#(that makes me sound like a hypocrite but i think both can be true at the same time)

[silverdrag0ns]

don't hide this in the tags

"You aren't OK with AI Voices but you're OK with Miku????"

First off, never insult my dearest friend Miku like that ever again.

Second, Miku isn't stealing the voices of other people. That's the issue with AI voices. They're stealing real people's voices. Miku is her own funky little hologram with a funky little hologram voice.

Big difference.

[beanwaterontherocks]

Stress relief

(Hoshina Soshiro)

Pairing: Hoshina Soshiro x gn!Reader (they/them pronouns) Pt2 Pt3 Summary: You and your platoon were sent to Japan's third division base. You get along well with the vice captain, though sparring with him brings way more stress than it relieves. Warnings: Suggestive language and situations, Kissing, 18+ only My first language isn't english, so mistakes may occur. Word count: 1959

You’d heard stories of Japan’s Defense Force back at home and seeing it in person sure didn’t disappoint. Sixteen whole divisions spread over the country. The Tachikawa base, belonging to the Third Division, was a sight to see. A massive structure full of high-tech weapons and skilled officers. You’d been ordered to help out at the base as a show of goodwill. You and your platoon felt a bit out of place at first, coming from a country with less kaiju attacks and a smaller force. But you and your team were willing to help out in any way you could during missions.

You leaned against the balcony, listening to the happy chatter inside the building. It was good that both teams seemed to be getting along, no doubt helped by the casual ‘welcome party’ you’d been greeted with. You fiddled with your half-empty can of beer, as you let out a breath, maybe you shouldn’t be so nervous about this. 

“There you are Commander, I was wonderin’ where you went off to”, a voice spoke and you turned to face Vice-Captain Hoshina. He smiled at you, an expression he seemed to wear a lot, you smiled back politely. “Are we boring ya?” He asked in a teasing tone. You’d pegged him as a more laid-back guy and you’d been right. 

But looking closer, there was something enigmatic about him. His cheerful grin, charming as it was, didn’t always seem sincere. There was more to him than a joking personality. Your interest was definitely piqued. 

“I just needed some fresh air, though I’m glad they’re all having fun”, you responded, watching as he moved to stand a few feet from you, leaning against the balcony too. “Thanks for the warm welcome, I’m glad you guys are more tight-knit like we are”, you spoke and took a sip of your now lukewarm beer. He looked at you for a moment, before glancing at the party through the window behind him. 

“I guess you could say that, though you shouldn’t get too attached, y’know”, he commented and you hummed in agreement. That much was true, it was an unpredictable and dangerous job and anything could happen at any time. There was something you had to point out though, to get back at his teasing earlier. 

“I think that’s a little hypocritical, Vice-Captain Hoshina”, you said, looking at him with a smile. He seemed a little taken back, crossing his arms. “You care a lot about your division, I can tell, otherwise you wouldn’t let them throw parties or even care to make fun of them”, you continued and finished off your drink. “Plus, it’s better to take the risks among friends than among strangers”, you said as you looked up towards the darkening sky. He tilted his head before opening his mouth and…bursting out laughing. You saw him double over and clutch his stomach as he chuckled. 

“Ya sound like some kind of fantasy character, what’s with that?” He said as he continued to wheeze. Although his laugh was cute to listen to (something you felt embarrassed admitting) you still put a hand over your chest, in mock scandal. You were about to speak up when he looked at you, his smile softer than usual. You felt your cheeks heat up, probably just because of the alcohol. “I hope we can get along!”, he said as he straightened his posture, holding a gloved hand out to you. You took his hand, shaking it firmly as you smiled. 

“Me too”, you responded and let go of his hand. 

“So, I heard you use swords when fighting kaiju”, you spoke up, recalling the documents you’d read before coming here. “You don’t see that often, even though it’s pretty effective”, you said and Hoshina raised an eyebrow. 

“You think so?” He asked, a hand resting on his chin. You nodded and explained how optimal it could be for smaller kaiju. There was a much less messy outcome than with guns and it gave more precision to exploit weak spots. Hoshina was silent for a moment before he simply grinned again.

“I heard you like different weapons too, ya use a staff right?” He said and you were a bit surprised, he’d read up on you too. 

“Well, it’s more of a secondary weapon, but I’d really like to spar with you sometime”, you said and Hoshina hummed a bit before nodding. 

“Sure, how about tomorrow night?” He asked, you chuckled in response but you were incredibly interested in seeing him in action. 

“Eager, aren’t we? I’ll take you up on that offer”, you chuckled, this was your chance to see him in action. The two of you rejoined the party and you spent the evening getting to know the officers, occasionally feeling like someone was stealing glances at you. 

It went without saying that being in the Defense Force came with a lot of stress. Daily training regimes, missions, strategizing  and, for you and Hoshina, keeping the officers in line. You had taken to sparring with Hoshina a few times a week to decompress and let it out. Sure, it was nice to relax and recommend books to each other but sparring was definitely the best way to relieve stress. 

Or it would have been, if it wasn’t for how you were distracted by something else.

That something being Hoshina in that skin-tight compression shirt. The way his impressive muscles rippled with every move and how snugly it clung to his defined waist. Though it was hard to take your eyes off his torso, his face was also becoming a problem. 

His jovial expression melted into something more serious when he first took a swing at you. His eyes seemed to open more, exposing that vibrant mauve hue that you wanted to look at even closer. You managed to move to the side and dodge his attack by a hair’s width. You kicked your leg out to throw him off his balance, but he dodged it. Typical, you couldn’t always land a hit on him barehanded, you thought back to earlier this week. You’d gotten your staff to Hoshina’s neck, pressing the wood against his skin and the look he’d given you…like he was daring you to do something. You still weren’t sure what that look meant, but it had been incredibly hot. Here you were thinking like this while he was trying to earnestly spar with you. You mentally slapped yourself as you backed up a bit.

“Hey, how about we make a wager? Whoever loses has to do a favor for the winner”, you suggested, thinking about the nice lunch that the vice-captain salary could get you. Just to think about anything else than the flex of his arms. Hoshina grinned as your match paused momentarily.

“Sure, that sounds fun”, he said teasingly, sending more blood to your face. Damn him. 

You saw his gaze rake over you, preparing himself for whatever you might do. A part deep inside of you hoped that he was looking at you like you did him. But you instantly doubted it, your training clothes were an old t-shirt and biker shorts. You gestured for him to come towards you as you assumed a fighting stance, 

Maybe you were extra distracted or maybe his movements were a bit slower as he lunged at you again. That move seemed way too predictable for Hoshina and you actually managed to catch his fist. 

“Wow, Vice-Captain, is something throwing you off?” You asked, chuckling a bit before you saw his expression. It was that exact same look from before, the one that challenged you, made your heart race so much it thumped in your ears. You couldn’t look anywhere but his face and that led to your defeat. 

He swept your legs out from under you, causing you to fall onto your back, hitting the training room floor. He got on his knees and pinned your wrists down 

“I got ya now”, he said as he leaned over you, dark violet locks framing his face, which was now right in front of yours. He let go of your wrists after three seconds, but neither of you moved away. You tried to keep your gaze upwards, but it slowly drifted down to his lips. His mouth was open slightly, he was breathing heavily. You studied his pointed canines, wondering how they’d feel against your lips. 

The match had been over for a hot minute, yet Hoshina was still this close. The two of you simply looked at each other, engaged in some kind of stalemate. What kind of move should you make? You didn’t want to mess up the steady friendship the two of you had. But you couldn’t ignore the heat radiating off his body or how his locked gaze made you shiver. 

“So, what about that favor?” Hoshina asked, his hand raising, hovering just over the side of your face, like he wanted to cup your cheek. It couldn’t be, was he really having the same feelings? Maybe this was only your only chance to know for sure, without completely messing things up. You looked him in the eye, taking a breath before speaking:

“I’ll do you the favor of letting you kiss me”. 

You waited, had you been wearing your suit, it would have warned you of a dangerously accelerated heart rate. If he didn’t feel the same way, you still had time to frame it as a joke, a cheeky remark like the ones you two always shared. There was no more time to nervously ponder. Because Hoshina leaned down and pressed his lips to yours.

It was a feverous kiss, his hand went to hold your face as he pressed himself even closer. You felt relief wash over you as you kissed him back with matched passion. You wrapped your arms around his neck and ran your tongue across his bottom lip. Hoshina chuckled into the kiss before opening his mouth. Those sharpened canines felt just as good as you’d hoped. He nipped at your lips with them, though never hard enough to draw blood. Hoshina’s other hand went down to your thigh, snaking a finger under the hem of your shorts. He pulled the tight fabric and it snapped against your thigh, making you gasp. 

“How am I supposed to focus when you’re wearin’ these”, he said breathlessly when he pulled away from your lips. You laughed and moved your arms from his neck to his waist, running your palms over his clothed, toned back with a satisfied sigh.

“I guess we’re even then”, you spoke, finding the hem of that godforsaken shirt. You were desperate to get it off and feel more of his skin, more of him. 

But you both decided it’d be better to continue somewhere private. You leaned back on his bed, watching as he crawled towards you and caged your body in with his own. Wasting no time, you tugged at his shirt until he got the message and peeled it off. You felt heat between your legs as you pulled off your own shirt. He stared at you, a look like one he gave you when you were sparring. But there was something else in his gaze, a deep hunger, like he’d been holding it back for a while. 

“We’re far enough away from the others, make as much noise as you wanna”, he said, so close that you could feel his breath on your neck. You put your palm on the back of his head and threaded your fingers into his dark violet locks. You pushed him closer and caught his lips, moving your leg between his. Just like your sparring matches, you’d give it all you had. 

[bloatedandalone04]

Illicit Affairs

➪the one where leon is yours entirely, even though he is married to someone else.

Warnings: cheating, affairs, swearing, unprotected sex, fluffy sex, mentions of cheating, angst, smut, toxic relationships, small amount of ada slander since that is actually a warning i found out, mentions of divorce and all that fun stuff

Word Count: 3.3k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Left the door unlocked, just in case. I hope you had a good day.

That was the text Leon is met with as he enters the house he shared with his wife. His thumbs ghosted over the screen, his mind trying to come up with a good enough answer that wouldn’t leave you feeling cheap. There was nothing he could say through text, he decided, and he ended up pocketing his phone and heading towards his bedroom. 

Ada was sitting against the headboard, picking at her freshly painted red nails with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Her engagement and wedding rings reflected off the bedside table lamp, and Leon wished he cared enough to remember where he had placed his own wedding band after taking it off many weeks ago, but it held no meaning to him. “Late again, Leon,” she muttered, glaring at him as he entered the room. “What was it this time?” 

Leon huffed as he walked towards the dresser. “Work,” he answered and he was being completely truthful, not that she’d ever believe him - which is quite hypocritical, if he had to be honest. He was well aware of the many times she came home late, and the many more times she never came home at all. She was just as bad as him, maybe even worse. “Like last time.”

Ada scoffed, tossing the sheets over her body and crossing her arms. “Liar,” 

She was trying to get under his skin, something she has always been able to do, even back when he was twenty one years old. Now at the age of twenty eight, he had no idea why he still continues to put himself through this. 

He was so sure that what he felt for the woman was love, but after four years with her, he quickly found out that it was lust. He met her when he was just starting out and had no idea what love even was, but he knew that it wasn’t what he felt for her. 

At first he was infatuated with her. It was a cat and mouse game that left him feeling like he could never truly and fully have her, and that was still true to this day. 

He married her, and yet she still wasn’t his. 

The guys she met at the bar. The men she ran into on missions. The rookies who had information she wanted, but didn’t need. She was all of theirs, as well as Leon’s, but never in full. 

Leon kept his back to her as he rolled his eyes and rummaged around in his drawer. “Whatever, Ada,” he muttered, grabbing his grey sweats before opening another drawer. 

“Don’t whatever me, Leon,” she seethed. “Don’t act like you haven’t been sneaking around on me. We both know you have. Some poor, naive girl who thinks you’re actually into her but probably doesn’t even know you’re married to me.”

Leon hated the way she was talking about you, and she was once again getting under his skin. He slams the drawer shut loudly after grabbing a black tee, turning towards his wife with a fire in his eyes. “You’re one to talk,” he growls. “You’ve been sleeping around since before we even got married. You haven’t changed, and I was dumb enough to believe you would.”

Ada’s eyes widened a bit but she tried to hide it by sitting up a little straighter.

He caught her, though. And they both knew it. “Yeah,” he laughs, the sound lacking any humor. “Haven’t been as discreet about it as you thought, huh?”

Leon turns to leave the room, but she wasn’t done playing with him, clearly. “Oh, come on, Leon,” she called out, dropping her attitude and making her voice sound sultry. “We both know how good we are together. Just come to bed with me. We can forget all about this.” 

She pushes the sheets off her body and crawls over to him, kneeling on the bed and running her hand up his arm. “Ada-”

“Shh,” she purrs, reaching her hands up and capturing his lips in a messy kiss. He doesn’t move at all, even though he wants to pull away, he also wants to prove a point. The fact that this was the first kiss they’ve shared in months should be a clear enough sign that this was completely over. She smirks when she pulls away, licking at her slightly wet lips. “See? You feel that?”

Leon didn’t know what he was supposed to be feeling, but he knew that she was trying to coax him into bed with her so he can fuck her and then pretend like their relationship was a normal and healthy one. 

When her hand wanders down his body and is about to touch him through his jeans, his own shoots out and his fingers wrap around her wrist, successfully halting her advances. “I don’t feel a thing,” he says, his voice so serious it had her eyes narrowing as she ripped her hand away from him. 

She sat back in disgust, crossing her arms again. “You can’t leave, Leon,” she states, unaware of just how far gone he is from her control over him. He’s detached from her completely and felt nothing for her but resentment. And maybe a little anger at the years he’s wasted chasing after her when she didn’t want him at all. 

“I want a divorce, Ada,” he says, voice monotone as he turns away and leaves the room. 

She yells harsh words after him but makes no move to stop him, further proving the point that she didn’t care. And neither did he.

Leon hates how much time he’s wasted with her when he could’ve been with you. You could’ve been his, officially, had he not been so afraid to let go of something he’s spent so much of his adulthood holding onto. 

He grabs his keys from off the counter, where he had tossed them not even ten minutes ago when he arrived home, and leaves the house, his mind on you as he hastily types out a reply to you and starts his car.

-

I’m sorry.

You read the text over and over again as you lie on your side in bed. 

What was he apologizing for? For stringing you along? For promising he’s going to leave his wife but never does? For not showing up tonight? 

The night was still young, so he might still show up, but the fact still stands. 

You felt terrible. 

Leon’s marriage was an unhappy one, and you knew he found happiness with you, but he hadn’t made it official yet, nor had he broken things off with Ada yet. Was it all a lie? Does he only come to you for an easy lay? For a sense of normalcy? 

You weren’t sure you wanted the answer. 

Falling in love with him was slowly breaking your heart, but you really didn’t have a choice. Leon was every girl’s dream and only became unfaithful when he grew sick of the lonely nights where his wife went off and fucked half the town. 

From what you know, you’re the only person he’s seeing, and that was enough for you to keep on inviting him to come over and escape from that environment. 

How Ada could ever take him for granted was beyond you. 

You shut off your phone and set it on the nightstand beside you after reading the time. It was nearing twelve in the morning and you were beginning to feel a bit like an idiot after sending that text to him. 

It was an invitation to stay at your house, and you even threw in a dumb line about his day, all because you knew Ada didn’t care enough to ask him that herself. 

As you begin to get more comfortable in bed, the sound of the front door opening then locking pierces your ears. Your mood lifts considerably at the fact that he had shown up after all, but you also knew you would be met with the same old line of ‘I’m going to break up with her, I promise’. 

You really weren’t sure how much more your heart could take. 

Quiet footsteps neared your bedroom, where the door slowly creaked open. “Y/n?” His soft voice called out and you just shifted to let him know that you were still awake. Leon kicks off his boots and drops his sweats and tee onto the top of your dresser before pulling the covers back and moving to lay behind you. “Sweetheart.”

“Hi,” you greet quietly, keeping your back to him. 

“Hi,” he says back, wrapping his arms around you. “I missed you.”

You stiffen slightly. “Did you?” You ask harshly, instantly regretting it when he doesn’t respond. You turn your head and look back at him, seeing guilt swim in his blue eyes, even in the dark room. Sighing, you turn back around. “I missed you, too.”

Leon could hear the tiredness in your voice, and he knew it wasn’t because of how late it was. He knew it was because of his broken promises of leaving his wife, but never sticking to them. Until now. “Baby,” he called softly, leaning in and pressing a kiss to the side of your head, smiling at the way you lean into his touch. “I asked for a divorce.”

That had your eyes widening and you tried to turn around, but his arms kept you still. “Really?” You ask as you settle against him once again. When he nodded and hummed, you added, “When?”

“Before I came here,” he answered, tangling his legs with yours under the sheets. 

Your lips tremble as you try not to get too ahead of yourself. “Leon,” you nearly whisper. 

“It’s over,” he confirmed, kissing your head again. “I promise, this is the last time. She doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.” 

“And me?” You felt selfish for asking, but you needed to know that you weren’t the only one feeling this between you and him. 

Leon’s hand slides under your shirt as he pulls your body closer to his. “You’re my girl,” he mumbles. “And I love you.”

Your head turns again and you keep your back to his chest as you grin. “You love me?” 

He nods, leaning in and brushing his lips against yours. “So much,” 

Reaching behind you, your hand tangles in his hair as you pull his head closer to yours. “I love you, too,” you confess, pressing your lips to his afterwards in a kiss that was all smiles. “I missed you, Leon.”

Leon runs his hand higher up your body and strokes the undersides of your breasts. “I missed you, too,” he says as he kisses along your neck. “I thought about you all day.”

“Leon,” you hummed, gripping his hair tighter as his fingers began to tease your nipples. His thumb and index finger gently pinch and pull at the buds, making your legs squeeze around his. “God.”

With the arm that is pinned under your body, his fingers continue to tease your chest while his other hand slides down your body. “I need you, sweetheart,” he nearly begs. “Please.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt like this about Ada, and it was clear that you had completely changed his perspective on what a real, happy relationship looked and felt like. 

You remove your hand from his hair and wrap your fingers around his wrist, sliding his hand lower down your body until he is softly rubbing your clit through your panties. “Take me, Leon,” you request in a whisper, reaching behind you so you could gently palm him through his jeans. “I’m yours.”

Leon kisses you deeply, sliding his hand in between the lace and your skin so he could properly tease your clit. “All mine,” he stated when you pulled away and moaned. “‘M all yours, too, baby.” 

You whimper when his index finger gathered up your wetness before sinking into you knuckle deep. “Leon,” you moan quietly, struggling to unzip his jeans from the position, but somehow managing to.

“God, you’re so perfect,” he murmured, kissing your shoulder blade. He thrusts his finger a couple of times before adding his middle and allowing his thumb to rub bruising circles onto your clit. “Everything I could ever want.”

This is how it’s supposed to be. 

You never pressured him to do anything, never forced anything or broke his trust in any way. It felt so right with you, like how a relationship should. 

He didn’t have to force himself to love you, that was something that came naturally, and quite quickly. 

Running into you at that bar nearly seven months ago was one of the best things that has ever happened to him, and he wouldn’t take that day back for anything in the whole world. 

“Leon,” you moan and it’s the sweetest sound he’s ever heard. “Please, fuck, I need you.” 

“I’m right here,” he promised, kissing the side of your head as he slowed down the fucks of his hand in order to help your own rid him of his uncomfortable jeans. “You want this?” He asks, just to be sure you weren’t thinking this was all he came here for. 

Really, he would’ve been completely content with spending the night fully clothed and in your arms, but he was also more than okay with ending his day with you wrapped around him. 

“I want this,” you kiss him deeply, the angle making your neck hurt a bit but you don’t care. You kick off your panties as you ask, “Do you?”

Another thing he wasn’t used to, the question of consent that sounded so sweet coming from you. “Always,” he answered, kissing you again when you reached back and pulled him free before guiding him to your slick entrance. He slips into you with a deep groan, the quiet gasp you emit making his head spin in the best way. “I love you. I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

You shake your head and reach back to grip his hair as he pulls your leg to rest over his. “I think I would’ve waited forever, Leon,” you confessed as he began to slowly rock into you. 

He grunted quietly at your words and felt his whole body heat up, as well as his heart begin to race. He had never felt this way before, and he was glad he had found the person to experience this with at a still young age. 

Leon didn’t ever want to let you go after the first night he met you, and that only intensified as the months went on. “Yeah?” He asked as his hand settled on your hip, his other arm wrapping tightly around you. “I can promise you this, baby, I wouldn’t have made you wait that long. But I love you for telling me that.”

You lean back and kiss him, your brows furrowing at the slow fucks of his hips. “I love you, too, Leon,” you say back, placing your hand on his that was still tightly gripping your waist. “I just want you to be happy.”

He kissed along your neck, his teeth nipping at various spots. “You make me happy,” he rasped, pulling your body impossibly closer to his as he loved on you in more ways than one. “I’ve never been happier.”

You moan at his words, your heart swelling with pride and a bit of shock at the fact that you were, it seems like, the only person who truly has his entire heart, and the only one who has made him feel like this. 

At the sound of Leon’s quiet grunts, you allow yourself to lean back and against him completely, the assurance that he was yours entirely after tonight at the front of your mind. 

“You make me happy, too,” you say as you bury the side of your face in your pillow. Leon hums in response, pushing your hair away from your neck with his nose before kissing the skin there. “Leon…can I?”

He opens his eyes and looks down at you, noting the way your head was turned so your lips were ghosting against the base of his throat. Without you even finishing your question, he knew what you were asking, and he somehow got even more turned on at your request. 

A deep grunt leaves his mouth as he nods, gripping your hip tightly and thrusting into you. “Yeah, baby,” he answered. You smile and moan quietly before kissing his neck, your lips teasing his spotless skin. He grunts again, tilting his head a bit and exposing more of his neck to you. “Do it, baby. Please.”

You give in and suck a mark onto the base of his throat, feeling the pulse of his heartbeat against your lips as you stay there for a bit. He groaned loudly, and the thought of Ada seeing the hickey when he returned back to her with divorce papers sent his mind into a frenzy. He wanted her to see it after seemingly assuming that he had no one other than her. Oh, how wrong she is.

Pulling away with a lopsided grin, you bury your face in the pillow again when he sped up the pace of his hips.  

He couldn’t wait for this to become his normal life soon. The sound of your sweet moans filling your room played on repeat in his head whenever he was away from you, and your kind smile was the only thing he thought about when he went to sleep. 

“You’re everything I want,” he promised as his hand slipped from your waist and found your clit once again. Your body shuddered against his as a loud moan left your mouth, and you reached a hand down to grip his wrist. “Everything to me.”

“Leon,” you whimper and arch your back a bit as you feel your high quickly approach. Your hand wraps tighter around his wrist as your moans increase in volume, chanting a multitude of “Please.”

“You close, sweet girl?” He asked, already knowing the answer as he felt you clench helplessly around him. 

“Yes,” you replied in a breathy whisper, pulling his hand from in between your legs and pressing it against your chest. “Please, Leon.”

He wraps his hand around your breast, his thumb rubbing against your nipple through your shirt. You cry out and he feels your walls spasm a bit as you come around him, your core sucking him in even deeper and begging him to mark it as his own. “Good girl,” he praised, kissing all along your neck while you writhe against him. “Good girl, baby.”

“Leon,” you whispered, leaning back into him again and turning your head so you can brush your lips against his. 

“I know,” he rasped, fucking you through your sensitivity. “‘M gonna come, too, baby.”

“I want it,” you begged, tangling your hand in his hair. 

And he would never deny you of something you wanted. 

He groaned and cursed under his breath, his thrusts halting altogether as he leaned down to kiss you again. You moan against his mouth, your fingers gently massaging his head as you both came down from your highs. 

When he pulled out of you, your body turned to face his. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you kiss him deeply and tangle your legs with his again. “You really mean it? It’s really over between you and her?” You ask quietly when you break the kiss, your fingers gently tracing his jawline. 

Leon turned his head and kissed your fingertips as he nodded. “It’s over, sweetheart,” he swore, kissing your forehead after. “I’m all yours. I always was.”

[sydsaint]

*frantically drops this on the TL and runs away* The Pepsi man is fucking haunting me.

Summary: The reader has a jaded past with Punk and never thought she'd have to see him again. Until Survivor Series.

"Thanks for the assist, Y/N. Good looking out." Randy pats your arm gently with a friendly smile. 

"When it comes to Rhea? No problem at all, Randy." You nod as the rest of your Wargames team files out of the cage. 

You mingle with the team while laughing at the misfortune of Judgment Day still lingering in the cage. Then it happens. 

Cult of Personality blasts through the arena speakers and you choke on your laugh. Your eyes snap to the top of the ramp and you watch in disbelief as a figure walks through the curtain as the crowd screams at the top of their lungs. 

CM Punk. 

The arena becomes almost deafening as Punk runs around and enjoys his comeback with the crowd all cheering his name as loud as they can.

"You alright, N/N?" Jey sets a hand on your shoulder making you finally look away from the top of the ramp. 

"Fine. I'm fine." You nod. "Come on, let's head backstage. I'm sure that Hunter will want us for the media scrum in a bit." 

The group nods and everyone starts moving up the ramp toward the curtain. You wedge yourself between Sami and Jey and try to look as inconspicuous as possible. The group all pass Punk as he makes his way down the ramp and you do your absolute best to avoid his gaze. Because you know that if you do catch his eye then it's all over for you. 

Luck isn't on your side tonight, because as soon as you happen to glance to the side to smile at a fan holding a sign for you, Punk walks by. Your gaze meets a pair of enticing blue eyes and you curse under your breath. 'fuck' You whisper. 

"You sure that you're okay, Y/N?" Jey checks on you again once everyone is backstage. 

"I'm alright, Jey." You insist with another nod. "I'm just surprised is all. Just like everyone else is." You assure him. 

Jey nods and drops the subject for the moment. Everyone mingles around some more while waiting to see if anyone is needed for the media scrum. Jey and Cody get called to answer a few questions, and Seth wanders off to find Becky. This leaves you with Sami and Randy. 

"Hey, I just remembered something." Randy turns to you while you're talking to Sami. "Didn't you and Punk used to date before he left the company the first time?" He asks you. 

"We weren't dating!" You grind your teeth. 

Randy's eyebrows widen a bit at your outburst and he nods. "Right, sorry." He apologizes. "You knew him though, right? You were just starting out as a trainee if I remember right." 

"Yeah, I just got hired." You nod. "And now I'm a 5-time champion with absolutely no interest in CM Punk." You insist. though it's more to yourself than Randy and Sami. 

"No interest at all huh?" A familiar voice sounds behind you and you can already feel a headache coming on. "Well, I don't know about that, Y/N. Saying  you have zero interest in me is a little harsh, don't you think?" Punk comes sauntering through the curtain, still obviously high off the hype from his return. 

You lock eyes with Punk again but feel more confident in meeting his gaze this time. "Read my lips, hypocrite. Not interested." You answer him firmly. 

"Hypocrite?" Punk laughs and your stomach does a flip. "Sounds to me like you're overcompensating for something, sweetheart." He winks at you. 

"Oh you'd know all about overcompensating, wouldn't you?" You fire right back at him. 

Punk lets out another laugh and you know that you're starting to lose the battle. "Come on, sweetheart. We both know that just ain't true." He flashes a smug smile at you. 

"Alright!" Sami breaks up the dick-measuring contest with an awkward laugh. "Y/N, Randy and I are gonna head back to the locker room." He informs you. "You want to come with?" He offers you an easy way out of this whole situation. 

"Awe, leaving so soon, Y/N?" Punk flashes a fake frown. "But we were just getting to the fun part." 

Your mouth twitches and you turn to Sami. "I'll be there in a minute." You inform him. "I've got one final demon from my past that needs to be taken care of." You turn back to Punk with a scowl. 

"Oh, so I'm a demon now?" Punk teases you. 

"No." Yo, turn back to Punk. "You're a manipulator and a hypocrite." 

Another chuckle falls from Punk's lips as Randy and Sami walk off. "From what I remember, you didn't really mind being manipulated, sweetheart." He reminds you. 

"That was 10 years ago." You remind him right back. "I'm not some starstruck little girl fawning over the great CM Punk anymore. When you compare careers? You should be the one on your knees begging for my attention." You add. 

"You want me on my knees, sweetheart? All you have to do is ask." Punk taunts you. 

Your face heats up a smidge and you bite the inside of your cheek. Punk smiles as you wrack your brain for a comeback to his lewd remark. 

"Still speechless when it comes to me, huh, Y/N." Punk doesn't let up on his teasing. 

"Big talk coming from the main fired from two major companies for acting like an entitled brat." You fire back at him. 

"Oooo, ouch." Punk laughs your insult off. "And what have you been up to while I've been gone, Y/N?" He asks you. 

An opportunity presents itself and you don't hold back. "Main eventing Wrestlemania in front of hundreds of thousands of people." You remind him. "While you were doing what? Sitting on your couch with your dingy ass dog watching me be better than you? Or what? Getting into fights with kids that used to worship you like a hero?" You make a jab at his short-lived AEW career. 

Punk bows his head with a smile, acknowledging the burn. "Touche." He puts his hands up in defeat. "I'm staying at the same hotel as you tonight. Room 413." He steps towards you. "You talk a lot of game sugar, let's see if you can still back it up." He leans in and whispers in your ear before walking off with a self-satisfied smile. 

You remain in place as Punk walks off. "Fuck me." You groan when you think he's out of earshot finally. 

"Oh, I plan to, sweetheart!" Punk answers from across the room followed by a sinister laugh. 

[theblogwithoutfear]

watching daredevil s3 and i found it odd in the flashback scene that karen, who had an experience with addiction in the past, couldn't approach matt's vigilantism with a bit more empathy. idk it just feels kinda out of character they made her react that way, saying "you certainly sound like an addict' with a judgemental tone. they really made karen and foggy hit the audience over the head with their treatment of matt like an addict and it just feels icky.

especially when compared to how karen reacts to anything frank does with softness and compassion even when frank repeatedly pushes her away like matt does, isn't that a bit unfair?

Get ready for another long post folks

I understand what you're saying here, and honestly I think you're right in some ways. I think it goes back to what I was saying earlier about Karen being flawed. She's not perfect. Like Matt, she can be a hypocrite at times. She can also lash out in anger and judgement. That's just a very human thing—and also, something that Matt does consistently through the series. They're all people, they're all flawed, they're all blind (no pun intended) to their own hypocrisies and faults.

Also, and this is just my personal opinion, but I think she's also reacting that way because she's an addict. She has experience with what it's like; she knows how damaging and difficult it can be. And with Karen, when she finds out that Matt's Daredevil, she's already poised to see it as a bad thing. He gets beaten to shit on the daily, has countless near-death experiences, and literally puts his personal life on hold and lets everything fall apart in service of his alter ego. Which, to be clear, is definitely something that Matt needs to do—he has to be Daredevil. He can't hear the things he hears and not suit up. So it makes sense that he has to sacrifice so much of his personal life.

But at the time that Karen finds out about Matt being Daredevil, Matt has not yet learned how to balance his work and personal life. They even make a joke about that at the end of season 3. (Karen: "You're going to move back into Matt Murdock's apartment?" Matt: "Yeah, yeah. I just figured he has a healthier life-work balance.") At the time Karen learns the truth, DD has taken over Matt's life and screwed everything up. Not to mention everything that happened with Elektra and the terrible position that put Karen in. He literally had an emotional affair with her, and Karen sees her in his bed and never gets an explanation. For all she knows, Matt fully cheated on her while in his DD persona.

And then there's the fact that Matt literally told Karen "I don't need him to be a part of me anymore. And I don't want him to be." Matt himself, at the time of The Defenders, is trying to let go of Daredevil. We as the audience know that it's a terrible idea, but Matt mistakenly believes that giving up DD will fix his life. The way The Defenders is written, it seems as though Matt has asked for Karen and Foggy's help in giving up DD. So of course they're both frustrated when Matt takes up the suit again; not because they think it's bad, but because Matt himself has framed DD as an addiction and has told them he wants to give it up. They're frustrated at Matt for his flip flopping, his "relapsing" if you will. Sure, they should be more compassionate. That's absolutely true. But Karen and Foggy are only human; and after seeing the way that DD has torn Matt's life to shreds (and their lives too!), it makes sense that they're frustrated with him.

The other thing is, the show itself is absolutely framing the DD persona as an addiction, from the very beginning of season 1. By the end of season 3 (and probably in the scrapped seasons 4 and 5, we'll see what Born Again will do) Matt has learned to balance the lawyer and the vigilante; his violence becomes something he can control. He's learned to walk that tightrope. However, at the very beginning of the show, it's clear that Matt's violence controls him. In that first monologue in the confessional, when Matt talks about "letting the Devil out," he's talking about the addictive power of violence. You also see it in episode 2 when he's torturing that Russian and he says "It's not just the boy. I'm doing this because I enjoy it."

All of this really comes to a head in season 2; Frank Castle points it out. He says "I think you and me are the same" and he says "You're one bad day away from being me." Because one of the core struggles of Daredevil, both as a show and as a character, is between the use of violence to prevent harm, and the use of violence as vengeance/emotional release. And despite Matt's moral grandstanding, he consistently veers into the latter. He never crosses the line into murder, but his violence is Matt's way of releasing the anger inside him—of "letting the Devil out." And that, frankly, is addictive for him. It's why it is so difficult for him to refrain from killing Fisk at the end of season 3. The emotional release of extreme violence, especially under ethically and morally justifiable circumstances, is very difficult for him to resist. It's in that last episode of season 3 that he really overcomes this, and realizes he can control the Devil inside him, rather than the other way around.

All this is to say, the show frames Matt's violence/DD persona as an addiction, and his arc is focused on overcoming this and finding a balance. So for Karen, who has a canon background of addiction, it makes sense that she reacts the way she does. She has little patience for him because a) she's human and flawed, and b) she knows what addiction did to her and her family, and she's scared what it will do for Matt (and Foggy and herself), and it causes her to lash out at him.

As for your point about the way she treats Frank Castle, I think it comes down to the fact that Frank is usually honest with her. Karen very vocally disapproves of what Frank does and all his methods, but she knows that he's honest with her, so she can meet him where he's at and they can go from there. Matt, meanwhile, has spent their whole relationship being deceptive and hiding things constantly (and yes, obviously he had good reasons for that, but it doesn't change the fact that it's very shitty for Karen to have to deal with). Frank doesn't have the same problem with work/life balance; he doesn't have two different identities. He doesn't hide and he doesn't lie in the same ways that Matt does. So I think it's fair for Karen to be mad at Matt for a while. After everything that went down—after Matt spent their entire relationship lying, tanked the law firm, destroyed his own life, and not to mention the whole Elektra debacle, all of this while they were dating—no wonder Karen's upset. She'd have to be a literal saint not to be!

There's also a lot to be said about Matt/Elektra and Karen/Frank being parallels to each other in the way that those relationships play out, but that's a topic for another day.

Anyway, I don't know how I've become the Karen Page Defense blog, but I'm not complaining lol.

[cthulhuwritesstuff]

Let’s talk about escapism.

In case of these two peculiar lovable dummies, escape from reality they face on daily basis (not to mention that those realities are also what both of them believe they deserve) is being with each other.

Both realities are quite different (which is the issue number one), and at this point, I believe we all know what those realities are.

However, when brought down to crisp clear simplicity: they both suffer from tremendous amounts of guilt and are both in trauma-induced, nerve-wracking, depressing state of survival mode. They understand each other very well, because it takes one to know one, but neither of them is allowed to see that. It is more of an instinct that they do not question in fear of breaking their little kaleidoscope image of a fantasy where they just are.

Means of escape in this case is sex, where both of them get to let go of that baggage for a while and ignore the existence of it altogether.

This tactic, no matter how enticing and addictive, is still just a means to an end, and it has a low shelf-life expectancy.

They are both aware, partially or subconsciously, of this engagement and are both unwilling to to let go of it because “You are the only thing that makes me feel alive and not just like I am surviving Hell.” (Literally)

BUT, as long as it’s not addressed head on, it is not real and it can’t hurt them, and as we already know — real things in their lives hurt them and are what makes them miserable.

Stolas is aware of that. He is way ahead of Blitz when it comes to that realization.

Stolas himself mentions the adoration and fear he has toward their escape method several times, in his songs.

Stolas not only knows he’s at risk of losing his escape method, but due to him bringing these feelings he had developed for Blitz forward into his reality, they suffocate him just like the rest of his life does. He has no capacities to rationalize it all, he has never healed. So he convinces himself, despite hope and reason, that Blitz doesn’t want the real him.

He had made this decision even before Blitz came in, whether he liked it or not. The spark Blitz brings into his life is far too small to battle the overbearing guilt of simply existing. He trained and fed that monster for years.

His hope sounds more like foolishness and naïveté to him, because “How can someone love me?”

So he leaves the situation before the conflict begins, because that is how he copes. He wants to escape the crashing “reality he deserves” (which is being all alone and sad), and no matter how much we know that’s not true, right now, Blitz is a part of that reality for good, not his escape method anymore.

Stolas’ image is all he has, and keeping himself composed is literally all he has left when he finally faces Blitz. When Blitz doesn’t allow him to leave, doesn’t understand why he is being “dismissed” and challenges him, the dam breaks and Stolas now forces him out to get some of his equilibrium back. That creates a whole new problem I cannot wait to see addressed in the future episodes. Stolas will most probably overcompensate for that last “show of weakness” in some way. Let’s remember: Blitz had never seen Stolas cry before, and honestly, I don’t think anyone who matters has.

On the other side, Blitz has the realization of “this is real” the moment Stolas offers him the crystal with no strings attached.

“I can always do better” said after Stolas had already placed his freedom on the palm of his hand is him asking not to be forced to face the fact that this is not just a fantasy world anymore.

“Keep it the way it was because that doesn’t hurt” might be the words to go by, and Blitz— no matter the fact that he hears exactly what Stolas is telling him and understands it, too — is now terrified.

Because Blitz is not good enough. He is not a reliable person. He is trash. He is at the bottom of the food chain. He is a murderer. A selfish, heartbreaking freak. He is a hypocrite and a pervert. He is undeserving of understanding, of comfort, of grace.

And that feeling of instant pain and rage you get when you read those words is exactly what he fights against each day while telling all those things to himself.

None of it true, yet Blitz believes it wholeheartedly.

He attempts to push that away again by slipping into the all-too-easy role play, into silly make believe, not because he is cruel, not because he is obtuse, but because he is desperate to keep the door to his escape route open. To keep the fantasy going, because he has no capacities to realize his feelings (or Stolas’ feelings) yet.

And when he is, yet again, cut off, is where the fight or flight kicks in and his inner voices start screaming.

There must be a real, tangible reason that Stolas is doing this. There must be some kind of an endgame that Blitz can understand. Blitz needs his equilibrium back now, and there’s the point of breaking.

Stolas is probably getting bored of him. Stolas now knows what he likes and that he can get it anywhere he wishes, so he is throwing Blitz away and trying to masquerade it as a kind gesture. And to Blitz, who takes pride in standing his ground and never backing down, who despises being looked down on and being pitied, this is absolutely infuriating. It is downright insulting.

Rage pours forth, and he is borderline incoherent, but everything he says is a precise image of what he thinks of himself first and what he wants Stolas to do second. There is nothing to land on however, Stolas is not his escape anymore, so when Blitz falls into anger, he burns to crisp and says things he doesn’t mean.

Escaping into Stolas was all too easy and he had taken it for granted — both of them had. Stolas shows this by, even for a moment, hoping Blitz would say “yes, I will stay” at the drop of a dime, and Blitz by expecting Stolas to take everything he dishes out, bear traps and insults included, and still want to be around him.

Neither of these things happen, neither gets to escape themselves. The spell is broken and now they are both hurt, they are both alone. They are equally at fault when it comes to that fight and they are equally overdue for facing their own demons. They were, at the end of the day, singing two different songs and there was no room for really understanding the other side when there’s already so many assumptions, insecurities, self-hatred and conclusions about what they had birthed from pain and previously accumulated fear.

We are not supposed to be told this straight up through the show. Neither of them is supposed to say this aloud because real life doesn’t work that way, and I love that. It is very raw and visceral and it is very well crafted.

As I said before, I will say it again: miscommunication in this episode was done flawlessly and I cannot wait to see how it all gets resolved.

[vintageseawitch]

this is what i think of when third party voters go around acting morally superior because they don't want to get their hands dirty like the rest of us. they're toddlers having temper tantrums because instead of using the system in a way that could benefit them in the long term like the extremist Republicans have been doing for decades, third party voters refuse to participate in local civics & then claim the entire country is already fascist. they're so cute in their naivety if they think the US can't get any worse.

what the fuck do you think will happen if you try to protest against a government with a military as massive, lethal, & expensive as ours. who do you think will be sacrificed first? oh what's that? crickets? thought so. i'm a white woman but i will absolutely use my voice to point out leftists can be racist as fuck & the anti-blackness in your spaces can be absolutely fucking wild. not everyone leftist is white, but many that are can be pretty problematic.

if you think i'm selfish then fine. if you state that you would gladly exchange my life for a Palestinian like one of you said in a comment to me a few weeks ago then fine. i'm out here fighting to make sure the people who live here in this country don't experience our own Holocaust.

if you have a problem with people wanting to fight this while claiming you're anti-genocide, you're a fucking liar & a hypocrite. you won't know what the fuck to do in a true fascist country. i don't doubt there are pockets of fascism already existing here but you thinking it's already the worst it can be is as infuriating as people who think the government is creating their massive hurricanes using weather machines. you sound just as childish & delusional. you already sound like children because you will never take responsibility for your choices if it ends up helping him win.

jill stein's campaign is a sham. she is deliberately running as a spoiler. she's a wealthy white woman who lives in a mostly white affluent neighborhood. she's going around lecturing black people about white supremacy. she is getting funds from Republicans as well as help from trump's lawyers. Lockheed Martin has given her money. she's involved in shady as fuck index funds for companies that harm the environment. she only started talking about Gaza during this election cycle to hit you in the feelings so she can bank on it. she made a whole stink about needing a recount, raised a bunch of money for that, & then that money disappeared who knows where. do you all hear this? do you care? no, you're just like maga with their orange Jesus. you don't give a FUCK about stein's red flags because she's "different."

if Harris loses & you blame anyone but yourselves, you're cowardly traitors who threw us regular Americans to the wolves because of your precious fucking principles. history has shown time & time again that protest voting typically allows something worse to take control. it's hardly ever beneficial to the people. you're vile. you don't want to make this world a better place by allowing so many near you to suffer & die. if both sides are the same then please tell me you're okay with another trump presidency. or just shut the fuck up.

i look forward to more potentially heartwarming messages saying that my life doesn't mean shit from people who allegedly are against the death penalty & are pro-human rights 🥰

please vote, don't stop talking about Project 2025, etc. i hope enough of us vote in a way that these pathetic third party voters don't gain any kind of traction. at this point i'm just angry at their hypocrisy when they don't even listen to other protestors who live here & are begging them to not vote third party. i refuse to listen to y'all not take responsibility for your part. Project 2025 will hurt us all but apparently you're okay with that or you think it's already here. smooth brain takes all around. anyways good luck & stay safe to anyone who votes blue 💙

[weebsinstash]

Now that I saw that doodle Vox made again, I'm just wondering how tf he knew Alastor has hooves

Also noticed that he was a lil fixated on Al's ass in that same doodle so there's that :>

I literally searched the Hazbin wiki for the source and couldn't find it but I've seen multiple people posting some screenshot of some website that says, Velvette previously stated Vox had an Alastor body pillow, and I don't know if that's an old Voxtagram post or more recent but it's been living in my head rent free ever since

Like there have been so many Viv streams and q&a's that have mildly spoiled things or mentioned facts that have since become non canon so I'm not sure what to listen to anymore but dude, reading the wiki of all the amalgamated facts is A TRIP. Vox is Actually Totally Correct: despite Alastor having his gentlemanly persona and some weird "serial killer moral code, like dexter", he canonically has awful oral hygiene and both Vivzie and... Fautisse? Have mentioned this. His demon form has black gums. Vivzie said he "probably doesn't prioritize oral hygiene" and also probably wasn't a cannibal in life so that's literally a new hobby he picked up in death so also um. THE SECOND THIS MAN HAD FREE REIGN AND THERE WAS NO RULE OF LAW OR CONSEQUENCES HE DECIDED TO START EATING PEOPLE SO LET THAT SINK IN.

You start reading Alastor's wiki page and it makes it pretty clear he's like DERANGED, hypocritical, he's like borderline a megalomaniac? It's all hidden behind this, persona, this wall he puts up, his well put together demeanor that allegedly never cracks, but underneath his showmanship he's a haughty, insecure, judgy, gossipy, genuine FREAK who responds with insults and violence whenever he can who relishes in trolling people and scaring them, literally enjoys knowing when he's making people uncomfortable

I have so many conflicting feelings but like PRETTY SURE HIS VERSE IN THE FINALE WAS A VILLAIN SONG, HE'S LITERALLY SINGING ABOUT BEING PISSED AND WANTING TO RETALIATE BECAUSE HE'S BEING FORCED TO DO STUFF HE DOESN'T WANT TO

THUS

I AM CONVINCED VOX IS JUST A BOTTOM AND A SLUT WHO THINKS ALASTOR IS JUST REALLY COOL AND HAS A ONE SIDED PATHETIC BOY CRUSH

Bro the sound I fucking made when his wiki trivia says he's been described as "painfully white, like phlegm in the back of your throat white" NO DONT DO MY TV MAN LIKE THIS 😭🤣

Anyways, you've probably seen the posts but for someone who claims to be so hip and modern, Vox goes out of his way to dress similarly to Alastor. The coat with lapels in the front and a tail in the back, a bow tie with a cravat, cuffed sleeves, intentionally or not the color contrast of Vox's hands resembles Alastor's and Vox CAN customize his body...

He's just. I just completely forget sometimes that Alastor literally called him OLD PAL in episode 3 and yes he was obviously saying it to talk down to him but like ALASTOR DID ACKNOWLEDGE HISTORY BETWEEN THEM, and also oh wait what's this, Vivzie has confirmed Vox and the Vees are major antagonists of Season 2 and that Vox and Alastor's history is going to be expanded upon so.... radiostatic shippers stay winning ha ha

I read a post that I meant to reblog that was something like "Vox is actually an incredibly cunning charismatic manipulative businessman who is a legitimate threat and we see this for all of 5 minutes and the second Alastor is mentioned he starts completely coming apart" and it's SO TRUE, he can be ur angel or ur devil. He's a legitimately OP threat and he's also A PATHETIC SAD FAILHUSBAND. Give me Vox who's efficiently marketing more hypnosis equipment to substantially grow his own wealth and manipulating his shareholders and then he's going back to his computer room with some popcorn and kicking his little feeties as he watches his darling and Alastor on like 30 different monitors. Give me Vox who can know the INSTANT someone is trying to go behind his back and double cross him because he has mass surveillance all over the city and he's using his endless resources to develop high end 3d printers to make posable figures of his crush and Alastor.

Give me Vox who loses his cool and insults you to your face and you two get into a huge argument and maybe Velvette and Valentino lash out at you in defense of him and he's going to his room and crying from frustration into his body pillows totally not plural, totally not ones of you and Alastor and calling himself a stupid idiot because he hurt your feelings and then spends the next like week SUFFOCATINGLY showing up almost every single place you are and embarrassing himself as he tries to bond with you and prove to you what CLEARLY AWESOME boyfriend material he is

[memesfromstuff]

* THE BOYS S01E01 STARTERS.

"how's he gonna find his dick? it's invisible."

"get up, get up! come on, come on!"

"stay back. just stay the fuck back!"

"what are you smiling at?"

"you okay?"

"can i… can i get a selfie?"

"i really need to talk to you about something."

"later, kid."

"i'd like to make an appointment for you to come over and lay some cable."

"that doesn't mean what you think it means."

"laying cable means sex."

"that's disgusting."

"despite your best efforts, i'm actually still hungry."

"i'm actually more hungry now."

"where are we gonna go after all this hot talk?"

"what was i supposed to do? kick his door down."

"i said okay."

"yeah, but you didn't mean it."

"i don't think that's… i don't think that's true."

"well excuse me for waiting."

"you ever heard of chivarly?"

"listen, this is about you getting what you deserve."

"hey, don't you ever besmirch billy joel."

"i can't stop, i can't stop, i can't stop, i can't stop."

"let the energy go through the wall."

"you should look away."

"i hated it. i mean i can still smell the hairspray."

"but it wasn't a joke to me."

"since when did hopeful and naive become the same thing?"

"i mean why would you get into this business if not to save the world?"

"just, uh, don't get upset, okay?"

"i sign this and i can't talk about it?"

"look, i know you're upset, but we're just trying to help."

"then say you're sorry."

"i mean, you people say 'our condolences' and 'my sympathies' and 'our

regrets', but nobody can look me in the fucking eye and say 'i'm sorry!'"

"i'm not signing anything, get out."

"can i think about it?"

"we could really use the press right now."

"don't worry, i didn't get the job."

"if you're negative, negative things happen to you."

"come sit with me."

"good for you. you want to make this right, what happened. but you can't."

"this is a lot of money. we could really use it."

"be realistic."

"you can't do this."

"you don't have the fight, you never have."

"i'm sorry, but it's true."

"are all these people here for me?"

"i- i haven't done anything yet."

"yeah, that's why we love you."

"so, you ready for your life to change?"

"pretty cool, huh?"

"i used to stand in the mirror, pretending to be where i am right now."

"on my first day, i felt like a fraud. but the good news is, everybody feels that way."

"and hey, we're a team now. we'll help each other out."

"i hope that's not inappropriate to say."

"settle down, we're just talking."

"look, i know that you're powerful. i get it."

"your powers are no joke."

"goes to show you, doesn't it? the bollocks people will believe, if you get them

scared enough."

"cool. cool, cool."

"i'm not gonna piss you about. i heard what happened."

"i'm sorry, who are you?"

"i said who the hell are you, how do you know that?"

"listen, i was thinking that you and me should have a bit of a chat."

"you don't sound like a fed."

"you got it all wrong. it's what i can do for you."

"if you knew half the shit they get up to… fucking diabolical."

"how do you spank a supe?"

"you'll love it."

"thank you for an extremely weird conversation."

"i don't wanna go to a second location with you."

"this is your one and only, mate. once i go i'm gone."

"what have you got to lose that you ain't already lost?"

"where are we?"

"keep your mouth shut."

"fucking hypocrite."

"you want to hear something crazy?"

"dude, that's nasty."

"they're fucking laughing."

"so what are you gonna do about it?"

"oh, for chrissakes. clean yourself up."

"never let them see you like this."

"someone's fucking hiding something."

"like what, like i'm fucking james bond?"

"no, no. i can't, okay?"

"i'm not an infiltrator."

"i'm sorry, i'm just gonna fuck it up."

"i'm not… i'm not like you."

"i know, i know, it's a tough swallow."

"i think maybe you can."

"friendship does cut both ways."

"i don't know what you're talking about."

"i'm fine, i'm just having a bad day."

"and… i didn't fight. and now i just feel sick."

"turns out i'm not who i thought i was."

"sorry, i didn't mean to just dump all of that on you."

"just 'cause you fall on your ass doesn't mean you have to stay there."

"that's not who you are. so, who are you?"

"i'm a fighter. i'm gonna fight. i'm gonna take that son of a bitch's head clean

off his body."

"little scary, but- but cool."

"okay, man. i'm in."

"don't want to be late to your first official meeting."

"i had a whole welcome speech planned."

"beginning to wonder if you'd even show up. all that pressure, it's a lot for

anyone to swallow."

"i'm here, and i'm not going anywhere."

"can we get back to this, please? this is a serious crime."

"now, what i do want to hear, is who you saved this week. huh?"

"that's that? that was- that was a lot. th- i've- hold on, can you just- can you

repeat it again?"

"or you can take the blue pill. or is it the red pill? anyway, take the other pill

and quit being a cunt."

"which pill do you want me to take?"

"just quit being a cunt, that's what i'm saying."

"could you empty your pockets, please?"

"accidents happen, right?"

"after all, i mean, you were saving the world."

"can i use your bathroom?"

"and i look him right in the eye, and i smile."

"that was awesome, man."

"i get why you dig this job."

"i think it's best that i take it from here, you know what i mean?"

"i know you can help. i got it."

"you ever seen an asshole tear up 45k?"

"i'd appreciate your discretion."

"of course. you have my word."

"you think i wouldn't find this?"

"who was he?! he put you up to this?"

"do you think i'm a fucking idiot?"

"sorry about the mess."

"you should fuck off."

"you're gonna fucking tell me, or i'm gonna smash your fucking scalp off."

"is he… is he dead?"

"well, he ain't moving."

"would've taken me forever to work that one out."

"let's get him in the booth. the trunk."

"we're both in a shitload of trouble."

"what?! then who the fuck are you?!"

[katatonicimpression]

Prompt 59for sambucky!

Send me Prompts!

The last on in my inbox! I am so sorry this took me forever. And also sorry because heads up this is Divorce Era™ content.

“I’m in Nola right now,” Sam said, from the back of a taxi in Washington, DC.

He regretted the lie, but this meeting with Ross was beyond secret. Sam did not like the man one bit, but he wasn’t an idiot. You stick to the rules as best you can when the guy telling what to do owns the DOJ. 

Or at least, you do until they give you no choice. But Sam wasn’t in the mood to commit treason… again… at least not this week.

“What about you, you still in DC?” He asked through the phone.

“Nah, New York.”

The taxi moved forward a few feet, then stopped in traffic again. It had taken them five minutes just to travel half a block, which sucked, although it had given Sam a good long time to look at the coffee shop over the road, and the chairs and tables outside of it. Sitting at one of those tables was Bucky.

“...came home last night, actually,” Bucky continued and Sam could swear he could make out his mouth forming the shape of the words from where he was sitting.

The thing is, Bucky had called him. He started this. Did he call him just to lie to him?

“How’ve you been, you good?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah, good. I’m fine,” Sam lied again. “Things are good.”

Things were not good. How could they be when Sam was stuck in gridlocked traffic, probably running late for a coerced meeting with the goddamn president, and was inexplicably on the phone with his ex making small talk while they both lied about their whereabouts.

“How about you?” He asked, instead of any of the questions he wanted to ask (such as, “why did you call me?” and “the fuck is your problem?”).

“Can’t complain.”

Now that sounded like a lie, like he wasn’t even trying to sound happy. He looked a mess too, not that Sam felt good for thinking it. His suit looked awful, and he needed a haircut. He looked tired too, as much as Sam could make out over this distance.

Sam wondered if he missed him.

Because he missed Bucky, despite everything. Especially right now. For all Bucky would pout and glare and probably make the situation worse - for all the ways that Bucky’s skill set was not remotely suited to this kind of situation (navigating the ins and outs of the US military industrial complex) - Sam knew he would feel better if he was sitting there next to him.

Not that he’d ever admit that.

“I was thinking,” Bucky began.

The taxi lurched forward again and Sam had to turn in his seat. He could still see Bucky through the back window. The driver threw him a look in the rearview mirror.

“I was thinking I could come down to Louisiana at some point.”

Oh? He was seriously trying it on again?

“Just as friends,” Bucky added, and Sam didn’t really believe him. 

The taxi started moving in earnest and Sam got one final glimpse of Bucky before they turned the corner, too far to really read anything in his face.

Sam turned back to face the front, rubbing at the crick in his neck.

“I’ve got plans this weekend,” he said, which was sort-of true. He suspected this Ross thing would take up his time for a few days at least. The next part was another lie, though. “And next week, we’ve got to to this wedding, one of Cass and AJ’s cousins on their dad’s side.”

“Oh.”

“Raincheck?”

“Yeah, I’d… I’d really like to see you. I’m just so busy right now.”

Busy, evidently, with things he either wouldn’t or couldn’t tell Sam about. Sam knew it would be hypocritical to be mad at him for it. Besides, he had enough valid reasons to be mad at him outside of the secrecy and/or lies.

“Sam?”

“Yeah.” Sam swallowed, something ugly and painful caught in his throat. “Yeah, I’d love to see you too, I just don’t know if I can.”

“We’ll find time.”

“No, I mean…”

He meant he didn’t know if he could bear it.

“Look, I gotta go,” he said, instead.

[theia-eos]

I am of the opinion that it is Dheginseas fault that Lehran lost hope in the laguz too, the massacre is the final straw for the beorc but the laguz never did anything so atrocious, but Lehran is shown to dislike Dheginseas inaction regarding laguz slavery and Dheginsea doesn't seem to have done anything after the massacre and that might have made Lehran generalize it to all laguz being beyond redemption through his inaction.

I don't really like Dheginsea he's good for the story but I just don't like him. I do like Lehran though, maybe a bit hypocritical of me, I still don't really forgive him for handing Lillia over to Ashnard and the whole ending the world thing but I do have a bird bias.

sorry for rambling like this and you don't have to answer if it doesn't interest you but what is your theory? I enjoy seeing your theories and takes on tellius <3

Ah. Dheginsea, my beloathed. If he has 0 haters, I'm dead. He's a great villain and character for the story, but there's a reason why on my tier list he's only above Izuka. Cut for spoilers.

Dheginsea's inaction is understandable to a point. It's said that once battle enjoins, dragons lose themselves to chaos and their drive to fight. But he takes bystanding to an extreme.

Lehran also has some horrific sins to bear, but he does have a great case for an insanity plea given that he witnesses the massacre first hand, feeling all that hatred and pain in the thick of it, whereas being on the other side of the country it made Rafiel black out fleeing from it, and the other survivor Reyson "No amount of human blood can slake my thirst for vengeance" Serenes...well...he absolutely could have gone the same way as Lehran, even 17 years later Reyson sees battle between Ike's forces and Oliver's and will cast the forbidden magic that will have dire consequences for him, he's going to do it anyway. The only reason Reyson doesn't do it is because Tibarn is there to talk him out of it and Leanne is found safe and sound. For Lehran, alone without a true friend, the chaos he feels in that moment prevents him from calming the medallion, and it is in that maelstrom that he decides the world must end.

Your position is an interesting one, and I think Dheginsea's inaction could have contributed. In the Extended Scripts, where Lehran would say this:

Lehran: NO! Chaos…madness… So much…anger…so much…pain… Why? Why was my family taken? Why? Why was my forest destroyed? The apostle did not deserve this fate… Killed by her innocence…her murderers free to seize power… This is monstrous! This world does not need beorc. And the laguz…are deeply flawed. There is no need to wait for the covenant’s thousand years. Awaken! Oh, Goddess. Awaken…and judge. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Normal Script

He instead says this:

Lehran: Ungh! NO! Chaos… (Several voices appear in Lehran’s mind) Dheginsea: You, who have lost your birthright? Misaha: And yet, now that I’ve met you, I understand. There is no shame in my heritage. None at all. Ashera: In deference to you, I will place my faith in your kind one last time. Altina: You… are the gentlest soul of them all, my sweet Lehran…Lehran: Why? Why did I lose my power? Why? Why was my tribe stolen? Why, why, why? (Image of Lehran holding onto the medallion) Civilian: Huh, what’s up with this guy? He’s been standing there frozen for a while. Civilian: We won’t allow you a painless death. You need to know what true pain feels like… Civilian: Yeah, you don’t take blows very well. We just hit you a few times and you drop dead… How can we punish them like this? Civilian: We can’t let the Apostle’s killers get away so easily… We should torture them, make them bleed until they beg… Then we kill them! Lehran: …Humans… 350 years still remain. But there is no need to continue waiting. This world does not need beorc. And neither does it need laguz…Both are deeply flawed. Please awaken! Oh, Goddess. Awaken…and judge. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Extended Script

So Dheginsea's voice is one of many, and it is the line where Dheginsea is belittling Lehran, asking him how he can hope to improve things when he's incensed about laguz slavery and saying he's going to leave and help. (Also, Altina's line there, gah. My heart. I'm crying.)

But Lehran has lived for a very long time. He served Ashunera before the Flood. Nasir says that a long time ago, laguz had beorc in chains (edit: persecuted beorc, terms unclear), so Lehran has likely seen it both ways at this point and doesn't believe peace and co-existence is possible at that moment.

I think later on, he blames himself. He believes that the Apostle was killed by her innocence, as seen in the normal mode script. What caused her death? Him. He meets her, tells her the truth, and she decides to confront the senate, reveal that she is Lehran and Altina's Branded descendent, and tell the truth to the world to guide them to the just and honest future he wants. And she is killed for it.

Miasha: And yet, now that I’ve met you, I understand. There is no shame in my heritage. None at all. I will not live in hiding. I will reveal to the world that I am one of the Branded. They must see there is no shame in who I am. Lehran: No! You mustn’t! You don’t understand the danger you will be placing yourself in! Miasha: Oh, but I do. The senators will do their utmost to rally the people against me, as they did when I freed the laguz from slavery. But I will not be deterred. If I am to lead this nation, I cannot allow it to be corrupted by prejudice and hatred. I can put the life the goddess has given me to no greater good than this. Lehran: …Such determination. Your eyes… They very much resemble Altina’s. Miasha: I will stand before my people and proudly proclaim the truth. And then I will guide them to a just and honest future. This is my promise to you. Lehran: Thank you. Your strength of will, the truth that guides your life… You have shown me the way back to myself. I shall return to Goldoa and tell my friends of you and your actions. I will tell them that laguz and beorc may once again live together in peace. I will tell them that there is hope. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-1: Rebirth, Extended Script

Why are the Branded considered abominations and taboo? Lehran.

Gareth: King Dheginsea fell into despair. If people caught wind of this news, he believed it would create a deep rift between the two peoples. The king was especially concerned about the reaction from the laguz. They might interpret the birth as a herald of their eventual end. Some might even attempt to harm the child. Kurthnaga: Lehran needed to hear the voice of the goddess then more than ever before… But he could no longer sing the galdr of release. Is that what happened? Nasir: Just so. Lehran was forced to make a very difficult decision to protect the peace between beorc and laguz. He decided to retreat into seclusion and consider the problem. Once he regained his sanity, he announced his decision. Gareth: Lehran was forced to ask the unthinkable of his wife, his aides, and close friends: "For the sake of Begnion, you must tell the people that I died in an accident. Tell them the birth was merely a false rumor." Nasir: Lehran left the medallion to his tribe, moving to Goldoa under King Dheginsea’s protection. He simply disappeared from history after that. Gareth: After Lehran had left and life returned to normal, Altina eventually welcomed a beorc husband. She raised the child she’d had with Lehran as though it were an ordinary beorc child, born of her new husband. Since then, marriages between laguz and beorc have been forbidden. It became known as a "crime against the goddess." Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth, Ancient History

It is absolutely no mistake that we get this conversation right before fighting Lehran. This is to be fresh in our minds going into the battle, his reveal (as it is only possible to view on New Game+, like Ike's memories, these are supposed to be all put together), and his memories of the massacre. It's sickening. He gave the order that, after hundreds of years, led to his descendent being assassinated and the genocide of the herons.

Now, should Dheginsea and company have taken the advice of Lehran, who was suicidal and depressed over the loss of his powers and ability to commune with the goddess? No. Absolutely 100% not. (Dheginsea. I am still in your walls.) But it's easy to see that Lehran blames himself for everything, and wants nothing more than to die while also believing that the world is beyond saving. There are only two people who could have swayed him from that stance: Nailah and Micaiah.

Micaiah: You… I’ve heard about you. Have we… met before? Sephiran: The Silver-Haired Maiden. It’s taken so long to finally meet you. If I had known you still lived, I.. I… No, it’s too late. This changes nothing. I cannot falter. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth

Nailah: Who would’ve guessed that a madman on the other side of the desert would somehow threaten Hatari? Sephiran: Hatari. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see it. The wolf tribe has survived all this time in the far corner of the world. Only the goddess could have known that. Nailah: Perhaps even she didn’t know it. Your goddess isn’t perfect, you know. Does an imperfect goddess have the right to judge imperfect beings? Sephiran: I see your point. Does the creator retain the right to destroy her creations when they are no longer what she envisioned? I imagine we could discuss this sometime… if only we had more time. I believe you alone might be able to sway my opinion on this, Lady Nailah, Queen of Wolves. Radiant Dawn, Chapter 4-F-4: Rebirth

Micaiah being his descendent and the new apostle is obvious. If he had known is family still lived, if he still knew there was someone who could speak to the goddess, he might not have gone as far as he did. If he had known of Hatari, a land where beorc, laguz, and Branded co-exist in peace, the world he dreamed of not only being possible but there, then he might not have believed Tellius beyond saving either.

So this is a Dheginsea hate blog, but I think Lehran's long life of seeing constant conflict, of the war that drove the goddess to split herself in do, of seeing the pendulum of power dynamics flip one way to the other was ultimately what did it to him, Dheginsea's inaction likely only being a contributing factor. But end of the day, I don't think there's anyone Lehran held in greater contempt than himself.

Tibarn: You know what? I don’t believe you’re the big, bad, evil guy you want us all to think you are. Sephiran: What could you be talking about? Tibarn: Ah, I was right! I see it in your eyes. I’ve been around for a while, and learned a bit about spotting fakes. So now that your secret’s out, maybe you’d like to open up and tell me: Who are you really? Sephiran: …

[itsclydebitches]

Have you seen the posts going around saying shit like "If a mutual likes Hazbin Hotel I will block them"?? It's genuinely upsetting me tbh, not just the idea that people don't like the show, but that they despise it so much they can't even stand the thought of someone they know liking the show. It reminds me of the Steven Universe hate train only worse. They also say shit like "the show is just someone saying swear words and expecting you to laugh", and if for a second we put aside the fact that that is blatantly not true, what's wrong with that? I'm allowed to like something that's a bit trash, right? I've already seen two different people I follow reblog posts to that effect (and worse, someone saying all a character boils down to is "i love being sexually abused <3" and i don't know how they ever came to that conclusion) and it's driving me mad. And somehow I just know that they don't actually give a shit about any "controversies" surrounding vivziepop, that's just a convenient excuse for most of them. I don't even care if Vivzie is a bad person, that's none of my business. just live and let live, you know?

Sorry for ranting, you're literally the only blog i follow who posts Hazbin fan content

Rant away, friend! Luckily for me I haven't come across any of those posts yet. Plenty of discourse surrounding whether fans are allowed to make romantic and/or sexual content for Alastor, the expected shipping wars, and - as you say - vague references to Vivzie controversies (which I'm too new a fan to even be aware of yet)... but nothing that's a complete rejection of the show itself. That's probably because I've only engaged with blogs posting a lot of Hazbin content though.

I'm a big fan of old school Internet rules which includes an emphasis on cultivating your own online space. You know, the thing tumblr is explicitly designed for. So in theory I applaud anyone blocking users/tags for a show they're not a fan of. Performatively posting about it more as a way to guilt others for liking Hazbin at all... not so much. If you want to block something just block it. If you're mutuals with someone you both presumably like each others' content. Not all of it necessarily, but enough to have followed in the first place, and often being mutuals for long enough leads to friendship because you're both getting interacting with one another a lot. All of which isn't to say that people don't unfollow mutuals, or that you can't drop a mutual because they've started posting something you dislike. Obviously both situations do happen, but it feels like an extreme enough response that these posters probably aren't actually doing this very often. Most people will wait the mutual out until their interest gets hooked on something new, or block the Hazbin tag and keep the friend, or just block without making a big announcement about it. So posts like that feel more like a way to show off how much you dislike the show and guilt others for their enjoyment which yeah, can be upsetting to see. Especially when, as you say, it costs nothing to just let people like things.

Which might sound hypocritical on my part given my RWBY interests, but I think there's a big difference between critically examining a show while supporting others who genuinely love it, and simplistically blasting it. I COMPLETELY get why Hazbin wouldn't be to everyone's tastes and, like with the SU example, anything that gets popular enough is going to develop its haters (especially cartoons trying to tackle non-childish subjects. That's always going to be a fandom landmine). But if you're going to make claims about a show, at least watch it to ensure you can back up your stance? And if your takeaway is still, "This is the worst fucking thing I've ever watched"... cool. Go forth and write about that on your own, personal blog. But no one should be surprised when they're also blocked for bragging about how many Hazbin fans they've blocked.

[scenetocause]

any guesses as to how max and lando both wound up sick. just curious.

[cn: cheating]

"You haven't sucked me off for ages," Lando pouts. Max nearly chokes on his mouthful of avocado toast.

"Mate." His ears are turning pink, he can't look at Pietra. "What the fuck."

"Well it's true, you haven't." Lando says it primly, goes back to demolishing some poached eggs with gay - literally - abandon. Like he hasn't just derailed Max's life for the fiftieth and possibly worst time this week.

He's going to have to do it at some point so he glances round at Pietra, who at least doesn't look completely disgusted with him, just like she's contemplating ways to kill Lando. Which he's fully onboard with, actually. It could be a new date concept, if Lando's going to insist on coming along.

"No, I haven't," is all he can muster as a response.

-

The thing is. The thing is that Max knows he's being a little bit of a hypocrite on a whole bunch of levels. Because he used to come on all Lando and Luisa's dates and fill in all the ways Lando's a rubbish boyfriend by being a better one and she didn't seem to mind that Lando just doesn't count sleeping with Max as anything, so they'd carried on doing it. Max is also pretty good at being Lando's boyfriend, in terms of getting him to act normally.

But Max should've known it wasn't going to work the other way around. He'd been so careful to keep them separated, at first. Partly out of fear Pietra would realise he's very much not an F1 driver and realise she could do better but much more out of knowing this wasn't going to go down well with either of them. It's a hard sell "hey can my best friend, who's chronically weird, hang out with us all the time and also sometimes he has to spoon me for emotional support."

He's tried to find things in it for Pietra but she could go to Monaco anyway and have a more normal time. She's not that keen on coming to grand prix, although he thinks she would if it was his racing and let's not take that train of thought too far to the depression station.

And Lando can't act normal about him and Max doesn't want him to. Was maybe trying to provoke this by getting a girlfriend in the first place - which isn't fair, that's not why he's dating her, it's just that something makes him want Lando's attention as much as Lando wants to give it to him and if they could ever just make that work they'd probably be a lot more normal.

The problem, really, is that Lando feels much more like forever than his girlfriend does. Which is pretty cursed, especially when he's openly sabotaging Max in the middle of brunch.

-

She doesn't bring it up with him, probably because there's nothing to talk about. Max had caved under about one minute of scrutiny from her about the nature of his relationship to Lando and then promised they weren't like that anymore and then slept with Lando the second he touched down in Nice.

Which is bad. He knows it's bad. He objectively knows this is bad boyfriend stuff and he doesn't want to be that, he wants to make things work and be in love and get married and have kids. Be normal - except that he can't.

It's like the stupid mess in his brain. He could just not have whatever makes him demotivated and mopey for days on end and it'd be better. Simpler, at least. Make more sense for the way his life's supposed to be going but instead he's had Lando fussing over him for a week because Max accidentally said some depressed stuff even though he'd been pretending that wasn't really going on anymore and now Lando's trying to add every possible enrichment to his enclosure.

Which is how they've ended up in Max's bedroom, Lando's hair freshly clipped and stream done, with Lando trying to get his cock in Max's mouth.

"Will you," he bats Lando's hand away from his hair, "just stay still and let me do this?"

"I'm trying to help." Lando sounds way too aggrieved for a man about to get a blow job. "It's been so long maybe you've forgotten how to - ah"

Max hums, knowing how good that feels when someone's got their mouth round your dick and then relaxes his throat, leans into it. Feels himself drooling on Lando's dick at the same time as Lando settles back into the mattress, sighs out how much he's enjoying it.

"Ah, that's so good - you're so good."

It's embarrassing how easily taken apart Max is by the praise.

Lando's fingers thread through his hair and he doesn't fight it, this time. "I missed you, baby," Max groans at the nickname, dick twitching. "I missed this, missed us."

It's a good job there's a dick halfway down Max's throat so he can't say anything stupid like 'me too, buddy.'

Lando's leaking already, messy in Max's mouth when he swipes his tongue over the head, lapping at it. He always gets so needy for it, whimpering and whining and pushing his hips up in desperate little circles - it's like the opposite of the way he fucks Max, all deliberateness. Like this he's just a helpless kitten, biting his own fist to try and stifle the noises he's making.

Max pulls off for a second, strokes Lando's hip, when he's getting really desperate. "It's ok," he says, trying to guide Lando, get him to turn the overwhelming sensation into a conclusion and Lando just whimpers again, biting his lip.

He comes into Max's mouth a minute later, back arching and Max lies down, head on Lando's tummy, to kiss his heaving abs afterwards. Lando pulls him up after a minute, holds him and Max's erection isn't so urgent he can't enjoy it for awhile.

When Lando returns the favour, chaotically sucking Max's balls while he's jacking him off, it doesn't take long either for Max to come or for the guilt to sink in. He can't come up with an excuse for why he can't stop doing this, only the inevitability that he won't.

-

They both claim their sore throats are from golfing or the rain or hayfever or something. Lando smuggles Max back to Monte Carlo two days later and fucks him in every room.

[desultory-novice]

As fun as The Angst(tm) is, I really hope the Dead People Gang aren't just, like. Trapped in Turbohell Kirbohell forever. For some reason, my thoughts instantly went to Void Termina - Since Void Termina is implied to be reincarnated as a good guy after their defeat as Void, I thought it would be interesting if they got a glimpse of everyone hanging out in the afterlife between the "blowing up" part and coming back as not-as-evil. Plus, now I've got a really funny mental image of that coming up in casual conversation Kirby/Meta/Dedede/some other protagonist and Kirby finding out and deciding "sounds like more potential friends! time to go to hell" to try and (somehow) save them

My own brain was putting a Charlie & the Chocolate Factory style spin on it. They CAN all come back, just...

Sectonia: ...once the Dream Stalk goes to seed

Max: ...once his brain is finished defragging (...or see Seto Kaiba in the manga version of Yugioh)

Magolor: ...when someone succeeds in breaking the crown

Marx: ..."User 'Marx' can rejoin the game in 87,600 hours"

Links to the rest of the mini-series:

Part 1″A Beautiful Sunset” Part 2 “The Sun Never Sets” Part 3 “Screams of Joy”  Part 4 “Visitors” Part 5 “A Perfect Circle”

Relevant: “Conditional” [You Are Here]

--

That said, your bit at the end about "Let's go to hell and rescue everyone!" is partially why I followed this story to its current, silly (?) conclusion! I know it's sounded / looked / been depressing, especially for poor, poor, poor Magolor, but I meant what I said in the tags about drawing this helping me get over some of my own True Arena-induced trauma......

(continued below)

<PS: To the Anon who asked about the Void beach pic? Your answer is here too! Sorry to make you go through all this to find it!!>

...Ahem!

I -liked- the idea of Mags and Marx having come back from their Soul experiences and have used it as fuel, but it honestly bugged me that they seemed to survive when Sectonia and Marx were still MiA...from the same thing? (I get that Max's brain is DELETED but what about his body? I always imagined that even though Star Dream blew up, the "pilot's seat" so to speak was preserved. But...

Basically, even if I could come up with reasons why the other two "didn't" survive, I could never come up with a reason why Magolor and Marx DID outside of "popular characters." ...Not to be too hypocritical, as I'm a dedicated fan of said "popular characters")

But there being a version of Magolor Soul who doesn't "get better" weirdly makes me feel quite a bit better about the other Soul victims. Because... maybe we could be building up to something with them? Maybe there IS a chance for them to come back now, or be saved, like you said. If they're all kinda in the same way...??

(Heck, I probably would have added Galacta as a visitor to the superhell-theme park if I had ANY experience with drawing them.)

Speaking of "the same way" the reason I'd always assumed Marx followed the pre-remake Mago path because they were both in Star Allies, but if there's a version of Magolor who isn't saved, I've started to think that True Arena Marx Soul (:cough: the only form of Marx Soul :cough:) wasn't saved either. Which is both very sad but also, gives me the same sense of hope/unity as the above!

I had a legit "...aww, darn...!" moment last night as I was finishing this up when I realized Fecty's soul was safely under Efly's care and they wouldn't be able to join the theme park enjoyers... Of course, the very idea of an Attraction to delight and amaze would probably trigger Fecty's trauma, putting them in a worse state than Magolor.

Void's also not available to go to the park, sadly.

Speaking of...!

Here you go, anon!

[margridarnauds]

Where can I get a full The Green Knight (2021) tirade?

Ohohohohohohohohoho.

Alright, so there are things I can discuss, things that I can't, because they're things I've either used before or might be using in the future.

Suffice it to say, I think that it's self-satisfied. There's this notion that the film is somehow both true to the tone of the original text while also being willing to deconstruct it, raising Hard Truths about Arthuriana.

The problem is that...it isn't. It's your typical Mediocre White Male Auteur Tries To Take On the Classics film. It doesn't do anything that authors in the middle ages weren't willing to do themselves.

"Oh, what if King Arthur was a dick?" Boy, I have some news about a little text...called Culhwch ac Olwen....and another text...called The Alliterative Mort d'Arthur....and another text....called Sir Gawain...and the Green Knight...

"We should discuss how the system of chivalry can be hypocritical!" I have some news for you...about the French tradition...and about a little book...called Le Mort d'Arthur.

"Arthurian...imperialism?" ...Peredur.

And it's presented in such a smug, self-satisfied way that it's not "look! Here's a part of the tradition that we don't talk about!" so much as "Hey. Hey. Guess what? Guess what? Did you know that like. Chivalry was mainly a thing for a bunch of bloodthirsty aristocrats?" NO I HAD NO IDEA. NEITHER DID ANYONE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. And it does it while relentlessly portraying the middle ages as this bleak, moody, colorless world, aka The Visual Cliche We Have Seen A Thousand Times Over Again. Wow, look, a brothel. Wow, look, sex. Wow, look, violence. I bet you watched Game of Thrones once.

I hold a certain belief that if you're going to deconstruct a text or a tradition...you've got to do it better than the originals. And I feel like it isn't willing to take tips from what people in the middle ages were actually willing to do.

The characters don't act like PEOPLE, they act like Lowery's obnoxious mouthpieces. "Make me your LADY, Gawain!" He will NOT make you his lady and you KNOW that. Essel is seemingly there to establish Gawain's heterosexuality and be Lowery's own moral mouthpiece and ask pithy questions that seem to be deep. "Why greatness? Why not GOODNESS?" No one would ever think about that, Essel. We definitely don't have people from the Middle Ages...asking these questions.

...Alicia Vikander, you were wasted on this film.

And she doesn't escape it as Lady Bertilak, either, giving that long, self-indulgent monologue about the color green. I've seen people say that it sounds like something that could have come out of a medieval text and, with respect to them...no. It doesn't. It sounds like something that someone wrote in an attempt to be deep. Vellum is precious in the Middle Ages and you're going to waste it on THAT? (Instead of a long, long listing of Arthur's court, looking at you Culhwch ac Olwen.) Like the rest of the film, it's pretty on the outside, stylized almost to perfection, and empty on the inside. And then you have the scene in the Lowery where she somewhat teasingly, somewhat smugly imo talks about how "sometimes...don't tell anyone...when I see room for improvements, I make them " the texts she transcribes. What if the text didn't need to be improved, Lowery? What if it was FINE as it is? Like, say that you made changes in order to better deliver on the themes you wanted to convey, sure -- I still think his vision is shitty, but at least I could accept it. But an improvement? No. That's just hubris. It's rancid. That isn't Lady Bertilak talking, that's Lowery's ego.

You have the treatment of Lord Bertilak, which is...also rancid imo. Like, I don't give a single fuck what Lowery says, the kisses should have been in there. If you could give us a green kirtle cumshot and an entire plotline of Essel sighing dreamily and Emoting, you could have given us two more kisses. Or made the one kiss we got...actually consensual. But we didn't get that. Why? Why did we highlight heteroeroticism and downplay the homosociality?

And what does it all lead to? Nothing. You introduce Arthur as an imperialist, you introduce Camelot as this world that's falling apart, you introduce, but there's nothing that you leave to remedy it. Lay down and die, that's what you do when the world sucks. Can't improve it, might as well die, surrender your neck to the axe.

It encapsulates the worst elements of bad arthouse films -- the surreal is mistaken for the substantial, it's all style, no substance, and what substance it does have is rotten. I see very little of the Green Knight there, it's all Lowery.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Fault and Forgiveness

Summary: Patton and Janus have a talk about forgiveness.

...

“I didn’t ask to be put on a pedestal, Janus.”

Patton says it while they’re both sitting curled up together on Janus’ bed.  His room has a tendency to make it more difficult to tell the truth, but Patton has been thinking about this for a while, and he wants Janus to know he means it when he says it.  So they’re here.

Well, that’s not the only reason.  It’s also cold in the mindscape, since Thomas’ brain equates winter with cold despite living in Florida, and Janus’ room has all of the heat lamps and heated blankets a cold-blooded (and warm-blooded) side could ask for.  Patton enjoys cuddles with his partner, and he especially enjoys them when it’s cold outside.

But he might have asked for Janus’ room for more than one reason.

Janus hums in acknowledgement as he runs his fingers through Patton’s hair.  “You want to run me through the thought process behind that remark?  Or did you just want to say it to get it off your chest without explaining it?”

Patton doesn’t say anything for a moment.  Maybe there’s a third reason he asked for Janus’ room.

“You know I’m not going to pry,” Janus says, leaning over to press a kiss against Patton’s forehead.  “I’m not that much of a hypocrite.  But I will admit I am curious.”

“I don’t know if I should talk about it with you,” Patton admits with a wince.

“Well, that ship has kind of sailed, don’t you think?”

Patton leans more heavily against Janus’ shoulder, trying not to feel bad about taking the comfort he knows he needs and that Janus doesn’t mind giving.

“It’s about Roman,” he says quietly.

Janus nods.  “I… may not be the best advisor, then,” he agrees.

“I just don’t know what to do,” Patton says despite himself, burying his face in Janus’ chest.  “Roman won’t talk to me, and he’s allowed to not, but—” he sighs.  The room isn’t making it easy for him to talk, and it doesn’t help that Patton doesn’t know how he feels about a lot of it either.

“You miss him?” Janus asks.

“No,” Patton says, before immediately backtracking.  “I mean, yes, obviously, he’s my kiddo.  But that’s not…” he trails off again.

Janus pulls back slightly so he can look Patton in the face.  “Do you want to go somewhere where it’s easier for you to talk?” he asks, sounding slightly concerned.

Patton shakes his head.  “No,” he says, ducking his head away.  “I want— I want to not have to say something if I don’t want to say it.”

“That would be true elsewhere too, you know,” Janus says.  “You’re entitled to secrets.”

Patton nods, but neither of them move.

They lie there for a long while without saying anything, and Patton tries to figure out what he wants to say in his head, appreciating that Janus is letting him instead of saying anything.

“I don’t want to tell Roman what to think,” Patton forces out with a little difficulty.  “I never tried to force him to think a certain way.  Or— I didn’t think I did.  But it seems like he took it that way, so I’ve been trying to show him I’ll do better.  But— it doesn’t feel like he’s acknowledging it.”

Janus is quiet for a moment.  “I see,” he says quietly, and Patton gets the sense he understands more than he’s letting on.

“He doesn’t have to forgive me,” Patton says, ducking his head down a little further.  “I know I hurt him, even if I didn’t mean to.  But I— I never asked to be put on a pedestal.”

Janus pulls Patton a little closer and starts rubbing his thumb over his arm.  “I understand,” he says quietly, and he sounds less sure than he did at the start of this conversation.  “I…” he sighs.  “I do think your initial instinct was right.  I’ve hurt Roman far worse than you have, and I don’t think I’m the best person to come to for advice on how to navigate things with him.  But… can I ask you something?”

Patton looks up at him again.  “Sure.”

“Why do you care so much about his forgiveness?”

Patton leans back, startled.  “What— Janus, because— because he’s my kiddo.  I love him, and it seems like I hurt him.”

Janus nods.  “I understand that part,” he says.  “But does he have to accept your apology for you to have proven yourself worthy of forgiveness?”

Patton blinks.  “What?”

“Well it seems to me,” Janus says with a small teasing smile.  “That one is supposed to apologize and do better because they’ve done something wrong, not because they want forgiveness.”

Patton looks away.

“Not that you’re wrong for wanting it, obviously,” Janus says.  “And that also wasn’t my point, so don’t start feeling guilty.”

“Then what is your point?”

“You recognized something you did wrong,” Janus says.  “You apologized and you changed your behavior.  That’s where your responsibility ends.”

“But… Roman still seems upset,” Patton says, looking back over at Janus.

Janus is quiet for a moment.

Patton bites his lip.  “Janus?”

“Roman continuing to be upset,” Janus says quietly.  “At a certain point, becomes a choice he is making.”

“But I—”

“You apologized,” Janus cuts him off gently.  “And you changed your behavior.  Roman does not have to forgive you for it to mean you are a better person who understands yourself and others better.  It doesn’t mean you haven’t changed.  It doesn’t mean Roman is in the wrong for not forgiving you.  I might take issue with how much it seems to be hurting you, but I am very biased.  I like you better.”

“Janus,” Patton says, though the look he gives him is a little more fond than it probably should be, and Janus smiles back.  After a second, however, it fades again.

“Roman may never forgive you,” Janus says very gently, clearly understanding how hard it will be for Patton to hear.  “It does not mean you have to constantly keep seeking it.  It does not mean you are a bad person.”

Patton looks down.  “That would still make me miserable,” he whispers.

“I understand,” Janus whispers back, leaning his head on top of Patton’s.

“He probably won’t forgive you either, you know,” Patton murmurs.

Janus goes still, and Patton gets the sense he said something wrong.

“Janus?” he asks, leaning back.  Janus looks away from him.

“Janus, what’s wrong?” he repeats.

Janus sighs.  “I have not apologized or changed my behavior, Patton,” he says quietly.  “I would not accept his forgiveness if he offered it.”

“Oh,” Patton says softly.  He reaches an arm around Janus and pulls him close.  “It’s not too late to try,” he says.

“I doubt it will work.”

“Huh, well what was it you were just saying about not having to be forgiven for it to be worth it?” Patton asks.

Janus gives him a look.  “I don’t like it when you do that.”

Patton giggles a little and leans his head against Janus.’  They both lapse into silence again.  Patton breaks it first.

“Thanks, Janus,” he murmurs.  “I don’t… I still feel bad.  But it’s better.”

“Sometimes things just are bad,” Janus agrees, leaning against Patton again.

“Ugh.  Still working on that one,” Patton mutters, leaning back.

“Me too,” Janus admits.  After a second, he asks, “You know what I’ve found helps?”  His tone of voice makes it clear he’s departing from sincerity now.

“What?” Patton asks, smiling more lightly back at him.

“When you lavish me with attention and cuddles,” Janus says, dropping his head down onto Patton’s shoulder so he can look up at him.

Patton laughs, and kisses his scales, which makes Janus stick his tongue out in obvious delight.  He wraps his many arms around Patton too however (and six arms makes for some amazing cuddling, just so you know), meaning they both end up laying down on the bed more or less wrapped around each other.

“Thanks Janus,” Patton says again.  “You’re really good at knowing what to say.”

“You’re not bad at it yourself,” Janus says back.  “But stop being good at it for right now, I want to take a nap.”

Patton giggles and kisses Janus one last time before snuggling against him.  “I think that can be arranged.”