#since they helped him discover himself and define better who he is and what he wants.

[annwrites]

⸻ being aegon ii targaryen's personal chambermaid would include:

↳꒰gif꒱

he would be wary of you at first.

he'd be acting under the assumption that you're dyana's replacement which has been hand-chosen by his mother to spy on him. especially since you are assigned to him & him alone, he later comes to discover when you tell him.

"Who are you?" "Your new chambermaid, My Prince," you reply with a polite curtsy, folding your hands in front of you while keeping your eyes downcast. "Dyana's replacement. Y/N, if it pleases you." He hums in feigned interest for a moment. "Did my mother send you, then?" You waver. "She did. I was hand-selected by her—" "To spy on me?" He interrupts, crossing his arms. Your brows furrow and you hesitantly meet his eyes. "No, My Prince." He rolls his eyes. "No, of course not. She sent you to what, then? Change my sheets and bathe my children?" "She...assigned me solely to you, My Prince. It was requested the maid be young and modest. Devoted wholly to you and your needs." He raises a brow. "Devoted? My needs?" He takes a step closer. "And did she disclose to you, what, precisely, 'my needs' are to be defined as?" You blink at him. "I assume tending to your chambers, My Prince. Cleaning and organizing them. Fetching your meals, and hot water for your baths. Tending to your clothing when necessary. Building the fire within your hearth and so on." His violet eyes trail along you while he chews the inside of his cheek. "Are you, then? Devoted to me?" He asks with a sarcastic snort. You nod slowly. There is no other acceptable way to reply than with agreement. "Of course, My Prince." He huffs, stepping away, pouring himself a glass of wine. "I shall leave you to it, then." You step over to his bed and begin stripping it of last night's linens—his gaze remaining upon you all the while.

he would act quite indifferent to you, initially. nevertheless, he watches your every move as you flit about his room, tidying & cleaning.

it takes awhile before he bothers with attempting conversation with you.

and when he does, it's 'innocent' enough in nature. he's always careful of keeping in-mind, that, when he speaks to you, he may very-well be speaking—by proxy—to his queen mother.

"You're very pretty," he remarks, feet propped up atop his dining table while he sits near a window, sipping idly on sweet wine. You slowly turn round to him from the mantle you'd been dusting. "M-me, My Prince?" He gestures toward the vacant room. "Who else might I be speaking to?" You nervously wring the small towel you hold between your hands, your cheeks warming, which causes him to smile slightly. "Thank you, My Prince." He takes a sip from his chalice. "Aegon," he offers. "No need for all this ridiculous formality when we spend near-every waking moment together now." You nod, unsure that it's appropriate to begin addressing him by his given name, but the two of you are alone. And you're meant to obey him. To please him. "Aegon," you reply with a nod, and a sweet smile. He raises his cup. "Better."

unable to help himself, the vow he made, internally, to keep his distance & make minimal conversation with you, falls to the wayside in his unhappy loneliness.

he, in time, will send for you for you when it is late and everything is too quiet because—oh, would you look at that?—the tunic he'd intended to don tomorrow needs a button replaced.

or—he's hungry and wishes for something sweet from the kitchens. he needs you fetch it for him.

but, before you can leave, he offers you some wine, or merely to share in his meal. all an excuse to keep you longer, you both know, but neither of you acknowledge it aloud.

eventually, he begins following you around his chambers while you're cleaning—so close that when you turn with arms full of sheets, you slam right into his chest.

he'll briefly apologize, tucking some hair behind your ear, before continuing on with his babbling.

"I went up on Sunfyre just this morn with Jaehaerys—it will be some years yet before he is able to ride his own, Shrykos, by himself. He laughed, though, the whole while. Helaena hardly bothers with ever leaving this damn place. Someone has to take the boy outside. She's so fucking dull. I wish mother had let Aemond have her, but I'm instead stuck—bound to her in matrimony," he states with a mocking lilt to his voice. He follows you over to his wardrobe while you hang up his freshly-washed tunics, trousers, and cloaks. "I mean, she talks in riddles when you do try conversing with her, so what's the point in even attempting? Do you want to know what she told me the other day?" You glance to him, then back to your current task. "She said that I will 'take up objects like a king of old' and 'so, too, shall Rhaenys come again'. What in Seven Hells does that even mean? Objects? What bloody objects? And we have a Rhaenys now. Is she planning a visit?" He grips your hip, so you turn to him. "Do you've any idea what she's on about in her madness?" You close the doors to his wardrobe, leaning back against it. "Maybe—" He cuts you off short, waving his hand, taking your own within it, walking you over to his dining table so you can tend to it next. "She's simple, is what she is. I pray our children turn out far different. Jaehaerys seems, already, to take more after me. Jaehaera looks more like her, but it's just as well: she's her mother." You begin gathering plates from when he broke his fast. "Have you ever been near a dragon?" He asks. You look up at him. "I've not." His lip twitches. "Do you wish to ride one?" "I'm not su—" "There is always the option of riding one without wings," he states with a wink, walking across the room, throwing the curtains to his balcony open, looking at you over his shoulder. "Fine day for it." You smile nervously, returning to your chores.

the day aegon introduces you to sunfyre, you're terrified, until he takes your hand in his, pressing it to the golden dragon's neck, and he practically purrs in contentment.

and then he has the two of you climb atop him, and you are given the honor—a singular experience—of riding through the clouds on a dragon.

aegon holds you close with a wide smile upon his lips whole he laughs contently with you in his arms.

the longer you're in his company, the more flirtatious he grows toward you. and, quite shockingly—even to him—loyal as well.

he ceases late-night trips to the street of silk, instead wanting for you to remain by his side late into the evening, until he manages to finally get you to stay long enough that you fall asleep in his bed while the two of you are conversing.

he'd honestly planned for you to stay so late that it's where you end up sleeping, but the thought of asking you to stay the night makes him feel even mildly pathetic. so, waiting until you were so exhausted that you merely passed out had seemed the next best option.

he still has yet to receive any sort of sign or confirmation that you feel similarly toward him as he does toward you: affection and fancying and all.

so, the next morning, right after you've woken is when he asks it.

"Do you like me?" You blink open bleary eyes which quickly widen when you realize you'd spent the night in the prince's bed. You shoot up—your hair a wild mess as you stare at him. "W-What?" "Do you like me?" He repeats, gently tucking tangled locks behind your ear with a shaking hand. "Yes, of course I do," you say, leaning the least bit toward him. He frowns slightly. "It is your job to say yes. Of course you would." He makes to get out of bed, until you grab his hand. He instantly turns back to you with a hopeful look in his eyes, much like a puppy might do its beloved owner. You scoot toward him, gently cupping his cheek. "I like you a great deal, Aegon. It surprises me, with all the time we spend together, you need me confirm it." He shrugs, lacing his fingers between yours. "It is your duty to be loyal to me. Kind and...what-not. It can be difficult to dissuade where that duty ends and true friendship—or otherwise—begins." Slowly, you slide a hand up his warm, bare arm, smiling softly. "All I do now, I do out of devotion which comes from me and me alone." He blinks at you, his face growing warm. "Devotion, hm?" You nod. He glances down to your hands—considering—remaining silent for a considerable amount of time whilst his heart pounds in his chest at the mere thought of asking his next question. But he does it anyway, despite his nerves, because he needs hear the answer. He has wondered for weeks. At the very least, has wished to hear it for that long. He's wished to for far longer, in truth, from anyone. But none utter it. Not his mother, or father, or siblings. Mayhaps...you will. "Do you...love me?" He asks, glancing to you from under silver lashes, wanting to crawl out of his skin, or take to the skies upon Sunfyre and disappear above the clouds for a few hours to escape this Gods-awful embarrassment. You smile widely, which he quickly matches—heart leaping and bounding in his chest at the hopeful sight. And then, most unexpectedly, you crawl into his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck. "What gave it away?" He crushes his lips to yours in elation.

He deigns you are to spend all your time at his side from that moment forward.

you are to eat together, sleep together, take walks together. he wishes deeply to take things in a more intimate direction, but doesn't want to scare you off when he's only just earned your love.

nevertheless, he's a young man & can't help himself. he wants what he wants & what he wants is to be buried inside of you as much as possible.

"Have you ever...known a man?" He asks with a raised brow of interest. You still—your hand hovering over the game of Cyvasse you are currently winning—as per usual. "Do you mean—" "Are you still a maiden?" He quickly asks, thus elaborating. You settle your hands into your lap, heart fluttering at the knowledge he's after. "I am." He grins. "That pleases me greatly to hear, Y/N." You flush, growing warm between your thighs. "It...does?" He nods, resting his arm atop the table. Slowly, he begins to slide it to the left, knocking everything off the surface and onto the floor—game pieces, tiny elephants and dragons and trebuchets tumbling across marble. He stands then, as do you, and he leans over, grabbing your face in his hands, and he begins to kiss you passionately. And then he breaks the intimate embrace for only a moment. "May I have you?" He whispers, cock straining against his trousers. You smile lovingly. "You already have all of me, Aegon. I would deny you nothing when it comes to myself. Including this. I am, as ever, wholly yours. In every way." He grins widely before walking around the table, scooping you into his arms, and carrying you over to your now-shared bed.

aegon is painstakingly gentle with you in bed.

very slowly, he rocks his hips against yours, gazing down upon your face all the while.

he loves seeing the expressions you make—the flush across your cheeks and naked skin.

it makes him impossibly harder when you whine and whimper and moan and sigh.

gets him ever-closer when you call his name while he's deep inside you.

he tells you how much he adores you. how he loves and cares for you. that he'd do anything to make you happy.

He never bothers with asking you to drink moontea after he's spilled his seed inside of you.

You're the one, instead, who procures it for yourself, even if he actually—secretly—wants to get you with child.

He loves the three little ones he already has, so he'd very much like a fourth. Maybe a fifth, and so on. And the thought of it being with you? It fills him with inexplicable joy.

especially since the children he has now already enjoy your company just as much as he. and he knows you adore them in return.

You hold Jaehaera in your lap while Aegon plays with his boys across the room—Maelor slamming wooden blocks together and Jaehaerys giggling as his father makes a wooden dragon soar over his head, breathing fictional dragonfire. You read quietly to the little girl as she sucks on her thumb, staring at the illustrated pages before her with wide, violet eyes that much resemble her father's. Maelor stands, walking over to you, and then he gently tugs on your skirts. You smile down at him while he raises his arms, wanting you to pick him up. You set the book down, shifting Jaehaera to your other knee, and just as you make to retrieve the little boy, he utters it.

"Mama." Your head immediately jerks in Aegon's direction, and his in yours. You remain still, staring at him with unsure eyes, unknowing of what to do—what he must be thinking. And then Aegon smiles, and he calls the little boy's name. Maelor turns back to him, and Aegon's eyes flit to you for a moment as he nods in your direction. "Say it again, my boy." You open your mouth to tell him he should not be encouraging it—he already has a mother—but are interrupted. "Mama." You lift him into your lap, pressing a kiss to his forehead. You look back to Aegon and he beams at you in return.

unknown to you, aegon has been encouraging his children in secret to begin calling you as much.

helaena seems, at times, grossly indifferent to them—more interested in her bugs and riddles than anything else.

whereas you've always been attentive.

he knows you would make a wonderful mother to fruit of your own womb.

it is something he very much desires, so he begins hinting at it eventually.

"Is it not distasteful?" You raise a brow, dabbing at your lips with a cloth after having finished a small mug of moontea. "Hm?" He nods to the cup you hold. You shrug slightly, settling it atop the dining table. "It's a necessity." A muscle in his jaw feathers nervously as he comes closer to you, threading his fingers in your hair. "What if it wasn't?" Your eyes flit between his own. "I don't underst—" He rests his free palm against your belly, his eyes studying it for a moment before meeting your own once again. "What if it wasn't?" He repeats. A small smile crawls across your lips.

when you finally conceive, the two of you keep it a secret between you for as long as you can manage, until alicent one day catches the two of you in a private hallway.

aegon is smiling, caressing your stomach, telling you how the two of you should begin discussing names soon.

filled with fury, she returns to her chambers, then summons him to them to confront him on what he's done.

"With child, Aegon?! As if you have not sullied your great house's name enough—have not dishonored your father and I enough, as well as yourself time and again—you get a serving girl with child?" She shouts, her voice echoing across her chambers. Aegon sits silently upon a plush green lounge, his sweating palms tightly gripping his knees while he keeps his head slightly bowed, not wishing to meet her disapproving eyes. "Have you nothing to say for yourself?" She asks in exasperation. "I love her," he states quietly. She mumbles something incoherent, pinching the bridge of her nose, wrapping her other arm around herself—her opposite hand coiled into a fist. "You've a wife—it is shameful I need keep reminding you! How could you've let this happen again, you fool? What of Helaena, or your children—" "Children she barely acknowledges?" He asks, interrupting. His eyes meet hers then, continuing on. "Y/N acts far more a mother to them than she does. She acts wife to me in all but name as well—gives me the love my own never has. That you never have." Alicent remains silent. "I know you are disappointed in me. Perhaps you've always been. I'm not what... Whatever you'd envisioned for yourself for your first-born son. I'm not like Aemond. And naming me after a Conqueror was never going to make me one, mother. My children, Sunfyre, and she are all that bring me joy. I won't let you take her from me." Alicent throws her hands up in exasperation, resting them on her hips. "What do you think to do, Aegon? Take her as your official mistress? It will humiliate all of us." He shakes his head, face screwing in confusion and irritation. "You chose her for me!" "To be your chambermaid, not your whore!" He stands then, fuming, hands bunched into fists as his sides. "Mayhaps you should've been more specific in your commands when you assigned her to me, then. 'Devoted wholly to my needs'? You mean to pretend you never intended this? For me to—to take her solely to bed so I'd stop visiting the Street of Silk, so I'd stop flirtations with random serving wenches? I give you what you want, and still I am punished for it! We are devoted to one another. Just leave us be!" Alicent seats herself, resting her face in her hands for a moment. "I will make arrangements. She and the child will be well-cared for. But this stain must be hidden. If not wholly washed from history altogether. No one can know. I won't allow it." Her eyes meets his then, which are filled with tears. "Please," he pleads as they begin to slip down his cheeks. "I don't want to live without her." Alicent stands, clasping her hands before her in finality. "It is done. I will give you an evening to say your goodbyes. Come the morn, she will be sent away to a location undisclosed to you." He roars in anger, throwing a wine glass against the wall, staring at her with a look of utter loathing before stalking out, slamming the door behind him.

come the next morn, however, alicent's plans never come to fruition when viserys is found dead in his bed.

aegon begs his mother not to make him do it—he does not wish to be king—but his wishes, are, as ever, not considered.

he keeps you close to him all through the day for comfort and reassurance, even if you yourself are frightened.

he will not allow alicent so much as near you.

he tells her that she gave him a conqueror's name, he lives in his home, has bestowed upon him his sword, coronated him with his crown, will be given his armor, and will sit his throne, so he—just like his forebear—will take a second wife for love.

"I know what my first measure shall be once I am crowned king," he whispers, his forehead pressed to your own, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he holds your face in his hands. You rest your hands against his chest. "What might that be, my love?" He leans back, gazing into your eyes with a look of certainty unlike you have ever seen—utter seriosity. "I mean to take a second wife."

and so, not but a couple days after he is crowned, the two of you are joined as one in the sept, much to his mother's dismay.

and so begins his employment as king of the realm, even if he is scared out of his wits and wants naught to do with it initially.

the clear disregard his small council has for his opinions becomes quickly apparent.

so he confides in the only person he knows actually respects him: you.

and you council him from the position of someone who is a commoner, trying to guide him toward mercy. not that he does not wish that for himself.

he just...wants his people to love him.

he wants to be a benevolent king.

but then aemond kills luke.

and then they come for his own children.

and he loses his little boy. his jaehaerys.

and he goes mad with grief.

you are heartbroken yourself—so distressed you fear losing the babe you carry inside of you—but you know you must calm your husband, even if you are frightened of him in this moment as he screams for war, and fire, and blood as he destroys his father's life's work.

"My love, please!" You cry through blinding tears, clutching at your pregnant belly, your little one stirring madly within your womb, as if it can sense your and its father's shared agony. And then Aegon holds Blackfyre in your direction—his eyes wild—and he presses the tip to your stomach. "My Jaehaerys is dead! That fucking whore took my boy! And you wish for me to what? Quell my rage?! You common whore! I see it now! I see what you are!" You back away slowly, terror filling you at his words—his unspoken threat toward your and your child's life. You shake your head, cradling your belly, your tears near to drowning you as you choke on them, unable to so much as speak in reply. "Get out!" He cries, reigning down on white stone spires. "Get out! I cannot look at you! Out! Out!" Ser Arryk grabs you by the arm, wrenching you away, toward safety. He spirits you away to vacant chambers, where he stands watch for your protection. And so you sit and wait—trembling in fear, terrified of what may happen to you now. He'd...he'd turned on you so easily. Had called you...what he did. Has he always seen you in such a manner? You try not to think on it too long. Tonight is not about you and your feelings. Jaehaerys is dead. He has been brutally murdered. And you want Rhaenyra to pay. Dearly. What happened to Lucerys had naught to do with Aegon. If she wished to punish, why had she not, instead, targeted Aemond? That little boy... Your little boy—for you have come to regard him as such. You will never hold him again. Will never sing or read to him again. Will never watch Aegon play knights and dragons with him again. You cradle your head in your hands, and weep. You've nearly cried yourself to sleep when Ser Arryk enters, telling you that His Grace is asking after you. And so you follow silently behind him, holding your belly, your chin wobbling in fear of what's to happen to you. You've never feared Aegon before. Never. But tonight...you fear for your very life. You enter his chambers, the doors shutting softly behind you, and you glance to them over your shoulder, wishing a guard had stayed. Mayhaps he ordered them out for what is to occur. You steel yourself, padding closer, tears slipping down your cheeks as you keep your eyes focused on Aegon who sits before the room's hearth, trembling and quietly sobbing. His head shoots up and you still. He stands and you clutch your belly impossibly tighter. He comes toward you and your heart hammers between your breasts. And then he falls to his knees, clutching at your skirts as he howls in agony. "Forgive me! Forgive me, please! I'm so fucking sorry! I'm so sorry! My boy! They killed my boy! You have to forgive me!" He suddenly stands then, taking your face roughly between his hands, his eyes flitting rapidly between your own. "Y-You have to forgive me. You have to! You're—You're my wife—Queen. You have—You can't leave me!" Gingerly, you wrap your arms around him and the two of you sink to the floor while you gently rock him. "My boy!" He hollers, echoing through the halls and into the night. It's some time later before you manage to coax him into bed. And once the two of you have lied down, dawn has just begun to grace the horizon. He wraps himself around you like a child would its mother for comfort, whimpering and sniffling and shaking in fear. So you sing to him the Song of the Seven. And he falls asleep in your arms, begging for Jaehaerys to come back to him.

aegon is very, understandably, sullen after jaehaerys' death.

he returns to keeping you at his side at all times—even during small council meetings—so you can soothe him.

and then otto suggests a procession where his baby's body will be put on display for the people.

and you watch the distraught look on your husband's face grow with fervor as the people in that room talk about his little boy like a prop to bastardize rhaenyra.

so you hold your husband, cradling his head as he cries against your breast, glaring at any who dare glance in your direction with questioning looks.

"You would dare use the corpse of your King's son for political benefit? Have you no decency? No honor? Have none of you children yourself, or is it hearts you do not possess?" Otto stands tall when he replies simply. "Your presence here is a mere courtesy to His Grace in his hour of need. You hold no seat at this table." "Your Grace," you hiss. "I am your Queen. You should remember that next time you mean to address me, along with whom is whom's better. The roles are now reversed, ser. And my position comes with a great many benefits. Including utilization of obtaining justice. In various forms." The King's Justice is the unspoken threat that hangs in the silent, taught air. None speak in his defense—including the King—leaving him suddenly without allies as you wield the metaphorical sword that is your tongue. He knows naught that you have done so before within this room—your husband serving as proxy as you gave him council on how to handle the very vipers which have made their nests all around you. He should have cut them off at the head. Then again, there is always time. Otto bows his head. "Your Grace."

read my post here on reader counseling aegon on what to do after alicent tells him to do nothing, in regards to politics, bc he is an "inferior king", essentially (it doesn't entirely match up with this post, bc when i wrote it, i hadn't entirely fleshed out my idea of aegon's & reader's relationship (as in: she becomes pregnant & subsequently, his queen).

after rook's rest, you remain vigilant by aegon's bedside, watching over him, doing whatever you can to help, or to soothe his pain.

he tells you he is a hideous beast now.

you assure him otherwise. that he is & will always be beautiful to you. inside & out. that he holds your heart entirely until it stops beating.

he "jokes" that he is fortunate he "got you with child before he lost his manhood".

he tells you he will never be able to pleasure you again. that you should abandon him and start your life anew with a new man. a man in general.

you assure him—as you trail your fingertips lightly along his body—that there are other ways you may pleasure each other. many things which you one day may explore together in intimate moments.

he begins to weep at your undying love for him.

꒰a/n꒱: more to be added, perhaps, when we get the next season. i'm not going to follow the events of fire & blood with this post since the show has stopped doing as much itself, which this post is based off of.

i know the text is both regular & small, but it's bc Tumblr is fucking stupid & fucked up my formatting.

[avelera]

So remember in season 1, Viktor has visions directly given by the Arcane and that's how he comes up with the idea of the Hexcore - and he also says that "the Arcane speaks through mages". So, even back in season 1, the idea that Viktor has been chosen by the Arcane was already alluded to! He was always on his way to becoming a mage, even before the Hexcore and the merge.

Do you think Jayce subconsciously felt it? Jayce, who was always so fascinated by magic that he was ready to commit suicide rather than live without it, who immediately told Viktor how "beautiful" magic was and then used that very word to describe Viktor himself in season 2 - did he realise that his fascination was always with Viktor in particular, do you think?

Oh man, Anon, there's SO many ways to answer this, where do I begin.

1 ) I wish we got more of what magic means to Jayce, because the tastes we get are so tantalizing and btw, I think the show gave us the right amount, it's for us to explore in fic and stuff after, but the implications are SO JUICY.

I absolutely headcanon (with evidence) that Jayce's evolution into wanting to create Hextech went like this:

Jayce as a kid: I want to be the mage who saved us! Look at my drawing of myself as a mage with a magic HAMMER just like my dad has, as the perfect fusion of everything I want to be when I grow up! :D

Jayce as a teen: I'm crushed to learn I have zero innate magical ability BUT I've still got this hammer and an entire upbringing as a member of a family of tool makers. What if there's a tool out there that would let me be a mage in another way? I will call it HEXTECH!! :D

Jayce as an adult: Now I have a degree, and a patron, and I have to be very careful about letting people know about Hextech because I'm from a city that was founded on a hatred of mages, so it needs to be presented to the world as TECHNOLOGY as meant for the BETTERMENT OF OTHERS. I can't be selfish, I have to draw inspiration from the mage who saved me by making magic about helping others. But deep down, part of me will always be that kid who didn't want to have to unlock magic with technology, who always wanted to just be the mage. Magic was secondary, the Mage was always the true first love, the true inspiration that changed my life, and I have been chasing that high ever since.

2 ) But one reason I wish we had gotten to explore this just a little more (cuz I'm an addict not because it would be a better story) is because I think there's a bit of an inherent tragedy to Jayce always wanting to be the mage and, in the process, falling in love with not one but two people who have the Arcane speaking through them?

Then you can also sort of loop it back around to a rather common queer awakening which is, "Do I want this person or do I want to be them?" and for years, Jayce thinking he wants to be the mage but once he's an adult, realizing part of that feeling was love, that he wants to be with the mage.

(And just to be super duper clear, Viktor rescued Jayce and then bounced out of there, immediately, I see Jayce discovering his feelings for the mage as being like a very early-days moment of inspiration that planted itself in his psyche and then years and years later, when he began to think about things like love for the first time, maybe then part of him realized that what he's mistaken as love for magic or Hextech was always love for the mage who saved him, on some level. I just want to be super duper clear that you can have an awakening moment as a child, something that will later define what you want out of life, without it necessarily being romantic at that point in life because I've seen some people be weird about it and I don't think that's what's happening there even if I think it's an element and now I'm rambling OK MOVING ON)

So Jayce has now canonically been in love with two mages and yeah, I think that is very much playing into my take and what we see in canon, he loves magic, but he loves the mage more, and maybe part of what worked as attraction for him was that he could feel the Arcane in them.

But I also wonder if spending so many years trying to find a practical, technological, scientific way to access magic obscured to Jayce the fact that it WAS magic? Like Viktor is right, they're treating magic like a tool, JAYCE is treating magic like a tool, because he comes from a family of TOOL MAKERS. To expand Hextech, they needed to think like mages. And Viktor is the first one to let the Arcane in, to let the Arcane set the course instead of them trying to bend it to their will (which maaaay have been a bad idea, I think the Arcane is way more complicated than that, yin-and-yang, requiring balance and they were actually meddling with forces they couldn't understand, clearly).

So to go back to your question:

1 ) Jayce thought it was the magic that was beautiful but it was ALWAYS about the Mage for him, and he got a fixation on mages after that which even HE isn't fully aware of.

2 ) I don't think Viktor was always destined to be the Mage, but that's a personal preference, I'm not a big fan of "magic genetics" in general and I vastly prefer systems where magic and fate is a choice. So I actually find it MORE BEAUTIFUL that Viktor becomes the Mage because of Jayce's love, because Jayce brought him in on Hextech, in the cycle of Viktor then taking the magic Jayce gave him to go back and save Jayce and inspire him with magic, like that's so tasty for me. But I also think sure, deep down, there was always a subliminal attraction to the Mage which could have played into Jayce's attraction to the person of Viktor, because they're the same person

[islandofsages]

darling heart.

summary: in which you are someone who participates in/identifies with jirai kei culture.

characters: heartslabyul boys x gn reader

tags: relationship not specified, fluff, imagines format

warnings: mentions of mental health, mentions of self-destructive tendencies

author's notes: hiiii this is very self-indulgent bc i am a jirai kei babe,, im specifically a jirai danshi <3 i might do for other dorms too, depending on my motivation lol you can find out more by searching up jirai kei tho dont just read the jfashion wiki for it, it's more than just a fashion style. also beware of potentially triggering stuff since it deals with mental health and all

Riddle Rosehearts

He’s intrigued by this subculture that you participate in and he’d ask you more about it, if you don't mind telling him - he’ll do his own research too anyway

When he finds out it's basically a subculture consisting of people with emotion dysregulation issues and is generally controversial, he checks up on you and asks you if you're okay or not

You laugh then – you’ve had your ups and downs but really, so has everyone. You hope reading about it hasn't scared him off

He’d feel like calling you a “landmine type” is too insensitive but you assure him that there's nothing to worry about and that people who participate in the subculture has reclaimed such stereotypes and fully embrace it

He’d really enjoy seeing you decked out in jirai kei fashion; he may want to try it himself but he’d insist that it's not in his place to participate, only support from the sidelines

You do get him to try out clothes that are similar to or inspired by the culture though – he seems to be comfortable in the style and you're happy that something that you enjoy can also bring the same joy to him

You’ll also recommend some songs to him, especially ones that you think would help him in studying despite the sometimes concerning lyrical content

If someone tries to bully you for identifying with the subculture, he’d step in immediately and defend your honor

“What right do you have in deciding what (Y/N) identifies with? That's what I thought. I’m always in the right.”

Through your downs and ups, Riddle will always be there for you.

Ace Trappola

He has heard of it before but he thought it was only a type of fashion, not a whole subculture with more substance to it than clothes

You’d infodump to him all about it and your journey with it, whether you just discovered it or have been identifying with it for a long time – he listens to you curiously all the while

He’s caught off guard for a moment by the more controversial and depressing part of it but he quickly recovers

He’s happy for you and glad that you’re comfortable having such a culture define a part of you

Though he implores not to do all the self-destructive stuff if you could and he’ll look out for you more just in case

He definitely thinks you rock while wearing your jirai kei outfits; it’s not his style but he wouldn’t mind trying it once, just to get a feel for the style

“Yeah, this is definitely not my thing… you, on the other hand, look pretty awesome.”

You’d give him a link for your playlist (or a playlist you’ve saved) and he’d listen to it when he’s bored – ends up adding a few songs to his personal playlist

If he finds anyone stereotyping you unnecessarily, he’ll call them out, saying as if they’re any better

Despite everything, you are still uniquely you in his eyes.

Deuce Spade

He apologizes for not knowing too much about it when you bring it up and you tell him it’s okay because it gives you an excuse to ramble about it

You tell him what it entails and how you’ve come to find out about it, sifting through your past experiences both good and bad

He tries very hard to be understanding, even if he doesn’t really get it. You’re just grateful to have his support

“I don’t really get it but it gives you a sense of community, right? I think that’s pretty cool!”

He’s also a little concerned about the mental illness part so he’d regularly check up on you to make sure you’re doing okay

He’d ask you to tell him more about your experiences with the subculture if you have any more and if anything exciting happens, you go to him first

Such as acquiring a brand new article of jirai kei clothing for example! He thinks the style is super pretty and fits you really, really well

He’d listen to the music together with you, sharing earphones and all – maybe he would even listen to them while he tries to do anything

He’ll be your guard dog and bite back whoever dares to make fun of you for being part of the subculture’s community you’ll have to calm him down sometimes

You couldn’t ask for a better cheerleader than him.

Cater Diamond

He’s always known about the subculture and although he doesn't participate in it, he thinks it's really neat

You tell him more about it and about the misconceptions people have about it so that he doesn't misunderstand

He’s super stoked that he knows someone in real life who actually participates in the subculture since he gets to see how it actually is in reality

He mostly knows about the fashion and when you come rocking up to him wearing the classic jirai kei look, he tries his best not to fanboy

He compliments you then proceeds to ask you where you got it – though cute styles like it aren’t his thing, he feels like he can give this style a try

He’d match with you on days he doesn’t feel too uncomfortable with more cutesy styles and snap pictures of you two to post on Magicam

He’d also go scouring for the music online to add more songs to his already rapidly growing playlist. He’d share some recommendations with you too!

Unintentionally got you more jirai kei friends since some people saw his posts about matching with you on Magicam; even people you already know commented on his post

“Look at us, (Y/N)! We’re totally Magicam-famous now~”

You laugh with him, head thrown back while the seeds of your relationship bloom behind where the two of you sit.

Trey Clover

He doesn’t know too much about it so he’ll ask you to explain to him what it is – to which you excitedly agree to

You tell him everything from the origins to how you’ve come to participate in the subculture – he nods patiently all the while

The mental health part of it has him questioning you a bit but he has no ill intention, he’s simply looking out for you and is worried about you

He’s supportive all the way and thinks it’s nice that you have something you’re passionate about. He’d even do his own research when he has the time

He’s pleasantly surprised when you show up wearing jirai kei fashion one day; he definitely thinks you look striking in the get-up

He wouldn’t mind going with you if you were to shop for more jirai kei-related things – he would joke you’ll have to repay by helping him out another time though

He’ll listen to your song recommendations and if he likes them enough, he’d listen to them while he’s in the kitchen. He likes that they remind him of you

“Oh, this one’s pretty catchy. …These lyrics though…”

Going places with you certainly catches attention sometimes but he doesn’t mind, as long as you’re happy and comfortable in your own skin

His name truly defines him – you sure feel lucky to have him in your life.

[tyrranux64]

00 - THE FOOL Sora is the most foolish of innocents, especially when he leaves his fate to the machinations of others. And when he does have his own agency he tends to be too reckless and headstrong. Of course his inherit knuckleheaded nature can be his best quality, pulling out an unexpected surprise that not even the most carefully calculating villain can possibly account for. And since the beginning of his quest, he's never really needed the conventional outdated wisdom of so called "Masters", he has always forged his own path.

01 - THE MAGICIAN It is no secret that Tony Stark is a creative genius. After all he was able to develop a revolutionary perpetual energy reactor the size of a human hand in a cave with but a bunch of scraps. Is it any surprise he was even able to casually discover time travel whilst in his pajamas? And don't even get me started on all the razzle dazzle he tends to put on his wonderful toys. Guess the line between science and magic truly is a razor thin one....

02 - THE HIGH PRIESTESS The knowledge of what the future holds is something reserved for God, but alas such knowledge has been dropped right onto Tsukino Usagi’s lap. Her marriage to Mamoru, the existence of her future daughter Chibiusa, the fated ascension to Neo Queen Serenity and the rise of Silver Millennium. All just dumped before a high school student who is already having trouble just trying to graduate. It is a lot to unpack and Usagi must now prepare herself to take on the inevitable burdens before her. To trust her instincts and learn from her past mistakes. She has a lot to learn ahead of her and not as much time as she thinks she has to do it…. 

03 - THE EMPRESS For what else is the Princess of Friendship but a surrogate mother? What else are the people of her kingdom but her adopted children? They are not subjects to be ruled, they are her family. This is why Twilight Sparkle ascended to the heights of an alicorn, to uphold the responsibility of being a parent.

04 - THE EMPEROR There is no question his allies and friends look to him as a "leader", though that is more because of him being the biggest fish among them and their resulting dependance on his power. And as a father figure? Well, it is quite telling that his most defining act as a father to his son Gohan is a last ditch effort to fix the mess he created himself. But hey, better to be the father that sacrifices himself to save their child than the one that leaves them to die in the lion's den....

05 - THE HIEROPHANT As Bruce Wayne, his political influence upon the world is limited to the amount of charity money he can dish out, still having to abide by the system that puts him in the one percent. People just don't take him seriously enough to listen. But as the Batman, he can move droves of people with action. His battle against crime garnering the respect of even the police, those that faced his judgement have no choice but to heed his words. The cape and cowl is unbound by the petty status quo of society, he has no strings to hold him back. Everyone listens to the bat.

06 - THE LOVERS The Freedom Fighters don't just have one heart, they have two. Sally Acorn, the one to think up the plan of action. Sonic the Hedgehog, the one to take action. Two halves of the same singular ray of hope to guide the rag tag group of resistance to victory. Though they do not think alike (and can sometimes get on each other's nerves) they are still harmonized, able to work together at the most dire of straights. With only one of them, the Freedom Fighters are compromised, without both they are lost....

07 - THE CHARIOT The four Ninja Turtles were taught ninjitsu purely to survive in a world that would not accept them, told to stay in the shadows where it is safe. But perhaps because of their excess of superhero comic books or just their mutant ability to feel empathy, they cannot help but jump into action when someone is in trouble. They are always tapping into that most primordial of heroic traits, the will to act.

08 - STRENGTH It takes more than just "strength" alone to tame an eldritch horror like the Bird of Hermes. Whatever the bird sees in this one Integra Hellsing it has formed a bond that cannot be truly explained.....perhaps it is not as simple as a monster recognizing her as a strong human being? Perhaps....he sees her as a similar breed of monster?

09 - THE HERMIT There are those that work alone and then there's the self proclaimed "Terror that Flaps in the Night". So intent on doing things his way, so hellbent on getting all the glory, so desperate to prove himself to the world that the very idea of getting help from others ruffles his feathers. Of course he is not above having a sidekick but that is more someone doing things his way and not stealing his spotlight...

10 - THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE Many are at the mercy of fate, but none are quite as vulnerable to it as Matoi Ryuko. Her luck flip flops between good and bad so often that it's hard to tell if fate favors her or is out to get her. Sometimes it feels like she loses more than she wins. Not helping matters is how she is at the forefront of destiny, one of the few among the many that are the most important players for what destiny has in store. Lucky her.... 

11 - JUSTICE Diana of Themyscira doesn't just embody truth, she is the Spirit of Truth. Thus is her mission, to bring truth to the world of man, to be a guiding light towards peace and prosperity......a task that becomes increasingly difficult and nigh impossible with each passing year. Luckily, no task is too daunting for an Amazon, and no matter how long it takes she will bring man to a better place than it is right now... 

12 - THE HANGED MAN Kurosaki Ichigo is not the hero he should be, no, he is more of a plot device. A pawn used by both ally and enemy, not allowed to have any real agency of his own. A slave of fate caught in the same loop of trying to be a hero, fail miserably, go through "training" to receive new strength, fail again, deus ex machina just giving him the win. It's like whatever god is willing the stars of his universe is an incompetent who has no real concept of how the hero's journey is suppose to go. And what other choice does he have but to surrender to the cycle? His constant self sacrificing is what keeps the world spinning. And of nothing else at least he gets to keep becoming a better Ichigo than he was before right? Right?  

13 - DEATH Optimus Prime is well acquainted with the concept of change, is it after all hard wired into his very race's biology. But more than that, his years in perpetual war have shown him plenty endings and new beginnings, perhaps more of the former than the latter. And so long as he lives he will always be in the very company of death itself, looming over him, his allies and his enemies. Such is the nature of war.

14 - TEMPERANCE How long has Kiryuin Satsuki waited until she could finally be free of her vile mother? How much longer would she have waited to finally avenge her father? She waited years of her life for one moment to finally drive her blade through that vile woman, she didn't care if she succeeded or failed she has waiting for that moment long enough. And it seems that though her attempt did fail, that evil woman met her just deserts regardless, in the end fate still saw fit to reward Satsuki's patience.

15 - THE DEVIL Thanos is a very sick man. He is driven by his obsessions and desires, trying to hand wave it as "inevitability" or "higher purpose" when really it is but his own selfishness running rampant. And in his delusion he insists that the greater universe abides by his desire, worse even share in it. No matter how much he tries to change or has seemingly learned his lesson, he'll relapse in no time at all, going right back to his genocidal addiction. He truly is a lost cause....

16 - THE TOWER Uchiha Sasuke acts like he's the only one suffering, that his pain is more important than everyone else's. As such he pays no heed to that which he ruins or those that he hurts. Everything he touches, he destroys. Enemies, allies, friends, it matters not so long as he can get what he wants....which is constantly switching out. One minute he wants to get revenge on his brother, the next he wants to avenge him, and then he wants to be the one Hokage to "break the cycle of war". Whatever, he's always spin doctoring the horrible things he does to have some "deeper meaning" like he were a far right politician rewriting the bible. One has to wonder if he truly wants to use the darkness to bring about "positive change", if you ask me, he merely loves causing misery.

17 - THE STAR Sometimes it's easy to lose hope, just ask Peter Parker. Too many times it feels like no matter how hard he tries, even with spider powers his best is just not good enough. Most seem to believe so, most see him more as a menace doing more harm than good, especially Jameson. It's easy to forget what one is fighting for.....but then in his most dire moments, he can hear Uncle Ben's voice in his head telling him to not give up. Telling him about the few that do look upon the friendly neighborhood Spider Man as a symbol of hope, a star to look towards even when all other lights dim. And like that his strength returns to him, like that he gets back up and keeps fighting.

18 - THE MOON Ryoko Hakubi is both beauty and beast in one being. Not only does her power inspire fear, so too does her temperament whenever her pin is pulled. And even aside from that, she is one mystery after another, never will you truly understand how her mind or heart works. And not helping matters is her fluctuating moral compass that is comparable to mood swings. You'd have better luck figuring out women that you'd have trying to figure her out.

19 - THE SUN It's hard not to see that giant burning ball of gas as but a blight, a bleak reminder of the inevitable. But for the Last Son of Krypton, it is the source of his power. His true power, the power known as the best in humanity. That big Red S that shines like that very star inspires all to be the best they can be, igniting hearts with the strength to stand tall and proud even if they are not the strongest. Even if not everyone can be like Superman, anyone can be that which lights the darkness, anyone can be a hero.

20 - JUDGEMENT To become a Power Ranger is to be reborn into something beyond a mere human. To be infused with power for the sole purpose of answering the call to arms. Only a select few ever get to wear this mantle, and those that do must take up the fight against pure evil to their dying breath if necessary. As such the quality to become a Ranger is the resolve to always stand, to always get back up and never stop fighting. To be a Ranger is to be the one that has the resolve to fight the most important battle.

21 - THE WORLD So few can truly say they beat the Devil and got their soul back, but Albert Simmons is one such person. Perhaps it did not bring him the closure he was hoping for but it did bring him closure none the less. When he remembered the truth of his relationship with Wanda, remembered why exactly he was never allowed to have her back, he was finally able to let go and move on...

[whattraintracks]

13. Worthless - TMNT 1987

Some thoughts on Raphael, master of disguise.

There's this scene in "Raphael, Turtle of a Thousand Faces" (s05e16) that I think about a lot.

So Raphael is taking a remote class on undercover detective work, and the other turtles make fun of him practicing disguises for an assignment. Splinter checks on him after he storms off, and it's such a short conversation, but I think there's more going on under the surface.

First of all, Splinter's reaction to learning about the class is hilarious. His face is fun to watch and he's so baffled he literally gasps. But then you can tell he tries to be patient and understanding. I wish I knew what he was thinking. Is it, why would you want to be anything other than a ninja? Or maybe, you've never expressed interest in this before, where is this coming from?? If you've ever worked for a while with the same group of kids or adolescents, you may be familiar with this thought.

At first glance, Raphael's response breaks my heart. He tells Splinter he's taking this class to make "more of a contribution to the mean green team! You know, something special." My immediate thought is that he's feeling a little worthless. But then I step back and wonder if I'm reading too far into it. Taking the time to learn a new skill to better support your teammates is a worthwhile endeavor. This is not, on its own, necessarily an indicator of low self-esteem. But what bothers me is that nobody knew he was doing this. Again, not explicitly a bad thing, but it seems weird to me that he wouldn't involve the other turtles or at least let them know about it so they can support him.

So Splinter, of course, immediately reassures him they're all special. Also not sure what to make of how he says this because it sounds some combination of fond and amused but also just conciliatory. What's interesting is what Raphael says next, and how he says it causes me to question that initial assumption again. He agrees, almost genuinely? Like he says "maybe" but not in a "yeah, I guess" choosing-not-to-argue-but-feeling-otherwise kind of way, he sounds sincere. Now, this could be him saying, well, duh, we're special, how many other crime-fighting turtle men do you know? This would line up with stuff he's expressed throughout the series. But he finishes very showy and cheerfully with, "But I'll be the only master of disguise!" So maybe that first impression was wrong. Maybe this is just a teenager branching out and discovering other interests. Maybe the secrecy was because he was worried the guys would make fun of him—which they did. Or maybe, he wants to distinguish himself from the other turtles, wants his own thing. 

And I wonder why he might feel like he needs his own thing or specialty. One of my favorite parts about the team dynamic in this series is that they don't really have designated roles. Leonardo is the leader in that he keeps them rallied and on task, but they all take turns offering plans and solutions, serving as the distraction, playing bait, or, more practically, just driving or flying. But since Leonardo has a defined role as the leader/master ninja, Donatello as the inventor/the one who gets them out of trouble (see one of my favorite Raphael lines at the end of "My Brother, the Bad Guy"), and even Michelangelo as the chef/pizza guy, maybe he's feeling some anxiety over his own ambiguous role.

But I can't get rid of the feeling that he thinks he's not enough and the others are brushing it off. Especially after their weak apologies—"We didn't know you were actually serious about this disguise thing." Especially as he tries so hard to prove his dedication and skill and ends up in a lot of trouble in the rest of this episode. Especially when he gives up private investigation but immediately throws himself into chemistry at the end of the episode, once again on his own and without help.

This happens in one episode, and as far as I remember, they never talk about it again, but he's my little guy, and I worry, okay! I just want him to be happy and know he's loved and valued.

[sokkastyles]

Examining the way that various characters define loyalty. In “The Storm,” Zuko defines the plan in the war meeting as a betrayal:

Young Zuko[Zuko is shown standing up.] You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?

Then, when faced with his father in the agni kai, defines himself as loyal to Ozai:

Young Zuko[Frontal shot; kneels on his knees and forearms, while looking at the floor.] I meant you no disrespect. [Gazes up at his father, tears shimmering in his eyes as his voice starts to waver.] I am your loyal son.

An idea that Zhao uses to question Zuko later, implying that Zuko’s status as banished means there is cause to question his loyalty:

Zhao: Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found.

It’s also Zuko’s association with Iroh that calls his loyalty into question, as Iroh himself is known as disgraced:

Zhao: General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?

Iroh: I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance.

Iroh defines loyalty in an entirely different way, though.

Ozai: Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure. I have a task for you.

Again we have the idea that Iroh is treacherous, but notably Ozai does not tell Azula that Zuko is also a traitor, but a failure. If Zuko were branded a traitor, Ozai would have to admit losing his control over him, since Zuko’s belief that he needs to regain his honor in his father’s eyes is what keeps him loyal. Better a failure than a traitor. No matter how much Ozai puts down Zuko, he needs Zuko to be his scapegoat, so he also needs to keep Zuko loyal to him. It also helps Ozai maintain his control over Azula as well, because Zuko serves as the example of what happens if you fail to keep being the golden child, and it’s how Azula defines herself, as not Zuko (until the end of the series, that is). 

Azula: I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle. But Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?

Azula also needs to believe that Zuko wants desperately to come home, to be accepted back into the fold, and that’s part of why she needs him to side with her in Ba Sing Se. Zuko carving a life out for himself (with Iroh the traitor, no less) in Ba Sing Se is a threat to her entire worldview, because in order for her to be the golden child, Zuko has to be the scapegoat. If Zuko chooses to leave that dynamic, not only is it a threat to her superiority, but a threat to her belief that her father is right and good and that there is nothing better than the life she has with Ozai. Azula also tells her mother in the finale that fear is the only way to maintain loyalty, that trust is for fools.

Zhao, Ozai, and Azula define loyalty in similar ways, loyalty to Ozai, loyalty to the regime, unquestioning loyalty in response to control through fear of being branded the other and ostracized by the regime.

Both Iroh and Zuko define loyalty to the people of the Fire Nation rather than the Fire Lord. Zuko was against betraying soldiers who served his nation loyally. Iroh said that the Fire Nation also needed balance to be maintained. This is also why Zuko and Iroh have a better concept of statecraft and a leader’s obligation to the people of their nation than Ozai, Azula, or Zhao do.

[faithdeans]

western au fic recs part 1

i have loads of these but i've decided to re-read them all before reccomending them. idk how many parts there will be of this but probably at least another 2 and one for ficlets! anyway hiii have fun and pls let me know how you find them!!! i also left comments because idk how to shut up!

Vagabonds by chevrolangels [89k]

Dean is a sheriff in a tiny town in Colorado, restless and unsatisfied with his life. It's not like what he's read about in the dime novels since he was little, capturing dangerous outlaws and being the last word of the law. More like tossing the town drunk in a cell to sober up when they get a little too rowdy. But Dean's chance comes when a thief rolls through their town. He pursues the thief, which puts him right into the path of Emmanuel, a notorious outlaw. When he is captured by the outlaw and his gang to be held for ransom, Dean starts off on a journey he could have never envisioned, and learns that perhaps there's more to Emmanuel than meets the eye.

i reread this the other day and if you didn't already see my posts let me say i lost my damn mind all over again. the pacing and characterisation in this fic are perfect. it's a delicious slowburn, the action is amazing, and also as someone who has a hard time handling angst, this fic is the perfect level for me. the end makes me cry because i never wanna finish it. the stories of the side-characters are just as enthralling as dean and cas. i could read a million one-shots based on this fic. i'd probably say it's my favourite fic, period.

The Shawnee Trail by emmbrancsxx0 [166k]

In 1887, Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak lead a peaceful life in Lawrence, Kansas. Dean and Sam are stagecoach messengers for Wells, Fargo and Castiel is the town doctor. When Castiel's patient, Kelly Kline, knocks on their door one night about to give birth, she asks for the Winchesters and Castiel's help in protecting her son against one of the west's most notorious outlaws. To fulfill that promise, the men set out on a journey full of shootouts, trouble with the law, gambling, and an important discovery: Dean and Castiel really need to define the nature of their relationship.

okay to everyone asking which fic i was talking about when i posted "fics that make you pace around your room at midnight while sobbing", i was talking about this. this fic felt like a movie, it felt like i was living it, like i was riding with them. the storytelling is unbelievably vivid. i was hanging on to the "angst with a happy ending" tag for dear life. this fic is a rollercoaster of an adventure and a wonderfully moving ode to the western genre. it's truly one of those fics where you finish it and you can't believe this is supernatural fanfic and not a critically acclaimed piece of literature.

Lonesome Rider by onwardorange [67k]

Dean Winchester, better known as the “Lonesome Rider” throughout the Wild West, spends his days galavanting from town to town, drinking, dancing, and flirting his way into people’s beds. He’s got no responsibilities and no direction in life; it’s just him, his beloved horse, Baby, and the open road. And that’s just the way Dean likes it𑁋or so he tells himself. That is, until the day Sam falls deathly ill. When nothing is able to cure him, Dean makes a desperate deal to save Sam’s life that puts his own on the line. Enter Castiel Novak, a small town preacher in possession of the Colt, a gun rumored to be able to kill just about anything as well as the one thing that could save Dean’s life. When the gun is stolen by a gang of infamous outlaws, Dean and Castiel must travel across the West together to get it back, though what they discover between themselves along the way may turn out to be more powerful than the Colt itself.

this fic was so sweet and full of heart that it actually left me breathless in places. the way dean and cas bickering was written was so s spot on. hurt/comfort that will blow your cock and balls straight off. and the pining!!!! oh the pining!!! something about this story is like a warm hug and i just didn't wanna put it down. also the constellation scene and certain recurring themes to do with it. *dies*

[wizardingworldlibrary]

One Word Fic Titles Masterlist (2)

part one

Antithesis (ao3) - Oceanbreeze7 remus/tonks, james/lily T, 417k

Summary: Revenge is the misguided attempt to transform shame and pain into pride. Being forsaken and neglected, ignored and forgotten, revenge seems a fairly competent obligation at this point. Skylar is the boy who lived, that’s why he’s important. I’m not Skylar. Going to Hogwarts is part of the plan, waking the basilisk is part of the plan, taking potions, learning spells, being tortured, murdering others, watching people di-

Azoth (ao3) - zeitgeistic draco/harry, milliecnt/hermione, lavender/ron E, 88k

Summary: Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

Conditionally (ao3) - Lomonaaeren T, 39k

Summary: Harry finds out that he’s Snape’s son. It goes as badly as possible.

Deep (ao3) - noarc harry/ron E, 10k

Summary: When Seamus claims that Harry has a thing for him, Ron finds himself struggling to find a reason why they couldn’t possibly be more than best friends. (Shameless smut follows.)

Deliberate (ao3) - sifshadowheart teddy/credence, albus/gellert T, 73k

Summary: Harry by now should know better than to touch things that he’d been assured were harmless.

Too bad that circumstances aligned to give him no other choice, resulting in him and his godson being tossed back nearly a century into the past leaving him with a significant choice to make: did he keep his head down and try and avoid changing the future?

Or did he take a very deliberate step off of the pre-worn path and see if a few changes - just here or there - could create a better future for everyone, including him.

A time-travel a/u featuring a/b/o, soulmates, and a gentle-hearted Harry with a very big axe to grind the more he discovers was lost in between the time he was born and the time he found himself living in thanks to a meddling magical artefact.

Different (ao3) - my_thestral scorpius/hugo E, 26k

Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has always been different. For the longest time he could share with no one what makes him so, and it’s slowly killing him inside. Until the time is right for someone to step forward and pull him out of the world of shadows into light. Someone bold and intuitive, and quite different himself

Dissident (ao3) - Constance1 draco/harry E, 181k

Summary: In a world of Alphas and Omegas, Harry is surprised to discover that he is a rare male Omega. He assumes his pull towards Draco Malfoy is because the Slytherin is an Alpha, but there is more at play here than even Harry knows.

Embers (ao3) - shiftylinguini draco/harry E, 41k

Summary: Werewolf Alphas aren’t meant to be alone, or to suppress their ruts indefinitely like Draco has been since he was bitten eight years ago. He needs company, companionship, to knot ― he needs an Omega Heat Companion. At least, that’s what the Healers say, and even Draco can admit contacting the person they’ve referred him to might be nice.

Of course it turns out to be bloody Potter.

Fortuitous (ao3) - mrsren hermione/draco M, 93k

Summary: Recently divorced Draco doesn’t believe in the ideology of having one true love. He certainly doesn’t expect to meet his match in a Halloween themed coffee shop, but fate has a peculiar way of giving you just what you need.

Herbology (ao3) - Celandine neville/luna E, 3k

Summary: Neville gets an idea from an old Herbology book, and needs Luna’s help.

Holidate - danpuff draco/ron, pansy/ginny T, 11k

Summary: Draco and Ginny aren’t ready to come out, so they decide to “date” for the holiday.

Irradiance (ao3) - Brief_and_Dreamy scorpius/albus M, 48k

Summary: Al starts Hogwarts knowing exactly who he is and what he wants from life. When the things he takes for granted fall away, he holds fast to the one truth that remains - he loves Scorpius and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep him safe.

Kiss - xErised draco/harry T, 10k

Summary: For the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, it’s not Ron that Harry rescues from the Great Lake, but Draco Malfoy. Hogwarts-era.

Lumos (ao3) - birdsofshore draco/harry E, 41k

Summary: Harry never expected to spend eighth year listening to Draco Malfoy wanking.

Outlet (ao3) - La_Matrona, ShayaLonnie hermione/harry E, 161k

Summary: War wounded Harry and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their last year, but there’s something wrong with Harry. Hermione makes it her mission to help him find an outlet for his unexpected frustrations only to realise that he has become hers, and they are both way in over their heads.

Realignment (ao3) - Puzzled T, 65k

Summary: The year is 1943. The Chamber lies unopened and Grindlewald roams unchecked. Neither Tom Riddle nor Albus Dumbledore is satisfied with the situation. Luckily when Hogwarts is attacked they’ll both have other things to worry about.

Seasons (ao3) - starlightpeddler scorpius/albus T, 35k

Summary: From the moment Scorpius and Albus get on the Hogwarts Express for their fifth year, things start to change. Albus starts to gain confidence both in the classroom and out of it, and Scorpius’ realization that he has greater feelings for his best friend threatens to leave him more alone than he’d ever imagined.

Slithering (ao3) - astolat draco/harry E, 27k

Summary: Draco found the nest down in the Manor’s cellars, while he was clearing them out.

Turmoil (ao3) - Metalomagnetic sirius/snape E, 64k

Summary: Two lost boys taking all the wrong turns.

Vortex (ao3) - xanthippe74 draco/harry T, 20k

Summary: “Don’t worry, my dearest one,” Draco’s mother told him when he confided his worries to her. When he was old enough to feel the pangs of adolescent longing, but still too young to sense the storm gathering around them. “Magic will overcome any distance or obstacles to bring two soulmates together when the time is right. Circumstances will arise that steer them in the right direction; strange coincidences will make their paths cross again and again. Then the most wondrous moment arrives, when you both realize that your soulmate, your perfect match, stands before you, and from that day forward your hearts will be one.”

Ten years after that conversation, the idea of perfectly-matched soulmates feels more like a curse than a blessing to Draco. Who would want a soulmate who was a schoolyard bully, a Death Eater, and a convicted felon? Certainly not Harry Potter. And Draco is determined to take this secret to the grave.

[undercover-author]

Marble Hornets + UnderTale soul color assignment list!!

Jay: Red - Determination.

No matter what, he never gave up, for better ... Or worse. Even before he was shot, he called out to Alex, determined to reason with him and to solve things non-violently. Though, because of this, his determination wound up being his downfall. Didn't anyone ever tell him that too much of a virtue could be a vice?

Masky: Orange - Bravery.

He certainly was brave, alright. Bravery isn't the lack of fear. No, true bravery is perseverance through your fears. Along with that, Masky's first solution to any problem is to tackle it. If that's not bravery, and maybe a little bit of stupidity, I don't know what is.

Alex: Yellow - Justice

While yes, Alex is a murderer; he was, in his own, sick and twisted way, looking for justice. He believed that because of this fact, his actions were justified. My opinions on Alex Kralie are a topic for another day, but I will say, I do not think he is a good person, nor do I think he was justified. Nonetheless, he tried to kill Tim in the name of justice. He tried to kill everyone he knew had the Operator Sickness to destroy the Operator. For Justice.

Jessica: Green - Kindness

I was tempted to assign her integrity, but she did lie to Jay a few times. Reasonably so, since at the time she had no idea who she was. But she was one of the kindest people in the whole series. She got a call from a stranger about her missing roommate and upon hearing that Amy was, in fact, not with Alex, she was willing to go to great lengths to help find her. The last thing we hear from her is that she wanted to meet Jay, asking where he was. Then, when Tim had fallen to the ground in a coughing fit, she asked, "Should I call an ambulance?!" She resembles true kindness in the hellish world that is Marble Hornets

Hoodie: Cyan - Patience

Oh, this man is nothing if not patient. Maybe a little god comlex-y but that's... actually, no, that's a part of my point. Hoodie seemed to feel that he was both in control of everything and in control of nothing. To me, he seemed to set up pieces and wait for them to all fall into place. He'd post a cryptic totheark entry and wait for Jay to crack the code. He'd lure people to places and wait for them to find whatever he sent them there for. He was patient with Jay and how thick his skull could be. Though, he was less patient with Tim in season three, when his control began to slip out of his hands, Hoodie still tried to give him time. Even in the end, when his fate was expressly clear, he simply waited for his time and when it came he let go.

Brian: Blue - Integrity

I define integrity with the definition I was told in the second grade; Doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, even when nobody asks. Now, originally, I was going to assign Brian kindness. He and Jessica would have been switched. But, going off the definition I just gave, kindness would be encompassed into it. I would like to say Brian had a lot of integrity. He invited Alex to go with himself and Tim to dinner, he auditioned for Marble Hornets in the first place, wishing to help his friend with his project, so on. But I'd like to turn your attention to entry 51, this is where I feel Brian's integrity is on full display. He is anxious about trespassing, but still wants to help Alex. Once he wakes up, though, what is his main concern? Finding Alex, likely to make sure he's okay. What does he do when he discovers Tim? Brian rushes to his side with worry very clear in his voice. He even tries to help him up to get Tim the fuck outa there. (It's very likely not Tim, rather being Masky, but not the point here.) Brian could have just as easily ran the hell away, but he wanted to help his friends, even if it was risky one way or another.

Tim: Purple - Knowledge

Prefacing this with the fact that I know the canon virtue for the purple soul is perseverance and while, yes, that would fit Tim, I personally like to say it's knowledge because determination and perseverance are essentially the same thing and I think knowledge or curiosity would fit the items better.

With this one, I'd like to focus on the fact that from the start, Tim had more knowledge than he let on. Of course, it was limited due to his amnesia and, for the sake of debate, dissociation. In this paragraph, we are separating Masky from Tim and going along with the popular theory that Tim has Dissociative Identity Disorder because that is how I, personally perceive his character. But, time and time again, it's hinted that Tim knows so much more than he lets Jay see and eventually, we, too, come to know most, if not all of what he went through and the knowledge he kept

BONUS!!

Seth: Blue - Integrity

Seth really was just trying to help Alex out. Even after Alex's whole blow up at him, he still apologized.

Sarah: Cyan - Patience

If there was a color for sass, I'd give her that, but working with hot-headed Kralie, you know damn well she had to have a hell of a lot of patience working with him

Amy: Green - Kindness

Even after Alex lied to her however many times she did, she still stayed with him. It caused her premature death, but until the very end, all she ever did was love him. GOD I LOVE AMY

Tunnel Guy: Blue - Integrity

This man saw a stranger in a tunnel and went to try and help him since he was concerned for Alex's wellbeing. This man!! Saw a total stranger!! And tried to help him!! AND HE GOT KILLED FOR IT!!! BRUHH???

[eternal--returned]

A child is nothing by himself; it is his parents who represent him. It is through them that he defines himself, that he is defined in the eyes of the world. He feels it is through them that he is truly judged—judged, that is, without right of appeal, and this judgment by the world was what he had just discovered, and, with it, his own judgment on the hard heart that was his. He could not know that once become a man, one is less deserving for not recognizing these evil feelings. For one is judged, for better or for worse, by what one is and much less on one's family, since it even happens that the family is judged in its turn by the child become a man. But it would have taken a heart of rare and heroic pureness for Jacques not to suffer from the discovery he had just made, just as it would have taken an impossible humility for him not to react with anger and shame to what his suffering had revealed to him about his own nature. He had none of those qualities; instead there was a hard and nasty arrogance that helped him at least on this occasion, making him write the word "domestic" on the form with a firm hand and take it, his face expressionless, to the monitor, who did not even notice it. Along with all that, Jacques had not the slightest desire to have a different family or station in life, and his mother as she was remained what he loved most in the world, even if that love was hopeless. Besides, how can it be made clear that a poor child can sometimes be ashamed without ever being envious?

Albert Camus ֍ The First Man (1960)

[puckish-rogue-archive-deux]

I've been thinking about something very specific regarding Django, and it involves the day he woke up from his five year coma. I can't help but wonder how he felt once everything had settled down after his prison break, and he had a chance to see his own reflection. How did he feel? Was he able to recognize himself? I would imagine it'd be difficult to go from this kid who just turned 21, look into a mirror, and find what's practically a fully grown man staring right back at you.

I genuinely believe that would be the moment where everything hits him all at once. Not only would the passage of time be felt, but the uncertainty of his own identity as well. Among the obvious places where doctors had fixed up whatever numerous injuries he had received from the explosion, was this still Django Foley? Or was this someone entirely new. A different kind of beast than what was there before.

Identity is something that is very important to Django. He practically had no such thing growing up. No real sense of self, let alone any idea of what his place in the world might be. It's why he went out of his way to find himself, as silly and as cliche as that might be. He was frustrated and desperate to make sense of himself. And in doing so, he discovered something very very surprising. Something that he wasn't aware of until the Saints gave him that chance to let it out.

But how much of that was left behind after the botched assassination? Was the idea of Django Foley strong enough to leave behind something, anything that could be seen as a connection to his past. Or was this merely the next step in his transformation? He wasn't sure. He was confused. Sick to his stomach. Angry! So very angry over what had been done to him.

These are emotions that I think were essential to the way he would handle the resurrection of the Saints and the subsequent takeover of Stilwater. A key reason as to why he went to the lengths he did, and how those actions would continue to define him in the years to come.

It may have been years since waking up from his five year nap, but there's still plenty of baggage that The Boss has yet to sort though. Yet that begs the question; will he? As far as he's concerned, there doesn't seem to be a need to. What's done is done, and the most he can do is put up with those scars that will never heal. The ones that act as a constant reminder of the time he had lost, and the significant ways in which he has changed. For the better? For the worst? Don't bother asking him. He couldn't give less of a shit.

[cavehags]

bear w/ me bc i have been defending my choice to watch s1 to ppl all day and like…. i think the characters felt like people? like ted yelled at people (nate & jamie) everything was a clusterfuck and it felt… real? and now maybe two characters feel like real people, the rest are NPCs with weird dialogue. we have “main characters” and i couldn’t tell you what any of their storylines were at this point. what is ted even doing. everything is unmoored in a bad way

totally - i think s1 was really well constructed and mature and, as you said, invested in developing its characters as flawed and complicated people who are struggling to express and communicate and find support. roy and rebecca's arcs were fantastic in season one and it's sad to discover that those were the best their arcs are going to get... s1 roy was this genuinely tragic figure, a career athlete facing the end of his life as he's always known it and very nearly suicidally depressed over the thought of it coming to an end. opening his heart to keeley and to ted's coaching philosophy is the first time he's dared to crack himself open in a very, very long time. and s1 rebecca was so magnetic and fascinating, newly divorced and bitter as hell about the wasted years, trying to define herself by how she'll get revenge on her ex without realizing what a wonderful opportunity she has to add new connections and challenges to her life. those are good fucking stories! dark and heavy with the promise of hope. then add to that how pleasantly surprised i was by keeley and rebecca's friendship, how they help each other out by sharing the wisdom of their respective generations. and, yes, the foil relationship between roy and jamie felt fresh and exciting. i loved how the show wasn't precious with its characters - it let them fuck up - and it balanced comedy and drama well in those blissfully short episodes. using sports as the easiest metaphor in the world for success and failure, it got to the heart of these characters without ever feeling like it was trying to do too much.

unfortunately, since the second half of s2, it seems to me it's really been struggling to keep the focus on those small and personal stories. this season is worst of all because you can just tell the scripts are burdened by the pressure the writers are under to meet expectations for the conclusion now that the show is a monster hit. expanding the cast and allowing episodes to bloat to an hour just gets the show further away from those tight, intimate stories. and with the more scattered focus, the characters are becoming less themselves. roy has had zero arc this season and his reasons for his breakup with keeley - the most important thing to happen to him in two seasons - have only ever been implied. the lines that are coming out of his mouth are getting more and more shock-value disturbing, and while i think everyone has always enjoyed roy's violence, that was because its impact was tempered by how kind he was, too - he was a teddy bear with a gruff voice. this season, it feels like we haven't seen him do much but threaten to break into people's homes and beat them with a rope. i miss my guy :( and same goes for rebecca, whose fixation on this psychic feels like borderline bimbofication. why are we not advancing a meaningful story for her organically? why do we have to teach her a lesson about believing in fantasy? does it have to involve the promise of a husband and a baby? for a million reasons, i feel like the show has totally lost its way, and maybe these next four episodes will make me feel better about it but for now i miss the simple good writing of season one. fucking rip :(

[sunderedazem]

WoLposting on main for what (and how) he's doing after Endwalker-

He's starting with changing his hairstyle from the long braid with bangs to a shorter ponytail/shaggy bob cut after Endwalker because it feels like. The end of an era. And he's mourning losing his friends' constant presence, a little (even if he and G'raha are now courting and being idiot catboys about it). It's just. Cutting away what was out of grief. He's losing the Scions, at least ostensibly, because they're all splitting up and going different ways, and he's. A lot lost without them.

But also the haircut is because he doesn't want to be some folk hero and only that. Like he's cool with it, but also- he wants time to be Corrain, to figure out who Corrain is. He became the Warrior of Light when he was seventeen and has been that ever since, and before that was just a Keeper foundling in Gridania trying to complete a conjurer apprenticeship so he could get citizenship - he hasn't had the time to figure out what he wants. And sure, being adopted by Edmont and House Fortemps helped - he had a home and a family and a nation finally, even if he's sort of in the same sort-of son category Haurchefant was - but he's got little snippets of Azem's memory bleeding through, he knows there's a wanderlust in him that won't settle, and he needs Corrain de Fortemps to be someone who has the space to find out who he is. And for that he can't be clocked as the WoL everywhere he goes!

So he takes a knife and chops off his braid and then Y'shtola and Krile find him sitting in front of a mirror with this awful fluffy mess and help him shape it better, and when it's long enough to put up he just ties it back in a ponytail. And he just- wanders aimlessly. He helps G'raha a lot, they're definitely dating in a Halone-sanctioned way lmao, and he trails around visiting Scions.

And he's almost invisible. The people who know who he is know Corrain and not just the Warrior of Light, and now the bards' stories don't describe him perfectly and- he's got space to breathe. Space to discover he genuinely likes archaeology and researching bygone eras and writing about them, space to go around and record the mechanical particulars of his forays into ancient ruins and alternate worlds and etc, space to polish his knowledge about foraging and botany and learn how to travel with cookware only and make meals from the land rather than carry food with him-

And all of this to say he finds that - outside of being the Warrior of Light - he genuinely likes the kind of adventuring that comes with learning opportunities. He likes studying the things he's found, likes the challenge of discovery in the first place. He likes the kind of work the Students of Baldesion do, likes working with scholars. (especially G'raha. Nobody saw that coming 🙄) And more than all that- he's genuinely good at it. He gets to realize a lot of his own archaeological/adventuring skill, while supplemented by time-period experts, is in fact it's own branch of knowledge.

So by the time Dawntrail kicks off - I think he's fully considering trying to write a thesis on it, and maybe try to see if Sharlayan would give him an Archon's mark about it. Sure- he's not a Sharlayan citizen, he has strong ties to Ishgard in the vein of being an adopted son of one of the four high houses. But he's also openly dancing circles around G'raha and Artoirel is definitely interested in having a no-inheritance-threat adopted baby brother with a foothold in Sharlayan and- well, House Fortemps approved of G'raha already anyway, they're expecting that to happen.

He's definitely found himself in a lot of ways by the time the next expansion will kick off. Of course part of that is being an actual adult and a twenty-something instead of a teenager, but also- coming to terms with being nine-fourteenths of Azem, coming to terms with defining himself rather than letting what he can do define him, coming to the realization that he's allowed to like what he does and who he is.

That the hope he found in Ultima Thule is actually allowed to feel like his own, and it's not selfish of him to feel that way. That he's allowed to live for himself.

And. Like damn. Finally! but also I'm proud of him. He turns out alright in the end.

Excited to start Dawntrail with this version of Corrain. He's just so much less- desperate to prove something. He proved everything he needed to prove to himself already. And now he finally just adventure for adventure's sake.

[selchwife]

i think the function of azem in these misogynist fics is interesting tbh the more i think on it bc like

within the actual game there's a sort of ambivalence to the nature of wol's relationship with azem. they Are azem, in a sense, because they have the same soul and are reincarnated, but they are Not, because they are a new person with new experiences. this is textual. azem and wol share similarities because they are parts of a temporal whole, but they are not the same person, precisely. the wol's present identity is who they truly are, so discovering the secrets of azem's past is something of a moot point and is not really explored in the game beyond to hint that some of azem's personality traits are familiar. ultimately azem is well and truly dead, but a piece of them lives on in wol. and because emet-selch cannot square that, just as he cannot square ANYTHING about what the world has become, anything he has with wol is doomed. emet-selch's Tragic Flaw (lit class voice) is his stagnancy and his marriage to the past; he ruins what he touches because he cannot divest himself of his nostalgia and look toward a future.

so i find it interesting (somewhat derogatory) when this is sort of turned on its head in these fics. rather than their current self being the truth of their existence, many of these wols' stories are framed such that their past incarnation with azem is the true core of their identity. but obviously because these characters cannot remember being azem, it takes emet-selch to come in and reveal these things - to define their identity for them, essentially, and show them who they Really Are. he automatically knows better than these women (because once again, this shows up most often in m/f writing) about who they are because he knew azem, so the best service he can do for them is to show them. and, of course, it's usually in a context where azem is his former wife or girlfriend. rather than being his Tragic Flaw, his marriage to the past is framed as not only a positive, but as sacrosanct, because he has control over this supposed Truth of Who His Partner Really Is that he has to impose on her. and because he is the arbiter of this divine and secret truth about wol's identity and role in life she can only become fully actualized by obeying him, which (i would hope unintentionally) echoes some very dark rhetoric from the religious right in particular about women's roles in society as a whole.

and i wonder so often like, what is the spin here that makes this desirable? is it the idea of having a partner to whom you don't need to do the work of communicating? like, since he already understands your every desire and who you are fundamentally, you never need to have any difficult conversations about your needs and desires? you never have to ask anything of him because he already knows to do it? like, i can understand that, but it comes part and parcel with being constantly under his power and allowed no freedom or agency. is THAT related to like, wanting to rest? wanting someone else to step in and help you once in a while? i feel like there are less extreme ways to fantasize about meeting that particular need. i don't know. it's difficult for me to imagine the appeal of a man like this or relationship like this, especially having experienced similar in non-romantic areas of life. speaking from my OWN experience when someone else is dictating to you Who You Are and how you ought to find self-actualization and you are constantly living under his control it's not really nice and you kind of want to kill him with a shovel. so i can't imagine those things as a positive.

[countlessrealities]

@yinbug sent: Headcanon time! Given more freedom in his life, in what ways might Adrien go about discovering who he is as a person and what he enjoys and wants out of his life without his father's influence? What kind of career path do you foresee Adrien on other than modeling? How would he go about achieving that goal? What other dreams for his future does Adrien have that don't involve romance?

Considering his origins and his upbringing, figuring out his identity as an individual, separated from his father's expectations and will, will be a real challenge for Adrien. His life and purpose have always been dictated by someone else, so far, whether he realised it or not, and suddenly finding himself without the structure that has been holding up his entire existence will surely be unsettling and disorienting for him.

After all, one of the reasons why he has an easier time being Cat Noir over being Adrien, aside from the freedom he is allowed when he's wearing the mask, is that Cat Noir has a clear role, task and purpose, while all Adrien has, when it comes to himself, are uncertainty and doubts.

At first, I can see him turning to his friends and Natalie for support and guidance, possibly even unconsciously expecting them to give him the answers, since he won't know where to start from.

He has already done something similar with the matter of his student's file, where he has admitted that he doesn't know what he wanted to do with his life, nor what his actual interests are. In those circumstances, his solution has been clinging to the person he trusted and cared for the most (Marinette), putting her at the centre of his future projects, in place of Gabriel's wishes.

Thankfully, he is surrounded by people who care for him and are very willing to help him with his journey of self-discovery. I can see Marinette, Nino and the others dragging him around to try different things and activities, to encourage him to experiment with new hobbies, to experience different lifestyles. They have already done that to an extent, and it has enriched Adrien's life, helping him coming out of his shell, even if not enough to start building his own destiny.

In this regard, the two people who would be able to help him the most are Kagami and, once they'll be reconciled, Félix. Kagami has experienced Adrien's same sort of upbringing, so she knows what it means to be defined by someone else's will and vision. She is undergoing a similar struggle to find her own path out of Tomoe's shadow.

As for Félix, he has gone through the same journey of self-definition Adrien is about to start in the year after his father's death, so no one can understand Adrien better and is more suited to help him out than his cousin...with all the limitations that he has as a person.

For my interpretation of the character, I can see Adrien eventually deciding to travel around the world. Perhaps taking one or two years off before college, so that he can truly see the world. He has been abroad a lot, with his father and thanks to his modeling career, but he had never truly been allowed to take in what was around him in those occasions. Most of the times, he was either confined to his hotel room or kept under strict surveillance.

Now, he has the chance to make up for it, to learn and discover new things through those trips, both about the different shades of the world he lives in and about himself. Also, the fact that he is very proficient when it comes to languages will come in very handy.

The other thing Adrien wants and tries to do is helping people. As Cat Noir, but also without the mask.

I can see him finding a job in a world charity organisation, as someone who works on the field, in direct contact with the people in need, but also as a help in the management department, since he is familiar with the field, from the years he has spent watching his father doing business.

He would spend periods in various countries through the years, communing his desire to travel with his need to be useful.

This kind of lifestyle won't be easy to balance with his duties as superhero and, even more, with a stable relationship, but if he and Marinette end up being each other's endgame, they'll make it work, and same goes for Ladybug and Cat Noir. After all, if she ends up succeeding in the world of fashion, Marinette probably will have to travel around quite a bit too.

So, to sum it up, I can see Adrien pursuing the two things that he has been denied for so long: personal freedom and the chance to build his own destiny.