#it will be fun. it will be fun i just need to get my unity project set up anddddddd ohhhhhhhhhhhh i need to install it again first i think

[ruvviks]

putting together references for a new game

[hyperfixating-rn-brb]

The Good Omens Fandom has had a lot of fun recently with the knowledge of Aziraphale and Crowley holding hands on the bus at the end of season 1.

Soo here's everything that went through my head as I learned of it for the first time.

For that entire scene, Aziraphale is really far gone. He's dissociating so hard he can't even realize he's been sitting on a sword. Crowley is probably the only thing keeping him grounded.

They just narrowly stopped Armageddon after a showdown with literally Satan, and still can't let their guard down. For the first time ever, they're completely on their own side. Now they have to orchestrate a body swap to save both of them. They wouldn't just be killed, they'd be completely destroyed. Everything must go exactly according to plan, but how often does that actually happen?

And on top of that, his bookshop, his home, his safe place with the demon he has to pretend not to love is burned and gone.

Crowley is so incredibly gentle and reassuring this entire scene. He's been through so much trauma himself and has spent a lot of his existence shielding the angel from it, hoping to protect some of his innocence and naivete. Crowley is absolutely familiar with every symptom of PTSD and anxiety.

Now he has to see his sweet angel see such a small bit of the horrors of heaven and hell and start to crumble inside. He's going to do his dam best to try and help Aziraphale through it. Speaking softly, ("the bookshop burned down... remember?) slowly and carefully, gradually helping to pull the angel back to reality, reminding him that he's there and will help ground him.

They get on the bus, and sit next to each other. 11 years ago, they sat nearby but separated while Crowley begs Aziraphale to help him prevent the Apocalypse. Now they are sitting together. Both an act of reassurance and unity.

Crowley sits first, Aziraphale could so easily just sit across from him, behind or in front. But he chooses to sit right next to him. And hold his hand. Aziraphale desperately needs to be near to the *former* demon he loves, to hold him, to make sure they won't be separated.

In the book, their famous lines of "none of this would have worked out if you weren't, deep down, just a bit of a good person" and "just enough of a b*stard to be worth liking" came as Satan rose from the earth, as a goodbye in case they were destroyed.

Luckily, that didn't happen and they survived. Armaggedon was stopped. But the angel is still so anxious of losing Crowley. So he chooses to reach out, to anchor himself and reassure himself that Crowley is still there beside him and that they are okay, at least for a few minutes.

And Crowley let him. He knows how badly Aziraphale needs him, he needs the angel just as much. He knows how badly he craved an anchor and support system as he was first abused and traumatized by his Fall, then further by Hell. So he's going to continue being there for Aziraphale, doing everything he can to make his angel feel safe and comfortable.

Over the next few years, Aziraphale would become so much more comfortable reaching out and touching Crowley. Leaning into him, resting a hand on his shoulder or briefly touching his chest. Somehow both reassuring himself that the former demon was still there, and reminding Crowley that he's still there for him at the same time.

Then Crowley becomes more comfortable with the touch, leaning into the angel by himself. No longer flinching at a sudden graze of a hand or reassuring squeeze.

That one moment of the two holding hands on the bus cemented so much of their relationship. "The last few years, not really..." all started on that bus the moment Aziraphale chose to sit down next to Crowley.

edited: at first this said "new knowledge" because I just found out about this all the other day, and wrote this up at 3 AM, and didn't really fact check when this knowledge became well known. I've only really been a GO fan since maybe 2021, and only really started being active in the fandom during the last few months, so a lot of info that is fairly well known is still generally new to me. soo yeah this was edited :)

source for anyone asking for it!

[multific]

Veils of Rivalry

Mattheo Riddle x Reader

Summary: You hated him, but you also didn't. It was complicated, but it also wasn't.

Once upon a time, in a Hogwarts, there were two individuals who were known far and wide as the fiercest enemies. 

Their names were Y/N Y/L/N and Mattheo Riddle, and their rivalry was the stuff of legends. 

They clashed at every turn, their sharp tongues and quick wits always ready to spar.

And it all started during your first year. 

Mattheo was as confident as ever getting into Slytherin. And you? Just a very lost Ravenclaw who was looking for their next class.

He ran into you, and didn't even apologise or help you collect your books.

"Rude." you said as he continued his walk.

It was only the first time but then words were exchanged and soon, the entire school knew, you and Riddle mustn't be left in the same room.

Despite your mutual hatred, there was an undeniable tension between you that neither of you could ignore. 

You denied your feelings, determined to maintain the facade of hatred that had defined your relationship for so long. 

But as fate would have it, circumstances plotted to bring you together in a way neither could have predicted.

One fateful night, a masquerade ball was held in the school, and both of you found themselves in the big hall. It was during your sixth year.

You didn't even notice that you were dancing around him.

In a moment of pure bliss and fun, you found yourself drawn to Mattheo, your hand reaching out to touch his arm. 

He looked at you, surprise and something else flickering in his eyes before he pulled you into his arms and led you onto the middle of the dance floor. 

You moved together in perfect unity, your bodies pressed close as the music played loud in your ears. You smelled tobacco on him, he smelled your sweet perfume.

As the night went on, it was as if all those arguments never even happened, as if you both forgot who the other was. 

And then, in a moment of pure impulse, you leaned in and pressed your lips to his.

A spark igniting that neither could deny. You weren't sure why you kissed him.

When you pulled back, your eyes went wide with shock and something else, something that felt dangerously like lust.

For a moment, you stood there, caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. 

But then, this time, he leaned in and kissed you again, your passion igniting like wildfire as you finally allowed yourself to acknowledge the feelings that had been simmering beneath the surface for so long.

"Riddle," you said with a desperate tone, you hated to sound like that.

"Come with me." he said with such a soft tone of voice. 

You followed him to a silent corridor as you leaned against the wall, he trapped you in with his arms next to your head.

"I don't know what you are playing at, but I'm serious."

"I'm not playing." your reply was immediate, his eyes never left your eyes, you reached out and pulled him closer by his shirt. "Kiss me please."

And he didn't need to be told twice. 

His lips melted with yours, his arms moving to hold you closer. 

Taglist: 

@castellandiangelo @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl @manduse @jacalineiscomingforyou

@mandoloriancookie @deliciousfestsalad @lilliumrorum @asgards-princess-of-mischief @fallout-girl219 

@dracaryxzs @snowtargaryen

~Masterlist~

ˇAO3ˇ

/YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE, OR TO STEAL ANY OF MY WORKS TO THIS OR OTHER PLATFORMS/

[ff-killjam]

How The Tables Turned [Ford x reader oneshot]

Summary: This time, its Ford making you stop what you're going to make sure you get sleep.

Rating: SFW and very fluffy

Warnings: Aside from a slightly suggestive part, none!

AO3 version

A/N: Actually based on a period of time where I tried to learn how to use unity (before the whole drama of it happened). I refused to do ANYTHING but to work on my little project no matter how much I was starving for a few weeks straight. lol.

It’s basically routine at this point for you to drag Ford out of his lab to head for bed. Even if you remind him of the benefits on sleeping and how the lack of it will impact his work, you still needed to get him into bed, sometimes having some food ready for him to make sure he didn’t sleep on an empty stomach.

That’s how its USUALLY IS.

Lately, you’ve started your own personal project involving learning a game engine to play around with. It was mostly just a random idea one day, wanting to try your hand at making your own little “video game”. Nothing too fancy, just something fun to put together and to learn some new skills along the way. There was A LOT you needed to look into and learn to make this happen, however.

From learning a coding language, the game engine itself, a mix between finding free to use assets and even making your own when nothing suited your taste- you had a lot on your plate. It wasn’t all that bad really, considering how this whole thing turned into a full blown hyper fixation fairly soon after starting it. It was easy to let the hours fly by as you were split between watching tutorial videos, drawing and fixing any errors/bugs in any of the codes you wrote down. You were aware of when you needed to sleep, eat and do other things for your health, but something about working on this project made you refuse to move from your chair. And you weren’t the only one to noticed this.

After a decent amount of time being with you, Ford has grown used to the routine of you coming to his lab to check up on him. It got to the point where he purposely stayed late in the lab to get you to come in and “pester” him to take care of himself better. The feeling of knowing you cared and loved him so much to go out of your way to make sure he knew that was something he relished in. Of course, he did felt a little “silly” and “immature” doing this instead of straight up telling you, but there was no harm being done anyways, so it was fine.

So when you stopped checking on him after a few nights, he couldn’t help but to worry a bit. At first, he figured you were just a bit busy, possibly even out for the night, so he didn’t think too much of it. However, when walking into your computer room and seeing you up staring at your screen with an open notebook with various random things written on it, he couldn’t help to smile a bit as you reminded him of his university days. You were just working on something, nothing too bad.

But as time passed by, he soon realizes he only ever sees you in your computer room. You barely went out for anything, even for food. Ford didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but he was worried. Things escalated for him when he barely sees you in bed anymore.

It’s not like he didn’t talk to you as you were deep in your work. He would sometimes check in on you when things felt a little too quite after he started to noticed your absent in his lab. Ford was happy you were able to pursue something new and to take the time and effort to do it. He was aware of the little game you wanted to make for the sake of saying “I made this!”. When he had the free time, he’ll listen to you talk about the things you learned, some of the issues you faced and how you fixed them, etc etc. But he can only take so much before he had to really step in for your own sake.

The sky was dark out, and it was around 1am. You weren’t in bed yet. Again. Ford was really concerned for you now. Walking through the dim hallway, he opens up the door of your computer room. He can see you fully concentrated on your screen, looking over some codes you put together, as if you were trying to find any errors in the lines of text that was presented in front of you. It was obvious how dry your eyes were, how your body longed for rest, but the urge to keep going and to fix this one mistake kept you from wanting to sleep despite how much you felt the need to do so.

It was almost funny to him. A taste of his own medicine some would say. It reminds him of the many nights on how he too would refuse to stop for the night, always needing to do one more thing before he could let himself rest. How you would do your best to persuade him to let himself walk away from his work, to take care of himself to avoid any health complications, and to spend time with you in the comfort of your bed.

It made him feel guilty as well. The things you did for him and how much you loved him to always go out of your way to show it. Ford knew he was taking full advantage of that, and he wanted to repay it back.

You jumped a little in your seat when you felt his familiar six finger hand land on your shoulder, being so focused on the lines of text on your screen that you forgot where you were for a good bit. You look over at Ford as he stood beside your seat, giving him a weak smile.

“Oh hey! Do you need anything?” You asked before quickly looking back at the screen again.

“Love, when was the last time you ate?” Ford asked you in a gentle voice.

“Uh… I had breakfast?” You answered, only remembering you had some toast with a sunny side egg on top when you last ate. It didn’t seem like it mattered too much though.

“Its almost one am” Ford replied, a little stern this time. You quickly check the clock on your taskbar, feeling surprised from how much time had passed.

“Oh… oops” you spoke mostly to yourself, feeling a little silly for not checking the time more often. “I’ll probably head to bed soon”

“Not soon,” Ford points out, “you’re going to bed now.” His words made you look at him again, confusion viable on your face.

“Just let me do this one fix-” Ford says your name, stern voice again, causing you to stop your sentence.

“You are fully aware of the effects of not taking care of yourself” Ford spoke to you with a smirk on his face. You knew that he was referencing the many of times where you brought out the facts of how the lack of sleep and self care can affect your health and day to day life. It was the best way to convince him to come to bed and let you cuddle with him until you were both asleep. “You’re no different form me, sweetheart. Got to practice what they preach, as they say”

“Uh…. I’m built different?” You gave a half shrug and a low chuckle at your own joke. Obviously, this did nothing to change his mind. You knew he was right, and had nothing to say to argue back. Ford knew this too. “Fine… let me quickly save and shut off my computer…”

Ford watches you quickly save any progress before shutting off your computer, the light of the screen turning off and making the room dark as it was the only thing on. As you start to stand, your body fully conveyed how tired you really were. You were about to walk to the hallway door before Ford lets out a ‘let me’, and you were now being picked up bridle style in his arms. You let out a small gasp, often forgetting how much muscle the older man has as he often hides it away in his iconic turtleneck. The comfort of him holding you made the realization at your own exhaustion hit hard. You can feel yourself somewhat go limp as Ford carried you to your shared room.

Ford felt you quickly relax in his arms, feeling prideful as he carried you to your bed. Sitting you on the side and pulling the blanket back. He lays you on your pillow before fallowing suit into his usual spot on the bed beside you. Your eyes were shut as you let yourself sink into the soft mattress, the weight of the blanket being pulled over you giving a sense of security, along with how his arms wrapped around you to pull you close to his chest. You let out a sigh of relief as you feel him nuzzle his face into the crook of your neck, getting a few shivers down your spine.

“Sorry…” You mumbled to him, feeling guilty now for making him go out of his way to get you to bed. You feel him chuckle into your skin, the smile forming on his face being easily felt on your skin.

“Nothing to be sorry about sweetheart,” his replied, voice audibly sounding more tired, “I should be the one to apologize, making you go through this almost every night. I see how doing this almost all the time can be a bit frustrating for you.”

“Not if its you,” You were quickly to reply, “I’m always happy to make sure you’re okay”. Ford felt his heart flutter at your words. You always did surprised him with how much you loved him despite how many times you pointed it out.

“The feeling is mutual,” Ford placed a kiss on your skin as he caressed one of his thumbs that rested on you, “lets get to sleep now, I’ll be sure to do something for you in the morning” Ford gave another kiss on your skin, and you can’t help but to feel excited for what he had planned.

Silence followed as you two let yourselves slowly fall asleep in each others comfort. Feeling his steady heartbeat on your back lulled you to your sleep.

Ford smiled when he realized you fell asleep before he did. It was no surprise, you needed it really bad. Without fail every night when he has you in his arms like this, he feels like the luckiest man in the multiverse. He didn’t deserve you, but it was almost as if this is the repayment he deserved after many years of suffering, a way of life saying sorry to him.

And he wouldn’t ask for anything else.

[markrosewater]

Has there ever been any thought to combining the Ox and Minotaur creature types? Such as simplifying both to simply "Cow?"

I'm a huge fan of bovines in all forms and it would be nice if all of the Ox in magic worked alongside their more anthropomorphic cousins the Minotaur. As it is now we're lucky to really get cards of *either* type printed. There's resonance to the name Minotaur, no doubt, but it also has its share of baggage. It has Greek connotations and that's probably a big reason Minotaurs are almost strictly in Theros (although some favorites, such as Neheb, are from other planes).

I was happy that Outlaws had more Ox cards, but it also highlights my dissatisfaction: Holy Cow is an *ox* not a cow, despite the name. It feels like a retread of the Hound or Naga debacle all over again. Hound was simplified to Dog and all Snakes, from rattlesnakes to Naga, are simply the type Snake now. This allows snakes and dogs of all walks benefit from a shared unity. Cats had it right, we didn't need Leonin as a separate type.

I just feel like there's unnecessary separation being created by dividing Ox and Minotaur and it has the same resonance failings as all dogs being labeled "hounds" had. If it's important for a particular creature to *be* a minotaur then they can just *have* minotaur in their name, like ~30% of minotaurs already do. There's also the simple fact that Minotaur is a longer average creature type, limiting design space for other types to be included. It's hard to justify why a Minotaur is on a random plane, but much less so if it's simply a "Cow Warrior" for example.

As for why I think "Cow" should just be the combined type name, I simply think it fits. Cow is a resonant name. Almost everyone, East to west, knows *of* cows if only because their milk is such a widely used commodity. We don't call it "Ox's milk" after all. More than that, it's fun! Cow is *funny* in the same way *squirrel* is funny. It's amusing to see "Squirrels you control" in this game full of fighting. In that vein, "Cows you control" is an amusing line that can help break up the seriousness of a setting.

I know this is making a mountain out of a molehill, but magic is a game of different perspectives coming together and creating something new. Cows are my favorite animal and it's simply dissatisfying, to me, that my Holy Cow can't benefit from a Kragma Warcaller. That Angrath, colloquially named "Cow Dad" in the community, would have the creature type "Minotaur." The only downside I can see is that "Cow" *does* specifically refer to females of a bovine species. But that is a distinction few, if any, seriously take into consideration. If one sees a field of cows, they're not saying "I see lots of cows and 3 bulls!" They're going to say "I see cows!"

So to bring the thesis back, has there been any discussion internally to simplifying the Minotaur and Ox creature types under a single banner, such as "Cow?" I would also happily settle for "Cattle" as the new type. I just feel the current Ox vs Minotaur divide has to go, for both flavor and mechanical reasons, and the sooner the better.

I have been on Team Cow (as I was on Team Dog) for many years. I even made Cows in Un-sets. I still believe Minotaur should be its own creature type though.

[jokeroutsubs]

[📝ENG translation] 'My Parents Gave Me a Strong Sense of Identity'

An interview with Bojan Cvjetićanin.

Original article written by Teja Roglič for Ona plus, published 05.11.2024. English translation by @kurooscoffee, review by @weolucbasu, proofread by IG Gboleyn123.

Full article and Spotify link under the cut 👇

🎧 Article available in audio form on Spotify.

Last year’s craze at Stožice, summer festival performances, the Eurovision Song Contest, international success. And then everyone asks, what could be bigger, what could be better? But as the band Joker Out releases their new album, they consciously follow the motto "I want less". Singer Bojan Cvjetićanin explains why: "This is our home, this is our base. If we don’t feel good at home, we can’t feel good anywhere. We need to rediscover love in our base, that’s what we told ourselves."

With the song Bluza, you’re returning to love. Why?

We went through a lot. The songs we released after Eurovision dealt with the most acute situational changes in our lives—touring, exhaustion, questioning ourselves. Now, it’s time to have a bit of fun again. And there's probably nothing more beautiful than being in love. (smiles)

I’ve been looking into people’s stories, into the lives of those around me, seeking beauty.

What did you discover?

That I enjoy writing about love the most. When you write from a place of uncertainty, it’s nice to get those feelings out; when you write about love, you search for timeless beats within yourself, not something that’s only fleeting. I write about the ideals of love I held as a child, and in the future, I’ll see how these have either evolved or fallen apart.

It's best to write about love...

When you have a broken heart.

Your Eurovision song was more socially critical, though it might seem, at first glance, to be about joy. In it, you say: "We won’t take part in your games or your divisions." Did the song’s message reach people?

Undoubtedly. A lot has changed in a year and a half, not only personally but also in terms of our views of social issues. For the first time, we've connected with young people from abroad. It was fascinating to see how connected the fans from different countries became, encouraging each other, learning new languages—even a lot of Slovene. The desire for peace and unity is very strong at our concerts, so our messages have touched them. But of course, you can never reach everyone. (smiles)

You mention changed perspectives with regards to society. Have any ideals been shattered?

Many ideals have crumbled. In school, learning about war, it always seemed odd to me that the world could just go on at the same time, despite the ongoing disruption in the system. Now, I see that we have access to all the information, that we see and hear what’s happening, that we witness an influx of people coming from regions where this is happening, yet everything literally carries on as usual.

War has become more of a trend on TikTok or Instagram than something people feel hurt about. This makes me very sad.

A lot of ideals that have shattered relate to the life of a musician. We’ve achieved things we could only have dreamed of—not just as kids; even two years ago, what’s happening now would have seemed impossible to me. But the ideal that’s crumbled is this one: I don’t always know how to appreciate what I have.

On tour, I often slipped into negative thoughts, didn’t appreciate everything happening to us. This links to the idea that this kind of life is easy, that as a successful musician, you only have fun. This, of course, isn’t true; it’s incredibly exhausting, both mentally and physically. I could go on until tomorrow, listing everything that’s fallen apart, but fortunately, a lot of new things have also come to be.

You’re the idols of generations; do you feel pressure because of that? After all, you’re still young guys too…

No. We already lost the childlike joy of music because we had to start working so much so early and get to know so many new systems. If we also take on the responsibility of raising generations of kids, we could truly fall into a black hole.

We need to be role models, but we can’t shape our work around that. On the upcoming album, there’s a song, 'Muzika za decu' ('Music for children'), which touches on this very point. We want to convey that we’re not addressing generations who think all younger people are lazy bums who only hinder the world’s progress. We’re addressing everyone who is young enough at heart to believe in a better world, a brighter tomorrow.

Photo: Vita Orehek

More and more musicians are stopping concerts at large venues when fans are in distress or overcrowding happens. You too?

Absolutely. This summer, we constantly stopped concerts if people were packed tightly indoors or out in the sun. We handed out a lot of water from the stage, and I even paused a concert if some listener (m.) was treating another listener (f.) disrespectfully. A concert is a safe space; there’s no place there for infringing on the rights of others.

That’s an interesting topic I wanted to touch on anyway. So what is the rock ‘n’ roll world of the new generation like?

It’s a lot better. I’m glad we’re not a group of drugged-out dudes living only for today. Carpe Diem really means seize the day, but for us, that doesn’t mean picking every fruit that exists in the world. Waking up healthy and energised, wanting to go to a concert, being open to meeting new people, our fans, being creative...

That’s what it means to seize the day. Sure, sometimes we go on a trip, we do have fun too. But I’m glad that sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll aren’t our guiding principles in the band. When we watched the documentary about Mötley Crüe, we saw how they started with heroin and opiates and ended with smoothies and fruit. Well, we’re already at the fruit and smoothies stage. (laughs)

“We’re constantly building a relationship that gets deeper every day, even though it seems like it can’t get any deeper,” you told me before the Stožice concert, as I was stunned when you said you were going on holiday with the guys right after the concert. How much do you invest in relationships within the band? We know it’s sometimes challenging to nurture a relationship between two people, let alone five.

This is like a partnership with five people. Except for intimacy, all the other elements of partnership are there. We’re companions. We often live together, work together; the dynamics are demanding. I talk a lot about this with fellow musicians. Recently, I was talking to Mr. Vlado Kreslin, and we concluded that being in a band requires a touch of madness.

Even if it ends someday—nothing is guaranteed—I know I have four lifelong friends. We exist as friends even beyond the band.

Success demands hard work; you’ve told me before how sure you were of your path in the band, of your decisions, and how hard you worked to achieve what you have. And we’re back to the topic that some might say your generation isn’t hardworking, that you’re quick to say what you won’t do at the work place...

The young people I know could hardly be described as not hardworking. I’d rather say we’re diligent, and the drive to work comes from the strong pressure that you need to achieve a lot very quickly, or else you won’t make it in this world. As for them being quicker to say no... Maybe they know they can’t live that way if something doesn’t work. And to live is very costly.

Young people feel they don’t have to stick rigidly to one profession, that they can change courses, jobs, and find something that suits them. We’re far from the days when the son was a blacksmith because the father was a blacksmith, and the daughter stayed home as a housewife. But we also have to know that there’s more and more uncertainty, precarious work.

If Gen Z is the way it is, I wouldn’t attribute that to the generation itself but rather to the Boomer generation. Everything that makes life harder for us isn’t the product of our ideas and actions. But it’s also true that sometimes, you need to stop, think, and make a decision. I’d like to do something today, something different tomorrow, but that’s not realistic. When you’re bombarded by choices from all ends, you have to make decisions. If there are three shirts in a store, I’ll pick one; if there are 250, I might end up buying sneakers instead. (laughs)

You performed at a concert aimed at contributing to the best possible care, treatment, and support for women with gynaecological cancer. You probably get invited to participate in quite a few charitable events; how do you choose them? This concert likely wasn’t a hard choice, as both of your parents are doctors...

My father is a gynaecologist, my mother is a pediatrician, so naturally, when I got the invitation, I immediately thought my dad would be happy if I could perform there. Otherwise, I choose events based on two criteria: whether it’s something important and whether I’m home at that time. I've often had to turn down an event I would have really liked to participate in simply because I wasn’t here.

Life has taken you all over in recent years. What have your parents given you that has stayed with you and has been proven most useful today?

They gave me a sense of normality. I'm an ordinary person who takes everything in moderation. I didn’t become a hedonist, nor did I give in to the patterns that the environment might impose. They gave me a strong sense of who I am and what I am, unconditional self-confidence, and self-respect. And the certainty that I’m never alone in anything.

Recently, the dramaturg Nina Kuclar Stiković and I talked about how Generation Z might be the first to actively work through its traumas, though she noted that taking on such responsibility across generations is a huge task. In the end, you might even feel worse. If you only become aware of your baggage but can’t overcome it, it can feel even worse than if you had never been made aware of it at all, she said. What do you observe around you, in your own generation?

Mental health has never been as openly discussed as it is today. I know many people who go to therapy. It’s actually strange that mental health was never treated before, that this stigma existed. If you have a cold, you stay home, you also heal a broken arm. Today's generations have managed to break free from these shackles. The individual is becoming increasingly more important.

People are working through the things in their minds. And this bothers many people from generations who suppressed everything and unleashed their traumas onto others. I often think how unfortunate it is that we don’t practice everyday therapy in our surroundings. Everyone surely has someone whom they trust. We talk about all sorts of things, but we never ask each other how we are and share that honestly. Now, I do this with a few friends, and it’s really nice. I go to my friends for therapy. (smiles)

Nina also mentioned that patriarchy has wronged not only women but men too. It’s unfair that men couldn’t show emotions and always had to be strong. It always helps if you can share your feelings with someone. What do you think?

The Neanderthal perception of masculinity is passé. We can all first tell ourselves, and then tell others, how we feel and what’s going on in our heads.

This summer, you performed at festivals. Now you have a new album, and you’ll be performing at various venues again, with tickets quickly selling out. It's a carousel that never stops. You mentioned earlier that you caught yourself maybe not appreciating it anymore. What do you do now to keep that from happening?

For the tour that’s coming with the release of the new album, we consciously followed the motto, "I want less." Last year, we played in Stožice, before that in Križanke. This year, we toured Europe, and everyone was asking us what big thing we’re preparing next. But we were only talking about how nice it would be to play at Ljubljana's Cvetličarna again.

Pass by Maribor too, go a bit to the clubs in the Balkans, and that’s it. This is our home; this is our base. If we don’t feel good at home, we can’t feel good anywhere. We told ourselves that we need to find love in our base again. I’m glad we recognise this, that we’re not just banging our heads against a brick wall. The purpose of this tour is simply to enjoy it.

A few years ago, you told my colleague Robert Rebolj, my fellow journalist, and your fellow musician, that you’d like to have kids while still young. Yet you also say that you're in a period where several of your ideals have collapsed as you look at the world around you. Does the desire still remain?

When I said that, I was thinking I’d have my first child between the ages of 28 and 30. Then Robert told me that having a child young doesn’t necessarily mean that. (laughs) I see it now, too, as some of my friends already have children, and some even their second. My calendar no longer just has friends’ birthdays, but, for instance, the first birthday of a friend’s child. (laughs) Yes, I think a lot about how this world is in many ways not what I imagined it would be, but I guess it’s always been that way throughout history—things have never been ideal. I think everyone, in every era, has felt the world is going to- hmmm, well, that’s how it seems to me too. (laughs)

[ramshackledtrickster]

So since you are doing unity art (which love you are btw ✨) and I am obsessed with your merfolk au! So I've gotta ask, what can of merfolk would léon be? A clownfish species like Arno perhaps?

Sorry for the wait on this! I’m so glad you like my Unity stuff and the au so far!! While Arno’s a maroon clownfish, Léon would be a spot-fin porcupinefish :)) I thought this would match his brash energy and spunky attitude and nature, but suggest his defensiveness since they only inflate when under distress since in the game he’s just a kid trying to survive.

I also hope you don’t mind these extra notes exploring some of his anatomy, since I find porcupinefish anatomy really fun and interesting to try and incorporate into a merperson’s.

Some notes:

Léon has really strong jaws and fused teeth like that of a real porcupinefish, and he’ll be willing to eat just about anything with a shell or spikes. His inner mouth is also roughly textured so he doesn’t get hurt by sharp shards and can better filter those out

On that note, urchins are a particular favorite of his. His hands and palms are roughly textured too to handle sharp items and better crush shells.

His flesh and organs are toxic, but he can’t inject poison into others

Most merfolk in my au only have 2 pairs of gill slits for respiration, but Léon (and by extension other merfolk that inflate in self defense) has a large, third pair in order to intake water quickly for that purpose.

His underbelly is lacking in spines specifically so when he becomes defensive, he can curl in and hug himself while he inflates, and his back is protected since his spines stick out that way. He has to be careful with how he positions his arms still because he has jabbed himself with his own spines before.

His spines are modified scales, not spines from his actual bone !!

Porcupine fish need to file their teeth down pretty frequently and like to take exploratory bites out of just about anything, and have been known to take bites out of anemones, so when he meets Arno and Arno lets him stay at his home with a bunch of anemones, some ground rules need to be put into place lmaooo

I hope you like these !!

If you’d like to support me and my works, feel free to check out my Patreon!

If you see this post, please consider lending your support to and sharing these family fundraisers, as well as these aid efforts.

Don’t forget your daily click.

[blughxreader]

I know you said "re-connection" was platonic, but reading through it (while giggling impishly), my thought process was: "This is going to end in sex... this HAS to end in sex.... How is this NOT going to end in sex???" And I was pleasantly surprised it didn't. I very much loved it and liked the portrayal of both Dick and Jason. You also made MC into a very interesting character and I've read the fic like 4 times already and still convince myself that it's going to end in sex cause like... have you seen them? Those boys clearly want to plow you (... in a brotherly? fashion /jk)

Yess i think the reason why the fic (and yandere in general) is so good is because the yandere's have one straightforward goal (loving you) that they go about in the most backwards ass way possible

Being stripped down and overpowered and held heavily indicates sex, but... that didn't happen, and that somehow makes it worse.

If they had sexually molested the reader then it would have been for their own benefit (thus easier to blame), but they acted in her interest instead. Very angering and confusing.

Also I REALLY loved Dick and Jason as the yanderes because they have such interesting motives.

Dick is the heart of the Bats, so he strives to maintain inter-relational order. Bruce might be the head of the family but he's fucking awful at subtlety.

Dick is the "let's all watch a movie" to Bruce's "In order to strengthen bonds, we will start an "companion" rotation so you can familiarize yourself with everyone's company. I have 42 follow-up plans depending on how you react after two cycles."

Your resistance to the pack hurt a lot of feelings that Dick's trying to remedy, so it's not just only you he wants to help. The pack needs its sister, and he's going to ensure you join them.

Jason doesn't concern himself with pack unity. Whether you want to join or not, he gets it. BUT that respect goes away when he sees you struggling.

In the fic, he sees you as a conflicted and confused person who's drowning in their own poor decisions.

Let's also not forget that Jason is the judge, jury, and executioner for criminals. He can absolutely reach the point where he makes decisions for you if he deems you unable.

Dick "pack is so important, PLEASE get along" Grayson and Jason "you can live how you want up until you hurt yourself" Todd make a pretty fun team.

AS FOR THE SEXUAL UNDERTONES... guilty teehee. I left it vague on purpose. Also ABO is so sexually charged, it's impossible to escape.

Taboo step sibling romance is hot, but i also prefer to think of batfam in the platonic sense lol. Bon appetite to all y'all who wanna read between the lines tho

[xmads-omensx]

Part 9 - Finale

Word Count: 2,152

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X Reader

CW: fake dating, swearing, mentions of harassment, both are bad at feelings, harassment, violence, bodily injury (broken nose)

I want to start this off with a huge thank you to everyone who has read, liked, reblogged and commented on this, it has truly meant the world.

JFT has been my first properly "successful" fanfic that I've ever written and it has been an amazing experience since I wasn't expecting this to get more than like 10 notes on it lol.

Thank you all for making me feel like my writing is valid, even though it's not the best thing in the world, it still means everything to me.

I love how you have all formed a unity in your hatred of Stephen (and trust me I am very much with you on that) and all of your reactions have been so hilarious to read whenever you send them in.

Thank you for making this story what it has become!

I love you all!

-Madsy xoxoxo

Tags: @shayeanna-ashlie @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @supersquirrel1996 @dontwantthemoney @tosoundlessdarkistare @bloody-spades @klutzy-kay24 @heyyoplayer @lacy1986 @collidewiththesav @kenjipepsi1 @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @chey-h @amelia-acero @thisbicc @dominuslunae @enemiestolovershoe @xxkatsatwatwafflexx @thisbicc @fadingangelwisp @cheyyyyr @littlebear423 @dsireland86 @missduffsblog @overmydeadbodysblog @dominuslunae @blade-dressed-in-red @rumoured-whispers @eclipseeetop @xxkittenkissesxx @theanarchymuse95 @blackveilomens @lilgarbitch @lil-garbitch @concretejunglefm @museonfilm

Watching Noah drive away was probably the hardest thing that I ever had to do.

It was like I was watching a part of myself leave.

He had gone and taken half of my heart with him.

A week had passed since that hellish night at the restaurant and I spent every single night tossing and turning, fighting the desperation to go to his place and beg for forgiveness, confessing my undying love for him in the process.

When those three little words escaped my lips in the ghost of a whisper on that rooftop, I felt like my life was over since I could scarcely remember a life without Noah in it, despite only knowing him a few years.

My calls had gone from being left to ring out, to being sent to voicemail immediately, to me not bothering anymore.

Texts were left unanswered, calls left unreturned. Hell, I had even knocked on his door the next day and all I got was Michael telling me that Noah didn’t want to see me.

His words stung. Each one was like a knife directly to my heart, each wound plunging deeper and deeper until I felt nothing at all.

I missed him so much that it hurt.

I missed his banter and the way he would make fun of me for never watching Naruto.

I missed the way that he woke up and trudged from my bedroom and into the kitchen with his hair sticking up in eighty different directions whenever he stayed the night at my place.

Most of all, I missed his laugh. That damned laugh.

It snuck its way into my dreams, hid in the corners of rooms, tiptoed behind me as if it was waiting to jump out and scare me.

Without Noah, my life was nothing but a mere flicker of the roaring flame it was when he was in it.

Noah was my everything.

Now he wasn’t.

He had simply ceased to be a part of my life.

Work had been hellish since that fateful night at the restaurant.

Luckily, Gabi and Ashley didn’t believe Stephen’s claim that I had spent the night at his place for a second. I just wished that I could have said the same about Noah.

“He’s a fucking asshole.” Gabi had practically growled when she walked into the office the next day.

I almost hadn’t gone to work that day, but rotting at home all day also wasn’t the solution to my static problem.

I needed Noah back.

Stephen himself had been gloating around the office, seemingly sharing some sort of made-up tale about what happened when I was allegedly over at his place.

“Seriously, where does he get off telling lies like that?” Ashley had groaned when we were on our lunch break.

“Honestly, he must be a sociopath or something pulling shit like that. It was so insanely fucked up for him to say that. I mean did you see the look on poor Noah’s face?” Gabi raged.

“Exactly! What did Noah do to deserve something like that?” Ashley whined.

“But still, he shouldn’t have stormed off like that.” Gabi added, not wanted to portray my ex-fake-boyfriend as the victim here.

“That’s true. I mean, it’s kind of lame for him to break up with you and not hear you out at all.” Ashley agreed.

“We didn’t break up.” I said quietly, breaking my silence.

Their heads both snapped round to look at me.

“What?” They asked in unison, both in a tone of disbelief.

“Noah and I didn’t break up.” I went on. “How do you break up with someone that you never dated?”

My voice was defeated as I went on to explain how Noah and I formed an arrangement to fake date eachother in order to prevent Stephen’s advances and Noah’s ex-fling Grace from making our lives any harder than they already were.

They both looked at me, somewhat shocked, as I told them the story.

“What the actual fuck.” Gabi said after a moment of silence once I was done.

Ashley burst out laughing, whilst Gabi and I looked at her somewhat concerned before ultimately joining in with her.

“You’re so dumb, both of you.” She sighed, wiping tears from her eyes.

I looked at her, confused.

“Well, you’re both clearly in love with eachother.” She went on as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

I was stunned.

How the fuck did Ashley notice that from the two times she had even been close to Noah?

She had clocked onto my confusion, so filled in the blanks for me.

“Well, for starters every single time you’ve spoken about him, your face lights up like you’re looking at cute puppy videos.” She started. “Plus, at that work party I was pretty much certain that Noah was about to kill Stephen at any moment. Then when you both showed up at dinner the other night, we could tell you had a fight, but he still looked at you like you hung the fucking moon.”

My heart was racing.

She was right, of course.

After Noah’s confession on the rooftop, I was well aware of all the mistakes that I had made in relation to him and our arrangement.

I knew that if I had told him how I really felt when I first realised those feelings, I could have saved both myself and Noah from a world of pain, but the fear of losing him outweighed my sense of sanity.

“Well…” Gabi looked at me expectantly.

“Well what?” I sighed.

“Why the fuck are you sat here and not banging down his front door, telling him how you really feel?” She continued.

“Because he said that he never wants to see me ever again.” I groaned, my eyes beginning to sting ever so slightly.

“He’s a man babe, and men often say dumb shit that they don’t mean in the heat of the moment, so stop moping, get your head out of your ass and go get your man.” Ashley said with a playful shove.

I laughed before standing up.

“You know what?” I began, a rushing sense of confidence overwhelming me. “I will.”

Gabi and Ashley cheered from behind me as I walked back into the office building and went to grab my things from my desk.

The only downside to my plan was that I didn’t exactly have a ride over to Noah’s place.

After a moment of panic I picked up my phone from my desk and dialled Jesse’s number.

It was the first time that I had spoken to him since the night I left after my confession and he had called me, begging me to speak  to Noah.

“Hello.” He picked up after two rings.

“I need a favour.” I gushed.

“Well, typically you say ‘hello’ back, that’s kinda how conversations go, Y/N.” He laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever I don’t have time for that right now.” I hurriedly interrupted him. “Can you pick me up from work?”

“Really? It’s only 1:30, are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine. I need to see Noah.” I explained, hoping that my explanation would sway him to come and get me.

“Finally!” He cheered. “I’ll be there in five.”

I could hear his car keys jingling in the background, signalling that he was on his way.

I hung up the call and continued gathering my belongings.

My bag was zipped closed and I was just about to reach from my jacket that hung over the back of my desk chair, when a voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Where do you think you’re going missy?” Stephen spoke. “Lunch ended three minutes ago.”

“I’m going home.” I hurried, not bothering to give him an explanation, simply because he didn’t deserve one.

“No, I don’t think you are.” His sweaty hand reached out and gripped my arm. “You’re staying right where you are.”

His eyes wandered down my body, making me feel repulsed.

“I’m going home.” I repeated, firmer this time, snatching my arm away from him.

I stormed over to the elevator doors which opened to reveal Jesse waiting with a smug smile on his face, knowing damn well that he had been right all along.

However, his face changed to a livid glare as he saw who I was storming away from.

His cheesy grin was gone, replaced by sheer rage.

“Come on baby, don’t run away now, you certainly weren’t running from me the other night.” Stephen smirked.

I froze.

He didn’t just say that.

There was no way.

Before I even registered what was going on, Jesse sped past me, throwing every single ounce of strength into a punch that sent Stephen flying to the floor, clutching his now broken nose.

“Fuck you asshole.” Jesse spat.

“And I quit!” I added, looping my arm through Jesse’s and marching back to the elevator and heading back down to the lobby.

The drive back to his place was silent besides from the odd wince from Jesse as he flexed his now bruised knuckles.

By the time we arrived, I was already re-thinking everything.

Was this the right thing to do?

What if he rejected me?

What if he breaks my heart all over again?

“Stop doing that.” Jesse warned in a sing-song voice.

I looked at him with a confused expression, making him laugh.

“Y/N, listen to me and listen good, Noah loves you and you love Noah. There is no other way around this. You either confront your feelings now, or you stay sad and Noah stays angry. And let me promise you this, we are all sick of the two of you moping like this, so please go and do something about it.” Jesse explained in a soft tone.

I dared a glance at the house that sat in front of us.

Its white walls that used to fill me with a welcoming comfort were now a source of fear in my heart as the what ifs polluted my mind.

“Go.” Jesse whispered, suddenly right beside my ear.

I pushed him away as he laughed at me.

Trembling slightly, I made my way up the rest of the driveway with Jesse by my side until we were both stood in front of the front door.

Jesse unlocked the door and practically shoved me over through the doorway and into their house.

“Go upstairs and fix this shit.” Jesse said sternly like a parent scolding their child whilst pointing upstairs.

Slowly, I trudged up the carpeted stairs to  Noah’s bedroom.

A neon purple glow peeked from beneath his bedroom door and drifted into the hallway.

It was now or never.

Gently, I knocked on the door. This felt foreign to me since I never had to knock on Noah’s door before.

“Come in.” His deep voice said tiredly.

I slowly pushed the door open to reveal Noah sat  in front of his PC on his gaming chair with Assassin’s Creed loaded up. He paused the game when he saw me stood in his doorway.

As he did so, I stepped into his room, closing the door behind me.

“I told you I didn’t want to see you again.” He started, looking at the floor beside his sock-covered foot.

“I know.” I whispered. “But I wasn’t finished talking to you.”

“I can’t, Y/N.” He murmured, pain evident in his voice as he spoke.

“Noah, please.” I begged. “There’s something that I need to yell you.”

He looked at me expectantly as I struggled to find the words to explain how I felt.

It seemed like too much to fit into only three words.

“Look, if you’re just going to rub the fact that you don’t feel the same in my face you can just go.” He stood up as if to show me out and I seized my chance.

It was like my body was on autopilot as I moved towards him, my hands travelling up to the front of his hoodie, pulling him down to my level and pressing my lips against his.

This wasn’t anything like the other kisses that we had shared.

This one was different.

There was no pressure to make this obvious, we weren’t doing it for show any more.

This kiss was real.

It said a thousand words that those three words simply couldn’t.

My body felt electric as I kissed him, and that feeling only intensified when he kissed me back, his arms circling my waist and pulling me in close.

He pulled away for a moment, resting his head against mine.

“Really?” He asked timidly.

I reached my hand up to caress his face.

“Really.” I smiled.

He smiled too, lighting up the room, before leaning back down and placing another kiss on my lips.

In that moment we didn’t need any other words.

We had eachother.

Forever.

He loved me.

I loved him.

It was real.

[doiliedaze]

Thin Ice: part one

Hockey! Vi x reader

Warnings: none in this part

Genre: fluff, angst

A/N: okay!! so this is my attempt in starting a series about hockey Vi based on this dream I had months and the Sailor Song by Gigi Perez and Moments by MOIO okay so wish me luck!! also none of my fics are truly edited I just re-read them till I can’t and pray my grammar is good. Reader is kinda naive/one track minded and very insecure in this. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HOCKEY SO BARE WITH ME!!

2

───────┈ · ·

I’ve been skating since I was a little girl. It was the only place I could call home. Skating was the only place I was finally the smartest and brightest in the room since I was perceived otherwise academically…and I do lack a bit in the common sense area.

They say there’s a zone we enter when we’re aligning our energy with the activity we love. My alignment is when I soar through the air, or just don’t fall flat on my ass. I was heading to the rink when I was stopped.

“What are you doing here cupcake?”

When my eyes focus on her I was taken aback as I try to quickly study her. Why was my roommate here? “You know I practice here.” I state as I lace up.

She chuckled as she looks me up in down. I’m in a black bodysuit covered by a pink skirt and leg warmers over my matching pink skates, my coily hair put into a bun by a bow. “The practice is reserved for the hockey team. Did you not see the schedule posted outside?” She says with a small smile, I tilt my head “they changed the schedule?” Her smile flatters a bit and twitches as she points to the wall. I make an “o” shape with my mouth putting the pieces together. She pats my shoulders and skates away. In reparations of me fucking up I stay and watch.

Our college; Piltover university offers an array of extracurricular activities and in my three years of being here I’ve never known of this damn schedule changing!

Number 6, is an interesting player and my roommate. She brings an obvious aggression that the sport needs but she’s so swift and fast. I don’t know much about hockey but I do know she just scored so I might as well cheer for her right? Wrong! Getting stared at with the small but big enough snickers for me was enough to make me wanna to shrink and crawl into a hole and dissolve into a sunflower seed and sprout- well you get the point. This pushes me to attempt a swift exit.

When making my hurried exit she skates to the edge and whistles at me to get my attention. “Don’t leave, I appreciate having a personal cheerleader.” Her plump lips growing into a wolf-ish grin as she stares me down, always wanting a reaction. “Well I’m not a cheerleader I’m an ice skater! No disrespect to cheerleaders though I mean that takes a lot of courage, I know I could never-”

“It wasn’t a diss cupcake.” She stated before winking and skating away.

My face has never felt this hot before! Today is the day of utter shame and cruel unusual punishment. Now I have to figure out a new place to skate because I refuse to make the same mistake again…or read the time sheet next time who knows!

I make a routine out of avoiding the rink around 5-8 so I go during the wee hours of the morning. Kinda killing my sleeping schedule but hey pride am I right?

I don’t skate to be on a team, I prefer to be by myself and skate for me. It gets lonely sure but no one has ever supported me in doing this. All the slick comments of “oh why not be a majorette? On a step team? Why’d you stop stepping? You wanna be any race but black! Blah blah blah!” Don’t get me wrong those are beautiful activities in my culture but black girls can be everything and more at once. When I stepped it was fun and I could feel the unity but the feeling skating gave me made me feel like the most beautiful and the closest to my blackness. So when it came down to picking what I really wanted I chose skating, and been on my own since, because girls like me don’t belong here. Proving people wrong has been my biggest motivation, maybe I’m being a hard-ass but I don’t care; it feels good when I do it in the end.

This routine I was practicing was more than difficult…axels hate me and I hate axels but I’m trying to land a quadruple axel.

My mind relaxes as my chest thumps, today feels like the day…something I tell myself a lot. My momentum pushed as “Pearls” by Sade plays. I push off my left leg to project myself into the air. One…two…three…four-ish? My spin wasn’t complete and my landing was shaky, but I can try again. So I tried again and again! Frustrated I push myself, my skates cutting deep as I try to gain speed. Leaping into the air I spin one…two…three…four times! However I land flat on my ass. “Fuck!” I yell and I cover my face and I can’t control the wobble in my lip when I hear claps.

“And here I thought you were sneaking out to do something cool.” Vi states as she carefully glides over.

“I don’t need that right now.” I mutter, “company?” She lays on the ice with me.

Vi and I’s relationship is complicated. When we met in freshman year we hooked up then we ghosted each other. Sophomore year we both joined the literature club and gained a true friendship with a side of fucking whenever we’re both single. Now junior year I just feel distant with her.

She rubbed my cheek, “you don’t talk to me anymore.” I move from her touch…wishing I didn’t, I know reaching out is hard for her. “I’m sorry”

“Don’t be sorry do better” she stood up shoving her hands in her pockets. “C’mon we’re going out.” I know not to argue so I oblige.

“The library?” I scoff in a whisper, “we are English majors.” She nudges me with her shoulder and I nudge her back.

We find a cozy nook and read our respective books. The two of us haven’t hung out in so long. I didn’t realize how much I missed her. I take her book. “Hey!” She reaches over me. Her pale blue eyes stare into my dark brown eyes. A soft blush spreads over her freckled cheeks and her eyebrows soften. “I miss you” we both whisper then laugh. Vi moves from me and takes my hand.

I’ve never been the type of person to be comfortable around others, wanting to be apart of a team but with Vi…I want to try everything.

───────┈ · ·

A/N: im so excited to start this series!! I wanted to challenge myself and I hope you guys enjoy <3

(Dividers by @dollywons)

[wingedshadowfan]

��️arcane s2 act iii spoilers // caitvi ending commentary ⚠️

the difference between the last individual scenes of vi and caitlyn, and the one they shared actually made me sob, so here's my analysis of what it all meant

caitlyn is at home, in her family mansion in piltover. her monologue seems to be a messege or an archive for the kirammans or historians after her; she's also looking at the kiramman house files, a family heirloom, a symbol of her legacy and her station, a connection to her mother. she's perhaps searching for something needed in order to start rebuilding the city, perhaps checking if jinx could still be somewhere out there, maybe even seeing what ekko saw about the undercity's vents and water ducts. she still seems to have purpose, or to be in search of one for herself.

vi is also in caitlyn's house in piltover, but she's not with caitlyn. in a city not her own, in a house not her own, it seems she's chosen to sit in a room alone with her thoughts, staring at the fireplace. we hear her humming the tune to a song her mother used to sing, the same one jinx was humming when we first saw her this season - vi's small comfort, the faintest memory from those before her, and nothing to leave to those after her. no roots and no legacy. she's grieving everyone and everything she's lost. stripped of will and void of purpose.

caitlyn is excited to hear vi humming a song. we don't know how long it's been since the war ended, but this implies she hasn't been doing much other than sitting by herself in silence in quite some time. she's become a shell of herself, and caitlyn is worried - she's there for her but doesn't want to push her either. she asks her if she's "still in the fight", and this is a loaded question that i can see two main meanings in - one notably sadder.

1) are you still in there?

what part of you is left, and is it strong enough to keep fighting this state you're in? do you have it in you to keep going? do you have the will to live in spite of it all? is there any fight left in you? are you still with me, or are you just in the room?

and i feel like caitlyn knows the answer but wants to hear it from vi, check in on her and encourage her to open up if she's feeling ready to. because she heard her humming to herself.

and when vi says she's the dirt under caitlyn's nails, she doesn't mean it in a cute, flirty or romantic way. she means it in a self-deprecating "i know i'm not being easy right now" kind of way.

i'm not fun to be around, to have to take care of and wait around for. i'm making things harder for you and i'm holding you back by not cooperating and just getting better. i can't help it.

and she adds onto this, "nothing's ever gonna clean me out"

you're stuck with me. i'm a nuisance to you but i can't leave you because you're all i have left. i think i'm lost and broken beyond repair. i'm crooked. i think i'll never be okay again.

2) have you given up on zaun?

are you still in on fighting the system? have you given up on trying to make others see your people for who you are? do you still have hope in the dream for unity and freedom for zaun?

it sounds like caitlyn does, and she's still up for it, just like she was in the latter half of the first season, before jinx kidnapped her, tried to get vi to kill her, and blew up the counsil building just as its members were about to vote for zaun's sovereignty, killing caitlyn's mother. but caitlyn can't do it on her own - it's vi's home, vi's people, vi's identity - and she needs to know if vi still believes they can change something.

and when vi says she's the dirt under caitlyn's nails, she doesn't literally mean caitlyn, or herself. she means the opposing poles they represent - piltover and zaun, oppressor and oppressed, a pristine policewoman and a crooked criminal. until piltover's view of the undercity and its people changes, zaun will always be a torn in its side, fighting it, defying it, trying to free itself from its clutches. small, perhaps insignificant, an inconvenience, but a part of it that it can't get rid of or erase. it'll always be there, it'll always fight back.

and when she says nothing's ever gonna clean her out, she means she'll never be bent out of shape and lose that part of herself - the ugly, dirty, raggedy part that grew up on the streets of zaun and was raised among all the tragedy, misery and poverty of the undercity. a product of the system. she'll never let that be "washed out" of her, she won't forget her origin or her goals. this is who she is, her identity - not just in the eyes of piltover, but in her own heart - a zaunite.

EDIT: i also saw this interpretation on tiktok if you're interested. to summarize: there's a spanish saying "like nails and dirt" which is used to refer to two people who are inseparable, so this is a testimony of vi's love for caitlyn having given her reason to keep going and stay by her.

[daylighted]

THE REAPERㅤㅤ—ㅤㅤEVENT OF THE FUCKIN' CENTURY.

THE REAPER disappeared off the face of the planet in the 20th century. SOLDIER BOY is the only one who holds the answers. A WAITING GAME ensues to see which, if either, makes it out of the depths of the unknown first.

includes, they're gay ㅤㅤㅤ u get to meet the side characters < 3 ㅤㅤㅤ idk i think that's it IT'S MILD. COMPARED TO WAHT COMES NEXT

word count : 3.6k

notes, my monthy fic update is done time to drop off the face of the planet again for 2384590438 years PERDFKLSLJ sry for edging aftercare for so long i'm just a girl whose interests change like the weather

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04.

COLE WAS NOT wearing his fucking glasses and that was final. The Vought stylist brought them in underneath a silver platter like he was supposed to be excited for the reveal of glasses that would help his failing eyesight. As if that was something he would ever be excited for. The rest of his life, watching it fail despite the rest of his body healing fine, all because his powers just did that? Going blind because his powers just did that? 

The only reason he did not tell Allie to get fucked was because she was the messenger. He didn’t shoot messengers. He just shot the sender twice.

“They’re really not so bad, Reaper,” she said in that soft voice of hers, tucking her hair behind one of her ears, fingers catching on the temples of the Vought Exclusive glasses she’d tried on. She was a sweetheart, really. Cole couldn’t believe he thought about shooting her.

Couldn’t believe a lot of the shit in his head, if he thought about it. So he didn’t.

“You try having your eyes failing on you, then tell me they’re ‘not so bad’,” he grumbles furiously, staring at his reflection in the large, golden framed mirror in one of Vought-American’s special dressing rooms on the upper floors. Cole meets Allie’s eyes in the reflection of the glass. “Oh. Fuck. Sorry.” 

She plucks his glasses off of her face, and unfolds hers from being tucked into the neckline of her peplum dress, sliding them into her face. “Should switch you and Obsidian’s suits for that. Inconvenience the both of you.”

“Hey, he’s innocent in all of this, alright?” Cole laughs, a sound he doesn’t often do. Too locked up in his head, where it’s all dark and fucky. A pause. “Obsidian’s coming?”

“Rumor has it,” Allie singsongs in response, coming up behind Cole to smooth out the skin tight leather of his outfit. He’s beginning to think she has a thing for him. He’s beginning to think he needs a new damn stylist — or whatever she was. “They want to show unity, between the Six, now that Soldier Boy—”

Oh, fucking kill him. 

“Yeah, yeah, no need to stroke his ego while he’s not here to get off on it,” he grumbled all over again, waving his hand in dismissive irritation. “God forbid he know they threw a fucking Gala for his safe return. As if he can die. As if I haven’t tried—”

Allie beams at him in the mirror, like he’s a spectacle. “Sorry,” she splutters when he catches her, head falling, “it’s just— I’m an intern, so I don’t get to see the likes of you all very often and— it’s real?”

Opportunities fall into his bored hands sometimes. Cole glances down at himself in his latex supersuit, then flicks his eyes back up to her. “Yeah. All real.”

Hates himself instantly. Has never, not once, felt so much like Ben in his life. 

“No!” she splutters all over again, her fist punching out to hit him in the arm. “The rivalries. The drama. I thought it was just publicity.”

Cole knew that, by the way. He’s just falling victim, like the rest of America currently, based on the newspaper headlines, to the influence of Soldier Boy. Get him out of here. 

Still, he puts on his media trained smile and nods once. “A lot of it’s just for show.” He talks himself out of trying to kill Soldier Boy twice an hour. “All in good fun.” He knows how he’d do it, too. “Gotta keep people watching, y’know?” Ben not included. Because Cole wanted to burn his eyes out and make his stupid head explode. 

Cole claps his hands together, turning his head to the door. Still closed, no sign of Legend yet, coming to collect him and the others. “Well, Allie. Go check for me that The Legend hasn’t croaked yet, yeah? He’s late again.”

Allie, seemingly having been waiting for an order, jumps into action like a robot. Cole felt a wash of relief the moment that she was out of the room. 

He didn’t hesitate to glance at the vanity counter that she’d left his glasses on, shooting the brightest beam of light at them to try and shatter them. No avail. Worth a shot, though. 

His door cracks open, and he first hears it in the sounds that come before the actual movement. Heavy stomping footsteps, an even heavier sigh. 

Cole expects Legend. Has an irritable teasing remark on the tip of his tongue. 

It’s Ben. 

“Just wanted to see if this was killin’ you yet, princess,” Ben hums, cigar hanging out of his mouth, hair styled flat and gelled against his scalp. “Having to celebrate me tonight.” 

“I’m not celebrating shit,” Cole says through a scoff, running his fingers through his hair. He really should start putting an effort into his appearance, shouldn’t he? Can’t just bank on being the one of the Six everyone’s afraid to cross. “There’s free wine. I’m goin’ for free wine.” 

“Don’t be like that,” Ben puffs an exhale of cigar smoke into the dressing room, making it smell like leather and tobacco at once. “You owe me a bit of fucking respect after the display yesterday.” 

Cole’s eye starts twitching, like it always does when Ben opens his mouth and tries to reprimand him for not kissing his ass. “Yeah. Alright.” 

He expects Ben to hound him a bit more, just to really solidify how much his feelings were hurt by specifically Cole’s unhappiness about his return. They’ve played this stupid game enough that Cole can predict every single one of Ben’s steps and still goes easy on him. 

Instead, there’s the telltale scrape of heavy, solid metal on hardwood, and he only has time to blink before the whistle of something flying through the room overtakes any other sound. Ben’s shield. 

Cole doesn’t have time to physically defend himself, or even react, before the edge of it slams into his abdomen and shoves him against the wall. Against the wall, into the wall — what was the difference? Drywall cracks behind his spine, and there’s a split second of blearing pain behind his eyes before his blood’s already sending its defenses to heal it. 

“What the fuck?” Cole shouts, his boot kicking at the titanium steel and trying to shove it off of his leg where it’d fallen. Expectedly, he can’t move it. 

Expectedly, he’s getting pissy. First they want him to make a grand debut next to Soldier Boy in fucking glasses — to prove that Soldier Boy is the strongest in his time of praise, he guessed, or maybe just so he could see. Either way made his blood turn to fire and ash. Then this—

“I have to go to a gala dedicated to me with a fucking hole in my chest,” Ben snarls, his booming voice echoing throughout the small dressing room. “Do you know how patronizing that is?” 

“I didn’t know you knew what that word meant,” Cole says, mostly to himself, “been reading the Daily Tribune? Doing the crosswords?” 

“I will fucking kill you one day, Reaper,” he responds through his gritted teeth, his own boots stomping on the ground as he goes to retrieve his shield, “and there won’t be a goddamn person to mourn you, and not a person to reap you either.” 

Anger flares through him like a lit match. It’d been a minute, and it’s rusty at best, but he gives in to the dark. The shadows cast behind the vanity, the darker ones beneath the soft, maroon couch in the middle of the room. 

He thinks it, and they finally, finally fall silent for a second, obeying the command in his head and curl into a wispy black hand around Ben’s throat. 

“Nice trick,” Ben rasps through his strained throat, his twitching lips betraying the calm facade he wears like a mask, “gonna dim the light now?” 

Finish it. He doesn’t. Finish him. He won’t. “Maybe the one in your eyes.” 

“You wish.” 

You wish, you wish, you wish. Fuck, he did wish. 

It’s always like this when he gives in to the shadows. Their voices quiet when he reaches out to them, and then they’re loud, pounding in his skull. 

He’s gotten used to pushing them away, though, Even when it makes his limbs feel too big for his skin, denying something so innate within him. 

Cole holds the grip on Ben’s throat a second longer before he wills the shadows into bleary black smoke again. Ben’s hand comes up to rub at the reddened mark on his skin, his eyes ablaze with fire. 

Ben’s hands shoot out before Cole can blink, strong fingers grabbing Cole by the nylon of his supersuit, They drag him in until they’re nose to nose, hot angry breath splaying on his face in puffs. 

A blink, and Cole thinks he might hit him. A blink, and he’s certain he will, already preparing to have to pop his nose into place again, crack his jaw on track again. 

He kisses him. 

It’s bruising. teeth clashing into teeth, hard enough to send them both back into the wall behind Cole. Cole is too shocked to do anything, at first, except for let him, even as it felt like ice water being poured directly over his head, turning everything to ice. 

Finally, he returns to his senses, and he shoves Ben back with his hands on his chest. Ben’s hands only curl tighter into the nylon fabric. “What the fuck, Ben?” 

Ben’s chest heaves, heavy breaths leaving his parted lips. He says nothing in his defense, not a single word, but his eyes falling to Cole’s mouth says a thousand of them. One second, they’re staring at each other. The next second, Cole isn’t sure who moves first; him, or Ben. Ben, whose hands drag him back in by his grip on his shirt. Cole, who lifted his hands to grasp at Ben’s face, holding him in place so he couldn’t break free again. 

It wasn’t romantic by any means. It was entirely lust and anger driving their mouths together. Ben pushes him back against the wall and the cracked drywall behind them, using his grip on Cole’s suit to lift him easily. 

The skin tight fabric of their supersuits leaves little to the imagination about how this was affecting them, which does nothing but make Cole groan into Ben’s open mouth. 

Ben shoves him harder into the wall, his voice a low, warning omen on his lips. “Shut the fuck up.” 

For once in his entire life, Cole listens to him. He’d deny it until he died, though. 

Ben’s knee knocks roughly against Cole’s, forcing him to spread them wider, and once Cole obliges, he presses himself deeper between them. Ben’s tongue swipes across Cole’s bottom lip until it opens, invading his mouth with force, just as he invades everything. 

That thought alone has Cole shoving him off of him until Ben’s spine collides with the vanity, stumbling after him to sink his fingers in the waistband of Ben’s pants, pulling his hips closer but still keeping him pinned to the vanity. 

Ben’s pupils are blown, eyes glazing as he stares into Cole’s. He leans in, teeth clamping around Cole’s bottom lip and drags it backwards until it pops back against his teeth. 

“Hey, Reap,” a voice — Obsidian’s, he realizes — calls from the other side of the door, and Ben jerks back so quickly that his teeth bite into Cole’s lip. Cole’s eyes flare at the blood that draws to the surface of the skin, his eyes already flaring— “They’re about to announce us downstairs in the Plaza.” 

The gold in Cole’s eyes dies down, but his heart still rests firmly in his throat; can feel it when he swallows. Ben’s teeth are clenched tightly, his jaw flexing in the process. 

“Alright,” Cole calls back through the door, his voice strained and thick.  “I’ll be down.”

“Right. Tell Soldier Boy, too, if y’see him.” Yeah. Cole saw him, alright. Ben’s eyes dare him to say something about it. “His own party and he’s M.I.A.” 

Cole’s lips twitch. Ben’s eyes darken. 

Obsidian’s footsteps echo down the hallway outside before Cole can say anything, though, and weighted seconds pass where neither Cole or Ben move. One crowded against a desk, the other crowding him. 

Ben shoves past him once Cole’s mouth opens, the altered reality they’d found themselves in shattering around them. His shoulder knocks hard into Cole’s on his way out.

The door slams behind him, rattling in the frame against the hinges, leaving Cole to bear the weight of it all on his shoulders. 

—

Downstairs, the rich and the influential sit at circular tables in the ballroom of the Plaza, dressed to the nines and muttering amongst themselves. Golden lights hang over each table, illuminating the tablecloth and their glittering wine and champagne glasses. The stage at the very back of the ballroom is the brightest; stage lights drown it in glowing white, a podium in the center and three chairs to right of it, an open space on the left. 

“Hope you plan on dimming that,” Obsidian says from somewhere in the shadows over Cole’s shoulders. Sebastian Orville looks surprisingly steady on his feet and comfortable in this crowded setting for someone who hasn’t left his house in three months, minimum. Cole supposed three months was enough time to get his gravity shit in control, if anything.��

His eyes are as stormy as ever, though, when Cole glances over his shoulder to look at him. Constantly shifting swirls of black and gray, so at odds with the rest of him. Messy curtains of sandy brown hair falling in his face, tan skin, strong jaw. He’s the most boyish of the Six’s men, in a way, and somehow one of the least human in what he does. 

“How are you here?” Cole asks incredulously, scanning his form for any indication of what is possibly keeping him from sending every glass, every table, every person, from slamming into the ceiling. 

His lips twitch, but before he can answer, Klara, Liberty, says in a false whisper, “they’ve got him shackled.” 

Sebastian’s smile is wide and genuine for someone who’s housebound, and more than likely one with furniture floating around it like bubbles. He raises his folded hands up, sleeves falling down his elbows and revealing solid black shackles. “I am being very polite today.”

“Go on, let ‘im see how you walk,” Steven, Stratostorm, nudges him forward by the elbow. “He was shufflin’ around all over the lobby. Y’Shoulda been there.” 

Cole would have rather ended his life than be around these idiots for longer than he has to now. “Yeah. Should’ve.” It was the alternative, though, to making out with Ben Anderson in his dressing room. Every single option felt like a fever dream. 

Joanne, the youngest of them all, is silent, though Cole doesn’t need his stupid glasses to know why. Bloody Mary is a terror to most,  the goddamn poster child for Vought Guard Dog in the same way that Soldier Boy is Vought’s special snowflake. 

Obsidian and Stratostorm are still chatting in loud whispers behind Cole, with the occasional chime-in from Liberty. Still, though, there’s no sign of the man of the hour, and Cole can’t help but wonder if he ditched — and if somehow, he’s gonna find a way to flip the blame onto him. 

Legend walks onto the stage, and the room’s buzz of chatter dies into soft murmurs of intrigue and interest. Here’s the man who manages the Six’s shit — or really just covers their asses. To these people, though, he must seem like a god instead of just a glorified public relations manager and string puller. 

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he starts into the rectangular microphone braced on the podium, “it is with great honor to announce to you the safe return of our Soldier Boy, and along with him, the end of the war.” 

The room erupts into applause. Cole’s already bored, having heard variations of this speech in mindless gossip around the city and straight from the war-ender himself. “It’s another great honor to announce the attendance of the Six with us tonight—” A bright white spotlight bursts above them, illuminating the five of them, drawing the attention of every pampered head in the room. “All here to celebrate the re-arrival of leader Soldier Boy.” 

Cole wanted to tell him that Soldier Boy couldn’t lead a duck to water, but whatever. He didn’t care that much. He cared more about the notable absence of Soldier Boy, knowing that the man wouldn’t ever miss an opportunity to hear about his accomplishments. His skin is crawling with unease over the unknowns that keep building up. 

“Dim that shit,” Obsidian says again under his breath, “I haven’t seen the light of day in months. I’m going to fucking burst.” 

Cole’s eyes roll. Not that he was listening to Legend rattle on about the united front that was supposed to be the Six — checkmate to Allie for having guessed that part of this speech right — but he was a little preoccupied trying to find someone. Someone who he’d made out with in his dressing room. Fuck. 

Still, he glances up into the light, used to the way bright things burn his retinas at this point, as he turns the brightness down a few notches. Murmurs erupt in an undercurrent of sound beneath Legend’s speech. Cole doesn’t bother listening in to hear what they might be saying. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Legend says suddenly to an equally silent ballroom, “Soldier Boy.” 

The answer to Ben’s initial question when he’d walked into Cole’s dressing room was, yes, this was killing him. Celebrating someone that he hated and that hated him was a great feat. Still, he can’t deny the rush of relief that floods his veins at the fact that Soldier Boy was up there, even if it meant that the room was deafening with their equal relief. 

Klara leads the five of them around the back wall while they’re all distracted by whatever the hell Ben is saying — war talk, Cole imagines, or whatever war stories Ben can conjure up to make him look like God’s greatest gift. 

The open space on the right of the stage was for them. To stand and be gawked at like zoo animals. Cole was already counting the seconds to when he could leave and slam a dirty martini or twelve. 

“Now would be a good time,” Joanne whispers without moving her mouth much, her words slurring through her razor sharp teeth, “to unshackle Obsidian.” 

A rare joke — rare words — from her. Cole can’t help but quirk a smile. She’s too young to be reduced to silence like she’s been. It wasn’t her fault people were scared of her. 

“Strato’s got the key.” Obsidian jerks his head slightly in Stratostorm’s direction. 

Stratostorm is less subtle with his reactions, head swiveling back and forth between the two of them, before his eyes land on Cole. He thinks, at least. The visor over his eyes makes it hard to tell. “I do not have the key.”

“What?” Obsidian splutters out, clearing his throat to try and cover it when the sound echoes off of the walls of the stage. Cole can’t help the burst of laughter that breaks free from his throat. Obsidian’s chains rattle in his outrage, bound wrists flailing at his waist, out of sight.  “You fucking promised you wouldn’t lose it, you said—”

Their argument falls to the backburner of Cole’s mind, though, because his eyes make their way over to Ben at the podium, only to find him already looking at him on his strut to join them. Legend’s taking the podium again. 

Ben settles next to Cole, arms deliberately not touching. Cole’s eyes dance to the ceiling, asking gods that long abandoned them for some strength. Then at the spotlights, dimming them, too — the last thing he wants is more attention on him than necessary while his face is red hot. 

“What happened in—”

“Didn’t fucking happen,” Cole cuts him off, eyes straight ahead still, jaw ticking. “Don't Need your orders. Already got it.” 

“Good.”

“Good.”

The rest of their time onstage, Cole doesn’t remember. He’s sure he blacked out in his efforts to ignore Ben right next to him— the heat of his body rolling off in waves. At some point, they were dismissed, and Cole went straight to the first server he saw, taking two martinis off of his tray without a second thought. 

What he really needed was a cigarette. He gave himself ten minutes, though, before he excused himself from whatever useless conversation the equally useless politician had dragged him into. He really fucking hated these things. 

Ben catches up to him before he can push open the exit door behind the stage, hoping for some semblance of illusion of privacy. Cole bristles, his fists clenching at his sides. “Don’t,” Ben grits out, his face unreadable and brutish at once. 

“Fuck you, Ben,” he spits out, his eyes rolling instantly as if it was just second nature, dismissing any and every word out of his mouth, “I’m actually, physically and mentally, sick of your shit tod—”

“Can you shut the fuck up and listen for a second?” Ben snaps, eyes locked onto Cole’s and haunted. The sight of it is the only thing that snaps his mouth shut. “I’m being fucking serious. Don’t go out there.”

Cole has no other choice than to bite. “Why?”

“Obsidian’s dead.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤFEEDBACK & REBLOGS ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤGREATLY APPRECIATED!

tags: @jasvtsc @depressionbarbie2023 @deanswidow @titsout4nicholas (idk who else to tag the day i'm BLANKING i make a taglist is the day i'll see heaven)

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Celebrating Ramadan With Ace and Deuce

Platonic Ace x muslim!fem!reader x Deuce

Masterlist

First of all these boys would be so accommodating with you if you’re a muslim

They’d try to learn as much as they could about your religion either from you or asking a few Scarabian students.

They’d even ask the Scarabian students for things like lunar calendars or tasbihs or travelling prayer mats in case you need one 

They do their best to make sure you’re comfortable if you’re the type that has issues being too close with the opposite gender, always making sure to keep a respectable distance between you and ensuring that the rest of the student body do the same

If you want to pray, they’d just wordlessly use their bags as your sutrah and basically be your bodyguards until you’re done 

Also, for the hijabi girlies, they’d be so respectful. If your hair starts to show they’d avert their eyes quicker than you could blink and inform you. If anyone bothers you or looks at you in a way that you’re not comfortable with, they’d be decked onto the floor in a flash.

You bet they would have a few spare hijab pins or carry an extra shawl in case of emergencies 

Anyway, back to Ramadan

So when you tell them about fasting, they’d first get all shocked. Poor Deuce is besides himself thinking that you’ll be starving yourself for a whole month before you elaborate on how it’s just from sunrise to sunset and then explain the spiritual significance for it. 

Not going to lie, these guys are so the type to be like “you can’t even drink water?? 🙃”

They’re both super proud of you and are just in constant awe of your strength 

I feel like they’d want to do it with you as a show of unity, and to help you with your homesickness, but since they’re both athletes (especially with Deuce being in such a high stamina/adrenaline sport like Track and Field), you suggest that they start with half fasts to ease themselves into it

(also props to everyone that still works out during fasting hours - you’re all incredible and absolute superheroes. My mum goes to the gym practically every morning and I’m still amazed every time.)

Also, when you’re doing your make up fasts to compensate for the ones you missed due to mother nature, you bet they’ll be right by your side fasting with you

I bet Deuce would feel genuinely offended if someone ate in front of you. Like he’d just stare at someone as if they’re smuggling contraband instead of just munching on their sandwich.

They make sure to do as much as you can so you could rest as much as possible. They set the table for iftar and suhoor (they even get up before you and wake you up), and do the cleaning up whilst you go to pray

Food usually comes from Sam’s shop or Trey (I don’t remember how they were during the culinary crucible but I really wouldn’t want those two in my kitchen before iftar whilst I’m fasting)

They’re always carrying your bag/things and practically never leave your side. Ramshackle is practically their second home at this point.

They love to learn more about your practices, especially traditions that you would do back home and you feel so loved to share that with them. You even teach them arabic (which ends with you getting a stern talking to from Jamil when Ace practices your lessons during basketball club)

Having a henna night with them would be so fun, just listening to nasheeds as you apply henna to both yourself and your best friends (who would take it so seriously and make such a noticeable effort to stay completely still until it dries and it’s both endearing and hilarious)

Okay but one time my sister fell asleep on her hand with henna on it and she woke up the next morning with a faded orange matching pattern on her cheek and that totally happens to Ace

They would totally (with Scarabia’s help) decorate Ramshackle with lights and lanterns to make it all festive

Just the two of them acting as your family in this strange new world 💛

[communistkenobi]

ok conclave thots (spoilers)

trying very hard to set aside my feelings on the Catholic Church to evaluate this movie. It’s quite beautiful, everything has a very solid physical presence, big wooden doors thunking, columns of stone and marble, thick robes, luxurious physical sets. Really enjoyed the cinematography. The cast was all really enjoyable aside from Stanley Tucci, not bc he’s a bad actor but I could not be sold on him being a cardinal. he seemed generally out of place. Although he was clearly there to be a bit ‘out of place’ as a figure for liberal Catholics, like definitely the type of guy who would think creating an anime girl avatar for the Catholic Church would be a good move to modernise the church. Actually maybe he was good in that movie I change my mind.

He did also demonstrate the complete failure of liberalism to respond to right wing rhetoric - all he says in response to Tedesco’s islamophobic rant about the need for religious intolerance is “you should be ashamed of yourself!”, just totally unable to address Tedesco’s fixation on conducting religious warfare. The film is centred around the church’s need to manage its public image, making multiple references to the recent international outcry over the church’s systemic sexual abuse problems, its homophobia & anti-abortion views that are increasingly falling out of favour, and the general trouble the church has with the press. There is a clear emerging clash between tradcaths and liberal Catholics that are fighting for dominance in the church. The film ultimately finds synthesis between these two poles in Benitez, a man who conducted missions in ‘war torn’ countries such as the Congo and Afghanistan (thus having a more genuine connection to religious intolerance than privileged, out of touch conservatives like Tedesco) but despite that still desires to promote unity and tolerance, and at the last hour is revealed to be an intersex man who was counselled by the pope to get a hysterectomy (and decided against it), as if literally embodying the tension between these two positions within the church. Not sure how I feel about that lol, intersex characters are so rare and he’s not treated as a punchline, they even do the “born this way” thing with it as like god made him intersex. so like props for that I guess.

overall a very goofy person’s idea of power and politics but it was a fun watch and I had a good time. Kinda soured on how ridiculous it is that Benitez would pull a super-majority from a single speech to Tedesco about him not knowing anything about “real war” and the need for unity - like idk I remember learning about Mehmet Ali Acğa’s assassination attempt of the pope and how virulently Islamophobic the response was from the public & media, the idea that there would be a “Muslim terrorist” bombing (they leave it vague in the movie but that’s clearly what’s being evoked) in Rome that damaged the building or church or wherever the cardinals were, and the cardinals didn't all immediately side with Tedesco is pretty mind boggling lmao. Again trying very hard to set aside my thoughts on history and religious politics and just have a fun time with this one, but it’s hard to distance those things when the history being dealt with is so recent.

Ralph Fiennes owns in this movie though, great job from him and just what I wanted out of a Ralph Fiennes character. I really liked this review of it on Letterboxd

[katiekatdragon27]

Since Ubisoft makes NFTs of Rayman, I don’t feel bad about rewriting the whole show (kinda)

Me and @rainbow-wolf120 both kinda/really like CLH, but we both have issues with it. Soooo why not rework some stuff while keeping the core the same? Seems easy enough (NOT). First up is Bullfrog :)

More stuff below cut:

Bullfrog is my favorite character of the show. I love him, he’s awesome and fun and kind when everyone else is sorta giant assholes. Also his design is very clean and cute, and I don’t really have issues with him.

HOWEVER, I do have a couple grievances with how he dresses and his motives.

On one hand, if he is the last of the brotherhood, WHY DRESS SO OBVIOUSLY LIKE AN ASSASSIN?? This is an issues I have with Dolph too, bc like, if you are supposed to be under the radar, you would think HIDING the parts of you that GIVE AWAY WHO YOU ARE WOULD BE OBVIOUS. But no, no you need interesting looking protags ig.

Another thing that irks me is that there are so many cool assassins in the Assassin’s Creed universe. So many. And they choose to base Bullfrog on Ezio. I get it for marketing ig, but like, there’s literally a French assassin (AC Unity), but no, the French frog gets to be Italian lol. Although I find it funny, I feel like the whole thing was a missed opportunity to give exposer to the lesser-played AC games. Or use it to promote AC Shadows by making Bullfrog a girl or like the woman assassin from that game. Or better yet, combine a ton of different aspects of every AC game into the outfit.

Which is what I did lol.

To fix both these problems, I decided to design two looks for her (he’s a her now, stone me idc, also sorry every Laserfrog shipper ever it’s not personal I promise). The one on the left is her assassin fit. It drives a lot more inspo from AC Shadows and AC Unity, with elements of Ezio and Bullfrog’s original look. However, most of Bullfrog’s initial look is incorporated in the outfit on the right, which is the subtlety outfit. That is the outfit she starts the series with, only to take it off in the sewers to reveal she’s an assassin.

When in the subtle outfit, she tries to hide as much of herself as possible. Her assassin parts, her frog parts, and her girl-ness. Kinda. She just presents as a man so people don’t fuck with her. As for the assassin fit, it shows up in the Sewer scene when she’s fighting the dudes down there. Then they identify her once she’s arrested and surprises Rayman with being a girl lol.

And to everyone who gets pissy about her being a girl, the show needs more girls.

Have a good one my dudes :))

[moonlitstoriess]

The Shadows in the Sunlight- A Helion series

Summary: Helion, the High Lord of the Day Court, is known for his charm, power, and control over light. However, when a mysterious female from a forgotten, shadowy court—a court thought to be destroyed long ago—emerges, everything he thought he knew is challenged.

see masterlist

Helion loved parties, gatherings, balls and whatever else that required him to dress up, dance, drink, flirt and make stupid jokes. Attending them as a guest or the host didn't matter as long as they were fun. But most of all, he loved them because they allowed him to be free of any burdens, worries or ugly thoughts just for a day. For a couple of hours.

"High Lord, which sash would you like? The golden one or the white one with gold details?"

Helion turned his head towards his servant and looked down to the two different colored sashes.

"Gold"

Today was The Unity Ball. It was actually Kallias' idea to create this tradition after the war against Hybern. Every year, one of the courts would host The Unity Ball, bringing together all the other courts and their people in hopes of strengthening ties and improving alliances. It has been three years since the end of the war and so far, three courts have hosted this ball. Winter was first, since it was Kallias' idea after all. Then it was Dawn and just last year, it was Autumn, which honestly was more like a celebration of Beron's death and Eris' ascent to High Lordship.

Now this year, is the Day Court's turn and Helion could only hope that nothing mad ends up happening tonight as it usually does with his parties. With a final few touches to his appearance, Helion took the golden crown and put it on his head, heading out the door with his second-in-command, Maximus, right behind him.

"Who is here so far?"

"All except Spring but that isn't anything new."

Helion chuckled as they went down the grand stairs, "It surely isn't. Tamlin hasn't attended any of our gatherings. Why did we even send an invitation to him?"

Maximus sighed. "Good appearance on our side?"

Helion put his arm on his friends shoulder and laughed as they finally entered the large room filled with all kinds of guests. The moment he entered the room, all eyes turned to Helion as he smiled and headed straight for his throne. Once he got on the dais, he smiled brightly at his guests, and the other high lords with their families, and said,

"This year, I have the honor of hosting The Unity Ball which is why I welcome you all to the Day Court! Where as our saying goes, "Light Everlasting, Truth Unyielding" I hope that tonight, our everlasting light brings you joy as we join one another in friendship and company. To my dear friends, the High Lords, I am very grateful for your attendance in my ball and thank you all for taking the time off your duties to come here. I wish you well and hope you all enjoy the rest of this evening!"

Everyone clapped as Helion gestured for the musicians to begin playing and the servants to begin serving. He sat down on his throne knowing full well that he would get up in two minutes because his patience with just sitting and watching wasn't the best. He needed to interact, dance, drink, and laugh.

See, this was the difference between such formal events and his own unusual parties. There he could go absolutely wild but here, he had to stay formal because...well because he is the high lord of course. And it's not like Helion hates all of these High Lord duties and is some kind of an incompetent ruler. Definitely not. In fact, that is far from the truths. He clearly knows how to rule better than his father ever did because his people are very happy and satisfied. He knows when to be serious and when to let go.

But for some reason, these past few weeks, his past has been getting to him more and more. The monsters that he buried deep somehow managed to slip away and come haunt him. He hasn't been slacking in his job at all, in fact, Helion had buried himself in his duties to distract himself while still keeping the image of a jokester, flirty, and overall a happy male. And at night when he would hold his parties, it was this mask that led to him waking up in a bed with another female or male....or both.

He needed to distract himself more and more. The need to run away from his monsters was getting to him. He had to constantly work, lead a whole nation, party, fuck and stay far away from being alone. If he wasn't alone and instead doing something, keeping his hands and mind at work, his brain would be too busy to overthink anything.

"Uh, Helion? You feeling well?"

Helion was dragged out of his trance by Maximus' voice as he turned his head sideways and looked at his friend, giving him a smile. "Of course I am, Max. Why wouldn't I be?"

His friend just shrugged while looking at him suspiciously. "You have been silently staring at the ground for the past....five minutes. Usually you'd be up and talking with guests in two."

Helion realized his mistake and quickly got up, rolling his shoulders before going down the steps of the dais, saying over his shoulder, "Stop saying nonsense, horseface and go socialize."

His silly words clearly had an affect on Max because he just rolled his eyes with a small smile before heading in the direction of a group of officials.

Helion began chatting, first with Kallias and Thesan, then with Tarquin and Eris, and finally, his favorite, Rhysand. When he approached the high lord, his mate and their court, Helion smiled warmly as he greeted them.

"Ah, my best friend and his beautiful wife."

Rhysand smiled slightly as Feyre giggled while Helion kissed her hand before lightly patting Rhys on the shoulder. "I don't remember us ever being that close, Helion."

Helion just shrugged him off as he greeted Cassian and Nesta, "Oh, we will one day, Rhysie."

Everyone laughed at that, causing Rhysand to shake his head with a sigh. Once he greeted Azriel too, Helion looked at the one guest he had hoped to see the most tonight.....Mor.

She seems to get more and more beautiful and attractive with each time he sees her and the red revealing dress she was wearing tonight clearly wasn't helping. He must have gone silent because Mor chuckled and told him, "Close your mouth or a fly might get in, Heli."

"I am just admiring my beloved."

Azriel scoffed at that as Nesta said, "You two never fail to disgust me when you get together."

Mor just rolled her eyes at the female before smirking. "Well, Helion the idiot is always the one to start so..."

Rhys intercepted before any of them could talk more. "As fun as it is to watch you two strip each other naked with your eyes, I think we should talk of other things, no?"

Helion turned to him, smirked and sling his arm over Rhysand's shoulder before leading him outside, followed by his family. "Of course we can, Rhysie. Didn't know you missed me that much."

Feyre laughed as she said. "You have no idea."

They sat down on one of the large, white seating areas with just as white, sheer curtains hanging above. Helion ordered his servants to bring appetizers and drinks before turning to look at the Inner Circle.

"Well, friends, anything new?"

Cassian laid back on the couch, causing Nesta also to lay back due to his hold on her waist. "If you call me and Nesta creating our own training academy something new then yes."

Nesta playfully hit him on the chest. "We were supposed to tell that together, you idiot."

Everyone chuckled as Helion smiled and clapped his hands. "Well that is some news! Very well done."

But then a thought reached his mind, Helion furrowed his brows and turned to Rhys. "Where is Amren? My tiny little firecraker?"

"You know, if she heard you say that, she would probably slit your throat right on the spot, Helion." Azriel muttered as he took his drink from the table.

Helion smirked. "I would love to see her try, I love feisty ones."

Feyre chuckled "Varian wouldn't be too happy about that either."

Helion's eyes widened in realization. "Is that why he isn't here either? I did think how strange it was that he wasn't stuck to Tarquin's side like he usually was. Wait- are they together? Is that why they both aren't here?"

"Someone had to stay back and guard Velaris. Since for the past three years Mor didn't have time to attend the balls but Amren did, this year she decided to stand back because Mor said she could make it to the ball. As for Varian...well he turned out to be more obsessed with her than he lets us in on. Wherever Amren is, Varian is there too. Right beside her." Feyre said as she leaned into her mates side, putting her head on his shoulder.

Helion nodded his head before looking at Mor beside him, "I see my charm is so irresistible that you just couldn't skip my ball huh?"

Mor rolled her eyes but her lips did twitch upwards as she teased. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Heli. I came here because I had nothing else to do."

Helion smirked. "Sure you didn't, sweetheart." Then he raised his hand with his drink and said, "Now let's drink for...well for me hosting this absolutely fantastic ball!"

He heard Rhys chuckle as they drank a few more times. "Can't believe I will have to see your face and stand your antics next year in my ball."

Helion smiled brightly as he looked at everyone. "Oh yes! Next year is your turn! Oh, high lord, you best believe I will be creating chaos!"

As the night progressed, Helion spent some more time with the Night Court before moving on to socialize with others, trying his best to give everyone attention. After a couple of hours, when the ball was still very much going on, he felt Mor come up beside him near one of the large and tall columns.

"How's it going, high lord?"

He sighed. "Why did no one tell me how hard it would be to have the entire faerie realms in your court? Minus Spring of course because Tamlin is acting like an insolent child."

Mor chuckled and took a sip of her drink as they both eyed the room. "Actually, last I heard, Tamlin was slowly regaining his court back. Apparently he is building better homes for his people and doing something else to bring his own court back. Whatever it is, it seems to be working."

Helion nodded. "Good. He is finally waking up. I should pay him a small visit at some point."

Mor put her hand on his arm, causing him to turn his head sideways to look at her. She smirked back at him saying, "Well, I don't know about the spring court but...we could pay a small visit to a bedroom."

Helion's smirk widened as his eyes hungrily took her in. "You know, I had been waiting to hear that from you all night."

Mor put her drink on a nearby table and grabbed his arm. "Lead the way, high lord."

As they both began weaving their way through the crowds, something caught Helion's eyes from the corner. A small, dark shadow.

It's probably Azriel's. His mind kept telling this to him but something wasn't right. Azriels' shadows were more of a dark black in color but this little thing....it was more of a purple-like. Atleast that's what he saw before it disappeared just as quickly.

As they began climbing up the stairs, Helion suddenly paused. No, his mind was too busy with overthinking that shadow to focus on Mor right now.

"What happened?" Her question made him turn back at her to see a confused face looking back at him.

Helion looked back down the stairs towards where the shadow was and then looked back at Mor. No, he had to know. What is going on? He was too intrigued now.

"I will be back." was all he said before he quickly went down the stairs without waiting for a reply, his mind too busy with finding that little shadow.

Ignoring the guests who tried coming towards him, Helion made his way through the crowds as he followed his inner voice and headed straight towards the garden at the other side of the palace.

The Day court's gardens were far more different than any other gardens. They are suspended on multiple levels, with each terrace floating gracefully in the clouds, connected by shimmering bridges made of sunlight and gold-veined crystal. The terraces themselves are made of pale, luminous stone that seems to glow softly in the daylight, reflecting the sun's rays.

The entire garden is bathed in a warm, golden light that filters through the clouds, casting everything in a soft, almost otherwordly glow. The flora are like any other. They are larger and more vibrant, with petals that shimmer like gold foil. The trees are tall and slender, their leaves a mixture of deep green and gold, sparkling as if dusted with stardust. There are waters within fountains that glow softly with their sheen light and statues made of crystal that captures the light and refracts it in dazzling patterns.

Overall, this place is Helion's pride and joy as he was the one who designed it and brought in all the flora. This is the calmest location in the entire palace and possibly Helion's most favorite for that very reason.

But this time, he was not alone. A mysterious cloaked figure was standing near a fountain, their back turned to him. Helion didn't want to call the guards because he knew that whoever this was, he could deal with them himself. Even a tiny part of him was telling him that he shouldn't attack whoever this is.

As if sensing his presence, the cloaked figure shifted slightly but didn't turn around. Helion took slow steps towards them, keeping his eyes focused on the figure, making sure he or she doesn't pull any tricks on him.

Once he reached them, he tried looking into their face but the hood made it impossible for him to even see their side profile."Do I know you?"

No answer.

Helion warily looked between them and the water before asking, "Uhh, you do not seem like someone I have met-"

"Tell Azriel that they are all dead."

So this mysterious impostor was a she. Her cool, icy and yet smooth tone made Helion feel both drawn and slightly unnerved by her. But it was that sentence that made him pause.

"What? I don't understand. Who is dead? Who are you?"

That is when he saw that small shadow from earlier reappear once again as the female said while suddenly turning and walking away, "I have to find who was behind it. I have to stop it. I will kill them all."

Helion was completely dumbfounded now which is something that he never was. He was always a step ahead of everyone, always aware of everything, always having answers to anything and everything. But this...this was new.

He quickly followed after her as she went deeper into the gardens saying, "What are you talking about? What is happening? Do you need help? Who are you trying to stop?!"

"I don't need any help. I simply came here to lure you in so that you could deliver my message to Azriel."

"Why can't you tell him yourself? Why aren't you in the ball? Where are you even from-"

"You talk too much, high lord. I must go, just let Azriel know of the news."

"Go where?!" and then, as if his mouth moved of its own accord, Helion said the words he wasn't even planning on offering aloud, "I can help you! Whatever it is, do you need help?"

She stopped, her back still turned to him and Helion wanted nothing more than to just rip that dark cloak away so that he could see her face. He could only imagine what she looks like if her voice was this beautiful.

"I don't need any help."

Helion scoffed before taking her shoulder, intending to turn her around but once he did that, the cloak fell down, and there was no one but dark purple shadows under it. The shadows too, soon disappeared, leaving Helion in shock as to what just happened.

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

"Helion! Where were you? It's not really a good look when you leave your own ball for a prolonged time. Couldn't you wait some more before fucking someone in some corner of the palace?!" Maximus hissed at him the second helion entered the large ballroom.

Helion ignored his friend, heading straight for the inner circle. "Not now, Max. We will talk later."

"What-" but Helion just passed by Max, not giving him the time to answer. The moment he saw Rhysand, he quickened his steps as he reached the sitting area where Rhys and his court were. Mor was there, and got up immediately when she saw him.

"Where were you? What happened? Did something go wrong?"

But Helion ignored her words and just glared at Azriel, his clearly serious expression evident on his face because Rhysand immediately got up, asking, "What is it?"

"I saw a shadow earlier."

Helion saw the clear confusion written over everyone's faces, causing him to sigh and cross his arms. "At first, I thought it was one of Azriel's but then something in me told me to follow that shadow. So I found it, in the gardens...and I also found who it belonged to. Shocking information but....it wasn't Azriel."

That caused the shadowsinger to furrow his brows as Feyre quickly asked, "What? Then who was it?"

Helion tore his gaze apart from the winged male and looked at everyone. "Well, I couldn't tell, really. The figure was completely clothed in a black cloak and it's hood was covering her face but she was a female. Could tell by the voice. Anyways, I asked her who is she, what is she doing here and all those things but she didn't answer them. Instead, guess what she said,"

Helion didn't give anyone the time to respond as his eyes collided with Azriel's while saying the words, "Tell Azriel that they are all dead."

For the first time in his life, Helion saw the shadow singers stony expression change as his eyes widened, shock overtaking his features.

"Wait, wait- what?!" Cassian's voice too, was full of disbelief as he got up from the couch, staring at Helion.

Mor quickly looked back at Azriel. "What does that mean, exactly?"

Azriel also got up as his expression turned calculating. "I have no idea. Who- what- I don't understand. Who is dead?!"

They all turned to look back at Helion but he just shrugged, saying, "Well, I don't know either. She said that and then began walking away, saying over and over again that she would find who did this, stop them or kill them. I tried asking more, even offered help but the second I even touched her, the cloak fell down and there was nothing but air under it. How does one even disappear like that?"

Cassian whistled, chuckling. "Now that, is impressive."

"So a shadowy, cloaked, female appears in your garden, tells you to tell Azriel that everyone is dead, then proceeds to mutter to herself about murder and whatever else and then disappears just as mysteriously? I would love to meet her for sure." Nesta said with a small smirk overtaking her face.

Rhysand looked back at Helion, "Do we know how to find her? Where she may be? Whoever she is, whatever she is doing, it seems quite...important. Is she connected to Azriel in some way?"

Azriel shook his head. "We need to go, now. We need to get to work and whoever this is, I need to know what she means."

Feyre voiced her agreement as Rhys nodded and then looked back at Helion. "Let's inform one another if there are any leads on the matter. Get your best researchers on the job."

Helion nodded as he watched them winnow away, wondering all about the mysterious figure.

Who was she? Where was she coming from? What did she even mean?

And most importantly, why did Helion feel so intrigued by her?

Well, it's not often (actually, never) that he gets this interested and intrigued by someone but now, he was definitely curious.

And Helion was for sure not about to let go of whoever she is anytime soon.

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