#but my curtains were not big enough to use ties on so I just kinda hung them off the ends of the curtain rod for decoration

[vincentbriggs]

I was feeling really restless and couldn't focus on any of the Tasks I want to be doing, but I also didn't want to go for a walk because the sidewalks are covered in ice right now, so I made a jumprope out of a pair of old curtain pulls and skipped a little bit and that seems to have sufficiently tired me out. Hopefully now I can get back to work on the glove sewing video!

[jellyfishbug]

SWEET N' SOUR

pairing. bsf!chris x reader genre. smut. MDNI. wc. [4.6k] ! not proof read.

content; candy play kinda?, slight bondage (he ties her hands with a tie for like 5 minutes), spitting, oral f receiving, fingering, p in v, unprotected (WRAP IT), big dick chris, creampie, pet names, praise kink, aftercare is not described but it is implied. first fic . . . be nice pls :)

"I've never looked more stupid in my life." I sighed, tugging at my tie uncomfortably while staring at my reflection in the mirror.

Nick frowns at me. "You look cute!" he tries. "You've had better costumes for sure, but you can pull off anything. Matt, doesn't she look nice?" Matt, who's sitting at the end of Nick's bed in his cowboy costume, glances up from his phone and looks at my reflection in the mirror before nodding slowly. "Yeah, you look nice." he mumbles. I gave him an eyebrow raise, and he shrugged at me.

"Trust me, if you looked ridiculous, i'd tell you."

Nick swats at the back of his head, putting his ref whistle in between his teeth and blowing into it loudly. "Not helpful." He says through gritted teeth, glaring in Matt's direction as the whistle falls from his mouth and hits his chest.

Roughly an hour ago, Nick had opened the door of his apartment to see me standing on the doormat completely costume-less. He frowned at the sight of my white tank top and blue jeans, and asked me something along the lines of, "are you going as half the population?". Chris, who was standing behind him on a ladder behind him attempting to hang up lights over the curtains in a white tank top himself, snickered at Nick's comment. He was holding the lights in place with one arm and the other was hanging by his side with a hammer clenched tightly in his fist. His grin showcased the two metal nails that were in between his front teeth. Matt, who had told him previously that nailing the lights would leave marks in the wall, just rolled his eyes and went back to dumping the family size bag of twix into a clear glass bowl on the counter. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I usually go out of my way to dress up as something creative and funny, but I've had so much shit on my plate recently that buying a costume completely slipped my mind.

So, when i pulled my phone out of my pocket in the entry-way of my apartment and saw the calendar reminder "in one hour - trip's halloween party", I sighed in defeat and decided that I didn't have nearly enough time to pull something together. But fortunately for me, once I was inside of the triplet's apartment, Nick was already brainstorming. He ended up making me put on a pair of calvin cline briefs, put a red backwards cap on my head, tied a tie around my neck and shouted "you're magic mike!" So here I stood in front of the mirror, tie loosley hanging around my neck scowling at my reflection. I folded the hem of my jeans down so that you could see the calvin's better before crossing my arms in front of my chest.

I turned around again to face Nick, "Maybe its not that bad," He grinned at me. "See! It's good, I promise." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns me to face the mirror, snapping a picture of the two of us next to each other. He scrolls through them with a smile on his face. "We look gr-"

The doorbell ringing interrupts him and he shoots Matt a look. "Tell Chris to get his ass downstairs, people are starting to get here."

It didn't take long for the apartment to be full of people. Some familiar faces, some people i'd never met. Half of them weren't even wearing costumes. When I realized this, I gave Nick a look, my expression saying "i didnt even need to dress up", but he shook his head. "Just because they're boring doesn't mean you need to be too." The smell of weed and sticky spilled alcohol was lingering in the air, and the hot and uncomfortable temperature continued to rise. Every couple of minutes, I'd run into someone I knew, but the interactions were quick before they ran off to join the crowd of people who were dancing in the living room. Chris had eventually come downstairs. He was wearing a black t shirt, blue jeans and a grey jacket with a pair of black sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He was carrying around a bat with nails hammered lazily into it, but eventually, he set it down on the staircase railing, complaining that it was heavy and he was sick of holding it. At some point, he and Matt were playing a drinking game with warheads. By the end of it, Matt had started to feel sick, complaining that the mix of the alcohol and sour candy was making him "queasy" and he couldn't play anymore. Chris of course, didn't let him live in down for a good hour after the fact. The sound of chatter and music had completely filled at this point the room. Clouds of smoke and flashing lights surrounded me and the music blasting from the speaker buzzed against the bottom of my feet through my sneakers. Somehow, i'd managed to find my way out of the loud, sweaty, hot crowd of people, and i was now leaning against the kitchen island with a red solo cup in my hand.

"Why the fuck are you wearing sunglasses indoors? Its one in the morning." Matt drunkenly barks at his brother (in the worst southern accent i've ever heard). He puts his hand on the side of Chris's face to mess with them. Chris lifted his free hand and started to swat Matt's hand away, frustrated with Matt's attempt to tug at the lenses.

"Get the fuck off me, Kid." he snapped, finally grabbing ahold of his wrist firmly enough to get it off his face. "It's a part of my costume, dumbass."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going to find Nate." He mumbled, abandoning his cup on the island and wandering off into the mess of people. Chris rolled his eyes. "Can't handle his alcohol at all," he said quietly, lifting his cup to meet his lips. He looked towards me. I couldn't see his gaze through the sunglasses, but I could tell he looked me up and down.

"What're you dressed as?" He asked. Part of me thought he would've been able to tell already, but I answered nonetheless. "Guess," He furrowed his eyebrows in thought and shoved one of his hands in his pocket. "A frat boy?" I shook my head and make a "tssk" sound. "Magic Mike." I tugged at the tie around my neck in emphasis.

"Shit, should've guessed, the tie's a dead giveaway." He giggled, and I noticed that whatever was in his cup was started to stain his lips pink. "Nick's idea?" I frowned. "It's that obvious?" He shook his head. "Didn't say it was a bad thing,"

Finally, he put his sunglasses up so that they pushed his hair back on the top of his head like a headband, a couple of stray hairs resting on his forehead and dangling in front of his eyes. I knew he was looking at me before, but now that his eyes were no longer hidden behind the dark shield of the lenses, I felt myself turning to mush under his gaze.

We were standing facing each other now; him leaning against the sink with a hand in his pocket and a hand with his cup in it resting on the counter, and me leaning against the island with my palms pressing against the cold marble. He turned to look at the crowd of people, showcasing his jawline, which was illuminated in the flashing of lights reflecting off the disco ball that Nick lazily hung to the ceiling a couple of hours prior. He turns back to look at me. I realized I was staring, but I didn't look away. I felt myself get uncomfortable again, shuffling in place. Something about the way Chris looked directly at me whenever he spoke made me want to squirm away or cover my eyes so he couldn't anymore.

Out of the three of them, Chris and I were the least close. It's not that we didn't get along, and he was always nice to me, we just didn't click the same way i did with Matt or Nick.

The fact that I could barely look him in the fucking eye probably had something to do with that.

I look down at my feet in an effort to avoid his glance, and I heard him take another sip from his drink before setting it down on the counter, finally letting both of his hands rest in his pockets.

"D'you want candy?" I looked up, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the question.

"What?"

The grin - that fucking grin - was back on his face.

"It's halloween." He said dumbly "Do you want candy?"

I swallowed. "Sure?"

He reached to the other end of the counter and tugged the glass candy bowl towards himself. He fiddled around in the bowl for a second, digging through the candy like he was in search of something. I watched both impatiently and in confusion.

Finally, he stopped, pulling a red tootsie pop by the stick out of the bowl. He unwrapped it and took a step towards me so that he was standing on either side of my legs.

Instinctively, I reached my hand out to grab the lollipop, but he pulled his hand back.

"Say please,"

I rolled my eyes. "Chris, come on-"

"Say it."

His tone was teasing, but I could tell he wasn't kidding. I licked my lips and looked up at him. "Please?"

He nodded. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Another eye roll. I snatched the lollipop out of his hand and stuck it in my mouth. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. the silence lingers for a moment until i get the idea to return his question.

"What're you dressed as?"

"Steve Harrington." He said with a snarky tone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't you see my bat?"

"You mean before you got to lazy to carry it around? Yeah, i did." I laughed, the lollipop stick hanging between my lips. The drool was starting to built in my mouth, so I grabbed the stick again and swirled it in a circular motion on my tongue.

Chris's expression shifted slightly. "Mhm," he said, no longer focused on our conversation. Instead, his eyes lingered on my lips.

He grabbed my wrist, making all movements halt. He pulled the candy out of my mouth with a pop and tugged it towards his mouth, wrapping his lips around it.

I scowled, his grip on my wrist still firm. "Thats gross," I managed, my voice lacking confidence.

He looked at me with a sloppy smile, his lips glistening with spit. "What? swapping spit?" I nodded. He tilted his head. "You don't want it back?"

I wanted to shake my head. I wanted to say "no, thats disgusting." but I didn't move a muscle. I was completely still, my eyes still locked with his.

That same shit-eating grin still sat on his face proudly. He pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and started to move it back towards my face. Shamelessly, i parted my lips, and it was back in my mouth again.

"Doesn't seem so gross now, does it?"

The mocking tone in his voice grew poisonous. Embarrassment grew in my chest as I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth. "You sure are crass," i muttered.

"Why?" He said playfully. "Because i gave a pretty girl a lollipop?"

The way he said it made it seem so lewd. I felt like mush beneath him.

He stepped impossibly closer. He leaned down so that his lips brushed the shell of my ear. "Or because Because I wanted to see your lips all pretty and stained red?"

The heat of his breath against my neck sent a shiver down my spine. He pulled back and looked at me, eager to see how quickly i melted at his words.

The tension was suffocating. I could barely get a word, let alone a breath out.

"I don't..." I wanted to say something, but my breath caught. I closed my mouth so that my labored breathing wasn't so apparent.

He pulled the lollipop from my hand, not looking away from me for even a second. He placed it on my cheek, watching as it stuck to my face. "Stick your tongue out."

I swallowed. Everyone around us suddenly became invisible, and i obliged at an embarrassing speed, parting my lips once again and sticking my tongue out, allowing him to place the pad of his thumb on my tongue.

"Fuck." He mumbled, staring at my lips with intent. He swiped his tongue against my bottom lip, getting lost in the sight before his eyes finally met mine again. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please." it came out in a breath.

Before I could blink, the lollipop dropped onto the counter next to me and Chris placed his hand on the back of my neck, pulling me close so that our lips smashed together.

It didn't take long for him to obtain dominance, the hand that was on my neck falling to rest at the small of my back, and the other rested on my cheek, fingers lightly brushing the back of my neck.

My hands were on his face, then his hair, tugging and pulling. I whimpered at the feeling, and my lips parted just enough for his tongue to slide into my mouth. Maybe it was just the lollipop, but he tasted sweet. Sweet and sour. It could've been the alcohol we'd both been drinking, as well as the sour flavor the warheads had left on his tongue, but the way he tasted was intoxicating. The tint of cherry that coated his lips made me want to kiss him harder. I'd never get enough.

My hands fell back to the sides of his face, knocking the sunglasses of his head and letting them hit the floor, the sound almost entirely drowned out by the music.

Suddenly, I snapped back into reality, and our surroundings hit me like a freight. I pulled back abruptly, my eyes darting to the crowd in front of us.

Chris took the opportunity to latch onto my neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses from my jawline down to the base of my throat, digging his teeth into the flesh and swirling his tongue.

I whined. "Chris-"

His ivory teeth were enough to leave marks. I could practically feel my skin turning shades of indigo under his touch. He hummed in response, the vibration making me shiver.

"Chris, we can't-" his hands slipped lightly under the hem of the calvin cline briefs i was wearing to touch my skin, and my breath caught in my throat. "Chris, there are people. everywhere"

He finally pulled off my neck, but his hands remained where they were before. "So what?"

"So I don't want Nick or Matt to walk in here and see your tongue down my throat." I said messily, suddenly realizing how out of breath i was.

He put his bottom lip between his teeth in thought, glancing around the room.

"Lets go to my room,"

I had almost forgotten we were in his house. I glanced towards Matt, who was half awake on the couch, rambling to Nate. I couldn't find Nick.

"They'll notice that we're gone." I said.

He shrugged. "S'long as they don't come looking, doesn't matter."

I pause, but before I can even think about it too much, his eyes meet mine, and any thoughts I had were gone.

I nod quickly. He interlocks our hands and starts tugging me towards the stairs. I look over my shoulder, giving Matt one last glance, and I'm thankful he doesn't notice.

We quickly scurry down the hall, the rubber of our sneakers scuffing against the wood. Chris lazily opens his bedroom door, and once its closed, I'm immediately against it. His hands are roaming my lower half, and mine are latched around his neck.

We're kissing like I can't breath and he's my air. He pulls away, tugging on a fistful of my hair to make my chin go up for easier access. His lips latch to my neck again. I'm a moaning mess, and i can feel his lips grin against my skin.

"Fuck, you're so sweet," He says breathlessly between kisses to my jawline. He's telling me i taste sweet, but the lack of oxygen in both of us isn't letting him. "such a pretty girl."

I whimper at the compliment, and a huffed laugh escapes him.

"You like that?" He asks, pulling away from my neck to look at me. "You like when I call you pretty, baby?"

I nod, mumbling a "mhm" with closed lips. My hands are roaming the back of his neck, running my fingers through his curls. I'm lightly tugging him back towards me, desperate to feel him again.

"So responsive," he says quietly, latching our lips together again. He tugs at my belt loops to push our bodies together. I feel his hand roam to pull at the button of my jeans, fiddling with it for a second before unbuttoning them and tugging them down to until they fall to my ankles.

He steps backward, pulling me with him so I step out of my jeans, leaving them in a heap by the door. He turns us around so that his back is to the door instead, and we slowly make our way towards his bed, stopping when it hits the back of my thighs.

I lazily flop down onto the bed, my hands immediately finding his belt, tugging at it. He chuckles, grabbing a hold of my wrists.

"Needy girl, huh?" he asks.

"Chris, please," I beg. Part of me feels embarrassed at how quickly we ended up here - at how quickly i practically fell to my knees in front of him, but the growing tension in my gut is overtaking that feeling.

I need him, and I need him now.

"Not yet," he says. "'Wanna make you feel good first."

He holds both my wrists with one hand and starts to untie the tie that was hanging around my neck with the other. He places the tie around my wrists, before pausing in his movements to eye me carefully.

"Is this okay?" He asks, looking right at me when he says it. I nod slowly. "Verbal yes please, sweetheart."

"Yes."

He ties my arms together in a firm knot, his lip between is teeth in focus as he does it.

"Lie down for me." He tells me.

I lean back until my back hits the comforter on his bed. He pulls his jacket and shirt off in one swift movement, carelessly tossing them to the side before climbing on top of me, his legs on either side of mine.

He pushes my arms up above my head and lets them rest on the bed behind me. "Keep these here, okay? Can you do that for me?"

I nod silently.

"Good girl."

He presses a kiss to my lips and then trails them down my face and my front, bunching up my tank top right below my tits. He's too impatient to take my shirt off, but he's already tugging at the briefs around my waist.

"Can I take these off?"

"Please," I whine at him. As soon as I say it, he's pulling them off and discarding them.

"Fuck." he says under his breath, kissing my lower stomach before hovering above my core, the heat of his breath making me want to squirm.

"Chris, please." I say desperately, growing more and more desperate by the minute.

He looks up at me through his lashes. He licks two of his fingers cleanly, coating them with spit before placing them in front of my entrance and slowly pressing them into me. "What?" He asks tauntingly, watching his fingers disappear inside of me, "What do you want?"

My mouth gawks open as he curls his fingers, forcing me to lean my head back. My arms fall over my eyes. "fuck!"

"Look at me." He snaps. My eyes dart back in his direction. "Arms above your head, or I stop. Do you understand me?"

I nod, moving my binded wrists back to rest above my head. "'Gonna be a good girl for me?" he asks, beginning to pump his fingers at a slow pace. "Gonna do what I ask you too?"

"Yes," I choke out, screwing my eyes shut as his pace gets faster.

"Tell me want you want, sweetheart." He asks again, his movements paused while he awaits my response.

"Please touch me, Chris."

I let out an alarmed yelp as his mouth finally meets my cunt. His tongue laps at my clit, as I whine and squirm in place, moans and whispers of his name falling from my lips. He lifts his head for a minute, "You're so sweet, fuck, 'could eat you forever." he babbles breathlessly before his mouth is back where i need it most, relentlessly pushing his fingers farther into me.

My back starts to arch and my hips lift lightly off the bed, but before I get to far, his free hand arounds around the base of my thigh and pushes me back down onto the mattress. My face is flushed and hot, the whispers of his name turning into cries.

His movements grow quicker, pushing me closer to the edge. He wants me to unravel under him, he wants me to go numb from his touch.

"Fuck, please, Chris. M' so close." I finally say, my nails digging into the sheets above my head. My eyes start to water lightly, the pleasure starting to become overwhelming.

He lifts his head, his fingers curling even deeper, a cheeky smile on his face. "Yeah? Gonna cum for me, baby?"

"Yes- fuck!"

My legs start to twitch as I chase the high, arching my back. He pushes my hips back down onto the mattress again, harsher this time, his grip enough to bruise the skin of my inner thigh.

He pulls his fingers away from me, licking them clean without thought, and looking down at the heavy rise and fall of my chest. The look on his face is proud - pleased - as he sees the tear streaming down my cheek. "Such a slut," he mumbles, "Aren't you?"

I can't do anything but whine. He leans back over me, placing a sloppy kiss on my lips. He still tasted sweet. He wiped the tear off my cheek and pulled my wrists down towards him, untieing the bind.

"You can give me another, yeah?" he asks, but he's already throwing the tie to the side and pulling my hips closer to the end of the bed to press against him. "D'you want another?"

"Yes- please, yes." I utter out, reaching for his belt again. "Please, m' need it,"

"Pretty girl wants my cock, hm?" He repeats, unbuckling his belt at painfully slow pace, looking right at me as he does it. "You wanna get fucked dumb? Want me to fill you up?"

"More than anything," I plead mindlessly, propping myself up on my elbows to see him better. "Please."

He pulls his jeans down and drops them on the floor besides him, now just in his boxers. He presses his clothed bulge against my lower half, grinning as my face twists in need.

I let myself fall back against the bed. I hear Chris fiddle with the hem of his boxers before pulling them down completely. I cant make myself look at him - my stomach flips every time i do.

He parts my legs slightly, his hand wrapping around my thigh. He uses the other to align himself with my entrance, and my hands fly to my face, covering my eyes. Licking his lips before looking at me.

He slowly pushes himself into me, furrowing his eyebrows and knocking his head back. "Shit,"

My mouth gapes open silently at the stretch - the burn - of Chris.

Fuck, he's huge.

He puts both his hands on either side of my frame, "Fuck, so good." He says breathlessly, pushing me farther down onto him. My moans and breathless babbles get louder by the second. If not for the loud music and buzz of the party downstairs, we'd be in trouble.

"So big," I whimper at him, my grip on the sheets turning my knuckles white, feeling every inch of him as he stretches my gummy walls. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

"Doing so good for me." he says, his voice soothing as I squirm and moan under him, the stretch turning from pain to pleasure. "You can take it, yeah?"

He finally sinks to the hilt, hovering over me as he kisses me again, basking in the view of me, the feel of me. My hands shoot to my eyes again, the almost unbearable pleasure making me unable to sit still.

I wiggle myself onto him, silently begging for him to move. He grunts, taking the hint and starting to slowly pump into me. He pulls my hands away from my face, mumbling "let me see your pretty face,"

He leans down, placing my thighs on either side of him and presses his chest to mine, mumbling praises and grunts into my ear. My arms wrap around his neck, gripping and scratching at his back. His pace quickens as the volume of our skin-to-skin contact gets higher. I tug at his hair, and he groans into my skin.

He pulls away, placing his hands back on my upper thighs with a tight grip, his nails threatening to break skin. He grins at my fucked-out expression. His pace speeds up even more, hitting spots i didn't even know existed. "M' I makin you feel good?"

It was almost mocking. He knew he was. My eyes rolling into the back of my head and the redness of my face was evidence he was.

"So good," My response was barely coherent, the twist of my stomach threatening to break. "m' so close, fuck,"

"Fuck, sweet girl takin' me so well." He chokes out between groans. "Gonna cum again? Gonna show me how good I make you feel?"

My arms fly above my head to grip the sheets behind me. I try to respond, but my thoughts run quiet; the only sound in the room is Chris slamming into me.

"Too dumb on my cock, pretty girl?" He hovers over me, the warmth of his breath hitting my face. "Such a good girl, fuck. Gonna' make me cum."

I whine, my hands flying to brush against his stomach, gripping onto nothing. "please,"

He's looking right at me again. "Gonna fill you up," he mumbles. "You want to be full, don't you sweet thing?"

"Please, please, please-" Is all that leaves my mouth. My hands grip his sides and I dig my nails deep enough to draw blood. "Need it."

He drops his hand between my thighs and rubs circles on my clit. My body shakes in place as the knot in my stomach shatters, bucking my hips up against him.

Chris groans. "Fuck, close,"

I start to whine from the overstimulation, my legs weakly hanging on either side of him as he pounds into me, chasing his orgasm.

He leans down onto me again, digging his teeth into my neck as his movements halt completely, his release filling me.

We stay like that for a minute, both catching our breath. My legs and core are numb, my face is flushed and drenched with sweat, and tears stain my cheeks. He carefully pulls out of me, whispering praises into my ear as I whine from the soreness and pressing kisses to my temple.

He messily kisses my neck, then my cheek, and pulls off of me, wiping the tears off my face. He smiles at my state. "So pretty," He pushes the hair out of my face and runs his thumb along my cheek. "So sweet."

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :) reblogs, likes and follows are appreciated! ! criticism is also appreciated, its how i improve, but please be nice. links below . . .

masterlists ! guidelines / info !

[lpkorra]

the bones for across the spiderverse to be a great movie are there, but the directors do not use their run time effectively to tell that story. my thoughts are below the read more cut

Miles' plot line is about not needing validation from the people around you to achieve what you are capable of. But this is shown in three pieces, 1) his mom being worried about him not being welcome in the discriminatory world of high ed, which is super real but i feel like this needed more thematic support thoughout instead of focusing on him having too much on his plate, 2) him choosing not to believe the other spiderpeople when they treat him as inherently bad, 3) payoff? he tells his mom her advice was helpful but it turns out it is his mom from another world. I feel like that number three point really hurt 2, which should have been the climax of the movie. her not being the mom who said that to him really took the wind out of the sails of this moment which due to its placement should have been the climax of the movie.

so much of the first part of the movie was miles feeling stressed and having too much to do. he is in a loving supportive community so his future need for validation in college seems a bit far off. I wish they had gone into the ethics of why the spiderclub can't help each other so that these teens can balance their lives. that felt more where the plot was going but it was just kinda dropped. It is only in there so the big bad villian can be created but doesn't have any actual payoff in this move.

Gwen arc is also about validation and knowing who has your best interest at heart. I feel like this plot is the typical you run away from home with your cool friends and realize your new friends are not as cool as you thought trope. I think this plot line is better handled than they usually are as her father does realize that it is not Gwen that needs to change but himself, so it is not full on prodigal son shit. Also some of her new friends are still cool and do want to help her achieve her goals, she so she has to really figure out the people around her and know which ones have her back. I think my problem with Gwen's arc is that i feel like she should have been the protagonist in this movie but she wasn't? like her arc was much better plotted than miles' but i still don't feel like she was central enough to the plot. I think her part needed to be beefed up enough so that she was the true protagonist, and that would have fixed the movie a bit.

Honestly i think the easiest way to fix the movie is just in the last 20 minutes. have Miles' arc end when he is transported. cut his interaction with universe 42 inhabitants. then have Gwen's bit where she is deciding for herself what she wants to do and not going after the approval of her new friends, have that be the climax and have them discovering that miles in not where he should be as the quick curtain to the film, don't drag it out. this would cut a lot of time at the end that could then be put into scenes where Gwen is questioning more what is the role of the spider club.

I do also like the take on generation trauma in this film as it shows how older generations can impose trauma on the younger because they just assume that that is how life has to be and instead of attempting to change how things work they instead put rules into place that insure others experience the same things they did. I hope this thread is more fully developed in the sequel. I think i'm ok with it not being completely tied off but we will have to see.

I think my biggest complaint is that this movie just didn't feel done. maybe when i see part three it will tie up all the loose ends and i will feel so happy with the story. but i feel like this was a two parter tv special where you are supposed to see the next part the following week. it was not just a cliff hanger at the end. major plot and thematic threads were not tied off sufficiently to make this movie feel like its own entity.

[jisungsplatforms]

[Chapter IV: You F*cking Minx!]

Pairing: Producer/Music Major! Han Jisung x Photographer! fem! reader

Genre: NSFW! Smut; non idol au, college au, strangers to lovers

Warnings: Mature Content! strong language, masterbation (m&f) (only implied this chapter), discussion of kinks, good old nudes & teasing Jisung ;)

Chapter Word Count: 2.8k (lol minus the emojis cause APPARENTLY, they count on docs)

Taglist: @hyunjeongins @seungstarss @es-kay-zee @hyunjinsplaything @formidxble @freckledquokka @lbxgsunshine @cartierbin @solistired @rainbowmagicpixecorn @http-hyxnjxn (want to be added? send an ask or a dm! <3)

You were starting to think that touching yourself every night was rather unhealthy...

It’s been over a week since you and Jisung met—a week since the both of you started your unspoken arrangement. Breathing heavily, you laid limply on your untidy bed, the only source of light available was the moon’s rays peeking through your curtains. The lower half of your body was completely rid of any clothing; the only thing covering your skin were splotches of your essence. Your phone then lit up with a notification from ‘Hannie Bear’.

1 new message(s) from Hannie Bear 🍯🧸

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: u okay baby? do u wanna sleep now?

Using your unsoiled hand, you grabbed your phone and typed as best as you could.

Me: Nah, I still have a little bit of energy left in me

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: really? cool lol

let’s chat for a bit

Me: Sure. Just hold on for a sec

You sat up and wiped your hand on the towel laid under you. Swinging one of your legs off the bed, you used your toes to pick up your garments from the floor, and quickly put them on. Two new notifications from Jisung appeared on your screen. You read his messages as you threw your dirted towel onto the floor.

Hannie Bear 🍯🧸: aight.

actually you know what? just call me please!

You laid back down and tapped on his icon, which now consisted of a selfie of himself from when he ‘needed to use’ your phone a few days ago, at the top of your screen to switch to the call screen. Your phone rang several times before Jisung answered. Through the phone, you could hear the faint sound of rustling and a groan.

“Hey,” he greeted with a raspy voice. You instinctively smiled when you heard him.

“Hey.”

Jisung cleared his throat before speaking. “So I was wondering, since— ah wait. Sorry, my throat’s kinda...”

“No, go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “You should get some water too! You know, cause— yeah. After all that.”

You laughed, heart warming at his consideration. “Yeah. Thanks!” Bringing your phone with you, you walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. You set the call to speaker mode before putting your phone down to drink. Hearing the hilarious way Jisung took big gulps of water almost made you choke on your water.

He let out an over-exaggerated ‘ha!’ and said with a funny voice, “Refreshing!” Hearing your snort made Jisung smile. “Okay, so now that we’re both hydrated, I’ll tell you what I’ve been thinking.” You hummed to acknowledge him. “So, you know how we’ve been doing this for almost two weeks now, right?”

“Yeah…?” You picked up your phone to go back to your room.

“Okay. Well, we never really talked about, you know, things that we like.”

“Things that we like?”

“Yeah! You know what I mean?”

‘Huh?’ You thought about it for a few seconds before realizing what he was talking about. “Ohh. Do you mean our kinks?”

“There! That.”

You scoffed playfully. “I knew this conversation was bound to happen.”

“Well, then spill, girl!” Jisung said flamboyantly. “Don’t keep me waiting!”

You giggled. “Weirdo,” you whispered, softly grunting when you plopped onto your bed. “Where do you want me to start?”

“I don’t know. I guess just tell me like, what role you like playing in bed, or if you don’t even use roles at all.”

“Well, we’ve masterbated together long enough for you to know that I don’t mind either; sex is sex and it should be enjoyable, whether or not there are sub/dom roles...but I do like being submissive.”

“Oh, right. Nice,” he snickered, “Okay, now what? Vanilla or Kinky?”

“Kinky, all that way.” Jisung wanted to laugh at how fast that answer came out. “Of course, there’s nothing wrong vanilla sex, in fact, it’s very much appreciated in this household.”

“Ahh. Someone of culture. I respect that.” The both of you chuckled. “So, what are some things you want to be done to you?”

“Like, receiving?” Jisung hummed in confirmation. “I guess I like being marked? And being praised and using pet names, but of course, who doesn’t?”

“I feel you, I feel you,” he nodded on the other side of the phone. “I like that too.”

“I also like being tied up.”

Jisung sat up, wide eyed. “Rope-bunny?!”

You guffawed, hearing him so shocked like that. “What? Surprising? Remember, no kink shaming!”

“No no! It’s not like that it’s just-” he sighed through puffed cheeks, “wow, that’s fucking hot.”

“Thanks,” you giggled. “But that’s only the beginning.”

“Shit, there’s more? Holy fuck— please tell me.”

“Overstimulation & edging, I think that’s fucking hot too.” You could hear Jisung’s breath hitch on the phone, making you smirk. “I also really like choking and being able to see myself getting fucked; I think there’s a name for it, but I forgot.”

Not hearing his reply, you snorted before continuing. “And I have the biggest breeding kink ever. You know what I say: the messier the sex, the better.” You stopped when you heard Jisung take a deep breath.

“Whoa, Y/n. I-” he signed. “Let me calm down before I pop another boner ‘cause of you.”

You felt a surge of pride run through you. “What? Too much?”

“Oh, fuck no. Just insanely hot.”

You laughed, adjusting yourself to lay on your stomach. “Too bad. There was still a lot more I wanted to say,” you grinned. “You should tell me what you like then, baby. I need to know how I could please you too.”

“Hmm,” he thought to himself for a while. “So you already know that I like filthy, kinky sex too and that I usually take up the dom role but if I have to be honest. I’ve always wanted to try subbing.”

“Really?” you smiled evilly. ‘How interesting’

“Yup. I mean, I like being babied, so I think I’d really like it.”

“Oh? Would you like to try it sometime, baby boy?”

The line went dead silent for a while, filling you with worry. All of a sudden, when you were about to ask Jisung if he was okay, he whimpered. “Please?” he muttered, and you swore you could already see him pouting. Now it was your turn to take a deep breath.

“Hold on, baby boy. We both just finished touching ourselves not too long ago. Let’s do this another time.”

“Aww...Boo. You’re no fun,” Jisung’s usual cheeky self returned.

You rolled your eyes. “Sorry, but I already came 3 times tonight. Let my vagina rest, Sung.”

“Fair,” he laughed. “Does that mean I get to sub next time?”

“Hm… If you’re nice to me, then yes.”

“Oh baby, you know i’ll be the best behavior if it means getting topped by you.”

Instead of feeling horny, you only felt playfulness behind his words. “Good. I’ll be sure to give my baby a treat tomorrow then.” Jisung cheered giddily, fueling your own amusement. “By the way, what’s with the kink talk? I mean, I knew it was gonna come eventually but still.”

You couldn’t see it, but Jisung shrugged at your question. “Well, if we’re gonna be together, then I need to know everything about you that you enjoy.” Your face dropped, your chest swelling in adoration and alarm. Not hearing a response from you made him panic. “Uh- unless you don’t wanna be a thing! That-that’s fine too...i guess, w-whatever! I just—!”

Jisung stopped when he heard you giggle. “You’re so cute, Sung.” You softly said in content. “It’s getting late, baby. I’ll see you in the morning, hm?”

“Y-yeah! See you in Jung’s class, baby!”

You ended the call then slid your phone under your pillow. Pulling your blanket all the way up to your chin, you squirmed around until you were comfortable enough to sleep. The only thing in your mind was Jisung and how much your relationship with him developed way too fast. It was a little...frightening for your fragile heart.

2nd Period; Mrs. Jung’s Renaissance Literature class. Probably the most boring class ever. Everyday, you regret ever signing up for it.

You begrudgingly walked to class, purposely taking small, slow steps so you don’t have to be there on time. However, as boring as the class is, the only reason why you find it tolerable is because it is the only class you share with Jisung. Looking up, you found yourself in front of your Literature class, much to your dismay. Grumbling, you stepped inside the room to find Jisung already at his (now) usual place at the back of the class, right beside you. ‘Weird,’ you thought, seeing how it’s usually you who comes to class before him. Jisung looked up, feeling eyes on him from the front of the class, and smiled when he saw it was just you. He gestured for you to come over to him; your heart racing as you stepped closer to him.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted happily, watching you take your seat beside him.

“Hi, Sungie,” you replied, setting your camera bag onto the floor under your legs and taking your laptop out of your bag. Feeling Jisung staring at you, you tched jokingly. “Am I that attractive that you can’t keep your eyes off of me?” you laughed. What you didn’t expect, however, was Jisung’s blunt response.

“Yes.”

“O-oh? Uh…”

“I thought I made it clear that I think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said truthfully, giving you a bright smile. Your eyes were wide, face heating up at his straight-forwardness. He threw you a flirty wink and chuckled, going back to sit up straight at his own seat. Flustered, you hid your face with your hoodie, tightening the drawstrings to further conceal your blush. From beside you, you could hear Jisung snort, trying not to laugh at you. Before you could scold him, the bell rang and Mrs. Jung entered the class.

Jisung’s drowsy eyes wandered the whole room for the umpteenth time. His ears only shut out the mundane information his instructor was teaching. Something about a Scottish poet named George Lauder being responsible for the advancement of the steel industry or whatever? ‘Man, what does that have to do with the renaissance era?’ It’s only been 30 minutes since the class started and he already wanted to get out of here. No matter how hard he tried focusing on the lesson, the words only went through one ear and out the other. Needless to say, it way too uninteresting for him to retain anything.

His eyes then traveled to your hunched form. He had to resist the urge to pull out his phone and take a picture of your cute face all scrunched up in concentration, your figure engulfed by the oversized purple hoodie you were wearing. In the midst of his ogling, Jisung felt a gentle kick on his right leg. His eyes focused to finally notice you side eyeing him. It was as if you were telling him ‘pay attention or else’. All he did was grin and continued gawking at you.

You rolled your eyes, deciding to not mind him and try paying attention to Mrs. Jung; even if you yourself thought the class was boring as hell. You then feel a warm hand on your left thigh. Since it was just Jisung, you shrugged his hand off of you and typed in the shared doc you both created just to talk in this class. You typed:

‘What are you doing?’

Leaning over to his own screen, Jisung read the message on his laptop then replied.

‘babe i’m sorry but i’m so fucking bored’

‘Me too, but you gotta pay attention, baby boy’

‘hmm i love it when you call me baby boy ;)’

You side-glanced him with a ‘are you serious?’ look while he merely smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as if it would seduce you.

‘Funny. Don’t you dare get horny in the middle of class, Han Jisung!’

‘:)’

Jisung made a quiet sputtering noise as he put his head down onto the table. From the corner of your eyes, you could see him fiddling his platform sneakers with his feet. You restrained yourself from laughing at him. He looked exactly like an annoyed kid on the verge of throwing a tantrum. You shook your head. ‘The poor man is really trying’

Sneakily sliding your phone into your pocket, you stood up from your seat, the chair making a slight screech, catching Jisung’s—as well several other students’— brief attention, to head to the front of the class. Signing your name into the ‘restroom log’, you briefly pointed to the door when you made eye contact with Mrs. Jung, and went to the restroom. You grinned to yourself, thinking about how Jisung would react to his little gift.

The painfully bored boy watched as you left the room. He pouted, his boredom only increased tenfold without you. He went back to his laptop, clicking on another tab to do something, when he felt his phone vibrate from his back pocket. He jolted. ‘Who the hell would text me while I’m in the middle of class?’ Jisung slowly took out his phone to check his notifications. Seeing your name on the screen, he stared in confusion.

‘Y/n? What’re you doing?’ Glancing to see if Mrs. Jung could see him, he unlocked his phone to read your message.

My baby 💘: Remember what I said last night?

Many thoughts, none of which were pg, raced through his mind. ‘What exactly are you talking about?’ He adjusted his keyboard to properly type with one hand.

Me: depends

are we talking about me subbing or your “gift”?

My baby 💘: Hmm sure. You’ll see 😉

Jisung nearly let out an audible ‘huh?’ because of your rather cryptic message. Not wanting to get caught, he hid his phone between his legs and waited for your next text. After almost a minute, this phone vibrated again. Big Mistake…

Strike 1!

‘God, Han Jisung, you fucking idiot!’ The shock unintentionally sent waves of pleasure between his legs, almost coaxing out a whimper from his mouth. He cleared throat, trying to ignore the erection that was threatening to pop up, and inconspicuously took his phone.

Strike 2!

If Jisung died at that very moment, then he wouldn’t even be mad. No regrets or anger whatsoever for his eyes was blessed with the most salacious photo of yourself. There you were, sweater pulled up to show off the lacy red bra that adorned your breasts—your arms deliberately squeezing them together to make them even more tempting than they already are—and pants pulled down enough to show a cheeky glimpse of the matching set of panties hugging your hips. Jisung swore he could feel his blood rushing to his dick and nose; he even went as far as wiping it in case he really did get a nosebleed.

‘Y/n, you minx...’’

Me: baby…

what you’re doing is very dangerous for the both of us

My baby 💘: Oh? Are you sure you didn’t forget what we talked about, baby boy

Jisung anxiously looked back and forth from his phone to his teacher. He covered his mouth when you sent another shameless nude to him. Now it was a picture of your hands cupping your breasts, your bra unclasped, threatening to slide off your shoulders. How you managed to take the photo was beyond Jisung’s comprehension. Though, now that he’s as turned on as a horny 13 year old boy on a porn site for the very first time, it’s safe to say that there was nothing on his mind except you, and you only.

He set his keyboard back to its default mode and put his head down, fingers hastily tapping on his phone to reply.

Me: come on baby

please don’t do this to me

i’m hard. i really popped a boner in the middle of class…

this is fucking embarrassing

Jisung just knew that you were laughing at him, finding great joy in his predicament. He subtly adjusted himself to do something about his hard-on. ‘So fucking embarrassing’ He blushed, biting his lip. He silently prayed to whatever deity out there that his erection was unnoticeable through his sweatpants; he was so grateful that you two sat at the back of the class. His phone buzzed again, it was another message from you.

Strike 3!

He’s out…

My baby 💘: It’s mommy for you today, baby boy 😉😉

Above was a picture of you...Bra hanging from your mouth...Your pearly teeth biting down on one of the straps...Pants off...Panties moved to the side...Showing off your dripping core to the camera...Your fingers threatening to slide inside your core…

Somebody please help this poor man. He might get a heart attack because of you. And if he doesn’t die from that, then it might be because of the rage of sexual frustration he felt when you came back with a seemingly innocent smile on your face. Jisung was just lucky nobody noticed his hard cock throbbing the rest of the session. More importantly, thank god Mrs. Jung is an oblivious old woman.

‘Y/n L/n, you FUCKING MINX!’

[PREVIOUS CHAPTER] 📱 [NEXT CHAPTER]

[your-eternal-muse]

Kinda Wish She Were Dead

Heather Series Part 8

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Bonus! Readers Card Confession Series Playlist 

Summery: During a night out on the town with the girls, Reader see’s something she wasn’t supposed to.

Words: 3.7k (my longest yet!)

Warnings: Swearing, a few sexual innuendos, Cheating, Mentions of Alcohol, and a fabulous right hook.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Heather Carmichael, Spencer Reid x eventual Female!Reader 

A/N: I’ve been waiting for this one....turn it up! Also, the song that inspired this chapter. For the meaning of the song, not that fucking boat scene.

~~~~

It’s hot.

Like “laying naked in the middle of your apartment with the air cranked and every fan blowing on you” hot.

I’m one of the lucky ones.

My old apartment was renovated to include central air a few years before I moved in.

Still, the humidity was smothering.

So why was I putting a full face of makeup on, knowing damn well I’m gonna sweat it off before the end of the night?

Because why the hell not?

It’s the first time I’ve made plans with the girls in months, and I deserve to feel pretty, even if only for an hour or two.

My therapist tells me I’m making progress.

And it finally feels like I am.

I don’t hate the day before it even starts when I wake up.

I hardly close my curtains anymore.

I’d like to say that with her help, everything went back to normal.

I go to work and come home. I hang out with my friends, water my potted plants. Talk to Spencer like I never confessed my love for him.

But it didn’t.

I haven’t really spoken to Spencer since the day I left.

I’ve wanted to.

I’ve wanted to tell him that I’m here. I’m still here. That I’m always going to be here.

That I care about him more than probably life itself.

Ever since I came back, we’ve had to work together, and we’ve had a few small conversations, but nothing like what we used to have.

I crave those conversations.

How we would bounce back and forth from idea to idea, topic to topic without so much as breaking a sweat.

The late night conversations about the probability of aliens, and life on the opposite side of the universe.

I crave him, and the intimacy he brought.

Lately though, he’s been coming to work with a sullen look on his face.

He shows up earlier, and stays later, drowning himself in his paperwork.

When her calls interrupt a caseload, he no longer eagerly picks up to hear what she has to say.

All I want to do is walk over and ask him how he’s doing. How the married life is treating him. If there’s anything I can do to help lift his spirits.

But I can’t.

I’d be overstepping a boundary I didn’t even know I created that night out on the balcony.

Knocking on my door snaps me out of my daze, and I quickly cap my lipstick, making my way towards my front door where my night stands, waiting.

JJ, Emily, and Penelope are waiting, big smiles and laughter bubbling from their lips.

I let the smile spread across my face.

“I just need to grab my shoes and then I’ll be ready.” I usher them into my hallway, running back to my bedroom to grab the pair of heels resting by my closet.

I sit on my bed, slipping them on with ease and grabbing my bag on my way out.

They all ooh and ahh when I step into the light of my kitchen, and JJ grabs my hand, twirling me in place so they can get a better look at my outfit.

“I almost forgot you had party attire, y/n.” 

“God, I wish I had an ass like that. I’m older than you. That’s not fair.” Emily says, landing a playful slap against the fabric of my skirt. 

“Oh stop it, you flatter me.” Once upon a time, the attention would have made me antsy. The voice in my head would whisper that they were lying to me, that they really thought I was the ugliest thing in existence. 

That was then, and this is now. Now the confidence shines off of me like a spotlight.

“You deserve to be flattered, you beautiful goddess you.” Penelope says, her hands waving in the air.

I take a look in the new mirror that hangs in my hallway, and I can’t help but agree. The tight black skirt accentuates my curves, the low cut golden crop top that sticks to me like another skin puts the girls on display, and my heels give me legs for days.

I look damn good.

“Okay okay okay, pre-game selfie!” Penelope grabs her phone and holds up in front of her while we gather around. 

She snaps the picture and within a few quick taps, a buzzing emits from my bag. 

I dig my phone out, seeing the picture pop up in my notifications. 

JJ has her arms wrapped around me, and I’m pressed to Penelope's side. Emily stands over us, one hand on JJ’s shoulder, the other on Penelopes. 

I don’t think I could fake a smile like the one on my face even if I wanted to. 

I save it to my phone.

~~~

If I thought being in my house, alone, with air conditioning was bad, then I shouldn't have even bothered coming out.

The bar, albeit small, was packed. 

Even if there was a breeze, or any airflow at all, the combined body heat of the crowd would have swallowed it up.

I couldn’t really bring it in me to care all that much, though.

The dim lights and heat left my skin with a sexy shine, bringing attention to all the right places. 

I could feel the eyes on me. 

The ones belonging to men wanting to drown their sorrows in a woman like me, one who appears vulnerable, willing to go along for the ride.

It’s been a while, since I’ve had the attention of the opposite gender, especially this very specific kind of attention.

It feels good, in a way. To be wanted so openly. But it doesn’t mean jack to me, not if it’s not the pair of eyes I’ve been desperate to catch.

I should stop thinking about him.

It’s a girls night out. I don’t have to think, or worry about anything. 

Besides, he’s probably busy doing other things. Thinking about me is the last thing on his mind.

I laugh and take a sip from the Shirley temple sitting in front of me, laughing as JJ recounts a story about will and a botched attempt at breakfast in bed.

I pick a cherry up from the fizzy drink, and bite the end off, relishing in the sweet flavor. I pop the stem in my mouth, twirling it around my tongue as I listen to the conversation, pulling it between my teeth and setting it down on the table in a knot.

“Oh my god. Did you just tie a cherry stem with your tongue?” Penelope is cheesing from the other side of the table, the bright pink straw of her margarita almost to her lips.

I laugh, holding it up for them to inspect. 

“You know what that means.” Emily says, taking a sip from her own drink, before continuing her thought. “You, my friend, can give great head.”

A blush covers my cheek, but I cock an eyebrow. “Who told you?”

The three women burst into high pitched laughter, and I see Pen pull out her phone. She holds it up to me. 

“Do it again. The internet needs to be blessed with this knowledge.”

I chuckle again, the spirit of the night enough to get me drunk off the energy. I grab another cherry from my drink, sucking the end into my mouth before popping it off, and swallowing it. 

“Alright, we have one, untied cherry stem before us.” I hold out the stem for the camera to see. “Now watch as I tie it with no hands.”  I stick out my tongue, placing it in the middle before closing my mouth. 

I rest my elbows on the table, working my tongue around the stem, forcing it into submission to do exactly what I want. 

Within 15 seconds, I pull it through my teeth, and hold up a tied cherry stem. 

“Ta-da! Magic.” I place it on the table as they clap, smiles wide and goofy from their own alcoholic concoctions. 

“She’s single people. And there’s a line forming so shoot your shot.” JJ is the one to speak to the camera, and I giggle, taking another sip. 

Penelope brings her phone down, and within a minute my phone buzzes again, this time with the notification of the video being posted. 

There are worse things to be posted on the internet about me.

“I never knew you could do that, y/n/n.” Pen says, taking a sip from her drink. 

I run a hand through my hair, shrugging. “Didn’t think I needed to put it on my resume. It’s mostly a party trick I use when I like someone. I haven’t used it in years though.”

The unspoken question lingers on the air. 

“No, I never showed Spencer. But I’m sure it’d blow his mind. The way that man applies math and logic to everything he does just solidifies the fact that I know he wouldn’t be able to do it.”

It’s been a while since I’ve joked about him openly, but it wasn’t forced. It didn’t hurt. 

It was just a natural statement.

“Have you guys noticed that something’s up with him? He seems distant lately.” JJ says, leaning in closer so she doesn’t have to talk over the crowd. 

“Okay, so it’s not just me.” I reply, playing with the straw in my drink.

“It’s gotta be something at home. I mean, he doesn’t even remotely act the way that he did when him and Heather first got together.” Emily's eyes look me up and down, reading my body language, but I’m done hiding. 

I let the building anger ripple through me.

“He seems...sad. And not like, normal Reid sad where it has to do with his mom or something, no this is like..” she stops herself from continuing the sentence.

I finish it for her. “It’s like, me, sad.”

JJ sighs. “I hate to say it, but do you think it has anything to do with Heather?”

A glass shatters across the room, and like the red sea, the crowd parts.

Everything happens in no more than a couple seconds, but it feels like a lifetime. 

Through the empty space, I see two people standing at the bar. The woman has her hands wound into the man's shirt, her body turned as she laughs at someone behind her, I’m assuming the one who dropped the glass. 

The man has his hands gripped on her hips, smiling into her hair, before she turns back around, connecting their lips in the most disgusting kiss I have had the displeasure of witnessing.

The rage builds swiftly in my stomach and it pulses from my soul outward. The world’s tint changes and I see red.

“Even if it doesn’t right now, it will.” 

When the hell did I stand up?

They stand with me, and I’m about to argue my point when Emily speaks. “You want something to record, Garcia?” She moves by me, fixing my hair, handing me her glass which holds a swig of her drink left. “Record this.” 

I take it, downing it for a little liquid luck, and start for the bar, the three of them on my heels.

I profile him as best I can in the 20 seconds it takes to get through the now reforming crowd. 

There’s a gold ring on his hand. His pants and shirt are dirty, and his boots are thick. He works in something having to do with construction, which means he’s probably done around 5 every night, and I know for a fact that it is way past that.

I walk up to them, grabbing her shoulder and pulling them apart, stepping in between them, getting face to face to him.

“Before you even think about laying a hand on me, my name is SSA Y/L/N of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the F.B.I. From the look of your clothes and the ring on your finger, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that your wife is waiting for you at home.” 

His hand instinctively falls to his back pocket.

“And since you just reached for what I’m assuming is your phone, she’s called you multiple times tonight. She knows. Now, fuck off and maybe you can salvage things with her, but believe me when I say this,” His breath smells sour. “You aren’t even half the man that she’s married to.” 

He opens his mouth to say something, looking from me, to Heather, to the three women surrounding her, keeping her from leaving, and the camera pointed directly at his face.

He looks back down to me, and huffs, stepping back and walking in the other direction.

For a moment, I stare at where he stood. 

And then a fire ignites in my stomach and it takes everything in me to not beat the girl standing behind me.

I turn, and lightning strikes behind her eyes. 

“You’re not gonna tell him.”

“Like hell I’m not!” I take a step forward, and she takes one back, bumping into Emily who has her arms crossed, and her shoulders raised. “You know, I tried so hard to give you the benefit of the doubt, Heather. You made him happy and I honestly thought you loved him, but I realize now that he deserves someone so much better than you.” 

“Oh what, someone like you?” She’s snide, her demeanor defensive and cocky at the same time. She thinks she’s gonna come out on top of this.

“You know what? Yes. Someone like me. Someone who wouldn’t even think about doing this to him, because the amount of pain that he is about to go through doesn’t even come close to the stupid fucking reward. Oh, so you slept with some douchebag because what? You’re not getting enough attention?” The words are cathartic, leaving my belly with the venom that has been brewing there for the past 2 and half years.

“I found your letter. I was right about you.”

That would have stopped me in my tracks 6 months ago. Now I don’t even flinch.

“Oh honey, it’s not a fucking secret anymore. You want to hear me say it? I love him. I am in love with Spencer fucking Reid, and the only reason that he is with you, is because I was a decent human being and could see that you made him happy, so I kept my mouth shut. But I don’t care anymore. I don’t give a flying fuck what happens now, because whatever it is, it has to be better than being with a lying, cheating bitch like you.”

“You think he’s gonna run to you? Is that what you’re hoping for? He’s not gonna believe you. And even if he did, I’d turn on the water works and make him believe it was just this one time.”

She doesn’t know she’s being filmed. 

I turn to the bartender. “Excuse me, is she a regular here?”

The bartender smirks, wiping down the wood. “Yep. She comes in at least a couple times a week with that dude you kicked to the curb. They almost always leave together.”

Heather scoffs, crossing her arms. “Again, he’ll never believe you.” 

“You sure about that hot stuff?” Penelope steps forward, shoving the camera in her face. “Smile for the camera.”

Heather's eyes go wide, before turning to me. “You wouldn’t dare.” 

“I would do it for a fucking corn chip.” 

I place my hands on my hips, getting so close to her our noses almost touch. My voice is dangerously low when I speak. “Either you tell him everything or I will. And trust me. I have my ways of finding out if you did.”

I step back, wishing the daggers in my eyes could inflict actual pain, as I turn to walk away. 

I hear her shout in frustration before I feel her hands on my back, pushing me forward into the mass of people. 

A couple people unaware of the confrontation help me back up with a smile, thinking I’ve just drunkenly tripped over myself.

Emily and JJ each hold one of my arms, making sure I’m stable, while Penelope keeps filming a look of shock on her face.

A wicked smile forms on my face.

I was hoping she’d do something like that.

I turn and my fist connects with her face, a nice cracking noise satisfying the lust building in my chest, as a thin coat of blood covers my knuckles. 

Though, it’s not my blood. 

She’s holding her nose in pain as she falls to the floor, taking down a bar stool with her, and I swear I see the bartender laugh.

I grab a napkin off the bar, wiping my knuckles before throwing it on the floor by her feet. 

“C’mon girls. The night is still young.” 

I see them cover their own smiles with their hands, and Penelope starts to giggle the shock away. 

I know I should feel bad. It was unprofessional of me. 

But she shoved me first. 

It is, legally, self-defense. 

Is it sick that I wish she would have punched me?

It doesn’t matter anyway. I know she won’t press charges. She’s smart enough to know she just dug her grave.

And now she has to lie in it.

~~~~

The atmosphere is different when I walk into the office the next morning. 

It’s tense. 

And one look from JJ and an inhale of air tells me why. 

Spencer’s here. 

I barely have time to set my bag down on my desk, before he grabs me suddenly by the arm, dragging me into a nearby conference room.

The anger is rolling off of him in waves, and I can see by the way he clenches and unclenches his fists, he is pissed.

He almost throws me into the room, slamming the door behind him. 

“You want to tell me why the fuck you punched Heather in the face for no damn reason?”

Stupid, stupid girl. 

Did she not think, that the way I would find out, would be from Spencer himself?

I can’t help but shake my head and laugh. “She didn’t tell you.”

“She told me that she was having a drink with a girlfriend of hers when you came up drunk, yelling at her, until you just punched her. Can you explain that to me?”

He’s finally yelling at me. After months of begging for him to yell at me, he finally is. 

It doesn’t feel as good as I had hoped it would.

I don’t say anything, just pull out my phone to find the video that Garcia sent me.

“Are you serious right now, Y/N? Put your fucking phone down and explain to me why you broke my wife's nose!”

I sit in a chair, setting the phone on the table and sliding it towards him. I lean back and cross my hands over my stomach.

“Watch the video, Spencer.”

“Why? Why should I listen to anything you tell me?”

I lean forward, onto my elbow, annunciating every syllable. “Watch the damn video.”

He stands, and I watch as he fights with himself, before huffing in defeat, sitting in a chair and pulling my phone towards him.

He presses play.

I watch as his anger flows away with each passing second, despair taking its place. 

This is what I wasn’t looking forward to. Seeing him see it for the first time.

Watching him break. 

It wasn’t pretty.

I watch as tears form in his eyes and silently drop down his cheeks. 

He clenches his jaw as he watches her shove me, and the punch that followed. 

The room is dead quite when the video ends.

I’m the one who speaks first, my voice soft. 

“I punched her, because she had the audacity to do this. She had the audacity to hurt you, and flaunt that fact publicly.” 

I swallow, taking a breath before speaking. 

“I meant everything I said in that video, Spence.” 

He looks up at the nickname, his anger no longer directed at me.

“She hurt you, and I saw red. I didn’t think about what I was doing, and frankly, I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t regret standing up for you. I never have, and I never will.”  I clasp my hands together, forcing myself to continue. 

“I love you Spencer. I don’t think that’s ever going to change. I’m going to have to live with you finding other people and falling in love, and I promise you, I will support you in that. But not with her. Not after that. You deserve so much better than a girl who thinks she can get away with this just because she’s pretty and jealous.”

He taps a couple things on my phone, before turning the screen off and sliding it back over to me. 

He stands. 

I don’t. I continue talking as he walks over to me.

“You mean everything to me, Spence. If I know you’re happy, truly happy, then I’m satisfied. I will defend you until the end of the universe comes. You are my best friend, and I love you. And I’m sorry I was never upfront about it before, but I am now.”

I look up at him as he stands in front of me. “I’m done hiding from you.”

He’s still for a moment. 

He reaches down and grabs my hands, pulling me up before he wraps his arms around my waist and buries himself into my neck. 

I pause, but only for a moment, before wrapping my arms around him and holding him tight against me. 

I can feel the wet spots on my neck as he cries, and his hands wind themselves into the fabric of my shirt.

When was the last time he was held like this?

I don’t count the time until he loosens his grip, stepping back from me and wiping his face. 

I would hold him until the end of time if he let me.

“Thank you.” He whispers, before moving towards the door. 

He opens it and walks out, and I grab my phone, running after him.

I stop in the doorway. 

“Hey!” 

He stops and turns, and the rest of the team is watching over their files. 

My heart is pounding, and I feel out of breath.

“I don’t have a choice,” I let him remember. “But I still choose you.”

A small smile flutters across his face, before he turns and walks away.

I look down at my phone.

Spence xp

[Video]

    Sent, 9:06 a.m.

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[6okuto]

Hello! I saw your pinned and I absolutely love the idea so do you mind if I send you the description of my oc and Rime as a request?

My oc name is Keiko, she is of average height, she has long brown hair which she keeps tied in a high ponytail, big green eyes and a very white pale skin. She loves to dress comfortably, so she often wears jumpsuits, sweatshirts and pajamas (her favourite colors are brown and pastels, especially pink). For special occasions or when she feels like it, however, she loves to dress in a very feminine way with floral or pastel-colored dresses, blouses, cardigans or sweaters combined with skirts. Basically her style is a mixture of cottagecore and light academia. I hope the description is enough! :D

warnings: none <3

note from nia: pls my first anon/message?? hi & thank u :') not gonna lie i was just spitballing an idea but i'm genuinely flattered u enjoyed it so i really wanted to do it for u c: it was a kinda tricky since we don't...have much rime info. (devs please rime tale when? Devs Can You Hear Me?) but i tried my best to list things i think they'd have! i love the sound of ur oc btw sounds kinda like me tbh JSFJS i hope u enjoy <33 (dw it's not here but i saw your second message too :D!!)

i'm thinking of like, rich-end of the city, vintage-y home with big windows, a garden and stone walkway. if that makes sense?

rime's already accustomed to finding his partner reading away in the living room as he gets home.

the furniture is a warm oak, the bookshelves are filled with novels and trinkets picked up over the years (ceramic plates, an incense holder, things from museum gift shops, there's even a little character figure hidden somewhere in the top shelves)

they have (hanging) plants and fake vines scattered around

the curtains are long and white with pastel details

there's crocheted coasters on all the tables that stay there permanently (rime never remembers to use them)

they have a game console on the table beneath the tv! (rime doesn't play a lot because despite how cocky he acts, he is actually so bad at gaming.)

lots of ambient lighting (lamps on the side tables and walls, a couple of candles) for the evening. the overhead light is rarely on unless needed—"it ruins the vibe"

that's the same reason rime refused to have anything but a chandelier hanging from the bedroom ceiling

there's a full-length antique mirror and a matching vanity on the side wall

walk-in closet !! it's split in half between them and there's a small sofa bench to sit on in the middle

they have a king-sized bed with like, 5 pillows and the nicest comforter they could find. everything has to match/coordinate whenever they change the bedding—right now it's white sheets, a pastel green, ruffled blanket and floral pattern pillows

i think rime is one of those people who'd be like "no we are not getting a pet." then become super attached y'know? he doesn't know when, but keiko somehow convinced him to adopt a cat and now it has a bed at the foot of theirs (whether it'll sleep there or not is a nightly mystery)

their master bathroom is big with a shower and bath combo hidden by a portable partitions (rime thinks it's fancier that way)

they have a fluffy rug by the sink and another for when you get out of the bath

there's little white shelves on the sink counter for skincare and makeup products on the counter

a collection of bath bombs sits on the shelf on the opposite wall with piles of towels

keiko has a studio where she gets to do art and keep any plants. it arguably gets some of the best lighting with big arched windows.

it was a guest bedroom but they changed it because of their lack of, well, guests. keiko got full reign to do whatever she pleased so it's really where her aesthetics get to shine ๑´ᴗ｀๑

light, pastel curtains cover the large window and art pieces are on all the walls. many are keiko's own pieces, others were found and bought or gifted. there's also like, art/nature/vintage prints. her walls are kind of a growing collage

she keeps a lot of plants and a couple of watering cans by the window (one can's pastel, another is an elephant, you get the idea)

there's canvases stacked to the side of the door, and large shelves for art supplies and drying racks

she has a desk next to her easel with sketchbooks and the novel she's currently reading, as well as a warm drink dropped off for her because someone "didn't want to deal with her getting sick." (it's specifically placed away from her paint water mug)

and i don't know if keiko is a big fan of rolling chairs, but rime sure is. it just seems like the perfect combo of comfort and chaotic fun. he has one in their shared study and instead of walking to see how she's doing, he will roll the entire way. you can hear him coming from down the hall. he starts spinning and talking as if keiko isn't doing something

general hcs

keiko could definitely get rime into romance anime. like 100%. he'd end up trying to flirt with/tease her by reenacting scenes

even though rime dresses very differently, he thinks her aesthetics fit very well!! he likes the dynamic they have when going out

rime tying her hair for her? i think yes

rime getting flowers so she can dry and keep them? i think yes x2

i think rime generally runs cold, so when he catches her snuggled in a blanket he makes his way under it too or gets his own and sits next to her ^___^

[jouretnuit-nightandday]

A fluffy Leatin prompt for you if you still feel so inclined: post island, during a rainstorm. Leahoves the rain. And sitting under the covered porch to watch the drops fall and the lightning strike. Fatin joins her in the moment despite her semi-phobia of storms. Cuddling with Leah helps Fatin learn a new appreciation for the rain 🌧

Thank you! What a lovely prompt <3

-----

It’s the first day of summer, but the weather has been shit all day, and Fatin has been consequently grumpy ever since she woke up this morning. She hates summer storms. She hates the rain, the sound of it, incessant, discordant, inescapable, against the window panes, against the roof. She hates the humidity that seeps into the air, makes her feel weighted and uncomfortable in her own skin. She hates how dark it gets, how clouds swallow the sunlight. But most of all - and that’s something she hasn’t really admitted to anyone, not even Leah - she hates thunder and lightning, the explosion of loud noises, over her head, the threat of electricity, deadly and unpredictable. 

Leah has given her some space, sensing her mood, and Fatin is grateful for it. They always know when the other needs to be alone ; the island taught them how important it is to be able to get away from the attention, however loving and well-intentioned, of other people. So Fatin has spent the whole day hauled up in the living-room, on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, complaining to no one that Los Angeles isn’t even supposed to get storms, and checking the weather app every so often, just in case a miracle happened and the sky went back to the vast blue expanse she knows and loves. Leah came in to check on her at lunchtime, dropped a quick kiss on the top of Fatin’s hair, and then left her alone.

But now it’s late afternoon, and Fatin misses her. It still catches her off guard sometimes, how much she relies on Leah, how enmeshed, entangled, the two of them are, like bushes of roses that grew too close to each other. It’s not that she can’t be away from her, it’s just that she doesn’t want to. It’s only been a day, not even a full day, but Fatin misses the way Leah looks at her, eyes glinting, when she thinks Fatin is cute. She misses the way Leah mindlessly pushes strands of hair away from her eyes when she reads. She misses the way Leah averts her gaze when Fatin compliments her, always a little bashful, even after all this time. And, maybe, she’s kinda sick of moping around on her own, and she knows that being near her girlfriend is the best antidote to a bad case of moodiness. 

So Fatin goes to find Leah. It’s not much of an investigation, because she knows very well where Leah is: where she always is, when it rains. On the little wooden porch that gives onto the backyard of their house, perched at the top of the stairs, gazing outside. Barefoot, Fatin pads out of the living-room, and past the sliding door, and finds Leah exactly where she knew she’d be. The rain is falling like sheets of water, drowning the flowers of their garden, transforming the ground into a minefield of puddles and mud. Leah is wearing shorts, and a flannel shirt, left open over her tank-top, and those ugly sandals Fatin refuses to call anything but a fashion crime against humanity ; her hair is tied up in a messy bun, leaving the back of her neck bare and looking very kissable, and she’s cradling a cup of steaming tea in her hands - peppermint, if Fatin’s nose isn’t mistaken. At the sound of Fatin coming out, Leah turns around slightly, and smiles. 

“Hey,“ she says.

“Hey,” Fatin says, and there’s a question in that single word. Leah answers by patting the spot next to her on the stairs. Fatin plops down beside her, and promptly steals the cup from Leah’s hands, taking a long sip of peppermint tea.

“Did you come here just to steal my tea?” Leah asks, with a playful little smile at the corner of her lips.

“I came to check if you needed company,” Fatin lies, expertly. She gestures in front of them, at the drenched backyard, the rain, the dark, low clouds. “It’s kind of a depressing view. I thought I’d cheer you up.”

“Uh huh,” Leah says, not sounding super convinced. She takes the cup back, drinks, then puts it down by her feet, so she can sling one arm around Fatin’s back. Fatin presses herself into Leah’s side, and rests her cheek against Leah’s shoulder. She inhales the smell of Leah, mixed in with the smell of wet earth and damp wood. “Were you lonely?” Leah asks.

Fatin hums, and places her left hand on Leah’s thigh, just above the knee. Leah’s bare skin is warm, and smooth, and familiar under her fingers. Leah’s arm tightens around her back, her hand curling on Fatin’s hip. 

“I wouldn’t use the word “depressing” to describe the view, you know,” Leah says. 

“Yeah, sorry, let me find another adjective. How about bleak? Oh, or gloomy. Yeah, gloomy is a good fit, I think.”

Leah laughs, and Fatin smiles at the sound. There’s no better feeling that making Leah laugh - for a moment, it even makes the storm disappear. 

“I’m serious,” Leah insists. “Look.” She points in front of them, with the hand not currently holding Fatin’s waist. “Look at the way the water falls, like a barely visible curtain, like we’re seeing the whole world through a veil, and everything is a bit hazy, a bit blurred, a bit softened. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Fatin turns her head slightly, just enough that she can press a light kiss to the side of Leah's neck. “Baby, I know beautiful, I see you every day. A few tons of water pouring down from the sky ain’t it, believe me.” 

She feels the way Leah’s breathing stutters, a minuscule change, but enough to make Fatin grin. She can’t see Leah’s face right now, but she’d be willing to bet that her cheeks are redder than before. “You think you’re such a charmer,” Leah mutters, but there’s a smile in her voice. 

“And you’re such a goddamn poet every time it so much as drizzles,” Fatin replies, affectionately. But she peers outside, at the downpour, and tries to look at it through Leah’s eyes, to see the beauty of it. Her efforts are interrupted by a terrifying flash of blinding white light that startles her, followed by the loud rumble of thunder. Instinctively, Fatin curls up into Leah’s warm body, fingers tightening around her thigh.

“I don’t like that part much,” she admits.

Leah’s free hand comes to rest atop Fatin’s, her thumb rubbing slow circles on the soft skin of her wrist. “But sometimes there’s beauty in scary things too, don’t you think? Even in the things we don’t understand, the things that are too big and dangerous for us to comprehend.” She rests her cheek against the top of Fatin’s head. “Like love,” she adds, softly. 

The rain keeps hitting the ground, torrential, endless. Another flash of light, another roar. But this time Fatin focuses on how safe she feels in Leah’s arms, despite the storm, how warm and loved, and she thinks, maybe, that Leah has a point. Maybe there is something majestic, beautiful, in the spectacle of the elements, when it’s shared with the person you call home. 

“Like love,” she agrees, and turns her palm upward so she can intertwine their fingers as they keep watching the storm together.

[mc-critical]

Hi darling, Idk if you talked about this before, but what do you think about Rumeysa (Mustafa's concubine)? Do you think they planned to make her Mustafa's wife untill the actress was changed? And also, if she would've become his wife, how do you think she'd act in comparison to how Mihrunnisa (queen) acted? We didn't really see a lot of her but I wanted to know what do you believe they wanted to do with her character

Hey, dear! 🤗 No, I haven't talked about Rumeysa in here. I'll cover the S03 one and the S04 one separately, because in practice, they're both very different characters.

I strongly dislike S03 Rumeysa as a character, to be brutally honest. She goes all good, nice and innocent, when secretly she's sneaky and even manipulative in order to fulfill her goals. The thing that annoys me the most is not necessarily her fixation on Mustafa and how she wants to get him, because after all, it's a harem and everyone wants to get him, but how nearly inexplicable her whole motivation is, in spite and outside of that.

I feel Rumeysa's arc could be split in two almost separate halves - her set-up in the harem (pre-E93) and her as a favorite in the harem. (post-E93). The most interesting things about her were precisely her set-up and backstory. The way she was sent to the harem, the way she was tied to signora Gabriella, the way both of them were about to reunite and when that happened, Rumeysa was just confused more than anything... The idea of sisters finding each other within these harem walls was fascinating, but that was seemingly dropped. I feel even from this point on that the show tried to make a case of a person who's been long in the harem and has lost the touch of a free life to the point of being afraid to leave, but her confusion on the signora and her refusal to go with her was the only part they pulled off. (not to mention they executed that concept much better with Sümbül!) Then begins the second half of her arc that went in another direction the writers didn't succeed to make me get. I didn't get why she wanted Mustafa so much. She said she wanted and appreciated Mustafa a lot and that was why she wanted to leave and this trainwreck began all of a sudden! That doesn't make any sense! She had no (or at least not pivotal) scenes with Mustafa before E93, she neither experienced a desire to get Mustafa, nor was it shown to the audience in any way before the convenient moment. Her build-up was never about Mustafa before then. Her arc was never about Mustafa before then. And yet Mustafa became the center of her character, to the point it's as if they were like: "let's have another woman for Mustafa, but this time with an even more overexaggerated you might think it was Turhan Hürrem-esque arc, so we can make her his full on woman!". She was paving her way through sneaky methods to the point of hypocrisy for no reason, she didn't even have much of a threat, either. Ayşe Hatun put pressure on her once in a while, but it felt understandable when she had a child from Mustafa and that, Rumeysa started acting this confident just like that. I get that in the harem you have to be sorta like that in order to survive, etc., but with Rumeysa that wasn't enough of a motivation! She seemed just fine under Mahidevran and taking care of Nergisşah before then, she could calm people down, what happened? And notice how in the second part of her arc these scenes were lowered to the minimum, or recontextualized, at the very least, so you can't buy anything with her anymore.

But wait, what if she always wanted Mustafa when she arrived? Then every moment of kindness she has shown, even to the little child, becomes even worse in retrospect, because it would either just suit her interest, either become a jarring contrast with what she has shaped up to be. But wait actually, that effect is achieved even without her arc being split in two halves! I would've sympathized with her much more if there was some additional motivation, like everyone else basically, but honestly, the harem excuse is all we could use with her and in her case, that just doesn't suffice, especially for such a big shift in storylines. And then after building up to a halvet, we had the halvet and it was over and left me very unsatisfied. (okay, that's probably because of the actress, but still)

She was screwed up spectacularly at best and downright horrible at worst. Her early concept was way too good to be left out like that and since that leaving out was maybe inevitable for the writers, they had to do this transition better and have the first half of the arc be focused on Rumeysa, as well as Gabriella, instead of making this whole line with her being Gabriella's sister she was searching for more of a plot twist than an organic build-up, because Gabi was the one click baited to want Mustafa! This character ended up being defined by her goal she was trying to fulfill and nothing else, not any redeeming quality whatsoever.

I think Rumeysa was the least suited woman for Mustafa, yes, even less than Fatma. Because if Fatma had some love for him and was genuinely trying to calm him down after Efsun at first, with Rumeysa we simply had steps to get him right from the start and an entire ordeal that wouldn't sit well with Mustafa. We didn't even know not only why she wanted Mustafa, but also what was it she had with Mustafa - was it love, was he just a vessel for her to rise in the hierarchy (that's probably it for me), what was next when he was all hers etc. We have no feelings, no insight here and Mustafa himself was only slightly intrigued at best. And even if she were there for the battle of the throne, she would definetly scheme even more actively than anyone else and that would seriously clash with Mustafa's desires. I don't think she would suit S03B Mustafa's level of maturity, either.

Yes, I would say S03 Rumeysa could very well be the endgame for Mustafa and become his wife if it wasn't for the actress leaving and stuff, because of how she was framed to succeed. This part of Rumeysa's arc existed in a vacuum, it was a tiny victory after a tiny victory due to sly thinking that she was always allowed to get away with somehow. Again, the way she was slowly, but surely getting her way reminded me of all the Hürrem-esque arcs in the series that did end up with these women becoming the total favourites and I wouldn't be surprised at the least if they kept that pattern of success with Rumeysa, since it was very present in her arc.

[While we're at it, I didn't get why Mahidevran believed her so much. On one hand, yes, character development, because, as seen with Mihrünnisa later, as well, Mahidevran no longer gets suspicious of the nature of these women and only intervenes when she sees a decision of Mustafa's regarding them that could potentially be dangerous for his future, coupled with the fact that Mahidevran values loyalty a lot and she has seen nothing but that with Rumeysa. But on the other hand... Mahi is usually so perceptive when it comes to women that could actually be problematic or dangerous for him and Rumeysa being the only exception then was as much character development and the chance of lowering her guard because of the calmer environment as it was.. way too convenient, since we saw Rumeysa was playing a game behind the curtain. Especially the situation when Rumeysa provoked Ayşe Hatun on purpose for Mahi and Musti to see and Mahi not listening to Ayşe or Fidan's warnings about Rumeysa, along with her fully adapting to the harem laws she was previously against and taking on her role as a Valide in Mustafa's harem, was almost like Plot Armor for Rumi similarly to how Hürrem acted accordingly when she saw SS listening to her in the candle mirror in E44, albeit in the opposite way. I view that as a clear recipe for narrative favor and I was appalled that it had to be with such a character.]

If S03 Rumeysa became his wife, I don't see her acting much like Mihrunnisa. First off, due to how her arc was framed, Ayşe Hatun would have very much stayed as an antagonist of hers (even though Rumi wouldn't view her as one in their confrontations) and would try to eliminate her in a secret, subtle and cunning way. While Rumeysa would definetly try her all to keep Mustafa safe and would try to win Mahidevran's support for the marriage the way Mihrunnisa did, Rumi would have more of an agenda of her own she would follow. I won't be surprised if she tried head down on the path to overpower them all in her influence of him, either. Mustafa and Mihrunnisa were partners more than anything, with the same ideals, aspirations and desires. They were very close in their way of thinking and how they would approach problems, that's why they had such a deep bond. S03 Rumeysa would get further and further away from Mustafa's personality as his wife and if the other S04 events are canon, she would probably indeed go and reveal Bayezid's marriage with Huricihan the moment Mustafa refused to and act herself instead.

S04 Rumeysa is barely there, but I like her a bit better. She is an entirely different character with her consistent worries for the future, her more caring and protecting nature and even Mahidevran's more "I'm fed up with all this" attitude to her. Even if we add S03 Rumeysa to the mix, we get at least more feeling out of her and what was she all about and we get some other contrasting facets of hers as a bonus: in contrast to Rumi calming Mahidevran down when Mustafa disobeyed SS's order in E91/2 (my favourite S03 Rumeysa scene, but it was also kinda ruined post-E93), now Mahidevran tells her not to worry so much. Thing is, S04 Rumeysa could very well work without S03 Rumeysa both because of the different actress and the different characterization that could only loosely recontextualize S03 Rumeysa at best, and since there was a time skip, some random concubine and favourite Mustafa slept with and she became pregnant wouldn't be out of the question at all. Yes, her death would probably have less impact that way, but nor could I ever bother with S03 Rumeysa, nor would it be weird because of her different dynamics, which made her look almost foreign in comparison. (that's not on the actress, both Rumeysas were great!) And it would be as impactful as it would've been for Mustafa and Mahidevran, because the loss of the child would be just as devastating for him and was still tied to the mirror of sin.

If S04 Rumeysa didn't die and became Mustafa's wife, I think their bond would be focused more on their future child than anything. Rumeysa would probably act similarly to S03 Ayşe Hatun, only in a more secure position, I see a lot of similarities there. I don't think their bond would be as deep, but they could have the chance to get close for a little bit. I see Rumeysa refraining from acting so much, because of her worrying for the consequences, but when that fear gets the best of her, she could take desperate measures.

[mysafehaneul]

(SVT)Joshua x fem reader.

1.3k (SFW)

[2:34pm] Crossing the street you reached the suit shop to buy your father a tie to wear to your best friend's wedding although he had plenty of ties yet none of them matched with the theme of the wedding or were downright too corporal as you were just a few steps away from the shop you saw a familiar face about to enter the shop he was on the phone looking up the sign to see if he is in the right shop after muttering something he hung up the phone when his eyes met yours waiting for him to take notice of you recognition dawned upon him a large grin forming in his face the feeling you get when you coincidently meet an old friend in the middle of a busy street of a Tuesday afternoon. As Both have grown up together being his little sister's friend you were alternatively always there in his home joined by the hip with his sister.

"Y/N what a pleasant surprise! Long time no see," He said.

"Joshua" you exhaled it's been so long since you last called out his name the syllables gave you a strong rush of nostalgia as they rolled off your tongue you went forward to give him a side hug which he reciprocated

"what brings you here? " you asked.

"Well for now I am here for the fitting of my suit you know for the wedding"

You nodded "what brings you here?" He countered as he opened the door and motioned you to walk first as you both walked towards the reception you informed "well I am here to buy a tie, you know for the wedding" giving a small chuckle at your response he said something to the receptionist as they pressed a small button and two employees approached the two of you.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hong your suit is in the fitting room please follow me." Requested one of the employees

And the other walked towards you and asked, "how can I assist you, mam?"

You smiled in their direction and muttered,

"I am here to see some ties," as you started walking further inside the shop "do you any that matches with pastel theme and-"

"Y/N!"

The call of your name interrupted you.

turning to the source of the voice Joshua strode towards you and suggested, " if you don't mind then I could use your opinion on the suit" a hesitation in his eyes and a small smile on his lips "so that Lily doesn't kick me out of the wedding, and I have a spectacular taste ties and we have so much catching up to do ."

You shake your head you let out a small chuckle and said "you aren't even wearing one right now" as you turned to your heels and walked further inside the shop with Joshua on your side.

Skimming through the options Cynthia brought, you short-listed the baby blue and spring color ties as Joshua was behind the curtain with the tailor when he called for you "Y/N, can you come in here for a second" making you furrow your eyebrows "are you sure?" You murmured hesitantly you pulled away from the curtain and saw Joshua standing on a small stage big enough for two people to stand comfortably while the tailor was moving around him checking if there is any room for alteration. You could help but check him out, when did he get so buffed? and looked so princely? He sure has been a good sight and your little short-time crush but man time and puberty really hit him well. When he saw you gawking at him from the mirror he teased,

"like what you see"

the smug smile on his face and raising one of his brows. Rolling your eyes you stood behind him on the floor both of you looking at each other from the reflection on the mirror. The tailor descended from the little stage and mumbled something about bringing the new cufflings and excused himself out of the room.

"This looks nice," pausing doing full eyes up and down "I like it, it suits you!" you chirped.

"Well..." he mumbled, his fingers grazing the collar to adjusting the cufflinks "the suit is amazing no doubt I am kinda torn between the bow or tie"

The light sand color three pieces were really doing justice to him.

"Well.. the groom's side is wearing a bow and the bride's side is wearing a tie." You informed taking him out of his misery he tilted his head and nodded and muttered.

"Tie it is!"

"Tie it is" you repeated lowly mostly to yourself.

"Just a sec." You exclaimed,

and exited the room and went back in taking one of the two ties you chose for your father from Cynthia's hand and giving her a small smile and went back inside the fitting room as Joshua's eyes landed at the tie In your hand and turned his body to you offering you a hand to climb up the little stage which you did removing your hand from his you handed him the tie

"blue?"

He asked a little confused

"baby blue actually" you corrected him

waiting for him to wear it he just put both sides over his neck and started playing with the hem with a sigh your hands automatically went for his collar pulling it up and lining the tie and putting the collar down Joshua could help but looked down at you your fingers accidentally gazing his neck making was all of the sudden making him feel a little warm like a blush would be evident in his ears if he doesn't stop his train of thoughts before it leaves further away from the station clearing his throat and mumbled due to the close proximity, "so what have you been up to" the smell of your hair was as if slowly wrapping around his brain while you were unaware of the effect you had on him, hands still working on the tie eyes grazed up to meet his eyes and said "well nothing extraordinary in particular working, living every day as it comes with my cat who I suppose hates me" making him chuckle as you added, "what about your boyfriend he doesn't live with you?" An amused smile played on your lips shaking your head you stated, "I don't have a boyfriend." You were done with the knot and was about to pull the tie-up

"then who are you buying the tie for?"

He asked curiously looking down at you slightly biting your lower lip and said,

"My father Joshua."

Nodding his head in understanding you took a step back admiring the work you turned towards the mirror and asked

"So, do you like it Mr hong or should I present you with some other options?"

"No Ms. Y/N this is perfect"

You were still looking at the tie when you felt someone was staring at you looking up you saw Joshua caught his gaze from the reflection.

Your eyes were locked on each other when the curtain pull again breaking the trance you both were locked in as Cynthia walked a little panic surged through you as your heart felt like it would jump out of your chest you climbed down the stage and followed her to the cash register with Joshua also following behind after changing into his clothes the one he was wearing when he first walked in.

There was something unspoken, suppressed in the air. Your cheeks still feel warm after collecting the receipt Cynthia handed you the bag ,"Thank you for shopping with us" giving a nod of acknowledgment at her direction you started walking towards the exit when with quick strides Joshua joined you with his driver holding his suit he motioned him to go first.

The entrance bell jingled and a strong warm wind gushed inside the shop

"Y/N" he began, "do you have any date for the wedding"

***************************

(A/N: So Y/N do u have any date for your bestfriend's wedding? {Comment down below what do u think her answer was})

[innranrae]

🐚 A Birthday Amidst the Archipelago

A/N: oneshot for my fav russian boys bday, i included the golden apple archipelago bc it was the most fun event/area I've experienced in genshin so far and I'll miss it a lot but at least it's inazuma and electro aether time, anyways hope you enjoy this and if you have suggestions/tips on writing or anything please lmk! I'm new to it all and I'm trying my best ;w; my friend proofread this tho and shes big brain so id say this one is pretty swaggy

￫ pairing(s): Zhongli/Childe, Aether/Venti (kinda platonic tbh), Venti and Dvalin vibing

￫ word count: ~ 3k

￫ cw: alcohol

￫ ao3

🏖️

Zhongli sensed a large being coming from the skies of Duyun Ruins. He did not want to believe it, but his doubts were soon confirmed.

Dvalin descended from the clouds with a heavy thud, sending the living creatures around either running or flying. Mounted on the Dragon of the East were Venti and Aether; The bard wore a pair of sunglasses and a light attire that shocked Zhongli to the core, he had thought the anemo archon could not get any more ludicrous, but it appears he was mistaken.

A slight frown grew on his face watching the scene and the geo archon couldn’t help but raise his palm to his face, sighing. On the flip side, Childe was astonished; his eyes sparkled observing Dvalin, considering what the outcome would be if they were to fight.

—

2 days earlier

“Traveler,

It has been some time since we last saw each other. I do hope your ventures are going smoothly.

I am writing to you to request assistance with an event that will take place two days from now. As you may know, Childe’s birthday is on the 20th of this month and I have been finding it hard to come up with a suitable gift. I wish to surprise him but nothing that fits my criteria comes to mind, in addition to the fact I am still adjusting to mortal life and their festivals.

If you do not mind and, of course, if you are free that day, I hope you can help me with this matter.

Zhongli”

After sending his letter to Aether, Zhongli straightened his shoulders on the stool at one of Heyu Tea House’s tables, raising a cup of steaming tea to his mouth, and waited for his guest to arrive.

“Receiving an invitation from Mr. Zhongli first sure feels nice,” a voice shouted coming from the stairs.

Zhongli glanced at the harbinger who took a seat by his side, “Childe, do you have any plans for your birthday?”

Childe widened his eyes slightly, “Birthday?” He raised his hand thoughtfully to his face. “Oh, my birthday! Hm… Is Mr. Zhongli planning on giving me some type of gift?” The harbinger smiled playfully.

“Please answer my question.”

“Nope! None at all.”

In actuality, Childe should be busy taking care of the Fatui’s business around Liyue; unfortunately for his underlings, he was going to do whatever he wanted either way. Additionally, he had a feeling Mr. Zhongli’s question was not trivial, and speculated the archon probably wanted to make plans.

“I see."

Unexpectedly, instead of proceeding on that topic, Zhongli said nothing more as he took another sip of his tea.

Despite the surprising lack of further development, he forgot about it as soon as Zhongli started to talk about a Ruin Hunter he encountered the prior day in the fields.

He knew by now what topics intrigued Childe's simple warrior mind, and that alone had Childe rambling about fighting tactics and his own experiences to Zhongli, occasionally trying to convince the archon to fight him, which he politely refused.

—

Meanwhile, at the Golden Apple Archipelago...

"I could really use a hand over here, Venti!" Aether's cry for help could barely be heard over the shrieking group of hilichurls advancing one after the other.

"But I-"

After unleashing a wind vortex from his palm, Aether glared at the bard, who was leisurely plucking the strings of his lyre on top of a rock. "Playing a battle song isn't helping!" He cut Venti off, resulting in the end of Venti's untimely concert with lots of whining.

After jumping off the rock, the bard shot an arrow that sent the group of monsters flying altogether.

The pair had a short-lived moment of relief, but soon the eerie sound of a horn was heard, indicating that more enemies were on their way. Aether groaned while Venti giggled nervously, and so, they had to return to their combat stances.

Not long after engaging, the traveler heard a short sound that made him stop his blade.

“Oh, I’ve got mail,” Aether walked a few steps from the fighting, reading the message while leaving the bard to get the monsters’ attention.

Venti's eyes widened at the sudden rush of monsters coming directly at him, though luckily, he sent them flying once again.

“Woah~ Don’t do that so suddenly, traveler, so mean!”

After reading Zhongli’s message, Aether was deep in thought, looking around as if searching for something, until his eyes met the green-colored ones of the anemo archon that reciprocated the eye contact, with a touch of wonder.

Zhongli opened the new mail he received, analyzing the few words Aether had sent.

“Meet us by Duyun Ruins at 9 in the morning, bring Childe with you.”

“Meet us? If I am not mistaken, Paimon has been staying with Xiangling, and didn’t show any signs of wanting to leave any time soon. Perhaps she can easily travel back and forth,” Zhongli thought to himself.

—

Present Day, Duyun Ruins

Jumping from the dragon’s back, Venti beamed, “Morax! Long time no see~!” Arms wide open as he threw himself towards his old friend. But before he got too close, Zhongli shielded himself, and instead of a hug, Venti’s face was compressed against the solid surface of the geo shield.

Venti staggered a step back from the impact, raising his hand to his cheek, now starting to swell, “Ow!” He pouted.

Zhongli tried to keep his cool, throwing a look at the two boys who recently arrived,waiting for an explanation.

Aether catches on the meaningful gaze and reassures, “Don’t worry, I think we avoided being noticed by anyone.”

“Yeah, Dvalin here is… Well, he tries to be discreet when flying around. After all, I was the one who taught him that~" Venti put a hand on the dragon's body while the other gave Zhongli a thumbs up.

"Saying you were the one who taught him does not reassure me one bit…" Zhongli’s veins were protruding from distress by now. "Aside from that, aren't you supposed to be more careful not to expose your identity in front of the common folk?"

The three other men stared at Zhongli in confusion, exchanging looks between themselves, "Common folk?" Venti asked. Childe was the first to realize he was probably talking about him and began laughing at the Zhongli's seemingly forgetfulness.

"Morax, you sure only remember what you want, huh. Even I know from the traveler's stories that this boy here is the eleventh harbinger of the Fatui. If that harbinger lady took my gnosis, I'm sure this kid knows my identity by now," Venti reassured while Aether slowly nodded, feeling second-hand embarrassment.

Zhongli was at a loss for words, raising his fist to his mouth, awkwardly coughing. On the other hand, the harbinger found the situation quite funny and patted Morax's back a few times while giggling.

Zhongli met Aether's eyes, "Nevertheless, what I desire to know is why that bard and his dragon are here?"

"Well, you’ll see when we get there," Aether reassured, getting back on the dragon's back along with Venti.

Childe cheerfully jumped on, extending his hand down to the geo archon who bashfully accepted, pointedly ignoring the meaningful grins the two other boys directed at him. And with little effort, Dvalin took off to the Golden Apple Archipelago.

The Snezhnayan boy's eyes gleamed with excitement from his first-ever experience that high up, sitting between behind Aether and in front of Zhongli.

Though, his laxity almost made the reddish mask on his hair fly away, luckily being rescued by the man behind him.

"Thank you!" The powerful gushes of wind made his words difficult to understand, yet enough for Zhongli to understand them.

If any normal person would travel through the clouds in the back of a dragon for the first time in their life, surely they would practice caution or be a little wary of their surroundings.

However, because Childe was Childe, an expert in adapting fast to just about anything, the journey on the skies was far from frightening.

A few minutes had passed and the boys were already close to their destination, and with his usual carefree expression, Venti looked back at the men behind him, yelling as Dvalin descended, "Hold on tight!"

With another loud thud, Dvalin settled at the northwestern part of Twinning Isle. Aether grew anxious in anticipation, waiting for Childe to see the preparations that he and Venti had come up with in such a short timeframe.

They had the inspiration from Alice's surprise for Klee, though not as crafty as she was. With the help of Tubby back in the Serenitea Pot, he managed to decorate the place nicely with newly crafted objects.

Umbrellas and chairs painted a light shade of sky blue sat next to fishing rods, Sea Ganodermas and conches decorated the sand in a path leading to a gazebo, which had seashells and starfishes hang from the wooden ceiling, surrounded by curtains.

And inside of it, one chest stored miscellaneous things, while the one next to it contained something that Venti declared extremely necessary: summer clothing he managed to acquire. In addition to the clothes he prepared, the anemo archon was also tasked with providing the food and drinks.

Visibly so as there were at least three bottles of either dandelion or osmanthus wine for every single dish on the table. Which, of course, was all paid for with the traveler's Mora.

All in all, the table was charmingly organized. A cake with a whale drawn on top of it sat in the middle of it all, while balloons were tied to the wooden table.

Upon reaching the sand, Childe was fascinated. The ocean breeze brushing against his face, the warm sunlight of the Archipelago and the salty waves gently crashing onto the tide united all the scenery together.

He’d never seen such a tropical place in his life, so unfamiliar in comparison to his frozen homeland's weather and features.

Lost in admiration for the scenery, he had already forgotten that it was his birthday, only remembering when Zhongli called out his name, directing him to look ahead where the decorated area was put, in preparation for the celebration to commence.

Venti leaned back against Dvalin's tail, already playing a melody, as the other three walked along the decorated path.

Aether fastened his steps, going ahead and getting a small box. Then, turning back to the birthday boy, he extended the gift.

"Happy birthday, Childe."

The harbinger let out a small "thank you" before opening it.

His blue eyes twinkled as he grabbed the content inside the box for closer examination. It was a bright piece of wood with a smaller version of him, Teucer and Aether drawn on it, as well as a ruin guard, or “Mr. Cyclops” as his little brother would say, stood behind them.

Without thinking, Childe embraced Aether tightly with a wide smile across his face, and at the display of the ginger’s excitement, the traveler couldn't help but feel accomplished.

After the gift was exchanged, Venti pointed out the clothes he had prepared, which made Zhongli flinch at the thought of wearing sunglasses as eccentric as his. Luckily, they were just lighter clothes, not accessories.

Childe, already excited from the exotic scenery, went on ahead to change his clothes behind a tall rock.

Zhongli and Aether walked towards the same location, at a much slower pace than the Snezhnayan boy, who was already out of sight.

“Thank you for your efforts, traveler. You managed to surprise me as well,” Zhongli finally got the chance to say.

“It was no problem at all. I’m having fun and the ‘tone-deaf bard’ was a great help, too.”

Childe emerged from behind the rock suddenly, wearing shorts and a shirt that was presumably supposed to be buttoned up. As a matter of fact, all the attires were of a similar design, the few differences being their color schemes, a few patterns, and the boy’s usual accessories.

Before any reaction, they heard monstrous noises getting closer to the shelter. A group of hilichurls nearby seemed to have been alarmed by the dragon’s arrival.

Something inside Childe’s mind clicked and he immediately turned the way of the shrieks, getting ready to fight, “Leave them to me!”

“Oh I was counting on that,” Aether affirmed as Venti nodded. Knowing very well of the harbinger’s passion for fighting, they speculated about the attack and gladly attached it to the list of events for that day.

Aether’s words were thrown at no one though, since Childe had left as soon as those four words left his lips earlier, leaving no time to receive any reaction from the others.

Bad luck for those poor hilichurls, honestly.

Childe's hydro blades moved swiftly, leaving droplets in the sand as they slashed one after the other, ending each almost instantly, leaving little space for a counterattack. He only stopped moving when there were no more of the monsters around, either because they were actually all dead or ran away from fear.

Coming back to the shelter’s path, Childe saw that they were now fishing, which made him joyfully run to join them, and noticing that he was back, Zhongli offered Childe a fishing rod and a seat next to himself.

“Oh man, this takes me back to the old days with my dad,” The ginger said while settling down on the beach chair, “Though the temperatures are the complete opposite, haha. I wonder if my family would survive the extreme change in the weather, though.”

Zhongli and Aether listened attentively while holding their rods, all the while, the anemo archon, visibly tipsy, communicated with Dvalin nearby.

“How come you managed to adapt this easily to the sudden climate change, Childe?” Zhongli asked.

“A warrior must always adapt to any situation. If I let the heat get the best of me, I'm weakened, consequently leaving myself open to enemy attacks."

"Damn, he never changes. If it isn't about his family, the answer is always related to being a fighter… Well, it is almost comforting in a way." Aether thought, mentallyrolling his eyes while taking a sip of the drink Venti had given him.

"I see," Zhongli seriously responded, "It is indeed true. Keeping one's body and mind stable is a must when facing laborious challenges."

Childe was filled with joy upon hearing the acknowledgement. It was always pleasant to hear someone who understood his point of view.

The traveler shifted his attention upon feeling a small force pulling down the

rod.

A fish had finally taken the bait, and the eyes of the two men also moved towards him when they heard the small "oh" Aether let out.

They all rejoiced at the successful catch and its size, and the traveler went straight ahead to prepare a meal for them.

—

As the day went by, they had almost checked everything on the task list; They fished for a while, Aether showed the mechanisms and puzzles that Klee's mom prepared, even landing his Harpastum so Childe could try them, he also taught them how to ride and summon the Waverider, they exchanged various anecdotes, as well as how the traveler came across the Archipelago in the first place, describing the whole Dodo King saga, and finally, filled themselves with food and drinks.

The sun rapidly fell under the horizon, merging the last colored rays of marigold into the indigo night sky. Venti had managed to convince the traveler to drink with him throughout the day and, needless to say, they were quite drunk by now, though both of them had a high tolerance and were somehow still acting civilized.

While Dvalin slept, the four men sat on the sand, listening to Venti sing around the crackling campfire.

When the bard began to sing a piece about Snezhnaya, Childe seemed to have recalled something.

He shuffled through his belongings, grabbing a bottle with a clear liquid, “This was a gift I received earlier, it’s a Snezhnayan specialty alcohol, Fire-Water!”

Aether gulped nervously at the familiar name. He had heard the stories around Mondstadt, how Master Diluc spent three days in bed after drinking a single glass of it, leading to the unsuccessful partnership with the Snezhnayan merchants.

Childe poured the liquid into separate cups and went around distributing them to the boys. Sitting back in his original spot, he continued, “As per tradition, we have to down the cup in one go!”

Venti was all in for the proposal, and despite their concern at first, Zhongli and Aether respected the birthday boy’s wish.

After raising their cups in a toast, they all drank the beverage at once.

Childe cheered, rambling about how he missed the taste of the drink. Zhongli seemed to be unaffected, calm as always, smiling and listening to the Snezhnayan boy.

However, Aether didn’t seem so well, he had expected the feeling, but because of the previous drinks he shared with the bard, it seemed to have had a stronger effect on him.

Aether wasn't the most affected by the drink, though.

That one shot was the ultimatum for Venti. His vision was blurry and he couldn’t stop laughing, which alarmed the others, but before they could take action and ask what was wrong, the archon fell into the sand, a grin on his face as he passed out.

After the realization of what just happened, Aether was the first to talk, “Um, I’ll take him to the shelter. I’m feeling a bit… dizzy too. I’ll get some sleep, haha,” He was making a great effort to sound coherent.

“Hope you enjoyed your day, Childe.”

A sincere smile was directed towards the boy sitting next to Zhongli. That expression warmed Childe’s heart. Aether had put great effort into this whole day and he could tell.

Childe was about to open his mouth to say something after the traveler turned his back to them while carrying Venti, but was stopped by the blonde, “Oh, there’s something I forgot to say. If you go west from here you will find another island with a shipwreck on top of the, um… Rock structure thing. It’s a good place to watch the stars. Anyways, hehe, good night.”

That piqued the two tall men’s interest, and after watching Aether and Venti enter the shelter, Childe looked at Zhongli, who was already standing up, as if he shared the same idea as the other.

A short cruise to the Nameless Isle later, Zhongli and Childe were already walking side by side through the tide, leaving steady footprints on the sand’s surface.

When the two stopped to both admire the place and look for a way to get to the top of the rocky mountain, Zhongli noticed a mural on the rock, which showed a shipwreck and what seemed to be a few people trying to save each other.

The archon was pondering about the meaning of it when he heard Childe’s voice from behind him.

“Mr. Zhongli, there’s a wind current over here!”

Zhongli went to the other’s location, noticing the current that led to the top of the mountain.

Without much effort, both of them got to the original destination: The shipwreck Aether mentioned.

It was indeed a tragic but beautiful place; a place where one could watch the azure starry sky, pale moon glowing brightly.

The two found a spot to sit near the ship that once sailed the seas, and watched the galaxies above them.

Childe offered another shot of the Fire-Water, which the both of them shared. Zhongli closed his eyes, deep in thought.

He had been trying to find the chance to give Childe his birthday gift, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to do so. Finally, now seemed like the perfect time.

He reopened his eyes and stared at Childe, who was watching the sky attentively, blue eyes shining unitedly with the stars.

“Childe.”

Upon hearing his name, he turned to look at the archon.

“Give me your hand,” Zhongli said, reaching his own towards the harbinger.

Childe automatically did so, and after searching for an object on the pocket of his shorts, Zhongli put the present on the other’s palm.

It was a single earring made of Noctilucous Jade and Cor Lapis, in a similar fashion as the one earring Childe normally wore.

“This reminded me of you when I saw it. If you do not wish to wear it, I understand, but I do hope you could keep it with you.”

Zhongli said that but the harbinger was already taking off his original earring, making the archon a bit embarrassed at the impulsiveness of the boy, yet very pleased.

Childe had been rambling about the, now, old earring and how he had gotten it in the first place, but after a while of no response from Zhongli, he gazed at him, being met by the image of the geo archon fast asleep.

Zhongli had a high alcohol tolerance, but with the nightfall, his drowsiness had grown to an almost unbearable level, and now, he was finally subdued by it.

Ajax couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest, his expression softened and he decided it was time for him to rest too.

He had never had a better birthday in his life.

[bonny-kookoo]

Nightlight (PJM x Reader) 💜☁️⚠️🔞👹  Chapter 1

Pairing: Demon!Park Jimin x Reader

Genre: Demon!AU, Angst, Possibly triggering content, Fluff/Romance, smut

Warnings: graphic description of violence, panic attacks, graphic description of certain fears and phobias, nightmares, blood, insects, accidents, death, it’s kinda messed up really, mild stalking, demon jimminie be kinda creepy ngl, confused jimin, intercourse with a demon (duh), restriction of movement, sleep paralysis, slight somnophilia, big dick!Jimin but wbk, marking, biting, scratching, Dom!Jimin, Sub!Reader, y’all I’m gonna go to hell for this smh, more to add as the story progresses

Summary: The nightlight he once gave you with a smile always kept the nightly terrors of his pale and lifeless face at bay, giving you at least mild comfort in a time spend without his soothing touch. But when you’re admitted to the hospital due to an accident, there is no light to keep your thoughts safe from terror. Luckily for you, the demon responsible for your vacation between hand sanitizer and itchy sheets actually feels bad for once; and decides to help you out.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part ?

Watching the clock tick away as every second passed didn't seem like a good hobby- yet it had become your main source of distraction nowadays.

Every moment you'd look at the clock, eyes focused on the small pointer going round after round was a reminder that the world didn't stop spinning even for a moment. That the world didn't care about someone's misery or happiness.

At his funeral, the sun had been shining too. The weather had been disgustingly nice, making birds sing their songs of gratitude in their trees, and children run in their home's yards, laughing away, unknowing of the tragedy that befell you and him. You remembered how hot it had been, how angry you've been- how could the world just continue on without any form of sadness for him?

He wasn't supposed to die so soon. You both just moved in together into a small apartment he'd rented after his work had given him a promotion, talked about maybe adopting a cat together, and started to think about settling down. Yet destiny had been cruel, taking him away from you just because it could. It had been two horrible changes of seasons since the day you had to watch him get buried six foot deep.

And you haven't been the same since.

Barely talking at all, simply existing as you buried yourself under the covers of your once shared bed, desperately trying to hold onto every scent, every trace that he'd been alive, but soon enough his body was just a mere memory, fading away like the scent on his shirts you wore at night to keep you sane.

The nightlight he'd bought you to help you with your insomnia and nightly terrors helped you a little- it felt like a small glimpse of hope in the corner of your room, no matter how childish it may seemed to the people around you. You'd long cut ties with former friends anyways, not wanting to be seen by anyone anymore.

You just wanted to be left alone.

Tiredly walking towards the stairs to get yourself a glass of water, you failed to notice the figure standing in your kitchen, eyeing the furniture and unwashed dishes in the sink with not much interest. He studied your form, pale and sad, as you simply shoved the ceramic plates a bit to make space so you could fill your glass up, uncaring of anything.

He was interested.

Humans like you, so broken and consumed by tragedy most of the time had the most delicious dreams he could think of- the deeply scarring emotions drowning your soul in heart wrenching thoughts and visions. He truly loved these- even though he preferred dreams of fear and terror.

As he followed you upstairs, silently, something inside him made him raise his eyebrow. He stopped at your bedroom door, hesitant, as if something was holding him back. Memories of a young couple playfully fighting played in front of him, two lovers falling into the bed, getting tangled in the sheets with feelings of euphoria- and he suddenly found himself at your bedside, watching you.

Your eyes suddenly opened, as you saw a figure looming over you, dark and menacing, its presence making the room feel stuffy and tight, as you could only watch, not move. Your body was frozen, not reacting to anything you told it, as the figure stepped closer, hands slowly creeping around your neck, increasing pressure as you heard it sigh out in pleasure. You could feel your fingers start to tingle, oxygen unable to enter your lungs, before you could suddenly breath again.

The figure yelped as if burned, falling back and pushing down the clock from your bedside table, breaking the glass front of it. You finally got up, scrambling out of bed in a hurry, tripping over your charging cable for your phone, before you stared at the shadowy figure in your room, breathing heavily.

It was hunched over, gasping for air itself as you slowly found a speck of pity in your heart, making you reach out your hand, as if to prove yourself that it was real.

Everything after was a blur, scenes happening too quickly to comprehend them properly inside your head.

A Hand pushed against your chest, the body moving, forcing you to walk backwards until he pushed with another boost of force- successfully making the glass of your window shatter, your body flying out of it, right into the rosebushes beneath your window, planted by your landlady to 'brighten up the visual appearance of the complex'.

The only thing you remembered after that was the pain and the shadow, making you close your eyes.

"Miss, are you awake?" The nurse asked, soft voice making you open your eyes. "Welcome back miss. You took quite the fall. Good thing someone found you." She said, checking your vitals as you simply stared ahead.

You weren't dead.

It should be something good, it should please you to know that you survived, but instead, it made your mouth taste stale, and your throat clog up. The nurse carried on, leaving the room after a moment. You knew she didn't care. She was only doing her job.

A look to the side told you that it was late- only some lights of other rooms of the hospital lighting up the outside, curtains pulled shut. It was dark in your room.

Too dark.

Your breathing increased as the shadows started to morph into heads, animals, and monsters; anything your mind could come up with. You could feel the bile raising in your throat, sour taste on your tongue making you swallow desperately, head whipping from left to right to find something to light the room up, but finding nothing. Your whimpers seemed to echo inside the room, making you feel awfully pathetic as you could only watch as the monsters- dissipated?

They vanished as a gentle glow flooded the room, originating from a figure behind the hospital curtains, shadow showing a seemingly male figure clad in unknown robes. You swallowed.

"Ah, the daughter of eve fears the dark?" He sing-songed, almost mockingly as the curtains moved a bit with the fresh air flowing into the room. You stared at him or more like his silhouette, as you whispered in a wavering voice.

"What are you?"

He chuckled, a breathy sound that didn't feel threatening. "Ah, she is smart however. She knows I am of a different kind." He said, voice low and rumbly, yet with an almost feminine tune to it. It reminded you of your lover, in a sense- yet his voice sounded nothing like his at the same time. "I am the fourth son of Rosier, a former Angel now residing in what you humans call hell." He stated, as if he was simply telling you how nice the weather would be tomorrow. So if he was the son of a fallen angel, was he-

"So you're.. a demon?" You asked, voice still almost only a whisper. He chuckled at your voice.

"Not quite, but it serves as a good definition for your kind. My heritage is quite.. difficult to explain, I'll admit." He mumbled, moving his head a little to the side. You couldn't make out his features at all, the only thing serving as a hint to his physique being the light accentuating his shadow.

"Why.. why are you here?" You asked, and he moved his arms a little, the sound of fabric moving the only noise for a moment.

"Ah, you really are smart. I usually hear the question of what I desire from someone- yet there is not really anything a human could offer to me I could have use of." He said with a humored undertone. He continued as you stayed silent. "I believe there has been an.. incident that should not have happened, and I am the one at fault."

"So you came to.. apologize?"

He clapped his hands, making you jump a little. "My my, why do you sound so surprised?" He asked, voice growing a bit more hostile. "I am not an angel full of itself because of its purity. My kind may be known to be quite tumultuous and.. unconventional, yet we do have our standards and pride." He said, leaning against the wall next to the window.

"I see." You simply said, and he didn't answer for a moment. You felt like you were being watched, observed even. You cleared your throat before asking. "Why.. why did you, you know.. throw me?"

He sighed. "I was not born with a body like your kind is. I have to.. lend or take one for myself." He said, and you nodded, unknowing if he could see you properly. It seemed like he did, because he took your gesture as a silent way of telling him to continue. "I have only recently acquired this body. For your standards of time, at least.Your planet spins faster in a year than my own world would consider a full change of seasons." He said.

"So you.. know what happened to him? Like.. the body's actual owner, I mean."

Running a hand through his hair, he answered you, though with mild hesitation in his tone. “Sometimes.. memories remain. What we do with them is up to us.” He said lowly, his voice so familiar, yet also nothing like a voice you’ve heard before in your lifetime. "He left this world with quite a dramatic final, I admit. I do not know details, however. He is.. keeping them from me. Which is fair, considering I did take without asking." Whoever was hiding behind those hospital curtains made your head spin in confusion, as you tried to pin point what exactly was happening.

There was a demon in your hospital room. Not only that, but this demon was drowning the entire room in a soft and gentle glow, prohibiting the natural shadows of all the furniture and items placed on their respective spots to turn into terrifying monsters ready to haunt your time of rest and healing. But for some reason his presence made your blood flow calmly in your veins, soft noises from the opened window making your eyelids close.

You could feel him come closer, notice how the mattress dipped a bit where he leaned to loom over you. “Rest. I’ll keep them away from you.” He murmured, a cool hand touching your forehead as you drifted off, not being able to catch the confused and frustrated face of the demon who was watching you.

How strong must this man have felt for you if even after his death he harbored those emotions inside those veins he’d decided to possess and claim as his own? His soul has long left this body, yet it seemed like pieces of him still remained, forcing its claws between his will, and leading him down a path he'd rather not take.

Sitting on a bench, only light a streetlamp illuminating the park around you, you finally felt alone. It may sound like this should be an upsetting feeling, but after a week of constant hovering of others, nurses and patients alike, it finally felt like you could breathe again. That was, until you felt a presence behind you.

"Do not lift your gaze." He said, as he walked around the bench to sit beside you, the only visible thing now his shoes up to his thighs, decorative and expensive robes in silvery and dark colors, accentuated with thin golden patterns. You admittedly expected something more.. cliche. Like a black suit, maybe. "You have yet to recover fully." He murmured, crossing his legs before resting his arms on the backrest of the bench. "Why did you leave?" He questioned, referring to your decision to leave the hospital against doctors advice.

You fiddled with your fingers, before sighing. "I couldn't take the lies and masks around me." You said, and he hummed.

"Ah, yes." he chuckled before he continued. "That nurse was quite.. envious of your bodily features, I've noticed. And one of the male patients had been quite fond of you as well." He said, and you raised your eyebrows, scoffing. He looked down at you, amused. "What? My kind cannot lie, if it makes my words more trustful for you." He said, and you chuckled.

"Well.." You started, before stretching your legs a little bit in front of you. "I'm not much to look at." You said, and he clicked his tongue.

"Hm.. Who is speaking untruthful now?" He said with humor in his tone. "You are quite visually pleasing to look at, if I may say so. I cannot imagine what you may look like without the draining burden of sorrow and hurt." He spoke, a hand carefully tracing a stray strand of hair, before you chuckled. The sound was good, he decided. He would make you laugh more.

"Thank you." You said, and he simply hummed a reply.

It was quiet for a moment, before you told him your name. He, again, only hummed a wordless reply.

"I'm afraid I cannot give you mine in exchange." He said, and you nodded, understanding.

You didn't need it anyways.

He slowly started to become a regular guest at your home. You had started to move away your lover's things as summer passed outside your windows, trying to mend your broken self together piece by piece with the Demon's help here and there. He distracted you when things got overwhelming, spending time with you and keeping you in touch with the world outside your walls. You had also started to work again. A simple job at a restaurant, washing dishes, nothing special. But it paid the bills, and it gave you something to do during the day.

A distraction, if you will.

This time when you came home however, his eyes widened at how you immediately fell to your knees, crying desperate tears into your hands. He didn't ask what happened, simply walking over to you, putting a hand on your head- a gesture he'd learned during his time with humans, a simple touch that was meant to bring comfort. Yet it also helped him to look into your thoughts, and see the situation that had occurred during your day at work, making his blood buzz inside his veins.

He could see how you were working, not participating in the chatter of the cooks and waitresses around you, until they started to make fun of you. Calling you names, laughing about your job, your clothing, your stand in society he guessed. It all went as far as to the simple moment a waitress let a plate fall, giggling at your desperate try to catch it before it could hit the floor. She did it again and again, plate after plate, until a chef made her stop, chuckling himself as he led her away, leaving you to clean up the mess, and deal with the harsh words of your boss that night.

Carrying you upstairs he laid you down on your bed, pulling the sheets over your body before vanishing in a simply cloud of black smoke.

Oh, this would be fun.

He was getting quite hungry anyways.

He watched from afar, as the waitress in question walked past her bedroom window before shutting down the lights, most likely preparing for sleep. That was his moment.

Fear was an interesting thing to him. Not only because he fed off of it like most Demons did, but because he loved how fears told him almost everything he needed to know about a specific person. The simple instinct that tormented humans during their time of rest told him stories of their deepest desires and secrets-giving him all the power he needed to rule over them during the night.

But this time, he didn't care about that.

He'd observed her already, knowing how narcissistic she was. The small vanity full of expensive makeup showed him her insecurity of her visual image towards others- a truly childish fear in his opinion. Yet it did give him enough to play with already.

Diving into her sleep, she didn't notice his intentions at all, simply watching him as he'd sat down in the corner of her room, casually lounging in her chair placed on that spot. She smirked, as if he was her property, and he smiled back, yet with a vicious intend behind his eyes, hidden from her sight, her instincts clouded by her own desires. "Ah, jesus, haven't had a dream like that in a while." She said, getting up to sit on his lap, making him smirk at her. He knew the effect he had on humans- the body he'd chosen quite attractive already, yet his own natural aura enhanced its beauty even more, giving him a tempting charm. It worked on her just as well as it did on others, and maybe that was why he'd been hiding his face from your gaze all along. This young woman was.. basic in every way he could think of. Nothing about her peaked his interest as it did with you- a fact that should be worrying him. Yet he decided to eat first.

She started to rudely push her hands in between the fabric of his robes, making him grasp her wrists with a predatory grin. If she noticed that something was off, she didn't mention it, as she grew even more happy at the fact he was trying to control her. Humans were so fond and protective of their dreams, loving the way that they thought they had full control over everything that happened. It made nightmares the more terrifying for them. "Feisty. Love that." She murmured, and he placed his hand on her cheek, making her raise her eyebrows.

"Oh how ugly you are."

He sang with a voice playful and mocking, as she widened her eyes, trying to get off of him. "Ah-ah, where do you wanna go now? You chose your seat, yet now you want to take back your decision?" He said, gripping her waist as she gasped in pain, heart rate surely increasing as she began to sweat. His smile widened as his hands dug into her skin, surely leaving bruises as she whined out, not yet where he wanted her yet. "Feisty- love that." He mused impishly, his eyes slowly drowning in black, oozing out shadows as his pupils glowed a vibrant red, a fire behind them it seemed.

The young woman squirmed on his lap, desperation calling out to her in her veins, making her try and scratch him- yet instead of blood, she only found black ink on her hands, making her wipe them furiously as she noticed ants crawling up her legs. She began to breath heavily, eyes widening, as he laughed at her pathetic attempt to push away, his hand now gripping her jaw. "what do you think, whore?" He mused, voice distorted by an unknown force she didn't want to understand, her eyes leaking tears to no end as she realized how this was out of her control. "Ah, she is empty already. How boring." He said, letting her fall onto her back, coughing violently as she ran to her bedside table, trying to find something in it. Yet he was already behind her, forcing her body in front of her vanity mirror as he had her hair in his fist, forcefully pulling on it as if it was a handle to use, her eyes closed as she chanted to wake up. He laughed, before he spoke his words. "Look ahead, stupid child. Do you still think your disgusting words make you more appealing?" He said, as she opened her eyes;

waking up screaming louder than she'd ever did before.

With bruises ever so present.

The demon was in a good mood these days.

Maybe you just imagined things, but he felt more carefree around you, simply lounging on your couch as if he owned the place- and you didn't mind him doing that at all. He was nice company after all.

He joked around with you, asked you things, and seemed genuinely interested in you as a person; you felt as if you both got closer the more you conversed.

He noticed your dreams, yet never interfered to this night, as the nightlight broke in your room, darkness drowning your dreams in terror and war. You sobbed in your sleep, and his nonexistent heart clenched at the sight- the force inside his veins however didn't have anything to do with him joining your dreams, however. No, this was all his own decision this time.

Your dreams were.. a feast, to be exact. For him, it felt like he was at a buffet, ready to pack his plate until he was filled to the brim- yet the curled up form of your body, tormented by shadows and fiends, he sighed. He couldn't feed off of you. His own pride didn't allow it.

He considered you something humans called a 'friend', yet the desire he'd started to develop speaking different words, his own fantasies not so saint as yours.

But for now, he pushed these rabid thoughts away from his mind, crouching down next to you, embracing you into his arms for the first time, your sobs dying down as you noticed who it was shielding the darkness. Your hands grabbed onto the expensive looking fabrics he wore, trying to get even closer to him than you already were, while you calmed down, whispers and shouts around you slowly dying down, leaving nothing but comfortable white noise.

You slowly detached yourself from his form, eyes widening at the way he seemed to be emitting black smoke all around you two. Yet he also seemed to glow, just like he did back in your hospital room, a source of light without clear form. Just like a shadow, you knew what he looked like- yet you couldn't tell for sure. His face was completely blank, making you feel uneasy.

"You cannot dream of something you haven't seen yet." He said, voice low and humming, mildly distorted by some unknown force around you two. You nodded at that, his words making sense to you. Yet it made you feel a bit sad, knowing that you'll probably never see him either way. "Have you hoped to catch a glimpse of my features in your dreams, hm?" He playfully asked, brushing some hair away from your face, and you liked to imagine his face gentle and soft. "How sweet of you." He mused, before he leaned in, his features not distinguishable for your own eyes- it was as if you could see them, but forgot about them immediately. It hurt to know that you could see him, yet you couldn't hold onto the memory of it. Like your own mind was mocking you for not having the courage to go against his rule of not raising your gaze enough to study his face properly when you were awake.

Yet his kiss felt as real as it could get.

It was confident, knowing in the mere fact that you had developed feelings for the unknown being following you around these days, even though it seemed stupid to the both of you. It felt like you found something missing again, yet at the same time it was way too foreign to be something that had happened to you before. You were a shy being, way too gentle to ever find someone who would drown you in a kiss like this; fiery and demanding, yet also giving and utterly bewitching.

But didn't he say that you couldn't dream of something you haven't experienced before?

[daisiesforlacey]

clouds - chapter 1 : cumulus

Pair: Julie x alive!Luke

Summary: After her mother’s death, Julie Molina moved away from LA, across the country, to Ithaca, New York. She’s left behind her two loves in life: her best friend, Luke, and her music. There, she finds new friends and enemies, new experiences and joys, she might even find herself. Every night, Luke calls Julie to talk about the clouds. But what if Luke is hiding something?

Word Count: 1,301

Warnings: N/A

Note: I am super stoked to be writing this series! I’m planning on it being around 6 chapters long. There will be angst and fluff and all around wonderfulness. I’ve been meaning to write something like this for a while! Note that the rest of the characters will show up later on. I really hope y’all like it! Please please comment, like, reblog; I would love some feedback!

Masterlist

Taglist

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Julie had been gazing at the sky for hours now. The warmth of midday had long drawn away and it was now starting to get dark. She had noted all of the shapes she had seen in the clouds in her notebook: a butterfly, a chair, a house, an ice cream cone, and many more. She had sworn she had seen a rainbow somewhere in the distance, but it hadn’t rained in some time. 

The clock at the center of town chimed and Julie jumped with a start, she hadn’t realized it was 6 o’clock already. She grabbed her phone, bag, and notebook before unlocking the combination lock on her bike and taking it off the rack. 

Riding back to her house, she kept noting clouds, scissors, a guitar, and a light bulb, before seeing an airplane soar overhead. She passed many shops along the way, waving to her classmates as they studied outside of a cafe. Already, she knew the way back to her house: left, right, left, left, stop sign, past Carries gated house, and down two hills. Julie pulled into the driveway, tossed her bike on the ground, unlocked the red front door, and ran up the stairs. Her bedroom door whipped open and she dropped all over her stuff on her desk unceremoniously before sitting down at her computer.

It was 6:23. 

She sighed and threw her head back, realizing she had missed the premiere of her favorite show, hopefully it would be uploaded to YouTube soon. She got up and watered the plants on her windowsill before she heard a loud bang from below.

Julie opened her curtains and looked down to see her neighbor and friend fixing their fence. The divider had long been in disrepair, but no one really cared enough to fix it. Yanking open the window she yelled down, “Flynn! Why are you, of all people, doing housework?” She had known Flynn long enough to know that the other girl wouldn’t do anything requiring physical work if her life depended on it.

Flynn looked up and waved, her cornrows whipping around her face, “Hey! You’re back!” She dropped the hammer, narrowly avoiding her sneaker clad food, seeming to forget about her work, “I’ll be right up.” 

After moving a few months ago, Julie had become quick friends with Flynn when she realized that their bedroom windows faced each other. At first, it had been a little weird; Julie could see almost all of Flynn’s blue room if her curtains were open, and she was sure the same went for her. But after they got over the initial awkwardness, the two were like super glue.  They would spend all day chatting about nothing and everything. Flynn had turned out to be one of Julie’s saving graces; she was caring and was always supportive of whatever she wanted to pursue. Julie pulled her silver desk chair to her window and waited until Flynn had done the same.

“You were out all day and you didn’t bring me back a slice of cake from Tia’s Bakery? I missed my brother's baseball game for that!” Flynn laughed, propping her feet on the windowsill. 

Julie rolled her eyes, “That wasn’t the first thing on my mind as I rushed out the door this morning. Anyways, the frosting would have melted, it’s not as if I carry around a refrigerator.” 

Her phone rang loudly, her ringtone “Grenade” by Bruno Mars filling the space. She silenced it, already knowing that she didn’t want to talk to the caller at the moment. Her face dropped; every day she dreaded the conversation, not because of the caller, but because of the situation.

She shook her head, wishing the thoughts away before racing to get her twine tied notebook and pencil that she brought with her to the park. She tossed them over the gap between the houses to Flynn, who opened it and started reading today’s findings aloud.

“Football, dog, lion,” Her brows furrowed, “Superman? Are you sure? Or did you just really wish it was?” A smirk pulled at her lips. 

“Maybe it could have been a bird or a plane, but you never know.” Julie shrugged. 

Suddenly, Flynn’s eyebrows shot to the sky. She jumped up and rushed to grab a sheet of paper from her book bag, “Oh! Oh! Look! Look at this!” She waved it around wildly and jumped around, almost too fast for Julie to see, but she did make out the big red 97 on it.

Julie shot up from her chair, almost tripping, “Your math test! Oh my god! You aced it! I knew you would!”

“Only because you,” Flynn pointed at her, “Helped me with polynomials after I talked your ears off!” 

Julie rolled her eyes, but had an ear splitting grin “Yeah, yeah, you would have gotten it eventually, you just needed a little push.”

After calming down, the two then launched into conversations about their days until it was too dark to see each other. They would bounce off each other with flying force, her father had said it was impossible to keep up.

Flynn’s family had arrived home and she had to leave, promising to talk tomorrow morning as she gave Julie back her notebook. Julie picked up her phone, calling her silenced call back. He picked up after the first ring.

“I was wondering how long it’d be before you got back to me.” The other person said. 

Julie smiled sadly as she started tidying up her room, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Luke.” 

Ever since she moved, her and her best friend had promised to call each other everyday and report on the shapes of the clouds they saw. Some of her favorite memories were of her and Luke spending hours laying in the grass, just wasting time. Maybe it was an attempt to hold on to each other, even when she was half way around the country. Clouds were something that stayed the same, yet always changed. 

“What shapes did you see today?”

She heard a rustling of paper over the speaker, “I saw a couple ghosts, a pair of pants, a school building, and a car. I didn’t really get a chance to look too much today.” He replied. She could imagine him dragging his finger across the page; a habit he never broke after elementary school

Julie laughed, “A school building, not just any other building? Not a factory? Not an office?”

“No, no, no, it was specifically a school. It was dark and gloomy and somehow square. You would have said the same thing.”

“I somehow doubt that.” Julie moved to flop down on her bed, she sat for a second, thinking about what she would have seen in the so-called school cloud. She suddenly became more homesick than ever; she wished she could have been there, with Luke.

She wished she could be anywhere with Luke, she thought. Her face flushed as she pushed the thought away. They sat in a comfortable silence for some time.

Luke cleared his throat, “How’d Flynn’s test go?”

Julie grinned as she shot up, sitting straight up on her bed, “She killed it! Stabbed-it-in-the-heart killed it, set-fire-to-it killed it, absolutely bulldozed it!” She grabbed a pillow and hugged it. Julie appreciated that Luke listened to her about her new friends, but he rarely talked about his friends. 

“Of course she did, with a math wiz like you to help, how could she not!” He snorted, “Although should we start worrying about all of those violent metaphors?”

“I think we should be more worried that I have metaphors.” Julie’s smile turned into a wince. Sometimes she didn’t think before she spoke; probably a trait she picked up from Luke. 

Luke groaned, “What does that even mean? At least it’s nice to know that your bad comebacks haven’t changed.” He paused, hesitant, almost as if he knew what he was about to ask already had an answer. 

“Have you played any music yet?”

He was right, they both already knew the answer to the question.

“No.” 

Julie hugged the pillow tighter to her.

There was no explanation, none was needed.

There was a pause as Julie changed the subject and picked at the loose strings on her pillow. “I went to the park for most of the day, like we used to do. The weather was nice enough, kinda chilly, and I probably saw more shapes than I could count. You probably would have seen so much more. You were always more imaginative.” 

Luke chuckled, she knew he was rolling his eyes, “We both know that’s not true. We work best as a team, even if we are 2,789 miles apart.”

Julie had wanted to tell him that she wished she could go back home, even for a day, but she knew it would have only made things worse. She would end up crying again and he, ever wonderful, would comfort her, saying that they’d see each other soon. They both knew that was a lie. She didn’t know if she’d ever see Luke again. 

She heard the door open downstairs as her father came back from work. “I gotta go, you’ll call tomorrow?” She rushed out and hopped off of her bed, throwing her pillow down.

“Yeah, always.” He replied, she could hear his soft smile. Keeping with their routine, he said, “I’ll see you soon.” 

“I’ll see you soon.” She sighed.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Some Sense of Normalcy ch.3 (baon)

Summary: It’s Edge’s first day back to work at the Embassy, but his job isn’t the only thing on his mind.

Tags:  Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Injury

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 |

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Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read Chapter 3 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Stretch was only two steps out of the elevator and already he could taste his own sweat heavy on the back of his tongue. It was fine, no big deal, it was only a bunch of equipment, right? The harsh gleam of the overhead fluorescent lights on stainless steel shouldn’t be that damn upsetting, it shouldn’t.

Shoulda woulda coulda, and fuck it all, because it damn well was, and the bitch of it was that Stretch wasn’t even sure why.

He started to turn around. Not to get back into the elevator, no, he wasn’t peacing out. Only to breathe for a minute, use those hard-learned tactics for controlling an incipient panic attack that Doc Lee spent the past year trying to pound into his hard skull. She hadn’t said it in so many words, but Stretch got the idea that they’d all been thoroughly tested already on Sans.

Close his sockets, focus on breathing deeply through his mouth. In for four, hold it, out for four. He was supposed to be so damned good at math, he could manage that much.

What felt like a hard, rubbery fist clenched in his chest was starting to ease when he heard someone calling his name.

“Stretch!” He turned to see Alphys almost scurrying up and her smile was warm enough despite the trifle of worry in her eyes.

Yeah, okay, better to keep her worries on the right path. Stretch hung on a 100-watt smile and beamed it right her way, “hey, lizard lady, how’s it going? i didn’t even have a chance to ring the bell.”

She held up her phone. “I g-get an alert when certain k-keycards are used in the elevator. C-come on, come to my office.”

Going to her office sounded like a super plan.

Stretch followed after her as she led a path through the maze of metal tables and equipment, the other scientists in their long white coats. He knew the way to her office, but it was easier to focus on the long yellow tail poking out of the back of her lab coat, concentrate on keeping that breathing nice and even.

Alphys wasn’t always the most observant person out there when it came to social cues, but she sure as hell understood anxiety. She knew he wasn’t keen on the labs. Not from anything Stretch said, not fucking likely, but he was pretty sure Ass-gore had a top-secret file on him somewhere with a nice long list of his skills sets and another one of his phobias. He kinda thought the skill list was longer, not enough to bet on it. He hoped whatever pictures they stuck in it caught his good side, namely his ass.

The second Stretch was through the office door, Alphys closed it, shutting out all the bustling sounds and reflections, and the relief of it being out of sight, out of mind, made Stretch let out an explosive sigh.

Alphys gave him a nervous smile as she gathered a stack of folders out of the guest chair. “So-sorry about the mess.”

On her desk, bookshelves, and even the chairs were cluttered piles of papers and diagrams, surrounded her computer monitors like flimsy skyscrapers, the bright corners of manga books poking out from random levels, and empty coffee mugs standing around like statues.

There were toys, too, statues and plushies both, one that looked distinctly like smiling piece of poo, another of dragon, curled around one of the coffee mugs. On her desk was a figure from ‘Mew Mew Kissy Cutie’ and that gave Stretch a little pang to see.

Back home, (no not home, not for a long time now) it was ‘Bow Wow Smootchie Beauty’, the main character an anime girl with adorably floppy ears. For the first time in longer than Stretch could remember, a longing twinge for Undyne rose up in him. Not this world’s Undyne, his Undyne, and he hated phrasing it that way, but he couldn’t think of something better.

He and Undyne hadn’t been besties, but they’d still been friends. Close enough that he’d gone to her place a few times to hang out, watch anime, and chatter on about the episodes and what was the best kind of cup noodles. So many words tossed back and forth about nothing at all. So long as they stayed in her rooms and out of the lab proper, it didn’t bother him, and Undyne never brought up her work, even when it was kinda obvious she wanted to.

That wistful look started showing up more and more, and Stretch stopped going even before everything went to shit in Underswap. There was something for his regret bucket. That he hadn’t taken the time to keep up his end of the bargain, hadn’t invited her over to his place for some movie viewing and yeah, she hated Snowdin, but he hated Hotland, so it was a fair trade. What wasn’t fair was knowing that if he’d been in Underswap, he would’ve gone to Undyne about this problem, without ever letting her talk about her work. Watched her nervously rub her hands together, half her face obscured by her long hair, hiding behind that curtain.

Stretch blinked hard, tearing his gaze away from the little figure and focused back to Alphys’s concerned face. Underswap was a long time ago and he needed to keep the count his of personal issues to one hand, thanks.

“hey, so thanks for meeting with me,” Stretch said. He plunked down into the chair while Alphys sat at the one at her desk, specially designed to allow for her tail. He didn’t bother resisting the urge to reach for his lighter, letting the rhythm of weaving it through his fingers soothe him.

“No problem,” Alphys said, “we got off c-course with t-tracking your HP. Is it t-troubling you again?”

“let me get straight to the meat of it,” Stretch said, “i want you to run another scan on my hp, then you can tell me.”

She nodded. “Have you been h-having any symptoms?”

“i’ve been really tired lately, run down,” Stretch admitted, “i take a nap and i wake up still tired. i can fall asleep anywhere.”

Alphys hummed thoughtfully, “S-sounds like Undyne r-right now.” She gave him an unexpectedly teasing look, "Are you s-sure you aren't p-p-pregnant, too?"

"har, har, al." Stretch about sprained an eye light rolling them as hard as he could. “unless i grew some unexpected equipment, there won’t be any knocked up at my door.”

"Well, in theory, s-soul mating c-could result in the c-creation of a souling, there were experiments—"

"in theory, sure,” Stretch interrupted, unreasonably annoyed; he didn’t want to talk about experiments, thanks. “but that requires rubbing two souls together long enough to make a fire. since edge and i stick with rubbing pelvises, i'm going with not." Stretch shuddered; just the thought of it was nightmare fuel. "sorry, preggies is okay for people who want it, but i'd rather donate a femur to the cause.”

"I th-think I wouldn't have m-minded," Alphys said, shyly. "But Undyne has better HP than me, so we d-decided she should be the one to c-carry the baby.”

Even talking about this was making him a little uncomfortable, but Al had the look of someone who wanted to talk, maybe needed to. She was doing him the favor, here, the least he could do was listen. Probably Al didn’t get to talk about it much, since she wasn’t the one with the bump.

The memory of his Undyne made him push aside his discomfort. Stretch forced a chuckle and said, "heh, if that's the deciding vote, then if we were gonna baby it up, Edge would be the pregnant one."

"He would have very f-fashionable maternity clothes. He and Undyne c-could bond over prenatal yoga." Alphys looked at him curiously, rocking back in her office chair, “P-pardon me for asking, but are you t-two looking for a surrogate, then?”

“fuck, no!” Stretch blurted. Yeah, that might have been a little excessive, Alphys winced, cringing into herself. Stretch tied on his smile again, “sorry, sorry, that was rude.”

Alphys shook her head, and her words were gentle and nonjudgmental, “N-not at all, it’s a p-p-private decision, I shouldn’t have p-pressed.”

Probably not. He and Al weren't specifically close, as friends or anything else, so Stretch wasn't sure why his stupid mouth chose to add, "i really don’t want kids and edge…i mean. he says he’s fine with it.”

If Alphys was surprised to hear him toss out that conversational gambit, it didn’t show. She only leaned in, her eyes kind behind her glasses, “You d-don’t believe him?”

Wasn’t that the ten-dollar question? Stretch really wished he was sure about the answer. He wanted to believe Edge, maybe Edge even believed himself, tried to, anyway. Stretch looked down, away from Alphys’s gaze, and said in a small voice. “i don’t know.”

“Hm.” Alphys stood and waddled over to stand next to him. Even sitting, he had to look down at her as she settled a clawed hand on his shoulder, “I really want this baby,” she said, clearly, “But I th-think if Undyne d-didn’t want to have kids, I’d be okay w-with that.”

There was enough quiet sincerity in that to make him swallow hard against a knot settling in the back of his throat. “yeah?”

“Yeah,” Alphys smiled, a loving, brilliant smile meant for someone else, someone tall and brash, with a lot of red hair. Not his Undyne, but hers. “I f-fell in love with her, n-not her DNA,” Alphys said, firmly. “Although she does have very n-nice DNA. So maybe you should b-believe him.”

Stretch offered her a smile of his own, one that felt a little wobbly, but hey, it was there. Look at him, communicating back and forth like a grown up and all. Doc Lee would be so proud. “thanks al. congrats by the way. how are undyne and the bump?"

"Impatient," Alphys sighed deeply, and wasn't there chapters of meaning in that one word.

“know much about the sprog yet?” Stretch teased and it felt okay. “gonna be twins? tadpoles?”

She giggled and shook her head. “N-no, the ultrasound is showing one baby. She’s d-due anytime now, it can be d-difficult to gauge with mixed Monster species.”

The scientist in him was a little curious about that; he’d gone for physics over biology. He wondered who they’d gone with for the dad juice, but he wasn’t the kind of asshole who would ask.

“i do like kids,” Stretch admitted, “i just don’t want part ownership with one. bet edge would like to babysit.”

She hummed thoughtfully, “B-be careful with that offer, I’m s-sure we’ll take you up on it. Now, we’ve g-gotten off-topic.”

Stretch winced. “yeah, sorry, sorry, i know you’re busy.”

“Not so busy that I can’t h-help,” Alphys countered. She turned around to scrabble through the clutter on her desk, came back with a notepad and a pencil. The tip of the pencil hovered over the paper, ready to write, “Now, you’ve been t-tired. What are you getting when you run a Ch-check?”

Of course she’d ask that, it made sense, it was the very first thing to be done to see a Monster’s stats. Quick, painless, and loaded with info, and Stretch didn’t really have a good reason for not doing one already, past ‘don’t wanna’.

Time to face the tunes. “i haven’t run one,” Stretch admitted quietly, “i know, i know, i’m wasting your time--”

“Hm? No, I don’t think so,” Alphys scribbled something down on the notepad. “Anything else out of the o-ordinary?”

“i thought about it and the only thing i can think of is i’ve been doing a lot healing lately, more than usual.” He didn’t say why and Alphys didn’t ask. “a lot of shit’s been going down. honestly, i don’t even know if something is wrong, but if there is, i wanted to get a leg over on it, get checked over before anything worse crops up.”

“You’re t-tall enough to get a leg right up over my h-head,” Alphys said, and the gentle tease soothed. Right up until Alphys set aside the notepad and picked up a tablet with a pair of electrodes dangling from it. “Right then, l-let’s run some t-tests. Can you summon your soul?”

Fuck, he hated this part. Or maybe hated was too strong a word. It wasn’t that bad, really, Stretch was used to a certain clinical touch on his soul from time to time, he got sick too often not to be. Used to the feel of gloved hands holding it steady to slip in an IV needle, or to attach leads, or to take a minuscule sample to study under a microscope, checking for what kind of germ hooked its wagon to his personal shining star this time. He was pretty numb to the whole ordeal at this point.

If he were honest with himself, and hey, sometimes he was, it hadn’t felt quite so invasive until he’d let Edge go hands-on with it. No one else had ever cradled his soul in a gentle hand, gazed at the silvery light that poured out of it with adoration. Sure as hell no one else had ever seen it during sex, rubbed a careful, bare thumb across its smooth surface and dragged such toe-curling pleasure out of him he’d damn near fainted from it.

Yeah, it was hard to sit back down in the waiting room once you got a glimpse of paradise.

He summoned up his soul, and didn’t watch as Alphys went to work. She was professional and gentle, hooking up the leads with barely even a pinch. She tapped the tablet and almost instantly, her expression changed into something... complicated. Um. That didn’t seem good. “what?”

“Oh, it’s n-nothing, let me--”

“it’s not nothing, you look like someone gave you a pinch on the ass. what is it?”

“It’s n-nothing bad,” Alphys corrected. “L-let me finish first, hasty c-conclusions lead to bad r-results.”

True enough but that was easier to deal with when it came to his experiments on growing better yielding plants through hydroponics, not so much when it was his soul on the line.

He waited impatiently while she poked at the tablet and managed to give her all of three minutes before bursting out, “okay, so what’s going on?”

“See for y-yourself.”

She held out the table and on it was a screen was a visual display of all his stats, from his soul pulse (running too fast) to his defense (sitting at its normal too-low), to his HP, displayed down to the tiniest decimal.

His HP, which had been slowly ticking upward for the past few weeks, was still doing it. Only now it was above five, closer to 5.3453367883. The last three crawled upward as he stared, turning to a unaccusing four.

“it’s going up,” Stretch said blankly. Way to state the obvious, there. His mind wasn’t calculating anything past that, nothing beyond his initial shock. He’d been expecting bad news, braced to hear the worst, and this was the exact opposite. It was like a trash bag breaking open to reveal piñata candy inside.

“Y-yes!” Alphys said happily. She tapped a clawed finger on the tablet screen. “It’s s-still going at the same r-rate as before, only it’s traveled p-past your base HP!”

“but…why?” Pointless question, what did it matter so long as it was going up, but Stretch didn’t like mysteries, not on television and not in life. He liked answers.

“That’s harder to d-determine,” Alphys admitted. “You d-did say you’ve been getting more rest lately, but th-that usually causes a one-time boost, n-not a cumulative effect. You said you’ve been using your m-magic a lot m-more, yes?”

“yeah, more than i usually do around the house.”

“M-maybe you should keep that up.” She snatched up the notepad and started scribbling furiously, leaving Stretch to gingerly remove the leads himself and allow his soul fade back into his chest. “T-take more shortcuts, practice a few a-attacks. We aren’t meant to hoard our m-magic in our souls, we need to l-let it out, k-keep it from going stagnant.”

“i guess i could.” Shortcuts, anyway, Stretch wasn’t really keen on making any sort of attack, not even for the magic drain, thanks.

“I think you should t-t-try it,” Alphys said decisively, “For th-this week, work on using your m-magic more than usual, then come back and we’ll r-run another test. It’s worth investigating.” She paused. “Of course, there is a-another possibility.”

“what?”

Her smile was a little tremulous, “M-monster souls response well to h-happiness.”

Before Stretch could say anything to that, his phone rang, showing an incoming call from the main source of his current happiness.

Fuck, he’d told Edge to call on his lunch.

He held up a shushing finger to his mouth and Alphys nodded, even as he swiped to answer it, “babe! i was just thinking about you—”

“I hope they were kind thoughts and not nefarious plans.” Just the sound of his voice was soothing, the soft underlying humor wrapped around his concern, “How are you feeling?”

Too much enthusiasm was going to set off alarm bells, so Stretch settled for, “better, i think. more myself, anyway.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, love,” Edge said warmly. “Then if you’re feeling better, perhaps you’d like to come upstairs to my office and have lunch with me?

Welp, so much for secrets. He should have known better to even try at the Embassy. If the spy gear didn’t get you, the gossips sure did. “who tattled.”

“I’m afraid I can’t reveal my source.”

Yeah, about the only person that took out of the running was Andy, and only because he’d promised not to tell. “yeah, i’ll be up in a mo’.”

“Wait,” Came unexpectedly from Alphys. “C-could you ask Edge to c-come down here? For a few m-moments?”

“um, sure, al,” Stretch said slowly and all his relief about his HP started to curdle until she hastily spoke up again.

“It’s n-not about you. O-or it is, but n-not in that way, it’s n-nothing bad, only an experiment I’m doing. I c-could use both your help.”

That didn’t sound at all ominous or anything, did it. But he owed a favor and Stretch did like to pay off his tabs. Eventually.

“babe, can you come down to the labs, to alphys’s office?” Stretch said into the phone. “she says it’s nothing bad.”

“Of course,” Edge replied, surprised, “I’ll be down in ten minutes.” The call disconnected and left him alone again with Alphys for ten long minutes, ten minutes that he didn’t really want to discuss experiments in until Edge was here. He could give Alphys that much, more than he’d ever given his Undyne.

But only when Edge was here, that was the thing and it was okay; Edge might be the one with all the strategy, but Stretch had a trick or two up his sleeve, too.

“did you see the last mew mew kissy cutie holiday special?”

Alphys brightened visibly and took the bait, babbling her way excitedly into his trap. Stretch settled back into his chair to listen, for at least ten minutes, but his wandering thoughts were more on his HP and that slow upward tick.

~~*~~

tbc

[writtenfan]

Feel like double-crossing the Shadow Man? (Part 1)

Anon: Heyo! I know this is kinda weird, but please could you write something with Hades and a reader who is like... Dr. Facilier's sibling? Like, they are into that voodoo thing too? 

(I plan to continue this small story, but hope you enjoy what I have here!)

Warning: Some swears, be aware..s.

You ruffle your hair and walk into a small garden just inside a seldomly trafficked graveyard. The sun shines on your skin and it’s so nice and warm, it just felt like the perfect time to prove somebody wrong.

“I’ll show him, psh. Tell me I don’t have the power capable enough to summon my own assistance from the other side. Ha!”

...

You remember just an hour or so ago when you went to visit your brother after he pleaded with you for some assistance on a ritual that needed more hands than he had attached to his arms.

You remember how he bowed to you at the doorway to his dark abode. With his top hat, his purple clothes. His bone tooth necklace. 

 A new building, a new style. He really had changed since you last saw him at home. When you and he lived with mother...

“Glad you could make it little sista’ It’s been a…” his familiar purple eyes stared into yours, a hint of politeness masking years of sibling rivalry that made you mad just thinking about. But truthfully, he loved ya despite your bickering. He just had a funny way of showing it.

“…long time since I’ve seen you…I've heard, good things.” He sniggers with that deep voice of his and you just roll your eyes and push him aside by his shoulder so that you could enter the building.

He certainly wasn’t used to being touched roughly, it’s been too long since you’ve both gotten into a physical and or magical fight and his eyes widened for a few moments before he started chuckling and popped his collar, snapping his finger and slamming the door shut behind you.

The air from the slam whooshed into the room, but instead of blowing out, it ignited numerous candles that littered the space. Some in candleholders, some…in skulls.

“You really focused on the dark arts huh big brotha?” you say with a chuckle as you look at a few, freshly looking shrunken heads that made you fearful yet intrigued.

“Well, mother always said to pick a specialty and I’ve never been one to follow the family norms…” his voice was light and still polite, but you could feel the hint of resentment as he mentioned mother that made you sad inside.

You stop at a halt at the table surrounded by purple curtains adorned with a beautiful tapestry. You turn to him and sigh, “Well. Just be careful. Despite your attitudes and actions, I still care for you. Despite the fact, I’ve been told not to do so.” He’s standing in the shadow’s the glint of his eyes peeking through as he stepped fully into the illuminated light of the candles on the table. His fingers wrapped around the top of his magick cane, his eyes staring into yours with a wave of impatience.

“My my…” he walks up to you and looks down at you with a smirk. “Aren’t we being sweet? Going against the talk, feeling fearless enough to challenge the family and hang out with you long outcasted brother! I thought you were always the little saint, compared to…the others.” His gait is so swift as he moves to the other side of the table and sits down in the chair.

“Take a seat little curlicue” he murmurs.

Your dumbfounded to hear your childhood nickname but are jolted out of the past when the nearest chair to you moves back and knocks firmly into your middle, not enough to wind you but to jolt you around a bit.

You furrow your eyebrows and fake a smile. Oh, this was how it was going to be.

“I think we need it to be a little bit lighter up in here…” you wave your hand around a bit and the lights from the candles flicker a bit brighter and hover a bit from their holders towards you two.

“You mind?” you say with a smile,

“I do.” He waves his hand, and everything goes back to normal.

You stare at him from across the table and lean forward scrunching up your nose and he leans forwards and gives you a small sneer.

“I didn’t invite you to give me interior assistance, I invited you just for your little help and then you can be on your way.” He grumbled.

“Fine, Facilier. I got it. From what you told me; I won’t be making any deals with some unknown entity by doing this, correct?”

His sneer turns into a smile and he leans back in his chair hands behind his head and looks at you with a twinkle in his eyes and pops of his feathered hat, revealing the bunch of curly hair you remember fondly messing with when you were little.

“Cheri, of course not…I just need you for an extra boost. Nothing more…all the talking and the promises will be done by me.” He elegantly gestures to himself and then presses his fingers on the table, sitting up from his lax position of the chair, tossing his hat from its brim once in his hand then plops it back on his head. “So, shall we start sista?”

Something begins to creep itself from behind his chair and then fully steps out into the light with a wicked smile nodding.

“Oh seriously…not him again.” You groan and Facilier turns his attention to his shadow.

“Hahaha…what’s wrong? I thought you two just loved to play together when we were pintsized.”

“You two always started trouble Facilier and got me in trouble along with you.”

“The past is the past.” he grins and then it drops.

“So, are you ready?”

The air turns cold at those words, you shiver but shake it off and nod your head and you help him out with his ritual.

...

After the ritual, you're shaken by the waves of power that was cast though the circle of salt and chalk on the ground of his den. He simply shakes off like he had just gotten out of a freshly jumped in the lake and he walks with you back to the main room.

“Ha, that was quite interesting brother, I think I might just try some of that conjuring myself…maybe boost my flow of magic.”

“You? Ha!” he starts laughing and that is when things got heated.

He told you that you wouldn’t have possibly been able to do such a thing by yourself and to forget about it. Then when you argued back is when the voices started raising between you two. He said something about you being too weak to be doing anything worthwhile and you yelled at him that he was the dark Loa’s little bitch and then you were dragged out the house by his vile shadow. By the hair. But not before making his sorry ass fall to the ground and get tied up by the foot by the cloth hanging from the ceiling near his “fortune table”!

…

Which led to where you were now. 

Of course, you went by and got a few Hoodoo & Yoruba objects along with other magical tools from a few mystical boutiques and you set them down on the earth of the graveyard and once you liked how it looked, you got down on your knees, feeling the earth underneath them and sit on the ground, focusing on that feeling at the sunshine on your face through the trees.

You decided you wanted to invoke the help of something big, something to mess up your brother’s connection to the other side for a while…fizzle up his mojo. So, you decided to call out on the other side and see if anyone picks up on your offer.

You begin to chant your intentions softly and the clouds slowly begin to cover the sun in a thick overcast, how fitting. You continue your chants and focusing your intentions non-verbally before you open your mouth and set your hands on the earth looking at the soil.

“I’m asking for assistance, hear me and respond if your power is strong and you willing to aid me on my desires…”

You wait for a moment and meditate in the silence but after hearing nothing respond for 20 minutes you get up on your feet and look at your summoning circle in disappointment. You raise your hands behind your head and look up at the sky, feeling your bothers words of how weak and sheepish you were form into an anger that boiled in your chest like fire…

…Fire? fire?! 

You jump back as the small flame of blue exploded and a cloud of smoke engulfed the area for just a moment and dissipated revealing-

“-Woah talk about humid, not with all this black nuh-uh. But i’ll risk it for the look.” 

A deep-throated yet whimsical voice speaks from the tall form that had smoke traveling around its feet.

The being looked you in the eyes with deep black pupils, his face oddly shaped with a prominent chin and sharp, sharp teeth and cheekbones and that wasn’t the most notable aspects of him. Beside his blue-greyish skin, his head was blazing with blue fire. Blue. Fire. When you locked with his eyes, is when he let out a little “Ohhh?” and raised their hand giving you a little wave. “Ha! Shalom and who might you be?” He lowers his hand and presses his fingertips against each other.

 “Having the audacity…” he steps, no glides over the protective barrier and you step back frightened by its ability to do so.

“…but not only that.”

You keep backing up, but he keeps coming closer, and his hand gestures as he talks become even more intense.

“The ability. To just, BLOW my ears out with your call, I mean SERIOUSLY-“

You bang your back against a tombstone, and it crumbles at your weight. You fall over and he towards you with an intimating gaze as the stone dust travels in the air around you.

“RING RING, CALLING! CALLING!!” he raises his pitch and mocks a girls voice “Please, please help me teach my brother a lesson, please oh please!~” The dust cleared and you look clearly at the being before you and clutched the ground at your side, your legs still propped up on the broken tombstone.

“To reach me that loudly, you must get some spunk kid, some family ju-ju even? I can feel it in you, heh.” He then raises an eyebrow and fully takes in your position. “Oh, and might I dare say, and I do~ Cute too.” He says with a smirk. You scramble off the stone and bounce on your feet taking a defensive stance.

“Ahem, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to, make you jump out of your skin there.” The way he stares at you makes you even more uncomfortable as it was no longer hostile, but you felt as if he was looking, through your clothes.

“Hades, Lord of the Dead. Greek Division. How can I help you?” He reaches out his hand for a shake.

“Charmed, (y/n.)” You nervously place your hand in his and he shakes it gently, letting you go and giving you a big-toothed smile.

“So (y/n), a little bit of revenge eh? Talking my language, I'd love to help a gal out…but I can't just help you out. For free.”

“What is it you desire, Hades?”

“Desire? Ooh, I desire a lot of things sweetheart” he clicks his tongue and begins to circle you, and continues eyeing you up and down, making you stiffen and feel uncomfortable. “But I’m not sure if you have anything to offer darling, nothing…I feel your strong sense of self would let you do.” You furrow your eyebrows and he raises one of his and its dead silent.

“Well.” Your voice cracks but you clear it before he could feel your unease.

“I know my brother has a few things in his house of dark magic…perhaps something there you would- “

He holds up a hand. “W-wait wait wait…. house. Of dark magic?”

“Yes, about a couple of blocks from- “

“Ok. Ok. Ok…wait wait, hold up.” His eyes are wide with interest.

“Would your brother happen to be a tall lanky guy, mid-drift crop top showin’ gap-toothed fella?”

“You know him?!”

“HA! NO. I mean no, never met him personally. But you see, and this works perfectly into a possible agreement we could make for my services, -“

He stops in front of a tombstone next to you and sits down.

“-I respect the whole native magic here you know, meet up with a couple of guys the people worship around here for drinks down under. Ha! Such wild rascals! Throw great parties.” He looks at his nails and poofs up a nail file and starts filing them while talking.

“And they talk a lot about this big ace in the hole, right? This real powerful mortal on the front lines, the perfect lackey with powerful magic heritage. Ring a bell?”

Your mouth opens slightly in astonishment.

“Oh! This is PERFECT.” He pumps his fist in the air and rises to his…smoke, and glides behind you guiding you towards a few peach trees by placing his hands on your shoulders poofing away the file in his hand.

“They talk the big talk, right? About this deal they made with him y’know? An ongoing debt that gets better and better every time they talk to the shmuck, right? So, of course. I get jealous and they start getting cocky. Threatening that they’ll become even more powerful than me. White God. They call me sheesh, first of all. I’m a lovely shade of blue thank you very much.”

You find a nervous chuckle rise from your throat, but you refuse to let it verbalize.

“But you see, I just LOVE extending my reach, you know? I’m accepting of any mortal who wants to give my ego a boost see? Black, white, green, blue, chartreuse. I don’t discriminate.” He snickers and clenches your shoulders, leaning forwards and giving you this weird look that made you flinch and shake him off, but he didn’t give any mind, he was way into the whole lay down of his plan.

“There's a few Greek churches here and there and a few small groups and practitioners who hey, give me offerings. Out of the kindness of their own hearts!” he laughs and blows on his nails and rubs them on his shirt, giving you a sly eye.

“And to think I have right here, the same fruit from the lengthy tree of mortal magic, packing enough punch to help me make my mark here in The Big Easy…get at those chumps a little bit, make them softer, weaker, just a little something to mess them up a little.” He laughs and moves in close to you and presses his finger against your chest then slides his arm around your shoulder and pats your chest just below your collarbone.

“See, that’s where you come in, my deal is a win-win, you mess up with your bothers flow, I mess with your brother’s bosses flow. Two Stymphalian’s one arrow! Badabing!”

“We got ourselves a deal, little lady?” his voice grows lower and more seductive as he pinches your chin lightly and you pull away from him with a scowl.

“So, how will I be helping you get back at my brother's keepers?”

He smiles baring his surprisingly pearly whites.

“Oh, so insightful, can’t rope you in without the details, right?”

He presses his fingertips together and glides to a low hanging peach and daintily picks it between two fingers and holds it out towards you.

“I need you to be sweet like this peach, got it?” He then takes a big bite out of it and the juices run down his mouth as he talks making your squirm.

“Get in on your bro-bro’s good side. Ask him to teach you to become stronger, less weak, less simple-minded less like a sheep of angel’s and light and more rebellious and badass.” he mocks talking to what was left of the peach-like it was you.

You clench your teeth “His words, right?” he says astutely as he swallows.

“Yes.”

“Good, so you ask him for some family bonding, right? Get to a point where you witness him talking with his guys, maybe even ask to commit yourself to them…but pander to his ego kay? Say you’ll work for him or something.”

Your eyes widen “No. I can't do that they’re- “

“Now, now, you don’t got to, just you know schmooze them a bit, get them to trust you…then one night, or day I'm not picky. Conceal your presence and just leave this”. He poofs away the peach and in his flat palm lies a small amount of blue paint inside this squeezable black see-through tube. He presses his fingers together on one hand like and makes a small gesture in the air. “Just two little pecks of this blue dye on their main communication device, and whatever else he uses often in his work and I’ll be able to have some eyes and ears and sap a little of their oomph-” He takes his other hand,  forcibly opens yours and places the tub carefully in your hands.

“-Right on over to me! Maybe even turn some of their- “he jazz hands the air

“-shadow guys on my side, makes them more, receptive to my influence. Got it? Got the memo?”

“Fine, understood, and in turn?”

“Your brother's magical abilities get a little weaker, transfer over to you, and badabing! Who’s the prodigy child now? Sure, isn’t going to be him if you do things right.”

“So, we got ourselves a deal, or am I just wasting my time?”

“No, no I agree to you, Just a little spot, right?” You tighten your grip on the tube and look at its contents.

“Little Itsy-bitsy spot. Say you’re into painting or something if he asks about it. Gather a few more tubes like it to make it believable. I’ll even make it look the same, just dap a little on whatever he uses to communicate and or uses to conjure his famous illusions and we’ll be set.”

He holds out his hand a small grin on his face, eyebrows raised.

You don’t give yourself any time to hesitate and place your hands in his and with a bright flash and some swirling smoke around your hands he lets go and snaps, his fingers and a pair of shades materialize on his face.

“Great Wonderful. Absolutely brilliant now let’s talk schematics alright? Pop on by his place today or two more or whenever, just soon. I’m only giving you some time because I sense some recent tension between you two. I have a brother of my own. Brother’s more like, hate their nonexistent guts. Anyway- rekindle that bond. Become an apprentice, do the deed.”

“How long do I have?”

“I’m in no rush…but about 6 months seems fair, sooner the better. I don’t mind because, in order for you to get back at him, you need to help me out so it’s a go-go for the both of us, I don’t expect any hesitation…”

He clenches your shoulder a bit tighter “and if you're ever feeling a little unsure, a little oh no what am I doing? Just remember how terrible you two got along when you were tots, all the favoritism, the betrayal, and the turmoil and keep plowing on!” He sings the last part and raises his hand into the air dramatically.

“But know even if you get cold feet.” His voice turns icy and he spins you so that your face to face, he leans in slowly and you feel the air around you grow stale and hot

“You still made a deal…capishe?”

“Yes. I understand…”

His face changes to an ecstatic smile. 

“PERFECT! So! Run along, go do your thing…and if you need to contact me.” He manifests and flips a coin with his thumb, and It hovers in mid-air in front of your eyes. It turns slowly in its dull gold color with the picture of a wreath on one side and some fruit on the other. “Flip it, spin It, hold it, kiss it, bop it. Spin it. Tap it.” You look at him with a puzzled look.

“Ah whatever you want to do with it, your intention will seep into it and ring out to me, just hold it in your hand”

You take the coin into your hand and feel its hefty weight in your palm.

“Now, this was fun. But I got to go, the whole underworld to rule, dog to feed. Imps to burn you get my drift.” He lets you go and gives you a wink.

“Chow babe.” With a poof of smoke and flames, he was gone. Simple as that…

Now, it was time to figure out how to rekindle your relationship, after such a, nasty departing.

[fvaleraye]

Just a Day

Hi hello hey :>

I decided to write something involving Alex today, bc I don’t write about my AFW OCs nearly as much as I should... they’re v good ;w; It’s not much? Just a short little peek into the life of Alex, and his daily happenings. He’s doing his best

As always, AFW is @artnerd1123‘s story, and y’all should check it out, it’s super good and she just wrote a new chapter today :>

The sun rose lazily over the horizon, bathing the trees and buildings in its bright orange glow. The day was starting, people were getting out of bed, getting ready for the day. Many were still in bed, though. Not everyone had a profession with a schedule. And not everyone wanted to get an early start to the day either. One sorcerer was still sound asleep in his apartment, for the time being. But not his familiar.

Lucy, the little ball of energy and sunshine that she was, almost always got an early start to her day. Mostly it was idle tidying up while waiting for her originator to wake up. Nothing major, unless there were things from the previous day that she decided to wait until the morning to actually do. But mostly it was just walking around with a duster a bit too big for her, getting all the dust out of the way. Sometimes she would pick up and reorganize books that her originator left lying around. Alex insisted she didn't have to, but the little familiar wanted to... she wanted to be helpful, and it gave her something to occupy herself with. Once the sun started to peek more over the land, Lucy slid back into the bedroom, where the blue-haired sorcerer still laid sound asleep. Her first instinct, as always, was to just hop up onto the bed and nudge him a bit. That didn't do much. Usually the cold of her face pressing against his side would wake him up, but either he was very asleep, or he was getting used to it. Her second course of action was to just open the curtains, letting the sunlight pour into the previously dim room. The sorcerer let out a tired groan, before shoving a pillow over his head. She hopped back up onto the bed, and gave him a little smile. "Rise and shiiiine, sleepyheeeaaaad!" She said, pressing her face against him again.

"... what time is it...?" Alex mumbled, peeking out from under the pillow.

"Time to get up!"

He just gave a sigh, shoving the pillow off his face. He slowly sat up, his cyan hair a complete mess, bags under his eyes, and just looking like he wanted to go back to bed. This was about how he felt every morning. He pressed his hands against his eyes, rubbing them for a moment, and pushing his bangs out of his face. He gave Lucy a quick little pet on the head, and pushed himself out of bed with a groan. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand as he stood up. Had to get ready for the day at some point.

He grabbed some clothes from the dresser- nothing fancy, just a shirt, some pants, and his binder, he wasn't going anywhere today- and tiredly shambled over to the bathroom. The first thing he did was toss his new clothes aside for the moment, turn on the sink, and just splash a bit of water in his face to try and wake himself up a bit. After a moment, he looked into the mirror, took a deep breath, and sighed. Now that he was a bit more awake, he went about fairly mundane early morning things. Brushing his teeth, getting his binder on, brushing his hair, changing clothes, nothing unusual. After a bit, he opened up a cabinet on the wall, and grabbed a bottle. It was full of a clear-ish liquid, and had a white label. It looked to be some sort of medicinal potion. He opened it up, poured it into a little cup, and downed quickly, cringing and making a face as it went down. Medicine never tasted great. But it was good for him... half the reason he was able to get out of bed, honestly. He stepped out, and walked down the hallway, this time with a bit more energy. Not a lot more, but he was waking up. That was something. He wandered around to the kitchen, and opened up some cabinets... ... they were quite bare, actually. ... guess I am gonna have to go somewhere today...

"Hey Lucy?" He called into the hallway, prompting the little familiar to peek around the corner. "I'm gonna head to the market, pick some stuff up really quick, you wanna come?"

"Sure!!!" She replied, practically bouncing over to his side. He gave a little chuckle at her enthusiasm.

He took a moment to just get a pair of shoes on, and grabbed his cloak from the cloak hanger. Once it was on his shoulders, the little one climbed right up and nestled into his hood. He let out a small sigh, grabbed his little bag of coins, and stepped out of the apartment. The walk out of the building was uneventful, as would the rest of the trip, hopefully. He waved at a few people who greeted him, but mostly just kept to himself. It was still... a pretty new town. He hadn't been here long. Merchant town, though, so you could find almost anything you wanted. As long as you waited long enough for a merchant selling what you wanted to stroll into town. Thankfully all the pair wanted today was food. That wasn't exactly a rarity. The streets were mostly empty today, it was a weekend morning, so the only people up at this hour were merchants either setting up or taking down stalls in the market, or their customers. The market itself was not very quiet, but it was still less of a crowd this early. That was nice. As long as I don't get called "ma'am", this'll be a pretty okay day... He tried his best to keep all his time at the stalls as brief as he could. Just picking up some groceries... meat, vegetables, baking supplies, some fruit juice he could freeze into little flavored cubes for Lucy. The usual stuff. Everyone was always cordial, some more convincingly than others.  By the time he was done, he had two bags slinged over his shoulders, and his coinpurse was noticeably lighter. More people were starting to come out into the streets, which just made him want to get home faster. He really, really wasn't in the mood to deal with a crowd today. But, of course, he couldn't go back home without at least taking a peek at the questboard. It was like any other questboard: just a big wooden board where people put things for questors to do. Requests to find things, investigate certain areas, help take things from point A to point B... more of the same. No new dungeons today. Dungeons were slow recently. Kind of disappointing. But it was fine. He wasn't looking for more things to do today.

The walk back home was mercifully just as uneventful as the walk out. Lucy hopped out of Alex's cloak as he set it back onto the hanger, and the two got all the groceries out of the bags to put them up. It took a few minutes, of course, but they were done in no time. Now they could eat breakfast. After spending a minute or so looking at the food and trying to figure out what to eat, he eventually settled on some bacon. The little one wanted a sundae, which he decided to oblige before starting on his own food. She was sitting on the couch, enjoying her food, while he was getting a few bacon strips prepared. He honestly wasn't that hungry... but breakfast was important. He couldn't skip it. Just a little food would do. Once they looked nice and done, he got himself a plate, and sat down at the table. He just sort of prodded at it with a fork until his appetite decided to exist. Normally he was a big eater... but it was one of those slow days. Sometimes it was like that, and there wasn't exactly a reason for it. And that was okay. Once he was done, he stared at his empty plate, trying to figure out where to go from here. He didn't have any plans... besides sitting at home and possibly taking a nap.

... maybe I could write that guy I met at the library. He thought to himself, glancing at the hallway.

Yeah.

That was something he could do.

Lucy was still enjoying her sundae, so he had some time to kill. He stepped back into his room, still bright with the sun, but less so now that the sun was beginning to rise and not sit directly in front of the window. He pulled up a chair and sat down at his desk. It was a bit messy, covered in papers and maps and his own notes. He had been trying to reason out how exactly dungeons work and the ways to get them to pop up. He hadn't quite figured it out. Magic was a fickle and mysterious thing. Maybe there was a book about it. He brushed aside some of the clutter and pulled out an empty piece of paper. A brief blue fog washed over the inkwell across the desk as it slid over to his hand, the quill alongside it. He dipped into the ink a few times and tapped his chin as he thought about what to write.

Dear Journal

I hope you're doing alright. I just wanted to write really quickly, I didn't have much happening today. I just finished reading that adventure book series you recommended, great stuff. I feel like it kinda fell off near the end, though. I think the writer might have just been trying to extend the story more than they should have. I think it would have been better if it ended on the third book, would have been more satisfying. Overall though, it was okay. I hope you like the dragon facts book I recommended. I know a lot of it is probably common knowledge by now, but it's still fascinating. By the way, I was hoping you could maybe find me a book on the intricacies of dungeons and what their patterns are, if any? You don't have to, of course, but I'm trying to make notes and a book like that would make my life a lot easier. If it doesn't exist, or just isn't there, that's fine. I just don't know when the next time I'll be able to stop by the library is, so I wanted to ask. I promise I'll repay the favor if you pull that off.

Signed, Alex.

"... that'll work." He mumbled, setting the quill aside. He folded up the paper, tied it up, and whispered a few words to it. A moment later, it disappeared in a little puff of blue fog, hopefully to its destination. He pushed himself away from the desk, and started to stand up. He wasn't sure what else he was going to do today... Maybe he could just hang out and talk with Lucy for a bit. That sounded nice.

[consummate-deviant]

I reckon I’m gonna talk about Hordak for a minute

So, I feel the need to talk about Hordak.  This is, perhaps, not unusual.  Once upon a time ago, writing stupidly long pseudo-essays about characters I rather liked used to be my thing… and it’s still a bug that bites me from time to time.  The timing certainly seems right!  Homeboy has been the topic of conversation lately, thanks to the recent release of She-ra season 4, and the manifold feels associated with it.  I’m fond of Hordak, as it were, so I don’t mind sharing my perspective on the subject, since there’s some confusion as to his appeal.  

The two stances I see taken on Hordak most often, by those who don’t like him, I should specify, are as follows:

A.) He’s an irredeemable villain who has done terrible things, and I don’t see why anyone would like him.

And

B.) He’s a lame, nonthreatening villain.

I’m not going to be engaging with mindset ‘B’ quite as much as with mindset ‘A’ in the following post, in part because the reasons why he’s so lame and nonthreatening are kinda tied to what I’ll be discussing by implication, but mostly because my response to mindset B can be summed up with the following: “You are not wrong, at all.  However, that’s literally the entire point of his character, so while you aren’t wrong to be disappointed if you were hoping he would be a more measured, megalomaniacal sort, it’s also not a failure on the part of the writers, since his lack of suitability for the role he was trying to play was always going to be what his story was about.”

Mindset ‘A’, though... well... that’s a bit tricky.  Ultimately “irredeemable” is a personal value judgment.  The threshold a character must cross before one audience member feels they no longer deserve forgiveness can vary quite wildly from another, and while trying to pass one’s personal opinion off as an objective fact is something of a pastime on the internet, I am- and I cannot state this emphatically enough- NOT your dad… probably. At least, I hope to god…  Look, odds are really good that I’m not your dad, so… you do your thing and shine like the crazy diamond you are.  I probably can’t change your mind, and considering I don’t even know you, it’d be kinda creepy if I thought I could! What I can do, though, for those genuinely curious how anyone could consider him redeemable, is share my own perspective on the character, and why I think redemption is the direction the story is going, based on how I’ve read the text thus far… So I’m gonna do that.  Let’s go over Hordak as he has appeared in the She-Ra reboot.

Part I: Season 1 Hordak

Now see, when we kick things off, I totally get where both the ‘A’ group and the ‘B’ group are coming from.  Hordak, as he appears in season 1, seems ruthless, intimidating, and single-minded.  Hordak doesn’t carry the conflict in season 1, serving as more of a background presence while Catra and Shadow Weaver, who have a more personal investment in the central narrative, do all the heavy lifting of antagonizing the heroes and angsting.

This keeps the attention off of Hordak, which is precisely how he likes things.  When people aren’t going out of their way to interact with him, then it’s easy for him to control what few interactions he does have.  That’s what season 1 shows us: Hordak, when he has perfect control over his own narrative.    Every scene that features him is shot with a low angle, often with his form either concealed in shadows or with his face partially out of frame.  When he speaks, he’s always calm and distant… but calm in that ‘he could totally fly into a rage at any instant’ way that keeps people on their toes.  Pragmatic, taciturn, perfectly measured and groomed,… pretty tall!  By any metric a reasonable person can measure a competent, intimidating villain, Hordak circa season 1 seems like he’d pass the test.

Part 2: Season 2-3 Hordak

Here’s the thing... though... about season 1 Hordak... that we learn pretty quickly when we transition into season 2:  Season 1 Hordak is a massive fraud.  Like, seriously, he’s a fabrication created out of necessity to hide a single, prevailing truth:  Hordak is an awkward dork who is kinda terrible at being an evil overlord.  

I’ve seen some people describe Hordak’s season 2-3 character development with the expression “You thought I was Ozai, but I was actually Zuko this whole time!”  Now, I like this expression fine.  I’ve borrowed it a time or two in the past, but with regard to Hordak, I prefer to phrase it like this: “You thought I was Emperor Palpatine, but I was really the Wizard of Oz this whole time!”  The former expression gives someone an idea of the tropes of the character pretty well, but the latter does a better job, I feel, of showing the relationship between season 1 and later seasons with Hordak.  Hordak is a competent, unflappable, all-seeing leader… hey, hey!  Pay no mind to the man behind the curtain! Hordak’s past… as a mindless clone created to lead other mindless clones in a mindless clone army… has left him laughably unprepared for the task of leading others.  He’s smart, like, in a general bookish sense, but he has no charisma, no interpersonal talents to speak of, and doesn’t really seem to have any grasp of how to motivate his underlings, save to reward talent with promotion.

Out of necessity, Hordak keeps his true self buried underneath multiple layers of protection.  The first layer is the season 1 illusion: Delegate direct command of his soldiers to a single adjutant, interact with that adjutant just enough to keep them in line, and remain in his sanctum all day, like the geeky shut-in he is.

The first layer is pretty nice, and seems to have bought him quite a few years running the horde… but what happens if, say, some uppity Force Captain decides to pester him with personal status reports… or some absent-minded inventor decides to raid his lab for a six-sided hex driver?  Personally interacting with his minions for too long will reveal the illusion he’s been hiding behind!  Well, fear not... This is where the second layer of protection comes in handy.  

Yes, Hordak’s second layer of defense: blustering, shouting, and intimidating.  Threaten them with dire consequences for bothering him, let them visit the planet with nearly-enough-atmosphere for a few seconds… do everything in his power to frighten them so badly they never want to directly interact with him again.  What should happen if this second layer fails him, though? They learn of the most terrifying secret in Hordak’s entire arsenal.

...There is no third layer…

Nope. If a minion is plucky enough to peak behind the curtain of his grand illusion, and then bold enough to stand their ground at the explosion of hot air that follows… he has basically no follow-up left.  One of my favorite nonverbal scenes in the entire series is the moment where he realizes that his screaming is having no visible impact on Entrapta.  There’s a look on his face that seems to say ‘What the hell am I supposed to do now!?’… like, it’s clear the dude has never needed a third step to scare someone away before.

Ah, but you, my savvy reader, have no doubt cottoned on to the error in my argument thus far.  Establishing that Hordak is an awkward, introverted nerd doesn’t really change the fact that he built the Etherian horde.  The fact that he’s not especially competent doesn’t change the bad deeds his committed!  Well, rest assured, you beautiful person who can claim no paternal relation to me, I agree!  However, characterizing Hordak like this goes hand in hand with the other big reveal of season 3: his backstory.  

Now, cards on the table, I’ve been taking Hordak as he comes, and up until this point I didn’t really have any strong idea of whether they were going the big-bad or redeemed-bad route with him.  It wasn’t until season 3, when his origin was revealed, that I genuinely began to suspect that the redemption path was where the writers were headed, because it re-frames his actions in a subtle, but pretty important way.

With no Horde Prime, when one looks at Hordak, they see a man who orchestrated a corrupt and oppressive system for his personal benefit, who holds others in disdain due to self-aggrandizement, and is motivated by a desire to be seen as greater than everyone else. That is a character who would be very hard to convincingly redeem. While I’m loathe to raise the specter of Steven Universe discourse here, it’s a lot like the notion of redeeming the Diamonds… and, while I have no strong feelings about that show one way or the other, suffice it to say I can at least see why their redemption is controversial.  

Horde Prime shifts the context of Hordak’s actions, though.  Now, Hordak is a man who perpetuates the very system he is, himself, a victim of, because it’s the only system he knows.  His conflict with others is born from the projection of his own self loathing.  Said self-loathing comes from his chief motivation, which is to be acknowledged as worthy by an authority figure who has no interest or desire in ever offering him that acknowledgment.

Such a character is still flawed and villainous, because of course it is. If a character has done nothing wrong, they don’t need redemption in the first place.  It’s a lot easier to accept the struggles of a flawed character if they’re a victim of oppression rather than its source.  To borrow the SU comparison one final time, the Horde Prime twist reveals to us that Hordak isn’t a diamond, he’s just another one of the countless gems caught in their system.  

By the by, does “perpetuates a system they, themselves, are victims of, suffers from conflicts born of projected self loathing, and desire to be acknowledged by an authority figure who has no interest or desire in providing said acknowledgment” sound familiar?  I hope so!  It ties into my final point of the day.

Part 3: Season 4 Hordak (aka “Hordak and Catra have basically the same arc”)

  Now, implying similarity in the character arcs of Hordak and Catra has, historically, been a fraught endeavor.  Even I, Hordak stan extraordinaire, felt that we needed to see a bit more of where the writers were wanting to take Hordak before we went and made comparisons.  Then season 4 happened… and guys… the subtitle of season 4 may as well have been “Hordak and Catra have basically the same arc.”

Well, that’s a bit of an oversimplification.  Catra had people she could perceive as her peers, which granted her a social circle outside of her direct superiors whom she could feel camaraderie with, which added a dimension to the emotional turmoil she felt, but in broad strokes it seems to be a comparison that the writers are inviting us to make.  Their alliance in season 4 is based around their commonality.  They motivate one another by feeding into the insatiable hunger both of them feel for external validation… in that regard, they bring out the worst in each other, and thus season 4 ends with both of them brought to their lowest point.

At the end of season 4, if the princesses had never arrived, and Double Trouble hadn’t been there to finally force her to confront the emotions she insistently projected onto others, Catra would have assumed the mantle she claimed from Hordak.  She would have ruled the horde, devoid of satisfaction or happiness, and any children she took into her numbers she would have treated in exactly the same way Shadow Weaver treated her, and the same way Horde Prime treated Hordak.

To escape that fate, she needed her chance to face the system that oppressed her, and then the chance to face herself… and only once she had done both, could she start to move forward again.  That’s why we see the start of her recovery in the final scenes of the season.  Catra did unspeakably terrible things- by the end of season 4 her atrocity count easily rivals Hordak’s- and not everything can be blamed exclusively on others, but we, as an audience, have seen enough of what made her the way she is… that’s why most of us are onboard with her eventual redemption.

Catra is, beneath all the layers of spite and illusions of who she thinks she should be, a sweet kid who ultimately wants to reconnect with a friend she fears abandoned her, and to be respected and appreciated by the authority figures in her life. Hordak is, ultimately, a hikikomori dweeb who, not too long ago, was content to spend the rest of eternity with his gamer girlfriend in his lab, pretending to put together a portal machine. 

The villain of She-ra is Horde Prime, and the system he put into place to feed his arrogance at the expense of those trapped within it.  For those inside that system, like Catra or Hordak, they don’t cross the line and become truly irredeemable until they are given a clear and unambiguous chance to escape from that system and change their life for the better… but refuse to grasp it.   Even then… sometimes it takes them a little while to see the hand being offered to them… and sometimes that hand is in the form of a fist.

In conclusion

Look, guys, I’ll be real with you… I made a play at pretending that I wrote this for some point or another… but I kinda didn’t.  When I get into a fandom headspace, words get stuck in my head, y’know? When they do, they buzz around like bees until I write ‘em someplace… so here we are.

I’m not so arrogant as to assume I can change anyone’s mind with my 4 AM word vomit about the emaciated bat villain in my favorite children’s cartoon.  This is just a thing I wrote!  Maybe if you agree with it it makes you happy, and if you disagree with it then it doesn’t get’cha too worked up!  I was gonna include Hordak’s relationship with Entrapta into the proceedings… but honestly, that would have doubled the length of this thing, and would have been kinda tangential to the point.  I may do a more shippy essay thing later on… but if there’s one thing I learned from the last time I wrote a bunch of these… it’s that planning them out never works well.  I guess if people wanna see it I can write it though.

Anyway, I’m rambling, so I’m gonna letcha go!  Thanks for listening to my TED talk.  Remember, villains are an artform, people are complicated, and hot cocoa is the best winter beverage.  I’m going back to fanfic writing until the next bout of insomnia!