#((anyway come mess with this guy he's emotionally unstable))

[robotsandjunk]

Idk if you like a little angst in your asks, but you mention Soundwave being unhealthy with intimate/kink stuff and I’m a sucker for it 👀

Like, I imagine that SW was with Megatron in an emotionally taxing relationship (Meg’s and Starscream is its whole thing when thinking about MegaSound)(cheating) that wasn’t really that healthy at all. Of course there’s also Soundwave being second fiddle to OP as well, and don’t even get me started on when he abandons him when he joins the LL. Then post war SW gets with Cosmos who teaches him that he’ll love him, even if he makes mistakes or gets injured and can’t work, yk?

Use ≠ Love in Cosmos’s book, which is NEVER something SW even considered being a thing

And that he loves Soundwave no one else, no one. And it’s WAY better on SW.

Anyways Cosmos and Megatron interaction with angry shuttle Cosmos… “masters don’t abandon their dogs”

Anyways hiiii I love your content 🫶

Hi! I’m glad you enjoy my content anon! I’m always down for a little angst you’ll be happy to know

My personal interpretation of Megatron and Soundwave was unhealthy but not out of any sort of malice, they’re just two very emotionally unstable people that found comfort in each other. Unfortunately this comfort did come in the form of Soundwave using Megatron to punish himself on occasion and Megatron not putting a stop to it through fear of Soundwave turning to someone else. There’s also that aspect of Soundwave being a stand in for someone else (be it Optimus, Starscream, or whoever else) and Soundwave never bringing up how it makes him feel because he doesn’t want to take that away from Megatron, especially since Megatron needs some kind of outlet and if Soundwave can get something out of it too? Then he just sees it as fair. It’s a very mutual toxicity but one founded on misunderstanding, there’s love there but not love that can truly be romantic

Soundwave meets Cosmos and adores that little ufo, and Cosmos finds Soundwave fascinating. They eventually get into their relationship and Cosmos is horrified by what Soundwaves idea of love is. I think Cosmos focuses more on wanting there to be a ‘bad guy’ in the situation rather than acknowledging that the whole situation was a mess, he doesn’t fully grasp that prewar Cybertron for both Megatron and Soundwave was a society centred around earning everything and so naturally that carried on into their personal relationships. Cosmos also likely assumes the power dynamic was a lot more skewed than it was which doesn’t help

Cosmos does confront Megatron, who doesn’t deny any of it, in fact, he agrees. The whole thing prompts Megatron to actually talk about it with Soundwave rather than just assuming Soundwave wouldn’t want to speak to him, which in turn emboldens Soundwave to talk to Cosmos about the whole thing from his perspective. At the end of it everyone has a nice healthy chat, Soundwave and Cosmos are as in love as ever, and Megatron and Soundwave start hanging out again on occasion

[seongminiz]

mine / yours

first installment of Oh Distant You

minors dni ; dilf!minhee x fem reader ; 1540 words

warnings read The dilf!minhee post first or this wont make a lot of sense , fem reader , not specified age gap but around ~10 years , manipulation , cheating (not on reader) , minhee is a piece of shit omg , more angst than smut , idk if this counts as dubcon but reader is so emotionally vulnerable/unstable n he takes advantage of it so it might , manipulative minhee , unprotected sex , dacryphilia , chocking but not rlly , daddy kink , not proof read , the ending was half assed

permanent taglist @elifseasonz

note its 3am i need to go to sleep just manipulative dilf minhee i fawking love u (yes this is unfortunately named after a wilbur song , i now hate him but the title was too good to change it god bless)

manipulative mf [sighs dreamily]

previously to the events of that post , when you first started hooking up with him it wasn't an exclusive thing, it just kind of happened, at some point you even stopped seeing each other and kind of went your own separate ways. minhee went back to his life as a 'good' husband and you tried seeing other people, finally finding someone else you were interested in romantically.

minhee would've never admitted it, but he was so jealous - to him, you were already his, and the idea of you messing around with men that aren't him and could never be on his level pissed him off.

you could do better. and that better is, of course, him.

long story short, the person you were seeing eventually broke your heart, leaving you distraught and with no idea of what to do. somehow, that brings you back to minhee, showing up at his doorstep on a rainy night looking for a comfort you know he could never give you.

minhee, on the other hand, knew you would be coming back sooner or later, which is why it doesn't take long before you're being pushed into a spare bedroom, your lips never leaving his as you try to ignore the painful clenching of your heart. maybe, if you repress it enough, the heartbreak will go away. maybe.

after all, you're jumping from one miserable situation to another. from someone who led you on, convinced you to finally give a chance to love, only to drop you after a few weeks because he 'wasn't ready for a relationship yet', 'didn't think you would actually get this far' and 'stopped seeing you romantically after a few dates'; to someone who didn't even bother to lead you on, give you the illusion of any romantic feelings, because he knew there was no need to bother, you would come back to him anyways.

the whole time minhee is fucking you he has one hand over your mouth to keep you quiet because you don't want his wife - who's peacefully sleeping in the room right next to this one - to hear you, do you?

he keeps saying how much better off you would be with him instead of some random guy your age who doesn't even know how to treat you right - as if a married man keeping you as his side piece and getting a power trip out of how dependent you are on him is any better, but he's already fucked you too dumb to realize that, and hes basically drilling all of that into your mind (just like hes mercilessly drilling his cock into your cunt) to make sure you'll keep coming back to him and him only.

he doesn't care when you start crying more - whether it's for pleasure or for the emotional state you're in , you don't know it either. minhee notices when he feels the tears running down on the hand he's still keeping over your mouth. your moans have died down by now, reduced to a bunch of pathetic quiet whimpers every time the tip of minhee's cock roughly hits your cervix.

still, he flips you around, if you want to sob your heart out on his cock you might as well give him a show of it. and he's not disappointed by the sight: your makeup smudged and faded out because of all the crying, the way you look at him like he's the only person that matters in the whole world and spread your legs silently begging him to put his cock back in.

you bring one of your hands to your mouth to bite your nail in a subconscious show of uneasiness - be it because of the sudden absence of minhee's body from yours or yet another show of your emotional state - and if it wasn't for the sexual nature of your situation minhee would almost find this and your big, pleading eyes endearing. albeit reluctantly, in that moment minhee has to admit to himself he has somewhat grown fond of you, of your little quirks and habits that he barely sees in the midst of sneaking around with you.

but deep down, minhee also knows he loves all of this for a way more fucked up reason: your vulnerability makes him feel powerful.

being on top of you like this, having you at his complete mercy makes him realize he's completely in control, he has you in the palm of his hand and he has no intention of letting you go.

he wants to see more of this, more of you crying for him, being so dependent on him you're reduced to nothing but a nonverbal mess by the time he's done with you.

'so pretty,' minhee whispers as he pushes his cock back into you, one hand gently wiping your tears - the soft touch of his smooth delicate skin a stark contrast with the way he immediately starts fucking into you at a merciless pace again.

when in your fucked out state you manage to form one coherent thought, trying to be as quiet as you can, you start begging minhee to leave his wife because he'd be so much better off with you, you can give him what she never could…

minhee has to suppress a smirk. of course he would never leave his wife, his marriage might be falling apart but he has certain appearances to keep up, a reputation to maintain. what would people say if they divorced out of nowhere, just for him to be seen with a girl at the very least ten years younger than him?

still, if that's what will keep you coming back to him, making an empty promise is no harm - at least to him. he nods, brows knitting together as you clench down on his cock impossibly tighter, bringing him closer to his high, closer to coming inside of you like he always does. but something feels different this time, as minhee pushes your legs to your chest and listens to your moans getting louder by the second, knowing there's no way his wife hasn't found out by now.

‘daddy i'm about to-’ the words die in your mouth, half interrupted by a higher pitched moan and half by the realization of the words that just escaped you.

minhee slows his place down and you take that as your cue to start apologizing profusely. more tears well up in your eyes, you try to tell him it was an accident, you didn't mean to actually call him that, all while minhee pulls his cock out of your still clenching hole until only his tip is left inside of you.

if you weren't so focused on apologizing, maybe you would've noticed the way his cock twitches with every weak disconnected sentence you try to formulate. but you don't, utterly surprised and trying to suppress a scream as minhee slams his whole length back into you, bottoming out as one of his hands wraps around the base of your neck without applying any pressure.

‘say it again,’ minhee commands, thumb absentmindedly stroking your collarbone in a way that could be almost read as boredom if it wasn't for his dick being completely buried inside of your cunt in this exact moment.

you bite your lip, trying to find the strength to oblige, but it's like your brain has been emptied out and your voice has suddenly disappeared.

your pleading eyes, though, are nothing to minhee, fingers softly pressing around your neck ‘come on, don't make me repeat myself,’ it almost sounds like a threat, punctuated by a harsh thrust that finally rips a moan out of you, along with the word he so badly wanted to hear from you.

minhee has to hold back a moan of his own when you do, suppressing any further sounds by busying his mouth with your neck and chest, leaving marks all over it - ‘just a reminder of who you really belong to,’ he'll tell you later. to you, it's an even crueler reminder: you're his, but he'll never be yours.

you can only pretend he is, as you beg minhee to let you cum and for him to come inside of you, your body twitching in waves of pleasure as his orgasm follows yours quickly after, the feeling of his warm cum shooting deep inside you leaving you willing to go for another round.

you know you can't, though. just like every other time, you'll sneak out of the guest room and through the exaggeratingly big house, silently shutting the front door behind you as the feeling of guilt starts to make its insidious way inside of you.

you'll go home, take a shower, and promise to yourself you'll never see him again, you'll never answer his calls or texts or show up to his doorstep.

never.

you're a hypocrite, but a part of you feels better knowing you're not the only person who's acting like one.

you'd be almost at peace with it, if everything around you wasn't a constant reminder of that same, devastatingly simple fact that has been roaming around your head since that night.

you'll forever be his, but minhee will never be yours.

[tragicquartet]

As the rain poured down, Mallew stood still. 

The wind howled through the tall, gnarled trees, his flowerbeds soaked, soil heavy with torrential amounts of water, his mansion door creaking ominously, blowing back forth in the wind behind him, as if beckoning him to return inside...

He didn’t.

Instead, he stepped further out. 

As the first pellets of cold rain met with his form, he flinched, reflexively, expecting the usual pain that came from contact with water, but, pushing past that fear, that all too well-known pain...

He stepped farther out. 

And then farther, again. 

And again. 

Before long, he was beyond the garden edge, the ghoul standing alone, the distant beckoning of his underlings, the soft mewls of his cats trying to draw him back into the mansion, his home, now so far away...

He stayed where he was. 

Tilting his head up into the rain, Mallew let the water cascade down, rolling down his face and off his broad shoulders, sliding off of him without a single hint of pain.

Opening his eyes, he found himself staring up towards the black, thundering sky, the gentle fizzle and pop of his fiery irises meeting with the cold rain rattling, loud and clear, in his head. 

Before, a single drop of water could corrode, harm, and disrupt his form, hurting as much to him as it would if pure acid had been poured onto bare skin, but now...

He stood.

Staring at the sky, watching the lightning flow overhead, all through his fizzling, flickering eyes, his form heavy and damp with water that now clung to it, so casually and without pain, as if it had always been this way.

He shuddered, feeling a cold dread seep in against him, clinging to his body like so much rain.

Just what, exactly, was he turning into?

[dontcallmecarrie]

Downward Descending

the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and every villain is the hero of his own story. 

Justin Hammer didn’t consider himself a good man. 

Kind? Yes. But not good.

aka thanks, commenter, I blame the plot twist my brain came up with on you because I had zero inspiration for this AU up until I saw your comment

probably won’t make sense if you didn’t read part one to this mess and heads up, the protagonist becomes a villain here. Under the cut because it ran away on me, again.

.

Above all things, Justin Hammer was a realist. 

Kind of hard not to be, considering; between their [fading] memories of another world, and the life they’d been stuck with this round as the heir of Hammer Industries, they’d never really had a chance to get their head in the clouds.

Other people could dream of a better future, and he really did wish them all the best— but in the meantime, he had work to do.

.

Justin didn’t understand these people. 

Sometimes, he wondered if he ever would.

.

Justin didn’t think much of his family: oh, sure, they were loaded, but...well, for obvious reasons, he didn’t think very highly of some— okay, most— of their parenting choices.

Look, some people just aren’t meant to be parents, okay? But at least they try and give a damn.

These guys didn’t even bother.

Not when their heir turned out to be a normal kid instead of a once-in-a-generation child prodigy and genius [no hard feelings, though, Stark]. 

Eh. Whatever. 

Might’ve been for the best, actually; at least it was him and not some other poor kid who got stuck with dealing with all the crushing expectations and comparisons to a frankly impossible ideal, and at least they didn’t try to pull any of that shit with his little sister because if they had then...he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done, but it would not have been pretty.

[they were an older sibling twice over. some things were etched into their soul.]

.

It wasn’t like Justin had set out to quasi-adopt just about everyone remotely his age, okay? It just sort of...happened. 

Okay, look, it’s not his fault everyone his generation looks like a kid to him, they’re all brats and for some reason, all their parents came in different flavors of shitty because their IQs were sky-high but their collective emotional intelligence wouldn’t have filled a teaspoon so looks like it was up to him to step up.

Look, it made perfect sense at the time!

.

Sometimes, it’s funny how Justin is the most mature person in the room. Other times, it’s just pathetic.

Especially when it’s two grown men half a second from duking it out while in public, like they weren’t supposed to be setting an example for their kids.

Justin couldn’t help his dark look at the spectacle, even as he ushered Stark and Pym to the buffet tables on the other side of the room, all the while trying to keep the conversation light. He didn’t really have the time for hobbies, not with all the private tutors his parents kept foisting on him, but it was still nice to hear what other people his age got up to. 

...unless said kid was Stark, in which case they all got regaled with an overenthusiastic spiel on something that went way over Justin’s head but hey, he’d had plenty of practice nodding along to Steph’s chatter so this was nothing.

.

Looking back, it’s kind of sad how something as simple as giving half a damn was enough for Stark to consider them lifelong friends.

Even sadder, because Justin hadn’t even realized it at the time; he’s just been his usual self.

But apparently, that was enough for some people, was significant enough to be remembered even decades later— long after Justin himself had forgotten all about the encounter.

.

There weren’t a lot of things Justin put actual effort in. 

Emotionally, that is; he was not afraid from hard work, never had been, but there was a world of difference between brushing up on engineering terms and being there for someone. 

Not like his mother, who’d apparently thought giving birth to him and his sister was enough involvement in his life, and proceeded to spend all her time in the Bahamas whenever she had the chance. Not for his father, who constantly tried to make him into something he was not, and finding him wanting [when he wasn’t being a sexist piece of shit who regularly cheated on his wife, anyway, but that was a whole other mess entirely].

But maybe that’s why he tried to be kind, why he tried to be there for the people around him.

...oh, and apparently he’d been known for giving good advice in boarding school to anyone who asked. Which was weird, but whatever. At least he’d helped?

.

Justin tried to be a good older sibling. Really, he did, trying to be as supportive as he could be of Steph as he could.

Sometimes, though, that landed him in some...interesting situations.

Such as her infamous ‘fashion design’ phase, which lasted for five very memorable months, during which he wore even her most dubious of creations without complaint even though he really, really couldn’t pull off that particular shade of orange. 

There were probably pictures still floating around, actually, but he was in no particular hurry to dig them up.

Not that he was ashamed, because he’d like to think he pulled off some of those combinations remarkably well, but... well, if it were anyone other than his sister asking, he probably wouldn’t have done it.

Goodness knew how long it’d taken for some of the other guys at boarding school to look him in the eye afterwards. 

.

Several decades in, and Justin Hammer had yet to express interest in anyone.

Oh, he was perfectly polite and charming to everyone; courteous and charismatic, but...well.

'Gentleman’, some called him; ‘in the closet’, dismissed others with a scoff.

The truth was somewhere in between: Justin couldn’t help but see everyone his age or younger as kids, and between that, his natural older sibling instincts, and his own personal issues with his body that came and went, well...

At least Stark was always a good distraction, nobody paid attention to him when the guy was around. 

.

Justin worked at his company long before he became its CEO. 

It was a bit awkward at first, because everyone seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea of the boss’ kid looking over their shoulders, but once they saw he did good work and pulled his weight [and didn’t regularly make tasteless jokes about kitchens or whatever bullshit his old man was up to these days], things picked up the pace.

He bounced between departments a bit because he wanted to get a better feel for the company, and it was during his brief foray in the marketing department that he came across something that gave him pause.

Now, he knew Hammer Industries followed federal guidelines on who they did and didn’t sell to, officially, but...there were a few grey areas sometimes. 

Normally, it wasn’t something he’d have blinked at, but he recognized the names on this particular proposal.

“Von Doom? Latveria? Geez, Victor, what’ve you been up to?”

.

Once upon a time, there had been a boy who appreciated silence when studying during a time when most children his age were anything but.

So when another brat showed up, he hadn’t exactly been happy about it at first. 

But they were quiet, and seemed to prefer to keep their nose in their book, and so they’d come to a wordless agreement to share the space. 

For over three years, they studied together and shared exasperated looks when the other brats got loud, and so it was that a friendship was born.

It wasn’t until they stopped showing up one day that Justin learned that there was turmoil in that student’s country that’d forced them to go back, and only then that he learned his silent studymate’s name.

.

An unusual childhood friendship wasn’t much to go off of.

But it was something.

And knowing what he did about Victor, and the pull his country had in the international sphere... it was a risky gamble, but he was fairly certain he could pull it off.

So Justin quietly but firmly took that particular proposal from the ‘reject’ pile, and took it to his father to look over.

He was still fairly new at this, but he knew how to play the game. It was a risky gamble, but if this panned out, they’d have a significantly stronger foothold in places their rivals couldn’t even dream.

Worst comes to worse, well... everyone was so focused on what was going down in Yugoslavia, it wasn’t like they’d particularly care if a few shipments went missing, now, would they?

It wasn’t pretty, but then, Justin wouldn’t get anywhere in the world if he was afraid of getting his hands dirty.

.

Latveria’s reputation as an unstable country ended when the scion of one of their most eminent families went and united its people, kicking out all of the outside factions vying for territory as he did.

Then he promptly turned around and revitalized its economy, infrastructure, and gods knows what else because seemingly overnight, Latveria turned into one of the richest countries on the planet. 

Sitting back in his chair, Justin smiled as he put down the newspaper.

“Huh. Sounds like someone’s been busy.”

.

He got a very slick cell phone via courier, not long after that. 

That, and a slip of paper with a simple ‘Thanks’ in Victor’s signature scrawl.

.

Years passed.

Years passed, and shit went down, but no matter what hurdles life threw his way, Justin powered through them nonetheless.

Like when his little sister had a kid and their parents freaked out because she wasn’t married, and then freaked out even more when little Timmy turned out to be on the spectrum and Justin wasn’t remotely surprised when she cut all contact with them after that.

Goodness knew he’d have done the same long ago, after all the shit they’d pulled over the years.

He was just happy she chose to keep him in her life, and that Timmy seemed to really like him as an uncle. 

.

Stark was a bona fide hero, was talking about privatizing world peace. 

Justin wished him the best of luck.

But...well, he hadn’t been the one to propose their rivalry, but if Stark wasn’t in the industry to compete against, then... oh, bother.

Looks like he’d have to change up his plans.

.

Stark was acting weird. Well, weirder, he’d never really been able to understand him in the first place.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked as he pulled him to the side. Sure, it was probably rude to ignore the gala’s host, but he did not like the look in Stark’s eyes, no matter how bright his smile was.

“Hey, Justin! How’ve you been? Long time no see, but—”

“You’re not okay.” He said, making sure his tone brooked no argument because he knew Stark, had known him since they were kids and he was not okay.

It was like a switch flipped: Stark’s smile vanished, and he reached out towards him for a moment before he sighed and were those tears in his eyes? “Yeah, you could say that.”

.

The government wanted to take Stark’s super-fancy suit, and...this, he could work with. Somehow.

Damn it, he’d need to tweak some of his plans even more...

.

For a few seconds, Stark looked very betrayed when he caught sight of him in the courtroom. 

Then his face went blank in the way Justin had long known to be his ‘I am screaming internally but I refuse to let the cameras see’ look, and he felt bad for him even as he submitted his own findings to their audience.

To be honest, they were a long ways off from developing anything close to what Stark already had in hand, but it never hurt to be prepared for the future. If one man could do it, what was to stop another?

They were all lucky Stark was a good man who didn’t abuse his power.

Justin was no hero, but if lightning were to strike twice...better him than a potential threat.

Besides— Stark needed competition if he didn’t want to stagnate. Who knows? Hopefully, they’d be able to push each other to greater heights.

.

Ivan Vanko was a dangerous man. Just as brilliant as Stark, but with an edge that could only have been gained from a hard life.

Dealing with him would be like playing with fire, Justin just knew it.

[Like knew like, after all.]

But he knew people, knew how to work them, and considering that little display at the race track?

He could work with this.

.

It takes a handful of phone calls to put out all the fires from the past few days. 

Perk of being a well-known and respected figure in the defense industry, Justin supposed; Stark’d once mentioned his contact list was classified six ways to Sunday, so really, having a few senators on speed-dial was nothing. 

He had to do some extra sweet-talking to calm down some of the generals, and may or may not have made mention to some of his older contracts to get Stern to ease up, but whatever.

.

Why he was invited to Stark’s birthday celebration, he didn’t know. 

But he brought a bottle of apple cider and champagne anyway, because why the hell not.

.

This party was really, really not his style.

So when he was pulled aside by the man of the hour, he raised an eyebrow when he noticed he was out of his suit and— wait.

Justin whipped back to where the piece of equipment that had been the source of all this mess was dancing on the table, while Tony was in a rumpled suit not three feet from him.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

.

Stark looked like shit. 

...and was apparently dying, because he’d passed up Justin’s offer at a toast, even though it had been an inside joke for almost as long as they could remember.

Also, he’d looked stricken when Justin had tried to joke about it, that was another pretty big clue.

They weren’t normally one for hugs, but this time they didn’t hesitate to offer— and so felt very very awkward when the closest thing they had to a childhood frenemy proceeded to break down in their arms.

Justin’s older sibling instincts flared to life and they tried to murmur reassurances the best they could, but.

Wasn’t like there was much they could say, now, could they?

Stark was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

Something inside Justin was screaming, and the part of him that wasn’t trying to be there for someone absently wondered why...then he noticed what he was saying, and kicked himself for not paying attention earlier.

“—ever give up, I’m here, know you are not alone—”

Geez. Talk about sappy, normally they only got like this around their sister or nephew.

But whatever it was they’d said, it apparently helped. 

Or something, because Stark was honest-to-goodness crying but after a few minutes, started to calm down and pull himself together.

“I’m so, so sorry about this—” Stark started, and Justin cut in.

“Don’t be, looks like you needed it.” And he clearly had; already he looked a lot better than before.

“I...should get back to the party, shouldn’t I?” Ah, looks like Justin wasn’t the only one feeling awkward now.

“It’s gone on for a while, and you look pretty tired. You sure you don’t want to wrap it up instead?”

“...yeah, that’s... probably a good idea. See you around, Justin. Hopefully.”

“See you later, Stark.” 

.

Stark apparently invented a new element in his basement. 

He knew this, because Stark called him up to say he wasn’t dying anymore. 

Once he hung up, he felt torn between immense relief, and exasperation that he’d need to rewrite his plans again.

.

...aaand kinda ran out of steam again. Long story short, yes, this is the AU where Justin Hammer maybe sort of becomes the Lex Luthor of the universe and may or may not end up accidentally creating a League of Evil of sorts because he’s frenemies with Tony and Victor von Doom ends up having a similar dynamic with some grad student and Ivan has some really good ideas and loves sticking it to the man. 

Said club only grows when the Avengers Initiative forms, and Loki escapes custody and joins for the sole purpose of pranking Thor and giving Fury a headache and Justin may or may not end up getting a crush somewhere along the way.

No, I’m not sure how we got here either.

[risingsouls]

@viopolis​ asked: 🍎 for Nappa, Raditz and Vegeta

FROOT! || Open!

🍎  :    how stable is my muse’s mental health?  have they been diagnosed with any mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they have any undiagnosed mental illnesses and  /  or conditions?  do they or should they attend therapy?  

[All things considered, Nappa’s mental health isn’t the worst and he’s a pretty stable individual. Vegeta killing him bothered him for a good bit but he’s sort of decided it isn’t worth losing his mind over. He’ll face that when and if he ever has to (and maybe someday I’ll write something with Nappa and Vegeta having That Talk). Finding the underground fighting ring fairly soon after his revival and beginning to make money on Earth probably helped a lot, even if his intended use for that money changed from purchasing a ship to starting his own gym/dojo/underground fighting ring of his own. It gave him a clear goal and he has come to enjoy his work and life on Earth.

I’ll save time by saying none of these guys have ever been formally diagnosed with any mental illness or condition. I can’t imagine mental health being all that important for Saiyans or the Empire in general. Therefore, they all most definitely have some undiagnosed ones, PTSD being one they all likely share to differing degrees. Otherwise, Nappa is pretty okay? I’m sure he dealt with his own depression and perhaps even some identity troubles after the planet was destroyed, but otherwise, he’s pretty fine mentally these days. Therapy wouldn’t hurt, but I don’t think it is something he NEEDS. He isn’t even all that into killing anymore so that’s progress, right?]

[Raditz is perhaps a little less stable, but he’s overcome a decent portion of his demons. Due to living a good portion of his life with a couple of bullies that rarely if ever saw much worth in him, he has some pretty potent trust issues that make it difficult for him to form proper relationships no matter how much he may want those connections. Tack on low self-esteem that he tries to cover with false confidence and...you know...dying and being brought back to life can cause some issues for him. He definitely appreciates his second chance, but having a hole shot through you isn’t a pleasant experience and makes for some gnarly nightmares.

As far as what he COULD have, PTSD is very likely as well as depression. Perhaps a bit of abandonment issues in some ways? Therapy or something similar would probably benefit him more than Nappa. He could use someone that just...gives him genuine and considerate attention. To listen without judging because that would be difficult for most normal people since a good chunk of his life was spent murdering by the thousands.]

[You really had to put Vegeta in here. What ISN’T wrong with him, tbh? He is very mentally unstable and it takes him YEARS to reach any sort of a semblance of stability. I could write a novel about it all but I’m not going to because I literally looked at the time and realized I should be trying to go to bed whoops.

Anyway, he’s a narcissistic egomaniac who also suffers from some kind of obsessive personality disorder and most definitely depression and PTSD from all that Trauma. Has issues with not having control in a situation to some degree, likely due to basically never having any real control of his life when he served Frieza. He’s also not great with processing any emotion other than anger all that well, which makes creating lasting and meaningful relationships incredibly difficult (but for the most part he doesn’t really care), so very emotionally stunted. I feel like I’m missing a lot here but I think these are the big ones. 

He’s giving me the hard pass on formal therapy, but comfort with the right person he feels comfortable opening up to could potentially help him work through some of his mess. At least make it more manageable.]

[plasticnightmaredoll]

This is an idea/scenario I’ve had for a good while now pertaining to Arkham Knight Riddler. I don’t know if it’s any good -- it may be too “fluffy” to be in character -- but I wanted to write it down and get it out there, see what people think. Ironically, the idea came from a similar one involving Telltale Riddler, and I may post that one someday, too, but this AK Riddler one is...very different. Different in regards to a lot of headcanons, imagines, drabbles, etc. about him.

So, the scenario is like this: Someone wants to fuck with this poor guy -- not Batman, not one of the Bat family, not even one of the Gotham Rogues. It could be some random new villain, someone who is maybe more sadistic than any of the Rogues (save for Joker). I thought about this antagonist kidnapping AK Eddie’s s/o and holding them hostage …

But with a twist.

Catwoman has nothing to do with this because she’s not evil, but I thought about the explosive collar Riddler put on her in Arkham Knight, and what if this antagonist -- to really mess with Eddie -- decides to put such a collar on his s/o? And Riddler has to show up and complete some tasks (dangerous puzzles and riddle-based traps most likely), or else, his s/o loses their head.

Of course, Eddie shows up because he’s panicking. This was never supposed to happen! Nothing was supposed to happen to his s/o. This is beyond anything Batman had ever done. This is so sinister, so vile, so abhorrent, Eddie can’t even begin to comprehend it. At first, he bargains, offering money, tech, robots, his hacking skills -- even offers himself up to wear the collar instead because he can’t take the sight of his beloved wearing something that could blow their head right off, right in front of him, and leave him emotionally and mentally broken for life.

But the antagonist doesn’t want to bargain, even when Eddie begs -- like, really begs to the point of tears, asking for mercy and pleading with the antagonist to let his s/o go free. They have nothing to do with any of Eddie’s work. They’re innocent, and they’re too important to him! He can’t let this happen!

The begging amuses the antagonist but once again, it’s not enough. Eddie has to do the challenges, and if he completes them all correctly, the collar comes off. If he messes up, then his s/o dies. Eddie reassures his s/o that everything will be just fine, he’s got this under control, they’ll be out of trouble in no time so don’t be afraid.

It’s difficult to not be afraid when you have a bomb around your neck and a sadistic psychopath with the trigger. As bad as Eddie can be, he’s not THIS malevolent. He has some humanity left in him. But this person, they’re just out there to make him suffer because it’s “entertaining” to watch him squirm. 

As you know, by this point in his life, Eddie is very mentally unstable and could have a mental breakdown if pushed even just a little too far. His s/o is the only thing keeping him grounded, the only reason he has to keep his sanity (or what’s left of it), and this is the only person who has ever cared for him despite the fact he knows he’s not worth it. If he loses his beloved, then what would he have left? There would be no recovery from such a thing.

So, Eddie completes the challenges, although he is internally freaking out the entire time, partly because he doubts himself and partly because he has no idea if the antagonist will just press the trigger and kill Eddie’s s/o without warning. By the time Eddie is done, he’s a nervous wreck and on the verge of a breakdown, but he hopes that, by enduring all this, by letting this person watch him squirm, sweat, beg, cry, and panic, that maybe it’s enough to end this madness without his s/o dying.

But the antagonist doesn’t care that Eddie completed all the tasks. In the end, it’s about making Eddie suffer horribly because watching a nearly broken man finally break -- shatter -- is the point of all this. So, the collar has a 30 second timer set, and as it counts down, Eddie obviously freaks out, hyperventilating as he tries to plead once again for his s/o’s life, offering himself up again in their place, and yet, it’s not enough (kind of reminding him how he was never enough for his father, even if he agonized over pleasing him). The antagonist just laughs at Eddie’s mental breakdown and tells him he better use the remaining time to say goodbye. And no funny business. If Eddie or his s/o attempt to remove or disarm the collar, then it will detonate. 

Eddie’s s/o, despite being terrified does their best to put on a brave face and they tell him it’s ok, it’s not his fault, just don’t look, look away, it will all be over soon, he has to keep going for them...Eddie doesn’t know what to do, and seeing as he now has 10 seconds left, he does the only thing he feels he can and should do, and he grabs his s/o despite their protests and holds them tight, crying and saying over and over how sorry he is, he’s so sorry. 

And the timer reaches zero on the collar.

There’s a soft click.

Then nothing.

No explosion. 

The antagonist bursts out laughing, confessing that the “bomb” is a dud, was never going to explode, and since both Eddie and his s/o were too distressed to think all this through, they never even considered this as a possibility. The collar has been unlocked and Eddie’s s/o just kind of sinks to their knees in complete shock, and he can’t believe what he’s seeing. At first, he’s confused, wondering if this is all some sort of twisted dream, then he’s relieved because his s/o is safe, then he’s angry because what the hell was this?! He vows to get revenge on the antagonist and throws the collar away as he all but screams in rage.

Now alone, Eddie remembers his s/o is still on the floor, pale as a sheet and unresponsive. Kneeling down, he asks if they’re ok, tells them they’re ok, that this was all some sort of sick joke. When his s/o snaps out of their daze, they get mad and push him away, yelling at him for being so foolish

“You were just going to let yourself die with me?!” they demand.

“Yes!” Eddie responds, too overwhelmed to even know how to respond to this. 

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because!”

“WHY?”

“Because I can’t go back to my old life! Not having known you! You think that I would just sink back into my old routine without a hitch? You think I would forget you? You think I’d just move on and live life normally? How could I do that? How? If I lost you, I’d have nothing, do you understand? Nothing. My life would be empty, more so than it’s ever been, and nothing could fill that void, not the way you do. No one has ever loved me, not even those who were supposed to! But you, you love me! I didn’t ask for it, and I don’t even deserve it, but you love me anyway. You make me feel valid, you make me feel like...like I exist, like I actually matter.”

His s/o is crying, and he’s crying, and they’re both going to be emotionally traumatized for a while. Sure, Eddie will get revenge but he’s also going to be having night terrors -- nightmares would be much better than what he experiences at night -- about his s/o dying in gruesome ways while is helpless to do anything. Sometimes, he won’t even be able to sleep because he doesn’t want those ghastly images in his head, and he’ll stay up holding his s/o as they (try) to sleep (they have nightmares of their own after this experience). 

He has to come to terms with his first real encounter with the threat of loss, a real loss. He never cared about anyone before because no one ever cared for him. He was used to being ignored, bullied and belittled, and he always had trouble trusting others because of how he was raised. He never had friends, never thought he would need friends because, well, he never had any. Forming emotional attachments was beyond him, as he never had such a relationship with his parents, and that is the first time children are supposed to experience attachment. If your parents don’t love you, you grow up feeling unloved, alone, and don’t understand what it’s like to be close to people, so you just push everyone away and look out for yourself. It makes you selfish just as much as it makes you feel lonely.

But now, Eddie has his s/o, someone who just kind of barged into his life and stole his heart despite his best efforts to not feel anything sentimental because being vulnerable meant he could get hurt, and he didn’t like the idea of forming an attachment only to have it ripped away from him due to the other person’s betrayal. In his eyes, love equals abuse, since that’s the only kind of “love” this Eddie seems to have ever experienced. 

It’s going to take a lot of time -- and patience -- for Eddie to deal with this, and he’s going to be watching his s/o like a hawk. They won’t be allowed to go anywhere alone, and definitely not at night. He’ll be very clingy, protective, maybe a little possessive but mostly protective. When he does eventually find a way to calm down, it will actually make him a stronger person emotionally, I think, because he will understand himself better, and he’ll understand the relationship he has with his s/o better. This experience has taught him -- in the most insane and unwelcomed way -- why his s/o is so vital to him, and while attachment like that is almost frightening because of the risk of loss, he doesn’t want to go back to his old life and be alone, being seen as some sort of joke by everyone in Gotham. He doesn’t want to go back to being isolated, left with only his thoughts to comfort him despite his dwindling sanity and self-esteem. He needs to have a reason to press on, and trying to be better than everyone just won’t do it anymore. He needs to be loved, loves to be loved, but is also thrilled to be able to give it in return, whatever the risks may be.

And you know the antagonist is going to be utterly destroyed by Riddlerbots. Or something. Something awful will happen to that person. We know that much.

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

Ugh, so let me know what you guys think! This is way out there in left field in terms of portrayal of Arkham Knight Eddie (or just Arkhamverse Eddie in general) but this idea has been stuck in my mind for so long now. Feedback is definitely encouraged and appreciated here because this is such an epic and crazy h/c. Constructive criticism is welcome. Just don’t be mean, please.

[phdna]

Uncoordinated TFatWS episode 4 flailing. Even longer than usual because what a great episode!

I say this every episode, but this one was my favorite. Really loved the focus on characters after the previous more action-centric episode

Listen, starting the episode with that flashback was so keysmash-worthy. And Bucky's face journey, oh my god! ACTING. That was a lot. I think I maxed out my emotions one minute into the episode

I'm SO here for Ayo calling Bucky out. I love him but he's been acting awful. Yeah, trauma, I get it, but he doesn't get a free pass to face no consequences when he messes up, and it's good to have someone he clearly respects tell him he's way out of line

I'm LOVING the differences in how Sam treats Bucky vs how he treats Zemo. Not just what's scripted, but the way Mackie pitches his voice is really interesting? It's not that his voice sounds affectionate when talking to Bucky, but it definitely sounds whatever the opposite of affectionate is when talking to Zemo. I have no idea where I'm going with this, I think I'm just impressed. Again, ACTING

Speaking of Sam... His approach to Karli was SO well written. It balances Sam's kindness and pragmatism in a way that's really hard to pull off. Compare how he treats Karli as a radicalized kid he thinks he can get through vs someone like Rumlow who is just plain cruel and Sam won't legitimize by letting him whine about order or whatever

Also enjoying that Sam got his agency back in this episode! Last ep he was mostly along for the ride, but this one he's In Charge and we love to see it

Zemo is the White Witch from Narnia now huh?

Sharon!! Didn't expect her this episode!!!

The Team Walker vs Team Sam confrontation before the funeral gave me lots of serotonin. I don't know why but I just really liked that scene

Sam is very good at his job and we can see that when he's talking to Karli, but at the same time... He's really being sincere. We know for a fact that to some extent, he understands what it's like to wrestle with difficult questions, and how unfair the world is, and how sometimes when you feel you're doing the right thing others might disagree. But he's mature enough to find more constructive ways to try to change the world than just blowing people up. And that's not 100% on Karli! She's a kid! But Sam is more mature, and also a mix of the "good people exist" Captain America and "the world needs a hero who gets it that the world sucks" Captain America Karli was discussing earlier, and that's just Good Writing

But of course Walker has to ruin everything. God I hate him more every episode. I always think I can't hate him more but then I do

Zemo shot Karli and I took that personally. Yeah yeah yeah supersoldier, she's not badly hurt, but it's the principle of it you know?

Not for anything but I got this vibe last episode and it was definitely reinforced in this one... Hoskins wasn't happy with how Walker has been acting, was he?

Speaking of which, their relationship is actually something I enjoyed a lot? I still need to organize my brain to say anything coherent about it but yeah

The Dora are SO COOL. Whenever and wherever they appear they own the room

Sam and Bucky watching the Dora kick Walker's ass for a few moments was chef's kiss

Karli calling Sarah made me gasp! Did NOT see that coming. And it was such a great scene!!!

Hoskins basically out-Buckyied (616) Bucky Barnes in every way and oh boy was that emotional. Having a meaningful conversation? Getting captured? Rescuing himself? Dying to save his Captain America? He hit every classic Bucky note in like half an hour! Impressive! Not even the first Bucky did that! (And by Bucky in this whole paragraph I mean the superhero name, not the character name)

First rule of fighting any Captain America, even a fake Cap: don't hurt their sidekick. They don't like it when you do that. Especially don't kill them.

Anyway guess we have 616 dangerous emotional mess Walker now huh? But I mean, it's justified. He was never someone who should be allowed near the shield or the serum - too emotionally unstable - and with the serum amplifying Everything + his best friend dying I get why he'd freak out. I do feel sorry for the guy, even if I hate him

Oh boy next episode is gonna be The Emotional Episode!!!!

[draganasimpsforjeff]

Hey, how are you? Hope your day/night is going well. Since I saw your post a moment ago do you have any Hcs; it can be sfw or NSFW with any theme like Angst or fluff for the proxies or Masky? Again sorry if this ask isn't the best

No its quite a good ask thank you! (Had to drag my procrastinating ass to do this bc my brain doesn't wanna do work now lmao)

MASKY

• SFW

•this dude would rather dive off a cliff then to admit his feelings are true

• has a hard time seeing the rational side of situations and would rather see the world as black and white as its simple that way

• he is a hunting dog after all to Slender

• one that growls and bites

• so like a dog that was trained to be aggressive and bare his teeth at anything, it would take someone with great care and patience to understand him and make him feel safe around you

• tho this doesn't mean that he won't protect you

• might make snide comments about your naive nature but thats just bc of how he is

• but make him morning coffee and possibly his favorite breakfast and he'll warm up

• he hates being touched on the shoulders but if you give him a massage then good luck getting out of it, itll become a daily thing

•NSFW

• i cannot see him being soft or "vanilla" unless he's in Tim headspace

• so if its Masky, prepare for a lot of sadism

• will definitely take you anywhere even on a mission, middle of a meal, or talking to someone on the phone

• gotta leave his mark. If you don't feel comfortable with showing his marks to anyone and try to wear clothes that hide a lot of them, they're gonna get ripped up

• so its best to just deal with it

• BSDM all the way (like I mentioned before)

• loves to humiliate and will do it in front of anyone

• will not stop until you are a crying, shaking mess, so there's a lot of overstimulation

Hoodie

•SFW

• alright enough with the nice guy shit (tho there may be some fluff...guh)

• just because he's the more level headed out of the other two fuckers, does not mean he will hesitate to fuck someone up (especially those he cares about)

• hes a protector of sorts but he'll choose to whom

• do.not.touch.his.gun

• that's his main source of security and if someone even gets close to it, he will break their fucking arm

• total caffeine addict...really..its bad? See him over there? He's shaking and talking to his coffee

•lmao anyways yeah its bad, if he has no caffeine for the day...he can get worse than Masky and that's saying something

• yes, I'm hc as an addict to sedatives

• tho he doesn't like that his brain takes longer to think about the best options and make it almost impossible get missions done

• but he's calm boi now

NSFW

• not the type to just take his anger out or his other emotions out during sex

• unless you're up for it 👀👀👀

• you're gonna need to see a chiropractor after tho

• hes a smooth flirt and will non stop making jokes until he has you under him

• daddy kink all the way

• financial one too

• he will not care if he only has $1 for himself that week, he'll get money somehow to buy his s/o something they want

• loves to feel his s/o skin against his, so not much into bondage as he wants them close and gripping on him

• definitely into receiving oral (mostly bc hes insecure about his ability to do wonders to his s/o with oral)

• mightusehisgunifyouactlikeabrat

Toby

SFW

• Okay, this boi is emotionally unstable, ik its like a common knowledge that he has ADHD and bipolar but I'm sensing this boi got some borderline personality disorder in the mix too (dw: I have this so I'm not making this up to make him more fucked up)

• so one minute he will go from seeing black and white, to suddenly the whole world in beautiful colors and appreciates everything

• doesn't like to talk about his feelings because he hates his vocal tics getting in the way

• so he picks songs that reflect that

• speaking of music, he really shouldn't but listens to music on missions to ignore Maskys comments and psychs himself up..especially if he got thay heavy bass going on, he's tense and paranoid to where his mind works best for the situation

• some of the music will trigger more of his ADHD side and notices everything

• will go from "I want to eat everything" to "what the fuck is the point of food" (queue E.J coming in)

• boi has deep trauma issues, the voices in his head mostly takes form of his step dad, mom, and his sister. (Mostly step dad tho)

• has difficulty with relationships so one might he can get along with his partners and others in the mansion and then suddenly get pissed off and yeet a chair at someone's head

•do.not.give.him.coffee

• mania mixed with bpd and caffeine...oh god.. you don't know what the fuck is gonna happen so...good luck

NSFW

• like I said, he's emotionally unstable (gawd I hate the way that sounded)

• so, one minute he will be afraid to hurt you and then will not give a single fuck

• why the fuck are you crying? Who gave you the right?

• will try anything unless it comes to bodily fluids or feet...no he will die first (no offense to those who do, this is just our boi)

• call him baby boy and he melts

• MOMMY KINK

• definitely a switch

• can get emotional during sex

• its not his fault tho

• but he can be submissive mode at this point (so have fun)

• loves it when his s/o is being a brat and likes to toy with them

• such a tease

• also has a daddy kink

[raziroo]

Chapter 3 | I Am Not At All Wise

Pairing: There's hints, but none

Genre: Angst?

Warnings: Overly Casual Mentions of Depression and Anxiety, Mentions of Trading of Lives

Word Count: 1,926

Author's Note: This might appear a little rushed, because I got this sudden surge of inspiration and sat down to write this and this isn't even proofread. Sorry, hehe.

‘Guys, what’s wrong with you?! This my father we’re talking about, my father! Why are you so hesitant to trade him for Lotor?’

The tense energy in the room only became even more suffocating when Pidge let that question, among others, loose like cannonballs. I was glad I was sitting even a bit away from the ongoing discussion, because the questions and not up to par answers were succeeding in making me uncomfortable. After all, the topic at hand wasn’t light at all – a topic such as trading of lives is one that questions your morals, your beliefs, literally everything you, as a person, stand for. I stared at Pidge, her absolutely enraged expression making me gulp nervously`. If Pidge didn’t get her father back now, after finding out his destination, then God knows how many shots are going to get fired at whom. And although I’m not saying that Pidge is wrong, she isn’t even right.

That’s confusing.

What I meant to say was, that although Pidge’s actions and fury and incredulousness were fully justified, it didn’t mean that we could all just nod heads in tandem and send Lotor off as some sort of pig for slaughter in exchange of Pidge’s dad. It wasn’t fair.

As my eyes lost focus, I recalled Captain America’s words – we don’t trade lives.

I snapped out of my thoughts. I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t want to. I wouldn’t, ultimately. Heading to my room now instead of just sitting there and making myself look like an unopinionated fool wasn’t helping me anyways, and neither was Lotor’s presence a couple feet beside me.

I decided to head to my room.

After all, that was what I was best at, wasn’t it? After finally accepting that I was a time traveler and couldn’t ever see my friends or family ever again and that aliens did actually exist, and not just on Mars (wait, did aliens exist on Mars? I never asked that), all I did for a good sum of time was hide in my room. Activities except hiding in my room included roaming through the castle and running to my room as soon as I deducted any trace of intelligent life near me, being strangely intimate with the white lion – intimacy including venting about how I was probably depressed, possibly had anxiety, caressing the lioness because she’s beautiful, and nestling in her cockpit because she felt like home – and running to my room when Shiro questioned me about my connection with White.

A bit after, when I felt more reassured and had begun craving human communication, I finally emerged from my cave, only to find that some of the Paladins didn’t seem too happy with my presence. Time went on, spirits fell, only to rise once again in blazing hopes of dethroning Zarkon, and my naturally social abilities helped me blend in with the Paladins soon. A lot of the comfort I felt among the Paladins, I owed to Shiro and Hunk. Those two were literally angels, especially to me. I couldn’t count on all the fingers of the Paladins and Allura combined how may times those two, and occasionally Lance, came to offer me a hug or talk to me when I looked glum. Even Allura and Pidge talked to meif they were free. The only person I had problems interacting with was Keith. But we’d nod to each other, say our greetings, and I accepted that. I couldn’t be besties with everyone. However, mine and Keith’s communication skills only worsened and problems only increased once Shiro disappeared. Keith straight up would refuse to pilot the Black Lion, and even when he finally agreed, he was so unorganized and his decisions so rash it was costing the coalition. When Lions started becoming unstable to fight after longer, tougher battles, White was expected to fill in. After all, it was the White Lion’s purpose – to be the mind of Voltron when the Paladins couldn’t, to keep the soul, fire, water, air and flora elements in check, Allura had once said to me. Only, White needed a pilot, a Paladin. And all expectations of being White’s pilot were pinned on me, naturally, because I was the one who seemingly materialized in her cockpit out of nowhere.

I, obviously, failed to do that. Because apparently (and quite obviously, if I do say so myself) even though White warmed up the cockpit for me when I slept there and seemed to purr when I caressed her face, I wasn’t worthy enough, in her gaze, to be a Paladin. And I truly had no qualms about that. The only issue was that Keith wasn’t satisfied with that. Pidge and Lance tried to hide it, but they too, felt that I should try harder. Hunk comforted me when I accidentally let the hurt I was feeling shine through. Allura tried to convince everyone that it wasn’t my fault at all, that the Lions only accepted whom they deemed fit to Pilot them, and the reason the White Lion even was the “extra” Lion in the first place was that it was hardest than any of the other Lions to convince to be Pilot of. It was simply too calculating and cynical and choosy – and I agreed with White wholly, because stepping in as the voice of reason, as the mind of Voltron when all these worthy, noble, brave people who were specifically selected to be the defender and judge of the universe when no one else could failed to do their jobs, then you needed to be one hell of a person to be honoured with the name “White Paladin of Voltron”.

When Shiro had come back, or as he said, when Keith brought him back, the Castle seemed to light up more. I understood why he was chosen to be the soul to combine the other elements and form Voltron. I was ecstatic, perhaps happier than some of the Paladins even, but that didn’t mean I didn’t notice – or rather, didn’t choose to shrug off - his strange and simply out of character behaviour at times. I wasn’t the only one that did. It was when I voiced to White about my concerns, and she glowed – literally glowed as if in agreement did I know that shit was serious. White, as weirdly impossible as it sounds, also noticed. She knew, too, that something wasn’t right with Shiro. It was beyond me how she did, but I didn’t get to ponder on that for too long.

Why?

Because Lotor happened. He arrived as our saviour at the most unexpected moment and in the most unexpected way, and then became unpredictability, unanswered questions, and uncertainty personified for us. How many rifts and arguments he alone had caused between the Paladins was the slightest bit alarming, but justified, in my opinion. Lotor had succeeded in messing up our functioning. It didn’t matter if it was only a tad – he was the anthropomorphic form of all the flaws and hesitancies and wrongs and uncertainties in the coalition that we’d turned a blind eye to.

And now Zarkon had offered us Pidge’s dad’s freedom in exchange of Lotor, but I would be lying if I said if I wasn’t the tiniest bit worried as to just what Zarkon would do to Lotor. I know, I know, I really was no one to be straining my brain for that, since Lotor was an alien Prince who had equal chances of being good and evil, was capable of killing us all if he wished to, and had probably endured worse than his father’s wrath. But that wasn’t even the biggest issue we had. Pidge getting fired up was reasonable enough, I was aware of how emotionally driven she could become at times despite being a genius. And her brain refusing to work when her family came into play was the reason I was bothered most – even if she convinced the other Paladins to go through with the exchange, there was absolutely no surety that Zarkon would keep his part of the deal. It was legit the dumbest, most irrational thing the protagonist could do. If that happened, we’d lose both Pidge’s father, and an extremely valuable asset to the coalition.

I didn’t really realize that during my very acceptable train of self-depreciating thoughts I’d changed my route and had instinctively begun for White. I guess it was only right, as I felt more at ease there than anywhere. It was only when I reached her and stroked her, she seemed to… close in on her herself. I furrowed my brow, a small frown on my lips.

I sighed. It was probably nothing.

Relaxing my facial muscles, I closed my eyes, leaned forward, and nudged White’s snout. I jumped back with a start when instead of the usual purr or whimper, she growled at me. The crease between my brows returned with a higher intensity.

‘What is it, girl? Hmm?’ I cooed at her, not risking touching her. ‘Is something wrong? Do you not want to talk? Should I go?’

Silence was what I received in exchange.

‘My love,’ yes I called White “my love”, “girl”, have and will continue to call her “babe”, and no you cannot do jack about it. ‘You need to tell me, please,’ I continued, my voice gentle as ever, ‘how am I supposed to know what you want to say? You’ve never growled at me before. I don’t know how to interpret that gesture. Do I take it as you being upset? Angry? Sad?’ She still didn’t answer. All the life seemed to leave her.

I tilted my head. My sigh bounced off the walls.

‘The White Lion is said to be the mind of Voltron,’ a naturally assertive, deep, thunder-like voice called. I was sure I jumped at least a foot before whipping my head to where the voice resonated from. Lotor. What -?

‘Forgive me if I scared you. I thought it wise to offer some assistance; you seemed to be in need of help.’

I didn’t answer. He took it as a “yes, I need your help”. ‘The most probable reason it is not responding to your calls, is because you are contradicting what the White Lion stands for, you aren’t being wise. That is, assuming the Lion does answer you typically.’

I turned back to White, my jaw setting. My lingering suspicion turned into certainty at Lotor’s remarks.

Well. As much as I cherished my relations with White, I wasn’t going to voice my thoughts and concerns regarding the life trade. I wasn’t particularly keen on getting involved. I wasn’t the White Paladin. I wasn’t the voice of reason. I couldn’t be. This was the exact reason as to why I couldn’t be the White Paladin. I had many a thought, but didn’t always think it wise to share them with others.

Especially not when “others” included a leader that was not being himself, a princess who wanted to get rid of the Galra empire and Zarkon as soon as possible no matter the cost, and a Paladin who was going feral and becoming blind by rage at the thought of not getting her father back when she was so close.

Yes. Now definitely not.

Without sparing Lotor or White another glance, I headed to my room, for real this time. I didn’t notice both of their piercing gazes aimed at my retreating figure.

[brave-clarice]

“Clarice” Liveblog: Episode 2

Again, some extremely unfashionably late hot takes.

(Special thanks to @kathrynethegreat and @special-agent-pendragon​ for encouraging another liveblog!)

Clarice is working out! And eating junk food! I love it.

and cleaning her gun!

hey, Ardelia is drinking what I’m going to assume is her grandmother’s “smart people tea”.

Krendler disciplining Clarice already is infuriating but appropriate.

“I lost control.” Oh no, I don’t like that. Don’t make Clarice unstable. Her mental and emotional state never had anything to do with her failing career.

getting weird mixed signals from Ardelia. Last week, she obviously didn’t want Clarice to lie/stick to the script Krendler gave her, but now she’s telling Clarice she messed up by not doing so...?

“I better know you if you’re calling this early.” Amen, Ardelia.

I’m in love: this cinematography is straight out of the film (when she’s flying to WV with Crawford)!

“When’s the last time you went back to Appalachia?” “It’s been years.” What??? It has NOT been years--Clarice was JUST in West Virginia last week as well as in Silence, and she arguably attended college there as well. (UVA is at least nestled in the mountains, and you don’t have to drive far outside the Albemarle Valley to hit Appalachia proper.) After all the details about her character they’ve been nailing, they miss this glaring error? 

I like the tiny details she’s noticing (like the guy biting his nails). Not only because she’s an investigator, but because it’s reminiscent of Hannibal’s influence (imo).

Clarice Is Short: The Saga continues

still not getting any creepy vibes off Krendler. He’s going to be much less effective as an antagonist if he isn’t lewd as well as a dick.

I really don’t care for the way the opening “credits” fade out from the death’s-head moth to Clarice’s face. There are MANY animals that represent her, or parts of her, in the books--lions, lambs, horses, and of course birds--so this choice feels empty and lazy to me.

also lazy: having a fellow agent straight-up tell her in episode 2 “you shouldn’t be in the Bureau.” Maybe in two or three years, after some further “Death Angel”-type incidents, I could see this blatant rudeness, but not yet.

“Reesey”? Thanks, I hate it.

this flashback must be of Clarice’s little brother. That answers one question I had last week. That said...Clarice’s brother doesn’t play the same role in her story that Mischa does in Hannibal’s--but this sure feels like a Mischa-esque flashback.

good: they’re finally getting to the source of Clarice’s actual trauma!

bad: this is NOT how Clarice found out about her father. In fact, that whole incident is laid out in detail in the novels, and there’s nothing overly literary/un-cinematic about it, so this feels unnecessary. “The police are here! Something happened to Daddy!” No, bad! Show, don’t tell!

she would’ve known better than to introduce herself to that kid as “Clarice Starling, FBI,” come on now.

were they regularly able to wire tap hair clips in 1993? 

actually, nothing in this show looks very 90s to me so far. I’m sad about it.

so in eighteen months, Ruth Martin has gone from a junior Senator to the Attorney freakin’ General, and now she might run for governor?? At least let her get settled in one position of power first, why don’t you!

yet more Buffalo Bill flashbacks...alas.

are they trying to make this guy another surrogate Hannibal character? He’s commenting on Clarice’s accent and the dryness of her skin, asking about who she “left behind”...it all feels very Hannibal. (I know he’s a Charismatic Cult Leader trope, too--but when played off of Clarice...)

“Ew.” “I hate this guy.” I laughed.

I understand that Clarice probably feels conflicted re: her siblings in the book, but I’m really not digging the flashbacks of this Tim Burton character her brother.

@ the writers: Clarice already has the lamb backstory/symbolism, too. We don’t need this Little Brother stuff.

*shrieking* Mrs. Starling! At the sink washing the blood out of his hat!!! 

...aaand they had to ruin it with the brother’s painfully bad dialogue. Will still be good for gif-making, though.

are we supposed to interpret all these flashbacks as Clarice being incapable of controlling her emotions/state of mind? She keeps losing herself in memories and emerging all doe-eyed and panicky. I don’t like it.

not to be a broken record but...Clarice should be TOUGH. Again, Ardelia only saw her cry once in seven years. But she’s more worked up in this scene than Jodie was in Memphis!

when Mr. Cult Leader shouts “Agent Starling! Agent Starling!” he sounds exactly like Hannibal calling her back to his cell in the asylum. That has to be intentional. 

damn, wish that I could look as good five minutes after I’ve been crying as Clarice does.

I LOVE that Ardelia gets to be the crucial behind-the-scenes book-smart partner to Clarice’s action heroine.

AG Martin’s just playing politics by turning a blind eye to the crooked sheriff. But when her own daughter was just kidnapped and almost killed, she looks like a real hypocrite.

gosh, Rebecca Breeds is great. I already hope she gets nominated for an Emmy.

so Krendler is...doing the right thing???

Clarice’s father was definitely not a sheriff. I hope she’s just exaggerating for dramatic effect. (Maybe this will be clarified later.)

she couldn’t just sit with a manipulative guy without getting emotional, but she’s cool as a cucumber while telling an extended story about her father? HmmMM.

sometimes her mannerisms and facial expressions are so much like Jodie’s that it’s uncanny, like here when she leans forward to confront the Cult Leader.

“She did it.” Damn straight!

another great callback to Silence. this show’s camera crew knows its stuff!

“He’s concerned I have some residual trauma from Bill.” I. Hate. This. Subplot--and all its OOC implications.

“Catherine was close to her father, too.” Ooh, a nice allusion to the novel! Clarice makes note of their “common wound,” the loss of a father, when she’s in Catherine’s apartment in Silence.

she is just SO pretty.

little Clarice looks a LOT like Rebecca Breeds. I hope we see some more of her. 

The Good:

the continuing visual nods to the Silence film via cinematography

Mama Starling!!!

Clarice’s “The World Will Not Be This Way Within the Reach of my Arm” attitude, refusing to leave without helping the victims.

Ardelia Mapp coming in clutch! 

Clarice being, generally, a badass

and using psychological tricks/mind games to pin the antagonist...that’s the woman who disarmed a monster with just a few words.

Rebecca Breed’s acting has been phenomenal so far.

I like Clarice’s haircut a lot better when worn down (though it’s not very practical for fieldwork, so we probably won’t see it much).

The Bad:

the continuing Buffalo Bill-related Trauma Subplot. Ugh.

all the flashbacks to Clarice’s brother (and the not-so-subtle suggestion that her brother is, symbolically, another lamb).

will the real Paul Krendler please come forward? this guy is so TAME.

the other agents’ hostility towards Clarice needs to be toned down slightly so that it can escalate. Otherwise, where’s the tension?

is this actually 1993? I’m not feeling it. Shouldn’t it have a little of that Season 1/2 X-Files aesthetic? Please give me more than once-an-episode references to pagers and fax machines!

that glaring Appalachia continuity error...it’s still bugging me.

I missed the overt Hannibal references, even though they’re not necessary to any part of this episode. A lady can dream!

Overall, I really liked this one despite my various issues with it. It started shakily but built to a great finish. The emphasis across both episodes on Clarice being in the FBI not just to “get out, get anywhere,” but out of a genuine desire to help victims has been wonderful. I just hope they don’t swerve too far into the “too traumatized and emotionally compromised to function” lane. It would be a disservice to Clarice’s character and to her journey (and would smack too much of “Hannibal really did prey on her weak mind/brainwash her”.

Things I’d still like to see: More of her personality. Her hobbies and interests. That she’s cleaning her gun is great! Now let’s see “Poison Oakley” practicing her sharpshooting skills. Or car shopping. Or clothes shopping to show off her “developing taste.” (Ardelia can come!) I’ll take literally anything. Give us more of Clarice’s sense of humor as well. She had some subtle funny moments in the pilot, and it’s nice to see Rebecca smile for a change.

And Krendler? Smear that man in grease! I appreciated a happy ending even though Clarice’s career is, as we know, already in a downward spiral--the last thing we want is for every episode to be a slog, especially when a good chunk of the audience hasn’t read the book and doesn’t know Clarice is doomed to fail in the Bureau.

However... Krendler’s not a “redemption arc” kind of character. Or even a “run-of-the-mill sexist asshole” character. This is a man who spent seven years systematically sabotaging a young woman’s career because a) he was jealous that she solved the Gumb case before him, and b) she wouldn’t fuck him. He was a Justice Department official working fist-in-glove with a serial child molester who was planning some of the heinous vigilante justice imaginable. THAT’S why his very gruesome end at Hannibal’s hands felt deserved--even Clarice thought so! In short, he needs to get nasty.

Anyway, thanks for coming to another long-overdue TedTalk. Fingers crossed that the next one will be more timely (aiming for Sunday night)! 

[artificialqueens]

Gimme Love, 7/9 (Miz Cracker/Blair St Clair) - Grinder

AN: Sorry in advance, but this chapter is kinda short. But we do get more conflict, more drama. 3 more chapters! Who's pumped? No one.

TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: Brief blood mentions.

2020

Remember how I said I was on a journey towards happiness? In the beautiful world of Brianna Caldwell, life said, "Nah."

The next day, it was apparent that things were only getting worse.

"Ed Sheeran is still on board," Joey stated matter-of-factly. He crossed his arms, the safety visor making a rustling sound as he did so.

He was joined by Nina, Alex, and Michael. A few of the lab team were at their desks, trying to ignore the current confrontation, including Jujubee.

She looked as if she wasn't paying attention to the ordeal, but I knew Jujubee like the back of my hand, and she was listening. I couldn't help but want her to speak up and help me out here. But she hadn't spoken to me since the day before.

"Yeah, he is." I put my hands on my hips, standing at the front of the lab, while Joey and his friends sat there and looked up at me.

"Why, though?" Joey continued to question.

"God, we already had this discussion," I spoke quietly, looking to the side for some sort of distraction.

"Yeah, but you said you'd figure something out." Nina input.

"Yeah, you did." Alex joined in. I glanced at Jujubee in the hopes she'd join the conversation. Her eyes remained on the chemical she was working with.

"Why did you choose him in the first place? Why not…" Michael paused, deciding to join the argument, "Bill Nye...or someone who actually has an interest in Space and Science."

"Yeah, for real. Like, you do realise that in years to come, when kids read about 'Neil Armstrong - the first man on the moon, they're gonna flip the page and see 'Ed Sheeran, confirmed the first man to enter another dimension.'" Alex added.

"Like, how do you even explain Ed Sheeran as a choice?" Nina held a hand out in questioning.

I finally found a crack and slipped back into the conversation, "Because your project manager is a disaster when she's drunk and makes stupid choices without even thinking."

"We know, Brie. You were drunk." Joey rolled his eyes like he was tired of hearing the same story.

"Maybe you should stop drinking." Alex squinted his eyes.

"Yeah, we don't wanna go there, but maybe this is a problem," Michael added to the point.

My eyes were becoming wider with every word they were saying. This was absolutely ridiculous. Again, I was hoping Jujubee would argue back, but she remained silent.

Nina, however, was the one to interject, "Jesus, guys. You're taking it a bit too far." She stood up and gathered her lab coat, "Look, we all do dumb shit when we're drunk. She's not a mess, OK?"

Joey laughed. I held back from calling him out for the time that I caught him hiding in the closet playing Candy Crush for an hour.

"Well, even so, she should take this into consideration," Alex suggested.

"And do what?" I unfolded my arms and held them out by my side, "call him and say 'JK, Ed. It was just a joke, Ed.'"

"Girl, you're the one who got us into this mess. You figure it out." Alex raised his voice. How very fair of him. I was the one who had to deal with this problem, yet they were the only ones who seemed to care.

"Mess is a bit of a harsh term." Nina pointed out.

"Exactly, there is no mess here. Juju and I have already figured this out," my gaze shifted towards her again, hoping the mention of her name would cause a reaction. Nothing, "So I'd appreciate it if I could stop getting all this flack. I don't need flack from you," I pointed at Joey, "I don't need flack from you," next, at Alex, "or you," then Michael, and I moved my finger in Nina's direction, "or...Jesus Christ, you're having a nose bleed."

Nina's hand flew straight up to her nose, pulling away and examining the red liquid. "Oh, my Lord!"

She tried wiping it. But more blood poured out like a faucet that had been slowly turned on.

"Can you just...get out of here and get that cleaned up?" It sounded bitchy. But I was panicking. I never did well with blood. Therefore I looked away and hid my face.

"Thanks for helping, boss." Joey practically snarled, handing Nina a bunch of tissues. Like hungry wolves following the scent of the blood, the 3 men followed her out of the room, Joey still scorning at me as he left.

It was just me and the other scientists left in the room.

I turned and moved to one of the counters, picking up screws and bolts as if I was actually interested in them. But I couldn't ignore the presence of my best friend.

Hearing shuffling, I turned. She was standing up and gathering her things.

"Juju." I approached her.

She only quickened the packing up process.

Reaching her bench, she was already turned in the direction of the door, "Juju, are you just gonna ignore me all day?"

Finally, she looked at me, adjusting her bag strap, "There's nothing to say."

"Oh really? Well, you can decide to drop me as a friend, but you're still working for me, so we need to communicate."

"OK," Jujubee shrugged, "Well, what do you need to discuss with me that's work-related?"

She got me there. Licking my lips, I breathed out with a quick sigh. "OK, look, last night, we didn't end on a good note. I'm not saying I was wrong, and neither were you. Can you just please set that aside and talk to me?"

She squinted her eyes. "So, I'm supposed to just let the problem keep building?"

"Juju!" I briefly raised my voice, a few of the other scientists glanced in our direction. Jujubee looked uneasy now. So I lowered my tone again. "OK. I'm just gonna say it. I fucked up. I fucking...wrote her a creepy message, and I don't know what to do, and I have no one to talk to about it."

She let out a sarcastic laugh, "You're still looking to use me as your therapist. You learned nothing from what I said, Brianna."

I was silent, incapable of speaking anything else.

She looked away to the ground, "This is taking up my lunchtime."

And with that, she moved to the door, the sound of her heels like a clock ticking down.

"Juju, what can I do?" I held my hands out by my sides. "How am I going to make you satisfied?"

With a hand opening the door, she was frozen for a moment. I thought she would have walked on and ignored me. But she looked over her shoulder and said, "When you realise she's not the one who cares about you."

She left the room, pulling the door closed. The noise caused me to flinch.

I turned around her words in my head.

Two of the scientists were whispering, one glancing at me. I felt my chest become tight. "Hey. This isn't a social gathering. Get back to work."

Despite their astonishment, they moved away from each other anyway.

I instantly felt like a bitch. Technically yeah, it was my job to keep everyone working. But I rarely raised my voice.

I left the room, seeking peace and quiet.

Sitting in my chair, I held my hands in my head, staring at the redwood desk. Moments like these should have felt like a luxury, just sitting there, relaxing. But my mind was racing with too many thoughts.

I had no idea what I could do to make amends with Jujubee. But I could try and sort this Ed Sheeran problem.

Loading up my emails, I opened the thread with Ed Sheeran (which was actually only 3 messages and most likely with his manager).

I hit reply and started typing.

'Listen, Ed. There's been an issue…'

No.

'Dear Mr Ed Sheeran, we regret to inform you…'

'Hello, Ed. It's Brianna from…'

'Ed, big fan of the work, but…'

I squeezed my eyes shut, already feeling exhausted, like each press of the backspace button represented a loss of a brain cell.

For all the achievements I had earned throughout the years, for all the accomplishments, why the fuck was this so damn hard?

The telephone rang, causing me to jolt. A sigh left my lips as I tried to breathe. Pressing the speaker, I said, "Jackie, what's up?"

Jackie, my receptionist, spoke, "Hey, honey. Your Mom's on line 2."

My hand clenched around my pen, already feeling that familiar sense of dread.

"OK, thank you," I spoke quieter.

I hesitated for a moment before finally clicking line 2.

"Hi, Mom," I uttered.

"Hi, baby." She said quietly. "How are you?"

"Fine." I lied. "Nothing really new here. How about you?"

"All good…" she sighed, then paused briefly, "Actually no. Things aren't good. I...lost my job. The usual, they found someone better. And I've been trying so hard to find a job."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, and on top of that," she sighs again, "Brie, honey, there is no easy way to say this; Piggie's sick."

My breath caught in my throat, but I tried to remain calm. "What's wrong with him?"

"They said it's Lyme disease, Brianna. I...I don't know what's going to happen." Her voice cracked.

"Look, don't worry. I'm gonna send you money right now. It should cover the bills. He'll be - -"

"No, I didn't call you to ask for money." She said quickly, "I was just wondering...I know you're busy and everything…"

Fuck. My eyes squeezed together, hand tightening around the phone.

"But...I would love to see you. It's been nearly a year now." Her tone softened.

And immediately, I wanted to say no. Considering the circumstances, a visit would fuck with my head. Seeing Piggie, my emotional support through teenagehood would crush me.

"You there, baby?" She asked.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"I just...I don't want to be alone. What if the medical treatment fails? I'm gonna have no one, Brianna. I don't want that." She pauses again, and my chest tightens, tears filling my eyes. "Brie, baby, please come."

I can hear the pain in her voice. But I can't help but feel that sense of fear, the anxiety.

"Don't leave me alone to deal with this, please. I'm at my lowest. And I don't know if I could do it all by - -"

I hit 'end call'.

I put the phone back and rested my head in my hands.

I knew this was my fault - our strained relationship. I could only see that now, how emotionally unstable I was. That sounds like a joke, right? I just didn't expect it to be this bad.

Nothing was getting better.

-_-_-_-_-_-

2004

I threw my bag in the back seat before climbing in the front. My hair was soaked from the rain. I literally just ran from the school to Mom's car, not even outside for that long, yet so much rain.

I said nothing, only rubbed my hands together to keep warm.

"So, the schools flooded?" Mom asked.

"Yeah."

"The whole school?" She looked past me and to the building, an eyebrow raised. "It doesn't look that bad."

"It's just the shop classes and cafeteria, to be honest." I put my hands between my thighs to make the warming up process happen quicker.

"That's a bit unnecessary to send you all home."

"Yeah, well, I'm not complaining."

Mom fired up the engine, and we were set for home. There was a moment of silence that fell among us. Nothing out of the ordinary.

But when she turned the radio down, I knew we were in for a discussion.

"That's not the only thing the school called me about today." She started.

"Oh?" I looked out the window. I don't know why but I assumed they had finally exposed me for smoking around the back of the building. But it was doubtful as I had stopped during the Summer.

"They're concerned about you, Brie." And so was she, now that I could hear it in her tone. "Your grades have only gotten better the slightest amount."

"Well, I can't just go from a C to an A in a matter of days." I still looked out the window. "And besides, I'm staying behind every other day for extra studying."

"Are you sure you're not just flaking and hanging out with Jujubee instead?" There it was, the accusatory tone.

I looked at her now. "No? And if it makes you feel better, you can call her Mom and ask. How's that sound?" I scoffed, "God, I don't need this. Not like I'm dealing with enough at school anyway."

"Well," she was silent for a moment as if daring herself to speak again, "Not that I'd know, I mean, you don't really open up to me about school."

"Yeah, because there's nothing you can do about it." Was I wrong? What could she do? Barge into the school with a gramophone and yell, 'Stop picking on my daughter!'

"About what?"

I rolled my eyes, "Doesn't matter. I don't wanna talk about it."

I could practically feel the way she held back from rolling her eyes.

"Well, the only other thing I can think of is that you're too focused on all this space stuff." She sounded more irked now. "You need to focus on your future, not all this make-believe crazy conspiracy theory shit."

"Oh, that crazy conspiracy theory shit that my Grandpa enjoyed?" My tone was slowly raising.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm saying your Grandpa didn't make a living sitting around and fantasising about all of this stuff. He knew the difference between having a career and having a dream."

"Well, God, not like my interest hasn't got a thing to do with my future prospects, Mom. No. Who would have thought." The sarcasm was thick in my voice.

"Whatever it is you're striving towards, it sounds more like a dream to me. You need a more stable plan." Mom flicked the indicator quite aggressively.

"Oh my God," I laughed, "That's hilarious. You have no idea what I'm striving towards. You can't even tell me what it is."

"Does it matter??"

"Just shows how much you give a shit about me, right, Mom?"

We pulled up to a red light to Mom's delight because she pulled the handbrake.

"How dare you." She seethed, "How dare you speak to me like that. I have done nothing but give a shit about you all these years. I have been there for you, every nervous breakdown, every time you wanted to cry but wouldn't, every time you needed your Mother the most. I was the best Mother I could be because I know that deep down you were hurting." Her voice cracks. "I know that you struggled for so long, what with your parents and all, but I've done all I can to give you what they couldn't. I held you. I loved you. But now, what I'm getting back is this...attitude. All I did, Brie, was express my concern, and you immediately went on the defence." She paused again before lowering her tone, "And I know you want to hold on to this space stuff, so you don't lose someone else. And I know you're in pain. But is this actually what Grandpa would have wanted??"

We held each other's gaze for another moment before the light finally turned red. She started driving again.

But I wasn't done. "Really? All of that and for what, Mom? God, you have no idea what Grandpa wanted for me. If only you knew what he asked of me when he was lying in his deathbed."

"And what was that?" She raised a brow.

"It doesn't matter." I crossed my arms and was back to looking out the window.

"Of course." She stated.

"Just...stop, please. My grades will be better. Now, we're done having this conversation."

I could feel her seething, the heat of her anger radiating through the cramped vehicle. But she said no more.

Not even for the rest of the night.

[junietc]

being the youngest avenger and taking care of everyone when they had nightmares would include...

nightmares

pairings: avengers x reader, peter parker x reader

a/n: this was honestly so much fun and a lot of writing surprisingly, if you have any requests don’t be scared to ask! also i’ll be trying to post and write some more so stay tuned for more works my loves<3

word count: 1436

~~~~

no matter how tough and strong each avenger said they were, they all had encountered their fair share of nightmares and bad dreams, whether it be of the past or made up scenarios, they all got them

there was at least one scream every night

even if you were the youngest avenger, only sixteen, you basically made it your job to comfort them as most as you could

no matter what time it was, you were there though it wasn’t that hard since you refused to go to bed saying it was “for the weak”

though on the odd occasions you were asleep, you were alerted by F.R.I.D.A.Y (whom you got to shout at you if anyone was awake in the middle of the night)

bucky was the one you visited the most

he was also the first person you had tried to comfort

he constantly had dreams of his ex-hydra days which taunted him as much as they could

it was a pretty regular day, but you had to study for a final coming up, so you stayed up until probably 2 or 3 am

that was when you heard his screams

how no one else heard them was out of your explanation

you had rushed over to his room wondering what was happening and saw him breathing heavily, aggressively pulling on his hair and murmuring to himself

obviously, you went to try and comfort him

sitting next to him on the bed, you kinda sat there awkwardly for a bit, bc well, what were you supposed to do, there really wasn’t much you could do on your end because you didn’t know all that much about him enough to comfort him like steve did, but then you eventually kinda just latched on to him and hugged him

you both kinda sat there, bucky’s sobbing being the only noise at the ungodly hour

you hugged him tightly from the side and leaned your head on his shoulder

soft whispers of “it’s okay, it’s just the past” and “don’t worry”

after sitting still for a while, bucky breathed heavily and hugged you back, his tears dampening your old t-shirt

his crying was muffled in your shirt as your small figure hugged him ferociously. the both of you held each other for another minute or so until bucky pulled away, with a faint smile on his face

“thanks kid, that actually really helped”

it was from that awkward, sad and tired smile that you swore to be there for him, and everyone else of course

you would grin brightly “of course, do you want to get a snack?”

that was probably your favourite way of helping, by distracting them and getting their minds of the bad memories

from then on, you kind of just did that with all of the avengers, hugged em tight and loved them

you can remember that one night that you heard nat’s screams echoing across the tower

 it was maybe 1 am and you were still up, of course, watching bad romcoms on the television and had rushed as quickly as possible to her room

she was in cold sweat, clutching on to her bed sheets forcefully, shaking when you had walked in. she noticed you at the doorframe and wiped away her tears

“hey, y/n. everything okay? could you not sleep or – ”

so you ran up and hugged her

surprised, she sat there before hugging you back and stroking your hair

“i love you nat”

you feel her chest vibrate with laughter as she sniffles, “i love you too kiddo”

you smile before pointing towards the compound, “do you wanna watch bad romcoms with me?”

“fuck yeah”

you had your special connections with everyone and special ways to get them to feel better

with steve it was a lot of trying to get him to crack a smile, maybe trying to show him memes or even just make fun of riverdale with him. sometimes you would go to the kitchen and try to bake (but really it was just an excuse for you to ramble about dumb shit and force steve to make you cookies but it made for a great distraction) or sometimes steve would tell you about life back in the 40s

with tony, you would go to the lab with him and try and build but really all that you were doing was making a mess and trying to get him to listen to songs other than acdc. you would also try and drag him to play pool with you and end up just rolling the balls into the pockets since you were shit, which really shocked you since you were so good at game pigeon 8 ball

with clint and sam you’d enjoy distracting them by going outside to the park nearby, not giving a single fuck that it was late at night/early in the morning and dancing, trying bad tricks and shouting and just having fun

sometimes you’d have gossip sessions with carol and wanda and shit about people you knew at school, the rest of the team and learn about them and their past

other times you would try and give wanda a manicure only for it to go terribly wrong and somehow you both got nail polish on your legs

you and nat would always have tea and talk about boys and gossip about missions, which included talking shit about the team and how bad they all are at lying

with bruce, you get something from the kitchens and go to the lab and try to learn, but really you were just playing with different chemicals and seeing what they would do, also having competitions of who could make the prettiest colour which often resulted in creating extremely dangerous chemicals but hey that was the prettiest shade of purple you ever saw

whenever your boyfriend peter stayed at the tower, you would hug him and cuddle as he talked about his dream and then maybe go and be kids and build a pillow fort and gossip and just bond over being the youngest and maybe makeout a little bit but like whatever

peter is always the most fun to hang out with but you guys tend to make the most noise and since neither of you are adults you get scowled at for being awake it’s definitely only by steve but you gotta love him for it he just wants you both to grow

this of course has gotten peter to use his peter tingles to sense whenever anyone is coming so you both can “fall asleep” on the couch 

everyone hears you both though 

your giggling is obnoxiously loud

on the rare occasion that thor was over and had nightmares, you would sit there and listen to him speak about asgard and all that jazz and then go around the tower and play stupid games like “guess the name of this” which was really just you teaching him about female makeup products

there were even times when some of them would go to your room instead and just ask for a hug

you were always there to accept them and then go and do something fun after

it’s not like anyone at the tower slept all that much anyways

yeah sometimes they’d try and force you to go back to bed because you were young and “still growing” but whatever

but what you always did was hug them and tell them you love them, because you really did. the avengers were your family, maybe a little fucked up and emotionally unstable but still, your loving and hilarious family

you were basically known to have the best hugs

but of course, you had your fair share of nightmares, now of course yours weren’t as terrifying but they kept you up at times

usually you never managed to wake someone up considering the fact that you didn’t scream instead turned to holding in your tears and aggressively doing the renegade to distract yourself

of course, there was that one time that you had a terrifying dream

you had walked around the compound and everyone was on the floor dead, their blood somehow all over your hands

you woke up, sweaty and couldn’t stop the heavy tears coming from your eyes

you cried loudly, somehow waking up the entire compound, who all came rushing to you

they ran into your room and made their way to you

bucky was the first to react, who immediately hugged you, which surprised everyone seeing as he never really was the touchy-feely kind of guy

one after another they all came and sat on your bed hugging you, whispering sweet words and i love you’s just as you had when they all had their nightmares

they all tried to have their own time to hug you

“bUt iT’s mY tUrN tO hUg y/n”

then they all decided it would be a perfect time, at four in the morning, to play monopoly together, or at least in teams since monopoly was for six players but that didn’t stop you

but yeah, so basically you give great hugs, and everything is great

[yutaya]

Iron Fist Rewatch 1x02: Shadow Hawk Takes Flight

These doctors seem very nonchalant about how close this dude just got to murdering Danny with a fork. No reassurance or apology - just pour drugs down his throat so they can hose him down. What a picture of The System.

Negative stereotype that has roots in truth - there ARE places like this and worse, but it's true that we very rarely see the good kind of facility represented in TV too. Sucks for them to always be portrayed as the bad guy, and probably harmful too if people really could benefit from them but are wary.

"Let's say [he IS Danny]. That would mean he somehow, miraculously, [1] survived a plane crash, [2] in the Himalayas, and that [3] for some unknown reason he waited fifteen years to come back, with [4] no shoes and a tendency toward violence." - Ward, reciting all the reasons he's been repeating to himself ever since the parking lot not to start thinking this might be Danny, frog and freezer stories or no.

"We're doing the right thing. We could have just had him arrested." Why DIDN'T you have him arrested, Ward? Oh right, HAROLD. ugh.

AU where Danny gets arrested instead. Unfortunately I THINK none of the other Defenders timelines work out so this would be a good time for them to meet him early, though... 🤔

Again with this bird. I completely forgot about this symbol theme.

Danny: "I was meditating." Doctor: "Oh!" Danny: "Yeah, I was trying to focus my chi so I could get out of here." Doctor: "Oh..."

Doctor's like: Oh, wow, this is an interesting level of specificity for a made up story...

I forgot how much I like this doctor. He's legit trying to help. I forget what happened to him...

Colleen is putting so much effort into insulting her students LOL. Also: Darryl's shoes are too big. Bc Colleen runs a struggling dojo in an underprivileged part of city as a safe haven for these kids and to help "teach them how to perform in the real world"

Parts of this conversation that will weigh on Colleen: "You saw me being attacked; you KNOW there's something weird going on." "One of the richest families in New York have a problem with you." "No, I don't have anyone else I can ask for help: you're the only one."

Ward: Ok, good, I'm hearing reasons why this guy can't be telling the truth and therefore cannot be Danny. That's good. I still feel kind of off though... but that's probably just the thing where Harold put cameras in the hospital. Yeah.

Poor Kyle.

Ward: "We can lobotomize him!" Me: "asdfghjkl WARD."

This shot of Harold's "smile" when he tells Ward  "You ARE one of my guys! One of my most trusted guys!" is SO CREEPY

You can see Colleen FREEZE when Ward introduces himself. Harold and Ward shooting themselves in the foot with this: they're lending credence to Danny's story from the phone convo.

Ward, one of the richest people in the city: "Lie to the authorities about that homeless dude being violent for my own personal benefit. Here's a blatant bribe."

Harold yelling at the spy footage like he's throwing popcorn at a movie.

POOR KYLE.

This is deeply uncomfortable for me on a personal level.

Joy: Hmmmmm. What possible reason... could "Danny's" doctor have... for asking that very specific question.... unless.........?

Ok but "tiny Danny wanted to be an acrobat and was always jumping around on things" makes it SO MUCH EASIER for canon-divergent AUs where Danny isn't in the plane crash to still include ninja warrior Danny I-

Harold, a known dead man, looming ominously in the shadows of Danny's mental hospital room: "Here's a message about how you have to come find me and help me. It's not very subtle so you'll probably get it." Danny: "Oh shit, maybe I am crazy...?"

Danny: "I was a warrior. Only in the middle of a fight did I fully come alive. The harder someone hit me, the more everything came into focus." Harold: "Hm. Note taken." Me: *crying emoji*

Show: "oooh, ominous, Harold's under the Hand's thumb. Maybe there's more to him, maybe he's sympathetic...?" Fans: "lol, nice try. We all clocked that creep-o the moment we saw him."

I've talked about Colleen's first impressions of the Meachums in general and Ward in specific before but. Dude. Dude.

Danny, thinking that his very last tentative hope (Colleen) has fallen through, receives a communication from Joy. ;____;

Had. Had Joy already opened the bag of m&ms. It was sealed when she pulled it out of her desk drawer so wh- OH. The hospital opened Danny's mail, including the candy bag, to inspect it before giving it to him. Hahaha *sob*

If Colleen hadn't come to see Danny here, their paths might have diverged. As far as he's concerned, Colleen has made it clear that she's not going to help him and that they're just two strangers in a big city. Turning the corner and seeing her come to visit him boosts that flame of hope that Joy's package rekindled even further. He thought he had no one, and now the amount of people he has is growing.

Ok but, in an AU where Colleen doesn't go see Danny / Danny doesn't know Colleen came to see him, that isn't necessarily the end of their relationship. On Colleen's side, she's still suspicious of this entire Meachum mess - it RADIATES corruption and Colleen is very much entrenched in the downworld of NYC, where the rich powerful elite hurt the most. Plus, Danny doesn't give up on people easily and honestly, he kind of sucks at taking a hint - if he went off to some Rand business with the in with Joy, he would still end up in all the Harold mess, and probably at some point be on the run (maybe with another person - oooh, would love to see that AU - Joy or Ward or both in tow with Danny on the streets, fleeing trouble, Danny saying "I know a place") and showing up at Colleen's door, like "I know you don't want any part of this, and I don't mean to bring trouble to your door, but there's nowhere else to go," and Colleen being like "get in, quick," with her windows already half shuttered and supplies on the table because she was already investigating herself - (it could turn into a whole thing, with Colleen having connections that she thinks she can trust to help them against the big bad Harold/Meachum conspiracy, but then it's the Hand, and-!)

Danny: "The Meachum family might think I'm a threat to them." Colleen: "And why would they think that?" Danny: "Because I'm Danny Rand and I own more than half the company." Me: "And also because you stalked Joy, broke into her house and their offices, terrified and almost killed Ward???"

But anyway this is only gonna fuel Colleen's narrative that this is all greedy corporate machinations and bloody rich people politics. (Literally bloody. Literally murder people in a "problem solving" way kind of bloody.)

GODDDD Colleen is so hot in this scene when she walks into Joy's office with her pushed up sleeves on her chinese bomber jacket and her shirt tucked into her rolled up pants and - her hands in her pockets and that black bracelet and the belt - !

This argument between Joy and Ward is so emotionally charged - Ward's now in a desperate position because Joy has no way of knowing that she has just become an obstacle to something that he can't allow to happen - because Harold can not allow it to happen, and he's pulling Ward's strings, and then - ! "What are you so afraid of, Ward?" It's Harold, he's afraid of Harold. "You should be more like Dad." Ugh. ugh! Shot through the heart! "Grow some balls." I'm crying. They've both learned such terrible things from their father.

GDI DANNY the doctor BELIEVED you and then you had to go start talking about alternate planes of existence and the Iron Fist UGH he thinks you're just trying to cope with the trauma I - UGH.

This doctor is honestly trying to help but he's confirming all of Danny's fears from what Simon told him about how this place operates.

Ward regularly has to come up with ways to convince an entire board to do weird things that Harold asks - like purchase some random warehouses in Brooklyn - without even knowing why

Ward: "'Danny' is a threat to us, to our family, to our business, and the smartest solution - the one YOU taught me - is to get rid of the problem as expediently as possible!" Harold: "No, protect him." Ward: "WHY?! I am asking you why. Explain it to me! Because from where I'm standing, protecting him is dangerous, and getting rid of him is safe!" Harold: "Because I said so, that's why. Now heel." Honestly, of COURSE Ward takes this into his own hands.

Ah, yes, our first glimpse at Ward's drug addiction.

What is their plan????? Just beat him to death!? Can't make it quick - why?? Are they trying to make it look like a simple altercation between inmates???

"Ward Meachum sends his regards." God, that's so heartbreaking. The idea that not only does Ward believe Danny is an imposter and a threat, enough to try to kill him and then to send him to a mental institution - but that once he's there, out of harm's way, if he IS a mentally unstable imposter - OR once proof is starting to trickle to the Meachums (in colorful chocolate form) that he actually IS their old friend Danny - that Big Brother Ward would go out of his way to strike a deal with some "low life mental hospital thugs" to beat Danny to death?? This moment, to Danny, must feel like a bigger betrayal to Danny by Ward than anything else so far.

Danny, on all fours, looks up at the full moon outside the window, at the hawk silhouette streaking across it, and smiles. Hawk as Danny's spirit guide AU cont., but ALSO: WEREWOLF AU WEREWOLF AU WEREWOLF AU

Danny. Danny. Please run. Busting a huge hole in the wall made a very loud noise, please stop just standing there and giving people time to catch up.

[silentexplorer18]

First Dates and Distracted Snakes: A Jughead Jones Short

Summary: As Jughead’s attention to you wanes, you allow yourself to pursue other romantic interests.  Although you try to have a good time, you realize that bad guys lurk throughout Riverdale.  Can Jughead brighten your thoughts?

Paring: Jughead x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of rape and sexual assault, some depressing thoughts.

Read it here on AO3.

Masterlist

His dark hair fell into his eyes as his little hands reached for your own dainty ones.  “(Y/n),” he said softly, “will you be my girlfriend?”

You squeezed his hand gently, but shake your head, small smile adorning your lips.  “Juggie, we’re too little.  Ask me again when we’re older, and I’ll say yes, okay?”

He didn’t seem too forlorn from your answer, squeezing your hand back and pulling you toward the swingset.  “Okay, just as long as you’ll say yes.”

It has been ten years since that day when you and Jughead Jones were children, acknowledging that you had something more than what ordinary best friends would.  Despite growing up together, his asking never again graced your ears, as much as you would have wholeheartedly said yes.

Over the years, you and Jug had found a comfortable rhythm that flowed through your lives.  Every day, you would get up and meet him on your porch, sharing breakfast before you set off on the walk to school.  Always, always walking together, you would engage in small talk or comfortable silence, either one being something you both enjoyed.  Then came classes.  Those that you shared, you were hip and hip in; those that you didn’t were never that enjoyable.  At lunch you would sit together, and in the student lounge.  After school would come long sessions at Pop’s, where the two of you would share food and work in a state of symbiosis.  He would write usually, fingertips fluttering over the keys like his life depended on them, like he couldn’t quite get the words out fast enough.  You would work on homework, read, or even doodle sometimes.  The spans of silence would be broken by the click of his laptop and the eventual conversation that would spur when you gave him your attention and he gave you his.

You’d been the one that pushed him toward writing this book about Jason Blossom’s death, knowing he needed a true outlet for his hyper alert, clever mind.  When he started into the investigation, you supported him wholeheartedly, ordering him late night milkshakes to feed his creative mind, dragging him from the diner when it got so late he would cease to be able to function the next day if he didn’t go to bed, and helping him investigate as he saw fit.  Although he was your best friend and you inarguably his, you began to notice your late nights at Pop’s together dwindling as he and the rest of the Scooby Gang, most notably Betty Cooper, began to find themselves intensely rooted in the investigation.

You tried to be positive despite the gnawing disappointment in your stomach every morning he wasn’t there to walk with you to school and every night Juggie would forget to meet you at the diner.  Your study dates and biweekly dinners soon faltered from their normal schedule, and you had no idea if or when Jug would show up.

So here you were again on a Friday night, sitting glumly in your signature booth sipping a vanilla milkshake halfheartedly.  Jughead was always supposed to meet you on Friday nights, another tradition.  You would share a meal and discuss the events of the week, any new leads he’d found, and sometimes would conclude the night watching movies in your room.  He hadn’t shown up, though, hence why you were on your second milkshake of the night.  You didn’t want to admit that saving yourself the social strain of making lots of friends was proving to be a monumental mistake, but it was.  Jughead had hardly talked to you in weeks, and you realized gloomily that you’d fallen lackluster to the amazing Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge.

Picking at your straw, you jumped when a body slid down in front of you.  Half expecting it to be Jughead, you looked up in excitement only to realize that the beanie clad boy was not the person sitting in front of you.  Instead Chuck Clayton gazed back at you with a half attractive smirk.  “Out alone?” he asked, trying to avoid commenting on the crestfallen look you gave him when you realized he wasn’t the boy you wanted him to be.

You sighed a little.  “Yeah.  My friend forgot, I think.”

Chuck sympathized with you, carrying on a conversation for the next hour.  Although he wasn’t the most charming or intelligent boy in the world, he did make you laugh, ask you about your day, and acknowledge your existence, all of which were worlds above Jughead who wouldn’t even respond to your text asking if he was okay.

That night of subtle flirting and fry sharing turned into one of many more to come.  The next week, Chuck would stop in, chatting you up since Jughead couldn’t find the time to talk to you.  By the end of the week, he’d asked you out on a date, stating that one of his football companions was throwing a party that he’d adore accompanying you to.

Your first instinct was to hesitate.  You’d never been to a party before, and you’d also never been on a date before.  Not officially, anyway.  You’d been saving yourself for Jughead, just like you’d promised, but the sweet little Forsythe of your youth was the only boy to ever have asked you out.  Jughead had never asked again.  It was clear now, though, that he had no intention to, mind wrapped around Betty Cooper in all her charming glory.

With a blush rising to your cheeks, you accepted his invitation.

The next evening was another Friday, and you were adorned in your usual bluejeans and a Bulldogs tee shirt.  You’d curled your hair lightly, applying a tiny bit of makeup to spruce up your features.  You met Chuck at Pop’s Diner, blushing against his compliments as he led you down the streets of Riverdale toward your first date.

Inviting you inside, you didn’t expect the night that would follow.  Chuck was quick to drink, trying to force alcohol down your throat as well.  You weren’t one for the drinking, trying to suggest that maybe you should go home.  Chuck pouted, trying to guilt you into staying.  “Just one more dance.  Please, baby?”  His words made you uncomfortable, but you relented, agreeing to just one more.  You wanted this date to be labeled as a success, afterall.

So you stayed, and his hands clamped against your waist, travelling rapidly down to your ass.

“Chuck, what are you-” you shouted, his lips shoving against your own to silence your protests.  He pushed you up the stairs, several of his teammates trailing.

The rest of that night was a blur as his hands traveled up your body and touched every square inch.  His lips met your neck, hips snapping against your own as you thrashed against his teammates’ weight.  You tried to scream but someone’s lips were forced against your own, tasting like liquor and the salt of your tears.  Chuck didn’t take you home; shaking, you wrapped your tattered clothes around your quaking frame and stumbled down the streets to your house.  Your parents were traveling on business and would be gone for at least another month and a half, so you were free to let the hot tears of shame trickle down your cheeks when you entered the home.  Ripping off what was left of your clothes, you hopped in the shower, letting the hot water burn your flesh clean of the horrors it had experienced in the darkness.

That weekend, you were holed up in your bed the whole time, ignoring the occasional buzzing of your phone even through Monday and Tuesday morning.  By six Tuesday night, you were finally hungry, dragging yourself up and dressing in fresh clothes.  On Saturday, you’d witnessed the photo spread across Instagram and Snapchat, flitting into group chats and ruining any chance of secrecy you’d had at keeping what happened under wraps.  A photo of you barely clothed, the jocks closing in around you in a sweaty, hormonal mess.  Chuck Clayton was branding you as an easy fuck, the girl who threw her virginity at him.  From the photo, you just looked like a slut, not a girl who’d been raped by the team.  Only people that knew you would know the lies behind the image.

But still, you needed to eat.  So you drug yourself to Pop’s, perched in the farthest seat from the door, sipping on a vanilla milkshake, no cherry  or whipped cream - you didn’t deserve it.  Pop’s had brought you some sympathy fries that you nibbled on here and there, but for the most part you just sat quietly, dreading the days to come.  Lost in thought, you didn’t notice Jughead’s approach until he’d slammed down in the seat in front of you.  Your eyes flickered up to him, clearly startled.  His face was hard, impassive.  “How could you?” he said harshly.

“What?” you asked softly, confusion painting over your tired eyes.

“You gave your virginity to Chuck Clayton of all people?  Why would you go on a date with that guy?”

Hurt flashed across your face, but your defences were up as his judgemental gaze looked down his nose at you.  “Maybe because he was the only guy to ask me out,” you said incredulously, trying to ignore the pain pooling in your heart.

“But you screwed Chuck.  Of all the disgusting, filthy, low level things you could have done, you did that.  You jumped the first guy that offered.”  He tried to keep going, describing how low screwing Chuck Clayton was, but you didn’t hear him.  You were rushing up from your seat, tears flooding your cheeks as your feet led you to the door.

You felt someone collide with you as you pushed through the door, Betty and Veronica staring sympathetically at you as you stumbled by, obviously flustered and emotionally unstable.  You stumbled toward home while they entered the diner, making a beeline for Jughead.

“Jug, what happened?” Betty asked as she and Ronnie slid into the seat you’d been sitting in.

“She slept with Chuck,” he mumbled out, clearly angry.

Veronica rolled her eyes, “Not by choice, you nitwit.”

“What?” he asked, brows furrowing at her words.

Betty, pale and concerned, began to explain what happened, Ronnie turning her phone around to reveal the photo of your broken, defiled form.  Jughead went white, grabbing his bag from the seat and rushing away from the booth, muttering an, “Oh, no,” as he went.

You’d locked the door when you’d gotten home, climbing up the stairs and falling into your fluffy sheets, tears dripping onto pillow as you realized that Jughead was right, you were a dirty slut.  You’d asked for it.  It was all your fault.  You’d went out on a date.  You were to blame.

Jughead knew your house like the back of his hand, pulling the spare key from its hiding spot and slipping into your house, locking the door behind him.  He knew you’d be in your room; that was always your go to when you were feeling sad.

He ascended the stairs quietly, stepping gently into your room.  His heart broke when he saw your weak figure sobbing into your pillows.  Bending down, he enveloped you in his arms.  Your first instinct was to panic, thrashing against his body until you heard his soothing voice in your ear.  “Hey, hey.  It’s okay.  It’s me.  You’re safe, (y/n).  You’re safe.”

Just as quickly as you’d started thrashing, you stilled, tears still dripping from your puffy eyes.  “Juggie, I’m so sorry,” you whispered against his chest.

“What?  Why?”

“It’s my fault,” you whispered, tears starting to rapidly fall again as your breathing hitched.  “You were right.  It’s my fault.  I was low and dirty and bad.  I’m so sorry, Jughead.”

“No, no, no,” he murmured, holding you close to his chest and shushing you.  “It’s not your fault.  None of it was your fault.  They hurt you, and they shouldn’t have, and I’m so, so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”

You stayed nuzzled in his arms for a while, hiccupping and sniffling as he whispered soothing words in your hair.  “Why’d you come here?” you croaked out after a while, looking up into his eyes.

Jughead rested his forehead against yours, his sigh fanning across your damp cheeks.  “You shouldn’t be alone right now.  And I’m the fool that got you into this, so I should be the one that helps you through it.”  You looked at him quizzically, and he knew what you wanted to ask before you had the chance to say it.  “I should’ve asked you out,” his voice grew low, and his demeanor shifted from comforting to shy.  “If I had, you never would have been in the situation you were.”

“Juggie,” you sniffled, “it isn’t your fault.  I should’ve waited.  You were always the one that I wanted.”

“(Y/N), would you be my girlfriend?” he whispered softly.

You smiled, an equal grin forming on his lips.  “Yes.  I’d love to, Jughead.”  After a pause, you flopped back on the bed, letting out a sigh.  “But I’m so dirty, Jug.  How could you want me?”  He started to protest, but you cut him off.  “I lost my virginity to Chuck Clayton,” you groaned.

“Did you want to?”

You looked back up at him.  “Of course not.”

“Then it’s settled,” he said, taking your hand.  “You’re just as clean as ever, (y/n).  You didn’t give your virginity away, you had a part of you taken.  But you are still as pure as untouched snow.  Don’t think for a second you’re dirty for not giving yourself away.”

Reaching up to his shoulders, you pulled him down next to you, snuggling into his chest warmly.  “Can we just stay here?”

He hummed softly.  “Yes, but we’ve gotta go to school tomorrow,” you let out a whine.  “It’s okay.  I’ll be right by your side the whole time.”

Gently, he kissed your forehead, wrapping his comforting arms around you as the two of you drifted off into a safe, protected slumber.

The next morning, you put on a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and pulled a baseball cap over your head.  You tried to look in the mirror, feel comfortable in your own skin, but you still felt out of place.  Jughead stepped up behind you, his reflection revealing everything strong and brave you wanted to be.  “I just don’t feel brave enough, Juggie,” you whispered.

“Hey, you are,” he comforted gently, pulling his signature flannel from his shoulders and sliding it over your arms, the finishing touch to your armor.

That first day back wasn’t easy, the whispered words of Riverdale High swirling around you like a cloud of smoke.  But despite the hungry stares of Chuck Clayton and the hateful gaze of Cheryl Blossom, you clung to the notion that you were enough, catching Jughead’s eye in every hallway to give you strength.

You may have been cheated your first kiss, your first time, but that didn’t matter.  Chuck was just a nasty memory that you could push away and forget with time.  Jughead, he was forever, and now you didn’t have to wait for forever to come.

A/N: Thanks for reading my story!  I hope you liked it.  Let me know what you think and shoot any questions or requests my way! :)  Hope you all are doing well.

Also, if you have experienced rape or sexual assault, know that my character is 100% wrong, making you wrong.  It is NOT your fault AT ALL if someone violated you comfort or privacy.  Never blame yourself for that experience.  Hindsight is 20/20, you couldn’t have known what was going to happen, and you ARE NOT at fault.

[theincompetentgenius]

Matchup

hiyaaa!! could i pls get a written matchup for ikesen, ikerev, & mlqc? 💞 bi but i prefer guys! i have an older twin sis~ 5'4 young girl~ medium-length straight-ish black hair & dark brown eyes. ambiverted INTP! hufflepuff/ravenclaw. fun-loving & friendly scorpio. if not given attention, i feel unwanted/sad. quiet w/ people im not close w/. easily annoyed but guilty after 'cause im soft-hearted. playful/serious, childish/mature, competative/laidback, funny/shy, talkative/good listener, loud/soft, kind/quiet, emotional/solemn, sweet/smart, bright/deep, poetic/intellectual, daydreamer/studious, annoying/lovable. hopeless romantic! sorta socially anxious, i have a fear of judgement. my personality is like half fun/happy and half deep/quiet- very awkward. i want to be the best! im not innocent but ppl think i am at first. its easy to make me smile & laugh but i also get jealous often. i have trouble asking for help even if i help others a lot! im the type to do fun stuff and loosen up, but im also the type to just cuddle and have long conversations about life and the world. emotionally mature but a bit emotionally unstable (mental health problems-) i look fine on the outside but on the inside its a MESS. im actually a complex person, and i rlly think a lot to myself. i feel rlly scared tho if im not completely sure if im correct abt smth, n i get rlly anxious when ppl r looking at me blankly w/ smiling- likes: diff kinds of jokes, testing myself, affection, animals, doing exhilirating things, music, movies, books, games, family, friends, astrology, astronomy, learning new things, & mythology. dislikes: too much heat, school presentations, creepy dolls, being under pressure, dirty things. i love weapons (esp swords n guns, i like magic too tho)!! i think they're super cool- omg im super srry cause i think this is too much- tysm anyway!! feel free to take your time (health comes first!) n have a great year! 💞

Aww, thank u so much! This was submitted to me quite a while back and I’m really sorry for the major delay. However, I’ve finally gotten to this. Hope you still enjoy it :)

Ikemen Sengoku

I’d pair you with.................. Hideyoshi Toyotomi!

Honestly, I was having difficult picking just one person since you have such a complex personality (don’t worry, this is a good thing). For a while, I was leaning towards Mitsuhide at first because your personality would’ve made the perfect MC for his route. You’re sweet enough to get him to open up, but not a complete ditz. He’d love to learn all the different sides of your personality, falling for every single piece. After all, there’s no puzzle that he can’t solve.

However, I’m gonna go with Hideyoshi on this one. His simple attitude would best compliment all your different traits, creating the perfect balance. Whenever he’s being hard-headed, your multi-dimensional personality will provide him with another side that he hadn’t considered.

Don’t want to ask for help? Not a problem because Hideyoshi is going to help you anyways (whether you want or not). He’ll be at your side all day, making sure that even the smallest of tasks have dealt with. Once your work is done, he’ll linger around for a little bit, waiting for that last good-bye kiss. 

You manage to pull him out of his comfort zone, going on small adventures together! He’s not the biggest fan of them, but he always tags along to make sure you’re alright. His favorite adventures are when you two go into the forests, observing all the different animals. There’s nothing like seeing the sweet smile on your face to brighten up his day.

The day always ends with the two of you heading back to his room, laying on his bed, and looking at all the cool stuff that you found. He’ll have his arms wrapped around your waist, resting his chin on top of your head, listening to you rave about the adventure. But when you remind him that there’s no place that you’d rather be than in his arms, Hideyoshi can’t help but turn into a puddle. It’s just a night of cuddles and endless affection.

Hideyoshi is also the best person to go to when you’re feeling like a complete mess. Even if he’s busy, he’ll always put time aside to comfort you. If you’re feeling scared or unsure, the warlord will stroke your hair and remind you about all the times that you’ve been right (and all the things you’ve accomplished because of that). Even if things go awry, he’ll always be there to hold your hand for comfort’s sake. After all, you’ve guided him through his messes, so now it’s his turn to repay the favor.

Another Possibility: Mitsuhide Akechi

Ikemen Revolution

I’d pair you with............... Ray Blackwell!

So there’s not a lot of leeway here since your description really just screamed “RAY” to me. However, I feel like I could throw you at Blanc! He’d do his best to make you feel welcome in the Cradle and slowly crack through your quiet demeanor. Once he learns what’s inside, bunny boy is absolutely charmed! It’s hard for him to stay away, especially since he just gravitates towards your cheery energy. Nevertheless, the Black Army King won over in the end.

When Ray first meets you, he appreciates your quiet side. Not too noisy or annoying, unlike certain members in the Black Army. Besides, you seem to have your head screwed on straight, so he won’t have to worry too much about you getting into endless trouble. Your maturity throughout the entire situation will only garner his respect.

When Fenrir cracks a crude joke and you stifle your laughter, Ray raises an eyebrow. There’s definitely more to you than meets the eye and he’s interested in what exactly hides behind your quiet exterior. While he may not go out of his way to search for it, Ray takes mental notes when you do something that pleasantly surprises him.

Bookworm buddies!! Every now and then, you two engage in a reading competition: who can read the most books throughout the week? For the prize, the loser has to listen to the winner’s commands for an entire day. While the winning party varies, it’s always a close call.

Ray is always teasing you for being a hopeless romantic. However, that’s just his way of hiding how he thinks that your mentality towards love is adorable. If he’s completely honest, you remind him of the main heroine in most romance novels. Does that mean he’s willing to be your love interest? Why don’t you ask him and find out ;)

Ray notices the twinkle in your eyes when you watch him practice with his sword. When you ask him about it, he’ll happily show you all the types of swords and guns that are used in the Black Army. He even gives you confidential information about the latest gun prototypes. At one point, he’ll even gift you with the weapon of your choice (you can customize it however you want). Whether you choose to use it is up to you (but little tip here: Ray finds it hot when you carry it around on your belt).

Another Possibility: Blanc Lapin

MLQC

I’d pair you with............ Victor!

Before I unveil first place over here, I think you and Kiro would also have amazing chemistry too! You two would mesh so well together, being the biggest balls of sunshine. When you’re feeling down, you can always expect his teddy-bear smile to cheer you up in an instance. It gives me such “wholesome couple vibes” that I’m not even sure how to put it into words.

So you must be wondering, “Why Victor?” It’s because our loveable grump needs some sunshine of his own (a ray of sunshine that he won’t throw out the window or chastise to death). From the beginning, Victor takes a liking towards you. You’re mature, dependable, and want the best for the company. Even if you’re not directly involved, he appreciates your efforts towards becoming the best. There’s something about you that makes him want to root for you.

And so he does, pouring a decent amount of money into your dreams. However, Victor will constantly watch you from the side (after all, he’s gotta see how his investment is being used). This may cause you some discomfort, but he’s doing it to make sure that you get to the top of your dreams. 

When you’re feeling unsure of yourself, Victor will give you the guidance that you need. He’ll try his best to give his input on the situation, making sure that it gets you closer and closer to the answers that you need. Once you manage to pull everything together, he can’t help but feel a little tug on his chest. It’s a combination of both pride and something a little sweeter.

Victor also finds your multi-faceted personality quite impressive. It’s amazing how you can show a range of emotions and feelings, especially when you’re dealing with different types of people. He doesn’t have such a range of emotions, so he tries to pick up on a few of your traits. It doesn’t always work, but you always get a good laugh out of it.

Whenever Victor has had a long day at work, the two of you lay on the grass and watch the night sky. There’s something about the stars that calms him and he wouldn’t have known it if he never met you. So he’ll always be grateful for the peace that you’ve given him. 

Another Possibility: Kiro

[paulieshore]

Mystic Mess. Xmas

Warnings: Minor fluff, *Story may trigger readers past traumas: please be advised. *

Word Count: 2764

Back ground on (this) Mc:

1.       Mc is foreign nationality, but was born in South Korea. She was given up for adoption at birth really, reason: being a girl. Mc’s biological mother and father were visiting South Korea from Canada on business when her mother went into labour 3 weeks early than expected. Neither of her parents knew of her gender seeing as they were confident, they were only having boys (already had 4). They gave her up because they only wanted boys.

2.       Mc is kept in ICU until she was healthy enough to go into a home, which she is later adopted (age 9months) by a compatible and lovable Korean couple. Mc grows up knowing she is different from the other kids, and obviously aware her parents are not her ‘real’ parents. When Mc is 5 years old, she bluntly asks her parents at dinner one night if she’s adopted. Her parents are taken back by the fact she’s asking at such a young age but none the less tell her the truth.

3.       Mc parents did a lot of things for her, they knew Mc’s nationality of descent and during holidays would celebrate things like they would there (educating her). Allowing MC to learn a little of her biological culture. This made so much sense to Mc as she knew her family always celebrated holidays differently than others.

4.       Though it didn’t stop some insecurities to fester in Mc, questions start forming in the depth of her mind (she never spoke them out to anyone). Inevitably causing Mc to start pulling away from other kids in school, afraid that whatever reason her blood parents didn’t want her, maybe others wouldn’t either.

5.       Mc becomes close with a young boy named Chan-Woo (1 year older than her), who too was adopted (Mc: 6 & Chan: 7). He quickly becomes her closest if not only friend for many years.

6.       At age 10 Mc and Chan start ‘seeing’ each-other (Puppy love more than anything.) As kids grow and learn some kids are eager to ‘go to the next level’ and some are not.

7.       Chan-Woo ends things with her because of this, he wanted more from her physically (she was only 12).  Mc was raised to love/respect her body so rejecting Chan had nothing to do with her insecurities. However, when Mc’s boyfriend breaks up with her for ‘not being enough for him’ this causes Mc to mentally spiral.

8.       Mc becomes a bit emotionally unstable at home, sometimes even losing her cool with her parents. One night after a heated argument with her parents her mom faints for no reason at all.  That night the family of three await in the hospital room for test results from the doctor, only to find out her mother has stage 4 cancer.

9.       After losing her mother, her father decides to embark on a journey to reach out to Mc blood parents. Hoping to find closure for his daughter who is mentally unstable, blaming herself for her mother’s sudden death.

10.   When Mc would ask her father about his search, he seems to change the subject quite often, its later found out her blood parents want nothing to do with MC. Mc finds out she has a total of 7 brothers who have no idea of her existence. Mc’s blood father gives Mc’s father some information on the family to help with whatever it was they were searching for (feeling guilty maybe??).  

11.   A couple of Mc’s brothers were well in their 20s now and Mc’s father tried to contact them, after a while Mc began to feel suspicious for her father’s actions. Why was he so needy in finding her family when they obviously didn’t care about her? Was he too looking for a way to get rid of her?

12.   (Age 15) it was a raining afternoon Mc and her father were fighting in the car, he wanted Mc to get treatment. She did not want treatment, MCs father lost traction on the road and skid off a bridge.

13.   When MC woke up, she was told her father did not survive the crash.

Mc spent the next 3 years getting help. Mc blamed herself for all the misfortune and tragedies in her life. Slowly but surely MC became Mc again, still buried deep within her guilt for her parents, she was kind to all those she met. Afraid that her last moments with them or last words said to them would be ones she would regret. Like those moments with her family. Her only family. or so she thought…..

Mystic Mess. Xmas

Everyone arrived to Seven’s as agreed.

The house was decorated inside and out, his explanation to you was “I want the space station to feel the holiday spirit!” It definitely put you into the holiday spirit, like a Christmas wonderland. Something you hadn’t experienced in such a long time.

.

.

The ride over was tense though, Jumin and Zen bickering back and forth. Poor Yoosung was seated in the cross hairs of the two, Zen blaming Jumin for incidents last year, Jumin calling Zen an animal hater. By the time we arrived everyone raced to get out, as Jumin and Zen continued bickering inside the car.

.

Couple days earlier:

Saeran had convinced Jumin at the office, to leave Elizabeth The Third at home this year. Unfortunate as it was, Saeran was looking out for both Zen and Elizabeth’s well-being (from crazy cat lover brother: Saeyoung). Jumin reluctantly agreed protecting Elizabeth from Saeyoung was crucial.

.

Back to the Party:

Upon walking through the door, the shenanigans begun. We were playing all sorts of games, and decorating ornaments to add to Sevens Christmas tree for misfits. Jumin and Zen arguing with Seven about being a misfit, and then arguing with each other for agreeing with each other like cat and dog.

It didn’t damper the mood though, Jaehee and you teamed up in many games. You were helping Jihyun and Jumin when it came time to making ugly Christmas sweaters. Both men obviously didn’t understand the idea of ‘ugly’, as their sweaters were quite sophisticated if not totally fashionable.

Last year was no different except you and Saeran were not apart of the RFA then, Zen was an allergy mess due to Elizabeth, Jumin and Jihyun were drunker than skunks by dinner. Jaehee pointing out that last year seemed less happy then this year, possibly because of the loss of Rika. (Also, Zen was astatic that the damn fur ball wasn’t coming this time.)

Though everyone was in good spirits, you found yourself reminiscing of Christmas when you were younger. Just when you thought you felt yourself going into a mental slump, Seven pulled out another party trick and got you back to high spirits. You were standing under the door way talking to Yoosung, laughing at Zen and Jaehee trying to explain ‘commoner’ things to Jumin, when Seven started chanting.

“KISS, KISS, KISS, KISS!”

Everyone stopped to look to see what Seven was going on about, low and behold; you and Yoosung were standing underneath the mistletoe! Both of you went beat red in the face, Zen quickly scooping in, “She is a young lady, Seven you dirty dog!” Zen ran between the two of you and openly kissed Yoosung in your place.

You, Saeran, Seven, Jihyun were all in stitches (fyi: means laughing). Zen was the least impressed, Yoosung looked as though he was going to die. Jumin and Jaehee flabbergasted at what just happened. After all the games were done, Saeran served dinner. Impressed was the least, boy could that guy cook.

Stuffed turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies of all sorts, flooding of gravy… It wasn’t a traditional Korean Christmas but reminded you of the dinners your parents had cooked for you when you were younger. It was nice that Seven and Saeran planned something today for everyone.

After dinner came secret Santa; everyone was told prior to coming, to buy something ‘no more and no less’ then the amount set for Christmas. They were specifically told that they had to wrap said gifts in a shoe box and then red wrapping paper. Jumin - being Jumin, asked what shade of red, in which Seven told them via chat room; ‘Maroon red’. THEN!!!! They had to print from a computer ‘said name of person’ and stick to the bottom of it. But wait there’s more; the printing had to be in ‘Calibri (body) -font and the font size ‘12’ in black and black only. Not quite understanding at first why you all had to fuss about the details, but then it became crystal clear, it allowed the mystery of secret Santa. (during the handing out bit anyways)

Jaehee had got Yoosung

Yoosung had got Saeran

Saeran got Zen

Zen had Jumin

Jumin had Seven

Seven had Jihyun

Jihyun had You

And you had got Jaehee, it was quite fun. Plus, it was quite easy to figure out who had who from your totally different tastes and spunks in gifts.

Once secret Santa finished, they all relaxed with drinks in hand around the table for a game of Mahjong. Mc never knew how to play but with Jumin, Jihyun and Sevens teaching, after a few rounds she was off and away playing. The twist in game was whoever won the hand had to ask ‘truth or dare’ to the loser of the round. Player could forfeit answering truth or dare question and/or scenario by drinking from their cup. The game was going for quite some time, learning that Jaehee dislikes cotton candy, Seven is willing to do anything you dare him too. Finally, the round goes around again…

Mc had lost the round of Mahjong, and Jihyun won.

“So, truth or dare?” He looked at you with kind eyes. Everyone at the table patiently waited for your response. If you choose dare; you knew that Seven would try to influence his choice, or you could just drink. Feeling though you had come to your peak, if you drank anymore chances were, you’d become a babbling idiot. So…

“Truth”

Jihyun tapped his chin as he looked to Jumin, “What was your childhood like, give us all an insight on who you are and why you are the kindest; sweetest, person in the RFA.”

This question embarrassed you a bit…

You knew any time they’d ask in the chat rooms about your past you were vague. They all seemed to have gone through turmoil of some sorts and intrusted you with their stories… You felt guilty you never really told them yours.

“Well, its kind of sad if I’m supposed to be honest…” Fiddling with the tiles in your hand. Afraid to look up at all the people staring intently at you. “I don’t want to ruin this evening of fun with things that have long since passed. Besides, its kind of a long story…”

“Then let’s pause our game and Mc can jump into story time!” Yoosung cheerfully chimes in. His cheeks were a soft shade of pink, it was clear that Yoosung was tipsy.

“Agreed!” Everyone was quick to answer Yoosung, leaving you feeling flustered even more.

“Uh I would rather drin- ..” reaching for you glass of wine. Saeran was quick to snatch it away, baffled was the least. Why did they care so much? You weren’t anything special, just some girl; some ordinary girl.

You looked to Seven, him and Saeran seemed the quietest. Being hackers, you knew they; kind of had an idea of your past. They both looked into it when you first came to RFA nearly a year ago, come the new year. What a mess they were both in then… and here today sitting side by side during the holiday season. That thought had you smiling, they’ve come such a long way.

“Alright if you want to know so bad… Just promise me one thing? You guys wont look at me any different, don’t pity me, don’t cry for me, and certainly don’t compare me.” You looked to Yoosung as the last of your words came out.

They all sort of gave each other a look before silently nodding their heads in agreement.

“Well… When I was born, I was given up for adoption not even being a week old. I was later adopted by a family here, and here I was raised. My adopted parents died when I was a teenager. My mother when I was 13 and then my father when I was 15. They had no other family and my biological family didn’t….”

 You trailed off slightly, quickly regaining your composure. 

 “I didn’t want to go back to a home so I sort of just lived alone, did schooling and worked nights to pay for a place once the money left to me ran out. It was rough but I got by and now here I am.” You huffed for air after that quick summary.

“I see” Jumin was the first to speak, swirling the glass of red wine in hand. “There’s lot’s you’re not explaining though…are you per say, holding back?” Looking to you.

It was like his grey eyes were piercing through and seeing something you thought you hid well from the world. You glanced down and nodded your head, it was Jaehee next who reached out to you, placing a hand on your hand. “It’s alright, were all here for you. Just as you’ve been there for us, Mc”

It been so long since you truly felt people’s words were more then just words. You were slightly choked by emotions, Zen then, “Jaehee is right, we’ve your back. We might not be the most functional of families but we got you, just as you have helped all of us.” Leaning in to show you an awkward smile.

“You might not be functional Zen, but I am, born perfect in every way.” Jumin quickly adds before sipping his wine.

“You jerk! Why do I even bother with-“

You burst into laughter; true they may be dysfunctional but they were your family now. Maybe it was time you let them into your story… as they let you into theirs.

“Right I guess ill start from the beginning…”

…

…

…

“And then, I met you guys.” Finally looking up from your knees, only to see every single person sat around the table either crying or on the verge of. Even Jumin had a look on his face of utter heart break.

Next thing you knew you were being squished in a hugging mess, that being: Seven, Saeran, Yoosung, Zen, Jihyun and even Jaehee.

“So much for not crying for me guys” Trying to squirm your way out, but to no prevail.

“Everyone has a past Mc, one must grow through what they go through.” Jumin closed his eyes as he spoke to you.

After everyone gave you some love, you were finally able to answer back, “I was also taught growing up, we should practice what we preach, no?”

Jumin’s eyes open wide for a moment, before his mouth curved into a small smile, “Right you are.” Raising his wine glass towards you.

“That’s right Mc, you tell him!” Jihyun offers you his hand in air, high fiving.

The night ended off well, Saeran and Seven drinking a bit too much and crying about they’re childhood and love for ice cream. Yoosung disappeared at some point, and then was found passed out in Sevens bath tub. Zen and Jaehee left before the alcohol really took affect on them. Jumin offered to take you home as he was taking Jihyun. Jihyun who was so incredibly intoxicated; he was practically linked to Jumin’s arm and calling him ‘best buddy’ all the way home.

 Just as you pulled up to your apartment, Jumin got out to lend you his hand, after you said your goodbyes; turning to leave.

“In some Christmas movies, does the gentleman, not get a goodnight kiss?”

You turned around quite quickly to see Jumin’s face, his cheeks were slightly pink, either from the cold or the alcohol. You debated for a moment before making you decision. You took a couple steps towards him, stood on your tip toes and lightly kissed Jumin’s cheek. As you were pulling away, Jumin snaked his arm around your waist and brought you to him once more. Latching onto your lips with his own, the other hand firmly on the back of your head.

Pulling away only after you both seemed to need air, “Goodnight and Merry Christmas, Mc”

END