#bold of you to assume any of them would want to fight over who gets Bruce lol

[femininefables]

Left astray

Sevika x fem!reader

cw: homelessness, implied off page parental abuse, alcohol, sort of suicidal thoughts? Reader is underweight and trying to gain more, so if weight is a sensitive subject steer clear!

PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND AVOID IF ANYTHING IS TRIGGERING❤️

This was it. You were dying. You probably should feel sad, vengeful, or desperate to cling to life, but you just didn’t. At least dying would remove you from the miserable existence that is life.

Homeless, starving, and dirty, you’ve just been rotting away on the streets of Zaun. Even in your final moments, you can’t even look up at the sky for some comfort. You only see smog, neon, and more desolate buildings.

You can’t help but grin. This is pathetic. You’re pathetic. As you finally close your eyes, something or someone interrupts your pitiful death. “Hey. You alright?” You open your eyes. Someone is looming over your cadaverous form, and they squat down next to you.

“I have water if you want.” It’s a woman. She looks stern, but there’s a hint of concern in her face. “I want to die.” Is all you mutter out. She sighs, digs in her pocket, and takes out a cigarette. After lighting it, she sits down next to you. “I get it. I used to think I did too. Watching my home, and the people who live here get trapped in situations like yours..”

“I’m not looking for sympathy.” You say dryly. “That’s fine… But It’s not..I can’t just walk away knowing you’ll be dead by tomorrow.” You cautiously peek at her. “Why? I don’t know you. And I’m sure you don’t go around saving every homeless nobody.” She takes a drag. “You’re right. I don’t… but maybe I should. Its them I’m fighting for anyways..”

Fighting for? What is this lady talking about?…You brush it off and speak again. “what are you gonna do with me?” “Hold still…” Before you can even comprehend it, She lifts you up and starts walking. You’re too weak to even protest, and let the rhythm of her footsteps lull you to sleep.

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You wake up on a tattered looking couch covered by a soft blanket. Something’s strange. You’re wearing a large t-shirt, your skin is clean, and your hair is damp. Have you been bathed? You’re still nearly skin and bones, but you feel a lot better. The apartment you’re in smells of smoke and stale air. Like whoever lives in it doesn’t live in it too often.

There’s a small paper on a coffee table in front of you. It has writing on it, and looks like it was left for you to read. Bold of the author to assume you had enough of an education to read. You did, but only because of your mother. She hated you now. Being reminded of her only caused more pain, so you avoided anything related to her. That included reading.

Nevertheless, you pick up the note and read

Hey, whatever your name is. I don’t mind you crashing at my place since you seem pretty harmless. I’m Sevika, and yes I did give you a bath, no, I didn’t do anything to you. I couldn’t have you smelling like shit and laying all over my stuff. Eat whatever you want, stay out of my closet, and I’ll be back by evening. I’ll know if you fucked around with anything.

Sevika’s handwriting is surprisingly pretty for her reputation around here. In your delirious state, you hadn’t realized that it was her you were talking to. Silco’s guard dog, the Scary Lady, or Murder Machine. You heard all of those less than favorable names referring to her.

But here you were, in her shirt, sleeping on her couch, and being invited to stay till you picked yourself up. What had caused such a random change in her character? Unless she’s just a nice woman and everyone else has her all wrong, this is pretty uncharacteristic. Maybe you looked so pathetic she pitied you.

That evening came fast. The door opening and slamming shut made you freeze mid fridge-raid. “You’re up…” Is all Sevika says as she strides over to you. With a half eaten apple in your hand, you can’t find any words for her. “Not talking anymore? That’s fine. Can I at least know your name?” Your name feels strange and unfamiliar coming from your lips. You haven’t said it in ages. When your priority is just to survive, names aren’t really important.

“Alright. If you want, I can order you something when I pick up my takeout.” She’s giving you dinner now too? You nod eagerly before you even notice. Your stomach growls obnoxiously. “Sorry…” you mutter. She doesn’t reply, and just goes to sit on the couch.

Dinner is awkward. You’re sitting across from her, while trying not to wolf down the greasy, delicious, fat filled burger in front of you. Sevika is wearing reading glasses while combing through an array of documents. Every so often, her eyes look over you just to see what you’re doing.

Once you’ve fed yourself enough to slow down, you try and break the silence. “So uhm…why are you doing this? You’re not exactly known around for being charitable…” Sevika lifts her gaze and takes off her reading glasses. She’s not looking in your direction when she responds. “I guess I just…you…reminded me of someone. Someone from a long time ago.”

What kind of response is that? “And the whole reason I do what I do is to help people like you.” She has a voice that grounds you. There’s no feeling uncertain around such a confident woman. “But don’t go getting any ideas. This doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you want.” You’re still confused. Why you? Why today?

That night, you’re sleeping on the couch. Sevika is confidently sleeping in her bed, snoring like a freight train. She knows you wouldn’t dare try anything, given her reputation for breaking limbs. When sleep finally comes, your dreams turn to nightmares. Violent nightmares calling you back to your past. Normally, shivering in a cardboard box would keep them at bay.

You see your mother on that day. screaming at you with enraged purple eyes, trembling, with purple scars crawling all over her body. It took everything from you. Your life, your mother, your home…You wake up in a cold sweat, crying out and wiping tears from your face. Everything’s spinning and you let out a weak whimper. Suddenly, there’s a hand on your back, rubbing in firm circles.

“You’re alright…not out there in the rain anyways..” It’s Sevika. she’s trying her best to comfort you, but you can tell it’s not something she’s used to doing. You don’t even care. You bury your face in her chest and hug her close, crying and gasping from the awful memory.

Sevika is frozen. she seems unsure of what to do with you. One hand rests on your head, and her bionic arm finds your back. “Not so blunt now…Sorry. Too soon.” She remarks. You center yourself, and pull back from her feeling a little embarrassed. “Sorry I woke you…” “ S’alright.”

She sits there with you on the couch until you fall back asleep…

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It’s been one week since you first arrived at Sevika’s apartment. You’ve gained a little weight back, but the nightmares still terrorize you. Sevika’s picked up on the way you flinch when startled, or how uncomfortable you get when she smokes weed or drinks heavily.

It’s clear to her that you have a negative history with substances, so she starts to limit her alcohol when you’re around, and she’ll only smoke on the balcony. You’re worried that you’re being a burden to her. One night, you see her smoking on the balcony, and step outside with her.

She doesn’t say anything, but raises an eyebrow as her way of asking: “What’s up?” You lean your elbows on the railing. “You know… you don’t have to change your lifestyle for me. Letting me just be here even though I’m a stranger is enough.” Sevika takes a drag. “Here in the undercity, it’s important that we stick together. You needed help, so I decided to help you. I’m not going to pry into your damage, but if cutting back on my bad habits makes you more comfortable, I’m fine with that.” She smiles, and faces you. “Besides, having a pretty girl for a roommate ain’t so bad, bunny rabbit.”

You can’t even focus on the fact that she just called you pretty. “Bunny rabbit?” She chuckles. “You’re skittish as hell. M’scared you’ll just faint from shock one of these days.” She’s not wrong about that. You’re used to always needing to be on high alert. Every sound could mean danger.

You only feel more guilty. “Sorry…” your voice cracks embarrassingly. Sevika’s smile drops and she looks over at you. “Oh- I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings... No use feeling bad about it. Let’s just work on getting better, m’kay?” She presses her cigarette to the railing to out it, and puts one hand on your shoulder, leading you back inside. “Let’s go to bed, it’s late.”

As time goes by, you start to bond with Sevika. She’ll come home, tell you all about her day, eat dinner with you, and talk until you fall asleep. The nightmares ease too. If you do have one, she’s right there to tell you that everything’s okay.

One afternoon, Sevika gets back early with a shopping bag. You get up off of the couch to greet her. “Sevika? What’s that?” She smirks, and pulls out a pretty dress with spaghetti straps. “Since you came along, I haven’t been to the Last Drop in a while. So, I thought you might wanna come with.” You take the dress from her and admire it. “Sevika… it’s so pretty! But I don’t know… I haven’t been to a bar.” She puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “You’ll be fine with me. Trust me. As long as everybody knows you’re with me, you’re safe.”

So, you decide to go with her. When you were getting dressed, Sevika spotted you looking at yourself nervously in the mirror. “Hey… is it too much? I didn’t really know what you’d like…” you turn to her. “No it’s pretty! I’m just… not used to this.” Sevika goes into her closet and comes back, draping a leather jacket over your shoulders. “You can have this for tonight if it makes you more comfortable.”

You feel your face heat up. “…thank you.” She smiles, and pats your shoulder. “No problem bunny rabbit.” The whole walk to the Last Drop, Sevika keeps you close. She glares at anyone who even looks in your direction, and yells threats back at cat-callers. When you finally reach the place, she opens the door for you. “Ladies first.” You smile. “You’re a lady too y’know.” She rolls her eyes playfully.

You weren’t sure what to expect at the bar. Sitting next to Sevika while she throws snide comments at the other card players definitely wasn’t it. She’s winning big time though. Laughing and squeezing your shoulder every time she sweeps another pile of chips her way.

Around an hour later, Sevika is definitely tipsy, but her instincts are sharp as ever. For some reason, more people keep coming to play against her even though she can’t stop winning. This next game looks especially tough. For a moment, you think it’s finally over before she reveals her winning deck. Her opponents jaw drops. Sevika lets out a booming laugh and just pulls you onto her lap like you’re the prize.

“Thought I was in trouble there, didn’t chya, cutie?” She laughs again while you register being seated on her muscular thigh. The other players mutter curses and storm off. “Wasn’t that fun? You didn’t drink any though.” Her large hand caresses your waist.

“I don’t like alcohol.” You respond curtly. Sevika lets you get off of her before she grabs the large sack of her winnings. “Let’s head home. Yeah? sweet thing?” You’re surprised at how casual she’s being with you. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but the Sevika you’ve heard about isn’t nice and flirty in the slightest.

When you finally arrive at the apartment, Sevika crashes on the couch instantly. She seems like the type to be able to hold her alcohol, but she was being a little excessive today. After all that, you’re tired too. You take off the dress she gave you and slip on one of her shirts. Climbing back onto the couch, you snuggle against her human arm, and let sleep take you.

You wake up slowly. the sunshine is filtering in the room through the window. Sevika’s arm is draped over you like a blanket. It’s heavy. Given your current state, you’re not strong enough to move it. Not that you’d want to anyways. Sevika is usually up earlier than you. Perhaps she’s got a hangover.

With a big yawn, Sevika finally wakes up. She doesn’t say anything to you, despite the rather intimate sleeping arrangement. She stands up, ruffles your hair, and goes to turn on her coffee machine. “You could’ve taken the bed.” She finally says from across the apartment.

“I…didn’t want to.” Is all you can think to say. Sevika walks towards the couch again and plops down next to you. “Why not?” Her gray eyes stare unyielding into your own. “…just didn’t wanna.” You dont want to admit that you wanted to be on the couch with her. You haven’t known each other for very long. Not long enough to cuddling like you’d known her for years. “Okay, bunny rabbit..”

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Sevika was already kind to you before, but now she’s treating you like a pet. When she goes to the store, you know she’s coming back with something for you. Whether it’s a candy, new clothes, or just something she thinks you’d like.

She starts to touch you more too. She says it’s to “help you get used to it.” But every time she brushes her hand against your cheek or holds you by your waist, your heart flutters.

You’ve been living with Sevika for over a month now. Standing on her scale, you wait nervously to see your weight. Healthy. Still some way to go, but you’re not skin and bone anymore. Your cheeks look a little fuller, your skin a little more smooth, and there’s a glimmer again in your eyes.

The door slams shut, making you nearly jump out of your skin. It’s Sevika, but she doesn’t call for you like normal. Curiously, you exit the bathroom to see what’s happened. She’s standing with her hands pressed against he counter, hackles raised, and her muscles are tensed. “Sev?” You approach her and place a hand on her shoulder blade.

“Hey bunny…” She finally acknowledges you. She speaks to you in a soft, low voice that makes your breath catch in your throat. “Sorry if I scared ya…Know how you are. Today was just…Fuck, bunny. I don’t feel like chatting about it.” She pulls you in a hug. It’s sudden, but not unwelcome.

“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to…” you say to her. She sighs, goes over to the couch, and takes off her arm. “Come’ere.” You join her on the couch and she pulls you closer with her right arm. “You know…things have been better round’ere since you showed up.” “Really?” She smiles at you, running her human hand through your hair. “Yeah… if I didn’t have you, I’d probably be de-stressing in some other awful way.” You raise an eyebrow at the vague response. “Like what?”

A teasing grin forms on her face. “I dunno.. maybe by beating up some thugs or even a couple sessions at Babette’s.” Your face contorts into one of shocked surprise. Sevika notices and chuckles. “Yeah I get around, bunny.”

There was no doubt in your mind that it wasn’t true. After all, she’s an incredibly handsome woman. Broad muscular shoulders, and a face that could make your heart melt and your blood run cold depending on its expression. You sometimes fantasized that there could be something more with her, but demeaning thoughts told you that you were only a charity case for her.

She couldn’t truly care about you, because nobody ever did. Sevika notices the sudden shift in your expression. “Hey bunny… you alright?” “Yeah…I’m fine.” She senses you don’t want to be questioned further, and leaves back into her seat. “If you need something, I’m here. Kay?”

You nod, pushing away the thoughts of your yearning, and self hatred, opting to enjoy some peace for the first time in a while.

[tonyglowheart]

"he would not fucking say that" -- post I saw that was imagining what the batkids would be like fighting over who gets Bruce in his old age

[drabbles-mc]

Hands All Over

Rick Flag x F!Reader

Based on the request from @beardburnsupersoldiers: could you do #11 (“I bet you think you’re real cute letting them put their hands all over you. We’ll see how cute you look later when I get you home.”) with Rick Flag??? (Prompt is from This List)

Warnings: 18+, language, smut, jealous Rick

Word Count: 5.4k

A/N: my requests are closed but i have been thinking about this in the best way ever since you sent it in and i finally finished it tonight so I'm sending it out into the universe. I'm forever unwell about this man but i hope you enjoy!!!! xo (as always this is unbeta'd af but it's made with love)

You were purposely ignoring the pissed off look on Rick’s face as he stared at you from across the lot. It was early still. The guards hadn’t even rounded up everyone that the two of you needed from Belle Reeve yet. The usual suspects had been brought out first, people they knew weren’t going to put up much of a fight even if they wanted to. It was a short list, and seemed to get shorter all the time whether it was because they kept shaving years off people’s sentences, or because there were almost always a couple team members who didn’t make it home at the end of a mission. Turnover was constant, but it wasn’t as though Belle Reeve was ever going to run out of inmates.

Regardless, it left you and Rick out in the lot with Harley, Peacemaker, and Captain Boomerang. Over the next few minutes you were sure that others would slowly start to trickle out, people with no real clue about what they were getting roped into.

The reason that Rick was giving you the glare was two-fold—he was pissed off about what he was seeing, and he was also pissed off that he couldn’t even try to say anything about it. The first part was your fault, really. But the second part? That was just as much on Rick as it was on you. Maybe if you two had taken the time to ever actually talk about what your deal was, situations like this wouldn’t have him reacting quite so obviously. As it stood, Rick was too stubborn to start the conversation and you enjoyed stirring the pot too much to start it yourself.

So, there you were, leaning back against the transport vehicle you and Rick would be loading everyone into soon enough. Your back was braced against it, one boot on the ground, the other resting back flat against the large tire. Your arms were crossed in front of you as you looked at Boomerang. He was closely mirroring your stance as he stood beside you. You might’ve been vaguely aware of how close he was standing, but judging by the clench in Rick’s jaw it was just about the only thing that he was aware of.

Boomerang had always been a little more comfortable around you than he should’ve been. You figured out pretty quickly after meeting him that trying to fight him on it all the time was not only exhausting, but it wasn’t effective. So along the way the two of you found your middle-ground. You were fine with it, the banter and jokes that definitely wouldn’t be workplace appropriate at any other job, but even without looking at Rick when it happened you knew that he wasn’t a fan.

“C’mon.” Boomer nudged his shoulder against yours. “How many more missions till I can take you out?”

You laughed and rolled your eyes. “Bold of you to assume that the only reason you can’t take me out is because you’re currently in prison.”

He pretended to be offended and hurt by the comment. “That ain’t very nice, now is it?” He paused as you laughed. “Got some boyfriend on the outside, then?”

Turning your head to look at him, you said, “Why would I have to—”

He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Or a girlfriend. Don’t matter.”

You chuckled. “I never said any of that.”

He stepped away from the truck. Turning on his heel, he stood so that he was facing you head-on. “By the time I’m outta here, sweetheart, I’ll win you over.”

Even though you knew it wasn’t ever going to happen, you still found yourself smirking at the concept of him trying to woo you. Whatever that meant to him. “Always good to have a goal.”

There were a few beats of silence as he looked around the lot. You could tell that he was starting to get a little antsy, Harley too from the sounds of it as she chattered away at one of the new recruits that had been brought out. This was always the longest part. Briefing everyone was quick, and the rides to the mission locations went by fast because of the commentary flying around amongst everyone. Waiting for everyone to get chipped and brought out got to be a drag after a while.

Boomer was feeling it, pulling out one of his boomerangs and fiddling with it passively in his hand the way a child would fuss with a toy. Arms crossed over your chest, you nodded towards the item in his hand. “Not getting that out just because I said you couldn’t take me out, right?”

His grin split wide enough to catch the glint off his gold tooth. “’Course not.” He fiddled with it for another second longer before pointing at you with it. “Ever used one’a these?” You shook your head and he switched so that it was laying flat in his upturned palm, hand out to you like a peace offering. “Wanna try?”

“Boomer—”

“Give it a shot! ‘s the worst that could happen? We’re the Suicide Squad anyway, right?”

No matter what your rebuttal was, it wasn’t going to be good enough for him. Using your foot that was braced against the tire, you pushed off the side of the truck. “Fine. Only because I know I’ll never hear the end of it from you.”

He was practically cackling as he set it in your hand. “Might make a bad guy outta you yet.”

The two of you weren’t even being all that loud but the words were grating against Rick’s ears halfway across the lot like he was trapped in an echo chamber. The internal conflict of enjoying the sound of your laughter versus knowing that you were laughing at something that Harkness said had him rooted to the spot. If he clenched his jaw any tighter he was liable to chip a tooth.

First it was listening to the two of you shooting comments back and forth, your indirect denial of having someone on the outside. He was frustrated with that even though deep down he knew that even if you’d said you were with someone, it wouldn’t have stopped Boomerang. Deeper down still, he knew that he’d never said anything to you about the relationship between the two of you, but it was easier for him in that moment to forget that small detail.

That was frustrating enough, but then he saw the way that Boomer was so quick to put his hands on yours, how comfortable he was shifting the two of you so that he was standing behind you. It didn’t matter that you wouldn’t take the man seriously in a million years, that no matter the innuendo or the offer he wasn’t ever going to win you over. In that moment, Harkness was closer to you at work than Rick ever would be. And you were smiling and laughing about it.

Not nearly soon enough, the last of this round’s Task Force X were brought out to the yard. You’d managed to get one mildly successful boomerang throw in, and Rick had stopped just short of giving himself an aneurysm.

“Alright,” he barked, more anger in his words than necessary as he walked towards the truck, “everyone load up. We’ll brief on the way.”

You stood back watching as they all filed in. There were murmurs, quick exchanges as everyone tried to get situated in the cramped space. You tried to stifle your chuckles as you heard Harley riling everyone up as they got strapped in.

Unsurprisingly, Boomerang was bringing up the back of the line. Before stepping up into the vehicle, he stopped right beside you. You could feel the humor dripping off his words as he motioned for you to get in before him. “Beauty befor—”

Rick gave him a harsh shove between his shoulder blades, cutting him off in the process. “Get in the fuckin’ truck,” he grit out.

Boomerang’s entire face contorted in annoyance and offense for a moment. He looked over his shoulder at you as he climbed into the vehicle. “When’re you gonna stop lettin’ that one tag along?” He gestured to Rick.

Rick’s brows were pinched together as tight as you’d ever seen them. “Harkness.”

It was all that had to be said. He slipped into the back of the transport with everyone else. You were still looking at the now-empty door, unaware of the look that Rick was now giving to you. There were plenty of things that he wanted to say to you, do to you, right there in that moment just to prove a point but he couldn’t.

You started to speak. “So how—”

All the words flew right out of your head as Rick’s hand clamped tightly down onto your shoulder. Catching you off-guard he easily pushed you, pinning you between him and the side of the truck. One of his legs was slotted between yours. He was leaning in close enough for you to feel his breath against your skin when he spoke.

His voice was painfully low. “I bet you think you’re real cute letting him put his hands all over you. We’ll see how cute you look later when I get you home.”

You were so off-kilter that you couldn’t even come up with the witty responses that you were in the habit of giving him. He’d never put himself in such a close position with you at work before. You knew him well enough to know that being friendly with Boomerang would get under his skin a little bit. If only you’d known how much—you would’ve done it a hell of a lot sooner.

The digging of his fingertips even through your shirt had you locked in place. It was exciting as it was nerve-wracking, especially since there was a truckload of prisoners just a mere flap of metal away from you. You and Rick had always had different definitions of the term reckless, and this was about as reckless as it got for him. He tried so hard not to let his personal life bleed into the job, and yet here he was. You loved knowing that you could have this effect on him if you tried, even if it was making your knees nearly knock together in the moment.

It could’ve only been a couple seconds that had passed, but you felt like the silence had been stretching on infinitely when you finally managed to try and speak up. “I don’t—”

“You do,” he cut you off. There was the slightest twitch in his hand on your shoulder, a clue that he wanted to put it somewhere else but he stopped himself. Not feeling quite reckless enough for that yet.

“I—”

His voice seemed to drop even lower in volume, not that it dulled the sharp edges of what he was saying to you. “Don’t play dumb now.” He finally released you and stepped back. A professional amount of space existed between you once more. “Let’s go.” He started to walk towards the driver’s side. “We got shit to do.”

You gave yourself until the door on the other side of the vehicle opened. Then you took a deep breath and got yourself swung up into the passenger seat. There were bigger things to worry about for now, and you decided that those bigger things were why you still felt a slight shaking in your legs.

There was never such a thing as a simple mission with Task Force X. Even when things were pitched to you and Rick as easy, or simple, or in-and-out missions, they never seemed to play out that way. You chalked it up to the squad, and also to Waller never giving anyone a straight answer about anything. That usually covered your bases.

This time you had the additional layer of problems stemming from Rick’s attitude for the day. He wasn’t ever warm and fuzzy with the team, but the last time you saw him walking around with such a noticeable chip on his shoulder was back in the days of Midway City. Only this time his frustration wasn’t about the whole team, it was about one team member in particular. Or two, if you included yourself in the count.

Your team didn’t have the luxury of ascribing to the, “no man left behind,” mentality. But even so, it didn’t mean that no one could try at all. And who knows, maybe if someone who wasn’t Harkness had taken a bullet to the thigh, Rick would’ve reacted differently. You didn’t get to find out.

Rick had brushed past him, determined to get to get everything over as quickly as possible. His lack of concern was met with a slew of angry, vulgar remarks from Boomerang, and perhaps rightfully so. You stopped to at least help the man get to his feet, even if you weren’t going to be carrying him or acting as a human crutch for the rest of the mission.

“Flag,” you chastised as you caught up to him.

“What?” he snapped back, matching your tone.

You let your voice drop to just above a whisper. Loud enough for him to hear over everything happening around the two of you, but not so loud that the rest of the team with you was going to catch it.

“You said we’ll sort it at home, so let’s sort it at home.”

He shook his head. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No? So you’re trying to tell me that there’s nothing different about—”

“That’s exactly what I’m tellin’ you.”

The sound of gunfire up ahead stopped your conversation then and there. You knew that once the chaos had died down, the two of you would get right back into it. There were just more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, like the people pointing their guns at you.

There were no other major injuries to anyone else on the team. A few bumps and scrapes but it looked like Boomerang was the only one who was going to be taking a trip to the medical wing. He would’ve been looking forward to that if it wasn’t currently being preceded by Peacemaker carrying him back to the transport vehicle. No matter how much he struggled and swore, he wasn’t able to break free. It was a comical sight, seeing him draped over Peacemaker’s shoulder—everyone else was getting a kick out of it even if Boomerang wasn’t. Him and Rick.

Rick didn’t say a single word to you the entire drive back. Even when everyone was getting unloaded and sent back to their cells, it felt like he hadn’t even done so much as look at you. It was something that any other day you wouldn’t have noticed, because that’s just how it was when you were both working. But it felt different this time, tense in a way that it didn’t used to be.

He only spoke to you in the parking lot by your cars because you asked him a question that he couldn’t give a yes or no answer to. He didn’t even look at you as he answered it, instead looking down as he dug his keys out of his pocket.

“Yours or mine?” you asked.

“Yours.”

You waited for follow-up commentary that never came. You waited for him to pick back up the argument from earlier, or for him to reignite the jealous streak that he’d had going earlier still. But he gave you nothing as he unlocked the doors to his pickup.

With a roll of your eyes, you followed suit and got into your own car as well. If he wanted to keep stewing on all of this until you both got back to your place, you’d let him. You didn’t bother waiting for him as you peeled out of the parking lot and made your way home. It wasn’t as though he would be lagging that far behind you.

You’d just stepped into the shower at your apartment when you heard the heavy sound of his boots on the floor. You heard them pause outside the bathroom door, and for a moment you found yourself holding your breath and waiting to see if he was going to come in with you. The hesitation had you thinking that he was thinking about doing just that. But then the footsteps continued. The breath you’d been holding came out as a disappointed sigh.

When you were done with your shower, you weren’t expecting to walk into your bedroom to find Rick sitting on the edge of the bed, still dressed in his work save for his boots that were set just off to the side of him, but there he was. His hands were wrapped around the edge of the mattress, head tilted down as he stared at the floor.

“Shower’s yours if you want it,” you said, letting it announce your presence in the process.

That got him to look up at you. His expression wasn’t giving much of anything away, but as his eyes raked up and down your body you caught the way that his jaw clenched. His fingers gripped onto the blanket that covered your mattress just a little tighter as he took in the sight of the stray droplets of water still clinging to your shoulders and neck. Your skin warmed at the realization.

Seeing that he made no move to get up, you walked over to him. You stood between his legs, the rough fabric of his cargo pants a stark contrast to the softness of you skin, legs left exposed by the towel wrapped around you that barely reached the tops of your thighs. He swallowed hard, eyes crawling their way up your body to your face. Now he was in the position of having to look up at you, a position he didn’t find himself in very often. Even though his eyes gave him away, he tried to keep his unbothered façade in place.

“Still not talking to me, then? Came over just to give me the silent treatment in my own home?”

He remained silent, and you were wondering if it was because he was stringing together what it was that he wanted to say, or if he just couldn’t get the words out. Either way, you were painfully curious as to what was going to happen next.

“C’mon,” there was a playful lilt to your tone as you went to cup his face with your hand, “don’t—”

You stopped yourself short when he reached up and grabbed tightly onto your wrist. It didn’t hurt. He’d never hurt you. But his grip was tight enough to prove a point. Your jaw snapped shut as he held onto you, preventing and continuing to keep you from being able to touch his face.

“He doesn’t get to touch you like that,” he finally said, each word spoken low and deep.

His voice, his words, the look on his face, it all sent a wave of chills over your body. The same feeling you had outside the transport earlier, that feeling of being rooted to the ground beneath you, came right back. You couldn’t even bring yourself to reach out and touch him with your other hand.

Your voice came out quieter than you planned. “It wasn’t…” You trailed off as he lowered your hand that he was holding, his grip loosening off your wrist as he started to slide his hand up the bare skin of your arm until it was on your shoulder.

His fingers curled over the curve of your shoulder. “No one gets to touch you like that.”

You took a breath, determined to get a full sentence out this time. “I guess I didn’t think it would bother you so much.”

Whatever snarky, angry response you had been gearing up for, he didn’t deliver. Instead, he pulled you closer, your small step turning into a stumble as your hands landed on his shoulders to brace yourself. His hands instantly went to your waist, fingers digging into the plush fabric of the towel that was wrapped around you. He didn’t break his gaze the entire time.

His tone was even, almost dangerously so. “It did.”

The stubborn part of you was drawing in a breath to tell him that you weren’t sorry, that you weren’t going to apologize, that maybe if he’d just taken the time to talk to you about how he felt or what all of this was maybe the two of you wouldn’t be in this situation. But before you could even get yourself to utter the first syllable, he tightened his grip on your hips and quickly turned the both of you so that you landed on your back on the bed with a surprised yelp.

It took him no time at all to move you both so that you were in the center of the bed. One hand firmly cupped your jaw as he pinned his lips to yours in a heated kiss, a kiss that had you all but melting into the comforter of your bed. Your palms flattened against the planes of muscle across his chest for the briefest moment before you balled the fabric of his shirt into your fists. You pulled him closer to you, as tight as you could manage as you laid beneath him.

He gave into it for a moment as his tongue slipped past your lips into your mouth. You moaned at the sensation, his tongue on yours, the way the tips of his fingers were starting to press harder into your jaw. You were about to loop your legs around his waist, lock yourself to him, when he pulled away from you.

You were gasping for breath, fingers still gripping his shirt as he pulled back. Bringing his hand away from your jaw, he brought both hands to the top edge of the towel you were wearing. His fingers wrapped around the hem of it, he finally pried his gaze away from your face. He peeled the towel open, letting both sides of it fall away from you, leaving you completely exposed. His tongue ran along his bottom lip as he drank in the sight of you lying beneath him.

The rise of his chest as he pulled in a deep breath was impossible to miss. Your hands moved from his chest up to the sides of his neck, fingers interlocking at the nape of it as you pulled him back down into another kiss. He gave in without a fight, leaning his body weight onto you as he kissed you, hands racing down your sides, of your hips and onto your thighs.

His lips strayed from yours, dragging along to your jaw and down to your neck, leaving small, quick nips along the way. He moved down to your chest, lips and tongue teasing as they traveled over your breasts, pulling one taut nipple into his mouth and sucking on it in a way that had you whimpering and squirming in pleasure beneath him before he moved and repeated the process with the other.

“Rick,” his name fell from your lips, needy and breathless as you tangled your fingers into his hair. It was the only thing you could get yourself to say as he sucked a mark into the plush skin of your breast.

He kissed his way down your stomach, peppering a trail of kisses across your hips before moving down to your thighs. His teeth grazed along the soft, sensitive skin on the insides of your legs, the sensation making you drape your legs over his shoulders out of pure instinct.

His lips grazed over your folds, enough to feel how wet you were, not enough to give you any relief because of it. You tried to lift your hips and he immediately slid his arms and placed his hands so that they were pinning your hips to the bed once more. You whined, hands tugging at his hair.

Then you felt his tongue running up your slit, teasing you in a way that had you shuddering beneath him. You tried to pull him closer with no success, resigning yourself to his whim now. He might not have been able to say or do anything before, but he was the one in control now.

He kissed your core, tongue darting out until he switched and wrapped his lips around your clit. You moaned as his tongue ran over the nerves, causing your thighs to clamp around either side of his head.

“Fuck, Rick,” you moaned, grip on his hair loosening just enough to lightly drag your fingernails along his scalp. “Don’t stop.”

You felt one of his hands move from your hip and for a moment you were worried that he was going to stop just because you had asked him not to. You lifted your head up off the mattress, looking down at the sight of him nestled between your thighs. The way he looked had the breath getting caught in the back of your throat. Then he opened his eyes, looking up at you with his mouth still pressed to your core. You opened your mouth to try and say something when you felt two of his fingers pressing lightly against your slit. He covered them with your slick before pushing them into you, not breaking his eye contact with you as he did. The moan you let out had him tightening his grip on your hip, sucking harder on your clit as you writhed beneath his touch.

When he felt the way your thighs began to tremble, starting to clench tighter around him, he picked up the pace even more. Even though it was muffled, he could still hear the string of curses you let out the closer you got to your climax, the desperate way you said his name as you begged him to make you cum.

Seconds later your walls tightened around his fingers, your hips bucking up off the bed as you came. He worked you through it, his fingers and lips coated in your release as he refused to let up. He kept going even when your hands were pushing his shoulders, whining from the overstimulation. Your legs trembled as they hung limply over his shoulders, unable to muster up the strength to pull him closer or push him away.

You let out a trembling breath when he pulled his fingers out of you. He pressed one more kiss to the inside of your thigh before crawling his way back up your body. Without a beat of hesitation he caught your lips with his, tongue instantly running over yours allowing you to taste yourself off of him.

The friction of the rough fabric of his pants against your sensitive, naked core had you whining into his mouth as he kissed you. Still, instead of pushing him away, you started to undo his belt buckle. The second he pressed his body flush to yours again you’d felt how hard he was. Now you just wanted him inside you.

Undoing the button and zipper on his pants, wasted no time pushing both his pants and his underwear down off his hips in one motion. Rick barely took the time to kick them the rest of the way off before pushing into you.

The low moan of pleasure that he let out turned into your name as he bottomed out inside you. He pressed a harsh, needy kiss to your lips before letting his head drop into the crook of your neck. He gave you a couple long, slow thrusts to adjust before picking up the pace in a way that communicated all of his desperation for you. Your nails sank into his shoulders as he pounded into you, just looking for something to keep you tethered as you started to see stars behind your eyes all over again.

He nipped at your neck and shoulder as he pulled your legs so that they were looped tighter around him. He buried himself inside you, coaxing you along when you whimpered out that you were going to cum again. He pressed a kiss right below your ear, the praise he was whispering to you, calling you his, was enough to send you tumbling over the edge. He fucked you through your orgasm, his thrusts beginning to falter as he felt your walls clenching around him. A few more sharp snaps of his hips had him spilling inside you.

He collapsed against you, fighting to catch his breath as his hear rested against your chest. He could hear the fast beat of your heart against his ear, and you could feel the quick breaths he was taking as he looped his arms around you. His touch was soft, gentle in a way it hadn’t been just moments before.

You rested one hand on the back of his head, the other between his shoulder blades. You idly toyed with strands of his hair as you let your eyes close. Neither of you said anything for a few minutes, instead choosing to revel in the silence and the closeness that came with it. It also gave you each a little while longer to catch your breath.

Eyes still closed, you spoke up, your voice soft but light. “So, you wanna talk about it?” you asked with a quiet laugh.

He was still laying on your chest. You didn’t know for sure but you were willing to bet that his eyes were closed too. “About what?” he replied in a half-mumble.

You dragged your fingers up and down his spine, pressing through his shirt. “Oh, so we’re just going to pretend you haven’t been angry and jealous all day? Gonna pretend that’s not where this came from?” You kept your tone upbeat enough so that it wouldn’t descend into an argument. That wasn’t what you were looking for.

It worked, too, because it got him to let out a laugh. “Wasn’t all day.”

You shook your head, would’ve rolled your eyes if they were open. “You’re such a pain.”

“And you’re not?” he joked right back. He lifted his head to look at you, which got you to open your eyes. “You gonna try and sit there and pretend you weren’t doing that shit to get under my skin?”

You smirked, giving a half-hearted shrug. “I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Why wouldn’t—”

“Oh, c’mon, Rick. We’ve been doing this song and dance for how long now? And we…you never…” You reached up to drag your hands down your face. “We’ve never talked about it. I figured that was your nice way of saying…you know.”

He frowned at that. “Oh.”

You laughed, letting your head drop back to the mattress again. “Good talk.”

He chuckled, pulling away from you just enough so that he could shift and lay beside you. It was easier to look at you that way as he propped his elbow and rested his head in the palm of his hand. “I never said anythin’ because I figured you knew.”

You rolled onto your side to face him. “Knew what?”

His other hand tenderly grazed along your cheek, the callouses on his fingers not feeling harsh in the slightest. “How I feel about you.”

You leaned into his touch. “I’m not a mind reader, you know,” you said with a small laugh. “And, you know,” you placed your hand over his, “you’re not exactly the most open book.”

He cracked a small grin. “No?”

You laughed. “No.”

He was still smiling as he dragged the pad of his thumb along your cheek. “Well, now you know.”

You nodded. “Now I know.”

He pulled you in close to him, tucking your head beneath his chin. You settled into him with ease, the way you had so many times before. He held you tight enough so that you could feel his heartbeat thudding against the side of your face.

He pressed a lazy kiss to the top of your head before saying, “Harkness ever puts a hand on you again though, I’m chopping the fuckin’ thing off.”

You laughed, patting his chest in a joking, reassuring manner. “Sure you are.”

Suicide Squad Taglist: @garbinge @artemiseamoon @words-and-seeds @thrnlvr (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

[bomber-grl]

hi! I’m the anon who sent the naruto headcanons and I wanted to say that I loved them! I was wondering if you could please do more of them, always with team 7 and how the act at the beginning of a relationship/how they keep courting the male/gn reader, maybe how they act when they’re feeling jealous. Thank you again!

Relationship + Jealousy Headcanons

Pairing: Characters x Gn!Ninja!Reader (teammate)

Character(s): Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha

A/n : I’m glad you loved the first ones and I hope you enjoy these too :]

Naruto Uzumaki

Once you start dating he’s in between these two categories: clingy and shy

One second he’d be the hyperactive person we all know (and love) him to be

Going on about Hokage stuff, ramen or honestly anything that comes up in that empty brain of his

Then he’d suddenly become like weirdly self aware, stiff up, turn to you, and continue but with a blush and be more quiet about his interests than before

You could assume it’s him being insecure but he really just gets bashful sometimes

I mean cmon

He’s probs had a crush on you for years and when you get together- you’re like the only person who would even consider him as a potential partner (in his mind)

Especially with how people treated him

Gradually he does get comfortable again, I mean at one point you guys were friends and he was really open about everything

Well eventually it gets to that point again

Just that this time whenever he’s being bold, he turns to you all bashful and turns back away and continues rambling

He’s really stupid but in an endearing way

Naruto is obviously pretty strong, head on and stubborn- we all know that

So imagine some idiot bumping into you and spilling all your stuff

Well Naruto ain’t letting it slide and confronts the person

Whatever stage of life you guys are at, this will go sorta different

Yet weirdly the same-

If you guys are younger, like when team 7 is still the og team 7

Then he’d be stubborn and be really confrontational- going as far as insulting the person and ordering them to help pick your stuff up (whether they do it or not- I can’t say)

If you’re older/mid teens then he’s the same honestly 😭

No matter what he’d still have this “dumb” air around him and don’t think I’m saying it as a bad thing

Because it really is endearing

He’ll always have your back

This was all to say that he’s pretty protective of you

Not when it comes to fighting all that much cuz you probably have it covered (though he’d still be there)

But mostly just when someone disrespects you

Also he’s so sweet

He’ll try to bring you traditional gifts like chocolates or substitute that with something else you like

He’ll always present it to you bashfully and hope that you’ll accept

Despite the fact that you’re literally with him?? Hello?

Also please just indulge him when going to Ichiraku ramen for dates or lunch

Most times he does try to make it up to you if you don’t like those types of dates

Also when it comes to affection, it does take a while for him to fully accept it

He’d definitely be surprised by it and fluster a bit

Eventually he does like physical affection- quite a lot actually

He’ll specifically scout you out for a hug or even to ruffle his hair

Just do it, we all know how touch starved he is

Jealousy wise I’d imagine two different scenarios too

The first is that it’s super obvious that he’s jealous 😭

It’s all over his face and he’s being mean (?) to the person that’s all over you (or not, maybe just someone attractive that’s around you a lil too much)

He’d be pouting too

During this time Sakura or any onlookers at all really, would tell him to cut it out cuz of his more than obvious attitude (second hand embarrassment 4 them)

He’d be sort of immature too

Mocking the person and wondering if they’re really better than him

This is all obvious to you so you’d probably be the first to bring it up

Not that Naruto is bad at communication just that he didn’t think of it

The other way he acts is not jealous- that’s only because he’s oblivious to the other persons advances on you

So he’d be all chill w this person and nice and stuff

And this person is just confused on why blud is okay with it 😭

Sakura Haruno

She’s literally the best person to date ever

She’s also really shy when you start dating

Not like she’s afraid to be affectionate because she really does want to be, but sometimes she gets a bit bashful at the idea

When she decides to be bold and hold your hand or even goes for a hug -

If you even slightly tease her she’ll definitely give you a serving of her iconic punch- straight to the face too 😭

Scratch that, she’ll throw an uppercut

Despite this comedic scene, once you hug her back she’ll feel touched and it just becomes a sweet moment for the two of you

Most moments with her tend to follow the same pattern as above

Gift wise she’ll definitely be the type of person to make you sweet home made stuff or even goes as far as buying treats or stuff she knows you’ll enjoy

Shed be flustered when she gives it to you and maybe a bit tsundere if Naruto or Ino is there to tease her for it

She’d likely give it to you later in the evening when she knows you’re not too busy

Despite the fact that you’re lit together

And that’s when she gives it to you

The only way to react is being overjoyed at the gift and hugging her or giving her some affection, I don’t make the rules

And if you decide for this to be your first kiss? Inner sakura would definitely be there totally pumped up while irl she’s acting all like a “shy” girl 😭

After having been walked home by you and closed the front door, she would definitely celebrate the new achievement

Now when it comes to what Sakura expects of you, just be the bare minimum

I swear I can’t emphasize this enough, just be a decent person

Even though we all know she deserves more

Make sure to gift her stuff in return too, not just lousy stuff but something you know she’ll cherish

Doesn’t even have to be expensive just something you know she’ll like, even then it wouldn’t hurt for it to have been costly

She’s always thinking of you too

You’re on her mind literally every waking hour

She walks home after a busy day and walks by a stall/store window and sees something you might like? She figures it wouldn’t hurt to buy it

She’s deciding what to eat? She’ll go out of her way to get something you can both share/ something of bigger portion just to have an excuse to sit with you

Not even something she has to do since her presence alone is a gift

She’s so beautiful too

And when you tell her, either by just slipping up because you were too entranced by her- she’ll be super flustered and try to play it off as a joke or you being “weird”

She’ll definitely go to sleep thinking about it though

Twirling her hair and kicking her feet and all

Eventually dates are in order

I won’t lie, Sakura would definitely want you to take her out first

She’s not even opposed to taking you out for a meal and paying either

She just prefers for you to first

Whether it’s for reassurance or preference- well it’s really unclear

Anyways, you end up taking her to a nice restaurant with plenty of choices

She doesn’t mind if it’s a small or quiet one either

Just as long as it’s with you

I do think Sakura would be the jealous type, try to hide it, but then fail miserably

Let me explain

Let’s say a person comes up to you- or even someone you’re assigned to protect is being awfully flirty

Well she’ll be as calm as she can be but it’s so obvious with her harsh actions that she’s fuming

Inner Sakura definitely shows that too

She doesn’t blame it on you or anything so that’s good but she’d still be pissed

It’s super funny too because Naruto would be terrified of interacting with her because then she’ll just take it out on him

And Sai? Yea he doesn’t gaf, he’ll still approach her

Even if it ends in him be wrangled and Naruto joining in

Naruto just because he was nearby*

This behavior doesn’t stop until the person leaves

Afterwards Sakura just doesn’t like the person at all 😭

Sasuke Uchiha

Og nonchalant

Or not???

Really depends with him because he sort of has mood swings

On one hand he’s really focused on his goal of restoring his clan and yknow the whole Itachi bit

(Not really a mood swing)

But he can’t deny that you’ve captured his heart

Plus, with him and his behavior- you’re likely super stubborn or hella in love

Probably both

I mean you’re already dating at this point but nothing really changes much

He’s pretty straightforward but with information that’s private- he keeps it that way

It’s pretty sad (?) in a way

At first it could definitely come off as him not liking you point blank

But when you really think about it you know that can’t be the case

You’re like the only person he’s ever even slightly been nice to

Honestly I’d believe it if you’re the only one amongst the Konoha residents that has seen sasuke laugh or smile

Up to a certain point)

He may be cold and distant but he doesn’t mean to be

He realizes that too the more you go into your relationship

So he tries not to be so emotionally constipated and tries to show you in subtle ways that, yes, he actually does care

Quite a lot honestly

Not really subtle though because it’s a stark difference between how he normally acts

By the time sasuke has the courage to hold your hand- it’s by the time where couples would normally have been doing much more

Honestly really depends when you date him too

Because if your relationship starts at teams 7 era

No it didn’t, he’s too clouded by getting revenge to actually act on it

Maybe, just maybe during shippuden

Even then he’s extremely difficult and hard to be around sometimes

And if you’re together, his behavior could definitely be a dealbreaker and cause some fights in your relationship

Patience is definitely required if you wanna go down the sasuke route 😮‍💨

I know I said previously that sasuke is really distant for a good while even with you

but eventually, gradually, he does open up more

Like about his past, his motivations, private and more vulnerable stuff like that

Now without the angsty-ish hcs, interacting with sasuke affectionately also has varied reactions

More often than not he’ll be, what can best be described as, tsundere

You could try and hug him while he’s overthinking but he’ll just shrink away

- a reaction that shows you he doesn’t feel like being touched

Obviously it’s a boundary that’s respected by you but it could also cause you to feel upset too

Then, after he shrinks away you look up to him

more specifically his face

Immediately you can see blush dusted on his cheeks

He gets easily flustered by interactions like this, I mean I can’t even imagine how touch starved he is

Now comes the rare occasion where he’s fine with it

Even leans into your touch

It’s pretty rare but sometimes he’s just exhausted and craves your touch

What can I say

Jealousy wise he’s terrible

He’s extremely jealous but tries to act like he isn’t bothered by what’s happening at all

Might even distance himself even more from you if he feels jealous

Could even spiral to him overthinking and feeling like his attachment to you is a weakness

Which quickly disappears because then he goes over to you and yanks you away from the person in question

Also did I forget to mention? DONT TEASE HIM

I can emphasize this enough

Hugging him for the first time in a while and he accepts? Don’t say anything

Same with this

I know people usually like to tease their partners with “awww you’re jealous?” But that’s just antagonizing him

Causes him to trust you less too so a definite ‘not’

Also extremely possessive over you

Like he’s usually hostile to others for no reason but if you’re being targeted then he’s definitely pissed off

Especially if someone thinks they can even try to make moves on you

Definitely takes a lot of patience but just dont pity him I guess (?) 😭

If you’re caring or try to be sympathetic with him he’ll mistake it for pity so yea

He gets more comfortable as the relationship becomes more serious

[dootznbootz]

Hello, I want to ask this question but I don't want it to sound disrespectful, I really want to know and I'm not trying to be rude.

Why are Helen and Menelaus one of your OTPs? I mean, at least the versions I know Helen falls in love with Paris and willingly goes to Troy with him (but I have to say that this was told to me, I didn't read it from any legitimate source, so I could be wrong) so I'd like to know what makes you love them! And that's all, I hope you have a nice day:3

YIPPEE! :D First of all, I wanna say thank you for being polite and genuine with your ask :3 I really appreciate that you seem to be coming from a genuinely curious perspective and want to know why! I hope you have a lovely day too <3

And then~ Ima put some links to other posts of mine (AND some other lovely folks) that discuss Helen and Menelaus and the whole thing with Paris. Most have text evidence :3

I have made the ones that I think are most important to read in bold

Menelaus in the Iliad talking about how Paris stole Helen

A fantastic essay written by another Tumblr user (deactivated now. you will be missed!) that delves into the reality of Paris and Helen's relationship alongside Paris as a person

My own essay about how Odysseus and Helen play "similar roles" in their stories. I'm assuming you've found me through my Odyssey and Water Wife stuff, so you're probably an Odysseus fan so this kind of delves into how I, personally, believe that Odysseus and Helen mirror each other in many ways plot wise. So if you are also in agreement that Odysseus couldn't have cheated because cheating requires consent, Helen is basically in the same situation. Paris is just basically having Aphrodite strongarm Helen for him.

My Own personal feelings on Paris

A neat essay on how, narratively, the story fits into the themes of the whole Epic Cycle and the Iliad if Helen was actually kidnapped

Some stuff on Menelaus being a soft man in canon :3

My Own post delving somewhat into Helen's unwillingness with some text evidence

I recommend reading most of these (or at least the ones that intrigue you) and then I can chatter about these sillies below 🥹

So in canon, just for the Iliad and the Odyssey, Menelaus is often portrayed as a quiet, shy even, and I would even go so far as to call him gentle, man. (It's kind of a collective fanon headcanon that Menelaus is austistic coded based on his behavior in the texts) It's something really interesting that one of his epithet's is "War Loving" and yet, he's one of the more "peaceful" kings there.

Adrestus rolled out of the chariot beside the wheel, face down in the dirt. Menelaus, son of Atreus,                        stood there over him, holding his long-shadowed spear. Adrestus clutched Menelaus by the knees and begged: “Take me alive, son of Atreus—you’ll get good ransom. My father is a wealthy man, owns lots of things—bronze, silver, well-worked iron. So he’ll give you a splendid ransom, if he learns I’m by Achaean ships, alive.”                             Adrestus pleaded. Menelaus’s heart in his chest was moved. He was about to hand Adrestus to his attendant, to take back captive to the fast Achaean ships.           But then Agamemnon came running up to him, sharply criticizing Menelaus:  “Menelaus, you soft-hearted man, why are you sparing men’s lives like this? In your own home, Trojans treated you exceptionally well, did they not? So don’t let any one of them evade a terrible destruction at our hands— not even the young child still carried in his mother’s belly. Let no one escape.                         Let everyone in Troy be slaughtered, without pity, without leaving any trace.”    

(Book 6, Johnston)

Like the main reason WHY Menelaus is fighting this war in the first place and fighting so hard, is because he just wants Helen back. Literally the most "violent" we've seen Menelaus is, imo, during his fight with Paris, the man who kidnapped Helen and is forcing himself upon her. As he literally starts DRAGGING Paris by his helmet on the ground. And when Paris offers Treasure in place of Helen, Diomedes' declines on his (and technically all the other Achaeans') behalf as Menelaus was injured.

And if you've looked at the bolded links I put above, you'll see how Helen also desperately does not want to be there and just wants to go back home, missing Menelaus and their daughter, Hermione.

And with Helen, she literally basically tells Paris that since he would've lost the fight with Menelaus, therefore would've been killed, if not for Aphrodite, that he should kill himself because that's what's honorable.

“You’ve come back from the fight. How I wish   you’d died there, killed by that strong warrior who was my husband once. You used to boast you were stronger than warlike Menelaus,  more strength in your hands, more power in your spear. So go now, challenge war-loving Menelaus to fight again in single combat. I’d suggest you stay away. Don’t fight it out man to man with fair-haired Menelaus, without further thought. You might well die, come to a quick end on his spear.”  

(Book 3, Johnston)

I honestly fucking love how Helen straight up says to Paris' face that she wished Menelaus killed him. Deserved.

In some ways, I think Paris is a very neat contrast to Menelaus in how Paris left his wife and child behind to start a life with a new "better" wife, while Menelaus is willing to go to war to bring the wife he loves so much back home, safe and happy, with him. Menelaus can't even think of the idea of just "starting anew".

And in the Odyssey, it's just... It's just so sweet seeing how these two interact when Telemachus goes to Sparta to talk to them. Helen is no longer in tears, and while she's still dealing with her self-loathing and guilt, so does Menelaus. They share this burden together and are very gentle with each other. The way she's back to being so happy and hosting as a happy Queen and wife should, is so SO different from how we see Helen in the Iliad, as she's finally happy, safe, and at home. 😭

Like, please look at how silly these two are when they see Telemachus:

Right away she started speaking to her husband, asking him some detailed questions:                                   “Do we know, my divinely cherished Menelaus, who these two men who’ve come into our home claim to be? Shall I speak up and pretend, or shall I tell the truth? My heart tells me                            I must be frank. I can’t say I’ve ever seen                            someone who looks so much like someone else, whether man or woman. When I see it, I’m amazed—this man looks just like the son of brave Odysseus—I mean Telemachus, who, when he left home, was a new-born child, when, because I’d acted so disgracefully, you Achaeans all sailed away to Troy, your hearts intent on brutal warfare.” Fair-haired Menelaus then answered her and said: “This likeness you’ve just noticed, my dear wife,               I’ve seen, as well. His feet are similar, as are his hands, the glances from his eyes,                                              his head, and his hair on top. And just now, as I was remembering Odysseus, discussing all the troubles he’d endured because of me, he let a bitter tear fall from his eyes and raised the purple cloak across his face.”

(Book 4, Johnston)

Like??? She feels free to speak and state her mind because she IS free with Menelaus. She feels respected and loved in her own house and is the queen to his king and slkdjf kljdsfalj THEY'RE HAPPYYYYYY

In the Odyssey also, it was she who interpreted the omen that Telemachus and Pesistratus even though Menelaus was asked to interpret it! ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HER HAPPILY BEING A QUEEN AND HER AND HER WORDS BEING RESPECTED.

Menelaus, for all his warlike qualities, was at a loss to give him the correct interpretation, and his beautiful wife forestalled him. 'Listen,' she said, 'while with such inspiration as I have I explain this omen and what I feel sure that it portends. [...]

(Book 15, E.V. Rieu)

LOOK AT EURIPIDES' HELEN

Like to me, these two in canon are kind of "opposites attract" while OdyPen are "Likeminded". As Helen is definitely one to chatter more and Menelaus is perfectly fine letting Helen talk for him.

And while young, Menelaus and Agamemnon after their father, Atreus, was killed by their uncle, they had to flee Mycenae to stay safe and were exiled. And where did they stay during this time?

In Sparta, WITH TYNDAREUS AND LEDA, HELEN'S PARENTS >:3

And with most depictions of Menelaus and Odysseus when getting married to Helen and Penelope, both are usually beardless, implying youth/same age. So I love the idea of them being childhood friends to lovers. (that's just MY interpretation though) It's part of the reason why Helen picked him out of all the suitors (though yeah, another interpretation)

AND look at this depiction of them reunitiing!!!

So for the context for this specific version/interpretation of them reuniting, he has just killed Deiphobus, Paris' brother that Helen went to after Paris died, (Troy was fated to fall, if Helen was returned, Menelaus and the other Achaeans would go home and Troy would be left alone, so... Fate interfered with Helen even possibly going home) and she was in the room when it happened. Helen, being somewhat scared that Menelaus would try to kill her, started to run. (That's Helen on the Right, the left is supposed to be Aphrodite, who, while she did keep Helen in Troy for Paris, is still the goddess of love. So that's why she's there.)

BUT LOOK HOW HE TOSSED HIS SWORD TO THE SIDE TO RUN TO HER?! 😭

In general, I love the dynamics that play into their relationship AND how their relationship even plays with other characters like OdyPen. I'm not as detailed with their lives as I am with my OdyPen, they're still heavily involved in my ideas and they're all very close. They go on double dates!

Heck, since I have the whole "childhood friends" stuff in my stuff, Helen, Menelaus, Penelope, Castor, and Deiphobus all grew up together and were kind of a goofy lil crew :3 (I have aged up Clytemnestra to work with my Agamemnon more with how I have my timeline work out :') The timeline is a mess and this is how I'm making it work)

Like, My OdyPen are my "Freak4Freak, Likeminded, ADHD, squirming, wriggling, giggling, nuzzling noses and constantly moving and chattering" couple while my MenHelen are my "Slow and relaxed, long kisses, Helen chatters while Menelaus listens, Menelaus is Helen's weighted blanket person who eases her anxiousness with his quiet demeanor, staring at each other with big eyes." couple 🥹

Snippets of my goobers being affectionate in their own special way, my OdyPen one from my one longfic and my MenHelen is just a snippet I wrote recently.

OdyPen squirm and wriggle while MenHelen stare at each other with big eyes and are each others safe place.

My dear friend, @thehelplessmortals (One of MenHelen's super fans! Check em out if you're even more curious about them! they have their own fanart and headcanons for them too!) doodled my version of the goobers being silly. My Helen is Chubby and 6'4 (Zeus' child and most beautiful woman in the world) and she likes to wrestle, and Menelaus is 6'2, she can pick him up >:3

"DAD, I WANT THIS ONE!"

Also~ Here's my list of Odyssey translations I've gathered :3 Feel free to pick one if you ever wanna read the actual text.

[tanoraqui]

now that this fic is all published, I can ramble about the things that happen afterward in the timeline! Feel SO free to ask about anything you want more details of.

First off, all three posts about Dave the Balrog are 100% canon to this au, except for where they sometimes contradict the fic's worldbuilding or plot bc I hadn't settled on every detail yet. Also, Dave’s name is probably more like “Drav”, from the Sindarin “drava-”, “to hew.”

That happens much later, though - about 1980 TA. FIRST, immediately, as Celebrimbor says: it's time to save the orcs!

That is, wildly self-indulgent crossover with @ceescedasticity's fic(verse) elves, once, which isn't 100% my headcanon for orcs but it's essentially canon for this au because it makes everything VERY FUNNY in a tragic irony way. I've thought about this so much that it really deserves its own bullet-point post, but highlights include:

- Annatar attempts to conceal the fact that Curufin and Celegorm are orcs, and, y'know, have been since they died. This works until Celebrimbor identifies a bunch of the orc army's weapons as made by his father, even if the style is strange and fell, and the two of the have a HUGE fight in front of representatives of every Elvish kingdom in Middle Earth and most of an army of orcs.

- Bellow/Turgon is having the single strangest, most uncomfortable road trip of his life, and he counts the crossing of the Helcaraxë in that total.

- Turgon tries to convince Galadriel to take Celebrían and Elrond and get out of here, because inevitably this must be a cruel trick and all the orcs will be forced to turn on all the Elves. Galadriel is like, "Honestly, I've been watching Celebrimbor's slow corruption and Sauron's slower un-corruption for about 2,000 years now, and I think we actually have a shot at this. Also, bold of you to assume you can beat me in a fight."

- Curufin and Celegorm had BOOKED IT when Annatar's summoning-compulsion snapped, on the reasonable assumption that any plan the Dark Lord had for them + Celebrimbor could only be cruel to the extreme...so Celebrimbor and Annatar go on a bonus road trip to retrieve them.

- Everyone meets up by the Sea again, but instead of taking (or, obeying) the offer of escape into Ulmo's hands, Turgon and probably a bunch of other orcs volunteer to come help break the Crucible. They Deserve This.

- In the end, as usual, the day is ultimately saved - as are the souls of thousands of trapped elves - by the power of love and overwhelming violence.

AND THEN...

Celebrimbor & Annatar don't actually rebuild Ost-in-Edhil and Eregion as they were. Those days are over, and also the surviving Númenoreans kinda...regard Annatar as Absolute Evil, for some mysterious reason. And those who knew about the whole or even partial conspiracy - namely Tar-Miriel herself - aren't too keen on Celebrimbor, either.

They leave whoever wants to stay and rebuild in Eregion, leadership tbd based on the traditional system of craft-based meritocracy, and take a few decades off to lay low from geopolitics, work on their marriage, and for Celebrimbor to learn a little bit of necromancy so he can manipulate his own fëa and hröa, thank you very much.

They stay with the Witch-Queen of Calador for a while, discreetly because officially that kingdom is also not on good terms with its “former” evil-ish overlord. (The Witch-Queen of Calador and her not really sane, almost certainly unsafe, but arguably consensual relationship with Annatar really deserves her own post, too. She’s my favorite OC of this au. She really loves bats.)

Elrond & Celebrían get married! Elrond always knew his wedding would have to involve stopping drunken brawls from erupting between people who love him but hate each other, but he’d assumed it’d be Iathrim and Fëanorians, not an elderly Queen Miriel going for Annatar’s eyes with a butter knife.

Annatar regards the birth of Elrohir and Elladan with some concern, this alarming lineage now augmented by the blood of Arafinwë (cut off Melkor’s foot) and Galadriel (Melian’s pupil, hates him). But that’s nothing to how freaked out he is by Arwen, who is such an obvious Reprise of Lúthien that it’s now CLEAR that this was all a Melian scheme to assault him, personally.

He can’t just kill her now—Elrond and Galadriel and both right here, not to mention Celebrimbor. And then she’d absolutely be his enemy when she Returned… No, the only solution is to stay in Imladris for a while and become her most beloved uncle whom she would not dream of assaulting, whom she could not bring herself to injure even if circumstance and conscience forced her hand. Love has ever been the undoing of Melian’s line. The Reprise is obvious, but not so established that he cannot twist it into irony, Lúthien’s heir as his devoted student and companion rather than foe.

[smash cut to late 3rd Age Annatar watching the Music settle into place as Arwen interacts with the newest, currently toddling scion of the House of Elendil and nearly killing the child right then because no, no, thats not how this was supposed to Reprise—that’s his jewel of an elf-queen, Singer and trade-manipulator and niece, and he’s going to lose her forever? Killing the brat won’t even work, that would only make her follow him sooner, one way or another—]

Celebrimbor doesn’t want to build a city (and have his heart broken by the loss of the city) again, but he very much does want to ImproveThe World, and also to Make Things With His Hands. So he and Annatar, and whoever of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain wish to join them, set about… “Traveling” is too loose a term; just because they’re not city-building doesn’t mean anyone here wants to live on the road. They need workshops, forges, and ideally a maia-sized cat tree tall tower from which to survey their domain. They are a highly skilled work crew/technical, artistic & management consultants who change cities every 5-200 years, throughout Middle Earth and perhaps even other continents.

This what Celebrimbor and Annatar do, for most of the rest of their time in Middle Earth. A few of the Mírdain travel with them all the time. Others strike out on their own, or in similar small groups. Others stay in rebuilt Ost-in-Edhil, or Rivendell or the Havens or another Elvish kingdom, and come lend a hand when their particular talents are called for. Everyone who “died” in Númenor and was “resuscitated” by Annatar walked away with a strengthened, basically permanent osanwë connection to the simulated workshop group chat, which they’re aware of, and a location tracker and fëa-stamp saying “PROPERTY OF MAIRON, FUCK AROUND AND YOU WILL FIND OUT” which only an Ainu could detect.

They're the mysterious stranger(s) who accept an offer of hospitality on a stormy night and reward you with a magic ring that blesses your farm with fecundity. They arrive in a city in the middle of a cholera outbreak and inform the local rulers that they're here to overhaul the whole wells & sewers system in exchange for room and board; no, the local rulers do not get a choice in this. One time they do oust an evil ruling dynasty and just kinda take over the kingdom for a few centuries, but then Celebrimbor starts to get paranoid of his own growing attachment so Annatar reluctantly agrees to find and raise some honorable candidate for kingship [gender-neutral]. One of the Mírdain with them says, what about the choice of the people? And then after a lot of discussion, partly in collaboration with their local Men, they write up and seal with Power a Constitution that establishes an oversight body of political, economic, craft and etc. experts to oversee and have veto power over popular elections to kingship from a slate of candidates chosen by the current/soon-to-be previous king, on a strict thirty-year schedule. There, that should stabilize the whole messy business of mortal succession!

Also, 1300 years or so into the Third Age when this version of Gondor hits its equivalent of the Kin-Strife, Annatar takes advantage of its weakness to initiate a plan he's been contemplating for a while, especially while gaining local insight into a variety of nation-states and their management, and returns to Oroduin to forge what may he his last Great Work...a new standard of currency.

It’s called, in the common tongue developing from Adúnaic and Sindarin, the “mira”, pl. “miran”, from Quenya “mírë” (“jewel, precious thing). Where pettier currencies are based in gold or silver or the might of some particular empire, these hold value Because a Great Maia Said So—indeed, Sang So, Sang a new line into the Great Music that these coins would always have a value of…whatever he said so, if he updated a petty lyric or two of their Song. Those who use the coins don’t need to know this; they simply intuit, with coins in hand, what they are worth.

(You can lead even the mightiest empire by the nose if you control the price of grain alone, much less other commodities, or one currency relative to another. Each minute adjustment takes Power, especially to shift the natural balance of multiple interlocking goods…but Annatar is a master of the perfectly placed lever with which to shift the world.)

Maybe at some point the Valar are like, “okay, I think they don’t irrationally hate us anymore, I think this could work” and send a small group of Maiar to openly, humbly approach Annatar and Celebrimbor and ask if they might be apprentices in the craft of…whatever the fuck is happening here. Or maybe something adjacent, because Pallandro and Alatar would really like to fuck off into those excellent looking woods and hunt the remnants of Ungoliant’s spawn, and Radagast actually wandered away 5 minutes ago to talk to a bird. He’s gonna be a while. But Curumo and Olórin are listening politely!

…Or maybe not. Maybe it’s just the Jewelsmiths, slowly becoming folklore, bettering the world (and manipulating wide-scale economics) one stone at a time. (They’d still be the “Jewelsmiths” anyway, even if they included those who, in another universe, were called “The Wise.”)

As stated in the third Dave the Balrog post, they do Sail eventually, several centuries after Arwen’s death. Celebrimbor just gets tired, and Annatar can’t fix it. Ossë spends the whole voyage backstroking next to their ship and sarcastically quoting Annatar back at himself, Years of the Trees insults about being made weak and pathetic by love, until Annatar nearly lunges over the side as a wolf to tear his throat out.

[mediumgayitalian]

previous

———

“Hm,” Piper says, fingers steepled. She looks very intently at the air in front of her. “Hm.”

Nico scowls impatiently. “Feel free to be helpful at any given time. Now, even, if you’re so inclined.”

“Have you considered that the reason you’re so infatuated with Will is because you may be blessed by Apollo?”

“I’m infatuated with Will because he is the physical manifestation of everything I value in a person,” Nico says automatically. Then he frowns, processing the rest of Piper’s sentence. “Wait, what?”

Nico understands his error as the grin on her face stretches into something truly grotesque. “I was going to make a joke about your drama levels, but thank you for that. I’m really looking forward to telling several dozen people and delighting in the knowledge that you’re going to curl up into a bundle of humiliation under your bunk tonight as you think about it.”

Instead of answering, Nico decides to walk away. Since there is so much blood concentrated in his skull, resting mostly around his face region, he takes two steps and begins to pass out, but luckily Piper has followed him and impedes a head injury by gripping his arm and merrily forcing him forward.

“So,” she says, steering them towards the amphitheatre, “what’s Plan B?”

“Bold of you to assume there was a Plan A.”

“You like Sunny Boy way too much to walk in there blind.”

“…Touché.”

She’s smug enough to be silent, slinging an arm over Nico’s shoulders as they walk. The closer they get, the harder Nico is forced to grapple with just how godsdamn much he’s softened. I want you to be happy, Father had said. Camp will be good for you, Chiron had agreed. You’re a little twit and need socializing, Mr. D had snipped.

Nico needs a better father figure. He wonders if Paul Blofis’ offer is still open.

The amphitheater is not, of course, empty when they arrive, because Nico knows the Fates personally and each of them despises him. The actual training part is empty — unsurprising — but the stands are moderately filled, with people gossiping, braiding hair, and if Nico is not mistaken, a small, pop-up nail painting salon. Mitchel lifts a purple-smeared hand in an absentminded wave as they step onto the packed dirt.

Nico ducks under Piper’s arm, turning to face her. “I need to fight you,” he informs her. “For my own personal pride.”

She nods thoughtfully. “It does indeed need restoring.” He curved, icy blade gleams in the early afternoon sun, mirroring her dangerous smile. “Square up.”

Since honour is for nerds, Nico doesn’t bother waiting. He simply attacks, lunging for the left side Piper always leaves open. Unfortunately for him, her recent meddling in his love life means her mother has blessed her with a little sprinkling of extra verve, and she dodges easily and cheerfully.

He sends a glum mental prayer down to his father.

Anytime you’re feeling generous, Pop, he grumbles, I would love a boost.

There’s an actual rumble to the ground, as his father laughs at him.

“Real kind,” he says out loud. “Dick.”

“I wonder if you would have more success in the wooing department if you had conversations outside of your own head,” Piper says sweetly. She spins her sword in a neat little circle by his face. “All bay brooding makes you look so…broody.”

Nico scoffs at her. “Will seems to like my broodiness. For some reason. So there.”

“And yet…” She trails off, shooting him a teasing look. Nico is unfortunately very easy to tease (thanks, Bianca) (and for that measure thanks, Hazel) (Reyna too, probably) (and honestly Annabeth) (gods, and Percy) (don’t even get him started on Leo) (really, it would be more prudent to name the people who do not take sick pleasure in driving him up the wall) and as such succumbs easily to her tormenting, taking a hard hit to the side when he’s too keyed up to avoid her spinning slash.

“Note to self, don’t let the monsters know about big embarrassing crushes,” she muses. “They make Nico sloppy and will get him killed in battle.”

She mimes writing something down. This, thankfully, leaves her distracted enough that Nico gets his sword levered against hers, twisting until she’s disarmed. She lifts both hands up in surrender when he points a sword at her throat, but remains entirely unaffected by his glare.

“Pride re-instated?” she asks.

Nico huffs. “No.”

…Yes.

“You’re such a grouch,” she says fondly. She tries to ruffle his hair and is forcibly stopped by his jab to her ribs. Unfortunately, Piper McLean takes no shit sitting down, and in a minute they’re on the floor, getting caked in dust, trying to see who can leave the most bruises on the other. Nico would wager that they’re just about tied.

“You have a list,” Piper grunts, muffled as she bites his bicep. He shouts, wrenching his arm away — she is pointy. “I have no idea what you’re all mopey about.”

He digs his knee into the small of her back. “I gave him flowers! He made a poultice out of them!”

“Technically, you made the poultice.”

He elbows her in the stomach. She shrieks and jabs her knuckles right under his eye.

“You’re so annoying!”

“You’re so annoying!”

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Every part of Nico’s body aches. So badly. He’s not sure which one of them won their brawl, if either, but he knows for sure that he is actively turning purple. He feels like the first time his nonna gave him a hammer and a piece of cutlet — he was maybe five years old — and told him to flatten it. (He remembers, now, the look on her face as she wiped pulverized chicken flesh from her eye. Oops.)

“Go to Will and get healed up?”

Nico huffs a laugh, immediately wincing at the strain on his tender ribs.

“Yep. Let’s go.”

The walk is miserable and bruised. And slow, since both of them are limping. Several campers walk by snickering, since apparently Saving The Entire Damn World, For Real And Actually, You Ungrateful Brat, Should I Just Destroy It Again Then earns you no permanent respect.

It’s not too bad, though. Nico would rather chomp on concrete than admit it out loud, but Piper isn’t horrible company, and she hums when she walks. Bianca did the same thing. For once, it’s a pleasant reminder, although he does wonder if Nico will ever be able to look at the women in his life and not think of her.

(In all honesty, probably not. He sees her in the clouds, in the gnarled bark of the trees; feels her in the warmth of the sun; hears her in every snorting laugh. He likes to imagine how much she would love these women, though. If she were alive they would be her friends first. He knows she was happy with the Hunters, however briefly. He thinks he can maybe forgive himself if he thinks of her without weeping.)

“Least it doesn’t look too busy today,” Piper comments. She purses her lips at the Big House, which for once seems quiet. Perhaps Will made good on his threats and finally dosed the Hermes’ table breakfast spread with Benadryl. Nico would be proud. He deserves a day of peace.

“Great. That means we get the full force of Will’s bitching on us alone.”

Piper scoffs. “Please. You like it when he yells at you.”

Nico almost kills her for real. By the time she manages to kick him off of her, still snickering to herself, they both have a new layer of bruises on top of the old ones.

“Gods, di Angelo, you make it so easy —”

“Shut up,” he says hotly. “You are literally the most annoying person in this stupid camp.”

She sticks her tongue out at him. He scowls, kicking a rock to avoid kicking her and setting both of them off again. It rolls over the grass, pinging off the side of one of the many braziers and rolling finally to a stop back at his feet. In its new position, it perfectly catches the brightly shining sun, refracting the light in a dandelion-esque burst.

“Huh,” he murmurs.

Wincing at his stiff joints, he crouches, vaguely registering Piper pausing somewhere to the left of him. He scoops the little thing up, bringing it close to his face to inspect.

It’s roughly cut, so it’s not anyone’s jewel or anything. Some of the pieces are textured with tiny little divots, like a regular stone, but some are straight and flat and catch the light. Some kind of crystal, then. It’s dense, about the size of a walnut, and shaped kind of like a brain. It is a very familiar shade of blue.

“Holt Hades, you are sappy.”

Nico flushes, shoving the rock into his pocket. “Nobody asked you, Piper.”

“I asked me! I am always asking me.” She jogs to keep up with his suddenly speedy strides, gripping onto the elbow of his shirt when he tries to move faster. “Is this Plan B? Little gifts.”

“It’s a rock,” he says shortly.

“Diamonds are rocks.”

“I didn’t get him a diamond.” He pauses. “Should I get him a diamond?”

She shrugs. “I dunno. I’m not the one in love with him.”

“Who said anything about —”

“Nico! Piper! Hey!”

“Notice who he called first,” she whispers, right in his ear. She grins over at Will before he can say anything. Or curse her. “Hey, Will! How are you?”

It is unfair for a person to look good in mint scrubs. They don’t even suit him, not really, but he still looks — well, he’s beautiful. His hair is poofier than usual and sticks out like he stuck his finger in a socket, and his beam is so bright Nico has to genuinely squint to look at him, and how is it, honestly, that his freckles look like dappled sunlight? That’s not normal.

“I’m okay.” He waves them inside, not bother to close the door behind them — it’s nice out, and Nico knows he prefers the breeze and sun. “Bored.”

“Not enough ocular surgery to perform?”

Will’s grin turns wry. “Nope.” He reaches out to brush his thumb across Nico’s eye scar. He freezes, holding his breath, hyperaware of those callused fingers as they approach the ever-warming skin of his face, heart galloping in his chest. As soon as Will makes contact — because of course the touch was to get his vitals, c’mon, Nico, head in the game — he frowns.

“Why are so many of your capillaries burst?”

Piper smiles guiltily, holding up a hand.

“I beat him up.”

“Wha — you did not!” He turns to Will, indignant. “We beat each other up! She’s lying!”

Will sighs. He glares at them both for a full forty seconds, then turns his face up to the heavens, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like I do not deserve to be surrounded by this kind of dumbassery. Send lightning through the sky if I should let them suffer.

Nico waits. No lightning comes forth.

Will sighs. “Cot, let’s go, y’all know the drill.”

Piper mouths y’all as she sits down. Nico mouths eat dirt back at her.

“Now, I could hum sum’n and —”

“Sum’n,” Piper whispers delightedly. Nico ignores her.

“— get y’all fixed up good, but y’all’ve pissed me off good —”

Nico takes the initiative to pillow-smack Piper in the face while Will’s back is turned. Luckily, it muffles her shriek.

“— so I’m not gonna do all that.” He closes the cupboard with his hip, hands full of vials. “Ain’t even gonna waste ambrosia on y’all, honestly. Y’get some bruise ointment and a Tylenol ‘cause I know y’all were up to shenanigans.”

He puts a lot of emphasis on ‘nan’. Nico knows he is trying very hard to be stern, but he is in fact very cute, and Nico is putting a lot of his brainpower towards memorizing the specific wrinkle pattern that Will’s nose gets when he’s annoyed. If he says that Will looks like a bunny he might actually get shot, no matter how much Will allegedly seems to like him, so he manages to choke down the sentiment. But it is indeed there.

“— and take it easy, y’hear? Bruises don’t heal in a day.”

Gods, his eyes are really, really pretty. He’s almost tired of thinking it, but they match the sky exactly, all the time. Poets write about sparkling eyes and pretty faces all the time, but all of them can choke because all of them are liars. Will Solace has the prettiest eyes of anyone who has ever lived. They are indeed the windows to the soul, and his soul is just —

“This is for you,” Nico blurts. Essentially acting on its own, his hand slips in his pocket and draws out the blue stone, holding it out. “Um. I saw it and —” He glances at Piper, panicked, and she kicks him in encouragement. “Thought of you. So.”

Will stares at the stone for a moment. Nico sweats.

“Nico di Angelo,” he chides, hands on his hips. The panicked look he flits in Piper’s direction grows tenfold. He is not at all comforted by the grimace she sends back. “Do you think I’m so corrupt as to accept a bribe?”

“Um.” Nico hesitates. Piper smacks her face onto her hands, groaning. “That’s not what I —”

“Well, you would be correct.” Quick as a bird, Will darts out and snatches the stone, sliding it into one of his many (many) shorts pockets, nodding in approval. “I don’t have any aventurine. I’ve been looking for it. Good bribe.”

He sets down the ointment and Tylenol, gesturing for Nico to hold out his hands. Nico sighs, then complies.

“I mean, he didn’t destroy it, this time,” Piper whispers as he begins to sing, enveloping Nico’s body in a warm, golden glow. “So…progress?”

“Progress,” Nico agrees. He glances over at Will, eyes squeezed shut in focus, and rolls his eyes fondly. “Who knew it would be so hard to convince someone who already likes me to go out with me.”

———

next

[spaghettixdemon]

J Stands for more words than one PT.2

“While introducing his new girlfriend to the team, JJ is automatically confronted with her feelings for Spencer when they begin to get in the way of things"

DISCLAIMER You are responsible for the content you consume. Make sure to read all necessary warnings. Minors do not interact. Please remember this is a work of fiction; if you don’t like it, don’t read it.

Warnings: Drinking/Drunkenness, P in V, getting freaky in a car, fighting, slight mentions of death, Jealousy??

Pairing: Spencer Reid x F! Reader

Word Count: 2.7k (I am FEEDING y'all)

Little author message here- these are just ramblings and I never really planned on cleaning it up so again if it sounds funky that's way <3 read part 1 here

—————————————————————————————————

The room was uncomfortably quiet as the BAU team watched the silhouette of Spencer make its way toward them. JJ fidgeted with her fingers as Spencer and a shorter, younger woman made their way to the room smiling awkwardly and laughing to themselves. JJ was honestly a little caught off guard- She and Spencer had been the youngest at the BAU headquarters...up until now. They were in their mid-to-late twenties, and this girl didn’t look any older than 22. Her hair was all done up and her makeup was pretty bold- not necessarily in a bad way though, it just looked like she had been working on how she’d present herself for quite some time. JJ did a once-over of the girl. She felt a little unprepared if she was being real. This person Spence had been ‘dating’ was attractive -like really pretty. Most of the time the team referred to Spence as a nerd- so the fact that this person he brought in wasn’t visibly also a nerd, surprised her.

————————————————————————————————— Spencer smiled awkwardly and grabbed Y/N’s hand. “Hey so um…this is who I wanted you all to meet.!.This is my girlfriend, Y/N” Garcia clapped her hands and hurried over to the girl along with Derek and Emily. “AWW it’s so great to finally meet you! We’ve heard so much about you!” Y/N laughed awkwardly, caught off guard by the bubbly personality. “Oh ha- really? That’s so nice..” She paused and gave Garcia a once-over before shyly smiling “You must be Penelope…Spence mentioned a friend of his who wears fun outfits” Garcia and the girl laughed, clicking almost immediately “Yeah-Yeah you could say that- I’m the technical analyst here at the BAU- I’mglad Spencer talks about us!” She smiled up at Spencer and took a step back, gesturing to the people next to her. “Sorry, I’m hogging all the attention! This is Emily Prentiss and Derek Morgan- but I’ll let them talk for themselves” 

—————————————————————————————————

As Y/N met plenty of coworkers at once, JJ sat still, taking in the whole interaction. JJ felt a pit in her stomach, seeing just how head over heels Spence seemed to be for her…and she almost missed it, but did that random woman call Spencer the nickname she gave him?? Yeah, it was a pretty simple nickname, but so was Reid, Baby, My Boyfriend..or she could even just call him Spencer! She was positive that wasn’t a jab at her, but no one else in this office called him that…JJ thought back to the times she’d call Spence after work and how she’d use the nickname, thinking nothing of it, meanwhile this “new girl” must have liked the sound of it. It did roll off the tongue easily, she could admit that, but it was her nickname for him!

—————————————————————————————————

JJ stood up, thinking to herself as she slowly trudged towards the scene unfolding in front of her. Why did she care this much about a stupid nickname? Why did she automatically assume this woman stole it from her? Clearly, something was going on internally she just couldn’t place what. Why would a grown woman like herself be acting this way? She wasn’t a child anymore! She needed to start acting her age. She put on a compelling smile and stood next to Emily. “Hello, I’m Jennifer Jareau!” She spoke bluntly, and for the first time in quite some time, she didn’t refer to herself with her nickname. This introduction caught everyone’s attention, including Spencers, almost immediately. They didn’t seem confused, but they didn’t seem unaware either. 

—————————————————————————————————

JJ stuck out her hand for Y/N to shake, and it startled her a little. Y/N wasn’t scared or anything, the intensity just surprised her. “Oh um..Hi Jennifer- That’s such a fun name-” Y/N paused, thinking as her smile widened. “Ohh are you JJ? Spence talks about you constantly!” Y/N laughed, slipping her hand out of JJs. “Honestly when we first started dating I thought I should be worried about you…butttt you’re just really close- I get it..I have a few friends with work wives and husbands” Y/N chuckled. JJ on ther other hand, did not. Work husband? Spencer? She laughed awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. “Oh well I wouldn’t really consider Spence my work husband! We’re just…” She looked at Spencer, thinking. She didn’t really know how to describe their relationship, they just clicked, and he made her happy- it didn’t feel like friendship oddly enough their relationship just was what it was. “Work colleagues that just click, I guess you could say” She smiled and looked down at Y/N. Who was this young woman to define their relationship? I mean yeah, JJ didn’t really know either, but still! Y/N smiled, her eyes just barely squinting as she cocked her head. Y/N had a confused, confident, and happy look on her face somehow all at the same time. “Yeah....” Y/N crossed her arms, giving JJ a once-over before turing her attention to Derek and Garcia. JJ looked lost in thought as she took a step back, standing closer to Emily. She never really thought over the term ‘work husband’ before..did they really act that way? Like some sort of long term couple.

—————————————————————————————————

“Hey Y/N! Why don’t you and the rest of us BAU ladies go out for a girls night??” JJ’s thoughts were cut short as she glanced over at Garcia, coming up with yet another idea. JJ was about to shut down the plan, when Emily spoke up next to her. “Yeah Y/N! The girls all get to know you and Derek and Reid can go out share all their guy stories.”Spencer rolled his eyes, laughing nervously. Y/N could feel his index finger rubbing her own as they held hands. “Oh come on Garcia- are you sure? You all just met. Why not give drinking together a day or two?” He chuckled, but it was clear Spencer had picked up on some odd vibe, and was trying to diffuse things. Which if we were being so honest right now, JJ was more than thankful for. 

—————————————————————————————————

Y/N turned to Spencer, back faced to JJ now as a bigger smile appeared across her lips. “Oh come on Spence…I practically know them already! You tell me so many stories..” She turned back to face Garcia, Emily, and JJ. “Plusss I’d have three badasses by my side in case anything were to go wrong..” as Y/N egged on Spencer, Garcia and Emily laughed. They started cheering and begging Spencer to let Y/N get to know the women he worked with. It was only until the peak of the begging did JJ laugh an throw her hands in the air. “Aw come on Spence- let us get to know your girl!” JJ smiled. She didn’t fully understand what she had against Y/N, they did just meet after all, she just felt so…weird around her. Maybe if the she went out for drinks together with Y/N and her coworkers, that would clear up JJ’s feelings about everything. Spencer glanced at JJ, looking back down at Y/N with a smile “Oh why not..I’m sure you all will have a great time..!” The woman cheered and Y/N hugged Spencer. “Aw thanks baby!” She beamed as Spencer smiled softly. “Yeah Yeah…you have my number if you ever need anything..” Y/N smile softened and she laughed. “Yeah I sure hope I do..” She leaned up and kissed his cheek, moving closer to him, and in return Spencer leaned down and kissed her quickly on the lips.

—————————————————————————————————

That’s when JJ felt the pit in her stomach. It wasn’t dramatic, she just felt like someone had pinched her, or slapped her, or maybe even pulled her hair. Just- something that woke a person up if they weren’t aware of things before. She couldn’t put a name to this feeling, but she was definitely up and adam now. Spencer noticeably blushed as Derek started teasing him. “Wooahh! Save it for later Lover boy!” the couple in front of JJ laughed as she stood there, a soft smile playing at her lips as she stood near them.

—————————————————————————————————

JJ exhaled a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in as Y/N began to speak. She started by looking at Spencer, then the rest of the team in front of her. “Well um it was nice to meet you all! I ave to finish some work for the day but I can’t wait to see you all later- I assume you have Spence’s number, so just text him the address and time of where we’re meeting so he can pass it along to me!” She waved to everyone, a bright smile on her face as she glanced up at Spencer. “Wanna walk me back to the car?” Spencer glanced back at JJ before smiling happily and waving to the rest of his team. “Be back soon!”

—————————————————————————————————

The couple had walked out, and everyone that had just met Y/N immediately started chatting about her. “She’s so pretty! And she seems a bit younger than him- don’t ya think?” Emily whispered to Garcia happily. Derek came over to JJ and they started to chat, only for JJ’s mind to wander. The way Y/N had called her Spence’s ‘work wife’... “JJ..” The way Spencer held onto Y/N and kissed her… “JJ..?” Why did she feel butterflies? This was her coworker, and his private life should not concern her. “JJ!” JJ jumped a little, thoughts leaving her mind as Derek stood in front of her. “Did you hear what I said? That girl seemed to have Pretty boy wrapped around her finger..like I’ve never seen that man so smitten before!”JJ was barely paying attention nodding her head at Derek. “Oh! Oh yeah- they’re really cute together..” She looked towards the door where the couple had walked out together. Derek took in JJ’s reaction and put his hands on his hips. “Are you ok? You’ve been acting so weird lately..” JJ looked back at Derek and shrugged, smiling. The one issue with working with BAU agents is they’ll always figure out when you feel conflicted. “huh? Yeah come on Morgan, I’m good! I just…need some air.” JJ made her way towards the door, ignoring any response Derek might have given.

—————————————————————————————————

JJ had thoughts flowing through her mind of Spencer and that young woman attached to his hip. She sped-walked over to the elevator and made her way to the first floor. She looked at the ceiling on the elevator as it went down, thinking about how he used to look at her like he did Y/N just moments ago. As the elevator opened, she hurried towards the front door that led to the parking lot closest to her. JJ felt a weird guilt walking outside. It’s not like she was a smoker or anything, she just..needed air, that’s all. She felt overwhelmed and needed some space to clear her mind. As she shoved the door open, she looked up, seeing the many cars in the parking lot. One smaller light green car caught her attention almost immediately. Inside the car, two heads were twisting and turning back and forth. All JJ could do was stare as she watched Y/N grip Spencer’s hair and pull him closer as they made out. To be fair, their car was pretty far away from the front entrance, but that car color gave them away almost immediately.

—————————————————————————————————

Y/N was breathing heavily while a blush crept its way across her cheeks. She breathed heavily, feeling the car air heat up around them. She held onto Spencer as she slowly broke the kiss, only to replace it with quicker pecs. “You’re so cute…when you introduced me” She mumbled to Spencer, who only laughed breathlessly in response. She kissed Spencer deeper and held onto him with a smile. Spencer seemed to be panting as his eyes stay glued shut. He held Y/N close and broke the kiss by biting Y/N’s lip and pulling away slowly with a smile. “Oh yeah..? Y/N was visibly flustered as she blushed and hugged Spencer. She looked up at her boyfriend and his scrunched outfit and messy hair. “Oh of course..!” She paused, visibly thinking. “I think I expected JJ to be more welcoming though, but whatever doesn’t matter” Y/N hummed and kissed Spencer softly on his neck- not leaving anything like a hickey, just wanting to get his attention. “…I’ll be seeing her later! I’m sure we’ll get along then..”

—————————————————————————————————

JJ watched, seeing the couple start chatting and kiss each other. It was…so romantic..and..so embarrassing. JJ just witnessed their make-out session unintentionally. The only thing she could focus on was how passionate Spencer looked when kissing her. It played on loop in JJ’s mind..the way Spencer held Y/N close, the way he bit her lip..If JJ wasn’t a smoker before, she’d sure need a cigarette now. Friends shouldn’t feel the way she thought about Spencer. Maybe she was sick! Or dreaming..? Or maybe just delusional..? She couldn’t place the way she felt about Spencer, but she knew it was not normal. She watched as Spencer kissed Y/N deeply as he tried to leave her car. JJ suddenly became uncomfortably aware of where she was in this moment and how she had been staring at them like a dead man.

—————————————————————————————————

She moved back and forth, trying and thinking about where to hide and what to do. Then, the thought entered her mind. She wasn’t a child- she was a grown woman! Why should she hide? She turned to face the door, grabbing it to try and scurry back inside, only to see the giant black box attached to the door frame. The key card scanner. The only way to get into this government building was to use a key card, which she foolishly left on her desk upstairs. Ok, now she was panicking. She glanced back around, seeing Spencer make his way towards the office. He coked his head, squinting his eyes as he made out JJ trying to rip the door open.

—————————————————————————————————

“JJ..? Are you…Ok?”

—————————————————————————————————

JJ felt sick to her stomach. She just intruded on Spencer's privacy, and had no way of escaping. She awkwardly turned to face Spencer and- if she wasn’t flustered before, she sure was now. His tie was practically falling off his neck, a few buttons had popped open on his shirt, and his lips were plump and red. JJ blushed, taking in how messy Spencer looked. “JJ? I said, ‘Are you ok?’ ” He was closer now and had his hands on his hips. JJ shook her head, clearing the thoughts absorbing her mind. “Huh? Oh yeah..yeah! Sorry I was just trying to get some air but I got locked out..” She laughed awkwardly, knowing how obvious her lying was. Spencer gave JJ a confused look, but shrugged it off as Y/N started to drive off, stopping in front of JJ and Spencer and rolling down a window. “Bye baby! See you at home”

————————————————————————————————— Wow…JJ really was out of the loop huh? Baby? At Home? A home that they..shared? JJ smiled and waved goodbye to Y/N along with Spencer before turning back to him as Y/N drove away. There was an awkward silence, neither of them really knowing what to say. JJ cleared her throat eventually, and looked up at Spencer. “Can you uh..let me in Spence?” JJ felt gross calling him that now- but did not want to acknowledge why. Spencer nodded with a bright smile on his face, bringing his card to the door and scanning it. He moved and held the door open for JJ as they awkwardly made their way inside. Neither of them spoke to each other as they headed back to their office floor, all the while Spencer fixed his shirt and hair. JJ glanced up at him, head filled with too much. Hopefully an hour or two later when the rest of the BAU girls got together she wouldn’t feel this…off. Hopefully..

—————————————————————————————————

taglist: @libraprincessfairy @esposadomd @teenwolfbitches28

[the-s1lly-corner]

Permission to request follower!bishops + narinder, baal, and aym coming to the readers rescue when a follower is being creepy/sending unwanted advances?

Bishops defending the reader from creeps

Splitting this into two posts I hope that's okay!

Notes: follower bishops, post game, reader is gn

CWs: unwanted advances, fights, implied light stalking in the form of one party following you around and meeting you at your stationed work spaces

LESHY

bold of you to assume hes either not following you two from underground or outright just inserting himself the moment he senses your discomfort. WILL trip the follower from the ground and hide away before he can get caught. hes tempted to outright bite them, though... tempting tempting... surely the lamb wont mind if its to disarm a creep?

in the case of inserting himself hes going to make it more than clear that the follower isnt wanted, talking loudly and obnoxiously in topics that may put others off or making plans with you right in front of them

if youre already together romantically hes going to use it to push the point that youre not interested... and if not, surely youd be find to pretend for just a moment in order to get them away from you. would never force a kiss on you but hes going to go over the top with pet names- almost making a parody of the followers behavior. the king of ripping someone apart literally and metaphorically

HEKET

just because her throat is all torn up doesnt mean shes going to stay silent when she sees someone making you uncomfortable. even if she cant get the words out her looming presence is enough to make anyone buckle under her

and the LOOK she gives them. youve never seen so much hate and disgust in someones eyes, and yet here heket is focusing it all on this one person in this moment to make them back down and leave you alone

shes not going to hide behind excuses to get you away from them, shes going to be blunt when demanding they leave you be. threats will be uttered through clenched teeth, she doesnt care if the force is going to make her wound bleed again, she NEEDS to get this point across and her stubbornness and commitment to it is going to make sure she succeeds

KALLAMAR

hes not the bravest or boldest of his siblings but hes crazy about you and- as shitty it sounds, he does somewhat see it as an opening to come to your rescue and impress you

centuries of shittalking comes to his aid when hes talking down to this follower. every insecurity and imperfection he sees in them is going to be brought up until theyre stumbling over their words. he gets so into it that it fuels him to keep going and to dig deeper

hes not a fighter, and he may try to draw the follower into a place where theres more followers around- perhaps they will fold under having their shit behavior on display and they wont throw hands hopefully- worst case scenario someone gets the lamb and they need to step in

assuming no physical fight happens there he does take you away so you can collect yourself. WILL get in the last word that youre too good for the follower that was bothering you

SHAMURA

theyre.... still intimidating. they seemingly spawn out of no where when they find that youre being followed by someone who wont take no for an answer. they thought it was odd that they went to the kitchens with you, they know their memory isnt the best but dont they recall that that follower was put on wood chopping duty...?

doesnt even waste any time, they check on you- scaring both you and your harasser due to them seemingly just manifesting into the room... do you need some assistance with your tasks? they have two sets of hands, so it will go by faster! their presence calms you, what better savior than the former god of war? even if not all the followers are aware of their past

you dont catch it, but they whisper into the followers ear- whatever they say... or perhaps threaten (promise? they dont make empty threats) leaves them backing off at least for a little while. so be it, they will enact their promise when the time comes

they dont make a scene about it, and prioritize your comfort over it. they wont draw attention to you but will make sure you know theyre backing you up

[atopvisenyashill]

Please bring back the anon mode, I fear sharing my opinions publicly like the coward I am. Since your name is atop Visenya’s hills, I have to ask

Do you think the fandom mischaracterize her too much? I always see it in fanart, discussions that Visenya was the big bad person and Rhaenys the good natured silly princess and last time I checked both of them were trifling at times. I like Rhaenys duality as a trifling at times character but truth is still that she was wilding out.

Rhaenys went ahead and instigated a war in Dorne by bunting Planky Town😭 civilians, not the ports, not the exits, old, women, and children😭 I never seen one conquest of hers where she didn’t get to violence.

Rhaenys depsite being the favourite wife still had affairs. Before the “rumours by the maesters” gang come for me, Rhaenys was the most liked of the two wives. Visenya is accused of sorcery and even when it’s admitted people thought she was beautiful they had to add “Even those who loved her best found her beauty to be more austere than her sister Rhaenys”. They can’t even let her have her stans. It’s also funny that Rhaenys surrounds herself with comely young men, can you imagine a man surrounding himself of comely young ladies, mummers and dancers, no matter how fond of the arts he was! Now Aegon still spending 10 nights with Rhaenys over Visenya maybe a form of cuck fetish, maybe she was having affairs to stress him out so he’d overdo attention to her but that’s not my point. Maybe since it was an unconventional marriage they all fucked whoever they liked and Rhaenys is the one who got caught. Whatever

Visenya maybe was sterner but she wasn’t without softness or warmth. Created the Kingsguard, had sense to not surround herself with side pieces, and she was nice enough to Ronnel to be comfortable with her, the child didn’t seem distress by her presence despite the giant dragons so I assume she wasn’t all mean.

People often use the usurpation as a defining moment but often forget that for YEARS she’s kinda been pushed to the limit? Aegon straight up neglected her son and left them on Dragonstone, man approved the match to Ceryse who was 10 years older. And Aegon absolutely fostered the distance between Aenys and Maegor because there’s no other way Aenys would feel bold enough to take Dragonstone from Maegor. Not to forget Aegon had married her to steal her claim to Dragonstone since if married, his claim would supercede hers.

Another mis characterization is that Rhaenys is always curvier (hips, chest) mind you she was the slender one, but Visenya is explicitly described as curvaceous and seductive. They even took away her titties and her rizz😭 FREE VISENYA

asljfdlksjdafdkj sorry i kept getting like mean anon messages, i was honestly deleting the most out of pocket ones and posting the ones i thought were funny but i had gotten like 6 in one day and i was like alright enough i can't fucking do this rn and that's why i turned anon off but i'll probably turn it back on soon.

last time I checked both of them were trifling at times.

no because REAL. i do think visenya often has this reputation In The General Fandom as this like unfeeling evil ice queen, not dissimilar from for comparison's sake the way cersei and catelyn are characterized in fandom - her flaws are inflated or made contextless from what she has experienced and people just kinda pretend like she's a one note villain to Rhaenys' sweet charming queen. but i don't think that's at all accurate to how she's characterized in the series nor do i think rhaenys as the ~sweet never wrong favored wife~ is very accurate for Rhaenys. Look at the beginning of the conquest for an example - Visenya rolls up to Cracklaw Point, to a people who don't really want her there, and instead of just threatening them with fire and blood, she just kinda points at Harrenhal and goes "if you submit right now without a fight i won't give you any overlord but the crown itself" which is a pretty nice deal for a region that has been regularly fighting off being ruled by other people! she takes it bloodlessly through diplomacy! now what does rhaenys do when she goes to dorne? she immediately starts making threats! she refuses to see why perhaps the descendants of the rhoynar aren't high on the idea of being ruled by what's left of valyria! she just threatens and leaves. and when it's time to take dorne, what does she do? she burns planky town the home of the orphans of the greenblood, the last stronghold of rhoynish customs and culture! she completely and totally botches the dornish conquest!!

now this isn't to say that visenya isn't also a) weird about dorne (because basically every single targaryen up until daeron ii is weird as shit about dorne) and b) full of vicious and self righteous violence herself. but as you say both of them do some extremely stupid shit yet only one of them has a reputation for being evil!

and yeah, the thing is, while i think aegon is very smart in how he handles his lords (again, outside of dorne) he is dumb as a box of rocks about how he handles his own sons. he's just very clearly playing favorites, letting the rift get bigger and bigger, actively antagonizing visenya, and not only that but like - visenya isn't wrong that there is a slight succession issue here between maegor and rhaena, given that visenya is the oldest wife and the first wife, but he completely handwaves this off, which really heavily implies a rejection of visenya and maegor completely. should they have reacted the way they did? well no lmao but it's stupid to pretend like aegon doesn't set his kids up for failure here when he sees how deeply unhappy visenya and maegor are and does absolutely nothing to help the situation.

Also damn you're right, I have always had this issue with the way the conquerors are depicted, especially the women as being these two barbie bombshells but like, canonically, VISENYA IS HOTTER the same way Rhaena is considered hotter than Alysanne but whereas Alysanne always gets depicted with her yellow hair and mismatched eyes and a kind of cute, round face to Rhaena's much more Valyrian steely looks, Rhaenys is ALWAYS this Valyrian bombshell. Rhaenys should be drawn the same as Alyssa T and Alysanne though like where do we think they got their looks hmmmm??? IT WAS RHAENYS. RHAENYS IS NOT A BOMBSHELL SHE'S A REGULAR LADY. SHE'S 'CUTEST GIRL IN YOUR ANTHROPOLOGY 101 CLASS' HOT!!!!!!! SHE'S NOT A MODEL!!!!!!!!!

[loveephia]

the miya twins having a crush on the same girl.

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, my poor humor (i'm sorry 😔), them fighting over you, you can pick who you end up with, suna is in the scenarios, timeskip.

⚠ warning/s: manga spoilers.

HEADCANONS

they're like two puppies when it comes to you and your love RAAAAAAHGHHHGH

whatever you're interested in, they're trying to learn more about it so that they can see your eyes sparkle when the topic is brought up

when you're at their games and cheering for one twin, the other gets MADLY COMPETITIVE

THEY'RE ON THE SAME TEAM YET YOU SEE THEM THROWING HANDS ON THE COURT

when you want to watch atsumu warm up, he exclusively lets you!!

what i mean by "exclusively" is that he doesn't let his fangirls in the gym. LOL

he does all these cool tricks, flexes his muscles, and goes all out in practice matches, just to see your adorably shocked face

when you forget your lunch, osamu would be willing to share his with you!!

osamu can't keep his mind off of the fact that you're eating from the same chopsticks as him, which means that that's an indirect kiss 😭

down atrocious

when they're both sitting next to you on the bus and you've drifted off to sleep, the twins are wondering whose shoulder you'll rest on for the entirety of the trip

if you've lost something, say, as something as simple as a pencil or eraser, the boys come running to your side in a flash with the needed item

both of them never ended up confessing, in chance of hurting the other twin, so you never knew about how they felt

until one day, suna had tattle-taled on them a few years after graduating

one twin ended up losing feelings

while the other's remained

ATSUMU MIYA (SCENARIO)

"wait, what?" you said as suna instantly closed his mouth shut. even osamu's jaw had slackened at the middle blocker's little slip-up.

"well.. i—!" atsumu panics, trying to find the words, while osamu drags suna away to give you two some privacy. osamu knew atsumu's feelings. he just hopes it's requited. atsumu merely sighs, "it was just a li'l crush from a while back, nothin' major!"

"how long ago?"

"..high school."

your eyes widen at his hesitant answer.

then came silence. silence, which was slowly killing atsumu. it's unlike him to stay this quiet for so long, osamu may think.

"what a shame.." you start, staring at your glass of water in the slightest hint of sadness, "i guess you could say that i had a little crush on you from a while back, too."

now it's atsumu's turn to be shocked, "huh, since when?!"

"high school." you smile.

OSAMU MIYA (SCENARIO)

"oh." were the first words suna muttered after he had let out one of the twins' most trusted secret on (an honest) accident. atsumu was nonetheless, frozen like a brick in place. while osamu's expression was mortified.

atsumu's eyes flickered rapidly from osamu to you, worried for what's about to happen between you two's relationship. suna had read the room, so before atsumu can worry any further, suna drags him away against his own will.

you turned to osamu, "judging from suna and atsumu's reaction.. i'm gonna assume that it's true?"

"..maybe." he meekly replies, wiping the table with a used rag to ease his nerves. "are you disappointed?" osamu asks a bold question that even he doesn't want the answer to.

"yes."

osamu's heart drops.

"because i had also liked you back." you confess, mischeviously poking his cheek in the process, "too bad that you don't like me now, though. otherwise, we could've been dating, then happily married, with a nice little family of our own."

you've never seen osamu's face redden this fast before. it's amusing. "now, hold on—!"

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[sunflowersunite]

Happy Valentine’s Day 💝

Sending this ask to my favourite Levihan blogs… Let’s spread our love for our amazing OTP!

Any Valentine’s Day headcanons for Levihan (canon setting or any au) you’d like to share?

Heyy Val! Happy belated Valentine's and thank you for asking, that was lovely to receive (and it's good to be one of your fave Levihan blogs 😁). Sorry for the late response, I had to think about it thoroughly and now I think I've got it.

So let's see. Any AU? Then how about we spice things up a little? Headcanons for an enemies to lovers Levihan AU!

(for that let's assume they're past the enemy stage and are now together. and for some reason the law is after them, so they're outlaws in love *guitar riff* 🎸)

Levi would gift Hange chocolate (not poisoned this time, he's proven it). She'd gift him tea, varieties impossible to find in Paradis (yes she bought them in the black market and no we can't be sure that's not poisoned)

they both scorn Valentine's day but deep down they always appreciate an opportunity to spend time together. So for their date they pick the place where they had their first fight, supposedly ironically but the memories

Hange fondly reminisces about almost blasting Levi's head off and how much they despised each other back then. Levi tells her to shove it. Hange constantly jabs and teases him, trying to crack his stoic facade and get him to fight her again, settle who's best once and for all

she initiates a fight and Levi can't escape her wrath so rematch it is. The rules are simple, first one to draw blood wins

Hange wins. in the end she pins Levi down and kisses him on the forehead so he doesn't really mind

Hange gifts Levi a bouquet of her favourite flowers and knowing her they're very weird and very poisoned. Levi accepts them and takes her titan hunting in return. they spend their evening chasing and studying titans. (Maybe he wants to see her smile a little, so what)

there's this huge celebration in Mitras so they sneak in disguised, blending in with the military police

Hange tugs Levi to the dance floor, feeling bold after a couple drinks. they purposefully bump into Nile, making him spill champagne over his formal suit

Levi nearly drops his guard among enemies because Hange's happy and laughing and she looks drop dead gorgeous (even though that laughter elicits a fight or flight response from everyone around. Who cares, she's beautiful when she sounds insane)

the night almost ends on a bittersweet note because they're reminded that they can never really be free on this island with everyone chasing them. they can never have a normal stable life but when did they ever?

stealing a bunch of food as they get out of there and spend the night stargazing on the rooftops till sunrise. Hange looks at the sky, Levi looks at her because deep down he's a cheesy bastard 🌙

Thank you for the ask!! 😃

[princesspastel8]

Chapter 72

Third POV

It's now the end of Feburary. A lot of things have taken place. The first is Slenderman's punishment on Nina. It was brutal, to say the least, but much deserved. Yes, she was put into the white room, but under went intense shock therapy. Slenderman needed to destroy her obsession with Jeff or something like before would happen again.

With Nina out of the way, Eboni spent more time in the livingroom- trying to get accustomed to other proxies. This is her new home, after all, and she can't spend it locked away in Jeff's room - much to his dismay. Oddly enough, Eboni was given a chance to apologize to Helen. He just so happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The two talked about many things, and a few proxies found it odd how talkative Helen would suddenly become when in Eboni's presence. Most thought he had fallen for the girl, but in reality, she was just his new muse. He has been lacking in inspiration, wanting to draw but having no motivation to do so. So when he first laid eyes on Eboni & Jeff, inspiration struck.

He enjoys observing their relationship, catching the way they'd look at one another within his art pieces. Of course, he would draw them without their knowledge until he randomly decided to give Eboni a beautiful pencil drawing of herself on the day before Valentine's Day and before the Valentine's Day party.

Jeff was pissed, seriously pissed. His anger only grew when Eboni tried to step in between the two before a fight broke out. He couldn't understand that the only thing the Bloody Panther felt towards Eboni was admiration. He felt comfortable around her. He could open up to her a bit and even ask for advice about certain things.

In fact, Eboni found out that the poor neutral faced painter is hopelessly in love with another proxy who has been gone on a year-long mission. This proxy is known as 'Judge Angel'. She went through his sketch book, noticing so many drawings of this one girl. She found it cute.

So, what are the odds that she randomly shows up right before the Valentine's Day party? Eboni had spent the first week and a half of February trying to play matchmaker. Jeff had no idea and just assumed she was losing interest in him. Long story short, Eboni learned not to test his patience once again - not that she didn't enjoy every minute of that fuck.

They did indeed have a party of their own all night long.

But Eboni's work did pay off. The next day, she witnessed Judge Angel showering Helen with kisses. The sight of his blushing yet blank face was memorable. Another match making attempt took place with Eyeless Jack & Ani the Wight. The poor ghost girl had an obvious crush on EJ. It became so painfully obvious that most proxies would shit on him for not noticing it.

But he did. He noticed. EJ isn't that stupid like BEN. He has strong feelings for the girl, but his moral code to only love one is keeping him from moving forward. But once again, thanks to Eboni, she's able to knock some sense into him. Leave his past in the past and finally live his new life to the fullest until his very last breath. Those words were enough to snap EJ out of it and make a bold move on the girl.

Now, currently, the group is in the livingroom- snacking on junk food while watching the boys shout and argue over if BEN cheated or not. Jeff is glaring daggers at the link demon, close to shanking him.

"Look you fucker, just admit you cheated and I won't rip your fucking eyes out!" Jeff shouts.

BEN quickly floats up, flipping Jeff off. "I didn't cheat! You just suck ass!"

"No...no BEN, I'm with Jeff here. You rigged this whole fucking game." EJ grumbles, tossing the controller to the side.

"Or maybe you all are just sore losers." Judge Angel, also known as Dina, said - snickering a bit.

"Not true....I never got a hit in against him." Helen said, voice flat but eyes showing frustration.

Eboni giggles, leaning forward to try and calm Jeff down. "I told you, no one wins against BEN in street fighters."

"But I can kick his ass at wii bowling! This shit is obviously rigged!" Jeff exclaims, pulling out his knife and stands to try and reach up to BEN.

"You're just a sore loser you dickhead!" BEN shouts, sticking his tongue out and flips him off again.

EJ at this point stands, moving up on the couch for a better chance to catch him. "I'll start at his ankles."

"And I'll go for his fucking throat!"

Ani watches, just a bundle of nerves. "Uh...you guys it's not that serious. You could get in trouble."

"Oh, don't ruin the fun. I doubt slenderman would punish them too badly for rough housing." Eboni shrugs, pulling out her phone to record it.

But before she can, Kate steps down the stairs, arms crossed over her chest. Everyone freezes, staring at the girl. She looks at Eboni & Jeff before speaking, "Slenderman is requesting you two in his office."

The couple share a look of annoyance, rolling their eyes as they follow Kate to the elevator. Once on the top floor, Kate leads them to his office - knocking on his door. The woman waits for an answer, opening the door once it's given. Kate steps out of the way, allowing the two to enter.

But once inside, the two share a look - shaking their heads and bolting out of the room. At this, Slenderman sends two tendrils out - dragging the two back into his office. He sends Kate away, keeping the two caged within his tendrils.

"Stop this foolish behavior."

"I'm not working with a blonde bimbo!"

"And a dude with a male superiority complex." Eboni huffs, rolling her eyes.

The faceless creature sighs, shaking his head. "I made myself clear, to you specifically Eboni, that the both of you will learn teamwork - even if it's with the ones you hate most."

Taylor and Masky haven't spoken a word, nor did they flinch at seeing Eboni & Jeff - both wearing their own porcelain mask. They both roll their eyes, scoffing. Two worthless people trying to seek fatherly validation from a manipulative faceless ceature.

"This is bullsh- ugh! Alright, alright, I get it! Just loosen your squid arm!" Jeff shouts.

Slender lowers them down, calling his tendrils back. He points to the files laid out on his desk, motioning for them to get and look over. Eboni goes first, opening her file - Jeff following suit. Both of them frown, looking at the faceless creature.

".....more gang members? Seriously?" Jeff grumbles, staring at the picture of his targets. A group of three.

Eboni sighs, also given three different gang members. She can only assume Taylor and Masky have similar targets. The girl raises a brow at Slenderman after reading more details within the flies. "And you want this finished... before midnight?"

Slenderman nods his head. "They're easy targets. It's been brought to my attention by the blue haired witch that Zalgo is controlling this gang from the inside out, forming his own army to try and take me down. The quicker we lower his numbers, our chances of winning increases. Understand?"

Eboni is the only one who now takes this more seriously. Anything involving Zalgo is enough to change her mood. Jeff, on the other hand, feels anxious. Just his name, Zalgo, sends his nerves into overdrive. He glances at Eboni, grabbing her hand.

"Alright, octopus." Jeff states flatly, roughly tugging Eboni out of the room - Masky & Taylor following behind.

Eboni frowns, noticing his shift in mood. "Jeff, what's the issue?"

"Just want to get this shit over with as soon as possible." He says, his voice giving away how on edge he is.

Eboni doesn't question him, at least not when her two most hated people are standing right behind her. Jeff presses the down button to the elevator, stepping inside and keeping Eboni close. Masky presses the lobby button, grabbing Taylor's hand into his own. The blonde flinches at first but relaxes either way.

Once the doors open, loud shouts can be heard right away. Masky drags Taylor to the front door, slamming it behind themselves. Eboni scoffs, rolling her eyes- everyone watching them walk to the front door.

"What's going on?" EJ asks, looking away from the TV - giving BEN the chance to beat him again.

"The faceless bitch thought it'll be a great idea to teach us 'team work'." Jeff said mockingly.

"....he's making you work...with them?" BEN asks before EJ smacks him upside his head for cheating again.

"Yeah... but we all have three separate targets. I don't see how this is teamwork when we'll have to focus on our kills.", Eboni shrugs. "Its a closer step to taking down Zalgo, so I'll put up with them for one night."

The room grows tense, everyone aware of Jeff's uneasiness from the mention of Zalgo. The smiling killer has indeed grown paranoid. He didn't want to risk putting Eboni's life in danger. He couldn't. Everyone has tried to push Eboni's curse within the back of their heads, yet it still lingers whenever the demon lord is mentioned. Everyone has grown attached to Eboni. She somehow makes the mansion for lively. Without her presence, bright smile, and daring attitude- the mansion would return to its dullness.

"Anyways, I'll cook up something once I'm ba-"

"No, you're not. We're gonna shower and go straight to bed." Jeff corrects.

Eboni rolls her eyes, mumbling under her breath.

Jeff opens the door, turning around to raise a brow. "Say that again, princess, a bit louder for me." He dares.

Eboni pouts, shaking her head. "....nothing, Daddy."

He grins, leaning down to steal a quick kiss while closing the door behind themselves. He leans down to whisper in her ear, "Good girl. Now let's get this night over with."

The four of them walk through the woods in silence, Jeff still keeping Eboni close. Eboni looks at Jeff, gripping his hand. He raises a brow, tilting his head. "I'm gonna be okay..." she whispers.

Jeff smiles, about to say something, but Taylor beats her to it. "Yeah fuckin' righ'."

"Masky, you better -"

Masky grips the back of Taylor's hair, whispering something in her ear that makes her lower her head in shame. This sparks Eboni curiosity. "I won't be okay? Says the one who didn't even have the guts to kill her abusive junkie mother."

Taylor whips her head around, glaring daggers at Eboni but doesn't say a word. "Cat, got your tongue?" She giggles, shaking her head.

"Look. How about we all shut the fuck up- yeah? The sooner we end this shit the quicker we'll be out of each other's sight." Masky tries to reason, growing annoyed.

"Still trying to work your way back into being Slenderman's favorite? Tch, pathetic." Jeff snickers.

It's Masky's turn to snap, but Taylor yanks his ear, pulling him along. It didn't take long for the four to reach the skate park where all of their victims are. Masky made an odd hand motion that Eboni didn't understand, but Jeff does. The smiling killer guides Eboni to the other side of the woods, picking up a small rock and throwing it ahead of them.

The girls look towards their direction, a bit shaken. Most of the girls egg on two other girls to go look, calling them names to add to the pressure. Surprisingly, both girls go to investigate, both girls also being one of Eboni & Jeff's target. The two share a look, their smiles turning wicked.

This would be Eboni's first victim besides her family. Her first victim she has zero attachment to. This is going to be fun. So the two hide behind a tree, waiting for the girls to get closer. Once close, each reach out to their respective victims, placing their hands over their mouths.

The girls are pretty weak, so its easy to overpower them. Eboni pins her first target to the ground, placing her custom blade to her throat and slits it - watching the girl choke on her own blood, life quickly fading from her eyes. Eboni's smile grows, having no idea how much she would enjoy this.

Jeff, on the other hand, takes his time, stabbing his victim repeatedly until she stops fighting back. Two down, four more left to go. Masky goes for a different tactic, making Taylor scream. Two of his targets and one of Taylor's rush towards the other side of the woods, thinking their friend is in danger.

Masky easily takes down his targets with a quick blow to their heads with his crowbar, but Taylor is...struggling. Eboni & Jeff aren't close enough to see, but a scream is enough to alert them on what could be happening. As that scream is heard, their targets begin to scatter. Jeff sighs heavily, jumping out of the woods and stabbing the first girl he gets his hands on, slitting her throat.

"That useless bitch- princess! There's two coming towards your right!"

Eboni already takes down the first one, thanks to her staying hidden- but she has to chase after the other. Once she catches her, Eboni jumps onto the girl- beating her to the ground. She raises her knife, stabbing the girl straight in her heart - twisting the blade.

Masky ends up taking out Taylor's target but is out numbered by four other girls. He looks over at Taylor, shouting at her to snap out of it - but she doesn't, standing their trembling. Eboni rushes over, as did Jeff, tackling two girls to the ground. Both of them stab them to death, giving Masky a chance to knock two other girls to the ground- smashing their skulls in.

Ten down. Two more to go, but they're nowhere to be seen.

Jeff stands, glaring at Taylor. "What the fuck!?"

Eboni stands, frowning at Taylor. Masky walks over, shaking Taylor out of her trance. "And I thought you were ready for this."

"I...I-I.."

"Don't bother. Get your shit together, blondie. We got two more to kill."

"I saw the other two run east towards the mansion." Eboni explains.

Jeff nods, walking towards the direction of the mansion. "Then let's go. I swear if that faceless fucker chews up my ass over that bimbo's mistake- imma lose it."

Eboni giggles, following behind Jeff while Masky drags Taylor along - mumbling curses. Jeff & Eboni keep an eye out, hearing for anything out of the ordinary. Then they hear a twig snap. Jeff grins, slowly approaching where the sound came from. He notices the second girl trembling behind a short yet wide tree.

The smiling killer laughs, quickly snatching the girl before she can run off again. "Well, you made this too easy." Jeff said as he repeatedly stabs the girl to death....not noticing the second girl up in the tree.

But Eboni does. Her eyes widen, rushing over to Jeff after hearing the sound of a gun clocking. Masky too rushes forward, realizing this was a trap. How could they have miscalculated this so poorly?

Masky doesn't make it in time, but Eboni did.

"Jeff!" She shouts, quickly pushing Jeff out of shooting range.

The smiling killer stumbles back, looking at Eboni questioningly - but when he figures out why she pushed him, it's far too late.

"I'm sor-"

BANG!

[sunnynwanda]

hello!! i hope your day is going well <33 :D

could you please write a story about a hero and villain who are academic rivals? and one day before their final exams the villain finds the hero in the library late at night, really stressed about their exams. maybe the villain comforting a panicking hero?? :'))

i would really appreciate it if you could write this!! its completely fine if you don't want to :D

p.s your work is amazing!! 💙

Even Odds

Hero shivers and shifts in their chair, folding their legs under them for warmth. They look up for a moment, noticing the snow cap on the lamppost outside the window, and rub their red eyes. It had been snowing for several hours now, and they had no idea how they were going to get home in their light coat and sneakers. It was warm in the morning when they ran out of their dorm room - not that they had time to look for winter clothes in the mess that was their wardrobe. The last month has been hectic, between classes, work, confrontations with Villain and all the catching up they had to do because of it. Not to mention that the smug bastard kept teasing them in class. They had no problem fighting Villain outside the classroom, yet facing them in class seemed infinitely more challenging and infuriating. All at the same time.

Christmas is coming up. Hero shakes their head at the thought. So are the finals. They close their eyes for a moment to let the wave of panic flash by them before returning to the subject matter. It takes Hero another two hours to realise the letters are blurring in front of their eyes. They can no longer discern the lines, and the paragraph looks entirely unfamiliar. They are doomed. Villain is going to destroy them with hungered passion, tearing into their flesh with snide remarks until Hero is left teary-eyed and defeated. And to think they enjoyed all of it once. They even went so far as to await the bickering arguments that followed after every class they shared.

With an exasperated sigh, they let their head fall onto the book. The panic returns with a fresh vigour, as do Hero's doubts. They want to cry from the helplessness that overwhelms their entire being. Their ears start ringing, probably from lack of nutrition. Hero presses their hands to their temples, trying to remember when they ate for the last time when a cough interrupts the flow of their thoughts.

"You look desperate," Villain muses, seemingly satisfied with the atmosphere in the 'enemy territory'. "I like it."

Hero has nothing to offer them but a deadpan look. They are too exhausted to muster any expression other than utter fatigue.

"What? Still trying to beat me?" They quip again, turning the chair to face their rival despite taking the seat right next to them. Hero doesn't react, much to Villain's dismay. They sigh, choosing another tactic - one that never fails to unnerve Hero. "Drop it, babe. No one can top me. Not in physics, at least."

Hero's eyebrows twitch, and Villain can't help the triumphant smirk that graces their thin lips. Gotcha.

"Sod off," Hero scoffs, flustered by their flirting and, more so, by their proximity.

Villain places their hands on the table and lays their head over them, mimicking Hero's position. "Says the one desperate to compete with me."

"Bold of you to assume I study for you," Hero's retort sounds surprisingly genuine. Villain isn't sure if they should find that offensive or not.

"Oh," their mouth forms a perfect round shape, and Hero almost reaches to touch their lips. Almost. They drop their hand over their eyes, trying to shake off whatever haze took them over. Sleep deprivation must be getting the best of them. It's sheer luck that Villain doesn't seem to have noticed. "Then why are you still here?"

"Because I have a lot of catching up to do, dimwit!" They don't mean to be mean, but they are just so tired, and Villain's nagging doesn't help. Not to mention that Hero is not ready for the exam, and both Villain and their professor will take their sweet time chewing them out tomorrow. Amazing start to the holidays!

"Shouldn't have missed the classes in the first place," Villain snaps back but softens upon spotting Hero's distress. Come to think of it, they had no idea why Hero would need to be absent so often. It's not like their confrontations took that much time out of their own week. So what was Hero so busy with? "Why did you miss so many, by the way?"

"None of your business!" Hero cuts them off rather harshly. They seem riled up for no reason, so Villain turns away towards the window, scrolling through possible distractions Hero might have been facing this semester. They're not fighting anyone else, and Villain was pretty damn sure they weren't dating. Or were they? Did Villain miss something? Should they be jealous?

Hero's low mumble draws their attention back to the matter at hand. "I'm still gonna score higher than you."

"Keep telling yourself that," Villain chuckles. Their brain is working overtime, trying to figure out how the smartest person they have ever met was behind the programme. "How long have you been here anyways?"

"I... don't know," the conclusion stuns Hero enough to get off the desk and sit straight. They have no time for conversations, but they also have no energy whatsoever to get up and leave. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven..." When Villain glances at their watch, their eyebrows furrow in concern. "Wait, have you spent the entire day studying? Have you even eaten anything?"

Hero shakes their head instead of replying. Villain's eyes turn awfully round, and Hero smiles softly. This shouldn't look this endearing! They must have lost their marbles.

"Are you an idiot?" Villain questions, shaking their head when Hero attempts to answer. "That's not even a question, it's a statement."

"We have finals, dammit!" Indignation colours Hero's features, shading the weariness away. "I can't afford to fail, not after all the effort I've put in!"

"You won't fail," Villain sounds absolutely sure of their statement. They believe it, too. Hero, however, does not.

"How do you know?!" They break character, looking more panicked than Villain has ever seen. In fact, they haven't seen them scared, ever. Not even when they were hanging upside down from a skyscraper because Villain dared them to.

"I just do," they reassure, placing their hands on Hero's shoulders to get their attention. "I know."

"How?" Hero asks weakly. They look drained of life, and Villain hates to see the most cheerful person they know like that.

Fuck, is it them? Did they overdo it with the battles? Maybe they shouldn't challenge Hero so often. But then again, they only do that because they miss seeing their rival, and Hero has been skipping classes because of their job.

And then it strikes them. Their job. How could they forget Hero has to work? Ever since they lost their father, they took it upon themselves to support their family. And Villain had to go and add more to their plate - as if balancing classes and work wasn't bad enough. Shit.

They sigh at their stupidity, shaking their head to collect their thoughts before speaking.

"I've seen you ace every test, Hero," they cup Hero's chin, urging them to meet their eyes. "Not a single mistake, no cheating, nothing. You've got this. Trust me."

"What?" Hero's mouth is agape. Villain assumes their unexpected sincerity to be the reason but is proven wrong sooner than they can justify themselves. "Wait, do you cheat?"

"'Course not." They wait for Hero to nod before continuing. "I don't need it. You don't either."

"Well, I might this time," the claim makes Villain chuckle, baring the neat row of their teeth with slightly prominent fangs. Why the fuck do they keep noticing all this about Villain, of all people?

"Stop, Hero, stop," Villain catches their chin again, their stare intense when they speak. "You're not gonna fail. I promise. Now come on, you've got to get out of here, or your brain is gonna melt and drip out of your ears."

With that, they let go of Hero, and get up. Hero scrunches their nose at the graphic images that flood their tired head and starts collecting their books and countless pages of notes. Villain takes the last heap, shoving it into their bag while Hero fetches their jacket.

It's only later, after running through the showy courtyard back to their dorm and taking a hot shower to warm their limbs, when Hero pulls everything out of their bag to begin their night of studying, that they notice a few stapled sheets of unfamiliar notes. They are expertly organised and precisely what Hero needs to learn to pass the test. They stare at the pages for several seconds before shaking their head with a lopsided grin at the obnoxious and frustratingly sneaky little shit that slipped their notes into Hero's bag while they weren't looking.

They pull out their phone, sending a short "Thank you." text to their rival, only to receive a cheeky reply in mere seconds.

"Simply wanted to even out the odds. Let's see if you can top me now, babe."

Masterlist

Hello, dear!

Thank you so much for this request! I've wanted to write academic rivals for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity for it. So yeah, thanks xD I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

xo Sunny

P.S. I wasn't able to find the owner of the photo, credit to the owner.

[midnightraine131]

Hello Raine! 💙

How have you been? I hope everything is going well for you!

For the fandom ask:

2, 5, 9, 16, 22, 24

Have a wonderful *timezone*, and wish you all the best(⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Hey Anna, thank you for your ask.

It's been so long, well, uhm, I guess I'm doing just fine aside from losing a tremendous amount of weight for the past couple of months.... I can say it in a good way since all my medical results came out real good. I hope to have fewer medications after I see my doctor this week. *Cross fingers*

How about you? I hope you're having a good time (Googles your timezone) Oh, it's very early in the morning over there. Please take some rest.

Anyway, without further ado, here's all my answers.

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

I came across a headcanon about Armin being the perfect husband material like he cooks, takes care of the house chores all by himself, and so on. In most of the fics I’ve read, especially post-canon or modern AU, he’s incredibly skilled at it.

But let’s be honest—during his time as a cadet and in the elite squad, Armin practically disappears when it comes to cleaning or cooking. Refute me if you want, but we never see him holding a spatula or a broom. He probably avoided Levi’s attention altogether when it came time to clean the headquarters.

Still, I like to imagine he becomes more responsible at home as he grows older. I mean, come on—when Annie gets pregnant (assuming that happens), there’s no way he’d leave Jean, Connie, or maybe Reiner to take care of her. Especially since we know she’s pretty unorganized in their shared space. So yes, post-canon husband material Armin it is!

5. something you see in fics a lot and love

Always the shy yet vocally bold Armin, and Annie, the emotionally constipated one LOL. This dynamic has always been my cup of tea in fics.

9. a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

Oh, this is tricky. I can say AruHitch (?) *blinks rapidly*

I like to think they could be besties when it comes to giving love advice—advice neither of them would actually follow by the end of the day. I imagine them staying up late at night by a bonfire, beers in hand, talking religiously about their crushes and how they have no chance with them in any scenario. They’d probably call each other dummies.

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

This one’s about Connie. I’ve noticed that most people in the fandom regard him as a dummy because of how the story portrays him in canon—or even how he views himself. But if you take a closer look at his character, he’s so much more than just a slapstick comic relief. Sure, he underestimates his own intelligence, but he often makes a lot of sense and has talents in his own right. I’ll fight anyone who calls him cringe. Try me.

22. the fandom friend you've known the longest

I guess I won’t count the mutuals I had back in 2013, since I don’t see their accounts anymore, and I wasn’t really trying to get involved back then. When I returned in 2022/23, I decided to start writing fics again and kept this blog active. The first people I talked to were @moonspirit and @annawayne, and they made me feel so welcome in the AOT fandom. I’m incredibly grateful for that.

They inspired me to write more, and knowing we had this little community tucked into a small corner of such an enormous fandom—it truly felt like a haven. It makes me so happy to see new people joining and contributing, whether through art, fanfics, or even as readers supporting everything we do. They welcomed them just as warmly as I was when I returned as a new writer last year, and that sense of belonging is something truly special.

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life

God, I can’t stop rambling about how much this fandom has positively impacted me in every aspect of my life. It might sound like I’m overreacting, but after I started writing Aruani fics, I realized something profound: first loves truly linger, even when you’re over 30. For me, that “first love” is twofold—my love for writing and the love I felt when I first shipped Aruani ten years ago.

Sharing that love has brought me happiness beyond words, especially when people read my fics, leave comments, or even reach out on my socials just to tell me how much they enjoy my work. It means so, so much to me. All the time, effort, and tears poured into writing every chapter feel completely worth it because of the love and appreciation from all of you.

Coming back to this fandom has been the best decision I’ve made in the past couple of years, and I truly hope it continues for many more. I’m definitely not ready to move on to another fandom, even though AOT has long since ended. I’m still holding out hope for High School Caste!

[violet-hound]

Pinned post ผ(•̀_•́ผ)

arcane rp blog for Vi but in the modern au i've made up in my little mind <3

Legal name of Violet Hound, goes by Vi, 24, She/They, Sapphic, from Lower Piltover / Zaun (I imagine those from Piltover/upper piltover call it lower piltover but people actually from there call it Zaun)

Her parents died when she was 10 and Vander Hound took her and her sister in, later fostering a few more kids. Her siblings names are/were Powder, Mylo, and Claggor Hound. she's assumed all of them were dead due to an accidental explosion before she was imprisoned 7ish years ago.

She went to prison for a whole gaggle of convictions, which off the books, she is guilty of. she was released on probation a few years back on the condition she gets therapy. when her probation ended she immediately went back to doing things her probation said she couldn't do! isn't that fun :D

She's an insomniac, alcoholic, and extremely repressed person. she works at the hot topic next to the McDonalds - she got a job there because of her probation and she stayed cause she likes the benefits.

idk how cait fits into this shit yet but I was thinking that she's the cop who keeps pulling vi over for drunk driving <33 thoughts?? (and prayers)

like if emo vi and drunk vi had a disgusting love child

for rp threads it'll be "talking like this," she nods. but just normally it won't have any fancy quotes :P it'll just be like this.

I run (@)vifromtheundercity {i don't want to @ myself as that would just mess up all my notifs :P} as well <333 she's my more shit posty vi account.

Send in RP asks, Question asks, @ me, etc.

I play her as just like.. tired I guess. like kinda bored of life. she's not suicidal but she's definitely depressed.

She (allegedly) participates in an underground fighting ring under the moniker of 'The Hound', which she (allegedly) got from her adoptive father who (allegedly) went by the same pseudonym.

I made the crappy blinkies and collected the rest, feel free to use I got them from a blinkie site thing. I got the borders from dollywons in this post.

I don't really have any rules for vi, fuck with her if you want - I'm only answering asks/dms that I feel comfy answering. obviously I have the worst standards known to man so have fun figuring it out lmaoo

Have a nice day <3

{I made the important parts bold}

Blinkies i made/collected for her!!!1: