#but at this point shes just happy to be in a relationship

[booboopadoops]

YOUR BEST FRIEND HAMZAH

NSFW * MDNI - smut , dry humping , dirty talk , moan , whimper , alcohol , weed , friends to lovers

you and hamzah met 5 summers ago. you followed each other even longer on every platform before you guys met that faithful summer 5 years ago. you were so close. texting every single second of everyday since.

every morning and every night, there he was. blurting mundane details about your days to each other. repeatedly telling each other how much you miss the other. constantly sending each other memes and selfies throughout the day. facetiming every night to play games, or talk until you both fell asleep on the phone.

but thats just what best friends do right? every close male and female friendships had an undertone of a romantic attraction right?

its normal that his sleepy voice rang in your head throughout your day

“goodnighttt pretty girl”

“wait set up your camera so i can see you…hah just kidding… ahem”

“you think youre sooo funny huh?”

“just wait until we’re finally together in person”

if there was truly something going on with him, surely something would’ve happened by now. every year you two would save up for your summer vacations together. nothing happened year after year. that was just our humor.

but youve heard if you repeated joke about something…you slowly begin to believe it.

but surely. surely, that isnt the case here. you couldnt ruin this strong friendship you had with him. he meant too much to you to allow your connection to dwindle to a relationship, that would eventually end and leave you with a hole in your heart, and too free much time to spend.

you knew this, but it wasnt enough to stop the way your heart would pound against your skin. the way your face would light on fire everytime you saw his name on your phone.

the way your heart would drop everytime he said something tooth decayingly sweet. a jokingly sultry voice whenever he said something flirty.

but no. you refuse to allow your selfishness wreck the way you both gravitated to each other. and you knew deep down, if it were romantic attraction, it would end at some point. platonically, you could be friends for life…

like a mantra you would repeat to yourself to protect your cherished friendship. no matter how hard it is.

-

so here you were. the first night of many you knew were you going to spend with him now that youre practically going to live with him for 3 more months under the sunburning summer in cali.

this year you guys had decided you both needed to be beach bums this year in a beach house airbnb. that you both agreed to split the payment of.

you two had a long day of relishing in each others presence. the hours spent on the cramped jet from just that same early morning seemed to wash away the second you saw his face light up at the sight of you.

“AYEEE THERE SHE IS”

he exclaims as he practically runs over and scoops you up, dropping his luggage to properly embrace you.

laughing hard and holding him tight you say into his shoulder

“i cant believe its finally here”

“what? it? im an it now?”

hamzah says with a playful tone

“NOOO, i mean our year long planned summer”

“i know, its about time i see my girl”

he says as he slides you back down to your feet, to look you in your eyes in a serious but lovingly manner.

“my girl? alright buddy im happy to see you too”

you laugh.

hamzah drops his “act” and laughs with you. while draping his arm around you, he directs the both of you out of the airport.

everytime you finally meet its like there was no time in between. maybe its because neither of you can go longer than an hour without talking to each other, but thats besides the point.

-

laying back on the couch you watch hamzah as he snifs hard after hitting the joint.

you burst out laughing when he, once again, fails to inhale the smoke.

“URG, why is this shit so fucking hard”

he says while gritting his teeth, then suddently erupting in a fit of rough coughs from the hit.

“alright, I’LL SHOW YOU ONE MORE TIME BECAUSE NOW I’M GETTING TOO FUCKED UP”

you cackle while grabbing the joint out of his fingers.

“how do you think i feel? i just chief-ed that bitch like 20 times trying to do a damn french inhale”

he choked out while his eyes water up, glossing over his red and heavy eyes.

you simply giggle whilst inhaling the smoke effortlessly through your nose, holding eye contact with his teary eyes.

he animatedly throws his hands up and covers his eyes with his hands.

you snort while twisting the roach in the ashtray you both just bought from the dispensary 5 minutes away from your airbnb.

“well, lucky for you, you have time and plenty of bud to get it down”

you say while snuggling your back into the corner of the huge couch in the even larger living room of the beach house.

“yeah yeahhh”

he retorts while doing the same, screwing his eyes shut.

“don’t tell me your going to crash out on me so early? its the first night you ass”

hamzah sits up, making his back completely straight and looks at you in the eyes.

“oh shit that reminds me…”

he blurts, while suddenly getting up and half jogs down the hallway.

“WOW, GOING TO SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM THEN”

“noooo”

you can hear him say distantly, while you hear some commotion from his room. he reenters the living room holding something behind his back.

“oh my god what did you get me?”

“hmm? i dont have anything”

he responds jokingly looking around the room, while approaching you. he grins while looking down at you, suddenly, proudly, whipping out a dvd.

you look away from his face to examine it. you read “smile 2”

you look back up at him and laugh while shaking your head.

“oh my god, PUT THAT SHIT IN RIGHT NOW”

you say enthusiastically, not intending the volume you said it. silently cringing at yourself.

he raises his eyebrows and nods, while putting his hand in front of your first

“theres a catch though…”

“oh god what” you smile calmer this time

“i may have brought a big ass bottle of grey goose…”

he drags on while pressing his lips into a thin smile.

“okay…?” you respond curiously.

“and i thought we could take a shot every time one of us jump”

he explains while pulling the other hand behind his back with the vodka.

you laugh and say “oh you little genius i love you”

-

the movie finally came to end. your entire body is buzzing and you can feel hamzah’s eyes on you.

“youd think this not being our first time watching this…we wouldnt be this fucked up right now”

you slur while sliding your arms behind you to rest on them.

“well, we’re also crossfaded right now so..i mean- i’d be fine if i werent also faded than a ho right now”

you lean your head back, looking at him

“yeah thats true”

you both look into each others dazed eyes for a moment

“im shaking im so cold right now…”

hamzah blinks and says

���damn..who asked? hah”

he says while pushing out a fake and obnoxious laugh. you groan while pushing his shoulder. he simply laughs and responds seriously

“do you want to go lay down then? are you sleepy?”

you hum while nodding your head.

“okayyy, lets go”

hamzah sits up straight and slaps his knees as he abruptly stands up

you attempt to do the same you catch your balance far less gracefully as hamzah did.

“woah woahh, i got you light weight”

“ughh i cant walk hamzah..oh noo, what do i do?”

you say seriously while holding onto his now closest shoulder as his arms are stretched out holding you up, under your shoulders

“its okay pretty..ill just have to carry you to bed”

he says plainly while crookedly smiling at you.

“like a princess?” you say quietly, your voice sounding higher than usual

hamzahs heart flutters while bending down to hook his strong arm behind your knees

“yup, like a princess”

he grunts while carefully making his way to your room.

finding your bed, he leans over it, gently placing you on your pillow.

“hmm, hamzah?”

you hum out, while grabbing his forearm as he was about to walk out.

“yeah princess?”

he whispers back

“can you sleep by me?”

hamzah laughs out of his nose and responds a bit louder

“sure i can”

hamzah climbs over you and plops himself besides you closer to the wall. he sighs contently

“mmm, thats the stuff”

“hamzah, i have the spins”

you mumble

“oh shoot”

“can you hold me?”

theres only silence after you say it. hamzah simply hums yes, while reaching over to bring you atop of him

“how does that feel?”

you respond by hum contently whilst nuzzling into his embrace

“yeah? good?”

he responds, in that sleepy voice you know so well

“yeah” you say, again higher than your usual voice

you can feel hamzahs heart beat faster against your chest.

he mindlessly runs his fingers lightly up and down your spine. your body instinctively shudders from the light tickle-ly sensation rippling throughout your whole body. reminding you of your inebriated state.

“you like that?” hamzah breathes almost inaudibly

youre only capable of squeaking out a feeble “mhm”

“yeah?” he repeats, slightly more confident this time

“yeah” you push out with a whine, while scooting you legs up higher up his torso, pushing your core against him harder than you intended.

immediately, but slightly hamzah lifts his hips into yours. hardly containing the groan he puts directly into your ear.

it feels like your heart is beating a million beats a minute. your whole body is scorching and your have zero thoughts. your bodies are moving by themselves. neither of you can contain the desire rushing south.

you whine again pushing your pussy harder onto his hardening bulge.

hamzah moans into your ear again slowly thrusting his dick back, attempting to find your slow rhythm.

the both of you are quietly panting at this point as you rub onto each other, the drugs absolutely distracting you to care to conceal your noises more carefully.

“mmph. just like that baby” hamzah whimpers louder this time

you move your hands to each side of his head to look at him. hamzah opens his half lidded eyes, and moves his hands from your back, to your jaw and finally pulls you in to kiss.

you moan into his mouth, keeping the same pace at your hips.

it was a rough kiss. it was passionate and messy. both of you are eating your moans desperately clinging to each other. contrasting the slow and sensual pace of your cunt dragging on his hard dick.

you fully sit up pulling away from his lips

“hamzah…” you whimper out dragging your hands down his stomach. hamzah sits up quickly with you, to desperately crash into your lips again.

“mmph” hamzah breathes out, breathing hard out of his nose while impatiently moving his hands to grope the softness of your ass. pressing and guiding you slightly quicker and harder onto his still clothed dick.

you whine louder while pulling on the waistband of his sweats. trying to pull just his pants off, he obliges by lifting his hips up high, shocking your clit with the quick and intense pressure.

your lips tear away from him and you gasp loudly, quickly grabbing his shoulders. hamzah groans clearly this time while dragging his sweats halfway down his thighs. he drops his hips back onto the mattress, whilst pulling your pajama pants as far as he can.

“takes these off” he gulps slightly muffling his order

you lift one knee at a time as he helps pull them fully off of your legs.

“there you go” he pants, pulling your cunt back into his lap.

you immediately start grinding on his now hot and sticky bulge just behind the thin material of his boxers.

“m’you feel so good” you whine while throwing your head back

hamzah moans with every quick breath, as he slides his rather cold hands up your shirt to grope your tits.

“hah-“ you pant as he molests your nipples

“god youre so sexy baby”

“hah- ah-”

“that feel good baby?”

“yeah” you whine

“yeah? fuck youre so wet” he grunts as his dick get wetter the more he talks

“that all for me baby?”

you bite your lip attempting to muffle your incessant whines and moans “yes hamzah”

“i need to hear you baby”

you let go of your bottom lip and repeat “all for you hamzah”

“all mine. no one else yeah?”

“no- no one else”

“yeah..youre mine-” hamzah repeats, almost as if hes talking to himself. he lifts his hand off of your tits to slap his hand hard against the plush of your ass.

“right pretty girl?”

you gasp and your voice quivers as you respond “y- yeah- yes”

youre grinding on his dick faster than what he was making you, making him throw his head back to groan.

“fuck just like that”

you’re panting and whimpering as hamzah breathes faster

“fu-fuck”

“god yes baby..”

“hamz’hamzah…im gunna-“ you cry out

“go ahead cum on me baby” hamzah pathetically whines out

the pleasure washes over your whole body, making the top of your head tingle. you jump at hamzah twitching under neath you as your cunt gets sopping wet from him cumming right in his boxers.

you cry out as he rides out the both of your climaxes. your uncovered tits press against his panting chest as you fall onto him. he grabs the small of your back impossibly tight. as if hes trying to ground himself from his climax.

your both breathing out of your mouth. he laughs tiredly and you sigh and laugh shortly after.

“you feel better now baby?”

you sit up looking at his face realizing your spins are gone.

[shanastoryteller]

HAPPY MERRY CHRYSLER GRANDMA!!! MOAR PERCY AND TOOOONKS PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!! I SHANT EVER BE RID OF MY FAVE RARE PAIR 🎄❄️ ���

Percy gets a floo call from his brother and is instantly concerned. First because his brother's rarely bother to reach out to him for anything, and second because George shouldn't have access to a floo at all considering he's still in school. He's not sure what he'd prefer - if he'd snuck into a teacher's room or if he'd just bribed Rosmerta like everyone does.

He means to ask, but as soon as he accepts the call and his brother's head is floating in the fireplace, he says, "Does your girlfriend having a soulmark bother you?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he says automatically, realizes that knowing exactly who George is talking about is probably too telling, and scowls. Having Tonks with him had made chaperoning the Yule Ball marginally less terrible, but it had also meant his brother's becoming privy to that aspect of his work life. Or personal life. He's not really sure at this point, the two are rather starting to blur. "Why?"

George rolls his eyes. "If she wasn't your girlfriend, you wouldn't put up with her saying she was." That's not true. Probably. Talking to any of his younger siblings is always such a trial. "Is that why you're trying to pretend she isn't your girlfriend? Because she has a soulmark?"

He hasn't discussed his love life - or lack thereof - with George ever, and he's disinclined to start now, but he wouldn't go to all this trouble to ask if it wasn't important to him. "Tonks having a soulmate is inconsequential. She and Cedric aren't involved and they don't plan to be."

"If she hadn't met Cedric yet, would that matter?" he asks.

Percy understands the conversation they're having. "If someone isn't interested in you because you have a soulmark, they're probably not worth it."

Instead of being reassured, George scowls and snaps, "I don't need relationship advice from you!"

That might be hurtful if it wasn't so blatantly incorrect. Still, "Well, I have a girlfriend and you don't, so."

George narrows his eyes in a way that Percy knows he'd be flipping him off if he had hands.

"It wouldn't matter to me if she hadn't met her soulmark yet," he says, taking mercy on him. "If I didn't trust her enough to know her own wants and her own mind, I wouldn't be interested in her at all."

There's a moment where George's face settles into contemplative seriousness, then it's gone, his little brother grinning as he asks, "So you're admitting you're interested in her?"

Percy ends the call.

[fuctacles]

A gorgeous man walks into a dressing room

for @genderthings Eddie's Gender Week prompt "stage" Steddie | T | 1125 | genderqueer/gender non conforming Eddie | famous Eddie, hair stylist (and drag queen) Steve, first meeting, pre-relationship

The new hair stylist walks in on Eddie applying lipstick. Kudos to him, he takes it in stride, placing his bag on the clean area in front of one of the mirrors. 

"The doors were open, so I hope it's okay I just walked in," he says with a tilt of a question in his voice. 

Eddie hums, focused on sharpening the edges around his lips. 

"I'm the new hair stylist, Steve Harrington," the guy introduces himself. "You must be Eddie, right?"

"Ah-hah," Eddie makes an affirmative sound. 

"How can I refer to you?"

"Just Eddie is okay, but if you want to keep it more professional, something like chief or captain is fine. Do not call me boss," Eddie says, moving away from the mirror to gauge the symmetry and not happy with the results so far. 

"No, I mean, do you want to be addressed as a guy? Or something different."

Eddie sometimes forgets that he's in the creative field now, and a lot of other people he meets are more open to gender fuckery and general LGBT themes. They finally look at the new guy, someone they'd usually dismiss as gorgeous but straight, if not for the pearl necklace around his neck. 

"I'm fine with anything, but you can call me anytime."

The silence lingers and as Steve's look sours, Eddie's lips turn up into a grin. 

"What?! It's a good line!" 

"Sure is," Steve rolls his eyes. "Do you need help with that?" he points to the lipstick still clutched in Eddie's hand. "I do drag on the weekends." 

Eddie blanks for long enough for Steve to produce a small make up brush out of somewhere, and pry the lipstick out of his hand. He dabs the brush against the dark red pigment. 

"The secret of sharp edges is using a brush," he explains softly. "It gives you better control of the lines."

Eddie can't say shit when Steve's finger gently holds his chin while he's applying the lipstick in small, precise strokes. He steps back, fixes something, and steps back again before nodding to himself.

"I thinks it's okay now." 

Eddie turns to the mirror to examine their perfectly painted, symmetrical lips. They look up at Steve's reflection. 

"Can you do my eyes, too?" 

Steve can, and gives Eddie an impressive, bold eye make up, apologizing all the time that it's "too draggy". Eddie slaps him about it, and informs him that it's perfect. 

When Corroded Coffin's actual stylist come into the dress room, they just groan at the sight of Eddie's make up and turn their anger at Steve. For a second, the thinks he's going to be fired, but then...

"Give her an updo, something messy but feminine to match the face," the person instructs. Steve only nods to that. "I'll go pick something in the wardrobe."

Steve is a little terrified, but Eddie only beams at him.

"She likes you!" he exclaims happily, gently slapping at Steve's chest. 

"Uh, she didn't seem happy," Steve protests gently, reaching for his actual hair styling kit. 

"Don't worry about it," Eddie waves their hand. "Chrissy is always stressed before a performance, but she likes a challenge. We've been friends forever, so I'd know."

"Okay." Steve pushes Eddie gently so he'll rest against the back of the chair, and turns him to face the mirror, then ties his tool belt around his waist. "I'll trust you on that. Now, I'll try to be gentle, but tell me if I pull too hard." 

Eddie's hair is a bit of a struggle, since the initial plan was to just tease it as usual and let it be. But Steve turns out to be an expert enough to brush it out and up tying it into a high ponytail, with some strands framing his face. He even takes extra time to curl them and set them in place with hair spray. 

When he takes a step back to take in his work, his eyes shine. Not only was he proud with his work, but his model was more than good looking, the make up and hairdo enhancing their features. Their eyes catch in the mirror reflection, but before any of them can say anything, Chrissy is back, carrying a handful of dark fabric. 

"I got a few outfits for you to try on. Steve, could you take care of Gareth's hair?"

"On it!"

Eddie gives him a smile and a finger wave through the mirror, before Chrissy descends on them with the clothing she's picked. Steve doesn't have time to look in their direction, curling Gareth's hair and then giving each of the members a simple version of Eddie's eye to match it. The impromptu make over must have put them behind schedule, because everyone is rushing somewhere before Steve can take a proper look at the end product.

It's only after the lights dim that he's ushered by Chrissy to a booth where the rest of the staff is either taking a break or keeping an eye on their work. As part of the styling team, Steve is on the look out for any hair or wardrobe malfunctions that might need touching up during the set. 

Gareth comes out first, setting a beat with his drums for the others to walk out to. They're dressed pretty much the same as usual, except for Eddie, whose jeans were swapped with a long skirt, its side slits so high the whole thigh is pretty much on display. 

Steve briefly wonders what kind of underwear they're wearing for it not to be visible. 

"Hello Chicago!" Eddie greets the audience through the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, and..." he makes a dramatic pause, eyes scanning the crowd. "Others. A gorgeous man walked into my dressing room today and did my make up." They flip their hair back and angle their face left and right. "What do we think?" The crowd goes wild and Eddie laughs. "Me too. It goes to show, for the best make up and hair tips, go to a drag queen." With another loud cheer from the crowd, Eddie sticks out their tongue playfully and starts off the first song.

They look stunning, with the strands of hair framing their painted face and the long pale legs wearing heavy leather boots. Steve feels like a fraud, because he's getting paid to make the band presentable, but really, Eddie's beauty is doing most of the work for him.

"Did Eddie just call me gorgeous?" he asks absentmindedly, slowly processing everything he's taking in. 

To his right, Chrissy sighs. 

"Please don't take it to HR," she says. 

"What?" Steve gives her a short, surprised glance. "No. No. Unless, there's something against dating the band in my contract?"

beloveds: @blasvemous @wheneverfeasible @phantomcat94

[i-messed-up-big-time]

Lonely Birthday - Rafayel

Rafayel x reader

a/n: me when i have way too many ideas and end up pushing the other ones to the back burner. this is rafayel's part to the lonely birthday series i was doing, first part is xavier's! will also be including caleb too since when i first wrote xavier's it was pre-caleb.

divider creds: @/cafekitsune

Tags: angst, happy ending, female pronouns, reader is not MC, female pronouns, cursing, use of pet names (baby)

word count: 3.3k

masterlist

Xavier Zayne Sylus Caleb

Rafayel

You and Rafayel had been dating for a year but had been friends for well over 3 years.

He was the one to ask you out and it was simply perfect, he had set up his house for a cute little romantic evening where you two had a candlelit dinner with your favourite dish, night painting on the beach, and then ended it off with watching the sun rise before heading back inside to sleep.

Rafayel had always managed to make you feel so loved and appreciated.

So where did it go wrong?

You loved celebrating birthdays, whether it was yours or someone else's. It was a day worth celebrating, a day meant just for you.

You always gave more than you received, but it never mattered because seeing the joy on other people's faces was more than enough for you.

Then Rafayel came along and showed you what it meant to also be on the receiving end, to be important to someone and not just be the floater friend.

He taught you self worth, but more importantly he taught you how wonderful it was to be someone's priority.

But then she walked into his life.

You were never the jealous type, always respectful of the friendships that Rafayel had outside of your relationship, but something in you had settled the seeds of doubt, and a woman's intuition was never wrong.

●・○・●・○・●・

You and Rafayel had been planning this birthday date for a couple of months now. You both planned to go to the aquarium for a lunch surrounded by the cute sea creatures, after that you had tickets booked to watch the latest instalment of your favourite movie series followed by a light dinner at home and a surprise that Rafayel had planned, one that he would refuse to tell you no matter how much you probed.

Unfortunately, the weeks leading up to your birthday were nothing but anxiety filled. Lately, Rafayel has been hanging out with his new bodyguard more often than you'd like to acknowledge.

You were never one to police who he can and can't hang out with, but there was just something about her and the way he acted around her that had you feeling insecure, but you'd rather not admit that out loud.

Every time you guys spent time together it was always 'Miss Bodyguard this' or 'Miss Bodyguard that,' it got to a point where you had to subtly point it out as to not come off as a jealous or controlling girlfriend.

And it worked, for a day.

You had called Rafayel the day before your birthday to confirm that your plans were still happening.

"Yeah, yeah don't worry cutie. I'll be there."

You felt a bit of relief when he said yes, but it didn't last too long.

You felt that ugly feeling of jealousy and doubt creep up on you multiple times throughout the day, you tried your hardest to not let it cloud your mind and ruin your birthday before it even started.

You should've just listened to that gut feeling.

●・○・●・○・●・

It was the morning of your birthday, you had woken up feeling less than refreshed. You had been tossing and turning all night, the feeling of unease never leaving as the time kept passing by.

You checked your phone and spotted quite a few birthday messages from your friends, but you didn't see one from Rafayel.

You knew he spent most of his nights awake, and he would never miss the chance to be the first one to wish you at midnight.

You pushed down that feeling of disappointment and decided to start your day with a little pick-me-up treat. Since you were planning on visiting your favourite café, you decided to dress up— that way you would be ready for your lunch date as well.

You spent a few hours at the café, taking cute pictures of yourself and the goodies that you bought. Soon it was time to head over the aquarium. You trusted Rafayel when he said he would be there, he never really gave you a reason not to.

Getting to the aquarium, you settled on a bench nearby the entrance waiting for Rafayel to show up. An hour passed by and it was nearing the time for your lunch reservation. You gave him a quick ring only for it to go straight to voicemail, trying a few more times only to get the same result.

You assumed his phone had died and hoped he was on his way. You decided it was better for you to wait inside at the table, that way your reservation wouldn't be cancelled.

The setting was beautiful, there was only a limited amount of tables all under a dome of glass where the marine life swam above you. Colours of blue made the whole thing feel so scenic and calm.

Sitting at your table you snapped a few pics of your surroundings and decided to order some appetizers, that way by the time they came Rafayel would already be here.

You waited, and waited— and then waited some more, but two hours had passed and Rafayel didn't show up.

You were worried, and just as you were ready to call him again for the umpteenth time, your eye spotted a moments notification from her.

You don't know what compelled you to open it, but you did. You could almost hear the sound of your heart shattering.

There, on her moments post, was Rafayel with his arms wrapped around her waist and a beautiful necklace that glimmered like light reflecting on a waters surface sitting delicately around her neck. It was captioned, 'When your cute boss surprises you with a beautiful gift and planned a whole day of fun for your birthday!'

It was insane how her birthday just happened to be the same day as yours.

Before you even realized it, you were crying. You quickly gathered yourself together and settled the bill, not missing the way everyone who looked at you had pity in their eyes.

Rushing out of the aquarium you beelined it home, not wanting to be around anyone.

When you finally reached the confines of your home you let it all out, collapsing near the door you sobbed until your voice was hoarse and there were no more tears left to cry.

Forcing yourself off the floor, you decided to take a hot shower and change into something more comfortable.

Your shower ended up being longer than you expected it to be, round 2 of yours tears started and you sat with your knees against your chest as the hot water fell from above.

You didn't notice how much time had passed while you were in the shower. The only thing that did get you out was the fact that you had used up all the hot water and that your fingertips were pruny.

You didn't even bother to dry your hair, just wanting to curl up in bed as soon as possible, praying for the day to be over.

It was hard keeping yourself from crying when every little thing reminded you of him. Hell your whole room was filled with all sorts of trinkets and memories of him.

It wasn't about the birthday, but about the fact that you guys had planned a whole day of just you two together, no distractions. You even had Thomas sign an agreement to not bother you guys today!

'Clearly that was all for nothing.'

You scoffed and wrapped the blanket tighter around yourself, the warmth bringing you a tiny bit of comfort.

God knows how long you spent in that one position, zoning in and out or reality, your mind and heart still refusing to grasp the situation but your body reacting with a never ending stream of silent tears.

You know what the insane part was? It wasn't the fact that Rafayel was out spending time with her, but rather the fact that you didn't even receive a single call or text from him. Just radio silence.

It's like anything having to do with you was just wiped from his memory.

As time passed on, you noticed your body crying out in hunger but you didn't have the strength to get up.

A part of you thought that you were being too dramatic, but the teenage girl in you felt like she was in high school again, when you were just the floater friend when the friends they wanted to hang out with were busy, when you were always an afterthought and not the first one.

You never thought you'd feel that with Rafayel, he always made you his number one priority. He knew about your insecurities and always assured you that he'd never put you in that position, ever.

"I guess at some point it was bound to happen." You whispered to yourself as tears fell once again. You just wanted to forget about today and sleep, rolling over you grabbed a bottle out of your bedside drawer. You took the sleeping pill and just laid there, waiting for it to kick in.

It didn't take long for the pills to kick in, closing your eyes you let yourself get enveloped by the darkness.

●・○・●・○・●・

Rafayel

It was late when he got back to his studio, he had this feeling that he was forgetting something but brushed it off.

If it was important I would've remembered it.

Oh how he would soon regret that thought.

He entered his studio expecting to be greeted by his lovely girlfriend, he even got her these desserts that MC loves so much.

"I should charge my phone first, it kept going off so MC took my phone and wouldn't even let me see who was contacting me."

He looked around but didn't see you anywhere. His studio was eerily quiet, Rafayel brushed it off as you having gone to bed considering how late it was.

Making his way to his room, he noticed how the bed looked untouched.

How weird, surely she should have been in bed by now.

He put his phone on charge, cursing it to charge faster.

That's when he saw it all, having been too preoccupied this morning with MC he missed out on his reminder.

Y/N's b-day! Don't forget your lunch reservation at the Linkon Aquarium! And absolutely do not let Thomas bother you about exhibitions!!!

It felt like cold water had been dumped on him as he read the reminder he wrote a few weeks back.

"I screwed up, fuck."

Rafayel started to freak out, his mind running a mile a minute. He quickly grabbed his phone and keys before bolting out of the house to your place.

Normally, you stay at his place more than yours since you guys had very limited quality time and being at his place made it easier to at least spend some time together. Although occasionally you did go home from time to time.

He beelined it to your place, praying you would forgive him. Although he wouldn't blame you if you didn't.

Hell if he was in your position he probably wouldn't forgive himself either! Instead of spending your birthday with you, he was out with another woman spending time with her for her birthday without even so much as a word from him.

As he reached your place he rushed up the stairs to your floor, the elevator taking too long to come. His hands were shaking so much that he struggled to put in your passcode.

After finally typing in the right code Rafayel rushed in, messily throwing off his shoes. He frantically looked around your apartment for you, not seeing you in the living room or kitchen he sped to your room.

The sight in front of him broke him beyond words.

Even in the dark he could see your eyes were puffy, probably from crying so much, there were tears that still stained your cheeks.

He carefully walked towards the edge of the bed, kneeling down so he was next to your head. Rafayel carefully wiped your cheeks, drying them of the tears you shed because of his stupidity.

"I'm so sorry, I know an apology won't fix the hurt I've caused you. Today was supposed to be your special day but I messed it all up."

Rafayel whispered as he gently stroked your cheeks. He stayed in that position until he eventually fell asleep, afraid that if he let go you would disappear.

●・○・●・○・●・

The next morning you awoke to the feeling of someone's hands on your face.

Knowing you went to bed alone, you quickly shot up in a state of panic, grabbing the nearest object to defend yourself.

It took your eyes a moment to adjust before you noticed the concerned eyes staring back at you.

Rafayel moved to get closer to you but you held a hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't you dare come near me. Get out right now!"

You were never one to raise your voice, but the feelings from yesterday were still fresh.

Rafayel looked shocked that you would raise your voice, but he still persisted. Not wanting to let you be alone anymore than he already made you.

He grabbed your hands but you yanked them right out, you really didn't want to do this so early in the morning.

"Please just let me explain."

Rafayel begged, he could feel your emotions radiating off of you in waves. It hurt him to know he was the one who did this to you, but he'd be damned if he didn't do anything to make it better.

"There's nothing to explain Rafayel. I know who you were with, clearly she is more important than your own fucking girlfriend!"

You felt appalled by his audacity to even try to give you an excuse, there was nothing he could say or do that could bring back yesterday. He made his choice, and it wasn't you.

A small part of you felt like you were overreacting, but a larger part of you validated your feelings.

Yes it was the first time he did something like this, but that doesn't mean you should bend over backwards and forgive him just because he said sorry.

You got up and grabbed his arm, knowing how persistent he is you know he wouldn't leave your apartment, at the very least you can kick him out your room.

Pushing him out the room, you slammed and locked the door before he even had time to process what was happening.

Everything you were holding in came bursting out like a flood. You didn't care if Rafayel was on the other side of the door, the hurt you felt yesterday came back ten fold when you saw his face.

On the other side, Rafayel had his forehead against the door. The pain in your cries made it feel like he was being stabbed over and over again.

He knew if he went in there he would just make things worse for himself, but he couldn't just stand there and listen to your broken sobs.

He picked the lock and gently opened the door, unsure of how close you were to the door, and because he didn't want to risk adding physical pain to the emotional pain you were already going through.

Letting himself in he found you on the floor at the end of your bed, he made his way over and scooped you in his arms before settling down on your bed with you in his lap.

He wrapped his arms around your waist as you tried to push yourself off of him, his hold was tight but not restricting.

You beat his chest with your fists muttering curses at him through your tears. Rafayel just sat there and let you have your way, hoping it brought you some comfort.

When your hits became weaker he shifted to pull you closer to his chest, your forehead now on his shoulders as you sobbed messily. Rafayel rubbed your back soothingly, trying to get you to calm down a bit.

You started to relax a bit in his warm embrace, but you were still on edge.

"Do you want to talk to me now baby?"

He spoke softly, the pain of seeing you in this condition leaking into his voice.

"You left me, and for another woman at that?"

You said after a few moments of silence.

"How could you forget about me? Do I mean that little to you now that you have Miss Bodyguard?"

You looked up at him, the tears streaming down your face. He reached up to wipe them away but you turned your face before he could and wiped them yourself.

He retracted his hands and placed them back on your waist, rubbing circles on them.

"No baby, you mean the world to me. I know it's not an excuse but it's my judgement gets cloudy when I'm around her."

You gave him a look that was a mix between 'what the fuck' and 'your words are not helping your case here.'

As bad as the timing was he let out a little chuckle.

"It's not something I can explain in simple words, but if you give me the chance I'll tell you everything without missing a single detail."

●・○・●・○・●・

Rafayel took the time to thoroughly explain everything to you regarding his past and MC. He constantly stressed multiple times that you were the one he chose and this life and would continue to choose in every other life after this.

You deliberated over his words, it was all a lot to take in, but it definitely helped you understand the situation more.

Not that it forgives him for leaving you alone, on your birthday no less.

“Wait, did you get her a birthday present too?”

You questioned, just now remembering the necklace from the photo.

Rafayel looked at you confused.

“I didn’t even know it was her birthday, why would I give her a birthday present?”

You narrowed your eyes at him in suspicion. Leaning over you grabbed your phone and pulled up the photo, making sure he got a good look at the caption too.

Rafayel snatched your phone the moment he saw it, looking at it with confusion with a hint of anger.

“Baby I promise on the seas I never did any of that! She’s the one who had planned everything and she was already wearing that necklace when I saw her.”

Rafayel explained. You were confused as to why she would go this far to post a lie, it didn’t sit right with you.

“Don’t worry I’ll make sure to no longer have her as my bodyguard, I won’t ever contact her.”

Rafayel said as he took a whole of your face.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm controlling who you employ or interact wi—"

"Absolutely not."

Rafayel cut you off.

"I would never feel that way, ever. This post though, it's really weird and I don't want this type of energy around us. I cherish you too much for that."

He spoke with a tone that was meant to assure me, that something like this will never happen again.

You nod and rest your head against his shoulder again, feeling more drained than yesterday.

"You're still not forgiven for yesterday, you have to make it up to me."

You said with a big yawn, feeling your eyes get heavier.

Rafayel chuckles before laying down with you snuggled on top of him.

"I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if that's how long it takes for you to forgive me."

He kisses the top of your head and then pulls the covers around you both.

"Now sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up."

He wrapped an arm around your waist, while his other hand rubbed your back soothingly.

Letting out a hum, you relaxed further into his hold, letting sleep envelop you.

[lunasdreamytreats]

Thinking abt soft and passionate sex with Sunday...

Pairing: Sunday x fem!reader

Contents/Warnings: NSFW // established relationship // self-ship coded bc yeah // some personal headcanons in here too // soft dom!Sunday // reader is a nameless but isn't the trailblazer // possible spoilers for 2.7 // slight mention of Sunday's insecurities // petnames (darling, angel, sunny🤭, dear) // Sunday has six ear wings for, like, a sentence // pillow talk and mentions of aftercare

idk what else to put this is as soft as can be :) nsfw under cut

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

Sunday longed for your touch.

He never used to desire the feeling of anyone constantly wanting to be so close to him, nor wanting to be so close to another person. But ever since he was given a second chance at freedom, started travelling with the Astral Express, and in turn, met you, he wants to be around you whenever he can.

It even gets to the point that, whenever he's away from the express and you're not, his only desire is to get back and see his darling, you. March 7th always rolls her eyes when he gets back and goes straight to find you if you're not in his immediate sight; "Not even a 'hi guys' before rushing off!" she would complain to Dan Heng as soon as he was out of ear shot, but she, like the others, were happy to see you both happy together. This gets more obvious when he's been away from you for hours days :(

Rest assured, he won't let you have any space when he finally gets back, because, in addition to his increased clinginess; something else in him has also increased since your relationship began...

His libido. Before meeting you, Sunday was the kind of person that saw sex as something purely for making children; something his religious upbringing under The Family had a part in. So, after the first time you slept with him, you suggested the two of you experiment with different positions and concepts to spice things up in the bedroom. And after reassuring Sunday multiple times that you do, in fact, enjoy having sex with him; he agreed to your proposal.

Weeks went by with you and Sunday testing out various kinks/positions that came to mind, some sparked new kinks in both of you, others didn't. And while you assured him that it's ok if he doesn't enjoy something and you do, nothing will ever be able to beat holding each other close as he thrusts in for you and him.

Tangled up in a mess of bedsheets and muffled moans, Sunday's hips snapped into yours at a feverish pace, the rhythmic throb of his cock a show of the wanton pleasure he felt. You can't help but want a camera to capture just how beautiful he looks when letting his desires take control... With his hair slightly damp with sweat, cheeks flushed pink and wings covering his face in embarrassment; just how did you manage to catch the eye of such an ethereal man?

"Sunday, please...." You didn't know what you were begging him for exactly, was it for him to slow down? Or were you begging for him to go faster? It doesn't matter, all that matters now is the way his dick drags against your tight walls. The way his tip reaches deep enough to nudge against the spot that made you see stars. You let your head fall back against the soft familiarity of the pillow, the puffy fabric muffling the sounds of raw pleasure that Sunday's hips brought out.

"Angel...." Sunday curled his arms around your body tighter, pulling your body closer against his own. The needy and possessive squeeze of the flesh on your waist a complete contrast to his confident thrusts. His nails almost certainly leaving crescent shaped marks by the morning. "Don't.... Wanna hear you lose yourself on me.."

Dispite his nervousness, Sunday knew exactly how to hit all your soft spots. Hitting them with insane precision and force that made both your heads spin in pure, wanton pleasure. The vice like grip your pussy walls have on his dick makes it a little difficult for him to keep himself grounded in the moment. Both his and your blissed out expressions showing how whipped you are for each other.

"Sunny... m'gonna cum-" You knew calling him that nickname would make him a little bit embarrassed, and you felt a little bad about it (but a bashful Sunny is the best Sunny <3). You quivered in his hold, trying your best to stay still, but the pleasure you felt was just too much! Your whole body twitched under him as your orgasm overtook you, pussy clenching around Sunday's dick and milking him for all he's worth. The suffocating sensation triggered his own orgasm to crash over him, burying his face into the crook of your neck to muffle the noises escaping him; his now six wings flapped and shivered against your face in pure, unadulterated bliss.

"Don't... aahh- don't call me that... darling" the breathless whisper was further muffled since his wings were covering his face, the very same wings that were still shivering from the aftershocks of his orgasm and tickling your faces. You giggled lightheartedly at his adorableness, gently tracing the marks on his back while you both basked in the post-sex bliss.

“Sorry dear, but there’s just something so hilarious about saying a nickname you claim to hate to get you to cum.”

“….You’re truly insufferable….”

“I know… now can you run a bath for us? I kinda can’t move after you rearranged my insides…”

[daydreaming-paradies]

We are not a couple!...maybe

ᡣ𐭩 Summary: Ah love. A beauty and a curse to feel and to witness. But sometimes you and your crush is so convinced that you are not in love...its honestly very funny and endearing in a way

ᡣ𐭩Pair: Wriothesley x GN!Reader

ᡣ𐭩 Warnings: Fluff, idiots in denial, crack, and a happy ending

AN: For those who are wondering yes, I haven't write the duke himself and yes i love prompts like this. I just want to spice things up for a bit

The term Idiots in denial fits the relationship between you and Wriothesley.

You work for Chief Justice Neuvillette as his secretary and you love your job even though it’s kinda daunting. But nothing beats anything then your ‘hatred’ with Wriothesley, the Duke of Fortress of Meropide. You hated(love) his face, his personality and those muscles of his. Yet you just kept dying it but even everyone and their grandmothers can see it through the bullshit. You both are not slick with those actions of yours.

“Ugh!” You groaned while in the cafe with Clorinde. “This damn man and his tea obsession.” Clorinde calmly sips her coffee and glances at you. “What has the Duke done to infuriate you, (y/n)?” The Champion asked with a blank expression. You have to think for a moment. What did Wriothesley do to make you this mad? “He sassed me when I told him that Neuvillette is wanting a discussion with him.” You said, sipping your favorite beverage. “That damn smirk of his. I just want to kiss-I mean punch him.” Clorinde raises an eyebrow at you, a faint smirk appears on her face. “Punch him? Assault to an officer is illegal, (y/n).” Clorinde says with a teasing voice. “I do not want to have to duel you to prove your innocence.” You only groaned to yourself. “Fair point. I don’t want Monsieur Neuvillette to have a heart attack..”

Meanwhile at the Fortress of Meropide, Wriothesley is sitting in his office looking through paperwork while sipping my tea. He can’t stop thinking about you. Your cute face, that stupid giggle and your eyes…that he desperately wanted to dr—wait what?! He choked on his tea while Sigewinne looked at him in shock. “Duke. Is everything okay?” She asked with worried eyes as said man clear his throat. “Yes. I am fine, Sigewinne. Just thinking about something.” The melusine nurse tilted her head and spoke. “Oh? You mean (y/n)?” She asks, putting her finger near her mouth. “Now that I mentioned it, you two make a cute couple.” The poor man had to spit out his tea and whips his head towards Sigewinne. “No! No no no no. I hate them.” He said with a sigh. “And besides they are so stupid, hardworking and so determined that it’s stupidly adorable.” After the moment of silence, Wriothesley found out that he is in love with you…and he is doomed.

The day at the Palais Mermonia, it was your day off but you wanted to work but Neuvillette had to force you to take a break. ‘That is a hypocritical move, Monsieur.’ You think to yourself as you stroll through the Fountain of Lucine bored out of your mind when you bump into a firm chest. “Oof!” You were about to fall on the ground when a strong arm wrapped around your waist to prevent you from falling on the ground. “Woah. Did not expect you to be this clumsy.” A familiar voice is heard and the one you dreaded(loved) to hear. “As Monsieur Neuvillette’s secretary, you need to watch where you are going.” You look up to see bluish- grey eyes staring down at you with a sly smile on his face. “Hmph.” You huffed as you crossed your arms and looked away. “Cut the act, Duke.” You spoke, not looking his way. “What do you want from me?” The duke chuckles as he thinks for a moment and shrugs. “Well if you want me to take you out on a date as an apology, just say the word.” Not knowing his subtle hit on asking you out, you took the bait. “Fine. I am willing to go out with you.” And that is when you realize what you did and your face turns a deep crimson, Wriothesley smiles in pride as he turns on his heel and walks off. “Okay, see you tonight babe.

Oh you want to the ground to swallow you up whole. But hey, at least Wriothesley bagged you.

~Taglist: @areislol @husky-studies @windblumewishes @thestarswhisper @dailypenpen @sundaysareformoshi @mikashisus @yuan4i @wystiix @bbasorexja @bibiddibobiddi-boo @purpleqilinwrites @yoghurtsan @ddivilove @zhengbobatw

[11queensupreme11]

Let's say in an alternate universe, Percy, due to the Bifrost and Kronos is sent a few thousand years in the past before canon for due to still having the curse of Achilles, crash-lands in the past, right into Shiva’s palace unharmed and confused but tries to be polite, unknowingly charming Shiva and his wives despite being wary of her aura, which feels a lot like Poseidon's. Though Percy doesn't fully understand what kind of gods they are, she adopts a sweet, innocent “uwu” behavior, which draws them in even more. They briefly consider sending her back to Poseidon but ultimately decide to keep her for themselves, as their feelings grow stronger. Percy, oblivious, doesn’t catch on until they outright tell her how they feel.Years later, Percy becomes Shiva’s fourth wife, living in a mostly polyamorous relationship with Shiva and his three wives despite the fact that Shiva and his wives are huge yanderes of her. At some loint she ascends to godhood, she becomes a goddess of many things, including humanity, and gods from all over are drawn to her. Shiva and his wives constantly fend off suitors, though Percy’s obliviousness only adds to the chaos. Poseidon who finds out about Percy after she marries Shiva is not happy about it, asume in this au he is a platonic yandere, was not thrilled about Shiva being her husband due to not meeting his standards of perfection that and he just hated his personality but despite that he ends up caring for Percy and keeps an eye on her nonetheless.Then, during Ragnarok, the gods vote to destroy humanity, and Shiva, to Percy’s shock, votes in favor of it. Percy finds out, probably through Brunhilde, and confronts Shiva, accusing him of betrayal. This sparks a huge argument and leaves Percy heartbroken. She leaves the palace, swearing to fight for humanity. Shiva’s wives try to stop her. Durga takes a harsh approach, reminding Percy that she belongs to them not humanity, while Kali and Parvati are gentler, reminding Percy of the love they share and the happy memories they had together even pointing out that even if Shiva voted no it wouldn't change anything. Despite their words softening her, Percy stays determined.Meanwhile, the gods scramble to find someone who can defeat Percy. Most refuse because they either like or love her or fear Shiva and Poseidon. The only one crazy enough to fight her is Loki how do you think things go from here

lmao i love reading time travel/isekai fics where percy gets yoinked somewhere by kronos cuz that sort of start-up genuinely makes the most sense for how the poor kid would get in the general setting in the first place 😂😂

and omggggggggg you have no IDEA how much i thirst at thought of SHIVAAAAAA 😫 i would love a shiva x percy (what would their ship name be? shercy??? but then we'd have to add the wives, and the name combo would be too long.... indian ocean???? LMAO 😭)

"while Kali and Parvati are gentler, reminding Percy of the love they share and the happy memories they had together even pointing out that even if Shiva voted no it wouldn't change anything" OH THAT'D BE A BIG MISTAKE FOR KALI AND PARVATI TO SAY TBH

cuz yeah it's true that their votes wouldn't have changed anything, but it's the fact that they voted YES in the first place!!!!!! she is a mortal!!!! she's half-human! she was raised amongst them and loves and cares for them! the trio know that and yet STILL voted for their destruction!!!! it's the realization that they hate such a big part of her that hurts 💔💔💔

as for loki vs percy, ohhhhh this would actually be SO perfect if loki loved her here too lmao. why, you ask??? because lets say in this au percy also discovers the ichor/ambrosia thing and uses that in her fight. LOKI WOULD GET SO HORNY THE SECOND SHE STARTS DRINKING AND EATING FROM HIM 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 HE WOULD LITERALLY LOSE THE FIGHT FROM HORNY-NESS ALONE

so percy wins, and so does loki in a way, but now he's got shiva, kali, durga, parvati, AND the greek pantheon on him cuz everyone DEFINITELY saw how down bad he was, the tournament is LIVE after all 😭😭

[theformulaimagines]

Look at that woman (breaking my heart) | Part 11

Summary: For one and a half years Lewis and y/n managed to keep their relationship a secret, until it blew up in their faces. Now, they're trying their hardest to pick up the pieces...

Warnings: age gap (reader is 27), major angst, fluff inbetween, my first time doing smau

Pairing: Lewis Hamilton x fem Vettel!Reader

masterlist

f1 has made a post

liked by y/nvettel, lando and 729,928 others

f1: We saw 10 gorgeous liveries at F1 75 LIVE... but which one was your fave? 😍

#F1 #Formula1 #F175LIVE

view all comments

user 1: VCARB >>>>>>>>>

user 2: obsessed with everyone booing the FIA 😩🙏🏻

user 3: y/n tbh 🫡

user 4: @/user 3 you’re actually so real for that

y/nvettel has made a post

liked by sebastianvettel, lewishamilton and 2,482.818 others

y/nvettel: tonight was so humbling! thank you @/f1 and everyone involved for trusting me to host and present such an incredible and exciting event! forever grateful!!!

view all comments

f1: stunning, spectacular give me 4000 of them

user 1: @/f1 😭😭😭😭

user 2: you looked amazing

user 3: the nepo baby of f1 gooood lord keep her off my screens

sebastianvettel: proud is an understatement ❤️

ham44_supporter has made a post

liked by 34,928 people

ham44_supporter: my princess diana

view all comments

user 1: now take a big guess WHO mentioned him

user 2: @/user 1 „i know im technically not allowed to be biased tonight but well…you know the rumors“ GAGGED

user 3: @/user 2 the way you could HEAR people GASP

user 3: god he’s stunning

A few weeks later.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Formula 1 testing week. The cars will be back on track in a few moments."; David Croft declares, looking over at Martin Brundle:" There is so much to look forward to and I am so thankful that Nico Rosberg is going to join us as well in a couple of minutes.“

Martin nods at the screen:“ And looks like Hamilton has just got into his car. I cannot lie to you, I am so excited to finally be able to look over some official data. After all those rumors of potential leaks were flooding the internet.“

„Red suits him amazingly.“, his colleague adds, making him laugh. „Looks like someone else is also amazed by him in-.“

„Good morning, guys!“, a voice cuts him off:“ Can you see me?“ The two men both turn their heads to the screen, catching sight of a grinning Nico. „Yes, hi!“, David says:“ It‘s so good to see you! How are you?“

„I‘m doing good.“, The blonde answers:“ But I fear, I interrupted you, Martin.“ He chuckles. „No, you didn't. I just wanted to point out that Y/N Vettel is in Hamilton's garage this morning as well.“ The image on the screen changes to the outside of Hamilton's garage, where Y/N is standing next to a couple of engineers. She’s wearing the signature red Ferrari jacket, while looking around the site.

„The last few months must’ve been tough.“

„Well, Nico. You know both personally. What’s your opinion?“

The blonde man sighs:“ Well, it’s important to remember that this isn’t really any of our business. Plus Y/N has a great relationship with her brother, and his opinion means everything to her. We all know how highly he speaks about him, so I believe if anything he’s happy she’s with a guy like Lewis. If they‘re both happy, I‘m happy. Everyone else should think the same about them.“

[jedimaesteryoda]

Just talking of her seemed to make him stronger. "I must go to her. I must. Would that I was even ten years younger." . . . Daenerys must be counseled, taught, protected. For all these years I've lingered, waiting, watching, and now that the day has dawned I am too old. 

It's a shame that Maester Aemon never got to meet Daenerys. Imagining their meeting, Dany would find some relief in learning that she is not alone, that she has a living relative who does care for her like Ser Willem Darry did. Aemon, while being her distant uncle, would have been more like grandfather figure. He had so much good counsel to give in politics, war, Westeros and likely dragons. He would have been her Grand Maester.

He would have told her about the Long Night. He might also have told her about the boy commander at the Night's Watch.

I'm guessing Daenerys's dragons would have liked him too, and Daenerys would have let him pet one. I can imagine the smile on his face, maybe eyes glistening, petting Viserion, feeling the warm scales beneath his fingers. He lived long enough to figuratively see dragons again, likely being reminded of Egg who perished with his failed attempts.

I can also imagine his relationship with Ser Barristan as they may have met at some point in the past. Barristan would have loved to have someone from King's Landing, and the old Targaryen dynasty he served, to talk and relate to. They actually might have made a good team: Maester Grandfather and Ser Grandfather. Maester Aemon was no fighter but Barristan is a skilled Kingsguard knight while Barristan is not so good with court politics but Aemon would likely fill in that gap, advising caution with the Shavepate. They would cover each other's bases.

Tyrion would have been happy to see him again as well, and Aemon might even vouch for him. The two would have a lot to talk about given their shared intellectual pursuits, and strategy as Aemon would be the one person in Meereen he would undoubtedly have the utmost respect for.

Aemon would have done a lot for the storyline, and solved a lot of problems. But alas, he died on a ship en route to Oldtown. If only he had been ten years younger.

[caponhans]

one of the reasons why i hate how some people are genuinely mad about the marriage and wish you could stop it is because the marriage is literally canon to the historical figure. yeah, the game isn’t historically accurate and basically plays out like a fanfiction, but an arranged marriage wouldn’t even be that bad for hans — it would’ve happened eventually anyway. and with not that bad i don’t mean in a romantic sense, because obviously being forced into a marriage sucks arse. but if hans and henry were actually in a romantic relationship, an arranged marriage would probably be the best possible outcome for them both. no one would ever expect hans to catch feelings for his wife, and as long as he does his duty and produces an heir, he’d be free to do whatever he wants. it’s the 15th century, and he’s a noble man. he could basically live his life however he wanted behind closed doors, while his wife would be the one suffering the most.

that’s what bothers me the most about people blaming the woman or wanting to erase her from the story. she isn’t the issue at all — if anything, she’s the biggest victim in this situation. she could have secret affairs too, but the risk would be so much higher for her. she’d be trapped in a loveless marriage with barely any freedom, while hans would live his best life with his secret boyfriend on the side without anyone ever raising an eyebrow. and the whole “why can’t hans and henry just run away and be happy together?” take completely ignores the reality of the time period. hans wouldn’t be able to run away and secretly marry henry or whatever ppl imagine. that’s pure delusion. the best outcome they could ever hope for is exactly what the game sets up — henry dedicating his whole life to hans as his squire or knight (if he ever gets knighted). i even read somewhere that it wouldn’t be that uncommon for men in henry’s position to stay unmarried if they chose to devote themselves entirely to their lord’s service.

so yeah, the whole “get rid of the woman” narrative is just weird and completely misses the point. the game actually gives them the most realistic and even kind of bittersweet outcome they could possibly have for that time period.

by the way i think making jitka a lesbian and variations on the theme just to clear the way for the gay ship is a lazy way to remove one of the very things that makes hans and henry’s relationship so compelling—its forbidden nature.

if it were just a matter of conveniently getting rid of a woman so they could be together, then what’s left of the tension, the risk, the weight of their choices? hans and henry shouldn’t get to be together because the narrative conveniently removes all obstacles. even the games made that very clear.

noblemen don’t get to love freely. their status binds them to duty, to alliances, to expectations that crush personal desire. for hans, this isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a fundamental part of his reality. he doesn’t get to simply sidestep the expectations placed on him, and neither does henry.

when you erase that struggle for the sake of convenience, you strip away what makes their story powerful. hans and henry love each other not because it’s simple or possible, they don’t get to love each other just because they want to. they love each other despite the fact that the world will never allow it. and that’s what makes it real and heartbreaking.

[sully-s]

Open in a different window to zoom in. So this is just a deep dive behind all the stuff I put in my last post I rolled back my picture before I did all the lighting and color changes to make certain details more visible. Fun fact I almost scrapped this whole picture at this stage because A. I was just burned out; this piece took me forever. B. As I kept getting more and more "neat" ideas to stuff in, I lost any real focal point, especially with the color scheme. After hours of trying to fix it in PS and failing, I was about to give up. I was like fuck it make it a night scene. Let me tell you all a world of lighting makes lol.

Anyways, enough about my struggles, let me give you the tour.

I love the idea that this corkboard was originally Phoenix's mood board in the beginning it just had his childhood pics from like the yearbook and that one time Larry got a polaroid camera. Then, a new year clipping about Edgeworth being Demon Prosecutor which led Phoenix to make his thesis about court drawings just so he could watch and see with his two eyes how much Edgeworth changed. - Then, later, he added Mia because she was his mentor. then Vinny (from the movie "My Cousin on Vinny") because like Vinny, Phoenix never understands court procedure but has very good instincts; and last Elle Woods who also went to law school for a boy basically his spirit lawyer lol. - Later, after Maya joined, she thought it would be funny to replace Phoenix's real reason to Steel Samurai. Also, it was fun because Will Powers was their client, so he should be their reason. Phoenix let them stay because it made Maya happy, and Phoenix knew that with Mia's death, she needed it. - I was going to add a sticky note from Miles that he approved, but I do like that Miles will never admit out loud or in writing that he enjoys the show. - A year later, Pearls tries to replace all the Steel Samurais with her drawings of Maya. Which Phoenix encouraged her to make during Maya's disappearance because facts. - Tid Bit: I was sad to cover up Will Powers' signature I really liked how it came out

Moving away from the mood board idea, I like that the cork board just became Phoenix's catch all. So his Law Degree which isn't the original it's just a sad printed-out version of what should've been his fancy embossed one. I like the idea that Phoenix never went to graduation. (Can't be bothered he's on a mission to save his childhood bff.)

Lastly are postcards from Edgeworth, his way of making up for all the years he couldn't write back to young Phoenix. - Also, this picture takes place some time after the 3rd game but before the disbarment.

Calendar whiteboard that I forgot to add the last row too so I guess in Japaniforina the months are only 25 days long.

I spent a frustrating amount of time trying to figure out the logistics of this paper trail. It really doesn't need to make sense It just has to make the room messier. - You can imagine Phoenix is looking over phone records or court stenographer's record.

So Edgeworth is a nerd; we all know this. But it annoys me just a tad that his nerd-isum is always just Steel Samurai (like I get it, it's canon), but all geeks have many fandom loves, okay. - So I just love the idea that Phoenix and Edgeworth (who are in a relationship at the time of this pic ) watch Better Call Saul, and they both bought each other a little plushie of the character they joke is them. -Edgeworth bought Saul for Phoenix (because of Saul's heart, not because he does shady practices), And Phoenix bought Kim (because she a really good lawyer who seems cold and is a workaholic who would break the rules for their Saul (used phoenix's badge in the third game )) - They keep each other's plushies in their offices, and if one of them stops by when the other isn't in, they put a sticky note on it. - Which we can see that Phoenix did need reminding because, as you can see, the date is 18th, and no mention of a dinner ;)

7. Now the whole reason I drew this picture was too show off my headcanon that Phoenix has a Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law action figure that you know Gumshoe got him after Edgeworth vs. State happen because of Polly. And we all know that man would be a fan of old Hanabara cartoons. - I've loved this stupid tid-bit of a headcanon that it's been haunting me for years. That's it; that's all I really wanted to say with this piece, and look where it got

[ginawankenobi]

Juliet Burke is a Tragic Hero (and Her Fatal Flaw is Insecurity)

(Thanks so much to @taweretsdagger, @eponine119, and @obsessivedaydreamer for beta-reading for me!)

PREAMBLE: What Even IS a Tragic Hero?

It’s Juliet Burke, I told you in the title. Essay over!

Haha, did you think you were going to get out of reading this that quickly? No way, dudes, buckle up! Anyway, once upon a time, a super smart guy named Aristotle said a tragic hero is a character who a) is virtuous, b) is flawed, and c) suffers a reversal of fortune (from good to bad). I tend to agree with him. In this full-length novel - I mean, essay - I will explain exactly why Juliet Burke fits this archetype, and why this means there is concrete scientific proof that she is the best character in all of media!

Okay, that last bit might be my bias talking. I’ll work on that. Here we go!

PART ONE: Preliminary Evidence

Exhibit A: What’s in a Name

Juliet shares a name with a Shakespearean tragic hero.

Shakespeare’s Juliet falls in love with a member of a rival family. Lost’s Juliet first forms a relationship with Jack, the leader of a rival group (crash survivors vs. the Others), then falls in love with James, another member of said rival group.

Each Juliet appears to die once, but truly (tragically) dies later on.

This spelling of Juliet was popularized due to Shakespeare’s work.

The name Juliet is likely derived from the Latin word iuvenis, meaning “youthful,” or Jovis, which is another form of the name of the Roman god Jupiter/Jove the “sky father.” Juliet means “Jove’s child, youthful, downy.”

Juliet speaks Latin, the language of the Romans, fluently.

A young/youthful person is considered to be someone between the ages of 20 and 40; Juliet is around 33 years old when we first meet her.

“Downy” refers to soft, fluffy hair; Juliet has downy blonde hair.

In the Middle Ages, Juliet became a female form of the name Julian; Juliet has a nephew Julian, presumably named after her.

Exhibit B: I Write Sins AND Tragedies

Tragic heroes must garner sympathy from the audience. Early on, Juliet garners sympathy from the audience in the following ways:

Jack threatens Juliet’s life and Ben seems unbothered, then closes her out of the safe room, showing the first signs of the fissures in their relationship.

Her profession as a doctor/fertility specialist/medical researcher establishes credibility.

She has a very close relationship with her sister.

Her ex-husband is clearly depicted as a shitty individual who treated her terribly.

She is self-deprecating, referring to herself as “a mess.”

Colleen’s injury and subsequent death genuinely throw her off-balance.

She helps Kate and Sawyer escape Hydra island (though selfish reasoning does factor into this decision).

She is nearly sentenced to death but instead is branded with a mark for her actions in helping Kate and Sawyer.

She displays genuine happiness when she does the ultrasound for Sun.

Ben is essentially holding her hostage on the island, and she hates him just as much as Jack and the other survivors do.

Like the crash survivors, she desires nothing more than to go home.

There are many more instances of Juliet gaining sympathy from the audience in later episodes, such as Ben showing her Goodwin’s corpse and creepily telling her “you’re mine.” These instances continue to build throughout the rest of the series, transforming Juliet from potential adversary into primary hero.

PART TWO: VIRTUES

Juliet is often virtuous to the point of her own detriment, and in fact, it’s the very reason she doesn’t leave the island with the Oceanic 6.

SEASON THREE.

Early on we don’t know her or her motives very well, but in retrospect, her true self shines through.

We don’t yet know that it’s “Henry Gale” she’s referring to in episode one as she rants to her book club about Ben, but looking back this moment illustrated from the very beginning that Juliet is willing to defy Ben.

Mid-rant, when the island shakes due to the shift in the magnetic field, she jumps into protective leader mode and directs everyone to get into the doorway for safety.

Throwing her canteen to Sawyer seems like a manipulation tactic at the time (and it still may have been in part), but odds are it’s mostly a genuine gesture.

Holding her gun to Kate to get Sawyer to drop his weapon makes her seem cold, and is frustrating at first because we’ve been set up to root for Sawyer and Kate. In reality, it’s quick thinking on Juliet’s part that spared Sawyer (and probably Kate) further risk of violence, as she’s able to quell the situation with no bloodshed or further consequences.

Even handcuffing herself to Kate isn't entirely disingenuous. Yes, we find out she did it as part of Ben's plan, but looking back we can tell it's true she wants to belong with them, and she hates Ben for making her act as a spy.

SEASON FOUR.

As time passes and we see Juliet freed from the guise of a double agent, we also see more and more of her altruistic and selfless nature.

She had just gone with Sawyer back to the beach on what she believed was a suicide mission, as “karma” for her past actions.

She teams up with Sayid to help Jack and Kate when they’re held hostage by Miles and Daniel (well, mostly Miles, let’s be real).

Back at the barracks, she had been helping take care of Zach and Emma, and was (according to Ben) very good with them.

When she believes Daniel and Charlotte are going to release a toxic gas around the island, she once again goes on a mission risking her own safety to stop them.

She sacrifices her budding friendship with Sun to keep her from going to Locke’s camp, since she knew Sun would die from the complications of her pregnancy if she didn’t leave the island.

She performs a badass guerilla surgery on Jack to save his life, and doesn’t let his stubbornness stop her from doing what needs to be done.

Knowing Jack’s heart truly lies with Kate (and he won’t admit it to himself yet), Juliet sets aside her own feelings to make sure Kate knows how Jack feels, and subtly ensures he hears her.

Juliet insists Sun be among the first group to leave the island for the freighter, and also insists that she stay until everyone else is safe, sacrificing the thing she wants most in favor of guarding the safety of the rest of the group.

SEASON FIVE.

We truly see Juliet come into her own during the flashes and when the remaining group enters the Dharma Initiative in the 1970s.

When running from the flaming arrows, she once again puts herself in harm’s way trying to save another member of the group.

She manages to calm Sawyer down multiple times when he starts to lose control of his emotions.

She takes out the unknown people shooting at them from the other outrigger, preventing any injuries to her group.

She shows leadership by going along with Sawyer’s plan and keeping him and the group grounded as the flashes get more chaotic.

She directly saves Sawyer’s life by shooting one of the people holding Amy hostage before he can shoot Sawyer.

Her quick thinking and calm persuasive nature come in handy when they capture a young Charles Widmore and his ally; she’s unable to sway Widmore to help them, but would have swayed the other Other had Widmore not killed him. This makes it possible for John to track Widmore to his camp.

She has Sawyer’s back constantly.

She comforts Daniel when they lose Charlotte. I genuinely don’t believe Daniel would have mentally recovered at all had Juliet not been there, but that’s my biased opinion coming into play again. (A good researcher must acknowledge their own bias, or so I’ve heard.)

Despite the trauma of having lost several pregnant patients on the island, she agrees to deliver Amy’s baby.

Juliet has the idea of adding the returning crash survivors to the sub’s manifest in order to bring them in safely and subtly.

Despite everything she knows Future Ben will do to her, she refuses to let it affect her treatment of 1977 Ben and saves his life anyway. She even goes as far as angrily confronting Jack and calling him out for not helping also.

When the chains pull her down during The Incident, she knows Sawyer won’t let go and will get dragged down too if she doesn’t let go, so she does.

She hits the hydrogen bomb, not for herself, but because she wants Sawyer to be able to go home, literally sacrificing herself for the man she loves.

It’s going to hurt me too much to write any further on the Incident, so that’s all, folks.

PART THREE: FATAL FLAWS

If there was a Reddit-like thread dedicated solely to the Reasons Juliet Burke is Insecure, it would probably look something like this:

i/career

Juliet refers to herself as “a mess.” This is pre-island, and almost certainly due (at least in part) to her ex-husband’s treatment of her, but does continue on throughout the series. She displays a severe lack of confidence in herself and her abilities, despite being obviously brilliant and a groundbreaking expert in her field.

She is unable to solve the crisis facing pregnant women on the island, and this furthers the insecurity and impostor syndrome she already experiences.

In Dharmaville, she refuses to work as a doctor and opts for a career in the motor pool because she is so afraid, and has lost confidence in her ability to help pregnant people.

i/social

Juliet feels like all eyes are on her when she comes to the island, and it makes her feel isolated. She does not enjoy public attention or being put on a pedestal.

She is not shown to have many close friends, apart from perhaps Amelia. The rest of the Others seem to view her as someone special in Ben’s eyes, as Goodwin talks about Ben’s crush on her like it’s common knowledge (though Juliet herself seems oblivious at the time). It seems she doesn’t believe other people would genuinely want to befriend her.

Tom also mentions to Jack that Juliet and Ben have “history,” which I’ve personally always inferred to mean Ben talks to him about Juliet on a regular basis. It’s possible Juliet may have confided a bit in Tom too, at least about how much she wanted to go home, but I think most of what he knows about her is through Ben.

i/relationships

Her parents.

Their divorce during her childhood did some major damage to her ability to believe she could find true love that would stand the test of time. She seemed to view all relationships as temporary from that point on.

Edmund “the Asshat” Burke.

Due to the emotional baggage surrounding her parents’ divorce, she seems to have settled for this guy, who does not even remotely resemble True Love Material.

This creepazoid of a human being shot any confidence she had to hell. How exactly he did this is not shown to us, but it can be inferred by what we do see of their relationship. He likely cheated on her, and even after their divorce, Juliet feels she can’t go anywhere or do anything without his approval (and likely contracts they still have in place, or something of that nature).

And yet, Juliet still cried for him when he died. So much more than he deserves, if you ask me and my completely unbiased opinion on this matter.

Goodwin “the Luckiest Man Alive (until he wasn’t)” Stanhope.

Juliet refuses to allow Goodwin to fully leave his wife (even after she learns that Harper knows about their affair), though he states they’re basically separated already. It’s likely she is worried a relationship between them wouldn’t work out if it lacked the “excitement” and freedom of their situationship.

He was taken from her too, and she had to cry over the death of yet another man she was in a relationship with.

Jack “Fumbled at the 5 Yard Line” Shephard.

Jack represents everything Edmund wasn’t; he’s also a doctor, but one with integrity, and one who treats her like a human and an equal.

Juliet thought for a moment that she’d found what she was looking for and that Jack could save her and break the pattern, but she realized his heart was with someone else.

This helped reinforce her (incorrect) belief that she wasn’t destined for lasting love, that she’d always be second best (specifically to Kate Austen).

James “True Love Material” Ford.

Due to everything she endured, even when she FOUND the thing she previously thought un-find-able, she still believed it was too good to be true.

Because of her history being Jack’s second choice to Kate, on top of the history she knows James has with Kate, the second she thinks (again, incorrectly) that James would choose Kate over her, she lets her insecurity win.

She throws everything away based on James looking at Kate in what Juliet perceives to be a meaningful way, even though it seems that look is meaningless to James himself. Juliet convinces herself she will lose him, so much so that she wants to erase the memory of them ever having met in the first place.

She disregards all evidence to the contrary:

James helping save Ben’s life even though he didn’t want to, but he did it anyway because she asked him to

Grabbing her hand and continuously affirming that he has her back

Telling her he loves her when they’re on the sub and grinning bashfully at her like a boy in puppy love

Talking about the life they’d have once they leave the island

James literally and very seriously threatening Phil’s life because he hit Juliet - I don’t recall that he ever reacted so strongly to anyone hurting Kate

The entire 3 years they spent together; she lets her insecurity and intrusive thoughts tell her it didn’t mean what it meant/it was impermanent

PART FOUR: REVERSALS OF FORTUNE

Juliet experiences a reversal of fortune from bad to good when she joins the crash survivors and exposes Ben’s plans, cementing herself as one of them instead of an “Other.” Sadly, tragic heroes must experience a reversal of fortune in the other direction as well, which ultimately leads to their downfall.

For Juliet, one could argue the good-to-bad reversal occurs when Jack and his group arrive back on the island in 1977 Dharmaville. From there, her stable life with James is thrown into upheaval that does not cease until she…well, ceases. To live. I could probably come up with a better way to word that, but by this point, my brain is beginning to fry. (A good researcher must also be honest, I’ve heard.)

Juliet clocks it immediately, telling James their life there is over. From that point on, regardless of how true that actually is, Juliet believes it’s the beginning of the end and becomes determined to self-fulfill that prophecy. Tragedy lies in the fact that she and James almost escaped, they were this close to leaving the island, but once again a wrench was thrown into the plans (I didn’t even intend that Dharma motor pool mechanic pun, but there you go).

They begin by wanting to stop Jack from detonating the bomb, but Juliet’s insecurities cause her to change her mind when she attaches meaning to a look he gives Kate. She lets herself believe the intrusive thoughts and ignore the evidence. Though personally I feel there could have been stronger reasoning displayed for Juliet’s decision, it does make sense from what we know of her that feeling second best (and to Kate specifically) would get in her way and lead to her own downfall.

Because Juliet goes along with Jack’s plan, she winds up caught in the chains that pull her down the shaft of the Swan station. Selfless to the end, Juliet lets go of James when it becomes clear he will also fall if she doesn’t, and her final act is detonating the bomb - not in hopes of getting herself home, but to get the man she loves home. She gives everything she has left to give him the thing she has so desperately wanted for 6 years, not realizing that the only future he really wanted was one with her.

PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS

Swans can symbolize many things, including love and transformation. Juliet dying in the Swan station ruins symbolizes the completion of her transformation into a tragic hero, as well as her transformation into the flash sideways version of herself. Her love for James is also evident here, given her sacrifice; their final conversation also foreshadows their reunion in the flash sideways.

In short, if you skipped all the way down here and want the tl;dr, everything we come to know about Juliet and the progression of her arc can only bring us to the conclusion that she is in fact a tragic hero (and the best character in anything ever, according to my bias). Thankfully, the writers did do us one big kindness, and she got to be reunited with her soulmate in the afterlife and have the happily ever after they were cheated out of in life. They realized the errors of their ways, perhaps slightly too late, but whatever happened happened and I have totally made my peace with it. Totally.

If you actually read all of this, THANK YOU, you are just as awesome as Juliet Burke in my eyes. THE END! Unless I think of more later on. So, to be continued?

[jilyydoe]

Despite me not tagging Hermione or even mentioning her by name here you come guns a blazing. (I could have been talking about tonks for all anybody knew)

There are several counter points that make them compatible without bashing any other characters. You seem adamant to bash and hate Ginny. I can go on about regarding and not limited to

Their shared hobby (quidditch)

Their shared sense of humor (as evidenced by them catching eachothers eyes and having to look away from laughter multiple times throughout the books)

Their shared trauma (yes. It is a very valid point. She lost pieces of memories yes, but she was aware enough to try to get rid of the diary as well)

Ect.

You harp on about the fact that Harry is only physically attracted to her and nothing else meaningful however while he IS physically attracted to her all of my points from my original post as well as this one here are not physical attributes.

QYou claim she only hero worships him and while it did start out that way several times throughout the later books you can she gets over it and loves him as a person.

She had a chance to go to the yule ball with him but declined because she was going with Neville. By your logic she would have dumped Neville right away.

When she found out Harry was taking Luna to slughorns party she was happy for both of them.

And no she didn't use other people to make him jealous. That would actually be Hermione (when she took Cormac to slughorns party even though she hates him because she wanted to make Ron jealous)

Ginny had long relationships with these boys and because of that she was able to come out of her shell and be who she truly is. Just as Harry was able to be who he truly is with her aside from just the chosen one.

Harry and Hermione have a beautiful friendship. A beautiful platonic friendship.

I could go on but honestly I didn't come here for an argument.

I implore you to explore your own tag. You will be much more satisfied with people who think similar to you and there are so many extremely talented people who i am sure would appreciate your passion.

Ya'll really gonna come in here and tell me you love Harry Potter but you hate Hinny.

You're going to tell me to my face that you love Harry James Potter, a man who has been through so much. Lost his whole entire family., and you're going to deny him his greatest source of comfort.

Are you actually going to tell me that you think ferret face or someone who Harry has described as a sister to him is a better fit for him than someone who makes him happier than he can ever remember being.

He was willing to die happily just thinking about her kissing him. Literally his last dying thought but you're gonna come here and tell me that you hate true love.

Please.

[bwat5-blog]

A Look At The "Nothing Character" Who Broke Our Hearts: Isha

**Spoilers For Arcane**

I must say, there was a time not so long ago that if someone were to tell me there was a whole tag devoted to the hatred of a cute, tenacious, brave little girl character who died tragically trying to emulate her hero, I would have found the idea completely insane. However, since becoming a part of our little community....

Before we get into this a bit let me say, I am not formally educated in writing/literature/creative story telling or any of that. So what I discuss and list will as usual be the research I could find on my own with sources provided. I know for a fact through some of my interactions on here there are some very educated people in this area, so if any of you see this and care enough, please chime in! I'd love to learn more.

What Is The Complaint?:

"Isha isn't a real character!"

"Isha did nothing except get blown up!"

"Why was this kid even in the show?"

"Isha's only purpose was to give Jinx a reason to be happy then take it away!"

You get the idea. Overall people seem to hate the character because they feel she really wasn't one. They see her as being more of a singular plot device with no real information or depth given and not having any real purpose. While it is true we don't learn a ton about her, I completely disagree as to the worth and impact of her character on the story. In doing some digging, I came across the following term:

Catalyst Character-

Per Reference.com: "A catalyst character, also known as a catalytic character, is the character in a story who causes the protagonist, or main character, to move toward some kind of action or transformation. This character is usually the person that spends the most quality and influential time with the protagonist."

Okay, rather or not you agree or think it matters I'd hope at the least that that explanation is fairly clear. So moving forward, why do I think this applied to Isha? Because she is in all aspects a MASSIVE agent of change in the narrative. I understand not liking her. That is totally individual. But to imply she didn't matter is complete and utter nonsense.

The Ventilation Chamber Battle:

The brawl between Vi and Jinx has come to a head. Vi sits atop Jinx with one gauntlet around Jinx's throat and the other poised to kill her. Jinx is telling her to do it... she's glad that Vi is the one who is going to end her. When out of nowhere Isha leaps between them pointing a gun at Vi. '

Concrete Impact:

Stops the fight cold

Jinx immediately screams no betraying her actual fear for Vi's safety

Snaps Vi out of the fight where it appears she was quite possibly pulling back her hand to finish the fight

Isha's presence is what makes Vi get in front of Caitlyn's rifle leading to their separation and what occurs for them afterward.

Jinx clearly is "seeing" Vi again for the first time when Vi leaps to stop Caitlyn

2. Life With Jinx:

We return to Jinx after the time skip. It turns she has been living quietly in hiding with Isha since the battle. She is staying out of the bloodshed, focusing on her relationship caring for the young girl. She seems more at peace than we have seen her the entire series, even declaring "Jinx is dead" when Sevika comes to demand she get involved.

Concrete Impact:

It's strange to say for something I list under concrete but just the obvious and clear effect she has on Jinx herself. We see it expressed in many ways, such as Jinx saying Isha reminds her of Powder, Jinx saying she doesn't want to screw up what she has with Isha when in Silco's office, and so on. I feel like we could do an entire analysis post on Isha's effect on Jinx mental/emotional state but that is for another time.

The fact that Isha is masquerading as Jinx during the occupation is HUGE. We have to remember, Jinx is not actually getting involved at all before the events of the rally. The people of Zaun have made her their symbol because of what she did, and because Piltover has made Jinx their symbol of why they are doing what they are doing.

It is only because Isha went to the rally and got arrested that Jinx rejoins the fight.

3. Jinx Comes To Stillwater:

Isha has been arrested along with a large group of Zaunites during the rally. Sevika limps back to the hideout and tells Jinx who is immediately extremely upset. We see her seriously glitching in full for the first time since the time skip. She and Sevika mount a rescue mission, and because of Isha. Jinx rejoins the game since the occupation began.

Concrete Impact:

Without Isha being taken Jinx doesn't get involved which quite literally changes the trajectory of the entire story. Meeting Vander again and everything that stems from that would be impacted which quite literally could effect every character in the story. It is too much to list or "what if".

4. Reuniting The Family:

In the wake of meeting Vander and rescuing Isha, Jinx goes and finds Vi in the fighting pits, telling her what she has found and together with Isha they set off on a journey to find him. Leading to the all-too-short reunification of their family, with their newest member of course.

Concrete Impact:

Of course to state the obvious, they wouldn't be here if it were not for any of the things we have already been over.

When Jinx and Vi start to fighting, once again it is Isha's involvement that stops it cold.

Seeing Jinx's care for Isha is what helps Vi start to see her sister in a new light.

It is Isha's bleeding from getting whacked that draws Vander to them. Vi immediately leaps to save her life and Jinx can see the Vi she knows is still there as well. Also being thrown into Vander's path like that leads to his regaining control and the scene we see above.

5. The Commune:

After their family is reunited Vi, Jinx and Isha take Vander to the commune to meet with Viktor. Hoping his healing gifts can save their father. Of course, it all ends in soul rending tragedy with Vander losing control and Isha sacrificing herself to save her new family during a Noxian attack.

Concrete Impact:

Isha brings Jinx's gun. Without the gun the plan to save Vander could have gone a hundred different ways.

Isha pocketed those stones. If she hadn't done so once again it is impossible to list all the ways that incident could have changed in the end.

The impact on the story from Isha's sacrifice is so far beyond "making Jinx sad" it is mind-boggling. It stops the attack in its tracks. Without Vi getting injured saving Jinx from the explosion, Caitlyn and Jinx may have never found even that microscopic bit of common ground between them we see. There is so much more and that is to say nothing of the impact on Jinx mentally/emotionally

Conclusion:

So again this is not a true deep dive or anything. And I do understand the complaint that we really don't ever learn a ton about her. But I absolutely do not understand or agree with the complaint that she is meaningless/unimportant/inconsequential to the story. Her actions and presence drive a massive amount of change in the course of season two, and without her it very likely could have all ended quite differently. To close, below is an English translation of Isha's farewell posted to reddit for you to enjoy. (I have no way of knowing if it is accurate so if not forgive me).

Child, don’t fear the thorns; walk barefoot, And you’ll find something precious. Look at this darkened sky; see how beautiful the fireworks are. There’s no need for so much sorrow. People flourish and wither, But even stubborn rocks and debris will bloom.

Part the mountains, Let her see me. Tell the stars, Hurry and shine on me. Blow away the dark clouds, With a stroke of blue. Even if the world is full of desolation, We can look up and see the moon.

While we still have the hearts of children, Even as lone blossoms among millions, we must bloom. Don’t be troubled or sad. Don’t forget: Even if tears fall, we must keep running, Run to where even time can’t find us. Be the birds that soar at the edge of the sky.

Part the mountains, Let her see me. Tell the stars, Hurry and shine on me. Blow away the dark clouds, With a stroke of blue. Even if the world is full of desolation, We can look up and see the moon.

While we still have the hearts of children, Even as lone blossoms among millions, we must bloom. Don’t be troubled or sad. Don’t forget: Even if tears fall, we must keep running, Run to where even time can’t find us. Be the birds that soar at the edge of the sky.

Don’t keep searching; Just give me a hug. Let’s quietly forget, For this is good enough for me.

[spillthepuckingtea]

Hi sorry if this is a tad bit long, but

Toxic relationship anon here, so this is how I see this relationship with Sammy and Jack: in the beginning it most definitely was good, and you could tell at family skate he was happy and he genuinely looked happy, but after he got his shoulder surgery he was in a very vulnerable place and his mental and emotional health wasn’t the best, and Sammy knew that and took advantage of it, and in a way he feels like he owed it to her to at least try a relationship. Being in a toxic relationship with a manipulative narcissist is not easy, they gas light you so much and you don’t even realize it because it’s normal behavior. They blame you for fights and anything they can to not take blame theirselves. You’re friends and family can tell you they don’t like the person and they aren’t good for you because you see someone different than they do, you don’t see the toxic manipulative things they are doing to keep you around , because around you they are a totally different person. A person you think you’re happy with and a person you love . When reality they are the complete opposite.. they make you feel insecure no matter what it is but you don’t see it as that. They will make your confidence shit. But once again you don’t see it as that because you have rose colored glasses on and a part of you chooses to believe they aren’t a bad person but they belittle you like no other and you just go through a toxic cycle. Until you for yourself see someone for their true colors and intentions no one can convince you to leave the relationship.. your friends and family are going to be civil for your sake but they don’t like your relationship and how you’re treated . I finally for myself saw after 2 years, he wasn’t good enough for me and I was worth so much more.. with that being said Jack most definitely had rose colored glasses on , but I believe he’s slowly but surely figuring out the relationship isn’t what he thought it would be. He felt like he owed it to her, but to him it was never going to be anything long lasting.. I think he’s finally seeing her toxic behavior and her intentions. And maybe he’s a routine guy and doesn’t want cause more problems before playoffs so he’s waiting the relationship out… but him not getting her a wag jacket and not publicly claiming her is one thing I most definitely took notice of, because I was a wag in that relationship and he always made sure I had a jacket or whatever was made for said games.. so for him not to do that really speaks volumes… and just his playing lately has not been the potential of him as a player; people don’t realize when you’re in a toxic relationship it does affect your everyday life even if you try and not let it; and I think he’s going to notice that eventually.. I know everyone wants this relationship to end, but believe me he will get tired of the toxic behavior eventually… if you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer them ❤️

first off I’m sorry you even know any of this. It’s something that nobody should go through. What causes me the slightest bit of hope is that he did not get her a jacket which like you said speaks volumes it shows that slowly he’s starting to realize that she is not in this relationship for the right reasons and I don’t like to call people, toxic, or manipulative when I don’t know them, but all the signs are pointing to that because what kind of dies a human being goes for the brother of the guy that rejected you to spite him. I just hope he starts playing like he used to because I know when he’s back on his grind it’s gonna help so much with his internal turmoil and his confidence that he might actually have the confidence to realize what’s going on.

[moonchildridden]

I knew there was a reason I rushed to post this before the episode aired, because I felt episode eight would give me some answers to my burning questions, and I WAS RIGHT! I knew I could trust MAME in her storytelling because, no matter how "problematic" she can get with her characters, or how toxic her couples can get, one thing she's very consistent enough is in making sure her stories have plausibility and credibility. Yes, her penmanship can get nasty at times but at least it gets nasty while making sense.

And her take on soulmates was fucking brilliant.

Because, by taking the soulmate approach and combining it with a bit of a "fairy godmother act" and with universe parallels, she created a very creative and different vision of many subjects at once, promptly making it a testimony of her creativity. We don't have CirPhu in every universe/timeline just because they are destined to be together and "fate will take care of the rest" but because one of them is actively making sure every Cir finds their Phu and get the happy ending they deserve. We have one Cir after another rawdogging their way into happiness by guaranteeing that whatever is supposed to happen to make them and Phukan cross paths will happen, no matter how much time passes by.

"Cool story, bro, but I understood nothing from it, even with one Cir "kindly" explaining it for everyone". Well, a more complicated but also simple way to explain this would be by categorizing all the CirPhu universes by two events: a canon event and a nexus event. A canon event is an event that cannot be changed, no matter how many times or many things you do to try have a different outcome, is a line that cannot be erased, basically a finished point. A nexus event (in this case) is anything that happens that leads to the canon event, the possibilities presented to someone that leads them to the finish line.

For CirPhu, their canon event is their relationship. No matter what, when, how, Cir and Phu will meet, will fall in love and will be together (dark!Cir confirmed this by saying that no matter the timeline, Phu will always be alright because they need to end up together. Their relationship is a fixed point in time, there's no way of changing that). Even if it takes literal years for them to physically cross paths (CEO!Cir and intern!Phu, for example), they will be put in a situation that will "force" them to coexist and get to know each other, where Phu will tear down all the wall Cir built around him and make Cir fall in love with him. Them dating and getting together is the finish life in their lives, their "fate".

Different from their canon event, their nexus event is not the same, in the sense that what happens to make them coexist in the same environment is not the same in the timelines. For main!Cir (the one we've been following), his nexus event was the car accident; dark!Cir's nexus event was the dream he had with an older version of himself (because dark!Cirrus didn't mentioned anything "drastic" happening to him, so it's safe to assume only the dream spurred him on the mission to get Phu, specially considering that he did what the version he saw didn't: got with Phu right away in high school); man bun!Cir's nexus event was him getting a high fever; CEO!Cir's nexus event was the stabbing; so on, and so forth. Some could argue that the paper telephone could act as a canon event (because it happened more than once) and a nexus event (because not every Cir "picks up" the phone when it falls) and they could be right, everything is possible here.

Basically, for a Cir to meet the Phukan in their universe, another Cir that already has an established relationship with their Phukan needs to step in and show the "Cir in need" what the life with Phu will be in the form of a "dream", that is the in need!Cir "living" in the place of the dream!Cir for time enough for him to realize that Phukan is important to him. After that realization, the in need!Cir "goes back" to his universe and the dream!Cir goes back to his, until the in need!Cir becomes the "dream!Cir" for another "in need!Cir", for all eternity and all timelines. If my theories are correct, the nexus event doesn't need to be some grand tragedy (like the stabbing or the car accident) but something that debilitates Cir strongly enough for him to "black out" and make the "swapping" possible.

Another thing that I noticed is that the nexus event gives Cir all the information he needs to get close to their Phukan and onto their canon event. This explains why main!Cir knows what he does, because it was necessary for him to know that to get close to Phukan (albeit I think he could've left out the part that he was from a parallel world but Cir has issues socializing and getting close to people because of his mother, his personal canon event), even when practically speaking, him knowing that while not being from a parallel world would constitute in him being a creepy stalker. The nexus event is the starting point, the push that Cir needs to start going after Phu.

While this can seem to complicate things a bit (because it deals with direct intervention from one of the main characters in an unusual way), it's really an interesting take on the soulmates thing because, at the end of the day, Cir and Phu are still soulmates, they still meet in other universes (or more correctly, other timelines) but the mechanics created to make that happen are very different. Again, MAME's take on the whole soulmates thing was fucking brilliant, don't let other people gaslight you into thinking it wasn't.

***************************...*****************************

Now, story mechanics aside, let me talk about the acting in this episode because BossNoeul, specially Boss, FUCKING NAILED in it. The way you could differentiate the Cir being showed just by Boss' expressions alone is a testament into how his acting evolved since his LITA days, how he learned to use his face to show his emotions (or lack thereof, considering the episode), to show his thoughts and how he kept piercing things together during the episode. Even with the man bun, that could turn that Cir into a "copy" of Payu by default, he could see the difference in how he carried himself, how his body aligned with his expressions. And the final scene, where we get main!Cir back? You can pinpoint the moment the swapping happened, how he got that blank expression, that "shutting down" moment and then, boom, getting back online as main!Cir; it reminded me a specif scene on Good Omen's season one, where David Tennant used his eyes to express how Crowley was happy to see Aziraphale, while wearing sunglasses! That's master acting and Boss proved himself to be a force to be reckoned in.

And Noeul? Nailing as main!Phu, being sassy while maintaining the innocence he's known for, nailing as intern!Phu, more reserved but still bubbly, nailing as nerd!Phu, with the hunched shoulders, the lisped speech, the shyness, hitting the point on the emotional scenes, the critical scenes, everything Noeul touched in this episode became gold and will continue to do so.

Their acting really showcased the complexity of the plot (again, don't let people online gaslight you guys into thinking it wasn't like that), they carried all the important points and tune fined them into excellency, making people see why they are good either solo or together. They have a connection that works when they act and it will take them into great heights in the future. And one thing that I noticed, BossNoeul getting cast together is their canon event and Noeul not getting into that plane is their nexus event.

Incredible how life works sometimes, no?