#because they thought they were acting in DEFENSE but turns out they were aiding and abetting mass slaughter as a temper tantrum

[deadpresidents]

"What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 millions people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women's pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn't carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America's founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn't paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen."

-- "How Far Would He Go", TIME Magazine's interviews with Donald Trump, April 30, 2024.

I know we're saturated in coverage of Trump and it's easy (and probably better for our mental health) to usually ignore most of the articles when we see them, especially since he's so full of shit and infuriating. But it's also important to recognize that he is going to be the Republican nominee for President and he could absolutely be elected in November, and if you thought his first term was scary and dangerous, you need to understand that in a second term he's going to have people around him that are better prepared and VERY willing to do the crazy shit that he wants to do to this country. They aren't even hiding the fact that they are seeking vengeance against political opponents whom they feel have wronged them, and are ready to fundamentally dismantle the democratic foundations that are barely holding this country together after nearly 250 years.

Just look at what Trump says about the people who he incited to attack the United States Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and halt the peaceful transfer of power that has happened every four years since 1789:

"Trump has sought to recast an insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. 'I call them the J-6 patriots,' he say. When I ask whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says, 'Yes, absolutely.' As Trump faces dozens of felony charges, including for election interference, conspiracy to defraud the United States, willful retention of national-security secrets, and falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments, he has tried to turn legal peril into a badge of honor."

Oh, and please note that Trump -- a former President of the United States and possible future President of the United States -- said on the record in these interviews with TIME: "There is a definite antiwhite feeling in the country and that can't be allowed either." We are at a point where political leaders are outright saying that in this country again, and it's because of Donald Trump.

So, take the time to recognize that Trump is straight-up telling us the country we're going to be living in if he wins again in November. And understand that your vote matters -- and WHO you vote for matters -- because, as I've been saying for years now, ELECTIONS HAVE FUCKING CONSEQUENCES.

[tathrin]

The Fëanorians were Doomed to begin with...

Even if the sons of feanor had been handed a silmaril freely at any point in Beleriand it would not have helped them. Hey. Are you listening. The silmarils were hallowed. Ever since the first kinslaying they would have rejected the feanorians. Luthien could have walked right up and dumped it on their heads and it would not have saved them. Earendil doing what he did walked a very thin tightrope to an outcome where Morgoth is defeated. But either way, whether or not they knew it, the silmarils were lost to the feanorians almost the entire time they sought them.

"If Dior did this, if Elwing did that," it doesn't matter!!! Not even taking their perspectives and situations and political landscapes into account at all, it didn't matter!!! The silmarils COULD NOT be held by the sons of feanor. They were on an impossible quest and did not know it... only at the end could they see their own mistakes, and then there is little to be done. Self destruction of one kind or another.... they are in the narrative. They cannot escape it.

[doctorsiren]

what’s gumshoe in your au?? i have to know i love him

Okay so my first doodle request I drew for that big huge doodle request thing I did recently was of a robot design for Gumshoe. I really like this design and I wanted to keep it for the monster AU. I actually have a lot of thoughts for Gumshoe that hit me like a truck this morning when I was brainstorming and so I shall share them :)!!

Detective Dick Gumshoe was actually an investigation robot that Gregory Edgeworth had been building to help the defense (wow! A dad who builds robots? In one of my AUs?? Who would have guessed) but then y’know…DL-6 happened.

And so Gumshoe was shoved into an evidence room and forgotten about until one day 10 years later, Miles Edgeworth stumbles upon him while retrieving some old evidence for something (unimportant)

Miles vaguely remembers this robot as his dad’s side project. In fact, the robot is wearing his father’s tan trench coat. Miles boots him up, and Gumshoe, confused, thinks that Miles is Gregory for a moment (because of their faces and also his tech is worn down), before recognizing that “oh no wait, this is his kid but older??”. Gumshoe doesn’t realize that he’s been shut off for a decade and also doesn’t know that Gregory is dead.

Miles is taken aback when Gumshoe is able to recognize him as Miles because it’s been 10 years and also Miles had been turned into a vampire during that decade. That moment of his father’s robot still recognizing him was one of the foundational moments that would later lead to his complete doubt and uncertainty in von Karma’s ways (which were completely toppled over by Wright in the years to come)

So Miles does his best to patch Gumshoe up, and now he has this robot detective at his side. Von Karma doesn’t approve, but he’s also trying not to alert this detective bot to him being suspicious, just in case it’s able to figure out the truth behind DL-6

Von Karma’s caution surrounding Gumshoe was unfounded, however, since Gregory was never able to finish the robot. This resulted in the not-so-smart detective we all know and love, simply due to his programming never being completed. Although a directive that *was* completed was the programming that Gregory had implemented in Gumshoe to always protect his son Miles. That’s why Gumshoe is always so loyal to the vampire, even when Miles tells him how bad of a detective he is. It’s also why even though Gumshoe had been built originally to be an aid for the defense, he is loyal to the prosecution.

Gumshoe also views Miles as his brother, on the basis that they technically have the same dad. Miles acts annoyed and like he doesn’t agree, but he secretly is happy to have this reminder of his father still around. Gumshoe does end up getting his own trench coat and letting Miles keep the tan one that belonged to Gregory.

Anyways i think I’ve put more thought into Miles and Gumshoe’s characters for this AU than I have put into all the other characters in the AU combined 😭

[madhatterbri]

Broken | B.Z.

Summary: Blaise wants to hide your relationship. You confront him about it.

"Aren't you going to invite me to Slug's Christmas party? I hear you can invite someone not in the club," you questioned with excitement. Professor Slughorn only invited the shining stars in the Wizarding World. Your family blacklisted you from ever being considered. After the break in at the Ministry of Magic last year, your father was arrested for aiding Lord Voldemort.

"No," Blaise answered while never looking up from his book. He dipped his quill in the ink jar and continued to write notes.

"Oh. Are you not going?" you pushed the Slughorn party a little further. Something didn't sit right with you. He was normally short but this was a bit much. Your stomach sank. Did he invite another witch?

"I will be attending alone,"

"Why won't you invite me? This would be the perfect time to reveal our relationship,"

"I said no, your name. We aren't in a relationship," he asserted while never looking up from his book. Normally you would drop the discussion but this time was different. Maybe it was your friend's words getting in your head. He was never going to want more. You started to pack your things. He looked up slightly panicked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm not going to be someone's dirty little secret, Zabini," you answered. "I am going to be with someone that wants to be with me,"

His dark brown eyes stared at you while you zipped your messenger bag closed. His teeth clenched and his eyes darted around wondering what to do. Thoughts sped through his mind. He opened his mouth to speak. Before he could speak you were leaving.

You walked out of the library trying to control your temper. Tears pricked your eyes. This had to be done. Blaise was in hot pursuit of you. Your name rolled off his tongue as he tried to get your attention.

"Your name," Cormac called out. You stopped in your tracks quickly. Blaise took a few steps back. "I have been looking everywhere for you. I was wondering if you would like to join me to Professor Slughorn's party,"

The thought of going with him revolted you. He was a creep. The spoiled brst only knew your name because he saw you attending your father's trial. Imagine seeing a girl crying for her father and a jerk hitting on her.

You felt Blaise eyes stare behind you. The idea was tempting. A party sounded more enticing than crying about your first Christmas without your father. Maybe Cormac changed since the summer. You swallowed your disgust and gladly accepted.

Things at the Christmas party made you realize you should have hung out with Pansy. Things went perfectly at first. Your date gave you all the attention you wished Blaise would have given you. Cormac wasn't afraid to be see with you. Except he wasn't all perfect.

He couldn't keep his hands to himself. You tried acting like you didn't mind it. At first it was innocent. His hand would rest on the small of your back. His hands were suddenly brushing against other parts of your body. Whenever you noticed Blaise was watching you allowed it. Merlin, you knew you were going to need to scrub your skin off.

Everytime he spotted mistletoe he tried to kiss you. He only managed to kiss your cheek though. You always played it off that you were impressed with something at the party. Christmas decorations or Harry Potter were often used as an excuse.

Your saving grace came at the cost of Professor Snape's clothing. Cormac ended up throwing up by the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The boy's sick ended up splatting on to the former Potions professor. Your date was given a detention and thrown out of the party.

After a few minutes, you decided to turn in. The party was starting to die down. Mister Filch caught Draco Malfoy out after curfew. Professor Snape walked with him in tow. You hoped the little ferret didn't cost your house points.

"Your name?" Blaise asked once you two made it to the Slytherin common room. The room was empty. Your fellow Slytherins were long asleep. "A word,"

"I got to actually see what it was like to be with someone that isn't ashamed of me. Do you know what that was like?" You asked with tears in your eyes. A shaky breath slipped out of you. A single tear slid down your cheek. You shrugged and shook your head. "You know I defended you against everyone but you ended up being exactly like they said,"

"And what am I?"

"A sad, lonely bloke who will never love because of his mum," you answered harshly. His nostrils flared as he glared at you. No one was allowed to mention his mother to him. She was a sore subject to him.

"You don't know what you are talking about like usual," he snapped.

"You aren't going to let anyone love you. You didn't want to give me attention because you think I will turn on you like your mother did to your dad," you stopped yourself. So many more words begged to spill from you. They would have just hurt him. Just because you were hurting doesn't mean he should hurt too.

"You think you are so clever," he chuckled dryly. "Stop talking about things you don't know about,"

"I love you, Blaise," you confessed. He flinched at your words. All he would need is one hand to count the times his mother told him those words. A piece of your heart broke at his reaction. He truly didn't know how special he was. "But I can't help fix someone that wants to stay broken,"

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

''Fight and Die'' PART THREE Slightly darkAemond x AFAB Reader

Aemond x fem oc/reader

Tags: Show setting, abusive brother (but its not aemond) mentioned of forced marriages and duels, mentions of parental loss. blood, loss of maidenhead, abuse (not aemond) and overall just tragedy and stuff.

🔷Summary: Your ancestors once betrayed the Targaryens and paid a high price. Now you are back at court with your brother, who hopes to sell you in exchange for his freedom.

🔷Author's note: It might still be a little darkish but not as dark as usual. I think this is the closest to show aemond I ever got.

🔷Wordcount: 5065

Warnings: Abuse and manupilation (but its not aemond doing it) mentions of blood and sex, loss of maidenhead and marriage abuse (but its not happening nor is it aemond, only the fear that aemond might do it)

When you were a little girl, you never imagined you one day would wake up in a castle so big you would never know it fully, with more servants to attend you then you can count, and blankets and sheets so soft that just touching them makes you feel as if you are dreaming. 

It is because you have always known the gods are cruel to those who dare to dream, and even crueler still to those who dare to hope. 

As a little girl you assumed one day you would marry a powerful ally to strengthen your brother’s cause, to help aid your ruined house and restore honor to the Marthyralys family. A Lord, perhaps. A duke, maybe. But you never assumed it would be a Prince. And especially not one that belonged to House Targaryen.

So, when you wake after your consummation with Prince Aemond, wearing nothing and wrapped in the sheets of his bed, you first need to verify if you are not dreaming. 

Prince Aemond scared you, at first. He seemed a dangerous, selfish man and according to your brother, he would rape and hurt you every remaining night of your life. And who would possibly come to your defense if he would? Not your brother, that is for certain.

There was always a reason you feared the consummation. There was much to be scared of. From the pain, to the possibility you might end up pregnant and end as your beloved mother, bleeding out on your birthing bed. 

But from the moment he undressed you to the moment he went inside of you, Prince Aemond had given you no reason to distrust him or to doubt his vows. He didn’t rape you, he didn’t shame or insult you. Instead of that he waited for you and he listened. No one had ever listened before. No one.

You turn on your side, expecting to find your husband nestled warmly against you, his silver hair spread out as a halo around him on the soft pillows.

But fate had other plans.

Your husband, Prince Aemond, is no longer there. 

You sit up straight, wide awake. You quickly look around in the bedchamber, near the fireplace and the chair. But there is no one to be found.  It causes anxiety to grow and for worry to take root. Why did your husband leave your side so suddenly? Had it something to do with Fyrand? Did he grow tired of you already? Does he perhaps hate you? Do you snore?

So many questions plague your mind and not one answer appears in return. You try to sit up straight, your legs and lady parts reminding you you are no longer a maiden. You lift the blankets and stare at the blood spot between your legs, likely proof of your maidenhead and the rough sex you and Aemond had prior.

It was perhaps a bit too rough for starters but you enjoyed yourself. You never imagined you would.

You thought you would always endure it as a duty not see it as a privilege or a pleasure. 

You feel terribly alone in the moment and worry if it wasn't all just an act on his part. An act to make you comply so he had an easy victory. Did he mean the promises he made to you, or is this just another monster, disguised as a prince?

You are overwhelmed by the thoughts and how fast your life is changing. You also have a slight discomfort between your legs, and pain in your hips whenever you move or turn. Tears begin to form in your eyes as you helplessly try to blink them away.

The door of the room is thrown open, and no other than your brother, Fyrand, heir to House Marthyralys walks in, a broad smirk on his lips. You uneasily back away against the headboard, barely containing your tears. ‘’My little sister!" He grins as you quickly cover yourself with the blankets that are within your reach. You notice someone put another soft blanket near where you were sleeping peacefully. Likely a servant.

He sees your skittish eyes look back and forward to the door so he quickly blocks your path with a grin. ‘’I assume you were a big girl last night and have given yourself to the Prince?’’ Given. As if you are a mere toy. A object. A quick glass of wine to enjoy before the consumer throws the glass away.

You did your duties and you enjoyed yourself doing it. But you feel ashamed you have to admit this to your own brother, your own flesh and blood.

‘’I have.’’ You respond in a soft small voice.  

Delighted, he chuckles. ‘’And?’’ he asks, more cheerful than usual.

You feel tired, a bit confused and have trouble following the conversation, reading what he wants from you based on his expression alone. So you ask him what he wants instead. ‘’And what?’’ 

His smile dies the moment you have spoken the words. His usual scowl comes back up as crops rotating one another in a field. His tone is nothing but snappy, degrading, angry that he has to explain himself. ‘’Did he seem pleased? Was he enjoying himself? You had tasks to perform. Do not tell me you failed them.’’ He warns you. 

You recall the smile of the Prince as he kissed you, as he took in your breasts for the very first time and how gently he spoke to you, calling you his Lady, his Wife and his Princess multiple times, as well as your name. You remember when you were bent on your knees, his manhood filling you up when he panted and groaned in your ear, repeatedly crying out your name against your neck as he likely reached his height.

In all accounts, he appeared to be happy. Which is why it is so confusing to you that he has left your side so quick and sudden.

You shake your head as your brother approaches, all too familiar with his short dangerous temper.  ‘’Prince Aemond is very happy with me. If he was not, I wouldn't have woken up today.’’ 

Fyrand thinks and nods, accepting that you are right. ‘’Hm. True. He would have strangled you in your sleep.’’ You gulp and to that he smiles, folding his hands on his back.

‘’Show me. I want proof.’’ He says, raising a brow slightly. You tremble, lifting the blankets so your brother may see the bloodied sheets you are laying on, as well as the dried cum that is still on your legs.

He lets out a soft gasp, pretending to feel sorry for you. ‘’O, he was not very gentle with you, was he, little sister? It will be a while for your body to become used to this savagery.’’ Savagery. You didn’t see it that way.

Your brother turns to leave, and you stop him before he can. ‘’Have I made you proud?’’ He is your last family member. You must treasure him whether you like it or not. And you want his approval. Whether you should care about him or not.

‘’That depends. Did you pleasure Aemond? Did you touch him at all? Or did you just lay there as a useless corpse and got fucked in your cunt time after time?’’ That was what happened. You don’t recall laying a finger on him. You found it terrifying as it is, you didn’t need to make things worse by touching him.

One look at you and Fyrand knows just what has happened. He leans a little closer, and you smell the drink he had likely not so long ago. He grabs hold of your throat when you turn your head away, choking you until you are sure his nails have left marks. ‘’You will make it up to Aemond. He is important. Keep him happy for now. It is all I ask of you.’’ He asks so much.

He does not seem to understand that Aemond has been kind, gentle, sweet and noble to you. He thinks Aemond is some sort of monster. ‘’Aemond seems gentle and kind. He didn't…’’ 

Fyrand sighs, annoyed before he slaps you across your face, tilting it in another direction. You feel your cheeks, shocked and humiliated, tears rolling now freely over your face. ‘’I quite don't care how kind he is. You spread your legs and let him fuck a silver haired son inside of your womb.’’ Hearing that makes you feel so much worse. Your own mother died birthing you. You don’t wish to follow her.

Your brother touches the spot he hit, laughing as you flinch under his touch. ‘’And perhaps, he is in the mood for something more too. Perhaps you'll soon suck his cock, get fucked in your ass, perhaps you even experience a bit of motivational little smacks to make sure you stay in line. I shall discuss it with Aemond, that you become a good woman. I'm sure the other things he already has come up with.’’ Your nod.

But he is not finished yet. ‘’Keep him happy, entertained, and loyal, little sister. Surely you don’t want Aemond to bore himself with you, hm? You do know what happens to princesses when their princes are bored of them?’’ You would not know. Most stories about princesses and princes have a happy ending.

‘’No?’’ you mutter afraid of the answer.

He laughs, delighted that he can tell you this.

‘’O, they get killed. In horrible accidents. Aemond likely will have you fed to his dragon, the sick bastard. I can’t think of a more fitting ending for you. So do not mess this up.’’ Fyrand leaves the rooms finally, and you now just realize that he is no longer bound in chains as he fiddles with his hands, slightly rubbing his fingers as is a habit when he is nervous.

You try to sleep a bit more, and luckily the blankets and pillows only help. You are cold, so you put on a nightgown that has been put on the blankets. But you keep worrying, regardless. Where is Aemond? Will he listen to Fyrand? Who unchained him? Was it Aemond? Given their late conversation, unlikely. Aemond seems to find it difficult to forgive and forget.

The noon sun is upon you, casting light into the bedroom. And at that moment, the door is gently pushed open once more. Three in green dressed ladies enter the room, each of them wearing gowns with matching hair nets to avoid their hairs getting messy. You blink as they approach rapidly, spreading out and taking each side so you can not escape them.

‘’Who are you?’’ You demand, your voice shaking. The tallest of them does not speak but she does not need to. One look and her ladies take each arm of you, pulling down your gown, and baring you naked. ‘’St-stop!’’ You manage to squeak out.

The tall lady makes her way to your bed, smiling when she sees the blood spots on the linnen. You never saw anyone smile at the sight of blood, and it terrifies you. ‘’We are your ladies maids.’’ She reveals to you, as if that is supposed to say or mean something to you.

You would not care if they were the Queens of Dorne or the rulers of Volantis: You already suffer so much and they will just make it worse. ‘’I don't need ladies maids.’’ You tell her. It is true. You can dress, bathe and wash yourself. You have done so for years when you were in exile, anyway.

The tall lady steps closer as her ladies drag you to the wardrobe in the corner of the room, opening the doors and throwing out the one after the other dress in your size. ‘’The Queen and King and your husband beg to differ. You are uncivilized and wild. You need handmaidens, ladies maids and perhaps even a septa to mold you into the perfect wife for the Prince.’’ You flinch as she touches your wrist, familiar to where your brother often squeezes you.

You like to believe that Aemond told you the truth last night. But the longer you are awake and alone, the more doubt begins to creep. ‘’Aemond thinks I am perfect the way I am.’’ You mutter.

That causes all three to laugh out loud. A brown haired girl picks out a blue dress with ribbons and throws it on the bed, clearing comparing it with a red gown with a inviting neckline. ‘’And you believed him? Naive little girl.’’ She snickers. 

You feel heat rush to your cheeks, so you avoid looking at anyone, still embarrassed and naked. This can’t be allowed. You are a princess now.

‘’I want my husband-’’ You ball your hands into fists, ready to sound commanding.

‘’He's not here. He is training and doing his duties. Or perhaps he's visiting a brothel.’’ You hear yourself gasp, followed by a whimper as you break into tears. Your husband did not need even a day before he betrayed you with another woman. What does that say about him? And what does it say about you?

The tall lady inspects the two gowns that the other girls selected before scoffing. ‘’Blue and Red? She’s Prince’s Aemond wife. Not one of the bastard breeds.’’ She huffs. She walks to the closet with dramatic steps, yanking a green gown with a high collar and a dull bodice out. It is plain, dull, boring. You miss sparkles, perhaps embroidery, or lace. You miss soul, character.

‘’I don’t like that gown.’’ You say. ‘’I like the blue one better.’’ You pick it up from the bed, but your hand is smacked down the moment you touch it. You flinch, back away and whimper.

The tall lady laughs at that, she leans in smiling sweetly but her eyes are hollow as a skull. ‘’Prince Aemond wants you in that gown. Do you want us to tell him you disobeyed? Do you know what happens to wives who disobey their husband's wishes? They get punished.’’ You consider your options. 

‘’He has been nothing but kind.’’ You say, mostly to yourself. But that does not matter. They have seen your doubt, smelled your fear and sensed your insecurity. You are their prey, their victim now. They surround you and begin dressing you in the tight green ugly gown.

‘’Because you allowed him to fuck you. You are naive and blind to trust him.’’ The girl with the brown hair snickers. ‘’Just don’t be surprised if one day you wake up to find one of your eyes gone.’’ The gown is finally laced up and the corset is tightend. You can barely breathe.

The door opens again and this time black boots, a leather coat, and the man wearing them enters. You barely look at your husband, tears running down your face freely.

Aemond pauses in front of you, slightly frowning at the dress. He reaches out to touch your face, but changes his mind at the last moment. He takes notice of your tears. And turns on his heels, facing the tallest lady right away.  ‘’What is the meaning of this?’’ He asks, his voice increasing. It is still soft but enough to make you flinch. 

The tallest speaks, spinning lies easily. ‘’Your wife was being disobedient. She does not put the gown we selected for her. She also threw her food on the ground and tried to escape.’’ You did no such things. 

Yet Aemond nods, turning to you, one of his brows raised. ‘’Is that so?’’ You open your mouth to speak, but can’t utter a single word to defend yourself. You feel so scared, so helpless and hopeless.

The brown haired girl speaks. ‘’I'd say it's for the best that you teach your new wife how it works here. She has not been here a day and she is ungrateful for the food, the clothing, the protection and all she needs to do is spread her traitor legs and yet-’’ 

Prince Aemond silences her by raising his left hand, giving her a glare so cold and deadly it could make the Stranger relieve themselves in fear.

‘’That is my lady wife you are speaking to. My lady, my wife, my princess.’’ You feel more heat rise to your cheeks, aware of your worries slowly dying. ‘’She is worth your respect. So you either show it to her, or I'll send you to the dungeons to have your tongue removed for your treasonous insults.’’ That seems a bit harsh to you, but it feels nice that he takes your honor seriously.

‘’I apologize, my prince-’’ The brunette tries her best at making a curtsy but Prince Aemond does not care and seems more annoyed every moment that passes by.

‘’Not to me,’’ he spits out. ‘’You will apologize to Revaera for your unkind words. She is facing enough as it is, she does not need this as well.’’ 

The brunette glares at you as if its your fault that Aemond lectured her. ‘’I am sorry, my lady.’’ She finally blurts out, despite her own wishes. She knows what the consequences are if she does not.

You ignore her, paining her more with the insecurity of the thought that Aemond might throw her into the bricks after all. Or worse, take her tongue. ‘’Apology accepted.’’ You say, after enough time has passed.

Prince Aemond huffs, looking at the dresses on his bed, your ripped nightgown on the floor and the dress that you are wearing. He does not seem to care for it, and his first priority is you. ‘’Tell me what else have they done?’’ You hear the ladies gasp and you feel powerful for the very first time in your life.

You play with your nails. ‘’They uhm dragged me from my bed.’’ The moment you have spoken the words, you see Aemond’s face change from calm and collected to indescribable fury and rage. ‘’But they...don't harm them.’’ You beg him. 

He turns around to face the ladies. One is trembling, the one who insulted you is crying and the tallest lady smiles, a bit to play it off as a joke. Aemond folds his hands on his back. ‘’If you were all men you'd all hang. I don't see the difference. I believe in equality for all. You laid your paws on my wife.’’ He hisses, through his teeth.

‘’She didn't comply when we begged her to come out.’’ The tall lady tries. ‘’Your wife didn’t want to put the gown on. It is all true.’’ But this time, you defend yourself.

‘’No!’’You righteously speak up, causing Aemond’s head to turn in your direction, curiosity written across his elf-like face. ‘’That's not true, Aemond. They came in unannounced when I was still in bed. I asked multiple times who they were but they didn't even tell me and undressed me by force-’’ You stop your rambles as you see your husband take one more step toward the ladies. Two are now crying. And one has stopped smiling.

‘’You dared to strip her?’’ He asks, his voice a low, husky groan. ‘’You dared to strip a Princess of the House of the Dragon? You dared to strip and harass my wife?’’ He hisses. 

The tallest lady falls down to her knees, begging Aemond for mercy. ‘’We only did what was right! She is a traitor. She has no pure Valyrian blood. It would be wrong to sire a child with her. Her ancestor-’’ The emotions you feel are strong and pure. 

Aemond raises his dominant right hand, aiming for her face but you beat him to it. His slap would have been discipline, perhaps hard but firm, calculated and thought out well. He practices fighting. You, however. You do not.

Your slap is a mix of rage, insecurity and lack of power you try to claim through needless violence. It is supposed to inflict fear and your slap has lost its precision, its accuracy. Your intended slap becomes a fist, hooking the lady in waiting on her perfect little nose. And judging by the screams that follow and the blood that comes streaming out, and the pain in your knuckles, you broke it. 

Prince Aemond sighs deeply, and you feel ashamed that you stooped that low. The lady clutches her nose, screaming bloody murder as two guards storm in. ‘’My Prince! Are you both-’’ Aemond simply folds his hands back on his back. 

‘’Out. All of you. Take the screaming swine and her kind with you.’’ You hear yourself chuckle slightly because of that insult and watch your bloodied fist, impressed by the power you apparently hold.

It is not physical power. But the mental power that impresses you. You stood up for yourself. You defended yourself. You never did that before. You never dreamt of doing any of that before. 

‘’I am sorry.’’ You mutter the moment the two of you are alone. Instead of dragging you to his bed and smacking your head against the stone walls, he simply steps a bit closer, caressing your face before leaving a soft kiss.

‘’We try to not hit our servants unless they do something unforgiven. I lost my temper, in that moment.’’ He says. ‘’I wanted to defend you, as is my duty. Yet you seem more than capable of defending yourself.’’ You feel relief crashing in as waves.

‘’You aren’t mad?’’ You ask one final time to be sure.

He shakes his head. ‘’No, If anything, I’m amused. I didn’t think you had such fierceness in you. Such fire. Such blood.’’ He looks at your dark green gown and smiles, pressing your foreheads against one another, reaching out to rub your fingertips.

The door is opened once more. ‘’For the love of the seven-’’ Aemond shouts, grumpy this moment got interrupted. You both are surprised to see the 3th servant girl standing there. She has a frightened look in her eyes, yet comes before you both. 

‘’What are you doing here? I dismissed you all.’’ Prince Aemond says. It is true. Whatever lured her back in must be serious.

She folds her hands in front of her. ‘’I was worried for the Princess. I didn’t wanted her to endure punishment for something she did not do.’’ She tells Aemond and you both see she speaks the truth easily.

‘’Hm.’’ Aemond sits down in the chair by the fireplace, awaiting her explanation. 

So the servant girl starts telling the truth of what happened. ‘’You see, your highness. Lady Selma lied to you. She called Princess Revaera a bastard, and a …’’ She glances at you now, ashamed. ‘’A whore. I should have said something. But I was too frightened. She even went as far as implying that you were in a brothel, being unfaithful to the princess.’’

Aemond scoffs, insulted. 

‘’The princess only ever asked decent and normal questions befitting the situation. She called for you but Selma denied her this request. Princess Revaera told us as servants that she preferred the blue gown, but Selma lied and said you had ordered her to wear the green one.’’ You stare at the gown, feeling even more furious and more happy you hit that woman on her nose.

‘’I did no such thing.’’ Aemond mutters, looking more and more confused as the moments pass by. ‘’Why would I even-’’ He does not understand. 

The girl nods, too eager and too happy that Aemond understands her. ‘’Exactly, your highness. All she does is lie.’‘’That that would be all of it.’’ She adds, her voice timid as a mouse, suddenly blushing brightly and perfecting her blonde hair.

‘’Apologies I didn’t speak up sooner, my lady.’’ she adds, before giving a final curtsy and fleeing the rooms.

You look at Aemond, curious for his reaction. He just sits there, unmoved and watches the flames lick the firewood. ‘’I have been thinking. I wish to discuss something.’’ He says without looking up. You feel your heart beat faster, afraid this could be your end.

He stands up, and closes the distance between the both of you. His slender fingers touch your cheek, before his good eye pulls down the collar of your neck a bit, revealing the wounds where Fyrand dug his nails into your skin. Quickly, you push him off and away, but he has already seen it. ‘’This is what we must discuss.’’ He says. ‘’I saw it too when you were naked. Bruises, unexplainable bruises and cuts just like these in your wrists.’’ He sounds more angry with every passing moment.

He must be angry you came with bruises. He must think you aren’t worth  the fight he gave. He perhaps wants to kill you too, just as Fyrand said. You consider seducing him, giving him your body once more as a payment to let you live. 

Suddenly, regret and pain flashes in his good eye as he leans closer, caressing the wounds on your neck gently. ‘’I think I know who to blame for this. But I want to hear it from your lips, first. Tell me, my wife. Does your brother hurt you?’’

You nod. You know you are risking upsetting Fyrand but you do not care. ‘’Yes.’’ You confess.

Aemond mutters something in his ancestral tongue. ‘’He said husbands do that to their wives and that he, as my brother, was above my husband. And that he decides how to raise me.’’

You can see Aemond's jaw clench at your words, his right leg slightly twitching in an impulse of him to run off and to likely find your brother. But he remains at your side despite his anger. ‘’My brother will discuss things with you. He wishes for me to be...motivated more.’’ You reveal, your hands trembling. 

Aemond understands what you mean, judging by his disgusted glare at the door as if he can picture Fyrand standing there. ‘’Absolutely not. He can come to me as often as he likes, I won't lay a finger on you. That man is insane.’’

‘’He also said unkind things.’’ You begin to cry again at the memory of what your brother said.

‘’He said you were going to make use of me and to ..take me in my...butt…’’ Your words are cutt off by Aemond.

‘’He tried to scare you. You know why?’’

You shake your head. No. You don’t. You are already scared enough as it is.

He breaks into a grin, touching your lips softly, kissing your forehead, while leaving dozens of tiny kisses all over your face. ‘’Because I may be half blind, but I see a change already. I see you are more confident, free and full of life than you were yesterday. I see a butterfly that finally learned how to take wing.’’ You finally smile back at him, a bit shy perhaps but flattered by his compliment. 

‘’He came for you last night. Did he ever...lay his hands on you in a different way?’’ Aemond wonders. You understand why he must think that, considering your brother came for you at night, during your wedding night, and demanded to see you.

You wrinkle your nose, disgusted.

‘’No. Thank the gods no.’’ Yet you wonder if it remains that way. 

Aemond fills you in on what happened last night. ‘’I sent him away. Whatever it was, it could wait until the morning. You were tired, almost drifting off the moment I had tucked you in.’’

You understand he didn’t have to share that with you. He could have easily kept it a secret. So you tell him a secret too. ‘’I saw.’’

You see many emotions reflected in his eye. Worry, shame, fear. Worry for upsetting you, shame that he hurt your brother and fear this could cost whatever is blooming between the two of you. Yet you wouldn’t know that, of course.

You reach out, gently taking his fingers into your own, touching him for the very first time. ‘’Thank you. I don't know what he wanted, but it couldn't have been that urgent. I'm glad you protected me.’’

You feel it is going well. So you have one final request to make. ‘’I heard you have a dragon. A beautiful fierce green scaled dragon. She is called the Queen of all dragons, isn't she?’’ 

He nods, interested and appearing much happier to you than moments before, eager to talk about his beloved dragon. ‘’Yes. Does that perhaps frighten you? There is nothing to worry about. Vhagar and I bonded. She won't harm me.’’ 

He chuckles. You have never heard such an intriguing sound. ‘’My mother shares your concern and fear. I pretend I don't notice but the King's guard is always near whenever I set out for flying.’’ He says, rolling his eye. You wonder if he still feels that other eye as well, or if this is just all there is to it.

‘’I do...I was wondering, if one day, I could meet her?’’ You understand you ask something big. Vhagar is his dragon. Your family is also accused of stealing dragon eggs for centuries. To see the dragon, would mean that Aemond trusts you.

You watch him look at you for moments, and he is thinking you can tell. ‘’She sounds interesting and important to you. You know about people important to me, I thought: I want to know about my husband's life too.’’ Unknown to you, he is looking at you with admiration. Never met the prince or anyone who wanted to see Vhagar. Never.

Finally, a soft answer leaves his lips, as he puts his hands in his pocket, avoiding looking at your face at all costs. ‘’I'd like that very much.’’ He says, and you would swear he is blushing.

Your moment is interrupted as a guard enters the room once more, addressing Aemond right away.

‘’The Queen wishes to see you.’’ He says. Aemond kisses your forehead once more, before leaving your side as if he is soon facing his final battle.

‘’Actually, Prince Aemond: Her grace insisted you bring your wife with you. She wishes to speak to you both.’’ You and Aemond share a glance and you force a smile but you both seem to think the same thing: What could she possibly want?

as always thank you all for reading the little stories i make

i hope this aemond is nice and not boring. Im always torn between hes too boring or hes too violent lock him up theres no in between.

[chiefdirector]

Planning | Tim Bradford | The Rookie

Act One | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28

(Y/N) looked around the room, taking in the worried faces of her colleagues turned friends who had come at Tim’s request. Angela sat talking next to John, talking to both him and Nyla who stood next to the sofa. Lucy was sitting on the armchair with West leaning against the arm. Grey wasn’t there, (Y/N) knew that he couldn't be, but it hurt slightly to exclude the man, especially after all he had done for her.

She could feel her heart tug slightly at the sentiment that they had all agreed to come to help, even though it was a war Roaslind Dyer had decided to wage against the entire LAPD, he focus was on the officer in the Mid-Wilshire department, or at least they would be the start.

None of them knew what Tim had figured, but at his request, they had all decided to come of their own volition, to help both of the Bradford’s. People she had thought would brush her off and not accept her had all come with the intention to aid her the best she could.

Leaning against the doorway, (Y/N) watched as each and every one of her friends cast their eyes on Tim as he cleared his throat to bring their attention to him. “You all know why I asked you to come, mostly anyways…”

“What do you mean, ‘mostly’?” Nyla said, leaning forward in an almost defensive stance.

“What he means is that we have a development in the Dyer case.” (Y/N) stepped forward nudging Kojo away from her feet as she moved. She took a moment, as his hand wrapped around her own before she continued speaking. “We can’t operate at the station anymore.”

“Why not?” John asked gently, prompting either one of the Bradfords to continue.

Tim spoke up again. “Before you say that, we need to know if you're in or out. Because once we tell you, there is no going back, you will be liable for any and all actions. The LAPD won’t cover you.”

“The Hell you got into Bradford?” Nyla asked before taking a breath to stop a chain of expletives from falling from her tongue. “I mean I’m in but what the Hell is going on?”

Tim just nodded for a moment at Nyla’s words as the other cops in the room began to nod and verbalise their agreement. Angela stood as she agreed, wrapping (Y/N) in a hug as she whispered, “I’d follow you to the end of the earth. That’s what best friends are for.”

As Angela pulled away, she took (Y/N)’s hand from Tim, ignoring his small sound of offensive he let out as she dragged her back to the sofa. (Y/N) scoffed in amusement as Angela wedged her between her and John.

“So you’re all okay with this?” Tim clarified.

“Yes,” Nyla huffed, “Now get on with it. We don’t have all day, you know?”

Tim nodded as he put his hands in his hoodie’s pockets. “(Y/N) and I came to a realisation earlier today after she got back from the prison. It never made sense why (Y/N) was targeted by her, it wasn’t as if Dyer had a specific M.O which she fit, and it’s not like it was with Lucy…” He let his words trail off as he watched Chen’s reaction before continuing. “She had no reason except that she seemed like an easy target.”

“Target for what?” West asked.

“To get into the LAPD hivemind.” (Y/N) said, taking over from her husband. “She already had informants but they were all reluctant or vulnerable in some way. Sullivan was near retirement age, Armstrong had been made. Our guess is that she wanted to turn me into her newest pawn.”

“(Y/N), your old partner said this was about Tim. Then it was about you. They were trying to make us chase our tails.” Nyla spoke up again, moving closer to where the others were sitting. “Although, this still doesn't tell us what she intends to do.”

“The LAPD humiliated her, all of us in this room humiliated her. Someone like Rosalind Dyer isn’t the type just to stand back and take something like that. She needs to prove herself time and time again. She doesn’t like to lose, so she changed the game. She isn’t going after individuals anymore, she’s coming after all of us, the entire LAPD. And we’re just the warm-up round.”

—-----

It was near three am by the time Nyla, Angela and the others finally left. (Y/N) closed the door behind them, making sure to both lock and deadbolt the door shut. She rested her weight against the door, trying to push down the wave of emotion crashing into her. She closed her eyes, choosing to listen to the clinking of empty beer bottles as Tim tidied away the mess left over.

Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) pushed herself off the door and moved towards the bedroom with Kojo trailing sleepily behind her. It didn’t take long before she heard Tim shut off the lights to the rest of the room and shuffle towards the bedroom himself.

Neither of them spoke for a while, both enjoying the comfortable silence as they prepared for bed. They moved in sync, Tim tossing (Y/N) one of his tees and a pair of joggers to sleep in whilst she placed their phones on charge and set their alarms for the morning.

It was only when they had made their way into bed, (Y/N) leaning on Tim’s chest with Kojo snoring happily at their feet, did Tim finally break the silence.

“Thank you.” he murmured, barely above a whisper

(Y/N) looked at him perplexed as she responded with a tone that was just as soft. “For what?”

“For trusting me, all of us. I know it must have been hard.”

“Not as hard as it was to shut you out.” (Y/N) shuffled down in the sheets as she gathered her thoughts. “Do you think that this will work? Our plan, I mean.”

“I don't know.” Tim kissed (Y/N)’s head, “but if it doesn’t, we will try something else. We won’t let her win, I won’t let her win, baby. I promise you that.”

Masterlist

28 | Act Three

Tags: @xceafh @kmc1989 @buba424 @salty0cracker @iamasimpingh0e @malindacath @rookietrek @hufflepuffwhore13 @tessalynni @anaferreira-4 @starstruckchopshoptyphoon @alessiamargaux @rexit-mo

[anarchotahdigism]

I know i say "wear a mask and riot" and "fuck a peaceful protest" but I'd had a nice long post about how digital work and advocacy is praxis (or can be) on my old account. Right now, COVID is spreading and killing thousands of people in the US alone and nearly all """radicals""""" and """""leftists"""" are philosophically no different than the fascists they claim to oppose because they are so thoroughly wedded to eugenics that they refuse to wear and enforce masking. COVID causes long COVID in 10-30% of cases so the so-called US alone may well be a majority disabled nation now due to rampant eugenics forcing the spread of COVID. Long COVID is a rotting death and makes everything an order of magnitude more difficult if you still are able to do the things you were prior. Repeated COVID infections means you're guaranteed to be immunocompromised permanently and disabled in other ways you'll likely find out the hard way. With 40% of cases being asymptomatic and most only showing severe symptoms after 2-3 infections, and many starting to drop dead after 3 to 5 infections, many people accrue damage from and spread COVID without realizing it until it is far, far too late. As a result, it's guaranteed that the ableists have disabled and killed people. They've kept disabled people like me who are high risk out of radical spaces & communities. They've abandoned solidarity for everyone but the abled, ableist middle class while focusing most of their efforts on electoralism, despite the clear and constant failures of such actions. The BLM Rebellion of 2020-2021 had significant---albeit broadly temporary--impacts on electoral politics, society, and communities because it was a constant and ongoing rebellion that was also much more disability inclusive than prior leftist movement moments. For the first time, people recognized the need for remote actions & support because while masking was at the high water mark, more abled people understood that a lot of us disabled could not and would not risk COVID but we had had skills vital to the project. Things disabled people were absolutely critical for during the BLM Rebellion: police scanner observation and transcription, evacuation coordination, event & route planning, translation services, postering, graphics art & design, self defense seminars, radio nets, mutual aid fundraising, mutual aid distribution, bail fund coordination, zine writing, mask & test distributions, contact tracing (remember this??!??!), car brigades, organizing medical supplies, teaching first aid skills, and countless other roles often organized & performed remotely. For every fighter, there are at least a dozen support roles and with some thought and effort, those roles can be aided or done digitally. Posting on its own can be praxis in that it shares information, knowledge, tactics, demonstrates that there are other radicals out there willing to do what they can, normalizes radicalism, and in some cases, regimes pay close attention to internet support.

During the height of the Jina Amini rebellion in 2022, the Iranian regime tried to cut the internet repeatedly to stifle information out of and into Iran to hinder protest coordination and outrage. It also paid extremely close attention to when the rebellion was trending and refrained from reprisals until the mass attention of the internet citizenry turned away. Posting literally helped save lives by forcing the regime to wait, buying people time to organize, prepare, and act accordingly in Iran and internationally. Personally, I will always remember and be grateful for the Palestinians who turned out across the world, but especially in occupied Palestine, for Iranians. Iran is not the only regime that will wait until posts slacken and attention wanes before massacring people. If you are disabled, if you have arrest risks, if for any reasons you don't want to be involved in a radical riot, but you want to support those who can and do, there is so much you can do year round but especially things kick off!! Any skills, resources, knowledge, or support you can organize or contribute is valuable! eSims for Gaza right now are monumental in ensuring Gazans can coordinate information, requests, record Israeli occupation war crimes & apartheid cruelty, and many disabled graphics designers are offering their services in exchange for esim donations. It's been incredible to see.

The people who are against digital activism are ableist and racist and ignorant as hell beyond that. You can make an impact and even save and change lives while homebound. Begging genociders to stop profitable genocides has never and will never work. Riots & boycotts work because they directly confront and attack power and if those actions are supported by communities, they can continue for quite some time, as we saw with the BLM uprising. Regimes do not fall because people ask regime leaders to please stop committing atrocities; they fall when the people are able to bring to bear the sum of their hopes and wrath and bring the fight to those who have been oppressing them. That requires inclusive community & an outright rejection of the regime and its systems of cooptation & recuperation.

If a revolution or movement isn't inclusive, if it excludes the disabled, the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, it's not a revolution or movement, it's just another genocidal regime change.

[sawyerconfort]

enjoy the silence | lorraine broughton x fem! reader

I am back! Finally, I hope you didn't mind my disappearance. I decided to take a little break from the stories because I felt like I really needed to rest, and I was running out of creativity. I also went traveling this weekend and didn't have time to write as I had planned, but anyway, I'm back and that's what matters!

As I said in the previous post, I will be focusing this week on writing multifandom oneshots, and maybe an ask or two will be answered over the weekend, so those of you who sent in asks, please be patient with me, as always!

Well, taking into account the lack of stories about her, and taking into account that in the last few weeks I gained a boost of obsession with Charlize Theron, let's do a oneshot with Lorraine!

This is fem!reader, but if you feel comfortable adjusting your pronouns in it as you read, feel free!

Enjoy!

Requests open!

*Atomic Blonde is such a badass movie, oh gosh, I can't!*

-----------------------------------------------

Premise: As you tend to Lorraine's wounds, some things become crystal clear between you. Things that had apparently been kept secret for a long time…

***

You were used to being alone after all the other male members left. It was your most precious moment of peace, when none of them were making fun of you or making sexual comments about you. It was the only time, as one of the top MI6 officials, when you could be silent, focusing on things other than missions, The List or anything else that risked your life.

Turns out that night, it was different. You were concentrating on an electrifying chapter of your science fiction book, when you heard the door slamming loudly. A low, whispered curse and you turned, taking the book out of your eyes to look at who it was.

The thing is, you never took the time to talk to her personally and properly. Lorraine Broughton was one of MI6's most gifted and well-known spies, and newcomers joked that she had been with them since their beginnings in the Stone Age.

Someone of extreme importance like Lorraine apparently didn't have time to listen to your bullshit.

Your eyes met and she took off the black collar that covered her mouth, her platinum hair giving extreme emphasis to her scarred face.

"Good evening, agent (Y\LN), I thought there was no one here."

Hell, she knew your last name! How was that possible?

"I was just leaving, Lorraine, don't worry," you said, trying to sound at least reasonable so as not to cause a fuss with her. But then, as soon as you got up, you noticed her ripped pants, a hideous trickle of blood running down one part of her leg, and her face streaked with red streaks and very swollen.

She looked back at you, the weight of those pale eyes taking over you, and then, your voice was categorical, hoping she wasn't going to dump your ass, not this time.

"Need some help tending to those wounds? They look pretty bad…"

She looked at you, and with the same restful face, she shook her head. "Don't waste your time, I'm fine. It happens all the time."

"Lorraine, your leg is bleeding. We better look into this."

"Don't worry, (Y\N), go home, I can take care of myself."

You chuckled, already being aware of her stubbornness. Lorraine was good when she wanted to outsmart someone in an interrogation, especially the guys in the company, but you weren't interrogating her this time, so she didn't have to act so defensive.

Deciding not to let her go without tending to her wounds, you hurried out and opened one of the cupboards in the cold, dark corridor of the office. The sound of the creaking door obviously got Lorraine's attention because everything was extremely loud in that dark office. Grabbing a first-aid kit, which was only used in emergencies by high-ranking men, you pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down.

"I already told you I'm fine, (Y\N), I can take ca-"

"Sit down, please." You didn't mean to sound domineering, but it was unavoidable.

Lorraine rolled her eyes and sat up, legs spread, not intending to cross them. She wasn't going to make the job easy for you, but of course it wasn't a problem anymore. You opened the first aid kit and took out some gauze, cotton and bandages.

"Please, let's not turn this whole thing into a moment of silence, if you want, tell me how you managed the feat of getting all screwed up…", you said, gently swiping the cotton wool over her eyes and lips. , cleaning the blood.

Lorraine gasped and pressed her lips together, feeling the pain of the contact. "Are you sure you work for a spy team, (Y\N)?" You rolled your eyes as she took a deep breath. "It was a chase. Several guys shooting. One of them threw me on the glass table and I ended up cutting myself… not new to me, really."

You continued to gently dab cotton and gauze over the bruises, and her clear, intimidating eyes never left her face as you did so. It was even uncomfortable to look at, such beauty, staring back at you as if it were something normal.

"And how are the guys doing?" you asked curiously, determined to keep her distracted - and to keep you distracted too.

"Dead, I guess. It's not news to me either, they would keep chasing me if they lived and I needed to get rid of them to save my skin…"

You nodded, at the same time that you bent down to get some ointment from the first aid kit and began to run your fingers along Lorraine's injured leg, the blood still very fresh where the glass had probably been stuck. She's lucky she didn't hemorrhage, you thought absently.

"Is that really necessary?!", Lorraine exclaimed, pulling you out of her thoughts, her voice very firm and a hiss of discomfort escaping her lips.

"Unless you want to catch a bacteria, maybe," you replied in the same tone. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, you call the shots," she snapped. "Look, it's actually really weird that we've never crossed paths, (Y\N), you seem to know what you're doing."

You nodded, getting up, closing the ointment and putting it back in the first aid kit, as you sat on the edge of Lorraine's chair, her legs keeping your body steady.

"It's hard to come across an agent that the boys keep like a precious jewel inside a password safe…"

She laughed again, and only then did you stop to notice that her smile was beautiful. Your heart missed a beat, but you didn't know if it was envy or some much deeper feeling… And before you knew it, you pushed those thoughts away, afraid of the answer.

Whatever the case, Lorraine Broughton was not the type of person you thought was ideal for the type of person you were. Not as friendship. You could only support yourself within the walls of offices, and despite being called an agent, you were afraid to even fly a plane.

"Is it over yet?", she woke you up from your thoughts again, looking at you with a playful smile. "Yeah, it wasn't so bad after all."

"Yeah, but that's because the bad part starts now!", you said, holding the bandages, which were those children's animal bandages. "You can choose between the giraffe bandages, or the flower bandages, you call the shots, Lorraine."

The smile faltered on your lips as she frowned, clearly confused and uncomfortable, not sure if it was a joke or not.

"Seriously?" she said in disbelief. "Who let the guys buy this?"

You shrugged. "Make a choice, Lorraine."

"I'd rather go without bandages."

"Ah, come on! You're going to make a childhood dream come true! Your inner child is crying out for it, go ahead, choose one!"

"Okay, the giraffe one then.", Lorraine said, in a monotone voice, as if she knew she would regret it the moment she left the office and walked down the street. You laughed, calmly sticking the bandages on her wounds and caressing the skin with your fingers, to fix them better.

That took Lorraine by surprise. Until then, she hadn't known that she could feel that same electricity from a simple touch. She looked back at you, and allowed herself to relax as you finished gluing them all together. At the end, you noticed her look and bit your lip, also caught off guard, completely embarrassed.

"You're free, Lorraine. Now you can even take off the bandages while I'm not looking, I know you're going to do that…", you said, joking, just to ease the tension. But it didn't help much.

Her eyes were too bright in the dim light, and that perfect, even bruised face that looked as if it had been sculpted by angels only made it worse. You were extremely tense and nervous around her, and not in your best dreams, did you imagine that you would feel this way with Lorraine, when you saw her.

"Thank you, (Y\N). And I'm sorry, I think I've been quite rude to you in the meantime, you just wanted to help me get better."

"I don't mind, I'm used to agents' patience…", you laughed again. And he got up, going to put the suitcase back in the closet and close it properly, so that none of the others would notice that you had even touched it.

Lorraine was still staring at you when you looked back at her, and a smile graced her interested expression.

"How long have you been working with us, (Y\N)?", she asked, her deep voice dropping to almost a whisper in the silence between you.

You stopped to think, to remember, to count on your fingers, as you went back and sat in the small space of her chair, as before. Not to tease her, it's just because that was her usual chair and you had this habit of taking possession of things.

"A few months. Five, I think… I'm not good with numbers and dates…", you explained, laughing. Lorraine nodded. "Before you ask, this definitely wasn't the plan since I was a kid, but it seemed to me that I had a knack for it when I had my first experience here, so… yeah, maybe it was nice to get this job."

Lorraine nodded again. "And are you happy here?"

"I think so. I'm sure I do, actually. I don't think I fit in anywhere else right now, honestly."

"That's good, this work is not very easy, there are few people who manage, in the natural order of things, to stay for so long."

Lorraine was still looking at you, and nervousness was still very much present in her body language as she did so.

"And do you have… a boyfriend, (Y\N)?"

You frowned, caught off guard.

"Sorry, that was a weird question."

"No, I don't have a boyfriend", you replied, shaking your head. "It wasn't a weird question, you're just trying to get to know me better…"

Lorraine nodded again, scratching her forehead and looking at you, intent on knowing more. "And are you looking for someone? Or are you completely focused on work right now?"

"Ah, MI6 is my life, yes, but I wouldn't mind breaking that routine to find someone I can share my days with, you know…"

Lorraine looked away, and oddly enough, you noticed that there was a flush in her cheeks. Now, that was something you would never have thought to see, not in Lorraine Broughton.

"You say "someone", so… is someone really someone?"

"Are you asking me about my sexuality?"

Lorraine shrugged. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"No, I don't have a problem with that, I… I'm open to experimenting, actually. I want something that takes me off my feet, and makes me see whether or not it's worth risking everything."

Lorraine nodded again and her eyes glued to your lips. The tension became even more palpable between you, and when she took the opportunity that you were close to pull you close, seeing that you were going to fall out of the chair if you went any farther back, her inner will spoke louder and she kissed you, absolutely nothing, without expecting you to respond.

If it was someone else, you would have walked away and slapped that person across the face, but that didn't happen with Lorraine. You were so surprised when she kissed you that you just responded. She thought maybe that would ease the tension of the moment, that it would make it easier for you to talk, and she was so beautiful it was impossible to resist.

She was the one who pulled away first, gasping for air, and she opened her clear, beautiful eyes to look at you, her hand hesitating between your hip and your leg.

"Sorry, I really don't know why I did that, I…" she started, but you cut her off, your index finger on her wet lips.

"No, that's fine, I enjoyed it… and actually… I think I'd like to do it again, if you don't mind…"

She laughed and kissed you again, this time letting the moment flow by itself, last as long as it should. You were being drawn, like magnets, to each other's lips, and now it was impossible to break the contact. Lorraine's charm didn't help either, and she ended the kiss after a few seconds with a peck on your cheek.

"Well, I better get going now that you don't need me…" you said, feeling all awkward and embarrassed. Lorraine got up and let go of your hips, and just as you were about to walk through the door, she called out her name.

"Don't you want a ride home, (Y\N)? I think it's too late for us to walk alone…", her voice was full of ulterior motives, and as much as you would love to take things easy, have the chance of a lifetime with Lorraine Broughton made you want to find out where this was going to go.

To be honest, you were under the impression that you wouldn't regret it.

[ophelliate]

small bootleg!tmnt details/fun facts

from what i've seen nobody ever pointed them out so i thought it'd be nice to share ^^ spoilers ahead ofc

in 'who needs a vet', the stockman's remedy is actually a large contributor to the boys' recovery as the recipe was developed by superfly to aid his family/mutants

the intervention gag in 'sports! any%' and 'leon ardo alone' is inspired by the same gag in How I Met Your Mother

in 'pizza-nal economics', the only reason why leroy hired mikey (and by extension, keno) is because he knew he could fight/defend himself from the customers of their business

according to the boys' pizza tier list, Run of the Mill is an A tier

Raph-Bucks were inspired by the unicon bits from the las pegasus unicon incident

the episode's ending with mikey walking in to the raph-buck revolution is also inspired by the community pizza fire meme

as mentioned by casey in 'i thought YOU were sneaking out', raph had technically met them during his sports speedrun, as they were the goalie raph hit in the shin

bishop is actually teased as early as the episode 'fiend trip' by the principal

melissa is very heavily inspired by old friends of mine which is why she's Like That lmao

i mutated the general into scale tail for the sake of using the concept design before the mutant mayhem script released and revealed that his name is actually spider... oops–

lotus's background wasn't actually planned and was made during her introduction in 'leon ardo alone', the reason being is because i didn't want to actually make her last name blossom

the reason why klunk duplicates is due to the sea sponge dna she mutated with, as some sea sponges can create extensions of themselves if they feel like they are in danger

by extension, when klunk is scared, she hardens for defense, but when she's happy/relaxed, her entire body softens, including her organs

the person bishop is calling throughout 'green party candidates' and briefly in 'the devolution of turtle' is irma's mother, mrs. lynette knight, though they are close enough for first name basis

as explained in 'no paint no gain', keno is well liked by/has easy entry to the crime scene of nyc due to his cousin being in the foot clan

although not explored in season 1, angel has a heavy interest in film and has implemented tv systems in each room of hun's house

leo told bishop about the market incident, as he mentioned to casey in 'no paint no gain', which is why tcri (and eventually hun) knows about casey's involvement and relationship with the turtles

i did not know about the 03 nano episodes in depth before writing marion into donnie's tech circle and for that i am so sorry

in 'the psat', irma is supposed to act as the proper example of how to treat the psats: completely unseriously

i didn't know normani announced her album around the time of 'the psat' episode's release until a month after

'the devolution of turtle' was genuinely gonna be a lot more of a sillier episode but it really took a turn after bishop started being developed

the mutants in the cages is basically a gateway implementation for mutants introduced in canon tottmnt when it comes out

the reason the turtles turtle-piled in 'is mutant a heritage' is because it became a coping mechanism for them after the previous episode

and last but not least for the finale (and spoiler tidbit for s2):

miwa

[broke-art]

Red Son x abused reader

* This is just a blurb hope you all enjoy*

"Where is she?" Red son huffed impatiently.

Y/n was late....again. As typical as this phenomenon was, she had never been this tardy.

Worry ebbed at Red Son's chest as he considered searching her out. With the aid of his flames and car it wouldn't take long, perhaps with the bull clones-

"I'm here!" Y/n burst through the tree line waving a hand at him. Her chest heaved with labored breaths when she paused Infront of him.

"Well it's about time!" Red Son chided. "Where on earth were you? I was beginning to get wo-" Red Son clamped his mouth shut once he realized his fumble.

Y/n looked up at him with a risen eye brow.

"Warm." Red Son corrected. "It's scalding out today. I'd rather not over heat you know." He folding his arms glancing away.

Y/n seemed to study him a moment.

"Uh huh." She mused disbelievingly.

"Listen here you little- where did you get that?"

Y/n stiffened as Red Son noted the large bruise just under her eye.

"Get what?" She asked, her tone remained perfectly nonchalant but suddenly her gaze refused to meet his. She acted as though she was glancing away which allowed her hair to cover the offensive bluish purple skin.

Red Son, however, frowned.

"Don't take me for a fool, peasant girl. The bruise right-" he moved her hair aside only to see Y/n flinch violently.

"Sorry." She excused swiftly with an embarassedly smile. "Jumpy. Oh you mean my bruise, I fell face first. Pft clumsy am I right?" She spoke quickly and dismissively.

"I suppose." Red son responded slowly trying to process her retort. Y/n was not clumsy. She was a force to be reckoned with wether on the battlefield or not. Any less would not have captured his interest.

"Anyway, you want to train or chat?" Y/n challenged snapping his train of thought.

Red Son took up a defensive position.

"Go on and try it, peasant girl."

Y/n grinned and raced towards him.

Some time later.

Red Son studied Y/n as she packed her belongings together. Training had been...odd.

She didn't take his attacks quite as well as she usually did. And one particular hit to her back had sent her face first into the dirt. He hadn't even struck hard, infact he has been holding back more than usual. Something was amiss.

Once she has finished packing Red Son grasped her duffle bag.

"Finally. Let's be on our way."

"Red, what are you doing?" Y/n arched a brow at him folding her arms.

Red Son's heart skipped a beat at the look but he ignored it.

"What does it look like? I'm walking you home."

Panic flitted across Y/n's features. And she reached for her bag.

"No, you can't."

Red Son tugged the bag away holding it out of reach. His resolve turned to stone.

"Why?"

Y/n's panic turned to frustration.

"Because I said so! That is more than enough reason." She offered her hand palm up. "Give me my bag, Red."

Red Son considered pushing for an answer but an idea clicked in his mind. So, he handed over the bag simply.

"Fine. Fiiiine. Be my guest."

Y/n hung the bag off her shoulder and Red Son tapped her shoulder.

"Try to keep your feet under you this time."

Y/n laughed.

"Whatever you say, Red Boy."

Red Son typically growled at the nickname but he hardly blinked at it this time.

You shrugged and waved goodbye as you walked away. It took enough effort just to force that laugh and hold your duffle bag. You didn't need the stress of mind of trying to understand why Red Son didn't get annoyed today. You had more than enough stress already.

Your back seared from Red Son's blow. It took all of your will power to ignore it. At very least until you were out of eyesight. You turned a corner and breathed a sigh of relief.

There would be no pestering questions if you winced or flinched slightly.

The truth was your bruise had come from a poor interaction with your mother. She was... absolutely insane to be honest. She would scream at you over the most idiotic things, threaten your younger sister if you fought back, and vanish randomly to go who knew where.

Today's encounter had been her accusing you of swiping her cigarettes. You had zero interest in smoking, or anything of hers at all. She had gone through your belongings and raced around the house screaming like a lunatic.

When you had ignored her tantrum, she had grabbed your younger sister by her hair. Your sister has screamed for your help and well...you had lost your patience.

To be fair, you had attacked first. She hadn't won. But now you had to get home before your younger sister, or she may have to pay for your actions.

Your shoes clicked against the pavement as you quickened your pace. Her school bus came to her drop off at about 3;30. You glanced at your wrist watch. It was 3:20. Ten minutes, you could make it if you hurried.

That was the moment you realized you had an odd feeling. As though someone was watching you. You tossed a glance over your shoulder. No one was on the sidewalk behind you. Your stomach twisted, but you ignored it.

Instead you simply quickened your pace. The feeling persisted the entire walk home but you pressed it aside. Soon enough you came to your front door. With a deep breath you reached for the door knob only to be cut off by a scream.

Your blood chilled and you grabbed the knob but it refused to turn. The door was locked.

You dropped your duffle bag and ran to your window. The latch was locked as well and more screams were sounding from inside. Panic raced through you as you searched for a rock.

A loud bang cut your search short as you realized it came from the front door. Looking around the edge of your house you saw flames creeping around the doorframe. The door had vanished from view and a bit of red cloth disappeared into the house.

Your gut dropped and you raced to the front door. The screams had ceased now but that brought you no peace of mind. You paused in the door way only to see your mother laying on the floor unconscious and Red Son on bent knee speaking with your little sister.

She had taken shelter below the table. She hugged her knees close to her as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"If it suits you just stay there. Your sister will be here soon."

Just then your shock broke.

"What is going on here?!" You demanded walking over the fallen door.

Red Son got up.

Your sister raced over and hugged you tightly.

Calming your nerves you picked up your sister and looked at Red Son awaiting answers.

Red Son was extinguishing the flames. He stepped over your mother. You didn't miss the scathing glare he threw at her as he worked.

This made it clear that he was not ready to explain at the moment, instead you decided to calm your sister and ask her.

After much consoling and many tears your sister explained that your mother was livid when she arrived home. Your mother had locked the door and picked up a knife. Your sister has hidden under the table when Red Son kicked the door in.

You assured your sister that Red Son would never hurt her, nor you. Your sister had begun to calm down so you offered her your phone allowing her to play on it.

Then you went back into the living room where Red Son appeared to be meditating.

Your mother was gone from sight. Your gut roiled as you walked over.

"Red?"

Red Son sucked in a breath but didn't open his eyes.

"Yes?"

You knelt down Infront of him.

"Where is my mother?"

Now Red Son's eyes opened at that question and he folded his arms.

"She's on the couch. How is your sister?"

"She's ok. Thank you, for helping her."

Red Son huffed.

"You didn't tell me any of this."

You twisted your hands nervously.

"Well I- wait! How did you know?!"

If you weren't mistaken, Red Son's cheeks twinged pink but he glanced away.

"Well I knew you were lying about the bruise and I may have come to investigate."

You sighed then pressed a kiss to his cheek.

[pretentiousbrownie]

They're calling it the Flour Massacre. The Flour Massacre. They were murdered getting food. Fuck, not even food; just the simplest, most basic ingredient to make food. They were starving, malnourished, emaciated people receiving the barest minimum of aid allowed to reach them. They were sons and daughters and fathers and mothers and friends and neighbors and people. They thought they were getting the briefest of reprieves to just collect some food and help them weather the war, to give them a fighting chance at survival, and Israel waited until the aid was there and the goods were being distributed before turning their weapons on people. Those people, those human beings, people just like you and I were killed in the coldest blood possibly imaginable.

How anyone can even remotely justify what Israel is doing as defensive when they are literally committing a genocide as brutal - if not fucking worse - as the one exacted on their own Jewish siblings under the Third Reich and Nazi Germany is well beyond me. Zionism is a cancer on this world, nationalism is a cancer on humanity, colonial occupation is a cancer on freedom and will and rights, and all of it together is Israel in its entirety.

I don't care what the fuck anyone has to say about hostages at this point, because it was not unprovoked. Israel has always been the aggressor and oppressor and occupier. Israel is a war machine with one of the most capable standing militaries in the world, one in which every citizen serves, and they have been killing people in a country that has no standing military at all, murdering people that are of a different ethnic and religious background from them, and wiping out the homes, the cultures, and the livelihoods for as long as they've been around.

This is beyond heartbreaking or reprehensible. Their acts are the gravest of all human indecency. They are nothing, they are not people, they are not soldiers, they are not a country, or a nation. No, they are monsters.

And at the end of the day, you know what’s even worse? They’re actively making the lives of their own so-called siblings worse. The Jewish community will suffer setbacks for generations because of what Israel is doing. Jewish people everywhere - already suffering from increased antisemitism and hate crimes - will face the same wrath and hate as Israel simply because they are. And that is too much. No one comes out of this okay.

[indigos-stardust]

You know, the advice to “Never argue with an idiot” would be useful. Except if the idiot is a hotheaded menace that doesn’t know how to just accept no as an answer. It didn’t matter if he was monotone, inoffensive, and clear cut with his words, Blue would still try to pick a fight. At least with Vio, anyways. It’s as if he hates him specifically. 

Absolutely ludicrous, what a jerk. 

Perhaps he isn’t exactly being the most fair. 

Vio’s brain feels as though it is filled with the harsh buzzing of a lightning rod. His thoughts spread far too thin between trying to solve the issues Zelda had been facing, (they all elected him to help Zelda with legalities and speeches because he was “super good with books and stuff”), to actually worry about what is happening in the moment.

His pounding headache only compounds the issue. And Blue’s grating voice doesn’t actually help. So if he very lightly snaps at him to shut up and quit acting like a child, he has to admit maybe a small part of him enjoys seeing Blue’s jaw snap shut with his ears turning red as he storms off. 

Okay, perhaps he is being a tiny bit of a jerk, but Blue shouldn’t have dished out what he couldn’t take back.

The mess between aid programs, defense, and Hytopia is messy and horrible. Zelda isn’t the ruler of the kingdom, at least yet, but rather more of a public figure. She was in charge of ceremony, speeches, spiritual sanctions, complaints to the crown, and even had a role in high court cases. Her wisdom has always been renowned and she has a skill for the people. A true princess. 

Of course she isn’t just the princess. She’s also his friend. And he knew she’d been through hell.

The horrors she saw and experienced herself? The destruction of her home and kingdom? The admittance of Vaati’s comments? The physical pain from the dark magic trying to use her as she tried so many methods she had never truly studied to escape? The lack of knowledge of what would happen? Finally, being so utterly needed by her people without a moment for anyone to truly care about her? 

He knows the others share his deep resentment and inner infuriation. It wasn’t fair. They all put in whatever they could to lessen the load and listen and be there for her. Of course… It’s still rather awkward, for a lack of a better term. Zel had only really gotten so much mismatched information from her time imprisoned. 

While she had managed to trick those dark entities into revealing their abilities, which she would use to destroy them with her light magic later on, she also was fed very distorted or entirely false accounts of the horrors that were befalling her land. As though playing with her like a cat to a mouse.

Zel had heard Link had been “shattered” or “split into pieces” but she hadn’t really been under the impression that her best friend became four separate people- 

In the moment of the battle she seemed to take it in stride. She claimed she knew all along that Link was still alive due to the hints from the dark entities that surrounded her. 

Besides, at the time, four best friends was far better than a possibly macabre and mutilated dead one. It was very clear after the explanation that she was… well she was certainly more accepting than their father who had…..expressed serious doubts about their validity and inherent being…..to say the least.

However, it was abundantly clear she hadn’t really adjusted to it. No one really had.

 What does she see us as? What about Dad? What even are we?

Those were the intrusive thoughts that would stab Vio randomly as he shifted through documented complaints with Zelda, the moment a ripped monster would fall dead at his feet, or when he realized he could recognize each of their voices as distinct rather than identical.

Zelda had essentially ordered them to get some rest, as if she wasn’t the one who really needed it. She used their need for, well, every item as an excuse. Although to be fair, a lot of his own meager items were pretty dingy. It wasn’t exactly doing “her royal grace” any favors. He knew he couldn’t win any argument against Zelda though, even with his honor of “being the holder of the sacred brain cell” or whatever. He definitely didn’t smile at the title at all. 

He tried not to let the thought of maybe she’s freaked out by us get to his head too much. But as the day progresses, he can’t stop thinking. He’s supposed to ‘rest his mind a bit and focus on the mundane’ but honestly after the whole “glorious quest”, as the King put it, he and the others are far too high strung to really stop the constant need to be doing something. 

So there they had been bickering like children in public, as disorganized as ever. He did not give enough damns to actually stay with them, so he politely excused himself to the much quieter antique shop. Where they had apparently decided to come to squabble some more with each other and then question him as though he was the problem here. 

 _  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  _

“Honestly, Vio, where were you? You can’t just disappear like that when we have so much to do today!” Green frowned, crossing his arms in very obvious disapproval.

“I had told Blue I wanted to excuse myself to the shop, Green. If Blue didn’t relay that to you then it’s simply his fault,” came Vio’s dry response. 

Blue’s head shot straight up,”Excuse me?!”

“Oh please, don’t you remember near the fruit stalls?” sharpened eyes challenged right back.

Both held firm gazes, each one eyeing the other with dirty, it was very clear those two were not ones to back down. All of Blue and Vio’s spats weren’t because of some real disagreement as far as Green was concerned. It was just that those two just apparently couldn’t stand the thought of the other one “winning.” Green had an idea where a lot of Link’s, ahem, “strong will” had gone. 

Sure, Vio would act like he didn’t actually care and was “simply stating facts” but he already knew that Vio just defined winning in a different way than Blue did. Which meant riling Blue up on purpose as if to prove or say “See how much more rational I am?” It had taken a hot minute for Green to catch up on it and he wasn’t even sure if Vio knew what he was doing, but he did know that it was only counterproductive. 

We were finally all good with working together, but it feels like we’re back at square one… Time to nip this in the bud. 

“Guys, please,” Green sighs, near defeated, “Blue havent you argued with everyone enough?”

“Are you serious?! I’m just ‘beInG a PaRt Of ThE tEaM’ Green,” Blue griped as he practically shoved his finger in front of Green’s face. 

Blue then turned his hunched shoulders to Vio, “Besides! Vio didn’t even tell me anything anyways.”

Vio scoffed, “Oh yes I did, I can recall you nodded your head and everything.” Vio said as he casually, yet pretentiously, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. 

He’s acting flippant about the whole thing, gazing lazily off without a care,  Green notes. On purpose. And Blue kept on going and going without any stop. Seriously his insistent need to defend his ego was going to drag this on until Green reached his limit. He didn’t know what he’d do if that limit was ever broken, but he did know that today that limit was substantially smaller  than usual. 

“Listen! You-”

Green cuts him off, “ No- you listen! You’ve been making everything worse, Blue!” and before Vio could get all smug about it, he quickly added “ You too Vio!”

Blue practically rolled his eyes with his entire body, “Are you seriously gonna blame me over the guy who had us looking in circles around the market, moron?”

Vio’s already opening his mouth, a sarcastic remark ready to spill without a thought, before Green claps his hand together with a little bit too much for than necessary to cut him off. 

Breathe in, breathe out… Okay.

“Guys, okay fine- it doesn't matter “whose fault it is” could we please just try to move forward?”

Green sighs as his shoulders slump down, “Also Vio why did you even think separating would be a good thing to separate?” He can’t help but pinch his nose, “ I just… ugh i just wanna know so we can avoid this again,” he gestured broadly towards their group.

Blue just scoffs, rolling his eyes and staring out the window. Vio seems to stiffen for a moment and then he shifts and Green knows the argument has been relinquished. Finally..

“The crowd wasn't making me feel very well,” comes the vague response, “I am fine to continue though.”

“Wait,” Green gives a double take to study Vio for a moment, “You’re not sick or anything are you?”

Green really hoped Vio wasn’t sick or something. If he was then, man,  he really was off his game today wasn’t he? Oh Hylia, they’d been sharing beds and everything too! Vio already wasn’t that much of a talker but couldn’t he at least share he was getting ill?! At least so that no one else would get sick too! 

Okay, he didn’t know that Vio was actually sick or anything but walking around in that loud, hot, and dusty market probably wouldn’t be making it any better if he was sick. Not to mention-

Stop that, you’re overthinking all the situations outcomes, Green. I can’t just keep thinking in battle mode all the time. Besides, this isn’t some life or death situation! Vio can think for himself too. 

If I keep getting lost in my head like this, then I’ll be out of it when they actually do need me. You can do better than this. You have to. 

“Green, believe me, I’m fine. I just needed a drink and I was fine.”

Oh yeah we’re mid conversation aren’t we? Hope he doesn’t think I was acting like a weirdo   being all pushy or anything. 

“Okay then, if you say so,” Green nods, trying to play it confidently as ever. 

Vio returns a lazy smile, shifting into a much looser pose, “I hope all your bickering with Blue wasn’t for nothing though, what's the plan?”

Green immediately brightens and straightens up, “oh yeah, of course! so we were going to…”

_  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  __  _  _

Alright, all he has to do is open a door. There’s no reason to delay such a menial task.

He stares ahead at the wood. It’ll need a fresh coat of paint.

Just three quick knocks.

The door opens.

It’s Link.

Or not really. It’s ‘Red’, as he had apparently dubbed himself. Opening the door with a chipper hello and smiling bright as the sun, he started mindlessly chatting about the trip to the tailors. He blindly nods along, listening numbly. 

 “Well, we didn’t really know if we should get, like, new tunics with just random colors but then we all figured that wouldn’t really make sense!” Red shrugs as he hurries back to the stove. 

“Because wouldn’t it be hard to like, tell us apart? Cuz, I guess we are kinda color coded?”

“Hm? Ah yes, that is true.” It's a spaced out response and he knows it. 

He just can't really listen to his kid right now. But this is Red, the very sensitive and childlike one. Hopefully the boy won’t pick up his mood, especially not with his obvious innocence. He’ll still have to pick up the slack on his subpar responses though. That is indeed the least he could do.

 “Um, so I’m making some noodle soup,” he pauses, tilting his head slightly, “ I really hope you like it?”

Yeah, as much as he hates to admit it, Red is a sweet kid. It isn’t as though he hates them. Each one of Link. Far from it really, he’s just so…lost. 

Really, what was he even supposed to do? Go back to normal when his kid just, freaking what? Went through mitosis? There weren’t exactly parenting books on your kid getting… cloned??? Hylia it was awful all around, was there even an explanation?

He’d thought them to be demons at first! The princess, that kind and wise soul, had later explained what had happened to him but as much as she was sweet (and probably right) he just couldn’t be satisfied. She’d always been the one to keep everyone, including Links, head straight. From what he could piece together, the four sword was supposed  to give its user the strength of four men, and then it was supposed to make four men literally,  and then it was supposed to put the different versions of Link back together into his son! 

Garret just doesn’t have a son anymore. One could argue that’s because he technically has ‘multiple’ sons now, but really his son that he raised is gone. He doesn’t know what part of that is worse, in all honesty. He knows, logically, that they are still “technically” Link. 

They all remembered him and see him as their father. They sure act like him at times too. If he let himself slip, it’d be like he was talking to Link, the only difference being that he seemed to be in a particular mood and was wearing an unusual tunic. If just for a moment, anyways. 

Then, the illusion would shatter, splintered into millions of pieces by the smallest phrase or gesture or opinion that was just wrong. The Princess had explained that no, they weren’t just more of Link, but rather fractured pieces of him. Is he really just supposed to accept that? 

The “colors”, as The Princess had “officially dubbed” jokingly, seem perfectly fine with their predicament though. He doesn’t understand any of this mess but he just has to trust the Princess. She was fine with this and she knew Link better than anyone, so if she advised Garret to just give it time until he understood, then he will. 

If he got a few more gray hairs then so be it. It wasn’t like Link being the main factor of his aging was something new after all. Hopefully it just wasn’t sped up at four times the rate. 

Unfortunately, Garret knows that he’s still their dad, and he does have a job to do. He can certainly handle this, perhaps he’s simply overreacting. He still loves Link and therefore he loves them too. He just needs to understand them and give it time. Step by step. For now, he’ll just push that moral guilt, discomfiture, regrets, grief, and incomprehensible situation away where it can be dealt with later.  

He sighs. “Say, where are the others?”

[marlsbys-dragons]

I’m so scared right now. 

I’m writing this not for any grand statement or call to action or anything, but because it’s safer for me to express my thoughts here than elsewhere right now.

If this goes like my other original posts, chances are no one will see this. That is ok. I might prefer it, actually. Though if you do happen to see this, please don’t take that to mean I don’t want interaction. This is a time to pull together, and that can most easily be done, in my opinion, by talking.

Like most of the people I figure are likely to see this, I am a queer American. If you are part of this group, chances are pretty good you know what I’m talking about. Earlier today, March 27th 2023 as of writing, there was a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville Tennessee. Six were killed, three children, all age nine, and three adults, all aged between 60-61. The perpetrator was one Aiden Hale, 28, killed by police during a gunfight after their arrival on-scene approximately 14 minutes after 911 was called. 

If you are surprised by that name, so was I. Hale is being reported on mainly by the name Audrey Hale, his legal name, as according to a family member who asked to remain anonymous, he had only recently started identifying as transgender and using he/him pronouns. Despite this, almost all of the quotes featured in stories that I could find use she/her pronouns, and many stories refer to him as either a transgender woman or a female. The latter is inaccurate, the former strikes me as dangerously wrong.

Now, all of that is tragic backstory for the main point of this post. Some ungracious among you may attribute me lingering on the gender identity of the murder as opposed to his crimes as some sort of deflection, or worse, sign of respect. To any hypothetical people doing so, this is not for you. This person was clearly deeply mentally unwell, and if he had survived I would’ve been advocating life in prison.

However, while my heart goes out to the families of this senseless act, my mind turns to my own family. Not just my literal family who I live with, but my queer family, specifically my trans siblings across the US. We are already facing violence, oppression, and open criminalization to a degree not seen in my admittedly brief lifetime. Republicans and other right-wing actors are doing everything they can to instill baseless fear and hatred into our fellow Americans, forcing through bills that restrict our liberties and violate our human rights. 

The easiest targets for this hatred are trans women, aided by the overwhelmingly male statistics of sexual violence, and long-running and unfounded rumors seeded by transphobes and TERFs regarding alleged assaults and sexual motives for transition. After trans women come trans children, targeted for the same reasons children always are: dismissal by adults at large and a subsequent inability to speak to their own defense. And the bills are getting worse. To share a personal detail I don’t like to publicize, I am a parent of two, and there are bills in state legislatures across the country, Florida comes to mind, that could take my children away from me and throw me in jail for supporting them. A seemingly logical progression, which may have already been taken without my knowledge, is criminalizing trans people who live with children, something I have had nightmares about.

Why I am afraid is relatively simple, but to fully explain my reasons I want to share some further information: according to the Daily Mail, this shooting is is the 129th in the States this year. According to some very rough math I did on gunviolencearchive.org, a site whose list for 2023 has already reached 6 pages, this is in fact the 130th. Personally I would trust the Daily Mail’s number more. Also according to some quick finger counting on gunviolencearchive.org, we surpassed 100 mass shootings sometime on March 5th, a day with 4 separate incidents and a combined total of 3 dead, 13 injured. This is nearly two weeks earlier in the year than 2022 or 2021, and more than two months earlier than 2018-2020. I could not stomach looking farther. 

Some of you may have realized the awful truth about these numbers: in each of the last three years, we in the United States have had more than one mass shooting a day. Again per gunviolencearchive.org, that is a feat replicated by both 2020 and 2019, as well as 2016, the only other year to do so after their archival began in 2014.

As a trans person in America, who loves a trans person in America, who has trans friends across America, who has already had to start laying plans to flee the state I was raised in if it continues its present course, who sees nothing but fear in the future of so much of my family, I can only think that this will lead to bad things. 

The twisting and slanting has already begun. An article on Fox News refers to Hall as a transgender woman, despite his actual identity being a transgender man, and the usual bias of that company to call him a woman. Meanwhile, the New York post has an article focusing heavily on Covenant’s status as a Christian school.

Our enemies despise us with a visceral and blinding rage. They have proven time and time again that facts, logic, reason, human lives, mean nothing in their pursuit of a radicalized right-wing populist agenda and the power they think it promises. And now this? The all-too-real intersection of two of the biggest issues in US politics today: gun violence and transness. One which the right led to through inaction, and the other they manufactured out of hate.

I am no pundit, no scholar or insider. I cannot claim to forecast the future happenings of American politics with anything more than a layman’s weary eye. But I am a trans American, and despite everything I still want to be proud of this country, and I could see no resolution in sight to either gun violence or anti-trans legislating, only escalation, and now the two have merged. What will happen to us now? Sources:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/nashville-covenant-school-shooting-suspect-identified-as-audrey-hale

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nashville-christian-school-shooter-appears-former-student-police-chief-rcna76876

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/what-we-know-about-the-covenant-school-shooter-in-nashville

https://www.foxnews.com/us/nashville-shooter-audrey-hale-transgender-woman-opened-fire-covenant-school

https://nypost.com/2023/03/27/nashville-school-shooter-audrey-hale-identified-as-transgender-and-had-detailed-manifesto-to-attack-christian-academy/

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nashville-shooting-covenant-school-03-27-23/index.html

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/06/politics/america-mass-shootings-2023-gun-violence/index.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11907933/Nashville-school-shooting-Americas-129th-mass-shooting-2023.html

https://www.them.us/story/florida-bill-trans-kids-supportive-parents

Note: I wrote this in a hurry, with no real plan, and no proof-reading. If there is anything erroneous, please let me know. I apologize if it’s a bit disjointed. 

[ghost-town-story]

Hello and welcome to the thing I've been excited to do since July, aka holy fuck CoFaS is 10 years old now

So a few years ago, I went and reread the very first story I ever wrote and it was....... a fuckin time. So when I realized CoFaS was turning a decade this year, I thought it would be fun to do the same thing (reread and comment in a tumblr post as I go), but taking one piece of advice from the last time I did this.

Aka this is gonna be a drinking game lol

The rules are simple: 1. Drink whenever I cringe 2. Drink whenever the nickname "kitten" is used to blatantly pad the word count (because I do remember that is exactly the way I got to 50,006 words that year lol)

So, I've got my emotional support bottle of wine, some snacks, a sleepy kitty, and the old doc pulled up. Les go.

A quick aside, this is the reason why it's an emotional support bottle of wine:

A gift from a while ago from somebody who knows I go by Starlight online :D

Alright, les go

And immediately gonna pour one out for the awful age gap we have here. Blah blah blah, not all age gaps are bad, but considering Aiden starts out 11 and James is 19........ *takes a big fuckin drink*

At least the wine is good lol

Ah yes, establishing from the very first line that CoFaS is peak "Aiden gets hurt/traumatized and I'm having fun doing it"

I'm also counting moments where I just pause and start laughing bc oh god what is this description as cringing lol but yeah Aiden and Sirius had the most awkward relationship to write for the longest time and it really wasn't until pretty recently that I actually started to nail it down and it stopped being so gotdamn awkward

Also right now there's literally no plot. Ok to be fair there's no overarching plot of CoFaS other than "snippets of Aiden's life" but there are arcs usually but. We're three chapter/scenes in and there's not even an arc going right now. It's just. setting up characterization I guess?

Also lmao at my worldbuilding. In my defense I was what, 15 and in the middle of high school shit? learning how to write on the fly? not gonna hold it against tiny me but I'm still gonna smh

Yeah this age gap is not sitting well with me anymore. Not at fuckin all Do I want James and Aiden to be cute together? hell yeah would I rather James be like..... 14 in this scene rather than 20? hell yeah

Look I understand I wanted to show the traumatic event *sparkle sparkle* but I just. That's not how flashback dreams work at all *source: mild amounts of research I've done since then. Also the fact that I doubt he would remember shit with so much clarity from when he was two and passed out for part of it

One credit I will give to past me here though, I still don't know if that's actually how two-year-olds act lmao

Okay so at least part of this is gonna be me reading shit and going "lmao that's not how it works anymore!" scene: Aiden wakes up from a nightmare, wants his dad to comfort him how it would go now: wakes up from nightmare, will absolutely refuse to tell anybody about it except maybe James or Lexi. And only if they heard him wake up Sorry Aid, you have daddy issues now lol (and mommy issues. More of those tbh)

Okay I'm so fucking glad I scrapped that bit of worldbuilding bc why??? would only 1 of the 4 nations have a special name????? that allows others to control them????????

James you are 20 and he's 12 do not darling him

Also lmao at the number of times I describe somebody by their age rather than ya know. their fuckin name

Also we still have not had any arc that lasts more than 2 scenes and we're on page 4. On one hand: yeah fair writing fun offhand scenes is still a thing I do. On the other: I posted this to Figment oh my god. Anybody expecting a coherent story just gets this fuckin. mess What the fuck did I even put for the summary on Figment? I hope it was something that explained "hey this is a gotdamned mess with no overarching plot other than Aiden's life" lol

RIP Figment. You were the real one and I simultaneously mourn your loss and am glad you don't exist anymore cause I don't want people reading my old stuff but I wouldn't have the heart to delete it myself

Anyways I literally just said that and we reached an arc that has at least 3 scenes!

Oh no I spooped my cat cause of my laughing this one caused by the fact that I never fuckin specify how healing works at all. Just that it works enough to cause the maximum amount of whump I guess. That may not be the right word but bruh I am nearly through a glass of wine by now lol

babby Aiden is babby. and mildly a mood lmao

James, you need to stop fuckin flirting with a 12 year old one day I'll stop yelling about this. that'll be when Aiden is actually old/mature enough to be flirted with

“Dad’s not really the comforting type.” THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ASK FOR HIM 3-4 CHAPTERS AGO????

this age gap shenanigans is gonna give me an aneurysm i swear and i don't know if it's better or worse that Sirius is endorsing these shenanigans

Alright kitty has woken up and says it's break time so i'm making this a mandatory "go bury your face in nearby fluff and regain sanity from this nonsense" moment

Alright, had my break for snaccs and arguing about whether or not I'll be sober in 36-48 hours (long story), time to get back into the shenanigans also we're on page 5/77 and i'm about 1/3 through the wine. hence why the questions of sobriety in time for dnd sunday. anyhoot

AND IMMEDIATELY INTO THE WARRIOR CATS SCENE

okay so like. ya i was a warrior cats kid sue me lmao. so this next fucking scene (or maybe the next next there might be a leadup scene) is basically me going "i want the clan leaders meeting!" and having absolutely 0 justification otherwise. so ya. it is entirely for drama and to introduce "hey lookie all these other elementals none of whom we care about except for kinda Flame!" (and now I care a lot about Water too. Rip fuckin Earth lmao)

and another drink for fuckin what the fuck descriptions

yeah okay this bit of dialogue basically hits the nail of why i fucking hate the fuckin special name for Flame thingy. just a la "don't use that name." "it's your middle name deal with it" and like, Sirius is not meant to be seen as an abusive father! neglectful, kinda yeah. absolutely Does Not know how to talk/relate to his kid? abso-fuckin-lutely. full on abusive? no. but that bit of dialogue veers into sketchy/abuse territory and i don't like it

thank you to Lexi for interrupting this round of "James stop fucking flirting with a young teenager when you're 21"

I seriously don't think I actually named Sirius until this point, 7 whole pages in some mild clarification, I write in wall of text style. this current scene is 2 pages long with no proper paragraph breaks so. yeah

Ah yes. another thing that's different now, Fintan's entire characterization lol

you know, I'm just staring at this scene like "this would be a great set up for some plot" but at the same time I know that this is it. It's this fight and then these wolves are never showing up again. guess they got beat up in one fight! cool beans!

Kiddo you're way too alert for somebody who's hovering on the edge of consciousness lmao

For once we have some James characterization that I still like! aka he's a dumbass more concerned with other people's (in this case Will's) health than his own!

Oh god I posted this scene on the NaNo website as a snippet from the story. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that this fuckin scene was inspired by the Kingdom Keepers series (that I haven't read any of since like, 2013 probably lmao)

Oh yeah! this was when Will had selective mutism! but also. Aiden, James is periodically flirting with you and hanging out with you a ton. How do you not know this world's equivalent of sign language by now lol

Look, I still absolutely fuckin love dragons, but I just.... why here?? especially since I'm 90% sure they're never mentioned again??????

Okay, so I may have fallen asleep after only 10 pages, but in my defense I was tired from work/shit sleep schedule, and half a bottle of wine Did Not help lol. Anyways, onto day 2 and the rest of this scene (and arc if I remember correctly)

Lexi is a menace and a treasure and I gotdamned love her lol. I'm making it official she's the saving grace of 2013 CoFaS and we're not gonna talk about what happens to her yet

Oh Will you sweet awkward not-yet-a-sassy-sarcastic-bitch of a child <3

And again. Would much rather James be like, 15/16 in this scene than fuckin 21

I lied. There's one more scene to finish out this arc whoops lol

Again with the fuckin out-of-body experiences to show important plot points. like bitch just change perspectives you're gonna do it later anyways!

Two things I love *sarcasm* about this 1. I did no editing even when posting this to Figment. I coulda gone back and just made this random nameless healer Seren, but nooooooo Did Not think about that until now probably 2. Logically, why the fuck is James in this scene? Boi is getting invited to shenanigans he should not realistically be invited to lol

I like how I can recognize which arc this is from Sirius's first line bad news: I dislike this arc for many reasons now. tldr don't like it cause of compulsory/systematic heteronormativity, forced/arranged marriage of a goddamn 14 year old, more sketch age gaps (tho 5 years is better than the James/Aiden gap of 8), and the fact that I 100% fridged Lexi cause said systematic heteronormativity made her get in the way of my ship.

Anyways Sirius and Aiden interactions are still so awkward and ngl, I'm looking forward to [redacted unless you know of the CoFaS rewrite] bc it'll mean the end of the awkwardness

And James is immediately jealous. It would be kinda cute in an angsty way if he wasn't 22 (to clarify, jealous but trying to hide it cause he ain't gonna fuck up his sister's and best friend's "happiness")

Protective older brother speech? yeah okay questioning Aiden about if he actually loves Lexi? okay back off ma dude (also fun aside: my oldest brother "threatened" both of my exes while I was dating them. Cyrus was terrified of him for basically the rest of the time I knew him. Screw went "lol bet". So while these incidents were still a few years off for 2013 me, yeah I can see what inspired James's speech here lol)

OH MY GOD JAMES THAT'S HOW YOU GET EXECUTED FOR REGICIDE FUCKIN HELL

also lmao at the tiny-me not swearing bits

oh look, a perspective shift! wonder why I didn't use that earlier *deadpan stare*

Okay James is being a solid angsty drama queen this entire scene, which fair angst whatever but I gotta object to one thing and that is I don't really think losing your wings and watching someone you love marry your sister are really comparable here dude

also bud have you even asked Lexi if she loves Aiden or are you just assuming this is a marriage of convenience from all sides? (I sincerely don't know the answer for 2013 CoFaS. The answer for rewrite is yes love all around baybe)

heh, telepathy is just ported over from the OG universe just cuz

This also might've been the origin for Will calling her Lex and James calling her Lexi. Maybe. It's quite possible.

Oh James. You're such an overdramatic pining asshole lol

And that wedding scene is making me honestly contemplate finishing my glass of wine except it's a bit too full but several drinks are in order cause 1. No idea (then and now tbh) how "typical" weddings work 2. more broody jealous James 3. the knowledge of the gotdamn fridging to come 4. oh yeah the middle name shenanigans as well

oh and we immediately skip straight to the fridging! okay! goddamn! no goddamn martial bliss scenes for these two! nope just immediate "yeah Lexi's dying now" god I feel so bad for Lexi in this

Yeah okay maybe it's the fact that I'm a slut for angst but this scene was.... pretty good? like

Aiden let out a sound that was almost a hiccup, and he bit his lower lip hard to prevent any more sound from escaping.

goddamn that's a line I'd still use now tbh is the scene perfect? no Is it the best thing I've read so far of CoFaS? probably

also fun fact this is Alec's first appearance as a character. And it's the reason why in Band AU/basically anywhere else he appears he dyes his hair burgundy, cause that's his hair color in CoFaS. Callbacks yo

James. James now is not the fucking time. have some gotdamn respect for Lexi and stahp

I think this scene is gonna finish off my emotional support wine. We've got James flirting at inappropriate times! We've got awkward af Sirius trying to be a good dad! We've got more James flirting! and being mildly manipulative! fuckin hell!

Ya okay I know I like drama but this shit is hella toxic

Look I have no idea how old Aiden is right now but I'm gonna solidly say he's still too young for you to darling him James especially right after that emotional rollercoaster you put him through

"'If you're jealous,' [James said]" I'm sorry sir who's the jealous one in this relationship cause I'm pretty damn sure it ain't Aiden

Oh my god Aiden is 16. For fuck's sake man

"As James approached his room, which he rarely used now, and Aiden’s, which he was in far too often to be proper," I'm not giving y'all the end of this line but I like it lol

Yeah this is. definitely a sign of how I've changed over the years past-me: doesn't like unhappy endings at all, therefore *magically* gives Aiden his wings back bc it'd be too sad if he didn't have them now-me: BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY BAYBE (aka he has stumps of wings and they never grow back. just enough for tattered feathers and bitter reminders)

and Awkward Sirius makes an immediate reappearance! and like, cool, you're cool with your son being gay, but maybe you should be having an issue with the fact that he's 16 and James is 24 ffs

“[Dumb] names have power.” “I know. You tend to use mine a lot when I’m being unruly.” I! Hate! This! Worldbuilding! Thank Fuck It's Scrapped!!

Wait. Wait wait wait. so whoever gives them the dumb name-- actually fuckit i'm too tipsy again to explain this I'll just quote the snippet

It’s not just the name itself that has power, but who gives it to him. For example, if your mother had been the one to give you your [dumb] name, then you would have been loyal to her, even at the cost of your wings.

THEN WHO DID ACTUALLY GIVE AIDEN HIS NAME???? I'd assume it'd have to be a Person of Flame due to ya know. It being a Flame thing but like. Then who??? Fintan????? some rando????? not Ashton cause he wasn't born yet (at least in redone canon but still they're close enough in age that he would have been unborn or babby af) but. who the fuck gave Aiden his name then?????????????? We don't get a fuckin answer and I'm not sure I ever had one!!!!

so sometimes I have to laugh cause otherwise i'd have to scream "what the fuck" at this and i have neighbors and it's currently 10 pm and I like to have the moral high ground thank you very much (over their dumbass yappy dog who barks at 1 am sometimes) but anyhoot I start laughing and woke up my kitty so while she bullies me I'm implementing another "bury face in the fluff and maybe get a snacc" break

Alright have gotten some snaccs again, bullied nats for a bit (<3), discovered that bubbly pink moscato is sadly Not It and broke out the second, non-emotional-support bottle of rosé. Time to continue Also we're now 22 pages in. we're doin great lol

they're married now and i'm still smh at how fuckin young Aiden is for this relationship. goddamn I like how I aged Aiden up for all of the main tragedies but I made them hit way fuckin harder in the rewrite. (he's 16/17 in original, ~20 if i remember correctly in rewrite) (also 2 vs 8/10? for wings)

Ah yes, an actually reoccurring antagonist: humanity :P

also yeah baby me did not like the thought of her uwu-baby characters actually killing people. p sure I made the faceless waves of enemies in the OG story robots for that purpose, and now James is just knocking people out cause he don't wanna kill how the fuck did he get promoted to head guard at this rate Sirius what the fuck is the state of your guards Do I think irl murder is bad? yes! do I think that characters and stories are a different matter and there's a lotta nuance! also yes! is this shit that may get me "cancelled"? probably!! but fuckin hell rené's arc in the superhero wip is gonna cause that anyways!

meanwhile I'm pretty sure Will just electrocuted like at least a dozen people and I'm fine with that XD "unconscious from electrocution" now I'm not doctor and I don't want to concern my dad by texting him "hey if you get electrocuted is it 100% chance of death or like 50/50 between death and unconsciousness?" and my selo (med student) is probably asleep by now, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say if they're unconscious, they're probably pretty dang close to death *take everything said just above with a grain of salt. again, i'm not a doctor, i'm tipsy, and i don't feel like googling this shit lol

Okay I distinctly remember this bit was inspired by this series I read called Eon/Eona? specifically the part where the emperor had the necklace of his position sewn to his throat. pretty fuckin metal for it to stick with me better than the title of the books lmao. But yeah. That's where the initial idea of the leaders' "necklaces" came from

James is once again a dumbass about his own health in favor of worrying about others! (this time Aiden)

90% sure this isn't how the medical side of this works

seriously why can't the kid have a sedative or three lol

and some potential gross medical negligence here but hey, who's counting! what doctors are gonna read this shit! (maybe selo, if she read the original while it was up on Figment lol but that was well before she was a med student)

absolutely not the point but something got corrupted somewhere in the what, 4 computer swaps since this was written? and now there's just a random "emoji error" box at the end of this paragraph and I don't know why lol cause I swear I never put emojis of any sort in my official writing (except for stuff that was explicitly characters texting) and definitely not at the end of the paragraph where Aiden's about to go to his father's funeral

ok it wasn't technically medical negligence cause James basically discharged himself against medical advice/medical attempts to keep him in bed lol

I am fairly certain that unless Alec is on a chair right now, that action should be impossible without Aiden leaning/crouching down, except I just say "reach". ffs and Aiden's definitely standing so i really dunno lol

Yeah I just couldn't write formal ceremony stuff for shit lol

There's so much going on that I'm just like. man. what the fuck. so much drama. so much sketchy stuff happening in the name of "i love you"

oh it's mild flashback time to a different POV okay lol

okay so. James. how do you not know about Aiden's fire powers? bc again. known each other for basically Aiden's whole life and also. pretty sure Aiden saved James's life earlier with them (but i don't remember cause i was tipsy when I read that last night and I don't wanna backtrack lol)

okay again. I have no idea how two-year-olds work. but i get the feeling this is...... not quite right?

Whump time!!

ah yes, overprotective James

yeah for the most part that wasn't bad until the last fuckin bit. You know, Sirius may be dead now but I think Fintan decided he was immediately going to step into the role of "awkward father figure" for Aiden smh

whump whump!!

ah yes, the ol' "christianity apparently exists in this universe cause i'm very raised catholic!"

babby Alec!!!! again not sure if I'm writing him right for a two year old but I don't care right now it's babby Alec and Ryder! (oh yeah Ryder is also originally from CoFaS lol)

"I'm Sky. Look I'll show you my dad is Sky." Alec honey you have wings that's proof enough that you're at least part Sky oh now you mention the wings! smh child

okay it's official Alec and Ryder are carrying the story with their cuteness cause I don't have to facepalm every time they flirt (when they're older) cause they're actually close to the same age! no sketch ass age gaps here!!

lmao Ashton's first bit of actual characterization. He's not bad as a character, just... underutilized probably

Alanna-now-Laguna! now the babbiest of babbies now that Alec's eight

but good news I think we're at the age where I can reluctantly be okay with the Aiden/James relationship.

oh yeah! I didn't exactly forget but I definitely got surprised by the revelation that Aiden's mother and the guy who helped cut off his wings were actually married

Okay actually I wanna outline what the fuck is happening a la Ashley (Aiden's mother, gonna be renamed like Ashton), Sirius, nameless guy, and Ashton (at least in the rewrite version, though 2013 was mostly similar) so. Ashley and nameless guy are married for love. partners in crime and all that jazz Sirius has a mild crush on Ashley since basically he's a teenager, but due to unspecified war between the Sky and Flame, obviously does not act on that until his father dies and Sirius goes "hey Fintan. Wanna end this war and do political marriage stuff wink wink" So, (this is specifically rewrite lore), they get married, with the stipulation that their first child will be the heir to the Sky, and their second will be heir to Flame, as at the time Ashley was Fintan's only child and therefore the heir to Flame. Ashley is Not Happy, but since marriage to nameless guy was basically secret shotgun wedding, Fintan doesn't know and she doesn't want to tell him about it. Plus, she's like "nah let's keep going with this war stuff I kinda hate Sky." well due to political shenanigans she gets strongarmed into the political marriage, but she and nameless dude conspire that okay, if she has to do this, then she's gonna take down the Sky Kingdom from the inside, using her child the heir of the Sky (Aiden) She refuses to have a second child, which Fintan catches onto after a while, and either planned or a happy accident, Ashton is born and declared the heir of Flame Ashley then kidnaps Aiden once his wings grow and cuts them off so he'll look a better Flame puppet, things backfire and she gets caught and imprisoned for that, with nameless guy slipping free of justice

and apparently in the 2013 version Ashley and nameless guy planned to kill off Sirius if Aiden was born Flame, and when he was born Sky they cut off his wings basically out of spite so there's that, and also planned to throw Ashley under the bus for cutting off Aiden's wings so nameless guy could keep their evil plans going.

also apparently I used to not be consistent whether I used Sky or Air. Cause Aiden's referred to as a Child of Air here, but in the title it's very specifically Child of Flame and Sky, and I've definitely standardized it to be the Sky by now

Aiden honey it's the simplest fucking code and Fintan practically gave it to you I'm begging you to be smart honey no Fintan has to be explicit before Aiden gets it okay *disappointed sigh in my blorbo*

and again with the knocking people out, not killing them shenanigans lol

whump and trauma time!!

damn that's gotta be not hygienic, an operating table stained with blood that's about 2 decades old

that's called a concussion my dear Aiden <3

yeah okay that's some fuckin racism right there (to be fair, framed as a bad thing, but still. sheesh)

another cat break. she's very pretty and purrsuasive what can i say?

James, honey, I understand what you're going for, but this is a shit way to comfort your very traumatized husband right now

okay and immediate 180 into cute teenage Alec and Ryder shenanigans, okay lol

Alec you wannabe-suave motherfucker lol

Ryder: blushes red Me: but his blood is blue!! And if it's later in this version that I mention James blushing blue or something like that I'm gonna take a drink for this mistake. I know I def fixed that by like, the rewrite lol

Ah yes, Alec is taking after his uncle :P aka please honey, I know you're being romantic, but get a fucking yes outta him first before you start kissing him also I'm 90% sure I've swapped their personalities now lol like CoFaS Alec: wannabe-suave and flirty CoFaS Ryder: awkward, unsure of how to react Band AU Alec: unsure of how to react when cute boy flirts with him Band AU Ryder: friendly and outgoing and willing to flirt with cute boys

Okay he did get a yes this time so baby steps in the right direction!

goddamn nerds lol

Okay this is both a. the origins of the kitten nickname for Aiden and b. the origins of the fox association i sometimes have for Alec

"The cat didn't answer, being a cat" I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

do do do do do WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY? Alec: the fox says fuck off (I have that as a reoccurring joke between Alex and Jason. Cause Jason's a fox shapeshifter in OG/ASTHC canon and they are my 2013-2015 meme children)

Yeah I definitely swapped who's the more uuuuuh... dom is the best word I can think of in this relationship

lmao somehow despite knowing Alec since they were both ~2 Ryder somehow doesn't know that's a nickname

Also, Alec having premonitions of the future is what inspired Lexi in the rewrite to have them as well. Alec inherits a decent amount from his mother: her premonitions, her purple-tipped wings, I can't think of more rn lol

Okay I do like describing Alec as ashen because. He looks more Flame than Sky lol

Aiden no stop that that's shitty parenting!

and Alec has a very valid reaction to Aiden and then Ryder continually using his dumb name! good for you Alec! "I would have never told you if I knew you would abuse it like this!" Ah. see this? this hurts in an "Alec honey you're so fucking right" way

Ryder that's real fuckin shit of you to be like "ok come here I'll comfort you" only to immediately turn around and try and control your boyfriend again. I know you have orders from his dad, but that's still really fuckin shit of you dude luckily Alec has the proper response of slapping Ryder and calling him out on his bullshit

i like how outta all the characters, Ryder is the one who has no restrictions on killing people. At the beginning of this arc he was introduced as training with James to be part of the royal guard, and now like 3/4 scenes later he's just straight up killed at least 2 people on screen. goddamn ma boi

“Knife training 101,” he said, almost irritated. “Stab them, don’t get stabbed yourself, try to aim for the head or heart. Understand?” fuckin lmao

welcome to the trauma boat Alec! your dad will help you get acquainted. probably

hello deus-ex-machina my old friend, you've probably appeared before but this is the most blatant to me

You know, the thought just occurred to me: Sirius with Aiden: kingly duties come before parental duties Aiden: yeah that sounds about right Aiden with Alec: Parental duties come before kingly duties Alec: you have king stuff to do and that obviously takes precedence over me

That line is a goddamn quote and I don't remember from what book potentially a Shadowhunters book??? update I looked it up and the answer is yes and of course it's a malec quote lol i'm still fucking soft for malec despite not having read any shadowhunters books since high school let me live (fun aside: i got selo to read those books and she came to tennis practice and yelled across the court "WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THE INCEST" and i just died laughing and told her to wait for whatever the book was (CoG, if I remember correctly is when the incest is revealed to not be incest. not that I cared that was/is my least favorite ship) ANYHOOT)

yeah okay that whole bit is making me laugh harder than it should. curse you wine lol

anyways this was 100% the origin of Willow and Wisp before I coopted them for Nova!

oh my fucking god so the chapter that was origins of Aiden = cat and Alec = fox apparently was added later, potentially near the end of that NaNo. You know how I know that? cause I remember having to edit this scene for continuity and it's still awkward as hell!

poor babby Alec. he's doin his best and also nobody has told him "hey your boyfriend's alive" yet

god Rowan is just. a fuckin cardboard cutout of a character. he has no personality beyond what's necessary in the moment

Aiden this is not the way to deal with your son grieving his boyfriend just fuckin tell him ffs

I do appreciate Aiden just full naming Alec and not dumb naming him when he's like "Alec stop doing the dumb thing you're doing"

more Aiden whump! and cute Alec and Ryder reunion dawww

"Aiden was struggling for something to distract him from the pain, to distract his mind from the fact that his entire forearm was cut open and the skin peeled away for wires." goddamn my dude. you're really having a rough time aren't you lol

Oh my god I just shifted POV in the middle of a scene goddamnit

sir i really doubt you could avoid a gunshot at basically point blank range lol

And at this point, I fucked up bc Alec escaped in the last scene, and then I had him fighting alongside Ryder in this scene until I remembered continuity is a thing and went back to fix it lol

James sir water is not a softer landing than sand, especially from high up lol

oh my god i remember that i was gonna make that a thing throughout all my universes, and then i never did except for maybe the original OG James and Aiden story that got scrapped XD

and another pov shift in the middle of a scene smh

they are both such stubborn bastards omg

yeah of course they've been happy too long we've gotta add the misunderstandings plot in :P

Ah yes some good ol' fashioned sexism :P

yaas bois communicate like the fuckin adults you are

oh those nerds

so we're winding up the "story" which means major time skips now!

oh this is..... not the best way to kill off a character, but hey, i guess i wanted to get one last stab in at Aiden huh?

good lord that was...... something. later chapters were better than earlier ones, though that may have been because the level of tipsiness was higher lmao. but also I just like drama more and the early chapters were a lot more awkward setting up shit while later ones were "hey have actual situations with consequences!" if that makes any sense. If not, that's cool, i'm hella tipsy anyways

anyhoot, kudos to past me for doing that while being in high school + doing theater (pretty sure we were close to if not putting on a show during november) + finding time to binge watch Sword Art Online + all the shenanigans required of being a functional member of the family. I have no idea what I was on during high school but gotdamn would I like a hit or three now lol

So, two nights and 1.5 bottles of wine later, I bid you adieu. have fun, don't die, don't get kidnapped, I'll see y'all with my last couple spotify wrapped prompts soonish and then in February ✌️

[myimaginedcorner]

A TUMBLR STORY: TORN PAGE (p.18)

PREVIOUS RESULT: "Thank you," first things first, you thanked your saviour, your teammate.

“Ah, by all… yeah, you’re surely not the one who needs to thank me,” your gratitude was met by awed eyes, their owner breathing out a sigh before opposing your intention with a shake of head. “We’re in deeper trouble than that, at the moment…”

“You are.”

Amani’s voice demanded your attention, astonished by its deficit when called before. Turning your head around, you’re caught by elven eyes that scrutinised your insides, seeking the gear that’s missing in your throbbing head.

“I’m expecting a report, Laefen,” colder than the winters that awaited you up north, Amani’s voice cut through your nursed pride with knives aiming to rip and shatter. You were no longer standing on a pedestal, but fallen underneath, the others watching you battle against shame’s shadows.

“Nothing big, ma’am, just a little siren.”

One ray came to your aid – a man whose simple words summoned thunderstorms against his empty head. Challenged to war, Amani’s lightning changed its target, and your long breath came in quiet prayer for his quick demise.

“Nothing big? Are you serious, Laefen? You’ve not reported on the peril to camp, you’ve not reported on the abnormal forestall fauna to camp, and you’ve proceeded to eliminate the target without any orders given as to your further actions. The list of all your breached responsibilities is getting longer by the second!”

“And what would you suggest me to do if I did report back, talk to her?” huffed the rogue, rolling eyes while his posture adopted a defensive stance – that is, with arms covering a chest still hidden by some rests of leather. “Invite her out for a drink? She was about to eat us both, you know!”

“Sirens don’t eat elves, Laefen, have you never studied?” Amani’s pretty face disappeared under a slap for a few seconds. “She was likely hunting for new partners.”

“Oh, even better! Always wished to become a fish, how about you?”

The question is addressed to you, yet you’re not given time to answer.

“You should’ve run to alert us before killing her!”

“If I could run, my dear Leader, I’d be with you in seconds. But my friend here can assure you that I wasn’t in the right mind to do so. I wasn’t in any mind to begin with!”

“He’s right,” you intervened, making your voice known, too. Rightfully disappointed, however, Amani lacked full context for the situation, and couldn’t judge in fairness what occurred. “Laefen was bewitched by the siren’s song before we even figured out who was our foe. He wasn’t able to retreat until I sealed his conscience with a shield.”

“Then why didn’t you alert us, either?” her eyes moved onto you.

“Because he’d die,” you answered, simply.

Silence was your recurring host, and you enjoyed their presence. They spoke of arguments you’ve won, leaving your opponent without words to speak against your reason.

Amani, thoughtful, lowered down her gaze.

“…Alright,” she finally concurred, for – without doubt – she was a wise elf that never gambled facing logic. “You should’ve told me a full chronology of the events right from the start, Laefen. Why did you pointlessly argue if you had fair grounds to act at your discretion?”

“What can I say? I hate being saved,” with a shrug, the elf just smiles.

“Of course, it’s against your job description. I’ll expect you to not argue with me further on, or it’ll reflect on your work report,” still slightly confused, the woman passed onto softer notes that stung like little bees in aching promise. “That also goes for you,” she then turned to glare into your two depleted oceans, where magic had been drained dry. “As an academic, I’m expecting you to keep away from trouble, and inform your superiors.”

You nodded. You knew it wasn’t quite your place to help – your capabilities were solely regarded as additional aid if things went sour, and only in self-defence. You weren’t thought of as a fighter, nor you were expected to protect another soul. What you did today was, without doubt… unnatural.

“It was not her place,” Hibiscus stepped onto soft sand, her walk aerial and solemn. “She was an intruder… a monster to these lands. She was causing pain, and was in pain, too.”

“We could’ve helped her…” murmured Ashna somewhere close. You heard their voice with one ear shivering from their warm breath: while Amani spoke, the young elf slipped a little closer. Their hand landed upon your shoulder, soft with a grip tightened by worry. Its touch soothed the tension of your muscles; you felt calm coming back despite the drumming of your anxious heart. It was their fault, but they made you happy.

“It would’ve been extraordinary hard,” Hibiscus shook her head, giving the elf a glance. “She was too lost and too desperate. All beasts go wild when Mother has no place for them.”

“But you’re not saying it’s impossible.”

“…No, I’m not.”

A sigh, but Ashna quickly threw away the thoughts that threatened to destroy the mood, a shy smile shining towards Laefen.

“I’m glad that you’re alive,” they said, meaning each word.

“Still here to serve,” chuckled the cheerful man.

“Well, given that we’ve been left with everything resolved already, it’s our priority to get some rest before dawn,” taking lead, Amani caught everyone’s ears, and her eyes made sure even the most rebellious listened. “Hibiscus, please transport the body to our camp: we’ll give it a look tomorrow morning. Laefen, scout the terrain for other threats – REPORT any oddities.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Laefen’s sigh foresaw his mistake not to be forgotten lightly. Grumbling on the matter under his nose, the elf was quick to disappear amidst the shadows, swallowed whole.

“Everyone else, to sleep,” commanded the Leader, and the shore delved into a new silence. You watched Hibiscus call the roots of trees in aid; you watched them accurately wrap the body in living wood, passing it over grass where satyr steps left mark. You caught a glimpse of M still lingering between the bushes, their goals unknown. Yet who could even tell a human’s thought?

And, over anything, you still had a warm hand keeping you company, a pair of eyes gleaming like stars trapped from the sky and caged in mortal form.

“I’m also very glad that you’re okay…” they finally dared vocalise a feeling that brought sadness to their beautiful expression. “You should’ve called me, it was so dangerous, I… I thought I’d lose you for eternity. That’s too long.”

[featherlikescartoons]

My Hero Academia, but everyone’s personalities are the opposite as in cannon, or “flipped!” 

Most allegiances stay the same (ie: Heroes are still Heroes, Villains are still Villains, ect.)

Hero society is a lot less flashy in this AU, with it being viewed by most people as simply a high-paying but dangerous job. There are still people in it for the glory and helping people, of course, but there’s a lot less genuine heroes out there. This is a problem, as a lot of people don’t want to be heroes, and as a result there’s not enough people to fight villains. The HPSC solves this by strongly suggesting (read: threatening) kids with strong quirks to enter the hero course. This results in about half of total Hero Students being placed there by force.

Flip Izuku Midoriya 

I could’ve gone with something similar to Villain Deku, but that’s boring, so my brain spat out this

Screams at anyone who walks in his general vicinity. Hates being touched

Pushes away anyone that tries to get close to him, including Katsuki, who has been making stubborn attempts to be his friend since they were kids

Acts tough as a defensive mechanism but would never actually attack anyone. (As opposed to cannon Izuku, who’s really nice and polite, yet will not hesitate to punch someone into the sun if needed.)

 Inko became really neglectful after he was revealed to be Quirkless, and this fed into a belief that he can’t get close to anyone without them leaving because of his quirk status, a view that was only supported by future events

Doesn’t have any big ambitions, he’s just trying to live to the next day. He’d kind of grown numb to the bullying

A bit of a coward

gets bad grades. He hates studying.

One for All was forced onto him due to 1. it needed to be passed on, and 2. Izuku, being quirkless, was one of the few people who could safely wield it without adverse health effects. He wasn’t told how to pass it on, so he’s stuck with it

He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s better off being forced into the hero course than staying quirkless

Flip Katsuki Bakugou

While the Hero course wouldn’t be his first choice(He doesn’t like fighting), he still gets to help people, so it’s not an awful turn of events

Calls Izuku “Dekiru” (Japanese for “You can do it!)

Really kind and empathetic

Kind of quiet

going to be a Rescue hero

Has a first aid kit included in his Hero Costume 

Tries to deter bullies from Izuku. Doesn’t always work, but sometimes he finds some candy at his desk as a thank you

Terrible sense of fashion. His mom picks out most of his clothes

Bullied due to association to Izuku, but not to the same extent

Flip Shoto Todoroki

Sunshine Child

Saw Izuku and is determined to make him his friend

Him and Katsuki have never officially acknowledged their shared goal, but kind of have a silent pact

In the Hero Course by choice. He just thought getting to fight superhero battles and save people for a living was really cool!

Wants lots of friends. All the friends.

Got his scar in a quirk accident

Refuses to use his ice side

Owns a lot of graphic T-shirts

tends to ramble

Grew up in a loving household   

I just want him to have nice things

Well, I need to go to bed, so that’s all for now! If you have questions on characters, AU lore, plotpoints, or you want me to take a stab at the Flip! version of a certain character, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an ask! Even if it’s just a small, dumb little thought, send me it anyway!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this, I love and appreciate you, BYE!