#so just avoid the entire thing if you can

[dilf-docs]

So Is it Your Place Or Mine?

bfd!joel miller x younger!reader

summary: summer is over, but your affair with joel isn't (or, you grind on joel's belt buckle while sarah is at soccer practice)

warnings: 18+ (minors dni), age gap, smut, p. in v., exhibition kink (sarah is again a victim of this), brat taming (this two are soo into it), degradation kink, praise kink, lwk breeding kink, daddy kink (wow! it's a whole library of alexandria of kinks in here), fingering, dad bod!joel (best joel you mean), angst (oh guys look oh no it's alr starting), dirty talk!!!!! (they're so dirty ew i want it too wait who said that)

word count: 3,701 words

side note: and it became officially a series. hope u all are into this as much as i am because it's my first series ever !!!!! ALSO angst finally makes it way in this mess LET'S GO (i'mcrying i really looked up big texas belt to come up with a mental image in the middle of class, i'm so sorry to whoever sat behind me but idc abt me writing smut while at uni; we die like real men)

part: prev | masterlist | next

"What do you mean you're not coming?"

It's been an unspoken rule that, even if you hate sports and the ball stays ten meters away from you, you always come to Sarah's soccer practice, cheering for her from your usual spot at the benches.

Except today, you aren't there. And now Sarah is calling you when she shouldn't, but that she doesn't know.

"I can't. I have stuff to work on stuff"

Bullshit.

Your laptop and the half-written essay sit untouched at the coffee table. The thing being touched in question, is something entirely different.

"Need help?"

His hands grip any free spot of your glistening skin, sucking on the rosy pink until it turns maroon red.

"I'm at my dorm, sorry"

Double bullshit.

Sarah doesn't even know your car is parked next to her dad's truck. She has about four hours to find out.

"I can drop by later then" she suggests.

His hot breath tingles against your neck as his nose caresses the spot. Bad girl, he mouths, like he wasn't the one who told you to pick up, despite his daughter's name on the caller's ID. You try to reach for a kiss, but his digits press on your hair, pulling you back with violence to forbid your lips from touching his. Bad girl, and your arousal drips with more intensity at the remark. Bad girl.

"No!" the answer comes quick, your voice strained, and Sarah jokes that you should take it easy with your classes, instead of suspecting anything else.

"Fine! I won't go if you don't want me to, but if you show up dead by stress, I'll be free of guilt"

He kisses the outline of your jaw with sloppy movements, like he just wants to busy himself while Sarah blabbers about the practice, and you keep trying to make her stop, but she tells you not to worry, that she's on a break right now, and the task to avoid whimpering at his rough kisses across your neck becomes increasingly difficult. A gasp escapes your lips when his teeth sink into your flesh. Mine, not to be said but to be felt. Seen by the rest. A pretty red that tastes like the blood he craves, the hunger akin to violence. Bad girl, and he's biting your lip to stop any other filthy noises from escaping. What if she hears?

"Are you okay?" concern laced on Sarah's tone. Guilt creeps through the cracks of the worn-out paint of his bedroom, one your friend had practically begged him to restore; the joke of it all was that was about his job yet he couldn't fix his own goddamn house. "Y/n, did you hurt yourself?"

I'm treating you well, ain't I, doll? and then he'd grin against the crook of your neck before looking at you, his dark blown-wide pupils gazing at you with a hunger you didn't think it was possible. They'd burn, and the fire didn't scare you: it was the warm your cold body needed. Tell Sarah her daddy ain't hurting her slut of a friend.

"I-I'm fine" you manage to choke out. Good girl.

Joel's lids feel heavy as a crown. But you like 'em rough, don't 'cha, baby?

"Should I worry?"

Joel pulls harder, your scalp burning at the harsh tug. Answer when I ask. You breathe in heavily, and Sarah keeps on asking you if you're okay, threatening to burst through a dorm door she'll find empty.

"N-no" you meekly answer, and he laughs at your demeanor. Under his weight, pinned down on the mattress, there's nowhere to run to.

"Is it okay if I-"

"Sarah I need to hang, okay? My head hurts. Bye" it all comes down in a rush, the words a vomit of excuses. You make sure the call has ended, and so does Joel, that in an act of mercy, has stopped. You both look the screen until the lockscreen is back up again, a picture of you and Sarah. Despite used to having his weight on top of you, your throat feels constricted.

"Do you want to traumatize your daughter, Mr. Miller?"

He's back at his task of kissing, making you moan and writhe at the sensitivity of your kissed and bit skin during the last hour. You hate how he takes his time―edging you; unbearable.

"What I want is you"

The lie comes out effortlessly from his teeth. He wants you, needs you, but does he really want you? His daughter's best friend, the college girl he was going to lecture just last summer―to live life and forget about him, yet couldn't. He lies to himself, saying he didn't because you felt asleep, but feeling a warm body next to him, being your beautiful frame of all people, made it hard.

The way he makes a moaning mess out of you, how he knows every spot of your body no one had been able to please before, how your cunt stretches perfectly around his cock, how you call his name like no one else had done. It belongs to you now, and this is a vice.

It's like he's got a wound, and you're the only balm that can soothe the pain. But the effect is temporary, and after you leave, he always finds himself wanting more.

The doubt on his eyes has your heart beating out of fear.

"Then have me, Mr. Miller" you dare.

When Joel smiles, barely noticeable, something flutters in your stomach.

"Al'ight, impatient one. We have sum hours until Sarah's back. Spread" his hand nudges your thighs apart, and you oblige, making Joel chuckle at your obedience. "Good girl, baby. S'good f'r me"

You let out a gentle moan at the praise, and he smirks at your reaction.

"Feelin' desperate, are we?" he taunts, seeing your pretty lips parted and face flushed, a whine escaping them.

"Shut the fuck up and just kiss me already" you beg, pussy throbbing painfully.

"Damn brat" he hisses, "ain't you such'a needy greedy slut?" his finger hooks on your panties, tugging you closer into him, your body rising to clash against his softer frame that has nothing to do with his rough demeanor. You can feel the bulge that has formed through his pants, making you moan in delight.

"Sorry, daddy. I'll be a good girl" you squirm under his weight, pouting lips and batting eyelashes. "Please, kiss me. Pretty please, daddy"

"Jus' cus you asked well" but he knows it's an excuse to capture your sweet lips until he's tasted all of you. You once heard old men kiss like they want to devour every inch of your mouth, to make space for their tongue like it's going to live in there, and they were right.

He pulls away from the kiss to pull out his shirt, revealing his soft body. Your hands itch, immediatly reaching for it with wandering fingers. He chuckles at the eagerness, but then he catches the subtle adoration in your eyes, and his breath hitches, heart stopping.

"What's wrong?" you look up, and it's gone. Maybe he imagined it.

Joel doesn't know why he feels dissapointed by it.

He tries to push the thoughts back, head diving down between your breasts, leaving sloppy kisses and messy trails of saliva with his tongue on each one. He gives a special lick to your hardened nipples, making you squirm.

"Gonna bend y'r fuckin' sexy little body on this sheets. Gonna make you cum all'over, until y'r scent is'mpregnated on 'em"

You groan at his words, fingers pulling down the pajama shorts you brought over, revealing your pretty black laced lingerine.

"Fuck, baby. You wore 'em for me?" he's asking, and you'd be crazy if you think the tone reveals devotion. Is Joel even capable of warmth?

He leaves a new trail of kisses, this time, running from your neck to your stomach.

"Gonna make you scream my name 'til that's the only thin' you know how to say" his hot breath tingles over your abdomen. He buries his face in there, the mustache and scruffy graying hair tickling the skin. "Gon' give you such'a load, this flat stomach of yours will be bustin' with my seed"

You whine at his filthy words, mouth agape slightly. He looks at your soaked panties, arousal on clear display now. Joel's cock twitches in the confines of his jeans.

He lets out a low growl. "Look at you, such'a slut for me. Drippin' wet like a fuckin' whore and desperate, when I ain't even touch you"

To prove so, Joel teasingly runs his fingers along your inner thigh, dangerously close to your soaking core.

He pulls your underwear down, taking them off.

"M'gonna fuck you real good, baby" his fingers dig on your thighs for support, the burning sensation of his calloused digits on your soft skin delicious. "Gon' take care of what's mine"

Mine.

The words ring loud and clear. The only other noise to be heard is his lips leaving wet sounds against your thighs. Does Joel even realize what he said? Or was it in the heat of the moment?

No, wait. Stop. Why do you care?

He begins to rub circles in your clit, coating his fingers in your dripping arousal, prodding the tense needy hole, making you moan in desperation.

"Please, daddy" your lips cry as you beg for him to do anything to remove the pain in between your legs.

"Please, what?" Joel teases, voice raspy. He keeps prodding your center, his digits in and out in a gentle manner, contrasting his hard hold on your thigh. You squirm and whine at the sensation, but maybe it's the dark on his eyes that's really responsable for making you shrink under his gaze. "Think 'm doin' this for ya'? To please ya'? No, baby" he tuts, "you were a bad girl. Almost got caught"

"If you didn't make me answer" you seethe, a moan almost escaping your lips when his fingers hit that sweet spot of yours. "Maybe if you didn't, she wouldn't-"

Joel removed his fingers from you, and you reduce to a moaning mess, begging for the release you were chasing and now it's lost.

"But you wanted'er to know, didn't ya'?" he unbuckles his belt and fumbles with his worn-out jeans, revealing a barely concealed neediness on his side. "Wanted'er to know where 'er slut of a friend was: at daddy's house, beggin' for his dick like a cockhungry slut"

"I-I want it. Want you dick" you barely choke out, lips parted at the sight of his pulsating dick's silhouette under his brief.

"Then take it, hungry one"

His tip buries deeply into your cunt before you even speak again, sliding inside in one swift motion. You gasp, as he fills you up completely, because despite the way your cunt stretches for him, or the way you have had his dick and need it, his girth never fails to amaze you.

"D-daddy" you moan, walls stretching to accommodate his size. Your sweet arousal drips down your thighs, coating Joel's balls. Fuck, doesn't he love to see you squirming under him. He's never had a woman like you before, wrapped around his finger. You may be a girl, but God, you feel so much better around his dick than anyone else: your cunt tenses around his cock deliciously, his dick twitching when he takes a look at your legs shaking and fucked out state.

"That's it, pretty girl. Beg for'it"

His words go straight to your core as you moan. "Please. Let me take all of you, Joel, please"

You said his name. Fuck. He shouldn't be this aroused, but the way you say it like that's the only thing you know, like it means something more, it makes his dick throb and heart sting. That he, Joel Miller, old bitter man, single dad, could mean more to a young pretty girl like you.

"Fuck" he grunts, grabbing a handful of your hair as he begins to pull out slowly, plunging inside of you with harsh movements. The sound of skin clapping is obscene as he begins to fuck you mercilessly. "Ain't you a noisy lil' thing, huh? You like that, baby? You like it rough?"

Your voice comes out shaky. "Y-yes, daddy. F-fuck, just like that. I like it a l-lot"

"Good girl" he grins satisfied with your respone, his thrusts getting rougher and messier. "Lookin' s'pretty with my dick's inside of you"

Joel changes angles without telling you, brushing your g-spot. A noise so loud and vulgar comes out of your parted lips, and you feel ashamed.

But then he's brushing a strand of hair from your face, with a delicacy you've seen reserved for his daughter only. It feels weird, and you try that it doesn't distract you from your looming orgasm.

"Joel..." you breath out his name.

"Yes?" with everything coming out of his mouth: possesiveness, neediness, pleasure. Like he'd give you the world if you just ask, despite telling himself he wouldn't.

"K-keep going"

Your gaze bores into his eyes with an intensity that almost makes him stop. Because the words are simple, but Joel's been alive enough on this Earth to know it doesn't mean just that.

Keep going. Don't stop. Don't end this. Don't let me go.

"Whatever m'princess asks if she asks 'em nice"

You scream in pleasure as his thrusts become deeper, his balls slapping against your cunt, as your slick begins to run down your thighs. Joel thinks he's going crazy at the way your folds take him, how tight you feel, and the loud noises you make, begging him to fuck you harder, to use you. Every thrust pushes you closer to the edge, writhing under his touch as you begin to see stars.

"You close, aren't ya'?" he laughs, but it's devoid of mockery. A subtle softness hides behind them. Ask nicely, and I shall give. "Gon' cream 'round my dick like a good girl, right?"

His digits dig in the flesh of your hips, guiding himself to fuck you harder, for you to take him better, caging your body under the sheets, pushing you even closer to your orgasm. You mewl loudly, tears in the corner of your eyes at the delicious burn.

If you told yourself a year ago you'd be crying over Joel Miller's dick, of all people, you'd probably laugh. But no college boys had been able to please you, less bring you to tears as you reach your orgasm. This is heaven, and you aren't ready to say goodbye to the paradise you found in summer just yet.

Your core tenses around him, body so close to finishing, hair a mess, eyes brimming with tears, and lips spilling the filthiest sounds ever heard to humankind. It's heaven, and Joel isn't ready to give it up just yet. Your pussy throbs, and as your juices mix as one, you roll your eyes and head back, your high approaching, knot in your stomach tightening faster. Before you can register, your mind goes blank and you're seeing stars.

You come around his cock, coating it in your arousal as Joel admires how you cream his member, tight walls almost pushing him out of you. He groans at your simmering cries, some tears coming out of your eyes.

"What'e fuckin' slut, baby. You sure are somethin' else" he chuckles, his thrusts messier by his own high approaching. "Wait for me, yeah, baby?"

You humm, as he buries deep into you, filling you up completely, as his hips stop their harsh movements when he feels the tension in his abdomen release.

"Fuckin' sweet" he uses a finger to clean some of the slick that's run down your leg. "Good girl"

He licks them off in an obscene display, making sure to never break contact.

"If you keep doing that, I'm gonna become a real bad girl" you taunt.

Then he pulls out of you carefully, doing his best not to spill too much of his load from your cunt. He grabs one of the corners of his sheets, cleaning some of his seed from your thighs. Joel should be careful, but all his foggy mind can muster is you being his in every way he can. Making you his. Mine. Mine. Mine. You plead him not to do that, but he argues laundry day is soon and he likes it better when it smells like you anyway. You confess with a cute light blush in your cheeks that you do the same when he comes over to fuck you in your dorm, sleeping better when the covers smell like him. He shouldn't feel like this: like it could be. But he allows himself to, even for an instant.

"Oh, yeah?" he pants, "what you gon' do?"

Your eyes travel to his jeans and untied buckle he hadn't wasted time taking off, rather just pulling them down.

"I have something in mind..." you wander off, remembering filthy thoughts of your first night together, how you briefly thought about it. "I-" you cut off, blushing furiously.

"Yes?" he holds your chin tightly, forcing you to look at him as his rough fingers press on the skin. "Remember what I told ya', baby? To ask nicely? 'Cause you said you'd be a good girl, so be one and tell daddy what'd ya' want"

You gulp, trying to hold his gaze. You never back down. You never back down. But the intensity of the shinning copper makes that insufferable character of yours to be tamed, boiling against the surface but just scratching, all screams lost. Is like he knows this power over you, acting on it with a benevolence so sick, it has you thinking loving Joel Miller isn't impossible.

You never back down, but being with Joel feels like walking over stones, always thinking about the next step and the ones that were, ghosts of the lingering doubts and afterthoughts behind every step you take. It's like there's a river below them, washing away regret.

But you're still here: water up your knees then and now over your head.

You're barely floating. You'd be willing to drown anyway.

"I want to ride your belt buckle"

There's silence in the other side, until its met with a light chuckle.

"Yeah?" Joel keeps on laughing, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "S'that what that filthy head of yours be thinkin' on?"

"Stop it" you groan, covering your hot face with your palms. You wish you could erase that ugly smirk off his face. "I'm never telling you anything again, ever"

"Now c'mon, baby. I was jus' messin' 'round" his tone adquires a soft edge to it, tender warm hands removing yours from your face. "Don't cover your face, baby. You're too goddam pretty" you blush, and Joel better resist the urge to kiss you just for the sake of kissing you. "I didn't mean to make fun of ya'. You know y'can tell me anythin' that's goin' inside that head of yours"

"Then you'll let me?" your pretty eyes look up to him, shinning like the stars of the summer night sky months ago.

He can't deny you anything, and a small crack of fear wounds his impenetrable heart.

"Get'ere you filthy slut"

You eagerly climb onto his lap as he sits against the beds headboard, your thighs pushing against his belly.

"Now" he tries to put in a more comfortable position, his tired joints creaking. He avoids your gaze, coughing over his blush. "You do all the job, baby. I ain't gonna help you, this greedy pussy took all of my energy"

You giggle, moving until your bare pussy clashes against the cold. A shiver runs down your spine, the dried juices moistening again over the metal piece. His hands move to your hips, hands now soft as they hold you, and he seems unsure of it, both of your breaths coming out ragged.

"You said you weren't gonna help" you chuckle, wrapping your arms around his neck. His face feels closer, and you can see lines time has marked across his features. "But thanks, daddy"

His heart takes a dangerous leap.

"'Course, baby" he smiles. "You know I spoil ya' too damn much"

You begin to roll your hips, sliding your pussy over the cold material, your arousal making a wet slick sound that bounces off the walls, a shiver down your back as you feel your slick already coating the front of it and the top of his jeans.

"Mmm, can't say no to me, can you, baby?" you mock, rocking your hips back and forth. A shaky breath escapes your parted lips, and Joel feels his renovated dick spring hard. You moan, your ass barely touching his now tense member.

"Quit runnin' that mouth of y'rs, baby" his digits dig on your skin, "or I'll bend ya' over again"

"Sorry, daddy" you feel the metal star on the middle digging inside your pussy, the borders of the imprint brushing your leaking cunt in a pleasant way. "I promise to be good"

"Do" he grunts, "you're runnin' out of time, doll"

You close your eyes, movements more quick and erratic, little moans leaving your body as you groan.

"Tell me how this lil' experiment of yours feelin', baby"

"F-feels good, daddy. Fuck" you groan, lifting your hips a bit as you grind yourself down across the material. "So so good, daddy. Thank you, daddy"

"Mmm, that's right. Now be a good girl and come for me. Let me see that pretty face of yours when ya' come over ma' belt"

You let out a shaky breath, juices spilling over his jeans even as you see stars. He chuckles, enamoured at the sight.

"You gonna need help with that?" you point out his boner.

Oh, aren't you a doll? So kind-hearted.

"That's okay" he breathes out, tiredly. He thinks of the next trip to the bathroom, the image of what he'll fuck himself to clear now.

You smile at him, for the first time forgetting this started as a blowing-off-steam-time or transaction.

For a moment, it feels like it could be.

"Jus' seein' you cum all over me so prettily is'nough, baby"

[lightseoul]

a/n. might turn this one into a drabble series if people like it. alternatively, i have a one-shot idea that shares similar themes with whatever this is. dedicated to my psych degree that i may never finish. (0.4k)

navigation. (you are here), part 2

bakugou doesn’t notice you at first.

in his defense, looking for girls wasn’t exactly part of his itinerary whenever he visited his therapist’s building. and if it was?

well, doing that in a mental health institution wouldn’t exactly be his first pick.

not that he is looking for someone.

rising speedily through the ranks as a pro-hero came with more and more tasks and responsibilities by the day, and as much as he wanted to downplay the weight of such endeavors, he’d be lying if he said the exhaustion wasn’t getting to him.

he’s barely making enough time to make room for his weekly therapist appointments. how can he possibly squeeze in dating into his already jam-packed schedule?

in fact, that was the point he was trying to make to his psychologist a few minutes ago who, in turn, countered his theory by broaching the plausibility of it being an avoidant technique to mask his inexperience, when time ran out and the session had to be put to a close. as always, she tied the session neatly with her spiel about them picking up where they left off next week, and then the pro-hero was already up and exiting her office.

“fucking plausibility,” he mutters to himself just as the door closes behind him, hefting the duffel bag that he carried all the way from his agency higher on his shoulders.

and really, he was about to turn to the right so he could take a piss before driving home when the door beside the restroom creaks open. now, he’s never seen any other client in his few years of face-to-face consultations, which was weird but not entirely inconceivable. so he finds it pretty excusable when he finds himself pausing, craning to hear the soft mutters emanating from the inside—not that eavesdropping on someone else’s psych appointment is fun—then immediately straightening up when a body emerges from the crack.

his first instinct is to instantly dash towards the comfort room like he wasn’t just standing there like a nosy idiot, but instead, he finds himself frozen when his eyes dart up and meet yours.

what did that proverb say again? all pretty girls are mentally ill?

he can only watch—immobile—as your eyes widen in recognition because, of course, you’d recognize him. not that he’s being fucking cocky; in fact, he’d much rather you did not identify him—fresh out of therapy, no less—but he’s aware that his reputation, unfortunately, precedes him. his reputation of being this aggressive, no-nonsense, brash pro-hero.

which is why he doesn’t fucking understand why he does the next thing.

he lifts his hand and blurts—

“hi.”

˖⁺‧₊ as always, reblogs, replies, and tags are appreciated <3 feel free to drop an ask, too—i'd love to chat with you. have a nice day!

tagging. @bunnysaursushii @yawnzzzzzzzz @cholios @kashee-h @iluv-ace @lotuslovers @elarakive @sugurusmoon @napbatata @k0z3me @h0ngh0ngh0ng @honeyoru @yoongiwithglasses @hellokitty-doll @lilsebnem @tetsuukuroo @crangrapel0ver @syrhra

[always-azriels-princess]

The Wrong Thing part two

Guysss i did it :) im so proud

Summary: the mate bond snaps, and you say the wrong thing

Part 1

Word Count: 1.4K

Azriel was avoiding you. You knew it, he knew it, the entire Inner Circle knew it. Feyre had tried to approach you a couple times to figure out what had happened, but you never answered the knocks on your door.

It was embarassing, and yet you completely understood why your mate didn't want you. The haunted look in his eyes that night appeared in your nightmares each night, and each one ended with you waking up, slicked with sweat and panting as if just finishing a marathon.

Bags had started to form under your eyes from the lack of sleep, and Azriel wasn't looking much better. You had overheard Rhys talking to Feyre on multiple occasions about how Azriel was getting unfocused during missions, sloppy during training, and quick to anger in simple conversations.

You knew you had to fix your mistake, but it was hard to think of how your mate would look at you, like he never wanted to see you again. And you didn't even blame him, you wouldn't want to see yourself either after what you had done.

"No."

The words hung around your neck, suffocating you every second of every day like a noose growing tighter and tighter. Rhys had also noticed your work as a diplomat for the Night Court was diminishing in its thoroughness.

Nuala knocked on your door, as you were deep in some paperwork updating the new peace treaty with Winter. "Come in," you called.

"Good afternoon miss," Nuala said as she walked in. "The High Lord would like to see you in his office."

You sighed, expecting something like this after on your and Azriel's actions in the past week. "Thank you Nuala, I'll be right there."

The chair scraped back after you stood up, shuffling the papers and stuffing them in a drawer.

Dread coiled in your gut as you made your way to the High Lord's office, worried he would make you confront what you had been trying so hard to hide from.

You knocked thrice quietly, hoping Rhys had maybe left to go get a snack and you could sneak back into your room. To no avail, you heard a faint "come in," and you took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

The breath you had previously took escaped you as you gazed over every inch of the shadowsinger, completely ignoring the High Lord sitting at his desk, smirking with his "I'm so amazing" face.

As you drank in the image of your mate, his shadows clung to him, wrapping around his body like a second skin, while others writhed around his feet, swarming and twisting in chaotic patterns. The tension in the room increased ten-fold and the air around Azriel began to darken, his very presence sucking in the light around him. His adam's apple bobbed as he traced your every curve, as if committing the image to memory.

You just stood in the doorway, both you and your mate frozen, staring at each other, before Rhys cleared his throat and you snapped out of your trance, breaking your eye contact with your mate. As you sat down on the opposite side of the couch Azriel was on,

"Now, you probably know why I called you in," Rhys explained. "This," he gestured wildly, waving his hands between you two, "needs to stop. Azriel, you've almost completely dropped your training schedule, and I have reports from your informants that you're missing their check-ins." He turned to you, "And you are three days behind on the paperwork for the Winter Court peace treaty renewal."

Rhys sighed and stood up, walking towards the door. Before exiting the room, he turned back and said, "I don't know what's going on with you two, and I'm not going to snoop through your heads to figure it out, but something clearly happened, so you can leave this room when you are back to normal." With a wave of his hand, the door closed behind him as he walked away, and you could hear the soft click of the lock turning, keeping you stuck in a room with male who wanted nothing to do with you.

The air in the room was thick, suffocating. The silence between you and Azriel seemed to stretch endlessly, like the tension before a storm. He sat on the couch across from you, his posture rigid, every muscle in his body taut, like he was ready to shadow away at any second.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to look at him at first. The guilt gnawed at your insides, raw and jagged, but you forced yourself to breathe, slow and steady, to calm the racing in your chest. The room was too quiet, and yet every sound felt amplified. The way his shadows whispered, curling and slithering at his feet, the way his eyes seemed to burn into you from across the room.

He was avoiding you, but you were avoiding him too.

You opened your mouth to speak, but the words caught in your throat, suffocating you before they even had a chance to leave your lips.

Azriel spoke first, his voice low and strained. "You don’t have to do this." It was almost a whisper, his words laced with pain and, not anger...no, something more vunerable. Insecurity.

"Do what?" you finally managed, your voice sounding foreign to your own ears. "Talk about it?"

His voice was low and strained. "You have already made your feelings very clear, and I would never try to force you into anything you don't want."

You sat up, confused. "Az, I never said I didn't want the bond. I was overjoyed when it snapped, but I....I panicked because I know that you deserve someone better than me."

His beautiful hazel eyes softened. "But...you said no. The bond snapped and you said no." His voice was getting louder and faster as he spoke. "You were right, you shouldn't want this bond, I'm broken and scarred, and you're so....so perfect."

An ache spread through your chest, as though all the fragile pieces of your heart had shattered at once, leaving sharp fragments to tear at your insides.

"Azriel," your voice cracked as tears filled your eyes. You shifted closer on the couch, until your legs were brushing against his. "I told you this that night, and I will tell you again. You. Are. Not. Weak. You are not broken, you are not scarred, you do not have a single flaw unless it is loving your family too much. I can never take back what I said that night, and I will replay that moment in my head for the rest of my life, praying to be able to go back in the past and change it. You have a such a pure heart, so do not think for one moment that you are not deserving of me. I am the one who doesn't deserve you." You finished your speech, a soft, uneven breath escaping you.

Azriel stared into your soul, his eyes softening with wonder and adoration. He smiled softly as he drew closer. When you felt his warm breath on your face, he murmured, "Why don't we just agree that we both deserve each other," and closed the distance between you. His lips met yours, and it was like the world fell away and the only thing that mattered was the male in front of you. His hand slid from your face to the back of your neck, pulling you closer. It was slow, unhurried, like you both had all the time in the world. You smiled against his lips, fingers threading through the dark strands of his hair as you leaned into him, deepening the kiss.

The taste of him, the feel of him, was overwhelming in the best way. It was like coming home, like a storm finally releasing the tension it had held for so long. You regretfully pulled away, resting your forehead against his. You were finally home.

The peace of the moment was shattered as the door was thrown in, what seemed to be the entire court of Velaris pushing themselves through. Cassian laughed deeply, sweeping Az off the couch and hugging him "Finally!" he exclaimed. Mor, who was bawling her eyes out, flung herself at you, knocking yourself back against the couch. "THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!" You paused for a second, then laughed and hugged her back.

Rhys came in with Feyre on his arm, looking all too smug. "I told you Feyre darling, I'm a genius."

Feyre smacked him upside the head.

@lilah-asteria >3 ilsym you are my first tag ever and i'm so grateful for the support so thank youuuu

[mylovesstuffs]

Entry #02

24.01.2025 - 02:52

The fact that so many people here feel self-conscious and insecure about their smiles breaks my heart. It’s disheartening, to say the least. I know I’m here trying to comfort you all, but reading your responses makes me feel a little lighter though I know it’s cruel of me to admit. I usually don’t like to be vulnerable, not online and definitely not in public, but for your sake, and because I understand how it feels, I’ll share why I feel that way.

It’s because I’m insecure too.

To the point where COVID was a relief for me because wearing masks in public became normalized. From 2020 to 2025, I’ve been wearing a mask every single day and I'm not exaggerating.

To the point where my friends unmask me once every two months (because I don't unmask every time they want) just so they don’t forget what I look like.

To the point where I only have 12 unmasked photos of myself as a teenager.

To the point where I’ve become known as “the mask girl.”

To the point where people shame me for wearing a mask indoors and outdoors.

To the point where I’m often targeted or pressured by others to unmask myself.

To the point where my juniors have never even seen my face.

But what really hit me is realizing so many of you feel insecure about your smiles. I thought I was alone in this. For me, it’s my smile too. It’s something I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember. It surprises me because, to me, I’ve never seen a bad smile in my entire life. Not one. Truly. People even make fun of me for finding everyone attractive and beautiful, but I do! Everyone is unique in their own way. I genuinely think everyone is unique and beautiful. What you see in the mirror isn’t what others see. People see you differently than you see yourself, they see beauty where you might not. Yet here I am, telling you this, even though I can’t seem to believe it about myself or apply it in my life. I hate my smile. I hate it to the point that I avoid it entirely. And it hurts even more because my own father has been the one to point it out. My family knows how sensitive I am about it, and they go out of their way to avoid making me feel worse. But my father doesn’t realize this. He’s told me outright several times not to smile or laugh with my teeth showing (as if I could laugh any other way).

It broke me. To know that everyone around me understood that except him. To him, it’s not a big deal. To him, he's oblivious. Though I know he has a bit of a narcissistic personality but it's not that bad. Laughing and smiling are involuntary, natural expressions of joy or amusement—things that happen without much thought. So to tell me not to smile or laugh feels deeply unfair, even cruel, when you think about it. I’ve been made to feel self-conscious about even being happy. But at the same time, I know he isn’t intentionally trying to hurt me. He’s just oblivious to how deeply his words affect me. And that’s the tricky part, isn’t it? People often don’t realize how their comments especially about something as personal as physical appearance can linger. The logical side of me knows he doesn’t mean harm. But the emotional side of me can’t help but feel the weight of those words. It’s a reminder that even the people closest to us, the ones we expect to understand us best, can sometimes miss the mark entirely.

So yeah, I guess that’s why I felt a strange sense of comfort knowing that others feel this way too. It’s not something we can always control, but maybe it’s something we can learn to embrace. And from the bottom of my heart, I know that if SEVENTEEN ever knew about this, they’d be the first to hug us. As their fans, their friends, or someone even closer to them, they’d want us to know how special we are. How beautiful we are. They’d remind us that our smiles—the ones we hate—are the ones that light up their world. Insecurities often feel like a big deal to us, even if others might think they're trivial or wonder why we're bothered by them. But the truth is, insecurities are deeply personal and sensitive, and because of that, we should really be kind and understanding toward one another.

You’re not alone. And you are so, so much more beautiful than you think.

OT13 reacting to their s/o who loves smiles but feels insecure about showing their teeth

Request: Halooo I am the same anon that req wisdom tooth drabble!!! So can I req for svt ot13 s/o that love smile but never showed their teeth cause they're insecure with it?? I do have an open bite and I do be jealous w ppl that can smile with their normal teeth 🥲🥲 Also can I be ur ⭐️ anon??

A/N: This is dedicated to all kinds of smiles—big, small, toothy, closed, crooked, or perfectly aligned. It’s easy to compare ourselves to others, especially when society has such rigid standards for something as personal as a smile. But the truth is, the world isn’t looking for perfect smiles; it’s looking for your smile—the one that lights up the people around you, the one that reflects your joy, and the one that makes you you. Whether you’re someone who shows off their teeth confidently or someone who keeps their smiles shy, you are absolutely radiant just the way you are. I hope this reaction brings you warmth, and maybe even a little courage to embrace your smile, because SEVENTEEN and I think it’s the best one there is. Thank you for reading, and remember: your smile is a gift, not just to you but to everyone lucky enough to see it! 💛

I definitely encourage you to read everyone's part, especially Minghao's.

Seungcheol: Cheol would notice right away how you always smile with your lips closed. He’d encourage you without pushing too hard, so you’d catch him saying things like, “I love it when you smile—it’s my favorite thing about you.” And when you explain why you’re self-conscious, his protective mode kicks in. In his mind, you’re perfect exactly as you are. He’d make a habit of kissing your forehead after every smile, as if to say, Thank you for sharing this with me. Warm, comforting, and always your biggest cheerleader.

Jeonghan: Jeonghan is a tease—but in the sweetest way possible. He’d catch you hiding your teeth and tease you playfully about how even your shy smile could start a fan club. But deep down, he’d be the FIRST to remind you that nobody’s smile is ‘wrong’. He’d even come up with ridiculous scenarios like, “If anyone says anything about your teeth, I’ll report them to Smile Security.” Sure, it’s dramatic, but somehow it’s comforting. With him, you’d slowly start to see your smile through his eyes: bright, genuine, and absolutely worth showing off.

Joshua: Shua’s the ‘patient and reassuring’ type. He’d never rush you into anything but would always make it known how much he loves your smile—whether or not it shows your teeth. He’d probably sit with you one evening and casually mention how he used to be insecure about something too, just to remind you that everyone has their struggles. The way he’d look at you every time you smiled? Pure love and admiration. Slowly but surely, you’d start feeling like, Maybe my smile isn’t so bad after all.

Jun: Junhui wouldn’t even let you finish explaining your insecurity before he’d start showering you with compliments. He’d be so sweet and genuine about it too, like, “What? But your smile is so pretty! Have you seen yourself?” He’d probably find little ways to make you smile more, through goofy antics or heartfelt gestures. The best part? He’d never let you feel like you had to change—he loves your smile, whether it’s teeth-showing or not. And his genuine enthusiasm? It’s impossible not to feel a little brighter around him.

Hoshi: Hoshi would make it his personal mission to see your biggest, toothiest smile. He’s dramatic like that. He'd do the silliest things to make you laugh, like impersonating the other members or dancing in the weirdest ways (mind you he's performance team leader TT). When you finally let out a full smile, he’d stop mid-act and just stare. “Wow. That’s the one. That’s the smile that could light up a stadium.” And you’d know he’s not exaggerating (even though he’s Hoshi and exaggerates everything). It’s just how he loves—with his whole heart. I'm feeling soft :(

Wonwoo: He’d notice your insecurities but wouldn’t bring them up directly. Instead, would focus on making you comfortable and appreciated. He’d probably start complimenting you in subtle ways, like, “Your smile is really nice,” or “You look happiest when you smile.” Over time, his steady reassurance would make you feel less self-conscious. And when you finally smile without holding back, he’d just give you that soft, proud look, as if to say, See? I knew it was beautiful.

Woozi: Woozi would be a mix of logical and sweet about it. He’d listen to your reasons and then quietly debunk every single one of them, like, “Who said teeth have to be perfect to make a smile beautiful? That’s nonsense.” He’d focus more on how your smile makes him feel—happy, loved, and lucky to know you. And if you ever caught him sneaking a photo of you smiling? Just know it’s because he wants to remember how happy you looked in that moment.

Dokyeom: Oh boy, Seokmin would be all over this. He lives for smiles, especially yours. He’d probably start a whole campaign to make you feel better about it, complete with compliments, funny jokes, and random bursts of Look at that gorgeous smile! energy. You’d have no choice but to smile around him because he’s just that infectious. And when you finally let out a toothy grin, he’d gasp like, “I KNEW IT! YOU HAVE THE BEST SMILE IN THE WORLD!” Dramatic? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.

Mingyu: Kim Mingyu, the man he is, would be the type to go above and beyond to make you feel good about your smile. He’d start by complimenting you constantly and taking candid photos where you look natural and happy. Then, he’d show them to you like, “Look at this—your smile could cure my bad days.” He’d probably even bring it up to the members like, “Isn’t her smile the best thing ever?” And when you roll your eyes at him, he’d just grin and say, “See? Even your eyeroll smile is perfect.” AHHGHTCGTCGCFFCCT

Minghao: Hao would be supportive and no-nonsense. He’d listen to your insecurities, acknowledge your feelings, and then remind you that nobody’s perfect. “Imperfections make us human,” he’d say, and it would somehow hit deeper than you expected. He’d probably encourage you to focus on how your smile feels rather than how it looks, and over time, his grounded perspective would help you see your smile in a whole new light. With him (with others too), you’d start to appreciate the beauty in being uniquely you.

Seungkwan: Seungkwan would be the loudest advocate for your smile. “Are you kidding me!” He’d probably start hyping you up every time you smiled, to the point where it becomes impossible not to feel confident about it. And if anyone dared to say something negative about your teeth? Oh, he’d drag them to filth, no hesitation I'm telling you. With Seungkwan in your corner, you’d never have to doubt your smile again.

Vernon: He would be ridiculously sweet. He’d casually drop comments like, “Your smile’s cool,” and then act like it’s no big deal—when really, he’s melting inside every time he sees it. He’d never pressure you to show your teeth but would secretly be over the moon whenever you did. And the way he’d look at you in those moments? Pure adoration. Honestly, he’d make you feel like the coolest person in the world, open bite or not.

Dino: Chan would be all about boosting your confidence. He’d give you a pep talk about how unique smiles are the best smiles and how yours is his favorite thing about you. He’d hype you up so much that you’d almost feel like a celebrity. And when you finally smiled without holding back, he’d act like it’s the greatest thing he’s ever seen. “That’s it! That’s the smile that could rules my heart!” That’s just how much he cares.

[overwhelmed-alien]

Jake “Hangman” Seresin: Passenger Princess

The general consensus in his class is that Jake must think he’s up there with royalty, and therefore deserves to be driven around. That’s where the whole “princess” thing came from, originally. Jake of course rolls with it, plays up the prim “driving is beneath someone like me”, chuckles at the good-natured eye-rolls, and hops into someone’s -anyone’s- front seat and immediately fiddles with the radio just to be a brat.

The true reason, one he will never utter out loud, is that driving terrifies him. He grew up in rural Texas with hundreds of miles of straight, flat roads from horizon to horizon. Roads that frequently were completely empty, maybe you’d meet a tractor once in a while. So 12 lanes of bottlenecked California traffic, horns honking, engines revving, cars swerving in and out of lanes, the bright sun making it hard to see, unnerves Jake more than anything. Up in the sky he’s fearless, but the planes, he reasons, aren’t crowding around you not caring if you live or die as long as they get to brunch with the girls on time.

Bradley clocked it first, naturally. They’d lived together for years, back when they were “Bradley and Jake”. How Jake would never ask to drive, never grab the keys on the way out, would always sweetly beg -“honey come grocery shopping with me, it’ll be fun!” - Bradley to accompany him anywhere he went. Bradley could never deny him anything, so off they would go, either in Bradley’s Bronco or Jake’s truck, him driving, Jake in the passenger seat. He always thought it was adorable, Jake hopping up beside him grinning like a loon when he got his way, grin wider when Bradley inevitably calls him Princess. But he started noticing subtle things that he wouldn’t have noticed years ago. How Jake closed his eyes and gripped the handle when someone swerved in front of them. How he fiddled and played with dials or his phone or the strings of a hoodie to avoid looking out the window. The film of sweat on his face that, thanks to the blaring AC, had nothing to do with the Cali heat. The knee that bounced until they arrived at their destination.

He’d tried bringing it up once or twice, Jake had always laughed and played it up, “baby I’m too cute to drive, we’ve established this.” So he drops it. But if he’s more engaging in animated conversations with Jake to distract him, if he sings just a little louder and dances in the drivers seat a little sillier to draw nervous green eyes his way and not the speeding line of traffic beside him, if he smiles a little sweeter and the “Princess” comes out a little more heated so Jake forgets the entire world around him for a time, well, he’d do anything for the boy in his passenger seat. When they break up -why did they break up again? He can’t even remember - he always worries about Jake, so much his heart hurts. Is he having to drive himself?

At the Hard Deck, with some secret mission looming over their heads, and Jake looking so damn good, so damn pissed off, so damn hurt -he’d really screwed up, hadn’t he? Jake had wanted to go home early - something about beauty sleep, Javy, please! - and Bradley, stopping his piano serenading immediately, without even thinking: “I got you, princess. I’ll take you home.”

And Bradley swears he can see every single emotion, from rage to relief, regret to guarded happiness, and so much fondness in those nervous green eyes he still loves so damn much.

(I won’t make Jake say “show me the way home, honey” because I guess it’s cliche by now, but I’ll still heavily imply he does with my whole chest)

[kiragecko]

Authour’s Voices

I read fic for voice before anything else. Plot, tropes, canon compliance – they all pale in comparison to the word crafting. But voice is hard to describe, and referencing certain verbal tics is more likely to make an authour self-conscious than it is to flatter. So, here's my best attempt to describe the voices of some of my favourite fanfic authours – focusing on tone, subject matter, and the feelings they provoke, in a hope that I can get across at least a hint of how they sound.

@suzukiblu / suzukiblu / Rin (I read for DCU, Young Justice TV, Avatar)

REALLY intertwines characters thoughts and feelings in compelling ways. Inner monologues are a particular strength. Digs deep into what motivates characters and then lets them be insecure and angry because of those things. Writes REALLY close third person narration – ie. we are entirely in one person’s head, but the narration is using their name instead of saying ‘me.’ And we are ENTWINED in their head. Deeply. Maybe actually more in their chest -  the emotions are visceral and immediate. Very cathartic angry/overwhelmed ranting is a feature. People learning that they have inherent value. Romance/sex that is based on strong connections, and goes far deeper than hormones. A strong understanding of canon, used to write alternate universes that are much richer for that knowledge. Stories are cathartic, and leave you washed clean and energized.

@whetstonefires / Kieron_ODuibhir (/ Kieron) (I read for DCU, The Untamed/The Other Versions Of This Story)

Thoughtful, empathic stories that feel like they’ve spent months being refined to perfection. Also incredibly strong understanding of canon, with a much higher chance of showing her work on the page. A gift for searching out the nagging, poorly fitting pieces of canon characterization, and integrating them in her fic in ways that makes rereading the original a better experience. Beautiful, haunting, sentences. Feels like poetry makes me feel. A writing style that ALMOST feels intellectual, but is actually incredibly empathic. The knowledge is the vessel that carries the ... love? Respect? Maybe respect, and care, and dignity, that she has for the characters she’s writing about. Stories leave you quiet and satisfied.

@galaxystew / galaxysoup (I read for Avengers/Thor, Supernatural)

Careful, emotional, deep stories. There is a sense of immenseness, that the story can’t go too fast or it would become unstoppable. DEEPLY moving, gut-wrenching, stories told from just enough emotional distance to avoid overwhelming the audience. But they also about taking time to rest, both for the characters and the audience. Focuses on exploring and healing damaged relationships, (and damaged people), and never goes for the easy/trite solutions. Unassuming language and imagery that grounds the sometimes epic elements of her canons. Stories leave you grateful – grateful that the characters have reached that place, and grateful you got to come along.

@teland / Teland / Te (I read for DCU)

Stories have only the vestigial remains of a narrator. Almost everything is verbal or mental dialogue, usually without tags. (Ie. things like ‘Tim said.’) This would be frustrating with most writers, but Te’s character voices are SO strong and distinct that a story can start with an unnamed person talking and you immediately know who it is. She focuses on aspects of characters that many other authours miss (though some of that could be survivorship bias – perhaps she was part of a zeitgeist that hasn’t been preserved). She gets DEEP into the psyches of the characters she’s writing, dissects them, and then has them dryly comment on their displayed innards. Excels at characters that are very disconnected from their emotions, but also at characters who live immediately IN their emotions. Strong themes of identity and found family, though not in the way ‘found family’ is usually used these days. Symbolic, projected family? Stand-in, or sublimated, or substituted family? Something in that area. A lot of sex, which is also standing in for other things. Electric, transformative stories, with extremely long chapters that are hard to escape from when the world tries to call you back. Stories leave you alive to the possibilities, and maybe knowing more about yourself.

@angel-gidget / angel_gidget / Gidge (I read for DCU)

There’s an optimism and joy to Gidge’s writing. A ... cleanness. Hmm, what do I mean? I ... I’m not actually sure? But it feels refreshing and space-making, to read a Gidge story. It feels like they SHOULD be humorous, with the effects they have, but that’s not actually the focus? It feels like they’re light, even when the topic is heavy and treated seriously. It’s a really special gift, what Gidge has. Maybe the correct term is ‘conversational’? Yeah, there’s a matter-of-fact, conversational tone to everything she creates, and it lifts your spirits every time you read it.

@vmohlere / owlet (I read for Avengers/Captain America)

Absolutely brilliant way of using humour to tackle difficult subjects. Stories are so funny and positive, that it’s hard to realize how dark the things referenced are. It helps that they usually don’t become explicit until the characters have mostly processed them, and they’ve been defanged of a lot of their power. I’ve never seen someone else accomplish this, and it blows me away. Incredible OCs. Deep empathy for character’s specific needs, and focusing on what THEY’RE ready to focus on. Boundaries are not only respected, but taught. And all of this is happening behind a wry, clever sense of humour that invites you in to hang out for a while. One of the most joyful reading experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve used scenes to walk myself through bad mental periods. And I still think about their work every time I make a grilled cheese.

[youvebeengalindafied]

This is all @polyarmy and @fiyeroba ‘s fault for making me sad about Glinda again so now I’m posting my whole Glinda Meta here (originally an obnoxiously long dm sent to @gamorahww who is a patient saint)

You’ve asked for it, and now you get……The Glinda Meta™

First: I have been obsessed w/ Glinda's character for like 15 years. She is my roman empire. But I also really LIKE her as a flawed character - something that the fandom has always seemed to be a little uncomfortable with.

She is, to me, what Jane Austen once wrote about Emma:

“I am going to write a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”

Full meta character analysis under the cut. Uh. Strap in.

(This gets a lil long sorry, but PLEASE HEAR ME OUT -)

To me, the interesting thing is what actually - ACTUALLY - motivates Glinda to act the way she does is so much greater and deeper than a simple desire for success/fame/popularity.

Like obviously in literature/critique of narrative, we have this idea of protagonists vs supporting characters. Supporting characters might have philosophies or goals that drive them (think Nessa and Boq) but those philosophies and goals are usually not developed into self-contradictory nuance the way a protagonist's motivations are. They’re just facts about the character.

And in my option, a big problem in the wicked fandom is that everybody seems to treat Glinda as a supporting character whose motivations are easy to digest. To most fans, she's either the girlfriend who is there to support Elphaba's story by being "loving but conflicted." Or to critics she's entirely selfish and cruel (even as she's fun and interesting), and therefore a semi-antagonist

But if you step back and treat Glinda as a true antihero protagonist of Wicked (for the sake of the mental character study), you see that she's not actually motivated by love or popularity or even success....what drives her is desperation.

Glinda sees her world as a place that cannot be changed and will only work to destroy those who cannot correctly operate in it. And she is SO DESPERATE to avoid that. Elphaba's fate is actually her worst fear - she cannot break away from society and leap to a new fate, because she is the ultimate cynic who thinks there is no way that could possibly work. In fact, it's an enormous testament to her love (however you want to intepret that) of Elphaba that she's even willing to consider leaving during Defying Gravity. For a brief moment, her immense, incredible faith in Elphaba is almost enough to overcome her complete desperation to survive the horrible world she thinks she's in.

And that obviously means that she's not as noble as Elphaba or as brave as Fiyero as a character - she cannot make the choice to leave when both of them do at different points - but that's because she's the most "human" character in the story. Most people are not brave enough to become international terrorists, even in the face of great evil. We might join in a developed cause, but to knowingly walk towards what is likely one's death to change a system you know you’ll actually have very little effect on...that takes a very special kind of person. And while Glinda is a GOOD person, she is too much a cynic and too desperate to survive her crazy world to become that impossible standard of the Rebel or the Hero. She's just a flawed, scared girl, in circumstances she never dreamed she’d be in.

And then the craziest thing happens:

Rather than showing Glinda that she should have been brave and done what E and F did, the narrative instead goes and basically confirms all her darkest fears: Elphaba rebels...and her revolution fails, and Glinda loses her best friend to bitter hatred and insanity for most of Act 2. Fiyero decides to leave and do the right thing by going with Elphaba....and he is almost immediately murdered in a horrible, violent way as punishment for it. This can only reinforce for Glinda that the State/the System/the World is all-powerful, and she must bow to it.

But that's the most fascinating moment for her character, because the very moment she realizes the absolute overwhelming power of the system (March of the Witch Hunters) is also the very moment that chooses to die rather than perpetuating it. She leaves the City to approach Elphaba - whom Glinda thinks POSSIBLY WANTS TO KILL HER - and BEGS Elphaba to not die. Begs Elphaba to stop her self-sacrificial madness. Begs Elphaba to allow Glinda to sacrifice herself instead ("Then I'll go, I'll tell everybody the truth!" "No! They'll just turn against you!" "I DON'T CARE!" - this girl who is entirely motivated by survival is straight up throwing it all on the line ready to walk to her death at the hands of a mob with wide open, unblinking eyes)

And obviously, in doing so, she is making the same choice that Fiyero did earlier in the story, But the huge difference is that Fiyero is a classic case of a "dead from the beginning" character, and he does not have the same motivations as her. He starts as a nhilist already embracing death in Dancing Through Life and his character is not somebody who is desprate to survive - his character is driven by a desperation for a faith. And Elphaba (and her cause) is his faith that he happily martyrs himself for.

By contrast, Glinda is terrified of the system that is trying to kill her, and she is desperate to survive it. She sees the way it takes everything form her, again and again, destroying everything she loves - Elphaba, Fiyero, her own sense of goodness…

(And she is extremely genre-aware that she is in a tragedy: her world isn't fair, and she knows that Elphaba will fail. She knows this will all go wrong.)

But Glinda still has such strength of character that she - in the end - overcomes all of her fear, all of her weaknesses, and humbles herself at the pyre to join the people she loves so much in their fate. She both offers to die for Elphaba and she takes up Elphaba's work and dedicates her entire life to it, consequences be damned. And that comes from a place of ultimate love and goodness, despite all of her flaws and all the temptations dissuading her.

Because Glinda is not Elphaba or Fiyero - she isn't a starry-eyed optimistic rebel or a man with a obsessive, loving faith. She is just a girl. Just Emma. And she is extremely flawed, and has so many fears that push and pull at her in a way the other main characters do not experience. But despite being so painfully, humanly defective, her goodness allows her to do the right thing in the end.

tl;dr - the greatest thing about Glinda’s character is that she is flawed, and she is weak and makes all the wrong choices. But in the end, she humbles herself completely - to the point of offering her own life for Elphaba and taking the whole weight of the world on her shoulders despite all her fear - because she is ultimately good.

And thus in the end, she becomes the person that Elphaba so clearly sees her as throughout the story: good, caring, and able to make real change in the world. She will now try desperately to fully live up to Elphaba's incredible faith in her. And it's so heartbreaking and tragic, but also one of the best character arcs ever.

So I guess it's less "wants to stay safe in her bubble" and more "she sees no option other than to stay safe. The State/System is all-powerful and there is nothing she thinks she can do to change that. But the beauty of the character lies in her decision to step out of that bubble anyways."

—

BONUS: Glinda’s flaws in relation to her relationship with Elphaba

(Or why Gelphie is a devastating ship (romantically or not) but not in the way you think)

This section dedicated to the SJB/AA performance that just BREAKS ME.

Elphaba basically sees Glinda through some WILDLY rose-tinted glasses (which is just. such a fascinating insight into elphaba’s character). Which is why a good chunk of the fandom accepts it as fact that Glinda is ~not actually all that flawed~ or is somehow being forced to make the decisions she is (she is not. the narrative point of Fiyero’s character is to prove that lol)

Glinda is very much complicated and does make some truly terrible decisions. Elphaba just sees and believes the good in her, despite everything she does (because it’s also a fact of the story that - either platonically or romantically - she’s clearly a little in love with Glinda. (The passes she gives that girl…)). I don’t think her weird thing about Glinda is particularly rational, but it is undeniably all-consuming.

And that makes their relationship feel VERY human. Their flaws don't make them unworthy of each other’s love and respect and friendship. Elphaba's love of Glinda is pretty crazy in light of how much Glinda’s morals and choices differ from her own, but that’s the kind of love that real, sometimes illogical people have. Anybody trying to prove the logic or compatibility of the characters is kinda missing the point - it doesn’t make sense, and THAT’S how you know it’s love.

(Brief aside: similar to Elphaba’s obsession with Glinda, Fiyero is also irrationally obsessed with Elphaba. I mean, she kinda sucks at the whole revolution thing (she's trying!!) and he's clearly starry-eyed ignoring a LOT of her flaws lol. In contrast - for better or worse, Glinda does see Elphaba's flaws and calls them out, just as Elphaba sees Fiyero's flaws and calls him out. It’s a nice little circular relationship)

But…but….is it gay???

Sure. I think so - but I’m a lesbian who has shipped it since I was a preteen lol. But that’s also NOT THE POINT, and focusing on only the romantic angle of their relationship REALLY ignores just how layered and complex it is.

Taking off my squee shipping glasses for a minute: they’re fundamentally just two people in some version of an EXTREMELY intense relationship. I honestly think Glinda reads as a little terrified of how insanely intense her relationship is with Elphaba. She fears walking down that road and fully falling into that intense, all-consuming love. (And we literally learn why later through Fiyero’s ‘death’ and Elphaba’s insanity - love makes you do some crazy things, and Glinda can’t afford that in this world.)

Regardless of whether you interpret them romantically or not - it’s clear they’re very intense about each other and Glinda is very afraid that Elphaba is her weakness. Unfortunately, Elphaba is also her soulmate and the love of her life, and she’ll always come back again. That fact will ruin Glinda’s life in the end, but it will have been worth it for all the love that was there

[imujings]

Of course I am requesting emidiatly...

What kind of future by Woozi... with Woozi 🫡

I apologize in advance. Feel like this one is gonna be an agaty one.

although i don't wanna see you, i miss you although i hate you, i miss you i don't understand myself so well

wc <1k. warnings angst, cursing, missed chances, childhood friends to lovers to ??? jay’s musings (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) …

You’ve been avoiding your phone all day.

You saw the notifications from high school friends, got the pings on various social medias. Twitter has been going particularly insane about the news, SEVENTEEN’s producer trending with edits of his raw vocals turning into a fully furnished song.

After what felt like the hundredth message from your best friend, telling you to just listen to the goddamn lyrics damnit, you promptly put your ringer on silent and slipped your phone into your bag without a backwards glance.

Trudging into your apartment bedroom, you fall onto your comforter, tears caught in the back of your throat. You hated how you instantly knew what the song was about when you saw the title.

Like, come on—What kind of future? Could he be anymore obvious?

Your eyes subconsciously trail to the sticker-decorated headphones lying on your desk. They taunt you, promising secrets that only you would be allowed to unlock via the key of childhood memories. You huff and sit up.

Fine. You’ll listen to the damn song.

You don’t even realize your body is shaking until the cold settles into your bones, making your teeth chatter with goosebumps prickling your arms. There’s a tense silence that envelopes you in your room.

You’ve done everything you could to stay off his radar: moved cities, started new social media accounts, hell, even gone as far as to block some of the official accounts when you spontaneously gained the courage to. You can’t bear to look at any of them, even when you promised yourself you’d do your best to be happy for him.

Well, you wouldn’t be the only one breaking promises, you think bitterly, sliding your headphones on and connecting them to your phone.

You hit play on the new single before you can convince yourself to do otherwise.

In another world, you like to imagine that things between you and Lee Jihoon would have worked out. That at the end of the day, you’d be the one he’d come home to after a long day at the studio, wired and in need of comforting cuddles and a relaxing evening.

He was your everything, and you were his. You still remember his shy, lingering glances growing up; his small smiles whenever you praised his ever-flourishing musical skills; the feeling of his lips at your shoulder, quick and gentle, before tugging you along to wherever your next adventure was.

Before he belonged to stress, before he was SEVENTEEN’s, Jihoon was yours.

You couldn’t tell if the selfishness you hated was yours or his.

The song is on its second run of the chorus now. You’re caught in place, feeling trapped in a wide open room, biting your lip with so much force your teeth cut into your gums and draw blood.

It’s breathtakingly heartbreaking, his voice.

When Jihoon told you he was being recruited to potentially become an idol, you were ecstatic. You knew deep down this is what he was made for; to create for those he loved, perusing his dreams with no end in sight. You had hugged him tight, peppering kisses to his cheeks and the beauty mark underneath his eye, showering him in good wishes.

What you weren’t ready for, however, was the news that you wouldn’t be able to continue seeing him. The exact words were lost to you, too tuned out to remember entirely. Something about the company being incredibly strict. Something about passing tests, about having incredible self-control and appeal to the media.

“What’s going to happen to us?” high-school you whispered hoarsely; you have the feeling of being held in his arms etched into your brain so effortlessly.

The post-chorus lyrics catch your attention and you choke back a cry. What kind of future comes before us?

“Wait for me,” he had promised. “I’ll become someone you can be proud of. You’re my future.”

You wanted to scream at him back then that you were already proud, that if no one in the world knew and saw and loved Lee Jihoon, it would mean you were wiped from existence. But you were young, and foolish, and you only nodded at him, hope shining in your eyes.

Jihoon left the next day, and you haven’t seen him since.

The headphones are ripped off your head the second the music stops and his voice fades. You furiously dab at your face, clutching your chest with your other hand like you could physically grasp at your heart to stop the bleeding.

But really, what’s there to do when the organ that pumps blood and love to the other parts of your body fails itself, baring your soul to the entire world in the process?

A tear hits the blanket. Then another. And another.

And then, so many more that you’re wiping ugly, thick snot away with your fingers, sobbing violently into your hands.

You hate him.

And fuck, you miss him.

When did the two become the same word?

wanna queue a song?

[harpieisthecarpie]

looking at how Goro Akechi became a foil of Akira Kurusu thru their childhood (attachment styles)

(Content Warnings for discussing all the stuff in Akechi's childhood specifically, bad parenting, neglect, mental illness. Take care of urselves)

waking up to the tags @1derpu2 added on another post of mine about Akechi ("#I don't think I could survive in his position") had me thinking of a 15-16 year old Akechi, and how survival even feels to him.

Because arguably Akechi has been in survival mode since he was born. Even with a mother doing her best to provide, poverty fundamentally rewrites the brain especially at such a young age−

(Tangent: Akechi's dessert blog actually reminds me of Brennan Lee Mulligan during the d20 Misfits & Magic actual play discussing his character [Evan Kelmp, an unhoused orphaned kid] ordering from desserts at restaurants in order to maximize caloric intake for his money bc stuff on the dessert menu actually tends to contain the most calories– ANYWAYS)

–and he also can feel the underlying tension in how his mother is treated, how he himself is treated, how there is no support network for them. I can imagine that's part of the lure of an ensemble kid's show like Featherman: reliable companions who take your hand rather than slapping it away.

I've done a lot of reading into attachment styles and attachment trauma (bc it's interesting and also haha ;] trauma) and it is a really cool lens to view the differences between our two Wild Cards Akechi and Akira.

adding a reblog with an attachment theory rundown! actual discussion of akechu attachment stuff below cut

There is no better fit for Akechi than a Disorganized Attachment style after finding his sole caregiver and financial (his mother) dead by her own hand after years of her focus being split by the work she needed to do for them to afford survival, before being passed around by distant relatives who viewed him with contempt, if they acknowledged him at all.

The world treated him and his mother like vermin, so of course no one else is trustworthy, of course the people who take advantage are evil. Of course everyone takes advantage. Just like his father, who is the root of this whole horrible thing (the thing being Goro's life, the thing being Goro)

His mother left him violently, voluntarily (from his pov, suicide & mental illness are complicated), so he must be someone repulsive. Incapable of being loved. If he wants others to love him, and he must in order to get close enough to his father to kill, then he must be anything other than himself.

One of the symptoms of disorganized attachment and attachment trauma is the inability to regulate emotions, leading those with it to feel things with an intensity they can't control, soothe, or explain that can fluctuate between emotions rapidly.

And doesn't that markedly fit with a kid who has awoken such disparate personas that are both him? His entire relationship with the world (there must be justice but there is no such thing as justice) and his inner psyche does explain why he brings up Hegel. If you have both Loki and Robin Hood inside you, thesis and antithesis, then isn't it a comfort to know their existence somehow makes sense? That you are synthesis rather than just chaos and pain.

Meanwhile, from the little we hear about Akira's parents and how Persona 5 frames the adults around him, the Avoidant attachment style fits best. He is fiercely independent, with such a strong sense of identity despite with the masks he wears for others that he has the true Wild Card ability. He stands his ground with his morals, even when everyone around him is telling him his life would be easier if he gave up.

He has a strong internal moral center because he was never attached enough to his caregivers that they'd be able to influence his cognitive assimilation. Why trust someone's moral judgment when you can't even trust them with your vulnerability?

This is why Akira and Akechi are so fascinating as foils, as rivals, and as people who know each other better than anyone else could. Akechi walks around as a fake, appealing version of himself that Akira sees through clearly. And Akira likes the bitter, vicious, angry version of Akechi because it's honest. That is the underlying intensity of people he knows is hidden behind the masks adults are convinced are their faces. (Where's your rage? RISE RISE RISE)

Akira and Akechi match so well not because they have a hidden ugliness, but because they view the pleasant masks people wear to excuse or ignore injustice as what are truly ugly. And their difference lies in Akira's belief that there is good in people while Akechi's upbringing has him convinced that humanity is rotten to its roots.

And Akechi wants Akira's beating, caring heart between his teeth because there is still a lonely little child in his own chest who loves Featherman and just wanted a better life for his mom. And who won't fucking die, no matter how Akechi tears the world apart to match his perception of it.

Akechi has spent years trying to kill his heart, which has done nothing but soaked his masks in his own blood.

Akira looks Akechi in the eyes, straight through those masks, and steals his heart from off the chopping block. And he keeps it close even as Akechi turns the blade on him in a rage borne of fear.

They're gay as hell thanks for coming to my ted talk. might improve after work

[mischiefmaker615]

Use You (1 of ?)

Summary: Loki shows up at your brothel with an offer. What could go wrong?

Note: Not sure how many parts this will have. while writing a one shot (in which in intended on being, my demon had other plans).

Requested song inspiration: Use Me by Johnny Blue Skies & Dove Cameron & Diplo

Requester: @bri_lostinharmony (wattpad)

Rating: R

The only sound in the room was the wood creaking under the pressure of your fingers, stabilizing yourself while your heart seemed to stop and your eyed lied to you. There was no way in Hel he was here.. your breathing seemed to stare the same pace with your heart, feeling light headed to whom stood before you with a pointed finger and a careful look in his eye.

‘’that one.’’

His tone was sharp and left no room for questions. Of course, no one would dare to question or deny him anyway, he was Loki after all, second prince of Asgard, and if he wanted something, he would get it.

‘’yes my Lord, right away- let me just clean her up for yo-‘’ your head mistress started, daring to begin standing between you and Loki before he seemed to easily wave her off.

‘’no need, she will do as is. Any necessary actions can to done by me.’’ Loki said carefully, this entire time his eyes not having left yours while your already sore legs began shaking.

How could he be here.. out of all brothels.. this was impossible! You had specifically chosen out the farthest one in the city of Asgard to avoid this damn risk. Yet you didn’t realize the one whom you would run into that you knew, was Loki. Of course, you had no special relationship with each other. You were one of his maids in the palace, paid decent and treated better. Yet.. you wished for better things for yourself, and better things meant needing more money. It was unheard of to ask for more pay, so you took on the second job- and the only job that would hire you.

It was hard at first, being treated and seen as a whore.. technically you are. But you always told yourself it was for the greater good, to reach that goal you were SO close on reaching! But that chance might have practically shattered right in front of you while the second prince of Asgard took slow steps forward, his eyes seeming to wait and expect for you to lead the way.

Was it treason? No.. but quite possibly an insult to be found out you had gotten a second job. An insult and seen as ungrateful to the palace. You didn’t expect anyone to understand.. you needed to leave here.. but would Loki do something? Would he see you as ungrateful for your place in the palace with the need to have to get a second job and choose to cast you out? you didn’t want to think about that.. for once, your body’s soreness acted like a distraction from your thoughts while you dropped your eyes and turned around.

‘He's just another client..’ you told yourself while you started up the stairs, having a strong feeling his eyes were on your ass, which somehow made the simple dress feel a whole lot thinner. The wood creaked slightly louder behind you, indicating he was much taller and heavier than you were, granted he also came in wearing his royal armor- except his helmet.

It wasn’t uncommon to hear or see royals come to the brothels, usually in groups but sometimes alone. Loki had very little stories of him appearing at one of these places- most rumors indicated he preferred bringing them back to bed them in the palace instead. Your cheeks reddened at the very thought about having to sleep with him… would it be awkward back at the palace? Would rumors start? Would this be painful? Your mind ran a hundred miles a minute, you mis stepped and began falling forward. Before embarrassment could consume you, you felt two slender hands grasp firmly at your waist to stabilize you, making you nearly yelp in surprise and straightened quickly.

The hands vanished from your body as quickly as they had appeared, you nearly missed him murmur “careful”. His voice was quiet, almost as if he were trying to keep the words a secret but there was no authority or anger in his voice. The unexpectedness of it alone nearly frightened you while you opened a door and stepped inside of the dark, empty room with him following.

‘’I am curious on why you find this extra income necessary.’’ His voice finally said, loud enough where there way no doubt you had heard him and your squeezed your eyes shut, finally landing on the topic you wished to avoid.

You knew this was probably the end. You’ve insulted the royals with your ungratefulness and felt yourself spinning around, your head low in a mid-bow with your hands clasping each other in a pleading position. ‘’I’m sorry my prince- it was never my intention to insult the royal-‘’

Loki’s raised palm made you shut up, an amused look on his face spread upon his features while you shook his head. ‘’what you do in your spare time is none of my concern love, I am merely wishing to know if you are being mistreated and try to find other means of supporting yourself.’’

You blinked at him in surprise. To be honest, if one was mistreated at the palace, a snitch was better off banished. Yet his concern was.. unexpected. Why would he care? ‘’no no.. I am treated very well at the palace your majesty.. I am merely trying to earn enough for- something..’’ you then slowed your words, unsure if you’ve shared to much or if he cared to know.

‘’well do to your pay at the palace, it would seem it is not merely the amount that is the problem, but the quickness of it. Do to the fact that we have abundance in everything, my only guess is that you wish to leave. Asgard.’’ He guessed, having made his way around the room to look around and held back his judgmental expression.

The room was dimly lit, the sunlight being toned down by the heavy curtains over the windows. The bed was simple, small and in the center of the room and that was all. thin sheets, and metal railings to make up for the headboard. You almost felt as judgy as he might have been- a royal coming to some sad shack like this. There was no way in Hel he was this horny to come down to this level.. which meant-

‘’why are you here?” you blurted out, your hands clasping over your mouth to late where he casually turned to face you while unclasping his cape from his shoulders.

‘’isn’t it obvious?” be mused, making you blush with the reminder and glanced down, not daring asking any more questions but he seemed to reach your mind anyway while he lay his cape aside at the foot of the bed.

‘’I had a day off, court had ended sooner than usual.’’

You raised a confused brow as you looked at him, hands slowly lowering back to your sides while he sat himself on the bed, clearly amused by your wonderings and lack of speech- or daring of it. Day off or not, he could have bedded anyone in the palace- willingly or not, let alone a better brothel.

‘’I followed you.’’

‘’you- ..you followed me?” you almost choked out, clearly confused and shyness consuming your body once he reached out a hand towards you. You hadn’t felt shy in such a long time, not after your new job had numbed you to the bone. Yet Loki.. Loki always tended to have that affect on you, and he knew it.

‘’come here,’’ he said gently, and you felt your feet begin to slowly move forward while your dainty hand reached out to take his, letting him pull you the rest of the way until you stood between him legs with his eyes gazing up at you. ‘’hold still.’’

Your job was to do what your client required, paid for.. frankly, he might actually get the service for free considering who he was. You didn’t dare move, not even as his hand moved to grasp your hip, keeping you still while the other moved up to lay flat against your chest. You were unsure if this was some start of foreplay, but with a sharp inhale, you noticed how he had closed his eyes with a concentrated expression. Your skin then began to feel tingly everywhere, panic threatening to make you move if you didn’t remind yourself to obey.

You decided to close your eyes, to wait to further instruction while you pondered on the strange feeling that seemed to crawl over your skin. Suddenly you noticed the soreness spread over your body seemed to be disappearing. Any gross residue or filth you took note of seemed to vanish with no lingering feeling. It’s as if you were in the bath without water, and a healing ointment you usually got when you returned to the palace- but netter.

When the strange feeling subsided, you exhaled a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding while your shoulders seemed to relax. Fluttering your eyes down, your body tensed to find Loki smirking up at you, his eyes gentle but looking smug at you relishing in his ability to clean and heal you.

‘’feeling well?”

‘’y-yes my prince.. thank you..’’

‘’my prince,’’ he echoed, amusement in his voice as his hands released you so he could lay back on the bed with his elbows propping himself up to continue looking at you. ‘’I was unaware of how possessive you could be.’’

‘’that’s not-‘’ you stopped yourself, daring not to correct the prince whom you guessed had been merely jesting and instead buried your restless fingers to play with your dress fabric at your sides. ‘’..how may I service you my prince?”

‘’I want you to go back to the palace with me.’’

Your eyes went wide as your body tensed again. You clearly didn’t intend on looking stupid at him while you stuttered out a ‘’what?-‘’ when you clearly heard him, but the amused look on his handsome face also made it hard to process things.

‘’I want you to go back to the palace, with me.’’ He said a little more slowly, as if he wasn’t clear enough while he drank in every expression he pulled out of you.

‘’..my Lord.. I.. just cant leave my seco-‘’

‘’you do not need to whore yourself to gain money more quickly Y/N, you will be paid fairly to your needs at my hand.’’

‘’at.. your hand?”

‘’you will be my personal whore, no one else’s until you see fit it is time to venture where you wish to escape too.’’ He said it so smoothly, it’s as if there was no ounce of insult in his words.

His.. personal whore? To be bedded by him and only him, no one else.. you weren’t even sure what sex was like with him in the first place- although it was granted to me much better than all the pigs combined that stumbled in here. You hoped.. but you still weren’t sure of his sudden offer..

‘’my prince i.. my job here is to service yo-‘’

‘’yes, and I wish to service you.’’ Loki said firmly, yet gentle. This brought out a puzzled look on your face which only brought out a smirk on his own while he extended a hand out to you. ‘’I have a proposal then. Let me service you, here.. right now.. if you are satisfied, you are to return with me, quit this job and receive the funds necessary back at the palace while being my one and only whore. When and wherever I want, no one else. If you are dissatisfied, I shall pay you for your time here as a regular customer, and leave you be to your second income inhabitance like I never had set eyes on you. Do we have a deal?”

You were shaking now, beyond red cheeked and mind spinning. This could very well send you much faster to leaving Asgard.. -but why you? Your eyes lift to look at him, hesitant but careful while he gazed at you with no impatience or amusement. They held nothing but.. softness.

‘’..why me? You could bed anyone yo-‘’

‘’they are not you darling.’’ he cut you off, shaking his head with a soft voice. ‘’my eyes only find you. My mind only thinks of you. My body only craves you. I often find myself purposely crossing your path with eagerness to get to see you. Court granted me a blessing today, and allowed me to follow you. Yes it may have been unwanted, but your safety was all of my concern. It indeed shocked me to find out where you passed your time.’’ He almost tsked you, yet you found no judgement on his face while your eyes fluttered down to his offered hand.

‘’dare I ask again darling, it is all your decision.’’

Your teeth captured your bottom lip, finding truly no downside to any of this yet your mind reminded you of what he was. A trickster.

Yet you took his hand anyway. 

TAG LIST IS OPEN, LET ME KNOW

DM a song for your own Loki Musical Mischief one shot :D

Tag List: @foxherder13 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @fire-in-her-veinz @nervouseden @kathren1sky-blog @eleniblue @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @queenofstarsign85 @slytherinqueen4life @soulpiercing

[the-cosmic-cauldron]

Today, we’re going to talk about the Mars sign and how it influences the way you take action. Action is what drives our day-to-day lives. Without it, nothing would come to fruition. Your Mars sign shapes your approach to action in ways that many people have never fully explored. Let me guide you through how your Mars sign dictates how you take action.

Aries Mars

With an Aries Mars, your life is all about movement. You dislike stillness, boredom, and feeling useless. You’re a natural worker, and when you’re not working, it negatively impacts your self-worth and empowerment. You feel defeated and weakened without constant action.

In this position, Aries Mars doesn’t like to overthink. They avoid people who crowd their mind with too many ideas. Instead, they prefer to act based on instinct and what feels right in the moment. They are the ultimate guide and compass for their own life and dislike being told what to do. If you try to get an Aries Mars to listen to others, they will become aggressive and shut you down or refuse to listen. They want to rule their own lives.

As a cardinal sign, Aries Mars is quick to start things. They’re quick to apply for a job, try something new, or go after what they want. They don’t like being bossed around; instead, they expect others to take orders from them. If you’re interacting with an Aries Mars, you must listen to what they say and obey their rules.

Ruled by Mars, Aries Mars is hot-headed, creative, and aggressive. They don’t know how to dial back their energy. They express themselves directly, preferring a clear yes or no—nothing in between. Aries Mars loves to be dominant, and submissive roles never suit them. They won’t last long in situations where they aren’t in control.

They want to show strength and capability, so they’ll always gravitate toward opportunities that allow them to demonstrate their power. Aries Mars doesn’t like being told no; they’ll knock down walls just to prove they’re strong enough to do it. If you plant a seed of doubt in their mind, they’ll quickly show you why you’re wrong.

Fearless by nature, Aries Mars will often try to push through challenges—even when they’re not fully capable—driven by adrenaline. They run on this adrenaline, ensuring that everything they do is done in a big way. Their motto is “Go big or go home.”

With this placement, you might rise to the top or crash to the bottom. But even if you fall, you always have the resilience to get back up. Life for Aries Mars flows in cycles—cycles of danger and cycles of success. But no matter what, you have the ability to rise above it all.

Taurus Mars

You can’t be bothered with people who don’t understand how you do things, because it annoys you to explain yourself to those who aren’t willing to understand. You have the ability to be discerning, and you can easily spot when someone is asking you to do something just because it’s different from how you do things, versus when someone truly wants to assist you. However, in this action-oriented placement, you often move too slowly for Mars. While Mars is racing ahead, you take your sweet time, falling far behind. Although, one day, you will catch up with Mars—it just might take a while. For you, Taurus Mars, it’s all about being slow and steady, but sometimes, you might fall out of the race entirely.

Taurus Mars prefers to stick to tried-and-true methods. You dislike doing anything unconventional. You need traditional, proven, scientifically researched methods. You want to know what your grandmother did and replicate it because, frankly, you don’t care about modern technology or the latest ideologies. What works is what you’ll do, because you don’t have the energy to explore new ideas.

At your core, Taurus Mars is all about pleasure. You hardly want to move unless there’s something in it for you. You’re transactional—refusing to take on tasks for trivial amounts of money. You know your worth and won’t settle for small change. You need to know exactly how much you’ll be compensated before you’ll even consider moving.

Taurus Mars is motivated by pleasure. Anything that makes life feel more beautiful, relaxing, and luxurious is what draws you in. If you’re only offering exercise as an incentive, forget it. Taurus Mars doesn’t care about working out; it cares about sitting back and enjoying life. Your movements are slow and deliberate, as you’re playing a long game. You’re not concerned with building muscle or being the strongest—you’re aiming to enjoy life to the fullest in your own way.

Your actions are meticulous and intentional, and this often frustrates others who are always in a rush. While they’re eager to get somewhere, Taurus Mars is focused on enjoying the ride. You’re all about sensuality and taking pleasure in movement, but only in ways that make you feel beautiful, useful, and at peace. You don’t want to work at a construction site; you’d rather paint, water the garden, dance, or create something beautiful.

The Mars energy can be too strong for Taurus, causing a clash. Mars urges you to act quickly, but Taurus is reluctant to rush. This makes it take a long time for you to take any significant action because you need to know that what you’re doing will produce tangible results.

There are two things that are crucial for Taurus Mars to move:

1. It needs to feel like an investment. You need to see that what you’re doing is worth the effort and will yield results.

2. You cannot be bothered by things that require too much physical exertion or mental strain. You prefer tasks that allow you to use your eye for beauty and aesthetics rather than relying on brute strength or intense mental effort.

Taurus Mars sits between physical strength and mental power when taking action. You also need to know that whatever you’re doing is sustainable. If something requires too much energy, you won’t pursue it. But if it’s low energy and leads nowhere, you’ll also avoid it.

What sets Taurus Mars apart is that when they finally take action, they do so with such discernment and efficiency that they often produce far greater results than others who are taking constant action. While others might rush through their tasks, Taurus Mars moves slowly, but when they take that one step, the payoff is significant. People might get jealous when they see that after taking three months to decide, Taurus Mars ends up with more than the person who’s been acting every day. Taurus Mars doesn’t leap without thought—they only take action when they know it will work. And that’s why, in the end, they often end up in a better position than others.

Gemini Mars

How did the planet Mercury meet Mars? Well, they talked their way over to Mars, who was busy working, and now they’re distracting Mars from getting things done. Yes, Gemini Mars is always distracted from taking action.

Seeing a Gemini Mars take action is like seeing a rainbow in the sky—a rare and beautiful occurrence. Everyone gathers around to admire it, but it doesn’t happen often. For Gemini Mars, they are cerebral thinkers. They don’t care much about doing. In fact, they prefer to watch others do the work because they can’t be bothered to lift a finger.

Why would they exert physical effort when their strength lies in their mental capacity? Instead of doing, they prefer to instruct others who are willing to act. They’ll share their ideas, plan things out, and let others carry out the tasks. That’s the essence of Gemini Mars.

In this position, Mars is full of energy and ready to take action, but it’s facing Mercury, who is just talking. So, Gemini Mars doesn’t thrive here. Why? Because Mars is waiting for Gemini to act, but Gemini is too busy talking. If you meet someone with Gemini Mars, they’ll be a big talker—full of grand ideas, theories, and ideologies. They can talk about everything from social groups and celebrities to the latest trends. But when you ask them what they’ve actually done today, they haven’t done much because it’s all in their head.

One thing Gemini Mars is good at is meeting new people and finding ways to externalize their thoughts. They can convince others to be the ones who do what needs to be done. For example, a Gemini Mars might have a girlfriend who does all the cooking and cleaning, while the Gemini Mars doesn’t lift a finger. Why? Because the Gemini Mars has charmed and persuaded the person into doing these things, using their charisma and Mercury energy to convince them that it’s the best thing for them to do. Now, the Gemini Mars doesn’t have to cook dinner or clean clothes because they’ve convinced someone else to do it.

That’s the essence of Gemini Mars. They will persuade you to do what they don’t want to do. They’ll give you the ideas, make lists for you, and tell you exactly how to do it, but they won’t execute it themselves. They’re thinkers, not doers. Gemini Mars excels in jobs that require them to use their creativity and intellect but not physical labor. If the job requires them to be hands-on, they’ll likely fail or quit because that’s not where their strength lies.

When it comes to decision-making, Gemini Mars is also slow. They don’t like to make decisions because they’re constantly processing information. They’re never set in stone with their conclusions. Instead, they’re always transitioning between different ideas, theories, and thoughts without committing to one. This indecisiveness makes Gemini Mars a poor decision-maker.

While this might not be the best placement in times when people were expected to take action and do physical labor, Gemini Mars functions well in modern, intellectual eras where new ideas and technological advancements are valued. In today’s world, Gemini Mars thrives in environments that require efficient thinking, ideation, and constant mental stimulation. They’re not going to do the work—they’re just going to tell you how to do it.

Cancer Mars

When we think of Mars, we think of action—raw, animalistic, pure energy. And then here comes the soft, subtle Moon. Mars doesn’t even notice the Moon because it’s too busy working, while the Moon is focused on comfort and feeling. Mars has no time for that.

Now, imagine the position of Cancer Mars. Mars doesn’t like this placement. Mars wants the Moon as far away as possible because the Moon brings “yucky, icky” feelings. Mars is all about action—so why sit in emotions and feelings without doing something about it? For Cancer, they’re such strong feelers, and in the Mars position, this impedes their ability to take action because they’re stuck in the realm of emotions, comfort, and familiarity. Action feels chaotic, aggressive, and all over the place. Cancer Mars prefers to stay in their comfort zone.

As a cardinal sign, Cancer wants to lead, but they also don’t want to take action. They feel propelled to act but may impulsively start something before their emotions take over. Once that emotional wave rises, Cancer Mars becomes paralyzed by feelings—overwhelmed by emotions, unsure of where to go, and unsure of what action to take. One minute they feel happy, the next minute they feel sad, and then they might feel angry. They don’t know where to go or how to move forward because they’re consumed by their emotions.

So, Cancer Mars takes a long time before making any moves. They’re the type to feel sudden inspiration to do something because they have cardinal energy and they’re ready to start—but once they feel that urge to begin, their emotions kick in. The overthinking starts, and now Cancer is uncertain. They wonder if they should take action, or if it’s the right time to do so. They’re caught up in their emotions and not sure which direction to take.

A Cancer Mars needs to process through cyclical emotional states before they can make a decision. If you’ve ever met a Cancer Mars, you might have noticed they can never make a decision on the spot. That’s because they want to say “yes,” but they know their emotions are going to influence them, and they can’t make a firm decision until they’ve worked through those emotions.

By the time Cancer Mars is ready to make a decision, they’re trying to operate from the highest emotional state possible. So if they’re feeling down or going through a somber period, they’ll wait to make any decisions until they feel like they’re in a more elevated emotional state. This can slow things down even more.

Cancer Mars is like the person you rely on, but you never know what mood they’ll be in. On Monday, they say they’ll pick you up on Thursday, and you think you can count on that. But by Tuesday, their emotions have shifted, and they change their mind. By Wednesday, they may change it back to “yes,” and now you’re left wondering if they’ll actually follow through. This fluctuation creates uncertainty, and by Thursday, you’re on pins and needles, wondering whether or not Cancer Mars will show up.

This placement is terrible for decision-making until Cancer Mars grows emotional intelligence and learns to understand their emotions without being completely absorbed by them. In the meantime, they’ll make decisions slowly. Even when Cancer Mars does make decisions, there’s still that cardinal energy. Sometimes the decision is impulsive—just a sheer desire to take action—but it might change repeatedly.

So while Libra might be known for being indecisive, Cancer Mars is even more indecisive because their moods and emotions create a barrier to taking action. However, once Cancer Mars finally takes action, they’re committed. After all the back-and-forth and emotional processing, when they do move forward, they really want to do it.

But remember, Cancer Mars doesn’t like aggression, harshness, or fast-paced action. When they take action, they’ll want to do it with grace, moving demurely and with class. That’s the Cancer Mars way.

Leo Mars

When we think of Mars, we think of action—raw, powerful energy. Now, imagine the Sun coming into the picture. Mars looks over its shoulder and smiles because the Sun brings enthusiasm, positivity, and light. With the Sun’s radiant energy, Mars feels motivated to do more, shine brighter, and keep pursuing what it wants. This is the essence of Leo Mars.

For Leo Mars, they bring positivity to action. While some Mars placements can make action seem serious, Leo injects fun, joy, and light-hearted energy into it. Mars feels it can smile more with Leo around. Leo Mars doesn’t just want to do things—they want to do them with purpose, passion, and the best energy they can offer. When they act, they are fired up and unstoppable. However, because Leo Mars is a fixed sign, they’re not always the initiators.

Leo Mars isn’t as original as people often assume. Unlike Aries Mars, which is known for being a leader and trailblazer, Leo Mars tends to follow in the footsteps of the Cardinal signs. They observe and then act, especially when they see something successful. Leo Mars is drawn to established success and often finds themselves following what’s already been built, rather than starting something from scratch.

For example, if Leo Mars sees someone doing well—gaining followers, making money, or growing influence—they’ll jump on board. As a fixed sign, they don’t want to create something new but will instead take what already works and build upon it. They want to enhance and magnify what is already established. So, if you’re making money or gaining followers, Leo Mars will take notice and figure out how they can make it bigger, better, and more powerful.

This tendency to build on existing success is why Leo Mars often develops a big ego. They want to outdo the person who showed them the way or introduced them to something new. If you teach a Leo Mars anything, be prepared for them to want to do it better than you. If you have more money, expect Leo Mars to eventually surpass you in that area, too. This is the nature of fixed energy—it makes decisions with confidence and believes it can work because they see the potential to build on what’s already there.

When Leo Mars takes action, they need recognition for it. They thrive on praise, acknowledgment, and admiration. This is why Leo Mars tends to follow trends or go after what’s already working—they know that if they master it, they will receive recognition, whether it’s through more followers, more money, or more praise.

While this is a great position for Mars, as Leo Mars is not afraid to take action and doesn’t overthink things, it does have its shadow side. Leo Mars often hops onto trends or opportunities that are already established, simply to get the best out of them.

I’ve personally seen Leo Mars individuals outdo others by taking what’s already successful and making it their own. They’re great at making friends and gaining popularity, which is part of why they can take action so easily. Leo Mars knows how to charm people and make them feel good, often offering compliments and encouragement. But secretly, they’re calculating how to rise to the top of the group, become the leader, and take control.

So, if you have a Leo Mars around you, watch out. While they might seem friendly and encouraging, they’re often quietly working their way to the top, taking what’s already established and making it theirs. As with all fixed signs, Leo Mars can be sneaky, as they tend to build off of what’s already there, rather than creating something entirely new.

Virgo Mars

When we talk about Virgo Mars, we’re talking about the energy of Mercury. Just like Gemini Mars, Mercury talks its way over to Mars, distracting Mars from its hard work. Mars gets irritated because Mercury just keeps talking while Mars wants to focus and work. Virgo Mars is similar, but unlike the mental energy of Gemini, the Earth energy of Virgo is more pragmatic and focused on tangible results, rather than just conveying information.

This placement isn’t ideal because Mars’ energy is fast and impulsive. It wants to work quickly, get the job done, and move on—without worrying about every single detail. But Virgo? Virgo is all about analyzing the details, and Mars hates that. This creates a conflict. Even when Virgo Mars does take action, they’ve already burned through most of Mars’ energy by overanalyzing and overthinking the details. Mars doesn’t care about the details—that’s Mercury’s domain. When Mars is in play, it’s about taking action, not slowing things down with unnecessary analysis.

Virgo Mars struggles because they feel the need to make decisions, but they can’t until they’ve gathered all the information. They’re caught up in the details, unsure of what’s right or what they should do. While Mars is already down the street, Virgo Mars is still at home, trying to decide what shoes to wear or what hat to put on. By the time they’ve made a decision, Mars has already moved on.

Because of this tendency to overthink and focus on the minutiae, Virgo Mars misses many opportunities in life. They’re great at making good decisions, but they take so long to decide that by the time they’re ready, the opportunity is gone.

For example, if a Virgo Mars has a crush on someone, they will notice every detail about that person: how their eyes look, how they talk, how they dress, even their strengths and weaknesses. Virgo Mars will analyze the person deeply, thinking about how they would fit into their life if they were to date or marry them. All of this is happening in Virgo Mars’ mind—yet, they never take action. They think, think, think, but don’t do anything.

By the time Virgo Mars finally decides to act, months have passed, and the person they had their eye on is already in a relationship. They took so long to make a move that the opportunity slipped away. This is how Virgo Mars works—slow to take action but very detailed and prepared when they finally do.

Similarly, if Virgo Mars is applying for a job, they might miss out because they’re too focused on getting the perfect resume, researching everything about the company, and preparing for the interview. By the time they’re ready, someone else has already gotten the job. Virgo Mars moves too slowly and overthinks everything. They’re obsessed with getting everything right, but by taking too long, they miss out on opportunities.

Virgo Mars is different from Taurus Mars. While Taurus Mars takes their time to pursue what pleases them, Virgo Mars focuses on the details of the process. They want everything to be perfect, down to the smallest detail, but that can cause them to miss out on life’s bigger opportunities. They think they’re doing things the right way, but they can’t get out of their own mindset and, as a result, they get stuck.

Virgo Mars is driven by the need to function and operate efficiently, but that drive often results in paralysis by analysis. They get caught up in the small stuff, and because of their perfectionism, they end up taking too long to act. Their need for everything to be perfect in a certain way, in a certain form, often prevents them from taking action at all.

This is how Virgo Mars takes action—slow, methodical, and focused on details. But their overthinking and obsession with perfection often cause them to miss out on what’s really important in life.

Libra Mars

Libra Mars, like Taurus Mars, is ruled by Venus. However, with Libra Mars, the energy is in the air element, making things more complex and trickier. Venus, as we know, doesn’t like Mars because Mars is aggressive, feisty, and action-oriented, while Venus just wants to relax, look beautiful, and be pampered. These two energies are quite different and often collide.

For Libra Mars, the Venus energy can’t handle the raw force of Mars. Mars is too harsh, too demanding, and too forceful for the more balanced and calm nature of Libra. Libra doesn’t like demands—it values space, balance, and harmony. So, when we look at Libra Mars, we see a person who is very much in their head. They don’t want to take action, because Air signs are more about mental energy than physical action. They prefer to have others do things for them while they create ideas and communicate what needs to be done. They want others to bring their thoughts and theories to life, but they don’t want to do the hard work themselves.

Libra Mars is great at interpersonal connections. Like Gemini Mars, they enjoy talking to people, but Libra Mars tends to be more one-on-one and personal. While Gemini Mars is sociable in a larger sense, Libra Mars seeks to build meaningful connections with individuals, not groups. They find someone they can communicate their ideas to, and once they find that person, they feel empowered to share their thoughts. They will have many conversations, but their goal is to find someone who can act on those ideas.

Libra Mars, much like Taurus Mars, doesn’t like to move for petty change or engage in hard, physical labor. They’re not like Aries Mars, who thrives on action and strength. Libra Mars wants to show their intellect and creativity, not their physical strength. They prefer to relax, enjoy themselves, and talk to others. They’re charismatic, charming, and flirtatious, able to make people feel good with their words. They’ll often inflate someone’s ego, encourage them, and make them feel like they can achieve anything.

Once they’ve made someone feel good, Libra Mars will convey their ideas and ask that person to carry out the work. They’re all about balance and think they are providing the mental energy while others bring the physical action. For example, Libra Mars may have a business idea they think is great, but they don’t like to take action. They’re too caught up in the details, the balance, and the perfection of the idea. They’re always overthinking, trying to make everything perfect, and this prevents them from moving forward.

What Libra Mars wants is for others to do the hard work. They want someone to make the money, build the business, or take care of the physical aspects of a project while they sit back and be the brain behind it. They don’t mind working in a team, as long as they don’t have to take the lead in the execution. Libra Mars thrives when they can make connections and delegate tasks to others.

However, this placement isn’t always the best. Libra Mars can be so focused on balance that it takes them a long time to figure out exactly what they want or need. They’re constantly going back and forth in their mind, weighing options, and trying to make everything “just right.” This overthinking process can delay their ability to take action or even decide what they want others to do. They may lead others on with their charm and ideas, but when it comes time to act, they often don’t know what they want or how to proceed.

By the time Libra Mars figures out what they want, they’ve worn others out. They have a lot of ideas, and since they’re cardinal energy, they’re always coming up with new thoughts and inspirations. However, the problem is that they often don’t follow through. They have no follow-through because they’re too focused on the mental side of things and not the action side.

The best thing Libra Mars can do is build relationships with others who can help them bring their ideas to life. But it takes time for them to fully understand what they want, communicate it clearly, and work harmoniously with others to make it happen. This results in a delayed, sometimes chaotic process before they can achieve their desires.

Scorpio Mars

When Mars is hard at work, taking action, and making things materialize, Scorpio sneaks up from behind. Mars feels Scorpio’s energy permeating through them—Mars can feel both the Mars energy from Scorpio and the deeper, darker, murky energy from Pluto. When Mars turns around, they see nothing but Scorpio Mars.

Scorpio Mars is a strong placement because Mars rules Scorpio, and because of this, Mars appreciates how Scorpio operates. Scorpio gets straight to the point and doesn’t waste time, which is something Mars loves. However, Scorpio has a deeper, darker side that Mars doesn’t fully understand. While Scorpio Mars is effective at getting things done, using Mars energy to take action without overthinking or becoming too emotional, Pluto’s energy slows them down.

Mars wants fast results—it’s quick, action-oriented, and aggressive. But Pluto, which rules Scorpio, is about long-term, transformative results. Pluto doesn’t rush; it seeks to change things profoundly. This creates a collision. While Mars seeks quick results, Pluto requires a deeper, more gradual process. Scorpio Mars, therefore, tends to take longer to accomplish their goals because they’re focused on transformation and regeneration.

This long-term focus is actually beneficial because, unlike Aries Mars, which can burn out quickly, Scorpio Mars aims for lasting success. However, this comes with its challenges. Pluto demands hard work and persistence. In this placement, Scorpio Mars is fixed energy, which means it prefers to build upon what already exists rather than start something new.

When Scorpio Mars wants to transform something, they look at what’s already progressing or developing and decide, “I can make this better.” They thrive on improving what others may overlook. This makes them different from Aries Mars, as Scorpio Mars has the foresight to see potential before it’s fully realized. They don’t plan like Virgo Mars, which overthinks; instead, Scorpio Mars intuitively senses what could be improved and has the stamina to work toward that goal.

Scorpio Mars is the “rags to riches” type. They start with nothing, but they can see potential in what others view as broken. Their intuition and ability to transform situations make them smarter than Aries Mars in some ways. They see what others can’t, and they use their fixed energy to continue working toward that vision.

They also have Pluto’s energy, which grants them incredible resilience. When something breaks or fails, Scorpio Mars rises from the ashes, powered by Pluto’s regenerative force. This resilience is even stronger than Aries Mars because Pluto can endure harsher challenges. Pluto doesn’t just get through tough situations—it transforms them.

As Scorpio Mars ages, they begin to notice that things others have given up on, or neglected, are the very things they’ve transformed into something greater. By the time Scorpio Mars is older, they have profited and thrived from opportunities that others overlooked.

Scorpio, being a water sign, brings intuition to the action-oriented Mars energy. Mars is instinctive, while Pluto’s energy is intuitive, allowing Scorpio Mars to make decisions quickly. They don’t need to overthink because they trust their intuition, which often leads them to success. This combination of Mars’ action and Pluto’s depth makes Scorpio Mars incredibly powerful.

In summary, Scorpio Mars is a placement of transformation and power. Mars loves Mars, and Pluto’s energy makes it even stronger, adding depth and resilience. Scorpio Mars has the ability to endure, transform, and achieve success through their intuition and unyielding determination.

Sagittarius Mars

Now, let’s talk about Sagittarius Mars. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion, abundance, higher learning, and beliefs. But does Mars really care about beliefs or philosophy? Not at all. Does Mars care about higher learning? No. What Mars does care about is the energy of Sagittarius. Jupiter is all about expansion and abundance, and when it meets Mars, Jupiter makes Mars feel like it can work for more—more energy, more results, more success. This creates a sense of greed in Sagittarius Mars, making it feel like it can keep pushing for more, building stamina in the process.

Additionally, Sagittarius is a fire sign, and fire signs are action-oriented. When Mars is in a fire sign, it feels lit up and encouraged to take action, so Mars actually doesn’t do too bad in this placement. It’s not the worst position for Mars, but there are some challenges. Let me explain why Sagittarius Mars also isn’t the best placement for Mars.

As I mentioned, Jupiter is abundant, optimistic, and always looking toward the future. It overextends itself and tends to be overly hopeful. When this energy is placed in Mars, a doer and worker by nature, Mars becomes prone to overworking itself. Sagittarius Mars can overexert its energy in pursuit of action, and the combination of Jupiter’s optimism and Mars’ drive can lead to burnout. Sagittarius Mars tends to keep going, pushing forward without realizing it until they crash. This overexertion is a downside of having both Mars and Jupiter in one placement—Mars wants to work, but Jupiter’s energy encourages overdoing things without grounding or realism.

Another issue arises because Jupiter represents freedom, and Mars is all about action. Mars is not like Saturn, where discipline and hard work are the focus. Mars likes to get things done, but Sagittarius, being ruled by Jupiter, can often prioritize freedom and fun over hard work. Sagittarius Mars can be impulsive and abandon its drive for action when it finds something more enjoyable or adventurous.

Sagittarius Mars is mutable energy, which means it’s constantly moving, exploring, and looking for new experiences. It doesn’t like to stay in one place or focus on one task for too long. This lack of focus means that, while Sagittarius Mars is action-oriented, it may abandon the task at hand in favor of pursuing something more exciting, fun, or liberating.

Sagittarius Mars tends to split its energy: half the time, it’s burning through action, overexerting itself in the process; the other half, it’s seeking freedom and excitement, abandoning work to explore new ideas or enjoy life. This creates a 50-50 balance where Sagittarius Mars is both productive and lazy, depending on where their curiosity or desire for adventure takes them.

Overall, this is not a bad placement for Mars, but it’s a bit of a split energy. Sagittarius Mars is better than some placements like Earth or Water signs, as it brings action, but it’s also prone to distractions and overexertion. The key challenge is balancing the desire for action with the need for freedom and exploration.

Capricorn Mars

Capricorn Mars is a great position for Mars because Saturn, which rules Capricorn, is all about hard work, and Mars is all about action. Saturn’s influence means that Capricorn Mars is willing to put in the work necessary to take action. People with Capricorn Mars succeed far greater than other signs because they’re willing to do the hard work that others shy away from.

Unlike the Air Mars signs, who often want to facilitate, convey ideas, or translate thoughts, Capricorn Mars wants to get their hands dirty, dig in, and do the work. With Saturn’s influence, Capricorn Mars has the strength and endurance to push through any obstacle, giving them the longevity needed to reach their goals. They have the discipline and focus to achieve results.

Capricorn Mars is in a powerful position because Saturn loves discipline, and Mars is action-oriented. Saturn’s influence brings structure and focus to Mars’ energy, ensuring that it’s not scattered or impulsive. Instead, Capricorn Mars has a clear plan, a solid strategy, and a well-thought-out approach to materializing their goals. They use tried-and-true methods to turn their desires into reality, rather than relying solely on intuition or instinct.

Not only does Capricorn Mars take action, but they also do the dirty work that others might avoid. Just like the Capricorn sign, which is known for ambition, Capricorn Mars is decisive and knows exactly what they want. When they take action, they do so with purpose and drive. They can execute much faster than someone who is indecisive or overly emotional, as they know what they want and are focused on achieving it.

Saturn’s influence also teaches Capricorn Mars to take their time and understand that obstacles will come. Having the foresight to recognize potential challenges means they have the endurance to face them and still succeed. Capricorn Mars is methodical, patient, and determined to reach their goals, even if it takes longer than expected.

This makes Capricorn Mars an excellent placement for both work and action. Capricorn Mars doesn’t get caught up in emotions or overthinking. They focus on the facts and truth of the situation and take action based on that. They’re pragmatic and clear-sighted, working with what is in front of them—right or wrong—without getting lost in feelings or excessive analysis.

Capricorn Mars has a clear, steady approach to life, hitting milestones and achieving goals, even if it takes longer than others. Think of Capricorn Mars as someone who can go through years of schooling to become a doctor. Yes, an Aries Mars might make money quickly or lose weight rapidly, but Capricorn Mars is in it for the long haul. By the time they reach their goal, they are not only highly skilled but also financially secure in a sustainable way.

While an Aries Mars can achieve fast, short-term results—like earning money or achieving a quick transformation—Capricorn Mars is about long-term sustainability. An Aries Mars may make money quickly, only to lose it, or might shed weight fast but struggle to keep it off. In contrast, Capricorn Mars thinks ahead, planning for the future and building solid foundations for long-term success.

Thirty years from now, the payoff for Capricorn Mars will be immense, as they’ve built something lasting and sustainable. This is how Capricorn Mars operates—they don’t rush. They think about stability, longevity, and how their actions today will pay off in the future. They don’t force this process; it’s a natural way of working that ensures lasting results.

Aquarius Mars

Aquarius Mars brings a lot of goodness to the Mars energy. It introduces innovation, progressive ideas, and a future-oriented focus. Aquarius is great at facilitating change and progress, especially with an eye toward the future. In this position, Aquarius Mars helps the action-oriented Fire Mars take action and seize the moment through initiatives that benefit the long term or create a more cohesive, humanitarian society. They excel at organizing groups of people to work toward a collective goal and can guide others to take action toward creating positive change.

However, the downside of Aquarius Mars, which sometimes makes it a less effective Mars placement, is the rebellious and chaotic energy of Uranus, which rules Aquarius. Uranus brings abrupt changes that people may not always understand. It’s often focused on big dreams and ideals, which can be far-fetched and impractical. These ideals focus on the potential for success, but sometimes they don’t account for the practical steps needed to achieve it.

Because of this, Aquarius Mars can sometimes clash with others when it comes to their ideas or when trying to get others to act on them. Their ideas, though progressive, can be too disruptive or unconventional, leading to disagreements or friction within a group. It can take time for Aquarius Mars to find like-minded individuals who align with their vision and can help bring their ideas to fruition.

When it comes to decision-making, Aquarius Mars is good at making decisions about the future, but not as effective when it comes to the present. They are less interested in the mundane, day-to-day tasks or the practical details of life. These tasks don’t capture their attention. As a result, they might struggle to make decisions that require focus on the here and now. They’re more adept at communicating ideas and getting others to act on them, but actually taking action themselves can be challenging. Like other air Mars placements, Aquarius Mars may prefer to let others do the hard work while they contribute their ideas and vision.

Aquarius Mars can also struggle with making realistic, tangible decisions for the present. They tend to get caught up in their lofty, future-oriented goals, which can make them detached from what needs to be done in the moment. This detachment can cause them to neglect the practical actions needed for their own life, focusing more on larger, collective goals.

Moreover, Aquarius Mars is more focused on groups, social circles, and communities than on the individual. Their drive to take action is often geared toward collective causes, which can make it difficult for them to make decisions for their personal life. For example, they may struggle to make decisions regarding their personal relationships or daily routines because they’re more focused on their contribution to a larger, overarching purpose.

In the process, Aquarius Mars may shift their energy away from their own personal goals in favor of collective goals, sometimes causing them to lose track of what’s necessary for their own growth. This can lead to actions that may not be as functional or grounded in practicality. Their focus on the future, while valuable, may result in decisions that don’t necessarily pay off in the present moment.

Ultimately, Aquarius Mars can lack the functionality needed for practical decision-making. While their future-oriented ideas may pay off in some cases, they can also fail to produce results if not properly grounded in the present.

Pisces Mars

When we talk about Pisces Mars, we’re discussing a watery, elusive energy in the position of action. Mars, with its fiery, action-oriented energy, doesn’t align well with the water element. Water puts out fire, and while Mars wants to take action, the water from Pisces slows it down. Pisces Mars is more focused on emotions than on taking action. It’s caught up in the realm of imagination, sensitivity, and feeling, making it difficult to act.

Mars energy is too aggressive, direct, and passionate for Pisces Mars. Pisces prefers soft, subtle actions. They’re focused on their imagination and want to manifest their dreams and visions into reality. These are the true dreamers—not doers. Pisces Mars envisions everything they want out of life, but they struggle to make those dreams a reality. Why? Because they’re caught up in the passivity, subtlety, and emotional essence of their energy. The harshness of Mars pulls them away from their true nature, causing them to internalize too much.

Pisces Mars is a visionary, but their vivid imagination sometimes prevents them from taking action. The water energy of Pisces makes decisions based on feelings, not just action. Pisces Mars tends to feel out what they can do, and as a result, their dreams are often watered down by self-doubt or a lack of belief in their ability to follow through.

Pisces is a passive sign, a lover who doesn’t like aggression or harshness. They prefer calm and serenity, and taking action can feel too intense for them. It requires too much energy, and it’s not aligned with the peaceful energy they crave. Pisces Mars struggles with the mechanical, action-oriented nature of Mars, and may find it difficult to execute their dreams and make them real.

This makes Pisces Mars a challenging placement because they often just dream and envision but struggle to accomplish or do anything. Pisces Mars is highly sensitive, so any form of aggression, hardship, or rigidity—qualities inherent in Mars—will cause them to retreat. They may become introverted, withdraw into themselves, and shy away from the demands of the outside world. Mars’ direct energy doesn’t know how to deal with Neptune’s elusive, intangible qualities, and Pisces, ruled by Neptune, can’t easily channel Mars’ aggressive energy into concrete actions.

Furthermore, Pisces is ruled by Jupiter, and being a mutable sign, Pisces often flows through different stages and places in life. This makes it hard for Pisces Mars to focus on one task or goal. The mutable energy of Pisces doesn’t lend itself well to a constant, decisive course of action. Pisces Mars often craves freedom and choice, avoiding grounding themselves in any one thing for too long. Taking action can feel too rigid and confining, as Pisces just wants to explore, have options, and enjoy life on their terms.

This is the type of person who struggles to take things seriously, or to assert themselves and their ambitions. Pisces Mars may find themselves retreating into their imagination rather than stepping forward and actively pursuing their desires.

The combination of Pisces’ elusive energy with Mars’ direct energy makes it difficult for Pisces Mars to gain clarity. The lines between action and inaction blur, making it hard for them to pin down their direction. This confusion ultimately makes it harder for Pisces Mars to take decisive action in their life, further delaying their ability to turn their dreams into reality.

[hoiststowline]

Heloooooo

I see your reqs are open

I'd love to see reader using hotrod/rodimus as a heater and Roddy being like sorry I can't get up their asleep.

rodimus x reader

[a/n: hello!! & thank you, this was sm fun to write!]

He swears he has it down to a perfect science, but he’d rather keep that to himself than try to justify his second grade equation at best to Perceptor who rolled his eyes four times during the explanation. It benefits you first, the most important part- and at the very least the other two things that follow after are just collateral he was willing to accept.

Rodimus should not have access to the thermostat. That is evident when the temperature always seems to fluctuate dramatically about an hour before he’s needed to appear for something, whether it be a meeting or a routine sweep to ensure everything was in working order.

It’s always the thermostat right within your wing of the ship, locked but always broken into. The bottom button almost appears damaged, as if the offender had clicked it so many times it had begun to become worn-down and unusable.

As if on cue, roughly about fifteen minutes after the crime occurs, you’re shuffling into his room with a blanket wrapped around your shivering form. Rodimus can’t entirely feel the drastic change, he can sense it’s colder than normal, but the dipping temperature always sends you into an adorable pout.

“It’s broken again?” You murmur, each syllable accompanied by a visible breath. “That’s the third time this week,”

“I don’t think it was ever really fixed from last time,” It’s almost pitiful, the way he can’t even try to contain his smile. “Just got worse, I guess.”

He observes you, finding patience for about two seconds before he’s on his feet, being selfish for just another moment. He loves you, and wants nothing more in this instance than to give you undivided attention and sloppy kisses.

“What?” You ask, tilting your head back to meet his gaze. “I came here to complain, I didn’t-“

But both he and you knew that was a lie. You’d walked perfectly into Rodimus’ trap, perhaps subconsciously seeking his warmth that you knew he radiated. The Prime was a walking heater, and he had ensured early on that you were well aware of it.

Somehow, he’d coaxed you to his side. You couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment exactly, but it was most likely when your hands began to tremble from the cold. No amount of blankets could save you, especially within a metal ship where every surface ran about thirty degrees cold on average.

Rodimus always says the same thing every time, about how you slot so perfectly between his shoulder and helm. The most important spot, where he can rub his cheek along your stomach and keep you safely positioned there with his right servo. It’s effective, as the first time you’d actually found his chassis ran so hot you almost couldn’t bear it.

“Don’t you have a meeting in like thirty minutes?” You mumble, impossibly tiny fingers tracing random lines along his helm.

“So you’ve got thirty minutes. Take it or leave it,” He’ll never let you leave, because he enjoys this far too much. Like he said, he’s helping to solve your immediate problem, but the bonus is that he gets this time with you, alone, and the small hiccup was just that.

It isn’t very long before you’re asleep, entirely still as your breathing evens out. It’s perfect, and how you haven’t caught on yet is a mystery for another time, though he has his own suspicions you’re far wiser to this than you display. It wouldn’t matter, even if he didn’t have to break the thermostat every other day or so, because it was all part of the fun.

Right on time, the door to his room slides over, and there stands a certain bot he’d been precariously avoiding. “You cannot be serious.” Magnus whispers, only being compliant because it was you, not so much for Rodimus’ sake. “This is the third time this week. You can’t get out of your responsibilities because you’ve tricked y/n into your schemes.”

“Sorry,” That ever sincere smile appears, gesturing to his company with a hushed tone. “Can’t do anything about it until they wake up. You’ll have to carry on without me,”

And like always, Magnus departs, mildly frustrated, but he can’t ever find the sense in waking you up. For a while, it keeps Rodimus appeased, and if he has to sacrifice some broken thermostats and delayed meetings to achieve it, then it’s worth it.

[lightseoul]

a/n. pleasantly surprised at how quickly i wrote this bit, it practically wrote itself. glad the first part was interesting for a lot of you—i love writing about psych/therapy stuff (despite my complex relationship with 'em), and ofc bkg <3 i honestly don't know where i'm going with this, but it's been fun so far. (0.8k)

navigation. part 1, (you are here)

thankfully—and to the relief of whatever dignity he had left—that interaction was short-lived.

well, it’s mostly because after you blinked at him for what felt like a torturous eternity and said a shaky hello back, he gave you a curt nod as if he wasn’t the one who just initiated the exchange and bolted it out of there without a single glance back.

that bit haunted him for the next few days, reappearing in his consciousness whenever the topic of therapy or anything remotely close to it was broached. he even snapped at kirishima when the redhead asked how his latest session went during one of their evening patrols together. it was a kneejerk reaction, an entirely out-of-proportion, aggressive response that shocked even him, which says a lot.

he should go ahead and text the guy an apology.

eventually, though, that unfortunate powwow slowly faded into the background of his exceptionally busy mind as the days went on. things got so hectic in the agency that he had to postpone his appointment for the week, which—quite frankly—is an upside to this chaos, because he sure wasn’t pumped about discussing his love life, or the lack thereof, with the jarringly knowing middle-aged lady. being able to definitively avoid you and buy you more time to forget about his stupid social blunder is merely the cherry on top.

okay, maybe the incident didn’t actually slip his mind after all.

“…bakugou-san? are you still with me?”

dazed, bakugou squeezes his eyes shut before fluttering them open, and what greets him is the very same lady against the backdrop of her increasingly familiar office, only this time she’s looking more concerned than perceptive.

right. he’s supposed to be in the middle of a session right now.

“yeah, sorry,” he mumbles, shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of irrelevant thoughts and focus on the matters at hand. therapy is expensive, after all. “i’m here.”

that doesn’t seem to placate the woman who instead prods, much to his chagrin. “you seem out of it today. is there something in your mind that you want us to talk about?”

for a second, he debates caving and just telling her the dumb shit that happened two weeks ago, but then backtracks when it dawns on him how ridiculous everything is. what is he, a prepubescent boy? he died and survived a major war, for fuck’s sake. why is he so hung up on seeming awkward for once in his life?

even hearing it in his head is embarrassing enough.

that settles it, then. his lips are and will remain sealed.

but then his gaze refocuses on his therapist, and the sheer ‘unconditional positive regard’ or whatever the crap is called that she’s radiating becomes so palpable that it just spills out of him.

“i fucked up.”

that makes the lady frown—which, if he thinks about it, is understandable, because he rarely opens up about his failures, let alone this blatantly—although she manages to quickly school her expression into a more neutral one. “can i ask you to expound on it?”

at that, bakugou sighs, because it’s either he just tells the laughable truth or actually cite one of his actual mistakes—which he’s not feeling right now, by the way. or he can expertly maneuver the conversation to another topic, but something tells him there’s no getting out of the current subject. maybe today, there is, but it’ll surely loom over their next sessions indefinitely until either of them revisits it.

he should know. it’s happened to him too many times, he’s lost count.

with this realization, he can only sigh again.

“it’s stupid,” he preempts.

“i’d like to hear it regardless,” comes her classic, supportive response.

and so he does it. talk, that is. it starts off a bit rough—he didn’t know how to even begin without flushing like an idiot, but he managed to get the brief anecdote going. he still ended up blushing anyway—the warmth in his cheeks was undeniable—and if she noticed, she gratefully didn’t point it out. by the time he’s finished with the trivial tale, he’s mildly out of breath, having said everything in one continuous burst.

“i told you,” he spits when she doesn’t say anything for a beat. “it’s stupid.”

“i’d normally ask you to reconsider the adjectives you use for yourself and your experiences, but i think you’ve heard enough of that.”

he snorts. damn straight.

the woman then shoots him a smile, and he has to tamp down the reflex to bristle at an impending attempt to placate him. fortunately, it doesn’t come.

what does, instead, is a question.

one that catches him completely off guard.

“did you find her attractive?”

the fuck, is his first, immediate thought.

but then his normally trusty and acute brain seemingly comes to life and promptly supplies a second one that leaves him frozen and utterly dumbfounded.

yes.

˖⁺‧₊ as always, reblogs, replies, and tags are appreciated <3 feel free to drop an ask, too—i'd love to chat with you. have a nice day!

tagging. @bunnysaursushii @yawnzzzzzzzz @cholios @kashee-h @iluv-ace @lotuslovers @elarakive @sugurusmoon @napbatata @k0z3me @h0ngh0ngh0ng @honeyoru @yoongiwithglasses @hellokitty-doll @lilsebnem @tetsuukuroo @crangrapel0ver @syrhra | @kalulakunundrum @cheezemanz @gold24fish @lunaryasha

[tsandoll]

so i have the feeling taesan would be a very loving and caring boyfriend, lots of cuddles, hand holding and kisses but only when you two are alone. i don't think he would be into pda usually and you don't really have a problem with that. but i feel like sometimes he can be a bit too lowkey and straight up forgets to tell people that you're his girlfriend, he just let's them assume.

so i imagine the same thing happens with the rest of bnd. like he is totally sure that he told them about you at some point, but the problem is he totally didn't. so you are hanging out with him, when suddenly the others show up because well they live together and you are thrilled to meet his friends that he had told you so much about, but in return you just get confused expressions and the question of who you are. for a second you contemplate if you should get mad but you know how your boyfriend is and that he wouldn't keep you a secret from his friends on purpose, so when taesan introduces you just by your name and not as his girlfriend you decide to play along and act as if you're just a friend while you are hanging out with the guys.

but as soon as taesan and you are alone it's like something switches. 'so when were you gonna tell your friends that we're together?' you ask him and his eyes go wide, but before he can apologize you laugh a bit to show that you're not really mad, but what you are is determined. you push him down on the bed and straddle him, leaning close to whisper in his ear:"i'm gonna make you regret it."

your mission for the night: let everyone in the entire house hear taesan so that there will be no doubt about who you are. but as taesan is usually not too loud you know you have to give him a very special treatment tonight.

oh, i wanna hear his moans so badly, i just know they sound heavenly and so hot, especially when giving him head, imagine him lying on the bed hair sticking to his forehead looking at you with a fucked-out expression after you've already made him cum and whine when you just keep going, overstimulating him because you love hearing and seeing him like this, so desperate for your touch and not caring anymore about who could hear him because he is too focused on you and the pleasure you are giving him.

and i want to see him face the others in the morning, shyly avoiding their eyes and cheeks burning red because he knows they heard him.

💙

(im so sorry it's taken so long to get to your asks :(( i just always want to give a good response to these so badly so i put it off more and more until i feel like i can do it justice.. sorry nonnie 💔)

there's a certain point he reaches where he can no longer control himself. it wouldn't matter who could hear him,, all that would matter is you an show you're making him feel in that moment. he'd already be so sensitive, so needy for release when you put your mouth on him. your mouth would be so warm and you'd lower onto his length, taking him in the back of your throat so easily. he'd immediately moan out loud, his hips suddenly jutting upward. he'd grip onto whatever he can around him because he has to find some way to ground himself. your head would bob up and down his length, holding his hips in place so he can't squirm away from you. he would be so ruined already, all of his whines would come close to sounding like cries. honestly if you didn't give him a bit of mercy right now he might actually cry. he's getting louder and louder and it's making you smile.. he looks dizzy when you look up at him, like he can't keep himself together. gosh he's gonna be so embarrassed later on when he's not focused on holding his orgasm back. his whole body would be hot, the gentle shudder of his body is only warming him up more. when you pull off of his length to just stroke it for a moment you would be able to see how red his tip is. he needs to cum so so badly so you finally let him. he would let out the most beautiful string of moans when he finally cums, tugging at his hair and thrusting into your mouth gently. he thought the torture was finally over but you'd keep stroking him through it.. stroking him even faster once he's run out of cum for the time being. this is when he'd really lose it, moaning and begging for you to stop, but you don't <3 not until you feel like everyone's heard him well enough!!

[4linos]

[boy dad!jeongin soft thoughts]

wc: 581. part 2/8. fluff.

- every morning, you both wake up to the soothing sound of your baby boy babbling in his crib. jeongin is always the first to get up, but he insists on kissing your cheek first. you two exchange a soft, drowsy smile as jeongin scoops up your little one, his heart melting at the sight of little yawns and sleepy stretches. sometimes he'll wander about the house with the baby in his arms, humming soothing lullabies while you catch up on sleep.

- jeongin is very hands-on in the kitchen, always helping out with making meals, even if it’s just setting the table or stirring the pot. your baby boy is in his high chair, making a mess with his food but looking so proud of himself as jeongin praises him. you two exchange fond glances as jeongin makes funny faces to make the baby laugh in between bites. there’s always an extra plate for jeongin to make a little "baby food concoction" to feed your son things like mashed sweet potatoes and peas, which he pretends to love, even though he might not.

- when it comes to your little one, jeongin is overprotective. when your son is around, he always adjusts his steps to avoid bumping into things, and when you're outside, he always looks over his shoulder, as if anticipating danger, even if it's only a walk around the park. his protective personality is also evident when he chooses clothes for your son; he always ensures that he is dressed in the softest, most comfortable fabrics, sometimes even feeling the clothes with a quiet, satisfied hum before making his decision.

- when your baby finally falls asleep, jeongin tends to slip into the nursery one more time to check on him, a sweet smile pulling at his lips as he watches his child sleep soundly. you’ll join him, and the two of you will stand there for a bit, arms wrapped around one other, talking quietly about your day and future plans. jeongin, in his gentle manner, frequently talking about how he wants to be the best dad he can be for your boy, how he is looking forward to all of the milestones that will come, but how he just wants to appreciate these small moments right now.

- whether it's teaching your son how to grab things or encouraging him to say his first words, jeongin’s joy is palpable. he’s the one making up games to teach him how to clap or wave, and every small achievement, like a first step or a word, feels like the biggest victory to him. when your son first says "dada," jeongin might tear up a little, so proud of the bond they've built.

- when your son gets a little older, jeongin becomes the dad who takes him on little adventures outside the house whether it’s hiking, visiting a new place, or a trip to the zoo. you’ll catch jeongin’s excited voice talking to your son about everything they see, and his eyes lighting up when your little one says, “I want to do it again, daddy!”

- jeongin is serious about legos. when your son begs for help when building a castle, jeongin gets down on the floor and begins constructing the most extensive, detailed lego fort, showing how to build walls, towers, and even little lego people. you can't help but giggle as you see them become entirely engrossed in the activity, losing track of time as they build their own little lego world together.

//

masterlist.

[just-your-average-supervillain]

Some thoughts from LCB Regular Checkup. Spoilers below.

I'm a big fan of how Pride's theme of self-deception played a part in Hohenheim's dungeon; his initial seeming control over himself and ability to simply hurry the Sinners through the dungeon giving way to the realization that no, his censorship of his memories and of the facts therein is simply a greater part of the theme; his refusal to acknowledge the pain he's in and desire to simply paper it over and play up his own arrogance to avoid thinking about his humanity.

Absolutely hilarious to see Faust have someone that she genuinely dislikes. Faust's constant need to point out that he's not better than her really re-iterates that despite her growing fondness for the Sinners and new willingness to step away from Gesellschaft's knowledge, she still does find a great degree of pride in her abilities.

We finally get an explanation for the comment of the Sinners getting weaker upon joining! Due to the nature of the Golden Boughs, all of the Sinners are reduced to the level of the weakest among them, i.e. Sinclair (or now, Yi Sang).

Once again, Outis attempts to establish a pecking order with her at the top due to individual strength... which then gets toppled by the reminder that Don Quixote can, if not rival, then at least tire out Vergilius.

It's interesting to see that Hohenheim is also aware of the "flow" of the world, and even more interesting that Faust (or, more likely, Gesellschaft) censored him when he began talking about how it was the "flow" that willed Dante to be unharmed. (Is Dante protected by fate or something?)

Also, the consideration of how powerful Dante was prior to their amnesia, and the dismissal of the idea that they could be strong, is kinda disappointing given my belief in @calmariah's "Dante is Bari" theory.

Limbus Company assisting an up-and-coming potential Wing with their goals to overthrow and replace W Corp is kind of neat, especially now that it gives us an excuse to traverse the entire City through the gateways without needing the whole song and dance of another WARP Train.

Gregor's body making weird noises, and the comment from Hohenheim excluding him from the lineup of power levels due to his body's "potential"... it seems we're really bringing back stuff from the first few Cantos.

The particulars of which Sinner groups face which Peccatulum probably merits an analysis, along with Hohenheim's descriptor of what each Sin means (Hong Lu and Sinclair with Wrath, Gregor, Faust, and Meursault with Sloth, Yi Sang and Don Quixote with Envy, Ryoshu and Ishmael with Pride and Lust, and Outis, Heathcliff, and Rodion with Gluttony and Gloom).

Hey, Hong Lu? What did you mean by your passion and rage being extinguished?

Hey, Outis? Why are you so concerned about things like setting off a Wing war and getting a threat level from the Hana Association?

While I'm still not entirely sure, I feel like having an Intervallo dedicated to a guy who used to be a researcher at Lobotomy Corporation and not having Faust be mentioned in connection to it makes me feel like the "Faust has a past with Lobotomy Corporation" theory is probably not gonna come to pass.

It's kind of sad, but also probably for the best, that the compounded thirst and curse means that Don Quixote can't just take of Rocinante and solve problems via the Second Kindred's sheer power.