#whereas literally every time before and after that moment

[lunalikestowriteanddraw]

The “inability to lie” feycurse is interesting to me, especially for Kremy, because I wonder if it also applies to internal lies. Lies you tell yourself to the point where you start to believe them.

I say this because…well, let’s look at Kremy’s love for unicorns. Sure, if we go meta, obviously this stemmed from the feycurse. Doubt Richie gave it any thought beforehand. But going in-universe, there’s a good chance that maybe Kremy already liked unicorns from beforehand. Maybe since he was a child. But probably had to hide that fact about himself, telling himself that “oh, you can’t be into that, only children like unicorns, and you’re not a child anymore”, until he started to believe it. Well, until the Witchlight Carnival changed that, of course.

Now, about Kremy and his affections for Gideon. Kremy IMMEDIATELY started getting all fidgety once he realized he couldn’t lie anymore, and of course it’s partly because…well…it’s Kremy we’re talking about here. But also what if Kremy was lying to himself about his feelings for Gideon (“oh, it’s totally normal to want to sleep with your best friend. Who you totally feel completely platonic feelings for. Yep.”)—lies which immediately started unraveling once Kremy couldn’t lie anymore, despite trying to still try and lie to himself about them. And, of course, everything reared its head during the wedding, but I’m sure we all know about that by now.

[boundinparchment]

Essence

Behind you, Dottore clicked his tongue against his teeth, and continued rooting around in the cabinet. This wasn’t the first time today. In fact, it was the third after an errant vial rolled from a top shelf and broke earlier that morning. You and your samples remained uncontaminated only due to Dottore leaning forward and covering both of you. Or: an accident with a questionable substance leads to a new experiment. Dottore/Female Reader. Accidental exposure to aphrodisiac; breeding kink towards the end, pwp. Divider by cafekitsune. Available on AO3 here.

“Don’t move.”

You froze, acutely aware of the source of heat and muscle against your back as Dottore reached above you.  

This wasn’t a new occurrence; every once in a while, either Dottore himself or a Segment needed to get into the cabinets above your workstation.  Extra vial trays, pipettes, errant extra microscope slides, among other items.  Things you used for blood and chemical analysis.  You were used to the briefest moment of keeping your head down, front pressed against the edge of your workstation, and feeling Dottore’s heat against you.

Funny, you thought, when he always came across as indifferent to everything.  The Segments were a few degrees warmer, no doubt due to their components.  Their presence was akin to touching a hot pan out of the oven with nothing between your skin whereas Dottore, the prime origin point, was porcelain warmed by fresh tea.

Behind you, Dottore clicked his tongue against his teeth, and continued rooting around in the cabinet.

This wasn’t the first time today.

In fact, it was the third after an errant vial rolled from a top shelf and broke earlier that morning.  You and your samples remained uncontaminated only due to Dottore leaning forward and covering both of you.

You hadn’t caught a glimpse at the label but the contents hadn’t seemed harmful.  Dottore, although not melting, was far from pleased.  He barked to take better inventory of your workstation as your eyes traced the pink substance that soaked his hair, feathery mantle, and immaculate white coat.

He had since removed his formal trappings and appeared all the more graceful for it.  

A breath tickled your scalp as he placed his free hand on your waist, holding you still.

The touch sent jolts through you, as if you were standing in a field during a thunderstorm.  Dottore kept his hand there and you tried to keep your breath from hitching, his finger flexing occasionally.  Was he testing whether you were ticklish?

His breathing was unnaturally slow in return, pressing against you further with every inhale.

“What are you looking for, Lord Harbinger?” you asked, neck craned low.  

It was best to continue to work.  Before you were samples of primordial water.  The substance glistened in standing vials, each awaiting their next step.  

You felt him shift forward and your hips met his properly.  He had, quite effectively, sandwiched you between him and the counter.  A dull yearning sat low in your belly and you doubled your efforts on the samples in front of you.  

To say you did not find your supervisor attractive would be a lie; like most, you often wondered what lay beneath the bird-like mask, literally and metaphorically.  The lower half of his face was charming, home to a well-shaped jaw and a set of lips that were, at times, distracting.  The conversations held between you often led down other avenues.  It was clear to you that few, if any, would ever be a match for him in how he saw the world.

The thought that crossed your mind was bold: someone like him did not need a matching piece, an opposite to dilute him.  A mind like his needed the challenge of one who complemented his thought processes.  More like a fine wine pairing rather than a Hydro slime dousing a flaming flower.

When Dottore didn’t respond, his body tense against you and hand tight on your waist, you spoke up.  Was he ill?  

“Lord Harbinger?” 

You shifted in the hopes that your moving might break his thoughts.  Dottore inhaled sharply and pushed you forward again, chest and hips pressing against you further.  His other arm was still raised, as though he hadn’t quite finished in his search high above.

“I said: don’t move.”

The words were hissed against your ear and you felt the tip of his mask against your scalp.  His chest rose and fell in harsh, stilted motions and you swore you heard him mutter something into your hand when he squeezed your waist again.

Against your backside, you now realized why, precisely, he’d requested your stillness.  The dull pangs from earlier became aching throbs at the apex of your thighs.  You pushed away the thoughts, reminding yourself biological reactions were simply part of being human.  The position you were in was one many would envy.

“I cannot find the tincture that is usually kept here.  But the longer I stay, the worse this problem will be,” Dottore whispered into your ear.

His voice was always so alluring and now it was one of the only parts you could focus on.  Blood drained from your extremities, keen on flooding other parts of your body.

“What was in that vial, sir?”

“Cherubic sea hare venom and whopperflower nectar, stabilized by a single Agate gemstone, finely ground.  All batches of it were purged.  Or should have been.”

An interesting mixture, you mused, as Dottore’s raised arm came down and reached behind you.  You heard a telltale click and then watched as he rested the familiar mask off to the side, next to your tray.  When you went to turn your head and look over your shoulder, his now-free hand found your jaw and pulled your gaze back forward.  Through his gloves, his touch felt feverish, scalding.

“Eye contact will make it worse.  Do as I ask.”

His voice was tight, breathing ragged now, nose buried in your hair.  Archons, you’d had fleeting thoughts of him but this was torture.  Here he was, struggling against whatever he’d come into contact with while trying to work. All because of an accident that wouldn’t have occurred if you didn’t need to work exactly at this location.  Fate was a cruel mistress but this was sheer misfortune for both of you.

“Those substances are hardly volatile on their own, sir,” you offered.

He always enjoyed discussing ideas and he encouraged an environment conducive to it among your peers.  Distracting him might help.

You wanted to move your hips, as though friction would give you any kind of relief, but remained as still as possible.  He wasn’t giving you much of a choice and the longer you stayed still, the more aware you became of everything else.  You were acutely aware of your own wetness, your uniform pants already sticking to the apex of your thighs when you felt him twitch.  His presence was overwhelming on a good day when there were several feet between you.

“The whopperflower nectar is a good base for any mixture but tends to result in disorientation and temperature changes depending on its source,” he said into your hair, his other hand falling to grip your waist.  “Agate, of course, contains the power and passion of the pyro archon.”

His hands tightened, squeezing right at the junction of your hips.

“And the sea hare venom?”

This had to stop at some point, though, right?  None of those substances ever left behind permanent effects.  On their own, they were relatively harmless, but if synthesized together in the right dose, would…

Dottore nuzzled your hair and then worked his way down to your neck, lips ghosting the shell of your ear and the tender spot beneath your earlobe.  

“Enhances one’s awareness of their partner’s needs and changes in pheromones.  Along with an increased stamina.”

“Partner’s needs?”

Your heart pounded as it was but seemed to miss two beats at his wording.  He was already specific and precise.  Purposeful.

“This substance only works when the subjects already have an attraction to another individual, a pre-existing bias.  It is similar to tunnel vision, an obsessive focus on the other with decreased inhibitions.”

You gasped as he pressed against you further, his hardened member against the curve of your ass, situated perfectly.  Heat rose from your chest to your face as you finally put the pieces together and your own arousal caught up with you.

“And you, my dear, keep moving despite my warnings.  Are you eager or were you contaminated as well?”

You stiffened at the realization that, lost in the headiness of it all, you’d been bucking against him the entire conversation.  Your body had a mind of its own and your mouth ran dry.

“I—“

You knew you hadn’t gotten a drop on you.  Somehow that felt all the more shameful.  He needed help out of this situation and all you’d done was chase your own arousal, relished in the moment.  Even if he walked away now, he would still likely require relief and release.  Still be plagued with thoughts of you.  The way forward was obvious, wasn’t it?

“I want to help, my lord.  My mind is clear.  Would it not be beneficial to…see the experiment through?”

The tiniest bit of tension seemed to ease as he flexed his fingers.  Did he like that, you wondered, the way your skin sank beneath his fingers?

“The results might be promising.  But I must warn you…”

Before you could formulate your next thought, Dottore’s hips pinned you in place as he pushed away the objects in front of you with little care.  No sooner had the fleeting consideration for your samples crossed your mind, you felt open-mouthed kisses on your neck, hasty and hungry.  You arched your back and leaned into him, closing your eyes and tilting your neck to give him better access.  

“This will only be the first stage,” he whispered.  “And there is no going back.”

You did not trust your vocal cords as he found a particularly sensitive spot near your ear, stifling a moan and keeping it in your throat.  His hands remained flat against the surface of your work station, further pinning you, surrounding you.  Dottore lifted his head from the curve of your neck long enough to reach out and drag back a pencil and a nearby sheet of paper.

He managed to scribble something in shorthand that you recognized as observations of his symptoms and a basic outline. You had suggested he treat it like an experiment, after all.  

You felt his cock twitch again as his other hand freed itself from the surface to skim the edge of your uniform top.  A low growl rippled through his chest and he paused only to pull off his gloves; as soon as he was free, the pencil was in his hand again and he was grazing the pads of his fingers over your stomach.

Every touch felt as if you were being held above a fire, the flames licking and searing but never leaving a trace.  Your breath left your lips in short, staccato gasps and you shivered, relishing the soft jolts that ran through you.  

He squeezed your hip again on occasion and his fingers dipped beneath the edge of your pants, tracing the lines where your clothes left their mark.  The pressure behind you eased only enough for him to fit his hand between both of you and head lower, grabbing the soft flesh of your ass.  A low moan rumbled behind you as his fingers delved a little further, skimming your outer lips.  You were soaked, his touch gliding over you; you wriggled against him and felt his teeth skim your neck in warning.

“Eager indeed,” he whispered, breath hot against your ear.  “I could already smell it but this is a pleasant surprise.  Have you had thoughts of me, my dear?  Have you fantasized about this?”

Your cheeks burned and Dottore chuckled, his fingers prodding your hot, soaked core once more before withdrawing and cupping your ass again.  He obviously had, otherwise neither of you would be here in this predicament; after all, Dottore stated the substance only worked precisely because there was already a cognitive bias. 

You whimpered as his hand let go of your plush flesh and reached around, fingertip hovering over your swollen clit.  Dottore touched you just enough to cause a squeezing ache through you, your swollen walls demanding more.

“I have, Lord Harbinger,” you panted.

He made another notation as he withdrew his touch, the pencil snapping in his hand just as he finished the last flourish, the last of his restraint gone.  He cast aside the remnants with a flick of his wrist and tugged your pants down just past your hips.  Dottore didn’t bother to do more than unfasten his belt and free himself from the confines of his trousers, bare cock situated between your wet thighs.

The Harbinger pressed a hand to your back and pressed you forward, bending you over the surface, all the better to expose yourself to him.  He leaned over you, sheltering you, as he aligned the head of his member with your entrance, running his length across your lips.  A gasp left you at the sound of your slickness.  Whatever shame you had the decency to feel was gone, replaced with only a blinding need to be full, complete.

He sank into you slowly, his cock stretching your swollen walls with each shallow thrust, his hands fisted so tight his knuckles were bone-white.  You shuddered when he brushed past a particular spot every time, the edge already much closer than you expected.  An icy jolt ran through your core, walls clenching from the pressure of being pressed against the table.  Dottore hissed and his strokes grew long and full, nose buried in the crook of your neck as the sounds and scents of your coupling filled the air.  

At least this lab was more secluded but you long since lost control of any thoughts about being caught.  

“The timing could not have been better,” Dottore murmured, his pace increasing.  “How perfect.”

You meant to ask but he drove into you harder, the edge of the table pushing into your diaphragm, preventing you from speaking.  The impending bliss was already making you see stars and the lack of air was only enhancing the coil tightening deep inside.  You stifled your moans, although perhaps there was no point, as teeth grazed your ear and neck.  Hands reached for your hair, your waist, your hips as he continued to thrust, white hot heat searing across your vision as the pressure finally snapped.  Dottore groaned as you fluttered around his cock, squeezing and pulsing.  

His rhythm never changed through your aftershocks and he sent you over the edge twice more, legs quivering.  All thoughts of documenting his observations seemed gone now as he sank his teeth into the curve where your neck met your shoulder.  With a few quick snaps of his hips, Dottore shuddered atop you and you felt a shooting warmth, filling you to the brim and then some.

Dottore remained inside you, body covering yours.  His hands massaged your hips as he pulled away from your neck enough to press his lips to the open skin and lick away the blood.

“Decreased inhibitions indeed…” you muttered, tongue heavy.

You tried to shift, or at least stand straight slightly.  Your back was beginning to protest and between the man inside you and the table, catching your breath proved difficult.  Dottore chuckled as he ground his hips into yours, his cock still hard and buried deep inside you.

“We’re far from done, my dear.  Stage one is not over yet.  This substance can take days to wear off.  In that time, I’m certain I’ll obtain the results necessary to move right into stage two.  Taking you on your back might improve the timeline, though…”

Your stomach sank as you managed to turn your head and cast a look through your peripheral over your shoulder.  All you caught was a glimpse of a wide smile and glittering ruby eyes staring down at you.

“Oh, did I not mention that?  It’s quite convenient that your body is ready, based on your pheromones; I cannot stop until we’ve guaranteed success.”

[forestdeath1]

Sirius’s attitude towards Peter

This is going to be a bit controversial because in the fandom, it's commonly believed that Sirius loved Peter. People backs this up with two points:

Sirius suggested Peter as the Secret Keeper.

Sirius said he'd die for Peter.

In my view, their relationship was a bit more complicated than just "he loved him." Emotions aren't just about love and hate, there's a lot of grey area in between. But personally, I don't see any evidence that Sirius truly loved or respected Peter.

From what we know in the books, teachers saw Peter like this:

Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?’ said Madam Rosmerta. ‘Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,’ said Professor McGonagall.

For an observant and clever person like McGonagall, the group dynamics aren't a secret. It's exactly what people saw from the outside.

We know for sure that Peter visited the Potters, and Lily worried about him being sad, whereas there's no mention of Remus. In the Order of the Phoenix photo, Peter stands next to James, Lily and Sirius, while Remus is on the other end. So at least during the war, Peter was closer to the Potters than Remus.

Here's what JKR says about their relationship with Peter:

"Pettigrew, who they, in a slightly patronizing way, James and Sirius at least, who they allowed to hang round with them, it turned out that he was a better wizard than they knew. Turned out he was better at hiding secrets than they knew."

And it makes sense. Patronizing. They didn't intend to be friends with Peter at all, it was Remus who felt sorry for him and persuaded James and Sirius to include him.

Remus, always the underdog’s friend, was kind to short and rather slow Peter Pettigrew, a fellow Gryffindor, whom James and Sirius might not have thought worthy of their attention without Remus’s persuasion. Soon, these four became inseparable. (Pottermore)

And what we see in their relationship in reality:

Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded. 

‘Put that away, will you,’ said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, ‘before Wormtail wets himself with excitement.’ 

Wormtail turned slightly pink, but James grinned. 

Peter's behaviour:

Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face. 

How can someone like Sirius, who literally hates groveling ("I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself?"), respect and love someone who constantly grovels? Was Sirius blind not to see that? Everyone saw it. Remus simply pitied and was kind to Peter ("always the underdog’s friend"), and James loved Peter's adoration. James is the kind of person who really loves attention, and at the same time, he has a pretty black-and-white view of the world, and probably considered Peter a good guy, albeit one he could sometimes make fun of ('How thick are you, Wormtail?' said James impatiently. 'You run round with a werewolf once a month –')

But Sirius didn't need attention, he wasn't an attention-seeker. He could see pretty well who and what everyone was.

Many say that what Sirius says in PoA,he says it after many years of reflection in Azkaban and on emotions. I don’t think so:

‘Lily and James only made you Secret Keeper because I suggest- ed it,’ Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backwards. ‘I thought it was the perfect plan ... a bluff ... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they’d use a weak, talentless thing like you ... it must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters.’ 

Sirius came up with a bluff. A plan where Voldemort was supposed to come after him, Sirius, not Peter. It wasn't just that Sirius trusted Peter. The point was that Voldemort would NOT come after Peter. Why was he so sure Voldemort wouldn't come after Peter?

Because first of all, I think Sirius really, as he said, believed that Voldemort would never pay attention to Peter. And secondly, Sirius was sure that Peter admired James too much and loved him too much to betray. The one who was always attached to them, the one who always looked up to James in admiration.

Sirius underestimated Peter's "bravery" and cunning.

‘I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter – I’ll never understand why I didn’t see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who’d look after you, didn’t you? It used to be us ... me and Remus ... and James ...’

He always saw that Peter was attached to them as "big friends," but Sirius, being arrogant, underestimated that besides them, Peter could have other "big friends." He was too convinced that Peter idolized James.

At the same time, it's pretty obvious why Sirius didn't trust Remus. He always respected Remus more, considered him smarter and more capable. He couldn't not trust James, James was everything to him, but Remus, who also often disappeared on missions, he could. This distrust shows not so much that they had bad relations, but rather that Sirius considered Remus a more capable and independent person, not just an appendage to James, like Peter.

So why were they considered inseparable and why did Sirius say he would die for Peter?

‘He – he was taking over everywhere!’ gasped Pettigrew. ‘Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?’ 

‘What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?’ said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. ‘Only innocent lives, Peter!’ 

‘You don’t understand!’ whined Pettigrew. ‘He would have killed me, Sirius!’ 

‘THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!’ roared Black. ‘DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!’ 

Sirius has a very strong sense of honor. For him, dying for those he considers «ours» is a matter of honor. This is a nuance in his character — he may not particularly like or respect someone, but if they're "ours" he'll defend them (even someone like Mundungus).

He considered Peter their friend, he was with them from the first year, James loved Peter, Remus loved Peter, Peter helped in their mischiefs, and Sirius treated Peter okay, as a friend, but without much respect or some unearthly love that fandom usually portrays. He could see what Peter was like, and surely there were tense situations between them, but Sirius wasn't a bad person, and Peter knew how to play the helpless and miserable guy. It's like a patronizing friendship, where you're friends not because you really respect and love the person, but because they're in your group, and you're used to them. It was a childhood friendship. There was no sacred friendship. Children often start friendships simply because they end up in the same bedroom.

And Sirius isn't afraid of death. His death – it's not the worst thing for him. He tells Peter the same thing. Better to die than betray friends. That's his honor—he doesn't understand betrayal. The concept of honor isn't linked to love. For some reason, many think that a person can only decide to die for those they love. But some might choose death because their honor demands it. And if Sirius considered someone a friend, and he did consider Peter a friend, then dying for him is a normal reaction.

JKR on this: "Sirius would have done it. With all his faults and flaws, he has this profound sense of honor, ultimately, and he would rather have died honorably, as he would see it, than live with the dishonor and shame."

And Sirius would die not just for Peter. He told the twins about their father, who was on a mission: "You don't understand - there are things worth dying for!"

So, I don't see any evidence that Sirius truly loved and respected Peter. Did he consider him a friend? Yes, he did. Not personally his own, but their friend. James's friend first and foremost and an integral part of the Marauders. Would he die for him? Yes, of course. It's a matter of honor. But he always saw him as lesser than themselves, not as worthy, not as strong, not as smart, too cowardly, and sly. And it's precisely because of his arrogant attitude that he thought Voldemort would never pay attention to Peter, making Peter the perfect Secret Keeper. Also, in his opinion, Peter would never betray James precisely because Peter supposedly idolized James too much and loved him too much. But "it turned out that he was a better wizard than they knew. Turned out he was better at hiding secrets than they knew."

[liliasmaestra]

I think that the Coven is going to repeat episode 5 and the key to fixing things will be succeeding in Lilia's trial:

Things are wrong from the get go. Lilia has knowledge she shouldn't have.

Lilia wakes up and immediately knows they're in danger. Prodded by Rio to explicitly name who is after them, she says it's the Salem Seven.

Except in episode 2 and thus episodes 3 and 4 as well, Lilia doesn't know it's the Salem Seven after them. She says "well, whatever chased Agatha down here, it's our problem now". She didn't sense the Seven attacking Agatha's house in episode 2, or that the crow witch was outside her building, and neither Agatha or Teen clarified for the others at that point.

So how and why would she know it's the Seven now?

She certainly isn't guessing.

She isn't divining it; there's no actual prediction, no tarot call outs, she doesn't say anything outright out of sync and she isn't spaced out like she usually is when her psychic abilities manifest. She knows exactly what is going on in that moment. This is not being shown as knowledge coming to her from elsewhere, this is information she consciously already has.

She just woke up and knew they were in immediate danger.

Almost like it's happened before.

It's established both that time can go weird on the Road and that Lilia has temporal magic

The version of the Ballad that the Coven sings in episode 2: "through many miles/of tricks and trials".

Lorna Wu's version of the Ballad: "the Road is wild and wicked/winding out of time".

Lilia says about her own abilities in this episode that she reads people and she reads time.

Everything about the trial is wrong and everything goes wrong inside it.

They fly through the bug witch with Agatha still having a bug in her hair in the Cabin, which would point to the entire thing being a trap by the Salem Seven.

We don't see the moon phase on the door to confirm who it really belongs to. The door doesn't lose its handles: they aren't trapped in like previous trials.

Aspect ratio doesn't change like with previous trials.

The trial itself makes no sense, aesthetically it doesn't match Agatha, it doesn't have a logical way for her to use her knowledge/power to overcome it, and it directly seeks to split the Coven apart where every previous trial is about them having to work together.

They climb up out of the cabin, not "down, down, down the Road" like with previous trials.

They break every rule given to them in the Cabin.

The ouija board jumps at them whereas every previous trial had them stumble on clues they had to decipher.

They fail the trial. Alice dies, they choose to abandon Agatha instead of helping her overcome her trauma, they're completely fractured as a coven, they didn't use their knowledge/power.

Almost as if none of this should have happened.

Lilia's premonitions seems heavily focused on events in episode 5, she is repeatedly singled out as acting strange by the others in this episode

People have already worked out that it's likely "Try to save Agatha" from episode 3 and "Alice don't" from episode 4 were supposed to be said together in episode 5 as "Alice, don't try to save Agatha".

Lilia also says that "[she] hated this the first time" during the episode. To which Teen then says "Lilia's acting weird again", which is practically a neon sign that Lilia's words aren't benign.

Then, after Everything, she says "death comes for us all" in an almost resigned, mournful way that doesn't track with her previous reactions to danger and coven members dying. And Agatha specifically clocks this, she look thoughtful, like she just got given a missing puzzle piece.

Lilia was terrified by her hallucinations in episode 3, angry and upset about Sharon in episode 4, she repeatedly shows a lot of empathy towards Alice specifically, and yet we're lead to believe she just accepts that Alice is dead and moves on? No.

If Lilia is this resigned to the death of a coven member it's because she's either literally not herself via some kind of possession or because she is stuck in a loop trying and failing to prevent tragedy.

But she can't do it alone.

Lilia's trial will involve course correcting the Coven's mistakes in episode 5.

In the trailer for the show we see a scene of Lilia's trial. It clearly confronts witch stereotypes, outfitting her as Glinda the Good Witch. It also clearly involves the Salem Seven in some way. She is actually shown floating/falling with them in a room with swords standing blade up beneath them. (This is definitely reaching now but the saying 'to fall on your sword' comes to mind, meaning to sacrifice yourself for something.)

In episode 2, she tells Agatha that she doesn't miss the glory days because she was chased from every village she passed through due to accurately predicting tragedy. I posit that Lilia's trial is about her overcoming her fear of her psychic magic and resentment of witch stereotypes and the heartache and loneliness this has caused her by fixing the timeline. She has to figure out how to actively control her magic to get her predictions to the right times, and the rest of the Coven has to believe her.

It's a trust fall, literally. She might have to sacrifice herself, in hopes that eventually she'll get her outbursts to the right times and be able to keep the Coven safe and whole long enough for them to save her at the end by working together to defeat the Seven. Allowing them to complete the Road "Coven true".

Agatha will be the one to help Lilia trust herself, as she did with Jen and Alice in previous trials, she is cast as the Wicked Witch to Lilia's Glinda meaning a central aspect of the trial will be their relationship. The Coven must trust each other, they have to look beyond stereotypes and let go of their preconceived notions about each other. She might be the first one, with Rio, to piece together what's happening and believe Lilia.

[sinvilles]

Thoughts on Arthur, Angela and Clay: Oedipus Complex or just touch starvation?

You know the drill: I'm unconcerned about redemption because I'm not a fuckin lutheran. I'm a writer and I like sociological stories and seeing characters achieve wholeness within narrative. moral orel is a unique case because the story was cut short halfway through, and all character arcs were arrested at their lowest point in the narrative, except for some characters on the side who were just kind of beginning to shine.

Mother, child and the father laid to the wayside. The dynamic in that family is cursed by something we often disregard in analysis: Clay's 10 dead siblings who never saw light outside the womb.

Their ghosts are present, haunting Angela every time she looks at her son and thinks of the fragility of his little life. Their ghosts haunt Arthur when he sees his wife overcoddling their son. And when Clay is told the truth, their ghosts surround him as well.

CLAY

Think about that moment. He is 12, sheltered, the apple of his mother's eye, and probably didn't even know miscarriages were a thing- his mother won't even say the word "dead".

Then suddenly, his mother's body- once his source of comfort, associated with life, nourishment, love- is a graveyard. Her body is no longer safe, secure and homelike. His mother is now a stranger, and deeply suspect.

Not only has she had children pass inside her- she put every one of them behind her, choosing to move on and focus her love on the next child, and the next one and the next one... But even that makes her suspect- if Clay dies will she just move on and have another baby?

So he tests her. Like a little kid would. Maybe it's a prank he thought of earlier in the episode when he saw the bullets lined up in his father's study. He expected to be let off easy, because his mommy always laughs at his jokes and pranks- it's part of what makes their relationship special. But he didn't expect to kill her.

Of course the loss of his mother impacts him forever. I don't think that, as an adult, he's actually IN LOVE with her, or that he lusts after her. He comes off as wanting to crawl back into the womb for comfort. Every woman's body is now his mother's, and he can't really engage with women without being reminded of all of the baggage attached, the womb simultaneously a warm cradle and a grave. Of course he has to drink to do it. That and he's gay.

It seems to really freak him out when he visualizes those thoughts- when he thinks about his mother he literally imagines lubing his entire body up and crawling back up into her womb. He tries to drown it instead of examining those emotions because it's WEIRD lmao. But I doubt it's a sexual thing for him.

also, speaking of 10 dead siblings, I'm going to drop this Wikipedia article on the fraternal birth order effect. Read this and get back to me.

ANGELA AND ARTHUR

We see them progress in family photos from a very lively, happy couple, with interests and hobbies, to a pair who can barely recognize one another. The trauma of miscarriage can do a number on a couples love life- I have no doubt it was Angela who wanted to continue trying for a baby. I wonder if Arthur was so used to the disappointment that he actively kept himself from getting attached to his first living son before he was born.

He seemed to be trying to bond with him in the episode- though Angela may have taken his aloofness to heart and hoarded little Clay to her bosom. So not only is he denied the love of his wife, but the bond with his son as well. It's like an Oedipus complex in reverse, where the father is jealous and (SUBCONCIOUSLY!!!) seeks to destroy the son for competing with him for the mothers affections. Whereas Clay didn't seem to bear any ill will towards his father prior to his mother's death and his rejection of him.

Lets reflect on the use of the word leftovers: this can also mean something secondhand or second best. When Clay is done eating, Angela doesn't even bother preparing a plate for her husband, but pushes a plate of Clay's leftovers in his direction. When Clay tries reaching for his father after just having lost his mother- needing the physical comfort and safety he is so used to receiving- he is pushed away, and Arthur angrily says: "I don't want your LEFTOVERS!"

Arthur was always aware that Clay's love for him was secondary to his love for his mother. Clay, in his stupidity (it's a very natural thing) was content to sell him out, prank him, humiliate him. And a lot of resentment had festered for years to get to that point- Arthur didn't have the maturity in him to set it aside and just be there for the child that needed him. Hell, he expected the kid to die before his wife did. He does come to regret how he treated Clay in the future, but only because he saw how it affected his grandson.

Arthur didn't just deny Clay his physical affection, leaving him starved for any kind of touch (even being hit), he straight up ignored him. You can't ignore a kid.

Arthur and Clay's situation is one that I'm actually stumped about plot-wise. I don't think Clay would even be willing to accept an apology from Arthur- the damage he did so deeply affected Clay's formative years. Does Clay have to forgive him? Alternatively, does Orel have to forgive Clay? It really is a vicious cycle; I do think it will hurt Arthur not to be forgiven by his son, but he might possibly accept it. But Clay, unable to forgive his father, in turn cannot forgive himself. And when Arthur dies and its too late, it will definitely break him.

[eetherealgoddess]

ꨄOur Betaꨄ

Oneshot - Yandere Omegaverse Au

❦After saving her omegan boss and coworkers, Y/n is ordered to stay on watch because of their induced heat by traitors. Because she’s a beta she is the most trusted candidate. Who knew it would turn out like this?❦

Sano Manjiro, Sanzu Haruchiyo, & Haitani Brothers x Reader

Press the link for part two!!

Part Two

Not fully proofread

MY TR FANDOM WORKS ARE ONLY ON TUMBLR, AO3, AND WATTPAD UNDER EETHEREALGODDESS! REPORT IF YOU SEE IT POSTED UNDER ANYONE ELSE BUT ME!!!

Japanese language is red

I apologize if I get any Japanese etiquette or culture wrong, I literally have to research the culture for some of my fandom stories so if anything is wrong, please excuse my ignorance.

Notice:

✩Y/n is 18+. I picture her as a black female but you can see her however.

✩Some parts of the story may not be realistic or factual. After all, this is a work of fiction.

✩Although it's a dark 'romance,' I do not condone any of the behavior displayed.

✩Dark content such as: gore, violence, triggering topics, graphic scenes, vulgar language, explicit sexual content, etc.

✩There will be scenes that involve non con and/ or dubcon so don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable

✩That being said, this story is for 18+ only.

Enjoy!

Our Beta

Being an executive for Bonten has its pros as well as its cons. The materialism and connections bring limitless pleasures when one is into that kind of thing. Cons being the risk of either getting caught by the police or killed by the hands of one’s enemies.

Everyone is at some kind of risk. Luckily, Y/n being one of the new executives results in her staying in Bonten’s headquarters most of the time. Usually working under Kokonoi as he supervises their finances. She helps with paperwork and takes on more of a secretary role, though being able to see every confidential file under the name ‘executive.’

Unfortunately, considering the only betas of the group being her and Koko; Takeomi, Mochi, and Kakucho being alphas, her and her supervisor had to complete a quick rescue mission for the omegas of the group who had been forced into an induced heat by a group of traitors, as well as including some of the betas and omegas from their security to help rescue them. Which brings them to this moment in the car full of whining omegas.

The thick smell of pheromones and slick fills their senses as Koko speeds down the road and Y/n eyes the window in the passenger seat. The men in the back damn near naked as they use part of their own clothing as a way to make small nests, eyebrows furrowed as sweat falls with their hands desperately pumping themselves.

“F-fuck, it hurts!” Rin exclaims as he viciously rubs his cock, desperate for a release.

“How long do heats usually last when they’re induced by a drug?” Y/n questions Koko. He shrugs.

“It could vary. A normal heat lasts at least a few days whereas, depending on the drug, could be a full week or more. Maybe even less.”

Mikey leans his head back as he lifts his legs more, gaining better access as he uses his slick as a lube before plunging his fingers into his anus, rubbing his cock at the same time as he breathes heavily out of his mouth.

“How are we going to get them out of the car? They can’t go out like that, they’d kill us once they're back.” She says.

“They don’t really have a choice. They can thank us for saving them before those cretins could rape them. Also, I have things I need to do so you will help the security team bring them in and you’ll be on watch.”

“Shit.” Sanzu whimpers as tears fall from his eyes, seeking to fill and be full as his fingers vigorously go in and out of his ass, his cock pulsating as he jerks it.

“Me?!” She exclaims. Koko side glances.

“Who else? The other executives are alphas and as I said before, I’m too busy. We have to take over considering this is an unexpected circumstance. Boss isn’t in his right mind. Nobody else is trusted enough to stay on watch, though the guards will be right outside the door.”

Ran bites his lip as his eyes lazily drift to his cock, thrusting his hips into his hand as he tries to keep as much control as possible, failing miserably as his body continues to heat up, blood drawing from his lip. All of the omega’s eyes are hazy as they work themselves up.

Once Kokonoi drives up, he parks in front of the lobby of the shared estate. They all have their own individual homes but this was the easiest decision. They have their individual rooms anyway, but Y/n was informed to take them to Mikey’s master bedroom considering it is spacious along with the huge bed the omegas will share since they should stay together considering the lack of chosen alphas. The men were carried to the designated room as Y/n follows, Koko already gone in the car.

As they were placed on the bed, they began to scrunch the blankets and clothes as nests, fully laying in their bare forms as they tried to orgasm. The air is thick as their scents fill the room, fumes would be seen flying in the air if possible. When Y/n begins to walk out, a voice calls out to her.

“Y/n! Com… come ere’!”

She turns and walks toward Sanzu who called her from the side of the bed farthest from the door. When she stands over him, he grabs the top of her suit and pulls her over, causing her to bend as he crushes his lips against her. She immediately tries to pull back, failing as he gives an ungodly grip to the back of her neck, holding her in place.

Her eyes widen as she finally pulls away.

“S-Sanzu! You can’t…!”

“B-beta! Touch me!” He demands, sitting up as he snatches her suit jacket, forcing her on top of his naked body. She gasps as she tries to release herself as he pulls her hips down on his erection, thrusting his hips.

“Goddamnit! S-Sanzu, stop!”

Her jacket is pulled off behind her by another culprit as Sanzu rips her blouse, revealing her bra. Hands slide up her stomach, reaching her breasts as they cup them. She leans her head to see who’s grabbing her from behind as kisses and licks are placed against her ear and neck.

“Ran! No!” She yells, only for him to shove her upper body over Sanzu, gripping her pants as he tears them apart. He continues to tear down her pants legs as she struggles against Sanzu’s wrapped arm around her waist. Mikey and Rin watch as they continue to please themselves, moaning and breathing heavily in desperation.

“GUARDS!” She screams desperately. The door slams open as they look in surprise, covering their noses.

Mikey sits up and glares at them with his piercing, black eyes causing them all to flinch.

“If you interfere, I’ll kill all of you as your loved ones watch.” He threatens. Y/n gasps as they all rush out of the room.

“Beta.” He catches her attention considering he’s still her boss. He motions for her to get closer, ignoring Sanzu and Ran assaulting her body.

“Come here Beta.” He growls. She immediately pushes herself away from the two as they allow her to move, holding back to obey their boss’s wishes. Her eyes widen when the pale man pulls his legs up.

“F-fuck me. Fuck me right now.” His voice slightly trembles as the pain becomes unbearable.

“M- Boss, I-I can’t do that.”

“I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t shove your fingers inside of me.” He glares. A grip tightens around her neck as she’s pulled back into a chest.

“You better listen, Beta.” Rin whispers, squeezing harder.

“B-but you’re only in heat! I can’t take advantage of that and I’m not even an alph-!” She shrieks as her shoulder is bitten roughly, blood dripping down as the hold on her neck tightens even more. Mascara runs down her face as tears fall from the pain, her face scrunched before she’s released.

She finally uses two of her shaking fingers to gather slick before slowly pushing into her boss’s anus, hoping to not trigger pain to save herself from getting threatened anymore. She thrusts her fingers back and forth steadily as the tip of her fingers reach the spot that causes his body to jolt as he thrust his hips.

“Ah! Yes, Beta just like that!” Mikey moans as his head falls back with his mouth slightly open. As she’s bent over, Rin tears her panties off as Ran shreds her bra. Sanzu forces her head to Mikey’s cock.

“Suck it, Beta. Pleasure your king.” His piercing gaze boring into her eyes as he shoves her head down, Y/n resisting by pulling back as she stops her hand movement.

“That’s too much, Sanzu. I can’t.” She whimpers as she feels Rin’s tongue enter her pussy, his hands pulling on her thighs as he pulls her over his face, the back of his head hitting the mattress under her.

“Guys, please! Wait!” She cries as Ran sticks two wet fingers into her asshole.

“I’ve never seen such a slutty beta. Bent over on all fours, so wet for omegas in heat.” His raspy voice states, thrusting his fingers as Rin sucks her clit. A hand grabs her head as it pulls her forward, dark eyes staring into her gaze.

“Do it, Y/n.” Sanzu states. “Boss won’t have to kill you if I get to you first.”

She continues her movement as she eases her mouth on Mikey’s head, attempting to go slow until he thrusts into her mouth. Sanzu’s hold tightens, some of his fingers falling to grip the back of her neck as he holds her head in place while his king thrusts relentlessly into her mouth. She gags as she’s forced to breathe from her nose, saliva and slick falling from her mouth as she thrusts her fingers into his hole. Ran accelerates his thrusting as his fingers hit her walls, Rin continues to suck and lick her clit as his fingers enter her vagina, immediately thrusting fast after he finds her g-spot.

Her body convulses as her legs tremble, all the sensations of her body being used for enjoyment overwhelming her as she shuts her eyes. Tears continue to fall at the pain in her throat, slightly gurgling as she’s drowning with semen. She opens her eyes to Sanzu staring intently at her, watching her pleasure their boss who’s moaning and whimpering as he violently thrusts his hips in need.

Ran climbs over Rin’s body as he replaces his fingers with his throbbing cock, groaning as he pulls her all the way to his base. She clenches in pain, the pleasure of her pussy being eaten and fingered causing a conflicted feel as her asshole is stretched to fit his girth.

With one last thrust, Mikey’s body convulses as he moans out her name, releasing into her mouth as Sanzu forces her to swallow it while biting his lip with a smirk. Breathing heavily before it steadies, their boss falls into a deep slumber. Ran and Sanzu smile as Sanzu gently moves Mikey to the side. She grips the sheets as Rin pushes himself up to where their faces meet.

Without any warning, Rin pushes himself inside of her. She grunts as her face falls onto his shoulder, only for her face to be grabbed and propped up.

“You’re not done, Beta.”

Sanzu shoves his cock into her mouth, holding her head as she’s plummeted by the brothers, roughly. All of her holes are filled as she’s forced into being bitched.

“You look like an omega, Y/n. So full of our cocks, ready to be bred.” Rin taunts as he grabs her neck.

Heavy breathing and moans filled the air followed by Y/n’s occasional grunts and wails as she’s fucked relentlessly by her dangerous coworkers. They become sloppy with their movements as the thrusts harden, followed by grunts and whines from the omegas.

“F-fuck Beta, s’ good!” Ran almost whimpers as he tightens his grip, red hue on his face as he leans over to wrap his arms around her, rubbing his face against her back as his usual neat hair is unkempt, falling over his face.

Rin’s face curls as he thrusts, squelching sounds coming from all of her holes. He stares at her scrunched up face as she’s face fucked. He slightly sits up to leave nurturing kisses on her bruised neck, sucking as his omegan comforts her. He grabs her breasts and gently rubs her nipples.

Sanzu stares at her watery eyes with his own hazy blue orbs, breathing heavily as he’s mesmerized by the tired look on her face.

“My pretty beta. Good Beta, good.” He praises as he pets her head.

Finally, both of the brothers release deep inside of her with two strong thrusts as Sanzu orgasms deep into her throat. She reaches her own release as the pressure builds, her body convulsing as well as trembling. She falls weakly on the Haitani as she breathes heavily, almost crying from joy as it is all over, for now at least.

They all shift as they use the torn clothes for nesting as they bury themselves into each other, including a sleeping Mikey. They all fall into a deep slumber.

The induced heat ended up lasting a week. On the last day, after he was informed by the guards, Kokonoi knocked on the door. Once he heard the, “Come in,” he turned the knob and walked into a messy room. His eyes widened when he saw Y/n, sleeping as she’s sprawled out on the bed naked, wet, and worn out. The omega men were dressing themselves as they normally would, seemingly unbothered by the knocked out woman.

“B-boss?” Koko questions. Mikey just ignores him as he sits on the foot of the bed. He dismisses the rest of them, the men walking out with one last look at Y/n. When it was just Koko and Mikey, he walked toward him.

“Her job title has changed. Chain her if you have to because she’s not leaving this room. All of the executives except the alphas are permitted to enter. Guards stay outside this door at all times.”

Once he walks out of the room, he stops and turns back to Koko.

“Get her on a schedule to be cleaned.”

Kokonoi could only stare in shock as his boss walked away like nothing crazy had happened. He turned back to look at the woman once more before shaking his head. He walks toward her and taps her head, her eyelids barely opening as she eyes him with a blurry vision.

“K-koko? P-please get me out of here.” She murmurs before falling back into slumber.

“I apologize, Y/n. I was not expecting this to happen. I guess we should prepare, hm?”

[sinful-lanterns]

it's worth mentioning that snake's mating literally starts with an orgy when a horrible amount of males wrap around a single female trying to get her and they all end up fucking each other sometimes even without the female in the first place

now let's just imagine that all the snake ladies in the monsters au act more like male snakes whereas the reader is seen as that one desired female.....

NOT THE SNAKE ORGY— 😨

Imagine having three snake women curl up around you in the middle of mating season and try to fuck you all at the same time. Everything is such a blur and you have no idea who’s fucking you at the moment, but it just feels so good so you just lie there in ecstasy while Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea all try to breed you silly with their eggs…

Wow, that’s definitely a grouping I wouldn’t expect to have a foursome with, but the Researcher definitely doesn’t mind! It’s such an interesting phenomenon, that you grab onto your notebook and try to jot this down mid-orgy, even if it’s extremely difficult with three giant snake women brutally bulldozing you.

The Researcher’s Notes after getting wrapped up in a snake orgy with Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea:

- No matter the species of snake monster, when they see a mate they like, many of them will attempt to fight for them before deciding it would be best to just initiate a mating orgy.

- These orgies often consist of the “prized mate” at the center, and multiple other snake monsters pining for their attention around them. The number of snake monsters in the orgy depend on how many there are around.

- Each snake monster won’t stop until they’ve successfully deposited their seed into their desired mate. The orgy won’t stop until every snake monster is satisfied with their breeding, so orgies like this can last for a pretty long time.

- For this peculiar case of a snake monster orgy, after every snake monster has successfully bred me, Serpent, Bianca and Chelsea went off to find a piece of food to give to me, almost as if repaying me for the breeding. It is unknown if all snake orgies are like this, or if this is just a unique case.

- Being cuddled after sex by three snake women feels amazing.

[thedepressedjuggalette]

Arcane is a GOTHIC Show.

No, not Goth like Goth music, I mean GOTHIC as in Gothic Literature like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or literally anything written by Edgar Allen Poe.

I am dead ass serious. Or maybe I'm just insane.(Spoilers ahead!!!)

Now it is okay if you didn't pick up on this, I am just one of those extremely weird kids that grew up reading Gothic Literature so much that it was almost an unhealthy obsession so I kind of spotted this within the first 6 episodes of the first season.

Now if you don't believe me when I say that Arcane is Gothic in nature I need to ask you this:

Did Arcane ask these simple questions:

What does it mean to be human?

What defines humanity?

When is a person too far gone?

Can grief ruin a person?

Can trying to help others turn to destroying others?

And can obsession turn to madness?

These specific questions are the very questions I've noticed pop up a LOT in OLD SCHOOL Gothic literature.

For instance Viktor is a lot like Viktor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll (more so Dr. Jekyll) in the sense that he slowly loses his humanity the further he pushes his research before finally falling to a destructive path. He quite literally loses himself to his own research and by his own research subject.

Singed (Dr. Ravick) is more Viktor Frankenstein than anything else. So obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. But whereas Frankenstein was obsessed with the idea of it that he never thought if he should. Singed found it merely to be nothing more than an illness needing to be cured because he couldn't stand the idea of losing his daughter.

Gothic Literature came out after the Romantic Literature Era, however in the Romantic Literature Era a lot of writers were protesting workplace mistreatment such as forcing children into working in coal mines and cleaning chimneys, along with the obsession of nature, Gothic Literature focused on the morality of Humanity, what it meant to be human and what defines us and how quickly a person can fall into insanity (aka mental health issues).

The first to start this was Mary Shelley over a small bet with her husband and several other authors. Her work was mortifying in comparison to the others because of what it forced the reader to think about.

Her work took place during the Enlightened Era where scientists were obsessed with Progress (Riot I fucking saw this shit coming, fuck you guys), and how if as a species can we become like god and make something from our own deaths and if we even should?

Shelley doesn't directly answer this but we actively see through her writing the death of a god -- Viktor Frankenstein -- because Adam (the monster) views his creator with contempt and disgust and thus demands his Eve despite Frankenstein's reluctance.

Can you imagine what Vander would've thought of Singed?

Can we really say that Vander would not view Singed as both his Savior and Destroyer. Can we even call Vander human? Or is he something else entirely? We can't call him a werewolf in the traditional sense, so what truly is he? He is the Adam of a species not meant to exist. Is he even Vander anymore or is he truly Warwick?

A lot of Poe's writing is very much about madness and grief. Well... To me anyways, it could just be my obsession with his poem The Raven (it reminds me of my great grandmother).

And I've personally in my own life seen how grief can destroy a person physically -- their despair destroying their physical health because that person feels their life died with that person. And I fear every day for my grandma to head down the same path that her sisters are when they pass.

But it's the mentality that the more subtle and at the same time the most extravagant thing to be destroyed through grief.

We see this repeatedly with Jinx and Vi.

They lost their stability the moment that their brothers and Vander died, and when Jinx thought Vi was dead.

They had already lost their bio parents, so this was another nail in their coffins. However Vi had no idea if Jinx was alive or dead and thus had that to hold onto despite being beaten bloody in an unstable environment that is prison.

Jinx however had her grief and trauma constantly lectured into her and had to form her personality around it. She even comments on it in episode 9 of season 1. Silco didn't know how to be a dad, but he was trying his best but he was a grown ass man when he had his personality reformation unlike Jinx who was like 10.

Her grief was haunting her and ruining her mental health.

I had recently learned that psychotic depression is a thing.

With her guilt and grief and PTSD eating her alive she was bound to go the road she went down. But what truly killed Jinx was the death of Isha.

I want to make it clear that I don't view Jinx and Isha's relationship as sisterly. I view it as maternal due to the comparisons between her and Silco and Isha to Powder.

However the point still stands.

She, like Silco, could not stand the mere idea of their child being in any sort of life threatening situation -- especially dealing with enforcers -- and thus would jump to protect them. But they both fail at the end in many ways.

Vi literally stopping Jinx from getting Isha out of there, and Silco being unable to stop Vi from triggering Jinx's PTSD.

And there's one more thing about Jinx we need to address...

If there is one thing I know about bullying and brainwashing is that if you keep telling someone they're worthless etc. one day they're going to believe you, and you cannot be surprised they do and when they act accordingly. Especially when the victim is a child. This is why suicide in children and teens is so devastating and cannot be fixed with religion or weird as hell wrestlers or stupid manosphere podcasts.

We don't know how long Powder had to put up with Mylo's bullying of her, but telling by her reaction to and how the loudest and most negative voice she hears from her hallucinations is his voice... I'd have to say that it started from the moment they met up to his death and it was sealed when Vi hit her and called her a Jinx.

"Who truly made Jinx?" is a question that has been brought up by everyone and their mother by this point. Some agree with the character herself when she said that it was Vi. Others agree with Silco when Jinx stated that Silco thinks he made Jinx.

Some reading this might say "Oh my god was it Mylo???"

I disagree on all fronts.

There is one video essay I keep coming back to because anyone with any sense of media literacy will outright point this same shit out but not as... Artfully as the essay itself.

It is called "Arcane, a Monster Factory" and it starts out with a single statement:

"Piltover breaks people."

And ends with a terrifying statement:

"Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I start to think that maybe Piltover is more realistic than I'd like to think..."

It wasn't a single person that made Jinx. It was the entire city.

I want to point to Episode 7 to show you what I mean.

Without the death of Grayson but instead the death of Vi and without the creation of Hextech and Silco choosing to forgive Vander, Powder herself changed for the better and never needed to become Jinx. Rather she focused her energy on helping everyone around her -- and not taking time for herself in the process but we've always seen this even in Jinx. She focused on helping Silco then jumped to just trying to destroy for the sake of destroying only to end up helping the under city without meaning to, only to help Isha, and never really helping herself.

No matter what she'd have liked to think, she could've done wonders. Viktor even said so himself. She could do a lot to help his commune with her talents.

Even said it when he was looking at her bomb for the first time, calling her work "inspired".

She is talented but her talents never got the chance to truly shine.

Imagine what she and Ekko could've done if they were able to attend Piltover's academy.

But as stated before, Piltover breaks people.

Piltover made Jinx.

And in a cruel twist of fate it made the two people who cared about her the most hold the blame for the city's actions.

The ending of Arcane was fumbled when it came to Jayce's speech to Viktor and I'll stand by that because it was the fault of Piltover for Viktor having a preventable disease and thus leading to his obsession with avoiding death and avoiding needless suffering.

But in this ending these two science husbands did ask the one question that truly defines Gothic Literature.

What does it mean to be human?

And it's answer is one that I am unsure about because no one can truly define the human experience. The experience of life. The grief. The pain. The love. The joy. All of it.

In my own fanfic for a completely different fandom I had two characters talk about emotions. One couldn't truly feel emotions while another could. It took me a long while to try to figure out how to answer the question of "What is it like to feel emotions?"

It's hard to answer, isn't it?

I did figure it out though, having to take a page out of Kindred's playbook. But it was one I was very satisfied with.

It is questions like these be them asked through subtle writing cues, or blatantly asked by the characters themselves, they define Gothic Literature to me.

Arcane is the beautiful marriage of Greek Tragedy and Gothic Literature.

[glisten-inthedark]

Get ready for some rambling nonsense that is all over the fucking place

Mike is so fucking clever man like when it comes to plans and whatnot no wonder he's the dungeon master

I forgot that he's the one who comes up with the idea of interrogating Will and hiding their location from him, he's even the one who takes Hopper to the shed which means that he was also the one who thought of using the shed

and he’s the first one to bring up that closing the gate will kill Will.

Also, underrated moment of Mike right when Will’s eyes are coming into focus after waking up in the shed, Mike looks so anxious and he’s either biting his thumb or he’s got his fist pressed to his mouth, and his eyebrows are doing that 🥺 thing and he looks so vulnerable, and then he crosses his arms and right before the camera leaves him he goes :] and it’s so hard to explain but it’s so pitifully adorable in a sad sweet way😭

And then of course Mike’s face when Will starts screaming about being tied up, again it’s so open and vulnerable and I swear I need to see this from Finn Wolfhard again in season 5 (not saying that he didn’t excel in 3 or 4 but Mike wasn’t given the same opportunities for this particular kind of vulnerability in those season—he should have had a similar look during his ily speech if, yknow, it was sincere, but that’s a whole other anon).

I swear Mike has “Will eyes” in these scenes that I literally only ever see him use once with another person and that’s when he sees El again for the first time after thinking she was dead. But damn those eyes are just so VULNERABLE and so filled with emotion and I NEED to see that again in season 5

I also just realized that they put Mike in the foreground and in focus during Will’s screaming in the shed and, in the same shots, put Jonathan in the background, partially behind a light and out of focus. They never put Jonathan in focus in those shots despite him being Will’s brother; they essentially prioritize Mike and his reaction and tell the audience that he’s more important than even Will’s own brother’s during this part (and Charlie is acting his ass off in those shots too)

I also forgot that it was raining when Jonathan and Will finished Castle Byers. And it rained when Will destroyed Castle Byers. Wow I hope Mike rebuilt Castle Byers and we get a scene of Mike and Will hiding in there during a storm because full circle. Anyways,

Also underrated, the fact that Mike doesn’t start crying when talking to Will. He starts crying before he even opens his fucking mouth, that tear on his cheek has been falling for a while

Noah Schnapp’s acting during this scene!!! you can see Will fighting so hard to overcome the Mind Flayer but he’s not strong enough to retake his voice and you can see the moment the Mind Flayer overpowers him and his face smooths out and his eyes go dull. Wow, A+

Man I may not ship Milkvan but the reunion scene makes me cry EVERY FUCKING TIME, once again, Finn’s acting is incredible in this scene

Interesting that they chose to put Will in Jonathan’s bedroom and then have Mike and Hop’s fight be in Will’s bedroom. Why, from a writing perspective, not just put Will in his own bedroom? That’s the logical thing to do. Why did they choose to have that fight happen in Will’s bedroom?

Hello!!

Oh yeah, Mike is incredibly smart. People talk about Dustin but Mike is super intelligent as well, but I feel that Mike's intelligence is more practical whereas Dustin is more theorical, if that makes sense.

Mike definitely has "Will's eye", he looks at him so softly most of the time, there's so much care and love when he looks at Will.

If you think about the room thing, two of Mike's monumental monumental moments happen there. This one and when kisses him and he panicks.

Is like a symbolism of the fact that he's overwhelmed by Will's presence during those moments, like he's being surrounded by him somehow.

[letsgetrowdy43]

I want to hear more about Hayden’s birth

Okay, purr, so the second Quinn got on the flight to head to Edmonton for his third last game of the season Honey had her two best friends come over and help her take care of Warren because she knew she would be going into labour soon and wanted to make sure someone was there just in case for not only herself but also Warren.

It was kind of expected, but also she was really shocked and scared when she went into labour, mainly because Quinn wasn’t even in the same province and it was all happening so fast. One moment she was organizing the nursery with her one of best friends as the kids played in the playroom, and all of a sudden she just started getting contractions and then everything got really busy really fast. She called Quinn but he didn’t answer, cause he was on the ice, instead she left a short breathy voicemail and two short messages, and then she headed to the hospital.

She was actually pretty fine health-wise, but she was scared and felt really alone while waiting for Quinn. Even though one of her best friends was in the room she just needed her husband and a promise that he was gonna make it on time. Honey called his brothers and her family a few times to tell them that the baby was on the way and they chatted for a bit but then Quinn finally called her back and disrupted their peaceful phone call.

Quinn on the other hand was in a frenzy trying to get home. The second he read his text after doing his post-game interviews he was panicking trying to figure out the fastest route to get home.

He read the short "I'm in labour. Please come home" and immediately started to freak out that he was going to miss one of the singlehandedly important moments of his life. The second she picks up the phone he's like "Please tell me I didn't miss it" Honey just laughs at his slight panic, "Quinn I've been in labour all of an hour and a half, you have time," she laughs but then the laughs turn into tears, "I do need you to hurry up though, I really need you here," she sniffles into the phone which sends Quinn into an even deeper frenzy.

All the other dads in the locker room get it, but also are like "Act like you've been here before my god??" cause he is so all over the place and he has plenty of time to get home in time. He thankfully made it in time, and Hayden was born just a few short hours later.

Quinn definitely cried when he had his first kid, but there was something about having a little girl that had him really emotional, cause she was the most precious thing he had ever laid his eyes on. Honey had stayed pretty strong on the crying, but watching him interact with his daughter definitely had her emotional, he just kept whispering short "thank you's" and "she's perfect, you're perfect's" to his wife which had her on the brink of tears.

Honey was literally a god, she had the perfect birth and the nursing staff were literal gems and helped her through all of it.

Hayden kind of looks like a blonde carbon copy of Quinn and it's the cutest thing ever, whereas Warren carries a few of Honey's traits, Hayden is just all Quinn.

Warren got dropped off in the afternoon after everyone had had some time to sleep and the doctors and nurses had finished all of the post-birth routines. He was very excited to see Quinn again, squeals leaving his lips as Quinn retrieved him from Honey's best friend, the two of them hugging at the entrance of the hospital before Quinn told him all about his baby sister.

The little boy was a little skeptical because she was crying when he first walked in the room, but the second she was gently placed in his lap it all changed, he kept saying how much he loved his baby Hayd and how pretty she was as she rested in his arms. This had almost every adult in the room in tears as his little hands traced patterns on his sister's head, her eyes closing as she fell asleep in his lap.

it was definitely hectic, but also so cute, and everyone is just super happy to have a healthy baby and mama!!

[theheirofthesharingan]

I don’t know if you’ve talked about this here but what do you think was Itachi’s motivation for torturing Sasuke?

I did. I wrote about it here and some relevant words here too. The first post will answer most of your questions, but I'm going to answer this one anyway.

Itachi did not torture Sasuke because he thought he was doing something right. He knew he was very, very wrong, but it was necessary because he'd been threatened by Danzo that if his brother learned the truth, Sasuke would go against the village, and get killed.

Danzo, even when Itachi was alive, sent Sai to kill Sasuke, on the name of protecting the village, whereas he wouldn't do anything about Orochimaru, knowing full well Team 7 was actually chasing Orochimaru as well.

Think from Itachi's POV who was leaving his brother in Konoha.

Konoha was a place Itachi had killed his parents. The same place and the people in power to whom he lost Shisui. Sasuke, a defenceless child, could be in a much worse state. Itachi hoped if he were cruel, Sasuke would have a reason to want to live and get strong. Uchiha are driven by emotions and that's what helps them get stronger. Sasuke with Sharingan or MS would have a better chance at survival than a Sasuke who had no access to those powers.

One more thing is that he wanted Sasuke to kill him. So, Sasuke hating the monster that Itachi had become was important. And after killing him, he wouldn't want Sasuke to live in a regret that he'd killed a brother who loved him. Therefore, he wanted Sasuke to remember him as a monster, so that if anyone ever told him 'Hey, your brother loved you', Sasuke would only remember all the pain Itachi had caused him, not all the love he had in his heart. Because Itachi knew what that would do to Sasuke.

In his whole life Itachi had never known a life that was not traumatizing. That was like a default mode for him. To him, a life like that was still better than being dead. He still cried leaving Sasuke, because causing him pain was the last thing he wanted to do.

And when he returns the second time, Itachi didn't want to come across Sasuke at all. He sees Sasuke from afar and learns he's alive and he leaves before Sasuke can even spot he was there. He then leaves the village to capture Naruto. Itachi's purpose of coming to the village was to check on Sasuke. He does that when he sees him. The next was to show Danzo and the elders that he was still alive and he does that with confronting the Konoha Jonin. And then he follows Jiraiya and Naruto out of the village. If it was only to leave the message that the Akatsuki were after Naruto, he could have done it easily without having to follow Naruto out of the village.

He did it because he didn't want to come across Sasuke. Sasuke isn't a sensory-type ninja, so how would he know where Itachi was, even if he were to learn that he was back in Konoha? He wanted to see Sasuke only when Sasuke was ready to kill him. But things didn't turn out that way.

It's not Sasuke's fault that he was there and Itachi was 10000000% wrong in going to the extreme to torture him, but I despise the narrative that 'Itachi was a cruel and manipulative bastard' when literally every single moment leading up to this moment tells us he was trying to avoid Sasuke, let alone hurt him.

Itachi 'manipulated' Sasuke - the word manipulation works only with your textbook definition of the term because a lot of lies and deceit was involved in how Itachi treated the whole thing, but manipulation always is done with the purpose of using someone for their own good and with a self-serving goal in mind.

Danzo manipulated Itachi to exterminate the Uchiha clan. Orochimaru manipulated Sasuke because he wanted his body. Obito manipulated Sasuke so he could use Sasuke against Konoha. Kabuto tried to manipulate Sasuke to fulfill how own goal of attacking Konoha.

What personal, selfish goal did Itachi have in mind that he wanted to achieve by making Sasuke live? His safety? His life?

The foundation of Itachi's morals was rather fragile because of the way he'd lived, killing people, preferring one kind of lives over the others, and having to make the decisions where lives were always at stake and he had to save them. To him, either it was a strong, powerful, and traumatized Sasuke or a dead Sasuke. And he loved Sasuke too much to kill him. And if he had some better options (in which he was certain that Sasuke would be happier too) he would not have taken the extreme measures. He saw the world was cruel to the Uchiha and once he was gone Sasuke would be all by himself. He only understood Sasuke had a better chance because he had Naruto. But it happened after he had already hurt Sasuke enough.

As outsiders, yes, we understand he choices he made were messed up and thoroughly wrong, but they were made in wake of the life and experiences he'd lived through, and violence and hopelessness he'd experienced firsthand.

[aboutcustardcreams]

Help me hold onto you

Summary: The Doctor takes you and Yaz to Nectoxia, a peculiar planet that serves as burial ground, with the purpose of giving you a harmless fright. However, things don’t go as planned. They never do. And this time, it could cost you dearly.

part two

part three

part four

When the Doctor mentioned she was going to take you somewhere that would give you the creeps, your mind hardly imagined something quite like this. You couldn’t help the shivers running through your spine, the air was humid and heavy that stuck to the skin, underneath your clothes. A thick fog clung to the ground, making it difficult for you to see where you were going. 

“Where are we?”

She turned to face you, a wide grin plastered on her lips, as if she had been expecting that, “Thought you never asked. This is Nectoxia, a planet that serves as a vast, endless, graveyard. There’s literally nothing else. No living forms– well, except for us. Eerily quiet. Dark. A tad creepy. It is creepy, isn’t it?” 

You couldn’t help the little grin that played out on your face, as she studied you with childlike curiosity. She indeed looked like one sometimes, a child, a bundle of energy you couldn’t help but feel drawn to. Her purpose was that of giving you a little fright, that’s why you landed there. She had been trying so hard and for days, to sneak up on you on the TARDIS, but unsuccessfully. So she thought of a change of scenery, nothing harmless per se, and who were you to deny her the opportunity to… fail again? You developed some sort of sixth sense when it came to the Doctor, meaning that you could always feel her presence. 

“It’s certainly a nice start, I’ll give you that,” you admitted, with a nod of your head. “Not scared yet, though.”  

She rubbed her hands together, “Right. Yet,” she echoed, “I can go with ‘yet’. Still plenty of time to scare you. Watch yourself,” she grinned, a playful glimmer lit up in her eyes.  

You let out a soft giggle and the Doctor felt a wave of warmth right in that moment, as she savored the sound of your voice, so genuine and melodious. 

On the other hand, Yaz was a bit unsure about all this. Unlike you, she did get scared, and quite easily. The Doctor never failed to tease her about it. Sometimes the two of you would team up against her, coming out of nowhere, crying out loud a ‘Booo!’, that funnily enough worked every single time. Yaz would squeal, bounce up and then drop miserably on her knees, struggling to catch her breath for a bunch of seconds. She would throw daggers at the two of you for that, flap at your arms, yet her smile would betray her not much after that, because despite the initial annoyance, Yaz enjoyed those moments. Deep down. Very deep down. At first she had been thrilled to have you back, considering how hard it was to scare you, but that place didn’t feel right. That thick fog for starters was making her feel uneasy. 

She picked up her pace, when noticing she was falling behind. You turned towards her, watching her carefully, as she catched up by your side, lightly brushing your arm, “Hey,” you muttered, playfully flapping at her, “Are you all right?” 

Your friend scrunched up her nose, “I guess. Nothing’s tried to kill me yet.”

You gave her an apologetic smile, then draped an arm across her shoulders to pull her closer. “There’s nobody here, except for us. The Doc said that, didn’t she?”

She scoffed, but leaned in your touch, “How many times does she say something like that that ultimately turns out to be untrue?” 

She indeed had a point. “Too many to count,” you chuckled softly, the sound of your voice catching the attention of the Doctor. She turned and frowned in her unique, adorable way,  before asking if everything was alright with you two. You gave a quick nod of your head, whereas Yaz flashed a thumb up, despite her lips pressed into a thin, forced smile. 

“Why don’t you pretend to be scared, so we can leave?” She leaned against you, hope in her tone. You swept your tongue over your lips, as you listened, quite amused, “I’ll give you ten bucks, no wait, twenty,” her tone so serious you hardly could hold back a laugh. 

“Yasmin Khan!” The Doctor spun around, a crease between her brows. “Are you seriously bribing her right now? You’re supposed to be a police officer!”

She groaned and rolled her eyes, “Former police officer,” she pointed out, considering she stopped showing up at work for ages now, meaning that she wasn’t sure she still had the job. 

You giggled softly,  and reached up to her to place a hand on her forearm, “Relax you, I’m not yielding to such frilly temptations. The temptation to watch you fail again has no price,” your eyes gleamed with mischievousness. 

“We will see about that, stardust,” she kept your gaze, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Her demeanor showed you she was so sure to succeed this time, you almost believed she would. But only for a brief second. It was the Doctor you were talking about. “Ten points for you, by the way, for your impeccable integrity. Yaz, you’re falling behind.” 

She frowned, “I almost don’t want to ask but… fall behind what?” 

The Doctor continued on walking, closer to the two of you, the hems of her sweeping coat disappearing into the thick fog at your feet. “I’m keeping a mental ranking of the points you’ve collected.” 

Yaz could hardly stifle an annoyed groan. “You give her random points all the time! How can I top that?”

The Doctor feigned a look of horror, “I do not! I’m impartial!”, she met your gaze then, as to be met with your support, “Am I?” 

You hesitated and rubbed the back of your head. “Well– most of the time.” 

It wasn’t a secret you and the Doctor had a peculiar bond. A unique relationship, you’d describe it. She was your friend, your best friend, and probably even  more than that. In your heart, she was the Universe, in every sense of the word. 

Yaz crossed her arms over her chest, and the Doctor dismissed the topic with a light flip of her hand. “Come on now– we should carry on. There’s loads to see.”

“You mean loads of vaults and tombstones?” echoed Yaz, with a grimace. 

“I know you’re scared, but don’t make it so obvious,” you teased, still grinning. The former police officer shot you an indignant look, before playfully shoving you, making you stumble a couple of feet away from her. “Oi! Rude!” 

It was her turn to grin. 

The Doctor scolded lightly, “you two remember our number one rule, alright?  Stay close to each other and don’t wander off.” 

“I thought you said it wasn’t dangerous,” came from a very alarmed Yaz. 

“And I still think that,” she repeated. “But I doubt you’d enjoy getting lost in a cemetery as wide as this.”

You chuckled when Yaz swallowed thickly in response, “I’m not fond of the idea, no.” 

“Come on, little chickens,” you teased playfully, sprunting forward just enough to pass both Yaz and the Doctor. 

The Time Lady slightly shook her head at your antics. It was going to be harder than she initially predicted to have you admit you were even remotely spooked. Even so often you’d glance over your shoulder, your eyes meeting her hazel ones, and you’d smile. Every time you did that, the Time Lady couldn’t help but feel her stomach twist and turn funnily. It was ridiculous, the intensity of it. Of this… pull she felt towards you. She thought to tell you more than once, take your hand and confess all the crazy things she felt for you. 

And maybe someday, she’d have. 

As you three continued walking through the tombs, you brushed off some dust and dirt covering the inscriptions here and there. Why was there no flower to embellish the gravestones? Not even dried ones, to let you believe someone had been there before you. 

“All these people and nobody honoring their memory,” you mumbled, feeling sorry for them. “How did they even end up here?” 

The Doctor was pulled from her thoughts. She blinked, “there’s a Soulspire somewhere around here. It’s a gateway that links Nectoxia to Vitareon, a planet full of life, totally opposite to this one.” 

“So people spend their lives on Vitareon and when they die, they move here through some sort of portal?”, asked Yaz. 

“It sums it up, yeah.”

You still weren’t convinced. “It doesn’t explain why there’s nobody alive to visit their loved ones. It seems nobody has set foot in here for years. Is it supposed to be this way?”

“Hmm, now that you point it out, no, not really. There must be something impeding those from Vitareon to pass through,” she reasoned, frowning slightly, as she always does when there’s a new mystery that needs to be solved. “Maybe the portal needs maintenance. I’m good at maintenance, me. Once I built a sonic screwdriver out of a bunch of dry leaves, an old phone charger, chicken poop and a biscuit.” 

“A biscuit?”

“Chicken poop?” 

Both you and Yaz questioned at the same time. 

“Double yes,” the Doctor nodded, with a cheeky grin. “Why so surprised? It’s no secret I love biscuits,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “Needed some sugar while working. And as for the chicken poop, you’d be surprised how many things it activates.” 

You and Yaz exchanged a look. 

“Oh, don’t you love a good mystery?” The Time Lady sighed, scanning a couple of random tombs, in search of who knows what. “Cause, I do. So much. Especially if it’s a creepy one. Two birds with one stone.”

You hummed amusedly, finding it funny how she still thought she could scare you in such a desolate place. 

“Doc, can’t you just admit your defeat?” Yaz complained, lolling her head backwards. “She isn’t scared, at all. If anything, I’d say she is enjoying it way too much.”

You chuckled, slightly shaking your head, “Now Yaz, that would be insensitive of me, all things considered. But I’m definitely enjoying how scared you are. Not that it’s a surprise.”

“I hate you,” she hissed.

You reached up and clung to her arm, “I love you too.”

After, you pointed a finger at the Doctor, so engrossed in examining every inch of the planet, and to talk to herself– Maybe not to herself, you did miss a couple of her sentences along the way. When the Doctor was excited she rambled, and when she rambled, she could go on and on, passing from one thing to another. 

“Look how eager she is to solve this. How can you deny her a single thing?” 

Yaz sighed in defeat, humming, “I know that. It’s just–”, a pause and you turned towards her, her face dimmed a bit, “I really have a bad feeling about this place. And I’m not saying that just because it’s full of gravestones and it smells like, well, death…”

Before you could say anything else to try and reassure your friend, the Doctor stepped in rather excitedly. “I think I detected the Soulspire, well the sonic did. Should be right up that hill! A small walk. Probably medium-length actually,” she said in one breath. 

“Define medium-length…” Yaz muttered, squinting her eyes. 

You chuckled when the Doctor simply shrugged at that. You spotted an amused grin plastered on her face, as proof that she was clearly enjoying this. 

Yaz whined. “Doctor!” 

“Less talking, more footing. Come on, come on, come one-!” 

[samsalami66]

Hullo!! Here's one from the I Will prompts for Dreamling please!!

"I will fall in love (with you)"

Easy as Breathing

Hey love! Thank you so much for the prompt (and I apologise that this took so long). Have a short but sweet addition to the soccer au, I hope you like it <33

Read here or on AO3!

Weekends have always been Morpheus’ favourite part of the week, although the reasons for it have changed drastically since he joined the Fiddlers. Whereas a bit more than a year ago he loved weekends for the fact that he would not have to deal with Roderick or Alex or any of his other teammates for two whole days, he now loves weekends for the time he can spend with his friends outside of training. Truth be told, almost all of his time is spent at Hob’s apartment on those days. While he loves all of his other team members, they are not Hob. 

Hob, his best friend, who is currently stirring a pot of Morpheus’ favourite soup while singing along to the musical they discovered together last month. The unsteadiness in his lyrics is made up with the enthusiasm in his voice. He sings like he does most things in his life: with emotion, heart, and dedication. His hips are swinging, wooden spoons are being misused as microphones, and Morpheus is pulled into spins and sways every moment Hob does not spend with a knife in his hands. 

Whenever he puts his head on Hob’s shoulder and lets him lead, he prays for it to never stop. He wishes to feel Hob’s powerful voice and laugh vibrating in his chest forever, to wake up to that bright smile and those caring eyes. Morpheus can't remember a single time he has felt so safe before finding the Fiddlers and Hob. Completely and utterly safe. If he were to fall, Hob would catch him, again and again, literally and metaphorically.

Every one of Morpheus’ bad days Hob meets with sympathy, a helping hand, a shoulder to rest on. He does not mind the tears and snot and cries of rage and frustration because Morpheus couldn't stand his racing heart and sleepless nights anymore. But no nightmare or panic attack or act of anger can scare Robert Gadling away. He's there, whenever Morpheus needs him. 

And Morpheus is learning to do the same. He pulls Hob's head into his lap when he notices his friend growing restless and frustrated, cards through the long strands of his hair and massages his scalp until all the tension bleeds out of him at once. When the tears come, so often for others, for the destinies of people who were not his to save, he lets Hob hide his face in his neck and cry until he is shaking with missed breaths. 

But Morpheus notices that over the past few months, it has become less. The crying, the nightmares. Roderick’s voice is a more distant presence now, undoubtedly there, but less overpowering than it had once been. Quieter. Never less angry. 

Hob, too, seems to get overpowered by his emotions less and less. These days he notices the tension in his shoulders and chest as much as Morpheus does, and does his best to breathe through it, to decompress by going for a run or talking the emotions out with Morpheus. 

“Bad with boundaries,” Hob had once told him, and Morpheus had frowned. In his eyes, Hob seems to be rather good at setting boundaries with assholes, but that hasn't felt like the right thing to say. “When I see people hurting, I want to help. But not everyone can be helped. Doesn't mean I stop trying.” 

Morpheus wondered for a while after that, if he could be one of those people who simply couldn't be helped. Every time he woke up screaming from a nightmare, he would apologise to Hob. Over and over, until Hob would take his face in hand and remind him of his progress. The fact that he is going to therapy, changing habits, getting better. 

Morpheus hadn't seen his progress, until that moment. The fact that Roderick’s voice and the nightmares and the panic attacks were still there was proof of the opposite in his eyes. But Hob pointed out they were getting less. Only twice that month did he wake up screaming. He was more focused, and didn't get lost so easily in the dead man's voice. Only one panic attack in six months. 

He smiled more, Hob said. 

Morpheus thought that wasn't entirely his own doing.

After all, Hob taught him how to smile again, with his awful puns and endless patience and ridiculously thoughtful gifts. Gerhard the Great sits between their pillows on Hob's double bed, which is slowly becoming their bed with how much time Morpheus spends sleeping in it. There's also his spot on the couch now, his mug in the cupboard, his part of the bookshelf and closet. At this point, Morpheus wonders if moving in with Hob wouldn't be easier. 

“Hob?” He asks, face pressed into his best friend's neck, his eyes closed. Hob hums in response, easy as breathing, and Morpheus feels no fear speaking his next words. “I think I'd like to live here. With you. If that's something you'd like too.” 

The arm around him tightens, and then the other hand Hob has been using to stir the soup comes to rest at the nape of his neck. 

“I'd love to have you here, Dream,” Hob murmurs, close to his ear, and Morpheus smiles. 

Easy as breathing. 

“I think,” he whispers, quietly enough that it only rings between their chests, between their hearts that are pressed together in their embrace. “I will fall in love with you, kollitós. One day.”

One day. When he will have healed enough to think of words as big as love.

“Can't wait for that day, lovey.” 

The words are quiet, soft, and they warm Morpheus down to his very core. 

He thinks he looks forward to that day as well. 

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

reposting one i read on reddit that got removed but i just need to know what tumblr thinks:

AITA for finishing in my girlfriend during the full moon, thinking it was not possible for her to be fertile?

I know the title sounds weird, but I promise this isn't a shitpost, metaphor, or a joke. I (20M) was raised by a single dad, never knew my mom who left me as a baby, and growing up I didn't really have many female (or male, tbh) friends.

The reason I say this is that I don't know all that much about female anatomy; yes, I had sex ed in school, but seriously don't remember anything except "wear a condom", basically.

I met my girlfriend "Beth" (21F) in college and she's the best. It's my first relationship, her second. We've been together for a little more than a year now, and had sex for the first time about half a year ago. After the first couple times, Beth told me that she has a really regular and average period that she's been keeping track of with an app since she was literally 14, plus in the last few years she also started taking her temperature to get even more accurate results; I didn't understand exactly how this works, but she was so reassuring and confident I didn't question it.

Ok, now this is where I might start sounding like an idiot... So she told me her period is an extremely regular 28 days, and she has literally only strayed from this pattern once since she was 14. I also am aware that moon cycles are 28 days. (Correction here: since this incident, I Googled and it's actually about 29 days... but that's besides the point I guess.)

Women tend to be associated with the moon, like Artemis; I truly, deeply believed that the moon phases and all women's menstrual cycles were inherently connected, but just like, different women had their more fertile days with full moons whereas for some it corresponds to a different moon phase, like the new moon, and this is why women differed.

So the reason Beth told me about her period being super regular is that she was confident she knew when she was or was not fertile, and told me she wanted me to finish in her on safe days. We've been having sex like this for the last four months where she tells me the window of time she's safe, she's happy, I'm happy, it's working fine.

I started noticing that the moon tends to be really full and bright every time we have unprotected sex, maybe not necessarily always on a "true" full moon, but definitely around that time. I made a mental note that my girlfriend is a "fertile during a new moon (when you can't see the moon)" sort of girl. If you're wondering why I never just outright asked her about this, it just seemed really obvious to me and I didn't see the point in talking to her about something potentially a little embarrassing for no reason.

June 3rd was the most recent true full moon, and I decided to sort of surprise her by inviting her to my apartment and just pouncing on her wordlessly as soon as she came in. She was into it, we had sex, I finished inside her, she didn't complain or stop me at all.

While cooling off, she remarked that she didn't remember telling me about her safe days in a while, so I must be tracking her period, which she actually thought was sweet lol. I said, "well of course it's a safe day, the moon is so bright". She asked me what I meant, and I said something like "I know you can't possibly get pregnant during a full moon".

She seemed really confused and started getting a bit tense, questioning me more, and I, also confused, started explaining to her about the moon cycle thing I fully believed up until that moment.

This is where she freaked out completely, jumped up and asked me if I was a complete moron. She started yelling at me and freaking out about how insane and irresponsible I was for finishing in her. I was truly shocked I had no idea what to say, especially because it WAS still truly a safe day, but she actually just grabbed her stuff and stormed off before I could do anything.

Well, after she left I googled a bunch of stuff and yep, turns out I'm completely incorrect. That being said, it WAS still a safe day for Beth and she wasn't actually upset about me finishing in her or anything, just the reason I did, I guess. So, AITA?

So generally I don't want to rerun posts from reddit unless it's your own story, but we'll make an exception just this once

What are these acronyms?

[coalswriting]

domestic / dating headcanons - natalie scatorccio

(approx. 900 words)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

you and natalie started dating after you met her at a party.

you were with your friends, and you had spotted her from across the room, talking with travis.

you were way too many drinks in, and feeling confident, so without thinking, you abruptly ended your conversation with your friends by walking over to natalie.

travis looked irritated the moment you started talking to nat. she did not; you could see underlying relief in the sparkle of her eyes and she listened to you intently as you told her some random fun fact you had heard in biology.

one thing led to another, and you woke up with her in bed with you the next morning.

you panicked, thinking you had done something regrettable with someone you barely knew but she reassured you that the two of you simply came back to yours because you wanted her to paint your nails black and watch a movie.

cool. cool.

natalie didn’t end up leaving for ages that day, and when you saw her in school the following monday, she stuck around you.

you were pretty much glued together and she felt like your other half.

you watched her practices, went to her games, packed her a nutritious lunch every morning (because let’s face it; school lunches suck), and even helped her study.

it didn’t take long for the two of you to start dating; maybe two months of talking consistently every day.

and damn, did she move into your house fast.

your parents weren’t around too much due to work, but they really liked natalie based on the few interactions they had with her, so she was basically free to stay whenever.

your wardrobe instantly became better as natalie let you borrow her clothes, and you even would go shopping together with money you had earned from your part time job as a cinema worker.

speaking of cinema work, you always snuck natalie into movies for free with you when your shift would end. most of the movies, you two would just whisper through and joke around, but when it came to horror movies, natalie was honed and focused. she really loved them, and you loved seeing her enjoyment even though you’d freak out at any sight of gore.

natalie started looking a lot healthier when she moved into your house; she was used to eating shitty oven meals at home due her not having much cooking space nor ingredients, and when you both started cooking together, she loved it too much – you’d say she hasn’t had an oven pizza in months after you had started to date.

you do most of the meal prep whereas natalie cooks. somehow, she’s a natural! you oftentimes come home from work to the kitchen smelling like brownies or whatever delicious dinner she’s decided to make for you. and then, yknow, she leaves you with a sink full of dishes.

natalie isn’t a super affectionate person. she won’t outwardly kiss you or hug you often, but she shows it in different ways. maybe she’ll brush your hair, do your makeup, help you decide an outfit, make you a playlist, or link your pinkies together when youre watching tv.

however, if she gets drunk? that’s a whole different story. she’ll pull you away to make out with you every chance she gets. she would almost escalate it anywhere if it weren’t for you being reasonable and stopping her before things get too hot and heavy.

she’s also a little spoon. i will die on this hill. she’ll sleep facing away from you, but during the night, will push herself towards you until you’re holding her and breathing in the smell of her shampoo. she doesn’t care if it gets too hot, she will literally sleep through the night like a corpse – and then take a shower the next day because she’s all sweaty.  

she’s almost too over-protective at times, literally glaring at anyone that even looks at you wrong. once a guy catcalled the two of you in the hall at school and she literally kicked his locker shut onto his wrist.

his face was worth the detention that you both had to sit through.  

natalie stopped smoking for you. it’s not that you necessarily complained that you didn’t want her to smoke, but you made an off-hand comment once about how you’d love for her to take care of her health more.

and she took that personally. she literally went cold turkey, and you stayed with her the entire time while she was moody, sick, and tired from withdrawal.

natalie’s favourite thing to do is shower. she didn’t have the liberty to shower every day when she lived with her parents, so she basically showers daily at yours, if not twice a day. you don’t mind though; you’re not the one paying for the water.

you’ll oftentimes just sit outside on the toilet while she’s showering and talking to you about a new album she wants to buy or some drama she heard while in the changing rooms for soccer.

speaking of soccer, the yellowjackets think you two are such a weird couple. natalie is so rough, whereas you’re so sweet and caring. you’ll literally come to their practices with bottles of water for everyone and natalie will say some comment along the lines of “she’s mine, all of you find your own fucking girlfriend.”

meanwhile, everyone else is just blinking blankly, not even doing anything to insinuate that they’re trying to steal you.

[stardustjmk]

hello! I saw that your requests for Greta are open, and I was wondering if I could request something for Jake? I am hard-of-hearing, and I suppose I would love to read something about how that has an impact on Jake and Reader's relationship. If you have any specific questions or anything, just let me know! I can totally help out. I hate to say it but I'd love for it to be a little angsty, like, obviously hearing loss is not a choice and maybe Jake is just like... still upset that Reader can't fully hear things and asks to wear headphones at concerts. I would assume IRL Jake isn't an ignorant jerk like that but maybe for this he's just hurt that he isn't able to fully be heard literally and takes offense that like the headphones make it seem like he is being ignored. Thanks in advance!❤️

Loud and Clear | J.T.K

Summary: In which Jake does his best to be understanding and mindful of his hard of hearing partner, but a particular request upsets him.

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x gn!reader | Genre: angst, hurt/comfort Warnings: angst, jake being unintentionally ignorant. | Word count: 2.6k

Note: I am not the best at writing angst, since I crave fluff, but I do hope there’s enough of it to fulfill your expectations 🥹🫶🏻 Thank you for requesting!!

DISCLAIMER: I myself am not hard of hearing, nor do I personally know anyone who is. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, or anything along those lines. So, in the case that something in this story comes off as offensive, please understand that is not at all my intent. Also please let me know if that is the case, so I do not repeat any mistakes.

There was a point in time where you couldn’t see yourself being anything more than a friend to Jake Kiszka.

When he first showed romantic interest in you, you’d be lying if you said it didn’t scare you. After all, you’d been met with numerous challenged relationship, and it was rarely your fault, to put it simply.

That being said, Jake was persistent, unlike any other guy you’d ever had interest in. He showed you, time and time again, that he would take every challenge, and erase it the best he could. Not once did he make you feel bad, or guilty for being hard of hearing, and he certainly didn’t let anyone else make you feel that way either. So, between his persistence, patience, and love, you let yourself fall for him, getting wrapped around his finger.

Jake does his best to learn sign language, along with other means of communicating, but being so busy with making music, doing shows, and all the other tedious tasks of his job, it’s hard find the time to attend classes or do lessons online. Especially given that in order to make that happen, he usually has to sacrifice time with you, or friends, or family.

You know he does his best though, and it shows in the way he speaks to you, which in turn is enough in your book. Not to mention, guys you’d seen before had much more free time on their hands, but never put in the effort to learn, whereas Jake manages to find time no matter how busy he is, all while keeping up his relationship with you.

That’s not to say you don’t have your struggles with him, though.

You can recall a few moments where he’d gotten impatient, trying to explain something to you. One time, he’d waved it off, and even though he explained that it wasn’t because of you, but more so the point he was getting at just stopped being that important to him, it still hurt to be dismissed, when you were trying your hardest to understand. From that moment on, it was very rare for him to be frustrated, but you could sometimes see his shoulders slump or lip twitch. You did your best not to take it personally, and most of the time, he would make up for it whether it be outright apologizing to you for it, or cleaning up his act as soon as it starts - nevertheless, his patience and understanding always outweighs the few occasions where it isn’t so.

All things considered, this might be the worst situation you’ve been in with him.

You hug Jake’s arm as he talks to the boys backstage, the four of them preparing for the show they’ll be playing in a few hours. Jake wears a small, proud smile, evidently excited to finally have you come to a show. The four of them talk to one another, and between looking at their lips, along with the occasional signed words they’d picked up on, you could follow along fairly easily.

Each one of them had learned at least some basic sign language, but Jake had learned the most by far. In fact, when you met his parents for the first time, you were almost shocked by just how much of their words he was able to sign to you. Now, he does the same, and you find yourself with a smile that mirrors his, heart swelling with nothing but love for him.

Your eyes scan the room, and when your gaze lands on a cluster of neatly placed noise-cancelling headphones, you realize that you’d left the ones you brought in Jake’s dressing room. It would likely be easy to go retrieve them, but you’d be lying if you said the “Greta Van Fleet” stickers on the ear muffs didn’t appeal to you.

So, you wander back to the conversation, and wait until a good time to grab Jake’s attention. When it comes, you tap his shoulder gently. He immediately gives you his attention, and you take a moment to admire the smudged liner that beautifully enhances his brown eyes, making your head spin with how good it looks on him.

“Would it be okay if I take a pair of those headphones?” you ask, gesturing to the table, and Jake is quick to nod his head, but it seems he didn’t exactly process it, because as you grab a pair, his brows furrow. “Wait, why do you need them?” He asks. You told him once that your ears are sensitive to loud sounds, but it was months ago, and honestly very brief, so you aren’t upset that he doesn’t remember.

“My ears are sensitive, remember?” you try to jog his memory, and he nods slowly. He does remember, and also recalls reading something about it, possibly back in school, but it still makes his shoulders slump and mood falter. He tries to mentally reason with himself, knowing that you can’t help it, and that he wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, but Jake is known to be stubborn. Anyone who’s close to him knows that and has likely experienced it at least once.

You try to shake off the guilt that bubbles in your stomach - it’s not your fault.

However, as time passes, instead of getting over it, Jake only seems to grown more frustrated with you. It makes your heart ache, to think back on when you first met him. Even though he’s just as sweet now as he was then, a part of you thinks that he wouldn’t react like this if you went back in time and found yourself in this situation.

By the time you gather the courage to confront him, it’s not exactly a convenient time. The opening band is set to be going on in just a few minutes, and you should be making your way to your seat, but you decide it can wait. “Why are you mad at me?” You ask suddenly. You’d been watching Jake make his last adjustments to his makeup, outfit, and guitar (at least, the ones he could do backstage), and it was silent the whole time. You could feel how upset he was, and in a way, it made you mad, which is what made you ask.

“I’m not mad at you,” Jake says, not even bothering to look at you, when normally he’d be fully focused on you, knowing it makes it easier for the both of you. It’s a clear sign that he doesn’t want to talk, and your stomach turns. You’d never experienced this with Jake - shit, you could barely imagine experiencing this with him, given how he’s acted thus far.

A part of you starts to freak out, as this has happened before, in other relationships. Things go well, then something happens, you get blamed - even though it isn’t your fault - and then they break things off. Is Jake going to break up with me? you think to yourself, suddenly dreading the trip to your seat, and the hours following where you’re going to be expected to be happy.

“You are mad,” you say, a little more stern this time. He still refuses to look at you, and you feel a lump forming in your throat. “Jake,” you say, almost certain that your voice is shaky. He finally looks at you. “I just…” he sighs, “The music means so much to me, and the thought of you not hearing it is upsetting,” he explains. You watch his lips as he talks, eyes flickering between them and his hands as he tries to sign it. It’s slightly relieving, knowing that he’s not so mad as to completely give up communication, but there’s still a weight on your shoulders.

Before you can say anything, the boys are being rounded up, and Jake gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “My mom will help you to your seat,” is the last thing he says before heading off with the other boys, making your heart sink. Your lip trembles, and tears well in your eyes, but you force them away. With shaky hands, you grab your headphones and soon meet with Karen, finding your way to your seat.

Despite the lingering sadness in regards to your predicament with Jake, you do your best to enjoy the show.

The lights turn back on, the boys disappear, and the once screaming crowd now evolves into chatter throughout the arena. Karen has been nothing but sweet to you, and as you both head back stage, she links her arm with yours. You’re coming up on a year of being with Jake, and at this point, you’re close enough with his mom that resting your head on her shoulder as you walk isn’t a big deal to either of you. In fact, she presses a kiss to your head, making a small smile form on your lips.

You aren’t sure what to do when you see Jake, so you hesitantly walk towards him, standing awkwardly to the side as he talks to one of the tech guys. As their conversation comes to an end, Jake turns to you. It’s clear that he also isn’t sure what to do, but he chooses to take your hand in his, gently guiding you back to his dressing room.

He seems gentler now, which is relieving, but you’re still worked up about the whole situation, and you’re sure it’s still on his mind as well. You take a seat on the small leather couch that’s in his dressing room, occasionally glancing at him as he changed out of his sweaty suit, and into a pair of old jeans, and one of his beloved button ups. Since it’s a Nashville show, you assume he’ll worry about a shower when he gets home.

He turns to you and walks towards you, eyes locking with yours. You’re not sure what to expect. He lifts a hand and brushes his knuckles against your cheek before cupping it. It’s a silent apology, that, and the way the look in his eyes begs for forgiveness. “We can talk about it later, okay? I don’t want to brush anything off, but I also have to-“ “I know, Jakey,” you stop him, turning your head to peck his palm, before standing up. “Do what you have to do,” you tell him, grabbing your headphones off the couch arm where you’d rested them, as well as making sure to grab the ones you’d brought. You kiss his cheek then walk to the door, opening it as to press your previous statement.

You aren’t sure exactly how long it is before Jake is done, but you do your best to wait patiently. You talk to the other boys, to his mom again, and eventually just linger around Jake himself, trying not to get in the way as he does what he can to help get things packed up.

After some time, everyone finishes up, and you’re back to where you were earlier, with your arm wrapped around Jake’s as you leave the arena. You say goodbye to the boys, along with Jake’s mom, then head your separate ways. The walk to his car is quiet, and you can only assume he’s also thinking about what to say, and what’s going to be said when you talk. He opens the passenger door for you, shutting it gently once you’re settled, then heads to the drivers side.

He waits to start the car, and instead looks at you. You figure he wants to go ahead and talk, and you ultimately decide sooner is better than later. “You said that I can’t hear you, and that upsets you,” you remind him of his words, giving him a chance to correct you, or add onto it, but he just nods. You look at him, and the look on his face reads that of guilt, but also a hint of his own frustration is mixed in with it. His silence gives you the floor to speak, but you can tell he’s worried.

You reach over the console and take one of his hands in yours, then use the other to gently direct his face towards you. His eyes meet yours, and you offer a half smile. “I do hear you, Jake,” you start. “Maybe I can’t listen to it the way you do, or the way your fans do, but I hear it, Jake. I see it, too…I feel it. I feel the drums, I feel the vibrations your amps, I see the way you react, the way the crowd reacts- Jake, I hear you loud and clear,” you conclude, and you can tell that it hit him particularly hard, with the way he sighs shakily and squeezes your hand.

He nods, processing your words, then waits for you to continue. When you stay quiet, he takes over, “Talk to me, please. I know you’re hurt and I just- I want to fix it, so please talk to me,” he says, taking over the role of assurance and comfort. “I just need you to hear me too, Jake,” you say, sighing softly. “I love you so much, and the idea of you being frustrated with me over this…it just hurts, you know? I didn’t ask for it,” you explain. You aren’t attacking him, or even trying to make him feel bad, and he knows it, so he lets you vent, without interrupting. “I know, and,” he pauses, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand before laying it on his lap. He uses his hands to sign as he talks. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that,” he says, and the way you can see the wheels in his head spinning extra fast, trying to make sure he doesn’t mess up, makes you crack the faintest smile.

“I love you too, and I promise that this won’t happen again, okay?” he says, and you nod, leaning in to kiss his lips softly. He kisses you back, lifting a hand to cup your cheek. You practically melt into him, the way he’s so delicate and passionate all at once making you crumble. When you pull away, he’s wearing a grin. “Now, you’re more than allowed to decline…but I think maybe we need a do-over, if you want to come to one of the next shows,” he suggests, and much to his excitement, you do agree.

When the next show rolls around, Jake gifts you a pair of noise-canceling headphones. You open the mix to find a pair of bedazzled ones, black rhinestones making up the majority of them, with “Greta Van Fleet” spelled out in carefully placed silver rhinestones. “The rhinestones were Josh’s idea, weren’t they?” you ask, making him let out a genuine laugh. “You bet it was Josh’s idea.”

This time around, things go a lot smoother, and Jake makes sure to look extra hard for you in the crowd. The smile on your face, the bedazzled headphones - which you eventually found had your initials embroidered on the underside of the headband part, along with “all my love” in jake’s handwriting - which he comes to absolutely adore, the way you’d dressed up for the show, all of it makes him fall even more in love with you. Not to mention, he watches you for longer than he might should, but it’s worth it to see you enjoying yourself, and that’s when he realizes that you do hear him, loud and clear.