#its just i really care about this one thing right now and i need to say it but also its kinda like mannnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[snowluvvie]

₊˚⊹ ♡ . EASILY CONVINCED.

₊˚⊹ ♡ . RED K!CLARK X READER

₊˚⊹ ♡ . you want to leave him, but there's one thing keeping you there

₊˚⊹ ♡ . MDNI 18+ | word count — 2.8k | warnings — established toxic relationship, Clark does not care about your feelings at any point at all, manipulation, crying, oral (m. recieving), finger sucking, unprotected p in v, name-calling, hair-pulling

When Clark strolled into your shared Metropolis apartment, it was already after dark. The moonlight streaming in through the window glinted off the smooth marble countertop and illuminated you, already waiting in the shared kitchen for him to arrive home. Your arms were folded over your chest, eyebrows furrowed lightly. You were finally going to have the conversation you’d been needing to have with him for the past few months.

You thought if you came to Metropolis with him, stayed by his side rather than letting him run off on his own, things would get better. That isolation wouldn’t be good for him, and your presence would sway him to take off the ring and return to Smallville. It hadn’t. Sometimes it seemed like it worsened with the passing days—the going out and staying out for hours, sometimes overnight, being mouthy and rude, or just downright insulting. And you saw the way he looked at women passing on the street sometimes. It felt like being stabbed, though you’d given up on reprimanding him a while back. Now, though?

You’d come to the long overdue conclusion that this simply wasn’t the same Clark anymore, wasn’t your Clark. He wasn’t the guy that insisted on fixing your car when it made him late for school that day, or the guy that practically ran to your parents’ house to fix their fence when it broke, or the guy that kissed you like your face was something precious between his hands and fucked you like you actually meant something to him.

As Clark closed the front door behind him, your eyes caught on the obnoxiously large crimson ring still nestled on his giant hand. That old Clark was gone. Maybe one day he’d come back on his own, but for now? You wanted to go home. You wanted your life back.

You cleared your throat, and Clark raised his eyebrows as he regarded you standing there, waiting for him. “It’s late.”

He gives a halfway nod, lips quirking up into a smile, “It gets busier the later it gets. I should’ve stayed, really.”

By it he means that stupid club on the corner downtown. All pulsing blue lights and girls in the tiniest skirts you’ve ever seen. You’ve always tried to push its very existence out of your brain, and an involuntary shiver wracks your arms as you’re afflicted by thoughts of what he gets up to there.

“Well, I ate already.” Your arms tightened around you, silently cursing yourself for always fumbling when it came to things like this.

Clark hums in response, barely paying attention as he tugs his jacket off and tosses it onto the back of the chair. His keys clatter against the counter with a metallic clang, and he’s visibly already thinking about something else entirely.

You take a deep breath, “I wanna talk to you.”

“Y'are talking to me. Right now.” He flashes his pearly teeth, the little points peeking over his perfect bottom lip.

You shake your head, your eyes flicking away from him and instead focusing on the wall, or maybe the fridge. That was always how he got you—it was the same smile, the same twinkle in those blue eyes. It took all your willpower to stay grounded and remind yourself that no matter how bad you wished he was, he wasn’t your Clark. Your resolve trembled every time you looked at him.

“No, I mean talk to you about us.”

He rolls his eyes, “Not this again.” There he was. Dismissive and careless, which was all he’d been the last few months when he wasn’t just being blatantly mean.

“Listen! Yes, this again, you never let me finish!”

“I let you finish plenty. Wasn’t it…three times, last weekend?” He wanders over to the fridge, tugging the door open placidly. He looks over to you for a few moments, only long enough to see the way your jaw tightens as your face warms despite yourself.

“That’s not—I was trying to—” You huff, throwing your hands half-heartedly in the air as you struggle to articulate yourself. Like you always did, which Clark knew. “You know what I meant.”

Just as the last word left your lips, he slammed the fridge door. So hard the wall behind it rattled. "Can't this wait til' after I get somethin' to eat? 'M starved after tonight." He huffed out a laugh cause he knew what he was doing, leaving your imagination to run wild about what he'd got up to.

Though your bottom lip quivered a little bit, you shook your head. "No, you're a selfish dick. If I waited for you to want to talk to me, I'd be waiting forever."

Clark was across the kitchen and in your personal space in less than half a second, making you gasp. You tried to back up as he towered over you, but you bumped into the corner—he had you caged up against it. You avoided his eyes, though you couldn't escape his smell with how close he was. Delicious despite his bad behavior—oak barrels and gentle shampoo and sunlight. Your head swam as you took it in, you couldn't fight it when he grabbed your face, forcing it upwards. He craned your neck back to look at him, and his gaze was amused, lips tilted slightly upwards.

"My dick is a lot of things. Selfish is not one. You'd know, huh? There's only one greedy bitch here."

You were shaking like a leaf, and the squeak you let out was pathetic. "You know how I feel about the b-word."

Clark laughed loudly. "How you feel, and how you feel," his tone of voice lilted suggestively as his hand dipped down to the front of your shorts. "Are two very different things."

He paused for a half second, so you'd have time to say no, but it was mocking—he knew you wouldn't stop him. That made the seconds that stretched between you taunting, a total mockery of what you'd been trying to do, the corpse of your dead resolve practically half-buried already as you stood with baited breath, waiting for him to slip his hand where you wanted it.

As his hand went between your thighs, he grinned. “You’re real predictable, y’know that?” His fingers slid through your folds easily from how drenched they were. When he pulled his fingers from your panties, a glistening strand of your arousal clung onto them, and he shoved it in your face. Raising his eyebrows, “and you keep trying to act like you want me to be different. Liar.”

Your lip quivered from the misconstrued truth in his words, the way he could always use that against you. It wasn’t your fucking fault your boyfriend’s voice got you all hot, he was literally the most perfect man in the world, even when he was like this—that didn’t mean you wanted him to stay this way. The late-night whispers between the two of you as you laid on his barn couch back in Smallville, about a house and a family, were more important to you than the sex you seemingly couldn’t stop having. But why couldn’t you stop having it?

Clark shoved his fingers in your mouth, making you clean your own wetness off of them, and he intentionally shoved them back far enough to make you gag lightly. You hated the disappointment that bloomed in your belly when you realized he wasn’t going to relieve you further with his hand, he was just making a point. Your eyes burned.

"You owe me! I was ready to have a perfectly nice night an' settle in—you're the one who had to start somethin'." He rolled his eyes. "You're always doing this, y'know. Not very fair to me, is it?"

Your eyes watered and, though you were fighting furiously to keep it in, a little sniffle escaped you. The sound made Clark's eyes snap to you, just in time to watch the first tear slip down your cheek. The grin that spread across his face was sickening.

"C'mon. On your knees."

You hesitated for a moment, just long enough to make him punctate it with, "now."

The last of your resolve was officially gone and buried as you sunk to your knees, which met the cold tile underneath you, and looked up at him. Clark raised his eyebrows, prompting you with a nod, and your fingers found his belt and began undoing it. You fumbled with it a little, hands shaky through your crying.

When you raised a hand to wipe the tears from your face, Clark swatted it away. “Makes it extra wet, y’know that.” He reasoned with a charming smile.

You ignored him and finally got his belt undone, and his cock sprung out of the confines of his boxers already stiff. That only rubbed it in more—every insult and mockery he threw your way only made him harder, and your tears were just the nail in the coffin.

No matter how upset you were, it was muscle memory to take him as far back into your throat as you could, though you struggled. You gagged around it, saliva bubbling from the corners of your mouth. He was right, and the longer you went, your tears from both Clark’s mocking and how harshly you were gagging mixed with your spit and left his cock slick, your mouth sliding around it too easily. Your hand wrapped around the base so you could cover more of it, and his head fell back a little as you twisted your fist around his shaft at the same time your tongue swirled over his tip. The sigh he let out was contented, and he ran his fingers through your hair at the nape of your neck.

For a half second, you pretended it was Clark—your Clark. The guy who had held your hair back for you and rubbed your scalp soothingly when you had his dick in your mouth, doing his best to reward you for every good feeling you ‘gifted’ him, which was how he saw it.

The illusion was shattered when the fingers in your hair tightened sharply, making you yelp at the sudden pain. Clark groaned as your pained sounds vibrated around his cock, and he held your head in place as he started sliding in and out quicker, fucking your face at a more demanding pace than you’d been able to handle yourself. You gagged every time his tip hit the back of your throat, and Clark was letting the grunts and moans fall from his lips freely as you gagged, whined, and swallowed desperately around him.

“I like your mouth so much better when I do this. Not all that other shit.” He groaned. “Ah, fuck, ‘m gonna—”

Before he could finish his sentence, or cum down your throat, Clark was yanking you off of him by your hair. You let out a surprised yelp, but he was already snatching you up and tossing you over his shoulder like you were weightless. His shiny, throbbing cock still hung out of his blue jeans as he carried you to the back of the apartment and to your shared bedroom. He bumped your head on the doorframe as he brought you inside and ignored the noise you made, before tossing you down on the bed.

You sat there numbly, defeated, face streaked with tears and drool and precum, as Clark shrugged off his clothes and bared his inhumanly defined body to you. The moonlight coming in through the massive bedroom window—which wasn’t covered by the curtains, so you were sure some news helicopter would get a real eyeful of the habit Clark had developed to avoid a break-up—hit his chest in a way that made his tanned skin glow. Your mouth watered a little at the sight of him, something you’d truly never get used to, as if you needed more spit on your fucking face.

Clark wordlessly snapped his fingers at you as he knelt on the bed, and you moved obediently to hook your fingers in the waistband of your shorts and tug them and your panties down in one motion. Clark finished the job when he got impatient and made quick work of your thin sleep shirt, leaving it in two pieces by the foot of the bed.

He moved you like a doll, on all fours in front of him, fingers digging into your skin as he positioned you the way he wanted. The scream you let out when he sheathed inside you in one smooth motion—too big to fully bottom out, instead abusing your cervix immediately and giving you zero time to adjust—was muffled by his giant hand shoving your face into his pillow. That scent invaded your nose again, familiar and musky and clean, and you focused on it to distract yourself from the sting, gritting your teeth as you waited to adjust. Whines and yelps fell from your lips and were swallowed by the plush cotton, Clark still palming the back of your head to keep it there.

His pace was selfish and unforgiving, and though he was sliding in and out of you with no rhythm and no regard for how you felt, that didn’t stop the way your body began going limp, your pained squeaks turning into desperate moans and whimpers. “Nghh—ah, ah,” and you were sure Clark could hear it, no matter how drowned out it was by the wet, explicit skin-on-skin noises that filled the room.

He let your face up for a minute, and you gasped for breath.

“Feelin’ better now that you’re all full? Y’know—you’re always goin’ on and on—y’say you’re ‘not happy’” he did a high-pitched voice, mocking you, and you keened in response as he kept pumping inside of you, “I think what you mean to say is empty. Cause you’re all smiles when you're like this—real happy, right?”

Your only response was a low whine, and he smacked your ass hard. You jolted and yelped from the pain, but couldn’t move away from the second loud slap he landed against your cheek. He was holding you too tightly in place.

“Answer me.” Clark prompted, though his amused tone concealed an underlying threat as his hand still hovered over the globe of your ass, which was already blooming with red.

“Nngh—yes.” You cried out, but he clucked his tongue at you, ramming into you particularly hard to punctuate it. Your eyes rolled back.

“Yes what?”

“H-happy—‘m happy, thank you.” Fresh tears rolled down your cheeks from the way he was punishing your cunt.

You could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “there ya go!” Though, of course, nothing nice. He never fucking said anything nice. Said you hadn’t earned it, no matter what you did.

“Aah, shit—” His hips stuttered a little bit, and he let out a breath through gritted teeth. You clenched around him harshly and he groaned in response, your own release was creeping up on you.

“I dunno if you—argh—deserve my cum. Not today. Y’just cause problems.”

The pleading whine you let out was high-pitched and pathetic, the pillow wet with your still-flowing tears and the idea of him pulling out right now was torturous to you. He could’ve threatened to kill you and it would’ve been a less horrific idea.

“Please… please, Clark, please.” You babbled like a broken record, borderline incoherent through the snot and tears and broken moans. He was drilling your pussy, which was still squeezing him like a vice, and he laughed at your begging.

“One day I’ll stop bein' so nice, y’know?” Was the last thing Clark said before he came inside of you with a low, delicious groan, hips slamming into yours harshly as he fucked you through his orgasm. Your whole body shook with the force of it, limp and spasming, though he held you up easily. Your own release washed over you, and you finally let out a desperate, ecstatic cry as you were rewarded with the white-hot pleasure. The two of you were one, actually together for a few moments as you both reveled in the pleasure, something you didn't get from him anymore. Something you desperately missed, and your face screwed up at the familiar feeling.

It was over as quickly as it happened.

After Clark pulled out, he had the decency to arrange your limbs into some semblance of a laying position for you, since you were far too gone to do it. Your whole body felt like syrup. He laid your head on your own pillow, which made you miss the familiar smell of his, and tugged the covers over you. You didn't think you could speak if you wanted to, or remember your own name—or think of anything but him.

Clark rolled back over, a satisfied smirk playing at the corners of his lips. He was perfectly composed, though your chest still heaved as you tried to catch your breath. Shakily, you took a few slow, deep ones. There was a fuzzy warmth tugging at the edges of your brain and your chest. Like there always was after he was done with you.

“I love you.” You mumbled as your eyes drifted shut.

Clark’s answer was matter-of-fact, so close to being neutral if it wasn’t for the smugness that crept in.

“I know.”

[unfortunate-brat]

soldier boy can throw me around like a rag doll ‼️

very valid. i too would like to be treated like a blow up sex doll 🤭. for your troubles, i present something very special for you.

Dirty

pairing: soldier boy x latina!reader

synopsis: soldier boy is america’s sweetheart, so its no excuse he wants things done a certain way.

word count: 852

warnings: NO PLOT, smut, sexism, slight racist behavior and vocabulary from soldier boy, degration, no protection, talk of pregnancy, roughness from soldier boy. he’s not the one you wanna take home to your mother.

yazzy's comments: honestly hear me OUT! it is my belief that soldier boy would 100% act this way and i’m entitled to my opinion. if you don’t like, scroll away !!

“¿esto es lo que te gusta? what a fucking freak.” his hot breath fans over your pulse, thrusts hitting you deeply and practically unforgiving with every slap of skin. though the language isn’t his own, he tries and that you can appreciate. the american accent still peaks through with every syllable, which makes it strangely hotter to hear.

your nails dig into his broad shoulders, trying your best to not make so much noise. after all, you were supposed to hate this man. america’s sweetheart was quite the asshole, even borderline sexist. “see? all you’re good for his to take my fucking dick and make me dinner.” no take that back, he was hella sexist.

as you bounce on his cock, your breasts provide a wonderful show for soldier boy. earlier he had taken the time to mark them up so that when you wore those low cut tops, people could see you were accounted for. though now that ben thinks about it, no bitch of his is gonna go out looking like some prostitute on the corner. you’ll be dressed properly, with no part of your chest showing. that’s for his eyes only.

his digits tug and pinch at your swollen buds, smirking as you whimper with every touch. “fucking slut, you really gonna let an american soil that exotic pussy?” ben knew that if this had been just talk, you’d slap him. argue how his perspective was outdated and unacceptable now, yet feeling how hard your walls squeeze him after using such vocabulary was hard to ignore. “hmm, maybe that’s what you need. just pure american made meat.”

you hold onto him for dear life at this point, smothering his face into your bosom. his words should put you in a fit of rage but your damn body betrays you. “solo estás demostrando mi punto.” he can feel your walls tighten again and that only feeds into his already big ego. “so that’s what you want? pathetic.”

the chair creaks under the weight of you both, close to breaking and though ben didn’t care much, he rather not deal with butcher’s bitching about breaking motel furniture. so with one arm, he keeps you steady on his cock while making his way to the bed. sitting down right at the edge so you remain in the same position. cause there were various positions soldier boy could do but cowgirl had to be in his top five. plus who is he to turn down being suffocated by your gorgeous tits?

you have yet to say any coherent words or much of anything aside from the sinful noises. he wonders what’s going on in that pretty little mind of yours. his fingers grab a fistful of hair, forcefully tugging your head back as your eyes meet. “don’t make me speak that dirty language again, this is america.” a harsh slap meets your cheek, making you wince. “we speak english here and if i’m gonna fuck you, i’ll make sure you don’t forget that.”

his piercing gaze makes you squeeze around his shaft again, feeling your orgasm approach closer with each touch from him. “por f-favor,” you manage to choke out, whining when soldier boy stops his thrusts.

“what i fucking say huh?” you groan when he pulls you off his cock, pushing you onto the mattress on all fours. your ass lifted high into the air as he delivers the first slap. “speak english.” his dick is aching to be inside you but he had to hold back for now, you needed to know your place.

your face buried itself into the motel pillows, scratchy fabric brushing against your skin. butcher would be back soon and you knew soldier boy was nowhere near done with you. though you didn’t want him to stop entirely. “no no, who said you could hide that pretty face of yours?” once again, soldier boy grabs a fistful of your hair, looking down at your features. “don’t tell me we need to start with the basics.” you tried shaking your head but that only made his grip on your hair hurt more. “you got a mouth, speak, bitch.”

swallowing the lump in your throat, your eyes meet his, despite your vision blurring a bit. “i’ll speak e-english, promise!” it’s not a real promise, for you couldn’t get rid of a language you loved so much.

soldier boy chuckles, letting go of your hair and shifting down to the globes of your ass. spreading the cheeks apart to see how swollen your pussy was, hole gaping as it was already molded to his shape and size. “hmm, you’ll say anything just to feel me again huh? Qué chica tan sucia.”

he watches as you look back, pushing your ass against him in hopes the teasing might end. you needed him, craved to feel him every second you both were apart. “fine, guess i’ll give you what i want. i was always curious,” without warning, he slides right back in and smirks when you whimper. “if i get you pregnant, is our kid gonna look more like me or you?”

·̩͙།† ͝ ︶ ͝ ⏝ ͝ ︶ ͝ †། ·̩͙

Please note; I do not allow translations or redistributions of my work by anyone else except myself. MDNI, if your account is ageless or empty, I will block you !! Minors are NOT welcome here.

[michellejonesgf]

come on, live a little • patrick zweig x reader

pairing: patrick zweig x fem!reader

synopsis: patrick hasn't been kissed in a while. and so he asks for a kiss.

words: 1087

warnings: written in second person, pat zweig being persistent (he wants a kiss so bad) (not in a creepy way, you and him have a good friendship), hinge mention (author does NOT know how dating apps work), friends to lovers!

a/n: wrote this during a quick writing session in between study sessions, hope you like this <3

“hey can i ask you a favour.”

“nope.”

“if you were a really good friend.”

“good thing i’m not that.”

“you would really care about me.”

“pat, i don’t have time for this.”

“can you kiss me?"

and with those eyes so wide, so beautiful, who are you to say no?

“i haven’t been kissed in so long.”

patrick zweig has never been big on emotional vulnerability. he prefers to hide behind a veil of cheeky remarks and flirts with a mission, but laughter is all he expects even when he does happen to make a joke or two with personal anecdotes.

“did art put you up to this? or tashi?”

a part of his heart seizes at this. did you really not believe that someone could ache after you? or did it stem beyond that? did you not want this?

he says your name, “it’s already so embarrassing, you think they have that much of a hold over me?”

you shrug, looking anywhere but his eyes. your heart won’t accept its sincere but if you see even a glimmer of amusement in his eyes you will never be able to speak to him normally again.

“oh, i know they have a different kind of hold on you.”

“i don’t want to talk about them right now.”

“then don’t.”

patrick’s at the end of his rope. and he’s never at the end of rope, at least not in this way.

“the other day you said ‘what’s a little kiss between friends’. you know nothing’s going to change, or whatever.”

“is this how you get everyone to kiss you? no wonder you’ve been, what was it, thirty people in the last–”

“–don’t be mean.”

you feel bad. and you did say that a little kiss between one’s closest friends only makes the friendship stronger. but you also said that to tashi. who you don’t currently have feelings for (although art would say that’s debatable). maybe you should do this, be a good friend. “you really want a kiss, huh?” you squint your eyes at him.

“i don’t want to make you feel weird–”

“what about hinge?”

“what about it?”

the pause tells you all you need to know. "you got banned, didn't you?"

he averts his gaze, voice a bit smaller than before, "no i didn't".

he huffs and turns to you, eyes focused into yours, desperately peering, "do you not want to kiss? i won't bother you if its making you uncomfortable."

you think it's now or never. take a chance, risk it and hope that you can salvage what's left of your friendship over the next six months. art and tashi would understand right, they'd help you through it?

you lean closer to him, and slowly bring your hands to his face, cupping each cheek gently with each hand. you look into his eyes, smiling, "i'm going to need you to put on a shirt first."

he springs up and you hear the shuffle of his feet as he walks towards the bed. you smile at how he's quick to come back.

he sits back on the floor, just the way you both were a minute ago and you resume the position of your hands cradling his face.

“patrick zweig,” you say smiling.

“yes?” his voice is hesitant, he doesn’t know if you’re going to make fun of him or–

“can i kiss you?”

“please.”

you lean in and give his lips a slight feather-like touch with your own. neither party pulls away, both with closed eyes and held breaths. you make a decision. you lean in once more and press a kiss that feels more real this time. he kisses back but its so soft your heart melts at the thought that this could be something.

you try some more pressure and one of your hands goes to the back of his neck to pull him a bit closer. you’ve never felt this tingly while giving someone a kiss, you wonder if a friendship this deep makes it more special. if knowing someones hidden threads and tending to their bruised split knuckles when they try not to cry grants a special warmth to any potential future romantic dalliances with that person that sours any other romantic experience with someone else forever.

the leverage that your hand on his neck gives you feels dizzying because in this moment he is yours to hold and to kiss. you feel his palm in the small of your back, barely there, a bit more than ghosting. a deepened kiss, lips slotting between each other that meet for a moment only to slot a different way and you deign that enough. you both halt with your lips so close yet so apart.

you look into his eyes, from that so-close-so-apart distance and every resolve you had to stay civil dissolves. he looks at you and you feel dishonest and–

“i’ve liked you since that weekend at the basketball court.”

“i deleted hinge three months ago.”

so he was telling the truth.

a patrick zweig in love practices emotional vulnerability and tells the truth. who would’ve thought.

“so this isn’t just a kiss between friends?” as much as you don’t want to a smile creeps and lifts your cheeks so much there’s no way you can do a bit.

“come on, i just told my best friend i like her!”

“you didn’t tell me any of that.”

“well, the way you kiss told me that.”

“well, i also kiss your mother like that, if that helps.”

he holds your face the way that you were holding his just a few minutes ago, “will you stop seeing my mother and let me be your boyfriend, please?”

“come on, live a little, its the 21st century!” but your heart is beating so fast you cannot bring yourself to answer earnestly.

patrick’s smile turns toothy and you wonder what it would be like to taste the inside of his mouth.

“did you really save yourself for months so that you could kiss me?”

“you know how traditional i am.” this is the same patrick who kissed art to get him to stop talking that is now kissing you, and saving himself to do so.

“can we do that again but with tongue?”

“yes, director.”

[bwat5-blog]

Continuing The Cycle

**Spoilers For Arcane**

Let me say to begin with, that nothing in this post is to downplay or brush off Piltover's oppression of Zaun. There will be some who read that and still scream at me, that's okay. I just want to be clear.

Many people on here more insightful and intelligent than I have spoken on this already, but it has been sticking with me lately so I wanted to get my thoughts out.

I have been quite free with dismantling some of the inane attempts at criticism of Arcane in this space. But, I promise I do actually understand everyone is entitled to their opinion. After all, how we connect with and understand art on an individual level is one of the things that make it so special. I have never, and will never come for someone who is simply stating their honest opinion based on the actual content in a respectful manner.

Where my issues come in, have to do with these wide-spread critiques/takes/stances that so directly undermine the meaning of the narrative they are best ignorant and at worst malicious. And more often than not rely on omission of details that negates their stance, or fabrication of details to support them. To that end, what I am discussing today is the black and white thinking that has permeated the fandom, poisoning understanding and appreciation of all corners of that narrative.

LET'S JUST GET IT OUT OF THE WAY:

*Before we get into the Arcane content, we need to discuss where a lot of this is coming from. I am just gonna get this out here right now, and there are some people who are gonna keel over reading it but if you are one of those folks I might as well not waste your time*

Arcane is not the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

It could not be more clear that this is where a lot of this is coming from. Let me be explicitly clear, this is NOT a deep-dive or analysis of this conflict. This thing is immensely complicated . If you comment here with a "IT IS NOT COMPLICATED ITS" sort of comment I'm sorry to tell you but you are wrong. The modern phase of this has origins as far back as the late nineteenth century and there is more going back even further. I don't care if its a straight fucking line. Something going back that far has more to it than the average nerd like me is qualified to speak on. Now, that being said, I do understand to a degree why this is happening. Not like this conflict has ever really been settled but in the last few years especially things have really been active and generating a degree of media content I don't remember seeing this level of in my short 32 years. So in a world where everyone (myself included) is so plugged in and enveloped by social media, a lot of us are getting a more direct look at this than we really ever have. And we analyze and connect with art through the lens of the world around us to a point. But we CANNOT do so exclusively. Trying to force a narrative into a one-to-one comparison robs it of a tremendous amount of meaning. Because no matter how complex and intricate this story actually can be. IT IS NOT REALITY. I'm not getting into it here, that would be pages and pages of writing and I'm here to talk about Arcane. But I'm going to say this because it applies to real life and the show both and will take us into my actual point today.

The idea that anyone on one side must always be good and justified simply because they are the oppressed, while the other must always be evil, is juvenile, naïve, and fails to grasp even a fraction of the complexity of human nature

Some of you are going to have an absolute seizure reading me say that that statement applies to real life as well. I don't care. It takes time, maturity, and meeting people from all walks of life to understand things are not so simple.

BACK TO ARCANE:

But, that being said time to get back to business. How does this all apply to Arcane?

"The show should have ended with a civil war between Zaun and Piltover!"

"When Zaun arrived during the last battle Jinx should have unloaded on the Enforcers and the Noxians both!"

"They ruined Jinx's character! WTF do you mean she apologized for killing Caitlyn's mother? Her mom was part of the oppressive system that ruined Jinx's life and brought it on herself!"

"Silco did bad things but it was all to gain power to protect Zaun!"

"Poor little rich girl lost her mom and acts like it's a reason to punish an entire city with warcrimes. The people of Zaun have been suffering worse for their entire history"

"Rebel Vi I miss you! How dare they make you care about people in Piltover!"

"The coward show runners made Zaunites into boot-lickers fighting for Piltover wearing Enforcer armor at the end!"

You get the idea. I have seen variations of these and many more time and time again. Zaun should have let Piltover fall or even attacked themselves. Caitlyn deserved everything done to her because she's of the Piltovan elite. Every terrible thing Jinx or Silco did was totally and completely justified because of Piltovan oppression.

Now there are many angles I could come at this from. My usual one is simply addressing the astounding lack of logic in most of these sorts of arguments. For example, I can rope all of the people saying Zaun should have let Piltover fall into one category. People who forgot about this guy:

Like he was just gonna "evolve" Piltover than call it a day and zoot off into space with his new buddies. Obviously not and the idea that he wouldn't immediately take Zaun as well then keep moving is completely laughable. But this sort of thing isn't my issue today. My issue is that those so zealously insisting the the show should have continued on a path of hate, death and destruction are completely missing the point.

I titled this continuing the cycle for a reason. So much of this show, revolves around this concept of the cycle of violence. Those who keep it going, those who suffer from it, and those who break it. And the issue I'm finding is that a tremendous amount of people have seemingly decided that anything people from Zaun do is justified, and anything people from Piltover do is not. When in fact, where they are born is irrelevant in this context. Because each and everyone of them has the choice to further the cycle, or to walk away.

Silco & Vander:

Vander continued the cycle when instead of forgiving Silco for his part (whatever it may have been, we never really get the whole story) in Felicia's death he tried to kill him. And Silco did the same when he took his revenge instead of walking away ending not only the life of the man who wronged him, but causing the deaths of two teenage boys, trying to have Vi killed and causing her imprisonment altering her life forever, and taking Powder as his own after obliterating her second family altering her life and the lives of all those she would hurt through her actions as well.

Caitlyn:

In Caitlyn we see all three. She was an admittedly naïve but well-meaning young woman who was victimized terribly by cycle of violence around all for thinking she could help. We then watch her heart-breaking transformation into being a part of it allowing her hate and pain to warp her into someone dark and vengeful. Then finally we see her laying down the hate for her mothers killer in favor of her love for the woman who means everything to her. Stepping outside of it and turning her back on that violence.

There are of course other examples. Jinx walking away, Ambessa choosing to continue the bloodshed even with her last child begging her to stop. the list goes on. My point in discussing this is that it doesn't matter where they come from. Characters from all over this story play a part both good and bad in the events that occur. And to properly appreciate and understand this tale and what it is saying we MUST recognize that.

Yes Silco was a Zaunite. No Silco was not justified in unleashing Shimmer on his own people. He was a revolutionary once, but he lost his way. In the end he died a violent drug lord who exploited his people for his own gain. He was not a hero.

Yes Jinx is a Zaunite. No, Jinx attacking the council was not a noble strike for her people against oppression. She was a terrified, mentally ill, grieving and angry young woman who lashed out in a moment of awful pain. And in doing guaranteed Piltovan oppression against her people. .

Yes, Heimerdinger was the father of Piltover and his neglect caused terrible problems for everyone. He also gave his life for a Zaunite rebel commander to help get him home. (I understand in the lore he's probably alive but we haven't seen that yet and they have for sure diverged so it isn't a guarantee)

Yes, Caitlyn Kiramman is the daughter of one of the high houses of Piltover, and played a part of the people of Zaun suffering under Ambessa's manipulations and cruelty. She also gave the leader of the Firelights the gemstone she was so determined to return, stood side-by-side with Vi and told the council to their faces they failed Zaun, and put her own body on the line to make things right against Ambessa.

And that isn't to say that any of those characters were all good or all bad. It's to say that they all are capable of both. Just like every character. To slap a Zaun sticker on Silco and a Piltover (or cop as so many of you are fond of) sticker on Caitlyn and give them a pass or not for everything they do based on that is simplistic and ignorant. These characters have so much to them that to reduce them to these easily digestible bite-sized pieces is to deprive yourself of that true weight of this story.

All that said, lets take another look at a few items from that list from earlier:

"The show should have ended with a civil war between Zaun and Piltover!"// At the moment where all of humanity was at stake, people came together and fought side by side to quite literally save the world

"They ruined Jinx's character! WTF do you mean she apologized for killing Caitlyn's mother? Her mom was part of the oppressive system that ruined Jinx's life and brought it on herself!"// In a moment of pain and clarity Jinx found herself speaking to someone she realized she horribly wronged. Someone who had been twisted into something dark and violent by pain and grief, a feeling Jinx knew all too well. So she said the most she could, it isn't a direct apology. But her remorse is clear. "

"When Zaun arrived during the last battle Jinx should have unloaded on the Enforcers and the Noxians both!"// Jinx went from someone hated and feared, who felt like she had nothing to offer anyone, who felt like she had failed or killed everyone who loved her, to riding into battle leading her people and bearing symbols of her loved ones into the war for all mankind. And although I and most agree she's alive, the last act we know she for sure that she took was to save the life of the older sister who loved her so much in her most dire moment. If she did die, Jinx died a hero.

CLOSING WORDS:

Arcane is many things. But it's humanity is its heart. I've said it many times and many ways, but good stories... in this case great stories matter. They stick with us. Because long after the giant battles, the wolf monsters, and shiny blue magic rocks have faded, its the humanity you remember. The sisters fighting desperately to hold on to each-other in a world determined to rip them apart. The lovers from different worlds finding hope in each-others arms. Brothers betraying one another, a daughter having to take her mothers life, the list goes on. But when we rob these characters and this story of all of that, when the flash is gone, what's left?

I haven't done a long one in a bit and I feel like this is a bit rambling so I apologize. To those who take time out of their day to read anything I have to say I appreciate you more than you know. Feel free to share your thoughts! I love discussing this show. And in closing will leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for"

- JRR Tolkien

[paingoes]

Rubies - Encounter

the thing i just said i would write >:)

set later into rubies

(Content: living weapon whumpee, whumpee-turned-caretaker?, bad caretaker, multiple whumpees, verbal abuse, conditioning, blood, past trauma, comfort)

LEVON: I wish you’d told me you were tagging along! I would have given you a heads-up. DELTA: thats okay DELTA: it doesnt really bother me DELTA: its nothing i havent seen before LEVON: Yes I’m sure. LEVON: Nevertheless I thought you would appreciate the warning. DELTA: eh

LEVON: I notice this is becoming a bit of a pet project of yours. LEVON: I would have passed more information along to you if I’d known you were interested. In fact I considered doing so in the beginning. LEVON: I was worried you would feel tokenized by it. LEVON: Also to be perfectly honest with you I would prefer that you stay out of imperial territory. DELTA: i think i actually would have felt a bit tokenized by it in the beginning tbh that was probably a good call DELTA: its different if im doing it on my own time DELTA: im sorry i hope you dont think im ignoring your orders by coming here LEVON: They weren’t formal orders. DELTA: i know but still i dont want to come off as disrespectful for it DELTA: i do value your advice i dont mean to blow you off LEVON: Delta, it’s fine. DELTA: okay cool LEVON: It’s going well, then? DELTA: yeah there was only one of them and no one was expecting her to be here clearly DELTA: im not with her right now though im with kitty we are in the server room LEVON: Okay. I’m getting word that there are a few patrollers already orbiting close by, so I’d suggest you wrap it up quick. DELTA: yeah we are finishing up now LEVON: Be careful. DELTA: yessir LEVON: Goodbye. DELTA: bye captain

Kitty looped up another loose cable, one more fire hazard. Delta slipped the phone back into the pocket of his pants. His other hand extended to her to help her up to her feet.

From below, another loud crash.

“Sounds like it’s working.” Kitty’s eyes lit up.

They walk down the bloodstained steps. Most of the place had already been cleared out by the time they arrived. The two of them are almost never at any active sight. Third wave, maybe second wave, if anything. Kitty was IT. Delta did a little bit of everything now, but was too valuable as a psychic to ever endanger with capture.

He was only the second psychic to enter the manor. The first was downstairs, doing everything she could to destroy what was around her. As they descended back to the first floor, they saw the mess she had made of things.

“Get away,” she said, “Get away. Get away.”

The silver collar glistened around her neck. The same light shone just by her eyes, reflected from the tears that were forming there.

Infantry was the one to deal with her — they were being surprisingly gentle about it.

“Easy. Easy, I know you’re scared,” a sniper of all people promised her, both hands raised in a placating surrender. “Let’s all slow down. We won’t hurt you.”

“No!” she shouted back. She was crying in earnest now. 

“We’re going to get you help, okay? But we need to go now.”

“I don’t want to go! I can’t!” 

In that exact instant, Delta noticed that her collar was broken in places. It was malfunctioning. Her powers were slipping through the cracks.

“Get away from me!” Her voice was shrill, pitched with panic. “Stay back or I’ll - I’ll-“

As she said it, a little halo of crystals was forming in a blaze right by her head. It was a crown of glass. In the space above her, the shards appeared out of thin air.

Kitty stepped forwardly slightly. It did something to him then, to hear her slip back into sweetness. The words had the same gentle tone that she’d used for him when they’d first dredged him up out of the water. When he was scared.

“It’s okay,” she promised. “You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you. We want to help, okay? Just wanna help.”

“Leave me alone!” the girl yelled back. In the same instant, her right hand cut an arc through the air.

The glass flew like shrapnel. They were small pieces, but hard and razor sharp. She managed to pierce quite a few of them. But what Delta saw most precisely was the shard that flew only inches from Kitty’s face. Just barely missing her.

It was mostly adrenaline that moved him then;  his heart was beating too quickly for him to make sense of it. But in the next second, he’d zeroed in on the psychic.

The pulse knocked her back into the wall. It didn’t hurt — he knew exactly how to make it hurt and he didn’t — but it had shocked her. He caught her wrist, pinning it there. The hands were conduits. Though it was still possible to use their powers without moving an inch, the immobility gave the impression of helplessness. That’d be enough for now.

“Stop.”

She went still, but there was tension rigged in every inch of her body.

“You do not use your powers without permission.” His voice was low, more venomous than he meant it to be. “That is the first thing they teach you and there is no excuse for having forgotten it.”

She shrank away from that. They were sensitive to scolding — every single one of them.

“Sorry,” she whispered. She flexed her fingers where they were held. Little shards of glass were still raining softly from the ceiling.

“Listen to me. We are leaving. It doesn’t matter if you want to or not. You’re not going to fight them. And you’re going to do as they ask. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You do? You’re going to behave yourself? Because you can just as easily leave here in chains if you don’t.”

“Yes, sir,” she swallowed. She refused to look at him.

It was an acceptable surrender. He released her wrist, but not before wrenching it in the same direction that the others were waiting. He pointed.

“Go.”

She went obediently. One of the medics hovered their hands by her shoulder, not quite touching, but guiding her over to the exit.

There were little indentations in her skin where his claws had been.

He’d cowed her. Delta sat there for a second, alight in the afterglow of cruelty. It hadn’t felt good, but alarmingly enough, it had felt natural. Maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d learned from the best, after all. 

The thought made him sick.

Kitty was staring at him. A couple of them were. He knew before he even turned around. 

Sorry you had to see that, he almost said. But that seemed a bit inadequate, all things considered. He said nothing instead. Already, he felt a blush rising to his cheeks.

He moved to her, side-stepping carefully around the littered glass. Kitty still looped her arm in through his own. She didn’t hate him for it, which would have been about the worst thing he could imagine. 

“That was kinda fucked up,” she whispered to him as soon as they’d climbed onto the carrier.

“Fucked up of me?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little fucked up of you!”

Delta nodded. He’d assumed that was what she meant.

“She’ll be fine,” he exhaled. “Believe me, she’s more than used to it.”

“They really talked to you like that?” Kitty frowned.

Ungrateful. Disrespectful. Brat. Don’t you ever-

Delta bit his lip, nodding. Used to it. He traced the skin around his collar with the tips of his fingers.

“I don’t care if she hates me,” he decided. “As long as she’s out. Of all the things she has to get over, she’ll barely remember this one.”

Something about that didn’t sit right, though. 

~

Worse than cruelty was unpredictability. He worried about playing the same games that Simon had — pulling rank one second and coddling the next. It was a mean thing to do. He thought it’d be better if he just never saw her again. The ones looking out for her now could teach her in their own time. He wouldn’t further disrupt their signals.

This resolution, once he came to it, barely lasted the length of an hour.

“Can I see her?” he peeked into the quarters where they kept her.

The girl sat idly on the edge of the bed, both hands folded in her lap just the way she’d been trained to. Her hair had come undone — and now furled into spirals at the base of her neck. She’d gone dead-eyed. That was exactly how they wanted them.

She still startled when he entered. 

“Sorry,” she said without hesitation, with no conscious effort. “I’m sorry, sir.”

He used to think he was good at apologizing, after a lifetime spent groveling for forgiveness. It had been such a difficult day when he first realized that that wasn’t what anyone wanted from him anymore.

“Easy. Hey.” He raised both hands up slightly in surrender. “Not gonna hurt you. No one’s going to hurt you. You’re okay.”

The look she gave him in return suggested she did not — could not — believe him. Fair. She was less than one day out, after all. He didn’t even bother to correct her on the honorific. If she was anything like him, it would take years to undo the habit.

Her chest rose and fell without her eyes ever leaving him, like an animal backed into a corner. He moved slowly for her sake, lowering himself until he sat cross-legged on the Persian carpet.

He thought he was good at apologies once, before he knew what they were supposed to be. By now, he was good in earnest. He’d been a fast learner all his life — and pride was something he’d never been afforded.

“I’m sorry for speaking to you like that. It won’t happen again. No one here will ever speak to you like that. I only did it because we were short on time and we wanted to get you somewhere safe. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

His hands moved nervously against his sleeves. He almost stopped them, before remembering he didn’t have to. When he looked up, she was still staring unblinking. Her jaw has loosened a bit.

No one had apologized to her in a very long time. She had no script to follow for it. So when she said something completely unrelated, it came as no real surprise:

“What are you going to do with me, sir?” 

There was something like betrayal in her voice. That hurt most of all.

“You’re like me,” she realized.

For some reason, this almost embarrassed him. In Galatea, his abilities are mostly rumors. Even the ones who knew for certain still assumed he was low-level. There were only a handful who knew the full extent of it. But for the most part, psychics recognized their own. 

“I came the same way,” he said softly. “This was a rescue. You haven’t been stolen. It’s okay if you don’t believe that right now. But you’re free. Only rule is that you can’t hurt anyone while you’re here — everyone follows that one, not just you.”

“I wouldn’t-“ she said hurriedly. “I wouldn’t, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, sir. Please.”

“It’s okay. You’re not going to be punished for it,” he said. “I’m not mad at you. No one is.”

Just scared, for a second. Scared of her, just like they’d been of him. The fear is what drove people crazy, what made them decide it was right to keep them in chains all his life. She was scared out of her mind, too. But no one ever cared about that.

“You’re safe,” he promised. “I know it doesn’t feel like it. I didn’t feel like it as first either — and I know I just made you feel unsafe. But it won’t happen again. No one will ever treat you like that again.”

“…Yes, sir,” she agreed, looking down at her own shoes. 

It wasn’t sinking in all the way. He didn’t sigh, even though he wanted to. He couldn’t believe how patient Kitty and Apollo had been with him in those early days. He’d never be grateful enough. He’d never be good like them, not really. All he could do was try.

“Tell them if you need anything,” he suggested. “It’s not a trick question. They’ll get it for you if they can. And they won’t punish you for asking.”

“Yes, sir.” She nodded.

Poor kid, he thought dimly. The thought surprised him. He’d never thought anything of it before, when he’d been in her position. It all just felt normal. The way he was meant to behave. It was only after years of living outside of it that he could see it for what it was.

He stood up wearily from his spot on the ground. She flinched a bit as he did, but he knew he shouldn’t take it personally.

“You can sleep too, by the way,” he reminded her. “You don’t need to ask permission.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said. There was actual relief in her voice when she answered that time. She’d been waiting to hear it.

~

The first thing he did after closing the door was go to find Kitty. She’d been curled up by the bay windows when he finally spotted her. He climbed onto the cushion next to her. She was peering at him from over the edge of her laptop screen.

“All good?” she purred.

“She’ll be fine.” He nodded. As fine as any of them could be. He really did think that his own cruelty towards her would only scrape the surface of all that she would have to recover from. But that wasn’t an excuse.

“Thank you for being kind to me,” he said softly. It sounded almost childlike now. But it was far from the first time he’d said it. “Even when I was being difficult. You were always nice.”

“You were never difficult!” Kitty gasped. “What are you talking about? You’re my favorite.”

That alone would’ve been enough to make him cry last year. Even now, he got close.

~~~

tags:

@catnykit @snakebites-and-ink @scoundrelwithboba @whatwhump

@pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @fuckass1000 @fuckcapitalismasshole @defire

@micechomper @writereleaserepeat @aloafofbreadwithanxiety @floral-comet-whump @littlebookworm69

@lordcatwich @human-123-person @paperprinxe @whomeidontknowthem @chiswhumpcorner

@bacillusinfection @ichortwine @whump-queen @lumpywhump

@jumpywhumpywriter @sir-fenris

[shin-kenooubu]

Confession Headcanons!

featuring: Ranpo Edogawa

(sfw, fluff, gn!reader, no content warnings)

• author's note: more ranpo because i love him.

Ranpo isn't used to being uncertain about things, in fact, there is nothing in the world that he is less accustomed to. He always has things figured, it's always taken him seconds and it somehow takes him Even Less Time to blabber out the answer.

But that certainty comes from cold hard facts. Feelings are far, far, faaaar trickier.

So obviously. Instead of figuring out a way to put his feelings into proper words and going through the grueling feeling of vulnerability and heat rushing into his face and down his neck.

He makes you do it.

Eventually, you won't be able to keep quiet about your feelings and he knows this. But at the rate you're going, it's going to take ages. So he's going to help speed up the process! Because someone needs to confess.

And its certainly not going to be him. For obvious reasons.

So heres now it goes:

- All up in your space. He knows you get flustered when he's near. Filing some paperwork? He's sitting on your desk. Taking a break on the couch? He's sitting down and draping his legs over your lap. You're taking your lunch break? He's hungry too!!! Buy him a treat!!!

- Makes you accompany him whenever he gets sent out. It doesn't matter if you can drive or not, he'll tell you everything he's already figured out about the case on the way there regardless! He's basically figured it all out already anyways. Isn't that impressive? Isn't he the best? Praise him, please and thank you.

- Compliments you. Indirectly. All the other members of the ADA always mention how highly Ranpo seems to think of you. It's clear that he values your input, he finds you incredibly dependable as well, y'know, he's even mentioned that you're pretty easy on the eyes. Don't tell him they told you that, though. (It's all part of his master plan.)

- Shares. His supply is dwindling even faster because of you! You should feel honored. Or maybe not. He doesn't actually mind, don't feel bad for taking anything. Hurry up and eat the damn thing already.

- Listens to you. Actively. He makes sure to show that he's paying attention to you because he knows that you appreciate it. He doesn't really get it, he's always listening even if it looks like he's busy playing around. But feelings are weird and fragile. He'll be a little extra careful with yours.

- Makes an effort to not insult your intelligence. Not that he ever actually means to, his wording is just off. Which is why recently you've found him growing quiet in conversations for a few seconds. A small pout on his lips as he considers his words before snapping right back into place and continuing whatever tirade he was going on. All without throwing out an indirect jab. It's cute, and also very thoughtful.

- Minimizes the opportunities you have to get hurt in his plans. Obviously some things don't come together as neatly as one might hope but damnit if he isn't finding a way to keep you safe. You can be useful And out of harms way.

He's obvious, he doesn't trust you to not brush off his vaguer advances as him simply being friendly. He wants you to get the hint. Needs you to, really, because he's sick of pining just as much as you are.

When you do eventually ask to speak to him privately, invite him into your space and sit him down, his heart pounds.

Ranpo knows the outcome of this, he's set it in motion for weeks, maybe even months, but theres still Doubt.

He can't see the future.

He can infer it, maybe. Can imagine a future where you and him are happy, where everyday, the two of you lay in bed together, and you smile at him as you run your fingers through his black hair and his mind grows muddy.

But this isn't like any simple murder case. He knows some facts, yeah, but none of it will ever, ever be enough to be Certain. Certain of you and him. Together. It scares him.

But when you take his hands in yours, a little clammy from nerves, and whisper your feelings to him, he can't help but surge forward and press his lips to yours.

A wide smile. A simple, "I know."

You can feel his quiet laughter on your face.

He's lucky he didn't wheeze it out, with how tight his chest feels from pure giddiness.

[a-sip-of-sunshine]

Offerings

An important practice in hellenic Polytheism is the offerings. Many people already have an idea about what they are, so this post is more centered towards worshippers that stress around this concept since I'll be talking about how to handle it/how I handle it.

Offerings can range from a wide amount of things. A quick classification I can make up from the top of my head is: food offerings, other objects, and devotional acts.

When you first get introduced to hellenic Polytheism, food offerings appear as one of the main ways of building Kharis with the deities, since in general, that's what offerings do. The problem begins when we take libations and food as the better way to do offerings, putting them in some sort of subconscious pedestal over the other "methods".

Many followers can't afford to always do them to honor the gods, myself included. So, when all we see is an inability to offer things to our gods that way, it leads us to feel guilty and disappointed.

This is where I start to give tips from my own experience !

First, think of offerings as gifts. It is said to us that gifts don't always have to be something material to be significant. The same concept applies to offerings. I mentioned at the start that there were also other objects that could be given and devotional acts too. Intent is what matters. The gods don't care if you do offerings a certain way, but if the feelings are genuine from your part.

Other objects include jewelry/devotional jewelry, toys, books, etc. Basically, anything that isn't food. Devotional acts, as its name suggests, are activities that you can dedicate to your deities as long as it falls under their domain. Example: I have given Apollo a mouse fidget toy and also dedicate drawing, divination, dancing, etc.

It is as simple as that, trust me. It doesn't have to be elaborated. Now that gets me to the second point: check your resources.

You guys already know I struggled from following recon concepts and practices. You're totally free to follow them too if you can and want, but simply, some of us can't. Many sources for information about helpol come from a recon point of view, or simply others put things way more complicated/elaborated than they really are. Again, people are free to do them, but I'm focusing here on beginners/revivalists. Analyze your information and don't stay just with that. Search for easier ways to do things and overall avoid possible frustrations.

Getting back to my practice, I found out that libations didn't necessarily need to be poured out outside on the ground ! They could be poured down the sink or in a cup. Simple, right? This is mostly for those who still want to offer their gods food but in a more accessible manner. Another one is leaving the first or last bite of your food as an offering. (For Hestia, you leave both of those bites)

Note: Before applying these, know that rules still apply to Chthonic gods, not ingesting, eating, or drinking the offerings !

So now that you have both of those tips, I'll tell you one last thing: don't be afraid. It is also a shared sentiment that us helpols stress over our gods' images of us, our relationship with them, to treat them with respect and, overall, not fuck things up. Relax with your offerings, ease down. That constant worry also affects your feelings towards them, and we don't want that ! It is something that not only makes your deity happy, but you as well. The gods care about your happiness.

That's it for today ! If you want more of my rambles, feel free to interact with this post ♡ I wish you a good journey.

[candyswirls]

Can we get Neoth panicking about Lilith's existence and thinking her a monster before realizing she's just like any other ten year old when she starts purring in his lap?

Well, and animalistic as well as cannibalistic due to the blood drinking, but she's fine, she just has the same markings as some African grass finch chicks have-

He rested his head on his fist, watching his grandchild. What did he do to merit this within her?

She had happily given him a wide, opened mouth smile. Those spots within her mouth and cheeks... inhuman. He felt guilt as she saw his expression and quickly pulled back.

What did this mean, though?

His mind ran through all the various gene-splicing he'd done when creating his sons. Was it his decision? What about Amar and Erda? No, he closely monitored the project.

This had to be his fault. Sanguinius had been worried. She wasn't growing and was turning a sickly pale shade. Weaker than usual. Duller.

She seemed interested enough in her hobbies, and he gladly indulged in it. He offered her a skull to carve into. He'd have been worried if this interest had Dorn not told him how they bonded over the shared aspect of each other's cultures.

Still, he questioned if this was the surface of something for more morbid.

She sat at the base of the throne steps.

"I usually use the tibia or humerus," she stated as she inspected the designs around the eye sockets.

"Not the femur?" He questioned, trying to keep the conversation going. He wouldn't ignore or dismiss her.

"No," she said. "It's too bulky for the types of designs and artistic vision I have. The really hard part is the small bones, though, like fingers. Lots of little details, and I am bigger than baselines. You have to be careful not to break them. It's considered bad luck and disrespectful to the dead."

He nodded slowly even though she couldn't see.

She continued, "Some say that I could just use astartes skeletons, but they don't offer their own for such purposes, and the ceramic infused bones are hard to carve into."

He raised a brow, "The bones are donated. An interesting aspect."

She looked up at him, "It's seen as a great honor to become a work of art and its also an honor to do it for someone. If you ever wanted I could carve your bones."

He stared a moment, and she laughed, "As if you'd ever die! No, but I think it's important to have that promise there."

He had seen the markings again but forced a smile through, "I am flattered at your offer. No doubt you would do well with my bones."

He was the master of mankind but right now, he had another important duty. Being a grandfather.

She stood and skipped up the steps. She kneeled at the throne, resting her elbows on his lap.

"Since it won't happen, I can show you what I'd do," she stated excitedly.

She pointed out each carving on the skull and what it meant. What she would do for him. How she would do things differently than this skull and others she'd carved into.

"I could use xenos or animal bones too and make you something," she offered. "I just need to find some really good ones."

Her glee was obvious.

He stroked her head, "Your father is very proud, I'm sure. I am as well. You take great care in your work. A worthy endeavor."

A smile crossed her face and she rested a head on his lap.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He got the distinct impression that she needed to hear that. He continued stroking her head and hair and noticed a low and soothing rumble coming from Lilith. Purring. Like so many of his sons could do.

This put himself at ease as well. She'd be alright. She was very much a child. Only caring for her interests and wanting to have validation. She bore no ill will, and he'd have time to figure out something if anything did happen.

He just hoped there wasnt any romantic traditions with this. Throne forbid the day she developed a crush.

[hetalianhistorian]

Is there a reason you haven't been active lately? I hope you're okay and doing well

Hey Anon!

Don't worry, I'm doing well and I'm still thinking about the blog (and Hetalia) every day. Thank you for checking in on me.

In fact, you're asking this at a really good time, because it was just today that I've started thinking about making a full post regarding my inactivity. Think this would be a good time to start communicating what has been going on.

In short, my priorities in life are shifting! I don't publicly talk about myself too often, but it was only last summer that I have entered my 20s, transferred to university this past winter, and now I'm looking forward towards a job, my career, loved ones, and ambitions outside of Hetalia. Basically, I am turning into an adult and I have never dealt with this before. Not to mention, the blog still requires energy and especially time to maintain. I was not expecting just how long compiling certain posts would take up in my day. Because of this, posts have started to become overwhelming for me, especially as a person with ADHD. There's a lot more to say and detail upon, but I want to give everything its own proper post, in which I hope to get done by this week. Now, that does NOT mean things are over. I still have plenty of ambitions I want to do for the blog and Hetalia, and I still want to be able to interact and provide for the community. However, in order for that to happen, some things definitely need to change and be improved. I hope this down period is not a signage for the end of Hetalian Historian, but an anticipation for great things to come. I want to be able to access this issue and learn from it on how I could make things better. Basically: I will fight for this blog, including Himaruya himself. In the meantime, until I catch up with the news and get an update post out, I want you guys to be able to still keep up with Hetalia. For all I know, my word could become literal and I actually end up doing fighting Himaruya tomorrow and die from it. So the main way I keep up with the news is through Twitter and these are the accounts I follow.

Despite being the main news source for the western Hetalia fandom, what I do isn't exactly anything too special because I'm still taking information and reposting it. After all, I started this blog in the first place because I wanted to make the news accessible as much as possible, and that goal still stands. However, right now, I'm only one person and this one person is struggling a bit. So take the liberty to share it amongst yourselves! Tell your friends! Stay informed about the things you love! Thanks for checking in on me! I hope even in this down period, this will allow me the chance to grow closer to the community and improve the blog forward. Please take care of yourselves!

[lsunstreakerl]

darkbull

What I've learned about myself, from each ficlet you've posted is that while I love seeing Max being oblivious, the other POV's are so much more interesting to me, but purely because they all know the things that make Max oblivious. I loved this last ficlet of what punishment is for Max, it's hard to read because it should be! we are reading a man that has no autonomy and gets brainwashed easily.

In contrast, loved the Carlos ficlet. Maybe its because it came out right as I got off work and was a treat, or because it answered some of the more pressing questions I had of "how does Carlos enter the crime aspect of rb" and "how/when does Daniel join the dynamic?" Selfishly, can we get a Daniel POV at any point?

I think the fucked up nature of the series and how brainwashed everyone has to be in rb to be this into Max as a person but also a concept is incredible.

My current question is who is the fourth? are you planning on going RB Junior rising through the ranks ( already said it isn't Alex and I doubt its Pierre, though it'd be funny ) My thought right now based on where I feel everything is going, Liam, I think he's the most willing to be as unhinged as you need to be to become the fourth in a Max, Carlos, Daniel Sandwich but also because I don't think Redbull would truly allow an outsider to be the fourth long term.

As always, thank you thank you thank you I will comment again soon once at least 2 ficlets are posted and I have enough thoughts to make my spot in the ask box worth it what's the current count

it's so interesting seeing who likes what more. some people like the max pov's more, but I agree that they only hit so well because you get the necessary background from other characters.

max's pov for the punishment ficlet is an intentionally hard read- and without the carlos ficlet beforehand to explain, it would be difficult to understand what's happening, because max doesn't know.

glad you liked the carlos ficlet! I'll be writing more on daniel joining the three of them, and I've actually got a daniel pov about half finished at the moment (pre-kidnapping, but barely), so keep an eye out for that!

yesss the way the whole team is in on it- imagine being a new employee being onboarded and learning about max, and seeing the way he's handled and treated. maybe that first thought is "okay that's actually concerning and weird" but then seeing how max does so well, and being surrounded by people saying it's okay- that thought process becomes "well, if it works for him". and then getting to be part of the team, getting to be one of the people directing and guiding and taking care of max- at that point they've practically earned it, really. it's a seniority thing.

it's part of the culture of the team at this point.

consider... I'm taking a junior who wasn't previously part of the Redbull program, but who has Redbull ties. unhinged is good, but it's important to have someone steady and reassuring as well. so the goal is a kind of "subtle" unhinged- one that maybe doesn't get noticed right away, one that hides a bit deeper. still there, just better disguised.

glad you liked it!! writing this verse has been so interesting so there's definitely more of it in the works.

current count is 62! everyone putting multiple questions into one has really helped already :)

[kakitetan]

Sebastian Solace x GN! Reader | Daily Life AU | The Plan

"Oh, you're back . Let me grab your file." Sebastian said, his back was turned.  

The only light in the room was his eyes and his lure . His fingers brushed through the files . He didn't want to say it, but he was thankful you had died . You had the crystal , you were so close . That worried him .. All these monsters, these obstacles, and even Painter . It's all there just to buy him time.  

"I just need to buy us more time, and this.. Filth has gotten way too close." He thought to himself. He clenched his jaw behind his lips, he knew you could barely see his face, but he didn't want to drop his friendly merchant persona unless he had to.

"There it is." His voice echoed, and he passed you your file. He clasped his hands together, you were still disoriented. He let out a sigh, "You don't have to read it, but don't waste my time."

Y/N's hands trembled as they accepted the file from Sebastian, her gaze never leaving his inscrutable features . The faint echo of his voice resonated through the quiet room, sending a shiver down their spine . Disorientation washed over them like a cold wave, making it difficult to focus on anything but the sea creature standing before them.

Sebastian clasped his hands together , he saw you shake your head . He raised his chin in defiance, staring at you in disgust . Humans are rather disgusting creatures, aren't they ? Sebastian's expression hardened, his lips curling into a sneer as he beheld Y/N's shocked face . With a dismissive flick of his gaze, he summed them up with contemptuous disdain.

"No .. I'm just really disappointed in myself..." He heard your voice crack.

He lowered his guard.

Did he hear that right? Or rather was this another manipulation tactic by the many other Urbanshade criminals that come and go?

Many expendables break down, whether it's anger, sadness, or no reaction at all. Just.. Shock. He's learned not to get attached to people; Sebastian didn't want to go through what he's already gone through. Not again ..

"You reaaaally like to waste my time , are you done yet? .. Let's get one thing straight, I don't care about you or your feelings. You're here because of your crimes. Let's see your file.." He turned around, shuffling back into the darkness.

The small light to his lure grew further away before his voice spoke up once more . "That's right, riiiight here."

"You were charged with second-degree murder, and caught red-handed." The file slammed shut with a harsh finality, his venomous retort searing into Y/N with a sneer. "Quite the charge, isn't it? It means nothing down here." He spoke with venom.

You stared at him, before looking back down at the file of what had killed you again.. Before opening your mouth to speak. Sebastian noticed your hesitation, assuming he had finally won.

"I did it because I had to .. I was in danger. Out of everyone down here, I'd think you'd understand." You spoke.

Sebastian felt a vein pop from that sentence.

All the bloodshed, the corpses he had torn apart. Sebastian's mind recoiled at the gruesome memories, each one more visceral than the last. The metallic tang of blood, the crunch of bone beneath his teeth, the slick feel of entrails spilling from ruptured abdomens, all these horrors twisted in his thoughts, swarming feelings of anguish, revulsion, and numbness. Bit by bit. He vividly remembered tearing into the flesh of other Urbanshade soldiers, biting into the tendons of the scientists, feeling every inch of the pain from the constant surgeries, and being cut open. He felt so much in pain, that he wanted to die from every waking moment of the medical procedures. His body was violated and reshaped against his will. Every incision, every probing instrument, every stitch pulled had been a fresh hell. The pain was a constant companion, a gnawing entity that refused to relinquish its grip. Even now, decades later, the echoes of that torment lingered, festering in the darkest recesses of his psyche.

"You SHUT UP!" His hands slammed onto the desk.

"YOU AND I ARE NOTHING ALIKE!"

"And frankly I don't give I fuck, even if I did understand! I was never filthy scum like you , you deserve to be down here. You should've been in MY place, I! WAS! INNOCENT! ... YOU! .. I hate YOU the most." He spat, before closing the file.

He turned his back, placing the file back into its organized spot in the darkness. He heard you mumble something under your breath, while he was putting the file away. His head perked, and his teeth became visible in annoyance. He was ready to tear you apart now, you were getting on his last nerve.

"And what was that?" He growled, this fucking pissed him off.

"I said come with me!" You shouted, and that caught him off guard. "I'll try again , just give me another try! I know I won't remember much, but I'll try until I make it , you'll come with me.." You were sobbing.

Sebastian hid in the shadows, slowly relaxing as he realized, you weren't mad, nor were you a threat. You were just stupid.

'Save those tears ' he wanted to say, but nothing came out.

It was like a lightbulb went off, he knew what to do, and he wanted to play along too . You were expendable after all, not just to Urbanshade, but to him too. His grin slowly formed back. He slithered towards you, gently picking you up, and carrying you back to the beginning. He looked down at you , you were passed out. This was routine. This always happened, every time ..

" Oh Expendable, I don't even bother to know your name.. You're a pain in the ass." He said, before lying you down. Surely someone else would find you in a safer area much as this one, and they'll do it over again, and again .

But this time, it'll be different. Oh yes. He had a plan.

He relaxed, and clasped his hands together, staring at your sleeping body.

This time, he'd help you escape. You're just a tool to him. Nothing more, nothing less. You were his stupid expendable, and his ticket to getting out.

He wiped his hands off his clothes in disgust after touching you, before slithering off into the shadows ... Sebastian had many years to memorize the corridors of the facility, so it was easier to navigate to Painter's room. The only thing is, it was rather boring and time-consuming... Sebastian eventually ended up entering Painter's office space, his .. Jail. More or less.  

"Sebastian! How are you? Did you miss me? Were you thinking of me? Did you find a way out?" Painter smiled , his screen flickered on, showing his animated face smile and nod in excitement.

"I might have just figured our way out." Sebastian clasped his hands together, with a rather devious sneer. "Follow my lead, okay?" Sebastian chuckled darkly.

So just like I said on my AO3, this was in my drafts. I'm still writing, but I've been struggling due to poor mental health. Art is my main hobby, and I didn't really expect my fics to kinda blow up like they did. SO IM LIKE... OKAY. THATS CRAZY. Anyways, enjoy some backstory where you tame Sebastian basically.

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted 🌟👩🏾🎶 (Wish Reimagined)

Chapter 13: Poor Unfortunate Souls 👸🍪🐂

Chapter 12

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Rosas is bustling more than ever as the citizens prepared for the ceremony. On one hand, everyone being distracted allowed Asha to hide in plain sight. On the other, it was risky that someone could recognize her out of the crowd. Asha realized having the teens around as a group wasn't such a bad thing after all, as they kept eyes off her and Star.

Both Dario and Hal were rambling on about all the wonderful things Rosas had to offer, while Gabo and Simon sort of acted as her personal bodyguards. Though Gabo didn't look all that intimidating holding a young goat. 😅

"And this is where the band comes through during the welcoming song!" Dario explained as he pointed in front of the statues of the royals.

"This is where some of our best artists create portraits of our rulers!" Hal gestured to a small corner where a group of painters were already at work on making several artworks in honor of tonight.

"Oh and can't forget Bazeema's family flower shop over there!" Dario excitedly pointed to a small shop filled to the brim with vast colors of roses. "They have the best flowers, as long as its only roses. King's orders."

"The amount of narcissism in this place is disturbing..." Asha commented, walking past the statues.

"Come on, its not all bad! At least if you ignore the royals stealing our wishes part." Hal said, trying to find the upside to this.

"Allegedly." Dahlia corrected her. She clearly was still standing her ground on the royals. "I'm still going to need proof about all this."

Mouse!Star poked his head out. "Well, the king kind of stabbed me. Is that enough?"

"Look, what I'm saying is that unless I see them doing something so horrible that's its impossible to deny it, I'm not buying it." Dahlia continued as she kept a close eye on both Asha and Star.

"They threw Flazino in a dungeon for pete's sake! Doesn't it bother you that he's missing suddenly?" Asha argued. "There's seriously proof all around you with the people themselves. Do they look happy to you?"

Dahlia looked at the few painters still working, and noticed that a few of them were looking a bit drowsy. One of them had nearly fallen asleep as she was painting and had to wake herself backup. She oddly reminded her a lot of Simon...

But then, lots people get tired during the day from working or other logical reasons, it couldn't possibly be a conspiracy!

"Okay, they do look a little tired, but that's not a reason to think there's something evil going on!" Dahlia stood her ground. "Besides, I'm sure Flazino is fine. Maybe he just went on a secret errand for the royals."

Asha groaned. "This is getting us nowhere. Just forget it." She walked away from the baker and continued onwards.

"And here I thought you cared about your boyfriend." Gabo said in pretend disappointment as he shook his head at Dahlia.

"Of course I care about-" she slightly faltered when she realized what the annoying pipsqueak had said. "He's not my boyfriend! Who even said I even like him that way?" she couldn't even look them in the eye.

"Well, you do talk about him a lot." Hal pointed out as she pulled a set of chalk out from a box and showed it to Asha. "Whenever I'm just passing by, you're usually all 'Flazino' this and 'Flazino' that. Ha, you talk about him even more than the king!"

"All right, it was wasn't that much... " Dahlia grumbled, as she didn't really like being called out.

"And you also swoon over him a lot when he's not looking!" Dario added as he carefully walked on the rim of the water fountain.

"Yes, there's definitely lots of swooning." Bazeema confirmed.

Simon had accidentally fallen asleep after he took a break to sit down, but even he was conscious enough to respond with a yawn, "Yeah, it's true."

That was enough embarrassing Dahlia for today. "Look, none of that is important-or true-right now. What can I do to convince any of you that this is all crazy?"

As the rest of the group was talking Valentino was walking behind Gabo when his ear perked up. He heard a growling sound and assumed it was his own stomach. The goat looked around the sea of people.

Everything looked normal, expect for the African lynx stretched out on a nearby windowsill. He was covered by the large shadow of the awning above him, with only his green eyes and sinister grin shining through.

This made Valentino panic and start bleating like crazy, "MAAAH! MAAAH! MaaaAAAaaaAAAA!" he jumped up and down trying to get their attention.

Asha was too far away to hear, but Bazeema took notice immediately. "What's wrong, little guy?"

Valentino stomped his hooves and pointed over to the windowsill, only now it had a small vase of roses on it. His jaw dropped at how quickly the feline had moved.

"Did you want to see the flowers that badly, or is something else?" Bazeema pondered. Something told her it wasn't just random.

"Or maybe he's just hungry for some roses!" Dario suddenly popped in. "I don't recommend eating the thorns though..."

Valentino gave him the same "are you an idiot?" look he gave Star back in chapter 3.

Dahlia glanced over her shoulder and for a brief moment she thought she saw a slinky cat's tail turn a corner towards her bakery. While Rosas had no shortage of animals or pets roaming around, there was only one pet that was allowed to do as a he pleased.

"I...I just remembered something, I left my spinach puffs in the oven, I better go get them," she said quickly and slowly backed away from the group.

"Oh, I can help with that!" Safi volunteered as wiped his nose with his sleeve.

Dahlia flinched. "Nononono, that's okay!" she exclaimed. "I'm not totally helpless..." she slightly gestured to her crutch. "You guys keep going and I'll just catch up. Besides, the last time you handled the food you sneezed on the Magnifico cookies I baked."

With that, she turned and walked away.

"That was one time, Dahlia! One! Time!" Safi said defensively, then let out a loud sneeze.

Gabo patted Safi on the shoulder. "Don't feel bad. She still mad that I stepped on her cookies a while back. In my defense, it was an act of rebellion." He smiled as if it was a good memory.

Hal waved them all off. "Don't worry about Dahlia. She'll come around, I think she just needs some time to think."

"I wish she had the same optimism like you or Star. We could really use that right now." Asha responded.

Both Hal and Star said in unison. "Thank you!"

"Now come on, while we wait for her, let's continue the real tour!" Hal cheerfully replied as she dragged Asha to another both to look at other art supplies.

She noticed that Asha had an interest in all the artistic items and wanted to show her all the variations of paints, pencils and chalk on the table.

Soon the screen fades to a montage of the teens having fun in the city showing Asha the things they found to enjoy in Rosas.

Dario showed how fun the puppet show could be when its not part if the "Welcome to Rosas" song.

Hal showed her musical skills with a nearby guitar. Thankfully she could actually play. 😅

Simon briefly told the others how his father inspired him to become a knight himself and admired the various kinds of shields the blacksmith made for the soldiers.

Gabo playfully stabbed one of the empty suits of armor to show how well he could handle his father in battle. Everyone took a step back at the sight, but Hal appreciated his enthusiasm.

Both Safi and Bazeema showed their love of animals (Safi leaned more towards chickens, but he was trying) by visiting the petting zoo. Valentino really loved that one as he ended up playing with some of the sheep in the pens.

Asha laughed as her little furry friend was having fun, and she realized that she was doing something that she thought would never happen: She was having fun in Rosas.

Lastly, Hal convinces Asha to show her art skills by buying the chalk from earlier. Asha soon created a mural of Magnifico that looked exactly like him, only more friendly instead of evil. The people nearby looked at it in awe.

Star could see the pure joy on Asha's face as she laughed. Seeing her having fun always made him smile, but it was a different smile than usual. He was slowly feeling something different lately when it came to Asha.

He always had a love for Earth and the people on it, and it brought him joy to see them happy.

But lately he was feeling a different kind of love. Something stronger that he felt for Asha more than he did for Earth. Something that made him want to stay forever.

After the montage ends, the sun is seen slightly going down, showing they had been out all morning. The group seemed more comfortable with each other than they did in previous chapters. They all were incredibly different from each other, but they ended up having fun as if they'd always been friends.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you guys aren't half bad!" Gabo admitted he bit into an apple he "borrowed" from a fruit stand.

"And I can't believe my allergies haven't acted up all this time!" Safi realized and was relieved to finally be out in public without concerning himself with his sneezing problem.

"Yeah, even Bazeema's more outgoing than I thought!" Hal laughed. She looked for Bazeema but didn't see her in the group suddenly. "Wait, where'd she go?"

The others looked around but didn't see her anywhere.

"How does she do that?" said Dario, who was both impressed and scared. "Bazeema! If you're nearby, say 🎶Heigh Ho🎶!" He shouted in case she couldn't hear him. He got a few strange looks.

Simon staggered up and shake off his drowsiness. "I'll find her, just give me a minute. She couldn't have gotten far."

"I hope she's okay..." Safi whimpered as he wrung his hat in his hands with worry. "AAAAACHOOO!" He sneezed into his hat. "Oh no, not again..."

Asha couldn't help but laugh (which she's been doing a lot of lately) the teens were certainly a lot to handle, but they had their own way of having fun.

Mouse!Star poked out from under the hood with cheeky smile. "Looks like your finally making friends! I knew you had it in you. You just needed to bring out your fun side!"

Asha raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm not exactly unpredictable as you are." She noted as she folded her arms.

Star chuckled. "I can tell you wanna have fun yourself, but you keep holding back. Who's the one that came with up the idea of bringing those knights to life when we were escaping? Or got excited over those Earth magic things that I had no idea about? And you finally made some friends to talk about all that stuff with! That wasn't me, Asha. That was you."

Asha thought about it. She never really made friends in the Hamlet because she had trouble trusting anyone long term outside her family or Flazino. The seven teens could be loud and slightly annoying, but it was clear their hearts were in the right place, even if they didn't fully believe her.

Could she actually be making friends? Even with the stubbornness of Dahlia or Gabo's desire for anarchy or Dario being.... Dario? It seemed strange, but she was having fun with a group again.

"I'm sure you had lots of friends back home too, right?" Asha laughed. She imagined Star being the center of attention and chatting all the time with the other star nomads. "Had to be lots of fun getting into trouble with them."

She quickly noticed that Mouse!Star's tiny expression changed. He wasn't laughing at all. In fact he looked rather uncomfortable at the mention of his life before coming to Earth.

"I...rather not talk about that." His voice sounded slightly depressed and he looked away from the girl.

Asha had seen the star act like this before. When she mentioned about Star having freedom in the sky, he mentioned that he was actually alone and preferred Rosas over it. It seemed impossible for him to be such since there are countless stars in the sky, yet he never seemed to like talking about his own home.

"Star, you know...you can talk to me about anything, right? We're friends too, aren't we?" Asha gently brushed her finger underneath his furry chin to comfort him. She couldn't exactly hold his hand (or paw) in that form.

The star looked up at her, and said, "Well....you ain't never had a friend like me." he gave her a small smile.

But she could tell he was having a hard time deciding if he wanted to tell her what's upsetting him. As if she could feel something uneasy in him.

However, that would have to wait for a later chapter...

"There she is! We've got the traitor!" A voice boomed from far away. Asha turned and saw a group of guards came charging for them.

How did they know? How did they know?!

Simon stepped in front of the guards. "Guys, wait, wait. I can explain-"

"Quiet, Simon! You're not going anywhere either." One if the guards gruffed at him and pointed his spear at the boy. Simon was surprised he was even being treated like this, but he didn't argue. He simply stepped back with the other teens shielding Asha.

Valentino scrambled back and hid behind Asha, now scared to move from her side.

Asha could slowly feel the fear in her building up again. She couldn't figure out why or how Magnifico knew they were back. Had they lost so much track of time that he was able to find them while distracted?

Star wanted to help Asha, but with too many people around, he could put everyone in more danger by exposing himself to the citizens. He saw Amaya emerge from the guards and his fear started to turn to anger.

"At last, you've finally decided to return to us." she spoke in a firm tone and gestured to the teens surrounding her. "And I see you're not alone this time. You've managed to trick even more people under your spell. Trying to grow yourself an army to attack us?"

"Your highness, I think we can just talk about-" Hal started only for the queen to swiftly raise her hand to silence her.

"No need for excuses." She said coldly. "It would seem that we've had several traitors under our noses the entire time. This simply cannot continue."

The rest of teens looked surprised. The queen wasn't even going to listen? It was looking like Asha waa right after all...

Gabo pulled out his dagger, making a couple the guards aim their spears at him now. "We ain't scared of you! Well, maybe Safi is, but aside from him, we ain't scared of you! I knew you guys were evil this whole time!"

Amaya laughed at his pathetic excuse for bravery. "Oh please, spare your theatrics. We all know who the real villain is here. But luckily for me, someone was brave enough to come forward and bring you to justice."

Asha noticed that two of the teens were still missing. "Oh no..." she whispered in horror.

Safi seemed like he caught on. "You don't mean that...there's no way that Bazeema would do this!" for the first time he finally spoke up without sneezing.

"I'm actually right here." Bazeema whispered as she popped up from behind Safi as if by magic. She actually managed to spook the guards.

"Would you stop doing that?" Gabo grunted, grabbing his chest. "You're gonna give some of us a heart attack! Shy girls... Oy..."

From behind Amaya, someone else stepped forward. Someone with a familiar crutch: Dahlia.

"I'm sorry, Asha. I just want to protect the people I love too." the baker said, with a hint regret in her voice. She hoped that Asha would understand and it wouldn't result the kingdom's destruction. "We can help you too."

Asha didn't answer back, but her eyes were filled anger towards her former friend. This was why she didn't trust others.

"I thought it was always the quiet ones you had to look out for." Dario glanced at Bazeema hiding behind Safi. "No offense, Zee." he sheepishly replied.

"None taken." the shy girl whispered.

Amaya stepped forward. "So what will it be, my dears? Hand over the traitor, or join her as accomplices?" Her tone shifted to make clear the of the consequences.

Upon on the queen's shoulder, the lynx could see Mouse!Star poking out from the inside of Asha's hood. He was ready to pounce as soon as his master gave the signal.

The air grew tense as everyone waited for an answer.

Asha looked around, all eyes on her now. The people looked scared. They had no idea what was coming, nor the influence they were under. To them, she was the threat.

She heard a noise from Gabo. "Psst. When I make the signal, you run with the rest of the guys."

Neither Asha or Star knew what he was planning to do, but went along.

"All right, you asked for it!" Gabo stomped over to one of the guards and put up his fists, looking ready for a fight. "COME ON, I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!" His voice was so high and raspy that he sounded like an angry duck.

At first Asha wanted to hold Gabo back, but then quickly realized that this was the distraction. She let a small smile show before she quickly ran off, with Valentino right behind her.

"I like your confidence and all, buddy," Hal commented. "But, uh, I'm pretty sure that even you can't beat all these guys." She looked on at the guards, beginning to inch closer.

"Your highness, please show...." Safi started, but then felt a twitch in his nose. "show....AAAAACHOOO!!" he sneezed so hard that he nearly fell over.

"For goodness sake, cover your mouth." Amaya scoffed. "We don't need a plague to break out."

Sabor noticed Asha suddenly was gone. He looked over the teens and saw her getting further away.

"RRRAWRRR!!" Sabor roared as his fur bristled.

Amaya was concerned something was bothering her sweet pet when she realized he was warning her. The queen quickly noticed Asha had vanished.

"The girl is getting away!" She clenched her fist. Obviously these other bothersome teens were covering for her and the star. How many more traitors were running around this place?!

Sari scrambled to his feet and ran after Asha in fear and Bazeema quietly followed. Simon jerked himself awake and grabbed Gabo, carrying him under his large arm. "Thanks, for a second there, I thought I was going to the dungeon!" the grumpy teen said, relived.

"You four, go after Asha. The rest of you take these remaining traitors away. They'll answer to the king for their crimes." Amaya ordered without hesitation.

The guards split into two groups and did as instructed. The remaining ones closed in on the remaining teens.

"They're not going to get hurt, right?" Dahlia asked, earnestly. "You promised you wouldn't treat them like criminals."

Amaya smiled at the poor trusting girl. "Of course, dear. I just need to use a little force to remind them who's in charge here. Everything will be taken care of before the ceremony."

The queen would prefer that the star is captured in secret, but things were getting rather complicated and more people were getting involved. Perhaps more drastic measures must be made...

While the queen was talking with Dahlia, Hal and Dario attempted to slip away, but the dopey teen had an idea to stop the other guards from getting Asha.

Dario jumped in front of the guards path. "Hey there, gentlemen! You want to see a trick? I've been working on it all week!" He took five colored balls out his pocket and started to juggle them like a circus performer.

The guards ran passed him as if he wasn't even there, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Come on, I barely got started!" Dario shouted to them, disappointed.

"You can sulk later, we gotta go!" Hal told him as she raced behind the guards. Dario soon followed after.

As the guards started to get closer to the rest of the group, an idea sparked into Asha's head. "Star, I know its risky, but can you-"

As if reading her mind, Mouse!Star grinned. "Go for it!"

Asha turned to face the guards, let Star crawl into her hand and swiftly tossed him forward. Before he landed on the ground, a blinding flash appeared and in place of the yellow mouse, the star had become a large grinning bull. And he was CHARGING TOWARDS THEM.

(Fun fact, Disney made a Ferdinand short in 1938, they own two versions of the character now! 😆)

The guards screamed and scrambled over each other trying to get away from him, only for a couple of them to get bucked clear back where they came from. Dario and Hal jumped out of their way just in time, and could see the poor guards soaring over their heads.

When the rest of the guards were far away enough, Bull!Star skid to a halt. "Ha! That's right, you mess with the bull, you get the-gasp-" His attention turned towards a pot of flowers sitting on a nearby windowsill. "Are those daisies?" He trotted over and took a big sniff of them.

He hadn't been able to take much more of the beauty of Earth for a little while and got distracted.

"STAR, STAY FOCUSED, WE GOTTA GO!" Asha's voice echoed to him as the others started to get farther away.

Star was shocked back to reality. "Right, right. Sorry!" He ran back towards Asha and the others, with Hal and Dario finally catching up.

That bought them some time, but Simon looked over his shoulder and saw a new batch of guards-now even bigger looking-coming for them. One of them was his own father.

"We can't keep running forever!" Simon told them, now he was beginning to get tired himself. He normally didn't run this long outside of knight training. "We have to find a place to hide and fast. This whole place like a maze!"

"You all are not going to fit inside my hideout. Especially not Simon." Gabo warned them. Asha and Star seemed to be his exceptions to staying there.

"I'm pretty sure they've raided your place now thanks to Dahlia." said Asha, still bitterly reminded of her betrayal.

Gabo's eyes widened in horror. "THEY'RE GONNA TELL MY MOM ABOUT IT, AREN'T THEY?! She's gonna kill me!" One of the rare times he remembered he's only fifteen years old.

Dario attempted to reassure him. "Nah, I think the king will kill you first before she can even be mad!"

"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT!" Gabo shouted back, hitting him in the arm.

Bazeema looked nervous, but she had an idea. "Um, I have a place we could-"

"Wanna try just skipping town?" Hal suggested as they came across a two way path. "If star can move fast enough like he did before-"

"He nearly destroyed half the city yesterday." Asha cut her off as she signaled them towards the left route.

"I said I was sorry!" Star defended himself. He was a bit slower since he in a rather large form and the path was getting narrow.

"Don't be, that was glorious!" Gabo laughed, reminiscing about that day of terror.

Eventually, they turned a corner down the alley and were met with a stone wall.

"Oh great! The biggest cliché that could ever happen, A dead end!" Gabo exclaimed as he kicked a rock that hit the wall.

"I'm too young to go to jail, man!" Dario panicked, pulling on the ends of his hat in fear.

"I knew this was going to end bad- AAACHOO! AAACHOO! AACHOO!" Safi sneezed uncontrollably.

The impact budged the wall slightly. Gabo didn't notice, but Valentino did and walked over to it. While the others were arguing, Bazeema noticed him getting curious and followed him.

Valentino followed the scent on the ground all the way to the wall. There were several planks of mahogany wood in front of it. The scent was coming from behind the wood, so the goat tried to move the wood himself, but it was too heavy.

(Yes, I had to change the literal ass scene, who even approved of that-)

Bazeema realized he found her secret entrance. Now they could escape easily! "Good boy, Valentino! You just saved us!" She praised him as he patted his head.

"Maaaa!" He replied, his tail wagging happily.

The shy girl turned to her arguing friends to tell them the good news, "Asha, your friend found my-"

"I'm telling you, I can just take my dagger and-" Gabo began to pull out his weapon.

"Gabo, for the last time. You're not stabbing anyone!" Asha's scolded him.

Bazeema tried again. "Um....its okay, really. Valentino found-"

"I could throw my balls at them! They didn't even stick around to watch my juggling trick." Dario chimed in.

"Oooh, you're doing your magic trick again?" Bull!Star perked up.

"Now's not the time, fellas..." Hal attempted to get them to focus again.

Clearly they weren't getting anywhere and for the first time in her life, Bazeema was getting frustrated. Everyone could be caught at any moment, and they were all busy arguing (or sneezing in Safi's case). So she did something she thought she would never do...

"PLEASE BE QUIET AND LISTEN!" she shouted. Yes, actually shouting!

That finally caught everyone's attention and silenced them.

Bazeema immediately coveted her mouth and returned to her softer voice. "Valentino found another way out. Its behind this." she gestured to the blockage. "But I can't move it."

Asha could hear the sound of horses approaching, followed by a man shouting orders. "We need to hurry. Simon, can you break that down?"

Simon wondered why the literal bull couldn't do it, but there was no time.

Bazeema took Valentino away as Simon stomped over to the wood. He cracked his knuckles and raised his fists over his head. "Better stand back, I'm gonna wreck it!" He warned them.

With a loud grunt, he smashed the area with ease. Simon gestured for everyone to get inside, quick.

Star transformed back to his human form and used his glow to light the way in.

As the teens made their way inside one by one, Bazeema gingerly apologized to Asha. "I'm sorry I yelled."

Asha smiled. "Don't be. You found your voice after all."

Bazeema returned the smile and was the last to enter the hole.

Gabo's voice echoed from inside. "By the way, how are we going to cover our tracks?"

"Oh, I got it!" Star replied.

A small wave of golden dust swirled around the fallen debris and everything put itself back into place, right before the guards passed by.

Back in the heart of the city, some of the people were murmuring amongst each other. They were in shock of not just one, but several traitors were right under their noses. The Queen calmed everyone down with a soothing spell. Soon, they were back under control and carried on about their business as if nothing happened.

Dahlia did feel a bit bad about scaring everyone, but at least it was only temporary. Everyone would be at ease again. Sure, she ousted the traitor, but made it clear to the queen that she didn't want Asha's hurt. If she could see Magnifico really was a generous man, Dahlia knew she could help both sides.

Amaya gave Dahlia an assuring smile. "Don't worry, my dear. You've done a great service to Rosas and the people." She said in an almost motherly tone. "Thanks to you, the traitors will be brought to justice. Magnifico will be delighted to meet the hero of Ross and give you what you deserve." The last sentence sounded rather odd to phrase, but maybe Dahlia was slightly put off by the way Sabor grinned at her.

Dahlia had mixed feelings about this, even though she shouldn't. The baker was absolutely certain that bringing Asha to the royals would not only keep Rosas safe but also clear up a misunderstanding and Magnifico could help her family. If she really was helping her friend, why did it feel...bad?

Perhaps the king would ease her mind...

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

FINAL THOUGHTS

IT'S FINALLY DONE, HOORAY!! 🙌 I know it took me forever to make this, I'm glad it was finished! One part was because I was really busy with work and this chapter wouldn't leave me the hell alone to finish, and the other is that its been pretty difficult to write all the teens lines. As someone who grew to like the idea of a Seven Drawves styled group, I thought they were pretty bland in the movie. And from the art book and deleted scenes showed, they were meant to be much more but got cut down. So I really wanted to show them all having distinctive personalities, could banter with one another, and actually grow in their friendship with Asha and each other. Which brings me to my next thing...

YES, THE TRAITOR IS FINALLY REVEALED IN HERE, AND I CAN TALK ABOUT IT, I'M FREEEEE!!!!!

So yeah, instead of Simon, its Dahlia! I've been keeping this plot twist a secret for almost a year because I really wanted to do something different with the traitor idea. I chose this because during one of the deleted scenes, Dahlia was sent to work in the dungeon, while everyone else sneaked in. Simon was with the group, so that means in the original film, he wasn't a traitor. He was helping Asha. Dahlia mentioned she saw Magnifico's true nature and that she was being punished "for what they did". Which got me thinking, what if Dahlia was the traitor in the original movie? She's the one that believes in Magnifico the most and refuses to see the truth, so what if she ratted them out, thinking she was doing the right thing? What if Asha was betrayed by her best friend? From there, I rolled with it.

As for the story itself, strap yourselves in, because the next few chapters are gonna be WILD! And I'll finally get to the juicy stuff I've been wanting to write for months!

And yes, the poster is nearly done, ITS JUST TAKING FOREVER-

Thanks for reading!

@oh-shtars @tumblingdownthefoxden @chillwildwave @your-ne1ghbor

@annymation @lazytitans-world @thesafireartist @natsuki208

@snackara @kenihewa @mythartist21 @uva124

@spectator-zee @cocoapowderpictures @emptyblog7

@pinkninja0708 @gracebeth3604 @ishadow246 @jojo-ker06

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Heath Birthday 2025 4* Card Story

Chapter 1 -behind starless, day-

heath: You’re here pretty early today, Saki.

saki: Oh, Heath-san— Woah, what’s the occasion? You have so many bouquets with you.

heath: They’re for decorating the lobby. I was tasked with going to buy them. I couldn’t carry them all so the store lent me a cart, it would’ve been better if someone else came with me. Sorry for the trouble, but could you open the door for me?

saki: Of course. Do you want me to carry some of the bouquets too?

heath: No, it’s fine. I’m only going to be pushing it to the office.

saki: Right. It’s probably best not to disturb the pile either. They might all fall out.

heath: Ah, actually, could you hold onto this for me? It’s a plum tree branch.

saki: Oh, sure. Will this be displayed in the lobby as well?

heath: No, it’s just something that I picked up myself at the nearby shrine. It caught my eye, I thought it was pretty.

saki: Woah, you’re right, the flowers are in bloom. It is the season for it after all.

heath: On the top of calendars February is marked as Spring, but it doesn’t really feel like it when it’s still this cold.

saki: Risshun, right? The fourth of February is the beginning of Spring according to the traditional Japanese calendar.

heath: Yeah. It falls near my birthday, so I remember it well. Risshun is always printed on the calendar, so whenever I see that it’s coming up I remember my own birthday is coming up as well.

saki: Isn’t that lovely? It’s as if your birthday is bringing Spring to us.

heath: As if I’m… bringing Spring? That’s a nice thought. I can announce the coming of Spring to you.

-time pass, office-

heath: Thank you for helping me out. Um, I actually have one other thing I’d like you to help me with, is that alright?

saki: Sure, what is it?

heath: I have another duty that I need to fulfill. For the rest of the month I’m going to be your butler, so I want to create a nice and relaxing atmosphere that ‘my lady’ will enjoy.

-

Chapter 2 -office-

saki: (Heath-san is taking a while to come back to the floor, I hope everything is ok.)

-cg

heath: Sorry for making you wait, I couldn’t find the pruning shears anywhere, so getting things ready has taken me longer than expected. I wanted to cut the plum tree branch down so I can display it in a vase.

saki: Wow, what a good idea.

heath: I’ve never done this sort of thing before though, so I’d like for you to check everything looks nice for me. The branch is so thin, so I need to be careful with where I cut it… Like this, I think?

saki: That looks good, if you cut the other side down a little bit more too everything will be balanced.

heath: Got it. Next I need to pick a vase that compliments its height… How about this one?

saki: Ah, that one’s perfect!

heath: Alright, it’s complete. Thanks, Saki. I’ll display this vase.

saki: Fufu, I’m glad it turned out nicely.

heath: Having you watching was a big help. This sort of thing is surprisingly fun. I was a little nervous while making the cuts though.

saki: You must be even more pleased that it turned out well then.

heath: Not being able to redo it once it’s been cut. It was a similar type of nervousness to that before getting on the stage. I want to make sure I entertain you with both my shows and my hospitality.

saki: Heath-san…

heath: Call out to me once the store is open. I’ll escort you to your table that’ll be decorated with these plum blossoms.

-starless restaurant area-

heath: Welcome home, my lady. Please come right this way. I prepared this vase in order to bring Spring to you. Is it to your liking?

saki: Thank you for such a lovely arrangement of blossoms. It really feels as though Spring has bloomed.

heath: I’m glad. I’m not very good at this butler service thing, but I’m glad I tried to do something for it in my own way. Your smile just now was the best present I could have received. This has become an unforgettable birthday.

saki: Same here. Happy birthday, Heath-san.

heath: Thank you. As thanks I will grant you anything that you’d like, your wish is my command.

-heath steps closer-

heath: Say, my lady. Did I sound like a proper butler just now?

—end

[swampthingking]

OHHHKAFGJSKADVNWRKGNSKDF the angst possibilities in this are ENDLESS --

maybe aaron wants to know the truth about how she died...maybe it's all because he assumes andrew's this cold-blooded killer... and this is another thing that is conflicting between the twins, because andrew doesn't understand why aaron wants to bring her back, and now aaron needs andrew's help to perform the spell to bring her back once he finds the gem. he can't tell andrew the real reason, though, so...hm.

aaron trying for hours to be the one to have a bit of magic left in him. andrew watching until eventually seeing aaron struggle was too much, so he frames it as him being bored and makes a snide little comment on his way out, just a subtle way of trying to discourage aaron from trying to bring her back. but he can't help but listen through the walls until aaron gives up and leaves, and he hates her just that much more for springing back into their lives even from death.

andrew's on his snoop shit, as he canonically is. he goes into aaron's room and mumbles the spell out loud and it works. aaron comes back and assumes that andrew's trying to sabotage the spell and they have a little tiff, and then half-tilda is there.

aaron tells andrew that he's going to find a new phoenix gem. andrew, of course, is like, there's no fucking way in hell you're going alone, and off they go!!!!! shenanigan ensue and regular onward plotpoints are tweaked to fit the twinyard dynamic -- perhaps they have A Laugh. these near death experiences would show aaron that he is a capable individual and he does have the ability to become something, and they show andrew that aaron is capable of handling himself. aaron saves andrew at one point and andrew is like oh well he does care kinda--he didn't let me die. etc. other things to develop their relationship.

and i know this is a twinyard au but ... kevin would be All the Fuck Over quests of yore SPECIFICALLY because of the historical accuracy. and maybe possibly perhaps he'd forced aaron to play with him. ...dungeon master kevin day my love my heart my one and only--ANYWAY this is how aaron knows enough about magic and the quest to get them to where they're going and to teach andrew to perform spells and such.

couldn't tell you why andrew would go along with this, or how aaron convinced andrew to perform these spells or what he had to tell himself to do them (for aaron's sake), but it makes sense to me that he'd be stupidly good at magic, just as he is at goalkeeping. it makes sense to me that andrew would eventually just be like, "alright. if this is what you want, i'll let you learn the hard way," and do these things kind of placatingly.

they've gotten to a good place before the Big Fight happens, a couple near death experiences to bring them closer, and then they end up right back to where they started and aaron says andrew is a screwup and its SAD OK!!! and aaron is like u fucked this up for me on purpose u knew what u were doing the entire time!!! and like in his anger admits that he was gonna ask tilda how she really died because he knows andrew did it. and andrew is like "of course i fucking did it, i told her i would if she put her hands on u again" etc etc. i don't see them making up Before the dragon fight like ian and barley did, but maybe they both realize the gem is in the fountain and andrew got there first and he gives it to aaron, kinda like "i l*ve you enough to let you make the choice" and aaron has had this big realization that andrew does love him and has done everything for him because he loves him, and yea.

and so they fight a dragon and andrew is trapped beneath the rubble watching aaron and tilda talking, and he assumes that aaron is choosing her over andrew, but then aaron comes back and says what OP said: "i told her that she's wrong about us and we're going to make something of ourselves despite her" and then i cry my eyes out.

thanks OP for putting this thought into my head, i love to Not be normal <3

oh ps all the while, nicky is frantically trying to track them down and he shows up to help them kick Dragon Ass and it's awesome

This is probably so niche but twinyards Onward AU:

Tilda is the dad except shit, obviously. Aaron is Barley, who loved her, and Andrew is Ian, who barely knew her.

Aaron wants to bring Tilda back, but Andrew is dead set against it. Aaron, of course, thinks Andrew is just being spiteful and trying to hurt him. Andrew just doesn't want seeing Tilda to hurt Aaron or undo all the progress his brother worked so hard for.

In the end, Andrew helps Aaron get his last conversation with Tilda, and Aaron tells her how wrong she was about her sons; they were going to make something of themselves, despite her.

[yeonjune]

Yeonjun about the strain he felt while preparing for his debut solo project ✙ "GGUM" MAKING FILM

[bacchuschucklefuck]

love thinking kipperlilly spends her afterlife looking for lucy in a familiar forest