#honestly I wouldn't be mad if she did turn out all along

[allllium]

Jason Todd x childhood friend fem

fluff and potential angst

Jason runs into childhood friend from befor he died and she recognizes him

Back in Time

[ Jason Todd x Childhood Best Friend!Reader ]

~ Fluff, Maybe a little hurt/comfort, WC: 1,089

~ I'm so sorry this took so long 😭 Every time I went to write this it's like all ideas flew out of my head, but I finally got it done and I hope it meets your expectations<3

"Jason?"

He freezes.

He wasn't expecting to hear your voice today.

He wasn't expecting to hear your voice ever again.

Once he came back, you were gone.

He would say he tried to look for you but that isn't true. He thought your leaving was the universe telling him to leave you alone.

But now you're here. You're here and you recognize him. He doesn't know how to respond. He knows you know he heard you, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped moving.

The first thing he hears in your voice is the sadness. Not anger like he would've expected. Not even a hint of confusion. Just something sad.

After a minute of him being unmoving, clearly lost in his thoughts, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Jason." You say.

This time it's not a question.

After he hears you a second time, he brings himself to turn around and look at you.

"Hey."

"Hey." He can't tell if you're about to cry or smile.

"I'm sorry." He immediately apologizes. Maybe for leaving or maybe for not finding you. He's not quite sure.

"For what?" You ask and take a deep breath.

He sees the way tears form in your eyes and has the strange urge to cry himself.

"I don't know. I just feel like I need to."

"You don't. Dick told me what happened. That's not something you need to be sorry for." You say it so surely he doesn't know how to respond.

"I was gonna find you."

"That's not your job. I mean a phone call would've been nice." You shrug and let out a small, awkward chuckle.

"I didn't know what to do." He tells you quietly.

"I would assume." You look around the sidewalk you're on. You're standing in front of what looks like a busy shop, people walk in and out every couple seconds.

"Where did you go?" He asks you after a moment. Probably to determine whether or not he could've found you.

"I was here. I mean I stayed in Gotham just not where I was before."

"If I had known you were so close I would've gone to you but when they told you left I assumed-"

"Jason, you don't have to defend yourself." You cut him off quickly, "If I died and came back the last thing on my list would be finding someone who left."

He nods. "This might be easier if you were at least a little mad." He smiles softly at you, watching more tears shine in your eyes.

"I missed you too much to be mad right now."

He goes to say something back but someone walking by bumps into your shoulder.

"Maybe we should get coffee or something?" He suggests, not wanting to keep blocking the sidewalk traffic.

"Are you free?"

"Oh yeah, yeah." Dick can wait, he thinks to himself.

"Then yeah, coffee sounds great."

You both walk into the coffee shop and order whatever drinks sound good. Jason chooses a table against the wall and by a giant window.

You sit awkwardly in silence as you both try and think of what to say.

"How are you doing?" You ask, after multiple minutes of nothing.

"I'm okay, I think." He shrugs and takes a sip of his drink. You take notice of his fingers tapping nervously along the side of the cup.

"That's good." You nod and sigh.

"How are you?"

"I've been better." You answer honestly. Your fingers also tap nervously along your cup.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why this is so weird."

You laugh at his words, "I do. It's been a while."

"And I'm guessing we've both changed." He smiles.

"Changed? No shit Jason, look at you." You smile at him in a reassuring way. You can clearly see how dying has changed him.

"Yeah I guess I did get a little taller." He jokes and shakes his head.

"Maybe just an inch or two." You play along, laughing as you speak.

"I missed this. I missed you." He tells you with a sudden seriousness in his tone.

"Well good thing it isn't going away this time." You reach across the table and grab his hand.

It was never unusual for you and Jason to be touchy. That's just the kinda friendship you had. But this feels different.

Instead of being a friendly touch between best friends, it's more like a reassurance that's he's actually alive. A piece of you feels relief that you're not imagining this.

"I really hope so." He wishes with a frown.

"It won't. If you think I'm leaving your side anytime soon you're very very wrong."

"What's one more person to the gang that follows me everywhere?" He laughs again and squeezes your hand. It's the first time he's felt so free to last in a while.

"Where is that gang by the way? I would've expected one of them to be here by now."

"Oh I left while they weren't looking. I needed time to myself."

"You snuck out? Jason, they're probably panicking." You scold him softly.

"It's fine I'm meeting with Dick later."

You shake your head in disapproval but a smile on your face gives you away once again.

For some reason no matter how sad you are, a smile can't leave your lips.

You fall back into a silence but this time it's not awkward at all. It's a comfortable silence that reminds you of old times.

"I should probably get going. Dick will be pissed if I'm late."

"Yeah I don't doubt it." You recall the many times Dick has given long lectures about being late to anything he's involved in.

"I'll call you." He swears, standing up from his seat at the table.

"You better. I know where to find you." You stand up as well and finish off your drink.

"Yes you do." He agrees but doesn't leave.

You stand together in front of your table. Both of you are waiting for the other to move first.

Just as you're about to make the move to leave he steps forward and pulls you into a hug.

You immediately hug back and feel the tears reappear in your eyes.

"I really missed you." He whispers.

"I really missed you too." You whisper back.

You savor every moment of the embrace. Not wanting to leave out of fear that he would leave again.

But as you watch him walk away to meet with his brother, you're overcome with the happiness of knowing your best friend is here.

[archangeldyke-all]

Wait I was just thinking about this

What if jinx went out to run errands and took isha along with and and they come back looking VERY suspicious.

Untill you were about to interrogate them and they admit too finding a kitten on the street and taking it in. But you are not mad at them at all and you guys all collectively try to find a way to tell sevika. And when she finds out she doesn’t seem happy but she’s so freaking excited because she has a family now- something she had always dreamed for but didn’t think was achievable

-💌

i need fluff like this right now. like a million pounds of feathers.

(here's what i picture the cat looking like, btw hehe)

men and minors dni

you're in the kitchen chopping veggies for dinner, listening to the gentle jazz floating out of sevika's old office.

right now, sevika's in there rearranging furniture to turn her study into a room for jinx and isha. she's already got the bunk beds built (jinx claimed top) and now she's busy building some bookshelves and desks for the girls.

they've been living with the two of you for about a month now. and despite the fact that you and sev's sex lives have taken a massive blow, you've honestly never been happier.

the girls bring so much energy and laughter into your life. neither you or sevika ever wanted children of your own, but this feels... right. you're not their mothers and you never will be. but you are family now, and you wouldn't trade it for the fucking world.

sevika feels the same. she hasn't said it in so many words, but there's this look about her now-- she glows. she's stopped smoking because of isha's asthma. she's stopped drinking because vi's still freshly sober and comes around for dinner a few times a week. she's even started taking breaks with her prosthetic arm, letting herself walk around the house with just one arm-- a vulnerability she was never comfortable with before.

you throw your veggies on the pan, a nice sizzle sounding throughout the kitchen as you start to stir them around. the front door clicks open, and you wait for the sound of your girls thumping through the door like usual... but they don't. you turn the flame down, the sizzle lessening with it, and turn to listen closer.

jinx is whispering excitedly, and you can hear isha's excited half giggles as she listens. you grin. the girls are plotting something.

you turn the flame completely off, setting your spoon to the side and ripping off your apron, carefully tipetoeing across the kitchen to lean against the door.

"alright. sevika'll be easy to convince, all you gotta do is give her the puppy eyes... just like that, good job kiddo." jinx chuckles. isha gives a happy little chuckle, and jinx continues. "it's the missus i'm worried about. y'know what she says goes. if we don't convince her, sev'll be out too." jinx huffs.

you have to bite your lip to keep from laughing at jinx's surprisingly accurate description of you and sevika's relationship.

isha makes a questioning noise, signing something you can't see to jinx. jinx hums, contemplating isha's suggestion, before speaking again. "what, y'mean like cookin' 'em both dinner or something nice? butter 'em up before we show 'em?" jinx asks. "that could work... dunno where we'd hide it until then though..."

"hide what?" you ask, pushing out of the kitchen just in time to watch isha and jinx jump and scramble to cover something up.

"heya sweetcheeks!" jinx greets, shoving a bundle of fabric into isha's hands. isha gawks at her, then turns around to hide the fabric pile from you. you chuckle, and jinx casually pushes isha behind her back. "how mucha that did you overhear?"

you giggle and tug on jinx's bangs, making her scowl a bit. "don't let sev catch you callin' me 'sweetcheeks'. she'll get jealous. show me what you two found." you say.

jinx huffs and tugs isha back out from behind her.

isha blinks up at you with her best puppy eyes, and you chuckle, flicking the rim of her miner's cap. "those only work on sevika." you say.

isha huffs and rolls her eyes in a way that she must've learnt from jinx-- then she unwraps the bundle in her hands.

"mmmew." a tiny little voice pipes up.

you gasp, and isha stops unwrapping the bundle to look up at you. "please tell me you guys didn't bring home a fucking baby." you plea. raising isha is one thing-- she knows how to use the fucking toilet already. but a newborn?! you're not sure if you and sevika could handle that...

jinx bursts into laughter and pulls the last bit of fabric away, and you sigh in relief when a scraggely, partially hairless cat blinks up at you from isha's arms. "mmmow?" it meows. you chuckle.

"where the hell'd you find this thing?"

isha grins at your positive reaction, then starts signing with both her arms full of cat. you can't make out much, but you manage to catch 'dumpster'. that explains the smell, then.

"we're callin' her chicken. 'cause her little bald belly looks like boiled chicken." jinx says, smiling just as wide as isha is.

you snort a little, and chicken reaches one of her paws out of isha's hands, like she's reaching out for you.

jinx cackles. "chicken likes you!"

you huff and shake chicken's little paw. "so what. you expect us to let you have a cat now?" you ask.

you know you're going to say yes. you just need the girls to grovel a little more-- you can't let them know you're just as soft for 'em as sevika is, otherwise there'll be no authority in your house.

"oh c'mon! we'll put the litterbox in our room so it doesn't stink up the house! i'm already comin' up with a self cleaning litter box invention-- and she can just eat our scraps! she'll be good for pest control! you know the building's been having problems with cave rats lately..." jinx trails off, pulling chicken out of isha's arms and dangling the surprisingly relaxed cat in front of you. "please sweetcheeks? i'm such a cute kitty." jinx says in a silly little voice, shaking chicken a bit as she talks.

isha sticks her lower lip out in a pout and clasps her hands under her chin in a 'please' motion.

you hold your stern glare for as long as you can before sighing and rolling your eyes. both girls burst into cheers and giggles before you can even say anything.

"fine." you huff. isha darts forward to tackle your legs in a hug, and you stumble a bit before giggling and lifting the girl up into your arms, hugging her properly. jinx and chicken join you quickly after, chicken meowing in discomfort as she's squished in the family hug. "but you two gotta talk to sev. she doesn't like animals, y'know."

"like how she doesn't like me or like how she doesn't like broccoli?" jinx asks. you giggle.

"what're you all whispering about?" sevika asks.

this time, all three of you jump and turn around to guiltily face your wife.

"mrow." chicken greets from jinx's arms. sevika's eyes widen.

"what the fuck is that?!"

isha steps forward. a cat. duh. she signs. you bite your lip to keep from laughing. jinx cackles. sevika flicks isha's cap.

"sevika, this is chicken, the newest member of our fucked up little family."

sevika blinks rapidly, and you watch in amusement as she tries to process the situation. "fuckin' ugly cat-- i don't--" suddenly, tears well up in sevika's eyes.

your stomach sinks, and you dart forward, reaching up to cup sevika's face. "what's wr--"

sevika cuts you off by collapsing against you, burying her face against your neck as she cries.

isha's big golden eyes stare up at the pair of you, shock on her face for a moment, before she just darts forward and hugs sevika's legs, nuzzling against her thigh.

jinx stands there awkwardly for a moment, chicken still in her hands. isha grunts and waves her hand for jinx to join you, and jinx sighs, rolling her eyes before moving chicken to one arm and half-heartedly wrapping her free arm around sevika's shoulders.

"fuck, fuck, sorry." sevika cries against you, sniffling and wiping her snot and tears on your shirt sleeve. you just rub her back as she collects herself. "sorry." she says again.

"'s okay." you whisper.

"...so does this mean chicken can't stay?" jinx asks. sevika lets out a shaky breath.

"why the fuck are you callin' that poor thing chicken?"

"'cause her belly looks like boiled chicken!" jinx says proudly, hauling chicken up into sevika's face. sevika just snorts.

"she's staying in your room. if i ever have to clean a single fucking cat turd, i'm puttin' it back out on the streets." sevika relents.

jinx and isha burst into squeals, both quickly darting forward to hug her, jinx even pressing a kiss to her cheek, before they dart off with chicken in tow to go check out their new bedroom set up.

you can hear the excited gasps as they enter their new place-- you haven't seen it yet but you're certain sevika went all out for her kids. you kiss her scalp, still holding her in the living room as jinx and isha start giving chicken the grand tour of their bedroom.

"you okay?" you ask.

sevika sighs and shakes her head. "these fucking kids are making me fucking soft." she groans miserably. you cackle.

"it's adorable, babe."

"it's-- it's fucking annoying! jinx called us a family and i just-- fuckin' burst into tears?! what the fuck?" she squawks. you laugh, kissing her tears up from her cheeks.

"they're happy tears, though, right?" you ask.

sevika huffs and nods. "who woulda thought i'd ever cry happy tears about being associated with jinx?" she asks.

you giggle and shrug. "i always had a feeling." you say.

sevika rolls her eyes, and then leans forward to kiss you.

[tritoch]

why doesn't venat tell the convocation?

one thing you'll see come up from time to time: why does venat, the largest ancient, not simply eat the other sorry wrong notes. Why does Venat, who has access to time-loop knowledge, not simply tell the Convocation what she knows and try to fight the Final Days in her time?

it's an understandable question: why wouldn't you want to change the future, if you know what comes to pass? Answering this question does a lot to flesh out our understanding of the Ancients, as well as Venat herself, in fun ways. It also highlights the heightened tonal register FFXIV operates in where the Ancients are involved. Most crucially, it confirms that your ultimate victory in Endwalker is not due to time loop predestination, but because of the collective efforts of everyone along the way.

all quotes, as ever, sourced from xiv.quest (except for some stuff from the very end of myths of the realm which i pulled from gamerescape). spoilers through endwalker follow.

(post-completion edit: this got insanely out of hand and way too long and it's honestly not even very insightful. you were warned.)

The way I see it, there are two broad versions of this question: First, why doesn't Venat warn the Ancients about the Final Days? And second, why doesn't she reach out to the Convocation and try to nip it in the bud?

To start with, let's get the answer straight from the source:

Venat cannot tell the Ancients generally because she cannot trust that they will not panic. No judgment should be taken as unquestionable, obviously, but Venat is a nigh-immortal scholar and researcher who also did a long stint as traveling counselor and savior and friendly neighborhood video game protagonist, who repeatedly and fervently declaims her love of the people of the world and her belief in their ability to surmount any obstacle if they simply find the strength within themselves. She has also, in-fiction, seen the wider world unsundered. Our exposure to the Ancients, on the other hand, is: her; the ruling council of their people, turned evil dimension-hopping wizards; a slice of particularly detached academics in a mad science lab (comedy version); a slice of particularly detached academics in a mad science lab (horror version). That's it! And of course, the revelation of the Final Days ultimately does result in panic and a series of increasingly drastic measures. While we only have her reasoning to go off of on this one, I don't know that there's any evidence that goes firmly against her reading of the situation.

As to the Convocation, she's right: the first time Hermes got the full picture of the Final Days, he immediately turned against you and tried to wipe your memories to prevent you from using your knowledge to stop them before they start. And that's really bad, because Hermes isn't just pretty important to stopping the Final Days: without the benefit of time-loop knowledge, he's the guy who draws the conclusion that connects the Final Days to the celestial currents of aether!

"Having shed light upon the phenomenon, he dedicated to himself to devising a countermeasure. Were it not for [Hermes's] knowledge of the celestial, we would never have made the connection—and thence forestalled the Final Days." Elidibus strongly implies here that Hermes is the guy who conceived of the Zodiark plan in the first place, or at least came up with the the mechanism by which Zodiark could actually use aether to protect Etheirys.

Hermes is a guy you absolutely have to have on your team if you're going to respond to the Final Days, because he is not just the guy who knows about dynamis. He is also, as far as we know, the only Ancient with a meaningful knowledge of outer space and celestial currents. Meteion herself is pretty explicitly parallel to a prototype space probe, a first-of-her-kind interstellar traveler. Given that the Ancients use magical concepts for seemingly nearly all their technology (there sure is a lot of stuff going on with crystals, I'll grant...but crystals are just aether, sometimes with concepts inscribed in them!), he is the closest thing they have to an aerospace engineer.

Space in FFXIV is obviously weird (no one's wearing a helmet on the moon, Midgardsormr flies through it, etc.), but nonetheless we know that space travel is difficult, and Hermes highlights in his explanation that Etheirys is unusually rich in aether while aether is much rarer in space generally. And we can surmise no one before him devised a way for the extremely aether-dense Ancients to travel and survive in space, or presumably that would have informed his own designs and he wouldn't have had to turn to under-researched dynamis. And we know no one worked with him on Meteion or understands anything about all the dynamis and, celestial currents stuff; Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch tell us as much.

Hermes might not be the literal only Ancient with knowledge of these things, but he is certainly the most knowledgeable, seemingly by a long shot. There is plenty of reason to believe the Ancients, while they have godlike power on Etheirys, don't have a huge body of working physics information. For example, the discovery and use of magnetism in creations was the signature achievement of Hermes' immediate predecessor as Fandaniel, per a Ktisis readable.

So you need Hermes, and cannot afford the possibility of losing him. Even with the benefit of the Warrior of Light's future knowledge, not having Hermes would fatally undermine any efforts by the Ancients to combat the Final Days—not only in terms of identifying which areas were likely to be affected, but also in terms of creating and implementing Zodiark, and with respect to any hypothetical "Ancients go to the edge of the universe to fight Meteion" plan.

That kind of full-spectrum involvement makes him only more dangerous. Sure, maybe you can approach the Convocation and convince them (and I'm not so sure of that: one of their members is there when you explain all this, after all, and he vehemently rejects the possibility right up until the moment the time-loop starts!), but how can you ever be safe with Hermes on board? Worse, what if this time he doesn't announce his betrayal? What's to stop him from building a flaw into Zodiark, or any one of the other plans along the way?

Well, but set the problem of Hermes aside for a second: why not approach other Convocation members? Aside from the information security concerns with Hermes, there's the fact that she already has some advance intel on that options. First, Emet-Selch already heard and experienced all these revelations, and he vehemently denied and rejected them. The only reason he ended up cooperative through the events of Ktisis is because "get to Hermes and stop Meteion" fulfills both your goals. You're literally out the door on your way to start the time loop post-Kairos and he's like "I still don't believe your future visions by the way! But if it's true then don't fuck it up!"

Second, if what you told her is true, Venat already has reason to believe Azem might not be willing to side with her. After all, one of the only pieces of knowledge you were able to pull directly from the records of the past is that even with 75% of the Ancient population sacrificed and preparations for the third sacrifice underway, Azem would not reply to the Anamnesis Anyder faction.

So she has good reason to believe her successor might not be willing to side with her, and she knows that successor's bestie will definitely counsel against trusting these future visions.

But what if she just shows them her memories and past events via the Echo? After all, reconstructing past events is a key part of your adventures in Elpis in the first place!

Venat can probably share her memories via Echo vision, but there's no reason to think that would work: after all, Emet-Selch was already there for most of these events and was still skeptical the whole way through. Plus, at that point you're really still just relying on Venat's testimony. Additional memory evidence certainly has some corroborating effect, it's not unimpeachable, particularly given the problem of Kairos. Hermes, Emet-Selch, and Hythlodaeus will all have memories that contradict Venat's because Kairos doesn't just erase memories, it straight up alters them.

But why not do the CSI crime scene reconstruction thing? Well, as Venat notes, those memories are prone to fading, and are etched on the aether of the world the same way memories are on the soul. So assuming, you were perfectly lucky and none of the aether got too altered by other events, you could reconstruct what happened from the moment Meteion connects to the hive mind . . . right up until everyone enters Ktisis Hyperboreia. Kairos functions by overwriting the memories etched into aether with yet more aether, and given that it targeted not just the group in the final room but the entirety of Ktisis Hyperboreia, it has presumably substantially altered whatever aetherial ripples remained of the day's events. Consider that if it's blotting out multiple days worth of memory over a large area (Ktisis Hyperboreia is a full-on spatial anomaly, after all), our only comparable event in lore is the Seventh Umbral Calamity. That's a lot of aether! Kairos moots any attempt to employ memory reconstruction as evidence.

So you can't tell everyone because they'll panic; you can't tell the Convocation because Hermes is untrustworthy; you can't tell the Convocation without Hermes because there's no point in recruiting the Convocation without Hermes because his expertise is what you actually need; even if you did want the Convocation without Hermes, there's reasons to believe that would go poorly; and you can't use the Echo to help you win them over because the well on memory-as-evidence is already poisoned thanks to Hermes inventing Kairos.

A brief interlude on the possibility of the Ancients getting to and fighting Meteion. Links to sources only because this post is already stupid long. Okay, pretend we perfectly secure Hermes on-side and rally all the Ancients. After making Zodiark early thanks to Venat's warning, the remaining 50% of the population sets to work on the problem of space travel to Ultima Thule. It'll be a lengthy process, since devising the propulsion systems of the moon took the Loporrits six thousand years, but sure, it's not like lifespan is a big issue for the Ancients. Then there's the matter of having enough energy to get there; Hydaelyn accumulates the aether of the Mothercrystal for over twelve thousand years to make that happen. But maybe we shortcut that with human sacrifice again. Okay, we've flown a spaceship full of Ancients to Ultima Thule. They can't do anything here because the dynamis is too thick for aether to do anything. Your allies can only reshape the reality of Ultima Thule to allow aether-based life to exist via dynamis in the first place. The Ancients themselves seem largely unable to interact with dynamis. Any familiars or entelechies they could try to use against Meteion would probably be overwhelmed by the transformative power of her own critical mass of dynamis. Probably your best bet is to send in wave after wave of Ancients to die in a delaying action while Hermes in the way way back with a megaphone tries to persuade Meteion to chill out? Part of the whole Endwalker thing is that the Warrior of Light's victory is an incredible piece of luck enabled by a whole host of actions both intentional and accidental. The thing about miraculous victories is they're miraculous because they were otherwise exceedingly unlikely!

"Well," one might ask, "shouldn't there still be something she can do? Couldn't she reach out to trusted friends to share this information and work to stop the Final Days and persuade the Convocation without accidentally reconnecting Hermes to the knowledge that caused this problem in the first place?" And the answer is: Yes, that's what she does! It just doesn't go great and results in the creation of Hydaelyn!

As you are departing, Venat confirms to you that she will try to find a different way to resist the Final Days. She also tells you that she will not take for granted that the future you have told her will come to pass, and will simply do her best to try to fight the Final Days.

We have a good sense of the results of her efforts because her closest and most trusted allies are left behind as the Twelve and the Watcher. Rhalgr and Oschon were literally just fellow travelers she met during his journeys. Nald'thal was a merchant. Nophica was a landscape architect. Probably the most outwardly accomplished members of their number were Halone (candidate for the seat of Pashtarot), Thaliak (brilliant university president), and Menphina (brilliant university student). They were, sometimes literally, just some guys she found by the side of the road.

The truth is that Venat's message and efforts were simply not that popular in the unsundered world. We see her efforts to reach the people, conveyed allegorically, in the Thou Must Live, Die, and Know cutscene: her appeal to the better natures of her countrymen fails. They cannot be deterred from their path of sacrificing the lives of others for their own comfort.

The result of Venat's best work to rally the world against the Final Days, outside the auspices of the Convocation, is the Anyder faction. And the Anyder faction, though it makes its case to the Convocation and to others, ultimately cannot win enough people over to shake the Convocation from its intentions.

The Ancient world in FFXIV often operates in a heightened register. From the name references that invoke Greek mythology and Utopia to aesthetic elements like their theatrical masks and genre-breaking art deco architecture, the game takes pains to emphasize how otherworldly the Ancients are. This helps make their stories work emotionally. Emet-Selch and Elidibus and Lahabrea are personally responsible for six worldwide genocides, plus countless other associated sins. Even in the already heightened fantasy world of FFXIV, trying to take their stories semi-seriously would break them down. Instead, the game uses a number of cues (Emet-Selch's dramatic nature and taste for literary allusion help considerably here, as does the English localization consciously adopting slightly archaic language) to indicate to the player that the Ancients' story is being told in an epic register, that they are a fairy tale, that their story is a creation myth.

Being a fairy tale or myth means that things can be narratively true about the Ancients which would otherwise not work in FFXIV, a story which tends to shoot for some degree of psychological verisimilitude. A person can survive untold millennia as the only remaining sane member of their people, retain their sanity, and never waver in their mission or crack under the pressure. Three-quarters of the world rising up to spontaneously sacrifice themselves out of love and kindness and a belief in the value of the natural world. In Hermes' case, we are literally directly shown and told, by both magical empathic bird-girl and magical mood ring flower, that he is literally not just the Saddest Man in Elpis, but the Only Sad Man in Elpis. People often poke at this point reflexively ("Why doesn't Hermes go to therapy?"), but his despair is not just all-encompassing and overwhelming. It is literally inexplicable and unfamiliar to the Ancients around him.

Similarly, Venat, actual wandering superhero and benevolent demiurge possessed of an inexhaustible love for humanity and surpassing skill in every field, scours the earth and comes up with just thirteen people (or like, them plus a few) who are willing to stand against the Convocation. Venat does use her time-loop knowledge to spur on a parallel effort to fight off the Final Days. It doesn't work because the Convocation's plans not only have the weight of formal authority behind them, but because the Ancients overwhelmingly did not want to accept their losses, form a plan of action, and fight back. They wanted to undo their pain and suffering now, as fast as possible, and damn the consequences or whatever other lives it cost. If this feels unrealistically emotionally extreme, that's par for the course for the tone of the narrative around the Ancients.

The truth is Venat was just doing the best she could with the knowledge she had and the understanding she had of the arena she was in. She doesn't end up forming the Twelve and sundering the world because she heard about it from the Warrior of Light—the Warrior of Light comes from a world in which she formed the Twelve and sundered the world because that is what she always already would have done in this situation.

We can surmise as much from how the time loop works across the rest of the game: even though there is always at least one person in the timeline who knows about the time loop, events always play out in a way that requires other people to exercise their free will, and those choices end up aligning with the time loop even absent the knowledge of the future. Either the Warrior of Light or Venat (also Fandaniel, now that I think about it, but I don't know of any meaningful insights to glean from that) is aware of the possibility of the time loop at all times: she knows about it from Elpis onward, then shows up in the boat at the start of Endwalker to say "hey fyi you're entering the Time Loop Zone," then you end up in the past with future knowledge of stuff up until you hit the time loop reset point and the whole thing starts again. But in the game through Endwalker, that knowledge never controls events; you and Hydaelyn are only ever individuals on a board with many players, and much of making the time loop work ultimately relies on the Ascians, a group we can definitely say both lacks time loop knowledge (except, again, Fandaniel) and is actively working to frustrate Hydaelyn's ends. On a broader thematic note, consider Zenos: he's ultimately crucial to your victory, and he's a complete wild card whose most important actions you could not possibly have told Venat about because they only happen after your return from Elpis. You don't win because you are predestined to win. You win because many people collectively take small actions which happen to, luckily, line up with ultimate victory.

The Elpis time loop only functions because of countless and almost entirely unknowing large and small actions by more or less every character in the game, and results from and is defined by those actions, rather than structuring and defining those actions. It's not that Venat, armed with knowledge of the future, chooses the time loop instead of averting the Final Days. It's that the time loop results from and incorporates a future-influenced Venat doing everything she can to avert the Final Days.

[waitingandwishing]

Hey!!! Could u maybe do a romantic sbg gang reacting to (fem or gn) reader’s younger brother that basically outing reader’s crush on them one day?? Maybe they’re hanging out at reader’s house or somewhere and reader’s brother out of nowhere is just kinda like “yeah they talk abt u all the time i think they have a crush on u lol” It can be headcannons or a scenario!

Inspired by my brother that did this to me 😞💔

damn honestly ur brother a menace 😭

-> context: he's a menace

-> fandom: school bus graveyard

-> warnings: none

ASHLYNN:

Ah yes because your younger brother was pissed at you. Well, not really, maybe a little bit. It was all your fault anyways for stealing the last piece of his favorite candy.

When Ashlynn came over to study, your brother had simply barged into your room and whined. "Are you done yet?" He asked, laying on your bed alongside you and Ashlynn, "Can you play we me?Why're you so boringggg???"

You rolled your eyes and continued to ignore him, leaning over to help Ashlynn (Who tried to stop blushing furiously whenever you made physical contact with her) before pausing and going over to the opposite side of your room to get a pencil from your desk before your brother spoke with a cheeky smile.

"Hey Ashlynn, did you know my sister talks about you all the time?" Your younger brother said with a grin. Ashlynn raised her eye brows, green eyes flickering back to you. You widened your eyes, snapping your head towards your brother. "She's always like, 'blah blah blah ashlynn's so pretty blah blah blah!' It's sooooo annoying."

"Stop-" "I think she has a crush on you!"

"Out of my room!" You said, eyes widened with embarrassment as you shoved your younger brother out of your room and locked your door. "Sorry about him, he doesn't know what he's saying..."

"Do you... Really like me like that?" Ashlynn asked quietly, looking down at her hands. You paused.

"I... Kind of? Yeah? I'm so sorry if this made you uncomfortable, he doesn't understand this sort-"

"I like you too."

"What?"

AIDEN:

Your younger brother was as nice as he was tall. (Spoiler: He wasn't very tall). You and Aiden were playing video games at his house and your parents made you take your brother with you since there were no babysitters to watch him.

"Okay, but there's no way you beat me at Mario Kart again. You're cheating somehow." You said with an eyeroll.

"You're just mad I know the shortcuts." Aiden grinned.

Your younger brother walked into the room, holding a juice box and the most serious face ever. He stopped in front of the couch, eyeing the two of you before saying, "You know they talk about you all the time, right?"

You snapped your head away from the screen, eyes wide as you looked at your brother. Aiden also turned away from the screen to look at him as well with a confused expression. "Really?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah. Like, all the time. It's kinda gross. I think she likes you or something." He took a dramatic sip of his juice and walked away as if he just solved world peace

You buried your head into your arms, "I'M GONNA SELL YOU!" You yelled.

A flush appeared on Aiden's face as he tried not to smile, "You like me?"

LOGAN:

Your brother was... Okay. Sometimes you got along, sometimes you didn't, but that was just like every other sibling. For some reason, your brother decided that you guys wouldn't be getting along for the rest of the day.

You and Logan were sitting in your room the day before a big test. Of course, you guys were studying.

"So, um, I brought my notes from the last test if you still wanted to look at them." Logan spoke nervously, handing you his notebook, "Not that I think you need help or anything! I just thought it might be useful. Maybe. If you wanted."

You grinned, albeit a bit nervously from how close you two were sitting next to each other. "Thanks, Logan."

Your door creaked as your younger brother leaned on the doorframe with crossed arms and a frown, "You’re the one they won’t shut up about?"

"Huh? What? Me??" Logan asked, visibly starting to short-circuit. You widened your eyes.

"Oh my god please shut up!" You sighed.

He stuck his tongue out at you before turning his attention back to Logan, "She talks about you all the time. It’s, like, painfully obvious. Even our momma knows. I think you’re their crush or something."

Logan opened his mouth to speak before closing it, almost like the pet goldfish your brother had before it died. "I—what—um—wait—really??"

"Mhm! I’m getting snacks." Your brother smiled, as if he didn't just drop a nuclear bomb in your room, "Don’t kiss while I’m gone."

Logan looked like he was about to explode as your heart pounded in anticipation of what he was about to say next. "...Do you, um... actually... like me? Like that?" He asked softly.

TAYLOR:

Your brother was feeling left out, sort of, but also felt like he wanted to annoy you because he could! So what better way to do that when you and Taylor were making friendship bracelets for each other and the rest of the group?

Taylor handed you a bracelet, "I tried to use your favorite colors. I couldn't remember if you liked the lighter version or the darker version, so I just picked both."

"They're literally the same color." You pointed out, but slid the bracelet on nonetheless.

"And yet, you’ve got very strong opinions about it." Taylor added.

Your little brother flopped dramatically onto the couch, acting like he hasn’t been eavesdropping from the hallway. His eyes flickered from the bracelet, to you, then to your crush.

"You wanna make bracelets with us?" Taylor asked. He gasped before nodding, climbing up onto the couch and grabbing a few pieces of string.

After Taylor managed to teach your brother how to make them (Much to your dismay) he says, "I know why my sisters obsessed with you now, Taylor!"

"Hey-?!"

"Obsessed? Should I be flattered or scared?" Taylor asked, ignoring your protests.

"They talk about you constantly. It’s kinda gross." He said, smiling as his hands started to fumble with the string.

"Can you not?!" You groaned, rubbing your face in embarrassment. "I’m going to put you in a box and ship you to the moon."

Taylor laughed, chuckling softly before looking at you, "You could’ve just told me, y’know... I like you too."

TYLER:

Your brother was... Actually pretty decent. He didn't really understand social cues though and was pretty bad at keeping his mouth shut.

"You know, if you keep asking for my help, people are gonna start thinking you're obsessed with me." Tyler pointed out with a smirk as he helped you figure out another algebra answer.

"Please. You're not that special." You rolled your eyes with a scoff as you erased your previous answer.

Your brother appeared in the doorway, eating a popsicle with way too much confidence for someone under five feet tall. He paused, eyes flicking between the two of you. "Heyyyy, why're you lying?" He asked.

You looked up from your paper, "What do you mean?"

"He is special to you though. You talk about him all the time." He said. Tyler widened his eyes, snapping his head to you who looked on the verge of leaping over the table to snap your younger brothers neck.

"What?" Tyler frowned.

"They like you." Your brother shrugged, "Like, like-like. They get all weird when your name comes up. It’s funny."

"Okay we’re done here." You said, embarrassment clear on your face as she slammed your bedroom door shut.

Tyler paused, suddenly sitting up very straight with a blank expression, "Is that true?"

"...Can you not?" You groaned as a smirk appeared on his face.

"So all that fake eye-rolling was just a cover, huh?"

"Shut up."

BEN:

Oh yeah he's just a menace. An absolute menace to society. There's nothing more to say then that.

You and Ben were lying on the floor, heads near the speaker, music flowing between you. You’ve got a playlist playing, a mix of your favorites and his. “This one reminds me of you.” Ben typed out on his phone.

You melt a little. You don’t even say anything, just smile as you two let the music play. It was comfortable, a safe space, before the door slammed open. "GUESS WHO HAS NO CHILL AND A GIANT CRUSH?"

You widened your eyes, quickly scrambling up, "Dude, get out!"

He ignored you, tossing himself dramatically onto your bed and staring at your crush with narrowed eyes. "Did you know they made a playlist called 'Songs I’d Play if I Was in Love With Ben'?"

You felt your face burning up, groaning as you grasped his ankle and tried to pull him off your bed. "Why are you like this?!"

"Born this way, loser!" He yelled as you managed to drag him out of your room, "Anyway, you two gonna kiss or should I come back later?!"

"Ugh!" You groaned, immediately closing and locking your door in embarrassment, before turning back to look at Ben with an apologetic look.

Ben glanced at you again and reached for his phone, typing, “You… really made a playlist?”

"Yes..." You muttered, reluctantly sitting down next to him, "But in my defense, I didn’t think a demon child would announce it to the world."

Ben scooted closer to you, also typing, "Can I listen?"

(So sorry if this wasn't what you wanted!!)

[avelera]

hi, I hope you don't mind me coming to kind of vent in your inbox (please toss this out if you do) but I was reading your post on the contrasting way Viktor and Jayce view their first meeting and it got me thinking about how some people just sorta brush aside Jayce's suicide attempt here as being somehow pathetic or an overreaction to what they consider a slap on the wrist and I kinda get really mad about that perspective because I don't think people really follow through on what the trial actually meant for Jayce and what the consequences reasonably could have been. people seem to think he was just embarrassed by the trial without understanding that that kind of reputational hit can be, and clearly was, ruinous.

setting aside entirely the emotional/psychological repercussions of having the thing he'd dedicated roughly 2/3's of his life to taken away, his very public trial ended with his own mother making an insanity plea on his behalf and his extremely wealthy and influential sponsor dropping him like he was radioactive and the actual ruling body of the city declaring him dangerously incompetent. do any of those people who deride him for the suicide attempt actually take the time to think about what that outcome means for him in a social and professional context? he jokes to Caitlyn about working in his family factory but honestly, it is entirely within the realm of possibility that the fallout of the trial has made him a social and professional pariah and his reputation is in such dire straits that he may be entirely unemployable within Piltover, perhaps even to the point of being toxic to his own family business if they take the reputation hit by association with him.

it's not actually hyperbole or an overreaction for him to stand in the wreckage of his life and think his life is over, to be at a complete loss as to how to move forward or come to the belief that moving forward is impossible and despair, especially if he doesn't have a support network which he pretty clearly doesn't. his only connections appear to be his mother and Caitlyn and, for obvious reasons, they're not viable at this time.

he was drowning and Viktor threw him a lifeline and he spends the literal rest of the story trying to return the favor.

Sorry for the delay in responding, there's a lot here I want to address.

First of all, I absolutely agree. I think people underestimate just how much that trial left his life in wreckage. That said, there's a few points I'd like to add some nuance to from my perspective, along the lines of YEAH THIS WAS REALLY BAD and people underestimate how much Viktor did for Jayce with his vote of confidence.

(This is gonna be a long post y'all but I have a LOT of thoughts and feelings about Jayce here so buckle up if you do proceed.)

1 ) The Kirammans dropping him as his patrons is absolutely devastating. It's actually the moment I think I hated Cassandra Kiramman for the most, which was turning Jayce away from her door at his lowest point, and cutting him off from Caitlyn, who seems to be his only friend before Viktor. I think it also demonstrates just how severe the crime was that she did so, by the way, I don't think she was just being cruel for the sake of it. But the fact that in 1.04 she's then showing off Jayce as an accomplishment of her house is particularly infuriating as a result. It's also no exaggeration to say that the Kiramman rejection was the final straw for him. After that, he decided to take his own life, so Cassandra would have been, in my opinion, directly responsible for his death (ironically saving her own life down the line, but then Arcane S1 is a series of hinging butterfly effect moments) if not for Viktor.

2 ) One layer of nuance I wanted to add to the Kiramman rejection in particular that you mentioned is the idea of him working at the Talis hammer factory because I think about this a LOT.

I do want to push back a little on the idea that he wouldn't be able to make a living for himself at the Talis hammer factory. To me (as someone whose family has a family business, though I don't work for it), it was never in doubt Jayce would have been able to work there the rest of his life. It might have been the only place he could get a job in Piltover, in fact, at least one with any sort of prestige or intellectual pursuit attached (basically, with anyone attached or graduated from the Academy).

However, I think Jayce would have had to work in a non-scientific part of the factory, either out on the floor or in the back office. And this is what I've been wanting to address in meta for a while now.

Caitlyn asks him what he's going to do next and Jayce says, "Work for the Talis hammer factory, I guess?" and she exclaims, "You can't do that!"

I think the nuance missing from your point that I'd like to add my view of that scene to is that Caitlyn is essentially saying, "That would kill you."

I get the very strong impression that Caitlyn and Jayce bonded over being members of their family who wanted bigger things than what their parents wanted for them. It's basically there on the page in this exchange.

We explore directly that Caitlyn wants to be a detective instead of working in politics like her mother, and pursues her dream despite adversity and her mother's disapproval.

But I think from this exchange and the one Jayce also has with his mother Ximena, we can glean that the Talis's also wanted Jayce to work for the factory, the family business, instead of going to the Academy to pursue his dream of magic.

(Also as a person whose family has a family business, that I don't work for, that has their own career and faced a lot of consternation from my family in my desire to be a writer, I feel this one very keenly.)

Jayce to me reads as someone who had to fight his family all his life to avoid going into the family business, in his pursuit of something greater.

With the Hextech dream taken away, all that's left to him is his family business, the thing I'd argue we have evidence that he's been fighting to avoid his whole life. It doesn't inspire him. It's not what he wants.

Joining the Talis factory would kill him. And that's what Caitlyn points out, and that's when he realizes she's right and goes to finish the job by his own hand instead. Further evidence I would say that working for his family business would represent a death of the soul to him, such that a physical death is preferable. But since his family built the business, and his mother clearly has reservations about his pursuit of magic, I think we can safely say he's been feeling similar pressures to Caitlyn to conform and join the business instead.

3 ) Now to go back to Viktor, I think this is another reason that Viktor literally and spiritually saved Jayce's life. Jayce outright says to his mother that if his own family won't believe in him, he'll find someone who will. Whether you read Viktor/Jayce as platonic or romantic (spouses are family, after all, which is how I read it), Viktor is Jayce's family from that point forward.

But Viktor doesn't bring Jayce back from the brink just by believing in him at his lowest moment (which is so powerful it can't be underestimated, btw) he also gives Jayce a bit of tough love too just when Jayce needs it.

Like many children of privilege (I'd firmly put Mel in this category, since she too is "trapped in the family business" I'd argue), Jayce saw himself at rock bottom after he lost his patron, the benefits of his House name, his family's support, his research, his equipment, access to his one friend, his access to the Academy, and his reputation.

Viktor points out that he never had any of those things growing up.

I think this is a welcome slap in the face for Jayce. Viktor rose to be the Dean's assistant on ability alone, without any of the scaffolding of privilege, and it humbles Jayce just when he needs it. Viktor is telling him that Jayce already has everything he needs to succeed and that others like Viktor have gotten further with less.

So not only does Viktor give his vote of confidence, he materially shows Jayce there is a way to achieving his dreams without all of the things he just lost.

Not only that, he's won the respect and assistance of someone who has done it before, someone who admires him for what he's done, someone who will help him make this dream a reality when no one else would.

Of course Jayce dedicated his life to Viktor after that. Of course he saw Hextech as their shared dream after that. I'd argue that of course he saw his life as belonging to Viktor after that point, because Viktor saved it.

[angeliteeyes]

I have an idea for astral express reader x kafka

Like, most of the fics ive seen with that dinamic the thing is that the relationship is a secret but i think it would be funny af if it was otherwise and everyone on the express knew and they werent mad but just tired.

Like, imagine that scene from the start of the luofo mission, everything is kinda tense but everyone sighs in exasperation.

Thanks in advance if you end up taking this request :D

Anon this idea is HILARIOUS lmao, thanks for sending this. I'm imagining the Welt/Himeko disappointed stare they'd give you as you all find Kafka and they realize the chaos that's about to ensue. They try to get back to business and interrogate Kafka, and you're just. Behind them blowing air kisses at her. She isn't even looking at them anymore, too busy winking back at you. It's a whole mess

Kafka x Astral Express Reader

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Within the Xianzhou Luofu, countless sounds could be heard echoing against the multi-colored walls. Children playing, merchants desperately trying to pawn off their goods to passersby, and your loud voice, easily piercing through it all.

"I'm telling you, they've got the wrong idea! There's no way Kafka would do something like that while I'm involved." You huffed as you trailed behind Welt and Himeko, stomping with each step in frustration. Welt turned to look at you with tired, droopy eyes.

"You may be right. Regardless, we have to understand that the Xianzhou Alliance can't trust the Stellaron Hunters as easily as you do."

March popped up by your side, the remains of a cake roll on her cheek. "Well yeah, even I don't understand what they're thinking!" You opted not to point out her messiness or the fact that you were the one dating Kafka, not her.

You knew fully well when you and Kafka got together about her... unique definition of fun and her penchant for mysterious troublestirring. In fact, that's what drew you to her in the first place. You never really bought the notion that you Astral Express crew were all that different from the Stellaron Hunters. Apparently, neither did she.

So to think you'd end up strolling around a world filled with so many naysayers! Honestly, if they just gave her a chance, perhaps they could see her the way you do. Then again, being the only one this close to her made your heart pound with pride.

"Ughhh, I miss Kafka! All this talking about her's just reminding me that she isn't here." You whined.

"I'm not?"

You gasped. Could it really be...

"Kafka!" You rushed over at the sight of her, colliding harder than you intended. The two of you entangled with each other into a tight, warm hug. Her hands snaked around each side of your waist, and you heard her heavenly voice hum a pleased tone at the affection. Before you heard a forced cough from behind you. Right, guess the others wouldn't be as excited as you are. Lame.

Your lover chuckled at the scene in front of her. "Sorry, dear, but it looks like we have a game of cat and mouse to play." With that, she leaned in and pressed her lips onto your cheek. Her voice softened until it was so quiet, it hardly even registered. "Although... I'd prefer being the one to hunt you. Maybe later we can switch roles?"

You'd begun to giggle and blush at her remark before quickly realizing what she meant; within a blink of an eye, she had already left your side. Double lame.

And so, you and the rest of the crew were forced to maneuver around the various traps and puzzles riddled nearby. Most were native to the area, yet you also picked up a handful of magenta-colored scribbles pasted onto the cities' walls along the way.

"Is that supposed to be me?!"

Curious, you looked over to where March angrily pointed. Looking closer...

"Pfft." You could barely hold in your giggles at the, well, artistic rendition of March left on display. It was shockingly similar to the wanted poster rendition of her, now that you think about it. Probably why she's been staring it down so viciously.

The rest of the drawings you came across were of similar artistic integrity. At least the one of you had a big heart over it and a lipstick stain. How sweet of her.

By the time you all spotted her figure in the distance and caught up, the only ones left with any energy were you and Kafka. Not that you even appeared to notice much, with how occupied you were blatantly flirting with each other from afar.

Himeko and Welt, being the most responsible of the crew, moved closer to her with serious expressions. Although, even from a distance, you could spot their shoulders hunching inward, as if collapsing from exhaustion. Himeko sighed.

"Let's just get to the chase, alright?" She shifted her body weight to one side. "And enough of the winking. At least pretend to pay attention to me while I'm talking for once."

For a moment, Kafka appeared to give her words some thought, moving her hand closer to her lips. "Sorry, but no can do. After all, we don't have much time. Why not spend it looking at the beautiful scenery?" Her gaze transitioned back to you, flirtatious look and all. Everyone else groaned.

Suddenly, the air felt off. Different, and almost... foreboding? You locked eyes with Kafka, silently questioning her. As she gazed back at you, she let out a sigh.

"Give me a second, darling. Looks like we have company."

Before you could respond or even process her words, a flurry of gunshots filled the once-vacant space above you all. Your ears rang in pain, but only for a moment. For a short while after that, a strange sense of stillness passed through you, a calm that by no means should've belonged there and then.

"Rudimentary. Your every move has been foreseen by the omniscia."

In front of you, a short yet elegant woman appeared to float downwards slowly, all the way until her shoes gently pressed into the hard floor. How the... how did she manage to do that? Your face tensed inward a little, but her next words snapped you back into paying full attention.

"I'll be taking the criminal from here."

You were about to argue with her and defend Kafka, when—

"And you over there, be quiet. This is not my first time meeting you, so I already know what you intend to say. I cannot abide by your request no matter how much you argue."

Well, shoot. In that case...

"And no, I will not arrest you and let you stay with the other criminal."

Ugh. Every excuse you wanted to use in order to stay by your sweetheart's side was swiftly cut down by Fu Xuan one by one, much to your dismay. You got the feeling that despite having not said anything in the present, she'd already grown tired of your voice. Kafka, apparently noticing your dejection, stepped in to reassure you.

"Aw, don't you worry your cute little head. We may be out of time to talk for now, but rest assured. I'll be right back by your side in no time."

Gosh, you could never get over just so charismatic she was and how easily she made you swoon. Even as she was being escorted away from you, she still had it in her to remain thoughtful of your feelings and concerns. With a reluctant smile, you waved her goodbye and called out to her.

"You better not forget to call me tonight, okay? I know you're busy, but I'll get too lonely without at least hearing you talk." She responded back, at this point far enough that she needed to raise her voice just for you to hear.

"Of course. Not even fate can keep us apart, dear."

[mywifealhaitham]

pre release boothill relationship headcanons!!!

a/n: I'm fiending off crumbs... I've wanted to read some x reader of him but theres none so I gotta write it myself. I hope the other 4 boothill fans enjoy

warnings: gn!reader, like 2 gendered pet names (pretty girl/boy), most of this is written with bias because we don't have alot to go off, obviously written prerelease, when we actually get content of him I'll definitely be rewriting

LEAKS AHEAD!!!

bc: Valentine_DD_ on twt

- Boothill is described as a righteous person if his bottom line doesn't get crossed, so he definitely treats you good. probably more on the protective side when it comes to you, he's probably not afraid to use his gun if someone is threatening you.

- and believe me he's intimidating. from his overall tough and "unruly" cowboy look to his mechanical body it leaves enemies just a little challenged. he lowers his voice too and probably has a more fierce look in his eyes too. after any threats have been delt with he probably turns to you and turns into the sweetest thing ever, a wide grin across his face and his hands on your cheeks peppering you with small kisses.

- Its said he's a bit sophisticated due to his experiences so I'd like to imagine sometimes he charms you with facts and details about other planets or just genuinely sharing some tips and tricks he's picked up from other cultures. he's also a person who can get along with others pretty well but he can easily give strangers an impression he's selfish and is a bad person.

- again this kinda feeds into he's basically you'd guard dog... but I mean who wouldn't want to be saved by a handsome and sweet cowboy. despite his unpredictable personality and looks he's a huge gentleman for sure. always opens doors and pulls out chairs for you, makes sure your behind him and okay if any danger approaches and practically listens to your every command (lowkey giving off my girl and I don't argue she tells me to shut up and I do)

- one part I'm so excited to see is what they mean by he's illiterate and using metaphors. it's probably just him using slang but it's still kinda cute. I feel like his cheesy and strange metaphors turn into pick up lines when talking to you. perhaps he'll pull a "did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" or something cheesier. Definitely a huge nickname guy, almost never uses your real name. I'm guessing he'd use stuff like doll, sugar, baby, pretty girl/boy and more teasing names. heavy on doll and sugar and just imagine him saying it in a deep southern accent... 😍 kicking my feet. also I imagine he loves making you giggle by not cursing (because he literally cant) and normally he'd get pissed if someone laughed at him like that if it's you he doesn't mind at all.

- that's pretty much it for like analyzing the leaks I saw but now the stuff up ahead is just bias yapping because I always project

- HE DEFINITELY IS A HAND KISSER. greets you by getting on one knee, holding his hat to his chest and kissing your hand. makes eye contact with you too and does that toothy smirk of his IM SWOONINGGG

- maybe he's a dancer! pulls you into his arms and places his hat on your head when a good song plays in taverns. even if your clueless on any type of dances then he'll pull you along to the beat whispering Instructions in your ear.

- gets so lovesick when drunk it drives everyone mad. any folks he's sitting with at a bar gets a whole speech on his wonderful beautiful darling who he owes his live and would happily die by their hand. and may God save you when you come pick him up because he'll be all over you. Immediately he wraps a arm around your waist as he slurrs his hello as he proceeds to tell you he loves you like 40 times. besides the mass amounts of kisses you'll receive once you both reach a private spot he let's some feelings that he might be too shy to share normally, holding your face as he calls you his pretty girl/boy and how he's so lucky to have you.

- honestly not the best for cuddling however unfortunately he needs to cuddle you to sleep so goodluck! his metal body isn't completely uncomfortable it's just cold alot. he tries to get around this by literally preheating himself with blankets before you go to bed.

very bad boothill brainrot atm... only a few more weeks until we get official content 😭 everyone hold hands we got this

here's the actual leaks if anyone is curious ^_^

[lanawinterscigarettes]

Can I ask for Natasha x reader where one of them calls the other one by their real name and the other one freaks out because they usually call them by petnames? Thanks!

Of course! I always love fics based off this idea 💞 this is kind of angsty because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff alright 😭 also Малыш is supposed to mean baby in Russian, but I honestly have no idea how accurate that is

Terms of Endearment (Natasha Romanoff x reader)

Warnings: mentions of insecurity/self depreciating thoughts, not really hurt/comfort but also kind of?? Idk

You and your girlfriend Natasha had always been fond of using petnames for each other, often more so than your actual names themselves. Whether it be honey, sweetheart, darling, or simply just babe, you never ran out of cutesy names to call each other. But as much as you loved hearing the never ending abundance of pet names roll off Natasha's tongue, what you didn't love was how often you got teased for it. 

You knew the other members of the team didn't mean anything by it and would stop if they knew how much it upset you, but the problem was you didn't really have a good reason for feeling that way. It seemed silly just thinking about it, childish even. So you kept your mouth shut, laughing along at their meaningless jokes as you made yourself a promise to cut down on the cheesy nicknames. 

You hoped Natasha wouldn't notice the lack endearing terms on your part, but she did, of course. She always noticed the small things nobody else picked up on. It came with the job description of being an assassin.

Although she'd noticed it, she couldn't understand why there was a sudden change in your behavior, especially when she knew how much you loved the petnames you had for each other. 

Because of this, she cut down on the petnames, too, and only used them when you were alone, hoping maybe she could solve the problem that way, even if she didn't know what it was.

It all came it a head one day when you were cooking together. It was just the two of you, everyone else either busy or in another part of the Avengers base. 

Natasha was standing by the stove, making some sort of soup. "Малыш, could you hand me the salt?" She asked after tasting it and realizing it needed something. 

The way you tensed up at the name she used for you did not fly past her, and it caused her to let out a small sigh. "Are you okay? You haven't been using nearly as many petnames for me as you used to, and I've noticed whenever I use them you seem... upset. Even when we're alone." 

You let out a sigh yourself, knowing it wouldn't do you any good to lie about it. "I... I was hoping you wouldn't notice." You began meekly, looking down. 

Natasha had a slight frown on her face as she turned towards you fully. "And why is that?" Her tone was gentle, but firm. It was clear she wasn't going to let you leave without some sort of explanation. 

"It- its not you. Or me. Its the others," you confess quietly. "I didn't really like the way they teased me whenever I called you honey or babe, so I stopped all together." 

She nodded her head, the pieces suddenly falling into place. "Ah, so that's why. At first, I thought I'd done something to tick you off." She joked, it making her heart warm to hear the laugh that came from you after. 

"No, it wasn't that, and even if it was, you know I could never stay mad at you." You said playfully, finally handing her the salt. 

She took it from you and added some to the pot on the stove before speaking again. "I'll talk to everybody, and tell them to lay off on the teasing, that way you won't have to worry about it anymore." 

You gave her a loving smile, your tone filled with gratitude. "Thanks, hon." 

She smiled back at the petname before giving you a soft kiss. "Of course, darling. Anything for you." 

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[bluecoolr]

pspsps ok I basically just got Minthara to join me and am now wondering how Darron and her get along? what are their opinions of each other? and how does stuff develope?

also, after seeing that there are specific (and so mean 😭) Drow dialogue options for Kar'niss, what does Darron (and Baeron maybe) think of driders?

oh and this interaction between Minthara and Astarion killed me

(spoiler warning?)

Minthara: Half the men of Menzoberranzan are pleasure-servants. Weaklings, whose beauty is their only redeeming quality.

Minthara: You would fit right in with them, Astarion.

Astarion: You think I'm beautiful? Oh, Minthara.

Minthara: Hrmmph.

Now, this is the kind of ask that I eat up. Thank you, Cy!!

The best alliances begin with insults.

Minthara calls Darron “jaluk” (“male” or “boy (derogatory)” in common) when they first meet at the goblin camp, earning raised eyebrows from Darron. Disappointing but not surprising, given that he had to put up with such treatment for the better part of his early life.

When they meet again in Moonrise and Ketheric tells Darron to judge Minthara as “one mad dog to another”, Darron spares her life and rescues her.

“Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, if at least once,” is a solid part of Darron's personal code. So, he gives Minthara the chance to redeem herself.

He recognizes her strength and her wisdom. She makes a valuable ally as much as a formidable foe. He keeps an assorted company, but they've learned to work together. He knows Minthara would fit right in. After all, a common enemy is a more effective unifier than common beliefs.

As far as dynamics go, they behave as they would in Menzoberranzan. Minthara is haughty and stands firm in her ruthless views. Darron seeks her opinions on matters and she counsels him. The only difference is Minthara acknowledges Darron's ability to lead and honestly thinks his diplomatic approach is useful. Though she mistakes it for deceit. Minthara sees his kindness as weakness and is quite bent on tamping it out, whenever she gets the chance.

Darron also enjoys Minthara's dark humor. He truly believes that if he had remained in Menzo, Minthara would be the type he would have been married to. Granted she wouldn't love him (though she would be grateful he's pretty - like Astarion lol), but they would make quite the consorts.

On the topic of driders, Kar'niss deserved more screen time and should have been recruitable for like … a drow run idk. His design is so fucking cool. Darron would look so cool fucking people uo with Kar'niss and Minthara. Also did you notice that Kar'niss is an albino drow?

Since they're raised Lolth-sworn, Darron and Baeron fear driders. In fact, while they were trying to get to the surface after their House was wiped out, they encountered a drider - Baeron's old “dance” teacher. After alerting Darron and Nalaghar about the enemy forces en route to their home, thus disrupting the will of Lolth, he was punished and turned into a drider.

It was incredibly traumatic for Baeron to see someone he cared deeply about turned into something so horrible. Eventually, the twins had to kill the drider.

[amemberoftheosc]

Thoughts on TPOT 17

Am I late? Yep, I am Was busy but was able to watch it today! Let's get started then shall we ^^ [Spoilers Ahead!]

I'll try to go chronologically with the things I enjoyed or noticed Bottle being the host was something I didn't expect And I have to admit, her antics did frustrate me a little bit I guess I'm not one to put up with inefficiency but hey, she's doing her thing so I can't be mad about it After all, she did do a pretty job of hosting! A neat challenge idea of splitting up the teams and having one member try to get the most amount of points in their separate competitions! I quite liked it ^^ She reminds me more like a person who's trying to host their first object show camp: giddy to host but stumbles along the way whilst hosting

The elimination ceremony was a surprise For starters, I'm surprised we were able to vote together and get both Pencil and Golf Ball, not just out of the bottom two, but all the way to top two! Good job team ^^ Seriously, I was genuinely expecting it to be very close And again, Pencil's trauma shows itself again I think we can classify it as PTSD at this point Nobody told her it was a vote to save, and she panicked when hearing she was the most to voted (how did nobody tell her it was a vote to save :<) Then being told she's safe, she goes back to being guarded, unemotional It's as if she's trapped in a fog, being unable to see nobody but herself And when the fog clears up, there's just a blinding light that makes her lose sight of everything And then there's Pencil's scene with Book! In one of my earlier posts, I stated how Book served as a foil to Pencil (in fact, when I was listening to Pen's talk with Pencil, I instantly got reminded of Book) I was intrigued by their interaction I was unsure on how they would interact but I thought Book would recognize herself in her and try to help in someway I somehow forgot that the reason behind Book's abandonment issues (and even trust issues) is Pencil Naturally, Book wouldn't want to interact with Pencil yet (or heck, ever! No one can force Book to reconcile with Pencil. We just have to see if she does or chooses to split ties) I can feel with Book here, truly Of course, her view on things is a bit skewed (after all, Pencil didn't just want to go further in the game during BFDIA! She had a fun time with Freesmart even when almost all of them were eliminated. I mean heck, she even mentioned Needle as someone they miss) but that doesn't mean that Book's pain isn't real Despite all these years, the wound remains fresh in Book And Pencil can't take knowing that it's herself that caused Book to drift, so, ironically, she pushes herself away from Book even more And pushes herself away from the idea of Freesmart even when, it was one of the happiest times of her life Then there's Pencil's scene with Pen Still, it was a bit odd for me to see Pen try to help Pencil I was banking on either Book or Liy but this works as well They did go through similar troubles and Pen was the one to realize the struggle that Pencil is going through, so it makes sense for him to be the one to try and break through Pencil's barrier I also like that the TCOA was not bright at all, just dark Most times we see it, it was so bright and colorful, meaning that Pencil turned it off herself She both literally and metaphorically shuts off what was bright and cheerful from the past, leaving herself alone in the dark I'm honestly not quite sure what to make of Pencil She's traumatized from the isolation and dullness from E.X.IT, yet at the same time pushes away potential connections because she's clinging onto old ones Deep inside, she's sad about losing what once was, but she pushes it all down because she'll become as lethargic as Two if she allowed herself to grieve And if she's listless, she's more susceptible to being eliminated So, she prefers to suppress her grief and focus on her anger because that can push her forward in the game I know that one of the best things to do when going through something hard is to continue working, to keep yourself busy And I do agree, but you can only start doing that when you confront your feelings first When you've let all your emotions wash over you, then you can start you regain some stability by working Pencil has skipped that step To lighten up the mood, I did enjoy that Winner did get some closure over Loser They realize that Loser never forgot them and that he recognized their contributions It's a bit touching for me because I feel like I have a situation similar to this (which is no wonder why I also love Book and focus on her a ton) Also, I feel like there was a whole bunch of fourth wall breaks in this episode, especially with Bottle? Maybe that crack in reality is still affecting the world around them

[delicatenerdbluebird]

My Random Takes on The Secret History (contains spoilers)

The biggest tragedy that comes with being Richard Papen coded is you need a group like Julian's Greek class to feel normal about yourself because the rest of the world makes you feel like a misfit.

That Richard and Camilla scene where she reveals being physically abused by Charles... I feel that scene is a strong criticism of abusive households. Like Richard was used to seeing his mother getting beaten by his father and sometimes he was also a victim of his violence. And in 'that' scene, he fantasizes about doing the same to Camilla and worse. This shows it's a never-ending cycle no matter how you see it. The kids are gonna end up developing fucked up fantasies if their exposure to fucked up things is constant.

I strongly believe Henry was gonna make Richard the scapegoat had something gone sideways. And honestly, it makes perfect sense. Richard insisted on joining their class. He was an outsider. Henry could have easily made up something like Richard was envious of their group, he was jealous of his and Bunny's closeness and so he ended up killing him, something along those lines that Richard wanted to be accepted and we would not accept him instantly, naturally because of our prior history. Knowing how Henry was good with words, he could have made Richard an obsessive, disturbed freak to the FBI for all we know. Remember how Henry saved him from getting frozen to death? This incident can be perfectly used to portray him as a mentally disturbed person who would rather freeze to death than go back to his home to a normal eye.

Now Julian. Oh, Julian I knew was the red flag the moment it was mentioned he does not accept students who have different ideas than his. But to think that fucker would turn out to be the biggest crankiest bitch?!! I mean I am soo mad he was the one who fed those Dionysiac ideas to them and in the end, he just ran away?! I was baffled by how he treated Henry during that confession scene he did not even listen to him completely... Henry does not stutter HE WAS STUTTERING and Julian shoved the letter back to him... I mean the disrespect! This scene (for me at least) was a reality check that no matter how loving, cool, caring, and impactful you might think your teacher is, at the end of the day, they are gonna be a teacher and you are gonna be just a student. It destroyed my heart when Henry said he loved Julian more than his own father 😭 The worst thing you can do is take advantage of the vulnerabilities of someone who not only respects you but also loves you dearly. This mf can move mountains and I would still hate his old rat ass!

Charles and Camilla Idek what to make of them. Charles turned from a pitiable character to an entirely disgusting one for me. I accept Francis' theory that he wouldn't have made that much fuss about his interrogating situation if Camilla and Henry weren't a thing. Remember when Camilla and Henry had some secret code and he got mad why he didn't know about it? I do think camilla and henry were always a thing before it became apparent to everyone. Besides the book is from Richard's perspective, and he does seem oblivious at times.

I am not aware of the popular takes in the fandom so I don't know if this is gonna be a hot take or not but Camilla gave pick-me-girl vibes. She did not have any girl friends and looked down upon Judy (I am not asking them to be besties exactly but a little respect won't have killed) Judy only developed a weird impression about them during that party scene when Camilla dropped her drink onto her and did not apologize (or was it the opposite? i dont remember exactly but the point is Judy is not the type to judge others for no reason...she judged them after that party) Camilla's attitude could be attributed to the fact that Charles was controlling but idk

The Secret History reminded me of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot (some of the verses below):

We are the hollow men

    We are the stuffed men

    Leaning together

    Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

    Our dried voices, when

    We whisper together

    Are quiet and meaningless

    As wind in dry grass

    Or rats' feet over broken glass

    In our dry cellar

   

    Shape without form, shade without colour,

    Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

So basically I am yapping here because my friend hasn't finished tsh yet and I just needed to let it all out 😩

Not to mention I absolutely love my expensive gossip boy Francis 🥺 ☕

(Thank u for reading it this far!!)

[animekpopsimp]

Hello! Can I request Diluc with a younger teenage sister who he argues a lot with? Despite being blood-related the Reader's personality is similar to Kaeya's. One night they had an argument again and both of them were really mad. When it was midnight Reader sneaked out of the Dawn Winery but she got into trouble, and the maids noticed Reader was not in her room so they informed Diluc. When he found her with Kaeya's help he was relieved however ever more mad so he started to yell at her. But the next morning he felt guilty and decided to make her breakfast, bought her things she liked (jewerlys, sweets etc.) and more things to prove he really cared about her. Thank you, take your time! :)

The sound of the door slamming in the distance made Diluc flinch a bit, he frowned as he looked up the stairs. A sigh escaped his lips as a silence fell over the room. How many times had he argued with you? He had honestly lost count. Ever since the death of his father, it had felt like his relationship with his younger sister had seemingly become strained. He hates it, he just wanted to get along with you. After all, you are his family. He sighed, deciding to let you cool off for a bit before talking to you, he didn't want to make things worse.

The next morning, Diluc was greeted with a group of panicked maids,

"Master Diluc!" Adaline ran up to him, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked, a feeling of dread building up in the pit of his stomach. He had never seen the woman so panicked before.

"It's (Y/N), she isn't in her room" Adaline explained, Diluc 's eyes widened as he stared at her, processing what he had just been told.

"What? Have you checked everywhere?" He asked, hoping you had just woken up early.

"We did, we couldn't find her" Diluc's heart sank hearing this as he tried his best to remain calm. His heart was racing,

"stay here, I'll look for her" with that, Diluc exited the manor and made his way to the city. He was barely paying attention to his surroundings as he did, and eventually, he found Kaeya. He normally wouldn't want to ask him to help, but he would put his pride aside for his sister's safety.

"Kaeya, I need your help" his words caught Kaeya off guard as he stared at Diluc for a moment before a smirk appeared on his face.

"I never thought you would want my help" the male replied, Diluc growled under his breath, too worried to deal with Kaeya's nonsense.

"This is serious, (Y/N) is missing" His words stunned Kaeya into silence as he stared at Diluc with wide eyes.

"I'll help look for her" the blue-haired male said, he and Diluc's relationship had become rocky, but they both still cared for (Y/N).

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

"Kaeya" Amber's voice suddenly rang out as he and Diluc continued searching for (Y/N). The girl ran up to the pair, a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong Amber?" Kaeya asked, looking at her confused, the young woman caught her breath before speaking again.

"I think (Y/N)'s in trouble. Someone reported a girl with red hair being attacked by some Hilichurls." Amber explained, Diluc and Kaeya both looked at each other for a moment and nodded, then, they ran toward the front gate of the city.

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

Diluc and Kaeya could hear the sound of monsters getting clearer as they ran across the field outside of Mondstat. They both spotted a group of Hilichurls and being surrounded by them was (Y/N), weapons in hand, the two of them rushed forward. The Hilichurls turned toward them, and the pair swung their weapons. In an instant, the monsters were dead.

"Diluc, Kaeya?" (Y/N) looked up, surprised to see the two of them. A worried expression appearing on his face, Diluc kneeled down next to his injured sister, there was a cut on her arm, though that was the only injury she had.

"Are you ok?" He asked in a soft voice, (Y/N) nodded in response. Diluc helped his sister up and brought her back to the winery.

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

"What were you thinking?" Diluc asked after patching his sister up. (Y/N) Looked down at the ground, silent for a moment.

"(Y/N)" the male repeated,

"I just wanted time by myself" the girl admitted. Diluc leg out a sigh,

"look, I'm sorry. But leaving the city on your own was dangerous" the male scolded her gently. There was a short pause but after a moment, (Y/N) spoke softly.

"I know..." Diluc frowned before pulling his sister into a hug.

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

The next morning, (Y/N) woke up and made her way downstairs. She was surprised to see Diluc waiting for her in the kitchen. The male turned toward her, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Good morning" he said, (Y/N) smiled.

"Morning Diluc" the morning was calm and both Diluc and (Y/N) were able to come to an understanding.

[theroxian]

jordana apprentice au chapter 1

(well thats the name until i think of something better and shove this on ao3 (thanks ao3 for being difficult with the sign up omg))

after the tournament of sources a tired jordana, all out of options, seeks out the only person she believes she can help right her wrongs. The high sorceress of mysterium- though this new position offers her more than she could've ever anticipated.

“Alright dear, I may be getting a little slow on the uptake” the sorceress glanced up from her teacup, “but who exactly are you again?”

Jordana sighed, perhaps for the fifth time in the past minute. For someone so legendary, she had imagined the high sorceress of mysterium to be, more legendary? Her greatest feats, all her legendary spells, all reduced to this shabby old monastery. And maybe it was an acquired taste, but the place was a mess. Books strewn along shelves carelessly, half baked potions left in boxes, what looked to be a streak of rainbow glitter in the sorceress’s hair.

“My name is jordana. I come from Imperium and-”

“Imperium?” the sorceress interrupted. Again. “Isn't that the place with all the fancy, techy, sci-fi stuff? Why the hell are you in a place like this?”

“Well, I mean-” Jordana stuttered. But the question wasn't unfounded- what exactly was she doing in a place like this? Jordana wasn't a magician- at least not until recently. She didn't have the experience to be even in the mere presence of the high sorceress, did she? God, she was just wasting her time. The sorceress was going to figure her out. Jordana knew it. She would be kicked to the curb again. Left to fend for herself. Again. Hell she even deserved it. Everything it did. Everything she did. It would've been better if she had never come here at all. What was she even thinking, going directly to the high sorceress of mysterium? Pathetic. Maybe she should just leave. At least she wouldn't be around to hear the sorceress say it herself. Maybe- 

“Dear, dear are you alright?” enquired the sorceress softly “you seem a bit uptight.”

Jordana looked up. 

“NOW if you are, i do not wish to intrude… whatever your name was-”

“Jordana…” she sighed. Honestly she did want to be mad, but she didn't have the energy anymore.

“Jordana, you should-”

“Im fine” 

“Well dear, if you're so sure.” the sorceress replied “you still haven't answered my question- why exactly are you here?”

Jordana froze. 

“Well, high sorceress-” she blurted out hurriedly. How was she supposed to say this? “Recently, I have been made, aware, of your legendary feats, your magical prowess… and I know, someone as low as myself… isn't really in a position to ask anything of you…” jordana crawled into herself. God, she was really doing this. This was a mistake, she knew it.

“Will you teach me?”

“An imperian, wanting to learn magic?” the sorceress contemplated. Looking her eyes side to side as she did so.

Jordana held her breath, dreading each moment as they washed over her.

“Well dear…” the sorceress’s eyes lit up  “why didn't you say so?!”

The sorceress threw her teacup down, softening its landing by turning the plate it rested on into a small pillow. Jordana cautiously looked up. All the relief in the world being thrust upon her in a single instant. Was it really that simple? 

“Why, I haven't had a new apprentice application in centuries!” she said as she began frantically sorting through, or throwing around, whatever miscellaneous items she had on the shelf behind her. 

The sorceress sighed. “No, what I'm looking for isn't here… stupid Janet” she scoffed Janet's name under her breath. Though jordana failed to see how realistically Janet could have messed with any of the sorceresses' things, or why she would, she knew better than to question the woman who had just given her a chance at her, well a, life back. “We’ll have to check the other storage room.”

Jordana got herself up, after a bit of time. She was tired, so, so tired. Not that the sorceress seemed to care. That was fine though. It was nothing she couldn't handle. If jordana had learned one thing in imperium it was how to work, and work hard. Only perfection was acceptable, and for a job like this, she would have to be better than that. 

The other room was, surprisingly clean, all things considered. Apart from the odd spiderweb or two. 

“Don't mind the mess, dearie, this room doesn't see a lot of use.” That was probably why. The sorceress looked around for a moment. Each book or potion or whatever the sorceress was checking for added another no to the cacophony.

“Well dear aren't you going to help?” the sorceress returned her gaze to jordana.

“Um- of course high sorceress… what exactly are we looking for?”

“Oh you'll know when you see it” she so helpfully replied. “Besides, it should be just- AHA!” the sorceress yanked up a slab of fabric from under some potions. 

“Do you like it?” she said as she unravelled the fabric. “I know it's not the most, sightly, but anything must be better than your current attire. All that metal cannot be comfy dearie” 

She flew it over to jordana, or rather it grew a pair of wings and flew itself over. It was a jacket, not unlike the one the sorceress herself was wearing brown with a distinct green swirl pattern on the cuffs, only with a noticeably higher amount of dust and cobwebs on it. Not the worst uniform she’d ever seen, surprisingly. “I’d have to ask my daughter for something better, she's about your age, how old are you exactly?”

“14..”

“Well, give or take around a few thousand years… she's quite into fashion i'm sure she’d have something you would like”

“This is more than enough, high sorceress, t-thank you”

“Please dear, call me Gandalaria.” 

“Of course miss Gandalaria” 

“And now dear-” the sorceress clapped her hands, illuminating the room in a flashing parade of rainbow colours. “Do make yourself at home. You've got a big first day tomorrow” she added in a sing-songy tone and then slamming the door.

The room had transformed itself into a bedroom, far larger than she had ever had before. With a large desk, a bookshelf, and even a window sill with several plant pots and a multitude of trinkets littering it. It was far too large to be just a bedroom, jordana thought. It must be a space where the sorceress can send her when she doesn't want to see her. Which if it was anything like her last room, would be a lot. 

Well this time it wouldn't be. Jordana just had to ensure the sorceress didn't have a reason to shut her away. She just had to work harder, harder than with LaRow, harder than with Ras. This was her only chance at any form of redemption for its actions, the ones that blood stained her very hands. Failure wasn't an option.

Jordana reached over to the shelf of gandalrias books and grabbed one.

[seramilla]

divorce au who did Odette and Clara meet at the hotel ?

Odette and Clara were on their way to rent some snorkeling equipment from the hotel and ran into Emily manning the front desk. They've seen her working about the hotel during their trip and strike up a conversation. She appears about their age, maybe a year or two younger, and they worry that Emily is all by herself working so much. Does her sister Sera ever give her a break?

"I like working here!" Emily says, full of much more enthusiasm than the average person working behind a desk. But Emily genuinely doesn't seem to mind. "I like making our guests happy...and I'm out of school right now, so honestly, I'd probably just be sitting at home bored if I wasn't here. And it gives my friends an excuse to visit me!"

Emily's friends turn out to be a gaggle of characters who are supposedly in a band. There are three men and five women, one of the women being the lead singer named Verosika Mayday. They visit Sera's beachside resort to play their show every year, so Emily normally hangs out with them after work. They want to make it big in the music biz one day, and Sera's guests are usually a pretty big crowd.

They also have some roadies who usually travel with them: a tall, dark, handsome man named Tex, who is Verosika's bodyguard. His girlfriend, Bee, does their costumes and makeup. Sometimes their other friend Loona also tags along, when her overprotective, adopted father will let her off work. He usually doesn't.

Emily asks if Odette and Clara want to join them in the hotel restaurant for lunch, because her shift is about to end. Odette and Clara consider that they were thinking about going to the spa with their mom later that day...she'd actually told them she was looking forward to it. But then again, they're staying at the hotel for several more days yet. She probably wouldn't mind if they split. There'd be plenty of time to do the spa thing later, right?

They hope so, because the next thing they know, they're being whisked away by Emily and her hot gaggle of musical friends (particularly that Verosika chick... Odette thinks she'll be staring at her for the rest of the day.... Wait, did Odette say that out loud?!)

Odette frantically texts Carmilla to let her know what's up. She hopes her mom isn't too mad...she hates disappointing her, but these people seem pretty cool. Besides, it would be good for her and Clara to hang out with people their own age for a while. Carmilla will understand. Right?

[lolitakirstein]

a/n: ooof this turned into a damn text thread i'm sorry.and mostly eren POV, shitty editing this is going to have to be in multiple parts. I'll get part 2 up ASAP. :)

Eren reached for his phone, brows furrowing. It was odd for him to ever hear an alert from it, let alone a text notification. He had made it that way. Cutting off communication to most, keeping conversations to a bare minimum with those who were close...well...more at arm's length...maybe further than that.

If I keep people out, they can't hurt me. they won't know I'm such a fucked up person.

He flipped his phone over, reading the text.

You: hey eren :)

His heartbeat kicked up seeing your name on his phone. You seemed to be the only person who would reach out without being talked to first. Of all the people in his "friends" group, it was you who seemed the less likely to judge...if he ever got that vulnerable with you. Which he doubted he would, you deserved better than someone as fucked up at him. But when you looked at him, he sometimes felt that you saw past his flaws.

His fingers hovered over the screen unsure what to write, finally settling for a simple "Hey."

You: How are you? I haven't seen you in a while.

It was true, you hadn't seen each other in weeks. The last time being a get together for the end of summer.

Eren: I'm fine..just minding my own business as usual."

You: well you can mind your business and still not be a stranger :)

the lighterheardness of your message made him actually smile. The thought that you are wanting him to be closer though...that makes him nervous. He doesn't want you to look at him differently if he got any closer.

Eren: I wouldn't mind that

You: Well lets plan a hang out or something :)

Eren paced his living room. Were you being flirty? or just friendly? or maybe even pitying him? How was he supposed to go about this...play along? he wanted to. Fuck he wanted to get closer to you. But that voice in his head told him it would end in disaster.

"Fuck it," he said aloud to the room

Eren: Maybe we could go for ice cream, yeah?

You: that sounds fun!

Eren waited to respond, not wanting to seem to eager, but he had come this far he might as well go for it...

Eren: would you like to later today?

the minute he sent it, he regretted it. Too soon, too desperate, too overbearing.

You: I can't today. Me jean and connie are going downtown to the bar. I've already backed out twice ugh

His heart dropped at that fucking name

JEAN

He knew you and jean were friends, closer than you and him were, but it still boiled his blood that you were going out with him...even just as friends. He knew how jean got when he was drunk. Hell he knew how jean acted sober especially around you. Hanging around, shameless flirting, playfully tugging your hair as he'd pass behind you.

Eren:Why the fuck are you going with horseface. Hes a creep, he just wants to use you I hate how he touches you Alright, have fun.

He breathed deeply. Calming himself before he could get any angrier at the situation. Yes, he knew it was wrong to get mad at you for going out. But why did it have to be with Jean. He hoped Connie would keep an eye on you and him at least.

*4 hours later*

Eren was lying on his couch, the tv going, but honestly his thoughts were constantly on you being out there at some cheap bar with Jean. No doubt his fucking horse hooves all over you. What were you doing? what was he doing? what were you wearing?

Is she thinking of me?

His resolve to not text you the rest of the night crumbled at last. Reaching for his phone he thumbed to your name and typed

Eren: Hope you are having a fun night.

After what seemed like an eternity but was really only 10 minutes, he saw you begin to reply. His heart kicked up.

you: Heyyyy. I'm a bit buzzed but im havn fun. connie and jean are doing karaoke save me lol

He smirked at your jumbled reply and the thought of jackass jean doing karaoke thinking he's hot shit.

Eren: i'm sure that's a sight. What those dipshits singing...or attempting to sing

you: connies in his missy elliot era rn. Jean just serenaded me with some taylor swift.

Eren clenched his jaw. He knew you were a secret swiftie as much as you tried to act like you werent, he'd catch you humming it. Now it seems Jean is also aware of your little secret.

Playing cool he replies, "Never took that asshole to be a swiftie."

you: me neither, it's definitely the booze

Eren: How much more drinking do you guys plan on doing?

You: I'm tapping out after this one

An attached photo came along with your text. It was dimly lit but he could make out the shape of a dozen or so shot glasses empty on the table and your hand holding your last one up for the camera. And there, blurry but still visible, right in the corner was Jean...his hand on your leg.

DAMN HIM

He feels every emotion rush through him: anger, jealousy, possessiveness, sadness. He heartbeat pounded in his ear.

Eren: What's with Jean being all handsy?

He hoped that sounded subtle and not like a psychopath...with yes he was probably acting like one. Even going so far as to zoom in on the photo to see how far up your leg jeans hands were.

you: Probably to keep from falling over.

You were playing it off like it was no big deal?!

Eren: That doesn't look like the ideal place to put his hand to keep from falling over."

you: Lol. you know how he is when he is drunk...all...lovey

At this point, red is all Eren sees. He doesn't care if he comes off like an asshole or possessive anymore. How could you be so oblivious and naive that Jean was doing this intentionally.

Eren: Doesn't that piss you off that he gets all handsy like that? He shouldn't be allowed to touch you, even if he's drunk.

No going back now. Whatever progress eren had thought he had made with you would certainly be gone after this show of anger. His true self. Fuck it he didn't care. This is why he stayed to himself. In one evening, you had stabbed him in the heart...

Part 2 sneaky peak:

"You know i can't be like him right?" "I don't want you to be like him...I want you to be like you."

thanks for reading :)

[midnightmayhem13]

Hey idk if you're taking requests but if you are can I request (the marvel girls) x fem!reader? And if someone started hitting on reader (and like reader flirted back) but (the girls) and fem reader aren't dating yet, they just have a crush on reader but reader doesn't know that, sorry if this is confusing my English isn't so good

I LOVE NEBULA SM YOU WRITE HER SO GOOD

I'm the one who understands you

AHH love this! and dw abt your english babe mine wasn't very good a while back either🩶🩶

carol danvers

even before you're dating carol is very protective over you. and while everyone asks why she protects you but won't ask you out she can't answer. but when she sees you flirt back with someone all her pride is gone. she can't act like you're hers if you literally just flirted back. she'll try to coward away but she genuinely doesn't want to use you. if shes feeling up to herself she'll go up to you two and try to assert dominance. she'll let out a "who's this?" but way less confident than she wanted to. when she sees you don't seem uncomfortable with the presence of the other person she loses a little confidence. she won't directly tell you about it, but shell ask if you're dating the person later.

sharon carter

sharon watches from afar. she watches your every move and is suprised when she sees you flirt back. she's made it very known to you that she likes you but if you just don't realize it. and while she will definitely be a little hurt, she doesn't know how to react so it turns into silence. she'll give you the silence treatment and will honestly be a little mean. not enough to hurt you or intentionally make you cry. her flight or fight almost goes off but when she realizes that she genuinely wants to build a life with you, she eventually confess. after a few days she'll want to confess. she's realized that maybe ignoring you will drive you away and attract you to her 'competition'

darcy lewis

i feel like darcy would lowkey cry:(. like when you like someone so much that seeing them flirt with someone just hurts as if they cheated on you. that's what happens. she'll not want to confront you about it in the moment but later she will question. and jane will be hearing it all. you go to comfort her not knowing you're the reason for her state. in these moments she'll hold on to you tight and pray you want her. she'll be clingy. when you realize why's she's upset she might b a little mad but will eventually forgive you. when you take her out and cheer her up she'll slap you're head and scold you to not do it again

nebula

oh lord you're dead. i feel like nebulas either really mad or gets shy. of course you wouldn't want her. or you're mine and no one else can have you. a mix of both. when she sees you flirt with someone she'll get mad a drag you away from them. asking what the fuck you were doing. when you don't realize it's because she's jealous you'll be a little confused, wondering if you offended her. and shit you damn well did. she'll be mad at you for a while and won't let anyone near you for a few days after. then as you try to calm her down you here an almost inaudible "you're mine".

maria hill

seeing you flirt with someone else hurt maria. and she'll let you know. not in a toxic-try-to-make-you- feel-bad way. but a more mature way. she'll ask to speak to you in private and state things like 'i'm not sure we want the same thing' or 'i thought we had something' something along those lines. but she'll be very sincere and sweet. it's okay if you don't like her but she'd like to know. and sure she's pretty closed off about her romantic feelings, but she'd want you to know. if there's a chance that the feelings are mutual, she's going to take it.

kate bishop

kate would just be baffled. okay you're incredibly beautiful but she always looked away so she wouldn't see if you flirted back. and watching you get flirty and touchy with another person hurt. you always touch her arm like that and she's the only one who gets to make you laugh like that. shes confused because she genuinely thought you two were thingy thing. and afterwards when you get time alone she's asking you all the questions. are you going on a date with them? you like them? when did you meet? you sure you can trust them? but she'll just ramble trying to convince you not to be with them, but with her.

a/n W request bro. got so into them for no reason