#i love how the job reflects his in-game role (protecting people)

[cynicalmusings]

genuinely frothing at the mouth right now

[soapyghostie]

Hey! Absolutely random request, but imagine reader being a tired person that out of wounds and stress they just fall asleep when they're being carried, about to go on a hook. How would the dbd killers(any, really) react?

Like, imagine. Being carried, without anything under legs can already make someone sleepy if they don't have adrenaline pumped through their veins. Plus, i know that having wounds(aka blood loss) can make people very tired.

Since this request it a little vague, I decided to get a little creative with it and wrote some angst because I’m a sucker for angst with dad slashers (except Frank is your big brother in this request). 😭 Hope you enjoy!

The Ghost Face/Danny Johnson

Danny would be confused at first, bloodlust still kicking through his veins even after killing all our teammates as he carries you, his injured daughter, to the hook (Sorry (Y/N), he’s just doing his job. No hard feelings). He’ll pause for a moment, trying to process the fact that you feel asleep on his shoulder.

As he realizes that you fell asleep due to exhaustion and stress from your wounds, Danny’s demeanor would soften and his parental instincts within him kicks in. He’ll gently adjust you in his arms from being thrown over his shoulder to being carried bridal style, ensuring that you’re comfortable even as he still proceeds to hook you. 

Seeing you in such a vulnerable state would stir up a lot of internal conflict in Danny. He’s torn between his role as a merciless killer and his love for you as his daughter as he hesitates to sacrifice you to the Entity. Danny’s had a lot of bad performances in trials lately and he really needs the 4K. However, to get the 4K he needs to sacrifice you. Of course it has to be you: the Entity is so cruel. 

As to not get punished by the Entity, sadly, Danny will throw you onto the hook. Danny would feel a pang of remorse and sadness. He knows that he’s the cause of your pain and exhaustion, and seeing you in such a vulnerable state serves as a painful reminder of the life he’s subjected you to. He silently reflects on his actions and their consequences. He’ll gaze at your sleeping form dangling from the hook, grappling with the complexities of his emotions and the choices he made. 

Despite his conflicted emotions, Danny remains committed to his role in the Entity’s twisted game. However, Danny’s determination to protect you remains unwavering. He’ll play the Entity’s game and continue this dark path as a killer if it means to ensure your safety as he doesn’t want you to be harmed as a result of his shortcomings… 

The Legion/Frank Morrison

Frank would be initially shocked and panicked to see you, his younger sister, in such a vulnerable state. Despite his tough ‘bad boy’ exterior, he deeply cares about you and seeing you hurt triggers his protective instincts. 

The sight of you falling asleep from exhaustion and stress while carrying you to the hook fills Frank with anger and frustration. He’ll curse under his breath, feeling powerless to protect you and frustrated with the situation at hand. First off, your god damn heavy after going unconscious and, secondly, he has no choice but to hook you due to the amount of failed trials he’s had lately to try and please the Entity. 

Despite his anger, Frank, also like Danny, would feel a sense of inner conflict. On one hand, he wants to lash out at the Entity for throwing her into a trial with him, but on the other hand, he knows he has to get the 4K by hooking you so you end up safe and sound at the survivor camp instead of the agony the Entity threatened to put you through if he didn’t start stepping it up in trials. You’re the reason he has the strength to keep going in this awful, twisted game of cat and mouse. 

Frank would grapple with the feeling of guilt and responsibility for your condition. As your older brother, he feels entitled to preventing you from getting hurt in the first place and blames himself for everything that has happened to you. Despite his conflicting emotions, he would carefully and gently place you on the hook, making sure you're as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. As he watches you sleep on the hook, Frank would have a quiet moment of reflection. He reminisces about y’all’s childhood together and vows silently to himself to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. 

Seeing you vulnerable would only fuel Frank’s determination to perform better in trials. He would be even more relentless in his pursuit of survivors, driven by the desire to protect you from the Entity’s hungry claws. 

The Shape/Michael Myers

Michael would pause, a flicker of confusion crossing his expressionless face. The sight of you, his daughter, falling asleep despite the dire circumstances briefly disrupts his usual relentless pursuit to satisfy his murderous desires. 

Deep within his obscured psyche, a conflict brews. While Michael is driven by an insatiable urge to kill, his parental instincts stir, conflicting with his murderous impulses. This momentary hesitation leads to a brief internal struggle, the likes of which observers of Michael would never perceive. 

Despite the task at hand and the chaos of the trial, Michael momentarily freezes, holding your unconscious body with an eerie stillness. His iconic breathing momentarily ceases, as if he too, like Danny and Frank, were contemplating the peculiar situation. 

In a rare display of tenderness, Michael gingerly adjusts your position, ensuring that you're comfortable even as he prepares to hook you. His movements would be precise, almost caring, as if he’s trying to shield you from further harm, even in your unconscious state. As he gazes upon your sleeping form, fragments of memories flicker through Michael’s mind. Images of you as a child, innocent and untouched by the darkness that now envelopes you both, momentarily soften his gaze, perhaps even cause a subtle twitch at the corners of his mouth – a long-forgotten smile. You are his world. 

Ultimately, the weight of his desire to kill and the futility of his attempts to connect with you wash over Michael. With a heavy heart hidden beneath his iconic mask, he proceeds with the task at hand – sacrificing you to the Entity. With a solemn determination, Michael carries you to the hook, his obsession with killing eclipsing any semblance of any paternal sentiment.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What do you make of the moment when Kate shrugged William's hand on a Christmas show in 2019? The sugars use this to show how they actually hate each other, but I've always thought Kate just reacted immediately because they never did PDA and she was caught by surprise, as in to say "what are you doing? we're working"

I've been following the BRF since the Sussex drama, so I don't have decades the reflect on, but from what I've seen, it really seemed there was a no PDA rule. They also appeared much stuffy, even towards each other, with Kate standing straighter, making sure she was walking behind William, often keeping her hands in front of her as if to protect herself. But the last years, the seem more at ease in public, allowing some hands on the back here and there. And I've actually been wondering if H&M overdoing it with the PDA meant the BRF could actually relax a bit and allow some touching without looking unprofessional.

There isn’t a “no PDA” rule. The rule is that everyone is expected to be professional at work. And PDA - over the top PDA like the Sussexes - is not professional behavior in any industry, in any profession, in any country in the world.

William and Kate are affectionate and playful with each other. They always have been, long before Meghan had Harry in her claws:

Before their engagement: L - Graduating St. Andrews in 2005 C - Saying hello at polo in 2006 R - Paparazzi catching them making out. Date unknown, suspected sometime 2009 (based on William's hair).

Newlyweds: L - Canada, July 2011 C - Edinburgh, July 2011 R - London Olympics 2012

Early Parenthood: L - Christmas Walk, December 2013 C - Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, July 2014 R - Rugby World Cup, September 2015

Before the Love Bomb: L - Hiking in India, April 2016 (there's a well-known story from royal reporters on the India trip that William and Kate were close and affectionate until they spotted the reporters and photographers. Once they saw the royal rota, they immediately separated and became more formal/professional.) C - Private family ski trip, February 2016 R - Canada, September 2016

Before Meghan made her official debut with Harry and the BRF: L - Heads Together awareness event, February 2017 R - Wimbledon Men's Final, July 2017

And no, I didn't see "the incident" as Kate shrugging off William's hand because it was PDA. I see that moment as Kate adjusting her position in her seat and William briefly touching her. If you watch the clip, you'll notice that Kate's whole body wiggles; her shoulders, her trunk, and her legs. William just happened to touch her in that same moment. If she was shrugging him off, if she was recoiling from his touch, only her shoulder would have moved. It was a harmless, normal moment that happens to everyone.

Others may see it differently, and that's fine.

Harry and Meghan overdoing it with the PDA didn't open any doors for anyone to be more affectionate or show more affection. All they did was highlight the difference between working professionals who a) know they're on the job, b) know their roles for the job, and c) know that their job is bigger than their individual needs and people who think their love and togetherness is more important than the job.

[brown-little-robin]

3, 4, 17, 18, and 24!!

Hi Grace! Thanks for the ask! :D

3: Biggest self-insert OC?

Ohhhh. oh no, I'm going to be Perceived. Um, that would be... oh, what was its/his name...? Zelan sometimes, Fox other times, uh, Dorian, Grim, Nat, Shen, Alexei... it was basically the same OC every time, but in alternate bodies and stories. It/he was usually literally genderless or male (I was Working Through Some Stuff). It was always created and trained for a singular purpose, usually Being An Assassin or Guarding This Specific Location, and it was either animalistic (can barely speak) or overly-eloquent in ways that humans had trouble understanding. Um. This oc was my self-insert that always interacted with a troupe of other ocs called Naphtali's Caravan, and they always Found Out that Shen wasn't human and had Dramatic Reactions to it and then started trying to figure out how it worked and protecting it from whoever was trying to kill/recapture/exploit it. LOTS of infodumping and LOTS of drama were always involved. <333

4: What kind of music do your OCs listen to?

Well, my ocs have wildly varying worldbuilding, so there's no one musical genre. But my clones, which come to the real world in the year 2007, all have a weakness for soft music sung to them in real human voices. They grew up in machine laboratories and the sound of human singing... mesmerizes them. Gets down deep in their warped brain chemistry and soothes parts of them that have never been soothed before.

17: What are some tropes and character dynamics found in your wips?

As you may have guessed, people who don't feel like they are actual people learning to be loved and cared for... partly by loving and caring for people. This reflects nothing about me, of course! Also, in no particular order, Being Trapped in contracts/roles, depression and trauma disorders, Ride Or Die Friendships, new-parent + older-child adoption, and shapeshifting!

18: Describe the setting of one or more of your wips!

My clones story, The Strange Redemption of Thaddeus Thawne, is set in the DC superhero universe. More specifically, it's set in the Alabama home of a time-traveling hero with superspeed who gets abruptly saddled with the return of an evil clone of the Flash's grandson. Said (formerly)evil clone, "Thaddeus Thawne", ran away seven years ago, died, and is NOT happy to be back. Especially not still physically fourteen years old and incredibly traumatized.

My clowns story, Clown World, is set in a world where, when a human clown dies, their clown persona (not human) appears in the room. Confusing? Yeah, it's confusing for everyone in this world. The new Clown is fully adult in terms of mental capacity, speaking, reading, and writing skills, but has no memories and no specific knowledge other than their own name. Their clown makeup is not removable and they are visibly Not Human in various ways. It is difficult for Clowns to find good jobs, and they're not allowed to do actual clowning.

Just imagine having to look like a clown 24/7 and trying to make it in the world. That's the concept.

24: Do you have/want a career in your medium? If not, what do you do/want to do instead?

If it was possible to make a living as a writer and/or ceramics artist without stressing out always about profit, I would want that. Since it is not (for me anyway), I do not. I want to be a librarian <333

These asks are from this game!

[alistairian]

Not so much here, but I've seen people point out that John's character is kind of an idiot and immature in rdr2 compared to rdr1, I think a lot of people were anticipating a cool origin story from John when rdr2 was announced as a prequel, but tbh I think this is the best choice for his character. I mean, we're comparing a 26 year old who is one of the younger members of a gang and never had a moment of stability his entire life to a 38 year old who's supporting a family and reflecting on his past mistakes, there's gonna be some major changes in between.

I also like that they explicitely show John losing his faith in Dutch long before most of the other gang members, including Arthur, calling his plans and ideology into question after Jack is taken hostage. He's holding his "adopted father" accountable for putting his son in harms way, even though this is nothing new, John and Arthur were both "found" by Dutch as kids, John has that shift in perspective for the first time as a father and I think that's the moment he finally steps into the role and decides he wants something different, and just maybe Dutch doesn't know best. He still doesn't get his badass hero moment though, he's still too inexperienced and he still lives under Dutch's influence. He still waits on Dutch's commands and stays with the gang up to the end, but again it makes sense because he's only 26 and has been manipulated by the man he thinks he owes everything to for the past 14 years.

In the epilogue when John is finally free from Dutch is when you finally see him take on a decision making role in his own life without being influenced and it feels organic. "Lets get jobs, thats what regular people do, right? Lets buy some land and build a ranch." I see people argue that Abigail is forcing this on him and trying to make him change but I think that's so unfair to both of them, actually the general attitude the playerbase has towards Abigail is completely unfair imo. Like she pushes him to forge his own path and make an honest, safe life for his family instead of being some cult leader's disposable goon. She's a fiercely protective mother and demands better from the men in her life. How anyone could twist that into a bad thing idek

Then, eventually, you get the John from rdr1 who is capable and more confident and independent, who chooses to save his family over the people who used and manipulated him without waiting around for permission to do so (I mean, choose is a strong word, it's another hostage situation but he makes it clear were his loyalties lie). The progression just makes sense. I guess people just supposed John's "redemption" in the first game was for his crimes and lifestyle where rdr2 adds an extra layer of context that maybe he needed redemption for his own inaction and inability to take responsibilty and protect the people who loved him vs the people who loved what he could do for them.

[bluejayblueskies]

Please say more abt how Martin fits the closed off trait I'm begging 👁👁

Okay, so I got a bit carried away with this and it got quite lengthy....

I've put a TLDR above the cut and the details, transcripts, and general discussion below the cut!

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TLDR: Martin is at his core a closed-off character who keeps his vulnerable feelings hidden and close to his chest. He instead focuses on caring for others and considering their feelings above his own, particularly in the case of Jon, who he cares for (sometimes to the point of self-sacrifice) throughout the podcast. His arc with the Lonely in season four and his interactions with Jon in season five demonstrate this lack of emotional vulnerability, and it's really only during the moments he spends by himself that we get significant insight into Martin's emotional state and inner thoughts.

.

Martin, to me, is a character who is very used to hiding how he feels. He tends to care for others at the expense of himself, has low self-esteem, and has a predilection towards the Lonely, all of which go hand-in-hand with somebody who is very used to hiding their emotions--particularly the negative ones--because they either think they're not important or that they're inconvenient and inappropriate for the situation. On a textual level, that's probably due to growing up with a sick (and likely unsupportive) mother who he had to take care of, where there was 'no time' for his emotions to get in the way or for him to prioritize himself in any way, shape, or form.

Martin is self-destructive, dislikes moments of emotional vulnerability, and (I would argue) genuinely struggles when he doesn't have somebody else to prioritize over himself. (His mother at first, but as the series goes on, Jon settles comfortably into this role for him.) Additionally, the biggest way that we, the audience, know anything about Martin's emotional state is when he's alone and self-reflecting (such as in MAG 170 and 186 or when talking to the tapes) or when he's forced to talk about something vulnerable (such as when Jon confronted him about his CV).

We don't get much insight into Martin's character between seasons one and three (at least not as much as we get in four and five), but I find myself drawn to this bit in MAG 118, when Martin is talking to Elias:

MARTIN

So what? I don’t get to be angry? I don’t get to burn things? Just, just run around, making tea, while everyone else gets to actually have feelings?

I think two things are important to note here. The first is that Elias is surprised (or least intrigued) that Martin is acting in this way--specifically, acting on his emotions in such a dramatic way. (And given that Martin is doing this as a distraction, rather than actually acting out because of his own emotions, maybe he's right to be surprised.) The second is that this line very much implies that Martin doesn't talk about how he's feeling, not like 'everyone else' does. He doesn't talk about it, doesn't act on it--just 'runs around, making tea.' And when Melanie comes back in after Elias is done, Martin immediately focuses on the plan and whether it succeeded, ignoring Melanie when she asks if he's okay or not. He closes himself off, and as far as we know, doesn't talk about it at all after that.

And then Jon goes into his coma, and we reach season four.

Martin is incredibly closed-off during season four. He's self-isolating, self-sacrificial, and approaching a state of genuine emotional numbness by the time he's cast into the Lonely. There's a lot to unpack there, but I'm going to focus on a few main things, many of which can be drawn from this bit in MAG 158:

MARTIN

It’s not him! It’s not anybody. It’s just me. Always has been. I…

When I first came to you, I thought I had lost everything. Jon was dead, my mother was dead, the job I had put everything into trapped me into spreading evil and I… I really didn’t care what happened to me. I told myself I was trying to protect the others, but… honestly we didn’t even like each other. Maybe I just thought joining up with you would be a good way to get killed.

And then… Jon came back, and… and suddenly I had a reason I had to keep your attention on me. Make you feel in control so you didn’t take it out on him. And if that meant drifting further away, so what? I’d already grieved for him. And if it meant now saving him, it was worth it.

When you started talking about the Extinction, though… you had me actually, then, for a while. But then – (laughs sardonically) then, you tried to make me the hero. Tried to sell me on the idea that I was the only one who could stop it. And that I’ve never sat right with me. I mean, I mean, look – look at me, I’m not exactly a – a chosen one. But by then I was in too deep. So I played along. Waited to see what your end game was, and here we are.

Funny. Looks like I was right the first time. It’s probably still a good way to get killed?

This monologue is a big insight into Martin's thought process during this season, and I'm mostly going to focus on two parts: the self-sacrifice and the prioritization of Jon.

Self-sacrifice

There's quite a bit of discussion about Jon's self-sacrificial tendencies, but less so about Martin's, both in this season and in season five. In my opinion, Jon's self-sacrificial tendencies originate from (among other things) survivor's guilt from his traumatic childhood experience with Mr. Spider, his increasing belief that he's less than human, and the fact that he prioritizes the lives of others over his own. Martin's self-sacrificial tendencies, while very similar, come from the fact that he thinks he only has worth if he can help and care for someone else and the fact that he doesn't think he's important enough to live. (For example, he says in MAG 158 that he's 'not exactly a chosen one' and says in MAG 198 that he's 'not important enough to kill.')

It's a subtle difference between these two things, and I would argue that while Jon's tendencies are more rooted in the 'help' (ie, 'I want to help other people and I will sacrifice myself to do it'), Martin's tendencies are more rooted in the 'hurt' (ie, 'I will sacrifice myself and other people will be helped in the process'). There is, of course, overlap, and it's not a black-and-white distinction between the two, but ultimately, I think Martin is so used to prioritizing others' emotions and needs above his own that when he's left mostly alone as he is at the end of season three, with the only person left to hold onto being in a coma (possibly forever), he falls back into the same patterns of self-destruction and closed-offness, only without the 'help' to go along with the 'hurt' because there is nobody left to help (especially after his mother dies). Ultimately, he joins up with Peter because he thinks it 'would be a good way to get killed.'

Prioritization of Jon

But then Jon wakes up from his coma, and now Martin has justification for his self-sacrifice again, because he can protect Jon by continuing to work with Peter!

... Maybe.

Jon isn't harmed by Peter during season four, sure, but he does climb into the coffin and visits Ny-Ålesund and is tracked down by Julia and Trevor and struggles emotionally and morally with his own humanity and is hurt, in a way, by the distance Martin puts between them. And I hesitate to place blame for the apocalypse on anybody but Jonah, but if we're going to argue in-canon that Jon was responsible for the apocalypse (he wasn't, but that's not the point of this post), then Martin contributed to that blame and responsibility because it was his actions and decisions that ultimately drew Jon into the Lonely and resulted in him getting the 14th and final mark. (Again, I don't think Jon or Martin are at fault for the apocalypse, but if we were to blame Jon, we could blame Martin as well.) It was only after getting that mark that Jonah was able to use Jon to end the world, something that was hugely hurtful for Jon. So did Martin really protect Jon at all by staying away from him and continuing to work with Peter? Or was that just a convenient excuse to keep self-destructing?

Jon and Martin, in my opinion, had very similar arcs in season four. Martin was sinking further into the Lonely and Jon was sinking further into the Eye. We hear a lot more about Jon's emotional struggle with this given that he's the POV character, sure, but Jon also talks about this with other people. He talks about it to Helen (MAG 152):

JON

…

When does it stop?

HELEN

(impatient) What?

JON

The guilt. The misery. All the others I’ve met, they’ve been – cold, cruel. They’ve enjoyed what they do. When does the Eye (inhale) make me monstrous?

And to Daisy (MAG 136):

JON

My – (large sigh) My memories of the coma are not clear, but I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die. But ever since then, I – I don’t know if I made the right decision; I’m stronger now, tougher, I can – (he cuts himself off) If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever? I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. And I don’t want to lose anyone else, so if I can maybe – stop that happening, and the only danger is to me, I – I’ll do it in a heartbeat; worst case scenario, the universe loses another monster.

But all we really get from Martin are the things he tells the tapes when he's alone and the monologue he gives in MAG 158. It makes sense that he wouldn't be as open, yes, given the nature of the Lonely, but I can't help but think of (MAG 154):

JON

The Lonely’s really got you, hasn’t it?

MARTIN

(no hesitation) You know, I think it always did.

Jon was always curious and hungry for knowledge; the Eye amplified it. Martin was always closed-off and isolated; the Lonely amplified that as well.

But then Jon pulls Martin out of the Lonely, they flee to the safehouse, and three weeks later, the apocalypse begins. Martin isn't as consumed by the Lonely as he was in season four, he's with Jon--the person he loves--for extended periods of time, and they're in an extremely stressful situation that's sure to be incredibly emotionally charged. There's a lot to be said about Jon's emotional vulnerability during season five and how Martin both pressures him for it and rejects it in different ways, but for the purposes of this post, I won't go too far into detail about the motivations behind how Jon is feeling and acting.

I will say, however, that in season five, Martin still continues to place a lot of focus on asking Jon how he's feeling, encouraging (or pressuring) him to share, and getting frustrated when Jon can't or doesn't (MAG 167):

MARTIN

Okay, so how exactly would you describe your current emotional state regarding all of this?

JON

I –

MARTIN

(overlapping) Go on, I’m all ears.

JON

I feel…

MARTIN

(go on) Mhm.

JON

(sigh) I feel… sad.

[Brief pause.] MARTIN

(flat) Sad.

JON

Very sad.

MARTIN

(*very* flat) Very sad.

[He sighs slightly as he says it. Their bags jangle.]

A few moments prior to this, Martin expresses displeasure that Jon is Knowing things about him, specifically pointing out his emotions (MAG 167):

MARTIN

It’s just – it’s weird knowing that you can know literally everything I think and feel. E-Especially since you’re not exactly the most open of people – emotionally, I mean.

I think Martin is making an effort to open up more to Jon. But I still think it's difficult for him to talk about how he feels so openly, and while he is completely in the right for not wanting Jon to Know things about him without his permission, I think it's interesting that the focus is on his feelings and that he brings up how Jon isn't emotionally open immediately after. It scares Martin to think that Jon could know, at any given moment, how he's feeling, and I think it's partially because he's not used to that level of vulnerability. He turns the focus on Jon, away from himself, and doesn't really make an effort to talk about how he's feeling about all of this, instead prioritizing Jon's feelings and mental state like he's grown comfortable with.

And when Martin bottles up his emotions--of which there are a lot, in such a stressful environment, they can explode out in hurtful ways:

MARTIN

(overlapping) I know! I know, okay, I just – (bracing exhale) Look, I j,just – don’t want to get burned, all right? It’s, it’s like my least favorite pain ever.

JON

Is that – a joke?

MARTIN

(a bit faster, a bit shaky) No, no, okay? I, I legitimately hate burns, alright? They’re, they’re awful, and they scar horribly, and they just – it – it just makes me sick; I, I hate it. Hate it!

I don't think Martin really thought about what he was saying when he told Jon, who has a large burn scar on his hand, that burn scars make him sick, and I don't think he meant it maliciously. But he'd spent the greater portion of the conversation talking around the fact that he didn't like burns and that was why he didn't want to go into the building, and so when it finally ended up coming out, it did so in an explosion of emotion rather than a conscious decision to share. Martin doesn't have a good handle on his emotions, and he doesn't have a good handle on sharing them.

(Is it too much for me to say that Martin was more emotionally vulnerable with himself in MAG 170 than he was with Jon when Jon finally found him?)

Throughout season five, Martin asks Jon questions, he expresses frustrations with Jon, he shows discomfort or fear at times, but for as much as Martin feels frustrated that Jon isn't talking about how he feels about their situation, Martin really isn't doing so either. The most he talks about his feelings is in MAG 170 and MAG 186, when he's by himself, and I remember MAG 186 in particular because before that, we really didn't know what Martin was thinking about for the majority of the season! And in this episode, we find out a lot of very important things about Martin's character. Like (MAG 186):

ALSO MARTIN

Look, I know what you know. Maybe I’m just a bit more… open about it.

Also-Martin acknowledges that Martin often doesn't say what he means and hides what he really feels, telling him that it's 'hard to be vulnerable,' and Martin is initially very resistant to the idea. And then, when Also-Martin suggests that Martin wants to stay so that he can be 'quietly sad,' we get (MAG 186):

MARTIN

We could talk to Jon about it.

ALSO MARTIN

We could. But we both know that loved ones make the worst therapists. They’re too wrapped up in trying to stop you hurting to actually help. But hey, we know all about that, am I right?

MARTIN

There’s nothing wrong with comforting people.

ALSO MARTIN

A cup of tea isn’t a resolution. At best it’s a… a plaster. At worst… a muzzle.

This is very interesting to me, because for all that Martin tries to help other people, he also believes that comfort doesn't always help and that you can't be your loved one's 'therapist.' I think this gives a lot of insight into why Martin doesn't share his emotions with the people he cares about, especially Jon; he doesn't want to put Jon in the position where he'll become his 'therapist,' and he doesn't necessarily think Jon can help. So instead, Martin just chooses not to be vulnerable at all, because he doesn't want to burden the people he cares about. But, when it's just him (MAG 186):

ALSO MARTIN

Don’t lie. You don’t need to. Not here. It’s just us.

He doesn't feel like he needs to pull his emotional punches. He can't accidentally hurt somebody or put them in an awkward position; it's just himself. But what's said to himself remains with himself, and (at least on tape), he doesn't discuss any of this with Jon. Not even the bit about, if it came down to it, Martin would have rather had Jon smite him than continue to rule over a domain. He goes right back to being closed-off around Jon, but now we, the audience, know what lies underneath, and how little of it reaches the surface.

In fact, the thing Martin's probably most vocal about is how Jon's feelings about himself bother him (MAG 199):

MARTIN

I guess that’s why it really bothers me, you know? I try, but I can’t actually imagine ever making a decision that I knew meant losing you.

And it… It hurts to know you can.

And I think he has a tendency to use anger and frustration to cover up hurt, shying away from the admission that something Jon's done has hurt him (an incredibly vulnerable thing) and instead relying on the less-vulnerable and more external anger to cover it. This is more speculation than true analysis, but I think that's a lot of what's happening in MAG 200, when he discovers that Jon has already assumed the position of the pupil and has, in Martin's eyes, broken his promise.

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TLDR: Martin is at his core a closed-off character who keeps his vulnerable feelings hidden and close to his chest. He instead focuses on caring for others and considering their feelings above his own, particularly in the case of Jon, who he cares for (sometimes to the point of self-sacrifice) throughout the podcast. His arc with the Lonely in season four and his interactions with Jon in season five demonstrate this lack of emotional vulnerability, and it's really only during the moments he spends by himself that we get significant insight into Martin's emotional state and inner thoughts.

[father-time-and-baby-new-year]

Atsumu is also peak toxic boyfriend material. He would probably be over protective, gaslight and lovebomb you when you try to leave because he’s neglectful and verbally abusive a lot of the time.

no i AGREE. okay wait this inspired me. thank you so much for this ask!! <3

tw: the usual, dark content, toxic relationships, gaslighting/manipulating, love-bombing, narcissist personality, inconsistent capitalization. dc & nc [somno]

toxic!bf Atsumu HC's

during the relationship

inconsiderate. he truly doesn't care about anyone's time but his own. earlier when you tried to organize dates, he'd be extremely late and complain about how boring the museum exhibit was and that you two should go someplace instead. [someplace being the alleyway bc you look so cute and his dick is so hard]

entitled. he doesn't respect the time you set aside for finals and study sessions and study groups. he probably doesn't even know what you're majoring in. After all, why does it matter? He's gonna be the one making money while you sit pretty with dinner ready. and those study groups are really just an excuse for you to fuck around with the dweebs from your class, huh? it's so clear they want you.

he's also super entitled to your body. sometimes you'll wake up to him using you, fingers embedded inside, or even his cock. he doesn't see the harm in this, doesn't everyone want to be woken up this way? you clearly like this. he chuckles as he pinches your pebbled nipples.

neglectful. he's very demanding of your attention, but reverse the roles, and atsumu will laugh at you for even thinking you would ever come before volleyball. you know he takes volleyball super seriously but when you're crying because of a fight you had with your parents, can't he be there to just comfort you? can't he be emotionally supportive for once?

instead, he just regards you cooly. "you shouldn't care what other people say about you." super dismissive. he turns back to watching the replays, not watching you crumble.

verbally abusive. you might as well be a punching bag. a stress relief ball. atsumu is usually a cheery force of energy, but his mood swings are severe and unpredictable. sometimes he'll yell at you for being too friendly with his roommates, for parading yourself around like a whore. sometimes he'll yell at you because he's had a bad game and he just needs to get his frustrations out by telling you how absolutely useless you are. how you can't do anything. how your parents are right (oh, so he does listen).

overprotective. jealous. possessive. he always seems to be operating under the assumption that you'd leave him for someone else. he doesn't like you easily laugh with osamu. he doesn't like how funny you think his friends are. he doesn't like the smile you flashed the barista at the coffee shop. he doesn't like how you giggle at the male lead's antics in the show you're watching. he turns the TV off abruptly, and you stare at the reflection of a broken woman on the black screen.

when you try to leave

gaslight. it's easy to forget that atsumu is actually really smart, and has a knack for winning arguments. he has a knack for getting under people's skins and a greater talent for making that their fault. when you accuse him of being any of those things listed above, he's already recalling a scenario in the past where you did exactly the same thing and he let it slide. he'll bring up earlier arguments, he'll blame you for being irrational. he'll remind you how he helped you out when you were flat broke, how he's the reason you're not working a part-time job as you're studying for school. he's made your life better, and now you're just gonna leave him? he's not anything you accuse him to be, you're just an ungrateful little bitch.

lovebomb. does anyone in the world love you as much as he does? he dotes on you. he showers you with gifts and all the little trinkets you've been eyeing. a new i-pad, the charm bracelet from the store-front window, your favorite dessert from the bakery that's like 40 miles away. you hated how it was practically impossible to reach him on his phone but he's suddenly sending you good-morning texts and good-nights and a million in between. he takes you to your favorite exhibits and actually takes his time looking at things and reading the blurbs. he's more than perfect when he's like this. just too good.

force. he won't let you leave.

taglist: @forwardpair @nafi-2007 @bbylime @drownedbytears @cinnamon-n-roses

[blu-joons]

DATING EXO HEADCANON A⇴Z ⇴  Kim Junmyeon

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Junmyeon is very affectionate with you, he loves to make sure that you always feel loved and special. In public, he’ll be a little more reserved, but when you’re in the comfort of your own home, he’ll refuse to let you go for a moment.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

You were working backstage at one of the shows when Junmyeon caught your attention. Instantly, he began to talk to you about the group as you asked the questions, he always took the time out for fans. But there was something about you that caught his eye, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he definitely wanted to find out more.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

On the last night of shows at your workplace, Junmyeon decided to confess. He pulled you to one side at the end of the show, asking if he could get your number before they left to move to the next location. You were surprised to say the least, you thought he was just being nice whilst there, but when he told you that he wanted to keep in contact and see you once the tour was over, you were more than happy to pass your number over.

D ⇴ DATES

Junmyeon loves to take you out for dates to somewhere physical. He loves to show off how athletic he is, but in games where you’re against each other, he’ll definitely be the gentleman and let you win. He’s very aware of the fans and the following he has, so a lot of effort will go into making sure your dates are safe for you both, but he’s not afraid to interact with the fans whilst your out on dates, which means they’ll quickly take a liking to you too. But he can also be a proper romantic too, prepare for a lot of home cooked meals from him at his place.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

He’d had a couple of relationships whilst still in school which lasted quite a while, so you weren’t his first for much. But you were his first relationship after debut, reintroducing him to a lot of things about love. He was very wary to begin with of starting a relationship and the impact it would have on both you and the fans, but after sitting down and figuring things out, he knew he had it in him to make things work, and he was determined not to let you go. Luckily for you both, the fans very quickly took a liking to you which made life easier.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

Arguments are quite rare between the two of you, he’s much more of a solver than a causer. At times, he’ll push you a little bit, he loves to nag you and encourage you, but the moment that he sees that it’s winding you up, he’ll take a step back. He never means to annoy you, but he only wants what is best for you. If the two of you do fallout, he will always be the one to make things right, he’s good at trying to correct a situation and work things out, if you’re stubborn, he won’t give up until you start talking to him again so that the two of you can put whatever it was that you were arguing about behind you both.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

As the younger brother, his parents were quite protective of him. They were definitely keen to meet you and get to know you, but you were terrified. Once they saw how nervous you were on your first meeting with them, they were quick to ease your mind and assure you that they could see how happy you made Junmyeon.

H ⇴ HOME

Despite having his own place, he often hung out at the dorm, so he had a bit of company. But, after meeting you, he began to reflect on things differently. He wouldn’t rush moving you into his place, after a little over a year together, he’d know that things were serious enough to spend a bit more time at his home rather than the dorm.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Junmyeon was the first one to say ‘I love you’ when he came home from tour. It was his first time away from you for a long duration of time, allowing him to do a lot of thinking. The time apart made him realise just how important you were to him, so the second he saw you when he got home, he quickly whispered those three words into your ear.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

He tried hard not to ever let anything get to him, if he was feeling jealous, he’d try hard to mask it. He’s very conscious of making a scene, so if he’s feeling jealous, he’ll drop a few hints to let you know how he feels. You’ll quickly pick up on these hints and take yourself out of the situation. If you’re feeling jealous, Junmyeon will keep you close to his side, he knows it can be overwhelming for you sometimes around fans, so he’ll try his hardest to reassure you whilst also making sure to greet the fans properly too.

K ⇴ KIDS

At times he loved to describe his role as a leader as practice for when he eventually had kids, it was a subject that he often brought up around you. He never wanted to pressure you into anything, but with you, he had a feeling that you were his forever, so he’d often find himself thinking about your future together. He loved to imagine himself as a father, and naturally, he’d picture you by his side in all of his daydreams.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

More than anything else, he’ll try and bring a laugh out of you when he knows you’re having a bad day. He loves to try and make you smile with his endless amount of terrible dad jokes, even though you’ll usually be laughing at him rather than with him. He works tirelessly to make you smile, only because you always do the exact same for him. You know the pressures he faces more than most, so when he’s with you, you’ll try hard to provide him with a distraction and give him something to smile about when he struggles.

M ⇴ MISSING

He won’t ever let on to anyone when he’s missing you. Everyone will be able to tell, but he’ll never outrightly say anything. Junmyeon wants to be the one to make others feel better, as the leader, he feels like he shouldn’t be the one relying on others. Similarly, he won’t want to rely on you too, when he’s calling you, he’ll make sure to keep the smile on his face, and only once you hang up will he let his emotions go. He’ll often take a few moments to himself once he’s spoken to you before returning to the group, trying to convince everyone that he’s alright, but they can all tell when they look at him that the distance is getting to him too. None of them will say anything as they know what he’ll say, but they’ll all make mental notes to rally round him a little bit more.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

Junmyeon loves to call you sweet things, ‘flower’ is one that he will often use when he wants to capture your attention. Whenever he calls you by it too, it will earn a chorus of coos from all the others around you.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

Your arms are what Junmyeon are obsessed with. He loves to have your arms wrapped around him or be able to hold onto your hand, so he knows that you’re close by to him.

P ⇴ PDA

Being affectionate in public isn’t something that Junmyeon is huge on. His affection will usually be made up of subtle gestures, usually holding your hand and kissing the top of your head when no one is looking. He doesn’t feel the need to show off your relationship, he’s happy with it being a private affair for you both.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

He’ll turn to you with questions often searching for support. He’s the leader, so he doesn’t tend to turn to the boys, so instead he’ll turn to you. You’ll always be on hand with advice and support to make sure he knows he’s doing a good job.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Whenever he’s performing on stage, Junmyeon will have a little look that he’ll give the camera to let you know that he’s thinking of you. Even though the fans will often pick up on it, none of them are aware of the reason behind it. Junmyeon will love to keep it as a thing for the two of you, despite the fans often wanting to know why he does it. It’s a guarantee to put a smile on your face whenever you watch him perform.

S ⇴ SEX

He quite likes to dominate during intimate moments with you and take control. He loves to make you feel like you’re the important one and will shower you with affection. He will use words a lot during these times, he’s very expressive in using the time to let you know exactly how he feels about you. If you do the same, you’ll send him wild, he loves to hear exactly how he makes you feel and how happy you are around him.

T ⇴ TEXTS

At many points throughout the day, he will text you to check up on you. He wants to make sure you’re doing alright when he’s not around, and if you’re not, he’ll do whatever he can to try and make the situation better for you.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

There weren’t many people that Junmyeon would truly be himself around, but you were one of them. He often felt like he needed to put up his guard, but around you, he’d let it down and turn to you whenever he needed encouragement.

V ⇴ VACATION

With such a busy schedule, there aren’t many times that Junmyeon manages to find the time to get away with you. But he will always try to find at least a week in the year to be able to take you somewhere and prove to you just how important you are to him and how much he wants to be around you and spoil you.

W ⇴ WHINING

Junmyeon doesn’t tend to whine unless you ignore his jokes. He craves the reaction from you when he tells a joke, it’s the reassurance he needs to know that he is actually funny.

X ⇴ XXXXX

In private, Junmyeon will love to kiss you as often as possible, his lips will often be attached to you if he has his arms around you. In public, his kisses will usually amount to either a quick kiss to the top of your head or against your cheek, nothing too obvious. He loves to kiss you in between sentences, especially when he notices your cheeks turning red, he’ll make the most of how embarrassed you get by his affection.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were the most important thing to Junmyeon, he loved you wholeheartedly.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

Falling asleep was the time when Junmyeon would cuddle you the most, he’d keep you nice and close throughout the night. If you’d had a bad day, a nap would always be the answer with your body as close to his as possible.

---

Masterlist

[silverducks]

Jaime Lannister – A theory on his ending in the books

So, as you can probably tell from my blog, I’m not quite yet over the ending of Game of Thrones, which I binged watched and finished about a month and a half ago now.

The main issue is the ending, or the last 3 episodes to be more precise, where so many things didn’t make a whole lot of sense. The main one being, for me, how the story ended for Jaime Lannister.

So, whilst writing all my super long character analysis for Jaime is definitely helping, (I’m about half way through the next one), I’ve also been reading about possible ways his story could go, and how it might end in the books.

And today I came across a theory I really, really like. It’s become my new headcanon for what will happen in the books and I’ve added a mix of other theories I’ve read to it as well.

Now, show and book spoilers beneath the cut.

First off, I’d like to say I haven’t yet read the books, so this post is based on the show and what I’ve read happens in the books. None of these theories are my own, but I’ve combined them all together in a way that actually makes a lot of sense to me. So until the books prove me wrong – or I come across an even better theory, this is my new headcanon.

(I don’t have any links as they’re random posts/comments etc I’ve found on the net on my phone, but I’m not claiming these ideas as my own, just putting it all together, so I hope the lack of links to source is ok.)

So without any further preamble, the theory is that Jaime and Tyrion’s story arcs and endgame in the book were reversed in the show. This would mean that the main plot points the writer, George R.R. Martin (GRRM) told the screenwriters (D&D), were swapped around between the two characters.

That would mean that it would be Jaime who became the hand of the King, not Tyrion, and Jaime who put forward the idea of the Bran becoming King.

And I love this theory, because it would be such a fitting end for Jaime. And below I will explain why.

Firstly, the idea of Jaime becoming the Hand of the King for Bran is a wonderful final step in his character arc – he’s gone from throwing this kid out of a tower to try and kill him, to serving as his main advisor, trusted with the power and command of the King. Jaime and Bran’s character arcs are already connected, much more than Tyrion’s ever was, and for the similar reason why Bran gave it to Tyrion, he could give it to Jaime – in fact it makes more sense!

And rather than a redemptodeath for Jaime, he doesn’t have to die, and can instead have a fulfilling life, continually making up for past wrongs as the Hand, and with the real love of his life, Brienne. She could still be Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, as per the show, but married to Jaime (they’d change that outdated celibacy/non marriage rule easily enough), giving her a much more satisfying ending. And why does Jaime have to die? He’s atoned for his past wrongs, lost that darn hand that (symbolically in the show), did push Bran out the window, and it doesn’t serve any other higher story telling purpose… And by becoming the Hand of the King, after he lost the hand that hurt said King, is even more symbolic.

I know Jaime has refused to be Hand before, but that was old Jaime. And if we assume Jaime continues on his road to self-betterment, then he can continue to learn and improve the skills that would make a good Hand. He’s becoming more honourable, but has seen enough of the world to know sometimes there’s a conflicting choice (unlike Ned in series one). He’s been learning to rely on his own wits and brains much more since he can’t now just fight his way out of everything – and is proving pretty smart. He is proving to be a good commander of the army and has been a Lord Commander for the Kingsguard. And has enough Lannister cunning, but with actual mercy and honour, to make it work. A stark King with a Lannister Hand!

Imagine, ending the very first episode of the show with Jaime pushing Bran out that window, to ending with Jaime by his side, advising (and also of course) protecting him. How good is a full circle/reflection piece for Jaime as that!

And in a similar vein, Jaime can be the one to put forward to the council of Lords (I assume something similar happens in the books, but much better written), that Bran should be King. That being the all-knowing Three Eyed Raven means he’s a good match. And surely the other Lords would more likely listen to Jaime – who is a good commander – than Tyrion, who hasn’t really won over many of the Lords in Westeros. After all, he was sentenced to death for killing a King (they don’t know it was a set up), and also killed his father and escaped. He’s been in a foreign land serving a foreign (to them anyway) ruler who has just sacked their Capitol city. Doesn’t it just make so much more sense that they’d listen to an alive Jaime? Yes he killed the King too, but he also did a lot of other good stuff as per his redemption arc etc.

Anyway, I just think it makes more sense – and then the Kingslayer Jaime, becomes the Kingmaker Jaime – again another wonderful full circle arc for him.

So, from a storytelling theme, symbolism and arc perspective, I think it just makes so much sense!

But when you also look at the show itself, in comparison to the books and where the show sort of went wrong, it makes more sense too.

So, just to give a bit of background on it, the theory I read today about Jaime and Tyrion’s role reversal was in a post mainly looking at how Tyrion’s character seems to be going in a very different direction in the books versus the show.

The idea is that book Tyrion is in a much darker place in the books than show Tyrion, and this, in the upcoming books, could continue. This could send book Tyrion down a difficult, morally dark path, which could result in him becoming more of a villain type character, perhaps taking on more and more of his father’s bad traits. This makes sense to me, as Tyrion was most like his father and was certainly cunning. And where the books start to properly deviate from the show, after series four, Tyrion could go either way. He has just killed his father and his lover. And in the books he also falls out with Jaime when Jaime tells him the truth about his first wife (that she wasn’t a whore like Tywin said). Being in this foreign land with all these dark thoughts and deeds haunting him, I can definitely see him turning into more of a bad guy.

So, basically, a completely different story arc for Tyrion.

In terms of his endgame? Well, if he’s swapped with Jaime’s then I guess it means he might die. Maybe after killing Cersei, hence them dying “together.” Or at least be punished such as sent to the Wall or something. I don’t think GRRM said either Lannister brother actually dies in Cersei’s loving arms, so I’m guessing they took some differences in both Jaime’s and Tyrion’s endgame, if the theory is correct.

And I’m tempted to believe it is, because it helps explain Tyrion’s kind of dodgy characterisation in the later series of the show. He just wasn’t really the same after series four, which at the time, I just put down to D&D not being clever enough writers to write a clever character such as Tyrion. But with this theory, it actually makes more sense. Tyrion was such a fan favourite character in the show, the underdog, clever, snarky good guy, I can understand why D&D didn’t want to take him down this other, darker path. In the books, there’s much more time and details and PoVs to make it work, whereas the show would struggle, especially against such a popular fandom character.

It also explains why Jaime never told him the truth about his wife, or they had their big fall out in the show.

And by changing Tyrion’s story arc so much, they didn’t really know what to replace it with (I think we all agree D&D are not the best writers), so his characterisation was not only off in later series, but it meant they took Jaime’s end game and gave it to Tyrion instead. And this further makes sense as they might have thought having just Cersei (a female) the only bad Lannister at the end was too much, especially when one of the other main female characters, Dany, was also going bad. So, they made Jaime “hateful” in the end to better match and even out Cersei, because it was supposed to be Tyrion…

(I do think D&D were also unhealthily obsessed with Cersei and Twincest, so they probably thought it have them an extra good reason.)

And there’s a really good reflection in this between the two brothers – Jaime starts out the villain, but ends up the underdog hero, Tyrion starts out the underdog hero, but ends up the villain.

But, in changing Tyrion’s character, if indeed it does, it then also has a knock on effect for so many other things.

The theory also said that he might negatively influence Dany, when they meet. For example, help to slowly bring out her suppressed mad/dark side, encourage her to take Kings Landing (which the theory points out Tyrion actually ends up hating because of how the people there view him.) So perhaps if Tyrion’s influence is so vengeful in the books, maybe’s Dany’s own turn to madness makes much more sense. And the lack of Tyrion’s negative influence in the show, undermines this. And this could then make Jon’s decision to have to kill her much harder etc.

So, I do think it’s quite possible, looking at Tyrion’s side, that they gave him a very different story arc, and so had to swap it up with Jaime’s endgame.

The show has certainly mixed and matched up characters from the book, so this would help explain why the main beats are still GRRMs, but why they didn’t just work for some of the characters. So not completely made up and ruined, but they just weren’t able to make the pieces fit together properly in their changed version. (And I do think they could have easily done a much better job, so I’m not letting D&D off the hook.)

Now, back to Jaime, because as much as I love all the characters, I’ll be honest, it’s only really Jaime and Brienne who I obsess enough over to properly theorise about.

Why do I think this works so well for Jaime? Well, first off, the whole him dying in Cersei’s arms just does not make any sense at all to me (hence all my super long posts about it). Especially if we take into account how over Cersei show Jaime seems in series 8, until that scene in episode 4. He behaves like he’s completely cut ties with her, fallen out of love with her and has fallen truly in love with someone else instead – Brienne. This is even more obvious in the books, where Jaime actually burns Cersei’s letter where she’s begging for help. And when he looks back on it later, he’s dreading retuning to Kings Landing and facing her. In fact, he thinks that Cersei might well die, but there’s nothing he can do anyway and perhaps she deserves it. Granted we do have 2 more books to go, but this is like the complete opposite of his ending in series 8, that I think it’s highly unlikely it was meant to happen in the books. A LOT of stuff would have to happen for book Jaime to change his mind now.

But as they gave Jaime’s ending to Tyrion, as per our theory, then what do they do with Jaime? Well, why not have him die in Cersei’s arms and fulfil their Twincest fix. Have Jaime be the bad brother Lannister, not Tyrion.

In fact, I don’t think D&D knew what to do with Jaime either, as he changes so abruptly in the show. It’s like they had to try to cover Jaime’s actual plot points from GRRM (which I’d assume were things like fighting the dead, getting together with Brienne), but then suddenly have him change his mind and rush back to Cersei... Also, as much as I loved Jaime in early series 8, he doesn’t really do anything pivotal. If you take him out of the equation and have him never even in series 8, the actual storylines all stay the same anyway. So, for me, this further adds weight to the idea that, in swapping Jaime’s endgame with Tyrion, they were left with the same problem, what do we then do with Jaime?

It’s like other aspects – they try to change one thing, but by changing that, it affects everything else so what you’re left with doesn’t make sense for the characters.

Now, so far I’ve talked mainly about the show, because overall I do think the main plot points in the show will happen in the books. And if you consider the role reversal between Tyrion and Jaime, it makes more sense why what happened did happen (which makes no sense in the show story itself).

But this is where I start to tie the various theories I’ve read together – it also makes a lot of sense in the books, for Jaime to not die, but instead be Bran’s Hand.

Other than the wonderful symmetry we’d get, as mentioned above, there’s a few things that happen in Jaime’s arc just in the books that make it even more possible, which I’ll talk about now.

So, most of this comes from Jaime’s fever dream, or also called his Weirwood dream. Now, there’s lots of analysis on this dream on the net, and there’s lots of ideas, some conflicting, of what it could mean. It’s not all relevant to this particular theory, so I’ll just summarise it. Basically, in the books, Jaime doesn’t go back to save Brienne from the bear straight away. Instead he travels quite far away with Bolton’s men, and goes to sleep on, what we assume, is a Weirwood stump. At the same time, Jaime is also suffering from a fever due to his hand becoming infected. Now, that means he’s potentially delirious, but also the dream is potentially prophetic. The Weirwood trees are those magic trees that Bran uses to have visions and to find the first Three Eyed Raven. I’m sure there’s more about them in the books as well. But it’s this potential for it being prophetic that I’m most interested in here.

Ok, so the dream starts a bit like a nightmare – Jaime is led somewhere underground that’s dark and feels dangerous by lots of ghosts. He first assumes it’s under Casterly Rock, and indeed he thinks he’s surrounded by the ghosts of the Lannister family. He’s scared and naked (eg vulnerable) and his father, sister and Joeffrey come. Cersei is holding a torch – the only light in the world for Jaime, but they leave and Jaime is left scared again in the dark. Before they go, he begs them for a sword, which Tywin says he gave him, and he begs Cersei to not leave him. Jaime finds a sword and as he touches it, the blade flames blue, providing some light. Now, a lot of analysis on this part of the dream tie it to Jaime’s metaphorical death, (ie of the old Jaime going to Hell) or breaking away from his family so they leave him. The light of Cersei’s going out, and instead a new light on Jaime’s sword coming, could also then symbolise that he’s breaking away (or about to) from Cersei and finding himself, his own light, instead. I also think, as we know Tywin and Joeffrey die later in the books and show, that it’s also foretelling their deaths. Which means it’s likely that Cersei dies before Jaime in the books, hence why he leaves her and he can’t follow. So this firstly means Jaime can’t die in Cersei’s arms.

Now, the next bit of the dream gets interesting, because who shows up next, after Cersei and his family has gone? Brienne of course! She appears (also naked) and Jaime imagines she looks not only more like a woman now, but also that in the light she could also be beauty, and a knight. This is generally taken to show Jaime’s growing (and so far subconscious) attraction to Brienne – and that he sees her as both a warrior and a woman. Now she asks for a sword, and also asks to be able to keep him safe, as she has pledged this and must keep her oath. A sword appears and Jaime gives it to her, and it also starts burning with blue flames.

Now, I think these two swords represent Oathkeeper (the one Jaime gives to Brienne in series four) and Widow’s Wail, which Jaime gets after Tommen dies in series 7. And these are two Valyrian steel swords that were from the melted down sword Ice, which used to be Neds. Now, I don’t think this is coincidental, but again I’ll come back to this.

Brienne is there to help protect Jaime, but she also asks him what’s down in this dark place (which may or may not still symbolise Casterly Rock or another place). Jaime says doom, and Brienne is worried it’s a bear (foreshadowing her being in the bear pit later). We hear, but don’t see Cersei saying that if the flames go out, Jaime will die.

In the next part of the dream ghostly, mist like figures appear and Jaime recognises them as his former Kingsguard and then Rhaeger, the heir to the throne before he was killed in Robert’s rebellion. These ghostly figures accuse Jaime of not keeping his oaths and seem about to attack. Jaime tries to plead with them and give his reasons, and Brienne is still there ready to defend him. These ghosts likely represent the internal guilt and self-hatred Jaime still has for killing the Mad King, but also for not saving Rhaeger’s own children, which were murdered on Tywin’s orders. As the ghost like figures continue to accuse Jaime, the flame on his own sword goes out, and the ghosts rush in, and then Jaime wakes up. As soon as he wakes up, pretty much, he demands Bolton’s men take him back to Harrenhal, where he then saves Brienne just like in the show.

Now, I read a lot of people saying this foretells Jaime’s death, that his flame goes out, but I disagree. I think the fact that Brienne has a matching flame, on a twin sword to his, means that Jaime doesn’t die – after all Cersei says flameS. Instead, I think this ending to the dream foretells that Brienne will actually save Jaime – that as long as she is alive, Jaime will also be.

Now, onto more foreshadowing theories from this dream – I think the ghostly, mist like figures also represent the White Walkers, and that him and Brienne are there facing them means that they will indeed (just like in the show) stand together to fight them in the books. As this has also happened after Cersei has left Jaime with his now dead father and son, I think it means she’ll already have died by this point.

I also think his guilt and the mention of Rhaegar’s children, which Jaime feels guilty about failing to protect, will also tie into Jon’s storyline. As the only surviving child of Rhaegar, I think once Jaime finds out, and Jon, Jaime will pledge himself to protect/serve Jon to make up for this guilt. I then think, based on this, that Jaime will effectively save Jon’s life in the battle with the White Walkers and then, Brienne will have to save Jaime’s. After all, she says in the dream she pledged to protect and save Jaime.

Now, the reason I think the end of the dream means Brienne saves Jaime, is not only because her flame keeps burning in the dream, but also because, as soon as Jaime wakes up, he decides he has to save Brienne. As we are going with the idea that this dream is prophetic from the Weirwood stump, it seems very important that Jaime rescues Brienne, so she can be there to fight with him. And what better reason than having to save him, when his own light (the sword flames) has failed?

And those swords – two halves of one whole, from Ice, the Stark’s sword. Turning into blue flames and helping them in the battle against the dead. Likely at or near Winterfell like in the show… When the books have a theory about a special sword called Lightbringer, wielded by the hero Azor Ahai to defeat the Others..

Soooo, perhaps this is really going into the realms of fan theory, but I definitely think that ICE could be Lightbringer, and that Brienne and Jaime, with Jon (who imo is the Azor Ahai character) will be imperative in helping to defeat the White Walkers. And that Jaime will fall in this battle, and Brienne will have to be there to save him so he doesn’t die.

Now, you might ask, what does all this random dream theorising mean for Jaime becoming the Hand of the King? Well, first of all I think it foreshadows that both Jaime and Brienne have a major part to play in the battle against the dead – much more than in the show. And that as Jaime is near death, it was super important for Brienne to be there to save him. And that it was super important for Jaime to give Brienne the sword Oathkeeper, and have Widow’s Wail himself – two halves of the same sword. So, all this must happen, and Brienne must save Jaime, which is why Jaime was given the prophetic dream in the first place. After all, if he hadn’t of saved Brienne, none of the above could go as it should…

And, this is where Bran comes in and this is more my own idea than anything else, so forgive me if I’m just not understanding the books properly. But as Bran himself sees visions through the Weirwood trees, which I suspect are due to them being sent either by the old Three Eyed Raven, or markers from Bran himself in the future, or perhaps fate or another unseen magical force. Then I wonder if the reason why Jaime was sent this vision, is because of Bran – and also the White Walkers. That Jaime had to help in the fight, but also had to be saved by Brienne. (Maybe even because it’s through his interactions with Brienne that he does become a better person and chooses to fight). And he had to be saved, because it was his destiny to be the Hand of the King to Bran. And also to save Jon so Jon can defeat the White Walkers. And that perhaps, this saving of Jon by Jaime is another reason why he is chosen as the Hand of the King.

I would also like to add in here, my other theories for book Jaime, which can lead him up to being Hand of the King, and tie up other loose ends in his story arc. So, the books and the show deviate a lot for Jaime after series four – he breaks away from Cersei much earlier and he’s currently off on an adventure in the Riverlands with Brienne in the books. A story arc not put into the show, featuring Lady Stoneheart (LSH). Now, she is a re-resurrected, zombie like version of Catelyn Stark, who is hell bent on revenge for the Freys and the Lannisters for the Red Wedding. She’s threatened Brienne with the death of Pod, unless she brings her Jaime. (At least that’s what most people infer from the books, it’s left open ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Now, my theory on this is that somehow Jaime and Brienne will have to fight each other in a trial by combat (echoed in the show itself by Brienne’s line about maybe having to fight Jaime). Of course they won’t be able to kill each other and will somehow be able to escape from, or kill Lady Stonehart.

So, why am I mentioning this? Well, GRRM himself has said he was disappointed they didn’t include the LSH plot in the show. Instead, D&D completely cut it out and sent Jaime to Dorne instead (as in series 5, which isn’t in the books). But for GRRM to say he wanted it in the show, makes me think there’s something very significant that is going to happen from it – either to the characters, or their relationship. Something which will later prove to be important in the rest of the story. This makes me think that Jaime and Brienne have a much bigger impact on the overall story arc than they were given in the show. And if it is more important, it makes the idea they’d have an important ending as well – Hand and LC of Kingsguard respectively – make more sense. And perhaps add more weight to the idea that Jaime HAD to save Brienne.

Now, after LSH, my idea is that Jaime will have to go back to Kings Landing and Cersei – but not in a romantic way. I think, like in the show, Jaime’s going to have a story arc that takes him on the role of commanding the Lannister’s forces against Dany’s when they get to Westeros. And if we assume Cersei does die before the battle with the undead, maybe this is also when Jaime kills Cersei – if he is the Valanqar, the one prophesised to kill Cersei. Or it could be someone else…

I then think the battle for Kings Landing will happen before that of the White Walkers, so Jaime then goes to help in the North, and catches up with Brienne again, who has been busy saving Sansa after her and Jaime parted ways (on good, but still unrealised and not yet acknowledged romantic terms) after LSH. I then think, like in the show, Jaime and Brienne will get together near the end, but this time not only will there be no Cersei for Jaime to rush back to (and throwing his character arc out the window like he does in the show), but he will still live to then become King Bran’s hand.

Of course, there’s still so many unknowns, and all, none or bits of this could happen, so I really hope we do get to see the last two books and find out what really happens.

But until then, I’m going to stick with the idea that Jaime marries Brienne, and becomes the Hand of the King and survives!

There, that’s the end of my theory – several all tied together really. I’d be interested to know what people think.

I know that my later reasons are more random ideas, but I do think, above all, the idea that Jaime is going to be the Hand of the King, not Tyrion, helps explain why the show didn’t really make sense for those characters (Jaime's 180 change at the end being the main one). But also just the wonderful symmetry of a redeemed Jaime fulfilling the role of Hand, for a King he once tried to kill, after he became a better person after losing his own hand…

[yourturntosimp]

was bullied into sending u a req for yan alphabet for kuramada <///3 (sfdjjf ur fault for telling me i'd like him) -yuuji

A/N: i regret absolutely nothing-- Sorry for this taking so long to get done, i kinda forgot ab having to do stuff ab classes starting up again and didn’t get much chance to write-- Warnings: Manipulation, Gaslighting, Mentions of starvation (brief)

Love letters (How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?): Okay so maaaaaybe he helped you get something out of your reach once or twice, and maaaaaaaybe he doesn't insult you or tease you as often as he does everyone else, but that doesn't mean he's playing favorites, of course not! Okay maybe he definitely is- But so what if he was quick to help you wash the stains from your favorite outfit when you spilled juice on it? He just happened to be there, but how incompetent are you that you can't even take care of your favorite clothes? Man, It looks like the only solution is for him to just stick around to help out when something goes wrong. 

Exposed (How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?): To put it bluntly-- almost none at all. As soon as he decided that he was officially your big brother (yes, even if you're older than him-), he also decided that he wouldn't let you see him being "unreliable". He'd feel guilty and weak, even if it was something basic like talking about something that upset him that particular day. You're supposed to rely on him, not the other way around >:/ 

Patience (How patient are they with their darling?): He's very patient with you! Well.....to an extent. He won't hesitate to lock you in a room somewhere until you learn to appreciate that he's just looking out for you, like any good brother would! You're just being childish for no reason, and he won't hesitate to remind you of that whenever he checks in on you in your little room to give you food. If you keep trying to escape him or show any sign of resistance though, he will in fact leave you there with nothing besides yourself and the ropes scratching into your skin to keep you company. You need to reflect on your actions and learn from your mistakes, right?

Tears (How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?): He's quick to comfort you, of course! That is.....until you tell him that you're this upset because of his actions. His concern for your well-being will quickly change to anger, and his soothing words will turn venomous and scornful. He does so much for you, he does his job as the one in the role of your big brother, so why are you being so ungrateful to him? So what if he hardly lets you see other people? Who cares if he locks you in a cramped room with no food for days on end when you vocalize your discontent with his behaviour? He's just doing what's best for you. 

Quit (If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?): In the case that this was during the game and you died, he'd be utterly wrecked. He probably wouldn't know where to put all that though, so chances are he'd just become even more hot-headed and frequently angrier. It's unfair, you had to have been a good person! You didn't deserve to die, is what he'd continue to assert no matter what. You could've been a mass murderer and he'd still have asserted that you had deserved to live. Because he was your big brother, who failed you. It was his only job to protect you, and he couldn't do that. So yeah, he'd become an extremely temperamental loner, less of his time spent teasing others and more of it spent grieving the loss of his younger sibling.

[malecdiscordserver]

We’ve officially come to the end of the Malec Discord Mini Bang 2020 presented by the Malec Discord Server. We had a fantastic turnout with 35 writers, 21 artists, and 22 betas making it across the finish line. I hope you’ll join us in giving everyone a huge round of congratulations for this fantastic content. 

Take a look at the AO3 collection here!

Without further ado, here is a masterpost of all submitted pieces for this event. Please be sure to give all of these fantastic creators the credit they deserve for these amazing stories and incredible pieces of art. 

The Games We Play by @accal1a

Rating: Explicit Summary: Alec and Aed play a diabolical game, Magnus and Francesca look on, teasing their partners all the while.

When Life Doesn't Give You Lemons by @jesssssah

Rating: Mature Summary: Magnus and Alec are contestants on Masterchef. Without a recipe, they must each make a dessert by celebrity chef Jace Wayland or risk elimination from the competition. Magnus' talent is for desserts but Alec is inexperienced at those. So to save him from going home Magnus must give him some lessons in baking.

The Angel's Treasure by @notquiteascrazy 

Rating: Mature Summary: When a change of life circumstance gives Magnus the means to go in search of adventure, there is only one person he can think of who should accompany him: his college friend, Alexander Lightwood. After all, what could possibly go wrong with taking the man you've always had a secret crush on to explore a tropical island on the hunt for long-lost treasure? Link to completed fic

You Are The Music in Me @brightasstars 

Rating: Explicit Summary: Alec wakes up one morning, in a hospital’s bed, alone and far away from home, only to discover that he has lost his lower leg and all that he had, is now gone forever. With his new life, comes new relationships and encounters, and Alec finds himself working on his dream with Magnus, a famous cello player, who shares with him more past than he could imagine. Heart grows fonder as they get to know each other but it terrifies Alec to reveal everything to Magnus, scared that it would be too much, for he isn’t ready to lose everything all over again.When truth is forced out of him, even his own skin doesn’t feel safe enough. Luke’s question echoes through his mind, is he ready to let someone see him? let someone love him? A story of losing and winning and everything in between. Link to completed fic

hollow crown by taurussieben 

Rating: Teen Summary: He nodded at himself in the mirror, took the keys from the bowl on the sideboard in the hallway, checked for his pockets for his card and phone, and stepped out. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

“I think we should take a break.”

A story about how we shape our own world and that sometimes, that shape is much more different then we thought it is.

of track meets and heartbeats by fallenhurricane

Rating: General Summary: Alec takes a deep breath and rolls his shoulders, bouncing from foot to foot. He adjusts his grip on the pole one last time before starting his run.

His run feels good and right; his knees are pulling up high and the pole is steady, if a bit lighter than normal, in his hands. As he approaches the crossbar, he straightens and speeds up a bit, extending his arms above him. The bottom of the pole settles into the plant box and Alec swings himself forward and up, just as he’s done hundreds of times before.

But.

But.

While Alec has plans to clear this jump and advance to set his personal record, the pole that Camille loaned him has a different idea.

OR: The high school track team injury AU nobody asked for.

Please, Don't Turn Back by hmweasley

Rating: Teen Summary: Once they're 18, both demons and angels must visit Earth with their own personal missions before they come of age. For angels, this means saving souls. For demons, it usually means little more than corrupting a human or two, but Magnus isn't a run-of-the-mill demon. He's the son of a Prince of Hell, and his mission must reflect that. What Asmodeus gives him is a mission that's rather straightforward on paper: kill Alexander Lightwood, the son of high-ranking angels.

There's just one thing the plan doesn't account for: how Alexander makes Magnus feel.

Dormancy by Hermit

Rating: Teen Summary: Love used to be a weed that threatened to choke him. Now, it will never again be in the cards for him. Magnus absolutely, and with all the certainty of centuries, knows this. Until Alec Lightwood unknowingly waters his heart. It decides to grow. This is undeniably a problem, but both Alec and Magnus have to choose if it can bloom.

catch me when i fall by @mirrorofliterature

Rating: Teen Summary: When Magnus Bane walks into Alec Lightwood's office on one frosty fall night, fresh from a conference about a particular world-destroying lie-detector, the Damocles sword doesn't drop onto their heads.

Or: Robert Lightwood doesn’t tell Alec about the Soul Sword, and things change. Magnus and Alec stay together. Yet -

How much more does he have to lose - how much more does he have to suffer - before he’s finally left alone?

In the perpetual, lonely silence filling his home, Magnus Bane falls to his knees, and cries.

Meet Me On The Ice by @aceon-ice

Rating: Teen Summary: Magnus is at the top of men's figure skating, with a solid winning streak, but he's no longer interested in the sport- until he meets Alec Lightwood.

Alec is a pairs skater struggling with competition anxiety whose life takes a turn for the better when he's approached by Magnus Bane.

AKA the figure skating AU nobody asked for but I wanted to write.

Artwork for Meet Me On The Ice by @koryandr​

the way to a chef's heart by @lecrit

Rating: Mature Summary: After a scorching review on his restaurant in one of the world's most famous food magazine, world class chef Magnus Bane is set on finding the food critic who dared to slander his art and make him change his mind. He doesn't expect someone as stubborn or infuriating as Alec Lightwood.

Artwork for the way to a chef’s heart by @whatanexcitingfewdaysithasbeen

I loved your colours (before I loved you) by @hopesilverheart

Rating: Explicit (Chapter 10 only) Summary: Magnus Bane is a journalist who's always dreamed of modelling for Lightwood Fashions. When the CEO Alec Lightwood starts looking for new models for their spring collection, he jumps on the occasion.

In the meantime, Alec Lightwood is struggling with the idea of finally announcing his role as co-designer. When Magnus Bane strolls into his life, Alec is torn between keeping his secret or throwing all caution to the wind. Link to completed fic

Artwork for I loved your colours (before I loved you) by @calliartss​

Bleeding Heart by sivan325 

Rating: Explicit Summary: “Are you sure? Maybe there is some other alpha out there for you?” Jace asked.

“What other alpha?” Alec asked as he stared at the beta, and added, “I don’t have a choice in that anymore, I’m without an Alpha, I’m more like pack less, someone that does not belong anywhere.” Link to completed fic

Artwork for Bleeding Heart by @miss-shiva-adler​

They Call Me a Thief by @lightwormsiblings

Rating: Teen Summary: The Lightwoods are relatively new to the criminal scene but are quickly making a name for themselves. What happens when they run into world renowned con-artist Magnus Bane and his team when on a job after which Alec realizes he and Magnus might be after the same thing.

or a Shadowhunters Leverage AU

Artwork for They Call Me a Thief by @killiarious

Love, but Make it Fashion by theweird1

Rating: Explicit (Chapter 9) Summary: Alec couldn't stand corporate life anymore. Now he needs a job and Izzy is the girl to help. Unfortunately, it is to be a PA to the most overbearing and annoyingly handsome fashion designer to ever grace the pages of Vogue. A man with a heart of ice, but even ice can be thawed with enough care. Ghosts from the past will surface just when it looks like love is in the air. Suddenly Alec finds himself in the most awkward position of pretending to be his boss’ new fiancé. Magnus and Alec will have to decide if their fake engagement can become a reality before they are completely torn apart. Link to Chapters 1-5 Link to Chapters 6-Epilogue

Artwork for Love, but Make it Fashion by Kuro

To Shine A Light by Nadja_Lee

Rating: Mature Summary: Alexander Lightwood is a very old and powerful Warlock, who has risen to become a leader for the Downworld. When one of his people, the Warlock Andrew Underhill, is accused of breaking the Accords and faces sentencing Alec shows up at the New York Institute to set the record straight. Camille, leader of the NYI, has plans for the powerful Warlock, plans she is eager to see carried out. She has Idris’ best soldier, Magnus Bane, assist with the interrogation of Alec, unaware what she is setting in motion by doing so as Alec and Magnus are instantly drawn to each other. Soon Magnus will have to choose between helping Alec and his oath to Idris. Will Magnus dare to risk it all for the possibility the powerful Warlock will take a chance and open his heart to him? Link to completed fic

A Bit of Space by @facialteeth

Rating: Mature Summary: Alec and Magnus are the sole survivors after their spaceship crashes on an uninhabited planet. They have no way to contact anyone to let them know they’re still alive but somehow, they make it work. In the end, all they really need is each other. Link to completed fic

Artwork for A Bit of Space by @accal1a​

A Prince of Gold and Glass by @harkasun

Rating: General Summary: When Magnus sends himself to Edom in order to protect Alicante and the world, Alec must come to terms with the possibility that the man he intended to marry has sacrificed much more than his freedom. Meanwhile, in the demonic realm, The Queen of Edom finds a warlock, the half-breed son of a Prince of Hell whose corruption can ensure that the throne of Edom is once again claimed by a creature of demonic royalty: one who will become her Prince of Edom. Link to completed fic

Artwork for A Prince of Gold and Glass by DarayFlair

Cradling the Sun by @cuubism

Rating: Mature Summary: Alec’s known for a long time that Magnus is a hard person to hold. He’s so much—so much power, so much energy, so much brilliance, so much love. He shines so bright he’s hard to even look at directly, never mind try to hold in one set of hands. Now that Magnus himself is losing his grip on all of that, well. Alec will just have to hold him a little bit tighter. Link to completed fic

Artwork for Cradling the Sun by @faejilly Also found on YouTube and Spotify

A piece of night sky by myulalie

Rating: Teen Summary: There are rumors that Valentine is back. And he's searching for something. When his dealings with dark magic cause swarms of demons to crawl New York, the city is not safe at night, especially for downworlders.

Alec is doing his best to keep the city safe. With no support from the Clave, the New York Institute is desperately understaffed. He begins patrolling with help from the Downworld factions - which proves to be tricky at best, and becomes almost impossible when the werewolves start hunting Alec.

His siblings have no idea of what he’s up to at night and to keep them all safe Alec needs to keep it that way.

Then, he meets the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Suddenly, patrolling also includes pop songs and bird puns in between watching someone's back when fighting demons.

But, what’s one more secret to keep? Link to completed fic

Artwork for A piece of the night sky by @jesssssah​

Dona Nobis Pacem by lawsofchaos

Rating: Teen Summary: “When Alec kneels before you on that dais, Magnus,” Jace keeps going, “he’s telling every person present that it is your judgement, your respect, that he places before all others. In you placing that rune on his neck, Alec is publicly proclaiming that it’s your blessing and your judgement on him and on his reign as Head that gives him the right and the authority to uphold the Covenant.” Link to completed fic 

Artwork #1 for Dona Nobis Pacem created by @cloudburst-ink Artwork #2 for Dona Nobis Pacem created by @cloudburst-ink

isn’t it just so pretty to think (an invisible string) by @iambeingcoy

Rating: General Summary: alec had jumped at the chance to work in paris when the offer presented itself to him. it was a chance to run away from new york for a year under the guise of a good career opportunity. there, he meets magnus. while falling in love with the other man, alec finds himself falling in love with the city too. when the year begins to come to a close, alec doesn't realize that what you're running away from can always catch up to you and, just maybe, he isn't the only one who has been running.

it's easy to fall in love in paris.

Artwork for isn’t it just so pretty to think (an invisibly string) by @spark-draws​

Copper, Gold, Silver, and Glitter by YourAverageNerd 

Rating: Teen Summary: "Oh. Yeah. You know how you invited Magnus Bane to Jace and Clary's wedding as a joke?" Alec shrugged. "He actually showed up. We went out for lunch yesterday."

Silence. It was silent. The kind that Alec craved and usually could never find and wow, he should drop bombs like this more often because he really liked it.

Then Jace ruined it by nearly screaming, "I'm sorry, what!"

(In which there's a wedding, some celebrities may be nicer than they appear, and Alec is trying to keep himself from turning into smoke.)

Blame It on the Fairy Dust by slyvir 

Rating: Mature Summary: Pandemonium is Magnus's territory, the lack of Alec's presence by his side despite the latter's apparent open stance on downworlders is slowly brewing into political issues. That clubs are not Alec's scene it is not a surprise, the reasons why he tried to avoid nights at Pandemonium however blindside Magnus, especially when they came out in the open in a fashion that is uniquely normal for them.

Both Alec and Magnus are ready to give away a piece of themselves for the other. Suffering in silence, with the intent to protect their partner from pain or guilt. But the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. And the more one let someone else in, the more one can get hurt. No one has any doubt that Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood are deeply in love, they show it all the time, even when no one’s looking. So it should not come as a surprise that they end up being each other’s reason to hurt so much. Link to completed fic

Artwork for Blame It on the Fairy Dust by @a-ghost-named-k​

In Every Universe, We Find Each Other by EternallySilverMagnusandAlec 

Rating: Teen Summary: Tensions have been rising between the Clave and the Downworld to the brink of near revolution in the wake of Valentine's return. Magnus is asked to lead in these trying times, pushed to fight at the forefront of his people and the downworld as he has for centuries. Despite this, Magnus and Alec still meet and dance around with whatever is growing between them, time stretching into months of stolen interactions despite the swelling conflict, and fall in love. And Alec Lightwood still makes the decision to choose Magnus Bane. Or: A collection of moments in a time of growing tension Magnus and Alec share, and the product of their final choices

Artwork for In Every Universe, We Find Each Other by @greentealycheejelly​

Codename: Bane by @bidnezz 

Rating: Mature Summary: Magnus Bane meets Alec Lightwood by pure coincidence on two occasions: one morning in a quaint coffee shop, and again during a mission briefing for The Clave. It’s only supposed to be one mission, but leaked information and the kidnapping of his friend and mentor Ragnor Fell lead to undesirable predicaments, and hard as he tries to keep it professional, Magnus can’t help his growing affection for the spy he’s hired to watch and navigate through the murky treachery of espionage.

Artwork for Codename: Bane by @myulalie​

A Wonderful Institution by @rhosyn-du 

Rating: Teen Summary: Magnus doesn’t have time for this bullshit. Warlocks are disappearing in New York City—five people in less than three months—and Magnus is determined to find them and protect the rest of his people from whatever took them. He doesn’t have time for politics, and he certainly doesn’t have time for whatever nonsense the Clave is proposing about marrying a Shadowhunter to a Downworlder as part of the new Accords. He doesn’t really have time for a pretty Shadowhunter who’s surprisingly kind to warlock children, either, but, well, he’s always been good at multitasking.

Alec always knew he couldn’t have what he wanted, but he’s spent the nearly four years since the newly-appointed Consul recalled his parents to Idris without explanation making the best of what he can have. When life suddenly offers up almost everything Alec actually wants on a silver platter, he can’t quite bring himself to trust it, especially when it comes with a million caveats and a side of impending disaster. But he knows how to handle disasters, even if the return of the Circle on top of Clave secrets that could destroy the Accords is way beyond the disasters he’s used to fielding. Hope, on the other hand? He doesn’t know what to do with that. Link to completed fic

Artwork for A Wonderful Institution by @bidnezz​

Coming to America by PisangGoreng 

Rating: Mature Summary: His Royal Highness Asmodeus Magnus III is the crown prince and sole heir to the throne of Edom. He has never left the island and is pretty desillusioned with the royal treatment. The law says he needs to wed before he turns 30, so on his 29th birthday his father arranges a marriage for him. But when his fiancée turns out to be an awful familiar face, Magnus takes matters into his own hand.

He bargains with his father, who gives him 3 months to do whatever he wants. So Magnus comes up with a plan: he's going to live life as a normal guy and find a partner all by himself in New York.

Not wasting any time he starts looking for love, with little success. Until he encounters the most handsome, intelligent and charming man he has ever seen! Without realizing it himself Alexander Lightwood sweeps Magnus off his feet, and along the way Magnus finds that he's in deep and has no plan, his dream guy is already in a relationship and every day he is closer to his return to Edom.

And even if he manages to get Alec's attention, will there ever be a good time to tell him he's been a prince all along?

An adaptation of the 1988 romantic comedy Coming to America (but probably a lot less funny). Link to completed fic

Artwork for Coming to America by amillustration_

until death do us part by ColorfulWarlock 

Rating: Explicit Summary: In the past, a still traumatized six-year old Magnus thought he would have to endure the darkness of Edom alone. Until another child – a boy with dark hair, pale skin and bright hazel eyes – found him and lighted up his heart.

In the present, the High Warlock of Brooklyn Magnus Bane works with the Shadowhunters and other Downworlders to bring Valentine down. What he doesn’t expect is that Valentine controls a very powerful being, and how to fight someone to whom you give your heart centuries ago?

Artwork for until death do us part by @eternallysilvermagnusandalec​

Keris by AlterEgon

Rating: Mature Summary: A recent death shakes Magnus Bane with some eerie parallels to his own past. As the supposed suicide turns to probable murder, he begins questioning the circumstances surrounding his own mother's death. When proximity to the dagger that took his mother's life brings him visions of details long forgotten that do not fit into the narrative he had taken as truth regarding her last days or weeks, he, Alec, and their friends and family begin to investigate, uncovering unexpected connections and a killer who has been on the loose for far too long

It's What You Do With Life That Matters by @skylar102 

Rating: Teen Summary: Alec has come to the Sinnoh region in search of a rare pokemon. Along the way, he meets a trainer who is more than willing to help him out. Is there more to the stranger's generosity? Will Alec be able to capture the pokemon he's been long searching for? What secret is Alec hiding?

On this journey, Alec is going to make new friends, finish a long overdue promise, and finally confront a piece of his past.

Aligned by @jaackkitty

Rating: Teen Warning: Non-con in a chapter (not descriptive or explicit) Summary: In six months, Prince Alec Lightwood is set to become King of Idris. He’s been waiting to take the throne since his parents' unexpected death at sea eight years ago. Since then, Valentine Morgenstern has been serving as king. Needless to say, Valentine’s rules & regulations only serve Valentine and his trusted followers, with no regard for the well-being of the people of Idris, least of all the magic users. Afraid of them, he created a law to bind their magic to another. By circumstance, Alec finds himself aligned with magic user, Magnus Bane. Link to chapters 1-9 Link to chapters 10-16

Artwork for Aligned by @greentealycheejelly​

My Fearless Love, I Will Not Say Goodbye by @arialerendeair

Rating: Explicit Summary: When their first time together results in an accidental mating bond, Alec and Magnus have to decide how they want to proceed. Especially since they were both sure that the other didn't want a full mating...right?

Also known as: Alpha Alec, Omega Magnus, and a fuckton of pining. Link to completed fic

Artwork for My Fearless Love, I Will Not Say Goodbye by @skylar102​

Sixteenth Sunset by Nhixxie

Rating: Mature Summary: NASA astronauts Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood spend one year living and working together in the International Space Station. They fall in love one astounding view of Earth at a time.

Artwork for Sixteenth Sunset by @miss-shiva-adler​

Untitled experiment by @imandras

Rating: General Summary: But it happened at the time that in one of Alec's lectures the proposal to conduct an experiment was presented so convincingly, that Alec and his guitar were allowed to (or rather had to) spend some time (with considerably less wages) in the subway.

And as fate would have it (she was in a good mood this morning) Magnus went to work earlier than usual, because he wanted to start the day pleasantly with his dear friend Cat and an extensive breakfast together.

Remember, it's all Simon's fault! 

Artwork for Untitled experiment by @a-ghost-named-k​

[dramatical-gatsbytalia]

A Messy Love Through the Ages - A SidLink AOC fic (Chapter One)

Well. Turns out you have to be invited to AO3. So I guess this is going up on Tumblr until I get my invitation. What a way to come out of fanfiction writer retirement. 

Bit of warning; I have yet to play Age of Calamity yet. I traded in two of my unwanted games and had just enough to get a copy of the game, but it sits on my shelf waiting. Calling to me.

However, this RP was done with someone who has played Age of Calamity in all of its entirety; @wilclhero and I have our second RP that I’ve decided to flesh out because there are few AOC SidLink fics out there. So thank you @wilclhero for your permission and so many great ideas when developing this with me. :)

And I also sat through the 2-ish hours of cutscenes strung together on YouTube to make a film. So like…it’s fanfiction. No one is expecting 100% accuracy. And since this game throws out any time things that make sense in regards to the timeline in Breath of the Wild, I can do it too. Because Jeremy Bearimy said I could.

Chapter 1

It had been a long and treacherous battle. Mipha had been holding off Ganon’s Water Blight for as long as she could, but she had exhausted most of her powers. And as the monstrous beast loomed overhead she had thought for a moment this was the end.

But she would live to see another day. For out of nowhere a trident shot catapulted through the air, destroying what she had been expecting as the final blow that would end her life. And as she looked up at the Zora in front of her she gasped. His deep red scales that matched her own, that charisma in his grin, only a twinkle in his youth, fully realized from the shy boy she had known in this timeline. That voice calling out towards the scourge. “I will not let you take her again!”

“Sidon?”

And just in time too. Joining her side was the courageous hero, Champion Link of the Hylians. And just like that, the tides turned, and Ganon’s Blight was defeated. From the jaws of defeat, they emerged victorious.

But Link’s footsteps were heavy as he, Mipha, and Prince Sidon emerged from Vah Ruta. His mind was still spinning, utterly exhausted from the hours of nonstop battle leading up to this moment. Things had moved so quickly he barely had time to reflect; the Calamity was here, King Rhoam of Hyrule was dead, and he had only barely managed to drag his screaming daughter, Princess Zelda, from Calamity Ganon’s clutches.

It had been King Rhoam’s command. But he didn’t feel any less a coward as he pulled her away to safety instead of aiding him. Sure, he was Zelda’s personal knight, but this was the ruler of his Kingdom. What hero was he to leave the king for dead? And after all of their preparations, things seemed so hopeless. All of the other Champions were still trapped inside their assigned Divine Beasts.

All of their hard work, those sleepless nights, hours training and hardening themselves for battle…all for nothing. In that moment, even the Hero felt doubtful.

Hyrule was going to fall. And it would be all his fault.

His gaze ended up locked on the tall figure in front of him. This wasn’t the little prince he knew. The Sidon he, only knee-high to a grasshopper, was always so shy and so quiet. Where had this prince come from?

And why had he saved them—saved Link? No one had ever saved the Hero before. He was always the one doing the rescuing. He was supposed to risk his life for royalty, not the other way around.

What was this feeling?

As he trailed behind the siblings he slouched. He couldn’t remember a moment in his life he had felt so tired and hopeless. But there was still so much to do. Three more Divine Beasts. The Yiga Clan. Ganon.

“I…I can’t keep going…” he whispered, though apparently loud enough, as the siblings stopped in their tracks to face him. He was going to die, he knew it. He couldn’t protect everyone, and Ganon was going to win because of it.

Mipha approached Link, searching for the calming words that could pull Link from the depths of his hopelessness. Something to give him home. But she was still searching, mind still reeling from the recent events, pulling herself from despair and her resignation that she was going to die.

It was Sidon who spoke first and broke the silence. Sidon approached them both, crouched down to their level—when had the two of them gotten so small? He towered over the two of them. He took Link’s hands in his, a sun-kissed tan swallowed in a sea of red scales. Had things always been this small?

Sidon didn’t know the reason for what he said next. He remembered looking up to Link, literally and figuratively, but it hadn’t ever gone past gazing up to his elders and seeing greatness. And perhaps the tiniest boyhood crush. But he wouldn’t let the other know that. In that moment there was something else…he couldn’t put his fin on it.

He squeezed Link’s hands ever so slightly, the other looking him straight on before he spoke. “You can do it. I believe in you.”

Mipha nodded in encouragement. “That’s right. You can do it. I know it seems like all hope is lost, but we must believe. We survived this. Who isn’t to say we’ll survive even more?”

Link looked wide-eyed to Sidon and Mipha. He was already so spent; what if the other Champions were already dead? But…but he knew that he had to try. He had people believing in him.

With a nod, they set off. One down. Three more to go.

---

It was hours before they were able to meet up again. But by the Goddess, that small amount of hope had been enough to get them all through. Everyone had now regrouped, and now with three additional party members from the future by their sides, they were triumphant in each and every battle against Ganon’s Blights.

But their most recent battle against the Thunder Blight had done a number on Link. It had been so fast, and seemed to land several blows on him despite the blond constantly adjusting his strategy to keep up with the blasted thing. And now, run ragged from exerting his energy in multiple battles, he needed Mipha’s help badly to recover.

Even with her healing powers being pushed to the limit that day, the Princess of the Zora still had room for her favourite Hylian. His skin practically sewed itself up again with her help, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious despite Mipha having done this countless times before. He had always hated being the centre of attention, that feeling of constantly being watched.

What didn’t help was that it was the eyes of not one, not two, but three members of royalty keeping a close watch on his healing process. With his role keeping watch over Zelda and Mipha doing the healing, he hadn’t thought that her brother would be getting a front row seat to his broken and bruised body stitching itself back together again. For some reason, his gaze felt the most intimidating.

When their eyes met he looked away. The prince had saved him, and it was impossible to wipe that from his mind. If it hadn’t been for that first battle, for the prince quite literally dropping in from nowhere, and his words of encouragement, he would not have made it through the day.

Link was just a lowly knight. Why did they all care so much? Especially Sidon.

As the last of his wounds were treated he ended up looking over again, their eyes meeting once more. Once again, he quickly looked away, willing away the redness that threatened to spread across his cheeks. Goddess, what was wrong with him?

Sidon couldn’t see it, but he could feel something there as well. He had always been enamoured by the other as a child. He was tall (or at least back then he was), brave and…handsome? Yes, that was it. He couldn’t place that feeling in his youth, and had been unable to pursue any feelings he had as a hatchling. After this was all over perhaps he could--

“There,” Mipha said as she was all finished. Link went to get his tunic, letting it fall back over his torso before going to pick up his sword. Even in the safety of their small, fortified camp, he could never let his guard down.

And it was then it hit Sidon. Yes, of course. Mipha was alive. His sister was alive! Those feelings he had had needed to be pushed aside; she had never been able to pursue her own happy ending in his timeline.  It seemed a shame, but it felt like the right thing to do. He wouldn’t get in the way of his sister’s affections for Link. He would see to it that she had her chance.

“Are you alright? Feeling better?”

Link nodded despite feeling like shit. While fantastic at fixing wounds, her healing powers could do nothing when it came to the exhaustion washing over him like a tidal wave. He tried to hide it, but it was obvious in the way he wobbled. Sidon, not wanting to interrupt but noticing the uneven sway in his step, put his hand to his back to even out his footing.

When Link looked to him in thanks he knew in that moment suppressing any burgeoning feelings was going to be a difficult task indeed. His balance restored, Sidon removed his hand, offering a charismatic smile to those in the tent with him. “You’ve all done well today, I knew we could do it!”

Ah, but it seemed perhaps he was just a bit too energetic for the mood in the room. It was late. Any leftover troops were gathered outside making quick meals to regain their strength. Perhaps it was time to eat and sleep. No doubt it would be a busy day tomorrow.

“It’s imperative we all rest. I’ll take my leave, I hope you all get an opportunity to get a good night’s rest.”

Mipha nodded and stood up. “Yes, I think that’s the best option.” Zelda only nodded in agreement, the weight of the day now resting heavily on her shoulders and rendering her silent.

But Link shook his head in protest. Not so much because he didn’t want to sleep; his body begged him for rest. But he had a job to do. How could he sleep with all that had happened today, with all that could still happen that evening? What happened if he wasn’t there, alert and ready to defend what was left of their small army.

Sidon seemed a bit shocked by Link’s answer, so he shook his head resolutely once again.

“…right…then I wish you all a lovely evening and a safe watch over us all tonight.”

With that, Mipha and Sidon exited the Zelda’s tent, Link following shortly after to keep guard outside. It wasn’t until they walked closer towards their own tents that Sidon really let his opinions be known.

“Does Champion Link really need permission to sleep at a time like this? Dear sister, this is ludicrous! We can’t just let that poor man stay up, it’s clear as day how exhausted he is!”

Mipha let out a small laugh, though it was mainly at her brother’s reaction rather than Link remaining awake. “I’m serious!” he continued. Didn’t you see the way he shook when he stood up and walked? Surely we won’t be able to put a dent in the Calamity if he’s in a similar state!”

She shook her head. “I was laughing at the way you’re so adamantly coming to his defense. It’s good to see that you’re still the hatchling I remember. Always kicking a fuss when he couldn’t get his way.” She meant no offense to her brother, and was quick to put his shock at her words to rest. “But you’ve grown…and it’s nice that your stubbornness for someone else’s sake rather than your own.”

She gave a heavy sigh though as she changed the topic. “I wish it were so easy to tell him to get some rest, believe me, I’ve tried. But it’s complicated. He takes his job as Zelda’s personal knight almost too seriously…”

Sidon huffed in response, crossing his arms, and then quickly uncrossing them as he saw his sister already laughing once more. Though as he passed a small faction of Hylian guards left over from King Rhoam’s army the wheels in his head began to turn. As he turned from his sister she looked on as he approached them, all smiles as he propositioned them for the chance that, as he would phrase it, could make or break their career as a knight and a hero.

“Gentlemen! I hope you are in high spirits after today’s grueling yet victorious fight! Say, are any of you lot on night watch? I was hoping we might have a moment to talk.”

---

As Link stood outside the tent, soon taking a sitting position as his legs were too tired to continue standing, he was quickly met with a problem. While there was nothing going on around him that put them all in any heightened state of alertness, that meant his mind had nothing to occupy itself. And with nothing to stimulate his mind, he quickly found himself succumbing to sleep.

He tightened his grip on his sword to try and force himself to stay awake, but as he rolled his head to stretch his shoulders he felt his eyes becoming heavy. And then shaking his head awake only worked in the beginning. Frustrated, he finally rested his chin against his chest. Perhaps if he let himself relax, just a small bit, it would be enough to keep him going.

It wasn’t long until he dozed off, lucky that his sword didn’t go clattering onto the ground.

Nearby, Sidon was leading the guard brave enough to volunteer his services towards Princess Zelda’s tent. “I don’t know if this will work, your highness. Master Link is very particular and doesn’t appreciate others meddling in how he keeps watch over the princess.”

Sidon waved that concern away. “Oh no, no, no, don’t think of it as meddling! Think of it as…” he paused for a moment, he needed to really sell this, “training! Yes, her personal knight is the Hero of Hyrule after all, perhaps you could learn some useful tips from him! Consider this akin to an apprenticeship!”

As they got closer he raised his hand to wave to Link, fully committed to convincing the other that he ought to really show this eager guard the ropes of what it took to be a true hero. Though upon closer inspection, and thankfully before his boisterous voice said anything to disturb him, he noticed Link had fallen asleep. Aha. He knew the other had been tired.

“Hmm…” he said, pausing for one moment to think. It occurred to him moments later what he could do. "Wait right here," Sidon said, and quickly retreated to his tent, where he took one of the blankets that had been given to him to use off the mattress. It wasn’t in the best shape and was far too small for himself, but was the perfect size to cover Link’s small frame and provide him some form of warmth while he got some much-needed rest.

He made haste in going back towards Zelda's tent where the Hero sat sleeping and the other guard stood waiting nervously. When he returned he carefully draped it over Link’s body, careful as he got closer so he didn’t wake him.

Much better. He stood up and pat the other guard on the back. “You can put your best foot forward to stay on guard. Wake him in case anything happens, but I have the utmost faith you will rise to the occasion.”

Giving the guard a thumbs up and whispering his thanks, Sidon moved to return to his own tent.

TBC

Do I know the order of events in the game? No. Do I care? Maybe a little. But this game doesn’t care about continuity, so why should I?

This is my first time writing fanfiction in…uh…ten years? Okay well not my first time in ten years. My first time in ten years was a few weeks ago for the SidLink gift exchange. That said, it’s my first multi-chapter fic in ten years.

I’ll do my best to keep updates…somewhat regular. If I can crank out 2-3 chapters a month that would be awesome. But I’m busy as hell 80% of the time. And the 15% I’m not busy I tend to spend on a nap. Constitution Day is coming up though so I’ll have some free time at the end of April and beginning of May.

Fingers crossed. I desperately want to get into writing again. That gift exchange fic was a good kick in the pants and I hope it lasts.

Thanks. And see you.

[spacerocksarethebestrocks]

will you tell me about your ocs? 🥺 (please)

Sorry this took a while I was ✨thinking✨

So, my most fleshed out OCs are Pipes and Game, BFF duo and adorable.

They aren't super fleshed out, because I'm sort of learning them as I write, as the story progresses blah blah blah. Also I'm going to try to avoid spoilers but, here goes.

Pipes (he/him)

Absolutely your bog standard clone, appearance wise at least. Nice regulation cut, no tattoos or body modifications. Part of that is just because of being in the Guard but also, even if regulations change, I think he'd still keep it fairly simple. It comforts him, when he looks in the mirror, to see all of his vode who have marched onwards in his own reflection. Some clones find comfort in individualism, but Pipes likes the feeling of being part of a collective.

Pipes has lost a lot of people. He is the last surviving member of his batch. Every Clone has watched friends march onwards, but Pipes more than most. Despite that, he is one of the kindest, sweetest, most hopeful and positive vode out there. It's not so much that his trauma has softened him, just that he refuses to let it harden him. He still has his dark moments, he still grieves, he still needs to sob into his buir's shoulder sometimes. But beyond that, he is kind and optimistic and happy, even when there is every opportunity for him not to be.

As I said, Pipes is a sweetheart. Most of this is demonstrated to how seriously he takes to being an ori'vod. Not just where there's a connection, like with Game, but any little sibling he sees in need. And some older ones. Just anyone who needs a sympathetic ear and a cuddle, he's there. He's always kind to the shinies having a tough time, happy to help as they learn the Guard and their new roles. It's not his job, not at all, but he loves to do it all the same.

Sometimes he gets a little overprotective. Mostly with Game. It chafes a bit, because she's perfectly capable of looking after herself, but she knows he can't help it. It's just because he's lost people and it makes him a little anxious sometimes. That being said, she always lets him know when he's getting on her nerves. Gently. The first time.

I don't actually know for certain how they met? Whether it was on the Toydaria mission or before? What I do know is, it was Game's first mission, and she was nervous, and Pipes saw her (him then) and just started making dumb jokes to get her out of her own head. They weren't funny, but she still laughed. For whatever reason, probably because they made such a good team, they kept getting assigned together, and now they are BFFs forever.

Coming to think of it, they definitely met and knew each other before Toydaria, but that really bonded them. Game got to look after Pipes for once, and now they're locked in for life, ride or die.

He got his name because he liked to swing on pipes like they were monkey bars. He got into trouble for breaking them.

Game (she/her)

Unfortunately for her, Game is one of those vode whose appearance screams "I'm precious and I need protecting." She doesn't mind, persay, after transition she quite likes the way she looks, she just wishes people wouldn't underestimate her. Sadly, she looks adorable, and since she's skinnier than most of the vode, she elicits a sort of instinctive big brother response out of them. She deals with it by either using it to her advantage, or putting them straight as soon as possible.

There are two people she will put up with this behaviour from, though more like one and a half. Fox and Pipes, respectively. They're her aliit and she knows that they know she can look after herself. Still, it chafes a bit from Game, because he's only a few months older than her, and some times he can get a little too overprotective. She'll put up with it from Fox, because... It's Fox. And it makes her feel a bit warm and squishy inside that he cares so much about her. About all the troops in the Guard, but her and Pipes a little bit extra.

When she uses her adorable appearance to get away with things, it only works once per vode. They have really good memory, but at least they stop babying her.

She's a crazy good sniper. She worked hard at it, specialised in it, and thats what got her allocated to Senator protection details. She's not Crosshair levels of sniping prowess, but she's in the top 5 percentile for clone troopers. She's really proud of that. As she should be.

She got her name because her favourite phrase as a cadet was "I'm game". Shenanigans? "I'm game." Someone offers up a plan during a simulation? "I'm game." Any suggestion at all and that was what she replied with. It became a game (hah) with her batch until eventually it just became her name.

I'm realising now Fox can make the dad joke "Hi Game, I'm Fox" and I'm wondering where I can work it into my fic.

Hope you liked this xxx

[islamicrays]

This past weekend my family and I went on a road trip to the mountains. As we drove down the long stretch of a seemingly endless freeway dodging all the big rig trucks, passing the empty desolate fields, and avoiding the dangers of the long windy roads up the mountains, I had some reflections about life and parenting.

Everything that we had experienced seemed analogous to the dunya and the countless spiritual pitfalls and struggles that human beings experience.

1. Life can seem sometimes like a long endless loop.

2. There are so many large obstacles to avoid all the time.

3. The isolation this dunya induces is very real for most people regardless of how socially connected they are.

4. The dangers are always there and require us to be vigilant constantly.

I then started to analyze the life cycle of the human being and the vital role that the parents play.

We are told by Allah (swt) that this dunya was designed to test us. Knowing this, the parent is tasked with preparing the child spiritually and fortifying them to come out of this test in the most unscathed state possible, spiritually speaking. In other words, the parent’s job is to protect and provide spiritual immunity to the child from the very beginning, the same way for example, a mother who nurses her child from the onset is able to provide immunity against physical disease through her breast milk.

So, what does spiritual immunity look like? Well, think of it like giving a child the spiritual building blocks for them to work with and build upon at a very early age.

1. For infancy through the younger toddler years, a child is heavily influenced by the spiritual state of the parent. We know that even what a mother consumes, for example, passes through the child in the womb and then in the breastmilk. In a similar way, the spiritual state of the mother and the father can have a positive and beneficial impact or a negative and deleterious one.

So, for example, if either parent is overwhelmed, under appreciated, undervalued, or worse, abused, abandoned, or neglected, the child or the children in the home will be impacted spiritually. They will witness negative things that they are not equipped to process or cope with and this will begin to compromise their spiritual immunity. Some of these effects can be reversed, but some may never go away at all—la qadr Allah.

On the flip side, when the parents are strong in their faith, they are on the same page and have healthy communication, and cultivate a home of love and respect, the child’s spiritual immunity is strengthened and enhanced. This doesn’t mean they will be completely inoculated and never tested spiritually, because everyone will have their own unique struggles regardless. It means that just witnessing the positive and God-centered exchanges of their parents, children in such environments are fortified with spiritual vitamins that optimize their immunity so that they can better resist spiritual diseases.

2. For older children, the parent's job is to strengthen their spiritual immunity through not only modeling healthy behavior but through instruction and education. Stories are powerful antioxidants that can help children develop the requisite mental pathways they need to avoid the countless spiritual pitfalls shaitan is constantly developing and tailoring for them.

So, for example, when we share stories from the Qur’an, or the sunnah, our intention should be clear: we are building our children’s spiritual immunity to this diseased and dangerous place called dunya. Thus, every story we share with them has to be with THAT intention. It’s not just history we’re teaching, it’s for them to grow in their love for Allah (swt) and His Beloved ﷺ, and to take their teachings as daily doses of healing that are designed to prevent the dunya and all of its diseases from reaching their heart.

Another powerful tool at our disposal is our OWN stories. When we share our experiences and actually engage in conversations with our children as opposed to shutting them out or sedating them with screens/games and other distractions because we’re too impatient to deal with them, we are helping them literally fortify their spiritual hearts and preventing them from learning difficult tests/lessons the hard way.

Thus, the more stories we share, the more open conversations we have, the more our children are spared from learning through suffering and pain. Think about the fact that since time immemorial, human beings from all backgrounds and cultures, have had oral traditions which included folktales, poetry/song, and popular stories passed down generation to generation. What was the purpose of that other than to teach and help prevent unnecessary pain and suffering?

We have strayed so far from that and we’re seeing it in our world today. Parents are often too busy with their own lives to talk to their children let alone tell them deep and personal stories, grandparents and other relatives are often too far or removed from the picture to do the same, and our children are left to their own devices—literally and figuratively, which means they have to teach themselves and often end up learning a LOT of difficult life lessons the hard way—through pain and suffering. And without the spiritual immunity they should have had from infancy, this means they are filled with spiritual diseases and have little to no recourse for getting the healing and treatment they need.

And what happens when people who are ill with spreadable disease come together? The diseases spread and wreak havoc on the entire group and beyond.

Look around our world and it becomes evident that the reason our children are suffering is because they are being raised by spiritually-immune-compromised parents which means they too will likely suffer the same fate.

Of course everything is in the hands of Allah (swt) and He guides whomever He wills, but we as parents who have been given guidance and are privileged to be able to use the faculties He has given us and the resources He has blessed us with, must rise to the occasion and first and foremost start with treating our own spiritual diseases, and then look to our children and help them fortify their spiritual hearts against disease. We can inoculate them against spiritual diseases through all of the things mentioned above: remembrance of God, love of Him and His Prophet ﷺ, and commitment to instructing them through important stories from the past and the present. The more stories we share with them, positive and inspiring ones as well as cautionary tales, the more we can help them.

If, however, we barely make the time to check in with them and are always rushing our conversations to go to the next activity or item on our daily agenda/itinerary, then why are we shocked when we find them engaging in something or meeting with someone that is harmful to them? They either lack the knowledge or skills to protect themselves or they are too spiritually weak to resist the temptations of shaitan. In either case, the parents could have been instrumental in preventing the harm.

May Allah (swt) help guide us and help us rid our own diseases first, and then help us protect our children from having to get sick from the affects of the dunya in order to learn life lessons. Amin.

-Ustadha Hosai Mojaddidi

[skylarmoon71]

Michelangelo x Reader Fanfiction 2014/2016- Oneshot

"We're not monsters."

New York City was home to a lot of strange things. But never in your life did you imagine that you would actually see mutant ninja turtles. It was crazy. You were a rookie officer. Your world revolves around law and logic. Someone got murdered, there was always a reason. A disgruntled spouse, angered stranger. Or even a pissed off sibling. No matter what, in all your cases there was always some reasonable explanation. Not this time. Not with this.

As you stood with your gun pointed that day, all you could think was not everything in the world could be explained. As you stared at the mutated beings before you, your stomach dropped. Not because the impossible was standing right in front of you. You were thankful there were other officers present to witness this, even Lieutenant Vincent. But what struck you was the look. The look on the orange clad turtle's face. He looked hurt...broken and the words being spat at him.

Monster, freak.

Despite all your training in the academy against lowering your weapon in the face of danger, you couldn't bring yourself to keep your gun up. For a split second his blue eyes caught the movement. And you were positive some of your colleagues were questioning your actions. But you didn't care. No one deserved to be treated like that, human or not.

~~~~

"Are you kidding me! I want a rematch." you grinned. "Not a chance Mikey I have to get to work. Unlike you my job actually requires that I be there during the day. " You spent the majority of your morning absolutely slaughtering Mikey in Call of Duty. And like most guys, he found it hard accepting defeat. You stood up, fixing your belt, and grabbing your hat. "I'll catch you guys later. Lieutenant Vincent told me you're helping out on the sting operation. I've got to say meeting you guys was the best thing to happen. If we keep it up crime will be almost non-existent in New York." Leo offered a smile.

"We do what we can to help." Ever the humble one.

"Yeah, plus I'd never pass up a chance to kick some butt!" Ah and Raph, ever the brute.

"Of course Raph." you laughed making your way out of the lair.

"Hey Mikey don't forget it's movie night. I'm picking the movie this time!"

"Sure thing!" he called back.

It took a while to get used to everything. After they helped take down an actual alien invasion, it was sort of expected that you joined forces. You supposed your boss realized they were way out of their comfort zone, aliens weren't a norm in the police department. The turtles were then awarded keys to the city, and they continued to protect the city from the shadows, offering assistance whenever necessary. When you got to know them, you realized just how amazing they really were.

Their intelligence, strength, loyalty, humor. It was incredible. Like April, you got pretty close to the turtles. You were shocked at the development yourself, because in the beginning you were a little more scared than anything. But, you were also sympathetic. No matter what you did, that look was forever engraved in you. You guessed that's why you were so close to Mikey. You felt like you needed to protect him from the world. Which was ridiculous since he could pretty much handle himself. That didn't mean he was bulletproof. Maybe that's why he shone the brightest. Always cheerful and smiling. That added with his general adorableness, it caught you. Hook line and sinker.

~Movie Night~

As you walked into the lair already changed in a pair of sweatpants and a loose hoodie, you searched the area for the turtles. You tilted your head when you only saw Mikey setting up popcorn and drinks. "Where is everyone else?" you questioned. He perked up when he saw you.

"April invited them to another basketball game." Your eyes grew a little wide. Mikey was never one to pass up a game, especially if April was the one attending it. "Y-You could have gone if you wanted to. We could always have another movie night."

"It's fine, I promised you. And a ninja always keeps his promises. " He placed his hands together bowing and you grinned, jumping unto the couch. "Alright then, let's get started. "

"Shell yeah! " he dropped down right next to you, giving a mini presentation on the snacks he gathered. "So on the right we have nachos with a little cream, if you're feeling a little peckish. On the left, a fresh box of pizza with the ultimate assortment of cheese! And of course, an all time classic, buttery popcorn for your nightly cravings." You were smiling the entire time. The world didn't deserve someone so pure.

"What movie are we watching, please have action, please have action." he was doing a little prayer. You grabbed the remote, clicking through netflix. You stopped on the Legend of Tarzan.

"I watched the trailer, this is supposed to be awesomely epic." you spoke. Mikey peeked an eye open, and you could see the interest spark as he quickly read through the description.

"What are you waiting for, play it!" His excitement was akin to a child, and you stifled your laughter as you clicked the movie.

~~~

To say he loved the movie was probably an understatement. Mikey's eyes never left the screen the entire time. You weren't sure he even really moved when he got some of the snacks. There were so many points where you thought Tarzan was dead. Every part proved to be just a tease. When it was nearing the end you could tell. Jane was standing looking out at the rubble, clearly devastated that Tarzan might have died in the explosion.

You could almost feel Mikey holding his breath, hoping that Tarzan wasn't actually dead. You smiled when he released it softly the minute John walked up behind her. They kissed, and you fought a blush, looking away a bit nervously. This wasn't the first scene between them that left you flustered. The short love scene in the middle had you more than a little bothered. You thought Mikey would make some joke about it, but he was quiet through the whole thing. As the credits started, and the music of Hozier's better love filled the room, you found your eyes drifting back to Mikey. The longing reflected in his hopeful sapphire eyes. "Mikey?" he turned to you, and you swore you saw tears in his eyes.

He wiped it quickly, laughing. "That was an awesome movie brah! It did not disappoint." His usual enthusiasm wasn't there, you could tell. It sounded almost forced.

You took his arm before he could move out of reach.

"I'm sorry Mikey." he was now confused.

"Why are you apologizing?"

In all honesty, you should have done it sooner. That day when they called the turtles monsters. You never apologized. And even though you weren't the one who said the words, for a split second you thought the same. Your ignorance could have cost you the best friends you'd ever had.

"That day with the police, what they said to you, it was horrible. We were all in the wrong. I never told you guys how sorry I was, how sorry they probably all were for judging you guys. It wasn't fair. "

His eyes shifted. He knew exactly what you were talking about.

"It's fine. I guess I sort of expect it. Sensei always told us it wouldn't be easy for people to understand what we are. I guess that's why Raph and I wanted so bad to be human. Deep down I..I still want that. Certain things I won't ever be able to experience, not with the way I am." He must have been referring to the movie. You thought you imagined it, but he seemed extra attentive whenever the couple showed up in scenes.

"You mean love.."

He didn't need to answer, his eyes said it all. "Mikey, I don't think you need to worry about that. You don't have to be human to find love. If someone truly cares for you, they won't care. " you leaned closer, hand reaching out to touch his cheek. You could feel him tense, eyes never leaving you.

"I don't care..." Mustering up all your courage, you raised unto your knees on the couch, matching his height. Deciding that it was now or never, you closed the gap, kissing him softly. The feel of his lips, they were heavenly. Far different from what you imagined. And you'd imagined it a lot. At first he didn't move, you weren't even sure he was breathing properly. And you expected it. After a few brief seconds you pulled back, gauging his reaction. You blinked a few times, licking your lips. Mikey still looked awe struck. He opened and closed his mouth a couple times, trying to search for the right words. Finally he settled on a sentence.

"Did you just...kiss me?"

"I did." you flushed. You hoped It was welcomed, because it was what you'd been longing for shortly after knowing him. Now it sort of made sense. This whole time you thought it was because you wanted to protect him from getting hurt, but the truth was, you cared for him, more than you initially realized.

"I don't get it, you're..you're human (Y/N). Why would you-" you raised a finger, pressing it softly to his lips. "It doesn't matter. I'd like to think if our roles were switched you'd feel the same about me. Do you...feel the same?" You were marking his lips, and Mikey gulped. All the movies, video games and comic books, he thought he would be more ready for such a confession. Yet here he was, completely speechless.

"I....I..." Why couldn't he find the words. He knew how much he felt for you. But as it stood he never even tried pursuing anything for obvious reasons. Now hearing you say you didn't care about all of that, and even kissing him. What else could he possibly hope for. He just wishes he could put that into words.

It was cute, they way he stumbled for the words. Your need to feel his lips again returned, and your other hand came up going around his neck as you slipped into his lap. His hands moved to the couch clearly not expecting the bold move. You snickered, leaning next to his ear.

"You know I used to think you were a player with all your smooth words, but are you secretly shy, Michelangelo." you cooed softly. When you pressed a kiss at the side of his neck, he let out a shaky breath. Your fingers trailed down his chest, so firm, strong. Muscular. You were still littering soft kisses along his neck.

"If I kiss you again, I'd prefer it if you kissed back." Before he could fully prepare you leaned in, sighing in content. Kissing him was everything. When he started to get over the shock of the whole situation, his hands came up hesitantly. You hummed when you felt his hand on your back, and the other slipped into your hair. You were pressed firmly to his body, and the minute his lips slanted over your own, you were sure you went to heaven. How could something so simple feel so good.

Mikey's hands on your body was just what you needed. As time passed, he seemed to be more sure of himself. He opened his mouth, and the moment your tongues touched you moaned. Mikey let out a soft groan, trying to match the intensity that you were pushing. Your hands were wandering over his body, and you should have probably shown some restraint, because even though his brothers weren't in here, they could come back at any minute. Not to mention Splinter was still somewhere in the lair, hopefully sleeping. The sound of bodies filing in alerted you of exactly that. They were back.

Mikey pulled away hurriedly at the sound, and now all three turtles were standing there gaping at the scene.

"I-It's not what it looks like!" Mikey defended.

It was exactly what it looked like.

"Guys seriously, on the couch. " Leo sounded unimpressed.

"No wonder you stayed back. Mikey you sly dog." Raph walked over smacking his younger brother behind the head.

"Come on Raph!" you just stayed planted there, smiling. You liked the little moment, but you really wanted to get back to kissing. When you saw the way they seem to settle around the area to tease Mikey you frowned. Guess there was only one way to get rid of them. You grabbed both sides of his cheeks, smashing your lips to his in a searing kiss. Almost immediately you could hear the groans of disgust.

"Mission success." They didn't stick around after that. And once they were all gone you grinned down at him.

"So...does this mean that you're my girlfriend?" Did he even have to ask. You rolled your eyes, reconnecting your lips.

It was a definite yes.

[smilepal]

Character Study:

Tagged By: @noirapocalypto

Tagging: @shinycorvidae

Layer 01: The Outside -Name: Hiro Oda -Eye Color: Blue--decided to keep it instead of replacing it with optics. -Hair Style/Color: Hiro has messy black hair, kept shorter on the sides. It's usually worn in a bun or a short ponytail. He has black hair, and spends an embarassing amount of time on it. -Height: 5'4. He more than makes up for it with his personality though, or at least so he says. -Clothing Style: His Style is cyberpunk meets urban samurai-likes lots of layers and stylishly over (or under) sized shirts. He likes to scavenge clothing he finds on jobs, so his wardrobe reflects this. He wears a wide range of colors, and isn’t always the most subtle, with occasional pops of bright neon--especially in the clubs. He usually wears comfortable, flexible shoes or boots--preferably ones that are good for climbing/running and making a quick getaway if necessary. When on missions or out and about, he disguises his face using his old Tyger Claws mask. He has two--one in red and the other in black. It's a chore trying to get him to wear formal clothing, he hates getting dressed up and prefers fabric with a shine/interesting textures (especially leather, but he wouldn't say no to a dash of latex on occasion, anything that catches the eye). -Best Physical Feature: He's attached to his tattoos, despite that they represent a part of his life he's very much done with but he thinks he'd look strange without them. He's confident about his appearance and spends a lot of time working on it, and is a touch vain. Layer 02: The Inside -Fears: He's afraid of more than he likes to let on. He's afraid of water especially if he can't see the bottom of it--he never learned to swim. He's definitely afraid of losing people he cares about--there's not very many of them and he's afraid of his defection from the Tyger Claws painting a target on them. While not exactly a fear he finds the Badlands unsettling--there's so much open space and it's oddly quiet, especially after the noise and lights of Night City. -Guilty Pleasures: Real coffee (even though it's a frivolous expense), baking, and trying to pet every stray cat he can find. -Biggest Pet-peeves: How people tend to treat joytoys/dolls, as if they're disposable. As someone's who's past is a bit spotty, it's a sensitive topic and he gets grouchy/tight-lipped if you push him too much -Ambitions for the Future: Beyond finding a way to extricate the chip and keep both him and Johnny in one piece? He'd like to eventually make enough doing merc work to be able to just make a living fixing stuff. He's a good mechanic and would love the time/financial stability to be able to work on his hobbies more. Layer 03: Thoughts -First thought waking up: I don't have nearly enough coffee for this (in the event he managed to actually sleep in the first place) -What they think about most: Trying to keep their partners safe, in NC this is a constant job and requires a lot of vigilance -What they think about right before bed: So much--they have terrible insomnia so post-sleep anxiety is fairly common. -What they think their good quality is: They're generous and have a strong moral compass--will occasionally not charge people for gigs despite the monetary loss, especially if it seems like he'd be taking advantage of the situation or it doesn't feel right. He's kind, even if he does come off as rather prickly. Layer 04: Either Or -Single or group dates: As he has two partners, a lot of his dates tend to be group dates. He's not one to set up formal dates though. He'd rather just go out for a casual cup of coffee or a late night bike ride. He only realizes it's a date after the fact, usually. -To be loved or respected: He'd rather be loved. He's seen where only wanting respect gets you and he'd rather not turn out like his corpo older brother -Beauty or Brains: He definitely coasts by on intuition, luck and good looks at times so he's a bit biased but in regards to a partner, it doesn't matter much to him? A sense of empathy/loyalty are

more important to him than either. -Dogs or Cats: Cats! He loves them (and owns two--a Sphinx named Kira, and a black cat he's dubbed Goro--as it seems to share the same look of general disapproval.) Layer 05: Do They... -Lie?: Yes, if it's to protect their partners or for work. -Believe in themselves?: It depends on who's asking. They come off as very confident but it hides a lot of deeply rooted insecurity. They're more sensitive than they like to let on. -Believe in love?: A bit. They admire the idea of it but don't think it's for them. It's something they secretly really crave though--even if they'd have a hard time admitting it. -Want someone?: Yes. They end up with @shinycorvidae's V (Vic) and Johnny because damnit they're getting a happy ending. I don't care if it's not cannon 😂 Layer 06: -Been on stage?: Yes, it's a common thing (or at least, previously had been) and they're fairly desensitized to it. -Done drugs?: Tends to try really hard to stay away from them. Both his parents had issues with them and definitely played a role in their death. He uses airhypos/anasthetic grudgingly but that's it. -Changed who they were to fit in?: Not to fit in, per-se but to slide under the radar better. They know that it's safer going unnoticed in Night City most of the time and that's the way they like it. They're good at putting on masks for people though. It takes a lot of patience, and a bit of a thick skin to get them to drop it and show facets of their real personality through. They're a lot softer than they first let on though. Layer 07: -Favorite Color: Black/red especially together. He's also partial to blue -Favorite Animal: He loves cats (and has two that he dotes on like his children) -Favorite Book: It would be challenging to get him to admit it, but he can't read very well. He loves it when Vic reads to him though, because she seems to enjoy it so much and he likes hearing her voice. She's a fan of the classics, and he enjoys the poetry the most. -Favorite Game: Not a game per-se but he's really into racing. Bikes are a hobby of his and he's damned good at it, and has very little fear (and more than a little recklessness). He also wouldn't say no to a game of pool once in a while, particularly if he can rope his friends into a game of it. Layer 08: -Day their next birthday will be: He doesn't know his birthday so he decided on Oct. 31st. -How old they will be: 25 (at least he thinks so) Layer 09: I... -I Love: My partners, and the people I've let get close to me -I Feel: Determined. We'll find a way where we get to decide our future, whatever the cost. -I Hide: My fears and ugly bits of my past. I don't like letting other people know and making them worry. I don't want their pity. -I Miss: Jackie. There's still a lot of guilt there. -I Wish: We had more time, or at least a more clear solution. I feel adrift.

Thanks for tagging me @noirapocalypto! It was really fun to fill out--and I'm always happy to talk about my characters :)