement of Minos’ upper atmosphere to reveal the drone’s location.  At the same time Picard conveniently falls into a pit that happens to contain a control panel that activates the holographic salesman (from the aforementioned automated message) who prompts him to finalize the purchase of their killer drones, in order to “end the demonstration”; thus completing what has apparently been a VERY high-stakes sales pitch. 

At this point it’s been concluded that the Minosians accidentally created a killing machine that was so effective it accidentally murdered their entire species, in addition to anyone who came poking around.  Since the Enterprise is now safe, and the mystery of the Drake’s disappearance is solved (in that the crew are confirmed to have met a nightmarish end), we can chalk this up to another happy ending!

The Verdict

There’s something to be said for a straightforward adventure story, and ‘arsenal of freedom’ successfully delivers on that front.  I can’t say there’s enough going on here for me to classify this episode as one of “the greats,” but it makes good use what it does have.

The highlight of this episode has to be Geordi’s command of the Enterprise.  It’s nice to see some genuine progression for a character that I’ve often felt gets overlooked, made all the better by the fact that I found his solution to the drone battle refreshingly plausible!  Usually when Star Trek is dealing with cloaked adversaries, it gets resolved with some kind of tachyon-scanner-upgrade-techno babble.  That’s all well-and-good AS LONG the writers also take care not to abuse such genre-conventions (which is another matter entirely), but I still tend to prefer solutions that adhere to the laws of physics.  As for Geordi’s time in command, I also appreciate how this episode builds on his previous experiences, in throwing him a greater challenge to overcome.

The away team’s adventure definitely makes up the weaker half of the episode, but even that is at least cheesily entertaining, avoiding any glaringly cringy moments.  My main criticism would be over how convenient Picard’s discovery of the control panel was, allowing him to call off the drones; but this is far from the most egregious deus ex machina on a Star Trek show, and it certainly won’t be the last.

But yeah, fun stuff.

3 stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

I’ve gotta say, the skies of Minos are a beautiful shade of bluescreen- I mean blue.

TNG always suffered from a “women character problem”, in that the writers seldom knew what to do with them, so I was pleasantly surprised with this episode.  It’s not so much that writers did anything groundbreaking with the ladies here, but this has been their best overall use of them up to this point, by my reckoning. Tasha is shown to be competent and reliable, Crusher is able to keep her wits about her after she’s injured (even getting some added backstory), and even Deanna’s council to Goerdi isn’t half bad (which is really saying something for these early episodes).  The show still has a tremendous amount of work left to do in this regard, but it’s at least a tiny step in the right direction.

BATTLE BRIDGE:  This is only the second time we’ve been shown the Enterprise’s saucer section separating from the rest of the ship.  It’s a pretty cool feature that will be seldom used, but it’s an effective way to sell the raised stakes of a given situation, and thoughtfully applied here.

[dirtyvulture]

😎 so I thought that I was rambling on in the last post . Also OF COURSE Charles is going to annoy Wolverine R that is what most dads do ( my dad certainly does) and the funny thing is SHE IS OLDER THAN HIM , she is older than that whole school combined.

Annnnny ways back to the point at hand , as stated in the last post . SB possibly had the same rocky relationship with a parent but that parent happened to be their father instead of the mother like Wolverine R . I think that SB’s father was was horrible one and just a absolute drunker like Thomas Logan was and had that violent tendencies and temper as well. SB always tried to protect their mom and their younger sister from their father. They probably took up odd jobs( when they were too young for a actual job)and probably one or two actual jobs to support the family . They tried to keep their father away from the family ( SB send and threw the father out of the house when the mother was too scared to do it) . After awhile things did get better and they didn’t need to work as much and would enjoy things like being on a high school sports team. The coach was the father figure that they never had , However it wasn’t all good. Their high school years were rough and they were mercilessly bullied ( I have talked with a friend all about that ) along with the other poor misfits who made up the others on the team . But when they were older ( probably around 17 or 18 ) their father came back and he was drunk, he was violent ( Did EXACTLY what Thomas Logan did and broke in the middle of the night but instead of a shot gun he had hand gun) . SB was in fear for their mom’s and sister’s life ( they weren’t afraid of dying, they were scared of something happening to someone they love) , they fought like hell to get the gun away from their father and in the fight ( the gun was facing the father’s chest ) the gun went off killing the father. Now it could have gone down one of two ways. No matter what the family tea about the father is either already out there before this or gets out after this.

One it was clear cut self defense and no charges are pressed against SB .

Or two SB was brought to the court of law there was many many people who went up to bat for SB and their character, one of them being their coach. In a desperate bid to save SB the coach promised the court that SB would go enlist in the military ( SB already had a strong desire to do so but in this version it was definitely a gun to the head “ encouraged” decision) .

Either way they didn’t go to jail for what happened to their father. If it was the got off the charges then this was the final push to enlist, and then had their fight with their sister Sara ( remember the siblings had a fight because SB’s sister was worried about them and didn’t want them to go . That is why they lost touch for a little while before reconnecting ) but if it was that court room version with the gun to the head “ encouragement” then the siblings had the fight a little bit before the situation with their father happened when they expressed a desire to enlist. Their mom and sister never blamed SB or held any negative feelings towards SB for what happened with their father.

I'm very late to responding to this one, please forgive me :(

Wolvie!R has only the utmost respect for Charles, even if she butts heads with him a lot. And to be fair, she doesn't remember most of her years alive, when Charles probably remembers things to a fault, so he does have that on her.

Sergeant Beef had to grow up faster than most kids because of their responsibilities, and I think that's why they are so chill and at ease as an adult because nothing can compare to what they had growing up.

I remember watching a video of a celebrity actor telling a story of how he grew up with an abusive father and eventually became strong enough to fight back, but when he did, he felt nothing but guilt and anger and shame, even if he was only doing so to protect his mother. I think SB would probably feel the same way.

Seeing as SB's father was probably a well-known actual menace to society, I bet no one saw the point in pressing charges against SB, especially once the truth comes out. But all of this stress causes SB to withdraw from the rest of the family for a bit, and believing them to finally be safe from harm, decides to do something for themselves and enlist.

Thanks for waiting for this one!

[everybody-loves-purdy]

Apologies to some of the warrior fans out there, but I just can't agree with how this fandom treats the sisters as if they did nothing wrong. The sisters are like big cats, even bigger than Bramblestar. They attacked Shadowclan all on their own, not on someone else's territory, but on their own home. Tigerheartstar has every right to want these cats gone, let's not forget that this book takes place near AVOS, the arc where the clans took in a loner and ended up getting hurt. Why would any clan leader trust an outsider's group, especially one that attacked them? There's simply no good reason for it.

Let's not add (I love Squirrel) that Squirrelflight and Leafstar went to that territory and got not just beat up but also kidnapping by the sisters and was allowed to speak because they are shecat's. Side note. It's this fandom claims to hate abusvie ship but like moonsquirrel, ever through that ship will literally is a stockholm syndrome relationship.

Oh, let's not forget that the cat everyone was upset and crying about, Bramblestar, didn't want to be healed after getting injured in a fight with Shadowclan, once again on their territory. If he had healed her, his clan would have seen it as favoritism toward his wife, and his sister in law, as they were against the sisters and the other clans, which wouldn't be good for Thunderclan. I'm not saying his actions were commendable, but no matter which side he chose, the fandom would have criticized it anyway.

sorry but I don't get the hype around the sisters. To me (I was abused by women for almost 10 years, so this hurts me more than probably should) they are abusive, sexist cats who are shouldn't be seen as cats who can't defend themselves or didn't do anything bad

I’m so sorry you went through that, I hope you’re in a better place now, and I wish you all the best.

About the ShadowClan thing though I will say we don’t exactly know what happened, each side claims the other attacked first. I am personally more inclined to believe the sisters on this one because their accounts about what happened aren’t second hand and Tigerstar does have motivation to frame the Sisters badly. And despite all their many faults, they seem to be pretty upfront, they don’t seem to be particularly dishonest, they do admit trespassing on the land in the first place after all they’re very upfront about that. But like I said, we don’t know for sure, and we likely never will. It wouldn’t surprise me if ShadowClan attacked first but only after warning the Sisters and telling the Sisters to back off back over the border and then the Sisters standing their ground instead.

I personally feel that if Bramblestar wanted to be cautious and impartial in this situation he should have treated Sunrise and held her prisoner (announcing so to the clan) while consulting StarClan rather than just leave her without treatment for several hours. I personally just think anything is better than leaving her to die, not just morally but diplomatically, rather than be proactive and take any kind of stance or decision he literally just said “StarClan can decide for me, no one do anything while they’re consulted.” He just wasn’t a very good leader in that instance he just shifted all responsibility over to his ancestors.

But yeah the Sisters definitely have a lot of flaws in any case. I find them a very interesting group myself, but they certainly do have issues. I’m hoping at least after what happened with Tree and the death of Moonlight maybe under Snow’s leadership they might be willing to bend the rules a little if toms don’t feel quite ready to leave, probably not given how stubborn and proud they are, but there’s always a bit of hope things might improve with a different matriarch.

[itsnotmyfaultsomepeoplecantread]

Ok first, this made my day because he really was an icon in that episode and I’m very pleased to have this knowledge (which I can now laugh at every time I think about it).

But ALSO, as I was describing this to my mom (who has not seen good omens), I realized I might have a… Hot Take™️. Like. Potentially a *really* Hot Take™️. Especially with all of the issues with the film industry right now. Bare in mind that I completely support the writers and actors striking right now, realize how difficult an industry it is to get into, and acknowledge that things desperately need to change in terms of equality on so many levels.

But here’s my thought: child actors who aren’t born into acting families are so often horribly abused, manipulated, and coerced into shit that leaves them traumatized. We have seen so many kid actors dive off the deep end as adults and end up in shit circumstances.

Why? Because they are basically being sold into acting by their parents. Their parents are making and keeping the money. And kids are a lot easier to manipulate than fully grown adults.

But think about what would happen if someone messed with David Tennant’s or Chris Hemsworth’s kid. That person would be instantly decimated and cast out of college.

Those kids grew up around acting and the industry and the complaints (I’d imagine) that the parents have. And they have their parents to back them up. They’re not just *the better option* but they’re probably going to be a lot SAFER on set than other kids.

I could totally see how nepotism babies become so important in the film industry, and families are on screen for generations. Boiling down nepotism to just being a problem of the film industry is a lot more complicated than that. It’s really, I’d imagine, just a symptom of a much deeper toxicity that permeates the whole industry.

And to be honest, as an ex-teacher, I’d rather have those famous peoples’ kids on screen than worry about kids who aren’t used to that dynamic being put in situations where they can’t stand up for themselves, because they have someone with them who knows the industry well enough to stand up for them. And they’re not just doing it so the parents can get the paycheck (and before you fight me, remember that girl from iCarly who literally wrote a book that’s title said she was glad her mom was dead and how traumatic being a child actor was for her).

I’m sure there are a lot of exceptions to this, and again, I’ll specify that I understand it’s a complicated issue. But I think maybe that other perspective has to be mentioned, because child abuse behind the scenes is a really fucking big problem still.

And all of that doesn’t even begin to discuss the other issues of how complicated it must be to have to figure out your identity when you’re growing up spending most of your time as another person. Not everyone is made for that, and for some kids it might be really difficult to get through those feelings if they’re not used to being around that to begin with.

Some states in America have literally changed laws to allow child workers again. And being an actor is still a job in any country. So please, let’s not forget the kids in the industry when we’re having these discussions of complex issues. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m not saying that it isn’t a problem, but we have to think about every single side of this.

they really brought david tenant’s son in and said hey do you want to play a gay little boy in good omens 2. just a little camp mf. nepotism done right.

[alyjojo]

October 🌹 2024 Monthly - Gemini

Preshuffle: There’s a situation that’s caused pain in the family or in a living situation before, you’re finding out something regarding this that wasn’t previously known - clarity & truth 💡

Meditation: Wow. So Taurus’s message had The Empress’s garden, and yours has that same garden but at night-time, you’re like “The Night Watch.” I’m seeing bright lights around everything, like museum displays, and little cameras right next to the lights, because you’d have to look into the light to even see the camera, and no one will. Could be dealing with a Taurus, especially family. Or…surveillance?

Main energy: 10 Cups

What’s going on in October:

9 Wands, 9 Cups rev, Page of Pentacles, The High Priestess & The Wheel of Fortune rev

Your reading made me laugh a little. With Marriage highlighted, or solid relationships, there’s a blip on the radar. You’re showing up as the more practical & stable of the two, whereas your person may shoot from the hip or go overboard in some way or another. You’re used to it. I’m seeing a woman at a bar order ten Jell-O shots and her guy/girl behind her ordering some waters, because “he knows where this is going.” You’re the logical thinker here, the one that’s always prepared. Probably because you love the hell out of this person - Queen of Pentacles, I’m hearing they’re your Queen/King, you could even use those as pet names. I’m also hearing “acts of service,” you could be the kind of person that likes to make sure everyone else is comfortable before you sit down. Or they’re normally that person - but you like to be that for *them* specifically. Cater to their needs, it’s a very sweet, loving, and generous energy from you.

Oh snap...the next row has drug abuse for someone, not all, there are painful truths about this being communicated by someone showing up as The Hierophant. I’m seeing pills 💊 Could be a doctor or a counselor. If not abuse, something missed with medicine, a mix-up even, could be literal pain pills with 9 Wands & 9 Cups rev, I’m hearing “Xanax”. Pain could also be caused because of some kind of medical mix-up. I don’t think this is you, it’s definitely a spouse or the like, for someone that has one. I’m also seeing ADHD medicine for someone with children in school, you could be hearing something from a school counselor even, about that. Or it could simply be your kid has a headache in school and they won’t give them medicine without a doctor’s prescription, even Ibuprofen. Tarot can sometimes make things sound extreme, but I’m getting some lesser drama stories too. On the spectrum of what I’m saying here, and I’m also hearing “on the spectrum” apply to someone. Could be ADD/Autism but that’s not the only story…not the only diagnosis? It’s all I’m getting specifically. Note: I’m not a doctor, I read cards and hear shit 👍

Whatever news you’re hearing is heartbreaking for you to hear, this is someone you work with closely or even helped to do something in the first place. Like you bought the prescriptions or were involved in a supportive way, but never knew they were taking too much or somehow doing this incorrectly…it feels like family. Or you just want to give them what they want but can’t because of your better sense and whatever this Hierophant is saying - feels like a teacher, other parent, doctor, expert of some kind. You have to listen to this, they’re an authority or something. A very specific message - if someone around you has abused medication or something before - they have not quit, or “learned their lesson,” and are keeping this a secret. Or rather, with The High Priestess, you know what’s up and even help & enable them. This could all be switched for someone too, someone may be getting into trouble for you, or because they’ve helped you.

The High Priestess is what you know, what you’re quiet about, and that is pressure from the law, a boss, father, spouse, the rules. You were aware of the problem before being officially notified, basically. You know this is a difficult cycle and there’s nothing you can really do about it, or you’re seeing the consequences for your actions. Or someone else’s but they’re your spouse/person, so you’re stuck with them too. Some kind of consequence is blocking you from progress, or blocking your person from what they want, for now.

Advice for Gemini: The Moon and 9 Swords

So if The High Priestess is what you do know, this is saying you should be worried about what you don’t know 💯 This is also showing if you or they are going for underhanded solutions or keeping something in the dark, there is or should be worries around this. Sounds like a warning. With Confidence and Trap at the bottoms, things are definitely not what they seem in this situation or with this person.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Pisces, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aries & Gemini

Oracle: ✨

Marriage 💍

Sweet Love - Couple - Dependency

Saving 💰

Preservation - Collection - Meanness

45 Collaboration

Creative people can be impaired by sharing and stimulating creativity in others.

We enter into October as:

Electric Blue Moon 🌚:

“If I don’t take care of it, it’ll never happen.”

It is not time to force an issue. If something feels important to you, you may be jumping the gun. If you are impatient, you may block something wonderful from coming to you. Now is not the time for a rushed decision, even if you think you’ve given something “plenty” of time, give it more. You have made your needs known to Spirit, now leave it alone. If you try to force a situation, you may bind yourself to something you could come to know as a hinderance. Allow right action to happen in its own time.

What is to be learned in October:

Kelly the Green Dragon 🐉:

“The tempter is as guilty as the thief.”

When the need for something outweighs our desire to maintain integrity, we are out of balance. There are several factors to consider, first, are you being honest with yourself? Are you really giving everything you have to give in this situation, or are you just giving up? Are you expecting things to just come easily to you? Consider the motives behind greed, what has left you feeling cheated? Are you sure others let you down, or did you have a sense this was going to happen and ignored the signs? Have you mislead yourself? No matter where we are, we need friends. It could be time to cultivate some new friendships, things may be easier if you ask for help. Don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t come from where you want it to. Often, assistance comes from somewhere we least expect.

Green may be a lucky color 💚

[the-firebird69]

Elton John - Levon (Live in New York 2004)

I'm blowing up balloons all day no but it seems like it with like a hundred balloons in the morning and we're at the garage near the house and I get paid cash and it's Trump and those stupid little balloons that you see they're nothing balloons really it's not fun do the same thing he says so what nobody's keeping track of it it doesn't already know you're doing it without better we felt better for a while and I used to say FM and stuff like that cuz hate but they talk a little so we have to go after him so there's some stuff here this is a great way to get in trouble and my father keeps having him do it I can't stand it he keeps saying I'm Jesus I can't stand that one day I blew up at him and said you're him you'll leave on we're blowing these stupid balloons and you're making comments for people there's such an a******. We think you take over pseudo empire and Ken starts doing it and it says Jesus wants to go to Venus and leave Ken behind and Ken is always saying it and we got wrecked what he says is they're just going to hit you and they're not going to hit the planet so what are you doing it's just iron and I'm going to fire from there so there's a lot of people telling us to stop doing that we're trying to do it now and we are getting knocked out of the sky

Dan

I am calling him Jesus I'm sort of leave them I'm sort of leave on and we eventually leave that business I believe and the two come in here and they're handing it out to Ken's people no all sorts of people and it is to defend and we hear about it and I'm not really bent about it and his son-in-law is trying to build a car out of scraps or something and he keeps saying stop it we'll have money soon enough and it's making money like 80 bucks a day and it's work and he stays hitting in his filling balloons and stacking and packing picking them up Kim comes on one day and ask him if he's okay we heard about it and he says I'm all right it's kind of dingy and I need air they put in a window and a fan and it was only after a day or two and he said I need oxygen and they put bars on it and he said this I'm happy with the bars but boy does it feel like prison that was joking big balloons after a few months and the only comes in a few days a week and they sell them all and Ken is there and Jason Justin and it works people need it it's a horrible horrible situation here there's tons of people find for everybody's job no matter what it is there's not enough work to go around and a friend here is hiring people like madness all over the place except for here because nobody lets them in I said this today we are going to suffocate each other to death if we know the story or not and it's horrible we're saying things to each other we're losing stuff or beating each other up I'm taking a hell of a beating or someone who is abused by Dave and the empire and I guess I'm beating on him and nobody wants me to and that's the problem I guess if I stop doing it I probably be better but now I'm in trouble and we're all in trouble and the empire is going to be a problem we can see up there with Timmy Doyle and he says I should be interested in the mystery for a few reasons one is it was a mystery to me and this is actually solves part of it the second is that Dave didn't incursion he did the incursion in the neighborhood using the train and that's a clue the train only goes to and from one place and comes to one place and I said this that's nice to know and it's out of wachusett which is one of his mountains and that's hellacious which means their diamonds in Massachusetts somewhere probably half mile diamonds some say to a mile but so that's nice those are pretty big and people don't want the mind but good reason to go up there and to find the footprints but the new ones are on the surface and they say they spotted them and they know where they go and heaven help Us we're going to go down to places that we don't know about and we have to check Antarctica and that place is a hell hole we're moving out and I've been to all farewell if I don't return and he says you're coming back for your show in Manhattan so I say shut up that sucked

Trump

Well you have a great time and the answer is no this is going to be terrible just trying to relax and watch TV but it just doesn't happen and we're all working here but nothing like what he's doing he's a crazy man and he has all sorts of things going on now hardly anything else it's a big mistake and it's 100% backwards here we go into the darkness and even we are a nervous about that place

Tommy f

Met a lot of fun at rfmd and this is no fun and he says well let's get over with all this stuff and I can have you build a chip factory that's a lot of fun this won't be allowed to the weapons on site crap ass bastards

We are approving this to print

Olympus

There's a whole bunch of people trying to bother him but really this is where it's at there's a lot of action tonight there are things happening one of them is people are located tunnel entrances and both ends and one of us huge and it's what use it reservoir and it happens to be like a sand tunnel I like Jose Gaspar we are going to investigate it and everyone else's and it's time to say this we know the roots are and how deep they are and it goes to other things so this is going to be tricky lots of people going down and trying to find stuff like that they say they want to threaten the Earth and using it for it

Thor Freya

[xoteajays]

My problem with sleeping? Everyone and everything's just so fucking noisy. My family, my neighbors, animals. So much noise is preventing me from actually sleeping. I'd have neighbors would have loud parties almost every night with horrible music. Or during the day would be all the neighbors driving around, loud music, mowing the law, even dogs barking. Noise. No matter what happens any time, I really can't sleep.

I'm surprised that I haven't murdered anyone yet. They're just so loud.

Humans need to stop existing now.

~

The scene with the Redrum drug was vague.. I'll have to pay attention next time I rewatch H&L again. Especially the show, since the show is probably where I remember that scene. I remember the drug as being a red powder. So either eating it, snorting it, consuming it that way.

Slight spoiler from Worst movie, "Kidra specialized in creating and selling a drug called Redrum, which can make the user feel painless."

If that version of the Redrum drug is anything like the original drug, it would be a drug that makes you feel painless. Don't know how that is.

Or! At the very least. Did one short season, like an epilogue season, to officially wrap up more story. In my opinion. Just to see most of these characters one last time, and to officially give them a better ending.

But I might be selfish in saying that though, not that it would happen.

The inside of the gambling business is interesting because that place seems like a legitimate business. Even though it's obviously not that.

And Hyuga's carelessly sitting on his car, not caring if he falls off, also gets run over too while they're at it. Seriously, Hyuga? What the fuck.

And Rocky's shiny grilled teeth!

Don't forget about stripper Rocky too.

I know, I know.. I'm getting ahead of myself again. Like I always do.

I might possibly write for Alice In Borderland (if and when I'm actually writing for once). At least for the first two seasons but not sure about season three yet since who knows what might happened with that.

But I did tell you before. I'm just an overly detailed person whenever it comes to my work. Including details that most people never care for. I have always been like this.. Why do you think my characters are really overly detailed with any and every detail you could think of for them.

I'm always prepared.

Because I'm always doing too much research about everything you're able to think of. That most people have no interest in. My head hurts.

~

Not surprised. Usually the higher up bosses would know about that in shows and movies like this. Well.. They should since they were they're the ones to give the character that job. But I wish his wife knew about it. At least for safety reasons. But then again, it seems like she's really emotionally attached to her ex though (or what their relationship is).

I haven't met aither man yet... But some small part of me may want to fuck one or even both of them. Especially mafia guy. Don't judge me. I am a person who has a type with criminal men. Like there is Tommy, Rocky, Vincenzo, maybe even this guy too. I don't know yet. But I just have to say they are the beauty, brains and brawn with a lot of wealth.

Ignore me.

So I can't blame her.

Imagine wanting to be with a fictional character, yet realizing you just weren't born in the era that the story takes place in. Seems so funny.

I can "take abuse quietly" for the most part. If you ever met my family, you would understand that. But, in general, how I would act and react in situations does depend on everything. The situation. The person or people involved. What might cause me to react negatively toward the people. Usually I walk away if I can. But if I'm at that breaking point in these situations, I will snap out at people. Doesn't matter who it is.

But.. I think there was only a couple times that I've cried out in public, mostly because I was so overwhelmed that I had a mental breakdown type of crying. But that was because my anxiety was worse back then though, now my anxiety is controlled better in any of those situations.

I don't mind drinking wine every once in a while but it depends on the brand I'm drinking because there are some brands that I've just never liked that taste of. But in general, I'd usually tend to prefer more fruity cocktails that have a lot of alcohol but doesn't taste like alcohol (if the drinks are mixed right). Sometimes long island iced teas too. I am not fond of beer. Never had brandy, cognac, whiskey or even tequila so I'd rather not comment on those drinks. And hate vodka. That I know of.

I've never drank so much alcohol that I would get myself sick like this, I've never done that in my entire life. And I'd never intend that either.

We have those buildings here in America. Where there would be quite a few businesses in one building, depending on which business are in those buildings. But yeah.. We have businesses like that here too.

I'm only alternating with shows and movies right now, because of this season. Because most of the horror shows and movies usually end up removed after Halloween. So I'm watching what I can now before that happens. But that would only happen with certain channels though.

oh god neighbours can be the worst. i had my neighbours - who are right next to my bedroom window - partying loud enough for my parents on the other side of our house to hear until like 2-3am, which was when my mum went out to tell them to take their party inside. like okay it was a weekend, but cmon! you’re in an area where the houses are very close together! it’s bad enough dealing with their constantly barking dog. even my two dogs don’t bark as much combined as their single dog does.

~

was that in the first movie or the second? i watched the first worst movie - apparently i just completely forgot how the bad guys in that took the drugs before the big finale fight.

yea like a short series just to tie up the last loose ends. murayama got a solid ending to his arc, what about the rest of the leaders?

like he has no grip on the top of that car. the driver’s gonna take one corner too fast and hyuga’s just gonna go sliding right off. how does he not already have gravel rash?

i’ve enjoyed writing for aib. i really like coming up with the games. it’ll be fun to write up a new set for the next season, i’m assuming they’ll be playing new games since it seems like a rip to just do the ones they’ve already done, but i haven’t read the retry manga so i don’t know.

~

the wife knows now and i think they’ve got a more open line of contact since the cop just got a cellphone. she’s not overly attached to the gang boss, she apparently hasn’t seen him since they were teenagers. he is very hung up on her though. idk if they dated as teens, but he was very obvious about his crush on her.

i’m a fan of cocktails too, but it’s hard to find ones i like that don’t have vodka in them. even just one mixed drink of vodka can upset my stomach. i also fucking hate beer. the taste is just bad. i can sip wine every once in a while but i refuse to drink beer. i’m preferable rum, whiskey, alcoholic ciders or ginger beer. i’ve tried tequila in the past, but it’s not really for me.

it’s an australian right of passage to get knock out drunk when you turn 18 or sometimes 16! you get a bunch of your friends, hang out at one of their houses, and fuck it up with a bunch of disgusting mixed drinks until you throw up or pass out!

i’ve finished all 3 episodes of worst of evil now, so i have to wait til tomorrow or the day after for the next episode. so i guess i’ve got time to go back to the vincenzo episode i stopped in the middle of. or watch double mints, because it looks interesting, has a bunch of actors i know in it, and it’s gay and the two male leads are like. kinda awful to each other. i do enjoy the occasional fucked up ‘’‘romance’‘’.

[trans-axolotl]

i think one of the reasons the psych critical movement is so important to me is because in many ways, this is what i needed more than anything as a suicidal teen with suicidal friends. the biggest barrier to me getting support in high school was mandatory reporting laws around self harm and suicide. there were no adults in my life that I could trust while I was in high school, and I knew that even if I did talk to my school counselor about suicide, my parents would find out and likely the cops would become involved. neither of those things were risks I could handle as a trans teen in an abusive situation.

if i had been able to talk to a counselor without them reporting me? if there had been a local crisis hotline that didn’t do active rescue with police? I probably would have been able to access support before I started attempting suicide regularly. instead, all I had to reference was shitty lessons from my high school health classes that presented the warning signs of suicide and then told us to talk to a trusted adult if we knew anyone experiencing them. you can imagine how helpful that was for me and my group of queer friends who were experiencing not just mental health distress, but also extremely unstable home lives. 

i cannot emphasize enough how much there was no support that I could actually access--adults in my life refused to acknowledge the reality that there were teens who were doing peer to peer suicide support, instead just telling us over and over to talk to an adult. as a teen, i needed resources that addressed my reality as a traumatized suicidal teen trying my best to keep myself and my friends alive. i needed someone to help me figure out mental health first aid skills, harm reduction, crisis intervention, boundary setting, and so much more.. i needed resources that enabled self advocacy and peer to peer support without expert input, even as a young teen. most of all,  i needed resources that were not involved with police, pysch incarceration, and instituional control. 

through the psych critical movement i’ve found a lot of those things and see people who are advocating for the structural changes that would have completely changed my life as a teen. it makes me cry sometimes, seeing the care and love that fellow mad/mentally ill/neurodivergent people are putting into building a better world for us. 

we keep us safe <3

[gothicprep]

Can I ask for some advice? What should I do if my boyfriend constantly falsely accusing me of cheating? He screams at me and called me a cheater, he told me that he has gotten phone calls telling him I'm cheating on him and telling him things that I only I would know . when I asked him who's telling him that I'm cheating or what info this person knows about me, he refused to answer and just said it's a reliable source. I have never cheated on him . I dunno what to do.

woof, this is a doozy. i guess my advice is going to depend on a few factors:

how long has this issue with the calls been going on? did this pop up recently, or has this been a reoccurring issue for an extended period of time now?

have you had an issue with him doing something similar in the past – being, accusing you of something patently false – or is this the first time you've dealt with this?

do you live in the same general geographical area or are you in a distance relationship?

how much of an overlap do your friend circles have?

probably goes without saying that if this is another iteration in a pattern of false accusations, it's worth rethinking the relationship. whether it's psych stuff or a pattern in emotional abuse, it's probably within your best interest not stick around and find out.

but outside of that here's me spitballing:

if this just started frequently happening out of nowhere and isn't a "phone call once every 3 months" thing, you might be able to ask him further questions when he calms down a little bit. it's hard to narrow it down when you don't what exactly was said, but you might be able to check with mutual friends in the meantime if you both generally run in the same circles. just give them the general rundown of the situation and how you're completely in the dark about the details, ask if he'd brought this up to them, and see if they'd be willing to impart anything.

it's also probably worth bringing up here that "reliable source" may not necessarily mean someone he's close with, it could mean "this person knows sensitive information about anon, so they must know what they're talking about". i know that clarifies nothing, but if you can eventually get some sense of what was said, it can give you a better idea of how concerned you should be about this. if the "things only [you] would know" are personal details about your emotions, insecurities, things that you generally don't talk about but would verbally convey to someone, it's probably a vindictive fake friend who's drama-mongering. if it's where you were on a certain day, schedule related stuff, it's probably worth being concerned about, especially if the caller is claiming to be the Affair Partner.

if this has been a persistent issue and this person won't lay off on calling your boyfriend, and he still won't tell you anything about it, and you're living in about the same area – um, to be honest, if i were in this situation, i'd say "this person has been calling you for a month to provoke you. if you don't file a harassment complaint with law enforcement, i'm going to. so do you mind filling me in here?". i wouldn't actually do it unless i was told something sufficiently alarming, but ideally it'd be enough to communicate that this can't go on any longer. i'd say this is "last resort" territory, tbh.

[donutloverxo]

A Royal scandal 4

Modern royalty au

Image from Instagram

cowritten with @lizzygal​

Note - There will be no taglists for this. You can subscribe to the  ao3 story to receive updates!

Please note that my stories are not to be stolen or reposted on any other site. Reblogs are welcome. This blog and this story is 18+. Do not read, follow or interact if you are not 18+.

Summary - Modern ruler, His Majesty King Steven G Rogers, is on a quest to make his long term secret relationship the real thing. He is a man in love and wants his lover and partner to be his queen.

Warnings - Smut (m/f), dub con/non con, sex tape, scandals, mentions of past domestic abuse, soft dark Steve, possessive Steve, spanking, power imbalance, mentions of previous domestic abuse, somnophilia, talks of virginity.

Pairing - King!Steve x reader

Word count - 7.8k

Story masterlist

Valkyrie, or simply Val, watched the entire thing unfold before her eyes and was helpless to stop any of it. All of it. All she could do was watch. Much like one would watch a train accident happen before their very eyes.

She had tried. In truth she had.

However, Sarah was the Queen Mother and Val was a member of the Royal Guard.

There was little she could do.

“Your Majesty,” she purred one last time, in one last attempt to save a situation that she knew deep in her heart was not going to go well at all. “Perhaps you would prefer to go inside and I’ll bring them into the reception area?”

Everything was wrong. So very wrong.

Outside the palace was normally empty.

As it was located in the center of the capital. An old historic building from imperial days that covered numerous city blocks, was where the government was run and where King Steven resided. Press knew better than to hang around outside the imposing palace gates as the king never left out them and was uninterested in opportunities to have his picture taken. As did the Queen Mother.

And yet, that morning, a whole gaggle of photographers were lined up and waiting for the visiting royals. Or so they had shared with Val.

Her Grace, Hope van Dyne, never went anywhere without getting her picture taken. In Val’s opinion, she probably had the phone number to every tabloid office in the world.

Sarah’s voice was kind. Soft. Gentle. It made Val want to wrap her queen up in a blanket and make her go inside so she could deal with their unwelcome guests. She stood beside Val at the top of the steps of the palace, provided with a great view of the black sedan that had pulled in through the gates. The flashiest possible way to enter the palace instead of through the underground garage like everyone else.

“Oh no. That’s hardly necessary. They wanted a scene. Let us give them one.”

Not liking the sounds of that at all, her brown eyes flickered over to look at the slim woman with a head of artfully styled strawberry blonde curls, a button nose and rose petal lips. She was every bit as regal as her title, even if she had not a drop of royal blood in her body.

“You can’t think that they actually called the press to say that the Duchess Hope was the woman with His Majesty on the video from the royal banya?”

Sarah’s cool blue gaze flickered to her royal bodyguard before returning back to the sedan so she could observe her former friend climb out, followed by her raven-haired daughter who waved to the photographers on the other side of the iron gates.

That was exactly what Sarah suspected the second she’d seen it in the morning paper. Though she doubted she would ever find out who had started that rumor.

“Have you found out why they’re here?”

Grimacing, Valkyrie shook her head, unhappy to not have an answer for her queen beneath the cloudy chilly winter day. “Not yet Your Majesty. We have reached out to the Maharaja’s Staff and are waiting to hear back. Soon though we suspect.”

Any second now Val hoped her phone would ring so she could tell the queen.

Which led to Sarah turning her head to look away from her guests as they climbed the stairs. She looked away from the large fountain that the sleek luxury car was parked beside and gave her last true smile for what she suspected would be till lunch. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Valkyrie’s wrist. One of her preferred bodyguards. She’d been loyal and had on two occasions nearly given her life in service of her country. “I trust you will find out and inform me as soon as possible. Do not fret. I doubt they will be leaving anytime in the near future.”

Only a lifetime of service kept Val from cracking a smile.

Instead, her dark eyes watched the silver haired Queen of the Netherlands climb the steps towards them. Smiling. Dressed expensively with a heavy coat made from numerous small furry animals.

Queen Janet van Dyne approached as if it hadn’t been years. She came to stand beside Sarah and greet her in such a way that would make for a perfect picture. Or so Sarah noticed. She greeted her as if they were still friends who spoke frequently on the phone and still sent one another gifts. As if their children had married and everything was fine.

“Sarah! How wonderful to see you, you have not aged a day.”

Janet reached out with gloved hands trimmed in mink, leaned forward to place a polite kiss on Sarah’s cheek in greeting and was more than a little surprised when Sarah stepped away. Her own hands remaining clasped in front of her and out of Janet’s. Greeting or otherwise.

“Janet,” was all that came from Sarah’s mouth. A look went from Janet’s coat down to her dress and then shoes, pausing there before coming back up. “Is that the dress you wore to Lizzie’s grandson’s wedding?”

Surprised by the greeting, or lack thereof, Janet paused and then smiled brightly, knowing that though the cameras could not hear them they could capture this image on film. “Yes. We’re focusing on becoming sustainable out in the west. Going green isn’t merely a project meant as royal busywork.”

Sarah could actually feel Valkyrie stiffen beside her at mention of the Green Initiative that Steve had tasked her with and had been far from busywork. It was something that Sarah could go on and on about, one of her many efforts that she busied herself with and yet, she found she didn’t want to expend that much energy on her once friend.

Hands still in front of her, fingers laced together where she could feel her wedding band. Sarah tilted her head slightly to the side. “I wouldn’t know. We remain a governing monarchy here.”

Janet blanched. Her lips formed a straight line, nearly as straight as the way her spine stiffened.

Though Sarah was unable to enjoy it as she turned her attention to the daughter. Hope van Dyne. Formerly Princess Hope but now Duchess Hope, after having been stripped of her title and recently reinstated to a lesser one, in Sarah’s opinion anyway.

Hope looked lovely as ever.

Tanned. Dressed exceptionally well. Smiling exuberantly.

It almost warmed Sarah’s icy heart.

“Sarah! How are you? You look wonderful!” Exclaimed Hope, sounding genuinely thrilled to see the woman who might have been her mother-in-law had things gone differently. She stepped on up with outstretched arms and was greeted with a serene face that looked at her in confusion.

Sarah said nothing. Not a word. Sarah maintained eye contact and looked at Hope as if waiting for the younger woman to say or do something.

Thus leading to Hope blinking in confusion and lowering her arms, looking to her mother for assistance as this clearly was not the welcome she expected.

“Is something wrong,” Hope asked a bit nervously as a winter breeze ruffled the fur on her mother’s coat. Sneaking under the cashmere of her own, as she hadn’t had time to properly shop for winter here. This was her mother’s idea. It was her last hope. Her father had refused to hear her and not even her mother could plead her case this time. This was it.

“I was about to ask you the same.”

Val watched Hope’s confusion and fought hard to not say anything at all, and it was becoming painful to watch in her opinion. Her gaze veered over to all the photographers that were watching more than taking pictures. Even they seemed to realize this visit was not starting off smoothly.

“I’m-I’m sorry?”

Val risked a look over at her queen. Her queen who was peering at the young woman who had referred to Val’s people as ‘war criminals’ or ‘superstitious backwoods fools.’

Unable to take another moment of it, Valkyrie cleared her throat.

Finally making Sarah take mercy on Hope who really should have known better in her opinion. “In civilized societies, a duchess would curtsey to a queen. Perhaps things are different for those who are merely ceremonial in purpose.”

***

Someone called your name and for a second, you were terrified that Wanda had come for your ass.

Not that you could blame the best friend you’d had since high school.

Upon heading into the offices of the royal palace that morning, you had intentionally avoided her , secure in the knowledge that she was pissed at you and you really did not want to have the fight you knew was coming someplace public like the office.

So, you’d been groveling via text and promising to go out with her that night for a girls night, swearing on your honor that you would tell her everything! Because Wanda was no fool.

Wanda saw the new dress you had on. Wanda saw your new shoes. Wanda noticed your perfect makeup and styled hair. Wanda also brought up the facts that you’d not been home that night or early morning, as well as the crucial one regarding your flatiron that was still in the bathroom the two of you shared.

Needless to say, you had a lot of explaining to do.

There was no getting around it. You were going to have to tell her about Steve. Sure, you’d swear her to secrecy until everything came out. The palace had made its announcement this morning about King Steven being in a relationship that he would make public soon. A second public statement had come from the Palace PR Guru, Maria Hill, stating that without a doubt, the king was not involved with Duchess Hope after a few rumors had burnt their way through the palace and news cycles.

Besides, Wanda should know. Wanda deserved to know. You and Wanda had come on this adventure post university together. Wanda had to know before it came out in the form of an official palace announcement, or else Wanda might very well skin you alive.

Hearing your name on a female tongue had you snapping up, your attention diverted away from the emails you were checking.

Wanda?

No.

It was not Wanda.

It was an Indian woman in a well-tailored pantsuit. Her dark hair was swept up in a chignon. Her lips a shade of red that had you lowkey thinking about asking for the name and shade of said lipstick. Her dark eyes bore right through you. As if spearing you from your chair and to the wall of your office.

“You are the King’s Chief of Staff?”

While your natural first instinct was to report that was what it said on your door. Professional-you put the kibosh on that right away. Inner you was somewhat intimidated by this powerful woman who looked as if she knew your every last secret.

Head held high this woman so informed you in a tone that let you know she was here for nothing less. “The Maharaja has sent us. Duchess Hope of the Netherlands has stolen from us and is here with the intention of pleading political asylum. While the Maharaja would like nothing more than to have her brought back for trial of the theft of our priceless treasures. I will settle for what was taken and no less.”

Ok. Well. Maybe you thought too soon.

Maybe Wanda was preferrable over this person.

“Oh…goody…” came from your lips with a frown.

“General Odinson sent me here. He told me that you would be able to help resolve this issue for me post haste.”

Oh of course General Fucking Thor Odinson would send this person your way so he didn’t have to deal with this international nightmare of an incident.

Letting out a deep breath, you held up a finger. “Let me just send this out real quick…what’s your name?” And you typed as quickly as humanly possible on your encrypted laptop.

“Ekta. I am with the Maharaja’s Royal Guard.”

Because of course she was. Why wouldn’t she be? Why wouldn’t Hope have stolen from the Maharaja and bounced? Though you’d never had the pleasure of meeting her face to face, you’d heard more than your share about the infamous Duchess, then Princess, Hope.

Typing. Typing. Typing.

“You’ve got any pictures or detailed descriptions of what the items stolen look like? I’m sure His Majesty will be very curious. And, you know, the more information of what we’re looking for the better.”

And done.

With a tap on your laptop, you’d sent out an email to the Finance Minister. Then up you stood.

“Of course,” Ekta answered coolly.

Not that you blamed her. If you were in her shoes, you would have been super pissed off too. Being robbed was never fun.

“Let’s go see if we can track down His Majesty. If not, we’ll make an appointment with his secretary and then go see who is in the office of our Royal Guard. Someone is always in there and I know that Carol, she’s Captain of the Guard, is working right now.” You explained, as if you felt that telling this unhappy woman all these things could somehow make everything right. Probably not. But you still had to try. It was in your nature to fix problems and you most definitely wanted to fix this problem.

Ekta said nothing.

She merely followed you out of your office and into the hallway which was lined with doors and walls of tasteful and probably expensive original art.

You looked to the left.

Then to the right and nearly died then and there at your luck.

How had you gotten so lucky?

There, mere feet away and closing, was not just Carol but His Majesty, deep in discussion about something that was irritating them both.

You had an inkling that you knew what was at the heart of their discussion.

The sight of you made them stop talking and pause in their tracks, which told you that you had been the one that they were seeking.

Before anything could be done, you bowed. “Your Majesty, just the person I was hoping to find.” Up you flourished your hand to gesture at Ekta, who you could feel was beside you, practically putting off rays of righteousness. “We have a visitor from the Maharaja’s Royal Guard. This is Ekta. She is here because of something that concerns the Duchess Hope.”

The reaction that came was almost immediate from both Steve and Carol.

A look as if Steve had suddenly smelled a dead animal came over his face. Carol however cocked her hip to the side, lifted her chin in a dark blue pantsuit, almost demanding in a knowing sort of way. “What’d she steal from you guys? Art or jewelry?”

For the first time ever, you noted a moment of Ekta’s veneer breaking. Like she was taken off balance. “The duchess stole from you too?” Then, almost as an afterthought came, “Your Majesty?”

And this was news to you too.

You had no idea that Hope had taken souvenirs with her that weren’t free to take when she fled the Royal Palace for India all those years ago.

When Steve spoke, his teeth were clearly clenched together. “Yes. Both. She raided my mother’s room as well as the halls for art and pieces that are priceless. Sacred treasures from my countries history that can never be replaced. She filled her suitcase with on her way out.”

“Every now and then an item will appear on the black market. We can only assume that she is selling them when she is in need of money.” Carol helpfully added.

Beside you, you could practically feel Ekta tremble. Shake out of control one could say.

“Is the Duchess Hope here?”

For that you had no answer.

Carol however had one. “Yes. Her Majesty is taking tea out in the gardens with the Duchess Hope and her own mother.”

After being brought abreast of that development, you had a statement to make. One you thought was obvious. But none-the-less, out it came. Maybe none of them knew? “It’s snowing outside.”

Thus leading Steve to turn his attention on you. Finally. And when he did so, he looked at you as if you were only his Chief of Staff. He looked at you kindly without the heat in his eyes from earlier that morning, when he’d woken you up by pushing himself deep into your body until the both of you reached a climax that made your eyes cross and left an impression of his teeth broken into your shoulder.

“Yes. Mother wanted to be sure that the Duchess Hope did not steal anything else from within the palace walls whilst they are here.”

Well then.

Even you had to admit. The Queen Mother could be downright frosty when the occasion called for it. Pun intended.

“She’s having tea with Queen Janet and Duchess Hope outside? In the frigid temperatures?”

You couldn’t quite make yourself believe it. You blinked. You looked from Steve who appeared casual after his statement, like he just told you the winters here were cold. Over to Carol who was pulling out her phone from her pocket. Acting like you hadn’t said anything out of the normal.

“Your Majesty, I’ll take care of Ekta and deal with this issue. If anything arrives concerning this issue. I will contact you. Nakia will come fill my place today.”

If Steve was greatly upset by any of his, he made no outward indication of it other than a nod of his head that he both heard and understood and accepted what Carol had told him. His attention was instead focused on you.

“I have a meeting concerning the Switzerland trip about the proposed embassy. Go get your notes. You’ll be joining me.”

***

Her Grace, the Duchess Hope van Dyne, had finally made it in the palace after that psycho, the Queen Mother Sarah, had the audacity to serve tea in the garden as flakes of snow drifted down. And if that weren’t barbaric enough, afterwards, she then led them around the winter garden as if Hope gave a damn.

Hope had problems and Queen Sarah was not very receptive to any of her attempts to thaw the ice that had formed around Sarah’s heart. Nor did her mother, Janet, have much luck.

When did Sarah turn into such a bitch?

Sarah should have been ecstatic that Hope would even return to this shithole. Sarah’s son was still single, he needed a queen and his backwoods hovel wanted a queen and Hope had royal blood. What more did Sarah need? Did she need it written down?

When did Sarah turn into such a horrible host?

Hope remembered a distinctively different Sarah. When she had lived in this palace, Steve’s mother had coddled her, practically waited on her hand and foot to be sure that Hope was happy and settling in so far from civilization. Where was that Sarah now?

Somehow, Hope had managed to break away, pleading a need to use the powder room around the time her toes and fingers went numb. As she hadn’t had the time to properly shop for clothes to wear in this frigid shithole. India had been so gloriously warm. She’d loved India. Hope would have loved to stay there but things had gone south.

Eventually, like everything else, it’d blow over.

Until then though, she needed someplace safe to stay. She needed to stay somewhere that the Maharaja couldn’t get her. What she needed was diplomatic immunity. However, that wasn’t going to happen since her father refused to even see her, so she’d just have to settle for sovereign immunity. Granted, Hope hadn’t expected it to be this difficult to see Steven and tell him that she was ready to get married now. For crying out loud, he should have been groveling at her feet for her to come back to him. Especially after that sex tape which had been burning up the internet and royal circles. If there was anything that Hope could do, it was bounce back from a scandal.

This was just ridiculous.

The Queen Mother should have been inviting them to this lunch with her son, instead of practically throwing Hope and Janet out. Which was exactly why Hope was wandering the halls in the search for Steven’s office. Toes tingling in her fashionable pumps. Her fingers burning from the warm air in the administrative offices.

Hope would need a whole new wardrobe once she got Steven onboard with her plan. As his current plan of ignoring the sex tape was absurd. These things needed to be tackled head on. With her as his queen by his side, Hope could handle all of it.

Ah, she found herself pleased at the sight of the royal seal over a doorway marking it as the king’s office.

Valkyrie followed her closely. That bitch.

As soon as Hope was queen, she’d be one of the first on the firing block. Following her around like some manner of commoner who might fill their pockets with royal gold. It was absurd. Hope was born a princess and one day she would become one again.

Hope remembered Valkyrie from when she was a young member of the guard and now, she was a Captain and just as irreprehensible as Carol, who Hope also despised. Both of them had to go. Reaching out with a hand that held a ring belonging to the sister of the Maharaja, Hope opened the door and marched right into the office of Steven’s secretary. Who was apparently gone for lunch.

Not that the room was empty.

Nakia, who had been seated on a couch in the office, stood. Dressed in a dark blue suit that all the royal guard wore. Her face stony at the sight of Hope and then darkened further in disgust. She stood tall. Regally. Holding her head high when she spoke down to the former princess. “The king is busy.”

Not that Hope would settle for anything less than seeing Steven in person immediately. She stepped forward. “The king is having lunch with his mother in fifteen minutes. I know for a fact he’s not doing anything of importance. Get out of my way, or I’ll have you selling souvenirs from a cart outside the palace when I am queen.”

At such a statement, Nakia found herself wanting to both laugh and spit in the face of this western woman. One who had referred to her people and country as little more than a backwoods hellhole full of illiterate stone pounders.

How often Nakia had dreamt of being so close to the Duchess Hope, how she thought of ripping out this woman’s forked tongue.

“Let her in,” came Valkyrie’s voice in their native tongue from the eastern regions of the land.

Sending Nakia’s dark eyes past Hope. A knowing expression claimed her features. “His Majesty is in there waiting for our queen.”

A shrug came from the senior guardswoman.

Nakia would be the first to admit, she had not been hopeful when the crown prince had been coronated as a teenager. No one in the country had been particularly hopeful but now, nearly everyone supported their king. His Majesty was a good king who served them all as much as they served him.

Nakia was protective of her king. She wanted her king to marry his Chief of Staff yesterday. Her land was in need of a queen, a woman’s touch one could say.

Knowing what was at stake with the coming lunch that her king would attend with his mother and lover, a visit from the Duchess Hope would not put him in the best of moods. The Queen Mother always grew quiet when King Steven was in such a mood. Why would Nakia allow such a thing to happen?

“Perhaps if he tells her she isn’t wanted here she’ll leave sooner? Let her in. That is an order.”

Pursing her lips unhappily, Nakia stepped back.

She wasn’t about to open the door to His Majesty’s office for this interloper. However, she would no longer stand in the way. Nakia even made sure to send a look that screamed impending homicidal violence. Spurring Hope quickly through the door without another syllable directed at Nakia.

Which was fine with Hope.

Hope couldn’t get away from Nakia quick enough.

Wanting distance sent Hope into the king’s large office without much thought. Looking as if it belonged in an old Victorian estate with dark wood, so many books, old art and thick dark Turkish Rugs.

What Hope did not expect was how much the prince had grown.

No longer a gangly young man whose mother had to have padding sewn into the robes that he was coronated in. This man sitting at his desk was big in every way. Exuding power in a manner that most could only dream and for a second, seeing Steven look at her with shocking blue eyes and stubble darkening his face, she was rendered speechless.

“What do you want Hope,” came Steven’s voice, more than a little annoyed. Far more emotion than she’d ever seen from the young man. Who was now very obviously a man.

This was not the Steven she remembered.

Before her was not the young man she remembered at all. Every last bit of him was very much a king and Hope suddenly, possibly for the first time in her life, found herself regretting many of the past choices she made. It seemed her mother was right. She’d been far too hasty in her youth. Her mother had told her that the prince would mature like a fine wine. Hope had written that off as nonsense meant to trap her into an arranged marriage like so many women before her.

Now?

Now she was looking at a tall powerful man close a very modern looking laptop and turn his attention on her in such a way that made her gut coil. What would it have been like to be the woman in the video? And where the hell did that thought come from? She had been wrong. So so very wrong.

Finally, gathering herself, Hope peered around the office and fussed at the pearl buttons on her coat. “I saw the video…” A noise came from Steven that she’d never heard before, yet, she went on. “…and since we’re still technically engaged, I thought I would return to help you put out the fires of this scandal.”

Another noise came from the king, a derisive snort.

“Wow. That’s cute. Highly amusing coming from you.” Though there was no hint of heat or passion in his words that had been so evident on that video. In her opinion, he didn’t even sound bored. Worse. Steven then leaned back in his seat, peered around her and asked, “Who let you in here?”

Those words, those uncaring words as if she were little more than the two guards outside his office made her burn, bristle.

Which had Hope clearing her throat, bristling one could say. “Actually, it’s more than cute. If you recall, I come from a distinguished royal house. Our engagement is a legally binding agreement.”

For the reaction she got, she might as well have told him it was showing outside.

As she was prone to when there was silence that needed to be filled, Hope pushed the waves of dark hair over her shoulder. She shifted from one foot to the other and watched Steven lean back in his chair.

Finally, as if sensing that she wasn’t going to leave, Steve offered her a shrug. Finding the mere sight of her numbing. He could have cared less what she did one way or the other. So long as she stayed out of his room. He had valuable things in there that he was fond of. “I’m not marrying you. Do with that as you will, you’ll find no sanctuary here.”

This was most certainly not the Steven that she had left all those years ago. It took Hope a second to collect herself, to steel herself. No one had spoken to her in such a way in quite a while. Her brain screamed at her that damage control needed to be done but she was not sure how. In what way? What did she say?

Hope’s brain screamed at her that the plan was failing, everything was going wrong. This was not supposed to happen this way and now she was failing horrendously. What did she do? How could she fix this?

Pricks of pain came from her fists as her nails dug into her palms. Telling Hope that when she unclenched her fists, she would see blood. “You have to marry me!”

Oh this was bad.

This was really really bad.

Across the expanse of his desk, Steve remained calm. Almost to the point of uncaring and such demeanor was reflected in his words. In the way his broad shoulders shrugged and how he rubbed his rough cheek, as if that were more interesting.

“I do not need or want your assistance for anything, forget that video. There is no reason for me to be ashamed of it.”

“Steven! Listen!”

He could see the desperation on her face, hear it in her voice and after so long, he wished he could say that it was rewarding. He wished that he could say it made him feel better after everything that had happened.

It didn’t.

There was just nothing. Little more than cold numbness. Steve felt absolutely nothing.

Nothing was there anymore.

When he looked at Hope there was nothingness.

It reminded him of his father. He hated when he felt that way, when he thought of his father. There was no one on this earth that Steve loathed more. It was his very purpose for being, to not be his father. To end that cycle. To let it die with him.

Most irritably, he shifted in his seat. His eyes found the picture of you both on his desk from a trip to Scotland.

Hints of his father swirled with every syllable only furthering his inner revulsion with himself, his genes and heritage.

“When you left, I did not officially break our engagement as a common courtesy to your father. No more no less. I am a king. You cannot compel me to do anything.”

Pools of blue found Hope again though. A little bit of serene malice hovered between them.

“If you continue to be an annoyance, I will. I am a king now. I have a country to govern. I do not have time for the childish games and pursuits that occupy the western families.”

“Steven this is serious! I could go to prison! In India!”

May his ancestors help him, his first initial response would have been to remind her of her place, remind her of how he should be addressed.

His Majesty.

Exactly as his father would, he swore he heard his father’s voice in his ear.

“You have to help me out! I’m begging you! I don’t care about that other woman. You can have all the mistresses you want!”

A peek down at his watch told Steve that he had minutes to wrap this up and go collect you. Minutes. He had minutes to regain his sanity before he saw his mother.

Minutes.

“Steven!”

Standing from his chair, he shook his head. Doing his best to silence the sound of his father telling him he was not good enough, was not worthy, was not fit to rule. His voice was soft because Steve would not yell like that man. “No Hope. I’m sorry, but no. You remind me of my father. You make me feel like him. You bring him back to life and I cannot live with his ghost. So no. You will have to deal with the consequences of your actions like the rest of us.”

Her eyes went wild.

Steve could see it and was glad he wasn’t within reach of her. He watched her grab a Fabergé Egg from the end of his desk.

Colorful glass accented in gold with rubies around the middle. It fit in her hand but only just, being the size of an ostrich egg and then it went soaring through the air where it smashed loudly into a wall. Denting the dark wood and shattering. Smashing into dozens and dozens of colorful pieces that fell to the floor.

Having felt the very loss of hope itself, she turned to set her storm on him. “You’ll regret this, Your Majesty.” Before turning and leaving, slamming his office door behind her as hard as possible. Leaving Steve with the sound of his father telling him that he wasn’t worthy.

***

Lipstick?

No lipstick?

It was a question for the ages.

A swipe or two of lipstick always gave you the courage you needed in any occasion. But then again, this was not merely any occasion. This was lunch with your boyfriends mother to officially meet her and get to know her, because you were in a serious committed relationship with her son. Because you loved her son.

Oh, and her son was the king, so there were expectations on that already plus with her being the Queen Mother, that was sorta already an expectation of its own.

Lipstick?

No lipstick?

You wanted to look your best because the Queen Mother always looked immaculate. But you also didn’t want to risk getting lipstick on your teeth. Leading you to peer once more into the bathroom mirror.

No. No lipstick. If you put on lipstick you’d be thinking about your lipstick and you needed to focus on making a good impression.

Otherwise, your makeup looked fabulous. Really. Five stars. Two thumbs up.

This had you stuffing your makeup back into your purse and kinda sorta looking up when the bathroom door opened, shut and was locked. Because really. Why would the door be locking?

In the art deco styled bathroom, Steve’s form was very clear and your eyebrows shot up.

Luckily, you were alone, considering how beyond pissed off he looked. One hundred and ten percent not fit to have lunch with his mother. Not with him in this condition.

You had no idea what happened, but something had happened.

He crossed the red and white marble tiled floor. Walked past the gilded edged stalls and stained-glass doors to where you stood at one of four sinks with bronze fixtures and ornately framed mirrors.

To be honest, it was your favorite bathroom of all time. Your Instagram was full of pictures of this bathroom, selfies in this bathroom, up-close pictures of the stained glass.

“Are you ok?”

Beneath his smoothly shaven face, his jaw twitched. “Fine. Are you ready?”

He was tense enough you wouldn’t have been shocked if his joints started to pop, or his teeth cracked from how hard he was clenching his jaw.

Seeing him like this was a no go for Queen Sarah. Everyone knew that she hated to see her son like this and at first you never knew why, not until someone had told you that her husband had the same mannerisms. Steve’s father done the same thing when he had been angry.

While it was common knowledge that Steve was not his father, Steve would never hit his mother.

Some memories could just never be wiped clean.

Having Steve like this was not how you wanted this first lunch with his mother to go. Not one bit. Both of them needed to be on cloud fucking nine. Meaning you were going to have to do something.

“Almost,” was what you told him. A plan already set into motion as you grabbed a few paper towels from the bronze dish that held them between sinks.

One last peek at your hair and you were set. Purse in hand. You stepped on over to press your lips to the flat firm line that was Steve’s mouth. “Could you hold this for me?”

Steve never questioned you or thought twice.

Whether it was from love or trust, or he was too angry over whatever? No one would ever know.

But you seized the moment! Pounced on the opportunity.

You acted as if you were going to check your pumps and instead, set down the paper towels so you could kneel at his feet. Before Steve even had a second to think about it, you had his pants unbuttoned, unzipped and down around his knees. Knowing that the king went commando that morning worked seamlessly into your plan.

His dick hung softly between his muscular creamy thighs.

“What are you doing?”

“Hold my purse with both hands, Your Majesty.”

Though soft, his size was still above average. His penis was solid. Thick. A pink tip peeked out beneath foreskin that was stretched over his member. Soft as velvet, you kissed his slit as you pushed his foreskin up to reveal his shaft.

“Remember the first time I ever saw your dick?”

You sank down on his soft flesh after, sucking him in till nearly all of him fit in your mouth. It rarely happened. Only when he wasn’t erect. When Steve was erect, it wasn’t physically possible unless you unhinged your jaw and didn’t have a gag reflex.

“Oh god…” he gasped out at the warm and wet sensation of your mouth closing around him. Cold air on his ass cheeks. Exposed. Vulnerable. His sac hanging heavy and you down on your knees, taking nearly all of him in your mouth.

Steve clung to your purse like a lifeline.

Thinking back, you hummed out thoughtfully, knowing how fantastic the vibrations felt on him. Knowing that the warm softness that was his dick would soon harden. Until then, you enjoyed how you could take him like this. You relished the smell of him, musky and male. Savored how smooth his skin was on your tongue. Reached up and cupped his testicles that hung down for you.

It’d been at a fundraiser.

A black-tie affair for something or another, who could remember?

The two of you had stolen away towards the end, snuck off when everyone was mingling together and socializing. Slightly tipsy or buzzed from the open bar.

Not the two of you.

No.

Both of you had barely drank. Focused instead on getting away so you could steal some moments together. Moments like these. Moments where your hands were all over one another, your mouths hungry for one another. Frantic for that connection between your bodies that nature demanded and you both were trying so hard to make happen.

Tonight was the night though.

You were determined.

Sucking him deep. Swirling your tongue around him. You could feel Steve starting to thicken up which had you popping off his mouth and surveying the sight of his dick taking on a pinkish hue as blood filled it.

“Are you thinking about it, Your Majesty? About how fucking big your cock is? About how it shocked me? Remember?”

Based alone on the sound that came from Steve, you could deduce that he remembered. Possibly even vividly.

“I remember,” you cooed, licking his pink head and suckling on the end of his dick. Flicking against the hole with your tongue. Massaging his balls. Taking his hardening shaft in your other hand. Needing him to feel only you. Needing him to be here with you. “It was the biggest dick I’d ever seen in my life.”

”You don’t have to.” He had whispered to you in a dark corner of the atrium. Hidden by plants and furniture.

Not that you’d cared.

By that point he had gone down on your countless times and you’d never seen it. Only feeling it through his pants when you’d made-out or groped him, when your bodies rubbed against one another in a frantic urge for completion.

“Jesus Christ Steve! You’re the only man I know who doesn’t want his dick sucked.”

“It’s not that…” he came back with, pausing and finally giving in, allowing you to unzip the black pants of his tux and yank them down. Pull them down and out it popped.

Erect.

Hard. So hard.

Foreskin drawn back to reveal an angry red head smeared with pre-cum.

It was massive, a beast, the hugest dick you’d ever laid eyes on and from on your knees, in a ballgown, made up to feel like a princess. You gasped. You straight up gasped like you were a teenage girl seeing your very first penis. Albeit, the one that was so full of blood it bobbed eye level with you, pointing upwards, was considerably more impressive and probably five inches longer than that first ever dick, easy. As you didn’t exactly have a tape measure on you for comparison.

“Oh my god…” you whispered, well aware that your eyes were wide and mouth was very likely a perfect O. “It’s so big! It’s like the biggest I’ve ever seen! Steve your dick is huge! What do you feed it?”

His voice was a bit concerned. Embarrassed even?

Was he embarrassed about this behemoth in his pants?

“I’m sorry, I know. It can be uncomfortable to give me oral sex. You really don’t have to. I don’t expect.”

But you had cut him off with grabby hands wrapping around his erection, pushing up his foreskin and licking the salty jizz that was starting to ooze out. “Shut up, Your Majesty. Tell me how you want it.” In your ministrations you had lifted up his generous manhood and set eyes upon the heavy balls that hung down between his thighs. “Holy Canada! You have a set of balls to match. You have no idea how much fun I’m going to have fitting those in my mouth.”

When you finally ripped your eyes away from his sexual organ, you shook your head and admonished him severely. “I cannot believe you’d keep this from me!”

Exactly how you knew Steve liked, you sucked on his head and played with the tip of your tongue on his hole. You took him as deep as you could as his erection grew harder and harder in your mouth. Tracing your tongue along the sides and pumping him with your hand until his girth grew so wide, you were unable to touch your fingertips around him.

Up and down you sank on his cock. Till he was rigid beneath your lips and you drug your teeth along at times to heighten the sensation.

Slurping. Squeezing his balls. Hollowing out your cheeks and swallowing any salty release that began to dribble out. You savored the sight of his fingers clenching your purse tightly and his eyes screwed shut.

Between languid trips up and down his length, you pulled off to lick his blunt tip with the flat of your tongue.

“What are you thinking about, My King?”

At first, you didn’t think he would or could answer, which was fine. Your attention was on the round edge of his organ. Licking it. Flicking it with your tongue. Playing with it till you sank back down.

After a few seconds.

After a deep breath from Steve.

After that, he managed to get out.

“Thinking about that night. The night I took your maidenhead.”

Your maidenhead?

Well, that was a trip to past. It sent your eyes up and your mouth back off him so you could speak without a mouth full of dick. “Mmm. Thinking about how you went crazy? How you went all feral and popped my cherry?”

In your hand his penis twitched.

It was too perfect an opportunity to not pounce upon it.

If you couldn’t make him come from saying these filthy disgusting true things to him, did you really deserve to marry this man? “Your Majesty? Does it turn you on to think about my having been a virgin? About how you’re the only man to ever be in my body? Do you remember how tight I was? How hard you had to push to break my hymen?”

Little motions came from Steve. Whether he knew it or not. He was making small thrusts into your mouth that you hummed around, sucked on.

Something hit the floor.

Hands were on your head, fingers were in your hair. A wicked smile curled over your lips and Steve was methodically pumping into your mouth.

He sounded strained. He sounded like he was in pain.

“Felt so good. You’re so good to me. My angel. You were so tight.” He declared, announced, would have shouted to the heavens if he was capable. Each word came out in cadence. Almost in a chant. “Felt so good. Feels so good still. You’re mine. You’re mine. You’re mine.” On top of feeling you sucking him deep. Paired with your fingers holding his testicles tight. Mixed with your fist wrapped around his base. It was a glorious storm coming together to make him shatter.

Steve was going to come. He was going to come like right now.

It sent his thoughts spiraling along with his words.

“Love you. Love your body. Love being in you. So warm and tight and mine. All mine. All of you is mine. Want you. Want to fill you. Want want want.”

Gasping out. His breath gone. All air left his lungs when Steve climaxed into your mouth. A pitched noise did come that was followed with his fingers pulling your face against him, his pelvis pushing into you. A moan that made him weak in the knees followed that told him you were pleased with him. You were happy.

If he died in the next moment, he would have been a happy man.

All Steve could feel was pleasure. It consumed him body. It whited out his mind. It made his balls empty into the warmth of your mouth, till he was certain that nothing remained.

Even then you weren’t done.

Helpless. Awestruck.

Hopelessly devoted, Steve watched you drag your tongue around him to clean him up. Catching the last few spurts of ejaculate on your tongue before you showed him, then swallowed his seed.

Rendering him panting and sweaty.

He dropped down onto his knees and he kissed you. Mindless. Unable to think about anything else other than your mouth and being lucky enough to have convinced you to be his woman. Steve kissed you deeply, uncaring about the fact he could taste himself, unconcerned when his tongue curled around yours that he might have gotten some of his own ejaculate. His Majesty didn’t care.

Nor was he overly concerned about his knees being on the cold marble tile when he groaned against your mouth. “Love you. Love you so much. Love you to the moon and back.”

[itsnothingofinterest]

Something I think worth mentioning about villain redemptions is, in addition to people just liking the characters; one reason the villain fans want redemptions for the League is that their redemptions would almost certainly signify the addressing & remedy of serous systemic issues that have affected many characters and aspects of the series, and have been felt since the first line of the series.

It’s no secret that the world of HeroAca is plagued with systemic issues rooted in inequality, corruption, and the gross mishandling of quirks among other things. These have affected both villains like Shigaraki, Dabi, Toga, & Spinner, and hero students like Izuku, Shoto, Shinsou, & Shoji. However while the students’ character focus is, on average, about how to overcome these hurdles to become good heroes and what kind of heroes that makes them; the villains’ character focus is more on what to actually do about the systemic issues they were never able to just overcome, and so are attempting to tackle full force. In other words, the handling of the villains is seemingly going to be directly tied and inversely correlated to the handling of those systemic issues and, in turn, just how many problems are really going to be solved in the aftermath and not rear their heads again..

The Problems

It’s like this: people often like to compare BNHA to Avatar: The Last Airbender (probably because of Todoroki’s resemblance to Zuko, even though his position is more like a less Azula-ish Azula, but that’s beside the point), and have even made comparisons between Shigaraki & Dabi and Ozai. Now that’s more than a bit weird, but we’re gonna role with that to explain something.

See, the thing about Ozai is, he was in a position of power; a position from which he and the last 2 Fire Lords had effectively caused all of the problems. And the reason they did that was basically just because they were arrogant; they thought the Fire Nation was better than everywhere else. Meanwhile; the Gaang had Zuko, the next in line to the throne who had been enlightened by his travels about the values of the other nations & how wrong the Fire Nation’s way of doing things was. The Gaang new if they defeat Ozai & Azula, he gets that position of power and will cease all the problems arising from it. For them, that part of the plan was simple: defeat the big bad = no more problems.

For Shigaraki & the League, it’s no where near that easy. See, while they have acquired power in various forms; they’re really just average joes picked off the street. Naturally occurring misanthropes produced by societal failures like oppression, abuse, inequality, prejudice, corruption, and other such topics. Heck, Jin’s name means ‘humanity’; both as in compassion, but also as in a face in the crowd (or rather the entire crowd). And Shigaraki even once compared them all to maggots crawling out of the trash piles the heroes swept under the rug. And you aren’t gonna accomplish much just squashing the maggots; they’re just gonna keep coming faster & faster as the piles get bigger & bigger, and even without a League we’d just see more Kaminos, Fukuokas, Daikas, & Jakus. The thing they need to address is the trash piles, the issues in society, in order to actually stop the problems.

The Easy-Yet-Hard Solutions

“Well, okay,” you might say, “but can’t those societal problems get addressed and the villains still get killed or jailed for life, as are the consequence for their actions?” Well technically yes, that is possible, but the problem is it would be a very, very, very hard sell to the audience.

For one; not many on the heroes’ side see these things as problems. To most of them, the biggest problem in society is that it needs more All Might. Not to say there’s no one in the country who thinks society needs to change...but there is the slight hurdle that a good number of them joined the PLF, and are presumably headed off to Death Row for association with Shigaraki. (You may think that’s an extreme assumption, but Kurogiri got worse for very similar crimes.) This doesn’t exactly discount our heroes tackling all those root issues we discussed; but, well, it’s a bit hard to believe the heroes might try to change society in accordance with the wishes of people we assume they’ll just think of as enemies until the end. (Especially regarding the necessary changes that might inconvenience the heroes.)

What’s more, the villains most directly represent the victims of those issues, so it’s hard to separate their treatment from the handling of those issues. There’s just some dissonance in the idea he heroes would be like “In our pursuit of justice, we shall ensure no hero has the power to abuse their family any more, and shall hold heroes accountable for any breaches of the law they commit. But as a separate matter, screw Dabi. Life in prison for him and he’s (debatably) lucky we’re not killing him. Endeavor of course shall walk free because he’s trying to change, and he’s gone through so much, and he means so much to us.” Like I said, that’s a hard sell. It gives off the impression that the heroes are just doing what they’ve always been doing, which conflicts with the idea that they’re then going to change things.

The Hard-Yet-Easy Solutions

Conversely, if the villains get redeemed and end up working with the heroes; societal restructuring to remedy those systemic root causes of villainy are all but guaranteed. They know better than most what problems there are in society, seem to have thought pretty hard on how to fix them or what alternative systems could be installed, and have no reason to be coy about any of that. The heroes, conversely, tend to have the faith in humanity to think they can better the world without needing any acts of terrorism, and the societal sway to then actually do it. Or at least will acquire that sway, if we’re assuming the UA students are gonna end up doing most of the leg work on this.

In short, each side has about half of what’s really needed to guarantee a societal remedy that’ll ensure we don’t get any more naturally occurring Shigarakis, Dabis, & Togas; and in turn that we don’t end up right back where we are now eventually.

It’s not quite accurate to say they need to work together on this; both sides could accomplish this restructuring on their own. But with the heroes, it’s highly questionable if they’d even think to change things if they get the chance, and how how hard they’d really try if they did; and with the villains we know they’d put their all into it, but it would incur massive costs in human life. If the villains get redeemed though, and the two sides work together on this? It’s very easy to believe the presence of one side would entirely eliminate the issues in the other’s methods. The best solution is the one that comes from both sides working together; and that’s probably why Izuku & Shigaraki’s quirks each ended up being named after half the phrase “All for one and one for all”.

Conclusion

Look. I get it. The League are terrorists, there’s no getting around that, and at times it can feel like the villains fans ignore this. But that truth is that it’s more complicated than that.

Shigaraki’s inner circle are simultaneously some of the victims most in need of saving & some of the greatest threats the HeroAca-verse has ever faced. They are, in several ways, the greatest conflict a hero could ever face, and how a hero would handle them would define not only the type of hero they are but also the quality of hero they are. I’m just saying; a high quality hero that’d save them, the real Plus Ultra-type, would probably be the kind best suited to taking care of those metaphorical garbage piles and reach that “no more problems” state you usually want your stories to end in.

Does that really mean they need to get away with everything they’ve done? Honestly, got me buddy. Like I said, from a hero’s perspective, their situation is complicated; so if you’re looking for the perfect solution for how a hero should handle them, it’ll probably be pretty complicated in itself. To me personally, that stuff seems like details. What I’m most prioritizing is if we’ll get the best resolution to the root issues as possible.

[confusedwitch]

Nightmare Hex

★Before you attack me or any other witches for doing hexes, jinxes, or curses, remember that not all witches follow threefold law and not all witches follow the "harm none" motto. I'm a chaos witch, and I'll do whatever i damn well please (within reason), no offence★

★IF YOU'RE A BABY WITCH OR JUST GETTING BACK INTO YOUR PRACTICE, OR OTHERWISE HAVEN'T DONE WITCHCRAFT RECENTLY OR DONT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, DO NOT PERFORM JINXES, HEXES, OR CURSES! IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS TO THE INEXPERIENCED WITCH!!★

Ingredients:

Purple candle (or white, if you don't have purple) for nightmares and illusion

Lavender buds or fresh lavender for depression and lack of sleep

Rosemary to taint their dreams and cloud their vision

Mint for visions, nightmares, and paranoia

A numerology number of your choice (we used the number 6 for this spell to cause unwanted attention, to take away love, and to devoid them of passion) ((optional))

Lavender essential oil for anxiety, delusions, and fear

Patchouli essential oil for unwanted attention and to make them push their loved ones away

A wand that you use for other spell work, or a separate one ((optional))

Crystals that you usually use for astral or dream work to cause lack of mental clarity, confusions, clouded vision, and illusions ((optional))

If you work with runes, create a bind rune to protect yourself, or add a rune to your spell

A tool to carve into your candle

A taglock from this person to burn or embed in the wax (their name on paper or a picture of them could work)

Instructions:

Cleanse your space however you normally do so, then cleanse all of your tools and items.

★Cast a circle ((OPTIONAL)) however your normally do so. If you don't know how, there's plenty of sources. This is how I did mine;

Take your cleansed wand or what's remaining of your cleansing bundle thingy or incense stick

Draw a circle around your space with it and say/chant: "Winds of the North, South, East, and West. Aid me on this vengeful quest. Help me cast this spell with ease. And put this scum onto his knees."

You could also cast your bindrune at this time.

From there, take your purple candle and dress it with your essential oils and herbs, then carve your chosen number into the candle wax. Place the chosen crystals near the candle and meditate over all of it, concentrating on the outcome of your spell. Pour all of your hatred and anger towards this person into this spell, really taking the time to manifest this person's misery. Once you feel as though you've meditated and manifested enough, you may light the candle and say/chant/sing this, or your own, incantation;

"For all you've done to me (or whoever you're doing this spell for)

I turn back on you three times three

The horror and evil you see in your dreams

And the depression, paranoia, and anxiety,

Are sent to teach you, boy

That those around you are NOT your toy

To use and abuse like they're nothing to you.

Do it again and you'll suffer my wrath.

This is my will, so mote it be."

If you come up with something more fitting for your situation, or that maybe just sounds better than this one, feel free to use it!

Once you're finished with the incantation, i recommend that you sit with the candle and let it burn all the way down. Once it's finished burning, you may release the circle or the bindrunes.

I also recommend that you cleanse your space again, seeing as how you'll probably get angry during your spellcasting. You don't want that energy lingering around!

★A special thank you my lovely Queen Persephone for sticking around through my hex casting and even watching over the candle when I hadn't put it out properly before running downstairs to make my family dinner 🥺 she's such a queen and we love and stan her★