#this has never happened before and may never happen again

[harmonysanreads]

Consider, being in an arranged marriage with Yandere!Mydei. A strategic decision, perhaps. Kremnos is no playground, strengthening its forces and forging reliable allies are but steps rooted in common sense. There is no spare space between your bond to scrutinize.

If your goal happened to be to at least make the arrangement more palatable through an acquaintance, Mydei seemed unwilling to cooperate. The crown prince is rarely ever ‘home’, burdened by the weight of protecting Amphoreus. In the rare moments he does find it in himself to meet his spouse, he's... awkward, if you were to be respectful. A long life bathed in strife and blood never softens the edges of a weapon, after all.

You're certain he hates you — or at least, is projecting his distaste for the marriage through you. What with his frown only deepening if you cross his peripheral and the ever curt responses he graces you with.

Ignorant you are, you don't know — that Mydei has met you so many times before. Sometimes on completely different sides, sometimes so close yet so far. The cycle of life may try to reshape you, but he'll always recognize you, regardless of which facade your environment forces you to take. As such, it would've been foolish of him to not take this chance of keeping you under his watchful eyes, while he searches for a way to etch permanence to your name.

It's just that, you're always so skittish and frightened around him. He thinks it's best for him to give you your space, the last thing he would want is for you to hate him, again.

[starfieldcanvas]

reminds me of an argument i had in high school trying to explain that the expression was "play it by ear"—meaning "figure it out as it's happening, rather than plan ahead", like a musician listening to a song for the first time and playing an accompaniment spontaneously without sheet music—not "play it by year."

my best friend at the time insisted that it had to be "play it by year" because it was an expression about future plans and scheduling, not music, so "year" made more sense because it was a time measurement; she had some idea in her head about "let's keep our plans vague and figure it out later" matching well with a long-term time unit like "year", like, let's not figure out our schedule to the minute, let's take the long view and play it by year!

which, that is a very creative and interesting retroactive justification for a misheard expression ("it's a moo point—it's like a cow's opinion, it doesn't matter!") but what she thought was her strongest argument was that her mother said "year" instead of "ear," and her mother had gone to Yale, and did I really think someone who had studied English at Yale would be wrong about something like this?

i had to give up the point because another girl in our group was agreeing with her and this was before teenagers had smartphones so we couldn't just look it up on the quad. one of those silly things you remember for far too long because you know you're 100% right and nobody believes you.

---

longtime followers of mine may recall that i myself have a pet peeve misheard expression. this one is a real headache because the misheard version is far more popular than the original.

misheard version: "if you think [x], you've got another thing coming."

original version: "if you think [x], you've got another think coming."

because "coming" starts with a k sound, the k at the end of think blends into the c of coming and all you hear is the "iihnng" at the end of "think" that can be easily mistaken for "thing."

but the misheard "thing" version caught on decades and decades ago, to the point that you'll see it regularly in published media, and therefore never have any reason to question the "thing" version, even though it's much duller than the original.

"you've got another think coming" is an excellent folksy way to say "think again!" or, more specifically, "you'll be forced to think again because of what I'm going to do." even if you're only familiar with the "thing" version, you can recognize the logical progression of the original: the first think in the beginning of the phrase leads to another think in the second part.

"you've got another thing coming" seems to be interpreted by most people as a direct threat: the people I've asked tell me they imagine the "thing" in question is a fist or a beating (if they think it refers to anything at all—some people just interpret it as a meaningless filler word.) if you assume the "thing" is a direct threat, it narrows the utility of the expression quite a bit. after all, you can say "you've got another think coming" to mean "I'm going to prove your assumption wrong" in whatever way makes the most sense in context, while still benefitting from the repetition of "think x? think again!"

by contrast, while "thing" can technically be whatever you want it to be (e.g. "if he thinks he's going to win this game, he's got another thing [a defeat] coming", "if she thinks she's going to get away with fraud, she's got another thing [a lawsuit] coming") it still needs to be in the form of A Thing. So it wouldn't quite sound right in, for example, "if Great-Aunt Edna thinks I'm coming to visit, she's got another thing coming." You're not going to beat up your Great-Aunt Edna, and "me not coming to visit" isn't really a "thing" in the way the expression needs it to be to work. You could maybe say the thing Great-Aunt Edna has coming is "disappointment," but you'll be much better served by the original expression.

this has been a public service announcement to rescue "you've got another think coming" from the dustbin of history.

[suugarbabe]

SAB the absolute fucking light of my life............ I have a question for you!

the year is coming to a close and it has brought us many great things (like your gorgeous gorgeous brain babies) and I'm simply dying to know.... if you were to do a 12 fics for 12 months sort of wrap up of your own blog, what would be your 12 most memorable fics of the year? which of your pieces really stood out to you? I'm eager to hear what my friends' proudest works are!

xx

my lovely, lovely baby elle, me dear, my angel girl i love this ask but also it's sooooo so difficult. hmm...

you reconnect with remus after school has ended ; personally i don't think this fic got the love it deserved, though it was a few years ago. i just think it's so playful and cute.

wolfstar!daughter brings a boy home for the first time ; this was one of my earlier dabbles in marauders era things but i think this is a cute crossover between the slytherin boys and our marauders loves

james love bombs you at a festival ; this is my only james fic but i feel like it showcases his slight golden retriever energy

rockstar sirius is a childhood friend ; i may or may not have taken a few personal experiences for this fic but i do love it so

enzo beating someone up for you ; because who doesn't want that?

enzo has a crush on you and the boys tease him; one of the beginnings of mine and @musingsofahufflepuff's yap sessions that lead to brilliant ideas <3

theo's eyes are your favorite color ; you loose the ability to see most colors in a potions accident when you're younger and theo happens to benefit from this

your soul is tied to theos ; you feel what he feels and vise versa (there's a part 2 if you like it)

mattheo has never hugged anyone before ; we love a sad boy with yearnings for touch

brothers best friend with matty boy ; i just like this one and it's one of my fav tropes

matty watching out for you at a party; we love an enemies but one is kind of actually a softie (it's matty, he's the softie)

origin story series ; of couuuurse my beloved beloved current works (again my hubby my dear my love my micah boy @/musingsofahufflepuff who collabs with me on this)

[muletia]

𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝 ₊ ⊹

obsessed!optimus prime x human!reader obsessed!megatron x human!reader obsessed!starscream x human!reader

summary: various mechs react to your injury. didn't specify what happened to reader in starscream' part so you can fill the gaps yourself

cw: angst, hurt, graphic injury (reader), blood and gore, possessiveness, obsessive thoughts, very ooc starscream

word count: 2700

thank you!! <33

i may write the 'next part' for other bots too when mood for angst comes back...

He reacted too slowly, missing the leap by mere seconds. Didn’t make it in time to shield you from the stray projectile, which struck directly at your side, piercing the abdomen and immediately knocking you to the ground. He deals with the attacker without hesitation, taking down the Vehicon that had ambushed you during your ride. Quickly moves to your side, shielding from further threats. Something he should have done from the very beginning.

Your eyes are closed, and chest heaves rapidly, chasing after the blood slowly spilling from your wound. Optimus realizes he has never seen your equivalent of energon before. He’s seen bruises and scratches but never blood. Once, he was curious about what it might look like, how it would behave outside your body. Now, he would give everything to erase this image from memory.

He feels disgust—not with you, never with you—but with himself. Because he let this happen. Because your suffering and the scar that will forever remind you of his failure are his doing. He looked into your eyes and swore to protect you at all costs, even at the cost of his own life.

He failed. As always. But you should not bear the harvest of his incompetence.

And to think, he once desired to be your partner, to bear the title of conjunx. Now, as he considers it, the thought feels like a cruel joke.

He’s convinced his entire body is aflame, as though he’s sharing your pain. As if the projectile had torn through his own frame. You deserve this pain, he thinks. Should suffer more, take this burden from you and carry it himself, and preferably, bear it for the rest of his life—an echo of failure, a reminder to never let anything happen to you again.

“[Name]…” he tries, his voice unworthy of a Prime—weak, strained, fighting against his own voice box. “I beg you…” He wants to add more, but physically cannot.

No response. He clenches his servo so tightly that it begins to tremble, energon soon dripping from the stress. The vision of your death flashes through processor. Then remorse, fury, and grief. Days spent admiring you, fantasizing about the future twist into self-torment, revisiting the image of your lifeless body before him because he acted too late.

Cannot allow that future to come to pass. You will not give your life for his mistake. Even if his passion never bears fruit, even if your smile continues to haunt him in his dreams, even if your closeness is limited to shared rides, he will not let you go. He is willing to endure the worst tortures, walk through hell and back, starve and ruin himself just so you can see another sunrise.

“Ratchet, ground bridge. Immediately.” The true Prime emerges. Stern and decisive. “Bring surgical tools.”

The medic arrives swiftly. Unlike his leader, Ratchet doesn’t take an eternity to overcome the shock. He gently lifts you onto his servo and takes you to the base, directly to the operating table. Optimus follows closely behind, optics fixed on you, desperately searching for signs of life.

Optimus doesn’t leave your side, staying through the operation, watching as Ratchet stitches the wound with his trademark precision. The medic refrains from his usual muttering about caution. One look at Optimus’s empty faceplate, devoid of any visible emotion but still fiercely focused on you, reveals the terror within. The fear and guilt have burrowed so deeply that even after the procedure is finished, with you unconscious but stabilized and safe, hooked up to an IV, Optimus does not leave you.

Wants to etch this image into his memory, so it becomes his specter. A motivation to reflect on himself, on your relationship. He must become better, more attentive, and less distracted. Because he isn’t sure if another failure like this would break him. If you were to end up on the operating table again, would he join you in death? Even though he knows it’s a lie. No matter how battered life makes him, no matter how many heartaches you bring him, he is compelled to continue the fight.

He longs to take your pain away. To bear it himself, to atone for his sins. And so he does, staying by your side without pause. Doesn’t eat, doesn’t rest, merely existing and waiting for you to wake up, incapable of doing anything else. He knows the team is worried, that they check in on him, bringing energon, begging him to rest, offering to take over the vigil, but he refuses every time. This is his burden, his failure, and he will not place it on anyone else. He must atone.

Intends to suffer alongside you until you fully recover. He doesn’t expect you to forgive him; doesn’t even dare to hope for it. But will the horror fade into the fog of an unpleasant memory if, from time to time, you grant him the same look you once did?

You lie in his servo, small, trembling, barely alive. Your entire forearm is crushed, and the side of your torso bears claw marks—a result of your encounter with a Vehicon who wasn’t acquainted with human fragility. Megatron’s soldier only intended to carry the runaway back to his master, not realizing that grabbing you by the arm would cause such devastating harm. It wasn’t done on purpose, nor was there any intent to deliberately hurt the partner of the Decepticon leader. Well, it didn’t matter anymore, now that the Vehicon lay dead with several holes in their frame.

Despite the carnage, Megatron doesn’t seem fazed. He carries you to the medbay with his familiar proud stride, showing no signs of stress. Calm and cold-blooded, unnaturally so. Yet his optics remain fixed on you, monitoring you, searching for signs of agony.

"You will survive," he states firmly, words resolute.

This composure is a bluff, a rational decision to avoid spiraling into destruction and despair. You didn’t need his wrath right now, silently demanding rescue. There would be time later for him to unleash his fury, to drive the message into everyone’s heads that if a similar situation ever occurred again, it wouldn’t end with just one Vehicon. He wouldn’t be so composed next time.

"I do not permit you to die," he adds.

In the recess of his servo, blood pools—your reminder that you urgently need medical attention, but also his. Perhaps for the first time since you set foot on the Nemesis. He clings to that need, even though he wishes to experience it under different, more fitting circumstances.

The medic is already waiting in the medbay, preparing the operating table for a small human. Knockout straightens at the sight of his leader and gestures to the empty table, where you are carefully placed. The silver mech steps back but does not leave the room. He intends to witness the procedure, to maintain complete control over it, even if he isn’t the one holding the tools. Needs to be certain that the only thing you leave this room with is scars from the operation. He allows no thought of any other outcome.

"My liege," Knockout begins, but Megatron’s optics remain locked on you. "I must inform you that I’m not yet fully versed in human anatomy."

Fury begins to seep through in the form of bared dentas.

"Well, I trust you are versed enough to save their life."

"Yes, I will do my best, but I must emphasize that the likelihood—"

"Knockout. You have exactly three nanokliks to make a decision. Your life or theirs. What is your choice?"

The medic bows submissively and picks up his tools. "Understood, my lord."

Megatron stays present throughout the entire procedure, closely observing as the bleeding gradually subsides and your body begins to regain its shape. He should be pleased that you’ll survive and soon be able to sit in his servo again—this time not bleeding out. Perhaps you’ll even look at him a bit more kindly when you learn that he personally carried you to the medic and dealt with the wretch who spilled your blood.

Yet his mind keeps returning to the feeling of utter panic he experienced when he saw you barely alive, with a cascade of crimson flowing from your wounds. He hadn’t expected anyone to provoke such a reaction in him—a sensation of dread, of helplessness. It lasted only a moment, swiftly transforming into rage, but it was enough to take him by surprise. Normally, he considers hypotheticals a complete waste of time, but he can’t stop wondering: what if you had died? He knows you won’t, because you belong to him. But if you had truly left him, struck him in his most vulnerable spot by taking yourself away—would anyone have been able to stop him? To halt the devastation before it consumed even him?

"There’s a strong chance they’ll survive," Knockout reports, wiping his servos clean of the unpleasant, human blood.

"I cannot rely on a ‘strong chance,’ Knockout. I need certainty," he growls. "So… is everything fine with [Name]?"

"Yes, my lord. However, they must rest extensively, preferably under the close supervision of a me—"

He doesn’t finish the sentence, as Megatron has already lifted you back into his servo. "I will decide that," he interrupts. "Expect frequent visits. Be prepared." With that, he leaves the medbay.

A claw gently strokes your head, tousling your tangled hair. You’ve already spent too much time in the company of the narcissistic medic—as if he would ever allow you to remain there without his constant vigilance. No, he had sworn to care for you, and not even death could meddle with that vow.

At first, he thinks it’s a weak start to a joke. You like to tell him jokes, maybe that’s how you got to his spark and shaped it into your likeness. He never considered them exceptional, and they were rarely funny, not measuring up to the quality of those from his home planet. But sometimes, they made life more bearable than he’d ever admit because they were yours, and then they became private, reserved just for the two of you.

But the closer he gets, and the larger your figure becomes, the prologue turns cruelly engaging. Because you’re lying motionless on the ground with your eyes closed, and blood seeping from your side. You show no signs of life.

He mass-shifts even before transforming, landing sharply on the ground, pedes digging into the surface.

"[Name]!" he yells. Kneeling beside you, knees sink into the soft earth, staining them with dirt. But his focus remains entirely on your small, unmoving body. "Would you be so kind as to stop joking? Get up!"

Because if this is a joke, it’s exceptionally cruel.

His claws tremble as he brings them closer to you, gently brushing your cheek, trying to rouse you. To make you show him any sign that everything is okay, even though he knows it’s not. As always, he tries to deceive himself, convince himself that you’ll come out of this unscathed, and that the horror before him won’t leave a mental burden behind.

"You fool," he hisses. "This isn’t funny, not even a little, do you hear me? Get up!" Voice cracks, and his strokes quicken. "Ha ha, you got me. Congratulations, one of your pathetic jokes finally caught me off guard. You can stop now..." He’s no longer stating; now, he’s pleading — for mercy, for another dose of humanity that you had mercifully bestowed upon him, even though he never truly deserved it.

With uncharacteristic tenderness, he pulls you into his arms, yearning to feel some sign of life against his body—proof that this isn’t the end. Your heart beats rapidly; feels it drumming against his chassis, granting him temporary peace. But it’s fleeting, as panic swiftly regains control. He doesn’t let it show, the terror boiling inside. He holds you tighter. Optics stare into nothingness as he tries not to think about the implications of your condition and what consequences it might lead to.

"Wake up, do you hear me? Now!" he screams desperately "[Name], please, I feel like I’m losing my mind."

No, you won’t leave him. You can’t do this. You mustn’t.

A faint groan catches his attention, and he gently pulls you away from his chassis to inspect your face. Apparently, you heard his plea, because a grimace appears on your pale face. Starscream can’t discern what it signifies. Pain? Despair? Confusion? Whatever it is, it softens his features, revealing hope that this is, in fact, a poor joke.

You blink rapidly, revealing bloodshot, unfocused eyes that lock onto him. Your chest begins to rise and fall more quickly. And even despite the horror you must feel, the pain burrowing deep into your body, the confusion and exhaustion, you manage to smile for him. As if you had a reason to.

"Star..." you whisper.

"Yes, yes, I’m here! You’re never to scare me like this again, do you understand? Never." His last word is a growl, though his servos remain gentle.

Hearing your voice anchors his thoughts, letting him focus on the possibility that things will be alright. That you’ll both come out of this unscathed, because this entire farce was driving him to madness. But he realizes he doesn’t want to hear you say his name as though it were for the last time. As if it were a farewell. No. You promised him eternity. You broke him, reprogrammed his processor to think only of you, infected his body to make it weep when he hadn’t seen you for too long, and now you intended to leave him? No. He won’t allow it. You swore eternity, and you will keep that promise. Otherwise, it would prove he truly didn’t deserve softness. That he was never meant to know comfort.

"Frag," he curses, lowering his helm because, for some reason, he can’t bear to look at you. Instead, he notices the crimson stain on your side growing, overtaking your shirt and slowly reaching your pants. His olfactory senses are assaulted by the metallic, unpleasant smell, and he concludes that this must be the scent of human death. "Did he do this to you? Hurt you? Violate you?"

Did Megatron finally find out about your relationship? Recognized you as a weak point, a tactic to get to him in the most devastating and cruel way? He searches his memories for provocation, an act of defiance, another attempt to seize power, though he’d recently tried to keep his head down, to behave. For you, so this would never happen. But Megatron needed no particular reason to strike. Especially not him.

Vents a sigh of relief when you weakly shake your head, but it’s not enough to restore calm. You’re still suffering, still bleeding out, and he is powerless. Usually, such powerlessness was closely tied to irritation when he lost control over his own fate. Now, he feels only a chilling terror in his lines at the thought of losing you. Of losing the love you gave him.

"Good... That’s good." It’s not good. Nothing is fragging good.

Your eyelids begin to flutter again, as if you’re fighting with yourself to stay conscious. You try to focus on him, keep your gaze fixed on a single point, but your eyes refuse to cooperate, rolling back.

"[Name]?" your chest rises and falls rapidly. "You must hold on, do you hear me?! Hey, hey! Focus!"

"S-Star..." you try, even quieter than before. "It hurts... help..."

"Stay with me, now. Please," his voice cracks. "You won’t leave me alone, will you? You promised..."

"It hurts..."

"I know, I know, hold on." He repeats himself. Knows how to get out of this situation, to use the last resort. It involves enormous risk and danger, especially for you, but he can’t hesitate any longer. Can’t wait. Can’t lose you.

He sends a message to Ratchet.

"Just a little longer, [Name]." He soothes, though he no longer knows who needs reassurance more. "Don’t make me die with you."

[elementalwriter67]

So fun fact about me that you all may not know, but may suspect given my recent reblogs, but I was a Percy Jackson kid growing up. I found the book series in elementary school, fell in love with it and greek mythology in general. The reason I say this is because after having listened to the Epic the Musical (on repeat) I now have a personal headcannon that the Apollo cabin in PJO has it down bad for Epic the Musical and are also listening to it on repeat using the cabin stereo system.

Like it started out small with some of them finding it when the first saga was released and then it snowballed from there until the entire cabin was listening to it by the time the vengeance saga came around. And I can guarantee you that in my headcannon when the Ithaca Saga came out they used the Hermes cabin to get access to wifi so they could watch the livestream premiere. They all cried during it. The Hermes kids had no idea what was going on or why the entire Apollo cabin were having a fucking break down but they were rolling with it.

I also headcannon that since they started listening to it on repeat they have begun singing different songs from the different sagas during campfire night. Some of their offerings at dinner now go to Jorge even though he's not a god but Apollo allows it because he's also started listening to the musical because literally all his kids are obsessed with it and he's got to admit that it's a banger. The Apollo kids have now also started saying things like; "Odysseus would never," when they hear the tea coming from the Aphrodite cabin. They also say "guys that's not very open arms of you."

They've also unanimously created a code phrase that is used both on and off the battlefield and during capture the flag. The code phrase? 600 strike! Which triggers the Apollo cabin like sleeper agents to all close ranks and attack the attacker of who ever called out 600 strike. This has been used in capture the flag before to the utter confusion of both teams but mainly of Percy who was the one it was called on and could not understand why the entirety of the Apollo cabin was now coming at him like he had broken one of their instruments again.

Apollo absolutely, on more than one occasion, come down from olympus while his kids are listening to Epic during the "I can't help but wonder" song just to act out the scene where Odysseus goes "Son, I'm finally home" to have all of his kids there at the time tackle him to the ground. Chiron was concerned when this first happened wondering who pissed who off but after the tenth time that month he's over it and is just letting them do their thing. It's safer that way.

[accio-victuuri]

December CPNs round-up 🔴🟡🟢

before we start with the recap, i wanna take this moment to thank everyone who continue to support xz and wyb. it’s not easy, especially with the usual environment we find ourselves in, but i’m glad that there are spaces like tumblr where it’s pretty much chill. 🫶🏼

this year has been filled with cpns that became instant classics in the fandom. something i didn’t expect considering we are already years into this and with no on-cam interaction. but that’s the way it goes because the boys are such good captains of the ship! ~

cheers to everyone! 🥂

now onto the candies ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

• yibo chanel show candy ( have you eaten? )

• a similar mirror/background/place appears 🪞plus more info and explanation on it

• yibo’s hangzhou ig photos posted 23:23

• on 12/6 xz has posted another video of him at a place similar to where yibo was before 👀👀👀

• gg’s album is filled with WX

• the cost for gg’s album is all 18

• not really cpn but a show of bxg’s power because bjyx was on hs due to them buying gg’s album! <3

• the same guitar

• yibo being described as danren

• a clue for ricoh camera cpn

• broad shoulder x ralph lauren

• during the bottled joy event, yibo was again asked about his fondness of camping. which is again an addition to the whole camping cpn <3

• i like this clowning! i can definitely see the reference, whether it’s intentional not not — we may never know. 🤷🏻‍♀️

• bjyx in public! 👀👀👀👀

• i’m here / i am not here concept poster clowning + why the titles are different

• a busy christmas week that shows how they don’t compete with each other’s schedule - although some ads coincide because that’s minimal content, it’s nice to see this kind of thing happen a lot of times. especially if someone has a major project out. i really believe the professional courtesy is there between them.

• this tencent white paper ranking of most popular male artists in 2024! they continue to dominate! it’s been years from their breakout roles but their longevity is something a lot of c-ent stars strive for. every year or every month there will be a new it boy but the question is how long they will last. for xz and wyb, i think we know the answer.

and this is because they are multi talented and not afraid to try new things. they are able to bring different facets of themselves. 💛

• i am not here song teaser & new photo cpn

• drifting x i am not here connection

• i am not here lyrics interpretation and then some…

<<< previous post

P.S: for a 2024 recap of the other months. just click previous post so you will be taken back to the other months. i will be archiving this year in my masterlist too. ❤️💛💚

[theofaniasun]

Edit:

I started to think more about this.

Apart from @coloricioso already explaining extensively the denial of Persephone’s agency in the myth through the perspective of Zeus orchestrating the resolution (and the fact that we never get a scene that reveals what the REAL reason why Zeus offers Hades Persephone other than presumably Hades wants her as his wife), this is actually the ONE myth where, interestingly enough, Hades is undermining Zeus’s authority.

Contrary to popular belief, Hades is the more loyal brother and usually doesn’t get in the way of Zeus’s rule, but HERE he technically follows his orders but finds a loop hole to invite a factor that yet again thwarts Zeus to follow through his plans to do damage control in appeasing Demeter in order to get what he wants, via feeding Persephone the seeds.

The HHTD is so interesting to read for one of the reasons is that Hades gets more character development than one might think if you actually squint and read between the lines.

He’s initially a clear subordinate to Zeus at the beginning of the myth: Zeus has to give permission to the marriage & does many things for Hades in order to make the abduction happen (I.e. tells Gaia to create the narcissus to lure Persephone), but later towards the end, this dynamic shifts. The moment Zeus is not on his side anymore, the moment Hades can’t rely on his fraternal ally, the Patriarch of the pantheon, to get what he wants, he immediately starts scheming. While Demeter directly defies Zeus in a way that’s apparent to the reader, Hades also indirectly defies Zeus that’s a little less apparent to the reader.

Scholars who say Zeus is responsible for planning everything that happened are never quite convincing to me. I can only see he aids the abduction and pitifully tries to back track the matrimony between Hades and Persephone. Every other thing he did is just making other gods try to convince Demeter to stop the famine and failing. He is ONLY trying to bring back the status quo more than anything, NOT reinventing it. The scholars would be on to something if maybe when Zeus orders Hermes to go to Hades, he may have had Hermes relay the plan of the pomegranate seeds to Hades and then from Hermes’ word of mouth, Hades is following orders. BUT there is NO such indication of that when we read the exact text. Hades just “smiles with his brows” in response and there’s no sign of mutual understanding between Hermes and Hades, like a signal or a wink at each other, of a possible plan of deception. Zeus did not seem to predict Hades pulling the pomegranate loop hole because his direct orders is just to bring Persephone back. There’s also the other detail of possible translations that indicate he’s acting inconspicuously when he’s speaking to Persephone, possibly so that Hermes doesn’t see what’s going on. So if he’s hiding his course of actions from Hermes then that seems to support my and @coloricioso’s case that Zeus could not have planned Hades giving Persephone the seeds and did not communicate such a plan to Hades. Hades orchestrated that specific plan on his own. It’s only up to Persephone to seal the deal.

The fact that Hades, at this point, no longer seeks his fellow male god, Zeus’s approval through attempting compensation as the patriarchial custom pertains, but instead, takes measures to attempt compensation only to his wife. He monologues a very thorough speech that details all the things Persephone will gain right before he offers the fruit, essentially a terms and agreement contract that redirects the current situation to one that would feel mutually beneficial for both himself and his new wife. *Looking at his plan of actions, this befits how Plato’s Cratylus describe Hades as a wise god with a silver tongue that can say persuasive words who consorted with Persephone because she is equally wise.

I think it’s relevant to note how, of all the gods who appeared in the myth, it’s these three gods: Demeter-Hades-Persephone, who are in the forefront to bridge the Chthonic world and Olympus. @coloricioso had other posts that mention this hymn’s one of many purposes is telling the origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Demeter, Persephone and Hades were the three gods who were worshipped and respected in that cult. *there are Ploutoniums fixed in some of the remains of the temples of Demeter and Persephone.

I would think Zeus mainly appears throughout the myth to affirm the legal validation of this new order, as King of gods who oversees the conduct of everyone else, but not to prove that he is the ‘mastermind’ behind this new arrangement.

Heck, he wasn’t even the one who voiced the terms of Persephone returning and leaving the Underworld every so months - it was Demeter.

I believe the underlying meaning of this hymn is focused on revealing the power of the triad gods (Demeter/Persephone/Hades) of the Eleusinian Mysteries that created the rites the Greeks know to partake in; the same way that the other hymns of individual gods narrate the origins of many of their rites and traditions.

Anyways, just originally wanted to say this hymn shows Hades can be a low key calculating god who can act outside of Zeus’s supremacy instead of always a dutiful god as others here have usually iterated.

Instead I ended up writing an essay no one asked for…

Welp.

Persephone active role in the Hymn to Demeter

I want to express my criticism of some scholars’ analysis regarding the Hymn to Demeter. I’ve read different thesis that state that “By giving his daughter Persephone to Hades, Zeus intends to create a bridge and alliance between the upper and the hitherto inaccessible lower world” (Strauss Clay, The Politics of Olympus, 213).

I think there is a mistake in giving so much credit to Zeus, and futhermore, I think the Hymn we have -as other scholars also state- is combining separate stories in attempt to make an “olympization” of the Persephone-Demeter story by trying to introduce Zeus as the King of gods, the god at the top of the hierarchy. When we read the Hymn, despite it says things happen “for the will/plan of Zeus” we can clearly see that Zeus is not an authoritarian figure, his plans get frustrated, Demeter shows to be more powerful than he is, and so on. But the most important, if we claim that it is Zeus’ plan to make a connection between the upper world and the underworld, this plain ONLY succeeds because of Persephone and Hades actions, never his.

Let’s take again, the statement of “Zeus is trying to effect a more permanent connection between the various spatial regions that make up the universe” (Douglas Al-Maini, The Political Cosmology of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 98). This bridge and communication between worlds continues to be unexistent after Hades abducts Persephone until the very end of the Hymn (line 445) Demeter wanders through the world unable to reach her daughter, this means: Hades remains an inaccessible realm. This reality of isolation is such, that at line 335, “Zeus sends Hermes, the only god with the ability to traverse the barrier between the upper and lower worlds, to the Lord of the Dead” (Strauss Clay, 249). 

Can you follow my idea until this moment? What I’m trying to say, is that we’ve been giving too much credit to Zeus and making Persephone a pasive character, when actually she and Hades are the ones who create the bridge between the worlds! Why? Because when Hades gives his speech (emphasis on lines 363-366) he is stating that Persephone’s honors entail her role as mediator between the worlds, and Persephone accepts such role by eating the pomegranate seeds.

Lines 363 to 366: I shall be no unfitting husband for you among immortals, since I am brother to father Zeus. And while you are there*, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the highest honor among the deathless gods”.

*Some translations make the lines as “while you are here”, but according to Richardson (1974) the word is “thither” (ἔνθα - entha) meaning that “Persephone will remain Hades’ wife amongst the gods, and she will rule in the upper world over all that lives and moves and will hold her honours ‘amongst the gods”.

It’s Hades action of giving the pomegranate to Persephone -and her acceptance of it- the one that guarantees that Persephone will be able to move between the spheres of the world and fulfill her mediator role. Zeus has no part on this. 

Lines 372-374: (Hades) gave her a pomegranate seed to eat, honey-sweet, by stealth, taking care himself that she might not remain always again with revered dark-robed Demeter.  

Persephone accepts the pomegranate, let’s remember that twice she is called “wise” by epithets that refer to her intelligence:

Line 359: And he (Hades) straightway urged wise* Persephone, saying: 

“wise” = δαΐφρονι, daïphroni an epithet used in Homeric narrative to refer to male figures (in the Hymn in line 96 and 233 to refer to Celeus).

Line 370: When he said this, strong-minded* Persephone was filled with joy 

Strong-minded = περίφρων, periphrôn also wise.

Hades and Persephone are aware of the consequence of the pomegranate (the division of the time Persephone will have to spend on each world) and Demeter and Zeus have to agree to this (line 445 and line 463). As Strauss Clay says “It is evident that Demeter immediately knows the consequences of her daughter’s eating in Hades. As soon as she recognizes them, the goddess offers no further resistance”. After this Strauss Clay asks could it be that Demeter acquiesces to the arrandement because she comprehends and accepts its full significance? and the answer is yes. Demeter and Zeus accept this new configuration of the world where Hades and Olympus are communicated and no longer isolated. (Demeter) clearly does accept the consequences of the swallowing of the pomegranate seed and the irreversibility both of Persephone’s bond with Hades and of a cyclic life/death, fertility/infertility pattern with results from that bond (Rubin and Deal, 1980, Some functions of the Demophon Episode in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter,18).

Although it is not the purpose here to discuss the idea of Persephone’s unwillingless, I will repeat that Persephone eating unwillingly is not a possibility since it would mean that the epithets to refer to Persephone’s intelligence are a mere ornament in the Hymn and that idea is really absurd. Most of scholars agree that Persephone lies with her verbose answer since according to the narrator Hades never used force. Also, the idea of forced eating = “sexual rape” is not a possibility either. The few people who try to defend this idea mostly do it because to them the Hymn is a reflection of women’s initation by rape (like Bruce Lincoln) making connection as “Persephone the flower girl” gets “deflorated”, and others arguments that are not accurate. As I’ve stated before, the Hymn does not use a rape-narrative. In line 413 when Persephone says Hades unwillingly forced her to eat she uses the word “βίῃ” that is not the word used for rape-narrative in the rest of the literature, and in the Hymn that is the word Demeter uses to tell how (she) Doso was abducted by pirates in line 124. The Hymn clearly show us that both mother and daughter are good at making up stories. 

So, in conclusion, I strongly believe that Persephone and Hades together are the ones who, by their union and marriage, take the decision to create a bridge and alliance between Olympus and the Underworld. This, obviously meaning, that Persephone has an active role in her story. And, to finish this writing, I’d like to quote Susan Deacy’s words when she says: (…) placing my study under the “aegis” of the feminist third wave. I shall pursue one of the goals of this “wave”, that of finding opportunities for female agency in unexpected contexts (From “lowery tales” to “heroic rapes”: virginal subjectivity in the mythological meadow, 2013, 397). 

[mochatsin]

When MC has Good Luck

You’re luckier than most people without realizing it. While it may not be big lottery numbers that you’re winning, you still have the kind of fortune that’s convenient to you and it can make any demon envious. The brothers are beginning to see it when some of your luck is rubbing off on them.

MC here is always lucky when it’s convenient to them, but how lucky you want your own MC to be is up to you to imagine!

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

Lucifer 

Since he was in charge of watching over you, Lucifer was quicker to catch on to your luck than most. It’s mostly due to the situations you narrowly avoided. There was a time the house was peaceful, save for Levi and Mammon’s arguing, and you went out for a quick run to a store. Next thing Lucifer knew, the house was flooded five minutes later when the fight escalated.

He assumed that maybe the house was bad luck, but then again his brothers often quarrel like this so it’s quite the given. Though he noticed you’re always away from the scene of the crime. Food fights in the cafeteria, hell hounds on the loose at the park, potion cauldrons exploding… you were just either fortunate to be gone by the time they happened or you arrived by the time it’s over. That luck was keeping you safe.

Lucifer never gave it much thought since that saved him from worrying too much. But he does begin to understand it more when you came home from your little shopping trip and brought him back something. You brought out a vinyl record from its sleeve to show him, admitting you don’t understand or know the song but you found it from a garage sale on the way home so you got it for him when you were sure it’s not cursed.

“This… is a very rare find.” Lucifer stared at the vinyl you got him. It’s written in demonic language so you didn’t exactly know what it is, you just got it for Lucifer. He explains to you that this vinyl record was lost after people who listened to it went insane, and he’s been searching for a copy for so long. There’s a smile on his face as he pats your head before he goes to his room to listen to it. He wished he could bring you along, but he knows the effect it has on human ears. 

Lucifer is not the type to leech off your luck, but he does have a good idea on who might benefit from it. The last thing he needs is those brothers of his making schemes and getting into more trouble. He’ll keep the fact you’re a little lucky charm to himself for as long as he can, but he can’t help but add a little four-leaf clover emoji next to your contact name though.

Mammon

Mammon is the first out of everyone to notice your luck. It started when you were tasked by Lucifer to drag him back from the casino so that he could finally do his chores back at home. You know well that he’s hiding in the casino to indulge in his sin and to run away from his responsibilities. 

He’s quite miserable after getting his third loss of the night. He was finally getting back his earnings but blew it all away when he got too confident over his bet. You saw him sulking as he watched the wheel spin, and you pet him on the back to cheer him up. The moment you did that, Mammon saw that he got a win that got him back everything he lost and more. 

“Ya got quite the lucky streak, dontcha? Gotta bring you to the casino some time!” Mammon would always tussle your hair before he would go make a bet, a habit he developed because he believed his chances of winning would be better if he did that. Most of the time it works at least. 

He once took you to a horse race to place a bet. He questioned your choice of bet and placed his cards on a different rider with a better record, and yet you were the one who went home with winnings in the end when the one you chose made an unexpected run to first place. Mammon never doubted you ever since, and he would often ask you for your opinions when he wanted to place a bet afterwards. 

Mammon loves those moments when he sees you happy over your luck. The sparkle in your eye when you get something from scratch cards, or how you try to hide your grin when you get a good deck in card games. If he ever gets money from mooching off your luck, he automatically uses it to treat you to something nice. 

Levi

Levi is the second to notice your luck the more he gets to hang out with you. He didn’t see it at first since he hardly goes out of his room, but he ends up realizing it on his own way when that fortune starts to bleed into his interests like games. 

Of course, he has a collection of gacha games on his phone where he’s determined to get his favorite characters from every banner. There was a time he asked you to pull for him and he was surprised you got the rare card immediately. He didn’t think about it much at the time and just assumed it to be beginner's luck, but he made it a habit of coming over to you whenever he wanted to pull for a banner. 

Eventually he notices your lucky streak when he takes you to the arcade. You had your eyes set on a prize but needed a certain number of tickets. Levi was prepared to spend hours with you to get all the tickets you needed for it, but you managed to get it in the first hour when you won jackpot prizes that had tickets pouring streams out of the machine. 

“This is kind of like the scene from the anime I watched, it’s called ‘The Main Protagonist Is Always Lucky’ and they–... Hey wait a minute.” You could see the gears in his head turning as he processed his interactions with you. There’s no way everything that happened up to now was just a coincidence, can it? “C-come with me for a moment!” 

He tested your luck by taking you to the gachapon machines at the side of the arcade, watching as you got the little toy you were aiming for. Everything began to click to Levi and ever since then, he always makes sure to bring you along whenever he needs your luck for games. Levi always talks about increased odds whenever he’s with you after all.

Satan

Satan is the one suspicious about your luck when he started seeing the signs. At first he gave it the benefit of the doubt, that maybe everything that’s happening has been some sort of pure coincidence. So it does take some time for him to believe that fortune just favors you until he finally sees it for himself. 

He usually likes to sit next to you in class, so he saw how you were struggling in that one quiz. It's multiple choice so it was fine, but you were nervous about getting a lecture from Lucifer if you flunked this test. You ran out of time and Satan saw you just jot down random answers on the last page before passing the paper. 

The surprise on his face was priceless when he saw that every answer he saw you guessed on a whim was actually correct. Perhaps you’re just luckier than most? Does it have anything to do with your celestial heritage? No, he doubts that since Simeon and Luke aren’t as lucky as you are. The best thing to do is to experiment. 

“They say there’s a secret alleyway where cats often like to hang around here, but I’ve never had the chance to stumble upon it. How about we take a stroll and see if we’re lucky?” Of course, his plan was to let you lead the way instead. Regardless if you found it or not, at least he spent some time with you. But of course, you do find a passage behind some old boxes and the whole place was filled to the brim with cats! He owes you his life. 

Satan doesn’t really have much use for your luck, he’s already fascinated watching it all unfold before his eyes while you remain clueless about it. Though he does get you a little lucky cat statue, since it reminds him of you and he wanted to give you something as thanks for helping him the other day. 

Asmo

Asmo doesn’t normally pay attention to luck that happens around you because he used to attribute luck to himself. He once whined when he was planning to go outside to take pictures on a new park attraction but it started to rain, the last thing he wants is to ruin his make up. But when you claimed you were going out to buy something for potions class, suddenly the rain stopped. 

“Lady luck must really be looking at me!” He always says. Maybe his dazzling beauty attracted some lucky spirits to his favor, it’s what he wants to think at least. He thought the rain stopped for him. But in reality, this sort of luck only happened around your presence and it took him a while for him to notice it.

While he scrolled through Devilgram, he saw you as one of the lucky raffle winners of a designer bag he’s been eyeing on. He’s been talking about it with you for days about how he wished he’d be the one chosen, but to his surprise it was you instead! That’s when he began to think back at his interactions with you. 

Asmo realized that every time you needed something by the mall, there’s always a sale. It’s convenient to you whenever you’re low on grim. School supplies, clothes, shoes, or anything that you absolutely need you’re guaranteed to find at low costs in malls or stores.

Once he pieced two and two together, he loves bringing you along to the malls or involving you in any raffles he finds online. While it’s not always a guarantee, you do get a few freebies from time to time. Free lipstick samples, perfume, or skin care products; and Asmo is ready to try them all out on you later once you both get home.

Beel

Beel is  likely the one who won’t notice your luck at first. He likes to hang out with you so much but he doesn’t really pay attention to the blessings and miracles that happen around you. To him, they were all some coincidences somehow and he’s happy you get good things. 

There was a time when Beel was walking with you back from RAD. You talked about how you wanted something to eat, but you didn’t have any money. That’s when Beel spotted a hundred dollar bill on the ground. He didn’t really question it, he just knelt down and took it with him so you both could buy some snacks with it on the way home.

Eventually he began to take notice of it the longer he spent time with you. You get discount coupons to his favorite burger joint, there’s always a free sample aisle whenever he takes you grocery shopping, and the cafeteria just has your favorite meal served for the day whenever you say you’re craving it. 

It’s probably Satan that spelled it out for him that you’re just favored with luck that only Mammon could ever dream of. Beel finally saw it when you were lining up to buy a drink and the server announced you for being their lucky 666th customer, earning a free large devil smoothie. What were the odds that you were just in the right place, at the right time? You just talked about craving for that drink in particular too. 

“What do you think they’ll be serving in the cafeteria later?” He would ask you every time it’s almost lunch. He loves hearing about your preferences, and secretly he does wish that your cravings align with his. But Beel is definitely very happy to eat anything, and he likes the smile on your face whenever you see what you wanted served later on. 

Belphie

Belphie is likely the last to notice your lucky streak because he’s usually asleep when it happens, or he hardly goes outside to witness it. Beel may say a thing or two about those incidents, like how he finds it funny you get what you’re craving for in the cafeteria when you want it, and Belphie may brush it off at first as mere coincidences.

Though after several accounts from his older brother, he does stay up a bit more just to see if what they’re saying is really true. Lucky raffles, good gacha rolls, free samples, it all stopped making sense for Belphie the more he heard about it. When he’s dedicated, he pushes himself to stay up as long as his body would allow it. 

He finally understood it when you were cramming a small project for class. Given how hectic your days always are with these brothers, you lost track of time and you’re sure you’re not going to get this done in time tomorrow. You wished that the classes could be suspended or you get an extended deadline. 

Belphie looked more surprised than you were when there was an announcement that the deadline will be moved next week after a leak flooded the classroom you were supposed to present. “Hm… that means we have more time to sleep then,” He has this devious grin on his face, though you’re intent to finish the project now.

He realized that having you around increases his chances of a successful prank on Lucifer, though you’re the only one who escapes Lucifer’s punishments when he realizes who did it. Belphie does love to be a little mischievous with his luck, but he would rather your luck rub off on his twin during Fangol games, asking you to cheer Beel on and the demon always comes back with a win. 

[merryslilhobbit]

Dando. The 2024 Edition.

Note: I was going to wait until New Year's Eve to post this but I think some people might appreciate it now.

Well this year definitely didn't turn out how I expected. But the Dando love held strong throughout. This is just a little reminder of some of their fabulous moments from this year.

January

Yes, Lando really went "I didn't like where I was holidaying, so I randomly rocked up at Daniel's farm that no one else has ever been to. We had a great time. I'm gonna talk about it at every opportunity. But it wasn't romantic."

February

Whatever the hell this was. Definitely not padel.

March

Ricciardo t-shirt in Lando's video. Because even when they're not together, they're thinking of each other.

May

The Win. The Hug. The utter softness and love right there. They have such a soft spot for each other. Seriously though, the contrast between his hugs with other drivers that day and this one??? Killing me here boys!

Credit 1st 2: Mark Thompson

Bonus Monaco shot where they're inseparable. Again.

June

Behaving like children on the fan stage at Barcelona. Return of the gossip bus (though does it count as a return when they're always together on it?).

Plus Daniel having to touch Lando whenever in reach.

July

Hat signing pre-British gp. Dando fandom winning again. This was honestly so precious to me. I bet Lando still has that hat.

Credit: Peter Fox

August

"It was actually a really shit lap yesterday" at the Dutch GP. See that smile? That's Lando's special Daniel smile.

Plus some post-win congratulations in the Netherlands. And there it is again, that smile.

September

Baku. The One Where Lando Couldn't Resist.

Lando really felt the need to remind Daniel/everyone of how much he loves him by following up with this resurrection of the .jpg account a couple of days later. Team Daniel. Yes, yes he is.

I wasn't going to include this, because sad times, but ❤️

October

Daniel's first post-departure social media post. Of course he'd include Lando.

Lando arriving at COTA in what could only be a tribute to Daniel (you can't convince me otherwise) ❤️

Daniel's jpg account giving us the ♥️💔♥️, taken after his last race in Singapore.

December

Gone but not forgotten, Lando taking the opportunity to mention his man whenever possible. I confess that while this video did the rounds a few weeks ago, I'm not sure of its origin/date. So on that basis, and as I hadn't seen it before, I'm including it here.

In summary, love never dies.

And what the fuck happened on that farm?!

[bethanydelleman]

hi i saw that you kinda have a less...romantic? idealistic?? view of darcy/elizabeth than much of the austen fanbase i've seen (not saying this is a bad thing by any means), e.g. you think it's likely that darcy would eventually remarry (for affection, even, if not love!) and that he had resigned himself to move on from elizabeth before he saw her again at pemberley (whereas quite a few fans i've seen think he'd never really be able to get over her, and vice versa). does that influence how much you like them as a couple? and on that note, sorry if you answered this before, but who's your favorite austen couple?

My favourite Austen couple is Henry Tilney & Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey.

As for Elizabeth Bennet & Fitzwilliam Darcy, I'm not very Romantic about them, I'm trying to be Austenesq. Jane Austen wrote an entire novel about how it's ridiculous to think people can only in fall once and mocking the obsession with first attachments: it's called Sense & Sensibility. The idea that Elizabeth & Darcy are soulmates, written in the stars, who would never get over each other is so silly! I imagine Jane Austen would die all over again of laughter if we revived her to tell her what had happened with them. Even Persuasion, the most romantic of the novels, heavily implies that Anne was ready to move on, and probably would have already if she ever left home. Anne got her groove bloom back when she was fully convinced Captain Wentworth would marry Louisa Musgrove.

On a practical level, a lot of people enjoy having sex, and if one believes that the only moral sex happens within marriage, one is probably going to get married again if their partner dies young. If Darcy is the survivor, he may marry again for his children (I wrote that). Elizabeth had a crush on Wickham*, a crush on Colonel Fitzwilliam, and then loved Darcy, I'm sure she's capable of moving on! This does not affect the way I view them as a couple, since it's how I view all Austen couples and most humans in general.

Some people don't move on, and I'm not saying they are abnormal, but they tend to be rare. Second/third/whatever love is a beautiful thing! Moving on doesn't cheapen or change the amount of love you had for your late partner. Love is infinite and had a million varieties. Every relationship will be unique and will make a person grow in new and unexpected ways. Devotion to first attachments is wild to me.

*Many people in the fandom try to deny this, despite the book saying Elizabeth wanted to dance all night with Wickham, because it somehow makes Elizabeth's love for Darcy impure or some bullshit. Retroactive cheating isn't a real thing actually and everyone has crushes in their youth! (I think)

As an aside, I wrote a story where Darcy and Elizabeth never meet and instead marry Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth respectively (I switched where the Crofts and the Bingleys rented). Someone sent me an anonymous comment claiming that Darcy would rather throw himself off the roof of Pemberley than not marry Elizabeth. Remember, this Darcy had never even met Elizabeth.

So yeah, that's just ridiculous. He'd love Anne Elliot, I'm completely convinced. I even wrote it! This weird soulmate stuff makes me laugh

[midnightcatharsis]

She has used it for months. There is nothing that indicates that she stopped or that it was a one time incident. On the other hand in the official minigame "Jinx fixes everything" that is set in arcane s2 act 2 AFTER Jinx encounters Warwick it's possible to read a fragment about how innocent Zaunites have been (present time) experiencing health problems because Piltover (Caitlyn) decided to use against them chemical weapons that were so toxic and vile even Piltover pre-Caitlyn that couldn't care less about civilians from Zaun vowed to never use it again. It is also specified that the grey "returns" (present tense) not the "grey" appeared, didn't hurt anyone and disappeared and Piltover stopped using it. The time skip between act 1 and 2 was confirmed to be several months.

And to the people who say Cait only targeted criminals all I've got to say is that this is an official art:

Clearly, it's possible to use this poisonous chemical weapon depicted above to target specific people.. which is why we see numerous houses completely engulfed in it. Clearly, all those homeless people in Zaun and all those who just have to leave their homes from time to time wouldn't be affected at all.

Lastly, whenever there's a time skip it usually indicates a certain status quo where nothing important changes. I'm not going to assume out of nowhere that somewhere off-screen during the time skip Cait changed her mind about her tactics and chemical weapons usage especially since she doesn't have a reason to. I'm also not going to assume that she slept with Maddie only one time despite the show not showing us that either, and I'm not going to assume Vi was only in the bar or fighting in the boxing matches those several times that we have seen on screen. It may have been shown explicitly only one or few times but this is to indicate what has been happening for several months. Cait had no problems with using chemical warfare on civilians in act 1 only to get Jinx. We have seen her slowly using more drastic measures. In the end, she doesn't manage to get Jinx in act 1, but there is still no conflict or recognition in her. She believed what she was doing was ok even at the end of act 1. Since Jinx was still free and Cait didn't change her mind it's only logical to conclude that Cait continued her chase using the same or even more drastic measures not that she randomly switched off screen. That would have been just bad writing. We only see her truly changing her mind about killing Jinx at all costs in act 2. Before that change act 2 shows that more and more people in Zaun side with Jinx and that they're still being actively oppressed and imprisoned by Piltover (ruled by Cait).

The fact that Jinx was a terrorist who did a lot of evil things is irrelevant. It doesn't make Cait any less guilty. The idea that "one girl from Zaun did that and that therefore it's ok for Cait to continue to use chemical weapons on the entire city" where most people are innocent is illogical.

I still think it's crazy that Caitlyn has been using chemical weapons on innocent civilians from Zaun for months fully knowing it will cause the death of hundreds or even thousands and cause dangerous diseases to others only to spread terror and catch one girl and in the end she not only got 0 repercussions but also got to play the role of a hero.... She has been doing it for a prolonged period of time she is bound to have a super high kill count.

She is like Singed only nobody is defending Singed.

[loucifersbitch]

2024 Fic Roundup

tagged by @devirnis 🫶

this year, i wrote 18 works with 72,305 words! thank you everyone who read my stuff 🥹

May

to be free | bucktommy, M, 379

Buck is alive. Four weeks ago, Tommy kissed him. Four weeks ago, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders that he hadn't even realized he was carrying. Four weeks ago, he said yes to going on a date with a man. Four weeks ago, he never could've imagined he'd be feeling this right now. Buck is alive.

The Ally and the Beast | bucktommy, E, 2.4k

Tommy knows he's late, and he feels awful about it. He so badly wanted to make it to the wedding, but the fire was an absolute inferno that would not go out. When it was finally extinguished and Tommy was given the okay to head out, he jumped in the rig with the rest of his crew, immediately asking them to drop him at the hospital. And of course they had given him grief for it, but he didn't care as long as they got him where he needed to be. When he walks through the ER bay doors and sees Evan, he's instantly apologetic. “Sorry I'm late, that fire was a beast.” But then Evan hits him with a, “So are you,” and grabs him and kisses him, and he wouldn't be able to stop the moan that leaves his mouth if he tried.

June

maybe this time (i'll win) | bucktommy AU, E, 9.6k

Evan has been quiet today. Most evenings, he’s bouncing around the kitchen, talking to everyone or sharing some sort of fact or just generally keeping everyone entertained. He’s so young and beautiful and bright and vibrant. But tonight he’s quiet, and Tommy can’t stand it. Evan came in tonight looking haggard, as if he hadn’t slept since he left the night before. There’s also a bruise on his wrist peeking out from the cuff of his left sleeve. Or Tommy notices something is off with one of his kitchen staff. He asks questions and gets more than he bargained - or dared to hope - for.

July

These Summer Days with You Feel Like My Future | bucktommy, G, 939

Tommy and Buck take Jee-Yun to the carnival for a day of fun.

September

looking out the window (the trees are getting closer, it seems) | bucktommy, T+, 3.3k

Tommy's chopper goes down, and he knows this is the end.

October

whatever the weather (just wanna be with you) | bucktommy, E, 3.2k

All the planning in the world can't compete with unexpected changes in the weather. But sometimes that's a good thing.

set, match, run | bucktommybobby, E, 3.7k

“Hey, sweetheart,” Evan answered on the third ring. Tommy groaned, the sound of his boyfriend’s voice ramping up his desire even more, his hips nearly frantic. The image of Evan’s plush, pink lips popped into his mind unbidden. Evan always looked so pretty on his knees, lips stretched wide around Tommy’s girth, tears streaming down his cheeks, chin covered in a mess of saliva and precum. “Tommy?” Evan asked, his voice laced with concern. “Are you okay?” He almost laughed. He was so far from okay, his cock unbearably hard and leaking all over the sweatpants he had hastily thrown on before leaving Harbor. “Tommy,” Evan said again, fear beginning to creep in. The only word Tommy could grunt out between frenzied thrusts was, “Help.”

patience is a virtue, evan | bucktommy, E, 4.1k

Buck and Tommy start their scene for the night before leaving the house for Eddie's birthday party at a public bar. Buck has to make it through the evening in order to get his reward at the end of the night, and Tommy makes it worth the wait.

November

wait, how do you spell epiphany? | louliver rpf, T+, 1.3k

What happened behind the scenes of 9-1-1 between Oliver and Lou? or The terrible rpf idea that came to life.

it's never just coffee | bucktommy, G, 739

Tommy Kinard, two weeks post-break up, is not doing well.

if it all falls down | bucktommy, T+, 3k

"I trusted you." Tommy would like to be literally anywhere else right now. He should be up in the sky, not trapped with an angry Evan who has been yelling at him for the last ten minutes. This is why he avoids being on ground crew as much as possible. But now they're stuck in a building that's ready to go down at the slightest movement, and Evan is really fucking angry. "Buck, please. We don't need to do this right now," Tommy tries. "Sure, okay," Evan snorts. "Because you're so good at not running away from me when things get serious."

say my name (we're still the same) | bucktommy, E, 1.1k

Buck was trying to get over Tommy, and he was doing well. But one month and two days after Tommy walked away, everything went to shit.

and homemade cranberry sauce | bucktommy, T+, 1.4k

The timer beeped, and he got up to take the small chicken out of the oven. The little baking dish of sweet potatoes needed a few more minutes, so he shut the door again. He also had fresh rolls, broccoli, and his smallest kettle full of stuffing. It wasn't a huge Thanksgiving dinner like he'd been thinking of, but it would feed him for the next 3 days. He had requested the holiday off months ago so he could spend it with Evan. Foolish.

December

devastate me, baby (it's gonna hurt anyway) | bucktommy, T+, 4k

"So, let me get this straight," Eddie started, his voice tense. "You broke things off with Buck because you - and I quote - 'were so in love with him,' and the only way it would end otherwise is with him breaking your heart. Is that what I'm hearing right now?" "Eddie -" Tommy sighed. He couldn't have this conversation yet. He was still a raw, exposed nerve. Or The one where Eddie gets to call Tommy an idiot (affectionately).

Obsidian & Oxygen (WIP) | bucktommy, E, 22k

Evan Buckley is no stranger to the kink scene. He's an experienced submissive who's been going to Obsidian Lounge for years, both with his dommes and just for fun in the open space known as The Cellar. He's been out of the game for a while, but when he comes back, it's to try something new: a man. AKA the Kink Club AU

Mistletoe and Holly | bucktommy, T+, 2.8k

There were many things Tommy hadn't expected when he broke things off with Ev- Buck. The hurt, he'd expected. The week-long pity party, certainly. But he hadn't expected to keep any of his friends that now belonged to Buck's family. He hadn't expected for anyone to check in with him a week and a half after he'd walked away. He hadn't expected to come home from a shift to a basket full of baked goods on his front porch two weeks later. He hadn't expected Howie to call him up and invite him to their Friendsmas party. And he definitely hadn't expected himself to accept.

sit still, look pretty (WIP) | bucktommy, buddie, buddietommy, E, 6k

There's something freeing about having a partner who understands you well. They know you inside and out - in every interpretation of the phrase. They rarely have to ask for clarification of what you want. They see the good and the bad and the fucked up, and they appreciate you more for it. They indulge the parts of you that other partners would shudder at. And Tommy had his fair share of partners shudder in the past. Things he didn't think twice about - a little degradation, some light bondage, impact play - had scared off more than one partner. But Evan was different. He was different than anyone who had come before, and now that they've gotten past their brief breakup, they're stronger than ever. And Evan? He encouraged every kinky whim that crossed Tommy's mind. AKA the Cuck!Tommy fic

ride with me | bucktommy, M, 1.1k

Two months after breaking up with Evan, Tommy gets a promotion at work. Evan congratulates him in an unorthodox way.

------

idk who all has done this already for sure, so feel free to ignore me sldkfjslkfj

@bidisasterevankinard @powersuitup @plotdevicetommy @louisferrignojr @carrythatwayt

@cjlouwho @aringofsalt @apartmentsmoke @dark-alice-lilith @lemonzestywrites

@leashybebes @beanarie @evansbuck-ley @beefcakekinard @livelaughlou

@thatmexisaurusrex @miriellesandthegiantpeach @rdng1230 @rosyhoneydew @cliophilyra

@mmso-notlikethat @hyperfocusthusly @comfortingevanbuckley @half-oz-eddie @desert--moonchild

@firehose118 @diazsdimples @wikiangela @epiphainie @shannondiazs

@bucksbignaturals @dadbodbuck @bucksboobs @lavenderleahy @kirkaut

@laurenttheninth @theweewooshow @hippolotamus

[wolfiesmoon]

A well-kept secret...

Alhaitham x gn!reader

the triumphant writing return of your favourite incompetent idiot🥰

as always i apologise if i get anything wrong lore-wise i'm not in sumeru yet on my acc and i don't want to spoil the story for myself so i'm going of pure vibes

"huh i could have sworn you wrote something like this before..." no i didn't here's 5000 bucks now shut up ...anyways, after getting re-obsessed w genshin i have decided to cook smth up for my alhaitham kissers😏😏😏😏 that and i've decided to watch a 20 h playthrough of the entirety of HSR bc neither my phone nor my laptop can handle that game and i want to see what comes after Jarilo (and i wanna write fics too come on)

ALSO HOW COULD I FORGET I FINALLY GOT NEUVILLETTE 🥰🤭😘😱😍🙏🏻💁‍♀️😍😘🤩🙂‍↕️😻😽😸🫦 HUBBYS HOME FR FR

The thing you could have never expected upon getting a job at the renowned Akademiya of Sumeru is that you would fall for the Akademiya's elusive scribe, Alhaitham.

It bothers you to no end that it just has to be him of all the people in Teyvat, since you know he'd never return your affections, even in a million years. He just isn't a man who places importance in romance, you've learned.

And even so, he doesn't seem to like you much in general. It's not that you're a bad person, not at all, you just kind of feel like he's slightly annoyed by your presence. You always catch the silent sigh that escapes his lips when you happen to have to deliver something to him and his replies are even more curt than usual when talking to you.

So you just watch him from afar, stealing occasional glances at him while he's face deep in a book or taking a leasurely nap by the window. It sort of makes you sad, as beautiful as the sight is.

You'd love to tell him how you love the way his fingers slide over the book spines as he's searching for just the right book to examine, or the way his eyebrows furrow in concentration as he's reading, or the way his chest slowly rises and falls when he's napping next to- Oh, now you're just making yourself even more miserable.

And though you already know what he'd say if you revealed your feelings towards him, you can't help but want to confess them all anyways.

You turn the corner, important scrolls that you're supposed to give to him in hand. You find Alhaitham slumped over his desk, seemingly asleep. It's a secluded, quiet corner of the Akademiya that you know he likes to take naps in, so it's not a surprising sight. In fact it's a very welcome one. Atleast for you.

You think about waking him up for a brief moment, but then decide that you'd rather not face his annoyed glare today. So you simply place the scrolls on the desk in front of him, hoping he'll notice them once he wakes up.

As you turn to leave, you suddenly get an idea. There might just be a way you can release your pent-up feelings for him without him ever knowing.

He's asleep right now, so there's no harm in a tiny little confession, right? It's not like he'll hear it anyways.

But then again, that's such a pathetic way of confessing that it actually hurts. What are you, a lovestruck teenager?

After a few seconds of your ego having an internal battle with your lovesick heart, the heart comes out the victor. You take a deep breath, deciding to make it quick because he may wake up any second.

"I'm in love with you and I wish you were mine." you blurt out somewhat awkwardly before turning on your heels and getting the hell out of there.

In fact, you left so fast that you failed to notice the way Alhaitham's cheeks dusted a light shade of pink and his eyes slowly opened, staring at the wall on his right.

"Mmmm..." he groaned, shoving his head into the crevice of his elbow that was laid out on the table.

.

Although you know that he never heard your confession, you still feel too giddy to approach him at all the next day. You've really just gone and did that, and looking at his face would be an all too vivid reminder of it.

"Here's the document the scribe requested this morning. He said you must deliver it to him." your coworker handed you a neat folder, tied with a colorful string.

Knowing there's no way you'd be able to face Alhaitham so soon, you asked your friend to do it for you, knowing she'd happily take a break from reviewing documents to deliver one instead.

And so your day continued on without a hitch and you slowly started to forget all about yesterday as you became engrossed in your work. Maybe it's better that way, after all.

As the day came to a close, you took one last overview of the work you've done just to make sure that everything has been translated properly before storing the documents away and turning around to head towards the exit.

However, you were jumpscared by someone standing right in front of you with his arms crossed. Your eyes met a pair of turquoise ones and you let out a stranged noise of surprise. It's Alhaitham in all his glory.

"Oh, it's you. Well, goodbye, I'll see you tommorow." you smiled at him as wide you possibly could, laughing awkwardly and walking around him, too flustered to wait for a reply from him.

"You didn't bring me the document." his voice stopped you in your tracks and you turned your head back to look at him. Have you forgotten something, after all? What document could he be- Oh, he means the one delivered by your friend.

"Oh, I got busy, so I asked my friend." you shrugged, wondering internally why he's even confronting you about this.

"It was an opportune... Hm. What's done is done." he makes a small pause before fully turning around to face you. "I heard your confession yesterday."

No. No way.

Okay, that's it. You're actually going to die now. And the blunt way he said it makes it so much worse. You knew you should have done it when he was wearing those soundproof earpieces of his. You cursed yourself out internally for not noticing that he wasn't wearing them back then.

"Heard what?" you decided to act dumb, though you're sure you sound anything but convincing right now.

"You said you're in love with me." his eyes narrowed slightly, but otherwise, his body language was the same as always. So that means you can't gauge his thoughts on the confession at all in order to act accordingly.

"What in the world are you talking about?" you kept up your act of innocence. You'd rather die than admit you actually said that to his face, while you thought he was asleep, no less.

"Hm. I never took you for a such cowardly person." He sighed, then continued. "You could blame it on the lack of interaction between us."

The sudden comment about your cowardice to admit to something you did was like a stab to the belly, but you quickly recovered, trying your best to not look offended. You thought he was the type of guy to avoid conversations about embarrasing things he overheard, or, well "unnecessary" things, as he would put it. He's never even initiated a conversation with you before, dammit.

"Ugh... so, are you mad about it?" you finally gave up on acting coy. Though you're sure you can answer your own question right now.

"What an... interesting hypothesis." Alhaitham closed his eyes, turning around. "Next time, make sure to do what I ask of you. It's simply for my own convenience." Then he just up and left, leaving you standing there like an idiot.

Really? That wasn't a proper answer at all. You would have thought he'd simply reject you if he really wanted things to be as convenient for him as possible. Giving you vague answers makes this convenient for neither of you.

But, then again... he didn't reject you right off the bat. That's something, right?

As much as Alhaitham called you out on your cowardice earlier, he found himself thinking that he's no better as he dropped onto his bed that night. How in the world is he supposed to admit to you that he wants you to deliver the documents that he needs because he enjoys looking at your face? How is he supposed to admit that he catches occasional glances of you too, sometimes? How is he supposed to admit to you that your mere presence clogs up the words in his throat, making him unable to speak as eloquently as he wants?

How is he supposed to admit to you that your little confession yesterday just ruined his ability to think rationally, that you made him broken beyond repair?

"Ugh, how bothersome..." he pinches the bridge of his nose. He hates how irrational love is.

[dsknsk]

Mountain and references to The Moon above the Mountains

This is a repost of the article that was previously on Gamepress. I am the original writer of it and decided to put it somewhere again that isn't Gamepress seeing its dead state.

First off, to react on some...less than nice comments...which I still remember being on Gamepress :)

Yes, I know that there are many Asian stories about tigers. This was just the one that came to mind directly and the one that seems to fit the most, as well as the one that seems to fit the most. I think it's also the most publicly known one.

I did not write the story's name wrong, shut the fuck up. I know that 山月記 is also sometimes translated as "Stories/Records of the Mountain/Mountains and (the) Moon" but "The Moon above the Mountains" is the most common.

Without further ado.

At first, Mountain’s codename struck me as strange. ‘Mountain’, such a simple yet slightly unusual codename. However, when Mr. Nothing was released - whose name refers to literature - I realized that Mountain’s codename may as well refer to a certain piece of literature, one named The Moon above the Mountains.

What is The Moon above the Mountains about?

The Moon above the Mountains is written by Nakajima Atsushi, a Japanese author, but the short story takes place in China.

The main character is Li Zheng, a government official, albeit a low-ranking one. Despite his job and his talented reputation, he is not satisfied by it. He wants to make a name and be remembered as a poet. Thus, he resigns from his job and fully devotes his life to poetry. However, this proves harder than he thought. Since quitting his job, he lives in poverty, and he ignores the signs his tired body gives him. Soon, he grows emaciated and irritable. 

He lives like this for a year, and then leaves. One day, he goes mad and no one hears from him after that. The year after that, a man named Yuan Can prepares to set out on one of his official business travels and is warned about a man-eating tiger he might encounter on the way to his destination.

That night, Yuan Can indeed meets the tiger. It attempts to attack them, before suddenly stopping in its tracks and talking like a human. Yuan Can is shocked, because he recognizes that voice as from Li Zheng, his old friend. The tiger confirms that he is indeed Li Zheng, and Yuan Can talks to the tiger, no longer afraid but rather confused.

Then, Li Zheng continues to recap what happened. From the moment that he transformed into a tiger, he has felt the inner instincts of the beast driving him to kill other animals. At certain moments, his human consciousness returns, but these moments become fewer and fewer. He knows that, eventually, he will entirely cease to think and talk like he used to, and be overtaken by the animalistic mind.

As such, he asks Yuan Can a favor. Li Zheng had written several poems, and he shares them with Yuan Can, at least, those he remembers. He writes them down, as Li Zheng asked him to. Li Zheng then talks about how his disconnection from the world and selfishness caused him to go mad. Quoting directly from the story itself (translated):

‘We are all of us trainers of wild beasts, and the beasts in question are our own inner selves. In my case, my beast was my self-important sense of shame. That was my tiger, and it damaged me, brought sorrow to my wife and children, wounded my friends, and, in the end, changed my outward form into this animal that befits my inner state.’

At the end, Li Zheng says he must leave, as he feels his human consciousness fading. The two part ways, with Yuan Can crying as he does so. The last sentence of the story is as follows (and it is one of the only full sentences from literature I know like the back of my hand):

‘The tiger gazed up at the moon, already pale, having lost its brilliance, and roared mightily two times, three times, then jumped back into the brush. They never saw the tiger again.’

Mountain and The Moon above the Mountains

So how does this story relate to Mountain exactly? Well, his codename aside (the Japanese title of the story is 山月記, and 山 is Mountain’s codename in Chinese), and him quite literally being a tiger acting like a human, I did not know until Mansfield Break actually was released in the Global server. While reading the story attached to the event, I found some very familiar themes that also return in The Moon above the Mountains.

Mountain is a very imposing figure, almost 2 meters tall (195 cm, which puts him at 76.7717 inch to be exact), with a rough voice and being really good, both in-universe and in-game, at defeating enemy after enemy all by himself with little to no outside help. It is very easy to think of him as a brute at first sight, similar to how Yuan Can was warned about the ‘man eating’ tiger at first in the story. His codename as well indicates toughness and strength.

However, his character is kind and gentleman-like, to the point that Barton points at him as a model prisoner. Quoting from the character himself (using my own way of wording the original Chinese version):

'Y'all should learn from Anthony here! Block C inmate, but composed and never sees violence as the answer. He spends his day reading, writing, and listening to music. Truly a role model y'all should follow!'

Barton outright says that Mountain is an example everyone should take as a role model, which by the way, comes from the mouth of a lousy guard that only seems to have his own best interests in mind. Even on such a person, he has made a good, solid impression. This is to the point that, during the cleaning shifts, they will always end up cleaning his cell no matter what.

Speaking about names, in the story, Mountain does not use his codename yet. This is because this story is set before he joined Rhodes and gained said codename. This also makes him more ‘human’ during the story.

Later on, after Mountain foils another assassination attempt from HydeBro, the other characters comment on this as well:

Kafka: 'You...ugh, you're an inmate, but you're a lot more composed than the others.'

Domma: 'That's him. Always polite to everyone may as well be his signature.'

Kafka: 'Ah, right. He's not only good in beating people up, but he's not bloodthirsty or anythin'.'

Mountain is really a good, nice person, who has been locked up in prison to protect him instead of him being truly guilty of a heinous crime. (Then again, it has been implied that this is not uncommon in Mansfield). Even his theme song is a calm and jazzy tune and shows him relaxing as opposed to something that befits raw, ruthless strength.

I hope that the pattern here is visible: despite his outward appearance and his admittedly good ability to punch the tar out of his enemies, his character does not immediately match this outright. He’s not a brute through-and-through. He could potentially lose himself by going ham on an enemy, but chooses not to. Even during the final fight, he remains calculated to a certain extent.

This duality is very obviously touched upon by Jesselton/Jayston, and he points it out during said final fight:

'You know, Anthony. From the moment you came in here, there was something...not right. You're constantly acting polite, but you're strength incarnate. And secretly, I have longed to see this. The facade shattering, and finally seeing what lies beneath...'

He encapsulates the duality of Mountain in this one line. Furthermore, Mountain’s fourth archive file and his second promotion quote also talk about this:

‘Doctor, take a good look. That mask of composure, calm, and politeness is off. This is the truest you'll ever find me. Bloodthirsty, violent, and destructive. Look at me and be my friend.’

The tiger in The Moon above the Mountains, or rather, Li Zheng, struggles with a similar issue. His moments of thinking and acting like a human become more and more intersected by the ‘bloodthirsty, violent and destructive’ nature of the tiger that Mountain mentions in his promotion voiceline. At first, Yuan Can was scared by the tiger, until he heard his friend. The story may end on a sad note, but it avoids a possible drama of Li Zheng not recognizing Yuan Can anymore when he’s gone full tiger, which he’s implied to have done at the end of the story.

Luckily, our Mountain doesn’t go down the deep end entirely. He seems to acknowledge what’s below the mask in his second promotion voiceline, in contrast to Li Zheng who only became aware of it when it already took him over (by transforming him into a tiger). As a bonus, Mountain is interested in literature, much like Li Zheng.

I am not entirely sure why Mountain is specifically a white tiger and not just a normal orange tiger, but I think it is to highlight how unusual this specific tiger (Li Zheng) is from all other tigers, having been human before.

The Moon above the Mountains and The Metamorphosis

If the gist of The Moon above the Mountains seems familiar to you, that might be right. The story has been compared to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s logical why the two are compared, as both of them have their protagonist transform into a creature at the beginning, with the rest of the story dealing with what happens afterwards. Both of them are eventually relegated to give up and resign to their new life as a creature after desperate moments to still act human.

Despite transforming, however, they are still aware. Gregor can still understand what people say. Li Zheng also does so, and converses with Yuan Can as if he was human. The ‘incompleteness’ of both transformations is what shapes both stories, as it’s paradoxical in a way: they’re an animal, but at the same time, they’re not. Gregor dies at the end, and Li Zheng fully loses his humanity when his story ends.

I think that this connection is what inspired HyperGryph to make Kafka and Mountain interact. Nonetheless, I’m happy that both characters are in Arknights as I see them as a homage, to the writer Kafka and to The Moon above the Mountains, to keep them from being forgotten.

References:

- The Moon above the Mountains by Nakajima Atsushi, translated by Nobuko Ochner and Paul McCarthy. The original version in Japanese is here and here on Aozora in public.

- Initial fan translation of Mansfield Break

[cassiebones]

Happy birthday to @imyouraziraphale and here is your bday ficlet

Agatha hated her mother. It had taken her quite a while to admit that to herself, let alone aloud to the only person who may have had an equal hatred for Evanora Harkness: Rio Vidal.

Agatha had spent her entire life trying to earn her mother's love, watching the other children in her coven receive their mothers' love so freely and openly. Agatha was envious of them from the beginning, glaring at them as a small child, watching as they held their mothers' hands and received hugs and kisses that Agatha never got from Evanora.

Instead, she received whacks on her behind. She received sharp-tongued insults and admonishments for...well, she often didn't know what she had done wrong, but she always replied with the same four words: "I can be good!" Her mother scoffed at those words, but Agatha still tried. She wanted to be good so badly. For her mother.

Whom she loved.

But then her mother had tried to have her executed and Agatha had to confront the fact that, while she had loved her mother, her mother had not loved her.

It still took a decade to really come to terms with it. It took another decade before Agatha realized that she did not love her mother at all. She loathed her. She was happy that she was dead, rather than relief, which had been her first reaction despite her guilt at the killing.

Rio was right there with her, hating her mother. She had watched Agatha's execution, staying silent with the knowledge of what was about to happen. It hadn't been Agatha's time; Rio knew that. She grinned when all eight of the witches blasted Agatha with their magic, silencing her begging for mercy. She knew what was about to happen and she thrilled at the power this young witch had. She was practically salivating.

The blue rays turned to purple and Agatha's eyes widened in shock as she involuntarily drained the other witches of their magic, of the lives. Her eyes widened further as the euphoria of siphoning hit her, the relief that came with it. She released her hands from their bindings and faced her mother head on, though she was once again begging for mercy. Mercy that a mother should not be begged for.

"Please!" Agatha had said. "I can be good!"

"No," Evanora said, sighing as if the information disappointed her, "you cannot." She blasted Agatha again, apparently learning absolutely nothing from what had just happened before her very eyes, and had her powers almost instantly drained by her daughter.

Imbecile.

Rio continued to watch Agatha as the young woman stumbled away from the stake, walking toward her mother's body, her chin angled up (though she couldn't truly hide the tears in her eyes) as she leaned down, snatching her mother's locket. Then she flew off like some kind of beautiful bird, leaving Rio gazing after her in awe.

"Who are you?" Rio jumped then glared at the spirit of Evanora Harkness, who was glaring at her with her hands on her hips.

"I am Death," Rio growled at her. "I have come to take you to-"

"You aren't taking me anywhere," Evanora huffed. "I cannot leave this earth until that evil girl has been sent straight to hell, where she belongs!"

"She's not the one who has a spot reserved in hell," Rio huffed, leaning closer. Evanora's eyes practically filled with fire as she refused to move from her spot above her own body.

Rio just rolled her eyes, turning to the other spirits floating around, trying to ignore their wails as they lamented not only the loss of their own lives, but the fear and devastation their children must soon feel once they learned of their deaths.

At least there were some good mothers in this coven, Rio thought bitterly as she collected their souls, ignoring their pleas for more time and protection for their young children. She led them to the other side, ignoring Evanora, who stayed back as she preferred to stay a ghost (Rio hated ghosts, the stubborn bastards), and quickly returned to the land of the living, seeking out the powerful young witch.

She found her sitting beneath a tree by the river, looking out at the water as she played with the locket she'd taken off her own mother's body. As Rio watched her from behind a neighboring tree, she looked down at the locket, glaring at it for a moment, then made as if to toss it into the water....then she didn't. Instead, she placed it into her pocket, then pulled her knees up to her chest, then buried her face into her skirts and sobbed.

Rio felt something in that moment, in her chest. It felt...uncomfortable, beating out a rhythm against her ribcage. She placed her skeletal hand against her chest and closed her eyes, listening. She had heard this sound before. It sounded like...a heartbeat.

That was impossible, though. Death had no heart. Where could that be coming from, though? What could it be if not a heart? Like humans had.

She looked back up at the girl, who rested her chin on her folded arms, her blue eyes deep as the ocean as she stared out at the river, tears still falling down soft, beautiful cheeks. She was so beautiful...

"Show yourself," her voice said, suddenly. "I can hear you breathing. You might as well come out of hiding."

"I do not breathe," Rio huffed. Well, okay, that was a breath. But that was atypical for her. She schooled her features, putting on the visage of a girl approximately this one's age, and stepped out of the shadows.

The girl's eyes widened at the sight of her, her cheeks turning pink. Rio felt the rhythm of her new heart pick up in response. The girl stood as Rio approached her. Up close, she was even more gorgeous than Rio had first thought. She was the most beautiful human that Rio had ever seen (and she'd been around since the very first humans died, so that was truly saying something).

Her hair was long and dark brown, a contrast to the bright blue eyes. Her skin was almost as pale as the moonlight, but her cheeks were still pink, showing her the proof of the heart that pumped in her chest, the blood that ran through her veins. She was still pulsing with the power of eight witches, plus her own. She seemed to glow with it.

Rio swallowed thickly at the sight of her. She'd never had to swallow before. She was not human, not bound by human rules and impulses, but being this close to this woman...she felt distinctly human.

"Who are you?" she asked once Rio was just a few feet away. Rio paused in her steps when she saw the other girl's hands glow purple with her magic.

"I've had many names," Rio said, "over the years. Many have been unkind, but some have been...respectful." She shrugged. "You, however," she smiled at Agatha, softly, "may call me Rio."

"Rio." Oh, Rio's chosen name sounded absolutely musical on her tongue. Her lips wrapped around it perfectly.

"And what is yours?" Rio asked, tilting her head to the side, offering her another grin.

"Agatha," she said, but she offered no surname.

"Agatha," Rio echoed. "Beautiful."

The flush on Agatha's cheeks deepened and spread to the tips of her ears, sending a thrill through Rio. She loved being the one to elicit this reaction from such a beautiful human. She wanted to do it again. And again. And again and again and again.

Until the very end of time.

"Why are you here?" Agatha asked, her voice trying for firm but ending up a little shaky. "What has brought you to my covens' land?"

The coven had set up cabins around the lake just outside Salem. They were close enough that they could go to the markets for food and other materials they might need, but far enough that they could perform spells without alerting the townspeople. These were dangerous times for witches, after all.

"Death," Rio said, simply. Agatha's face blanched, all color leaving her at once. "Not yours, obviously," Rio said. "But there are about eight other corpses in a circle about..." She turned in the direction of the stake, which she could not see through the thicket of trees, "a mile that way. Good job, by the-"

When she turned back, Agatha was running away, her hands sparking purple at her sides, refusing to carry her in flight. Rio rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, appearing in Agatha's path. Agatha did not react quickly enough to stop and ended up nearly knocking Rio over instead. Rio was sturdy, though, and was able to stay upright. She grasped Agatha's arms, holding onto her as she attempted to run away again.

"Please stop," Rio sighed. "I am not going to hurt you."

"Lies! You will tell the townspeople! I will be tried as a witch!"

"Are you not one?" Rio snorted. "You could have fooled me."

"What do you want from me?" Agatha hissed, still struggling.

"I want to teach you," Rio said, remembering Agatha's pleas from before. Agatha stopped struggling and Rio smiled. "I want to help you. I want you to take more power."

"Take more...why?" Agatha asked, furrowing her brow. "Why would I take the power of others? I've killed them!"

"I saw," Rio said, giving her an almost unhinged grin, it was so excited. "I liked it. It makes my job that much easier."

"Your...job?" Agatha looked Rio up and down, not quite understanding. Rio sighed, closing her eyes as she shifted her features. She didn't open her eyes again. She didn't want to see Agatha's reaction.

Humans had always been put off by Rio's skull-like features. They had screamed and ran and pleaded for her not to hurt them. Agatha had run even from Rio's most attractive visage, so how would she react to--

She felt the fingers brush against her jaw and her eyes opened immediately, staring into wide blue ones. Agatha's gaze was soft as it traced over every ridge and line of Rio's skull, her thumbs brushing over the ridge of her cheekbones. Rio felt hot under her touch, grateful that her skull could not blush lest she be found out.

"Magnificent," Agatha breathed. Rio leaned into her touch, feeling her heartbeat quicken again. Her eyes fluttered closed as she inhaled deeply. Rio's hold on Agatha loosened, but the other woman did not move away. Instead, she stepped closer, her fingers now running over the place where Rio's lips would have been. "So beautiful," she breathed, her eyes going wide and cheeks going pink as if she hadn't meant to say those words aloud.

"You, too," Rio replied, softly, lifting one skeletal hand to cup Agatha's cheek. The other woman gasped slightly, but she too leaned into the touch.

It was that moment that made Rio certain that she would do anything to protect Agatha Harkness, at all costs.

And she did.

For decades, she held Agatha through her night terrors, rocking with her in her lap, pressing kisses to her cheeks and her forehead and her nose and anywhere she could reach as she assured Agatha that she was not evil and that her mother could not get to her. She taught Agatha everything she could about magic, collecting spells for her to place in her own journal, watching in awe as Agatha mastered each one. She watched from a safe distance as Agatha lured powerful witches to her with promises she never intended to keep, collecting their bodies with a smile and a kiss to her love's lips as she ferried their souls.

She proposed to Agatha next to the lake where they first met, pledging her very existence to Agatha, all her love and devotion pouring from her heart. Agatha accepted this proposal by knocking Rio to the ground, placing kisses all over her face, then her neck, then lower.

They married there later that week, neither able to wait much longer to entwine their souls.

Rio vowed to protect Agatha from anything and everything that might do her true harm. She sealed that vow with a kiss that took Agatha's breath away as well as her own.

Over three hundred years later, that still had not changed.

"Leave her," Evanora's ghost said, an evil smile spreading across her lips, "with me."

Agatha's eyes immediately widened with fear as she looked down at her mother. Rio's body flushed with rage, her hand gripping her knife more tightly.

"No!" she growled. "No way!"

She felt Agatha's gaze snap toward her.

"A minute ago, you were ready to slit her throat!" Jennifer Kale (annoying ass bitch that she was) exclaimed.

It's called foreplay, Jennifer!

"Yeah, well," Rio said, still glaring at Evanora, "her mother can't have her!" Over Rio's dead body.

And Rio was Death, so...

Agatha started to descend the steps, eyes locked on Rio, shock and awe in her tear-filled gaze. Rio's eyes softened on hers for a moment before returning her glare full-force to Evanora, who floated toward her. Rio adjusted her stance, unafraid.

This bitch...

She didn't know how to get rid of ghosts. If she did, the world would be rid of each and every phantom that had ever existed. But she'd be damned if she let this particular spooky bitch near her wife.

Not a chance in hell.

So she surged toward Evanora, brandishing her knife. Weapons were typically useless against those with incorporeal forms, but Rio was Death and this blade in her hand, however changed it was by the Maximoff abomination, was still forged for Death, so it must be able to do something, right?

Evanora must have thought so because she moved back, away from Rio as she pointed said knife straight at her, marching forward, ready to slit her throat now (in a very not foreplay way, for the record).

"You are making a mistake!" Evanora cried out, her voice not quite as strong as before. "She will kill you all!"

"Leave!" Rio boomed, using her Death voice. "Go back to hell where you came from, bitch!"

"You--" Evanora tried.

"Leave!" Rio raised the knife above her head and Evanora faded away in a matter of seconds. Her body heaved with her heavy breaths, her glared still fixed on the spot where Evanora had been.

"Rio," a voice gasped next to her. Rio turned, eyes wide, as Agatha surged into her, hugging her again like she had the night before. Rio wrapped her tightly in her arms, squeezing her tight. She felt a few sobs from Agatha's body, but they were so light so as to not be noticed by anybody else. She pressed a kiss to Agatha's temple as she pulled back, cupping her love's cheeks, swiping away the tears on Agatha's skin with her thumb. "You...why did you...?"

"I told you that I'd always protect you, didn't I?" Rio replied, her lips curving up in a tiny smile. "It was part of our vows."

"Your vows!?" Alice exclaimed.

"You two are married?" Lilia asked.

"Of course Agatha would be married to the creepy bitch," Jen huffed.

"Guys, time is running out!" Teen said, pointing at his watch.

"Go say goodbye then," Rio huffed, motioning to the Ouija Board as she continued to hold her wife in her arms. Agatha melted against her body, pressing her face into Rio's shoulder. Rio sheathed her knife and ran her fingers through the tangle of Agatha's curls. Wow, she really liked this hairstyle on her. She wanted to see more of it, for sure.

The rest of the group used the Ouija Board to spell out goodbye, but Agatha and Rio stayed holding one another. Rio pressed a kiss to Agatha's cheek. Agatha pulled back and kissed her lips, running her hands through Rio's hair like she'd done for decades. Rio held her wrists, as she had always done.

"Gross," she heard Jen Kale huff behind her. "Quit making out; the trial is over. We can leave."

Rio didn't stop kissing her wife. But she did take one of her hands off of Agatha's wrist to flip Jen the bird.

Agatha kissed her harder for that.

[eldritch-spouse]

I would absolutely mistake Mooncalf 's small form as a pillow and hump it 😔

What would he do in that scenario? 👀

TW: Mutual nonconsensual acts.

Quite bold of you to not only find it harmless that there's a brand new unidentified object in your bedroom, but also seek to hump it at the slightest confirmation that it might be a pillow.

In this form, he may be ever so slightly pillow-shaped, but Mooncalf certainly doesn't feel like one. Not only is he more dense, he exudes the warmth of a mammalian living creature.

Mooncalf will admit he knows anything could happen when he helps himself into the homes of strangers. But most of the populations he finds nowadays don't even truly recall what his kind is, let alone ward their homes or set up any sort of boundary mark- You cannot expect Mooncalf to resist what amounts to a slightly ajar door. Point is, he feels safe enough to doze off in the homes of strangers entirely uninvited, because he's sure that almost no one can be a figment of a threat to him.

Besides, it's always fun to see how people react to his presence, in whatever form he chooses to manifest.

The world is full of whimsy indeed, and sometimes, it still manages to shock the fey.

He'll concede he didn't know what to think when you just... Started grinding on him. Mooncalf wanted to startle you, initially. Though he hardly thinks it would have garnered as interesting a reaction as simply playing dead already did.

Who are you...? Who are you to hump him like a dog? To huff and pant and get yourself off with his body?

Freak! Weirdo! Unnatural fool!

What fun!

He's not ashamed to say that he simply let you. Giggled silently to himself as you used him like a fucktoy, rubbing a slick and warm cunt over the length of his rather small form until your breath began to catch and he could sense the muscles of your thighs tense with desperation. So entranced with your own climb to the peak, you could never have noticed the way your little doll warmed as well, the way he made but the smallest noises of surprise whenever you jostled him particularly hard.

It's not every day Mooncalf allows himself to get used like this. He supposes his time asleep has left him needy enough to enjoy such a thing. Again, he takes no shame from it.

When the naughty deed is over, you pick him up like any other dirty used cushion, throwing the monster into what he presumes is some kind of used laundry basket. Certainly stinks of it.

Rude!

Nasty!

That is no way to treat a guest like him.

Your insult, as humorous as it was to the fey, shall be met with consequences...

Coming home from your day, a number of things likely running through your mind, no one would ever blame you for not noticing a missing pillow on the laundry pile. After all, what you need right now is a meal and proper rest, ensuring you'll be functional tomorrow.

Nothing is amiss. You eat to the sound of your favorite content creator's newest upload and prepare everything to settle down for the night.

Pajamas on, bed arranged, you can only think, sadly, that you'd like to snuggle that new pillow tonight. Unfortunately, you got hasty with it that morning.

It's really not your fault it's shaped so conveniently...

You can always wash it tomorrow.

The thoughts swirling through your mind rapidly fizz into a peaceful quiet, allowing you to drift off under the cozy covers, breathing softly and silently.

...

You can't be sure of how long it's been when you awaken with a jolt.

The first thing your panicked brain signals is that something is on top of you.

Dark as it is, you can't see a thing, but you feel the presence of something humanoid under the covers, slumped atop you like a heavy weight keeping you trapped to the mattress. Fabric, skin and rough talons make contact with you.

It takes a second before you register the rocking.

The hairs on your neck stand on end when this stranger breathes on it, his hips rolling against your ass lazily, something much too large pulsing eagerly with each self-gratifying roll.

He seems to be taking enjoyment out of doing this to you, soft yet low, distinctly pleased hums muffled against you.

By the time it all clicks, the danger you're in, a strangely-shaped hand has already snaked its way up to keep your jaw clamped shut.

Something like a distorted giggle rings under the covers, and suddenly, two pools of orange-ish yellow look down at you, the pupils of an entertained predator fixing you into place.

" Wakey wakey! " He murmurs pervertedly, never stopping his constant humping. The shiver that courses through you certainly doesn't go unnoticed. " Why so shaky? "

You're not meant to answer, of course.

Instead, his hips pick up the pace, thighs brushing harder against yours while he readjusts, well and truly wedging his cock between the globes of your ass, treating you no better than you had... That pillow.

That pillow. What have you gotten yourself into?

As the bedframe creaks and your vision blurs with the force of the monster's lewd movements, you can only flush furiously and watch him moan in impish delight.

" I'll have you know- " He throbs. " Rude awakenings have consequences. "

A spare hand tickles its way down your side, hooking onto the waistband of your pajama pants.

" I hope this brings you to your senses. "