#at the beggining when i wanted to be above everything

[righteousdelusions]

One year ago in a fit of rage I ended a long distance relationship, and you guys all know how hard that was for me. But at least the playlist was fire 🤪

[roguishcat]

A welcome distraction

Summary: Astarion was not nice. Nothing about him was even remotely nice. Such a bland, plain word that carried little to no meaning. But perhaps, given the right incentive, he could be persuaded to be nice to the one person who he felt deserved it most.

Tags: Fluff, tooth-rotting fluff

Pairing: Astarion x female Tav

One-shot, 2.3k words

Set in the beggining of Act II.

Astarion stretched out languidly on Tav’s bedroll, watching her as she looked through their magic trinkets to decide which ones they could do without. Ever since Gale came to her, confessing everything, telling her of his folly, Tav has taken extra care to set aside an item or two that the wizard could consume.

Now, if this was done out of sense of self-preservation, that would be completely understandable. It would be quite unfortunate for that orb in his chest to get so volatile it would just explode at random. Such a waste that would be. The world would lose its most beautiful creature! And just as he was starting to enjoy his freedom! And he supposed the wizard had his uses too.

Astarion blinked slowly and sighed. As nice as it was to have no one try to murder them for a change, he was getting bored. And his favourite source of entertainment seemed to have no time on her hands for him.

And that just wouldn’t do.

He moved closer to Tav and lifted his hand to rest on her head, running his fingers through her hair and then lower down to caress the exposed skin of her neck. Astarion knew that he was distracting her, that was the whole point of the gentle, feather-light touches that made goosebumps rise on her exposed arms. And when that garnered no reaction, Astarion lifted himself up to press his chest against her back, snaking his arms around her middle.

“Darling,” he said smoothly, kissing her shoulder, making a move to lift her shirt enough with insistent hands to expose skin and trace slow patterns just above her hipbones, “don’t you think it’s time for a break?”

“As nice as that sounds, I still have to go through all the scrolls and potions.”

“Nice? I can’t promise anything that uninspired,” he scoffed. Nothing about him was even remotely nice. Such a bland, plain word that carried little to no meaning.

“Something wicked, however,” he drawled, his lips almost touching Tav’s ear “that I could definitely provide.”

“Well, as delicious as that sounds, I’m not moving until I get this done. But perhaps you could help?”

“Tsk, you are no fun,” he pouted, lifting a necklace with the tip of his finger. “What’s this one supposed to do?”

“Let me just check… Misty Step.”

“Keeping it,” he would have squirreled it away earlier, but a part of him felt a sick sort of dread at taking something without waiting for permission first. It was almost like a reflex more than anything. Not to take without permission, lest he be punished.

“If you want,” Tav shrugged with a smile. “Put it into your pile, it’s that one.”

Astarion inwardly preened when he noted it was one of the bigger piles. He spied a bow and two rings perched on top of a set of armour. He supposed getting nice new things was worth an hour of boredom.

It was still a novel concept. Having things of his own. Being given what he needed or simply wanted with no strings attached. And it wasn’t just him that got such treatment. Tav tried her best to make sure that everyone was taken care of to the best of her ability.

Astarion would probably never admit it unless faced with decapitation, but Tav has really started to grow on him. The pleasant manner in which she carried herself, the ferocious way in which she fought, the unwavering loyalty to those she considered friends.

That was yet another novel concept, having friends.

 “Darling, I can’t help but notice that you didn’t choose anything for yourself.”

“I don’t need anything right now.”

That was a lie. Her armour breathed its last when they went up against the goblins to protect the Grove. She could definitely use a new pair of boots too.

“As sweet as you are for thinking of others before yourself, I would rather you not become a pincushion next time we are ambushed. Here,” he picked a set of armour at random, “take this.”

“And Shadowheart will have to do without, I suppose?” she raised an eyebrow.

“She’s a cleric. She can heal herself,” Astarion gave a nonchalant shrug. He didn’t care much about what happened to Shadowheart.

Tav laughed, making something warm and pleasant bloom in his chest. He hated how much he enjoyed hearing her laugh.

“Well, this armour is a bit too heavy for me anyway,” she put the armour back and added a couple of scrolls that Shadowheart could make use of. “Maybe I will pick something up next time we need to sell stuff.”

She was right. They did amass quite a collection of useless nick knacks when they looted the abandoned houses in the Blighted Village. And lugging all the bits and bobs that Tav insisted on taking with them was getting rather tedious. Not that he carried much personally. However, he imagined if Lae’zel caught onto him having the lightest load, the gith would personally make sure that his pack would be stuffed to capacity.

Except when they went to sell the items, she once again did not buy anything for herself. Astarion could not understand her ridiculous altruism! Not that he cared that much, but still. Tav dying would most definitely throw a wrench in his plans. Therefore, with that in mind only, he bought Tav new armour, bow and boots.

Strange. The first time he spent money in years, and it wasn’t even on buying something for himself!

The next day, Tav woke up to find that someone had been to her tent. And that mysterious someone left her gifts. Brows furrowing, she picked up a pair of boots. They were clearly enchanted and probably not something they could afford at the moment. And that begged the question, who would splurge so much and not even give it to her personally?

She admired the armour and ran her fingers over the leather. As she shifted it slightly sideways to have a better look at the clasps, something sparkled in a stray ray of light that got in through the slight opening in the tent flap.

Tav noticed the necklace perched on top of the pile.

“Misty Step,” she murmured, a small smile tugging on her lips as her fingers ghosted over the rest of the gifts.

Changing and making herself somewhat presentable, she walked out of her tent and towards Astarion’s, greeting Gale as he prepared their breakfast. To their delight, the group recently stumbled upon a cellar filled with boxes upon boxes of food. Gale was especially pleased at having the opportunity to prepare proper meals for a change rather than have two or three odd ingredients to work with.

When Tav opened the flap of Astarion’s tent and walked in, the elf was already up and apparently deeply engrossed in his book, not even bothering to look up to greet her. Tav waited a beat, but Astarion pointedly refused to acknowledge her. Which Tav knew he had to be doing on purpose, because there was no way that he couldn’t hear her breathing and the staccato of her heartbeat as she grew more nervous by the minute.

Crouching by him, she put her hand on top of the page.

“Darling, as much as I enjoy your presence in my tent, you are distracting me from my reading.”

“I see. Good book?”

“It is. Absolutely riveting.”

She decided not to comment on the fact that he had already read this book twice, as they didn’t come across any new reading material that was of interest to Astarion.

“Help me put this on?” she smiled and handed him the necklace, holding her hair up and leaving her neck exposed, making Astarion’s mouth water.

“Tsk, can’t manage without me, darling?” he teased, but put his book aside.

“I can. But I’d much rather you did it.”

Gently, he slid the jewellery in its place, letting his fingers linger on her skin a touch longer than necessary and making Tav sigh contently.

“Thank you,” she pecked his cheek. “Thank you for looking after me.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. But perhaps come nightfall,” he leaned closer and all but purred, “I could look after you in a-”

“Astarion,” Tav put her fingers on his lips, “thank you.”

“Oh, please! You thought it was me? Darling! Giving you a necklace? Out of all mundane, unimaginative things to gift!”

Astarion inwardly kicked himself. What was he thinking, trading her smile for a blunt comment like that? It wasn’t the way he usually operated. It was counterintuitive, it was stupid. He was supposed to be furthering her attraction to him, so what in the hells was he doing by telling her that the gifts came from another?

“Mmhh, of course it couldn’t have been you,” Tav agreed easily, laying a tender kiss on the underside of his jaw and then another just below his ear, “so sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“I -I argh,” he shuddered as blunt teeth nibbled on his earlobe, “apology accepted.”

“So… who do you propose I should thank then?” Tav breathed against his cheek and then looked him in the eyes.

“Excuse me?” Astarion frowned as she moved away.

“Well, if it wasn’t you that left the armour, the necklace-

“And boots!” he interjected quickly.

“Ah yes, thank you for reminding me,” she nodded, running her hands down his arms to take his cool hands into her own. “Who should I be thanking instead of you, hm?”

“I know! It was probably Shadowheart,” she said with an air of someone having an eureka moment.

“Shadowheart?!”

“No, it couldn’t have been her,” she mused, letting go of his hand to tap a finger on her lips as she pretended to think hard. “Shadowheart didn’t come with us to the vendor. Must be Wyll then, he did comment on my boots being worse for wear.”

“Wyll just spent half the journey flirting with Lae’zel!” Astarion spat with distaste, sounding rather like a scandalised virgin gossiping about a debutante with a questionable reputation.

“True, true. Well, that leaves Gale. Unless it was the only other person who came with me yesterday…”

Astarion swallowed and pouted but didn’t say anything.

“How silly of me to assume it was you. I’ll let you get back to your reading. Off I go to give Gale a proper thank you.”

Tav rose and let go of his hand, making Astarion panic a little. Like hells Gale would be the one getting recognition for the nice thing that he did!

Rising quickly, Astarion grabbed Tav’s waist. She squealed when he spun her round roughly, pressing her body to his.

“You are not going anywhere, you cheeky pup,” he whispered against her neck, his cool breath making Tav shiver involuntarily and grasp onto his shirt.

“And since you insist on thanking me, I will graciously accept your gratitude.”

He was a benevolent creature, after all. And since Tav was in the mood to shower him with affection, he supposed he could allow it.

“Thank you,” she kissed his cheek.

“Thank you,” his forehead, just under an errant curl that fell over his eyes as he tilted his head forward.

“Thank you,” she pressed her lips to his, making Astarion groan as he deepened the kiss, one hand steadying Tav whilst the other travelled lower. He nibbled on her swollen, pouty lower lip, enjoying the delicious mewling sound she made and then-

“Breakfast is ready!” Gale’s voice rang jarringly loud from somewhere outside the tent, startling Tav. She withdrew with a sigh, looking more than a little disappointed at having to leave. Ever the dutiful leader, ready to start her day and selflessly brush aside her own wants and needs.

Astarion was having none of that.

“Where do you think you are going, hm?”

“Um, well..” Tav began, but found herself to be quite mesmerised with the heated, predatory look he was giving her.

“I haven’t had my breakfast yet, and I am feeling simply ravenous.”

He pulled the collar of her shirt aside, admiring the way the necklace rested against her skin and then his eyes travelled lower down still as Astarion mused about whether he was being too traditional by drinking from her neck when there were such tantalising, mouthwatering choices to be made.

“May I?” he murmured, trailing his nose against her collarbone, then lower and lower still, brushing against the necklace that rose and fell with her breaths. Astarion felt Tav’s fingers gently thread through his curls, skimming along his ears in a way that had him suppressing a moan.

“Yes.”

She always said yes. And recently rather than thinking her a fool for it, Astarion felt… something else. He couldn’t explain what it was that he felt even if he tried. But Tav was becoming more than a means to an end. More than a target. More than a night that was better to forget.

Weeks later, he would find that she was the light that illuminated the darkest recesses of his mind and soul. The warmth that welcomed and comforted him, preventing him from retreating into himself when he was hit with the horror of what he had done in his years of slavery. She would come to be the only person that he truly cared about. But he didn’t know that yet.

As he drank, Astarion decided that perhaps he would allow himself to enjoy whatever this was. Not overthink it. For now, he would let himself linger on the precipice of making the discovery of what exactly Tav was to him without worrying of what would happen once he fell.

For now, he would let himself enjoy not having to worry about what tomorrow would bring. For now, she would be his most welcome distraction.

💖 Tag list 💖:

@ninty900, @ayselluna, @dajeong, @ravenswritingroom,

@misscrissfemmefatale, @clazberryk, @anukulee, @preciouslittlebhaalbae,

@sh3rl0ck, @mellowenthusiast2299, @fleetstreet78,

@starlight-rogue,

@obsessedwhyyes, @arzen9

[lis-likes-fics]

w1sh u were here

Pairings: Hobie Brown x Reader Word Count: 809 words Kink: Sexting Warnings: NSFW, sexting, sending nudes, technically pornography?, swearing, dirty texting... A/N: I lied, I am posting today bc I managed to pull something out of my ass. I hope you enjoyed this short fic bc the hardest thing about this was making all of Hobie's texts. I am a firm believer in Hobie being a terrible texter bc he doesn't commit to one style, and I hate him for it. Enjoy this fluffy smut. <3

hobes: I can’t stop thinking about you, luv.

you: oh yeah? what are you thinking about?

hobes: jus wonderin wut ur wearin 😘

you: your hoodie

hobes: and?

you: nothing.

You sent an image.

hobes: fuck… hobes: You look fuckin amazing in my clothes babe

you: thx bby

hobes: you’d look even better without em tho. Just sayin

you: you tryna get me to send nudes, perv?

hobes: Maybe…😉 hobie: w1sh u were here rn

you: me too

you: what would you do if i was?

hobes: i’d kiss you. a lot. i’d never stop kissing you luv hobes: And, after that, I’d play with your nipples and listen to you start to moan. I’d be so hard for you, sweetheart…

you: yeah?

hobes: yea. id suck on ur tits and feel how wet u were for me.

you: how would you touch me?

hobes: Id put my fingers in your tight pussy, feel you up nice and good, rub at your little clit. hobes: You’d be fucking soaking, I know it. I’d eat you up, darling. hobes: tell me wut u want me to do to u luv

you: everything you said. want you to kiss me, want you to touch me, want your tongue on my tits and your fingers in me.

hobes: want me to eat you up?

you: yes

hobes: I’d make you feel so good. You’d be moaning so loud for me.

you: i wanna ride your face, hobie

hobes: i want you to ride my face

you: guess what?

hobes: wut?

you: i’m touching myself.

hobes: fuck. for me?

you: all for you.

You sent a video. “Fuck, Hobie. Wish you were here…”

hobes: chr1st u sound so pretty when u rub ur cl1t l1ke that

hobes sent a video. “I need your pretty little pussy over here, sweetheart. See what you do to me?”

you: fuck, you’re so hard you: you know what i wanna do?

hobes: Tell me.

you: wanna get on my knees and suck you off.

hobes: yeah?

you: yeah. i wanna feel your hands in my hair when i suck your cock. want you to call me your good girl.

hobes: u r my good girl, babes. ur my best fukn girl.

you: fuck, i’m so wet for you, hobie. wish you were here to touch me. my fingers don’t work as well as yours do…

hobes: Can’t get em far enough? You need my fingers to stretch you out nice and wide?

you: yeah. you: want you to pin me to a wall and fuck me

hobes: fuck youd love that wouldnt you? hobes: I’d pin your hands above your head and kiss you, turn you around and hold onto your beautiful fucking hips. You’d be squirming when I put my cock in you. hobes: Youd be beggin me to fuck you darling and youd be moanin like fuckin crazy for me, Id hold your tits and keep you still while I fucked you from behind and you would scream when you came on my cock. Id just keep fuckin you too hobes: still with me luv?

you: hard to type with one hand

hobes: gonna fucken take you to bed and put your legs on my shoulders. fold you in half while i fucked you babes. you’d be all messy for me.

you: i’m messy for you right now

You sent an image. “Mmm. Ah, I need you, baby. Fuck, m-yeah…”

you: this pussy’s missing you, baby

hobes: this dick’s missing you hobes: I’m gonna cum, sweetheart.

you: me too you: hobie i’m so close.

hobes: will you send me another pic baby?

You sent a video. “Hobie! Hobie, I’m cumming!  Fuck, I miss you so much. Ahhh, fuck!”

hobes sent a video. “Fuck. Mm-mmh, fuck. Yeah. Oh, fuck, yeah! Oh, sweetheart.” hobes sent an image.

you: fuck, hobie

hobes sent a voice message. “I love you, sweetheart. Wish you were here so I could show you how much. You make me so happy and you get me so hard, and I can’t wait to see you soon so I can kiss that pretty face you’ve got. Love you so much, darling.”

You sent a voice message. “I love you, too, baby. I can’t wait to see you either because, when I do, I’m kissing you so hard, you’ll pass out.” You sent a voice message. “Get some sleep… I know you have to  go to 928 tomorrow, and you’ll come see me after. I’ll be waiting for me. I love you.”

hobes: i luv u 2 bby

you: your typing is atrocious.

hobes: Thank you.

you: goodnight, bayb

hobes: “bayb”

you: shut the fuck up.

hobes: make me 😍

you: you make me sick.

hobes: I love you, too. Night.

you: night. go to sleep now.

hobes: no <3

You changed “hobes” to “hobo”.

hobo: :(

Tag yourself here...

[the-writer-arrived]

Wedding Bells Underwater

Synopsis: after things have finally settled down in fontaine, wriothesley can finally fulfill the promise he made to avice and faissolle. watching their dream come true makes the duke think about his own future, one with you, he hopes.

Character: wriothesley.

Warnings: gn!reader; established relationship; spoilers for wriothesley's story quest.

A/N: i got so happy that they were included as a nice easter egg on wrio's birthday art 🥺

"...I'm sorry, you want me to do WHAT?"

"Help me organize Avice and Faissolle's wedding."

You stare dumbly at Wriothesley, the faint music coming from the gramophone the only sound in his office while you try to gather your thoughts. Has the workload finally taking its toll on him? Surely he knows that you have zero experience in organizing a wedding???

"It's nothing too complex like you're thinking. I just want you to act as a 'bridge' between the couple and me, since I have other matters regarding the Fortress and can't focus solely on them."

You make a 'ohhhh' expression, now understanding what is expected of you.

"Why didn't you say so from the very beggining?"

"Because I wanted to see what kind of face you'd make. And I must say, you never disappoint sweetheart."

Like the mature adult that you are, you decide to not say the snarky remark you thought and simply leave his office to look for the said couple.

(It's a lie, you stick out your tongue childishly and rushed out of the room before your lover considers cuffing you for disrespecting authority. Not that you would mind it that much).

----------

For someone who knew basically nothing about planning a wedding, you got into it pretty quickly... Maybe a bit too into it, if you were being honest.

The decorations, the location, the order of the events, the dress! Blame it on your perfectionist side, but really, after everything Avice and Faissolle went through in the Beret Society incident, they deserved a perfect wedding.

Even if it wasn't going to be a large scale event, due to all the limitations that comes with choosing the Fortress of Meropide as the venue and the couple's own wish for keeping it simple, there still was a lot of work to do. Knowing that, Wriothesley announced that those who help with the preparations would be awarded with double Credit Cupons. Suffice to say that you got all the workforce needed pretty quickly for the preparations to go smoothly.

After many meetings, headaches and shipment delays, you can now admire the results of yours, Wriothesley's and all the volunteers' hard work.

"Didn't know you had a secret talent for this. Ever considered changing careers?" The man beside you asks quietly while the bride and groom are giving their speech.

"Archons forbid! Do you have any idea how stressful that was? I have a newfound respect for professional wedding planners." You whisper back, remembering the way you basically passed out in bed the day before, all the stress and sleepless nights knocking you out.

Before he could say anything else, the spotlight shines above him and all the guests turn to look at your table.

"Your Grace, words are not enough to properly thank you for everything you've done for us. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here and be able to call Avice my wife." Faissolle's words falter, him and his bride trying hard to control the tears. Wriothesley smiles at them, raising his glass in appreciation for their words.

"Of course, we can't forget the one responsable for turning our ideas into reality." The spotlight is now shining on you as well and you feel your face warming at the sudden attention. "Thank you so much for creating such an incredible wedding for us, we'll never forget this day."

Everyone raises their glasses in a toast for the newlyweds, cheers running through the crowd of guests when the couple finishes their speech.

----------

"...A penny for your thoughts, Your Grace? Or does it require Credit Cupons as well?"

You nudge your lover's arm to get his attention, seeing his faraway look.

"Oh yes, at least 500 Credit Cupons for such information." He chuckles when you roll your eyes. A beat of silence falls and you wait patiently for him to continue, if he wishes to do so. "I was just thinking that, in all the years I've been in the Fortress, I've never imagined I'd one day have it decorated for a wedding, of all things."

Wriothesley's eyes run along the tables of guests, the other former members of the Beret Society and others who became friends with Faissolle and Avice, all smiling happily and having a good time. A peculiar sight to see when you remember this merry ceremony is taking place inside a prison.

His attention returns to you at the feeling of your hand slipping into his, fingers entwining themselves with his easily like two puzzle pieces.

"That means all of your hard work is bearing fruit. The Fortress of Meropide can also be a place of good memories and new beginnings. The proof of that is right in front of you."

The Duke knows you must have meant the event, but, to him, his good memories and new beginning are you, always have and hopefully always will be.

Throughout the process of organizing the wedding, Wriothesley had wondered what kind of ceremony you would wish for. A big and impressive one? Or maybe a more low-key one, with just your close friends and family? What kind of attire would you like to wear? From Chioriya Boutique, of course, nothing but the best for his darling in their special day.

"Everyone! I'm going to throw the bouquet now!" The bride announces, causing a buzz among the excited guests.

"So? Should we go too?" Your boyfriend asks with a smirk and a playful glint in his eyes.

"Why not? Since we're here, we might as well have the full experience!"

There's already a crowd gathered in front of Avice when you and Wriothesley decide to join them. You both don't really mind though, choosing to stay at the back and observe the enthusiasm of others.

One could think it's funny how excited someone could be at the chance of getting the bride's bouquet, a chance of getting married in the future. Or maybe, it's not about marriage at all, but actually for the idea of having a better future after their sentence time is fulfilled.

Or maybe it's all just a projection of the Duke's own feelings about this.

...Who knew a celebration like this would make him think about things he's never considered before?

He shakes his head to clear his mind. You both weren't there to try and catch the bouquet for real, so there's no need to think too deeply about it.

Unbeknownst to him, fate had other plans.

It all happens too fast. At one moment, you watch Avice throw the flowers high into the air; at the next, you feel someone bump into you from behind, causing you to stumble forward. Thanks to Wriothesley's quick reflexes, he manages to prevent your fall by wrapping a strong arm around your waist. And then, you find yourself staring at the bouquet that had landed right into your arms.

What in the world?!

"Ohhhh they caught it!"

"Man, I wanted that bouquet..."

"Does that mean we're going to hear news about the Duke's wedding soon?!"

"It's about time for His Grace to tie the knot!"

The comments, cheers and the sheer craziness of this unexpected twist makes you laugh, both in embarrasment and disbelief.

In amidst of all the excitement around you both, Wriothesley can't help but think that that must have been Celestia's sign for him to stop wasting time and go after the bright future that awaits him.

Now, what would be the best ring to buy for his future spouse?

thanks for reading <3 likes, reblogs and comments are very appreciated <3

heart divider made by @/cafekitsune

pink wriothesley banner (fluff) made by @/the-writer-arrived aka yours truly ;)

[marsprincess889]

JYESHTA

The battle, the loneliness and the cost of victory

Mercury ruled, Mars's sign.

A very lonely nakshatra indeed. Jyeshta means "the eldest" and it's also known as "the best". But what does that all mean?

To understand Jyeshta, we have to remember that it's fully in the sign of Scorpio. The previous nakshatra- Anuradha, also fully in Scorpio, is its yoni consort. Scorpio is the natural ruler of the 8th house of death, transformation and the occult. It's shrouded in secrecy, yet Jyeshta nakshatra still manages to be one of the most notorious lunar mansions.

Jyeshta's symbol is a round protective talisman or an umbrella. It's ruling deity is Indra- the lightning god and the king of the gods, who is covered in eyes and thus sees everything. The goddess associated with Jyeshta is Dhumavati- an old hag who's always hungry. Jyeshta natives are known for their success in the material realm, but little do most know that there's a lot more to it than that.

We begin the story of Jyeshta with a somewhat outcasted underdog. They're not that understood, they are independent by nature, and most importantly, they do not trust a soul. Why so defensive, some might ask, but that's the eyes from which Jyeshtas see the world. Despite humble begginings, they're usually not pitied or treated as a victim. Since they do not like asking for help, they rarely get it, and honestly, that's the way they like it.

The underdog enters the world stage, immideately attracting attention because they do not follow anyone else's rules, but rather- their own. They have their uniqueness that protects them. Combat by combat, they defeat each and every one of their opponents and soon are seen as a new threat. With that comes jealousy, with jealousy comes resentment and/or respect. With all that comes fear. Jyeshta's power is "to rise, conquer and gain courage in battle". The battle is life, but what does it mean to rise and conquer? How does one outsmart their opponents? The answer is you simply do not fight them.

When you view someone as an opponent you automatically set yourself up for losing. The opponents are equals but since you're an individual and since you know that you can't trust anyone but yourself, why would you play by their rules? Why would you equate yourself to them? Jyeshtas honor their own uniquness by protecting their energy (mercury rulership, very similar to Ashlesha) and learning their lesson from the previous mercury-ruled nakshatra- Ashlesha, they only engage in a fight with worthy opponents. Jyeshtas know they're only one worthy opponent for them and that's themselves. So, they just work on being better and better, not getting distracted by petty and unimportant squabbles, literally rising above the unnessecary conflict and thus conquering everything they rose above.

But is success all there is to life? Jyeshta is the survivor, always thinking about the next step and enjoying the independence despite being so widely disliked because of their difference, because of their uniqueness and success. Sure, they're content being themselves, but as natural loners they struggle with emotional intelligence, hence their reputation as insensitive jerks for masculine people or rude bitches for feminine people.

A Jyeshta story- The Queen's Gambit

I want to analyze a fictional Jyeshta story that has been brought to life on screen- The Queen's Gambit. The writer of the novel - Walter Tevis had Ketu in Jyeshta nakshatra. Ketu represents your stored primal creative energy, past lives, the past in general, the father's lineage and a person's daemon. A daemon is basically the opposite sex version of you who is the personification of your creative and sexual energy. Walter Tevis wrote about the archetype of a Jyeshta woman, making her the protagonist of his story. Considering that I haven't read the book, I'll analyze the Netflix series that it inspired.

Chess overall is a very Jyeshta game. It's a competitive sport but it requires concentration, intelligence, discipline, talent and skill. If you make one miscalculation, then you're lost.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Our protagonist, Beth Harmon, begins as an 8 year old girl who lost her mother and was taken to an orphanage. There she never looked at elders the same way that others did, having a critical mind and an independence and uniqueness to her that set her apart from others from an early age. She was exceptionally good at maths and unusually so, considering her age. One day, she goes into the basement and finds the custodian_ Mr. Shaibel playing chess with himself. She's immideately drawn to the game and doesn't leave him alone until he explains the rules. Since then, she's hooked.

She eventually leaves the orphanage, getting adopted by a childless couple at 15. She already thinks like an adult and treats her new mother's authority like it's nothing and she's not really challenged in that. Jyeshta is the stage where you're the authority, you're the only one who's responsible for yourself, you're the eldest, the wisest and that energy makes others want to depend on you in one way or another. It's where you find the strength in yourself to make everyone else submit. So, Beth started to earn money by playing chess. It's important to note that her new mother had a drinking problem and despite that, Beth didn't drink herself before she thought she deserved it. Only after achieving some success does she slowly start getting addicted to substances, her addiction increasing as her success grew bigger.

Being the best in the game was not exactly easy for Beth, as she struggled with her love life. Jyeshtas are often not concerned with the emotional aspect of life, despite having a certain sensuality to themselves. They're naturally closed off and because of that many people find them mysterious. They won't hesitate to to attack anyone though, but their every move is calculated and planned.

Beth was bullied at school and that's a common Jyeshta theme (see my The Princess Diaries post) but she never paid any attention to it and later we see the mean girl she was at school with living a completely different life than her- the one that she would not want. The scene perfectly captures the difference between the Jyeshta archetype and the masses. Jyeshta is focused on winning, defeating themselves and by that defeating their opponents so they have little time for anything else. In contrast, her high school classmate was married and with a child, living a typical suburban American life.

In another scene, we see her success and loneliness turn to arrogance and rudeness as she encounters and old opponent, friend and ex-lover who was living a simple life and showed his contentment with that. That shows a more negative and quite a sad side of the Jyeshta archetype.

She hits rock bottom, starts to lose her focus and at the last minute, when she has no money to fly to Moscow for the tournament, a helping hand comes in. We'll get into why she accepts that help.

Her helper was her childhood friend from the orphanage_ Jolene, who was snarky and honest to her from the start. It's very telling that she was Beth's first friend. Jyeshta is a full-circle moment, it's the growing into your own power after you've defeated your past self, after you've managed to move on from past pains. When Beth had had closure with Jolene and after attending Mr. Shaibel's funeral, she goes into the orphanage and enters the basement. She sees how he had all the newspaper pages about Beth taped to the wall. Beth breaks down and cries. After confronting the core part of herself, she accepts help from Jolene because she's already healed that part of herself, so she'll have no unwelcome ties with Jolene, only the one she chose. She's conquered herself from that time and now is free to rule it. The only thing that was left to do was to go out there and be herself, because after you defeat yourself, there's truly no one else to defeat.

She defeats the Soviet champion and and makes peace with all parts of herself. When she's about to leave Moscow Beth gets out of the car and takes a walk, truly enjoying life. With the war with herself behind, she remembered why she's so good at chess, because she truly loves it so much. She enjoyed the competition and the tension, she loved the battle. There was no reason not to, not when she was unafraid of being who she was. After all these combats, she realized that there was only one real enemy-herself, and defeating that enemy requires bravery, the strength to bear the hardship and skill, a lot of skill to survive and all of that based on cunning.

When you realize that, the world is your oyster. It's all a game, and it's your game, you're alone.

She sees a big group of old men playing chess with each other in a park. Beth stops by, and the men, recognizing her, invite her to play. Beth sits down, smiling, knowing they'll both enjoy the game she takes her gloves off and says...

If you liked this PLEASE like, comment or reblog, or even message me. If you have jyeshta or if you know them or if you like The Queen's Gambit, definitely let me know what you think. This was a bit stressful, considering my ketu is in jyeshta and it was not easy to dig into the deepest parts of myself. This series came out while i was going through a ketu antardasha that shook me to the core and it spoke to me so much. Anyways, thanks for reading, love you and take care 🤍.

[tinybrooms]

The Beggining - Thomas Hewitt x Fem Reader

Thomas Hewitt (TCM: Beggining) and Female Reader

NOTE: This is my first one shot and it's pretty long, hope you like it, comments and feed back is always welcome.

Summary: Y/N has been the only friend Thomas has had his entire life and he will give his life to protect her when she needs it and after all, they're meant to be.

Warnings: Reader being abused, family being killed, hard lenguage, kill references, slasher content and fluff.

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Everything was packed and ready to move to Austin, the town had fallen into a decline that there was no possibility of continuing to subsist in the place where you were born and that meant leaving everything behind to start a new life, your mama, a single woman in charge of 3 girls did everything possible to put food on the table, first working as a packer in the old meat factory and then helping Luda Mae at the small gas station, but money was little and they couldn't support two households with the few cents that the drivers left every time they filled up with gas and everything even worse when the pumps ran dry.

You were the oldest of those 3 girls, little Jo Anne was 5 years old while Ella had just turned 11 and was beginning to be a young lady, taking you as an example to combine her clothes and comb her hair as golden as the sun in a cute way.

One day before moving to Austin you decided to make your favorite dessert, some small bonbons filled with cherry jelly, your favorite fruit and you plated them in a nice container to take to the Hewitts' house, you wanted to say goodbye to them for being your second family but Above all, you wanted to say goodbye to Tommy, your best friend for as long as you can remember.

The road to the Hewitt's farm was short but the hot summer sun and the warm afternoon wind made you feel that it had taken you a little longer to reach the residence in the middle of a dry cornfield, your footsteps sounded as they stepped on the leaves and a greeting In the distance made you look towards an old tractor that made more noise than it seemed to move.

-Hello there little one, what'ya doing here? -Old Monty came down, wiping his hands on his pants, approaching you while he adjusted his glasses.

-Hello uncle Monty - you smiled watching him approach, greeting him with your hand - I came to say goodbye before we went to Austin, I brought my favorite dessert for you to eat tonight during dinner

-So you are leaving after all? Little Tommy still doesn't understand that you're leaving, he's been a little out of his mind these days - the old man sighed, putting his hands on his waist, closing his eyes a little for the strong evening sun

-I see…can I go inside? I would like to say goodbye - you looked at him letting out a little air feeling a blow in your chest, you knew that maybe you would never see your best friend again and the man just nodded making a gesture with his hand inviting you to go to the house while he returned to the old tractor

Your steps were slow, nervous and sad until you reached the entrance of the place and opened the screen door that made a peculiar squeak when opened, You left the plate on the kitchen table and wiped your hands on your skirt of your dress walking up the stairs slowly heading to the side of the hallway where you knew Tommy's bedroom was located.

The door was open a little and you could see his big back as he sewed what was apparently a shirt, your hand hit the door slowly making Thomas grunt without looking.

-Hello Tommy…- your voice sounded low and shy but it made Thomas turn around quickly looking at you as you opened the door and walked towards him, smiling and sitting next to him- how have you been? I heard that today was your last day at the meat factory

Thomas looked back at the floor barely nodding returning to his work with the needle and thread on his shirt

-What are you doing? Did you rip another one of your shirts again? -You smiled even though he didn't notice it and carefully took his hands to take the needle and help him - I'll do it for you.

The enormous man, submissive to your touch, let you take the things, looking at you through the strands of his long hair, releasing a sigh that sounded loud due to the obstruction of his mask.

-Do you remember that days ago I told you that tomorrow would be the day we were going to Austin? - You looked at him while you carefully sewed the sleeve of his shirt that covered your entire lap as if it were a blanket, Thomas just turned his face, looking at the other side of the room, clenching his fists, making his knuckles turn white.

- I know you don't want me to move Tommy, but I can't leave mama alone, I have to go with her to work and help her with my sisters - your hands fell into your lap looking at him sadly trying to get him to meet your eyes but he just lowered his head without growling as was his way of communicate - Tommy, don't be sad, we will always be friends, okay? I promise that whenever I can I will come visit you and bring you things from Austin - you smiled at him, taking his hand, making him look at you with his noticeably moist eyes.

After a few seconds looking at you, the huge man pounced on you, hugging you tightly, almost taking all the air out of your lungs, you felt that at any second one of your bones would break but that didn't matter to you, Tommy always gave those strong and wise hugs. You were going to miss him so you enjoyed it, the two of you staying like that for a few minutes until Charlie interrupted yelling from the kitchen with one of his mundane comments.

After a few hours and Luda Mae insisting that you stay for dinner, you went home again with a plate in your hands to take to your family, even though Thomas grunted and insisted on accompanying you home to spend more time together you convinced him that he should stay for reasons that Charlie only knew, you didn't want him to get in trouble so he agreed to stay, saying goodbye one last time with another hug and a kiss on your hair.

The breeze was fresh and the moonlight illuminated the path between the plants and trees that had already been formed from so many times that you and Thomas went or came to each other's house. After a few minutes walking you could see your small house with the lights on but something strange seemed to be noticeable when the door was open, you quickened your step almost running home entering while you looked everywhere noticing objects thrown and broken.

-Mama?…Ella? - You walked between the rooms looking for them, walking between glass and furniture lying on the floor - Mama?

Your steps stopped when you entered the kitchen, throwing the plate that was in your hands causing it to break into a thousand pieces while you tried to understand why your mother and sisters were on the floor unconscious among blood and pieces of clothing, the golden hair of Ella and Jo Anne was dyed a reddish color while your mother had a thin carmine line on her neck where a pool of blood formed, her dress was tangled around her waist and her underwear was missing.

Your steps backwards stopped when you hit your back on a wall, your vision blurred by tears and you could only run outside stumbling through the furniture to run towards the Hewitts' house, your only hope to help you.

It was a few meters ahead when you heard the engine of some motorcycles approaching while screams and shots in the air made you stop in fear, leaving you petrified.

-Well well, where are you going in such a hurry little doll? - A man with a beard and dressed in leather smiled at you, spitting out what looked like tobacco.

You couldn't say anything, your body was shaking and the tears didn't stop coming out of your eyes.

-Can't you talk, darling? The other bitches couldn't stop screaming a while ago and you don't say a word? - the other 2 men laughed while one of them got off his motorcycle, approaching you, pointing a gun at you, making your eyes widen with fear - I won't hurt you, I won't do anything you don't want, you look like a pretty girl, the kind that make cute sounds when they are fucked like the sluts they are

Your moans and cries came out muffled from your throat and your brain forced you to run as the only escape but a strong hand grabbed your hair, pulling you on your back while you screamed and moved your hands and legs trying to defend yourself from the scratchy hands that touched your body.

-Please let me go, I didn't do anything wrong - you screamed while your tears ran down the edges of your eyes, wetting your hair.

-Of course you haven't done anything wrong, little angel, that's why you're not a woman yet - the blonde-haired man laughed, putting his hand under your skirt, touching your between your legs, hurting you - stop moving, damn bitch, - his strong hand hit your cheek leaving you stunned

-Do it quickly, I want some of the slut too- the bearded man ordered as he took your wrists placing them on top of your head.

For you they were hours of agony, between blows, insults and three men abusing you, you lost track of time before falling unconscious among the neglected grass that covered the intruders, it was almost dawn when your eyes opened looking at the dark sky with some rays. of sun about to appear.

Your head hurt, your sore and weak body could barely get up, stumbling making you fall to your knees, your dress was torn causing one of your breasts to be exposed, your private part hurt and burned as if a knife had been stuck in your innocent crotch.

The path that took you 10 minutes to travel became a long trip of almost 40 minutes, your feet barely dragged and your dry mouth made your throat hurt every time you took a breath of air and when you looked at the Hewitt house a sigh came out of you in relief even though you still had to walk the entire driveway.

Luda Mae was walking carefully with a basket of clean clothes that she had recently washed by hand and was preparing to hang them on the clotheslines in the yard when she looked at you walking in the distance, she carefully adjusted her glasses on her sweaty nose and let out a frightened moan when she could recognize your battered form covered in bruises.

-Oh my sweet lord, oh my god - the woman almost screamed, dropping the basket on the floor, walking hurriedly towards you - for God's sake baby, who did this to you?

Your steps continued slowly, your chest rumbled with sobs as you looked at her and felt safe, but as soon as her arms held you, your body vanished, causing the woman to fall next to you on the floor, but not before taking care not to hit yourself.

-Thomas! Thomas, come here - the woman screamed hysterically, making Charlie and Monty quickly leave the house, Charlie still holding his cup of coffee which almost fell to the floor when Thomas rushed out to help his mother, but when he looked at you on the floor between her arms his steps hurried quickly as growls came from his throat.

-Take her inside carefully, son - Luda adjusted your corrupted dress to take care of your little privacy - Lord, have mercy on this poor girl - the woman was praying to herself as she followed her enormous son inside and the two men looked at the scene, frozen, scared of what that they had looked at.

Thomas ignored his mother's instructions and instead of lying down on the sofa in the living room he quickly went up to his room with you in his arms, laying you down on his bed slowly as if you were the most fragile and precious thing that his hands had ever held, his anxiety gnawed away his head looking at you unconscious and covered in wounds and bruises that went from your legs to your face, his growls were loud and aggressive and he didn't calm down until Luda took his arms making him look at her.

-Look at me son, Thomas relax -Luda looked at him tenderly but with a firm voice- this is not the time for you not to listen to me, we must take care of her and know what happened, do you understand? - Her hands went up to his cheeks, calming him a little while his chest rose and fell with an anger that he had never felt, not even the day he was fired from the factory and ended his boss's life.

Luda was in charge of commanding that day, she sent Monty and Charlie to your house to tell you what had happened, but as soon as they arrived and saw the scene, both men knelt down, bowing their heads, while old Monty shed a couple of tears, then After all he was the ''Uncle Monty'' of those little girls and someone had annihilated them, Charlie found a little humanity in his heart and ordered Monthy to find some sheets to cover the bodies of the three women to put them in the truck and take them home where they could give them a decent burial, after all they had been good people with their family and deserved respect.

When the men came home and told Luda what had happened, the woman couldn't help but cry and fall into a crisis when she saw the lifeless bodies of her friend and her little babies, what cruel person had done that to your family? They were the sweetest people in the whole town and they didn't deserve an ending like that.

While the three eldest were arranging everything to respectfully say goodbye to the three ladies, Thomas in his room had already carefully removed your torn dress, to be honest he had often imagined your body when Charlie forced him to watch those obscene movies or told him stories of how girls behaved when he touched them, but this time all his thoughts of desire disappeared when he saw you like that.

A bucket of warm water rested on his nightstand while he carefully cleaned your face with a small damp towel, when he removed all the dirt from your face, he could notice your broken lip and the bump on your cheek that was beginning to heal dyed purple, his hand slowly went down your neck cleaning and then carefully passing the towel between your breasts, your chest rose and fell slowly with your calm breathing, Thomas couldn't help but turn his gaze when he saw your breasts with scratches Just like your stomach that had red marks on your waist, his head didn't help him, he imagined what had you been suffer alone there and he wanted to kill slowly and painfully the person who had done that to you.

After all his thought's and after cleaning your legs covered in scratches and your injured knees, Thomas slowly separated your legs, squeezing his jaw looking at how your inner thighs had wounds, scratches that looked red on your skin that looked like porcelain, his hand covered In the damp cloth that every now and then he washed in the warm water, he slowly passed over the marks of the attack, as if he were afraid of hurting you even more than they had already done, your small moans of pain made him retreat in fear, but when he looked at your eyes closed without any sign of wanting to wake up, he returned to his tasks until he left you completely clean, then he took a Luda dress that he carefully put on you as if he were dressing a small doll that could break into a thousand pieces if he barely touched it with his big hands, the dress was too big on you but it covered your body and that was enough for him, he didn't want anyone else to look at you, you were his only and he was going to take care of you with his life.

After a few hours the sky had already begun to darken and your eyes tightened as you woke up in a room that you knew very well, you looked at the ceiling and the old closet on the side of the room, the old lamp on the nightstand was on and a blanket covered your legs, the heavy steps in the corridor made you look towards the door with fear, you knew that in that house you were not in danger but your state made you think that at any minute someone was going to attack you again.

But a large figure that covered almost the entire door frame appeared looking at you, releasing a deep sigh as he walked towards you.

-Tommy?…-your eyes moistened feeling safe, he walks to you letting his knees hit the floor next to the bed while his arms surrounded your waist and despite the pain, your arms surrounded his shoulders while you cried, hiding your face in his neck.

Not long after, Thomas looked at you with his frown, he was angry, more than that, you had never seen him this upset, his hand slowly touched your cheek over the bump and then pointed towards his chest, you knew what that meant, ''who was the one who make you this?'' cause he would be in charge of making them pay.

-I don't know who those men were, Tommy, but they hurt my family, I know that they were the ones who hurt my little sisters and mama - your voice was broken with your crying, his hand touched your face while his breathing sounded heavy - they were …motorcyclists, one had a beard, another was blonde, they were all dressed in leather - your eyes followed his enormous form as he stood up, turning quickly towards the door but your hand did not let go of his, making him stop - Tommy?…what? are you going to do?

He looked straight into your eyes, the blue of his eyes had disappeared, they were black and deep, you had never seen them that way, he just let go of your hand slowly and rushed out, making his heavy footsteps sound as he lowered the stairs.

After a few minutes Luda came up with a tray with tea and a plate of warm food, it looked like stew and smelled good but your stomach hurt from the blows you had received so you barely ate while the woman brushed your hair slowly with her fingers looking at you tenderly.

-Luda…where did Tommy go? - You looked at her curiously while you drank some iced tea that made your throat feel fresh.

-Tommy loves you too much, he would do everything possible for you to make you happy, you know? -She looked at you over her glasses while her hand stopped.

-I know, I would do the same for him but I'm not as big and strong as Tommy is, he takes care of himself and he also takes care of me.

-You're wrong about that honey, he is strong on the outside, my boy was blessed with a huge body that can intimidate anyone who stands in front of him, but on the inside my boy is just a pure soul who doesn't know how to deal with this horrible and disgusting world where we live, that is where you come to protect him, your heart and courage makes my Tommy feel safe and continues to be the strong and brave boy that he is

A small smile formed on your face thinking that you were very lucky to have Thomas in your life, everyone had always been cruel to him, they made fun of his poor ability to speak and his skin was always so sensitive and no one understood it, just You and that was enough, you had gotten used to only having Tommy's attention and affection for you that you wouldn't know how to deal if someone else took a little of his attention away.

That night Thomas did not come home, you spent most of the night looking at the door waiting to see him arrive but he never showed up, only the sound of the crickets and the wind coming through the window accompanied you and little by little you fell asleep between the blankets with its aroma.

It was early in the morning when you heard some murmurs and an argument downstairs that made you wake up.

-You can't do that, you don't know how she's going to take it, she's going to run away from here and accuse us, we would have to kill her too, is that what you want, damned idiot? - you could recognize Charlie's voice from his screams

-Stop calling him that way, he is not an idiot and he knows what he is doing-Luda shouted.

-Thomas, come here you damn bastard - Charlie shouted as loud footsteps went up the stairs that then became light as they approached the room.

There was Thomas, covered in blood, looking at you from the door, when he saw that you were awake, lowering his head thinking about what he would do but also thought if Charlie was right.

-Tommy?…why are you covered in blood? they hurt you? - Your hands rested on the bed, sitting up as fast as the pain allowed, he just shook his head and looked at you again, approaching - Are you okay?

Again his knees rested on the floor next to you while his blue eyes looked at you and his huge hand took yours carefully, his free hand rested on his chest pointing with his finger.

-You? -His hand moved slowly towards you, touching the center of your chest with his finger- me? - He nodded shyly taking both your hands in his, kissing both palms on the mask - I know you wouldn't hurt me, Tommy, you don't have to explain it to me.

He looked at you with relief and stood up offering you his hand to stand up, but when you tried, your sore knees felt like they were melting, making you stumble, Thomas holding you quickly and carefully by your waist.

-I'm fine Tommy… I just…- Thomas didn't let you finish your sentence when with his arm he held the back of your knees lifting you up making your arms quickly surround his neck in fear of falling.

His steps were delicate as he left the room and went down the stairs, three pairs of eyes looked at you, questioning his that you going down was the right thing to do, but Thomas cared little and continued on his way to the basement door.

The place was cold and damp, the walls surrounding the stairs had scratch marks and you could notice a couple of nails stuck in the cement, Thomas walked towards what looked like a work table and carefully sat you in a chair as he walked to a coat rack and took an old apron covered in red stains and put it on him.

-Tommy?…- He didn't pay attention to you for a few seconds, searching for something with his eyes until he took an electric chainsaw from a tool table and walked towards you, taking you again with one of his arms, walking to a place behind a shelf full of jars and he sit you delicately on a wooden table

You could notice three figures hanging from what seemed to be a nail where the animals were hanging in the slaughterhouse and when your eyes adjusted to the darkness you could notice the three men who had attacked you hanging from their tied hands, one of them moaning as they others were unconscious

Your hands quickly covered your face, fear took over your body when you looked at them, feeling the fear of being attacked again but Thomas approached you, took your hand and your scared eyes looked at him while your hands trembled.

-It's them Tommy…it's them - your voice hurts whispered the words when Thomas gently removed his hand and touched your face and then looked at the men, then his hand delicately touched your lap, caressing your wounds over the fabric of the dress and point at the men looking into your eyes - it's… him - your hand pointed at the bearded man

Thomas quickly walked away from you, pulling the motor of the chainsaw hard, turning it on with just two attempts to start it and with both hands he lifted it closed to the man, placing it on the crotch of the bastard who abused your innocence cutting him in half until he reached his neck.

Drops of blood jumped everywhere, Thomas was covered in it and you could feel the warm liquid wet your face.

You couldn't believe what you saw, but you couldn't believe that a feeling of fear didn't take over inside you, you had seen Thomas murder a man but inside you the only thing you felt was satisfaction and a small flight of butterflies, your Tommy, he had spent the entire night looking for the men who harmed his precious girl and was making them pay.

After finishing the first, Thomas looked at you with heavy breathing, he didn't need to say a single word, his eyes spoke for his and you understood his language perfectly

-Him too, Tommy…- you pointed at the blonde man and then touched your chest over the scratches that made your skin look swollen, Thomas didn't think twice when he lifted it again, closed it and moved it over the man, cutting his legs, his waist, his arms making him fall on the wet floor while he screamed in agony and then cut his head, the other man did not seem to react but he was not going to let him leave in peace, so he did the same with him and cut him in half When he finished his work he turned off the chainsaw and walked towards you, leaving it at your side to clean his hands wet with blood on his apron that was equally dirty and wet.

Your heart was beating fast, you were not afraid of Thomas, you did not feel in danger nor did you feel disgusted by him, on the contrary, it seemed that by seeing him perform the sickest actions he had finished convincing you of what you had begun to suspect years ago, what you felt was a deep and true love for the one who had done everything to heal you and defend your dignity.

-You did very well Tommy - you smiled at him, placing your hands on his cheeks over the mask, his blue eyes were so calm that it didn't look like he had finished with three men a few seconds ago, his forehead rested on yours while your fingers caressed his slow hair - thanks for taking care of me

He just gave a light growl as he hugged you around the waist, he wasn't going to let anyone else touch his little cherry, not even the sun could hurt your skin because he would be able to do anything to destroy it.

That afternoon and after Monty had spent the entire previous day making three graves in the back garden, Charlie, Luda, Thomas and you went out to say goodbye to your family, Luda had picked a couple of flowers in the front garden and Charlie surprised you when with his worldly mouth he said some beautiful words to say goodbye to your mama and your little sisters, Tommy never left your side, he was holding your hand, making sure your fragile legs did not collapse and make you fall.

-Well, all that remains us to say welcome to the family y/n, it will be a pleasure for us if you are a Hewitt, what'ya think? -Charlie approached you while Thomas worked hard to cover the graves with the dirt he threw with a shovel.

-Charlie… you shouldn't say that, it's so sudden.- Luda Mae looked at him, scolding him. She knew he wouldn't last long without saying an injudicious comment and she wasn't wrong.

-It's okay, Moma - you smiled at Luda, holding the small flowers waiting to put them on the graves. - It will be a pleasure for me to share Tommy's last name

-You see, mom - Charlie smiled, chewing his tobacco - our Tommy will be happy honey, welcome to the family

You barely placed the small flowers on the three graves and caressed the wood signs where the names of your family could be read, Tommy took your hand, caressing it carefully, with pain in your back you hug him, your arms were barely able to surround his torso as you continued reading over and over again the name on the wood that functioned as a tombstone.

-Do you think it's okay that I'm a Hewitt Tommy? - You raised your head looking at his eyes despite the rays of sun that crossed his long locks of hair, he just looked at you smiling a little making his eyes narrow as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders - Then I won't hesitate to tell everyone I meet that i am Mrs. Hewitt

Your hand took his slowly walking together to the house while you talked about things that he only answered by nodding or shaking his head, just when you were both a couple of steps away from reaching the entrance of the house the sound of tires made you both turn around to look at the car that came down the road approaching you

-Now what this people want? These damn city dwellers get lost and come to disturb my property - Luda Mae sighs, annoyed, looking from the porch.

-Come in Tommy…let me bring you your apron so you can work - you smiled as you entered the house knowing that now the family business needed you.

[temis-de-leon]

Day 13 - Deflected kiss

Characters: Beelzebub x gn!MC

25 kisses challenge Masterlist

Main Masterlist

CW: darker than usual with a little gore at the beggining, possessive and kinda ooc Beel, pre-established relationship

A/N: I don't like this one, I don't think it's good. Sorry :(

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They were apex predators, stronger than everyone but the one above them and built to sustain any sort of pain. They would bleed and sweat and poke inside open wounds, horns caked in gore and fingers drenched in someone’s guts, no sense of guilt to stop them. It would smell like iron and something rotten, a combination of raw flesh and body fluids that begged for more.

As the Avatar of Gluttony, his anatomy was just a tad different from other demons. Sharper senses to find pray, stronger bite force, faster reflexes. Everything that could put him in advantage to eat first.

It used to be fun back then, morbidly exciting, but things changed over the passage of time, when the Demon King fell in deep sleep and Lord Diavolo stepped up to the plate, bringing revolutionary ideas with peace on his mind.

Long gone were the days when humans believed in their existence without questions and, even though the fear of the unknown stayed constant throughout history, hunting simply became… boring.  

So Beel, under Lucifer’s iron fist, forced himself to learn how to control certain urges. He missed the taste of human flesh as much as other demons did, but replacing it for other types of food was surprisingly easy.

Fortunately, his acute sense of smell stayed the same, as well as his vision. They didn’t help him much, given that food announced itself with gigantic neon signs, but they were still there; still in use.

Beel didn’t want MC to know how much he started to relay on his senses again since they met. In the span of a few months, he’d already learnt their exact scent and his mind had taught itself to find them even in the biggest crowd.

It wasn’t something he frequently contemplated, anyways, but when he commented it to Asmo as a passing thought and his brother joked about him returning to his roots, he was forced to reconsider at least a little. While going back to his acquired dark nature was tempting, Beel found himself happy to be just the way he was. Keeping MC so close to him in one way or the other was only how he took care of them as part of the family.

Being able to distinguish their soul’s aroma out of everyone else’s wasn’t weird and neither was immediately seeing them sitting with his brothers on the bleachers during one of his games. He loved the feeling of love and knowing his entire family was there to cheer him on fuelled his heart with extraordinary force. MC’s scent was just the most peculiar out of all of them and the easier to pinpoint.

There was nothing more than that. Even when his first thought after making his team win was to retrieve them and take them to a private place so he could make his own scent a part of theirs, there was nothing to it.

Not when MC intercepted him at the locker room entry to personally congratulate him and not when he pulled them closer by their waist, making them smile with slight embarrassment.

However, when he bent down, they turned their face.

“I want to kiss you too, Beel, I swear!” they’d promised with reassurance “But you’re stinking of sweat right now and I had a shower just before coming here!”

Beel quickly ignored his disappointment, but he couldn’t avoid showing it for the first couple of seconds. Still, he left to clean himself, because he’d be damned if the thing keeping him apart from his crush was sweat.

On his way to the showers he successfully ignored the desire of turning back and consume them whole.

Not with his teeth, but with something else.

Asmo’s words resonated on his head while he scrubbed the dirt and the results of his efforts away from his skin.

He didn’t know when he stopped his actions or when he started to sniff the room, searching for something.

Someone.

MC.

They were still waiting for him.

.

.

Taglist: @ourfinalisation  @owlisbuffering  @chizukimp4  @ravenredwine @darkflowerav  @beatlebeesstuff   @mehkers

[peterman-spideyparker]

Nightmares (Michael Kinsella x fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! I've had this in my drafts for a while, and I have the day off today, so I figured I'd post it. I initially wrote this a a Frank Castle fic, but when I was reading it over after I was done, it really seemed to fit Michael better (again, obsessed with this man, and I've only seen the pilot episode of Kin). I hope you guys enjoy! :)

Summary: One of Michael's deepest fears comes to life in a nightmare, and he turns to you for comfort, needing to ground himself.

Warnings: Graphic nightmare (dead dove do not eat--Michael, Anna, and Reader tied up in the woods, Michael having to choose between you and Anna, violence, guns, Reader death in dream), swearing calming down Michael after a nightmare, smut (kissing, fingering, praise, biting/nibbling, p in v unprotected sex) cuddling, talking about fears

Other Characters: None

Word Count: 2,097

He doesn’t know where he is. His in some sort of forest, dead, brown, fragile leaves below him. He hears crying—these terrified sobs and whines of horror. Michael’s eyes shoot up and see you and Anna on your knees, your arms tied around your back with blinding headlights shining behind you. He looks up and sees a man standing behind you both, but he can’t make out their face. What he can distinctly recognize, though, is the gun in his hand.

“Choose!” a gruff voice shouts above the cries of the two people he loves most in the world.

“Let ‘em go!” Michael shouts, straining against the rope on his wrists. “Yer problem seems t’be with me, eh? So cut me loose and fight me.”

“You need to choose, Michael,” the voice says. Why can’t he see his face?

“Ye want me t’choose? Alright, me! I choose me!” he protests. “That’s who ye have a grudge against, right? So let them go and off me!”

"Choose!"

Leave begin to rustle beneath where you kneel, and Michael’s eyes flit over to you in a panic. You stand, your body shaking and tears streaming down your face. You lock eyes with him and mouth “I love you” before you turn around and face the faceless man.

“Let them go,” you tremble. “Hurt me, but spare them.”

“No!” Michael shouts, desperately trying to burst out of his restraints, but they only get tighter.

“She has the courage that you so frequently lack,” the faceless man says as Michael protests and Anna cries in fear.

“Anna, sweetheart, close your eyes,” you beg, doing your best not to cry. “It’ll be okay.”

“No, hey!” Michael shouts. “Let her go! Take me, instead! ‘M beggin you. Please! Please!”

“You could learn a thing or two from her.”

“Mikey, I love—.”

Michael cries out when his happens, the gunshot echoing deafeningly loud in the forest as you fall lifeless in the leaves in front of him. Blood is smeared on your head, spreading like a crimson sheet around you, and all Michael can do is cry before letting out a terrible scream at the top of his lungs.

He shoots up, finding himself in his bedroom, sheets in his lap and sweat sticking to his skin as his chest heaves for air.

“Michael,” you say gently, and he looks over to you with panicked eyes. You’re okay. You're alive. Here, with him, in his bed. “Mikey, it was just a nightmare. It’s okay. Everything’s alright.” You run a gentle, cool hand down his sweaty, burning skin. “Whatever it was wasn’t real. You’re safe.”

Michael lets out a shaky breath, his bleary eyes looking over your form before he leans in and wraps his arms around you, holding you tight and weeping into the crook of your neck.

“I thought I lost ya,” he weeps. “I can’t loose someone else I love. I-I-I can’t loose ya.”

“Oh, Michael,” you breathe, running your hand down the back of his hair. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”

Michael matches his breathing with yours, eventually calming down and pulling back to look at you with reddened eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Leaning in, Michael kisses you deeply. He knows you’re here in front of him, but something deeper in him is desperate to know that you’re actually here in his bed, that you’re not dead somewhere in the woods like what he saw in his dream. You accept his embrace for a bit, but you start to pull back as he tries to intensify the kiss.

“Michael,” you whisper. “Is this what you want? Or do you want to talk about it?”

“I can’t have someone take ya from me. I need’ya right now, love,” he mutters. “Please, just let me have this.”

“As long as you’re sure,” you nod, leaning back in for a kiss. When your lips meet again, Michael is more aggressive in his embrace, taking charge of how his lips crash against yours and how his tongue slips in deep to explore. He guides you down on the mattress, his hands squeezing into your body as he kisses you desperately, sure to leave little bruises behind. Michael’s lips explore every inch of flesh that they can find, pulling little whimpers of pleasure from you as he does so. Any other day, Michael would drag his kisses down and spend hours between your legs, but he needs to be close to your face. He needs to see the sparkle in your eyes, the flush of your cheeks, the little lines at the corner of your mouth when you smile at him. Leaning back up, he presses his lips to yours, kissing you deeply and rocking into the mattress. His hands grip the sleep shirt of his that’s on your body, sliding it off and tossing it somewhere to the side. You let out a soft moan as your breasts are exposed to the cool morning air, something that Michael happily dips down to kiss, lick, and suck on the pebbling flesh before moving back up and marking up your neck.

“Mikey!” you squeal breathily when he hits the right spot. Your nails dig into the soft flesh of his back, scratching angry lines down his body. Michael growls by your ear, nipping at the love bite before moving his mouth over yours and slip his tongue into your mouth. “Michael . . . baby!”

“I need ya,” he growls. “I need to bury my cock in that tight cunt of yers. Make those pretty sounds fall from yer mouth, make my name the only thing you can remember, stuff ya full.”

“Michael,” you whine.

“Ye want tha? Want me ta stretch ya full? Want my cum in ya?”

“Fuck, Mikey, yes, please!”

“Atta girl,” he coos. “Usin yer words like tha. Such a fuckin good girl fer me.”

Quickly shoving down his boxers, he pushes down the fabric just enough, giving himself a few pumps to make sure he’s nice and hard for you before sliding his hand up your thigh and grabbing onto your underwear. He yanks them clean off of you before fingering you, getting you ready. You cry out, your back arching as he pumps his fingers in and out to spread your slick around before moving back to fist his cock and spread your essence around.

“Ready, pet?” he pants.

“Yes,” you say breathily. “Yes, please!”

He presses a deep, passionate kiss to your lips, a moan pulling from your throat as his tongue explores your mouth before he slides in. Your lips part from one another’s as you cry out into the bedroom at the top of your lungs. You’re wet, sure, but not as wet as you usually are, so taking Michael is a bit more of a challenge. It feels like a tighter fit, and you can feel every cell between your legs as you stretch and try to take him. Michael feels it too, biting his lip before moving to bite your shoulder, which only makes the volume of your cries go louder. Your fingers sink into his back, leaving little crescent mark brands on his skin.

“Fuckin perfect,” he mutters, soothing the sting of his bite with his tongue and lips. “So tight. Such a nice cunt f’me, gripping my cock like tha.”

“Michael,” you whine.

“Say my name.”

“Michael!”

“Again.”

“Michael!”

“Who d’you belong to?”

“Michael!”

His pace moves from something tender and sensual to brutal and unrelenting, but you let him take what he needs until you’re screaming out so loud that you, him, and his neighbors know you’ll have a sore throat for days. You cum hard around his length, your entire body trembling with your orgasm as your mind goes fuzzy and you desperately cling to his body. Michael is like an animal as he ruts into you, chasing his high as he prolongs yours. The scruff of his bread scratches against your neck, and your hand slides up the back of his head to tug at the soft locks. He twists his head so his lips meet yours once more, full of lust, but intrinsically laced with passion and love. You nuzzle into his embrace and he bites his lip as he begins to feel the muscle in the lower abdomen tighten before he spills into you with a low grunt. You lie there, tangled together as a sweaty mess as you try to catch your breath. Languid, tired kisses are exchanged back and forth, and Michael can’t help but get lost in your sparkling eyes and how much he loves you, seeing that same love reflected back to him.

“You’re squishing me a little, Mikey,” you whisper, leaning up to kiss his nose.

“Oh,” he blushes. “Sorry, pet.”

You lean in for a kiss as he starts to pull out, rolling to the side but keeping you in his arms. You settle perfectly into his side, your hand warm on his chest.

“Are you okay, Michael?” you breathe into the dark bedroom, playing with his chest hair as you rest on one another.

“Awful dream,” he admits after a long silence. “Nightmare in every sense of the word. You . . . Ye died. Right in front of m’eyes, and there was nothin’ I could do ta save ya. I-I had ta choose between you an’ Anna, an’ I was beggin’ whoever it was t’take me instead. You stood up and you sacrificed yerself.”

He draws in a sharp, shaky breath between his teeth as you hold him tight.

“Baby, I’m,” you start, and you sound like you’re on the verge of tears. “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”

“I think about it all the time,” he continues. “Ways the both of ye could just be taken from me. What I’d do. How I’d live without either of ya, and . . .” He can’t even fathom a reality where you’re both not in his life. He’s already lost his wife, and there’s not a day that goes by where he doesn’t miss her or think about how different his life would be if she was still here. “I can’t loose either of ya. I think I’d die if I did.”

“No one is gonna take us from you, and I’m not leaving, I promise.”

“But what if it’s not yer choice? What if I fuck up again an—.” He sniffles. “I didn’t think love . . . Fuck, I didn’t think a normal life was in the cards f’me. Everything that’s happened is proof of tha’. An’ now, I’m startin’ to believe again that it might be possible. ‘M afraid it’ll come crashin’ down again like it did.”

“Can I let you in on a secret?” you whisper. He looks up at you through his big brown eyes in a way that you can only describe as something a puppy would do. “I’m mortified of losing you, too. Either you die, or someone runs a red and I get into an accident. I’m terrified of what it’ll be like if we’re not in each other’s lives. But I know that’d it have to be some act of God to separate us.” I lean down and kiss him. “I love you, Michael. Forever and always. And nothing will ever change that.”

He holds you tighter, allowing you to snuggle down on his chest so you can hear his heartbeat loud and clear.

“What if we just run away,” he whispers. It’s not a question to you so much as it is a thought he’s mulled over time and time again. “Start over. Have a new life somewhere where all this shit isn’t weighing down over our heads.”

“Mikey . . .”

“I mean it. We’d be safe anywhere but here.”

“You’d be away from Anna.”

“We’d take her with us.”

“Her life is here, Michael. If she wants to leave, it’s her decision.”

“I just need t’keep ya safe.”

“And you will. No matter where we are in the world, I know you’ll keep us safe.”

“Why d’ya have so much faith in me?”

You turn into him, the tip of your nose brushing against his neck. “Because I love you, and you love me. I know the man that you are, and who you’re working to be. You are a good man, Michael Kinsella. And I love you.”

“You rhyme when you get sappy,” he chuckles softly, giving you a squeeze.

You kiss his shoulder, chuckling. “It was unintentional. But true. And it got you to smile. It’s a win-win.”

Michael pulls the blanket up around your bodies, holding you close and placing a lingering kiss to your forehead.

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[aheathen-conceivably]

🎶 Beggin’ 🎶

Every day since the crash, Antoine grew more distant, spending hours away from home while Zelda didn’t know where he was. His absence was mirrored in the empty streets of New Orleans, once so full of music and life, now sheltering troves of anxious residents as they tried to figure out what to do next.

The hushed tones of worry and fear permeated into the jazz club on Basin Street. Josephine and Zelda often had to open for the night without Antoine, leaving their few patrons without the music that had once distracted them from their worries and lowered their inhibitions.

Rather than try and resume any charade of normality, Zelda and Josephine spent their nights at the bar, drinking their own dwindling supply of liquor and talking amongst themselves. Jo was watching the club’s few patrons pour their sorrows into drink when the situation finally seemed to wear her down, “Zelda, we’ve got to sell. I mean most nights it costs more just to turn on the lights than we make. And I see the books, I know about the bribes; I know the money is bleeding out. Antoine has to agree, right? Has he said anything to you?”

Zelda shook her head in consternation, unwilling to admit that she had no idea what Antoine had or hadn’t accepted about this place. Jo saw the look on her face and immediately passed her a cigarette, trying quell her own worries as much as Zelda’s, “He has to know, he isn’t stupid. I can promise you that much, at least.“

Zelda still said nothing, swirling the whiskey in her glass and quickly burning through her cigarette. Jo stared at her for a moment and then looked up toward the apartment above, where she knew Violette was sleeping, “He has to know, Zelda. He has to. I’ll talk to him, okay? Give me a week, a week to try and sort it out. I can’t sell without him.”

Zelda let out a lungful of cigarette smoke and a heavy sigh, “You’re welcome to try, Jo. But at this point, I think he’s locked himself away so tightly no one can get him out.” Then she took another drag, leaving the rest of her thought unspoken, even to her best friend, and if at the end of the week neither of us can, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

Across town, Antoine was standing in the same place where he had spent most of his time since realizing he had made a terrible mistake; the same place where he should have swallowed his pride and listened to Giorgio. With every hour that went by he veered ever closer to proving Zelda right, staring out at the water feeling powerless, driven mad by the unassailable, constant anger at everyone and everything; but most of all himself.

He knew that he had been too arrogant and stubborn to simply tell Gio that he needed help; that a deep part of him wanted to be free of this place but he no longer had the money to go in as an equal. Worst of all, he knew that he had squandered his chance to give Zelda and Violette the life they deserved, all because of pride and some sense of misguided loyalty.

And now, the floor had fallen out from under all of them, and the one asset he had was near worthless. How could he tell Zelda that she had make a mistake by trusting him to provide for her when she came back here?

For above all he wanted to be the man he was supposed to be, the husband that he wasn’t even allowed to call himself. So much so that every moment near her brought him so much pain and guilt that he had to come back here, to look out at the water and spiral into the same furious realization that he had fucked up.

He stared at it so furiously that he couldn’t even take it anymore, couldn’t take being tossed around by all of the vitriol that life had thrown at him; until finally, he broke, and decided that he was done with it all.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Reason why she ended the album with a "Jake" song... She had to go back to the beggining to truly move on and understand what happened to her... I thought that was beautiful and so well executed

Going back to the inbox from last night's discussion that I missed oops

I love that full-circle moment too. I mean, not love it as in it was a great thing-- obviously, that was a deeply painful and traumatic in retrospect time in her life-- but it certainly feels like you're listening to parts of her healing in real time throughout the song and the album.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't already been discussed, but hearing "he said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was, soon they'd be pushing strollers, but soon it was over" followed even more poignantly by "he said that since she was so wise beyond her years everything had been above board, she wasn't sure" just absolutely floored me the first time, very much like "give me back my girlhood, it was mine first," and "you if we'd been closer in age that would have been fine, and that made me want to die" and some other gut-punch lines.

That's one of the many reasons why I love TTPD so much, because IMO it's so clear to see how much reckoning she's done not just with the Joe/Mattty stuff, but so, so much from her past that all kind of came home to roost last year. It wasn't just the dying Joe relationship and wasn't just the Matty rebound from hell, it was how the relationship with Jake set so much of those patterns and those anxieties in stone for so long, it's how the trauma of 2016 set other patterns into motion, it's how the trauma of child stardom and the scrutiny of fans and media have caged her, and so on, and how they all kind of coalesced into what she went through last spring and summer.

It was so, so well done, and so incredibly vulnerable and trusting of her. I loved TTPD from the jump but I feel like every time I listen to it (especially when I listen to it full through) I pick up more and the full weight of it hits even deeper.

[not-feeling-the-aster]

The labyrinth

Summary: Willow Everdeen Mellark arrives at the University in the Capitol and meets her roommate, a strange girl with light hair. How will their first encounter go? This is a short AU set roughly 30 years after the events of Mockingjay. It explores Willow's first time at the Capitol, her ideas about its people and the beggining of a friendship, or maybe more. Cassie or Cassandra is an original character with an interesting family history (guess who she is related to). I might turn this into a proper fic one day, but for now this is a glimpse of what could be. With no further ado, enjoy!

On the way to the University, I take in everything around me. Buildings, stores, vehicles, people. Above all, people. The images from home really do not do justice to the riotous aesthetics of the Capitol citizens. An amalgam of colors, fabrics and shapes swirls through the window and I almost get dizzy. But I force myself to keep watching. After all, this is what I wanted right? To experience this unknown world far from my simple District 12.

I stop for a second thinking of my mother. Right now, she's probably hunting in the woods to avoid her thoughts. To avoid any thought about her daughter stuck in the middle of this enormous city, which must have left so many memories marked on her skin.

The driver's voice brings me back to reality, announcing our arrival. I pay and thank him before getting out, coming face to face with the most imposing structure I’ve ever seen. Ancient columns, tall carved gates, and a pristine staircase dominate the entrance, packed with students.

I feel a tickling in my chest as I walk into the crowd. Several heads follow me as I pass, probably noticing that I'm not from around here. Although it is nothing new for districts to send their children to study at the Capitol, the numbers remain low. I wink at them without thinking twice, causing a few blushes, before leaving them behind.

After putting some documents in order, I finally head to what will be my bedroom for the next few years. I wonder if my partner has arrived yet. Will she be from a District like me? That would make the transition easier. Although, challenges never scared me, anyway.

As I get to the last hallway, I see that the door is already open. Looks like I won't be able to choose the bed. Whatever, it's time for the truth. I knock to get her attention, and she quickly turns around. The morning light reflects on her bright hair, and her eyes stay fixed on me. What a strange girl. She stands petrified, her next move undecipherable. Is she scared of me? Maybe Capitol people are as exaggerated as everyone says. Well, Effie is living proof of that, but that's part of her charm. If anything, my experience with my aunt gives me an advantage now. So, I offer her my hand.

“Hi, nice to meet you. You must be my roommate. I'm Willow.”

She blinks a few times, as if waking up. She gets closer to shake my hand and her floral scent reaches my nose. When we touch, I feel her silk like skin. And the coldness of her fingers.

“I’m Cassie. Sorry, I swear I'm not always like this. I'm still getting used to this place and my head is a mess.”

Her voice is sweet, but it doesn’t have the ring I was expecting from a Capitol girl. I take a better look at her clothes and I realize she’s far from those characters I drove by today. Was I mistaken?

“It's okay. I get what you mean. It’s all new to me here. The Capitol's sure bigger than it looks on TV, huh?”

I was waiting for her to boast proudly about everything this city had to offer to its newcomers, like any citizen would do. But it didn’t happen.

“Yeah, ever since I’ve got here, I’ve felt like I'm in a huge labyrinth.”

She looks away, and I notice how she rubs her hands nervously. She reminds me of my brother, when he gets carried away with worry instead of facing his problems. And if there's one thing I'm good at, is at getting him out of his head.

“Well, seems like luck’s on our side.” I say arranging my bags on the empty bed.

“What do you mean?” She asks me with a raised eyebrow.

“If we wanna make it out of the labyrinth, we'll have a better chance together, right?”

It takes her a few seconds to get what I mean, but when she does, my pulse quickens. She smiles. And then I realize. She is not strange. She is beautiful.

[via-the-cryptid]

Idea:

Simon goes to the Isles and Elements does happen. After Finn meets Minerva, she and Simon have a little talk, she wants to meet one of the persons looking over her son and maybe Simon can convice her that Ooo its not a bad place and that Finn its better there that trapped in Founder's Isle (and stopping the White Cloud incident from even happening to beggin with).

And once they return to Ooo, everyone freaks out and Simon immediatly flies to where the Snow Kingdom was to find Betty.

I do wonder, at this point Bonnie its again a Princess or is still on excile for her crimes? Because I can see Patience trying to convince her that aweakening her Elemental powers is what she needs to return to her position and protect her loved ones.

man you just keep hitting me with genius after genius, props to you.

so what I’m thinking is, Simon tags along to look for more humans and Snow Queen ends up going to see them off at the beach, but stays behind because she doesn’t really have a reason to go, but she knows it’s important to her prince so she’s obviously not going to try and stop him. At this point, she’s a lot more aware that Magic Simon can protect himself just fine, so she’s a little bit less overprotective and overbearing in that regard. still just as clingy, though, but Simon honestly sees this as a plus since he’s equally clingy.

on Founders’ Island, Minerva tries to convince Finn to stay, first by words and then by force. after seeing Jake stretch and Magic Simon hover in the air, she’s thoroughly weirded out by everything outside of their island and is utterly positive that Finn will be much safer if he never leaves. Simon, however, has seen this once before in the form of Snow Queen/Betty trying to keep him trapped in the Snow Kingdom forever in order to make sure no one can yet him. Minerva sees from Finn’s memories how dangerous Ooo is, but when Simon steps up, he knows exactly what to think of to prove to Minerva that Finn is capable of living in Ooo and doesn’t need to be coddled and constrained. Minerva sees all the times that Finn has won the fight and celebrated with all his friends, the times he’s sought out Simon and Snow Queen for comfort and reassurance, the times his friends have all supported him even when it does become too much. Finn may not be the most powerful in the world, may not win every single fight, but Minerva needs to see that Finn will always have his friends and family in Ooo to support him, no matter what.

and Minerva caves. Simon has been more of a parent to Finn than she ever got the opportunity to be, more than Martin ever chose to be, in her eyes. Finn has parents, a brother, so many friends and so much family, and Minerva… she can’t — won’t — take that away from him.

of course, then everything gets Weird As Hell as soon as they get back to Ooo. Simon definitely panics and runs off to go find his wife as soon as he realizes she might be in danger (so, immediately), leaving the rest of the gang to sort out whatever the fuck is going on by themselves.

when he finds her, she’s a heap in the newfound Ice Empire, lying on the outskirts just outside Patience’s dome, unconscious and without her crown (and strangely enough, there’s a propeller hat lying above her head like it fell off when she fell). Simon of course freaks out and tries to wake her up, but without the crown, she’s catatonic. the most he can do is cast a bubble around her to make sure that nothing and no one can harm her while he goes to get the crown back. the crown is a problem, yes, but without it, she wouldn’t be alive right now. Simon would much prefer an alive Snow Queen to a dead Betty, and he’s sure his beloved would agree.

Patience gives up the crown fairly easily, and it’s not hard for Magic Simon to figure out what happened from the remnants of the ritual left on the ground, etched into the ice itself. she used the crown as a battery for some sort of element-based spell, but rather than the traditional four of fire, earth, water, and air, it’s fire, ice, candy, and slime, a quartet he’s only ever seen before this in the Enchiridion and in a few old texts he found in Wizard City. there are at least four places which correspond to these elements that he already knows of — the four kingdoms that match the four elements, and the Snow Kingdom is already a mess as it is, what with Patience St Pim having gotten her hands on it. He shudders to think what the rest of Ooo might look like right now, but he needs to go and help Betty before anything else. Once she’s safe, they can go and find Finn and Jake and BMO, and regroup by the Candy Kingdom.

also: Bubblegum is back in her kingdom at this point and is on slightly better terms with SQ and Marcy after she apologized, but Marcy is still a little bit pissed off and will take a minute to cool down from that.

(KoO went running for the hills after they called Phoebe on his ass. She’s a very effective wax deterrent.)

[kehannii]

Bro love story by Taylor swift is so marinette’s pov of her potential romance with chat noir?? I will die on this hill, just take a listen.

That first part “we were both young when I first saw you” they were FOURTEEN “see you make your way through the crowd and say hello, little did I knoweee” him catching her by surprise, when they first met and grounding her while she panicked that first time and little did she know how important he would be in her life, her romantic life to as said i the following line “that you were Romeo and you were throwing pebbles” she didn’t know taht he’d be her Romeo her loverrr and he was throwing pebbles at her metaphorical window while she was looking out the door and not looking back and seeing him, too distracted by other thing™️ (Adrien)

“And my daddy” (that’s tikki the little bitch) “said stay away from Juliet” tikki warning Mari from pursing chat and letting him love her “and I was standing on the staircase begging u please don’t gooo” because she’s eventually afraid of loosing chat noir, not even in the romantic sense but in general, as her partner and her friend “and I said, Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone,” she’s always had to put the miraculous first above herself and above them and for once she wants to be away from that, away from it all, with him “I’ll be waiting all that’s left to do is run” they just have to leave “You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess” ehem ehem marichat, “it’s a love story baby just say, yesssss” marinette (not ladybug) is a romantic at heart and if she wasn’t ladybug she’d take this opportunity, to have the greatest love story with her dearest best friend. And she’d take it. She’s take it if it didn’t mean leaving so many people in danger and sometimes she toys with the idea of running and she knows that if in those moments of weakness if chat noir could witness them, if she let him see them, she would ask him and he would say yes and they’d go, they’d go somewhere far far away from there,. But those moments are fleeting and always in the seclude of her own bedroom.

“So I sneak out to the garden to see you” when chat starts visiting her, just marinette without her spotted armor but her romantic heart, set wild and unrestricted at the sight of him. The garden on her balcony guys omg. “We keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if they knew” so many ways, hawkmoth finding out, tikki when marinette slips off her earrings when he comes around at night, ladybug who chat noir fears might restrict and condemn his midnight rendezvous if she knew. “So close your eyes escape this town for a little while, oh oh,” marinette is free in those stolen hours, she can close her eyes and feel freely for herself and for him in those moments where she can pretend the world won’t collapse if it doesn’t revive her constant vigilance. They can both pretend, if only for the night.

“Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,” if he was anyone but chat, anyone she could’ve… “And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"” I hate tikki bro why such a cockblock? “But you were everything to me” he is, he’s everything to her in the ways that she knows but even more so in the ways that she doesn’t, not yet “I was beggin' you, "Please don't go,”” she has this inate fear that if she doesn’t love him back while he still loves her he’ll leave, he’ll tire of waiting for her, he’ll move on snd she’ll loose him and what could be worse than that?

“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone” take her away from this miraculous mess, take her back to their balcony. “I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run” she’s waiting for him there, marinette her, in an ivory tower with ladybug and all her duties guarding it.

[norringtondeservestheworld]

Connor RK800 and Jaime Lannister: different characters with the same arc, but one work while the other don’t

It’s honestly driving me insane how similar and identical are the arcs of Connor RK800 from Detroit: Become Human and Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones so yeah, now I’m gonna do an entire post (or meta?) about it. It’s gonna be long.

A little background for people who know only one of these fandoms.

Detroit: Become Human is about a future where robots are slaves of humans who abuse and torture them, so they started to “wake up” rebelling and developing free will and emotions like living beings. So the society who sell them create Connor, a very advanced robot designed to stop them.

Game of Thrones is an epic fantasy story set in a fictional world about different powerful families that fight with each other with wars and machinations to destroy each other and gain more power and the throne. Jaime Lannister is a member of one of these families.

These are two very different stories, but so are Connor and Jaime. They have opposite characters, goals and priorities: Jaime always put romantic love above anything else, while Connor doesn’t give a fuck about romance. Jaime is good in communicating with others: he knows how to talk to certain people, can read a room (at least sometimes) and he understands when is being mocked, while Connor is socially awkward and doesn’t really understand when someone is mocking him or someone is sarcastic.

And yet.. they both:

1) have the same beggining

2) are grey characters

3) have an obsession to overcome which is needed for them to develop as character (and if they fail to it, they both gets the involution and the “negative” arc)

4) have the same evolution (or involution, it depends of which arc we are talking about) and the same ending

1) The same beggining

Both these characters start with a child falling from a considerable height, but while one is causing the downfall of the child, the other is trying to save the kid.

The fact that Jaime is trying to kill the boy while Connor is trying to save the girl doesn’t mean that Jaime is the villain and Connor is the hero. It’s more complex than that. 

Jaime is trying to kill Bran because the boy just saw him having sex with his twin and if he says to anyone what he saw Jaime and his sister would have died. He did it to protect their lives. It wasn’t really about Bran. It was about him and Cersei.

On the other hand, Connor is trying to save Emma not because he cares for her or wants her to be safe, but because it’s his mission. He is a police android who knew really well, even before his arrival on the scene, that his mission was saving the child at all costs. If his mission was killing Emma he would have done it. It wasn’t really about Emma. It was about the mission.

2) are grey characters

Being in both fandoms, I noticed that Connor is way more popular than Jaime in terms of liking a character, while Jaime is more known as a character than Connor because Game of Thrones is more famous than Detroit: Become Human. Jaime is really loved by a part of the got fandom, but the other part look at him as selfish and evil because of everything he did, while Connor is loved by 98% of the dbh fandom, but in truth Connor’s actions aren’t better than Jaime’s actions. I think this happens because:

a) Jaime’s actions are motivated by his incestual and toxic relationship with his sister, so I think some people tend to dislike him more not for the actual actions but because of their disgust about the incest part

b) Connor being socially awkward. There is this tendency to see characters who are socially awkward being always sweet and cinnamon rolls because they aren’t good at communicating with others

In the first case, Jaime’s actions aren’t worse than Connor’s, are only more disgusting which is different and for the second option, Connor isn’t socially awkward because he can’t hurt a fly. He can and he will. He is socially awkward because he is an android created to be a police officer, so they gave him good combat skills and the intelligence he needed to deal with deviants (that’s how are called the robots who developed free will and “woke up”). I assure you, he isn’t awkward when he has to deal with them. Connor was created to do this. He isn’t an android created to make friends, so why bother to give him social skills?

Let’s make a recap:

What Jaime did:

a) tried to kill Bran to protect his relationship with Cersei. But did Bran die? No.

b) threatened Edmure and his kids to return to Cersei? Okay, but did Edmure die? Again, no.

c) fucked Cersei next to their son’s corpse who just died. Disgustingly disgusting. But again, someone got hurt? Someone died?

d) killed his cousin to return to Cersei. Okay. Fair. One person died.

Let’s talk about Connor now. He:

a) Manipulated and lied to deviants to accomplish his mission 

b) can kill Daniel, the Tracis, Ortiz’s android, Rupert, Cloe, Simon, Markus, North and a lot of other androids (and humans too) to accomplish his mission

c) can kill Hank, which is the closest person he has in his life, to accomplish his mission

Connor is not a baby. He is a fucking terminator who can destroy anything that it moves to accomplish his mission. Yes, Detroit: Become Human is a game where the actions of the characters are decided by the gamer, so he can do these things or don’t, but if you decide to make him do these things you never got the feeling he’s out of character. Because he is not.

Yes Jaime is what he is and did the things we know, but Connor too did some messed up things. And I’m pretty sure he killed more and caused more pain than Jaime.

At the end of the game, when he has to locate Jericho to stop the leader of the revolution of the deviants, he is able to remove the head of one android he killed to use it against an another android (killed by Connor too) to get the location of Jericho and after that he drops the head as it was nothing.

But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who is worse between Jaime and Connor. What I am trying to say it’s that they are both grey characters. They both started as negative characters. Yes, Connor too. Because even if you choose every possible good and positive choice with Connor, he is still a negative character at the beginning. He is a very advanced robot at humans side (humans that are clearly the villains since they are the ones abusing and torturing robots) which priority is hunting androids who just want to be free. It doesn’t really matter if he isn’t the one to kill them, because he knows really well that if he succeeds (and he wants to succeed) they get killed. 

That’s why both Connor and Jaime have two paths in front of them. And what path they’ll take it depends by the next point.

3) have an obsession to overcome which is needed for them to develop as a character

Both Jaime and Connor, despite starting as negative characters, have the potential to have a redemption arc, but this is up to them and to get it they have an obstacle to overcome: their obsession.

For Jaime the obsession for Cersei, for Connor the obsession for his mission. 

This obsession is what motivated their story and all their actions. It’s there from the beggining. From the moment they tried to kill/save the child. Jaime did it for Cersei. Connor did it for his mission. Every “negative” thing they did was because of that. In the last point, where I made a list of the bad things they did, you can notice all these actions were motivated by that.

To both of them happened things during the story that could or couldn’t change them: Jaime had it with Brienne, a noble and honorable warrior who reminded him who he wanted to be and for the first time in his life he developed a romantic attraction toward someone who wasn’t his sister, and Connor had it with Hank, the human police officer he worked with who had a way more “human” approach to what they were investigating.

For both of them is really hard to overcome it because it’s all they know for most of their life (in case of Jaime) or are programmed to do it (in case of Connor) and it isn’t only something they had in their heads. Both of them got manipulated by people (Cersei for Jaime, Amanda for Connor) who did the best they could to convince them there wasn’t anything else to make sure they remained in this cage for their own interests.

To prevent them from becoming their own person and being free to be who they want to be, and not what they want them to be.

This it’s the Jaime and Connor arc. Becoming their own person. Choosing for themselves. Be free from the manipulations. And the two arcs they have in front of them are just one in which they succeed, and one in which they fail.

4) have the same evolution (or involution, it depends of which arc we are talking about) and the same ending

Both Connor and Jaime have the potential for a redemption arc because even after all those bad things they did because of their obsession, they did good things too. They aren’t monsters.

Jaime saved Brienne risking his life and saved her from being raped. He also saved milions of lives by murdering the king, even if that meant getting the nickname of Kingslayer.

Connor can save Hank. Can choose to not kill the Tracis. Can choose to not kill Cloe. Can help Markus to save North. 

They mostly did all these things when they were away from the toxic person who brings the worst of them (Amanda and Cersei) but near someone who bring the best of them (Hank, Tyrion and Brienne).

And the best part is that all these good actions they did went against their priority: for Connor saving Hank means letting the deviant go, when catching him was his mission. Jaime returning to Harrenhal to save Brienne means delay his coming back to Cersei, when Cersei is the most important thing to him. 

Despite both having all their life surrounded by this “obsession”, sometimes they decided to do the right thing even if that meant going against what mattered to them the most and their own interests.

This didn’t mean that they weren’t obsessed anymore, it means that for a moment, their desire to be their own person was stronger than their obsession.

But it was just a moment.

Connor and Jaime, for most of the story, are in a “limbo” where they pass from doing bad things because of their obsession (most of the times) to doing good things because they want to (few times). During this part of their story, it doesn’t mean that if they do a bad thing they’ll go to the negative arc and it doesn’t mean that if they do a good thing they’ll go to the positive arc, because none of these decisions are the definitive one.

It’s the decision they will take in their climax scene is the one that determines their future, their arc and their ending.

a) They decide to do the right thing which go against their obsession in their climax scene because they matured as characters for the better -> Their strenght and everything and everyone they faced was enough to overcome their obsession -> they become their own person letting go forever the obsession -> Positive Arc

Jaime: Book!Jaime is currently having this arc in the books, where is pretty done with Cersei and doesn’t even think of returning to her knowing really well she needs him. And this is also the arc Show!Jaime was supposed to have in the series.

Connor: Deviant Connor is the arc Connor will have if he overcome his obsession. He will become a deviant (meaning he outpassed his programation and became his own person) and will join the revolution of the androids, the very same revoution that he was created to stop (and he was obsessed to stop it, since it was his mission). He will infiltrate in the society that creates androids freeing all the robots who are there (and they are a lot) and helps the cause. In the end, he will help robots getting rights as living beings and he will be free to be himself with a person who actually care for him (Hank) with their relationship being stronger.

b) They decide to do the same bad things they did at the beginning being once again slaves of their obsession -> everything and everyone they faced didn’t change them showing that they didn’t matured and didn’t learn anything -> nothing will never be as important as their obsession -> Negative Arc

Jaime: Show!Jaime got this (or at least D&D thought he got this). He received an opportunity to have a better and new life, a life with Brienne who loved him and in doing so he was able to be himself, but he ruined it to return to his obsession who almost got him killed few days before because he wasn’t able to overcome it. So he returned to his obsession (Cersei) and dies.

Connor: Machine Connor is the arc Connor will have if he fails to overcome his obsession. He too received an opportunity to do the right thing, to help his people and be free, but he ruined it to continue his mission. So he will kill everyone who stands in his way (Hank too, who was the closest person of his life) to murder the leader of the deviants. If he fails, he dies. If he succeed and he is able to kill him, all the deviants will be destroyed (meaning there will be a genocide of his own people) and androids will return to be slaves for humans for ever. And Connor will die, because he accomplished his mission so he isn’t needed anymore. Connor is intended to die either way if he goes to this path.

Both Jaime and Connor, if they have a failed redemption arc, return to their old manners and how they were at the beginning, and both died. So..

Why an arc work and the other don’t?

Why an arc is appreciated and considered a sad but good storyline and plausible with no characters being ruined while the other is hated by everyone with all the characters who are involved being ruined and OOC?

For multiple reasons actually.

1) the climax scene

The scene where the character finally take a definitive decision and his path is chosen can’t be a random scene because it’s not a random scene. It’s the scene where the destiny of the character is chosen, so it has to:

- be important and people who are watching it (or reading it if it’s a book) must know it and feel it that something big is coming 

- every factor (the music, the acting, the dialogue etc) must be cured for that scene 

The climax scene they chose and wrote for Connor work perfectly because has all these requirements:

a) Connor and Markus are two of the main characters of the story but never actually met each other before this scene, so from the moment you realize they are in the same room and they actually met you know something big is gonna happen. Moreover, we know Connor is there to kill the leader of the deviants, which is Markus, so you also feel tense because you are gonna see two characters you got attached to being an enemy to each other because they are at opposite sides so again, something’s gonna happen.

b) The music is fitting for the scene, the acting of Bryan Dechart (Connor’s actor) is good as he entered sure of himself but the more Markus talked the more Connor realized he was right so he becomes less secure until he is full of doubts and all the dialogue is about him having to make a choice about who he wants to be. And as if that weren't enough, Markus ends it with “I think the time has come to you for ask yourself that question” and “it’s time to decide” making perfectly clear that this choice is gonna be definitive, and he is saying it not only to Connor but to us too.

Now let’s see the Jaime one.

a) It’s important? I have absolutely no idea. It doesn’t look or feel important. 

b) the music is fitting? There was music? I honestly don’t remember. I can’t notice the music because I’m busy to try to understand what the fuck is going on. The dialogue is fitting? What dialogue? All Jaime is saying here is a list of the bad things he did because of Cersei (including lies since some things he says didn’t happen that way just to confuse who is watching even more) and “She is hateful and so am I” like?? What does it mean? This is not a dialogue. This is putting random words together to do a sentence. The acting is fitting? Lmao of course not! Waldau’s acting is really confusing??? Why he looks sad? Why all he is saying is that he is a bad person and not a word about  who he wants to be? This isn’t a grey character who decided is path, this is someone who feels guilty for something he did in the past and wants to be reassured and or he feels like he deserves pain and death because of it. Well if this is the case, than this is a totally different topic that has nothing to do with choosing between overcome an obsession or succumb to it. Fuck, it’s been 4 years since this scene, and I still don’t understand what the fuck is going on and what they wanted to show. What the fuck I am watching?? Can someone explains it to me?? Hello???

This doesn’t look like a climax scene. And it doesn’t look like a climax scene because IT’S NOT.

Because Jaime had already his climax scene.

a) it’s important? Well yes. The time tells us it is. This is a series and this scene is happening at the end of a season so people expect it to be important.

b) The music is fitting? Very. You could feel it in your bones. The dialogue is fitting? Yes. They don’t talk directly about Jaime and him having to take a decision, but it’s related to that because we see Jaime and Cersei arguing about something and Jaime realizing he had enough (just like Connor in his climax scene is realizing who he truly is) and he decides right here not because he has to but because he is 100% sure of what he wants and decides with zero regrets.

This climax scene was setting Jaime on the positive arc, because he overcomed his obsession. His obsession is Cersei and the sexual relationship he has with her, but here he decides to leave her, and ending the conversation saying “I don’t believe you” and by the acting, the voice and the movements of Waldau, which is excellent, we know he meant “I don’t love you anymore”.

All of this is even more accentuated by this scene that happens soon after that:

Cersei and the relationship with her being the obsession of Jaime means that if he kisses, sleeps and starts a romantic relationship with a different woman (which he did) after he spent the 40+ years of his life always being loyal to Cersei is the ultimate, irrefutable prove that he got over it. It doesn’t matter how much he loves Brienne, if he still obsesses over Cersei it couldn’t never happened. Never. You can’t make him overcome an obsession and then return to that obsession in a minute. This is not how writing works.

But since Benioff and Weiss don’t know how to do their jobs, after these two scenes (the climax one and the second which accentuated the path Jaime is in) they put the scene they think it’s the climax scene, when it’s just a scene that doesn’t work narratively after the two I just mentioned. Which add another problem:

the decision the character takes in the climax scene is definitive and irreversible. You can’t just put a climax scene where the character decides and then one second later make him change his mind all of sudden. Him passing from a good action to a bad one was supposed to happen before the climax scene, when the character was still grey and still couldn’t decide and the reason both Connor and Jaime decide without doubts and regrets in their climax scene is because they both have no doubts and regrets anymore. 

In Detroit: Become Human, every action Connor did and every word he says after that scene is convinced, there is not even a shadow of a doubt, no matter which arc is in. Despite the game giving you the choices of what to do or say, you’ll never get a choice of Connor helping the deviants if he is Machine Connor, and you’ll never get a choice of Connor helping the humans if the is Deviant Connor. Because it’s irreversible. There is no going back.

So what we got was a mess and both arcs of Jaime being ruined even before they started.

2) OOC

Both Connor and Jaime being grey characters for most of the story means that is possible to write them a good written arc where they remain in character all the time without putting forced things and making them say and do something they wouldn’t, no matter if they are in a positive or negative arc.

Connor remains himself and in character for the entirely of his arc (no matter which arc is). If he is Machine Connor so he has the negative arc, his character doesn’t get reduced to a caricature and he doesn’t lose his intelligence or badass moments, and he still says and does things that Connor would have totally said or done. 

The fact that now is Machine Connor doesn’t mean he is a sociopath who doesn’t care of anything else, it does only mean that everything always comes after his obsession (the mission) because that obsession is and will always be until his death is priority, everything else is after that. That’s part of the reason his character isn’t ruined. He still cares for Hank for example, and when he dies, he looks troubled and in one case he is the one to kill him, and he does it because Hank gets in the way of his mission, which matters more, so he did it, even if he still cared about him. 

He also doesn’t become stupid all of sudden because he is intended to die. Machine Connor is smart enough to know that the best way to kill Markus is finding a sniper rifle and the right roof and he is smart enough to know that if he gets interrupted the only way for him to accomplish his mission is killing who interrupted him or killing himself after saving his memory so the next Connor will know what to do. He also doesn’t have to move to the other side of the country in two seconds with the story being set in the same city, so he is where is supposed to be without resorting to absurd and improbable teleporters. Machine Connor gets emotional and poetic scenes without getting ruined to force them.

Jaime, from the moment he left Brienne to return to Cersei (so from the moment the writers think his arc begins) becomes a totally different person. He starts to say and do things that contradict his character, the writers were able to destroy years spent to create this character and who he is with a single sentence. Everything that was important to him apart from Cersei disappears, and the things that made him an interesting character like killing the king to protect the innocents have zero value now, because “actually I never cared for them, innocents or otherwise”. Cersei isn’t his priority. Cersei is the only thing he cares about, because the writers deleted every single other part of him and at the end, he isn’t even a character anymore.

He doesn’t only lose all his intelligence, but simple common sense too, all to force scenes that could have happened in a smarter way, like him having to get unnoticed to get to Cersei and yet he shows his golden hand which is the only one to have in all Westeros, just to get caught and have the scene with Tyrion. And of course, he is able to arrive to the other part of the country even before characters who left before him in a blink of an eye because the writers decided so and fuck logic. 

3) Realistic reactions to the characters around them

Both Show!Jaime and Machine Connor have, just before the end and their death, a scene with a character they care about and who cares for them: Tyrion for Jaime and Hank for Connor. In both cases, the way they write the main character it expands to the other character too, meaning that since Jaime is OOC, Tyrion becomes OOC too to force the scene the writers wanted for them, while in the other case since Connor is in character, Hank is in character too, and it’s the scene that is written in a way to be plausible because of these characters, and not the opposite. 

Jaime got caught in his way to return to Cersei and he meets Tyrion. The last time they talked Jaime was still in a relationship with Brienne (which lasted weeks, let’s remember that) and Tyrion expressed how happy he was that Jaime was happy with Brienne because he cares for Jaime wants him to be happy while now is in front of a tormented Jaime who left Brienne, the same woman that was making Jaime happy, to return to the one that abused and tried to kill BOTH OF THEM, and he decides to.. help him to return to Cersei so he will return to be miserable and probably die (and he will)? 

The writers were so desperate to make a scene of them hugging to make watchers cry sad tears that forgot in which situation these characters are, with who they are and what we know about them and what type of relationship they have with each other and with Cersei. It would never ended with hugging. Why Tyrion should help the brother he loves to leave what made him happy and return to the one who hurted both for all their lives? Once again the characters are ruined by forcing a specific scene, a scene that because of it meant nothing to me. Yes, Jaime and Tyrion had a beautiful relationship and a great bond and I love the scenes where they show how close they are. But these aren’t Jaime and Tyrion anymore. So I feel nothing (and nope, I’m not going to create gifs of that idiotic scene from that cursed episode, if you wanna see it just go to Youtube).

Connor and Hank have a very strong relationship too, but they remain in character. Hank wanted Connor being himself and freeing himself from his obsession (just like Tyrion wanted Jaime to be happy, with Brienne) but on the contrary of Tyrion, Hank didn’t forget who he was because it was “convenient” so he has the realistic reaction he was supposed to have, and because of that this time there aren’t gonna be hugs and sweet words, but a fight.

With “fight” I don’t mean they’ll gonna scream and push each other, with “fight” I mean a real fight, that will end only with one of them killing the other. 

Machine Connor is gonna follow his mission and killing everyone who stand in his way (in this case, unfortunately it’s Hank) even if he cares for Hank and Hank is not gonna let Connor kill the leader of the androids because it’s not right and by now he knows that the only way to stop him is to kill him and he will, even if he cares for Connor. And they both know it.

And that is what makes the scene powerful and way more emotional than a fake hug between two fake characters who became the shadows of themselves. It’s real, it’s tragically beautiful and sad, poetic in a way (a robot fighting for humans and a human fighting for the robots) but it works.

Of course having Jaime and Tyrion fighting to death wouldn’t make sense. Connor and Hank are doing it because they had a different relationship from them. They knew each other for less time and even if they care for each other, they had a rocky start so them having this interaction is fitting to them. Jaime and Tyrion are siblings who cared for each other since ever, so their clash couldn’t be that violent, but they had to have a clash. Tyrion being disappointed in Jaime and refusing to free him was enough. But we all know what we got, right?

In conclusion, I’d like to say that I made this meta first to analyze Jaime and Connor as characters because I find really interesting they had so much in common and also because I’m fucking tired of people saying that “Jaime’s arc was perfect you simply didn’t get the happy ending you wanted for him” because Machine Connor arc is the prove that is possible to write a failed redemption arc which is satisfying and appreciated, and Detroit: Become Human is written by David Cage which isn’t the best screenwriter in the world, but he is in the Olympus compared to the writing of D&D.

Machine Connor and Show!Jaime have exactly the same arc (and the same ending), the only difference is that one is written well and the other isn’t, and it’s really crazy thinking of how the writing of a fucking videogame which isn’t even that famous is better than the finale of one of the most famous series in the world.

[direwombat]

wip-nobody-asked-for-it-sunday, but i just really wanted to share the roughest of rough drafts of the scene where syb and jacob have a little scuffle in the slasher au. under the cut bc its long

It all happens in a moment. The snap of a branch above and suddenly a solid 140lbs comes crashing down on top of him, along with a snarling screech. The wind is knocked from his lungs and he's forced to the ground. The gun goes off again before it flies from his hands and skids through the dirt.

[they wrestle.] There's nothing graceful or strategic about it. It's sheer animal desperation. A fight for survival. Feral grunts and snarls from them both. She claws at his face/eyes, her face twisted into a harsh grimace. Her teeth gnash together and spittle flies from her mouth. She grips him by the sides of his head, nails biting into the shell of his ears and she bashes his skull against the ground. and again.

And again.

And again.

With each impact, black dots dance across his vision, the world beginning to blur. His ears are ringing, drool and blood dripping from his mouth and he feels his eyelids grow heavy.

But his prey is hasty. She doesn't wait for him to fully pass out. Doesn't beat him into full unconsciousness. Just the brink. One that he's able to walk back from as soon as her weight abruptly leaves him and he hears the thumping of her boots and snapping of twigs as her footsteps recede.

With a groan, he forces himself upright. It's a struggle. Everything fucking hurts. His head is pounding and while he doesn't think he's concussed, he knows that his scalp is going to be tender. Blood drips from the slashes she made down his face. Impressive considering he knows her nails aren't sharp. Saw the way she chewed most of them down to the quick.

He's unsteady on his feet, stumbling towards the gun that she left behind in her haste. He lets out another groan as he stoops to pick it up and readies it. He has to hand it to her: if she didn't leave that behind, she might have gotten away.

He takes aim at her through the trees. Closes an eye. Inhales a deep breath. Holds it. Takes aim.

And fires.

A crack rings out into the evening, followed by a high pitched yelp, and he watches her go down.

[he stalks over to find her laying on the ground, clutching her shoulder. BLood seeps from between her fingers, soaking through her flannel. Her hair is a mess. Her face covered in dirt and smears of blood. Her chest is heaving, but even as he looms over her, pointing the barrel straight at her face, there isn't an ounce of fear in her eyes.

"Do it," she says, and she spits blood onto the ground. "C'mon, fuckin' do it. Kill me."

He remains still. His finger curls around the trigger. But he doesn't pull.

"The fuck you waitin' for?" she snarls, suddenly enraged. "This your whole thing ain't it? Fuckin' Most Dangerous Game n' shit? Well, ya caught me. You fuckin' won. Now finish it."

But still, he doesn't pull.

And then she starts laughing, a wild, manic look shining in her green eyes. "Jesus Christ, some hunter you are," she sneers. "What? It not get you off if they ain't beggin'? That it? Can't get hard if they ain't pleadin' for their lives?"

He cocks his head to the side. A smile threatens to upturn the stern line of his lips.

She lets her head fall back and stares up at the canopy, rather than him. "Whatever," she breathes. "Ain't like I got shit to live for anyway." Then, quietly, she adds, "'Least it ain't prison."

He frowns and lowers his gun. Feels a strange twinge of…empathy for her. So many people are content to live their lives in the little boxes society puts them in. But not her. She'd rather die free than spend the rest of her life living in a cage.

This, he understands.

He heaves a sigh and lowers his gun. Giving the sole of her boot a nudge with the toe of his own, he grunts, "Get up."

"Why?" she scoffs. "So you can take me on a death march? Can't look me in my face when you kill me? Gon' take me out executioner style?"

"Not gonna kill you," he grunts, and he slings the rifle over his shoulder.

"Then what?"

"Gonna get you patched up."

She lifts her head and regards him with skeptical bewilderment. "Come again?"

"You gonna get up or not?"

She winces again, face pinching in pain as she rolls herself forward so that she's sitting upright. Her teeth are still bared. "You fuckin' serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

She regards him for a moment, scans his face and body language. She narrows her eyes and frowns, but hesitantly rises to her feet and stares him in the eye. "You look like shit," she answers.

The smile he'd been suppressing cracks through and he gently places a hand on her good shoulder. "C'mon. Back to the truck."

[rottingmanifesto]

16 or 36 for anything you feel like writing currently! :D

Trying out some different formats. Hope it’s legible. Fair warning that I got way too carried away with ‘total control’, so it’s under a cut.

16. in dreams

Journal, Lincoln, 1st person.

Keep havin’ weird dreams. Can’t explain them very well, all I know is I keep scaring the hell outta a few of the guys when I jolt up. Davis suggested I see the Chaplain ‘bout it. Pretty sure it’s not demons, so unless he’s got holy-water-melatonin, I don’t think he can help.

One of the dreams is about Danny and Nicki arguin’ over their old man’s body. Cancer or poisoning or something of the like. Not sure why I’m there at all, I just am. Both keep beggin’ me for an answer. I can’t. Someone’s cut out my tongue and noises don’t help. He’s dead, they’re arguing, I can’t do anythin’.

Father said something offhandedly in a letter about my nightmares being chronic. Happened when I was a kid, stopped for whatever reason, an’ now they’re back. Never told him I was having any, but that’s Father for you. He jus’ knows things. Didn’t tell Sammy or Ellis though, both seem to think I’m fine. Not sayin’ I’m not. Just don’t think it’s worth tellin’ them, worryin’ them over stupid shit like dreams. Got bigger issues than that.

36. total control

Script-ish, John and Connor, 3rd person.

J: You were supposed to die.

A: Yeah, firing squad. I remember. Hard to forget.

J: Would’ve preferred a hanging, actually.

A: Didn’t know the United States still used that method.

J: I’m sure they’d make an exception.

A: (mild discomforting laugh) Of course they would.

J: (faltering, lowering gun, searching for words)

A: Maybe you should set the gun down. Your hand’s twitching. Don’t want a misfire.

J: Shut the fuck up.

A: What, I can’t look out for you? What happens if you twitch and kill that friend of yours out there?

J: Don’t bring him into this.

A: Lincoln, right? Hear he’s taking after you very well. Brazen and theatrical.

J: Yes, because you’re a master at subtlety.

A: Comes with the job.

J: Jesus Chr—a fucking warhead isn’t subtle.

A: Neither is hanging a man from a Ferris wheel. Or, you know, (signaling to cheek with J’s given-cigarette) this.

J: That was self-defense.

A: Sure. Of course.

J: Can you just go one fucking sentence without being an asshole, or is that above you?

A: Give me a reason to, and I will.

J: I have a gun and you don’t.

A: That’s not enough, Johnny, and you know that.

J: Don’t call me that.

A: Sorry, I’m delirious from the blood loss. I thought you were that kid I helped so many years ago. He looked an awful lot like you, too. (painful cough, takes a drag to cover up whatever expression he has on his face) Forgive me, Mr. Donovan.

J: You know, I used to believe in you back then. (voice breaks, begins to pace, having his back to A) Thought you represented everything great about this country.

A: Don’t I still?

J: You don’t. You’re just as fucking greedy and selfish as everyone else. (wheels around to face A, pointing a quivering gun between his eyes)

A: Exactly. That’s the real America. The one that doesn’t care about drafted soldiers drowning in mud, or those who come back seeing shit and knowing they fundamentally aren’t right anymore. The one that doesn’t care about people like your friend out there. The one that would sooner hang you for being a homosexual than me for being a so-called “traitor”.

J: So you’re justified with selling a goddamn nuke, is that what you’re saying?

A: (still fucking smiling) Your comprehension has improved some. Congratulations.

J: (crouches down to be eye-level) So the money was just to sweeten the deal, huh? To ease your conscious— (he presses his hand into A’s wound as harshly as possible, causing A to jolt in pain)— when innocent people inevitably fucking die?

A: We both know I won’t be the last person to do so. If it isn’t the NVA, it’ll be someone else. It’ll keep going until the United States is destroyed.

J: (begins to pace again, silent, blinking hard to avoid tears)

A: I was going to end it, John. I was going to make everyone free from this bullshit. Including you. Including your friend. Including everyone else who is subject to America’s tyranny. I was going to do what you’re too cowardly to do! I was going to end it all!

J: (whips around sharply) Are you finished?

A: (panting, out of energy, the pain finally overcoming the adrenaline and pride, he realizes he’s no longer in total control.)

A: It appears so.