#sometimes i suspect she decides how they present to people

[ladamedemartel]

💙 Relationship status? (ic)

memes!

Aurora looked at the inquiry on the form in question briefly before shuffling the papers together and promptly handing them over to one of Tristan's minions to complete. She had not idea what sort of paperwork he had procured for them to use these days.

[ghostdrinkssoup]

something I find really interesting about hannibal’s character is how he uses people’s expectations and ingrained assumptions to hide himself. no one suspects he’s a serial killer because he doesn’t present as one. he’s elegant and refined and isn’t cruel to animals. he’s highly sophisticated, a polyglot and has a deep admiration for beauty and life. he appreciates saving lives just as much as he appreciates ending them. in fact, this particular aspect of his character is partly why it takes will the entirety of s1 to accept hannibal’s true nature. will saw hannibal save abigail and accompany her to the hospital in apéritif and he also saw hannibal save a man’s life by performing emergency surgery and taking over the operation at the end of sorbet.

this moment in particular is interesting because of how it’s framed to make hannibal look almost godly from will’s point of view:

1) hannibal is positioned immediately higher than will due to being in the ambulance, meaning will is looking up at hannibal, while hannibal is looking down on him

2) hannibal is standing under a bright light as he works to save this guy’s life, while will is standing in almost complete darkness

3) the usual orchestral, classical music is playing in the background, emphasising the apparent “holiness” of the act and framing hannibal as some sort of saviour

the impact of this scene is even more potent when considering the context of the rest of the episode, since will has already stated that the ripper is not the type to save people or enact mercy on anyone. his style of murders doesn’t suggest this characteristic whatsoever, and although will’s assessment is correct, hannibal’s personality and overall demeanour doesn’t match what we’d imagine a person like that might look like. I think will is confronted by this as well, because even if hannibal’s surgical skill means he matches the ripper’s profile (which makes him a valid suspect) his actions contradict will’s image of the ripper, while simultaneously affirming it:

it’s difficult to reconcile these facets of hannibal’s character. it’s inherently contradictory and defies our cultural expectations. nonetheless, hannibal’s inclination to save people is sometimes more insidious than his murders. he doesn’t save people out of altruism, he does it because he thinks he’s superior and enjoys deciding outcomes. he doesn’t view himself as insane, he views himself as god. this is most aptly explored in takiawase, through the acupuncturist/beekeeper killer. here we see a murderer who confesses that she killed a man to quiet his mind, and tells jack that it’s beautiful that she managed to protect him and her other patients. this is one side of hannibal’s character, the one who’s a doctor and therapist and sees death as a cure from disease, even if the ‘disease’ itself is literally just discourtesy. it’s ultimately an act of power.

and yet in this same episode he flips a coin and saves bella on a whim. this of course is framed to others as an act of mercy, however the reality is he took bella’s power away in an act disguised as kindness. once again, he hides in plain sight. this is the other side of his character, and it’s just as deadly.

it’s still about power.

but we don’t associate acts of mercy with monstrosity. when hannibal comforts abigail in trou normand we question whether he’s as bad as we think, because what negative connotations are tied to paternal tenderness? we miss that hannibal is fostering dependency, that he literally looks dead in the eyes as he holds her, and that he blatantly just told us that he’s using abigail to manipulate will:

hannibal often does this actually. he either directly says what he’s doing or suggests that he’s the culprit (often through cannibal puns, as we know) but no one ever interprets him correctly because doing so would contradict the image he’s carefully constructed for himself. it would cause too much dissonance.

and what’s fascinating is that on a subtextual level this is largely what the show is about. the story is an exploration of societal roles and the struggle to fit into stiff categorisation and expectations. will parallels hannibal in this regard because he’s desperately trying to repress his identity by taking on certain roles. and the audience is lured by this persona the same way the characters are lured by hannibal because will defies our understanding of certain tropes. on a genre level, will assumes the detective archetype, meaning we are primed to think he’s inherently good. when we see him say he wants to save people we believe him, even though he often only does so to prove to himself that he’s a good person. will is indeed righteous, a characteristic we often view positively, however he’s violent, wrathful and actively enjoys murder due to how powerful it makes him feel. he’s not dissimilar to hannibal, we just don’t see this straight away because doing so would disrupt our understanding of good and evil.

will hides the same way hannibal does, except will hides from us as well

[clairewritesjjkxreader]

Sukuna’s Wife and Yuuji’s Onee-chan (Sukuna x Reincarnated!Y/N) au headcanons

Other snippets of this au

Yuuji’s Onee-chan Random HCs

You never worried about Yuuji’s social life, because he was like the sun, the type of guy to attract all sorts of people. He was kind and polite and defended others from injustice. However, you were never attached to any of the friends he hung out with from kindergarten to high school; not until you met Megumi and Nobara. 

You would get along with Megumi, who has a soft spot for older sister types because of his own sister. He respects your opinion a lot and you love how he protected Yuuji. 

Nobara took a liking to you instantly. Much like Megumi, she sees you as an older sister and often goes to you for advice or just to rant. She looks up to you as a role model, but secretly in your heart, you wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t emulate you, because while she and the others were selfless and would sacrifice their lives for the greater good, you were the opposite. You would sacrifice everybody else for your baby brother.

You owe a debt of gratitude to Satoru Gojo. He shielded Yuuji from harm and provided you two with a safe haven. That being said, you didn’t like him. You didn’t doubt his compassion, but he seemed duplicitous, not to mention it bothered you how a grown man insisted on treating minors as his friends.*

You despised Ryomen Sukuna. If not for him, Yuuji wouldn’t be on death row. He claims that he is your husband, but you don’t even know what he looks like–when you “saw” him, he overtook Yuuji and marred his skin with black tattoos,** a sickening grin in place of a sweet smile. You will never forget it. You will never forgive him.

…So you thought, but ever since Yuuji’s possession, you began having odd dreams of old Japan, filled with scenes in a manor so large and grand it reminded you of imperial palaces in period pieces. Sometimes you’d be outside. Bright red maple leaves fell like snow around you, the mild, woody scent of cypress was ever present. Sometimes you'd see a familiar childlike silhouette that morphed into a kitten.

Regardless of where you were, a faceless man was always there, towering above you.

With the reveal of sorcery and curses, you suspected that these dreams were not mere dreams…

[1] Canonically, we know that there is more to Gojo than this, and you have no idea about the despicable things I’d let him do to me–but I’m writing these based on what Yuuji’s protective big sister would think. Frankly, as someone with younger underage siblings, I would be worried too if their adult teacher spent their free time hanging out with them. 

[2] I believe that in-universe, the characters can’t tell when Sukuna is the one actively using the body of his host and that the shift in visuals is just for the benefit of the audience. However, Y/N here sees the changes: tattoos, four eyes, etc.

@shadowywizardarcade @hannya-exists @nineooooo @lilachaeyo @pumpkindudeishere @jessbeinme15 @fluffy-koalala @cringeycookies @frogzxch @isimpfordanielpark @marvelsgirl4ever @sanzusmom @sheccidoscar @marvelsgirl4ever

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Been busy. Decided to write this while waiting for my resin to refill.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

So: for LoL, which storyline is your favorite? And if you were to decide, what direction would you take it?

I mean, my favourite story set in any League of Legends thing by far is Arcane, but I suspect that's not quite what you mean.

Second to that is Ashe and Sejuani, specifically as their relationship is told in the Ashe: Warmother comic. It's a comic about the ways in which their relationships with their mothers shape them into the people they become - both of them consciously rejecting their mothers' legacies, and yet both of them utterly reflective of them.

Like, Ashe's mother Grena is this unflinching visionary, utterly possessed by a dream of ancient legacies, who is at once incredibly powerful and willing to sacrifice any number of lives for her vision, but also vulnerable, flawed and terrified of what her leadership will do both to her tribe and to her daughter.

And you see those qualities emerge in Ashe as she determines to become the protector of the weak in the Freljord, the champion of the Hearthbound and the vulnerable. She inherits Grena's steel-edged will and dedication to a vision of the future, even as she tries over and over again to reject her mother's obsession with ancient glories and mystical names.

Sejuani on the other hand is raised by... well, by a bitter, abusive drunk who sees her as nothing but a signifier of her own regrets and failures, and who projects all her own insecurities and weaknesses onto her child.

And Sejuani grows up both resentfully rejecting all the insecurity and pain her mother has been beating into her, but also inherits her mother's brutality and willingness to see the human beings under her command as disposable objects whose worth is measured in utility.

They are two reflections, two shadows of their mothers, and of the relationship they had to them, sisters by mutual choice and love, who are brought into conflict because their traumas have shaped them in irreconcilably different ways.

It is ENORMOUSLY compelling as a narrative about siblings, and as a framing device for the conflict in the Freljord - especially with Lissandra spooking around in the background as a universal mother-figure for the region, who in turn has her own traumas about being alienated from her sisters in ways that are similar to how Ashe and Sejuani were split apart.

The Freljord sometimes runs the risk of devolving into pop culture viking stereotypes and high fantasy pagan god nonsense (/affectionate, I love Ornn so much), but Ashe and Sejuani and their estrangement, especially as presented in Warmother, brings the thematic core of the region back down to some extremely fundamental questions about how to survive in an abusive environment - whether it be a harsh winter, or a broken family.

Warmother is a fantastic comic, everyone should read it (the art by Nina Vakueva absolutely fucks, and the approach to character design is strong as hell), and it breaks my heart that Riot's management couldn't keep their shit together with Marvel for long enough for it to get any kind of a sequel.

[aethon-recs]

Themed Rec List | 16 Sex Work Tomarrymort Recs 🍑💸

After coming across a couple of sexy amazing stripper/camboy/sex worker Tomarry fics recently, I went looking for more fics along this theme 🤍 See below for a list of recs for all the other horny sickos out there who really enjoy reading about Tom or Harry leveraging their physical assets for pleasure or money or sometimes even reconnaissance, 8 of each:

*

Sex Worker Tom

A Slice of Heaven by jellybeantarot (M, 3k, complete)

Tom is a sex worker under an agency that masks as a pizzeria, Harry orders a large sausage pizza, and yep, that's a dick in a pizza box.

After Class by osculatrix (E, 5k, complete)

Professor Potter discovers that her star student is a camstar, and what does she do? Jack off and give him money, that's what.

cam and get it by @swoontodeath (E, 3k, WIP)

Harry Potter isn't one for pornography. He's got a perfectly adequate imagination, thank you very much, not to mention a fully functional right hand. One accidental glimpse of Tom Riddle's arse, though, threatens to change everything.

champagne shimmer by @cindle-writes (E, 21k, complete) 

Tom has one of the most popular accounts on OnlyFans. Harry, who is Tom’s uni professor, stumbles onto Tom’s stream by accident. Featuring: Spoiled brat Tom, and Harry trying to be as much of a gentleman as he can despite lusting after his barely-legal student.

Corruptible by @hiredhorse (E, 4k, WIP)

Harry Potter goes to Knockturn Alley for a prostitute, under a flawless glamour. When he sees a handsome young man outside the tavern infamous for picking up prostitutes, he hires him before he even asks his price. Tom Riddle isn’t really a prostitute, he was just making a delivery for his employer, Borgin & Burke’s. But Tom has never been one to miss an opportunity, and he sees Harry Potter for exactly who he is.

down to get the friction on by @xodahafez (E, 8k, complete)

Harry follows Tom to Albania, fully expecting to find him up to no good. What he wasn't expecting, however, was to find Tom Riddle dressed in lacy black lingerie, and better known as 'Voldamour.'

Oh my god, they were nemeses by Baryshnikov (T, 13k, WIP)

Tom starts an OnlyFans to recruit for his cult; Harry, his flatmate, has incredibly mixed feelings about it.

That's Money, Honey by @dividawrites, @duplicitywrites (E, 10k, complete)

Tom is a dear friend to many beautiful older women who love to treat him like their beloved son by spoiling him with presents. It is the perfect gateway to the perfect lifestyle—one full of frequent spa days, free holidays abroad, and all of the latest fashions. When Auror Harry Potter claims to be investigating Tom's 'inappropriate' relationships, Tom decides the best course of action is to instigate some 'inappropriate' behaviour of his own.

*

Sex Worker Harry

Cam for the Money, Stayed for the Fun  (part 1) / Cam and Get Me, Won't You Honey? (part 2) by @itsevanffs (E, 12k, complete)

Harry flushed, looking back down. 'Isn't this illegal, sir?' Professor Riddle smirked, leaning back on the couch. 'I'd beg to say what you do isn't very legal, either.'

Dark Adrenaline by @katsitting (E, 10k, complete)

Riddle was a snake—definitely. A conniving man that forced people into corners simply because he wanted to see if he could. He cared little for the feelings of others, using them just as he was using Harry to attract the attention of the political socialites in the Gala. Harry had suspected there was a far more hidden game at play when he had been in the hotel with him earlier, having caught that Riddle had set his machinations on him rather than on prominent figures in the hall. But how the bloody hell was he supposed to know it would end up like this?

Make Me An Offer I Cannot Refuse by lemonchase (E, 3k, complete) 

“I’d like to hire you for a blowjob.” Harry nods slowly, ignoring his increasing heart rate. If he does a good job, Tom might become a regular customer, and Harry is always on the lookout for those. With how rich Tom allegedly is, he should be able to afford to pay Harry every other day. This is a chance he doesn’t get often.

Night Walker by @syntheticsoulmates (E, 3k, complete)

Harry knocked on the door only two minutes late. Which was an achievement for him. He had his smile fixed before the door even swung open. “You’re not who I ordered.”  Ugh. Rude. Harry kept smiling, perfect. “No. Emergency substitution.” He looked down, traced the client up from the tips of his perfectly overshined leather loafers to the one ridiculous perfect curl falling over his forehead on the left side. He made it obvious, finished it up with a small bite on his lower lip. “You’re lucky enough to get me instead.”

Ride by @hiredhorse (E, 123k, WIP)

Harry lives with the Dursleys, but he has two best friends, a regular bunk at the Weasleys', and a bright future riding horses. It’s unclear whether crossing paths with Tom Riddle, super-rich kid and a skilled horseman himself, is good luck or bad. They crash together on the day they meet with a violent combination of mutual lust and personality conflicts. And yet somehow instead of hating each other they develop different feelings, no less intense.

Secrets of a Wixen Call Boy by @milkandmoon-ao3 (E, 12k, complete)

Echoing in the darkest recess of his mind, Harry heard Hermione lecture on his father complex. How, having never known his own father, he tended to fixate on older men... subsequently resulting in some pretty questionable romantic partners. Really, Harry couldn’t think of a good reason not to fuck or be fucked by them.

Shiver, Lustre, Skin by @monsieurclavier (M, 9k, WIP)

Harry goes undercover as a bargirl at one of Tom Riddle’s exclusive clubs. Tom has her figured out in approximately one second. Or: In which Tom is a badass Wizarding mob boss and an incorrigible lesbian flirt, and Harry—sassy newbie Auror and secret virgin—is just Tom’s type.

Twelve Weeks by @ohyondermemphis (M, 12k, WIP)

“Stand up.” Harry blinks, confused but immediately stands at the request. “Place your hands, flat, to the desk.” Indignation blooms bright in his cheeks, but he swallows, does as he’s told. Thinks with vitriol, prick. “See? Easy.” A bright smile, full white teeth. Riddle leans closer to Harry, his hand traces the curve of his face, the line of his jaw. Harry doesn’t blink. “I knew you could be a good boy.”

*

[satansapostle6]

Love The Sinner | Dexter Morgan

Dexter Morgan, a vigilante serial killer hiding in plain sight, loses sleep for the first time in his life when he’s met with the very last thing he expected: a kindred spirit.

Warnings: Violence. Mature language and themes. Sexual content.

Part One. Eyes of Darkness.

Most people, when they’re getting arrested, shit their pants with fear. Some scream, some cry. Some rage, and some try to run, and some just freeze. That’s what you usually see, when you’re in your parents’ living room, and your dad can’t wait to turn on the TV to the channel dickety-six news, of all things. But sometimes, people have other reactions when being handcuffed and shoved in the back of a squad car. Sometimes people enjoy it, for one reason or another. I smiled when Miami Metro put me in cuffs on the news. Laughed, even. You see my story is many things, but boring certainly isn’t one of them.

Let’s start simple. My name is Nicole Carvalho, and as of today, America knows me as ‘Murderous MILF’. You really can’t make these things up; I love this country. I keep reminding myself, if I ever go free, I need to clip that out of the newspapers. But see, right now, at this very moment, I’m sitting alone in an almost blindingly white interrogation room at the precinct, waiting for a cop to question me while they study me on the surveillance footage. I can’t lie, I’m sitting back right now in my chair, smirking. You see, I killed the men who violated and later took my baby girl’s life, and I’m currently very pleased with myself.

I don't think my grandfather pictured this when he left Brazil. This truly is the American dream; committing a crime and letting your own peers decide whether or not it was justified. In all honesty, a jury will be much kinder to me than ‘God’ has been. So, I figured I’d let myself have this one thing. I think I waited about a half an hour before they sent someone in; a female detective. They must’ve figured a matching vagina couldn’t hurt. The first thing I noticed about this detective was that she was strikingly young; close to my age. I’m thirty-six, so I would estimate her to be maybe a little younger.

But apart from her age, the next thing I noticed about this detective was that she was very robotic in how she interacted with me; she didn’t necessarily look like she wanted to be there. She barely looked up at me when she came in, holding my files and looking down at them like a teenager doing a presentation in high school.

“So. Nicole Carvalho. I’m Detective Morgan.”

She sits down across from me less like I’m a murder suspect and more like she’s interviewing me for a secretary job. I look at her, sitting forward as I join her in the conversation, still smug as ever. I think she was secretly hoping I’d say it, the four words that usually drove most cops insane that, for some reason, no one ever thinks to say in the movies.

“I want my lawyer.”

I smile as I say it. Detective Morgan also smiles, looking down at the table before getting up. I’ll never forget how pleased she sounded.

“Guess that means I can’t ask you anymore questions.”

She gets up and walks out, and that’s the end of it. In all honesty, I don’t think she was looking forward to questioning a woman about the murder of her daughter’s rapist. After the detective left me alone, I was allowed to call myself the lawyer that I had in mind. This, of course, was a friend of a friend, a perfectly shady guy named Johnny Bertelli, who was, in the nicest way possible, a fucking scum bag. You see, I work as a project manager at a marketing firm, so I’ve met my fair share of good lawyers, but Johnny was the fucking best.

He made Johnnie Cochran look like an idiot. He was the kind of lawyer who laughed at the prosecution in court, and I needed him. So there i was, in the Miami Metro precinct punching a number I’d gotten off Google into a wall phone. I looked around the precinct as I waited for someone to pick up, and suddenly it was like I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned around, and I saw a pretty timid, mild-mannered looking guy who seemed as if he’d been standing there trying to figure out how to get my attention.

But the strange thing was, he didn’t seem to want my attention, at all, actually. If anything, he seemed perturbed by the fact that I was looking his way. I looked over at him, not knowing what the fuck his story could’ve been. Miami’s a weird place, because in this moment, I realized the guy wandering the precinct in a Polo and khakis could very well be an employee. I looked at the guy, not knowing what he could’ve wanted with me as I struggled with the phone. Funny enough, he actually just wanted to be helpful.

“You gotta press pound,” he says quietly, “For the call to go through,” and I almost laugh.

I appreciate the odd moment, just thanking him.“Thank you.”

He just nods, and says nothing as he quietly retreats to wherever it was he came from. I took his advice, and sure enough, the phone worked and patched me through to Johnny’s office. I wasn’t quite sure at the time, seeing as I was obviously a bit preoccupied, but I felt that strange man’s eyes linger on me for a moment. Even as I turned around, I could sense his surreal sort of presence that he had. Sure, I was used to having men’s leering eyes on me out in public; it was hardly unusual. But this was different.

Like he was less looking at my body and flesh, but more so imagining what was underneath it.

*****

The next couple years of my life were eventful, to say the fucking least. Johnny of course advised me to take my case to trial instead of taking a plea, for obvious reasons; there was no way any jury was going to give me the maximum sentence, or God forbid, the death penalty. I was a single mother who stabbed her twelve year-old daughter’s rapist seventeen times. In the eyes of the public, I was practically a fucking hero. Johnny’s confident that any jury would feel sympathetic to me, despite the brutality of what I’d done. As he says, the facts are still there.

My neighbor, a weasley little creep named George Randall got me, and my Isabelle, to trust him, and took advantage of her in the worst way. Then she killed herself, because of what he did, and I had to find out through a note left on her desk for me to find. So, I went to George’s with an empty baking dish of his, and once he let me in, I whipped out the knife I’d borrowed from him, the same knife I used to use to cook for my little girl, and I made his stomach burst like a water balloon. At this point, I’d already chosen to show little remorse for the crime I’d committed, feeling perfectly at peace with the possibility of prison, or the death penalty.

But Johnny said there was probably no need to be too fearful of either. He’d even told me there was a possibility I’d just get a few years, and then parole, or something, and I wasn’t sure that wasn’t bullshit, but I also liked his confidence. The reality of it was, Johnny had made much worse people look way better. To him, my case was already closed. All I had to do was play the part of the grieving mother, which took no effort on my part. I had to wait almost a year for my case to go to trial, which I of course did outside of a cell.

This gave me enough time to get all my affairs in order, or so to speak. My job was okay for the time being, and I knew I’d probably still have it so long as I wasn’t convicted of murder, given my ‘years of dedicated service’. Things were going to be relatively fine, eventually, but for now, I was stuck being paraded around like a jester on some twisted apology tour for avenging my daughter’s death. I’m a pretty good actor, but even my patience has its limits. And maybe wearing my white So Kate’s to court wasn’t necessarily the best judgement call.

But Johnny, being more than worth the money I pay him, made it work. I walked into the courtroom with him, humble and graceful, and didn’t let my eyes linger so as not to appear guilty. But even then, I caught a glimpse of him in the room. The guy who helped me with the phone. He was watching my trial, probably just as a police department employee. Probably.

“Will the defendant please rise?”

I complied with Judge Willis’s request, with my trusty guard dog by my side. I remained dignified, my head held high, but not too high, of course, as the proceedings began.

“Miss Carvalho. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty, your honor,” I told him.

The damage was done. My fate rested entirely in the hands of twelve strangers, and for some reason, there was a thirteenth who seemed oddly invested in the outcome.

-

Part Two.

[marksbear]

Request is:

What if the BAU team got a new team member who used to work on old xfiles/unsolved cases, he's seen things that just can't be explained and thing you wish you never knew existed?--- @xweirdo101x

I made this with headcanons and Drabble. At first I was thinking about turning this into something very dark and creepy but I decided not to.

BAU X NEW AGENT READER

-The team new at a instant you wasn’t your typical new agent. You looked tired, but in the same way not tired. You kept to yourself not making any real efforts to know your team outside of their business life.

-They noticed how your eyes weren’t full as hope and life like the other new agents they meet. No yours were cold and that you self aware.

-At first they thought you were just shy. Like during the first case you had just stayed in the back observing everything and anything.

But soon enough they all found out that you were far from shy.

-Each member of the team noticed separate details about you. Some that they won’t usually care about, but with you they analyzed your every move.

-Hotch noticed how you connect things fast. Whether it’s relationships with the victims like how their similar from each other all the way to knowing how and where would the unsub would strike next.

-Derek noticed how you remember even the biggest and smallest details. Like the conversations you have with suspects to even remembering the first thing he said to you.

-Penelope seen you write notes to yourself. You wrote fast and from afar it looked like you were just scribbling on paper. But as she looked closer she saw that of had lost of ideas and possibilities even had sketches of what the unsub may look like.

-Anytime you were in the office late at night Rossi would sometimes sit next to you quietly watching you write and type various of things. What really caught his eye was a very old cold case you was researching about.

“You like reading old mysteries?” Rossi finally says catching you off guard. You turned your head to face his and with a straight face you spoke back.

“Not just reading… I liked solving those so called mysteries.” Y/n answers before turning back around to write.

“Liked? What do you mean?” Rossi asks with a raised brow. “I still do of course, but now I’m working here, so I gotta stop focusing on the past and focus on the present. But old habits just die hard.” Y/n answered as if it was nothing.

-After that Rossi had a unspoken respect for you.

-He told the rest of the team about the moment you guys shared and told him exactly what he told him.

-While the team talked about it and what your past job could have been like Penelope opens her laptop quickly getting onto google searching up your name.

-Shockingly to her the internet knew a lot of thins about you. You were somewhat a hero to say the least. Hundreds of unsolved cases but now solved by you popped up. Interviews and news lines about you was everywhere.

-She wondered how the hell did you come here without anyone knowing who you were.

-She quickly showed her team about her findings.

-Now everything was clicking together about your habits and personality. Reid began to ramble on and on about all the signs that you showed like correcting people when they mention the wrong serial killer or knowing secrets details that most regular agents won’t know about the criminal justice system.

-They all knew that you were different from the start, but none of them ever guessed that you a expert and a true hero.

-It didn’t take you long to know that they knew about your past experiences. Not like they didn’t try to hide that they knew.

-Reid started to ask you question after question like how you solved a case that was unsolved for years or how you found evidence to the cold cases.

-Derek made a game where he quizzed you about different unsolved and cold cases.

-Hotch was first to ask a more deeper question like about the things you saw and had to go through. And you gave honest answers. You told him that you seen things that doesn’t even seem real and things that anyone wouldn’t think existed. He felt sad for you but in the same time respect grew.

-Rossi randomly had just gave you a random comforting hug saying that he’s proud of you. He didn’t care that you started a new chapter in your career he just felt the need to tell you how much he cared and how proud he is at you.

-You and Penelope had a rough time bonding since your more realistic and mysterious while she’s sweet and bubbly always looking at the bright side while you expect the worst.

-it was hard trying to understand and know each other.

-But once y’all finally did y’all became  inseparable. In a strange way you both found comfort in each other.

-The team all started to understand and bond with you after they all excepted what you went through in the past to get where you are now.

THE END

[misskattylashes]

Okay inspired by @thetruthisfictional post about Milex patterns. I thought I would share some observations I have made in my autistic pattern seeking brain.

I am only looking at the post EYCTE period to the present day, and not everything is in chronological order.

Louise

Louise started to appear around the same time Miles decided to move back to the UK permanently. Rather than Alex split with Taylor, there are rumours of him cheating on her with Louise, creating a reason for him to want to leave LA. It is also a convenient narrative because Miles and Taylor were friends, so the reason that Miles and Alex can’t be seen together is because Miles doesn’t like Louise because of what she did to his friend Taylor.

Which means Alex can come home to London, without it looking obvious that he is following Miles.

Plothole – the reason for his return is so  Louise can split her time between London and Paris to pursue her ‘successful music career’. The truth has since emerged that Louise lives in Paris and Alex lives in London and Louise has no career to speak of.

Louise’s use of social media

A genuine social media account will post day to day happenings, even not every day. Shared songs, interesting meals, something work related. Louise’s posting only ever coincided with events happening around AM. Go and check her account sometime, see how much she posted around the summer of 2022 leading up to the release of The Car. Note also how she has posted every September 21 since 2021 which also coincides with the day she was officially announced in September 2018.

Songwriting

Since EYCTE Alex has not used one female pronoun in a romantic sense. Miles barely has either, nothing to the degree of the previous two albums.

Alex’s image

This is so carefully protected. Most recent photographs were taken several days or even weeks before. Alex is usually in his ‘costume’. One of the most questionable being the recent Eurostar ones. He was sitting there so obviously being ‘Alex Turner’ but the only people who recognise him are a couple of fans who happen to have professional equipment. I suspect there are all sorts of clever wizardry and facial recognition software going on in Meta that stops unfamiliar photos of Alex being published. Before you say ‘How can they do that?’ think about times you may have uploaded a song only for the sound to immediately disappear or you get a message with the list of territories it can’t be played in. This happens in seconds so the technology is there.

The train photos fitted a convenient narrative. Just after Alex was seen coming home from Paris, Louise is seen in the Caribbean with her family. We then get a recent of Alex in NY. Louise comes home from the Caribbean to Paris, but then makes sure to tell us she is going to NY, we then get the pap walk etc.

Why are we never allowed to see Alex walking along Bethnal Green High Street or in the pub with Miles? I think this is less to do with record company pressure and more to do with Alex wanting to keep his private life private.

Miles’ use of social media

Last year when AM were in the UK, I would notice that days Alex was on a break, we would hear nothing from Miles. You might get one official post about OMB that was clearly posted from his social media team. But stories would be empty.

Once Alex went to the US in late August, many a night we were treated to tipsy Miles chatting to the TV, or filming little Maxie getting up to mischief in the house. Soon as Alex came home it stopped.

Earlier this year Miles started the late night posting again and filming Maxie. Lo and behold a few days later we get pics of Alex in NY. Soon as he comes home, it stops again.

Another thing I have noticed. When Miles posts videos he always puts the photographer's name. But he occasionally only puts an 👀. These will always appear when Alex isn’t seen elsewhere.

There are probably many more but I will probably do a part 2.

[ocegion]

The age-old question: do Kingdom Hearts characters know what sex is? (disregarding the fact that I do not believe sexuality is a thing that exists in this universe but anyway)

Sora: He has some vague awareness that there is a special sort of friendship that involves occasionally holding hands. He's been trying to figure it out for some years now.

Kairi: By virtue of having gone to high school, she knows kissing is a thing that exists, and so considers she knows all about romance. Her knowledge is otherwise the same as Sora's.

Riku: If Kairi or Sora asked him anything about it, he would just give a smug/knowing smile and change the subject. Then he will discreetly go google what 'sex' is supposed to be. The resulting shock will send him on another years-long reflective journey.

Roxas: He is, mentally speaking, like Sora but with even less lived experience. He has no idea what it is, but he does know that does exist because he once overheard it from other organization members.

Xion: She didn't overhear it, but Roxas did bring it up to her wondering if she had any idea. She then proceeded to find out the truth, but wisely decided to keep it to herself up to this day.

Naminé: She knows, in the way she simply Knows Things. One of the many secrets she has been carrying.

Axel: He knows what sex is, and even knows technical details. He won't share it with Roxas or Xion, though. He thinks icecream sounds neater anyway.

Aqua: She has extensive biological knowledge of the process and purpose of sexual intercourse. She only learned it for academic purposes, however, and thinks it is only an anecdotical event that sometimes happens.

Terra: Absolutely no idea whatsoever, and if he was presented with evidence, it would somehow slide right off his psyche.

Ven: In his current state of awareness? No, not at all. He does know about handholding, and suspects kissing might be a thing but has no concrete evidence.

Vanitas: He pretends to know more about sex than he actually does. To him, it's all a very elaborate joke to mock people with, with the vague unexplored awareness that there is actual truth to it all.

Xehanort: As a young man? Definitely and smugly knows what sex is, probably when poking around things he wasn't yet supposed to know. As an old man? He has had sex.

Eraqus: This is the man Xehanort has had sex with.

Ephemer: Strictly and canonically speaking, this man has had sex and produced offspring. The details of why and how are yet to be disclosed.

Skuld: I feel that she knows what it is from having heard about it somewhere. It doesn't bother her, but if asked, she will pretend absolute naivety on the matter.

Brain: Just like Naminé, sex is among the things he Just Knows. Maybe he read about it in the book of prophecies, but I suspect he had previous knowledge.

Lauriam: He gives the vibe of having knowledge of sex and maybe even having some technical experience. However, the truth is much less clear, as he has never actually discussed it.

Strelitzia: In Daybreak Town, she had no awareness of the concept even existing. In Quadratum, however, she has social media which she mostly uses for fandom, so she has detailed knowledge of sex as an exclusively fictional concept.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Nobody bays an eye at the fact that MK's mom is a very much male presenting person. They live in a world where shape-shifting is the norm, and there is literally a famous story about a kingdom with a river that can make anyone, no matter the gender, pregnant. Its not an impossible thing to imagine for them, especially since they suspect MK to be a demon at that point anyway, which means his mom is guaranteed to be one too. No, the biggest surprise in regards to Wukong's pregnancy comes more from who Wukong is rather than any sort of gender he presents as, but it's rather easily explained away. After all, there's no reason for Wukong to hide the fact that Stone Monkey pregnancies are often fatal and result in many complications, so as the stronger and more durable between himself and his mate as well as the one with mor most layers of immortality, it's simple logic that he'd be the one to bear their young.

At least, that's how Wukong describes it later. What he neglected to realize is that just because the specifics of Stone Monkey pregnancies have become somewhat common knowledge amongst the celestials, the mortals do not share in that knowledge and hus rather blase attitude in regards to potentially dying in childbirth does little to ease DBK, Pigsy, Tang, or Sandy's concern. PIF is a little more understanding of Wukong's position, having gone through similar complications with Redson's birth, and actually applauds his willingness and bravery in bringing more children into the world, even whilst almost losing his life to bring his eldest into the world.

prev post.

That and they don't want to assume anything in case MK's mom is a trans person. Wukong is fine with both Mama/Baba titles, and if he carried the kid it only makes sense to him to be "Mom" to them.

In a world of demons, trans people, shapeshifting, and rivers that make your pregnant, you just grow up knowing that sometimes a dude gets pregnant.

Regular Stone Monkey pregnancies aren't anymore fatal than say wild monkey statistics, but the Stone Egg method is super dangerous. Stone Monkeys basically donate so much of their life energy to the world around them that there's very little left over for themselves. The "Boulder" atop FFM is even described as spreading orchids and mushrooms into the earth around it.

PIF admires and envies Wukong a little for his success, despite the terror surrounding little Xiaotian's arrival. She wonders if DBK hadn't been imprisoned, if they could have had such luck.

Wukong very simply explains to the Noodle Gang that he's like the healthiest demon around, and his mate is slightly more fragile than him (literally born in the anaerobic enviroment of the moon = no immune system), so he takes over for baby-incubating. The gnag are super intrigued!

Tang: "So when did you decide to have MK?" Wukong, laughing: "Oh, that was a happy accident! A happy, kinda-scary, 14 year accident." Noodle Gang: (*all nod on understanding/awkwardness*) MK: "Yeah, thats why I grew up being told never to bury myself under a mountain." Noodle Gang: "...wut?" Tang:, JTTW brain activating: "Wait. Did you say 14 years!? As in during the Journey!?!"

Wukong pretty much pulls out corkboard of crayon drawings (like in "The Plan Man") to explain the process and how Macaque accidentally left Wukong "rock pregnant" under Five Finger Mountain - a collage crafted specifically back when MK had first asked about the "Birds and the Bees". The Noodle Shop Gang are horrified - and so is MK for having to re-live it.

Everyone comes away from that specifc lunchtime knowing a little too much about the reproductive habits of Stone Monkeys.

Hilariously I can imagine a situation like with the Eclipse Twins in the TMKATI au (both monkeys got el-pregante with either twin) happening here.

But with the current day. Remember how I pointed out that out of all the Nodelets, one shadow planet was missing? >:3

Once the LBD situation is dealt with at the end of S3;

Guanyin: (*gently grabs Macaque by the scruff of the neck*) Guanyin: "How long were you going to run around getting into danger without telling him [Wukong] you were expecting as well?!" Macaque, honestly confused: "Pardon???" Wukong: (*GASP!*) "Hypocrite!" Macaque: "In my defence, I didn't know that could happen."

MK barfs just *a little* at the announcement (MK: "I TOLD you they were being gross!").

Que the last Lunar Nodelet; Ziqi being made. This time via a very nervous Macaque.

Shadow monkey is on 24 hour lockdown pretty much to watch out for health complications, a reasonable punishment for his little disappearing act. Complications arise only because Mac was away from FFM for an appointment with Lao Tzu when a certain Scroll got found...

[theoihalioistuff]

Hi, I've finished the Illiad and Odyssey not so long ago, and I'm a little bit confused.

In those texts, characters or narrator sometimes refer to Zeus as "the oldest of gods." I've read these on my native language, so I decided there was some translation problem, but then I've came across couple of English posts also talking about Zeus as the oldest and yes, I understand that posts people write aren't the best source of information but along with what I've read in the poems it made me doubting.

So, are there some versions of the myths where Zeus is the oldest? Or is it simply a translation or interpretation problem, like "the oldest" in the meaning "the strongest/wisest/greatest/etc"?

I will be very thankful for the explanation because somehow, this made me so confused.

No problem! Although Zeus is almost always presented as the youngest son from Hesiod onwards, he is in fact described as the oldest in the Iliad. For example, when he sends Iris with a message to Poseidon:

"I came here bearing a message for you, dark-haired holder of the earth, from Zeus who wields the aegis. He commands you to desist from war and battle and to go among the tribe of gods, or into the bright salt sea. And if you do not obey his words, but ignore them, he threatens that he too will come here to do battle, face-to-face; and he bids you avoid his hands, since he says he is more powerful by far than you in strength and in birth is elder." (Il. 15. 174-182)

One could suspect Zeus is bending the truth or being metaphorical in claiming primogeniture (considering the other more popular tradition) but the Iliad states it as a literal fact, as evidenced by Iris' response to Poseidon when he says that Zeus can snorkel his dongle:

"Is it in this way then, dark-haired holder of the earth, I should bear this harsh and powerful word to Zeus, or will you change your mind at all? The minds of the great are yielding. And you know the Furies always attend the elder born." (Il. 15. 201-204)

Meaning if conflict were to arise the Furies would side with Zeus because he the is older sibling. Hera is likewise here the eldest of the goddesses, and there's no reason to suppose it's not meant literally.

Curiously, quite the opposite interaction occurs in the Odyssey. If in the Iliad Poseidon has to give way to Zeus' bullying because Zeus is the eldest, in the Odyssey it is Zeus who, though still supreme king, gives way to Poseidon because here Poseidon is the eldest:

"Then in turn Zeus who gathers the clouds made answer: ‘What a thing to have said, Earthshaker of the wide strength. The gods do not hold you in dishonor. It would be a hard thing if we were to put any slight on the eldest and best among us. But if there is any man who, giving way to the violence and force in him, slights you, it will be yours to punish him. Now and always. Do as you will and as it pleases you.’" (Od. 13. 139-145)

Ancient authors were not unaware of the contradiction, and there seem to have been attempts to reconcile both traditions, like in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where it's said of Hestia:

"She was the first-born child of wily Kronos and youngest too, by the will of Zeus who holds the aegis." (Hom. Hymn. 5. 22-23)

No further explanation is given, but it's widely assumed that this is a reference to Kronos disgorging his children in the reverse order in which he swallowed them, ie. rock first and Hestia last (Hes. Th. 500 and Apollod. 1.2.1). The imagery of Kronos "rebirthing" his kids from his throat is... explicitly, used by Nonnos in the Dionysiaca when describing the scene:

"How he [Kronos] opened a gaping throat to receive a stony son, when he made a meal of the counterfeit body of a pretended Zeus; how the stone played midwife to the brood of imprisoned children, and shot out the burden of the parturient gullet" (Book 12. 43)

[Describing a shield that depicts Kronos swallowing the stone] "There he was again in heavy labour, with the stone inside him, bringing up all those children squeezed together and disgorging the burden from his pregnant throat." (Book 25. 553)

"And these dwelt in the city of Beroe, that primordial seat which Kronos himself built, at that time when, invited by clever Rhea, he set that jagged supper before his voracious throat, and having the heavy weight of that stone within him to play the deliverer's part, he shot out the whole generation of his tormented children. Gaping wide, he sucked up the storming flood of a whole river, and swallowed it in his bubbling chest to ease his pangs, then threw of the burden of his belly; so one after another his pregnant throat pushed up and disgorged his twiceborn sons through the delivering channel of his gullet." (Book 41. 65)

Hope I could be of help! And that Nonnos hasn't traumatised anyone too much.

[horizon-verizon]

I’m not understanding where people are getting the fact that Mysaria and Rhaenyra had this buildup and chemistry when Mysaria‘s a dubious character who was previously allied to the Hightowers (paid generously with coin too) and just appears to be going along with the flow in order to survive. I took Mysaria’s decision to stay with Rhaenyra to show her she was grateful, but Rhaenyra trusting her right off the bat is definitely stupid. Trusting her enough to start making out with her levels of demented. I was completely fine with them writing Mysaria and Rhaenyra growing closer together like friends (but with Mysaria who knows if that would have been genuine anyway). Not to mention, the context of which the make out happened is disturbing asf. Mysaria wasn’t even actively seducing her. She literally opened up about the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her father and then that happens ? Weird as fuck, and I don’t like people saying we’re out of whack for feeling put off. You can tell it was written for shock value. SMH.

So we're taking the show at face value for the moment...and yeah, I finally watched this one and not thru...yeah.

Rhaenyra has reason to "trust" Mysaria to at least not work against her bc she let her go when she asked to go AND Mysaria decided to pass up on her one moment to leave when she tried to warn them of Arryk. Mysaria didn't need to do that, but she did. Maybe as a quid pro quo or "You helped me out, I help you, we're even" sorta thing, but again, she didn't need to do it. She was going to be free. Also, the greens burned down any and most of al that Mysaria could've used to independently support herself even after she helped them out, so there's no way she'd think it'd be safe to work for them again totally of her own volition. IF we say she is always looking out for herself--which I can believe--than no, there's little reason to suspect she'd go back to the greens, again, of her own volition. They've shown how dangerously indifferent they are to her. Whereas Rhaenyra treated her as more a human being by allowing the thing she had asked for with no strings. Rhaenyra has far more reason to trust her than Aemond, Aegon, or Alicent to trust Larys, a far more dubious character.

I am also not totally sure it was written for shock value, or that there were no clues of their going this way. I remember maybe the episode before this one where Rhaenyra had stared at her for a little bit while they were in the library, and I felt that it was possible they'd sometime get closer bc Mysaria is giving Rhaenyra what she had been missing--assurance and ways to counteract the greens without making as if she is a disruptive force of "evil" (B&C, her argument w/Daemon). I didn't articulate it as Rhaenyra already having a pattern where she goes to others when Daemon seemingly abandons her, but I did feel that she'd feel close to Mysaria bc of what I already said. So there was a set up, but not a particularly long one.

Now, Mysaria's deciding to stay with Rhaenyra, I said in one post that it was a little weird since she previously asked to leave and wanted to leave so bad (since she was weary with dealing with selfish nobles whether it was to build a better and secure life for herself or to protect smallfolk). And it seems that the writers wish for us to feel that Mysaria feels Rhaenyra is worth staying for. For the sake of helping the smallfolk and assuring this particular ruler gets the throne and not a green.

So far we haven't heard her say to Rhaenyra or anyone on Dragonstone that she's more concerned with the smallfolk other than to present it as an angle for how Rhaenyra can strike against the greens. But we do know that she does genuinely care for how she passionately prioritized them to Otto back in 1x09. So it is also, so far, reasonable to believe that she stays for either "teaching" Rhaenyra--this person she may feel can be shown how to direct her focus a little more on smallfolk's lives generally--or to stay and make sure this war doesn't ravage or deprive the smallfolk of whatever succor they may have in its duration, as she stays beside Rhaenyra to ensure it. So yeah, gratefulness was definitely a start, but a small motivation.

Now, about the incestuous rape story, I don't think she was coldly calculating there. I truly think she was trying to allay R's frustrations and wanted to connect. I also still think that in the newness of this connection, she could be trying to assure she stays beside Rhaenyra by providing a "patron" what they desire.

In my last post that I wrote about this ship, I said:

The last few episodes, however, we saw her decide to leave it all behind and preserve her life and sanity after some green burned down her home and ruined her life. We are meant to judge that Mysaria stays despite her previous plans bc she sees Rhaenyra as worthy enough to serve or bc she feels the most "equal" she has ever felt. But I wonder is what Mysaria if Mysaria still feels like she has to cater towards another "patron" not necessarily for/with sex and she is more concerned with getting an angle than a relationship.

I think all this "could" happen/be real bc we, again, have not really seen characters in their own lives pre-war, so a lot of stuff could happen and you'll need to watch the next episodes to know for sure.

[rowaelinsdaughter]

can i please request an angst to comfort/fluff with reader being depressed and feeling like there’s no point to live a long immortal life if everyday will look like this, she tries to end her life but is caught by rowaelin, rowan did suspect something going on bc reader was giving away a lot of her stuff and was being extra nice towards rowan and aelin knowing it was ending. He was the one that caught her first and then aelin arrives and they help her recover🖤

author note: first thing, I don't know what has possessed me but this is one of the longest fics I have written so far, but I couldn't stop and second, I cried, I never thought I would write something like this, hope you enjoy this, eventhough its sad

special mention: @throneofsapphics and @danikamariewrites

𝕳𝖔𝖒𝖊 (𝕽𝖔𝖜𝖆𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓 𝖝 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗)

WARNING: ANGST TO FLUFF / SU¡C¡D3 ATTEMPT / DAGG3RS/ DEPRESSION / D3ATH MENTION

You didn't want to continue.

You felt like life had no meaning. Why did you want an immortal life if you don't find meaning in it?

Your parents had reminded you of this since you were born. You shouldn't be here, was what they told you.

You were the youngest of 4 siblings, your parents didn't want more children, but then you arrived. For years they had told you that you were a nuisance, you didn't do anything right, you shouldn't be here. You were a mistake.

At 20, after the war, you managed to escape from your home and arrived in Orynth, with the idea of ​​starting a new life away from your parents. And then you met them.

The Queen and King of Terrasen.

You first met Aelin in a bookstore, you started out as friends, you met Rowan shortly after, and the bond became present a year later.

And all the happiness you felt at that moment with them was cut short when you met Mia. A friend Aelin had made before you arrived at the castle.

First there were the looks. Every time you were close to Aelin, you felt her gaze stick knives into your neck, wanting to get you as far away from her as possible. Mia loved Aelin. You knew it the first time you saw them together. But Aelin only had eyes for you and Mia hated that.

Then there were the comments. Every time he passed by you he made a comment, he did not hesitate to lower your self-esteem when you wore a dress.

I don't know what you're doing here.

We were better off when you didn't live here.

You're better off dead, at least we'll be happy again.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

That word was burned into your heart and the memories of your childhood flooded into your head.

You decided to end your life. It did not make sense.

The days before your “break” you decided that you didn't want the only people who had truly loved you to see you sad.

At night you hugged them more, snuggling into their bodies to have the memory of their arms, of their bodies in yours.

On the days when they had a meeting, you took the opportunity to buy them things that you knew they liked and then give them to them so that they would have a souvenir of you.

You accompanied Rowan to training and in the afternoons you lay on Aelin's lap while she read.

And Rowan realized it. He noticed how your gaze sometimes stopped longer than necessary when looking at Aelin or him. How you got up before dawn to see the sun rise... but what he didn't know was that it was the last one.

You took advantage of the fact that Aelin and Rowan had gone out to write a note. Tears fell uncontrollably down your face, you didn't want to leave them, but you couldn't take it anymore.

Don't hold a grudge against me.

I didn't want to come to this, but the pain in my heart is unbearable.

I have tried to do everything I can to be strong, for you.

You who have taught me what love is, what it is

truly loving a person, what it means to take care of them without asking

nothing in return...

But I can't take it anymore.

It's not your fault the pain I feel, it never has been, so

Don't feel guilty.

I love you.

                                           Y/n

No one stopped you when you headed to Oakwald. You had always loved the forest at night. A different magic is in the air.

You tighten your hand around the dagger that Aelin gave you one day, you didn't want to do it with her, but you didn't want to take one of her daggers either. You arrived at the waterfall hidden in the forest, your favorite place.

You looked for the last time at that forest where you had gotten lost so many times or you had gone for a walk with Aelin and Rowan.

You closed your eyes pointing the dagger at your heart and when you were about to sink it, some arms took the dagger from you and turned you around, shaking you.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT?!! ARE YOU CRAZY??!!!"

Rowan.

If he was here it's because they had come back before and had read the letter, and they knew you too well that they knew where you were going to be.

You didn't open your eyes. You didn't want to. You could not. You couldn't face him, you couldn't look him in the eyes because you knew you were going to break down.

"LOOK AT ME!!!"

“I can’t… I can’t… I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I CAN’T!!!”

You fell to your knees on the wet grass and at that moment Aelin arrived. You buried your face in your hands and couldn't help but start crying.

“Y/n…”

Aelin's broken voice made you start crying harder, a piercing scream erupting from your throat.

You feel Aelin and Rowan's arms surround you, pressing you against their bodies, intending to calm you down.

But you couldn't stop.

You didn't know how much time had passed, all you knew was that you were between two bodies, the bodies of Aelin and Rowan, your metes, your companions, and you were going to leave them alone.

When you had calmed down Rowan lifted you off the ground, pulling you into his body, taking you back to the castle.

“I'm horrible…” You notice his body tense.

“Now you are going to explain to me why you think that and we are not going to leave this forest until you tell it.”

You climb down from Rowan's arms to sit in a tree and look at the stars through the gap the trees had created, like a window to the sky.

The lord of the north welcomed you. The lord of the north, so that the people of Terrasen would find their way home...

You are home, in that moment, where it is just the three of you in the sacred forest of Brannon. Home. Home. Home.

Rowan and Aelin's presences are present on either side of you, an invitation and a plea.

“My parents didn't love me…”

And so, you tell them the story of an unwanted girl, a heartbroken girl who only wanted her parents' love, and then a woman who had found love, but felt like she didn't deserve it.

You finished the story lying on the grass among your mates, hugging Aelin and Rowan's arm around your waist.

“My angel… my poor angel…” Aelin whispers, wiping away the last tears that fell down your cheeks.

You close your eyes and feel Rowan's hands caress your hair, brushing the hair from your face, he leans towards you to kiss you on the cheek. His arm tightens a little more around your waist and you feel him sigh. How could I continue living without being able to feel you and without being able to inhale your aroma? I had been on the verge of losing you.

You lie on your back, admiring the sky and at that moment you could have sworn that the lord of the north was shining brighter.

“Well, I think it's time to go back.”

Aelin is the first to get up followed by Rowan. You sit up and look at Aelin and Rowan's hands in front of you. You look at their faces, a smile that announced a new path, a new chapter, was reflected on their faces.

“Let's go home, angel.”

A small smile lights up your face and taking his hands you sit up, walking the way home.

𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 ©𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 / 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌. 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆.

[chena-h]

As someone who remembers the flak the Star Wars prequels got and, in particular, the complaints from certain fans about how those movies ruined Darth Vader retroactively

I find the fandom's initial reaction to Dark!D@any (aka D@ny for folks who aren't swimming in that river called The Nile) to be kind of amusing. In part because I think Lucas wanted to do something similar with Anakin in the prequels - basically, examine how power can sometimes corrupt a young, vulnerable person, putting them on a path of self destruction, especially when that person has been brought up to believe they're destined for something greater.

I wonder, sometimes, if Lucas had decided to tell the story of Anakin instead of Luke and Leia first, would the fans have reacted the same way they did to the prequels. Or, would there be a large contingent of Star Wars fans who defend or sometimes outright deny Anakin's villainous choices, like all the way up to the moment he literally chooses to serve the Sith instead of the Jedi (and in some cases after)? Would people still argue that Vader's legacy as an iconic villain was hampered by the prequels if we'd gotten to know his full story first?

I think I have to remember that there's a difference between how Vader/Anakin's story is told vs how readers see D@ny's story in ASOIAF. for the most part, D@enerys is the POV from which her story is most often told. We're in her head for a lot of it, and if we're not, then we're in the pov of someone like Barristan, who's little more than a sycophant. And I think what I'm getting at is that there's an interest in presenting D@enerys' actions as justified, maybe even noble or heroic. For D@enerys, it's self-interest, of course. People, in general, want to believe they're often acting in the right, so they'll look for ways to rationalize things to make themselves look better, even if the facts say otherwise. For Barry, well, he's an old knight who remains heavily invested in the customs and beliefs that lie at the core of Westerosi society. To admit that he has and continues to serve a dynasty that was responsible for years of violent conquest (among other things) is probably too much cognitive dissonance than the old man can take, or so I would suspect.

With Anakin, though, his story is told from a third person omniscient perspective. So, not only do we know more about the world of Star Wars than Anakin might be privy to, we also know (thanks to the non chronological storytelling) how these events are going to play out, and more importantly, how he will be perceived by the narrative (if that makes sense). We know where he's going to wind up is what im saying. We're getting his story, but not solely from his perspective. Thus, we're less tempted to fall into the trap of taking everything at face value and thinking that his reading of events is 100% accurate.

So, now I'm wondering - if seeing Anakin when he was more vulnerable after knowing him as a villain was received poorly, how will it look if and when D@ny's questionable decisions all come to a head and she goes full tyrant, as in she does terrible things while dropping all pretense of believing or caring whether her actions are seen as morally just? How will her descent be received when her actions aren't being filtered exclusively through the perspectives of her and her staunchest supporters? I'd argue that she's pretty close if not already at that point in her story, but it's a matter of seeing how she moves now that she's gone full tilt.

I know Show!D@ny got a lot of negative criticism, but I think grrm could still make her fall just as interesting (and especially tragic) should twow and ados get published. (Also, I attribute the flaws w that arc more to D&D and their rapidly waning interest in the show.)

[boo-trekking]

Romulan Wedding Traditions: a headcanon ramble

I’m back again with a half baked Romulan take. I think they’re weddings probably still has some similarities to the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee. Except instead of duking it out on the hot sands of a dessert planet with the champion picked by your fiancé, it’s a little more complicated.

First off Romulus is described to be “a lush, humid world abundant with vegetation and large bodies of water”

So I’m thinking swamps and jungles (a Romulan on a fan boat makes my brain go brrrrrrr), where it’s easy to hide and challenging to hunt.

So on your wedding day no matter what your fiancé will present you with a challenge and that challenge is to hunt someone that they’ve picked but you don’t know who, and you bring them back to the specifications of your fiancé. So if they want them alive, you might just tie them up, but if they want them dead you might have to bring back their head or something. A real challenge is when they say dead or alive.

And then the trick of it is that the person they choose is someone you could really want dead, but you know your fiancé wants alive, like for example the fiancé’s ex. Do you show your fiancé how brutal you are by bringing back the head of the one who may have stood in your way, or do you hog tie the son of a bitch and pout about it? Either way it sets the tone for the marriage.

Also it’s not really guaranteed that you’d bring them back alive if asked, because traditionally you are meant to kill the one your fiancée picks, but more modern sentiments have made way for change.

So if your fiancé sends you after her father and asks that he not die, you only really have to bring him back. If you’re polite, you’ll say that he slipped and drowned and you weren’t able to revive him and everyone will look the other way at the strangulation marks on his neck. Or if you really are cruel you will bring him back and shoot him dead in front of your fiancé. And either way you are getting married.

The only way to get out of a marriage is to not bring back the one the fiancé picked. So let’s say you have the entire 25 hour cycle of the day to get this person. You could decide just to camp out, or miss your shot and if you can avoid finding the person and comeback empty handed then no marriage.

Or on the fiancé’s end they could request someone too hard to get/someone that doesn’t exist. I like to think it used to be in fashion to request someone who was dead. Until some dude who was really in love with his fiancé decided to say fuck it and broke in the family crypt and carefully exhumed and carried his fiancé great grandmother to the ceremony. Everyone’s horrified and a little grossed out (because the ggma had been dead long enough for decomposition to start), but the fiancé is laughing so hard.

Because she actually did want her great grandmother there, they were very close. She didn’t want to marry this guy cause she just didn’t want to get married yet, she was nervous. But here’s this guy who is lovingly cradling her ggma in his arms. He literally brought the only person who would’ve soothed her into this. And she gladly married him, and they immediately bring the ggma back, and then the trend falls out of fashion cause ew wtf.

It’s also a big deal to be the one the fiancé picks. I would call it an honor but you could possibly die so. It’s considered a big social faux pas to refuse to be the one hunted out right but there are ways to get out of it if you feel like you might die. Some people take on an extra stint of military service (not that it’s voluntary, but maybe they’ll be taking on a tour they could’ve sat out of idk), some others claim they are trying for a child (this is really popular among single women who are suspected to be a lover to the one who hunts, real tongue and cheek shit), but sometimes the only thing that will work is to change your name.

The way picking works is you have to present the persons name. Because there is so much secrecy in Romulan culture, names are really tricky, so maybe the name given is just your common name and you decide to be a stickler and insist on the full four names in order for you to be the hunted. Or maybe you go to your family and ask to change your name there as to throw off the picker.

But it is a little awkward if the picker is your brother and you know he wants you dead so that when your father dies he will be head of the house instead of you, the oldest. And you know his fiancé would kill you even if your brother said they didn’t have to, because the fiancé is the youngest in their family and they have twelve siblings to get through before it’s their turn. So helping their fiancé become head of their family is just a smart move. Lucky for you your dad saw this years ago and already changed your family name, but waited until your brother already picked your full old name so now he has to pick someone else. He’ll pick the father out of spite, but the fiancé won’t kill him. After all, your dad used to be his commanding officer, it wouldn’t feel right.

It’s the hunted’s duty to make the hunt difficult, even if they know they’ll live at the end of it. So they’ll set traps and sneak around. I like to think that Romulan’s have houses similar to Klingons, and those houses have their own variations on the traditional ceremony. So maybe the hunted must hide in a particular place based on their house tradition, or they must throw the hunter off with a certain system.

I can imagine a house who often picks children to be hunted, that way it doubles as a test for the child’s skills. So maybe the fiancé very sweetly gives her little sister a present and asks her to be the hunted. And this 13 year old kid is absolutely STOKED to give her brother in law hell. So not only does she hide, but she starts counter hunting him. And he DIDN’T PLAN FOR THAT. So right when he’s looking at the barrel of a Romulan cross bow, beaten and bloodied by a kid who still sleeps with a night light, he’s fully accepted he’ll be the first in history to be killed and brought back. She looks at him and says something like “When you marry my sister…may I live in your house? I…don’t want to be without her.” And he says yes without hesitation because his fiancé already asked if it was okay, and he’s grown up knowing the little sister too and knows that it’s not the best for her at home (without much detail, Romulan secrets you know), and this kid just drops the crossbow and starts crying because she was really worried she was gonna lose her sister! And so he lightly bounds her hands, they make it back to the ceremony. Folks are congratulating her for giving him hell but snickering at the number this tween did to that guys face! All in all it works out, they are married and the sister moves in with them, and when it’s her turn to marry she kindly asks her niece…who has been trained from birth to return the favor.

Overall I feel that Romulans are just so complex and secretive, that a freaky (affectionate) marriage challenge feels right up their alley. They aren’t governed by logic, but by secrecy and deadly hide and seek feels right.

[lunehong]

Black Pirates | Eight

Modern era robin hood ATEEZ X Undercover spy fem OC

ship : ??? X OC

Genre : slowburn, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers

Synopsis : "The world may be unfair but it does not stop us from changing our own fate." Kang Sohyun tries to investigate a group of bandits who are causing havoc in all of Korea. As she gets into close contact with them, her view of them slowly starts to change. "Why do people even hate you?" "If we worried about what people thought of us, we would've all been in a slump of despair by now." 

Warnings : none ig

A/n : If anyone wants to be added to the taglist let me know !

Masterlist , Prologue , Chapter one , Chapter two , Chapter three , Chapter four , Chapter five , Chapter six , Chapter seven

CHAPTER 8

It had been three days since the encounter at the museum. Both Jongho and Sohyun stayed home throughout, taking some time away from society to grasp the situation they were in.

 The two of them were rivals. One creating chaos and the other one searching for ways to end it, a stark contrast from how their relationship actually was. Joined at the hip since middle school; no matter how much the two ventured out, they always managed to return to each other’s side at the end of the day. A decade worth of memories wasn’t something to be thrown away just like that. They considered each other family and being with one another was natural to them. 

These exact causes made it hard for them to accept each other as enemies.

Unable to dispel their inner turmoil, they decided to face each other head-on if needed and deal with the consequences when they presented themselves.

Sohyun was starting to consider herself a good actress for being able to remain as normal as she usually was any other day. She spotted Jongho in the hallways once but was yet to interact with him properly, not that she wanted to anyway. 

During their shared break, Jongho parted from his classmates and headed towards the bench that he and Sohyun occupied. The bench was outdoors, overlooking a small garden that the college authorities maintained.

He sat there in silence for a while, wondering if Sohyun ditched him but soon enough, the girl arrived and situated herself on the bench. 

The tension between them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Neither of them initiated any conversation and munched on their chosen snacks. It was like they didn’t know how to approach each other anymore, when previously, they always had something or the other to talk about.

Soon they noticed that the other students who were mingling in the area were starting to pick up on their unusual silence. The two always laughed and spoke out loud, sometimes accompanied by a smack or two in the head or the arms, making them very much noticeable to anyone passing by. So, it was undoubtedly out of the ordinary to see the pair eating quietly.

Not being able to take the deafening silence any longer, Jongho gave in and broke the ice.

“I know we aren’t really on talking terms Sohyun-ah but people are already starting to suspect our demeanour. The reason why we’re both here is so that we don’t raise any suspicions and we’re actually doing a very bad job at it. Can we at least be civil for the sake of the cover?” 

“Okay, fine, Jongho-yah. I wasn’t really planning on keeping quiet but I didn’t know what to say.” 

Jongho was contemplating on whether he should bring up the sensitive topic or not, but he really wanted some form of clarity regarding the predicament they were in.

“So, who are you working for? If you don’t mind telling me that is,” He asked.

Sohyun took a few seconds to mull over his words, thinking if she should reveal it or not. When Jongho was almost sure that she wouldn’t disclose anything, he heard her sigh and focus her attention back to him. 

“NDA.” She spoke up. 

Jongho’s eyes went wide in shock but then his expression turned into one of amusement.

“Wow, I- I was not expecting- How did you even get in touch with the NDA of all organisations?” 

“I got scouted by someone from the NDA in this cyber convention I was attending a few years back. It was about me catching his eyes or something. I don’t really know why he picked me in particular, but it all worked out at the end I guess.” Sohyun explained. “Okay but when was this though?” Jongho asked while trying to remember anything about her attending a convention. 

“Well, you wouldn’t know, because it was during freshman year and you were living with your aunt back then.” 

Realisation dawned upon Jongho as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. 

“What about you? Why Black Pirates?” Sohyun inquired after telling him her part of the story. 

“I wish I could tell you Hyun-ah but I can’t  reveal information like this without my captain’s permission. I’m sorry.” Jongho looked down. 

“What I can tell you though, is that we don’t have any bad intentions. There was something I wanted to accomplish, planning on carrying it out on my own but I couldn’t go far. However, I came in contact with them instead, completely by accident. I came to know that they had similar goals as me and they were willing to help me out if I helped them back. That’s how I became a part of them.”

Sohyun looked at him, not knowing what to think. She thought she knew everything about the boy beside her, but it was proving to be wrong. Sohyun really wanted to know his reasons but she understood that he had protocols to follow, just like she would have to if she had a permanent team assigned to her at NDA. 

“This happened during the time I was living at my aunt’s by the way.” Jongho added, making Sohyun scoff.

“Looks like we both got ourselves into something when we were apart, huh.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, finishing the remaining snacks and enjoying the breeze. There were a few minutes left for the break to end when Jongho spoke up,

“So, was whatever you said to me that day true? Or was it a heat of the moment thing?”

“Hm? No no, it was very true Jongho-yah. It was just me trying to test a theory out and trying to find more intel on you guys that particular day. You’re lucky that I’m not entitled to the agency as of yet, or else they would’ve surely kept tabs on me and my whereabouts, like they do with full-time members. But the next time I go on a mission to capture the Black Pirates I will not hold back, even if it’s you. I’ve been clear about that. Until and unless I find that whatever everyone is saying about you guys is fake and you guys are actually not dangerous, I will not be generous.” Sohyun got up.

“The person you’ll face on the field would be Agent Kang Sohyun, not your best friend.”

“Fair enough.” Jongho got up with a sigh. “I’ll keep that in mind, Sohyun-ah. But I hope our involvement with opposing organisations will not impact our relationship outside.”

“Not that I can stay away from you anyway, Ho-yah” She called him by his nickname making him crack a smile. “Unless I’m on your captain’s hitlist and you’re on my team’s, we’re good.” Sohyun smiled.

The two made their way back to their respective classes with smiles on their faces. They were relieved that their secrets won't create a rift between them, even if it was momentary. 

While Sohyun and Jongho were busy paying attention to each other, they failed to notice a mysterious figure keeping an eye on them from the shadows.

After everything they heard, the figure went on his way while creating a plan in his head– a plan to bring Kang Sohyun down.

Next chapter

Tags : @wooyoos @jwnghyuns @starillusion13