#seeks out situations where someone else knows more than him so he can sit down and say 'teach me'

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

if 9&10 were "dont wander off", and 11&12 were "the doctor lies", 13s rule #1 is "dont question me"

"have we not had a good time together" shes pointing yaz to the rule that yaz very well knows is there: we can travel if you dont ask me any difficult questions. yaz knows this is the rule - "because you ask too many questions", "this team structure isnt flat" - but she also was the one to invite the doctor into her home so im pretty sure she also knows shes not gonna kicked out that easily. she has some leeway. which she has been using between revolution and flux, which is why the doctor reminds her of the rules

i dont think she'd kick her out though. she wouldnt. i think it's just that the more you break the rule, the more unpleasant she becomes to be around, and eventually youre gonna walk out on your own. she doesnt want you to, she'd rather you stay and dont ask questions. but if youre gonna try to ask questions anyway, i think thats whats gonna happen

and yaz must think so too. because she does back off. because she doesnt want that to happen either. and it does anyway

[sakur4ii]

Rooted Connections Pt.2

Charles Xavier x Reader x Erik Lensherr

the gender of the reader is not specified

Note: I will not make a third part, I hope you like it. Also reminder that English is not my first language, let me know if there are any mistakes I didn't notice (especially with pronouns).

Summary: feelings come out, plants love romance and you are still as blind as in the first part.

Finally, peace.

After supposedly saving the future from great chaos, Charles decided to reopen the doors of his school, offering you to stay with him. You accepted because you didn't want to leave him alone, feeling his sadness through the earth. Although in reality, he wasn’t alone; he now had his students, but the connection the three of you had created was so strong that you feared that if you also left, he would break again.

Years have passed, and now the school is full, and you are a teacher.

You walk through the halls, searching for something, maybe someone, though you’re not sure. The mansion’s plants have warned you but haven’t specified anything, so you proceed cautiously, trying to find some intruder.

"Professor Y/N,” you hear, a voice you know well.

“What is it, Jean?” You turn around; you can’t see her clearly, but you can feel her nerves and hear her heart beating faster than usual.

“Someone is approaching from the backyard.”

Before she finishes speaking, you are already running to the backyard. The plants don’t want to reveal anything, and for some reason, you don’t feel any unusual presence, leading you to assume that the earth doesn’t want you to know who the intruder is on purpose.

Once your bare feet touch the green, damp grass, you stop feeling the presence of everyone at the school except for the person sitting on the grass a few feet away from you, and Charles, who is coming up behind you.

You take slow steps toward the seated person, hearing a gasp behind you. You sit down next to him and wait for Charles to come closer until he is on the other side of the man.

“What are you doing here, Erik?” Charles asks. You can feel his conflicting emotions through his voice. On one hand, he is happy to see him again and that it isn’t to stop him from killing all of humanity and condemning mutants. On the other hand, he’d love to punch him again for prioritizing revenge and abandoning him.

But you focus more on the absolute pain you feel from Erik through the earth. You can feel him mourning, yet also very angry, seeking comfort to avoid vengeance.

When Charles doesn’t receive any response, and you can assume he also starts to feel the man’s emotions, you wrap your arm around Erik’s shoulders, pulling him into a side hug, enough for him to start crying.

“I tried,” he sobs into your neck, while Charles sits on the ground, leaving the chair aside and firmly holding Erik’s hand between his own. “I tried to live like them, to blend in, and they… they killed my wife and daughter.”

You don’t know what to say; you don’t know how to comfort him with words, so you just rub his back. You know Charles is afraid of saying something wrong, something that will only make the situation worse, so both of you remain silent, comforting your old friend (and the third missing piece of the puzzle) through gentle touches.

“I didn’t know where else to go… you’re all I have left.”

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

You weren’t born blind; you had the privilege of seeing the color of the sky and vegetation. You had the privilege of having a favorite color, but an accident occurred, and it was no longer worth thinking about things like a favorite book or a favorite flower because you couldn’t see anything anymore.

Plants are very talkative; they always have been. They love to gossip, and they love drama. The day before the accident, they were very hysterical, sensing something bad was coming, but they couldn’t say what.

Then the accident happened, and you were hospitalized. The plants felt guilty, apologizing over and over, even the plants you didn’t know but who knew you, apologizing and feeling ashamed that they hadn’t been useful, that they couldn’t prevent the tragedy.

It was when you lost your sight that your powers began to manifest: control of the earth, the ability to feel through it. Your mentors were the plants, the trees, and the earth itself. You learned that you could see through the roots of trees, and that was an easy way to find something or someone.

When you met Charles, even before the man arrived at your house, the plants were more talkative than usual. They told you everything they knew, like how Logan was from the future and needed help, your help. But they mostly talked about Professor X and a puzzle. You couldn’t understand them, but their excitement amused you.

When they freed Erik from that cell, the plants began talking non-stop again, once more about a supposed puzzle and Erik’s entire life, about how angry they were with some of his actions but how much they appreciated him.

The first time they fell completely silent was when Erik shot Raven; the second was when Erik fled to avoid being captured.

The third time you didn’t understand the silence; you were listening to Charles reading to his younger students, and out of nowhere, the plants fell silent, a mourning silence.

And the fourth time was the day after the third when Erik appeared unannounced at the school. Although it was more for drama—did I mention they are dramatic?

Erik stayed at the school, purposely obtaining the room that was between yours and Charles’.

If before the plants always talked about Charles, Erik, and his family and the children at school, now, whenever you entered your room, they only talked about Charles and Erik. You only heard about the children if you went outside.

A couple of years have passed. Erik is visibly better, happier, and that makes you happy because it’s real, he’s not pretending, and you’re the first to know that.

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

Your room is a madhouse; you feel like you’re losing your sanity. They won’t stop talking about how handsome, intelligent, and kind Charles is, or how hot, serious, and cunning Erik is. They have the audacity to tease you for not being able to see them, those bitches. When did they go from remorse to mockery?

“What time is it?” you ask, tired, sitting on the edge of your bed while putting on your sunglasses. They all ignore you, except for some jasmine flowers Charles gave you for your birthday along with some heart-shaped sunglasses.

You leave the room, grateful for the silence the hallway plants give you. You don’t know what to do; maybe you’ll go to the kitchen and eat some ice cream, you’re not sure.

When you arrive at the kitchen and take out a tub of ice cream and a spoon, you’re surprised that no plant has told you not to eat something so cold in the middle of the night, raising your suspicions.

You focus on the earth, sensing how all the children and adults are sleeping, everyone except Xavier and Lensherr, which makes you sigh tiredly.

Lately, the plants not only wouldn’t stop talking about them, but they also did everything possible to ensure you spent most of your time in the same room with them, and you only complied because deep down, you wanted that too.

You finish the ice cream and walk through the halls to Charles’ office, without any obstacles in the way (the children make sure not to leave anything lying around that might hinder you, even though they know you could easily avoid it; they fear you might get distracted and have an accident).

—“Come in”— you hear in your head, making you jump in place, and some nearby flowers laugh.

You open the door, and for some reason, they’re both sitting on a three-seater couch. Charles’ wheelchair is set aside to not get in the way, and the plants laugh conspiratorially.

«Speak of the devil…» a flower murmurs, sparking your curiosity.

“Can’t sleep?” Xavier asks. You shake your head. The other man is silent; you know he’s watching you, his intense gaze on you. Sometimes you think he has the power to read souls and keeps it a secret.

Charles laughs at your thought, but you don’t notice him elbowing Erik to stop being so obvious.

“Come sit with us, darling.”

The flowers and plants in the room react as if the pet name was directed at them, as if expressing what you don’t dare express even in your own head for fear the telepath might discover your feelings.

Smiling, you approach the couch. Erik, the closest to you, takes your hand and guides you to sit between them.

“What were you talking about?” you ask.

“Nothing important; we were just planning to take the older kids on a field trip, maybe,” Charles responds, and you know he’s not lying, but from the booing of the plants, you can tell that wasn’t what they were discussing before you arrived.

Erik remains silent; you can’t figure out why. Lately, you can’t sense his feelings, only his emotions, and you can guess that the earth is hiding them on purpose—or maybe the metal?

What you do sense is his knee brushing against yours and his gaze trying not to linger on you for too long.

You tilt your head to one side, sharpening your hearing, trying to pick up something more; you don’t know what, but you want to hear all their movements and, above all, the beating of their hearts.

Just when you perfectly hear their rapid heartbeats, the plants start making a ruckus, making you frown.

“What’s wrong?” Erik finally speaks.

“Why don’t the plants want me to hear your heartbeats?”

Unbeknownst to you, Erik and Charles share a wide-eyed look of complicity.

—“We should tell her”— Erik.

—“Now?”— Charles.

The silence between the two men creates a lump in your throat. Since that day on the plane, you felt like you were missing something in the dynamic, all because you couldn’t see. You felt out of place in moments like these, where they might be communicating with just a glance—or worse, telepathically. You hated the thought that they were having secret conversations, thinking that they were using the fact that you couldn't see to communicate in secret. And you hated knowing they were communicating because you could feel the change in emotions through the ground, but what you hated even more was that now you couldn't even feel the emotions of the two men because nature decided to turn its back on you this time.

Tired, you get up from the couch.

"Sorry for interrupting your time alone, I'm going to bed."

You avoid the obstacles you can't feel now but know are there.

"Y/N, no, wait! It's not what you think, let me explain," Charles says, while Erik gets up and runs towards you, grabbing you so you won't escape (and without you knowing, preventing you from bumping into the closed door).

"Listen to them, listen to them, listen to them," the plants chant in unison as you squirm in his grip. The earth allows you to see through your feet again, finally letting you feel the emotions of the two men, which makes you stop struggling and fall into shock at what you're sensing.

"You two are in love," you whisper.

Erik leads you back to the couch and sits you down so that you're facing the telepath, while he hugs you from behind and hides his face in the crook of your neck. He's embarrassed.

Charles gently removes your sunglasses, and you can feel his emotions not just through the ground but also inside your head. He takes your hand in his.

"We’ve been debating whether or not to tell you; we didn't know how you'd react, darling."

"So much secrecy just to tell me you two are dating? I'm not homophobic if that's what you were worried about," you say with an amused smile.

You're sure both men are rolling their eyes.

«Don't be an idiot» a flower says.

"Shush."

Charles laughs while Erik raises an eyebrow in a questioning manner towards him, knowing he's missing something.

"We're not just dating, Y/N. We love you as much as we love each other, and we want you to be a part of what we have because you're the missing piece of the puzzle," says Charles.

"And we want you to be officially ours," adds Erik.

Their words take you by surprise, making your heart race a thousand miles an hour. You're sure you're blushing, and loose words echo in your head.

The missing piece of the puzzle... ha... that sounds familiar.

At some point during the evening, you moved to Erik's room (the one furthest from the other rooms, with only one flower that you gave him a long time ago), where you shared kisses, hugs, words, and feelings. Where you expressed the great love you share, making grand plans for the future. And where you realized that you never were out of place; rather, you had always been missing, so they could feel complete.

The End.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@djlnkaled @kindlover @only-nope @larissa1379 👋❤️

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

w.count: 1.8k- he's back.. as a treat c:

recently, kyojurou always sleeps best with a weight on his chest.

this hasn't always been the case, however. no, for the vast majority of his life, sleep had usually always found him quite easily. the small douse of sleep resistance in his early days was the only time on mental record that he could truly recall sleep evading him. on top of his usual power naps on the clock- since traveling in the sun and working under the moon left little time for many full nights rest- he can say he does well for himself in the exhaustless department.

of course, that was until you threw a wrench into everything.

the casual relationship you both had was something both frustrating and comforting to the 20-something flame hashira. on one hand, you both knew that relationships could prove to be difficult in the long run with this occupation. with him being sent out on near back-to-back high-level jobs dealing with more lethal demons than others... he didn't want to unintentionally burden you with anxiety over his safety and well-being. kyojuro was strong, stronger than other fellow hashira, but still weaker than others. and even if his strength seemed flawless in the eyes of weaker people- he isn't infallible and you know that.

so, after a long discussion with you on a night where he had downtime, the conclusion you both came to was- as forementioned- a simple and complicated one. he would continue to care for and about you, treating you with affection he knows you deserve. but he would always be mindful never to cross that threshold into a labeled relationship. you agreed to his terms and offered to return everything he gave you in kind.

however, even if that was what was decided by you both mutually, the turning in his gut when something happened to his distaste didn't just go away. situations where someone was too close to you, where you looked someone else's way so that you wouldn't stick to him like a leech looking for sustenance. when you would excuse yourself to some other task so you wouldn't overstep the bonds of your agreement. it irked him down into the pit of his stomach.

perhaps it was jealousy of others or maybe it was envy since even though he cared so much he couldn't comfortably have you like others could.

it was moments like the one he found himself a week ago where all those feelings fell off his shoulders like dried clumps of dirt. cracking and chipping off his body. a rare chance to accompany you on a mission was always a welcome occasion in his books.

the missions location was in the moutains and the rain was heavy all day and well into the evening. with the lack of light from the sun that had long since set and the terrain that was only worsening, he implored that you both seek shelter in the nearest abandoned hut or cave you could find.

"it would be far too careless to continue on this way," he instructs. to ensure you stay at his side, his hand held tightly onto yours. the way the rain and wind tried to make his hand slip against yours and threaten to break you apart from him only made his hold tighten. "come, under here." he yanks you gently into a small undercut of rock and grass and mud. it was hardly the ideal place for shelter, but it was the best option for the current situation.

grabbing onto the cutout rock made throughout time, he lets you sit and tuck your knees in first before he's clambering under beside you. admittedly, the fit is tight since this particular undercut courtesy of the land wasn't particularly large. in fact, the longer you both sat squeezed together with your toes still getting soaked by rainwater and mud, the more it seemed like this was actually a bad idea and that you should've just kept on going until something more suitable popped up.

"perhaps we should-" his suggestion of possibly relocating somewhere else was promptly cut off by your body sliding off his shoulder that you had been leaning against. your head lulled off, ducking and acting as a weight that caused your whole upper body to shift. your shoulder slides off his and across half of his chest before he quickly catches it in the palm of his opposite hand to stop you from falling into his lap entirely. "are you-" the word 'alright' never makes it out of his mouth when he sees you... "asleep?"

how in the world you managed to tune out the sound of the heavy downpour a foot away from your face, or even find comfort in your soaked and chilly clothes is lost on him. maybe you had been exhausted and he didn't notice- which sends a pang of guilt through his chest- but surely you would've told him so if that were the case.

using his other hand that wasn't holding your shoulder up, he wraps his arm around your shoulders, bringing it around to place on your forehead. you weren't sick, were you? through the dampness of your skin, he felt no heat of fever, so that wasn't it.

kyojuro doesn't understand, but he doesn't truly need to. understanding wouldn't change the fact you were asleep.

his arm that was used to check your temperature stayed around you and even pulls you closer to him. his knee that was closest to you was bent to avoid the rain, though he extends it back out into the rainfall once again to make room for your comfort soaking the fabric straight through. your back pushed against his chest in a comforting sense of pressure. your head lay tilted under his jaw- nose just barely brushing against his throat- which he had adjusted so he could rest his chin easily on your crown.

you smell of rain and grass, but under it, he still could smell the scent of you among the elements. even though you were both drenched, he still found you warm against him and as he shut his eyes to take in the moment of peace, he thought that perhaps this peace was how you managed to fall asleep in the first place.

now, kyojuro sits irritated. legs and arms crossed as his eyes scrunch closed. his leg bounces and his fingers tap against his bicep as he sits in his resting robes on top of his futon.

since that day, the great annoyance he feels creep up his neck when he lays down to rest keeps him from doing so. boring himself to sleep has worked once or twice, but it never lasts. even when he did get sleep, he was always restless, which he greatly disliked since his whole life before this, he was a fairly heavy sleeper.

he's tried other possible solutions. using an extra pillow and laying it on his chest. folding a large blanket up to sit on top of him. he's even contemplating getting a stray dog off the street just for it to curl up on his warm chest- even if that was a considerably foolish idea.

kyojuro's stay at this abode was temporary. it was one of the few wisteria houses that take in and care of demon slayers, and he was set to leave in a day or so. becoming fed up with his impossible plight, he pulls his robes tighter around his waist and shifts the sleeves to cover his shoulders more appropriately before he leaves his temporary room.

perhaps some fresh air would be good for him.

he barely makes it two steps out of his room before he's being addressed. down the hall, his name comes from the mouth that is the cause for all his restless nights unbeknownst to you.

"kyojuro!" you softly call so as to not wake anyone sleeping at the late hour. he turns to see you waving at him and coming closer. at your approach feels his resolve crack. "i heard you were staying here when i arrived earlier. what're you still doing up?"

when you come up to him and stop at his bare feet standing on the veranda, he splinters more. he can hear the cracks in his subconscious instead of your words he knows what you're saying because your lips are moving.

"are you going to sleep?" his sudden question cuts you off and you stare at him with pure confusion since it had nothing to do with what you were previously saying. even in this dull lighting, he seemed awfully tired. more so than you remember ever seeing before. reaching up, you cup his cheek in one of your hands with concern painting your face.

kyojuro shatters at the contact.

you yelp when he gently takes your hand into his and pulls it off his face only to march back into his still-open door and drag you in after him. kyojuro shuts the door behind you before he grabs your shoulders and pushes you down as gently as he can onto his futon after marching you to it.

"hey!" you whisper yell, hardly able to see anything aside from the moonlight casting shadows into his room. "what's this all about?" you yelp again when he wordlessly yanks the covers out from under you so he can crawl under them. before you can start questioning him again, he's snaking his arm under your arm and pushing his palm against the middle of your back.

your hands brace yourself against his chest as he falls onto his back, and you're left awkwardly lying halfway on top of him. at your weight, you feel him let out a deflating breath onto the top of your head.

"uh, kyojuro?" you attempt to push against his chest and sit up to ask him what in the world has gotten into him, but he stops you. his grip around you is solid and you feel the tips of his fingers push further into your back to keep you in place.

"stay." he all but commands in a tone that was soaked in irritated drozziness. you simply drop your forehead into the crook of his neck defeated. there are no more words exchanged that night. with you perched on top of him, kyojuro easily falls asleep for the first full nights rest he's had in a week.

in the morning, when he fesses up to his body's sudden demand of your presence, weight, and warmth for even a decent night of rest, you can't help but tease him.

it takes a while to find some sort of middle solution to his sleepless problems since you can't always be around him for obvious work-related reasons. kyojuro doesn't say it out loud, but you're his just as much as he's yours- as per your agreement. that alone should give him the right to hold you at night when you're around at the very least.

a/n: mmmm i feel like this could've been so much better but im rUSTY ;n;

[aerkame]

Hey! I saw your HC’s about the versions of sun wukong’s. May I request “ Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King 2000? ” I really loved the show as a kid. I saw it on YouTube again and wondered about it! If..you saw this series that is. If not, I’ll take Netflix monkey king! It’s up to you!

I feel like doing both :p Also I'll be doing general HC because I'm not sure if you meant reader insert or just in general if this were in a fanfiction

Journey to the West: Legends of the Monkey King 2000

This monkey man is the definition of assertive

He sees something he likes? He makes it clear he will have it. There's a demon he wants to beat up? He'll talk about beating them up before actually following through with it. There's a person he wants to get with? He makes his intentions crystal clear to everyone around him without hesitation, heaven forbid you try to stop him, he will not allow it.

Surprisingly optimistic despite everything that has happened. There is nothing that can really bring down his mood once he's in a good one.

That means he's not exactly stable when he's in a rare bad mood. Just...give the guy some space if that happens.

Sometimes he'll accidentally break things or break someone. He just gets excitable and well...

Of course there's lots of apologies that ensue if the worst happens, though he doesn't like admitting he did something wrong.

Out of all the versions of Monkey King, this one is probably the most extroverted and friendly of the bunch. He for sure will make loads of friends if given the chance.

This version also seems to be the most open minded on things. Got something to say? He's all ears. Got something you want him to learn? He'll actually sit and listen (a rarity among Monkey kings)

Despite how loud and assertive he is, sometimes he can also be more quiet and gentle when the situation calls for it. It took some learned behavior from Tang though. But, it's a useful trait to have when you're someone like Monkey king.

Very energetic sometimes. He always needs to be doing something with his hands or going out and fighting stuff.

I'd assume this version is extremely protective of his SO if he has one.

Same can be said for his friends.

Would absolutely do everything he can to cheer someone up if they started crying in front of him. It really hurts to see someone so hurt...

Usually encourages people to be a better version of themselves (except Pigsy, he gave up on that guy)

Netflix Monkey King 2023

Oh boy where do I start?

If Leo the zodiac sign was a person, this would be him.

This guy, ooo- this guy really loves himself, and he makes sure everyone around him knows it too at every given chance.

Very confident in his ability to overcome any challenge or obstacle (he's just the best ain't he?)

Probably takes better care of himself and Stick than his own armor or anything else that's with him.

Would absolutely have a bunch of different shampoos, conditioners, and lotions in modern days. The guy loves to love himself, and look loved too.

Probably a huge flirt when he sees someone he mildly finds interest in. That or he'll just brag about himself to seem more impressive. (He's probably exaggerating)

Loves showing off

Modern version of him would probably be a lot more chilled out after the years, learning to just let things go and not be so impulsive or take things personally. He's still got a lot of work to do when it comes to letting people in though.

He's just afraid of losing people like Lin again you know? Right when he realizes he has a family, he loses them and sits isolated form the world for hundreds of years.

Usually prefers staying away from people, alone with Stick. Being alone as a kid does that to you.

Sometimes seeks out validation and love from crowds of people and fans.

He's a little more patient over the years, but just as chaotic.

Expect lots of malicious compliance from him. And pranks, he enjoys getting a good laugh out of others or just doing it for his own entertainment. (though he can border on just being a jerk)

Sometimes talks to Stick when he's alone, it's usually just him venting about things from the past.

Tends to get anxious when he's alone for too long or if there's a thunderstorm (doesn't need a lot of explaining to understand that).

Will be the sweetest monkey with someone he really likes. It's like he's a completely different person!

[oceanwithouthermoon]

i dont know how to articulate this correctly but... sometimes i think about how saiki is so mentally disconnected and isolated from other people, and his powers make it feel impossible to understand them, esp because he hasnt had any faith in humanity since he was a kid (hes also so autistic but shh he probably doesnt know yet)

and so he truly doesnt understand the nuances and complexity of love+friendship+relationships etc... so imagine how confused he could get during times where his relationships get deeper/more complicated

examples ?? (warning for very brief sa+abuse+suicidal thoughts mention in the second one) -

accidentally making one of his friends mad and hearing their thoughts, which are purely from frustration and anger in the moment, about hating and not wanting to be around him.. makes him think they genuinely dont want to be as friend at all anymore, so ONE argument makes him think hes ruined his friendship with them forever and he doesnt think to just apologize, immediately shutting down and just "going away" instead because he thinks thats actually what they want

not understanding why people feel sympathy for him when he talks about tragic things in/about his life, especially when he even dulls it down as to not reveal his powers, (ie: his brother literally trying to murder, humiliate, and borderline sa him OR having one or multiple bullying incidents in elementary school that caused him to lose all his friends and change schools OR saying that the only reason he decidedly hasnt offed himself yet is cuz itd make his mom sad) and mentioning those things a little too casually, then thinking people are trying to pity him and telling the people who are just trying to help to shut the fuck up ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

^a specific but not quite as angsty one, offhandedly mentioning once that he had a big crush on a guy from another class but he helped set them up with someone else even though it upset him, because he just wanted to see him happy and he never had a chance anyway (bro was def straight too) and his friends being like ...hey thats really sad im sorry you felt like that :(( and him being like ?? whats sad about that. hes happy, and its not like im completely devastated or anything. shut the fuck up.

teruhashi getting over her crush on him and no longer seeking him out as often, and he's immediately upset and confused because now he thinks that she ONLY cared about him when she thought she was going to get something more than friendship from it so he doesnt believe she ever saw him as a true friend..

(similar to the first one, slightly different situation) getting into an argument with one of the friends he sees every single day and still expecting them to at least BE there the next day, and when they arent because theyre avoiding him, his first thought isnt "i should seek them out and apologize" its "wow it was so easy for them to just let go of me, i clearly have formed a dependency and feel like i need them more than they need me. especially now that i know they dont feel the same, i should sever that attachment."

SO YEAH anyway, he genuinely does not believe that he has anyone he can trust enough to actually talk through this stuff with+doesn't even think its that bad so he just sits and tries to feel numb at the bottom of the ocean or on the moon haha what a guy...

[chemdisaster]

short fic about last life scar and tcd scar meeting because i'm kind of insane about the idea

"So what's your deal?"

The grimy and unkempt young man in front of him straightens up from where he was going through his chests—which Scar is very cheesed off about, by the way—and stares at him, but gives no other indication that he heard the question. 

Scar shrugs and sits down on a barrel already previously subjected to the Great Rummage, slightly kicking his feet. 

"I mean. You show up here and immediately try to kill me, then you figure out that I'm not a zombie—duh—and now you're trying to steal my diamonds, which I've already told you you can't have. So yeah. Little confused over here."

Silence. 

"You know, I'm starting to think you might be a zombie, with how much you suck at making any sound other than grrr and uggg."

More silence. Then—

"I'm not looking for diamonds. I need a gun."

The word diamonds is spat with such derision that it makes Scar teeter between affront and awe—does he not know what diamonds are? That must be the only possible explanation, for Scar cannot imagine someone understanding the full power of the shiny rocks and choosing not to seek them out—especially in a place like this.  

"I don't—I don't have a gun," he stammers, wondering not for the first time what this strange man is on about. That he can understand at least—he maybe wouldn't mind a gun himself, if he's being honest—but everything else about the whole situation eludes him. 

"Well, what do you have then? Ammo, food, maybe a med pack?" 

"Uh, I have chicken," Scar says and flinches as the other crosses the room in three big steps to stand in front of him, holding an arm out expectantly. Sighing, he reluctantly forks over half his chicken—actually half, because this guy looks like he needs it and also he's not sure if he would get slaughtered for trying to swindle someone with this amount of obvious murderous urges—and watches as at least a quarter of what he gave away is immediately gulped down. 

"Wow."

Weird-and-apparently-starved guy wipes his mouth on his sleeve, "Fuck you."

Oh-kay. So he can swear. 

In the ensuing lull of silence, Scar takes a moment to discretely look the intruder over again, as well as make note of his voice. Somehow gritty, yet rather high, it sounds weirdly similar to his own—in fact, the owner of it looks weirdly similar to him—that is, if you ignore the short, tangled hair and general lack of personal hygiene.

What he mistook earlier for an inability to sit still turns out to be paranoia, as, the moment he's done eating his food, his beyond-bizarre doppelgänger proceeds to circle his hut at least three times, checking every entrance and exit and eventually blocking them all off with a single chest-level block. 

Apparently even that odd practice leaves him unsatisfied, however, as he then swivels around and demands, "Is this place safe?"

"Uh, depends. Mobs don't come here often and my friends aren't dangerous—most of the time," Scar amends. Then hastens to add, "Usually." Pause. "Sometimes. I'm really not sure. It—fluctuates."

He knows what he sounds like, but the man's seen worse—clearly—so he doesn't call his words into question.

Suddenly Scar is struck with a thought—does—does this guy have friends? 

He doesn't ask him this, however, and instead decides on a more neutral approach, "What's your name?"

The guy gives him a long suspicious look.

"Scar."

Scar blinks. 

"No, my name is Scar."

"Well, pick another one, then," this new—this Scar says, but it's the least threatening thing he's said so far, judging by the slightly lighter tone of his voice. Scar—the real Scar, and doesn't that sound crazy?—does wonder whether his doppelgänger-twin-alternate self?-whatever is coming to the same conclusions as him—but if he is, either he's not bothered, or he's very good at hiding it. 

His own lack of surprise surrounding the revelation that this is him from some kind of parallel universe makes him wonder less. Maybe because he's a wizard, and therefore supposed to be used to all kinds of strange phenomenons. 

Maybe he's just tired. 

Other him swings his arms around for a bit and then slides down to sit on the floor with his back rested against the wall, all his previous energy gone so fast that it would make one wonder whether it had ever been real in the first place. 

"It's cold up here," he says, with the air of someone long used to the chilly weather—or his own helplessness against it. 

After a moment's hesitation, Scar joins him on the floor, making sure that their arms are a sufficient distance apart. 

"You have an issue with the cold?"

"No. Just would've thought that maybe in another life I'd have settled somewhere else. Somewhere warmer."

A pang of pain shoots through Scar's chest. He looks away. He was about to ask this him where he was from, but now he's not so sure he wants to—he'd rather not have those same questions be directed back at him. 

He wonders what Grian would say. If he could see this other version of him that's clearly suffered more than the both of them combined. What kind of joke he would make. If he would have anything to say at all, or if he would go straight for his sword. 

If he would hesitate before deciding which one of them to use it on.

 

"Your friends try to kill you?"

Evidently, the other him has no compunction when it comes to bringing up things Scar would rather not think about—

"Yeah, well, they're not—they're not really my friends," he admits, suddenly feeling very small. "I just said that to look cool. And also because they were, or at least I think they were, but lately we haven't been talking and they only ever come 'round here for resources, so—"

He shuts up. 

Other him hums, but thankfully has no interest in digging further. The wind makes a searing noise as it rushes in and out of his hut, past the one-block barricades, and Scar wonders once again what the point of making such a stupid defence even was. He doesn't ask, however, even though he probably should, to get back at this prick for reminding him of things he spends the whole day thinking about, anyway—

A long while passes before he opens his mouth again. 

"I miss them." 

"At least you have someone to miss."

The muttered remark should sound accusatory, but it's not. It's bitter, the kind of bitter that comes with understanding exactly what kind of feeling you are talking about. The kind of bitter that says I've been where you are and I've been worse and I'm glad you don't know what that worse is like. It's one short sentence, and yet it speaks volumes as to what must have happened in that weird place that had zombies and guns but not diamonds and was as cold as a lonely hut atop an equally lonely mountain. 

Scar is well aware that this weird other version of him could kill him in the blink of an eye. But he sighs and leans into him, accepts the warmth of physical contact and the emotional warmth that neither of them will ever admit to needing. 

[snowball-doie]

more dad!johnny pleaseeeee

ok this has collected dust in my inbox long enough--

he's such a comfort parent, honestly. any time reyna or jooha are upset about something, they have so many parents to choose from for comfort, but there's a fair amount of times where they seek out johnny specifically because of the way he gently lifts them into his arms, kisses their cheek, and sits down with them to listen to whatever's going on. "i-i can't figure out this w-word... in en-english... and i-i-i have a t-test... tomorrow....." poor jooha sobs between sniffles. johnny's heart wrenches in his chest seeing his kids cry-- it literally makes his whole week go downhill, okay. so that's why he's the laughter machine of the household. IF HIS KIDS ARE UPSET, HES DOING SOMETHING WRONG!!! this man is making all kinds of jokes all the time just to see his kids laugh. his favorite thing is when he really gets the joke right and reyna ends up laughing on the floor for a good 5 minutes. "it really wasn't that funny," jungwoo says. "she thinks it is, leave her alone," ahri responds. because he and doyoung make the meals, and jooha has that phase where he won't eat any of johnny's cooking, johnny will sulk a bit, but reyna'll always go up to him and pry her thumbs in his mouth so that she can drag his lips into a smile until he cracks and laughs. "thank you, princess," he'll tell her before pulling her in for a close hug. johnny's so kind and gentle around children, but especially his kids. he never, ever raises his voice, even if he's so mad he could throw something, you know? he'll take a deep breath and try to handle the situation calmly. if, for whatever reason, a day comes when he's so fucking pissed that he can't handle himself, rather than yell and cause a scene, he'll pass the responsibilities to someone else for a bit so that he can take a walk to cool down. it's gentle parenting, but not....... in a "hands off" way. his kids are still disciplined, and he makes sure that they're not rowdy, unruly kids. because he's not really the "favorite" dad and he doesn't have a favorite between reyna and jooha, he's the perfect middle parent-- and, honestly, the boys always admit that without johnny they would all be struggling to be the best kind of dad they can be for their kids. he's the steady head of the house. "hey! no running in the living room! jooha, come help me make dinner. rey, go practice with appa tae before appa jae takes you to the office." "yes, daddddd...." jooha's love and understanding of making homecooked meals comes from johnny. it took a long time before johnny himself grew up and learned how to be a family man-- a lot of his younger years were spent fucking around, so he hardly knew how to make an egg, alright? but he knows that jooha is a curious kid who wants to learn everything there is to life, and that includes taking care of his family. "only a teaspoon of fish sauce, okay, not a tablespoon like last time." "okay, dad." and when reyna comes to visit the office, he's being his silly-goofy self....... johnny's really good at dancing and performing, so he picks up on choreographies faster than some of the others. so while they're all taking their time learning, he has time to goof off with reyna. when she's small, her favorite thing is do airplanes with him. they'll also chase each other around the practice room-- he's got the grinch run going just so he stays ahead of her but isn't being unfair because of his age and height. "i'll never understand how you of all people don't want another kid," ahri tells him one night, "you're so good with rey and joo." "they're all i need. my attention'd be too split up if we had another kid, i couldn't be fair to all of them." and that's what makes johnny so special. the care he puts into showing his kids all the love in the world, taking interest in their interests, teaching them things they need to succeed in life. he's the most loving, hands-on dad there is.

[drymushroomfics]

First Words

Harry Hart x ofc

Harry looks down at his palm, the words 'Fuck Me' in all capital letters are designed there.

He shakes his head, still unsure how the first words his soulmate will say to him can be that.

He can't believe he even has a soulmate. He's always been alone. No attachments. That is what his job requires.

Things have changed in Kingsman; Eggsy's married.

Maybe he can find someone...

He never longed for someone before being shot by Valentine. It scared him the way he didn't have anyone to miss. He had nothing in his mind when he was shot.

He finishes getting dressed before heading into the mission.

"Location.", he says, asking Merlin where his target is located.

"left room. Be careful. Their captive is feisty.", Merlin replies, chuckling.

Harry sneaks inside, looking around the corner cautiously. He sees three men trying to keep their captive down. Merlin wasn't kidding. He checks his target who is standing in the corner, smirking at the scene.

"Bastard.", he mumbles to himself.

He prepares himself before going in,  guns a blazing. He manages to shoot all three in the blink of an eye.

When he looks at the captive, his mind seems to flat line.

He forgets about the target until he hears the cocking of a gun. He turns around, mentally cursing himself.

"Kingsman. Always fucking up my plans.", he says, aiming it at Harry.

Harry is trying to think of every possible way out of this situation.

He jumps in surprise when a bullet goes through the target's head. He turns to see the captive holding a gun.

"Fuck me.", she says, as he walks over to her.

He stops when she says it. He looks down at his palm as it turns red..

"I killed him... I've never even shot a gun before.", she continues.

He holds out his hand to her, "My name is Harry Hart."

She stops rambling and looks at him.

"Holy shit... You're Harry..."

She rolls up her sleeve, revealing 'My name is Harry Hart' on her wrist.

"It's you", she says.

"It appears so but right now, we need to leave."

She nods, wondering if anyone else is going to show up.

She follows him out the door when they both hear gun shots.

"Shit. How many more, Merlin?", he asks.

"At least a dozen. Get out of there Harry!"

He quickly grabs her hand as they make a break for it. They run down the hall and make a left. They notice the all clear and run toward the car. They get in as quickly as possible before driving off.

As Harry catches his breath, he looks over at her.

She laughs. He looks at her oddly.

"I can't believe this... I was kidnapped, found my soulmate, and ran from 12 men with loaded guns..."

He doesn't know what to reply. But he's equally as shocked. He didn't expect her to be the one. Yet here she is, sitting next to him with his name on her arm.

  Once they make it back to Kingsman, he takes her straight to the infirmary.

"I'm fine. Really.", she says, sitting on the bed.

"You are covered in abrasions and welts.", he says.

"It's not as if I've been shot or stabbed."

He turns his head, feeling oddly enamored by her.

"That is besides the point."

He waits outside while she is being treated.

He turns around quickly when the door opens. She's standing there, bandaged and clearly annoyed.

"So... Where are we?", she asks as they walk down the hall.

"Kingsman Headquarters."

"Okay... So you're a secret agent? Like James bond?"

He nods, "I've been doing this for quite a while."

"Um... Since this is your profession, I'm assuming you know everything about me already."

He nods again.

They walk into Harry's office. He offers her a seat before shutting the door.

"Um... So what does this mean...?... We're soulmates... And...", she says, trying to bring up the obvious elephant in the room.

"I'm almost fifteen years older than you... Does that bother you?", he asks, sitting down.

"No... I've always liked older men... Does it bother you that I'm younger than you?"

"I don't particularly seek younger women... Well, I don't seek anyone actually."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"No... I've haven't dated anyone since I joined the army."

"...Sounds lonely."

"It is I suppose..."

"Do you want to be in love?"

He looks at her and for the first time, he decides to be open and honest.

"Yes... I would like to share my life with someone..."

"What changed you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've spent all this time ignoring a whole part of life... Does it have something to do with your eye?"

He turns his head away.

"One of my missions went wrong... I was shot..."

"How did you survive?"

"In the U.S., there is a secret agency. They found me and with their technology, preserved me from death but... right before I died, I realized that I was alone. I didn't have anyone to miss me and I had no lost loves.."

She brings her hand up to touch his.

"I've never been in love; not really... I've dated only a few times but I'm open to exploring this... Your name is permanently on my wrist so it's not as if I can forget about you anyway."

"Do you want to forget?"

She shakes her head, "No... I think you're worth exploring. After all, you did save me."

"Actually I owe you. You saved me,"

"Well you could take me to dinner. That'd be a start I think."

"I'll cook something special, then."

"I'd really like that, Harry."

[blackjackkent]

So, what Rakha really wants to do right now is go kill the people hunting Karlach, because they don't have anything else that would qualify as a direct plan other than the creche, and the "paladins" are closer. However, I happen to know that the paladins are level five and Rakha is level 2 and could be knocked over by a stiff breeze, so I think a better bet is a more full exploration of the Emerald Grove first.

I'm guessing that this is the result of a concerted effort on Wyll and Shadowheart's part, primarily - Wyll already knows the people of the grove and Shadowheart has fixated on Halsin as a useful lead. Gale doesn't seem to have any specific plan in mind and, left to their own devices, Lae'zel would already be heading for the creche and Rakha and Karlach would be after the paladins. But between them, Shadowheart and Wyll manage to convince everyone that at least TALKING to the healer in the grove would be a useful start before everyone goes off half-cocked.

Amused because I stopped in to talk to Zevlor and got a disapproval from Wyll purely for leaving the conversation without asking the question about whether the ritual could be stopped. XD Sorry, Wyll. I swear we'll get to a point where you like Rakha, somehow, but I doubt sincerely we're there yet.

Speaking of the ritual, down we go to the grove proper - with a quick stop to talk to the teeth-ling kids.

"Whoa. Hey! Can't say I've ever seen someone like you before."

Without preamble, he shows his hands to her, empty. Then a quick flick of the wrist, and suddenly he's holding out a tarnished gold ring between his fingers.

"Go on," he says cheerfully. "Take this ring. It's lucky."

Rakha, who has very little context for anything she experiences, has never seen slight-of-hand magic done before, nor is she familiar with the concept of a con man. So she watches this little display and is immediately fascinated. Magic - but with no surge of that visible tapestry around the boy, the network of power that Gale calls the Weave.

How?

"That was a fancy trick," she says slowly.

His eyes narrow and something subtle shifts in his expression, a flash of interest. "You haven't seen anything yet, lady," he says dryly. "Go on - take the ring and watch your fortune change!"

Take the ring.

She takes it and looks at it carefully. There is no magic on the ring either, nothing that she can sense. But the boy looks up at her earnestly as he draws a coin from his pocket. "Call it! Heads or tails."

She blinks at him, puzzled by the question.

Pocket the ring.

"Hey, hold on!" the boy cries at once. "You gotta pay for that!"

She does? She withdraws the ring out of her pocket again and squints at the boy, incredibly baffled by the entire situation.

("The boy seeks to deceive you," Lae'zel says impatiently under her breath. "His magic is mundanity. The ring likely the same."

Wyll sighs. "Be kind, the both of you. He wants to show you a trick, that's all. Let him flip the coin.")

Rakha's eyes narrow. She stands there with the ring sitting on her palm and feels foolish. "It's only a joke," she says slowly after a long silence and trying to sort through the words from her companions. "Go on... flip your coin." If anything, she is curious to learn what that means.

"Real sweet sense of humor you got there, chum." The boy looks as if he's starting to regret his choice of mark, but he presses on gamely. "Anyway, you gotta call before the flip. Heads or tails."

A long pause. "Heads?" Rakha says cautiously.

The boy grins, tosses the coin in the air, catches it, and then shows her the side with the head facing up. "Heads it is!" he crows. "See? That's the kinda luck you get from just one of my lucky rings! I've got more where that came from. Real cheap, too. Interested?"

Rakha is starting to understand the situation now that she has seen it play out, and her lips twitch with irritation. [SORCERER] "If there was magic in this ring, I'd have felt it," she says bluntly. "It's nothing but junk."

The boy flinches and raises his hands defensively. "Not so loud!" he hisses. "You caught me, all right? They're not lucky rings." His eyes grow wide, his expression twisting with sudden, exaggerated pathos. "I'm just... trying to earn money for my family," he whimpers. "My father left and my mother... she's so sick. I wish I had better things to sell than... trinkets, but it's all I have!"

Rakha squints. The shift in tone is abrupt enough that she is certain it's disingenuous and that Lae'zel is right - the boy is making a fool of her. There is nothing of value here.

Wordlessly she shoves the ring back in the boy's face.

Return the ring and leave.

[universal-shenanigans]

Tension & Questions

     “How did this happen?” A very confused and rightfully irritated Don V asked over the laptop. He wasn’t blaming them, just absolutely baffled as to how so many mobsters were dead. Andrew spoke up, “Of course we don’t know how it happened, but we can surmise who did it.”

     “I think the real problems lie in how many people we have left, and how recent these incidents occurred.” Alexa paced around the room. She was too anxious to sit still and think about this. V pushed himself up and grunted. He was still in the hospital after all and was definitely feeling the aftermath of the back-to-back blood transfusions and stitches. “Okay, we need to tackle this one step at a time. Majority of them are dead, but we do still have a good number of outlets to see, right? Haven’t you two made your own alliances once you had more stake in the business?”

     Alex shrugged, “I mean, yeah. But pretty much everyone we knew, our dads knew, and vice versa.”

     “Yeah, and anyone that me and Arthur made alliances with are definitely on here. Those people are obviously out. It’s just...” Alexa gazed at the list once more after Alex had forcibly stopped her pacing at the couch. She shook her head, “V, there are a lot of names on here. Several of them are some pretty big names. Ones that I know, for a fact, should not be dead. So, clearly Arthur killed off a good chunk of these people. I refuse to believe he didn’t. The others, there’s a chance there was some in-fighting and betrayals. So right now, that’s why we’re down to five pe-”

     Brrring! Brrring!

     Alex’s phone started ringing. She raised a finger as she took the call to another room. V continued the conversation, “So, we’re down to five people?”

     “Yes. Thankfully, the ones that are still alive know one if not both our fathers, or they have a straight connection with Arthur.”

     Alex walked back and plopped back down on the couch, seeming to be even more irritated with their situation. She highlighted the fifth of the top five names and struck through it. They looked at her, surprised and more confused than they were before. “That was my dad on the phone. He died last night. Not by Arthur, granted. He died by health complications with his heart and whatever the hell else was going on. Point is, we’re down to four people.”

     There was a collection of groans about the news. Of course, no one was going to lose hope or stop over this, but the setback just made their investigation 20 times harder. V pinched the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. “Okay. We’re just going to have to work with that. It’s far from what we need, but maybe some worthy information can come from some of them.”

     “Well, I know the second one, Victor Bass. Calls his place of operations “The Pro Shop” and calls himself “Big Bass”. He knew my father in the past, but he cut ties with him years ago cause he tipped someone about my dad doing something, don’t know to this day, but long story short it almost got me, and my mother killed. I don’t know if he’s changed his place of operations, but we can try and start there.”

     “Alright, I consider that a step in the right direction.” V nodded.

     Alex continued as she scrolled through, “I know a guy here too. Know where his place is. No connection, but I’ve very briefly interacted with him cause of a quick trip. I can see if I can get us some time to talk.”

     “Good, good. I will try to look into some of my own connections and see what I can do from this damned hospital bed.”

     “Do you think any of them actually have ties, let alone know him?”

     “You’d be surprised. Young or old, everyone seeks to benefit from anyone. I just need to weed out the worst ones.”

     Alex gave an arched expression as she stretched her legs onto the coffee table, “How’s that goin’ anyway? Ya know with the whole needles and medical stuff?”

     A note of coy and mockery was laced in her question, causing the man to snap his attention to her and sneer. “Watch it, Vandem. I’m not in the mood. I’m a sitting duck here with everything going on. Unfortunately, I don’t have the muscle that you and Alexa carry, so who knows what could happen while I’m here.”

     “Besides them comin’ after you? I don’t think there’s much for you to worry about. We actually got family to look out for...” She mumbled the last bit under her breath. It wasn’t hard for him to hear her and it garnered a negative expression from Alexa. However, V stayed silent. Alexa took the laptop and sighed. “Look, we’ll try to figure out another way to-”

     “Find a back-up plan. I’ll see you all when I’m out...” The call ended. Alexa took a deep breath and snapped her attention to her friend, who didn’t look even a little bit remorseful about what she had said. Alexa looked up at Andrew, who only looked away to avoid her gaze. She tossed the laptop onto the couch and took another deep breath. “Okay...what the fuck? Why would you say something like that?!”

     “Alexa, what makes you think an absolutely waste of space and air like him has a-”

     “What makes you think that he doesn’t?! You’re acting like a petty child and throwing cheap shots at a man that’s literally helping us go after a real monster! I don’t fucking know what he’s done, frankly I don’t want to know, but I do know that with as suspicious as he may seem to you two, he’s only shown day by day more of a reason to trust him!”

     “You wouldn’t be sayin’ that if you knew what he did! Everyone who crosses his path stays clear, hates him, hightails it outta there or all of the above! Why the fuck would you try and take a chance like that after seeing and hearing all of those warning signs about him?!” Alex jumped up.

     Alexa stepped closer, yelling, “ARE WE ANY FUCKING DIFFERENT?!”

     Silence. Andrew looked between the two, eyes finally landing on Alex as she began to back down. Alexa’s voice was laced with anger as she continued. “Are we...? If we are, prove it...”

     Alex still didn’t say anything and just snatched up her jacket and stormed out the door. Alexa watched, and as soon as the door closed, she glared at Andrew. He shook his head and grabbed his coat from the back of a chair. “Can’t expect everyone to be as trusting as you are, darling. He’s done...a lot. More than the two of you combined. But, it’s not our place to talk about it. He should tell you himself. Even if he wants to keep his past in the past. Not fair to you or the people getting involved in this situation being left in the dark...Gonna try and calm her down...”

     He left. The air felt heavy. Alexa looked down at the laptop. Then to the door. The laptop. The door. The laptop. The door...the door...The amount of profanities that were screaming in her head were...immense. The only thing that managed to come out was an angry, “This is fucking ridiculous...” She quickly grabbed her coat and left as well.

[astroluvr]

can you do one where y/n is jack's assistant and they sneak around and stuff please

i loved this and ofc it had to get a little angsty at the end!!! thanks for ur request!

***

You'd been watching Jack do a rehearsal for the past hour. You stayed on the front row the whole time, watching as danced and smiled- he was truly himself on stage and it was a wonderful thing to see. The two of you had been sneaking around with each other for close to six months and it was becoming easier to tell that things were heating up.

"I know, but you don't have to show it. It'll be bad for your image."

"Can we take a break?" he asked upon finishing half of his set list and you nodded from the chairs. Everyone else who was really in charge also gave the go-ahead, but he was really only seeking your approval.

He nodded and started walking, causing you to stand up and follow him to the stage exit. "Watch the cords, baby."

He smirked at you and you looked around afraid that someone had heard you. Although the situation was a bit cliche, there was arguably nothing wrong with your and Jack's relationship. All it took was one night together on the town for Jack to realize he had to have you one way or the other.

You were always in his inner circle, and after you dabbled in business, he asked you to be his assistant and help manage him. Of course you agreed, it was great experience and a great opportunity to travel and learn about yourself. Not to mention, you got paid to wrangle around a giant child and make sure he didn't do anything too stupid and tarnish his reputation. You slept with him for free.

"You called me baby while we weren't alone." he teased, hopping off the stage and towering over you.

"And I'll never do it again." you glared at him and you could see in his eyes that he wanted to kiss you. You put a hand on his chest and he licked his lips. "We can't. There's so many techs who could take a picture."

"I know." he said, but grabbed your hand anyway. "Come to the dressing room."

"We'll have time in the hotel for anything you want to do after the show tonight." you whispered.

Jack was always the anytime, anyplace one. You were a little more discreet, and not because you knew how damaging a public relationship could be for his media presence right now. Even without being his assistant, you wouldn't have wanted to break your little bubble, as tiresome as it was, it felt like keeping yourself safe. If he broke your heart, you wouldn't have to face the music of social media or your friends or his circle.

"I need to kiss you now." you huffed and let him lead you back up the stage

"Hey, where are you two going? We're going to go grab lunch then come back." Neelam yelled, sliding her purse on and Jack looked down at you.

"I need Y/N's help real quick. I'll catch up."

"We can wait." she offered, and you sighed.

"Maybe we should just-" Jack interrupted you with another excuse across the venue.

"I'll get us a car and we'll meet you." he said, turning around and nearly running to the back with you in tow.

When he finally got you into his small dressing room, he was relieved to sit down and pull you onto his lap. You smiled when he puckered his lips dramatically and let his head fall back when you gave him a soft kiss.

"People are going to find out if you don't stop acting like you can't live without me." you reminded him as you played with his sweaty curls and he gripped your ass.

"I can't."

"Of course, we are. Now's just not the time." his hands left your ass and he rested them on the back of the couch.

"So what? I'm supposed to spend my life keeping up a fuckboy reputation?" he held your hips and you shrugged. "I won't. We've been sneaking around for six months, Y/N. We're serious about each other, right?"

You hated having this conversation with Jack. After you two realized what you had was a little more than late night flings, he was ready to tell everyone who would listen. Granted he wanted to keep it private, but anytime someone caught you two looking a little too friendly with one another, he seemed ready to burst with your secret.

"Is it about me? You don't want to go public with me?"

"It's about thinking logically, J. Everyone knows I'm your assistant and if we start not caring about who's watching, then what will that say about me or you or us?"

"I don't care, Y/N. I want you and only fucking you."

"You're on top of your game, Jack. You're about to release a number one hit. They're talking about pairing you up with models for PR, you're getting industry party invites. I'm not all you want, I'm all you know."

"So, what am I to you, then?" he asked, his blue eyes that were once bright as the sky dimmed and his hands that were eager to feel you up gripped the fluff of the couch.

"Forget I bought it up, Jack." you said, climbing off his lap and grabbing your purse.

"Nah, you had all of that analysis before, say something. Say I was just enough to get you off."

"Don't even try and imply that I was using you. I just know who you were before us."

"But nothing, nobody, could ever change me, right? I thought I was showing you the real me, Y/N, but you had the media in your ear the whole fucking time. That's fine, though."

Even through his rough delivery, you knew he was hurt. As you stood there, you thought about the past few months. Discussing all of Jack's next moves and watching what the world had to say about him and everyone's perception of him began to taint your own thoughts and feelings.

A critical lapse in judgement may have caused the break in your heart you were expecting Jack to deliver.

"Jack, baby, I'm not-"

He stood up and ignored you entirely. "Urban already sent a car back."

"Jack," you sighed, wiping your eyes as tears began to slide down your cheeks. "I'm sorry. You're the best I've ever known, I promise you."

He nodded and plucked a tissue from the box to hand it to you. He turned around and left you in the dressing room alone. For the first time in a long time, Jack left you without some form of physical affection. Not a kiss, not a squeeze, not even a wink or a text a moment later.

Just a cold reminder of what you had and what you could've had gone.

***

@whoreforharlow

[paradisetemporarilymisplaced]

So I was being a basic bitch the other day and listening to my true crime podcasts when it occurred to me just how suspicious Nile’s “death” would look to everyone not in the Guard, leading me to a train of thought that, 2200 words later, absolutely got away from me but I can’t let go so I’m inflicting it on all of you!

To set the stage, we know the movie takes place over approximately a week. Here’s what happens to Nile from the military’s point of view:

She dies is very seriously injured

She heals without a scratch

Just before she’s supposed to be shipped out to Germany, she vanishes, leaving two men concussed (and presumably reporting being knocked out by a woman with short hair wearing civilian clothes)

She goes AWOL for several days

They get word from the CIA that she is to be reported killed in action (details unclear)

So, at the beginning of this very weird week, the USMC has to tell Nile’s family of her death critical injury. What her family was told depends on how long she was dead – a Google search tells me that family will be notified in person within 8 hours of a soldier’s death, but we don’t know how long her first death lasted. For an injury, however, they’d get a phone call to notify them and the unit would arrange for them to visit as soon as the soldier is transferred out of a combat zone. Like I remember when I was in high school, a guy from my church who was a Marine was really seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Iraq and from what I could tell, his parents were told immediately and were flown out to Germany to see him, so it stands to reason that Nile’s family would have been informed relatively quickly after her throat was slashed, one way or another.

And then, she goes AWOL. Her family would be notified while the USMC tried to figure out where she went, not least because the military would want to know if she’s contacted them. (And it’s possible that her family may have been on the way to Germany to see her since we know that’s where she was supposed to go!) So for several days:

Nile’s mom and brother have no idea where she is

They know she was seriously injured and most certainly should not have been moving around on her own

They can’t get a hold of her

The military can’t tell them anything

And the next thing they know for sure is that she was “killed in action.” After being injured and vanishing into thin air. And they presumably cannot produce her body or any concrete evidence of her death. In any case, something sketchy is going on, so they’re like. SMELLS LIKE A MILITARY COVERUP.

In a surprise to probably no one, there is a well-documented legacy of mysterious US military deaths, particularly of women of color (TW for sexual assault in these links). The cases of LaVena Johnson and Vanessa Guillenin particular have made national news because of their families’ persistence in seeking justice. Likewise, Nile is a Black woman, and her mom and brother are most certainly hypercognizant of (a) state violence against Black people and (b) these high-profile cases of suspicious military deaths. So her family are seriously side-eyeing the situation, knowing that (a) the military has a serious incentive (and a documented history) of covering up things that make them look bad and (b) nothing about Nile’s disappearance and supposed death are adding up.

And Andy’s right. Nile does come from warriors. And you know who else does? Her brother.

Don’t get me wrong. Nile’s mom would absolutely not back down. She’d know something was up and want to get to the bottom of it. But based on what I know about Gen X parents (mine), they’re not the most technologically savvy. Like they can use the internet, but they didn’t grow up with it the way we young millennials and Gen Z did. So Nile’s brother takes the lead. And what do zillennials do best?

Social media.

Nile’s brother starts going hard on any site he can, trying to get the word out to see if anyone knows what happened to his sister. He starts a Reddit thread. He starts a Facebook group. He reaches out to the media and true crime bloggers and podcasters à la Sarah Turney, getting loud and being a general nuisance in hopes of getting some answers. He gets his friends and Nile’s friends involved. Maybe eventually Dizzy, Jay, and others from Nile’s unit hear about it and reach out, telling him what they saw and how weird it all was. He’s drumming up interest, and soon “Nile Freeman” becomes a household name (at least among the true crime fans).

Copley is, of course, trying his best, but at this point there is just so much that it’s impossible for him to scrub everything. Sure, he can erase new footage of Nile and the Guard, but what can he do about Reddit threads and podcast episodes that are speculating something weird has happened? Maybe he could hack the sites and shut those things down, but honestly, that’s the last thing he’d want to do, because that only adds weight to the theory that Nile’s disappearance is a military coverup. So eventually he has to tell Andy what’s going on.

Andy, obviously, does not take the news well. However, she is also completely computer illiterate, because that’s Booker’s job and he’s the only one who ever bothered to learn what the internet is in any meaningful way. (She probably calls Booker for advice, and for the record, I think Booker would have no qualms about shutting down conspiracy threads, tinhats be damned, but Copley is too concerned about the consequences. He’s ex-CIA for crying out loud, he knows how it’ll look if they scrub every mention of Nile’s name from the internet.) Maybe she confers with Joe and Nicky but, let’s be honest, they’d be equally unhelpful. So at this point, she knows they have to bring in Nile.

But the thing about Nile is that she, too, knows how to use the internet (duh). Aside from her being a young millennial/digital native, we know from the cave scene where she’s giving Booker suggestions on how to track Copley that she clearly is even more computer savvy than the average person. And for that reason she almost definitely took over the day-to-day tech stuff after Booker’s exile. So I think it would be foolish to expect her to be unaware of what’s happening. She’s not contacting her family or posting on the message boards or anything, but she knows what’s up. So Copley and the team probably sit her down to “break the news,” but we know the girl does not have a poker face (see: literally shooting herself in the foot and not being able to play it cool whatsoever) and cracks immediately, telling them she’s seen everything about her case – she’s not interacting with any of it, she certainly didn’t instigate anything, but she knows. (And she is so goddamn proud of her brother.)

At this point, I’d like to pause and consider Nile’s role in the overall narrative of this movie. She’s set up as a foil to Andy, obviously, but she’s also a foil to Booker. Booker, who, like Andy, is a serious pessimist, but who, unlike Andy, still has very fresh memories and trauma associated with being the new kid, which have destroyed him. In his mind (and Andy’s), if Nile communicates with her family, she’ll become just like him in a century or two – bitter, alone, and stuck with her grief and memories of watching her family die and knowing they died resenting her. It’s a small sample size, but this is the only experience they have to go off of.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

There’s been a lot of discussion of TOG being a fundamentally queer movie – a group of people brought together because of something inherent about themselves that is different, that must be hidden, that causes others to hate, fear, and reject them. Booker’s backstory is the archetypal traumatic “coming out” story – his family learns who he is, hate him for it, and attempt to cast him out of their lives. He’s stuck with his trauma, his pain, his loss, and it consumes him.

But what if Nile’s family would be the opposite? What if her “coming out” to them as immortal is met with acceptance, love, celebration? What if her family is just overjoyed to have her back, and they don’t care what the circumstances are? I'm reminded of this incredible post from @shitty-old-guard-deaths a while back, where Nile’s mother hits Booker with a frying pan because “my baby let me believe she was dead for FIVE YEARS based on your bad advice???” (which may or may not have inspired this whole tangent). Nile takes the advice of someone who did the same thing she wants to do because she doesn’t want to risk her family’s rejection. She wants the good memories with her family and is afraid that showing them her true self will bring her unbearable pain, forever replacing those memories. But, with high risk comes high reward.

Anyway. Nile and the team are trying to come up with a plan for how to handle this whole thing, but she’s not really participating because she’s too afraid to hope. Until finally, quickly, so she doesn’t lose her nerve, she suggests she reach out to them, knowing that, realistically, that’s the only solution before things snowball even further out of control. The team is shocked, but realize that she has a point. They decide that Copley should actually be the first point of contact, posing as a US government official to talk with them and test the waters.

So Copley goes to Nile’s family’s house to talk with her mom and brother. They’re probably distrustful and apprehensive, but nonetheless secretly ecstatic that their work has paid off. They talk and review all of the information that they’ve collected, including testimonials from the people on Nile’s base and recent sightings (along with photos) of Nile (with the same three people) over the last few years that people have sent them but they haven’t posted publicly. At this point, Copley’s like, yeah this is about to blow up, we gotta put our cards on the table. He convinces them to come with him to some safe house/black site/whatever he can get that is technologically impenetrable (I’m picturing them in like, an interrogation room at a police station kind of deal), takes their phones, locks the doors, and brings in Nile.

What follows is the most delightful reunion scene of all time, bringing Joe, Nicky, and even Andy to tears as they watch and listen from outside the room. With Copley’s help, Nile tells her mom and brother about her immortality and what’s been going on since she died (within reason, of course), and they are thrilled. They don’t understand why (because no one does) but they don’t question it and they see it as a gift from God – she’s been resurrected, she will live, and she has a purpose. Her mother and brother are so happy to see her again and are willing to agree with pretty much anything to stay in her life as long as they can.

So. They set up some complicated agreement (they bring in the other three for support/intimidation as needed) setting the terms of their relationship. They swear Nile’s family to secrecy, maybe bringing up the lab to show how high the stakes are, and they readily agree. They come up with some cover story for Nile’s brother to share on the message boards (maybe that the government has opened an investigation but because it’s an open case he has to shut it all down? Tells people to direct their tips somewhere else? Something to that effect). There’s still speculation, of course, but without Nile’s brother at the helm providing the energy, the hype dies down as news stories are wont to do without any movement. And Nile’s family goes to work for the team. The experience has taught them that Copley can’t possibly do everything himself, especially when it comes to social media, so Nile’s brother takes the lead on the day-to-day tracking/social media while Copley and her mom focus on finding jobs and scrubbing their traces afterward.

So there you have it: Nile gets to integrate her biological family into her found family and spend the rest of their lives with them as it should be, Copley gets some badly needed help managing the reality of social media, the team finally has a positive narrative surrounding outsiders Knowing About Them AND about interacting with people from their previous life, and the audience gets the happy ending to this very lovely and very queer story to counteract the pain associated with Booker’s family.

Plus, you know, I’m a sucker for both a good government conspiracy theory and for Nile getting every good thing she deserves.

[jupitermelichios]

i put some stuff in the comments but i ran out of space so i'm reblogging

firstly, lying about the tuition isn't great, but i can't say i wouldn't have done the same in your situation, especially at your age. being 20 is fucking hard.

secondly, your dad sounds like a piece of work, and you would be absolutely 100% justified in lying to him about not deleting your discord. a) you're a full grown adult who can make their own decisions, b) the idea that having social media accounts makes people fail exams is some technophobic nonsense, and c) it kind of sounds like he's trying to isolate you which is really not okay. lie to his face about it without guilt, just be careful. definitely delete the app now rather than waiting for him to check, password lock your devices if you haven't already, get in the habit of closing tabs when you're not using them so you don't accidentally leave discord open, and stick to incognito tabs or clear the browsing history if you're using a shared family computer at all

second-and-a-half-ly, medical care is confidential, if your dad does decided to seek mental health treatment no one but he and his therapist ever need to know unless he wants them to, don't worry about it hurting his reputation.

thirdly, i hope you'll accept some tips from someone who also really struggled with physical and mental health all through university, and ended up having to repeat a two years (but got there in the end)

a lot of people irl are probably going to tell you some real bullshit about yourself and your situation (maybe not, for your sake i hope not, but it's unfortunately more likely than not based on my experience). so you need to look yourself in the eye now and accept that no matter what anyone else might say, you did the best you could. yes even though you didn't sit the exams. yes even though you didn't get the grade you needed. you did your best, and the fact that you didn't end up where you wanted to be is no kind of moral reflection on you. you did your best in a crap situation, and you should be proud of yourself

but, and it's kind of a big but, accepting that you tried you best also means accepting that 'next year i'll work harder, be healthier, be better at the things i struggle with' isn't a plan, it's wishful thinking. accepting it means sitting down and making a plan for how you cope if things don't get better, because sometimes you try your best and things still end up being crap.

that doesn't mean they won't get better of course, and it doesn't mean you haven't grown or learned important stuff over the last semester that will help you cope if things get bad again in the future, and it doesn't mean you're giving up, even though i know it can feel like it at times. think of it like putting on a lifejacket before getting onto a boat. you might not need it, but promising yourself you won't crash the ship won't do anything to stop a storm blowing in, and trying to get back to land to collect one after your boat is in trouble is going to be really fucking hard. putting on a life jacket isn't you giving up on being a good sailor, it's just taking reasonable precautions. so you make a plan now, and then you've got it ready for when you need it.

there's four main things you need in your plan:

1. getting medical support if at all possible, and getting it now while you're relatively okay, so that it can help you stay okay, rather than waiting until a big crash comes. see if your university offers any kind of student mental health services (they often do in my country but every country is different), and if it doesn't, try to find services yourself. without knowing your country i can't advise on what that would be, since every country is different

in addition/instead you can look into what doctors recommend people do for themselves to manage your particular flavour of mental health problems, and try to incorportate that into your daily life. don't try and fix all your problems yourself, or set huge goals (it'll just end up being a source of stress when you inevitable struggle if you aim too high), find something you genuinely think you can do most of the time, whether that's a guided meditation app, mindfulness excercises, going for walks (i know it sounds like bullshit but unfortunatly all the resrarch agrees it helps with most mental health stuff), yoga, drinking more water, whatever the research recommends and you think you could do on an average day. the point isn't to cure yourself, it's just to reduce the chances of a big crash and generally give yourself a bit more mental energy to deal with problems if or when they do happen.

2. talk to your personal tutor if you have one (i don't know what other countries call this - universities here assign students a lecturer to act as your first point of contact for any concerns or academic issues you might have, we call it a tutor), and when you know what classes you're going to be taking this next semester, talk to the lecturers, as soon as you can. let them know now that you have some chronic health problems. that's scary the first time, but it gets easier every time, I promise. if you prefer not to do it face to face (and having a paper trail can be useful anyway) you can write up one formal email and then just tailor a few details and send it to each tutor. you don't have to tell them anything about what your health problems are, although it's best not to actually lie because you might need to produce medical evidence at some point down the line. just tell them you're looking forward to their class, and you wanted to let them know in advance that you have chronic health issues which can occaisionally impact your studies. you don't anticipate it being a problem, but you wanted to check, if it does impact you ability to attend class, whether lecture notes/slides are shared anywhere online, and if not, whether they would be willing to email them to you, and whether there will be classes (such as practicals/labs/presentations etc) which can only be done in person this semester, so that you can plan accordingly.

this works regardless of whether you actually think you'll need the slides or whether there will be in person classes, because the actual point isn't the slides, it's a) to make sure that if things get bad again and you have to ask for accomodations there's already a record of you having issues, which usually makes people more likely to accept you're being genuine, and b) make sure they know that you're pro-active and eager to learn, so they'll want to help to you if you need it.

(and since lecturers are only human, and sometimes humans are unfortunately dicks, it also lets you know which lecturers are the most likely to be kind and understanding)

3. find out now what the policy is on extensions to deadlines for coursework or homework. it might be university wide, or it might be department by department, or it might be lecturer by lecturer (in which case you can incorporate it into your email above). if you have a personal tutor, start there, or ask the university office who should be able to point you in the right direction, or if you have a student union, they probably have someone who can help. find out if you need medical evidence, and how much in advance you need to request the extension, so that if you do end up struggling, you know in advance what to do.

4. take a serious look at the last semester, and the one you dropped out of before, and try and figure out what the big stressors are. i know it probably feels like the answer is 'all of it', but there will be some stuff that stresses you out more than others. if you're living away from home, is it stuff about that, like cooking for yourself, or washing up, or laundry? do you have a friend who stresses you out every time you talk? is there a specific class or type of class you really struggle with? is it having too many exams all at once? did you have to do a lot of academic reading you found difficult? did all your classes combined involve more outside study than you had time for? do you really hate having to chose what to wear to class? have you used alcohol or drugs in a way that's stressing you out? are there noises or smells that you find seriously unpleasant? is it a person you live with? sometimes surprisingly small things can have a big impact. I have to limit how many crime stories i read, which sounds kind of silly for a 33 year old adult, but for some reason they happen to be one of the things that sets off my anxiety really badly. brains can just be assholes like that sometimes.

figure out what your stressors are, and then you can start figuring out ways to reduce or remove them. don't worry about what a "normal" person would need, who cares about them. everyone everywhere needs some kind of accomodation or has to compromise between that they think they should do and what they realistically can do, it's just that it usually happens behind closed doors so we don't see other people do it. it's not weak or shameful to alter our lives to fit what we need, it's a sign of maturity. and there's almost always at least a partial solution to stressors or mental health triggers. if you can't think of one, try searching online or asking people because there are no new problems, and chances are you're not the first person to ask. if the issue is about the number or type of classes, try and mix up what classes you take to balance out the ones you find particularly hard with easier ones (if you don't get told in advance automatically what coursework or exams will be like, or if you don't know what the lecturer will be like, ask other students - if the school has a message board or forum online for students you could ask there, if you don't know anyone irl to ask - there's usually someone who'll know).

and then, with these done, if things do get bad again, you know the process for asking for extensions, you've primed lecturers to support you if you need to skip class or ask for extra support (and in the unfortunatle situation that any of them didn't respond well to the email you know which classes to prioritise if you have to let some things slip), you'll have coping strategies and ideally professionals to support you, and you'll know what makes things worse and you can take steps to temporarily remove it from your life while you get back on your feet (for example, if you know cooking is a stressor, you can't permanently remove it from your life because you need to eat, but if you hit a bad patch, there's no shame in living on bananas and sandwiches for a few weeks to remove that stress from your life until you're feeling better)

good luck! you've totally got this 💚

AITA for asking my parents to pay my tuition for the semester, lying about how I lost my scholarship, and then planning on lying to my dad regarding his requirements in exchange for him paying the tuition?

My (20X) college has a scholarship for offspring of faculty members, and I was lucky enough to have my application accepted by the college that my dad (53M) works at. This means that I get a full ride scholarship; if I graduate within 4 years, I won't have to pay a single penny to my college (books and supplies not included, of course).

Unfortunately, the scholarship does have two requirements; I need to have taken at least a certain amount of credits semester before (not a ridiculous number), and for that semester, I need to have gotten over a 2.0/4.3 GPA. Easy enough, right? Who can't get a GPA over 2.0?

Well. I suffered a mental health downfall the past semester and I ended up failing half my classes. I was unable to sit my finals. I know this wasn't smart of me, and I think I should've done something about my academic situation other than just wait for the semester to be over, but I had quit a semester due to my mental health decline previously and I didn't want a repeat of that. In any case, I got a GPA of about 1.6. I'm not on probation but I did receive a warning.

Fortunately, this doesn't mean I lost my scholarship for good. I just need to fulfill those requirements in the upcoming semester and I get it back.

I realized I did need to pay my tuition this semester two days before tuition fee acceptance closes and I debated telling only one of my parents. My mom wants me to finish college no matter what, and my dad has told me that he does not care anymore as long as I don't stress him out. He's also told me he no longer has any expectations for me whatsoever. I did also consider talking about it with my brother and borrowing money from him to put together the tuition fee.

I figured I'd bite the bullet and just told my dad, who I know has been stressed about my future and how badly I'm doing in college. I just casually dropped it as I was making breakfast for myself and then we had a lengthy conversation that my mother (51F) joined when she got back home.

I don't remember much of the conversation (I may have memory problems) but the AITA mentioned part is that I lied to my parents and told them I did sit all my finals and try my best. I didn't. I tried that for mid term exams but I had nothing to write, so for finals I didn't sit them at all. This happened with three of the classes I was taking. I just didn't take my finals. My dad was suspicious of my claim; he said that as a professor himself he wouldn't fail students who at least submitted homework and sat their exams to write anything at all, but I maintained that I tried.

The conclusion was that my dad would be willing to pay my tuition if I got my shit together and also deleted my social media, which he thinks is a drain on my time and energy. He's not wrong. I deleted my Twitter accounts immediately afterwards (which my parents don't know about) because I've been thinking about it, but I can't really bring myself to get rid of Discord, where so many of my friends are. People I've met while studying internationally, long-term friends who moved to other countries; Discord is the only way to contact these people.

This is the AITA part; if my dad follows up on that particular requirement to check if I deleted Discord, which he particularly dislikes (he has previously confiscated the electronics I bought with my own money that I earned, after he saw me on muted call at night with some friends), I plan on deleting the app/program on my devices but using it anyway as a website. This would be a betrayal of my dad's trust in me, but there's no love lost between us anyway. He's already told me he doesn't love me unconditionally. (Yes, I'm his biological child and he did raise me.)

I also feel like an asshole because I could've settled this with the help of my brother; I'd pick up a job during the winter break to pay him back, but it would have been done eventually. Or I could've just gone to my mom. She works her own job, and we could've figured it out together without telling my dad. I told my dad anyway, wanting him to pay the tuition, even though I knew that talking about having to spend money on his kids stresses him out deeply.

My mom also told my dad to go to therapy (in detail, so I know it wasn't just something she said as a throwaway thing) during the conversation. It did get heated. I don't disagree, but I don't know if that'd be okay; mental health is stigmatized where I am, and my dad as a grown adult man and a respected professor if seen going to therapy could have his reputation kind of effected. It wouldn't have happened if I just brought up this whole situation quietly up to my mom, or just my brother.

So I lost my scholarship, I lied to my parents about the technicalities of how that happened, and I'm asking for some amount of money from my parents but also planning on lying to them in regards to the terms they set out. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[awkwardspontaneity]

Hello. This is my first request for the Legend of Zelda, so I do not know how to write it correctly. I don't speak English and I'm writing this in a translator, so there may be mistakes here, sorry. In general, I want to see how the reader will react to the fact that Revali, Link and Sidon cheated on her. (something made me feel sad) Thank you in advance ╹▽╹

I'm so sorry something happened to upset you. If it's along the lines of this request give me a name😤👊 anyways thank you so much for requesting!! This ended up being so much longer than I intended but I'm pretty happy with it. I hope this is what you're looking for!

✨ requests are open✨

Warning: angst, cheating

Revali🐦

I think with his prickly nature not a lot of people would stick around long enough to get to know how much he cares

But some bitch saw how much he was training to perfect his powers to help Hyrule and couldn't resist

It started off as bringing him lunches and heat pads after a long day of training and then it escalated

They would wrap his wings up and suddenly he was letting them fix his braids. He never saw it as much more than a fan helping him out but you saw differently

It ended up in a big fight when you finally brought up how Revali was allowing this fan to hang off of him like they were his partner not you. You brought up excellent points like how he took such a long time to even trust you with braiding his hair and that he could at least let them know he's in a relationship.

Revali got upset (probably cuz ur right and he can't admit it) and snapped that at least they appreciated him

Yeah bad move. You walked out and bird brain left to train away the pain

You came across his first and decided to head to the shooting range with some peace snacks but what do you find?

You walk up the slope towards the archery range, a container of Revali's favourite snacks in hand. As you approach you see something sitting inside the hut and assume it's him. Sterling your breath you walk into the hut and what you find takes your breath away- not in the good way either. Revali sat there with his wings wrapped around them, too caught up on their liplock to notice you standing there.

CRASH

The container hits the ground with a shatter, ruining their little scene.

"Y/n-"

"Don't even try it." You wish your voice didn't sound as broken. No matter how much your heart squeezed in pain from the betrayal, you wanted to come off so much different- angrier. Because you were angry. "Just because we have an argument does not give you the right to run off with your new friend."

Revali flinches at the word and you feel a sick glimmer of satisfaction. He opens his mouth to protest, ignoring your glare. "I-I'm sorry." Your glare darkens and he immediately flounders for the right words. "You accused me of something I didn't do-"

Yeah, not the right words. You wish you could do something, anything to hurt him like he hurt you. But you had to be the bigger person no matter how much you wanted to snap that precious bow of his in half.

"I accused you, not have you permission."

"We can work through this, together" his wing reached out to you, but you recoiled to fast.

"We're not together." You walked towards the entrance "I hope it was worth it."

Link 🗡️

Link is a closed off person. Sure he has people worship him for his title as the hero of Hyrule, but he would never let that get to his head. You could tell this boy he's amazing and it still wouldn't get through his insecurities

Maybe it's cruel but, that almost reassured you he would never break your heart like that. You felt secure in your relationship

That's why it was so shocking when you found out he had fallen for Zelda.

It wasn't meant to ever be more than knight and princess. And you never should have found out.

You were walking towards the stables of your party was staying at. It was supposed to be a simple trip to complete some research out in the plains. Of course your trip was ambushed by an energetic princess who begged to come along for research purposes. You couldn't complain because the addition of the princess also came with your boyfriend Link.

Now you were looking for him outside the small ranch. You fully expected him to be caring for Epona like he always did after a long trip. His love for his horse was something you had always loved about him. The way he would stay later than everyone else to make sure she was okay. It had made stables kind of your spot. Hanging out at the end of a long day to talk and spend time together while caring for your steeds.

Maybe that was why your heart felt so utterly shattered when you did find him, standing next to the stable, with the princess in his arms. Maybe you could have fooled yourself into believing he was being friendly if he hadn't pressed a long loving kiss to her forehead followed by both her cheeks, chuckling softly as she giggled.

You knew they had always been close. I mean they spent all their time together. You'd just never thought that Link would do something like this to you.

You walked away from the stables fighting backs the tears in your eyes. It was only when you found you had walked into an older area, a spare shack outside, that you finally let the tears fall. Your heart twisted in pain as sobs tore from your throat.

Why hasn't you seen this? Why weren't you enough?

------

Your research trip was almost over. You had gone back late into the night to find Link on the edge of his bed head in his hands. He had shot up to demand where you had been when you finally walked in and although he looked like he wanted to argue, he accepted that you had been organizing your research supplies and notes in quiet.

That had been 3 days ago. You had spent the research trip sticking close to your colleagues, poring over each plant and testing their uses. The princess was too distracted with her own interests to really notice how you shied away from her presence. Link had though. And he was about done with you brushing him off in favour of your work. You both were busy so not having time was nothing new. But this was different. You couldn't meet his eyes and he had caught you staring at him and Zelda as if you were about to cry before. He was at a loss and now he needed to figure things out for himself.

However he wasn't quite ready for the answer.

"I saw you and Zelda together."

His throat closed up. He wanted to say so many things. How sorry he was. How he wished he could have told you himself. How he wished he could hold you and forget how complicated things were.

"it's okay." Now that, he wasn't expecting. "I thought I could be mad at you. Both of you. But I guess... It just makes sense." You sniffled softly. You really didn't want to do this. You hated that it had to be you who gave up. But we're you really going to fight? No. As much as it tore your heart into pieces, you would stand aside for them. "I wish that things hadn't changed but, clearly you don't feel the same anymore and I don't want to hold you back. I love you. So much. But I don't deserve this, and I won't put either of us through the trouble. I hope you two are happy together Link."

As you walked towards your friends to head home Link felt his heart clench. You deserved so much better.

Sidon🦈

You were a princess from another kingdom, betrothed to Prince Sidon of the Zora. We all know how these things go, neither of you were all that fond of the idea but you would go through with it. For your kingdoms

You tried to be as understanding as possible of the situations, knowing that the prince was just as trapped as you were. So you played along with your parents wishes.

You two went on dates and spent time together, getting closer and closer until finally you kissed him.

Things were great. You were planning your wedding and enjoying the time you spent with your fiance as you prepared for your future

It wasn't until a few days before the wedding when you were trying on your dress that things fell apart.

Your dressmaker had been in a bad mood, grumbling as they worked and even sticking you with needles a few times. You would have brushed it off as a bad day if not for the facts that they seemed so unapologetic.

You finally brought it up, softly asking if there was something wrong and if you could help. They snapped, going off about how you were ruining the princes life and that he didn't love you and was only marrying you for his kingdom and that he deserved to be happy.

They realized their mistake and left quickly, leaving you alone in your wedding dress with shocked tears slipping down your face.

You later made you way to Sidons office, hoping to clear some things up and maybe seek comfort from the one you loved.

What you didn't expect was to find him already comforting someone. Your dressmaker.

You watched as he whispered sweet nothings and reassurances to them. It was when he said no matter what they were the one that he loved when you broke away.

You stood in your room, packed bags beside you. You knew there were better ways to deal with this. You knew that your kingdom was counting on you and thus marriage. You just couldn't go through with it. Not anymore.

"Y/n?"

You sound around to find the Zora princess standing in your doorway. Mipha had become a close friend in your time in the Zora domain, even feeling like family as you worked closely planning the wedding. She had once told you that you were everything she could hope for in a sister and wife for her brother. You guessed it didn't matter in the end.

Finally you choked out pained words "I can't... I just... I can't do this anymore."

"If you are feeling nervous, I can assure you my brother would never hurt you."

This made you laugh. It was cold, similar to the ice creeping into your veins. "He would. And he did." You cut off Mipha's confusion, wringing a hand through your hair, "Sidon is in love with someone else. I made every effort to work through this engagement despite our... rocky beginning. But he didn't choose me back. He never wanted me, and I won't ruin his chance to be happy."

The room was silent after your outburst. You only noticed the tears when your friend wiped them from your eyes. She offered you a small smile, sharing the pain you felt. She was losing you and still understood it was best for you. You needed to move on and save yourself from a life of pain. A life of being chosen second.

"I hope one day we can meet again, sister."

You let out a choked mix of a son and laugh. Hugging the princess before you grabbed your bags and walked out the door, out of the kingdom that stole your heart and crushed it in its hands.

"I love you, always."

[thelostpocket]

Finally gotten around to watching The Borgias (and I haven't finished it yet so this Longpost could all mean nothing) but currently ruminating on the way Lucrezia and her illigitimate son, Giovanni, are treated by her family. Like she tells Cesare she's pregnant and, oops, her husband isn't the father and... no anger, no screams of whoredom, no threats of punishment. Cesare's instant reaction is concern for her health/welfare and to find her somewhere safe, with full medical support (for the time), to get through the pregnancy. Although this is before Cesare and Lucrezia get very VERY chummy, it's clear their love for and dedication to one another is something apart - but Cesare looks at Paolo (lucrezia's baby daddy) and, no matter what he might be feeling, treats him not as an enemy, but with respect as someone Lucrezia loves. The same with baby Giovanni - Cesare adores the baby and cares deeply for it because it's a part of Lucrezia, whom Cesare loves more than anything else in his life. In a time where I, at least, was expecting wild jealously towards paolo and cold indifference to the child of another man, Cesare looks first for what he loves: Lucrezia.

And as far as we see, it's the same with lucrezia's father, Rodrigo - no matter what might have happened 'behind the scenes', what we DO see is: Rodrigo helping Lucrezia get an annulment from her great steaming turd of a husband (on the grounds of impotence, even though we can plainly see that she is pregnant at the time of the trial, suggesting that Rodrigo knew that the baby wasn't the product of a borgia-sforza union); Rodrigo eagerly and lovingly welcoming the birth of his first grandchild, and in fact attending when comments from his family suggest he wasn't supposed to; Rodrigo taking an active and joyful role in the care of the baby, including carrying it to his papal throne (bearing in mind the child's humble parentage on the father's side); AND, when Cesare says something very like "you married her to a brute who misused her and pushed her into the arms of a stable boy for affection", Rodrigo not only does not disagree or try to defend that decision, but he allows it to persuade him to break a Big Catholic Rule (giving a suicide a Christian burial), all for the sake of his daughter and grandson's wellbeing.

Like, say what you will about them (although, again, I haven't finished it, so who's to say if this will change), but that's actually really kind of admirable. There are families about today who wouldn't behave so amicably and open-mindedly in such a situation.

I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I just kept expecting someone to come down like a ton of bricks on her (I mean I guess juan did but he's fucked off to Spain and hasn't come back yet and as far as I'm concerned he can stay there) - like expecting some jealous row with Cesare. But no, he says your new Borgia baby? OUR Borgia baby, sis. Or expecting Reprimands and Off To A Nunnery hypocrisy from the holy daddy. But no, he's just happy the family is growing and, hey, you know what, while myself and all my holy boyz are off on tour dealing with this mess with France, I'm going to leave Lucrezia, the only person we can wholeheartedly trust, in my place as pope in loco parents while I'm gone. Oh, sorry, what's that, she's a woman and I can't do that? Too late, already done, and I'm already out the door, so I guess you can take your complaints to God or his right-hand-woman, sitting on that golden throne right in front of you, k bye. Giulia Farnese, la Bella Farnese, the Other Powerful Woman in the show and Lucrezia's life? Surely she'll make a move, try to use her absence or most recent mistake to manipulate her into something? But no. She helps Lucrezia escape her cruel husband the second she works out lucrezia's pregnant, encourages lucrezia's political aptitude, and seeks her out as a co-conspirator (alongside the pope's former mistress, lucrezia's mother, whom Giulia replaced) in her schemes to Keep The Cardinals Under Control Honest.

Like, there's an awful lot about this show and this family that's. . . Dicey. . .and I know there's more (and worse) to come. . . But this, right in these longer-than-i'd-expected paragraphs above? I can really respect that.

[danteinthedevildom]

There's a Chat in OM where Satan shows concern over Beel because he saw Beel talking to himself, crouched down in the garden, which Beel later reveals to have been him talking to a very frail plant he found because Mammon told him that talking to flowers helps them grow.

And what I adore about this is that it shows things about the brothers involved that we don't always get to see in the main game, or that are sometimes overlooked for the funny hijinks.

- Beel notices incredibly small details. The flower is small and hidden enough that Satan initially thinks he's talking to himself. He doesn’t actually see the plant at all. And Beel is the tallest brother, so it's not as if his height would be any help to him noticing something on the ground that's small, hidden, and frail, especially when he’s doing a task like watering the garden. That’s just a job to be done, and most people would pay more attention to where the water’s going and how much there’s left to do than they would to each individual flower. He must have been paying genuinely close attention to his surroundings to even notice it to begin with.

- Beel's care for things extends even to nature. He talks to the plant because he wants to help it grow. It's just a small, dying flower, one of however many there are in the House’s garden; there’s no reason to fret over it when there’s probably plenty of other flowers around it, and maybe even flowers of the same species. 

But Beel’s genuinely invested in bringing it back to health. He’s seen this tiny, sickly, insignificant flower, and his first thought is to make it better. It's why he later clarifies the situation to MC, asking for more help, because the flower hasn't shown any signs of improvement.

(Very quietly, it makes me wonder if part of the reason he does this is guilt. Maybe Beel just doesn’t like to see things that are dying.)

- Despite how the brothers act towards Mammon most of the time, Beel fully takes on his advice. He spends days talking to the flower because Mammon told him that's something that might work, and it's only when the flower hasn't gotten better that he seeks more help.

At no point did he question this advice. At no point did he think that the “scummy” second-born would say something stupid, or irrelevant, or unhelpful. Mammon told him to talk to the plant, and he so did.

He says that he asked because Mammon was nearby, but at any time he could have just walked right past him, found someone else, and asked them. He could have completely ignored the fact that Mammon was there - especially considering how little the brothers tend to think of his ideas, to begin with - and found someone “more competent”. But he didn’t.

Which means he genuinely has no issues turning to Mammon for help. He genuinely thinks Mammon can give competent advice.

Out of all the brothers, Beel is usually the best when it comes to their overall treatment of the second-born, so maybe that isn’t surprising - but he can be derisive as well.

So it's nice to see, in a situation where it was just the two of them, without the antagonising influence of the others, Beel show he's more than willing to listen to Mammon as a voice of authority and knowledge - especially over something he's worried about. He respects and trusts what Mammon says, and believes it.

- Mammon saw Beel worried over a plant - something small and insignificant that has no greater purpose in the world and hosts no real interest for either of them - and gave him the best genuine advice he could.

Mammon likely doesn't actually know how to care for sick plants, but wanted to try and give Beel something to work with. We know he cares for his brothers deeply - almost (if not exactly) to the point of self sacrifice - so it's not a stretch at all to say he probably suggested talking to the plant in full seriousness, hoping it would help Beel.

It's a common piece of advice, after all. I've heard people say it all the time, from the most amateur gardener to the most professional; talking to your plants keeps them happy and helps them grow.

The bit that really gets me about it, though, is the fact that Mammon... knew it? Out of all things, you'd expect him to care about gardening the least - and to suggest talking to a plant even less. It goes completely against his image, but not against what we know of Mammon as a kind and caring (as well as emotional) demon beneath the facade.

Him, in a similar position to Beel, crouched down low and out of sight to murmur quietly to a plant he thinks needs an extra boost, is well within the spectrum of things Mammon would do but deny doing if caught.

And I just think it's sweet, imagining him passing on advice he's used in the past over a similar thing he might have done to try and help his clearly worried little brother.

- Satan, in a chat with Solomon and MC, shows genuine care and concern towards Beel.

His first instinct is to ask MC and Solomon if they might know what’s going on. He’s noticed a pattern of behaviour that’s unusual for Beel - “sitting out in the garden, mumbling to himself”, to quote him directly - and once it’s gotten to a point that he’s worried, he asks if anyone else knows what’s wrong.

It shows a fair bit of forethought, too. Satan didn’t immediately assume something was up, didn’t immediately dogpile on Beel; he let it play out, keeping a close eye, until it went on for long enough that he thought it might be something bigger. He’s often shown as being thoughtful about how others might react to things (at least, when he’s not enraged), but it’s interesting to see the actual depth of not only his caring, but his understanding of emotional states and how to handle them. 

Satan isn’t heartless. If he notices something wrong, he’s very likely to approach the person in question (or people he trusts) with his concerns in a very gentle manner explicitly to avoid overwhelming them. He actively cares enough to pay attention to the people around him, and to notice when someone starts acting differently. 

This is especially sweet when it comes to Beel. The brothers have a tendency to treat Beel as the big, gentle giant who doesn’t have a worry in the world except for what he wants to eat. He’s quiet, complains little, and shoulders so many burdens in stride that they often overlook his struggles - if they’re even aware that they exist, because Beel loves his family so much he tries to avoid troubling them.

The fact, then, that Satan not only noticed, not only inquired about his health, but then - when Solomon and MC suggest that maybe Beel’s stressed out and bottling up his emotions - openly says this: 

Just shows so much love. The game sometimes overlooks just how much Satan loves his family, but this? This shows it, without a doubt. 

- Satan messages the chat with Solomon in it. 

This surprised me when I went back to look over the conversation; I genuinely remembered it as him talking to Levi, for some reason. Beyond that, if you asked me who I thought it’d be that he questioned for information regarding Beel’s health, it wouldn’t be Solomon that immediately jumped to mind. 

In this situation, you’d think it’d make more sense for him to ask MC and Asmo (who he’s shown to have a very close and affectionate relationship with), or maybe MC and Belphie (who would probably be the first demon anyone should go to regarding Beel, and who Satan definitely gets on with). 

As far as I’ve seen - which, admittedly, I’m not caught up on any of the Human World events from the main game beyond spoilers I’ve looked up - there’s not a lot of, if any, interactions between Beel and Solomon? Most of them are Solomon trying to give Beel food, and Beel trying to foister that food off onto someone else because Solomon’s cooking is one of the few things he can’t stomach. 

So maybe it says more about Satan’s relationship with Solomon. Looking back through the chats, Solomon feels comfortable enough with Satan to outright ask him if he’s kissed MC (in the chat where Luke overheard Satan and MC talking about K.I.S.S.), and Satan doesn’t react negatively even though it’s a genuinely personal question.

Likewise, Satan, when furious over one of his dramas, immediately turns to the chat with MC and Solomon in it. He explicitly states that he doesn’t know what to do with the feelings he’s got left over from the cliffhanger, and wants to talk it over with the two humans. Which is interesting in two ways: 

+ It shows that Satan is comfortable enough when angry to go to Solomon and MC, confident that they won’t actively make it worse (which is always possible when it comes to Satan’s Wrath once it’s ignited). 

+ It shows that Satan’s more than happy to talk about how he feels in front of Solomon, and actively engaging him in that discussion. Yes, it’s only over a drama, but you don’t often turn to someone you don’t trust when you want to vent over something you’re passionate about. 

There’s a fair bit of trust between them, I think, regardless of how either of them are typically viewed. Plus, the chat’s called Cat (3). It’s almost definitely just a pun, but the fact that a chat with Solomon and MC in it is also named after the one thing that can soothe Satan from an outright rage (as we’ve seen both in OtakuFM and in the main game) is interesting in what it implies about their relationship with him. 

So, back to what I originally pondered: why did he go to Solomon and MC when he was concerned about Beel, and not Belphie (Beel’s twin, most likely to know what he’s up to) or Asmo (who lives at the House and is absolutely more likely to have seen Beel in the garden)? 

He trusts Solomon and MC enough to take the matter seriously, with discretion.