#characters who CLEARLY have more to them you would need to be blind to miss it

[lancerious]

thank you for being #1 lancer fan the world needs more lancer fans

Ho ho ho, of course!! Lancer is CRIMINALLY underrated I tell you, kid deserves WAY more attention than he currently gets

Glad to see another Lancer fan pop in <3!

[saintsenara]

oooo as an unhinged ship, if it hasn’t come up before, hermione x regulus. (meaning book hermione and book regulus, not their fanon equivalents who we may safely assume can slip right into “good girl gone bad x unreasonably hot wealthy man” without trouble, and need no further consideration. idc about them. i like losers). what we know about regulus is minimal, but we can imagine for the sake of the bit that if he somehow survived, he just might have a little interest in SPEW, and canonically, hermione does go for a youngest son with fluctuating self esteem. regulus also loves making pinterest boards for his passions (which include domestic terrorism but all the same), while hermione is known to color code and decorate her study schedules. i’m curious to know your thoughts 👀 both crack-wise and more genuinely, as i love your analyses of how characters with severe divides could — or could not — reconcile their differences and overcome the obstacles.

(their biggest obstacle, of course, is harry, who bursts in on them at least three times a day to demand hermione explain why she went for the clearly less good looking brother. men are always like “i’m fighting demons” and the demons are unexplored bisexuality.)

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

while describing hermione's type as "youngest son with fluctuating self esteem" is apposite, regulus strikes me as someone as someone whose self esteem is sufficiently bulletproof that his issue is with a world which - as he sees it - doesn't respect how special and extraordinary he is, rather than feeling overlooked because he believes himself to be less special and less loved than those around him.

[hence signing his camp little note with his initials, assuming reading it will snatch voldemort's wig off and throw it across the room, when what actually happens is the dark lord doesn't even notice he's missing and undoubtedly thinks his name is reginald.]

would he enjoy being constantly nagged by hermione [which is how she expresses to those she loves that she loves them]? eh... i doubt it. although i am compelled by the crack potential of regulus joining spew for a quiet life, and helping the missus glitter-glue posters. the couple that crafts together stays together.

but what i actually think would be most interesting about these two - as i've also said in reference to shipping hermione with bellatrix - is that they have a couple of shared traits which could mesh very interestingly: an enormous capacity for loyalty and a slightly naive, slightly childlike tendency towards seeing what they want to see.

i've said this before, but hermione's astonishing loyalty is one of her most impressive traits - and contributes, in fact, far more to her role in the series than her intelligence. but it comes with the flip-side that she also - since her loyalty is directly intertwined with her inflexibility, which is her most fundamental trait, in both positive [she's resilient, logical, etc.] and negative [she's argumentative, narrow-minded, etc.] ways - has a slightly hagrid-ish tendency towards blind faith.

her inflexibility - especially the difficulty she has with considering multiple viewpoints - also contributes to her naivety. i do think it's striking, given the fanon tendency - gleaned from the films, which massively overplay this - for her to be portrayed as orders of magnitude more mature than harry and ron that she is, in many ways, the most child-like of the trio: harry begins deathly hallows by throwing away most of his school trunk, hermione takes her schoolbooks on the run as comfort items; hermione believes that she's overthrowing the institution of slavery at hogwarts because the hats she knits vanish overnight; the item left to her in dumbledore's will is a book of fairy stories; etc.

both of these - loyalty and naivety, with the positive and negative things each of them brings - is also the regulus special. he sacrifices his life in an act of absolutely breathtaking loyalty to kreacher - which is directly caused by the humiliation he feels over his blind faith in voldemort being revealed to be misguided, and, specifically, is caused by the realisation that his initial view of voldemort as someone who wanted to bump off all the mudbloods and let pureblood families rule as oligarchs over a society which was, otherwise, fundamentally unchanged in terms of social structure etc. was extraordinarily naive. the dark lord wants to live forever, and he doesn't give a fuck who gets hurt on the way.

i do think there could be something quite compelling about the two of them either having to untangle their fairly rigid approaches to life - and how much of a knock that might be to their self esteem. i also think there's something to be said for each of them seeing in the other what they want to see, and being completely unwilling to do otherwise.

you are correct to note that harry would be gagged.

[steviewashere]

It's Enough

Rating: General CW: Implied/Possible Depression Tags: Established Relationship, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, And Gets One, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Other Characters Mentioned, Bittersweet, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling

For the @steddielovemonth prompt: "Love is showing up when someone doesn't ask."

💕—————💕

Eddie got a key for Steve’s house when they first started dating. Just something that Steve did as a gesture that said, “You’re part of my permanent fixture of people.” Which, thank God he got a key or else he wouldn’t be able to come check in on his lovely, lovely, lovely boyfriend.

Especially when said boyfriend seems to have gone dark on all the people in his life.

It started with Robin telling him that Steve no-called, no-showed his shift at Family Video. Strange, he had thought. Though, he’d heard that Steve’s done it a few times before. Once when he had a migraine and was vomiting so profusely that he was simply too exhausted to reach his phone. Another, his bat wounds were infected and he was laid up in the hospital. There was kind of recently where Steve just slept through the entire day, nightmares riddling him the night before. Eddie had been there for that day, had to calm Steve down when he realized he missed work, had even held him as he shook from the come down of another nightmare.

So Eddie thought it was a little odd, but not all that different from how Steve can be if given dire circumstances.

Though, then Dustin radios him. “Steve didn’t pick us up from school today. He promised he would, but I guess he couldn’t? I don’t know. I can’t get a hold of him.”

That made the hairs on Eddie’s neck and arms stand up. Because, Steve doesn’t do shit like that. It’s Eddie, usually, who forgets. But Steve? No way, Eddie had thought. Yet, no way turned to, Okay, maybe he did. Eddie made it his duty to pick all the party members up and drop them off at their respective houses.

However, that wasn’t the final straw to make Eddie go to Steve’s.

No, what crumbled his resolve was hearing Max on the radio. She didn’t go to school today. Her limbs aching in a way that made it impossible for her to move from bed. Dustin had told Eddie that. He’s even witnessed it, the poor girl. Her voice came through the radio, small and scared, “Steve?” But there wasn’t a response. “Steve, please, are you there? I—I had a dream about the—“ And her voice trapped in her throat, the cut off of a sob making itself apparent over the radio wave. She forgot to switch to a private channel. She’ll do that, now, apparently. It was mentioned in passing that the channel dial was hard for her to navigate without being able to see all that clearly. She was half-blind, for Pete’s sake.

Eddie comforted her through whatever nightmare shook her. The bats, he concluded. Because, though she wasn’t there to witness it, her mind filled in the blanks easy enough. Vicious, red, raw, bleeding images.

His hackles rose. He beelined for his van. He scurried his ass over to Steve’s house. Because, What the fuck is happening today? And more importantly, He needs me. Maybe that was a selfish thought. Though, maybe, it was a necessary thought.

He creeped through the foyer. Easily realizing that neither of Steve’s parents were home. Tiptoed his sneakers off by the front door. And called out, gentle yet as loud as he could, “Steve? Are you home?”

There wasn’t a response, which made Eddie’s stomach twist. He made his way up the stairs, coming to the cracked opening of Steve’s bedroom door. There was a lump on his bed, Steve’s body. But Eddie couldn’t really tell if he was alive or not, all things considered.

Coming to Steve’s bedside and crouching down, he noticed that Steve was awake. Wide-eyed, glistening, staring through to nothing. Eddie tried to bring a palm up to cup the side of Steve’s face, but that only made him flinch away from the touch. “Stevie?” Eddie hesitated. “Baby, are you alright?”

Steve whimpered in response. He curled farther into his blanket, hands white-knuckling on the edge, head burying itself into his pillow.

Eddie hushed gently. “It’s alright, sweetheart. It’s Eddie,” he tried to cajole. “Just came to check on ‘ya.” He settled down on his butt, criss-crossing on the carpet. Hands folding in his lap. HIs eyes still attentive on Steve.

“Bad day,” Steve muttered.

“That’s alright,” Eddie assured. “It’s okay to have a bad day. Why is—“ He hesitated momentarily. This probably wasn’t going to be a very comforting conversation to have. “Why is it a bad day, Steve?”

He shrugged. “Something’s…Something is missing,” Steve articulated, or at least attempted to. “Like…I don’t know. I don’t know, Eddie. I don’t know.” His voice produced a nasally quality, wet where it shouldn’t be. Getting worked up. “My chest hurts,” he quietly sobbed.

“Oh, honey,” Eddie cooed. He rose up onto his knees. Palms down on the edge of Steve’s mattress. “Can I—Are you okay with me—“

“Please,” Steve cried out. And the way it reached from within his chest made Eddie shudder. It clawed itself out of Steve. Almost bubbling and bursting to the surface. “Please, Eddie,” he had begun to plead, “Come here. I need—“

Eddie took no time at all. Chucking his jacket to the floor. Crawling under the duvet. Curling his body around Steve’s trembling back. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s sturdy torso, hands interlocking and squeezing against the subtle softness of his belly, fingers splaying against his naked skin. He pressed his forehead between Steve’s mole-dotted shoulder blades, brushing his lips over the moles within distance. Shutting his eyes against the shuddering breaths in front of him. Nosing at the top notches of Steve’s spine.

“I gotcha, love bug,” he whispered, “I gotcha and I ain’t going anywhere. Promise, baby. I promise.”

He knew that Steve didn’t like showing himself when he cried. But something about this was different, to its core, Eddie could tell. Something almost hollow and echoing to Steve. Something hungry and aching all at the same time. Eddie never wanted to let go.

Steve shifted in the hold. Turning over completely so that his head was tucked under Eddie’s chin, face burrowed in his chest, arms wrapping around Eddie—low near his hips. He was scrunching himself as to not take up the most amount of room. And Eddie hated it with a great passion. Hated it so much. But realized, in that moment, it was not worth the fight. That, in the throes of loving somebody like Steve, that things need to run their course.

Even as devastating as they are.

Eventually, when Steve calmed and went boneless yet hiccuping in Eddie’s hold, only then did Eddie pull away. Only slightly, as to not startle the stilted air between them. Only to peer a little, to look and gaze and cherish.

Before Steve could even open his mouth, Eddie murmured, “Don’t apologize. It’s alright, love bug. You’ll be okay. Can you…Are you okay to tell me what happened?”

Again, Steve shrugged. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Just woke up feeling sticky and wrung out and…Empty, I don’t know. Tired.”

Eddie nodded. His eyes sunk in a little, going soft and sad in understanding. “Okay,” he muttered. And cuddled back in, as close as their bodies would let them. “Okay, Steve. That’s enough. ’T’s all I needed to hear, sweetheart.”

Steve sighed against him. His exhaustion noticeable, heavy and armored. Before he drifted, though, he murmured, “Thank you for coming over.”

“Thank you for letting me in,” Eddie responded. His palm slid over Steve’s naked, mottled back. Kissed the top of his head. And pushed himself in closer. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Steve could only muster as a whisper.

And that was enough.

💕—————💕

[the-fiction-witch]

Y/n!

Media The Artful Dodgert

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader

Rating Flirty

Requested : I absolutely love your Jack Dawkins fic, I've just added your Newt fic to my library. You are an absolutely amazing writer.This is also a request for the jack Dawkins fic, as in could you write one where jack is reunited with someone who he knew back in London?? I just think it would be cute and you can do anything you want from there, anything you want haha Thank you for writing xxxx

I sighed finishing up with the ward rolling my sleeves up heading towards the stairwell, 

"Jack. Patient. Room four," Hetty said having come chasing after me, 

"What about them?"

"She's refusing to let Dr Sneed see her." 

I sighed, great last thing I need some little whiner, "Will she let me see her?"

"She says yes." 

"Alright," I sighed heading back down and quickly went to room four, "Hello Miss, Dr Dawkins, I heard you refused Dr Sneeds treatment?" I asked taking her paperwork to see what I was actually dealing with, it wasn't much just a mild head injury nothing worth keeping her in over. 

"He's a snivelling, Pompous Git" her voice said from the bed,  

I admit I chuckled a little, "Well we agree on something." 

"What was your name again?"

"Dawkins. Dr Jack Dawkins." I told her setting her paperwork back and actually looking at her, but- I had a heart attack. 

She sat with her long tight curls against the headboard of the bed, a bandage for her wound around her head, her skin slightly red where she clearly had not yet gotten use to the sun here, a long violet dress been repaired and fixed a hundred times. 

I- I felt like I was in a dream, I could barely beleive my own eyes, I- I was utterly convinced I'd never see her again. 

Y/n. She was a London street girl a year or two older then me, abandoned by her family and forced to make her own way, Much as I was. She didn't run with Fagin, the boys and I. She more made her own way but still we crossed paths. We were pickpockets and petty theives breaching only death it if became nessesary. She... Was The Violet Widow. Known though out London. She'd walk the streets as a evening girl but a man who paid her never got to finish, He would be taken home, stripped, tied, and riden until she had reached her desires then she would kill him, steal his clothes, money, watch and sell what she wouldn't keep or give to us boys. She kept herself nicely I must say, and she even married a few older wealther men taking their name for a few weeks before butching them too taking all that remained and being left as a widow. She lived just down the road from us, and any clothes she thought would she'd pass along, even if she couldn't always feed herself she always tried to feed us too. 

We of course were freindly and we'd both gotten each other out of jams more times then I dare to think. 

And Admittedtly I had spent more nights then I care to remember as a bored excited teenage boy, knoitted with the sheets of her bed, and with her. But she never minded, and she never charged me, and never let any of the other boys near her. 

Last I had heard she had been arrested on her most recent husbands murder charge, but that was only a week or two before I was locked up myself. 

I had greived for her, beloived her hung for her crimes or... atleast locked away somewhere I would never see her. 

Never in my life would I have pictured her, Here in port victoria let alone, here infront of me.

I was... thrilled to see her alive! But also... suspcious. 

"Hi, Dodger." 

Immediately I shut the door, locked it tight, pulled the windows shut and the blinds drawn leaving us in complete darkness and secrecy. Standing catching my breath at the foot of her bed my hands on my waist, 

"Y/n!?"

"Hi,"

"The bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Got into a fight with a card cheat," She sighed adjusting her bandage, 

"No- I don't mean the hospital, I mean Australia!" 

"On my travels..."

"Travels?" I glared, "I'm getting pretty fucking concerned right now, first Fagin shows up like the bloody ghost of Christmas past, and now you! What Oliver bloody twist gonna show up next week!" 

"He what?" She glared,

"What?"

"Fagin! Is here!"

"Yeah. showed up a few weeks back." 

"What the hell is he doing here?" 

"Got himself arrested, sent down here."

"You believe that do you?"

"What choice have I got?" I sighed, "So what are you doing down here?"

"Traveling, making my way around," She shrugged,

"And you want me to believe that do you?"

"Why would I Iie? I didn't know you were here, or Fagin, and yes I'd be pretty damn surprised Oliver Twist showed up too. It's a weird ass coincidence." She explained, 

"Alright," I sighed I did want to see her, I was happy even if I was concerned by this coincidence I couldn't be angry at her, "How's your head?" I asked sitting on her bed a moment to check her over

"Never had any complaints," She giggled 

"I'm serious."

"I thought you'd remember."

"Y/n."

"I feel fine Jack" she smiled, "Are you alright?"

I softened a little all these little jokes reminding me that it is still y/n. "As I can be,"

"Made quite the life for yourself down here. I take it... Dodger's gone?"

"Very much so. They hang escaped convicts here so... Dodger is dead. For all intensive purposes." I told her as I got up to finish her paperwork

"Understandable," she nodded "Dr Dawkins," She playfully smiled, 

"You still just Y/n?" I smiled, 

"Ohh god no uhhhhh... Y/n, Smith, Liswick, Warden, Petrecove, uhhh I'm sure there's a Llyod in there somewhere, I loose track" She said, "But just Y/n."

I smirked a little, "Humm... Still the Violet Widow I take it?"

"I see why you became a doctor, quiet the skills of deduction." she smiled,

"Yeah well I hope you're not here planning to add Dawkins to that lineup,"

"Why? Would it be so bad for... old friends to rekindle old flames now that they're all grown up," She smirked, 

"Don't even think about it." I warn her, "The issue there is I know what you do. and I know what you'll do to me on our wedding night."

"True." She smiled "You're letting me go then?"

"Yep, just keep it clean, and stay out of trouble" I told her, 

"I uhhh Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I only ask because it is you Jack, but do you think you could slip a girl a few coins before you send me away? just for an apple and a place to rest my head tonight," 

"You don't have anywhere to go? Or any money?"

"No."

"How'd you get here then?"

"Spent my last few coins on the boat trip here, figured I'd get a job or earn money my usual way, I haven't even all that lucky yet," 

I felt awful, nowing the girl who use to gived me soup and clothes kept me happy and better off then I ever could have been without her, now had to ask me for money just to rest her head, but... I don't get paid, meerly food and accomodation, What little I had was for me and I'd worked my ass numb at the card table to get it, But... I can't say not to her "I... I think I can."

"I'd pay you back," she said, 

"Yeah, how?"

she stopped short a moment expecting me to say no and she clearly did not actually having an answer, "How I always used to?"

"Yeah?" I smirked a little 

"mhm" she nodded moving her dress and opening her legs 

"...Deal" I smirked crawling into bed with her "I've missed you" I smirked pulling her into a kiss feeling the intensity of our time apart 

"I missed you too Jack," She smirked 

[sephirothsplaything]

DNA| Sec.80 high power-chapter 14

A/N:Nooo Rhaella! Please don't project your obsessive/avoident attachment style onto Jace because you miss Aemond!!

This is the story of Lady Rhaella Targaryen; the strange one and her role in the Dance Of Dragons. Loved by few and feared by many.

The blood of the dragon runs in Targaryen's veins. Something else runs in Rhaella.

BLACK TARGARYEN OC/READER

PARINGS: Aemond, Cregan,slight Jace, slight Addam,original character.

Read the last chapter here!

"I should have been there," Jacaerys grumbled. 

Rhaella looked up to the starry skies in silence. She was still reeling from her brush with death. How the weight of her dagger felt lighter when she found the resolve to kill again. 

It was quite perplexing. The thought almost made her smile.

Jace had found himself outside to where Rhaella had stashed herself away. She did not particularly mind his presence, so long as he kept quiet. But here he was, ranting away.

"Are you listening?" Jace asked. Rhaella nodded. Jacaerys was angry, rightfully so. But more than anything he wished to act, to fly his dragon and turn their enemies to ash.

"It was a bold scheme, I admit," Rhaella says finally. Jace rolled his eyes in response. 

"Such stupidity could only come from Aegon, I'm sure." He said.

"Criston Cole had a likely role." Rhaella comments. It was not so long ago that he had blocked her from leaving Alicent's company. There was so much hatred in his eyes.

"If my mother only allowed me to be of use." Jace ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Rhaella scoffed. Was he truly this short-sighted?

"You lack experience, your dragon is young," Rhaella states bluntly. Jace turned fully to face her. His cousin was an enigma, for sure. He could not comprehend how she was content with watching and waiting.

"You could claim a dragon or even an egg," Jace said. 

"I am trying,it is not so easy." Rhaella snapped. He couldn't understand, his dragon was born to him. Rhaella was shown no such favor.

Recognizing he had struck a nerve in her, Jace drew back instantly, eyes softening.

"I meant no harm by it," Jace reassured. Rhaella shrugged his words off, it meaning little and less.

"I am not your betrothed, you need not consider my feelings," Rhaella scoffed.

Jace parted his lips to speak, but Rhaella's icy voice cut him off once more. She felt compelled to continue.

"You wish for vengeance, it is unbecoming of you," Rhaella said. 

Jace observed Rhaella's state. It was as if she hadn't been attacked merely hours ago. Her serene demeanor was nearly terrifying. Like she had since made up her mind about something.

"Was Luke not worthy of vengeance?" Jace asked. Rhaella's steely purple eyes hardened. She misliked when her words were misconstrued.

"War is sweet to those who have never fought," Rhaella said. The words were for Jace as well as herself. A poor attempt to calm her own bloodlust.

"My mother holds back, it unravels us all," Jace countered. Rhaella shook her head.

"She is strategic in her wait, you are too blind to see it."

The two cousins were quiet for a moment. The warm Dragonstone breeze passed over both of them.

"Aemond will not stop, and neither shall I," Jace concluded. Rhaella tensed at the sound of his name. Hard as she might try, Aemond's letter was still occupying space underneath her pillow.

"Alright then, promise me this," Rhaella said. "You are the heir to the throne, and my sister will be your queen."

Jace's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He could not follow.

"Take all your spite and sorrow, give it to me so that you may think clearly," Rhaella said.

"I would not dare place that burden on you cousin," Jace said.

"I can take it, you cannot." Rhaella resolved. Jace's anger would cloud his logic, and if Rhaella were to instill her plans inside of him, she could not have his foolishness getting in her way. His claim was much too important.

"Agreed, but I ask something from you in return."

Rhaella's eyebrow raised. She was unsure if she was in any mood to entertain this.

"Let us help each other keep our wits about us, I know you long to act as well," Jace said.

So he had been paying attention. All the subtle twitches in Rhaella's mostly melancholic face. Twitches of rage and passes of darkness. Jace had indeed seen it all.

Rhaella was not so alone as she thought. 

"Fine," Rhaella said, almost in a whisper. She resigned, hoping he would not disappoint her.

Jace stood up, stretching out. He offered his hand to Rhaella.

"The hour has grown late, shall I walk you to your chamber?"

………………..

THE MORROW CAME. Astris had scrubbed Rhaella raw and brushed out her curls into oblivion.

"You could be more gentle," Rhaella muttered. She watched Astris dart back and forth gathering her clothes for the day.

"Mayhaps, but now you look more like a lady!" Astris retorted. Holding out a towel, Rhaella wrapped it around herself.

"I never thought much of my looks." Rhaella sat on a stool as Astris began to work through her hair. Her mother would tell her that she was pretty, but Rhaella figured she was more or less obligated to do so.

Astris formed Rhaella's silver curls into a braided style more elaborate than she was used to. The braids tapered off into thick curls that fell to her waist. 

"I could not know why, you have quite a lusty figure," Astris commented cheekily. It made Rhaella's cheeks grow warm.

"If you are finished with your jests, I would like my gown," Rhaella said.

Astris helped Rhaella slip into her gown, it was a fine thing indeed. A red and black dress with a form-fitting corset with long sleeves that flowed down.

"What did you and the prince discuss last night?" Astris asked, adjusting the corset.

"I simply advised him to not be a fool," Rhaella responded. Astris giggled, leaning into her.

"And here I thought it would be something of note."

Rhaella turned to face her, purely unamused. "Today you are full of jokes, I see."

Astris shrugged, a small smirk on her face. "I had nearly forgotten what your preferred taste in men is."

She was relentless today, likely bored. Rhaella dismissed Astris from her chamber, turning back to look at her reflection. She felt like a pretender.

When Rhaella entered Rhaena's room, she found that Baela was already there.

"Sudden change in wardrobe?"Baela said. Rhaella made herself comfortable on Rhaena's couch.

"Astris insisted, overwhelmingly so," Rhaella said. Rhaena's eyes sparkled at the sight of her sister, despite her own sullen face.

"What is it?" Rhaella asked. Rhaena sighed, her hands restless with one other.

"Her grace is shipping me off to the Vale with Joffery, Viserys, and Aegon," Rhaena said.

"Perhaps it is for the best," Baela said, holding Rhaena's hand. She scoffed in response.

"Yes away from everything else, I shall play the nursemaid," Rhaena said bitterly.

"You'll have our father to thank for that," Rhaella said. Since his mistake..as he called it occurred, The queen rightfully feared that the greens may take action against her youngest.

"I hate him, sometimes," Baela admitted, reluctantly. For Rhaella, it was a common feeling she held since she was a girl. Despite her loathing, she found herself missing her father.

She would not dare voice the thought.

"The queen trusts you with them the most, she knew better than to send me," Rhaella said. Joffery seemed to prefer Rhaena to herself whilst Aegon and Viserys were always occupied by a maid. 

"She keeps you and Baela because of the dragons," Rhaena said.

Baela sighed again. Rhaella knew the feeling all too well. A Targaryen without a dragon was like a knight without a sword.

"If it is of any commiseration, Aegarax still refuses me," Rhaella said. 

"He is wild, give it time," Baela said. But in truth, time was little and less on their side. War was at their doorstep and Rhaella was annoyingly vulnerable.

"Right," Rhaella murmured to herself.

"The queen has asked me to keep watch over Kings Landing," Baela stated.

A poorly timed thing to say, Rhaena and Rhaella glanced at each other in agreement.

"Is that safe? So close to the city?" Rhaena asked.

"I shall stay high," Baela said confidently. Rhaella greatly doubted her sister would follow the queen's instructions so closely. And what if she fell upon one of the Greens dragons?

Her stomach turned at the thought.

"Moondancer is small, she will not be noticed so easily," Rhaella said instead.

Baela gave Rhaena a reassuring hug. Rhaella simply observed passively. 

"Come to the council meeting with me Rhaena," Rhaella suggested. She had grown tired of not having Rhaena by her side.

The two girls ventured to the Stone drum, the center of Dragonstone. Baela headed to the dragon pits in preparation.

Each sister took their place by the table. Jace glanced at Rhaella, eyeing the dress she wore.

"Is that new?" Jace whispered. Rhaella turned her head slightly in acknowledgment.

"Why?" Rhaella asked, a small smirk gracing her face. "Do you wish to trade clothes?"

Jace sighed in resignation before averting his attention back to the matter at hand.

"How fares Prince Daemon with our army?" Ser Alfred asks. The queen Rhaenyra seemed to physically coil at the question. She had grown weary at the mention of him, as had Rhaella.

"There has been no word, your grace." One of the maesters says. Rhaella glanced at Rhaena. Their father was practicing avoidance, as usual.

"Then we must send out all the dragons, overturn the Greens strongholds." Ser Alfred urges. 

He was often quick to speak out of turn, forgetting his place. But Rhaella did not exactly disagree. Had it been up to her, she would have done away with the greens army ages ago.

If only Aegarax would let her, that was.

"If dragons begin fighting dragons we only invite our own destruction," Rhaenyra said.

Rhaella's hand twitched at her side. 'All power demands sacrifice'

Ser Alfred chuckled bitterly in response. Jace's hand hovered atop his sword. Rhaella nudged him with the heel of her shoe. Slowly, he brought his hands back to either side of him.

"But your grace," Another lord spoke. "You have witnessed first hand how exposed you are."

Ser Alfred hummed in agreement. " Had Ser Erryk not arrived, you and the lady Rhaella would have been slain."

Quite the opposite, Rhaella had felt. Perhaps she would have sustained injuries, but she would have the two eyes of the invader clutched in the palm of her hand before the fact.

If only Ser Erryk had waited a while longer.

"Perhaps you should flee to somewhere safe, whilst we remain here." Lord Celtigar suggested.

"She shall do no such thing." Rhaella hurled out before she could control herself.

For watching the queen struggle amongst these idiots caused her patience to wain greatly. Why was she allowing such a thing, Rhaella could hardly understand.

"That would be treason, you are lucky you took it no further." Queen Rhaenyra said.

She stood up to leave abruptly, likely to her chambers. There was not much else for her to do.

"That concludes it, I suppose," Jace mutters out. Rhaella had grown bored of this routine.

"Come sister, let us ready your things." She said to Rhaena.

……….

RHAELLA WATCHED as Tyraxes and Stormcloud were ushered out in their crates. Rhaena held a look of nausea.

"It will be fine." Rhaella tried to assure her, although her flat tone was less than.

Baela walked up to them, embracing Rhaena.

"You have not left yet?" Rhaella asked. 

Baela shot Rhaella a look. "And miss Rhaena leave? I think not."

Rhaena grasped the hands of Baela. Rhaella stood off, a small pang of bitterness stirred within her. If only she could allow herself to be so free with affections.

"Go safely, sister." Baela wished.

"I will be safe enough," Rhaena said sharply. Rhaella crossed her arms,opting to keep her gaze on the young dragons.

"I'm sure you will be well-liked in the Vale." Rhaella said.

Baela hummed in agreement. "You may find yourself glad to be out of harm's way," Baela said.

It was not so condescending, but Baela could not understand. Such was the privilege of one born to a dragon.

"Do not coddle me Baela," Rhaena said bitterly. Baela looked to Rhaella for help but found no such relief.

"You do coddle, often in fact," Rhaella said shrugging.

"But I meant no insult," Baela said sincerely. She turned her head to the dragon egg chamber. "And here, I think is some consolation."

The sisters joined Queen to Rhaenyra by them. There, presented were four eggs each of them varying in color.

"But should all come to ruin, you shall bear our hope for the future," Rhaenyra said.

Rhaella stared at the eggs. In truth, she thought she had fed the last of Syrax's clutch to Aegarax.

'Ice and Fire' Rhaella felt a sharp pain in her head, causing her to hiss. She did not need to think too hard as to what had caused it.

"Are you alright?" Jace asked gently. Rhaella took a slight step back. 

"Ice and fire." She muttered. Jace frowned, stricken with confusion. Rhaella had once again returned to her strangeness.

Baela and Rhaena hug once more, a final goodbye. It was unclear when they would see each other again.

Rhaena hugged Rhaella as well, pulling her from the daze she was in.

"I shall miss you," Rhaella said. Rhaena's eyes watered.

"Then grant me this one favor," Rhaena said. Rhaella looked to Rhaena expectantly.

"Burn the letter, should longing become your enemy."

But how could Rhaella tell her that it already had? She would hold it in her hand for hours at a time before she drifted off to sleep.

"As you wish," Rhaella said. A lie.

When Rhaena and their young step-siblings had left, Rhaella went back to the topic of the previous council.

The queen was in an impossible situation. It was agony to be left in the dark as to what the Greens were plotting. 

Rhaella misliked not knowing things. A thought crossed her mind. Perhaps she could yet be useful to her grace—dragon or not.

"Your grace!" Rhaella sped up her pace to keep up with Rhaenyra. The queen turned to her. In all honesty, Rhaenyra was shocked that Rhaella was speaking to her. She had a thought that the girl fully resented her.

"Rhaella?" Queen Rhaenyra said. "Wha-."

"I wish to speak to you, it is urgent," Rhaella said hurridly

Rhaenyra led Rhaella into her chambers. Rhaella folded her hands in front of her, confident in her actions.

"You look quite pretty, might I say." Queen Rhaenyra commented. Rhaella tried to smile but it came out like a grimice.

"I have a proposition," Rhaella said. Rhaenyra raised an eyebrow.

"We are maintaining the blockade with my grandsire's fleets, are we not?" Rhaella asked.

Rhaenyra nodded. "It has been a great help."

Rhaella eyes down the multiple books on the side table, open to the pages of Queen Visenya.

"Visenya had a brilliant mind for warfare," Rhaella said. She did not shy away from the most bloodiest of affairs. It was admirable.

"I had hoped to draw inspiration possibly," Rhaenyra said.

Rhaella herself preferred the black bride, Rhaena Targaryen.

"Use the hunger of the smallfolk as a weapon," Rhaella suggested. "The people of Kings Landing are surely starving."

"That would be too cruel." Rhaenyra shook her head. Frustrated, Rhaella shut the book with a thud.

"No, it would be war," Rhaella responded. How could the queen not see a golden opportunity right under her nose?

Rhaenyra looked at Rhaella for a moment. Such a soft face, she had. Words of viciousness leaving her mouth was quite jarring to witness.

"What would you then?" Rhaenyra resided. "If you were placed in my position."

'Surround the red keep with all of our dragons.' Was the first thought that crossed her mind.

"Infiltration, someone who could be overlooked," Rhaella said. "There is much risk with multiple spies, it is better to send a single formidable one."

"And who would you propose?"Rhaenyra asked.

"Astris, my own handmaid."Rhaella could not think of anyone better suited for the task.

"No." Queen Rhaenyra shot her offer. 

"She is swift and meticulous," Rhaella argued. "Astris served the prince of Pentos before her servitude to me."

Rhaenyra considered this. She had never seen Rhaella so sure of anything.

"And you trust her, wholeheartedly?" Rhaenyra asked. Rhaella's eyes softened at the mere thought of her.

"It was she along with Mysaria who aided in my escape," Rhaella said.

"Help me see your plan then," Rhaenyra said. Eager, Rhaella sat down.

"Let Astris keep check on Aegon and the rest," Rhaella said. "She can report back anything that might be of use."

Rhaenyra hummed. "It is dangerous." 

"I am confident she can handle it, Aegon is little challenge," Rhaella said. Her hand twitched by her gown. Her true worry lay with Aemond, Astris would need to avoid him.

"And if something was to happen?" Rhaenyra asked.

"I shall take full responsibility, and act accordingly," Rhaella assured.

Queen Rhaenyra stood, smiling softly at Rhaella. It warmed her to see Rhaella so expressive,as it was so unlike her.

"You have your mother's mind, I think," Rhaenyra said. Rhaella blinked, averting her gaze to the floor. She could not know how to reply

The queen Rhaenyra moved past the silence. "Ensure you prepare Astris properly, I shall make arrangements."

.............

The boat was made ready for Astris's departure at dusk. The time had come and Rhaella's anxieties ate away at her.

The two girls stood in the outer corridor. Rhaella was sending her closest friend off to the vipers, and to what end? Gratification? She could privately admit this was both reckless and selfish.

Astris seemed to sense her lady's unease. Gently, she grabbed Rhaella's shaky hand.

"I can handle myself well enough, you know that," Astris said. Rhaella knew it, as she knew very well what Astris could do.

"You could still be hurt," Rhaella said softly. 

Astris smiled in response, a deep blush coloring her cheeks. "The Gods shall watch over me."

Rhaella scoffed. The Gods?

"I want you to make note of any green council member with influence," Rhaella said. In addition, she had entrusted Mysaria with maintaining communication. Rhaella wished to know every detail in the Red Keep, down to the gossip of maids. She was uniquely interested in Aemond's daily routine as well.

"Yes, my lady," Astris said. Rhaella's lips twitched into a smile. 

"Be wary of Aegon, he is a cunt," Rhaella added.

Astris raised a dark brow. "I shall do my best."

The boat sails dropped, ready to venture into the waters.

"Will you be alright, my lady?" Astris glanced at Rhaella. The energy surrounding Rhaella had not subsided, it merely seemed to increase. It was all too apparent that the Targaryen's girl mind was beginning to fracture.

"We shall see," Rhaella said. 

Astris began to leave with a small curtsy, but before she went any further, Rhaella pulled her in, placing a firm kiss on her lips.

"I need you to do whatever is necessary," Rhaella whispered to her. The Black haired girl looked at her with wide eyes. Astris understood her lady completely and would act accordingly.

Rhaella watched her leave, a feeling of emptiness swallowed her. She walked along the outer courts of Dragonstone, wondering if this was a fool's plan.

In the distance, the roars of a dragon could be heard. Aegarax's distinct calls shot right through her.

Maybe he was upset she had neglected to visit him with a dragon egg. It had been some time since Rhaella had seen him.

Rhaella's walk to the dragon mount seemed shorter this time around. Looking up to the caves, she began to climb. It was only when she had ventured halfway up did she she a tall figure above her.

She cursed, nearly losing her footing. What person would be daring enough to find themselves in a wild dragon's cave?

Rhaella was not too worried though, whoever was there would surely meet their end. The discontented roars of Aegarax only grew louder.

"Lykirī, Aegarax!" Rhaella tried but to no avail. She looked around for the intruder once more but found nothing that could irritate the dragon.

Whatever High Valyrian she spoke had almost no effect. Aegarax crawled out of the cave, on full display to Rhaella. His black scales reflected the moonbeams present.

"Skoros iksos ziry?" Rhaella said in a hush.'What is it?' Aegarax settled into a grumble, his head was restless.

Slowly, Rhaella reached out her hand to him. But she was met with an open-mouthed roar, causing her to jerk back immediately.

Taking cover, Aegarax took flight from the cave and into the skies. Away from her and with him he took the hopes of progress.

Perhaps it was one great jest. She had kidded herself into truly believing she had achieved something of significance. 

Forever dragonless, a false Targaryen.

[peachesofteal]

ok hi it’s me I was the one who asked for more detail about the fae boys and I don’t have a fic fleshed out but I have Thoughts.

Pre-nereid snatching, Ghost mentioned trading favors across dimensions, and roping in the rest of the 141 to help.

One of those was a deal with a witch, Soap went in Ghost’s place (in disguise of course) and asked for some help figuring out the blood magic bit (the little piece that was so obvious and Ghost couldn’t believe he missed it) so Soap’s like ‘great, thanks see ya never!’

and this is all fine and good for the witch, until news of a nereid becoming a fae’s wife hits across the magic world, and the witch can’t help but notice… how similar that spell was to the one she gave a man with a mohawk and- motherfucker. Well. She has a reputation to uphold, so she spends the next several months hunting down the fae (she knows the infamous Ghost wouldn’t show his face to just anyone, so it had to be one of his companions. Then she figured out Soap is the one with the mohawk, and puts it all together).

So when she finds him, she’s clearly furious, but trying her best to remain polite and Soap can’t help but laugh at how adorable it is that this witch is demanding an apology for tricking her.

and that’s really all I’ve got off the top of my head but I just think Soap with an angry witch wife is absolute perfection.

Okay… okay 👀 I love this! 🩵 Let’s say she’s a reader character…

You track him down in the mortal world. After all, the guys realm is nearly impossible to travel to, especially if you’re not from there. Which you’re definitely, definitely not. Your magic is completely different than Fae magic, existing within the confines of the tangible power mostly, fire, water… blood and bone. Your kind comes from the mortal realm, existing in the same pockets of forgotten lore and magic, much like the Nereids.

Here’s the other thing, Fae are the APEX in the magical realms. Even in worlds outside of their own, they are well known. Their power, intelligence, tricks and lust for bloodshed are whispered about far and wide. So imagine how you feel when you realize you inadvertently gave one of them the key to abducting a Nereid from her watery home? You would be devastated. Not to mention, every being knows that blood magic is witchcraft, not Fae magic. So your own community is turning their back on you because you’ve done this, you’re the one who allowed this to happen. You’ve betrayed them, gave away the knowledge of a magic that has lived well protected for centuries, all because you allowed yourself to be tricked by a handsome mortal? Who wasn’t even a mortal at all? How could you not see that… how could you be so blind?

Because you were flattered, that’s how. You were struck by how sweet, how kind and clever he was. You were entranced by his questions, his interest in you and the bookstore, hypnotized by the way his graceful fingers stroked the spines of your most treasured volumes. You weren’t like the others in your coven, you weren’t chased relentlessly by warlocks, weren’t praised for being an eternal beauty, you spent more time with your books and spells and cauldron than you did with with your peers. The few friends you had included your familiar, a mortal girl who worked in the shop with you, and your aunt.

After months of research, tearing apart grimoires and reading tea leaves, you finally figure it out. You finally learn the spell you need to track Fae, and then you cast it to find Johnny. You don’t have much to go on, but you remember his eyes, the sea glass blue shade that shimmered in the afternoon light when he approached you in the bookstore, following you into the back room. You had been completely charmed by him, and thus disarmed… distracted by clever words and his pretty face, letting yourself flirt with him by asking about his mohawk and intriguing accent.

You had been a fool.

So you shuttered the shop early one day, pulling his true form to your mind’s eye, the confirmation of the truth curdling your stomach as you cast the scrying spell, the presence of his magic shimmering all throughout the plane until it led you to a pub, a mere four blocks away.

Your rage, your shame overshadows your fear… a mistake you realize too late that day, far too late until you’re standing in front of him with your hands on your hips… spitting mad, magic swirling around you in violent hues of red and purple while he chuckles openly, admiring how your hair seems to float in the air with the electricity of your rage.

“You used me.” You hiss, fist unclenching, raising in front of your body like a weapon. “You tricked me, you Fae bastard.” Your finger extends, pointing right at him, and in the blink of an eye the air shifts, and he drops his glamour, exposing the true strength of his power, the tips of his ears, the mighty weight of the magic he carries in his veins.

Your words die on your tongue.

Johnny may not know much, but he knows well enough to never, ever, let a witch point at him, for a hex will surely come after.

His hand darts forward, strong fingers wrapping around your wrist and pulling you close, close enough that he can incline his head above your ear, voice razor sharp, lethal and cold when he whispers,

“Did you just point at me, little witch?”

[pocketgalaxies]

what did you mean about laudna and ashton driving you nuts?

mmmmm. dangerous territory! for me, i mean. to indulge the side of me that don't give a fu about–

it's pretty interesting how this ep turned out to be a direct comparison between laudna and ashton and how they discover and come to terms with the idea that there is an option for them to ostensibly destroy themselves in the name of protecting/helping/saving the rest of the party

a few ppl have already discussed this with far more thought and nuance than i'm willing to put into words right now but something something both of them taking this as an opportunity to Be Useful and Contribute to the cause, blind or perhaps willingly ignorant to the fact that these people love them for who they are and that they don't need to Do Something in order to be loved - in fact, losing them is actually a far less acceptable outcome to the party than whatever reward they perceive to be gained from their self-sacrifice. which is all very sad and tragic and juicy and pulls at the heartstrings which i always love. but this is kind of where the similarities end?

laudna follows this with a conversation in which she tells imogen what she would want to happen in rather explicit terms. and when imogen responds by saying she'll do everything in her power to stop it from getting to that point, laudna says "i can accept that." the next morning, they tell the whole group what happened. on the other hand, ashton pulls fearne aside and has their own grave conversation but in more vague terms, at least in the sense that i don't think fearne picked up what they were putting down or at the very least wasn't given the opportunity to really process and respond to what was asked. and then ashton isolated the two of them from the rest of the group to undergo this transformation without their knowledge. all of which drives me nuts! to see the direct comparison in which one is so much more communicative than the other

and i don't think it's fair to say that this is a consequence of the party being poor communicators overall. it's somewhat reminiscent of vax's initial response to scanlan leaving in c1 - we don't know your mother's name because you never talked about it. aka there's a difference between ashton bringing up this desire or plan to hold both shards and everyone brushing it off/not sufficiently exploring it vs. ashton choosing not to ask for their opinions, ideas, or feelings about it because he thinks they won't let him do it. he unilaterally made the decision for everyone, which is the most frustrating part for me. they presume to know what is best for everyone, and they presume to know that this is the only option, despite being surrounded by not only some of the most powerful people on the planet but also the people who care for them the most. which he said himself: nobody will miss me when i die, given that we all die - implicitly saying that if i am the only one who dies, i know you all will miss me. so to me it feels disrespectful to them, because even having acknowledged that they care, he doesn't trust that they might have ideas for a better solution or that they might recognize what this means to him and try to help him survive it. or that they might not want to be "saved" if it means losing him. or that they might like to say goodbye.

i know many people are saying that this is in line for ashton's character, frustrating or not, which i think is true. but it feels stagnant to me. ashton has come a long way in terms of learning to care for these people but they have learned little about being cared for. and while laudna is trying to believe what others say to her (that they love her, that she's important, that she deserves life) with varying degrees of success, to me ashton feels like they have made minimal progress and/or aren't trying to make progress. they refuse to see bells hells for what they so loudly and clearly are - people who love and care for each other, ashton included. and unfortunately, 77 episodes in and coming up on a vastly important mission (the first in a while), this brand of hypocrisy (taliesin's words not mine!) and lack of awareness for the group's feelings in the name of High Risk High Reward is something i have a rather low tolerance for ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

and for the record i've been thinking about this a loooot because i know most of it is colored by my general apathy toward this character. and i understand that a lot of people who love this character are so so fascinated by and invested in what happened. but my apathy toward ashton is something that i've tried to circumvent or logic my way out of a LOT in the past few years and at this point it's kind of an immovable object. and doing mental gymnastics to try and enjoy someone that i simply don't makes everything so much worse! so i don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but these are my thoughts whether i like it or not

tl;dr the end of this ep didn't make me excited, it just kinda made me feel annoyed and crazy. sorry

[maul-of-shame]

Bucky have you seen the BS on Twitter?

People really out there saying Elrond and Gil-galad are Galadriel's enemies T-T

When you think it cannot go lower-... you discover a new basement of stupidity!!!

Oh, believe me, I saw the nonsense circulating on Twitter, and honestly? Not even surprised anymore—just endlessly disappointed.

Some people really watched The Rings of Power and came away thinking Elrond and Gil-galad, two of Galadriel’s most consistent allies and supporters, are somehow her “enemies”? That’s some world-class selective interpretation. It’s clear they missed every ounce of depth, loyalty, and respect that runs through those relationships, all in some ridiculous attempt to rewrite Elrond as a hindrance rather than the grounding force he is. Watching the show must be optional for these folks, because only a blatant misreading could lead someone to conclude that Elrond, who has done nothing but support and look out for her, is some sort of threat.

And the low blows at Rob's physique?

That’s a level of immaturity that would have Sauron himself shaking his head. When people have to stoop so low as to insult an actor’s physique, it’s clear their argument is so flimsy it couldn’t withstand a breeze in the Shire, much less the harsh winds of Caradhras. Rob has brought a depth and authenticity to Elrond that Tolkien would be proud of, filling the role with warmth, intelligence, and the steady loyalty that defines Elrond’s character. So, to see so-called “fans” lashing out at him just because he doesn’t fit their narrow view? It’s beyond petty—it’s just plain pathetic.

Let’s call it what it is: this is nothing but sour grapes from people who can’t handle a version of Elrond that doesn’t line up with their fantasy projections. Instead of addressing anything remotely relevant, they take to Twitter with their weak, childish jabs as though reducing a deeply nuanced portrayal to nothing but a physique critique will somehow validate their point. This is the digital equivalent of trolls hiding under a bridge, popping out only to scream about things they don’t understand. It takes a special kind of cowardice to insult someone’s looks from behind a screen and call it an “opinion.”

If these people spent half as much time engaging with the actual content as they do criticizing a man’s jawline, they might realize that Rob’s Elrond is exactly what the show needed.

But no—clearly, that would require the kind of discernment and attention to detail that, at this rate, they’d probably have to borrow from a hobbit. Until these so-called “fans” learn to actually engage with what’s on the screen, they’ll continue spinning in their echo chamber, loudly proclaiming their “takes” like Gollum clutching his precious biases, completely blind to the richness and authenticity they’re missing.

The reality is, they can’t stand seeing a layered, genuinely supportive bond between Galadriel and Elrond, one that defies the typical romantic tropes and centers on mutual respect, trust, and loyalty. So, instead, they twist it beyond recognition.

Let’s be honest: until these people learn to actually pay attention to what’s on their screen, they’re simply not worth engaging with.

They’re more interested in tearing down than appreciating what’s there, and that says far more about them than it does about the show or the characters.

Imagine calling this man all kinds of names.

These people better be counting their blessings that I’m neck-deep in more important things (exams lmao) and not prowling around Twitter, because, if I had the time, they’d be sent packing and weeping back to their mothers faster than you can say ‘Hobbiton.’

[For legal reasons, this is a joke lmao.]

[hottakehoulihan]

This is a rant/musing/meandering about Worm fans WRT Wildbow. I think it's time I at least once made myself an unsubtly dissenting voice, since silence indicates agreement to so many. Move on if you like. This is probably mostly for me.

I'm white, from the USA, grew up with thrift store clothes and scavenged pencils but got to visit the dentist when needed, and was raised in the same ethnocentric, homophobic, fatphobic, ableist, Puritan-influenced culture that most of us were. I try to routinely examine and correct my biases and blind spots. I am trying to see what I might be missing, with as open a mind as I can manage.

I reread Worm (fourth readthrough, but my retention is meh) these last few months actually looking for any evidence at all I could find of the various phobias (all of them, it seems, and also the vaunted hates-drug-users) that some folk like to assert Wildbow has. I didn't find much that didn't--IMHO--more closely fit an accurate description of how the characters (including Taylor, who is literally a child that grew up in an even less-enlightened environment than most of us) are biased. This, coupled with an unfortunate shortsightedness of methodology (do NOT use dice when you write your story. It seems like a good idea to naive youth, but We Do Not Live in a world where you can just let RNG dictate that your [insert bad thing] is committed by [insert group that is already stereotyped as doing that bad thing]. (Though sometimes that's gonna happen in real life too, and art depicting things that happen in real life is Not Always Bad you just have to be careful about context and tone.) Also, try not to accidentally/subconsciously follow Hayes code-influenced patterns. ...though that's hard to do when you're making almost EVERY character a morally grey one) is all the support I see.

Whew, that was a weird parenthetical juxtaposition. Should I rewrite? Nah; it's already taking too much time.

Seriously, how many actually 100% goodguy fleshed characters does Worm have? Arguably zero. Even Yamada and Legend, by dint of having to work within the confines of their structures, made concessions to evils. Dinah made her ruthless calculus decisions just as Cauldron did. Taylor's famously grey self-justifications were agonized over no more or less than Parian's. A perfect character would be a blemish, arguably. (I'll just take Amy as my woobie; after more than a dozen years of emotional abuse and neglect by her kidnappers, she deserves a bit of consideration and rehabilitation.)

And just like I'm willing to assume that Gregor's somehow flawed, like he offscreen asserted that there are acceptable civilian losses when you're doing crimes or assaulting Cauldrons, and that's clearly bullshit because there's no actual evidence Gregor is anything less than perfect but it's easier to assume evils (and more fun to talk shit) than not, I figure a bunch of folk are trying to fit in by agreeing and priming their confirmation biases accordingly.

And this is without, even, considering the millions of other words in non-Worm stuff. You're gonna read Pale and tell me this same junk?

...though, well, perhaps my cutie Biscuit, and a thing Louise said about addicts essentially vanishing from the lives of their loved ones, might count as being against habitual recreational narcotic use. I'll think about that over my next bottle of wine.

I like reading light novels, and fluffy fanfics, and similar, even though usually the characters involved seldom have what you might call facets. When the retired orc warrior who started a gnomish coffeeshop moves on to her next volume, I'm there, and I don't care if I never find out that she once had to choose between leaving baby goblins to die in a fire or saving a teammate from a spike trap.

I've read so many stories where there's no such thing as an 'ism', or rather there's just no example of representation, because every character is two steps away from being an AFGNCAAP (Ageless, Faceless, Gender-Neutral, Culturally-Ambiguous Adventure Person)

I think Wildbow is serious about trying to always be a better writer in the approaching-MFA sense. I see efforts to portray believable behavior of real "human" (whether human or not) characters from multiple backgrounds, in a world that scans as plausibly diverged from the same sort of ugly we live in today.

I do not see any more latent phobias of any sort than I see in pretty much anything else available to read, from fanfic to bestseller lists to "new favorites" lists at the local library. In fact, I see markedly less, to include some (fuck 'em) commenters complaining about shoehorned-in wokeness.

It's weird to me that, given the body of work and the literal black-and-white facts about who and what exist within, and the extra time and effort the author made and makes (too much, IMO) generously engaging with the fans, the default is to diss the author for not doing even more. In their first work. Of which half the concept and much of the worldbuilding dated from grade-school practice. And it's still great.

And I'm saying this about a story where a significant number of the villains are literally white male nazis, torturemurderers, and literally inhuman terrorists. You wouldn't expect people to be demanding a lot of nuance if you were an outsider to this story. But Worm delivers, IMO.

This is not in response to anything recent; I've been chewing on this for years prior to even joining tumblr or creating this username.

tl;dr: Are you sure you're not talking shit about Wildbow just to fit in with the other cool snarksters and feel cool and cynical and superior? Instead of sincere? Because I went looking, and, respectfully, I think you're wrong. And it's a bit ugly and sad.

[yilinggusu]

Prapai really does notice everything about Sky. A single offhand comment by Prapai of love makes him blind sends Sky into thinking about his past with his ex. It was only a slight change of expression and while people wouldn't notice it, it was enough for Prapai. When Rain mentioned Sky's ex Sky got angry and told Rain to never mention his ex again.

But with Prapai Sky got caught off guard and Prapai saw something he wasn't meant to see which was Sky's sad expression due to a flashback of his time with Gun. It lasted a second but it was enough for Prapai to notice it. Prapai knew Sky wasn't as okay as he pretended to be to his friends. Prapai noticed it because he is so observant of Sky.

So I ended up writing a whole thread on how Prapai and Sky changed from episode 8 to episode 11 because I love these characters. I just want to talk about how Prapai noticed the small details of Sky right from the start. I also talk about how Sky slowly warms up to Prapai and learns to let himself love Prapai. They both changed so much for each other especially Sky.

I'm going to do the rest of the episodes on another thread because this is too long. I have so much thoughts about them. So if you decide to keep reading I hope you enjoy it. If not then no bad feelings about it at all because this a whole essay.

Even on their breakfast date (I'm calling it that) Prapai lists off what he likes about Sky. He comes on a little strong depending how you look at things. How he likes Sky how he looks with his pretty eyes, beautiful nose and soft cheeks. Prapai not knowing when to stop tells Sky he likes his sleepy eyes and messy bed hair. At this point Prapai just wants a repeat of their night together and cranking up the charm to do it. But it doesn't work on Sky who points out he knows he looks different to what Prapai is saying and brushes off his compliments. Sky really thinks Prapai is forcing himself to praise Sky so he doesn't believe a word from Prapai. But Prapai just looks amused by Sky through their whole conversation. He has clearly never been rejected the way Sky is rejecting him before and he is loving it. But Prapai refuses to give up. Sky really cant understand why Prapai likes him and wants Sky to know more about him.

Even at work Prapai is thinking about Sky telling Namtan about Sky. Details like how Sky is sometimes sexy, occasionally sad and mysterious at times. He is also agonizes about what flowers to buy for Sky when he should be working and leaving Namtam a very confused woman in the process. She needs a pay rise for dealing with shit from Prapai. He barely even knew Sky at this point and was already noticing just how sad Sky was feeling inside. He really wanted to get something that he thought suited Sky's personality. Sky really just consumes all of his thoughts. He pays so much attention to little details about Sky and obsesses about them all day and night. He still doesn't give up even after Sky rejects the sunflowers. Anyone else would walk away but Prapai isn't one to give up so easily.

He barely even knew Sky at this point and was already noticing just how sad Sky was feeling inside. Even when Sky told him to not waste his time with him anymore, Prapai still didn't give up. He even let Sky know he would be away for a whole week for work and to not miss him too much. But then Prapai spends his week away thinking about Sky and his sad expression. Sky just read the text, smiled to himself and wondered why Prapai would tell him he was away for the week.

Sky shuts down and then tells himself its best to keep Prapai out of his life since he will lose interest eventually. Sky even tells himself to listen to head not his heart. In his heart he wants Prapai but his head tells him to keep Prapai out of his life so he doesn't get hurt again. So he listens to his head and continues to push Prapai away. Even after Prapai tells him he wont give up. Sky is just so afraid to let anyone into his life. He knows Prapai will just get bored and leave so why take the chance in getting to know him. Its safer to push Prapai away because he will give up eventually. Sky is just protecting himself from getting hurt again. After all his parents abandoned him when he was 15 and his first relationship was all physical and mental abuse. Why let history repeat itself which is why Sky is pushing Prapai away.

But Prapai doesn't give up. When Prapai looks after Sky when he is sick he notices more about Sky just by looking at his eyes. Sky is a people pleaser and helps his friends out all the time at the expense of his own feelings and his own deadlines. His friends never question their over reliance on Sky because Sky is just so helpful he wont say no. Sky looks after everyone but never himself and no one ever looks after Sky. His friends think he is standoffish and sarcastic. It gets him taken advantage of a little but no one ever notices just how sad Sky is all the time. Either his friends don't care enough to notice or they are just too busy with their own lives and deadlines. Also Sky is just really good at hiding how he really feels from people.

Prapai notices every little detail about Sky and wants to help him and look after him as much as possible. Prapai knows Sky doesn't look after himself so brings him food, medicine and tries his best to get Sky to rest and eat some food. This is when Prapai's feelings start to change from just wanting sex with Sky to wanting to get to know Sky. He even admits at first he wanted sex but his feelings became deeper for Sky the more he got to know him. Prapai even begins to question why he wants to help Sky. It's becoming more then just sex for Prapai. He even wonders why Sky's eyes cry for help all the time.

Prapai stays long enough to witness one of Sky's nightmares. Sky wakes up begging for Prapai to not let him go. Even when Prapai goes to move away Sky clings to him not wanting him to leave. Prapai reassures Sky he wont leave and he isn't going anywhere even though he is confused. Even the next morning when Sky tried to make Prapai leave Prapai tells him he may be shameless but his heart is fragile. Prapai admits he is happy once Sky doesn't block his number and answers his calls and texts. He even tells Sky not to run away from him and let him pursue him but since Sky is sick he'll back off for now. Even Sky brushing him off with I'll never be interested in you doesn't have any effect on Prapai. Prapai just keeps coming back because he likes Sky even though he doesn't know why yet.

He helps Sky at the First Cheer night and just lets Sky use him as a human pillow. He knows Sky doesn't believe him so reminds him he is serious about their relationship. Sky is either too tired or sick to care but he is just glad Prapai showed up for and thanks him for coming to him. Sky is really starting to see Prapai as someone who will show up when he needs someone.

Prapai even notices just how sad Sky is but then at this point Sky is letting Prapai into his world a lot more than his friends ever get to see. Sky puts up a pretence of being okay and happy with the way his life is and that he doesn't need anyone but its a surface level keeping his friends at a distance front. Sky's friends just see him as cold and snarky and don't look past the defensiveness. But Sky spends a lot of his private time in his dorm with Prapai who sees Sky in a different way. Prapai sees Sky in the privacy of his own dorm where he can be himself away from the eyes of other people. Where he can let his guard down and be himself knowing he will never be judged by Prapai. Sky feels comfortable around Prapai and keeps letting him a little bit more as time passes.

Prapai makes a big effort to come over to Sky's dorm as much as he can in his free time. Sky also behaves differently around Prapai than he does with his friends and Rain. It takes him a while to thaw out but he warms up to Prapai slowly over their time together. To the point that he calls Prapai to come over a lot. He starts to rely on Prapai because Prapai always makes time for him and wants to be there with him too. Sky never relied on anyone but he is learning he can rely on Prapai to help him when he needs help. He is warming up to Prapai and slowly starting to let him into his life. It helps that Prapai keeps showing up in front of him every day of the week.

Even after their misunderstanding in ep 11 when Sky calls Prapai to come over his dorm room. Sky really couldn't believe someone would actually be worried about him. You just have to look at his face to see that he really didn't believe Prapai would actually be worried about him and he feels a bit bad over it too. Sky's self esteem and low self worth stops him from thinking Prapai really does care what happens to him but it doesn't register in Sky's mind. Why would it when Gun used him as a toy and demoralized him any chance he got so in Sky's mind Prapai doesn't care. He just wants sex. But Sky slowly realizes that maybe Prapai really actually does care about him and he is surprised by it. Which leads to Sky pushing Prapai's boundaries and trying to get him to go away. It's classic self sabotage.

lt is only when Prapai gets closer to Sky he learns more about Sky. To the outside world Sky is cold, prickly and sarcastic but will also do anything for his friends and those who need his help. But when he is alone with Prapai he becomes softer, more quiet and affectionate. He also starts to open up to Prapai and enjoy their time together. To the point he stays awake just to let Prapai into his dorm. He starts to want Prapai in his dorm because he enjoys his time with Prapai. Prapai knows that underneath it all Sky is lonely and just wants to be loved. He notices Sky smiles more even when Sky thinks Prapai hasn't noticed it.

As their relationship develops Prapai learns of Sky's fears of abandonment such as Sky asking when he will get bored and leave. Prapai never questions him on it. He also notices the way Sky's prickly responses to him don't really mean anything anymore and sees them for they empty words they are. He knows Sky cares for him but is just afraid to care for him or to show it but he just doesn't know why Sky is this way. He knows something happened to Sky, has thought about it a lot but never pushes Sky on the issue. He just stays by Sky all the time. He knows Sky will tell him in his own time.

This scene of Prapai losing it over Sky hugging him when he thinks he is sleeping and thinking about him all the time is just so cute. Sky is quite abrasive towards him in a playful way. But you just know Sky would resist hugging Prapai in bed. He would probably have a brush off comment to make about it. But there is something in the way that when Sky thinks Prapai is asleep he willingly hugs him to sleep. Sky only really feels safe to hug Prapai when he is asleep because Prapai will never know about it and there is less chance of him being verbally abused for a hug. Sky's ex probably verbally or physically humiliated him for wanting something like a hug or any form of PDA.

Sky really wants to hug Prapai but is afraid to ask or just do it. He is afraid if he does then he will be cruelly rejected the way he was rejected by his ex. What Sky doesn't know is that Prapai loves it when Sky hugs him when he thinks he is asleep. Prapai is just head over heels for Sky at this point. The person he was before Sky no longer exists. Even Prapai questions just how much does he really like Sky when Sky asks when will you get bored of me. And Prapai doesn't even lie. He gives Sky the option of an honest answer or sweet words. Sky is afraid of the answer. He falls into his defence mechanism of sarcasm telling Prapai when have I ever wanted sweet words from you. Prapai knows Sky wants an honest answer and he gives him the best answer possible in that he wont know until that day comes. Prapai knows Sky is afraid and scared of something, something happened to Sky to make him this defensive. So he asks what are you afraid of. Even though Sky is defensive you can see he just looks so vulnerable and scared.

Sky has always kept Prapai at a distance but over time he slowly lets Prapai in past those walls he built to protect himself after what happened with his ex. He slowly warms up to Prapai over time. He uses his prickly nature as a defence knowing Prapai will get bored and leave. So why not make it happen sooner like he made him clean his whole dorm room in ep 11. Sky was testing Prapai and Prapai knew it too. His test didn't work so Sky finally caved and asked Prapai when would he get bored and leave. Prapai asks Sky what is he afraid of and realizes Sky is afraid he will get bored leave and tells him he wont leave him. Even when Sky initiates sex Prapai knows something is wrong. Sky is just using his past behaviour of sex to appease his shitty ex on Prapai. But Prapai isn't having any of it. He knows something is wrong with Sky. Prapai is clear about his intentions even to go as far as to say he will have both Sky's body and his heart.

Considering how Gun used Sky in the past. For Prapai to say this to Sky it must have meant everything to him. Gun only wanted him as something to play with, something to use and abuse to throw away when he got bored. To share with his friends for entertainment. Called Sky boring just because he wouldn't do what he wanted him to do to. Wouldn't allow himself to be brainwashed by Gun.

Here is Prapai getting closer to his heart by the day and Sky is letting it happen. Sky first thought Prapai only wanted sex but he made it clear he wanted Sky for his body also his heart. Prapai really loves Sky as a person and his actions proved he does care about Sky a lot. Sky must have been terrified of it. To be seen as an actual person and not a toy to be played with or to be used and abused and then thrown away. That someone like Prapai actually desired him and was attracted to him in every way possible and not just for sex.

But is Sky is still so scared. He still pushes Prapai away saying please get bored of me soon. He thinks Prapai will get bored of him soon. He says those words while hoping Prapai doesn't get bored of him. He wants Prapai so badly not just physically but also emotionally and he cant resist him anymore. I mean its Prapai who couldn't resist that man. He really wants Prapai to stay in his life but is so afraid of it at the same time. He doesn't want Prapai to get bored but does he even notice the way Prapai looks at him. Probably not because he thinks so little of himself that he doesn't notice the way Prapai looks at him like he is his whole universe. Prapai will never get bored or leave. The lovemaking scene was so tender, loving and intimate. Sky is stuck with Prapai forever. And I will never be over that scene. It was everything.

Even after Sky self sabotages their relationship Prapai refuses to give up on him because he knows something is wrong. He knows Sky would never say anything like that and mean it. Sky projected his own fears onto Prapai. Sky accused Prapai of doing what Sky was afraid Prapai would do to him. Prapai knows Sky has given up on himself because of his insecurities but he wont give up on Sky. He knows Sky loves him. What they have and share is real. He knows Sky is scared of his feelings so he tells him he loves him first. He breaks through Sky's walls and helps him admit his feelings but putting himself out there first. He was forceful about it but an intervention was needed. I will defend Prapai over this, he did the right thing because Sky would have just self destructed even more. Sky needed Prapai to do what he did to see the truth. To realize that Prapai really did love him so much. Sky needed someone to fight for him and Prapai really fought for Sky and their relationship. Even though Sky gave up on them because of his insecurities. Prapai never gave up on Sky or their relationship not even for one second.

By episode 13 Sky is just so soft with Prapai. He feels so safe that he just admits he wants to hug Prapai to sleep. The way Prapai takes care of him and cleans him up after they make love is just so tender. Sky even looks a little shy about how tender Prapai is with him because he is not used to it. Its a clear difference from his relationship with his ex who found his love and affection boring. But Prapai just takes it all from Sky and gives that love and affection back to Sky in so many ways. Prapai loves his adorable, affectionate boyfriend who just wants to hug him to sleep. Prapai is just as clingy and affectionate and hugs Sky back as they cuddle in bed together.

They both really changed each other for the better. Sky was able to learn how to trust someone again and it paid off. He got himself a person who will do anything and everything for him. He found someone he can love and adore and love him back just as much. He can be as clingy and affectionate with Prapai all he wants and Prapai just takes it from him and gives it back to him in spades.

Its a long way from the person he used to be when he silently hugged Prapai when he thought Prapai was asleep. He wanted that warmth and comfort so badly but he couldn't ask for it. Felt like he wasn't allowed to have it or that Prapai would give it so willingly. Even though Sky slightly hesitates in admitting to Prapai that he just wants to hug him to sleep. He still isn't afraid to say it out loud and when he does Prapai just hugs him tightly and looks so happy about it. When Sky tells Prapai he just wants to be with him, the look on Prapai's face says it all. I've written a whole other thread on this so I wont repeat it here. But it's in the link below if you want to read more.

Sky just wants to love Prapai and he gets loved and adored by Prapai in return. He has so much love and affection for Prapai even after everything he had been through and he could have closed himself off to Prapai. It would have been easy to do it, to shut Prapai out of his life forever. But Prapai didn't give up on Sky. He takes all of Sky's love and affection and gives it back to him in so many ways. Prapai was quite happy with his carefree life but meeting Sky made him so much happier. They changed each other's life for the better. They are just so happy with each other.

I will end it here because its too long. If you made it to the end of this thread thank you for reading it all.

[naffeclipse]

*Arrives at Internet Explorer Speed*

Hey guys! Those new chapter of Lack of Light, am I right??!

FDKHKFGH Sorry I needed to make a silly entrance back in your inbox Naff XD

But aaaaaa I finally came back to read these and I'm here with a brand new comment!! For the two chapters I was missing no less! :D

So let's get to it!

Ok so first off I don't know if I'm just looking too much into it but I read this line: "You rely on your eyes to adjust to the darkness" from th first paragraph and it just felt significant to the rest of the chapter, you know? Very literal but metaphorical at the same time!

And oooh something I definitely have to praise in this is the amazing description of the anguish through all the physical sensations that the reader is going through. I think I've mentioned before that when I read reader inserts I don't truly put my real self in the story but rather try to imagine it through the main characters eyes, but wow did I feel this one. The way you detail all those physical effects that anxiety has on the body, beautifully described through images and comparisons, just made it seem so very real. I basically could almost feel them myself, just remembering times when I had definitely experienced something similar, even if the causes were different! I will always applaud your descriptions, Naff! Makes me want to take notes!

And AAAAAAA I gotta say that I absolutely love how just, hrrrr, I'm struggling to find the words to describe it, but I would say how there's a clear parallel between what both Reader and Eclipse are going through?

Because ok, first of all, is the matter of hiding right? Reader seems to be trying to hide (kind of like Eclipse does his true self), but through a mask instead of blindness. Even through previous encounters they have tried to present themselves a very specific way. The unshakable one. Unaffected by everything, at least in a way that goes beyond mild funny venting. And it feels like something they force themselves to do in their daily life, beyond the forest. It's just they're so used to doing it, that it became a part of how they perceive themselves and failing to do so feels to them like they're showing a part of themselves that is intolerable. And aaaaa then Eclipse also because clearly he must have enough experience having met other humans to know that even those that dared stay after learning of his presence ran away after seeing him. So both hide and hide while they wish for more and hate themselves for it, and might even think they don't deserve it.

(Sidenote: I love this description: "The mysterious being who exists in pure darkness, cast by the sun and the moon." Obviously because it references his name (be it a solar or lunar eclipse), but also because it reminds of his strange nature. Because an Eclipse is an event! A phenomenon that is not exactly a natural object, but something that can only be seen under the right conditions!)

And oooh speaking about Eclipse and hiding, I just love the contrast between Eclipse's darkness coming from being unseen vs the darkness born from emptiness. Because Reader so far hasn't been daring at all in pushing to see him, because they fear the latter. Eclipse's nature is intimidating, and it's often said that we fear not the darkness itself, but what we might find in it. But here it's the contrary! Both Reader and Eclipse fear that potential emptiness. They have found company in each other thanks to the darkness, but should something go wrong (pushing too much or scaring the other one away), they would find themselves staring into the void and nothing else.)

And that exactly leads into the doubts about what the other thinks once they've revealed themselves! And it's so interesting how they fear so intensely that the "flaw" they see in themselves, which are kinda opposite, is what will make the other regret meeting them. Like for Reader is that vulnerability, that inability to be perfect about everything that hits them in their daily life and dealing easily with it. They fear their "weakness" will disgust a great being as Eclipse. And for Eclipse is fearing that his form, great, strange, intimidating, monstrous, is what will leave him without his dear one. His very nature enough to drive them away. When in reality, it's likely those very things that made them initially appealing to the other! The Reader a precious little creature, that despite not having horns or sharp teeth lives their daily life bravely (enough to befriend a shadowy being). And Eclipse, a fascinating and fearsome creature, that despite it all demonstrates he's gentle and kind and capable of becoming that friend that provides the most comfort in Reader's life!

Ooooh I just adore how two very different beings, with way more differences than similarities, still have this experience in common. That fear and uncertainty about letting themselves be known, because past experience has thought them it's unwise, and yet they find relief from that terrible all-consuming anxiety when they let themselves trust that this time it will be different and that it is worth it, even if it is raw, to open up and let the right person in.

Now for Mothman Moon!

Just starting and the Reader is already turning the headlights on and off repeatedly jfhdsgkh Prime conditions for Mothman sightings! XD

Oooh I love how you build up the paranoia! Different situations, but it makes me think when it's late at night and for whatever reason you need to go out in a hallway of your home and you gotta reassure yourself that no, there's nothing lurking in the shadows of your home, be an adult and walk calmly jghdkfsj The feeling of being exposed and on edge is so very well achieved! But also all the little hints, like the raven falling quiet. And that instinctual feeling of being watched! Related to all this, I adore this line: "Your optimism slips in the slightest before you yank it back up by the throat and continue marching along." I felt that in my soul fkijhdfgkñjh

Aaaa I love how everything falls quiet at the flapping of wings! Everything knows to be quiet and freeze. And I love Reader is part of that everything. Like they are connected to the forest around them by virtue of not wanting to draw attention to themselves, something they share with all the creatures around.

And oooooo such a spooky sight when we finally get a glimpse of him!! Kinda gave me the urge to hold my breath as well as I read! Just the sight of the glowing red eyes coming from a shadow within the fog would paralyze anyone for sure! And then gjhfdkg poor Reader just shifts horror flavor from Creature-in-the-forest-that-could-kill-me to Stranger-Danger. Pick your poison and all that XD But man that instinct does seriously kick in when a stranger gives us bad vibes huh?

(As a sidenote, I love how you've given the different readers between chapters different responses to fear! Like the first chapter with Sun had Fight if I remember correctly, then the second chapter had Fawn, which I think it's trying to please to prevent from being harmed, even if the fear wasn't so much of Eclipse but of abandonment, and in this one we have Freeze! Which we see twice when Moon first appears and then when the car races towards them!)

Oh. My gosh??? The fact that Moon is just able to take on a car that's going full speed though?? Damn! And oooh he was not happy. He does not appreciate assholes/downright murderers in this area. (Btw I can't help but think that he did in fact break that second light slower on purpose to seem more menacing fjkhdaskjh)

Aaaa it's fascinating how he seems so perplexed by the Reader's response to everything that just happened! Like he doesn't quite understand the freeze response. It's something animals do as well, but I'm guessing if it doesn't work then most would ultimately run from the danger. It's probably the first instance of this he has encountered! And poor reader seems to just be very badly affected by it, physically as well as mentally judging by the lightheadedness.

(sidenote: "He looms, his wings flaring out beside him in magnificent flares of warnings and death." Me, helpless DCA simp, vivid image of the majestic view in my head: Um yes, hi, hello? 👉👈 GFÑLKDJHGÑLJ)

And aaaaa I loved the flight scene! I myself am pretty scared of heights so I likely would have screamed gkjhfdksj but! I love that we continue the theme of braving a bit of the fear to discover something wonderful! Despite my fear of heights I've always imagined how wonderful it would be to have wings and this scene just striked me as something terrifying yet beautiful because it really is an experience that Reader wouldn't get anywhere else! And despite the polarizing feelings of fear and safety just warring inside of them, the wonder was just so tangible as Moon carried them through the air!

And ooo I find it so interesting how he refers to multiple things as the "lights", which from his perspective must be the most notable characteristic of the stuff that emanates it! It's clear he's familiar with cars, and likely has witnessed what happens when one hits a living thing. And the light of the gas station tells him that it's a place humans go to. So he knows it's not just lights, but he still seems to perceive it as their most important characteristic. Aaaa I'm so curious about what the world looks like to him because of this!

And ough it's so sweet he keeps watch over them as they go trying to get the help they need. It seems to me he finds them really intriguing and the fact that he gave them his name could mean he hopes it will not be their last meeting!

And that's that!

Aaaaaa everytime I come back to your writing I keep being taken by surprise by how well you manage to make the reader immerse themselves in the story! Your descriptions are so vivid and your use of the language so *chef kiss*! Everytime I'm just dying to know what's the word that follows the previous one, what will happen, and when that tasty tension you build so well will reach it's snapping point! This little series was a delight to read and a very nice journey into what fear and darkness means to different people. And of course, meeting some very strange and fascinating creatures that make the unknown not as bad as it seemed <3

Thanks for this delicious chapters Naff! It's always a delight reading what you make! 

(Sorry if something is phrased weirdly btw, it’s kinda late as I’m writing this fgkjhdsk)

AHHH CHAOTIK! HI, HELLO! WELCOME BACK!!! I'm so glad to see you in my inbox again!!

Oh, I am rattling you so hard right now! I live for your analysis and I especially love that you caught how much Eclipse and Y/N complement and contrast each other—the same fears but different reasons. They are dear ones, your honor!!!

And Moon! My Mothman!Moon! He's so much fun to write! I'm really glad you enjoy his spooky entrance and his descriptions!

Also, with the readers, that's so funny that it changes from Fight, Fawn, and Freeze! I meant for Mothman's Y/N to freeze but I also think it's neat to explore different responses to fear, so I'm happy that stood out!

(He did break the second car light slowly—he's so dramatic lol)

He does have a different view of the world due to lights—humans have lights. Humans drive with them, live with them, and are afraid without them. Lights are just as foreign as those humans! But he does have a particular interest in Y/N—they were almost hit by the lights themselves. It's now every time he sees that, but he was curious from how they froze to how they were terrified yet in awe of flying. He even finds them cute but doesn't expect to see them again! But Y/N has plans of venturing back to the words with the mothman hehe

Gah, thank you so much, Chaotik! I love how in-depth you go and reading your thoughts makes my day, babe! <3

[buckybarnesss]

I think stories where the Hales are picture perfect just never resonated with me because I really do see them as That One Family that is wealthy but is super dramatic and over the top and just... intense.

It's so much more realistic that THAT upbringing would produce Derek and Cora (and Peter) than one that is super soft and lovely.

Like, Talia would never let Derek out of the house wearing his skank tank. That is not Alpha Hale approved.

talia hale would never. i feel like talia was super sensitive to how they were perceived by the community and she took great pride in her family. it reflected upon her not just as their mother and matriarch but as their alpha too.

her children were raised by wolves but they were not raised in a barn.

i just know talia was definitely a shoes off at the door, no feet on the coffee table and elbows off the table kind of mom but she wanted her kids to be human as much as they were wolves. it wasn't one or the other it was both.

she checked their homework and they had a chore chart but she turned a blind eye to the children trading chores and bribing each other. cora strikes me a conniving deal maker and derek was weak to his baby sister.

laura's cain instinct was triggered several times a week. you know she lorded over him she could turn into a wolf and he couldn't. there's no way she did not.

derek and laura were probably each other's greatest annoyances in life but also woe be to anyone who fucked with the other. i wish derek had spoke about laura. or cora. or anyone.

i don't think talia was a soft parent but she wasn't too rigid either. she could be comforting, wise and warm but not always emotionally available. she had to strike a balance between being a mother and being an alpha and maybe it wasn't always perfect.

i think there could've been something interesting about derek finding out talia forced corrine to carry her pregnancy with malia. derek helping malia to kill her birth mother while having to confront his mother's more shady, ambiguous and morally questionable actions could've been intriguing for his character.

i feel in my bones talia and peter were probably more similar than fandom wants to believe. she had to know his nature. she was his older sister and his alpha. i don't buy for a second she that blind to peter's behavior and didn't use it for her own benefit. they disagreed but he never seemed to challenge her and deeply mourned her death. losing pack is like losing a limb and peter was driven mad at the loss of his family. even after she died peter never spoke ill word about talia to anyone. not even when it'd cut derek to the quick if he did.

peter actually never says anything bad about talia or laura for that matter even if he was resentful talia took the memory of malia from him. (the nemeton is actually debatable. she definitely took it from derek but how did peter find it at the end of 3A?)

it's just the whole kate getting her hellish claws into derek so soon after paige's death and the way they likely had to cover up her death deeply fucked derek up and traumatized him in an already vulnerable time get me. he was failed by the adults in his life. he clearly wasn't getting the support he needed.

of course talia isn't to blame for kate's actions but where was she? how'd they miss an argent prowling around beacon hills and so close to derek?

but yeah the hales weren't perfect. they couldn't have been. but death has a funny way of smoothing those kinds of things out in your memory.

[khaopybara]

Ok so we are in agreement that may definitely knows that ai-oon is not oom right? Like even if she somehow managed to avoid seeing the news of the accident our girl oon is NOT doing well acting like someone may has/had been dating lol.

But also I love them so i am more than willing to turn a blind eye to all the sus behavior 😆

ALSO we finally got PhimPang and they are ICE COLD!! I wanted to like Pang soo much because of ciize but Pang is the WORST! I was so mad when she pull oon away from may so that she could basically make sure that May was blind. WHO DOES THAT!? 🤬🤬🤬 i know we’re only on ep 2 but at this point i am all for PhimJan!

Really i am praying to the GL gods for a true triangle! Give me PhimPangJan or give me death!

AND ANOTHER THING that grandma is on thin ice

Ok what else….planetarium dates was adorbs and the the cockroach scene had me dying 😭

-🤫

miss famous lawyer who's studying to enhance human rights and went to a meeting in geneva to create a roadmap to help with her mission most definitely knows something is up. i think i got spoiled about this whole situation, but i'm not 100% sure how trustworthy people's vague commentaries and my deduction skills are. either way, oon is now the love of my life. she is adorable and she needs a very tight and good hug, and for now, may seems like she's doing it quite well (tho i must admit, my heart hurts for oon every time may calls her oom).

LISTEN! i love my girl ciize. i adored her as alpha in 23.5, and i was so looking forward to see her in pluto (still am, don't get me wrong, i think this plot line will give us so much), but from the moment ciize said, yeah you know, pang has had this crush on oon since forever but never made a move bc she didn't know oon liked women, too, but now that she knows that's an option for her, you know, she might go for it. never mind this relationship i have with this other stunning officer who lives with me. it's like having war flashbacks of raymew in only friends, tho they are very different characters in very different circunstancies.

the thing about pang tho is that she's very logical. ep 1 pang telling oon, hey girl, i know a lot has happened in the last week of your life, but you're really taking the side of a girl found out existed just the other day and you met literally once. get a grip. iconic behaviour. i was saying the same thing. but ep 2 pang make me feel she does all of that out of misplaced jealousy and sense of ownership over oon's time and presence which is not really nice. i hope we get to see more of the phimpangjan triangle thing soon, because as i said, it's gonna be juicy~ (also, jan is so much more loyal and driven than i thought she would be. from the pilot trailer, i thought she'd be just a jealous wine lady who'd get in between kapookciize, but she's sweet so far).

grandma clearly has favorites (or so we think. at least this part of the story is from oon's perspective, after all, and we know we can be biased when telling a story), but @suppaloscurse talked about it in this post and i agree with a lot of that. oon not only is the older twin, she's also the one who needed to be strong and support her younger sister. it's not fair of grandma to pick favorites so blatantly, but i feel like it's what oon has always expected. she was sidelined bc her sister's fragile health, oom went to a private school, and then as adults, oom became a flight attendant while oon works in delivery (pls know i'm not putting more value in one more than the other) and then, also married rich. namtan talked about how grandma is pivotal in oom's story and is the reason for the granddaughter's growth, so i'm looking forward to figure that relationship out, too.

also, THE SAPPHICS OWN THE SPACE. THAI GLS TAUGHT ME SO. and, props to the cockroach that gave us the classic falling on top of you scene. i've said this during ploy's yearbook when namtanfilm's character found themselves in a similar predicament that if they were dudes, they would have kissed on the lips back then, and we almost had it in today's episode. fingers crossed i still can get my cliche from them.

[ouroboros-hideout]

It‘s time. Going to drop some headcanons and assumptions about the Colonel here.

Grab some snackies and feel free to comment your own thoughts about him if you like. Think everyone has his/her own view on the character, would be interested to hear them. And I already noticed I missed some information because I am like a blind little mole while playing games. So if there are STILL things I just missed, that are somehow connected to stuff I came up with pls let me know. Need to absorb all the little details about the dog.

And of course there are spoilers below the line. If you don‘t likey, don‘t looky.

1. He‘s not dead

That‘s like my absolute main hc. Said it in a post before and say it again: I was disappointed How he was treated especially in the end. Guess I could live with his death, if it was written differently, but for me it was extremely unsatisfying. First of all: he‘s a high performing, experienced military machine. It‘s said his strengths primarily lie in interrogation, that he‘s a natural born leader and organizational stuff is his thing, but he‘s a skilled fighter too. If you side with Reed you have to fight him and damn. He‘s a beast.

I don‘t like that the protagonist of a story (would be V in this case) has to win all fights. There should be more enemies who are invincible and fights would be resolved differenty. It’s a general thing I would like to see more often in games, especially rpgs with strong choice making mechanics. Yes, V is a skilled fighter and Alex definitely knows how to completely delete someone too, but I don‘t know. It felt really uninspired and didn’t do justice to the character. If I had to decide for a mixture of canon for my headcanon, it would be Alex catching him off guard (like when you‘re siding with Songbird) but he‘ll survive and lands in the hospital (the same way if you don‘t kill him at the end of the boss fight).

The hc would be that he took this opportunity and staged his death. Fake news, fake corpse at the funeral, Jago and Bennett doing a little show so it’s more believable. Let Myers and the gov think he‘s gone, while he has the opportunity to plot against them without them knowing. I want him to have an epic revenge arc.

2. His scars and cyberware

Not that confident with this one yet but I need a story for it. His bonked-in forehead, the ear and the arm need to be connected somehow. Not a coincidence that all of this is happening on the left side. I like to believe it happened at the end of the Midnight Storm mission. When Arasaka came to shore and they where forced to retreat. Maybe I missed that or it‘s just not clearly stated but for me it always sounded like they got the order to get the fuck away, but literally where left to die, because Arasaka was superior to them. They got attacked, many died and he lost his left arm. The what and hows I am not sure about. Feel like he got bonked really hard by something or someone and the arm was ripped off. Could have been a grenade or something, but don’t know if there would be different type of scars then. The last survivors found shelter, Kurt decided to fuck the orders, after Myers agreed on peace and the rest is history.

Part of that hc is, that he doesn‘t like his cyberarm. He adapted to it, but to me, he seems like a „less is more guy“. He surely has a lot of implants but compared to veterans like Bennett or Rinder he‘s rather low on chrome imo. Like the casual military gear for a person with his rank, he probably had to install but nothing more.

Since he is right-handed I’d say he got the cyberware on the right this arm earlier and it’s related to better aim or another improvement regarding the use of weapons. There‘s a little tiny lettering on it saying „Yukimura“. That‘s a type of smart gun. Wild Dog and Bald Eagle are both power weapons but could be some sort smart link cyberware anyway and they used smart assault rifles in the military.

3. Family/Childhood/Military

It‘s said in his military file, that he was a gang member at young age and enlisted in the Militech Forces soon as he reached legal age. Thing is: I basically don‘t know anything about american law or army regulations. Just did a quick research on that topic and found some stuff on Reddit that it is technical possible that you could avoid a prison term, especially in juvenile law, if you instead join the armed forces. I don‘t know if there is something like this in the Cyberpunk lore too, but I think it would be very fitting. So there was gang member Kurt, doing all the illegal stuff like theft, armed robbery and probably worse. Think he than grew up in a typical broken home situation. Divorced parents or they just didn't give a shit. Something like this. Then he or one of his goons fucks up, got caught and he joins Militech instead of spending a lot of years in prison. In one of his voice lines he says smth like: some don't have another choice than joining the army. Like to think that applies to him aswell. At the beginning it was just a way out for him. He then settled in very quickly and liked the solid structures and discipline, that he probably never had before in his life. The fact, that he was really good at the things he had to learn and had to do, gave him a lot of confidence - like a military glow up. Think he really enjoyed his time in the military to a certain point. The Power and respect he gained throughout the years. But also he never lost his rebellious side, like it's said in his psychological profile.

Could be possible that he wanted to join the army by free will also. But I like the plot, that he always was kind of an rotten apple, the military made him stronger and brought up hidden qualities in him, but in the end failed to reform him. Reed said something like: that's it the govs fault, that Kurt is the man, he is now. So they failed to keep him on the rightous path.

4. His first kill

Inspired by the message you can get from Alex. She’s asking V if he could remember his first kill. That’s a pretty cool question and hc material imo. In Kurts military file it‘s stated, that shortly after he joined the military he was picked to go to the military academy. So I guess he did something he stood out for, between all the other people who joined at that time. He definitely was judged very critical in the beginning and had a hard time because of his streetkid past.

He probably could have killed some ppl back then, but I‘d rather believe that he still was in the lower ranks of the gang, considering his age, and had to do rookie-shit, instead of big jobs involving killing ppl for example. My hc is, that there was another recruit in his unit who tried to skip a lot of training by getting heavy cyberware and taking a lot of boosting stuff to quickly become the best among them and getting chosen for a higher position faster. In the end all he got was a cyberpsychosis and eventually turned on his mates during a combat training. Kurt then managed to take him out and saved the others. In the end he was the one getting the wanted attention of the superiors. Connecting to this event, I think he has a low tolerance for people who don‘t know their boundaries and can‘t handle their chrome and themselves.

5. Jago

I think he really likes Jago, maybe even more then Bennett sometimes. I like to compare these two because of the „Run this Town“ mission. Bennett surely has a bonus because he’s been in the army with Kurt and is his most trusted and loyal man, but I can imagine Kurt enjoys to work with someone without military background. He would probably call it refreshing. Don’t know just really like their dynamic. Absolute pros in what they do and profiting from each others skills. Can imagine he often just asks Jago about his opinion, if he needs one, because he has a different view on things. Other than a soldier who‘s just used to follow orders most of the time.

6. Boxing

He‘s into boxing. Doing it himself and following professional sports alike. He definitely does some kind of sports. Daily workouts or something like this too, but he‘s eager to stay in shape for sure. Like to think he has some sort of Fight Club thing running inside of Barghest. They meet up one or two times per month and are boxing against each other. There’s a scoreboard, they show off their bloody noses and black eyes the next day. That HC came from the „Balls to the Wall“ mission. Loved that vibe. And he enjoys watching professional fighters. And betting on the fights for sure. AND imagine a highclass boxing fight in the Sapphire. Inviting all the rich folks, there’s a boxing ring instead of a stage. Following that Las Vegas vibe Dogtown has.

7. Collection

Although he is quite a show-off when dealing with his customers and business partners, boasting about fancy parties, expensive champagne, his successes and income, I think that he is otherwise a pretty grounded guy. The way he still dresses like the casual military man, no chic suits or other unnecessary things. The Black Sapphire is the only really glam looking place in Dogtown. Everything else that‘s run by him is purely practical. But: I think he has some sort of guilty pleasure. Like collecting historical or rare guns and other weapons. Or a collection of high priced liquors. Or maybe he‘s interested in cars and/or motorcycles like Aymeric. Would suit him.

8. Privacy

This one is very simple and rather short but I think he really values his privacy. His quarters (according to early concept art) is in the upper levels in the Black Sapphire. A big ass office and probably all the other stuff like bedroom etc. on one floor. Can imagine that all or the most of these rooms are off limits for everyone else. Everyone needs some save space to decompress.

[crabdrabbles]

Here's Chapter 5 for @pricegazweek week! Chapters: 5/7 Fandom: Call of Duty (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Kyle "Gaz" Garrick/John Price Characters: Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, John Price (Call of Duty) Additional Tags: Presumed Dead, Blood and Injury

I know I'm a few days behind, but I should hopefully finish the remaining two chapters by Wednesday <3

“I expected... more from not just one– but two SAS soldiers.”

“Undo these ropes and I’ll show you exactly what we’re capable of.” Price spat, very much a spitting image of a large, and furious, animal. Gaz, who was kneeling beside him, remained quiet– but his eyes burned with a rage that matched that of his captain’s. 

Poor intel was part of the job, gaps missing in the portfolio, sending soldiers in blind– shit like that happened. It was Price’s entire job to adapt to any situation thrown at him– to change plans at the drop of a hat. To keep his men safe. There was only so much he could do when intel was not only flawed, but falsified completely. And Price had led himself and Gaz right into danger with little to no backup. 

‘Just routine.’ he had said to Ghost after his Lieutenant had asked if he needed him and Soap on standby. ‘We should manage just fine.’

‘Something doesn’t feel right about this, Price.’ Ghost had said as he poured over the copious amount of files and reports– months worth of investigations and surveillance. 

‘Intel’s from one of Laswell’s agents. I trust her judgement.’ SImon had looked like he wanted to say something more but Price had brushed it off. If it was important, then the mancunian would have spoken his mind without a second thought. He should have pushed him– pressed him to speak his mind because then maybe he and Gaz wouldn’t be stuck in this situation– at the mercy of some greed driven arms dealer. Even as they were climbing into Nik’s heli, Simon had that look on his face– the one that said something wasn’t quite right. Why didn’t Price ask? He had never had a problem listening to his men before, appreciating any input anybody had– he wouldn’t have shut Simon down. He would have brought all four of them on the mission if the Lieutenant was that worried. 

Although, that may have meant all of the team would have been captured instead of just half. Hindsight was a petty bitch and, if Price got out of this alive, he would have to have a stern word with her. And maybe Laswell, too, to watch her agents a little more closely. He flexed his hands, tensing to feel the knot wrapping around his wrists. If given enough time, some leeway, and a little bit of luck, he might be able to shimmy his way out of them. He just needed to keep Sergey talking. It must have been the bastard’s first capture, because the idiot had left most of their gear on in his haste to get them tied up and kneeling. Amateur.

“What do you want from us?” Gaz asked and Price’s eyes flicked over to his lover, worry flashing for only a moment before he schooled his expression back into a mask of fury. 

“Information.” The arms dealer, Sergey, said. Sergey was a sickly looking man– wiry yet fat in all the wrong places that made his body bulge in strange parts. He wore an ill fitting suit that was clearly too small for his size but also somehow managed to look too big at the same time. In all honesty, he looked exactly what one would expect when thinking of what an arm’s dealer would look like– right down to the untrustworthy moustache. Not to mention he looked like he was almost constantly constipated and, from the way he was holding the pistol in his shaking hand, he had never wielded a weapon before. Ironic– a man who had never sampled his open products that he was illegally shipping off to the highest bidder. Not one to get his hands dirty– but more than happy to dip them in blood. 

“What sort of information?” Price spoke up before Gaz could open his mouth back up. Attention on me, Price’s face screamed. Don’t look at him. Look at me. The more attention on him, the less likely that Gaz was going to be put in harm's way. Price could deal well enough with being tortured and interrogated– could handle it better than the sergeant. 

“Just a little bit of information, that’s all I want, and I’ll be happy to let you both go. And, depending on what you give, you may walk away with heavier pockets.”

Of course a man like Sergey would offer a bribe in exchange for information and freedom. Price expected that from someone who had never been told ‘no’ his entire life. If Price had taken every bribe thrown his way in the past 20 odd years, he would have been able to afford a private island with a complimentary private jet. Maybe one of those fancy yachts, too, so he could go out fishing in the ocean. With the amount of money he could have got, he’d be buying private islands for each individual fish he caught. 

“Cold of you to assume we’ll give you anything.” He continued slowly, clenching his hands into fists and straining subtly to fight the rope. His wrists would be red raw by the end of the night but if it got them out alive he’d take a bullet too for good measure. Just a little more…

“I imagine that you will. I can be quite… persuasive.” Gaz snorted to Price’s left and he sent a scathing look his sergeant's way. Antagonising the man holding the gun was the last thing that they wanted right now.

“And if we don’t?”

“I kill you both.” An emphasis on his words with a point of his pistol to Price. He was shaking, the metal rattling from his trembling. Jesus wept– had he ever even held a gun before? 

There– he could feel the ropes loosen ever so slightly, just enough for him to start sliding his thumb through. It would be uncomfortable and quite painful, but it was enough. 

“Then you get nothing.” Panted through clenched teeth, masking his pain for anger.  “Go on, then, shoot me.”

“No. I still need you, Captain. Your friend, however…”

Before anyone could do so much as blink, the gun moved to point at Gaz in all its shaking glory. Two clear shots rang out– followed by a body hitting the ground. Price’s heart kicked into gear– blood rushing in his ears, heart hammering against his ribs as if trying to jump out of his very chest in order to get to– 

Gaz.

Price stared at the motionless sergeant, eyes wide and every instinct in his body screaming at him to move– to check on him. A small puddle of blood was already forming underneath Gaz’s body. No. No, no, no, no–

“Gaz!”

Read the rest on AO3!

[fantastic-nonsense]

one of the things so many people miss is that the Ravka-Fjerda war is a terrible parallel to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust because it's a fundamental misinterpretation of the Grisha's role in the conflict

The Holocaust was a genocide perpetuated against innocents; there was nothing except blind hatred and political opportunism spurring that persecution. But the Fjerdan obsession with persecuting Grisha, while partially out of blind hatred and prejudice, is also at least partially happening because they're in an active war against a country that uses Grisha as soldiers...soldiers who are uniquely destructive, use that destructive capability to kill Fjerdans, and are canonically praised for doing so. Soldiers who are recruited to come to the Little Palace from all over the world based on the premise that they will be safe...as long as they fight for Ravka in the Second Army. Remember that Ravka largely doesn't care about the Grisha's wellbeing either until after the civil war is over and the Triumvirate is in power; their interest in 'protecting' Grisha lay in their ability to use them as soldiers in their ongoing wars against Fjerda and Shu Han.

You CANNOT do a one-to-one comparison to something like the Holocaust when the whole point of the Ravka-Fjerdan conflict is that there's massive suffering and war crimes being perpetuated on both sides. Nina and Matthias's chapters hammer home the point that they both have very good reason to be terrified of each other due to the situation they've been forced into, but that the hatred and prejudice they were both raised with is wrong. We mostly focus on the persecution of the Grisha becasue we're already primed to identify and sympathize with them, but there's several instances where we're explicitly shown that there's more to this war (which is principally a territory/border dispute) than just a senseless genocide.

The bit where Nina realizes that Zoya, her mentor, is to Matthias what Jarl Brum is to her. Nina forcing Matthias's heart to speed up on the Ferolind for no reason other than to scare him. Learning that the whole reason Matthias ended up as a druskelle in the first place was because his village was burnt to the ground and his family (including his "baby sister") were murdered by Inferni soldiers. Nina effectively murdering a couple hundred druskelle while on parem at the Djerholm harbor. "We are all someone's monster." And so many more.

Matthias is not a Nazi (the druskelle are much more analogous to a fundamentalist religious cult than anything else, especially when you consider the specific indoctrination Matthias was subject to). Leigh Bardugo (a Jewish woman born in Israel with direct family members who died in the Holocaust) has firmly stated that she "would never write a Nazi-Jewish romance," and we as a fandom need to be extremely careful when drawing real-world parallels to fictional conflcits. Nina and Matthias are both soldiers caught up in a centuries-old war, not an oppressor engaging in mindless ethnic persecution against a helpless victim. Matthias has a lot further to go than Nina to unpack and grow out of those mutual prejudices, but they're very clearly present in both characters.

Yes, there are parallels between the Grisha experience and the Jewish experience, and we should talk about that! It's an interesting discussion to have. But Leigh has explicitly cautioned people not to say "this is a mirror to a real-life conflict" because she purposefully built into her world that in some respects, many Grisha (especially Ravkan Grisha) have power and privilege and are actively utilizing it. It's dangerous to try and say something like "the Fjerdans are Nazis and the Grisha are Jewish people" when discussing that conflict because it can unintentionally perpetuate the idea that the Jewish people deserved what happened to them, which is something we obviously should categorically avoid even implying in our discussions.