#than the particular form that partnership takes

[sapphorror]

!! All true (Jon's alexithymia is so real to me), and I'm also compelled to add:

Jon and Martin's relationship is very heavily based in mutual trauma—like, I love their shameless S5 codependence and the 'where you go I go' thing is Tragic Romance™ as all hell, but the reason they're both borderline willing to trade the world for each other is because they've been each other's only constant throughout all the horrors of the show. And this is especially relevant on Jon's end because a) Martin is the only original archival assistant still alive and losing him at this point would basically seal Jon's complete and utter inability to protect the people he believes himself responsible for AND sever his last tie to his former humanity, and b) Martin is the one person who has, unerringly, come to Jon's defense and been on his side when everyone else he cares about resents and mistrusts him in some way. The fact that support was very abruptly taken away in S4 when Jon undoubtedly needed it the most only made Jon value it more because he now has a very clear picture of what life is like without it.

And is this healthy? Well, no, but one, that's not what I'm here for, and two, I think Jonathan Sims expressed the sentiment best here:

They are not a normal relationship formed under normal circumstances, and consequently really can't be fairly evaluated by normal standards. They have been through and continue to go through levels of trauma that are literally impossible to replicate in the real world. Just let them have this.

Also, yeah, it's worth noting that because of the way TMA is written, with the vast majority of non-plot relevant events happening off-screen only to be hinted at on the recordings, the two of them developing a friendship over the course of seasons two and three is absolutely in the text if you're paying any attention whatsoever. It's probably not a very CLOSE friendship, under the circumstances—that they don't actually know each other very well is something both Martin and Peter explicitly point out—but there was absolutely room for feelings to begin developing before getting rudely derailed by S4.

I've seen it said in places that Jon and Martin's relationship (specifically Jon realizing he has feelings for Martin) feels rushed and out of nowhere, and there's a perspective here that I want to share.

I think some people see them as explicitly a gay couple and expect them both to react a certain way to each other, but I have some thoughts as to why Jon is different and their relationship might not look like a traditional MLM story.

I feel that Jon's affections for Martin are absolutely there and growing over time, but with him being acespec, possibly autistic (the "I feel...sad" moment screams alexithymia to me. He doesn't fully understand his internal feelings until they're too big to ignore), and trying very hard to not get murdered for several seasons, I think it's perfectly reasonable his feelings for Martin would take time to develop.

We do see him softening to Martin over time. We see him thinking about Martin unprompted when he's alone. We see him going from "this man is going to ruin this delicate facade I've put up to seem professional, and I want him gone immediately." to "Oh, you're actually capable. So capable you might be trying to kill me." To "I don't want him to get involved or he might get hurt. I need to keep my distance so he's safe." To "I'm going to make myself tea out of nowhere because the guy who usually made it for me all the time isn't here and now it's part of my routine and I want to keep that part of him around while I'm hiding out for murder."

But once he identifies his own feelings, he overcorrects right into hopeless romantic. He's pining hard all S4, because he finally realized himself that he's in love and it's at the worst possible time. It is abrupt. Dude only just figured it out and he's throwing his whole ass into this.

I think even without the autistic headcanon, the acespec nature of how he views relationships and his whole "I feel...sad" moment indicates clearly that he was just oblivious to his own feelings for a very long time.

I know it feels sudden, but some of us are oblivious, okay? I was friends with a girl for 2 years before my brain flipped the switch and Jon's reaction felt so familiar, and I love it. I just hardly ever get to see "me" in media, and it's a bummer when people say it feels unrealistic. It's not, it's just not the norm.

[cosmicpuzzle]

Moon ☽ in Signs

Moon in Aries ♈︎

You express your feelings directly and forcefully and it is natural for you to take the initiative in emotional situations. When emotionally involved, you refuse to take second place. You value your freedom and dislike any restrictions placed upon you. It is likely that you will control or dominate your domestic environment. Your instincts are strong but you can be inclined to act impulsively. Sometimes this can get you into trouble.

Moon in Taurus ♉︎

You have a need for financial and material security in order to maintain emotional well-being. While it is in your nature to manage your financial affairs with care, it is probable that you will have changeable material circumstances in life. In your emotional life, you desire constancy and faithfulness in others. You know how to enjoy the good things in life and an attachment to possessions and acquisitions is likely. There can be a risk of weight gain through over-indulgence.

Moon in Gemini ♊︎

You have a strong need to communicate your feelings. It is possible that you will rationalize your emotions or allow your intellect to control your emotional life. Your home-life is usually stimulating and often a centre for learning and lively discussion.

Moon in Cancer ♋︎

You are in touch with your feelings and know how to respond to the emotional needs of others. You feel things deeply and are keenly receptive and intuitive. Domestic security and partnership are necessary for your emotional well-being and family life is always important to you. Highly sensitive, you are easily hurt by slights or harsh criticisms. Your stomach is the barometer of your emotional life.

Moon in Leo ♌︎

You radiate a warm and sunny disposition. You have an emotional need to be liked and acknowledged, coupled with a strong need to give and receive affection. You often find yourself at the centre of attention, whether you want it or not. In your home and family life, you tend to feel responsible towards others and will take charge of situations and lead. Alternatively, you can be just plain bossy and domineering. You can be prone to extravagance and exaggeration.

Moon in Virgo ♍︎

You are pragmatic and will often put practical considerations before your emotional needs. Family matters are never far from your mind. You are aware of your family responsibilities and obligations. There may be some difficulties expressing your feelings, as you can be shy and reserved. You value tidiness and cleanliness in your home and work environments. Particular in your personal habits, you can be overly fussy and picky.

Moon in Libra ♎︎

Above all, you desire harmony and equality in your personal and social relationships. You enjoy company and social activity. Emotionally, you have a need for love and tenderness and will tend to form partnerships throughout your life to satisfy this. You value peace in your domestic life. You can be superficial with your feelings and indecisive in your emotional life.

Moon in Scorpio  ♏︎

You have a deep and complex emotional life, with the tendency to feel things intensely. You tend to be secretive and suspicious of others. At times, your feelings can overwhelm you. Emotional dramas can surface from time to time. Conflicts are possible with family members. If hurt or slighted, you can be unforgiving and bear grudges. You tend to hold your feelings in. You are prepared to fight for what you believe in.

Moon in Sagittarius  ♐︎

You have an easy-going outlook on life, with a freedom-loving nature. Being emotionally tied down is not your style. You are open and honest in your emotions. Your beliefs and ethics are instilled in early childhood and can remain with you throughout life. You have a deep interest in higher learning and a strong curiosity about things, which may lead to long distance travel or higher education.

Moon in Capricorn ♑︎

While you are someone who feels things deeply, you experience some difficulty expressing your innermost feelings. Rather than freely showing your emotions, you tend to keep them under control. A serious person, you know and accept your responsibilities, especially towards your family. Other people are inclined to look to you for support, as you have an inner strength and maintain a cool head under pressure. You are ambitious for success and professional advancement.

Moon in Aquarius  ♒︎

You intuitively understand other people and empathize with their needs. A true humanitarian, you are inclined to put others' emotional needs before your own. You have an understanding, if somewhat detached nature, which can be seen as cool and aloof. While you enjoy emotional contact, your natural tendency is to maintain independence. This can cause some problems in intimate relationships. Your domestic arrangements are likely to be unique.

Moon in Pisces ♓︎

You are a deeply feeling person, with an acute sensitivity and susceptibility to external influences. Highly instinctive, you easily pick up on the mood of an environment and others. However, guard against being too soft with others, as there can be a risk of being taken advantage of emotionally. You are inclined to feel pushed and pulled by conflicting moods within yourself and from other people. You have a gift for creative or healing work.

For Readings DM

[serpentface]

A few birds of prey found in (and beyond) Imperial Wardi claimed land: the crow kite, dove eagle, and golden eagle.

---

The crow kite is a small, nimble hunter. This particular species is found exclusively west of the Blackmane mountain range and east of the Mouth seaway, though has close relatives elsewhere. They're mostly found in grasslands, where they can be seen hovering in midair while scanning for prey below. They primarily prey upon insects caught in flight, though will also regularly take rodents and lizards and can grapple with prey almost as large as themselves. Most of their diet consists of live prey, though they will opportunistically scavenge.

They are threatened by larger birds of prey, though are notably aggressive and proficient at mobbing most threats.

The crow kite has a particular partnership association with the (broadly unnoticed to be Sapient by humans) 'talking crows' who live here. Mutualistic and/or stealthily parasitic interactions with other animals characterize many crow cultures, and kites represent the only raptors that crows in this region partner with (largely due to posing no threat to themselves/their young).

Both (mostly) benefit from the overall relationship- the kite is slightly larger and notably more powerful than a single crow, while the crows are highly social and can keep more effective watch for predators as large groups. When foraging in association, they are highly effective at warning each other of threats and teaming up to drive them away. Crows will take on predators they wouldn't even dare approach as a large group with kites on their sides (notably the dove eagle, which is rarely outright mobbed by smaller birds due to their tremendous agility and capability of turning the tables on pursuers), and the two species are known to drive away substantially larger mammalian predators (occasionally even humans) from carcasses and resources. Kites also have beaks better equipped for tearing than crows, and can open some carcasses that crows cannot.

The most dramatic form of this association is the 'adoption' of kite chicks by some crow families. Kites rear clutches of 3-5 eggs, and the crows will occasionally steal an unguarded chick and raise it to maturity in order to fully monopolize the benefits of this partnership. Kite chicks adopted by crows do not heavily compete for resources (as the crows have a significantly more generalist diet) and serve as permanent attack dogs/can openers for their adoptive families while out foraging. This is not Particularly beneficial to the kite, who (having imprinted on their crow parents) will not readily mate with their own species, and will often be allowed to do most of the work of mobbing predators (when deemed too risky/too much effort for the crows themselves). An adopted kite's propensity to form one-sided pair bonds with their adoptive species is also utilized to assist in the labor of rearing chicks, where it can be coaxed into bringing kills for a nesting crow 'partner'. The crows generally do bond with their 'adoptees' (though not as fellow crows) and don't tend to perceive this relationship as wholly exploitative.

This association in of itself is widely noted by human observers, hence the kite's common name. Most peoples in this region have largely negative outlooks on crows (ranging from being despised scavengers to respected but frightful animals, and in all cases are considered potentially bad omens), which is extended to the crow kite. Crow kites are often regarded as omens of death and misfortune, sometimes even more intensely than crows. One of the most widespread beliefs (across several cultural groups) is that seeing a crow kite and crow perch together on top of a home indicates the impending demise of a mother and infant during childbirth.

---

The dove eagle is a mid-sized specialist predator of smaller birds, found widely across the temperate and subtropical eastern continental mass. It is most associated with the killing of doves (hence its name), though the majority of its prey is passerine birds and it is occasionally known to take small mammals and reptiles. It is a very powerful predator and exceptionally agile in flight. It also has notably long legs, and can occasionally be seen pursuing prey on foot. It is most abundant in savanna and wooded regions, as well as mountainous areas with high cliffs, as it usually hunts in short bursts from high perches. It can be somewhat of a pest in human settlements, where it poses a threat to poultry.

While often an irritant to people for its predation of avian livestock, it tends to be regarded for its beauty, with its bluish-hued feathers, sleek profile, and elegant flight. Its light blue-gray eyes are notably distinctive among predatory birds here. Light eye colors commonly have sinister and/or apotropaic associations among peoples south of the Viper seaway, which carries into folklore surrounding dove eagles. They are often ascribed the power to paralyze prey with their stare, to be capable of inflicting curses, and/or to be able to frighten off evil spirits with their glare. They are often left unharmed where other threats to livestock would be killed out of fear of receiving a curse.

The dove eagle has the most extensive significance in the Hill Tribes cultural sphere. This bird is one of many avian forms ancestors can take when visiting the world of the living, and the vast majority of its birdsign-omens are wholly positive. The dove eagle tends to be a signal of impending success and good luck in economic ventures, and its presence/gaze chases away bad luck and evil spirits (perhaps at the cost of some poultry here and there, which sometimes may be a message of ancestral disapproval as well as just a general bummer). Its feathers are considered lucky and utilized in magical practice (bundles are waved to banish malicious spirits from homes and objects, single feathers are sometimes worn as good luck charms), though feathers must be retrieved from around nests or by chance, as killing predatory birds is taboo.

---

The golden eagle is a very large, bulky predator. This particular subspecies (distinguishable by its dark, mostly solid colored wings) is very widespread and can be found throughout much of the northeastern hemisphere, adapting to a considerable variety of habitats and climates. It is occasionally a threat to livestock, being wholly capable of killing the tiny offspring of horses, and sometimes even a threat to newborn cattle (they are known to kill very young calves by knocking them off cliffs when the opportunity presents itself). They are noted for their dramatic courtship displays, wherein coupling pairs lock talons and spin towards the ground in freefall.

They tend to be highly regarded animals in most of this region. They tend to garner associations of regality, power and (usually masculine) strength. They are frequently used as symbols of monogamous romantic love and devotion, notably mating for life (most partnered pairs at least rear chicks together for life, though extra-pair copulation is fairly common and often goes unnoticed by observers). Their mating death-spiral makes frequent appearances in Wardi poetry as a romantic allegory, sometimes as a simple representation of foolhardy love and sometimes representative of the often challenging nature of first-time marriages (very commonly arranged, and often between strangers in the upper-class contexts that mainstream poetry tends to focus on).

Most proto-Wardi groups appear to have held the eagle as a high status sacred animal in ancient history, and very old outsider recordings of these earlier practices describe these birds as highly venerated in association with a non-personified but semi-deified sun and/or sky. Proto-Finnic groups that migrated here appear to have had associations with golden eagles in a funerary context (these migrants most likely practiced sky burials early in their history here) and to have adopted the golden eagle's semi-deified status from proto-Wardi groups they interacted with/absorbed/were absorbed by.

The centrality of the golden eagle has largely been lost in contemporary practices, but remnants of its status are still obvious. Cholemdinae folklore describes the golden eagle as one of God (who is the sun)'s most devoted creations, who tried to stop the theft of fire that would destroy the first world. Surviving 'heathen' North Wardi practices that similarly venerate the sky as a central deity describe the golden eagle as its messengers, also capable of traveling to and from the land of the dead. The King of Eagles, the first golden eagle (and first bird in general), father of dragons and the winds, is lightly venerated as a deity-spirit throughout most of the Hill Tribes religious sphere, and the spirits of dead ancestors are considered to frequently take the form of these birds. Contemporary Imperial Wardi animal-folktales also tend to cast the golden eagle as a king of birds, commanding and served by lesser flying creatures. While not outright sacred animals in the Faith of the Seven Faced God, they have noted solar associations. They are sometimes used as sacrifices to the Face Inyamache, and their feathers are given as offerings and worn by priests to this deity-aspect.

[sensualnoiree]

How You Handle Breakups Based on Your Venus

I want to dive into how Venus placements play a major role in navigating love, relationships, and breakups real quick along with a few astrological transits and aspects that influence how we process separation and healing…all through the lens of Venus in your natal chart ;)

Venus in Fire Signs - Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

People with Venus in fire signs tend to approach breakups with boldness and independence. They might initially react with strong emotions but are quick to recover, preferring to move forward rather than dwell on the past.

Transits to Watch: Mars Transits: When Mars forms a hard aspect (conjunction, square, opposition) to natal Venus, breakups can bring intense emotions, quick decisions, or even impulsive actions. Jupiter Transits: Jupiter transits can bring optimism and growth after a breakup, pushing the individual toward new experiences.

Venus in Earth Signs - Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Those with Venus in Earth signs may find it difficult to let go and often take longer to process the end of a relationship. Stability is a core need, and they might try to find closure through practical means or even immerse themselves in work or routines.

Transits to Watch: Saturn Transits: Saturn's hard aspects (conjunction, square, opposition) to Venus can bring emotional hardship, leading to serious reflection, self-discipline, or feeling isolated. Uranus Transits: Uranus can bring sudden and unexpected shifts in relationships, which may lead to impulsive breakups or sudden realizations about personal freedom.

Venus in Air Signs - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

These individuals are often more detached and may intellectualize their emotions. They might seek social connections or engage in conversation to process their feelings. Libra Venus, in particular, may struggle with the loss of harmony and partnership.

Transits to Watch: Mercury Transits: Mercury’s influence can bring a period of reflection or communication, leading to conversations that might clarify or bring closure to a breakup. Neptune Transits: Neptune can blur boundaries and cause confusion, making it difficult to understand or fully let go of the relationship.

Venus in Water Signs - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Water Venus signs are deeply emotional, and breakups can be incredibly painful. They tend to take breakups personally, experiencing intense emotional currents and needing time to process their feelings before they can heal.

Transits to Watch: Pluto Transits: Pluto's intense and transformative influence can trigger deep emotional upheaval, especially for Scorpio Venus, bringing themes of power struggles and rebirth after a breakup. Moon Transits: The moon’s transits through water signs or forming aspects to Venus can heighten sensitivity and emotional processing during a breakup.

Other Important Aspects & Transits Related to Breakups

Venus Retrograde: Venus retrograde periods often bring relationship issues to the surface, triggering breakups or reconciliation. During this time, individuals may reevaluate their values, romantic interests, or past relationships.

Venus-Mars Aspects: This dynamic can create tension or attraction in relationships. When hard aspects (square, opposition) between Venus and Mars are present, breakups might occur due to conflict, impulsiveness, or frustration.

Saturn Transits to Venus: Saturn transits, especially when conjunct or opposing Venus, often indicate times of challenge and restriction in relationships. This may manifest as a breakup or a time when love feels strained, heavy, or burdened by responsibilities.

Uranus Transits: Uranus, the planet of sudden changes and liberation, can lead to abrupt breakups, especially if it’s transiting Venus or forming hard aspects in the natal chart. It brings an unpredictable quality to relationships, often promoting freedom over stability.

Neptune Transits: Neptune transits can cause confusion, idealization, or disillusionment in love. Under Neptune’s influence, breakups may feel murky or unclear, and individuals may have difficulty moving on due to lingering feelings of uncertainty.

Pluto Transits: Pluto transits to Venus can be extremely intense, often indicating deep transformations in relationships. Breakups under Pluto's influence might feel fated or involve power dynamics, but ultimately these experiences push individuals toward personal growth.

follow for more astro insights like this and head on over to @quenysefields or my etsy --> sensualnoiree to grab my new astrology guidebook on reading your own natal chart :)

[ivesambrose]

JUNE 2024 MINI MESSAGES 🌿💚

1. 2. 3.

Kept it short and sweet

To book a personal reading with me DM or email me at ivesambrose@gmail.com

Masterpost

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Picture 1

A substantial focus is on yourself, your physical body and your health. You'll be wanting to take life slowly. It is likely you've been feeling energetically depleted and feeling sleepy more than usual or being around or engaging with certain people or activities isn't making you feel as good. On a positive note, this will allow you to bring your attention and energy back to yourself which in turn will make you realize certain aspects of your health you may have overlooked. Y ou might be switching up or prioritising a skincare and wellness routine, opt for slower workouts or dancing, anything that makes you feel beautiful and good from within instead of amping up your stress or cortisol levels. Some of you might be quitting smoking or drinking this month too. You might also be focusing on holistic healthcare or healing yourself via the food you eat. You will be moving more, just you won't be in a hurry. Infact, there's no need to rush anything. let the money and love come to you as you stay open to receive. Your worldview might also change or you might end up influencing others via your perspectives. You might engage in creating something artsy, whatever that may be. The more you do things for yourself instead of catering to what's trending or what others keep demanding of you, the more you'll bloom.

Stay loyal to your goals, remain stubborn about them, no matter what. Also, try getting a haircut or new color sometime this month.

Picture 2

Just let it happen. You've been wanting that drastic change but you couldn't do that for yourself or you've tried to do it for yourself but you didn't know how so you just gave up. The emotions piled up regardless. So simply let this happen, it will, inevitably. It might be the most unexpected thing ever, it may not even be as smooth at first, you might as well be that gif of Rebel Wilson screaming, 'Enough!" Any form of upheaval you face this month even if it's a mental or emotional one, know that it's necessary to bring back order into your life. Chaos and order do go hand in hand, right?

By the end of this month you'l be feeling more powerful if anything. You're no one's charity case and you're certainly not meant to remain frozen in this particular mindset you've been carrying. It's keeping you stuck in ways that's doing you more harm than good. You'l also be able to weed out people who are a part of your life as pretense and only want to take from you. You'll also be able to see the ones who look over you rather silently. There's a gift of discernment and intuition you're being blessed with here. write down every idea or thought or dream as strange it might seem this month It doesn't matter how you're going to make it come true or how it connects to anything else, it will make sense later, perhaps by Virgo or Libra season?

Again, time isn't important. But your dominant thoughts, certainly are. Befriend your mind and don't look back.

Picture 3

You're loved and desired extensively and you don't even realize that. For most of you I'm seeing you romanticize your life in whatever way you see it, maybe even switching up things in your room or beautifying your surroundings nd yourself. You'll feel closer to your loved ones this month or just have a lot of gratitude towards them. Yes, even if you prefer being alone. The focus is on relationships and partnerships and being extremely choosy with the ones you associate yourself with. There are quite a few people who want to know you and get closer to you even pursue you romantically. A good month for your personal business and finances or even manifesting a creative or desired opportunity through the right people and the right time. Don't shy away from your own potential. Some of you might also be engaging in proper manifestion rituals or even praying for something big. A lot of you have truly, sincerely decided to lock in and that determination in itself ill get you what you seek. By the end of this month I see movement. Physical travel as well.

For some of you, there's this manifestion you consider 'big' again, it's something personal to you, it might be something small to someone else, but what matters is how important it is to you, it'll come through in Leo season mostly or for some during Sagittarius season. Either way, just know what you want, is already yours.

[atamascolily]

So was anyone going to tell me they put the "Prologue in Heaven" sequence at the beginning of Magia Exedra (though after the CGI remake of the Homura vs. Walpurgisnacht battle from episode 1 and the Exedra OP) or did I just have to watch the video myself? Definitely did not have that on my bingo card.

The runes say "Magia Exedra" and the central logo is a star (aka the Memspark macguffins, which I cannot say with a straight face) and the moth/astrolabe wings of Infinite Iroha. So she's definitely involved in this somehow.

The lighthouse and a new mandala, because of all the cosmic worldbuilding symbolism. And then they do the projector thing, just like the beginning of the anime, before the frame narrative kicks in.

I keep seeing lots of speculation about Namae's true identity, but the whole point of the character is that she's literally a blank slate onto which the players can project themselves as well as taking on the forms of established characters to fight the battle sequences. The whole "you can find your true identity" thing is a great premise, but as soon as it's realized, the story ends (or at least has to find something else to do), so I don't expect resolution any time soon since presumably the game is going to go on for as long as possible.

Also, because the character is so nondescript, I have a hard time caring about this particular plot point, so to be honest, I'm fine with leaving it a mystery.

This guy, on the other hand...

Can you tell me what the hell your deal is, then? Who is your god? What master do you serve? ... No? Didn't think so.

Green Kyubey has a great personality, which is important because Namae has very little to work off of, so he's got to do all the heavy lifting in this partnership. He's literally an emotional support Incubator, which I find hilarious. I've seen theorizing that the lack of rings = ability to feel emotions, and while the sample size is limited (Kyubey, Mokyuu/Little Kyubey from Magia Record, and now this one), it certainly sounds plausible.

Green Kyubey's dialogue also implies he was created specifically for his current job as guardian of the lighthouse (by whom? Well, probably Madokami and Infinite Iroha), so I don't think there's going to be a dark plot twist where he turns out to be evil, actually. I mean, that could be a lot of fun, but I don't think that's where the game devs are going with it--the whole point of Magia Record was to make a lighter and softer version of Madoka Magica and go on indefinitely, and I think Exedra is going to continue with that. I also don't think he's secretly a character we already know, but they pulled that twist in Magia Record, so who knows.

Narratively, Green Kyubey's function is to guide and instruct the player, so while I'm very curious what his deal is, I suspect that backstory is also unlikely to be addressed for a while as the game seems hell-bent on recreating every single major Madoka Magica storyline in the franchise in CGI cut scenes/visual novel remakes.

Thus far, all of the stuff I've watched so far outside of the Namae-Green Kyubey interactions has been pretty derivative. Even the "Prologue in Heaven" segment above comes off as copying something that already existed rather than organic or as a homage. I mean, I'd love to be wrong, but given the game's fundamental premise is "revisiting the memories/experiences of every story we've already done", I'm not holding my breath.

I also suspect that while WnK's plot will inevitably get an event/level in Exedra, I don't think the two are connected much in terms of story outside of that. The two works serve two fundamentally different purposes, and Exedra's is to be a perpetual story machine and go on forever. I also don't think the creators would drop any hints/spoilers for WnK's plot by putting them in the backstory/premise of Exedra. But I guess we'll see.

Suffice to say, there's no shortage of material, but my primary interest is in the new stuff, so until we get to some original content, I'll probably tune out. But the image of the lighthouse in the void speaks to me on a deep emotional level and I would love to know more about it.

It's such a great image! Fingers crossed they do something interesting with it!

[astrophileblogs07]

Astro Observations pt.19

Hello guys!! Back after so long! I am sorry for not being active here...I am prepping for my med school entrance this year and so I have taken a year off. But since I missed you all, here i am ❣️

• People with Saturn ruling their 7th house/Leo risings or Saturn aspecting their 7th house lord in a good way, always, I mean ALWAYS have people come back to them in some form or way no matter how much time it takes. It is mostly due to any karmic ties with that person, either for the good or for the bad. (My mom has this placement and I have seen literally so many people who haven't been nice to her at first end up seeking significant help from her..). Saturn rules karma and the 7th house is not only about partnerships, but is also about open enemies, people who are bound to you by karma. • The second nakshatra(and the things related to it) from your nakshatra can help you to make money. Eg. If you are a Mrig, look at the next nakshatra i.e second from your nakshatra which would be Ardra. Even an Ardra person can help you gain money.

• This one is a bit weird (🤡)but people with strong Mars placement/ Mars dominant chart/ prominent Mars naturally have that aptitude of analysing 'flirting' behaviour(Idk what you call it when people are so observant and smart that they just know what your actions towards a particular individual mean and they also know why you're doing it 🙆🏻‍♀️). Also they learn that thing soooo earlyy in life....I have seen soooo manyyy kids with this placement when they are like 8 or 9 but their rizz level is 📈📈📈🔥. Even if there is no outside influence (like TV or people around them, or even if there is...they learn that veryyy fast and early in life). (IDK HOW Y'ALL DO THAT? 😭😭🤣🤣) {Mars is charming ✨✨)

# Here is this small fun fact about my life: (Saturn rules time and hence clocks). When I had my first Saturn dasha (Sade sati) I was in 4th grade that time. One of the effects of Saturn Dasha is that it actually makes your understanding and mind slow. (grasping power becomes slower than usual). And the fun fact here was, at that time, we were learning how to read time on clock (like time elapsed, time left and solving math problems on that.) but I was the only one who couldn't understand it properly and made so manyyy mistakes, got scolded by teachers and my mom lol 😂.

#I have noticed 2 things in an Ashwini 🐴🐴 1. They are the early earners of their family may be due to family issues (not usually) but most of the times coz they're ambitious.

2. They have some serious Daddy issues. Every Ashwini I have seen has a bad memory with their dads bruising/destroying their ego in the worst way possible (like for example: insulting you in front of public, targeting you and your insecurities). And the added cherry on top is they're the first people to pack their bags and leave/ move out early. Like anything they'd do to stay away from their fathers. 🤷🏻‍♀️🥸 3. Ashwini and Pushyas are match made in Heaven (after Bharani ofc)

# In my previous post i had mentioned about the moon and Asc getting along. That happens only when they're in the same sign. But one more observation which contradicts this one is that when your moon sign and the other person's asc are in opposite signs... that's ⚔battlefield ⚔ right there. 💀💀 (Me being an Aries moon, have literally had the worst fights with Libra asc.)

That's all from my side for today. Hope to return soon! (srsly wanna post more 😫) Thank you my Tumblr Fam!❤❤❤💕😘💖 Lotsss of Love to you all! (Bye, going MIA again 🤡)

[agirlsawalittlerose]

This is Me Trying

ModernAU!Aegon x OFC

Fresh out of rehab, Aegon Targaryen is looking for a way back into music when he meets Victoria, a talented but stubborn singer-songwriter who wants nothing to do with his family’s record label. Reluctantly thrown together, they form an unexpected creative partnership, finding common ground in music and shared struggles.

TW: Alcoholism, Addiction, ED

MASTERLIST

CHAPTER 20: Lover, You Should've Come Over

Talent didn’t exist. Of this, Aemond had always been certain.

Intelligence, perseverance—perhaps a touch of luck. Those were the real elements of a successful life.

Perseverance, effort, dedication.

The perfect formula, even for those with a messy life, required falling and rising again, always doing better, until finally touching the sun with your own hands. It didn’t matter if you had to climb over the corpses of those who had been less intelligent or less dedicated than you.

In the end, the sun was warm, enveloping—as warm as a word of approval or an embrace.

Aemond had been waiting for this day for months.

He had pushed, little by little, day after day, and had been thrown a few curveballs along the way. His admiration for Victoria mistaken for infatuation. His father’s blindness. And, most of all, his brother—who had, unwittingly, served his own downfall on a silver platter, his corpse laid out and ready to be stepped over.

Aegon owed him. Aemond kept repeating it to himself.

He should have felt satisfied. After months of careful maneuvering, his plan had finally worked. Victoria had signed. His father had taken notice. His position in the company was solidifying. Everything was falling into place.

And yet—something felt incredibly off. In the pit of his stomach, in the way he kept repeating to himself that Aegon owed him. More pressingly, in the suffocating tension at the dinner table.

His mother sat across from him, her fingers delicately wrapped around the stem of her wine glass, nodding absently at whatever their father was saying. But every few minutes, her eyes flickered toward Aegon, assessing him.

Aegon, next to him, was a picture of barely contained fury. His shoulders were tense, his fingers drumming against the table in erratic bursts, his jaw clenched like he was holding back something dangerous. But there was something else, too—an undercurrent of something darker. He looked exhausted. Defeated. Halfway between an explosion and a collapse.

Their father, oblivious as always, was in the middle of one of his grand stories from his youth. Something about an old industry legend he had worked with—a man he had outmaneuvered in a deal. The details blurred together, but Aemond listened closely, waiting for the inevitable lesson. His father’s stories were never just stories. They were messages, thinly veiled warnings, declarations of superiority.

“—and you have to be ruthless,” Viserys was saying, swirling his glass. “That’s what separates the ones who last from the ones who burn out. Take what you want, make no apologies. Hesitation is weakness, and weakness—”

Aegon let out a sharp, bitter laugh. It cut through the conversation like a blade.

Viserys barely faltered. “Something funny?”

Aegon pushed his chair back slightly, exhaling through his nose. “No, please, keep going. I love hearing about how you fucked people over in the past. Really explains a lot.”

Aemond tensed. Their father’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes. That particular brand of condescension that Aegon always responded to like a wounded animal backed into a corner.

Not that Aegon had anything to complain about. He had to be honest with himself—music had never been anything more than a stupid hobby for a bored idiot. And besides, they weren’t prioritizing some random nobody. They were prioritizing his Victoria.

If anything, Aegon should have been the one thanking Aemond for his incredible foresight—the kind that none of them had possessed months ago, back when he was still wasting his nights in that dingy pub, trying to convince Victoria to sign.

“Aegon,” Alicent said softly. A warning.

But Aegon was past warnings. “Is that what you did with me? Took what you wanted, made no apologies?”

Viserys tilted his head, still wearing that effortless, easy-going smirk. “Oh, come now. You know it’s just business.”

Aegon shoved his chair back and stood up. His jaw was clenched so tightly that Aemond could hear his teeth grind together. “Just business?” His voice was hoarse, like he was holding back either a scream or a laugh. “You barely let me breathe before you shoved me aside. I was supposed to get a second chance, wasn’t I?”

Viserys sighed, like this was tedious more than anything. “Sit down, Aegon.”

Aemond noticed Helaena clench her fists, as if she wanted to say something, but Aegon was faster.

Aegon ignored him. “Sit down, my ass. Grow a fucking spine and explain to me what the fuck you were thinking.”

Viserys sighed again, massaging his temples with his fingers. “Allen wanted Victoria, Aegon. He knew the song was hers—can you deny it?”

Aegon suddenly dropped his gaze, and Aemond was certain he was wondering what the hell these two dinosaurs knew about the nuances of songwriting credits between him and Victoria. Aemond took a slow sip of his wine and remained silent.

“So your brilliant idea,” Aegon continued, his anger now softened by bitter resignation, “was to pit me against my own girlfriend.”

Because the truth, the one neither of them had to say out loud, was that he wasn’t enough. That the song was Victoria’s.

Viserys, still entirely unbothered, leaned back in his chair. “It’s not personal, son. It’s business. It’s for the label. I can’t go around doing you favors or turning down contracts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds just so I don’t ‘get in the way’ of whatever girl you’re fucking this month.”

Alicent inhaled sharply. “Viserys.”

Helaena, who had been silent the entire meal, suddenly sat up. “You’re fucked up,” she announced, first looking at their father, then at Aemond himself, before storming off to the terrace.

Aemond rolled his eyes slightly.

Aegon let out a dry, humorless laugh. “You can’t do me favors—not even when it comes to sidelining me again, just like you’ve done my entire fucking life. Just like you already did with my music, apparently.”

Viserys sighed again, this time in open irritation. “Aegon—”

 Aegon’s breath came out unsteady, like he was just realizing the full extent of it. His fingers curled into a loose fist on the table, but there was no fight left in the motion—just exhaustion.

“You took away my entire team,” he said, slower this time, like tasting the words for the first time. His gaze flickered to Aemond, and for a second, there was something almost like disbelief in his expression. “And gave it to her.”

His voice was quieter now, but somehow it hit harder.

“Allen asked for the best people we had! You can go back to working on your album after spring—what difference does it make?”

“Fuck this.” Aegon turned and walked out of the dining room, his steps uneven, like he was trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.

Alicent immediately stood up, her napkin slipping from her lap to the floor. “Aegon, wait.” She shot Viserys a look—one that was equal parts frustration and exhaustion—before following him.

That left only Aemond and Viserys.

For a while, there was only the sound of silverware clinking against plates, the muffled hum of the city outside.

Then, finally, Viserys exhaled and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You do realise,” he said, voice measured, “that the next time you negotiate with my colleagues without me, there will be consequences.”

Aemond set his wine glass down, forcing himself to appear unbothered, though something in his stomach twisted uncomfortably. “I was securing an opportunity.”

Viserys didn’t even spare him a glance and simply went back to eating as if nothing had happened. “I decide what counts as an opportunity and what doesn’t. Do you understand?”

Aemond took another sip of wine, the stem of the glass cool against his fingers. “I understand,” he said smoothly.

He set the glass down with just a fraction too much care, his fingers lingering against the rim. Then, finally—just barely—he smirked.

“Completely.”

Viserys gave him a sharp look, then smirked. “Good.”

*****

It was awful. Awful.

Not the fact that Vic had never been this close to realizing the dream she’d had since she was a little girl, standing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush in hand, pretending her bedroom was Wembley Stadium. Not even that even her mother had perked up at the news that Vic was finally doing something with her music. It wasn’t just some far-fetched, forbidden dream to be shelved in favor of a real career anymore.  

And certainly not that her new manager—Ken fucking Allen, the same Ken Allen whose inbox she’d once flooded with demos, chasing the nearly perverse fantasy of having just one of her songs reach Stevie Nicks—had turned out to be surprisingly decent and had taken the time to carefully walk her through what her new work life would look like.  

For all of that, Vic was grateful. More than grateful—she was ecstatic, floating in a strange pink haze of satisfaction. And yet, within that satisfaction, there was no peace. There was a flicker of guilt, a medium dose of unease, and a massive wave of confusion.  

Vic felt like she was trapped in the middle of a long, disorienting hangover. Everything felt too real and not real at all at the same time. Only this time, there were no carbs to soak it up and no beer left to knock her out of it completely.  

Rehearsals, meetings, setlist discussions, Viserys Targaryen’s forced smiles. A dozen new people treating her like she was the most important person on the planet—while looking at her the way she looked at Terence whenever he attempted slam poetry.  

She’d spent the last two hours walking the endless hallways of the label, meeting them all. Emily, the marketing manager with an overly polished smile; Mark, the A&R guy who spoke like every conversation was a business transaction; and Jen, who handled PR and had already suggested—twice—that Vic should start curating her Instagram feed. She probably wasn’t wrong.  

Vic sat at the long conference table, fingers tapping absently against her coffee cup while Allen droned on about the show schedule. His words blurred in and out of focus—  

Rehearsals. Soundchecks. Branding. Social media strategy.  

Things she should be paying attention to.  

But her phone, lying face down on the table, kept tugging at her attention like a magnet.  

Aegon still hadn’t texted her back.  

And that was fucking awful.  

Her chest tightened. She flipped the phone over again, half-hoping, half-expecting his name to light up the screen. It didn’t.  

She was being ridiculous, and she knew it. He was the one who had insisted she sign the damn contract. He should be happy. Maybe he was just busy. Or hungover. Or sulking. Or—  

“Vic?”  

She blinked, jolting back to the room.  

“Sorry,” Vic said quickly, straightening up. “What was that?”  

Allen didn’t seem annoyed, but there was a brief flicker in his expression before he smoothed it over.  

“I was saying we should talk about recording after this,” he said, his voice perfectly even. “Aemond set up a meeting with Cole later to lock in studio time.” He gestured toward Aemond, seated next to her.  

Right. The album.

“Yeah,” Vic nodded. “Of course.”  

She could feel Emily and Mark watching her, analyzing, trying to get a read—but she couldn’t tell what they were actually looking for.  

Aemond, on the other hand, gave her a curious glance she couldn’t hold.  

Vic had spent the last 24 hours trying to figure out what the hell was going through Aegon’s mind—why he had vanished after the contract signing with just a quick kiss and a look in his eyes that felt like death.  

She’d hoped to fish out some clue from Aemond earlier while they waited for the rest of this pack of industry wolves to gather at the label. But Aemond had simply said the family dinner the night before had run a little long.  

Which explained nothing.  

Because if there was one thing Vic knew for certain about Aegon, it was that he did not go radio silent because he’d had too much fun bonding with his father the night before.  

In fact, she could hardly imagine a calm conversation after the brilliant little plan Viserys had cooked up—turning them into opponents, rivals. A twisted retelling of Romeo and Juliet, only they couldn’t even be mad at their families, because the rivalry wasn’t born from outside pressure. It was ego. Ambition. Dreams that belonged solely to each one of them—and no one else.  

Vic tried to shove away the thought that maybe Aegon was genuinely pissed at her. That by signing, she’d just marked yet another moment where Aegon had been pushed aside by his father—and this time, she was the ink on that page.  

Allen moved on, launching into logistics for the Stevie Nicks shows, rattling off details while Jen scribbled notes into a leather-bound planner.  

“You’ll have about twenty-five minutes per set,” Allen continued. “We’ll finalize the setlist soon, but naturally, we’ll want to highlight the singles first. Then we can think about the rest—maybe a cover? Something that helps you connect with the audience.”  

Vic nodded, even though something about the entire conversation made her skin crawl. Not because Allen was being rude—on the contrary, he was polite, professional, even encouraging.  

That was the problem.  

They were all being too nice.  

Maybe it was the way Emily kept talking about building your brand instead of growing your career. 

Maybe it was the way Mark smiled like he already knew exactly what choices she’d make before she even opened her mouth.  

Or maybe it was just the fact that she was here, in this polished, clinical office, sitting at this pristine table—while Aegon, the one who had gotten her here in the first place, wasn’t answering his fucking phone.  

“Vic?”

Allen again.

She forced a smile. “Yeah, sounds great.”

If anyone noticed her hesitation, they didn’t say a word.

But as Allen kept talking, as Emily jotted more notes and Mark nodded like everything was going according to some invisible blueprint, Vic couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole machine was moving—with or without her.

And she wasn’t sure which one scared her more.

“So, another thing we might want to consider—” Jen was speaking now, her voice smooth, PR-polished. “Given the tour schedule and the intensity of rehearsals, we could look into setting you up with a personal trainer.”

Vic’s spine straightened so fast it was almost audible.

Her gaze flicked toward Jen, then around the table, trying to gauge if anyone else had flinched at that like she had. She hadn’t even processed the words fully yet—just felt them hit, blunt and raw.

“A personal trainer?” she repeated, her voice light, almost joking, but with a thin edge she couldn’t entirely smooth over.

“For stamina,” Jen clarified quickly, as if she’d seen the shift in Vic’s posture—the way she’d instinctively tugged at the hem of her denim shorts, trying to cover the soft curve of her stomach she hadn’t even been thinking about until that exact second. She crossed her legs, suddenly aware of the way her thighs pressed together on the seat. Fuck.

“Right, stamina,” she said, offering a tight smile. “Of course.”

Jen had already moved on, rattling off something about pre-show rituals and energy supplements, but Vic wasn’t listening anymore. Her eyes flicked to the glass wall of the meeting room, scanning the hallway beyond it—

And then she saw him.

A mess of tousled blond hair, the way his earrings caught the light and made him flare like a literal flash against the glass walls of the room—and, most of all, that brisk, strangely indifferent attitude, totally out of character for him, like he was crossing the hallway on his way to something urgent.

And the rush that surged through her was equal parts fury and relief.

There you are.

“I—sorry,” Vic said, rising from her chair a little too quickly. Every head in the room turned.  

“I just need a quick break. Five minutes?”

Allen barely looked up, distracted by something Jen had said. “Sure, of course.”

Vic didn’t wait for a second invitation. She was already halfway to the door, snatching her phone and stepping out into the hallway like she had every intention of pretending this was completely normal.

She’d seen him slip into Mix Room 4, and she moved fast, hoping it was empty—that maybe they’d get a moment alone.

But when she stepped through the door, it became clear he’d been hoping for someone else entirely.

Aegon was standing near the console, hunched slightly forward, one hand raking through his hair. He looked up, and there was the faintest flicker of disappointment in his face before he masked it.

“Aegon,” Vic called out.

He turned toward her, and for a second, she couldn’t read his expression at all.

“Vic,” he said flatly. No warmth. No spark.

Then, like he suddenly remembered that this wasn’t how he usually acted around her, he stepped forward and pressed a quick, half-hearted kiss to her lips.

“I was looking for Cole,” he said, already shifting away again. “Had a couple ideas for the vocal line in Here and Now. But he told me he’s booked all day.”

Vic reached for his fingers, to lace hers with his. Something to make the moment feel less detached, less like two strangers in the wrong room.

A twinge of guilt sparked down her spine.  

“We’ve got a meeting with him later,” she said carefully, trying not to put too much weight on the we—but it landed heavily anyway, drawing a line between her and him that didn’t need spelling out.

Aegon gave a bitter little smile, then caught himself and nodded, slipping his hand from hers to run it through his hair again.

“I texted you yesterday,” Vic said quietly, just before he could look away.

Aegon moved toward the sofa, sitting down casually, but she didn’t follow him.

“I know. Sorry,” he replied, shrugging like it didn’t matter. “Family dinner last night turned into a full-on circus. I didn’t really feel like existing, let alone checking my phone.”

Vic nodded slowly, trying to accept that answer—but the truth was, one message would’ve been enough. One sentence would’ve spared her the spiral she’d spent hours trapped in. 

He knew that.

They stood in silence for a few seconds—awkward, heavy silence. It felt unnatural between them. Even in their worst moments, they'd always talked, even if it was just to argue, to snap, to provoke. But this—this stilted quiet felt like a foreign language neither of them knew how to speak.

Vic could feel that all-too-familiar pressure building in her chest—the kind that always came right before she lost control of her mouth.

“Why does it feel like you either want to punch me or never speak to me again?” she blurted out suddenly, voice sharper than she meant, but too raw to rein back.

Aegon finally looked at her then. Really looked at her. And something in his face shifted—like he was only just now realizing what he’d been making her carry.

He stood from the sofa, head low, eyes dark with self-reproach. He looked like someone who’d just figured out he’d been a complete fucking idiot.

And about damn time, Vic thought.

“I’m sorry, Vic. I’ve been a total asshole,” he said quietly, before reaching out and pulling her into his arms.

She let him, but her body stayed rigid in his hold. She couldn’t bring herself to return the embrace, not yet. Her hands stayed limp at her sides while his wrapped around her like he was trying to fix something he’d just noticed was broken. 

“I’m just a bit of a mess right now,” he added against her hair, “but it’s not your fault.”

She swallowed, willing her voice to stay steady. “You could’ve just told me.”

Aegon sighed, his grip on her tightening for half a second before he let go, stepping back just enough to look at her.

“I know,” he said. His voice was quieter now, not defensive, just… tired. “I should have. I’m sorry.”

Vic studied him, searching for any trace of bullshit, but there wasn’t any. Just Aegon, looking like he’d been dragged through hell and back and didn’t quite know what to do with himself now.

It didn’t erase the way she’d felt for the past day and a half—the gnawing anxiety, the stupid, creeping thoughts she hadn’t been able to shut down. But it was something.

She let out a slow breath. “We said we’d be honest with each other, right?”

“I know.” He lifted a hand, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. “I am being honest.”

That small, careful touch was almost enough to knock the air out of her lungs. 

She let him touch her, but narrowed her eyes. “You’re only getting away with this because you have a nice face.”

Aegon’s mouth twitched—like the joke was a lifeline. “I knew you were shallow.”

“Disgustingly so.” She let a breath out through her nose, some of the stiffness leaving her voice. “If you were ugly, I’d be gone by now.”

“That’s fair.” He tilted his head, considering. “Wait—if I got ugly now, would you leave me?”

Vic hummed, pretending to think. “Depends. Are we talking mildly ugly, or full-on goblin?”

Aegon pulled a dramatic face, baring his teeth. “Like, hideous. Warts, hunchback, patchy beard.”

She squinted at him. “You already have the patchy beard.”

He gasped. “Rude.”

“Accurate.”

Aegon poked her side, and she squirmed, biting back a laugh. “Do you still love me?” he asked her.

Vic stared at him for a moment, her eyes assessing him.

What a stupid question, completely nonsensical. She responded in the only way she could. “Eh. Tolerate might be the better word.”

Aegon rolled his eyes. “You definitely love me.”

“Debatable,” she teased, leaning in just a fraction.

He arched a brow. “Say it.”

Vic’s smirk widened. “Make me.”

Aegon grabbed her waist and yanked her down into a kiss, catching the way her breath hitched just before their lips met. She made a small, pleased sound, then kissed him back properly, deep and slow, his fingers pressing into her waist as if he were trying to close the distance between them, making up for every second apart.

Of course, the moment didn’t last.  

Aemond had just thrown the door open, hitting them both with a perplexed look and a harsh dose of reality.  

“Ready to get back to it? Cole’s here,” he announced, utterly unfazed—and most importantly, without sparing his brother so much as a glance.  

Vic nodded, doing her absolute best not to roll her eyes, suddenly reconsidering what her ten-year-old self—with a hairbrush in hand and stars in her eyes—really wanted. Maybe making out with Aegon wasn’t such a bad alternative, after all. Music was great and all, but no one had warned her about the meetings, the personal trainers, the stamina, and all the other bullshit that came with it.  

Aemond, perhaps finally aware that he’d just interrupted something, turned and walked out of Mix Room 4.  

Vic exhaled, then looked at Aegon. “Come with me?” she asked, her voice steady, but something uncertain flickering in her eyes.  

He studied her for a moment, probably wondering where the sudden hesitation was coming from. Great. Fantastic. Way to twist the knife, Vic.

But then he surprised her.  

“Obviously,” he said, voice deliberately pompous. “If my lady needs rescuing from the lion’s den, it is my sworn duty.”  

[enneamage]

i remember your really great essay on the fandom's tendency to hope ccs are queer due to, in part, the uneasy relationship between male streamers and women. now seeing wilbur's exploration into famously queer media (i have never met a dude into tyler the creator who was not bi unless he himself believed tyler wasn't queer), i was wondering, do you think male ccs in the community are aware that being bi makes them appear more safe towards women? i don't doubt anyone's sexuality btw

For starters, I think that Wilbur is throwing a bunch of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks in terms of a new public persona. What you’re looking at is still an indie softboy variant, just spiced a bit differently. Art Guy and Bisexual can be related but as I said in the other post, sticking morality, sexuality and aesthetics together as a package deal is a quick way to be misled. The thing I want to linger on is the evolution of the idea of a softboy, which was actually a fandom-esque tumblr term that was a term of endearment to fictional / irl boys before it became an ironic nickname to call out a particular kind of wolf in sheep's clothing. I think that concept cycle happens a lot. 

In the straight sense, men do have a motivation to try to get women to like them. While some people are remarkably bad at this or have no clue how to achieve it, others are a bit better at following the trail of an appealing persona and trying to fit themselves into it. Some of it is a genuine self-image desire as well, you want to think of yourself as an appealing person even without an audience, so you take the temperature of the culture and try to follow the path that seems to work best for your desires and interests.

Softboy / golden retriever boyfriend / himbo and the like tends to come from the imagination of women online when collectively brainstorming what kind of person would be seen as a breath of fresh air in the current Dude Climate. The issue with it being translated IRL is that once it becomes clear that people really do find these tropes attractive, people want to lean into the strategy a bit either as an exaggeration of their own personalities or an active choice to Not Be Like Other Guys, inviting inevitable disappointment when they have the ups and downs of a real person with traits, or are revealed to be straight up frauds. 

In terms of leaning into persona or aesthetics aside from sexuality, I want to bump this post by someone on the mcyt snark reddit that takes a tour through personas that consistently appear and reappear in post-2020 MCYT circles. I think the people love a persona (or imago perhaps) and a package deal of traits, we tend to hand them out for free when we’re forming our impressions of people even if they don’t mean to create one. 

Wilbur in particular has a lot of reasons to try and dress himself up as ‘safe’ for the time being, but you asked about the bi swatch of MCYT and I think the answer to the safety part is unconsciously, yes. I think that having an aspect of their experience being removed from mainstream straight culture really does put them in a different headspace than straight peers, but whether that headspace is actually kinder and safer in practice isn’t guaranteed in the way that I think both parties might hope. They probably notice that people treat them better or differently when they lean into the mlm part of their identity, leading them to do it more over time.

Again, especially with CCS, I think a lot of people hope that the bisexuality will lead to a long term partnership with a man or that their attraction to women would be softened into something less hormonally or culturally straight. People actively leaning into post-2020 queer culture aesthetics (because we’re not talking leather bars here) may also seem more safe or appealing by breaking down the dyadic “let me define myself by being completely opposed to you” aspects of really rigid gender performance relationships. Ironically this may also make them seem more appealing as partners in the platonic and romantic sense because it feels less like you’re dealing with a rigid diametric opposite. You feel closer to them by being under the LGBTQ+ umbrella with them, which also adds some motivation to parasocial attachment. 

[josephquinnswhore]

mi vida - javier escuella x female reader

summary: life with a romantic outlaw.

word count: 1.9k

content warning: not much tbh. mentions of murder, robbery, theft, conning.

The late afternoon breeze swells through the camp between the natural barricade of trees surrounding your current campsite, Horseshoe Overlook. Many go about their duties, few of the men are often gone more days than not, returning with food for Pearson to prepare or things to contribute to camp, mostly money.

That comes in many forms of succession, theft, robbery, conning, and murder. No women in camp were partial to what the men did to keep everyone afloat, yet—amongst the many people who committed these atrocities. Never had you felt safer, they were loyal, protective.

Profoundly your boyfriend, Javier. Fiercely loyal, even to Bill, who constantly harassed Javier over his ethnicity. The name calling, sniggering and remarks about Javier’s tendency to groom himself.

Regardless—it was Javier who left camp yesterday, gun in his holster and urging Boaz out of camp when he had found out that Bill had been captured by bounty hunters. To save that same man who had been relentless in attacking and attempting to humiliate your lover.

The smell of Pearson's warm stew that had been simmering all day over a small fire makes your stomach ache with anticipation and creates a welcome distraction rather than your disdain for Bill Williamson. Warm food to fill your aching stomach as many of you only ate one meal a day. The same thing that was prepared every day. A mix of meat, vegetables and bland stock.

But you were grateful that you had the opportunity to eat. Thankful for those, often Charles or Arthur bringing back food for Pearson to prepare. Often, you take it upon yourself to go searching for herbs to make the stew more flavoursome.

Many had noticed and pleaded for you to forage enough for all those daring to ask. The bundle of herbs that had been carefully clipped and placed into your sachel earlier this morning.

There were plenty blossoming, thyme was your favourite, it was accessible being close to camp and growing in abundance.

It gives a sense of trepidation, as you sit on a small chair by your and Javier’s shared tent, small fire beckoning you in with it’s promise of warmth, the flames licking up the logs into devour.

This routine you'd created for yourself was one your body had recognised.

Same time of afternoon each day, preparing your thyme by picking the herb off the stem meant you’d be sitting down before long, next to Javier and eating some supper. The routine is something you find solace in amongst the chaos.

Being in a relationship with an outlaw was a first for you. Correction—your first relationship was with an outlaw. How couldn’t you have fallen for the man, driven with such confidence and unprecedented power. The divine will of his words and his actions of care he puts into the way he looks. A man like that was sure to draw your attention, sweeping you off of your feet the very first morning you met.

Thought of the memory is often shared between the two of you privately when most are sleeping, no one to hear your secrets but the moon itself. Uttered words in his native tongue make your ears warm, still able to fluster you months later into your partnership. His words, not hollow like most, but full of promise.

Promise to love, cherish, care for you. His life. Or as he calls you. Mi vida.

This day in particular was not out of any ordinary you’d become so used to. Miss Grimshaw made her demands to all the women, expecting perfection and efficiency with each due task. Tending to the dishes, washing clothes, hand sewing patches of material onto clothes that had been torn.

Dutch often sat in his own tent, a pondering gaze upon his brow with his nose buried in a book. The same book he often quoted his own inspired wisdom.

When it gets to this time in the afternoon, when everyone returns and feeds together. Daily tautness no longer separates folk, drink is readily accessible for anyone who abides by the bitter liquid. Few wooden crates found around the camp are stocked with beer and whiskey.

Of course—Bill is one of those men who seems to create his own problems, blaming the bottle as if it weren’t his own hand to take the glass and gulp the poison down so greedily. As if he needed it, you never understood his dependence upon something so harmful.

Setting aside your personal mound of carefully plucked thyme into a small wooden bowl, you stand and pour yourself a cup of hot coffee. The pitcher sits by the fire by your camp, grateful for such an accessible commodity. Nursing the steaming black substance, you take a moment to blow the steam and look. Really observe the world moving around you.

Above the trees, the sun is beginning to set, illuminating an orange glow around the camp, where your eyes finally lay upon Javier, sitting with Arthur at the table halfway across the grassy field of the campground, playing five finger filet. He—of course wore gloves at your discretion, knowing how concerned you are that he’d cut off a finger one of these days.

Still, as the two men sit, fisting the handles of their sharpened blades, the 40c pot is sitting in the middle of the table, pending the winner.

“Tu pinchazo.” He utters as he knicks his finger with the steely blade. Another attempt, and he curses again.

“Hazlo bien tonto, concentrate.” The lick of his tongue on his upper lip is a sheer sign of dedicated concentration.

That, and he had one more attempt at getting this right, or he would lose the game. Being Javier, that was not a notion he could accept, defeat. He was a prideful man in every aspect of life.

Miraculously, the man managed to concentrate and successfully overcome the second round with a victory, taking the 40c pot and sliding the coins into his jean pocket. “Good game Arthur, perhaps we will play another time.”

Left alone only for a brief moment, he begins sharpening his knife at the table, red stains of his blood are splattered across the wooden surface as the aftermath of the victorious game. Yet, something more profound approaches, Bill with an opened bottle of whiskey in hand..

Tightly, your fingers curl around your mug, sipping on the coffee anxiously, your heart pounds against your skin with worry.

“Whatcha doin’ greaser?” Bill taunts, approaching Javier to which he’s met with silence.

Again, Bill takes a large mouthful of liquor and tosses the bottle onto the soiled grass. “I said, whatcha doin, greaser.” His boot kicks into Javier’s crate, getting more aggressive, prying for Javier’s attention, any kind of reaction.

Javier shoots up from the wooden crate, welding a knife in hand as he puts Bill into a steady headlock.

“Just playing with my knife, sheep fucker. Just playing with my knife.” The sound is cold and callous, holding the sharpened blade against Bill's neck, holding him hostage for a few moments before shoving Bill to the ground, sliding his knife back into his holster.

“Saco de mierda borracho.” He mutters bitterly to himself as he crosses the campsite to join you, when his dark brown orbs meet yours, he realises you’d been watching him, the interaction.

Finally finishing the last of your coffee, you set the mug down on a wooden barrel inside of your shared tent and Javier approaches with a sheepish expression on his face. “Hola mi vida.” He utters softly.

“Hi.” Gazing into those brown orbs you sigh. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I cannot believe he’s still doing this after you saved him yesterday.” With a gentle gesture, your thumb runs along his cheek.

“He is forgotten, the love of my life is here beside me, in my arms, how could anything else matter?” His leather gloves are warm and damp on some fingers with his blood from his earlier game of five finger filet.

Wordlessly, you take it upon yourself to remove the barrier between your eyes and his wounds, they’re minor, but you insist on doting over him. “Sit.”

His body is sat on a chair before you could urge him a second time, always listening to your requests, giving into you. Anything you yearned for he would give.

“Will you ever stop playing that foolish game?” The scolding makes him laugh, the sound has become so familiar and comforting to you.

“No, mi amor. I did win after all.” That prideful smile, beaming at you with his skin glowing with the orange illumination of the setting sun, another day being spent with the love of your life.

“I figured you’d say so, you’re a stubborn man.” The comment is met with a hum of his own as you tent to his wounds, although they would be fine unattended to, Javier loved when you doted on him, he saw it as affection. Being cared for unconditionally was all he ever needed.

“Let me make it up to you, for worrying you.”

“That’s not necessa—“ before you could finish, he’s interrupting you.

“Not another word, mi vida. Tomorrow we will ride side by side, to a nearby location by a small pond, I will pack some cheese, bread and berries into your wooden basket. We shall feast and relax without the constant hounding or senseless noise at this camp. Your presence is obligatory.”

Slowly, your fingers retreat from his hands as you finish cleaning his wounds, listening to the utter reverence of this man, his words are true and written as if needed to be followed. Guidance, and devotion.

“Of course I will join you.” His own hand grasps yours so elegantly bringing it up to his face before pressing his lips against your knuckle, the kiss lingers for a moment before he reaches to caress your cheeks.

“Mi vida, let me sing to you.”

Sitting on your bedroll beside his own, he reaches for his guitar and strums a familiar tune, one of a love song he had sung many a time before because it’s your favourite, Cielito Lindo.

“De la Sierra Morena, Cielito lindo, vienen bajando. Un par de ojitos negros, Cielito lindo, de contrabando.

Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay.

Canta y no llores. Porque cantando se alegran, Cielito lindo, los corazones. Ese lunar que tienes, ceilito lindo, junto a la boca.

No se lo des a nadie, Cielito lindo, que a mí md toca….”

As your life partner sings, his angelic voice caught in the gentle breeze as folk around camp are compelled to join around the campfire to hear the melodic tune. They fail to understand in their joy, that Javier was declaring his love for you in song.

It was a touching gesture that the two of you share alone. In many ways — would remain ignorant to the rest of them. At the end of this day, you would fill your bowl with stew and fill your stomach. But for now, you sit united with your lover, taking every moment revelling in each other's proclivity.

[espionn]

RainWing tribe sheet!

honestly i'm not 100% sure i like this sheet visually. its ok but not my best. i do like my more in-depth headcanon stuff for rainwings, though, so i hope people like it anyway!

fyi the next few tribes are giving me a bit of trouble so i might post these a little slower, but i still plan to get out all 10 tribes!! they just might be more than a few days apart.

Physical Appearance + Traits:

-RainWings live in the dense and tropical rainforest. Similarly to chameleons, they have prehensile tails and claws well-adapted to cling to branches; and, most strikingly, their coloration can be changed at will, to any color under the sun. This can be used for perfect and uncanny camouflage, for intimidation, for beauty and expression, and to communicate emotions. (Below is a chart of emotions corresponding with their colors; note, though, that they can be combined with each other, and patterned, to mean slightly different and more complex things.)

-Like birds of paradise, they are fond of bright and bold colors, but when they want they can also make themselves virtually undetectable. What exactly this skill is used for depends on the period of history; showing off, playing hide-and-seek, hunting, silent warfare.

-RainWings also have fangs that can be used to expel “venom” - called such for lack of a better word. It does not need to be injected to be deadly, unlike most venom, and rather seems to have a burning, warping and generally destructive effect on cells upon contact. Whether it is deadly depends on the level and location of exposure.

-Neck, chest and sometimes tail frills are used for expression and dance; the floatiness of these frills, and their color-changing abilities, make them hypnotizing. Neck ruffs in particular are commonly used for communication: perked up to show curiosity, drooping to show discomfort or sadness, and flared to show anger and to intimidate. 

-Their fifth claw - the dew claw - is larger and more opposable than those of other tribes, more like a human thumb. This, and their extra (and also more dextrous) wing claw, lets them climb and cling to trees with swiftness and ease. It also makes it easier to use tools, and crack open fruits and nuts, while keeping themselves steady and balanced. 

Life Cycle:

-RainWings are typically laid in clutches of 4-9 eggs. They take the longest of any tribe to develop within the egg; they incubate for nearly half a year, and still are hatched with pale and dull colors. As they grow, though, they get better control over their color-changing abilities through play under the watch of the rest of the tribe.

-RainWings do not form partnerships at all, and rarely mate with the same dragon twice. They also do not raise dragonets on their own; all dragonets are raised communally by the wider tribe. RainWings make friends and have positive relationships, but the idea of parental or romantic relationships are odd to the vast majority of them. Romantic partnerships are not completely unheard of, but they’re seen as unusual.

-Dragonets are naturally playful and learn to harness their abilities through games and competitions. This, though other tribes scoff at it, is quite effective, and other than a lack of structure and discipline in certain eras depending on the queen, RainWings are not less powerful than any other tribes, through nature or nurture. 

-The oldest they usually live is to 90 -100. It's uncommon to go much longer than that, which makes RainWings one of the shorter-lived tribes. Old RainWings tend to live together in their own communities within the tribe, and likewise, younger RainWings prefer each other's company. These boundaries aren't strict, but social norms expect dragons to generally stick to their age groups.

Society and Culture:

-RainWings’ societal structure has varied through time. Their ranged venom and near-invisibility makes them excellent assassins and spies, and several times in history they have been organized or hired in this way. Their nature, though, tends to be easygoing and nonviolent on the whole, and their culture tends to drift in that direction in the absence of external pressure. 

-RainWings are social dragons, and while they do not have a particularly ranked and organized society structure, like SeaWings, their social and personal dynamics are complex and important. Popular and well-liked RainWings are more successful in their tribe than those who are disliked and outcast. Their emotions are very openly communicated, and the idea of hiding thoughts and feelings is strange to them. That isn’t to say they lack subtlety and tact, but they rarely try to suppress their natural scale fluctuations. 

-A lot of RainWing culture rests on colors. They use colors to communicate and associate objects with different emotions based on their color. They sometimes set distinct color palettes in order to appear a certain way in front of others, but some level of fluctuation is impossible to avoid.

-RainWings are the only tribe that has no written language. They are completely illiterate not out of laziness or inability, but because historically they have never had need for communication that isn’t direct and in the present. Their visual signals are so complex that they might be called a crude type of sign language, less refined than Aquatic but not entirely dissimilar, but the only RainWings taught to read and write are those involved in diplomacy or other inter-tribe interactions where it may be necessary. For their own tribe affairs, verbal communication is all they need.

-One of the ultimate staples of RainWing culture is performance - theater and dance. Their dances, often synchronized, with their agile bodies, floating frills and shifting colors, are famously breathtaking and mesmerizing. There was a time when RainWing dancers would travel and perform for different tribes, and dragons scrambled to watch them. For RainWings themselves, though, the performances take on their own meanings, as emotional expression comes through in the colors and some dances tell elaborate stories through these visual cues. Silent theater, similarly, relies on color to tell stories, and these shows aren’t as popular among other tribes simply because other dragons can’t fully comprehend the meanings of different scenes.

-RainWings don’t use facial expressions much, because their scales are so adept at showing emotion, and sometimes that causes communication issues with dragons from other tribes. Similarly, they struggle to separate different tribes from their color associations; for example, it’s hard to get over the subconscious assumptions that all SkyWings are angry, all IceWings are in pain/distress, and all NightWings are constantly overflowing with rage and hatred. (@puzzled-pegasus inspired this one - hope you don’t mind me adopting it!)

-Sleep schedules are loose to non-existent, best compared to that of cats; RainWings generally sleep at midnight and midday, and are awake at dawn and dusk, but short naps throughout the day are considered normal and acceptable.

-Because of the diversity of plant life in the rainforest, RainWings have a more in-depth knowledge of toxins and medicines than any other tribe, and their medics can cure a vast number of ailments. They also have access to - and use - a great variety of stimulants and hallucinogens, usually in a festive or celebratory context.

Diet: Selectively herbivorous. RainWings can eat meat, and sometimes do, but generally they prefer to put time and energy toward gathering rather than hunting. They eat just about every type of fruit under the sun, having adapted to a high-glucose and low-protein diet, and their dishes are elaborate and flavorful with spices and sweeteners; just about every other tribe that eats plants is happy to invite RainWing fruit merchants into their towns. RainWings were also the first Pyrrhian tribe to produce chocolate.

[peskellence]

My Friends Call Me Richard

Part II

Explicit Content (18+)

Pairing: Reed900

Tags: M/M, Workplace Romance, FWB, Humour, Awkward Encounters, Eventual Smut

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Summary: In a bid to improve his partnership (and secret intimate arrangement) with Detective Gavin Reed, RK900 embarks on a noble quest to spice things up. The solution? A new biocomponent.

Word Count: 4K

Tag List: @sweeteatercat @wedonthaveawhile @ladyj-pl @tentoriumcerebelli @negative-citadel @faxaway @moriahadi424 @unicorn4genocide @cptjh-arts

"Detective Reed? May I ask you a question?"

RK900 wouldn't have been surprised if his partner hadn't heard him. He was walking several paces behind, keeping as much distance as possible while still following the same path. His usual jacket was absent, replaced with a loose charcoal hoodie. The drawstring was pulled so tight around his face that it left only a narrow gap through which his eyes peered.

"Detective…?" he repeated, a little louder, attempting to breach the muffling padding around his head.

It was successful. The man twitched, and while the android could not see his face, the subtle contortion of his muscles alluded to a scowl. "What?"

The already irritable man was proving to be in a worse mood than usual. Undoubtedly, this was a consequence of the adverse weather conditions. This had been a concern before they departed, as the human had been unable to locate his preferred outerwear—adamant that he would not leave the apartment without it:

"It's 31 degrees, I'll freeze my ass off."

At first, he had claimed the garment was being cleaned, an event they both knew to be improbable. In the time they had known each other, RK900 could not recall a single instance in which the jacket had been washed.

The next claim had been that his pet had successfully gotten hold of the item, tearing it to shreds. This was a more blatant lie, and while the android wouldn't have usually challenged it—assuming the excuse stemmed from his reluctance to go outside—for this particular excursion, he felt it was imperative for his partner to join him.

As such, RK900 had offered to take a look at the jacket to determine if the 'damage' could be repaired. Presumably, to save face, Reed had secured the first garment available that barely resembled winter attire.

It was wildly insufficient, as evidenced by the ruddy tip of his nose protruding from the hood. RK900 followed its down-turned slope, zoning in on the pavement, determining what the man might be so enraptured by. Admittedly, the sight was pleasant: the iridescent sparkle of crystallised water catching against the sun above.

"For what reason did you choose my designation?" he asked, noting as the soles of his dress shoes left subtle marks against the sleet.

His partner slowed at the question—impressive, given the laborious pace at which he was already dragging his feet. "Your 'what'?"

RK900 frowned, the lack of understanding proving disheartening. Admittedly, the nuances of human speech were something he was still adjusting to. The facilitation of such communications did not form part of his programming, and the conventions proved deceptively complicated.

Assuming his phrasing might be the issue, he implemented a more colloquial approach:

"My name."

"Just say 'name' then, you pompous asshole." 

The belligerence was fleeting as the detective soon began to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he demonstrated the improvements made in emotional regulation since they had partnered. 

"I've already said, no reason. You just seem like a 'Richard' to me."

"That is the part I do not understand. Humans often choose names arbitrarily—unless tied to tradition or deeper personal meaning. It makes no sense that a particular name would feel intrinsically suited to me."

"Oh my fucking God." 

Tempers flared, demonstrating Reed still had a ways to go in maintaining a consistent grip on his behavioural management. Like a mole emerging from its burrow, his face popped out from the cloth, the entirety of frostbitten features now visible. 

"Because you look like a Dick. There, you happy?"

Any concerns regarding the man's body temperature were swiftly forgotten. It was as RK900 had previously suspected: his 'name' carried with it implicit communication of salacious wishes.

This revelation brought with it assurance that these desires were about to be met. With RK900's commercial research, as well as data from the pornographic material on the detective's laptop, it could be safely surmised that his partner would be pleased with the outcome of the efforts.

"Extremely," RK900 responded. "I am certain you will be as well, following the installation of my new component."

Reed muttered something under his breath, vaguely decipherable as a plea for self-termination. The sort of dejected hyperbole that was typical of him when in low spirits. A sour disposition that RK900 was certain would lift soon enough.

As the two reached the end of the sidewalk, they emerged into the centre of a bustling shopping district. Through the crowds sat an extensive strip of retail stores, with one standing out far more than the rest. 

It was defined by bold geometric branding—with a holographic sheen on the signage, illuminated by spotlights that lined the crisp lettering. RK900's anticipation grew, eager to proceed into the establishment. His partner, however, seemed apprehensive—his eyes wide and jaw clenched, torn between awe and anxiety.

From what the android understood, both emotions were normal in response to heightened excitement. In a bid to ease his partner's nerves, he beckoned him closer with a tight nod and a guiding flourish of his hand. 

"Shall we?"

Entering the 'store', they were met with a presentation that was more fitting of a modern art exhibit. A deluge of ostentatious chrome fixtures, mostly nonsensical in shape and design, boxed into a blinding enclosure of iridescent white. The air was thick with incense—orange and bergamot, as his olfactory scanners soon determined. It was likely intended as refreshing but was instead oppressive in its potency. 

RK900 muted the sensory assault with a swift adjustment of inputs. His partner wasn't as fortunate, clamping a hand over his nose to block the cloying scent. 

Following further analysis of their surroundings, he noted the biocomponents filling a series of winding shelves. There was a vast array of options, servicing a diverse range of functions—none of them the one they required.

A flicker of doubt crossed his neural pathways, considering the possibility of misinformation during his research. Fearful his partner might also sense the increasing likelihood of a mistake, RK900 decided to seek assistance from an employee.

Filtering through the customers, it wasn't long until he had established his target. A man stood at the edge of the displays, dressed in a garish cobalt button-down bearing Cyberlife branding. His back was turned as he talked animatedly with two of the patrons—a human female and an ST300. Both seemed unimpressed by his exuberant flailing of limbs and nasally tone of voice.

RK900 approached, and as the couple became aware of his presence, their annoyance shifted to trepidation. The ST300 acted first, performance indicator flashing red as she clasped a protective hand to the small of her companion's waist. The woman offered little resistance as she was ushered back before they both retreated to the exit.

The assistant emitted a strained wheeze as he watched them leave, an arm remaining suspended in the air. Slowly, his raised pointer finger furled into the folds of his palm, and the limb fell limply to his side. 

This wilting posture did not last, as RK900 clapped a hand on his shoulder, startling him to attention. 

"Good Afternoon." 

The man's bony frame locked at the contact—back held uncomfortably stiff. Stunned inactivity soon transitioned into anxious jitters as his head snapped around, bulged eyes fixed on the android.

RK900 soon realised that 'man' might have been a generous descriptor. The assistant looked young—alarmingly so—given the absence of mature supervision. It was autonomy he didn't seem to appreciate, shown by his rapid pulse rate and the sweat gleaming on his forehead.

The longer RK900 studied him, the more he began to fidget. Twiddling the rumpled ends of his collar, calling attention to the misaligned buttons lining his front. Following their crooked trail, the android landed on the lopsided tag affixed to his chest. 

The etchings on it were unfamiliar, characters inconsistent with any known alphabets stored in his databanks. Despite this, he persisted, making an educated guess at the pronunciation:

"ɯɐ̷̜̳͕̗̰̈́͑̋͜͝ᴉ̶̢̻̜͌̌llḯ̴̛̤̒ͅM, I would like to purchase an HR400 Series #5635-9 Penile Biocomponent.”

There was a screech of feedback as his vocal transmitters strained, pushing into previously unexplored frequencies. The sound rattled the windows, reverberating through the store and striking the occupants with a piercing resonance. Of all those affected, ɯɐ̷̜̳͕̗̰̈́͑̋͜͝ᴉ̶̢̻̜͌̌llḯ̴̛̤̒ͅM seemed the most perturbed. His eyes bulged, his mouth slackened into a gaping chasm.

"I, uh—" The words spluttered out awkwardly, each flap of his jaw exposing more of his wired dentition. "Who?"

Clearly, the modulation had left something to be desired. Attributing the human's confusion to this, rather than the content of his address, the android clarified his meaning:

"I am referring to the name on your personnel identifier." 

Following the guiding direction of his hand, the adolescent looked down at his chest, blinking slowly as he studied the embossed lettering. His vacant gaze then ignited with a spark of understanding—and wordlessly, he unclasped the tag, reorienting it by 180 degrees and gingerly refastening it.

RK900's linguistic protocols triggered autonomously, analysing the reconfigured text:

> ROOT ALPHABET IDENTIFIED: LATIN.

> DESIGNATION — 'WILLIAM'

> COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: ENGLAND, GERMANY.

> MEANING: "STRONG-WILLED WARRIOR."

'William' was far from living up to his title. His pasty body quivered like gelatin, a likeness only exemplified as RK900 pressed on.

"I have reviewed your catalogue prior to my visit. In accordance with my partner's sexual preferences, I believe the 6.7-inch variation in girth size 'medium' would be the most gratifying."

A gasp echoed across the store, loud enough to rattle the exposed rafters above. RK900 identified the source as a middle-aged woman, her daggered gaze locked onto him as she covered the ears of a pudgy child dawdling at her feet. The boy seemed unfazed, gawping vacantly at the smartphone held inches from his face.

The android chose not to dwell on the pair, retaining focus on more pressing matters. "Your website suggests you have several in stock. Please direct me to their location."

William responded as though RK900 had threatened to claim the stock at knifepoint. His face illuminated like a warning beacon as he nervously stumbled through a response. "Sorry, I, uh… it's my first day here…so I don't really…uh, yeah."

The android tilted his head, uncertain as to why the human was discussing the recency of his employment rather than fulfilling its duties. 

William's forcefully plastered smile was strained to its limit. Meekly, he cleared his throat, attempting to oblige the request. "I think they keep that stuff in the back."

The noncommittal response failed to inspire confidence. Nonetheless, RK900 was pleased to make progress—regardless of how sparse. "If you could show us the way immediately. We are eager to test the product."

Reed swore under his breath, shattering his self-imposed silence. His eyes narrowed into slits as he sharply confronted his partner. "Don't fucking say that. Do you have any idea what it sounds like?"

RK900 would have thought the connotations were clear, given the context. He was unable to clarify, though, as William continued to demonstrate a profound level of social impairment.

"Well, I'd love to," he stammered, his spiking cortisol suggesting otherwise. "It's just that I'm the only one on the floor right now. My supervisor's at lunch, and I'm not sure if I'm...old enough to approve your transaction. If you can wait, like, 20 minutes, I'm sure he'll be able to help."

While the remaining address proved genuine, it seemed more like a deflection than a commitment. RK900 felt his patience waning as the adolescent's hapless floundering impeded progression.

Stepping closer, eliminating the space between them, the former Military Unit engaged his Intimidation Protocol—towering form casting a shadow over William, whose pupils dilated fearfully.

"That is an inordinate amount of time to expect a customer to wait."

"O-Oh, is it?" 

The teenager laughed. Or, at least RK900 surmised this was the intent. The auditory rhythms were more consistent with a recent altercation between Detective Reed's feline and an ill-fated pigeon.

"Sorry, I worked in food services before this." As the excuse tumbled out, bright eyes flitted determinedly to the glass-panelled doors at the storefront. "Wait times are, uh, longer there. The kitchen has to prepare the—"

RK900 silently dissuaded William from acting on his impulses. His steely gaze bore down, prepared to utilise force should he attempt to flee.

The inane drivel came to a hasty conclusion. Words died in William's throat, lodged in a tense lump before they were swallowed.

"...It's my first day..." he reiterated, shaky voice laden with defeat. 

He then pointed dejectedly toward the nearby checkout, highlighting the mesh curtain affixed behind the desk. It guarded a concealed doorway that his previous scan had failed to detect. "This way, sirs."

Their experience with the backroom was no less bizarre than what had already been established—albeit in a different respect.

Rather than being assaulted by harsh fluorescents, the stairs they descended were bathed in a peculiar red glow. Upon reaching the foot of the passage, they were met with a set of velvet drapes suspended on a curtain rail. The heavy material quivered, the anchoring rings clattering as trembling hands parted it.

The space beyond came into view, an extensive study in human depravity comparable to the contents of Detective Reed's hard drive.

Lascivious paraphernalia formed the sum of visible décor, proudly displayed on hooks and shelves like household ornaments. As RK900 moved through the space, his optics detected the sheen of polished leather—belonging to garments that tenuously resembled domestic animals, as well as various human professions.

He doubted these clothes constituted proper workplace attire—nor did the accompanying chains and whips serve any relevant purpose.

Amidst walls of latex and gloss, the android discovered some items that more acutely captured his interest. A series of silicone fixtures jutted out like obscene trophies. While disparities existed in size and form, there was a consistent cohesion of design, all items seeking to resemble the same intimate appendage.

His optics adjusted, sharpening focus until one of the objects became the focal point. His primary directive appeared on his HUD, subcommands descending beneath it before one fizzled away, dissipating into a shroud of pixels.

With this came tremendous relief and a marked reduction in stress levels as RK900 realised they had located the item they sought.

William, who stood squarely in the path between the android and his target, hurriedly apologised, "Oh, I'm so sorry; I'll just, um, I'll just get out of your way."

He scampered off, muttering a series of self-deprecating insults under his breath. Reaching an archway signposted as 'Employee Entrance Only,' the assistant hurriedly sought to retreat into the shadows. In his haste, he dislodged a large leather strap from a nearby rack, sending it clattering to the floor.

If RK900 wasn't mistaken, he had seen a distinctive glint of moisture in William's eyes before the teenager vanished from view.

With obstructions cleared, the android closed the gap between himself and the display. Upon reaching the wall, another objective dropped from his optics, leaving only one task remaining before he completed his primary directive:

> PURCHASE HR400 SERIES #5635-9 BIO COMPONENT. 

> ENGAGE IN SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH DETECTIVE REED.

Assuming William had gone to collect their order—but doubtful he would return soon—RK900 sought to use his time productively. He began analysing the display replica, engaging with the tactile feedback that had been unobtainable during his pre-constructions.

He ran a hand across the moulding, studying the vascular ridges, before testing the weight of the appendage in his hand. Pulling his fingers back, he noted how the rubber yielded to the touch. When released, it sprang back to its original position, quivering slightly with retained momentum.

RK900 placed a finger to the tip and sought to repeat the process, this time with greater force. Aware of his partner's affinity for rough handling, he wished to check if the component could withstand the necessary requirements.

Hand poised and fingers splayed, he readied himself to deliver a suitably firm strike. He somewhat miscalculated the force as, upon contact, the suctioned mount of the phallus dislodged—sending the item careening into a rack of intimate stimulators.

Reed watched on, his jaw locked in a tense grit, before he stormed toward the phallus, snatching it from the wreckage. He used it to gesture accusingly at his partner, flesh-toned rubber flopping in tandem.

"Will you stop that? Because I am not paying for this shit if you break it."

While this had not been the intended outcome of his actions, RK900 remained satisfied. He hummed in tune with the faint vibrations of scattered toys before extending his hand to retrieve the display model.

"Not to worry, Detective. It appears the durability of these wares is more than adequate."

There was a distant clattering across the room—this time, unrelated to the parents. William reemerged from his hiding spot, uniform dampened with a series of unsightly patches. He held a small box, fingers clamped around the cardboard in a vice-like grip.

"Sorry I took so long; I—" the sentence aborted as he was forced to take a ragged breath. "I couldn't find the ladder, so I had to climb the shelves. It was really high up. Like, the very top shelf, pushed all the way to the back…"

Another pause followed, this one intentional, as the teenager awaited some form of acknowledgement. RK900 was uncertain what that might be, save a reprimand for his reckless disregard for personal safety.

Determining this matter was not his concern, he strode forward and deftly slipped the container from William's hands. He then studied the contents listed on the package before releasing the tab from one end and peering inside.

After confirming all elements were accounted for, he resealed the box and returned it to its original position in the clerk's frozen grip. "Let us proceed with the transaction."

The two were led to a nearby desk and directed to sit in worn plastic chairs. A concave backrest dug into the small of RK900's back, prompting him to adjust his posture. Reed took none of the same care, slumping into his seat like a dejected ragdoll.

His patience had clearly run thin with the current situation—a virtue he already possessed in limited supply. Undoubtedly, he wished to resolve the remaining formalities of their purchase so they could return home and shift focus to more fulfilling duties.

A rumble shook the table, vibrating the unsteady legs as William proceeded to boot a woefully outdated staff computer. There was a whir of struggling fans, accompanied by frantic clicks as he attempted to trigger some form of response from the frozen monitor.

Once successful, the user interface lagged—a tedium exacerbated by the worker's inability to remember his password. A recovery code pinged to his phone, only to be misentered, triggering a repetition of the mind-numbing process.

Eventually, the store's checkout software was accessed. William appeared sincerely relieved, sighing as he rubbed his blemished temple with the back of his wrist. "Okay, we're in, so all I need to do is take your details, and then—oh."

As was becoming a pattern, the dithering youth trailed off—squinting at the screen and leaning in for closer inspection. He read the system prompt aloud in an insufferably drawn, fumbled monotone. It was as though he was reciting words he'd never seen before with all the finesse of someone incapable of speaking English:

"Ask the customer the following pre-purchase questions in a friendly and…cour-te-ous manner..."

Already faithless in the human's ability to perform his duties, this fumbled delivery did nothing but raise growing tides of frustration. RK900 studied the tasteless clock affixed to the wall opposite, noting as one of the pantyhosed legs struck the half-hour marker. 

Twenty minutes had long passed, and there was still no sign of William's manager. The teenager in question appeared to grow more distressed with every minute, expression falling in line with the text reflexed in his scleras. 

"My employer asks that I inform you of the tan-til-is-ing pleasures of sensational, multi-speed vibrations available at $79.99 with today's purchase." 

RK900 considered the proposition before turning to his partner and seeking input. "Detective? You own several vibrators. I imagine this feature would prove appealing to you."

Reed groaned, pulling the skin of his face taut with prolonged drags of his fingers. "Do you ever think about the things you say before you say them?" 

"While less advanced than other models, I have an extensive computational stage that facilitates verbal feedback. This information is accurate, is it not?"

"I, just, uh. I'll add it to the payment plan," William interrupted, putting an end to the strained exchange. 

As he clicked off the prompt and moved on to the next, his flushed skin drained of colour. It became comparable to the accented grey piping his uniform as his dry lips formed into a tense pucker.

Reed quite aptly summarised the android's sentiments on the shift, grunting despondently under his breath. "Jesus Christ, what now…?" 

The store assistant stared at the screen for a little while longer before he continued. The words were eked out with great reluctance, as though each was causing him tremendous pain.

"Would you like to arrange an appointment with one of our Trusted Cyberlife Technicians to have an—" The subsequent information was muttered so frenziedly the meaning became lost in a jumble of syllables. "—fitted at no additional cost?"

"Repeat that," RK900 instructed, having been unable to decipher the strange utterance.

There was a glossed vacancy in William's eyes that seemed nothing short of haunted. As though he were exploring every decision that had led him to this point and cursing each with mournful conviction. The offending word was muttered flatly, barely escaping his lips.

"Anus." 

"Ahh, I see." RK900 shook his head in dismissal. "We wouldn't have any use for that."

There was an increased urgency to conclude the exchange—as William's pallid complexion shifted to a sickly green. He slipped the biocomponent into a promotional bag before nudging it across the table. "This one is self-install, so if you just—there are instructions in the thing—and, uh, if you keep the receipt."

"We will test the item and provide feedback on its performance." RK900 rose from his chair with fluid precision; the carrier gripped in his hand. "Your assistance is no longer required."

William seemed exceptionally pleased to hear this. The tense hunch of his shoulders lifted as though an oppressive weight had been removed. "Thank you for visiting us today. Your business is appreciated; if you have any issues, please hesitate to contact us."

The android was uncertain if the delivery had been fumbled—or if the dismissive sentiment was intended. He did not have a chance to clarify as the young man stiffly handed over a flier. It was seemingly out of reflex more than conscious thought, with no further words exchanged, gesture omitting any eye contact. 

It had been snowing during their time in the store, a soft blanket that crunched underfoot as they stepped outside. The crisp sounds synchronised to the gentle flick of pages as RK900 deftly thumbed through the booklet. Studying the contents in meticulous detail and sharing them with his partner:

"Flesh tones are the default, but it appears that numerous colour and pattern kits are available for enhanced customisation."

Reed grunted, the sound cutting through the air in a thin ribbon of smoke. Ruddy palms were rubbed together before being shoved callously into his pockets. 

"As it happens, there are several things that weren't outlined on the website," RK900 continued, entirely undeterred by the silence. "Our service representative wasn't particularly effective in informing us of our options..." 

He continued to leaf through before coming across an expansive double spread. Reorienting the page, he curiously studied the detail and texture of the advertised product. 

"Perhaps I should have inquired about the ridged shaft. I wonder if it is too late to include this in our package."  

Reed stopped dead in his tracks. Weathered shoes mounted to the pavement as though encased in thick blocks of ice. His body grew equally frigid, shoulders squared and eyes blown to cartoonish proportions.

"It's fine; we don't need to go back." 

"But it says 'for your pleasure,' Detective." The android attempted to angle the pages so that his partner could see.

"I SAID IT'S FINE— WE'RE NOT GOING BACK."

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

hi! I'm new to the beatles lore and I've been trying to catch up on an insane level of information for weeks. it's been fun but also heartbreaking 💔💔 anyways, I wanted to ask a couple of questions if that's ok? for example, I keep seeing this narrative that john was using yoko as some sort of weapon against paul... what was john trying to achieve by that I mean where does this idea even come from? according to this, john was hurting paul on purpose while he was singing him love songs in the studio asking him to be partners again (as in songwriting creative partners) WHAT WOULD JOHN ACHIEVE DOING THAT? also it sounds very one sided like paul is the most innocent in the break up eventho he was the one who came up with a secret album and a lawsuit. I don't know what to think. before knowing them I used to think lennon was in love and on drugs so he got so annoying to the point that he broke up the band but now...

Hi there! Welcome to the fandom! don't worry about feeling overwhelmed at first there is a LOT to take in.

I want to say, I do get the feeling you are somewhat mixing things up here, though I don't particularly blame you for being confused. (if not then sorry! just want to clarify as much as I can)

Tedious as it sounds, I find keeping a timeline in my mind (ideally, accurate to the month) helpful to provide some clarity regarding the breakup era specifically, so the period of 1968-1971. John's studio taunting you're referring to would have happened between mid '68 and mid '69, but Paul worked on his solo album (what I presume you meant by "his secret album", though it wasn't all that secret – John had already released solo music of his own by that point*) in late '69 and early '70. He filed a lawsuit against the others in late '70.

*I think you're conflating the album itself with the fact that, along with the release of McCartney (said album), Paul "surprise revealed" he had quit the band to the public, which the other band members, especially John, were not impressed with.

That being said, the events of the breakup are still convoluted at best, even to "seasoned" fans, I'd say. One of my main pieces of advice I can provide as someone who's been doing this for more than 3 years is get comfortable with not knowing things and with some of the actors involved doing something fundamentally irrational sometimes. They're humans, they don't always make sense and they won't always be forthcoming about why they behaved the way they did.

Which brings me to the narratives you mention: I say this as nicely as possible, but sometimes people want to tell themselves the best story rather than the most truthful one. It's more important to some that John is taunting Paul out of some twisted form of love than why specifically.

To answer your question regarding where this particular idea comes from, I would say: Paul has indicated that he felt John replaced him with Yoko (in whatever way he meant by that – some think it's sexual, some it's about creative partnership, or simply as a best friend); John's behaviour clearly and drastically shifted for the worse in mid '68, which is around the time he got together with Yoko, left his family, and started doing heroin; footage from Get Back shows John both all over Yoko and trying to reach out to Paul periodically.

There's probably more, but I don't know if there's much point in getting into the weeds of it right now. My point is: it's not the only valid theory, IMO, and probably not the whole truth if it is true, but it's not unfounded.

I think it may be a misstep to dismiss a theory because "what would John achieve by that?" Again, people are not always acting in a way that strictly makes sense, especially not people with the issues John struggled with. Some people might say John was testing Paul, trying to make him fight for him. Some might say John had an outright sadistic streak. Others that he was too out of it to notice the pain he was inflicting on others. I think it could very easily be a mix of all three. When dealing with human emotions, I personally think it's a mistake to assume things are simple and straightforward, which is why a lot of tinhattery turns me off. It very often feels like a blanket-statement self-confirming axiom, rather than a truly thoughtful and multifaceted argument.

My most condensed version of events would be: John became incredibly difficult to work with in multiple ways (including but not limited to bringing Yoko to the studio) by mid '68; Paul, for the most part, tried to accomodate him, to diminishing returns, while having his own longterm relationship fall apart and being completely in over his head running a brandnew business; Paul deals with distress by burying himself in work, the other three do not – this leads to further conflict, along with issues over creative control; the band decide they need a new manager type to help them out with their new business and provide the guidance they haven't had since Brian died; cue John wanting Klein and only Klein and massively distrusting Paul's "nepo" choice of Eastman + apparently not trusting Paul's belief that Klein was bad news; extreme resentment over money issues which are incredibly underrated by the fandom because at their core they are boring, emotionally, ensue; John decides he's "over" the band and tells the others he's out; Paul is destroyed over this (and everything that led up to it), spends months spiraling and recording his album; wanting to get this all out of the way, Paul finally breaks down and admits he's leaving the Beatles to the world and to the band itself, even though he had asked John to stay quiet about his own quitting the band months earlier; John (understandably, IMO, though I don't blame Paul exactly – this is what I mean by not everything makes perfect sense) assumes Paul is using the band breakup for PR and gets a hell of a lot angrier than he already is about the money stuff; John undergoes primal therapy which opens up about 43273289635298 wounds; John does an interview in which he spills his guts and tears down almost everyone in his life except Yoko; meanwhile more financial issues. I cannot overstate that those matter too, tumblr is just not a place where finance peeps hang out; Paul is getting more and more fed up with all of this and he, as a last resort, files a lawsuit to no longer be legally tied to the others.

I for the most part left out George and Ringo here* and I'm writing off memory here without re-checking sources, so take what I say with a massive grain of salt. My main point is that this shit is complicated and don't let people tell you it isn't.

*I'm of the opinion that John and Paul are at the center of the breakup, but they also aren't the be-all, end-all of it. But because in the end George and Ringo fell "in line" with John and you didn't ask about them, I decided to mostly leave them out.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I haven't done my list in a while so here it goes:

Insider Fiasco - Teenage delusions

Starting with K-Pop, it is funny but also concerning how easy it to lure fans in and how they can fall for any lies with the promise of dating gossip/sexuality reveals under the guise of a so-called insider/ex-employee. Leaving aside the use of a stan teenager language, it is never about any sort of abuse, workplace harrassment, money issues, contract breaching or any other mistreatment that idols usually go through when it comes to so-called insider information. That is too boring for kpop stans, unless it becomes a scandal covered by koreaboo which is then used in fandom wars. I'm afraid the days in which idols will be unionized and have fans that will care about real problems are far ahead in the future.

Erasure Campaign - Another Day in Army/Hybe Land

Not that I've been reading 7Fates Chakho, but I'm not completely oblivious about what that project was. Without any sort of judgement on the value of the work, the process of adaptation can take many forms, even to the point of only remaining a simple reference and it is a valid one.

Nevertheless, in this particular case, it is more than obvious that this animated version that had its trailer released today was not the result of creative freedom and expanding that original universe in the first place, but was in fact mainly driven by an agenda meant to cater to a specific audience.

Getting the Hybe stamp of approval shows that engagement from the majority of the fandom is more important than anything. The cult project (one approved by turning a blind eye even by those who are not hardcore shippers) is to erase Jimin from the fandom consciousness in any form (be it as the real person, or any sort of avatar or persona that exists in any content).

Kany Praise

Coincidentally, two choreographers have been showing up on my tl today that work with kpop groups/idols. Without giving too much attention to what I can only say it is clearly not my taste (despite being some industry favorite at the moment), perhaps instead we should hype Kany more. Let her get attention for her work and for the thought she puts behind it. I've become accustomed to her through her partnership with Key, but her twitter post today about Viviz and how she makes sure that the girls understand the references/tribute incorporated into their dancing is something that I personally find a lot more admirable. And her choreos look 100x cooler 😉

What's on my TV

Now to some tv shows quick thoughts. The White Lotus is near its end and I'm half disappointed overall/half sort of entertainted while I'm watching the episodes. I've indulged it and found excuses for it for the better half of S3, but at some point I do have to give it up. It is shocking to see the lack of story development over the course of eight episodes, particularly for some characters (Timothy, I'm looking at you; Victoria's main and only purpose is to deliver funny one liners, etc.) The press coverage lately reveals that actual drama took place behind the scenes which at this point, is a lot more than whatever happened in the show.

The Studio had great reviews even before the premiere and they were deserved. While Seth Rogen's voice and way of speaking remains a bit irritating to me, it is a funny show and who doesn't love yet another peak behind the Hollywood curtain?

Driven by film twitter "peer pressure", I caved and started watching The Pitt. Full of triggers for a hypochondriac like me, but I pushed through so pptm and I can talk about those characters. It's good tv, a bit nostalgic simply by the fact that it's a reminder that shows used to be regularly made like this before the streaming slops took control.

Lastly, The Righteous Gemstones is still rockin it in its fourth and last season. It is ridiculous, outrageous, incredibly funny and it has the best line deliveries I've seen in a long time in a comedy. Who cares that Danny McBride plays almost the same character in every show of his? It works. And Walton Goggins is insane as uncle Baby Billy and that alone is a reason to watch this.

[persephoneblck]

Concrete Blooms

TW: abusive behavior, toxic relationship, Hanahaki, angst, unhappy ending

Valentino suffers from double Hanahaki because of his feelings for Vox and because of his feelings for Angel. Just because he knows he’s isn’t worth loving doesn’t mean he doesn’t yearn for it

Valentino X Reader

The handful of petals that Valentino pulls out of the drawer take his breath away as much as they did when he first coughed them up.

They will occasionally use the petals on the bed trope for softer films. There are saps out there that want that. Roses, gardenias, daisies, fuck they even had a film take place in a field of hell flowers when the trend was getting chased by hard-up killers wearing masks.

Flowers are the least scandalous thing on this desk.

His assistant’s desk is filled with an array of toys, lubricants, prescriptions for STIs, drugs to get hard and stay hard, and drugs to calm the fuck down. The last he might grab in a few minutes once he is finally able to swallow air in his shriveled heart.

Just because she has them doesn’t mean anyone else knows his secret. No one else would recognize the things, heck Valentino isn’t sure that the damn things exist naturally in either Earth or Hell. He’s never seen them in this particular distinctive color.

This mix of spider lilies and periwinkle flowers in his trademark fuchsia are not available for purchase.

Hanahaki flowers seldom look like their natural counterparts.

Valentino knows that there is only one known source, the damn things have bloomed sporadically in his chest for years now.

The periwinkle had been bright cyan blue at one point. Valentino started coughing them up when he realized that Vox was never going to care for him the way that Valentino cares for him.

Vox cares about Valentino but not in a way that would reciprocate what the porn Overlord feels.

Not the way that Vox loved Alastor, as dark, obsessive, and wrong Vox’s love for Alastor is, it is undeniably a form of love, even if it is a monstrous form of it.

Vox is fond of Valentino and loves Valentino the way that one loves a loyal hound, a devoted member of staff.

Valentino couldn’t even blame Vox for it, not really. They were in Hell.

Vox is decent to him, even tender.

Vox can read his moods and manage them.

Vox accepted him but didn’t love him. Valentino would never have admitted it aloud but he felt grateful to be accepted with all his flaws. To be trusted enough to seek a partnership with.

In life, he had been something to use, something to sell, something to abuse. Too volatile to be considered trustworthy, too emotional, too impulsive.

Vox had seen his potential brought him close, and developed Valentino.

By the time Valentino recognized what had happened, it had been too late. He had fallen in love with someone who wouldn’t love him more than he did now.

His mistake for wanting something he didn’t warrant.

He told himself to never let that happen again.

Valentino had been much more vigilant of his heart but the traitorous thing yearned.

The minute that he felt it, he set out to destroy it in himself.

The minute he signed Angel to him, he treated him the way that he had been treated in life.

It had worked for his family.

The longer they treated him like a thing, the less they saw him as a person. Valentino figured that it would do the same for him.

If he used Angel enough surely those tender feelings would die.

Never did he think that he would end up with a case of double Hanahaki. From what Valentino knew it was unusual but not unheard of, the heart is a complicated thing for most humans, and a lot of sinners have complicated hearts and souls.

In life he had yearned for love, of course, the idea of what he could have had with Angel haunted him.

He was just wired to feel things intensely. It was just part of what made Valentino. He had been coughing them up less frequently, for a while there he thought the blooms would return to their cyan shade.

That one particular love wasn’t going to fizzle out, probably ever

Vox continued to be his closest friend and partner. Their relationship provided safety and security, and Valentino knew that he would always want more with Vox.

He opened one more drawer and found the lighter he had been looking for. As he took a drag of his cigarette Valentino’s throat filled with acid.

How the fuck could she do this to him?

He was going to have to eliminate the dumb slut

Fuck, he knew she wasn’t either of those things. While he was surrounded by those because of his career, he needed to have someone capable of managing his schedule and agenda. Trying to find someone who could be smart, capable, and easy on the eyes, with some sense of self-control was nearly impossible.

There was a clause in the contract that stated that if the assistant and Valentino engaged in sexual relations the assistant would be transferred over to the porn production side of things.

It was so hard to find good help in Hell and up until five minutes ago she was a fixture in his life.

Y/n had lasted the longest out of all the assistants that Valentino had ever had.

She was able to manage his volatile moods most of the time, and when she couldn’t she knew how to dodge his wrath.

It was a known thing that working as Valentino’s assistant was among one of the best-paying jobs a low-level sinner could get, but no one had lasted longer than a month. Most were discorporated within the week, with a few idiots only lasting a day, and a good number of them ending up on the porn roster and burning out that way.

The other staff at Voxtek kept on placing odds as to when she was going to be eliminated and she had simply rolled her eyes. By the time six months had passed, she had exceeded all expectations.

Vox recognized her talent in managing Valentino and gave her a decent pay raise. Vox had also stipulated to Valentino that he was not to sleep with her unless they discussed it beforehand. He told Val that they weren’t going to lose her to the porn side given the quality of her work at the desk

She was efficient and took his abuse in stride. It was cost-effective to keep her on because she made things run smoothly. Vox was happy, Valentino was happy and she was…?

She was his assistant and Valentino reasoned that she was being paid enough for it so he saw no need to change. Besides there were a million assistants there was only one Valentino.

He didn’t see her as anything other than a capable assistant until he

saw her talking with some of the other staff. They were all venting about Vox or Velvette or even Papermint. When she was about to leave they all turned to her and asked her how she dealt with Val.

“Deal with what?” she had asked as she stirred her coffee.

“Oh come on, he’s nuts,” one of the grunts pointed out.

“He’s passionate you bland bastard,” she huffed and walked away with her coffee back to the office.

It was the nicest thing someone had said about Valentino when they weren’t fearing immediate retribution.

It had been enough for Val to warm up to her more.

A joke here and there had allowed for something more personal to develop.

It helped that he enjoyed her company. It helped that her sense of humor was as dark as his.

It helped more that she was genuinely perplexed by whatever hold Alastor had on Vox.

Fine, he could admit to himself at least. They had become as close friends as one could be with a subordinate.

She would accompany him as his plus one on outings when Vox thought he needed someone to keep things chill. She had found that an easy way to keep him distracted was with dancing, and he had been thrilled at having someone to dance with who felt the music the way that he did.

They had grown close enough that Valentino had even sent her home on a day that she had been sick. When it turned out that she had needed another couple of days to get over whatever bug had caused her to be ill he had stopped by to hang out with her.

He told her that he was just going to make sure that she didn’t die and leave him without an assistant. They had talked on her couch. They had laughed at some movie that Vox would have thought was too sappy and foreign to watch. It had been refreshing to socialize without it turning sexual.

She had been the closest thing to a friend he could recall having.

Well, he was going to learn his lesson now. The only reasonable explanation for her having the petals in her possession was that she meant to use them as a form of blackmail. It was a level of betrayal that Valentino hadn’t experienced.

Again, his fault for getting comfortable.

Vox would be pissed when he heard but they would figure out something with a temp agency. That had been the plan before she showed up.

He was going to question her until he figured out how he found these damn blooms.

When Valentino was sure he had burned all the petals.

She had to have been collecting them for her entire time in his employ to have this many.

He heard a slight cough and then the sound of heels grew louder, so Valentino leaned back in the comfortable chair that only a few employees enjoyed.

Ungrateful whore he told himself as he held moneyshot in his lap. She turned into the doorway unable to hide her surprise at finding him there.

“Valentino? Is everything alright? You were supposed to be at the studio,” the words seem to choke her.

Valentino smiles brightly at her, his top set of hands open in a relaxed fashion, but she knows his tells too well to move closer.

The tightness in his face and the sharpness of his smile let her know that he is about to explode.

Still, she closes the door and sets her bag down on the surface closest to her. As if she isn’t planning to disclose his deepest secret.

“Of course, why wouldn’t everything be alright just because you are trying to fuck me over,” Valentino seethes.

“What? Did you skip lunch today?” she sighs and smiles at him. He can tell that she is trying to figure out what has upset him. It irks him that this behavior is so normalized for them that she doesn’t react with the fear that he feels he deserves.

“Don’t play coy princess,” Valentino directs her as he stands over the desk, he points Moneyshot at her and sees her pale as if the temperature has dropped twenty degrees.

In contrast, he feels the heat of rage rises around him and feels his wings extend. It irritates him that she has the gall to look terrified even though that is what he wanted two seconds ago.

“Sir, what is this about?” she questions in her most neutral tone. Valentino knows that she is trying to handle him, she calls him Sir when she knows that he feels insufficient.

He hates that she knows him so well.

Valentino feels indignation crawl up his throat and the veiled accusations come out.

Knows that everyone on the floor has to know that he is screaming at her, and can hear her placating him. A part of him recognizes that he doesn’t want to advertise this particular argument for all to hear.

Outside it is just another day sharing the office space with Valentino and those outside continue on their work. Some slip on noise-cancelling headphones and miss when the volume goes down.

Valentino is gripping the desk as he tries to keep his rage from boiling over.

“I need to know when you knew about this,” Valentino snarls as he grips the handle of the offending drawer. She has her eyes trained on his and doesn’t see that.

“If you tell me what needs to be corrected, I’ll make sure it happens as soon as possible,” she soothes. Valentino sighs, and for once she misreads him and decides to approach him.

As soon as she is within arms reach he has her by the throat, and before she can even react he has her pinned to her desk. Her small claws trying to loosen his grip still when she feels the barrel of his gun at her temple. Her eyes are wide and panicked but it is only when Valentino rains the petal down so they cover her face that tears roll down her face. He slams her head down in a rage at that, it disorients her so she barely processes what he says.

“How did you find these? How dare you try to blackmail me you stupid slut! Tell me and I might make your end quick,” Valentino growls in her ear so that his voice doesn’t carry.

He tells himself to breathe and decides to allow her the same.

When he releases her, she falls to her knees gasping for air. She crawls pitifully away from him.

He admires the curve of her ass. He’s always recognized that she’s attractive but held back because of the clause Vox put in. Now that there is no need to keep that part of their contract valid perhaps he’ll fuck her first, wreck her body the way she wrecked the fragile trust between them. Destroy every tender feeling he has ever held towards her and use her as she deserves.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” she pleads leaving a trail of the petals as she tries to get to the door.

“Get up, get up!” Valentino demands as he points the gun at her. She gasps for air as she rises jerkily.

“Val….” she gasps. When she opens her mouth a petal falls out and he thinks that she must have inhaled one when he dumped them on her face.

“Spit it out,” he sneers at her and she cries as she meets his eyes.

Valentino is about to demand that she answer him when she coughs, and she isn’t quick enough to cover her mouth. Valentino is transfixed as he watches a process he is intimately familiar with happen to someone else.

She is coughing up flowers.

Valentino’s fuchsia blooms spill out her slim frame as she coughs.

Valentino rears back as if she has slapped him. One of his hands goes to his chest while the other grips the wall behind him. The arm holding the gun falls limply at his side.

It can’t be that she’s afflicted because of him. He can’t be the reason that she is sick.

But they are his flowers, full blooms that signify that she loves him. Someone loves him, she knows him, truly knows him, and she loves him.

He doesn’t dare move because it can’t be real, he’s hallucinating.

Valentino remains frozen on the wall.

She takes one more look at his face before running out.

Valentino screams her name as she flees wondering what blooms she'll manifest in him.

[kimbap-r0ll]

This is for twisted wonderland. So how about s/o (female preferable) who is the avatar? Has the ability to bend all four elements and go into the avatar state despite only being a freshman.

I like if you could do the dorm leaders in one and the vice dorm leaders in another. Head cannons are fine but if you get hit with inspiration, you can do something else, I’m giving you free reign! Can’t wait to see what you do with this if you do it!

Hi, thank you for the ask! I'll stick with just the dorm leaders for now. I've actually never seen the full avatar series so I'll just go with element usage for now (I only know the lore vaguely haha). Also, I pictured this with a more platonic approach. Hope you enjoy!

Dorm leaders and an reader who is like the avatar

Riddle

I think he would first get confused as to why you don't need to use a magic pen or so for doing any form of what looks like spells. You'd have to explain to him that it's not necessarily the same kind of magic, more like "element bending." There's another thing you have to define now since he'll be asking about that

I think he wouldn't really ask you to do things related to your abilities for him, but he might appreciate it from time to time (ie lighting fire). He will, however, not like it if you were to set the garden on fire by accident haha

I feel like because of how different the power system from perhaps the world you came from (if you got isekai'd basically) he wouldn't really question it. However, let's say this was your magic ability. THEN he has a lot of questions!

You'd be known as a really gifted student at NRC, so I wouldn't be surprised if you two got along just out of the fact that you guys excel in magic.

Leona

Probably (as a joke) tried to challenge you to a duel and almost got his ass given to him by you. Are you strong physically? Maybe. But magic-wise you do have an upper-hand with the ability to use four elements.

He probably thought you were an upperclassmen with your skills but was like "no you look like a child" even if you guys are only a few years apart (he thinks anyone younger than him is just a kid haha)

I think he would like your water or wind abilities the most. The reason? Nothing particular, he just likes things that can help him cool off. He might ask you to use your abilities from time to time

Whether or not you are an avatar though he probably doesn't really understand it very much if you got isekai'd to their world. He'll try his best to understand, perhaps just lend an ear for you if you need to rant about your role. If you didn't, he would have a lot of respect for you and your abilities.

Azul

He's a bit different from the other two in the sense that he will be asking you for help if you two have a partnership. Your elemental abilities might come in handy to him, so he's like "hey let's make a deal :D"

He likes your abilities A LOT. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to steal them at some point, but he won't. He has a lot of respect for you and what you are capable of.

More than your power to control the elements though, I think he would've fallen in love with you because of your personality. The avatar part just happens to be a nice quirk that he likes. Oh, he likes the water ability the most basically because he thinks it's similar to home. Don't drench him in water though, he might get upset ;-;

As for if you got isekai'd or not, if you did then he would love learning about your world and the kinds of responsibilities you have as an avatar. He hopes you take care of yourself! Then there's the case where you're just a regular resident of Twisted Wonderland. He's just shocked, like damn a freshman with these kinds of abilities?! Will respect you a lot as well

Kalim

Thinks you guys are almost twins since you both have an ability to control water (somewhat for Kalim, though he's more like creating water). He might be the most open to seeing you use a variety of different abilities to control the elements.

For example, he might have asked if you can make the carpet ride you two were on a bit more exciting by using wind. The two of you got an earful from Jamil afterwards but Kalim whispered to you "it was so worth it!" afterwards

I think he would want you to take care of yourself the most though. While he likes seeing you use your abilities, he also doesn't want to see you get stressed out while using them. Will make sure to give you a snack when you look stressed haha

If you got isekai'd he will want to listen to all the things you have to say about your world and your responsibilities as an avatar. He'll have a lot of questions and show that he really is interested in knowing more about you. If you weren't isekai'd, I feel like he would think you're the coolest freshman out there haha

Vil

He thought you were joking at first when you said you could control the elements. As a freshman? You had to be joking, there was no way you were able to use magic that powerful.

Well, he was proven wrong when you showed up one day being able to shift some of the earth into a small mound about your height and then lift it from the ground. He was definitely surprised but more in a "this student must be a genius" sort of way haha

I think that you two probably got closer because of similar interests more than your abilities. Vil also doesn't really want you to use them unless needed out of the fear that you may do unnecessary damage to yourself. He likes your wind ability a lot though, perhaps you used it in a theater production as a stage effect once or twice!

If you happened to have been isekai'd I think he would want to help you out. If this means just listening to you or helping you find a way back home then he will do just that. He likes listening to your tales of home a lot. If you're just a regular freshman though then he really thinks your a gifted student. Lots of respect!

Idia

He probably heard about you through Ortho since you two were sharing a class together. He didn't know what to think of you though since he thought you were joking when you said you could bend the elements.

He likes your fire ability since it sort of reminds him of his hair. He probably wants to see you go all out just out of curiosity but at the same time knows that would probably really bad for your health so he's always like "take care of yourself"

I feel like because he's more of a tech guy you two don't have a lot in common in terms of magic usage or so, but he does like seeing what you can do. You two get along mostly because of similar interests like in the case of Vil.

If you were isekai'd then he would want to learn more about your world and your thoughts on both Twisted Wonderland and back where you came from. If you happen to be a TW resident then he just thinks you're a genius (like him lol). Will definitely be there to help you if you need anything too btw!

Malleus

He's an extremely strong magic user, so to hear of a freshman that could bend elements was new to him. He met you by accident when you guys were just in the same abandoned area of the school.

He doesn't really ask if you can pull off controlling four different elements since he just trusts that you can. He did get to see it a bit when you were showing him your use of fire. Thinks it's pretty cool, you guys are probably the best magic users in the school!

It's nice that there's someone who isn't really scared of him or just wants to be friends with him because of his status, so he likes your company a lot. Will often find him next to you or you two just hanging out in the school courtyard.

If you are indeed an avatar I think he would understand a bit of what the pressure could be like. He's there to help out if you need anything. Also, he's curious about your world, so be sure to info dump him since he loves listening to you!