#Bon the Ruthless

[blep-23]

How well do you guys know Astrid Hofferson character? Asking because I need a little help with this chapter I’m working on. Dm me if you know her well. I have some questions.

[blep-23]

If that's the case, all i write is foe-fiction. Honestly with how much shit and trauma I put some of my characters through for the lols of it. You would be hard pressed to know that I do in fact adore my little skrunkly ocs.

[speaking mostly of Bon the Ruthless and my plans for her and Dagur.]

sometimes i say things on twitter and then make a little graph about it

[zablife]

One Way or Another

Summary: When your brother Bonnie warns you about the darkness lurking beneath Tommy Shelby’s charming exterior, you heed his advice and break up. However, a vengeful Tommy vows to get you back and his ruthless tactics are worse than you could have imagined. 

Author's Note: Requested by a lovely anon who wanted to see dark!Tommy manipulate a reader into staying with him using Charlie as leverage. 

Warnings: language, dark!Tommy, manipulative behavior, allusion to non con (no graphic description), assault, discussion of pregnancy and adoption

You'd noticed the handsome, blue-eyed man the moment you and your family arrived in Small Heath. Intrigued by the mystery surrounding his enormous wealth and influence, you disobeyed your father's orders and began sneaking into town to catch a glimpse of Mr. Thomas Shelby. He soon took note of you as well, lavishing attention and gifts on you.

You even met his son Charlie a few times in his father's office. Giving voices to the toy horses and soldiers he would bring, the chubby toddler would laugh and grasp at your cheeks. You loved his laughter and often wished he was your own child. "You're a natural, sweetheart,” Tommy praised with a wide grin, which made you anxious for something more with him. You found yourself daydreaming about becoming Mrs. Shelby and giving him another baby.

Tommy wasn’t shy about expressing his own desire to you. A bottle of whisky and a sour mood had led him to confess that Charlie was not his son. He claimed it was an error in his judgement of character that would not happen again. This time he wanted things done in the proper way with the right woman, he said. You’d melted on the spot when he took your head between his large palms and kissed you full. His advances would escalate in the following meetings as he learned of your purity, more enamored with you than ever. You knew it was only a matter of time before he proposed to make you his completely.

However, someone in camp must have taken note of your frequent visits to Shelby properties because word quickly got back to your brother, Bonnie. "Y/n, what are you doing with him? He's not good for ya," he said furrowing his brow in concern.

"What do you mean, Bon?" you asked curiously.

“Don’t you know? You must,” he insisted, underestimating your youthful naivete. 

"He's the leader of the Peaky Blinders, Y/n. He's responsible for cuttings and beatings…murders. No one is safe round him. Not even you," he warned ominously.

"Surely not," you said, shaking your head in disbelief. Tommy was an upstanding businessman, or so you thought.

"Y/n, please listen to me," your older brother begged, sliding closer to you. "I wasn't supposed to tell you,” he said in a low, conspiratorial tone, “but Da and I are here to kill his enemies. And there's a long list. You don't want anything to do with Tommy Shelby, trust me," he stressed twisting his cap in his hands. 

After a lengthy conversation about everything he knew, including the murder of Tommy’s first wife, you were shaking with fear. Bonnie wasn’t easily spooked and it bothered you to see him this upset. “Alright, I'll keep my distance," you agreed, witnessing his agitation.

Bonnie sighed with relief, but you noted an apologetic tinge to his voice when he said, "I only want to keep you safe.”

You reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know," you assured him and he relaxed back into his chair.

True to your word, you broke things off with Tommy the next day. You tried to be careful, explaining it in every conceivable way except the real reason. In your usual self effacing manner you babbled away to ease your nerves. "I'm much too young for you, Tommy. You'll get bored of me and everything I don't know. Surely you want someone more...experienced," you blushed.

Although he seemed to listen intently without judgment, inwardly he was fuming. It was your omission that told him everything he needed to know. Someone close to you had warned you off and he was certain it was your father or brother, perhaps both.

As you left his office that day, Tommy began plotting to get you back. Preferably in a manner that would punish you and your family. He would win you one way or another. Gambling was his livelihood after all and the odds were always in his favor.

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

Two weeks later...

You heard Tommy's footsteps thudding on the stairs behind you, slowly and methodically. The rhythm pounded inside your skull like a drum, driving you to the brink of hysteria and quickening your own steps. He was frighteningly calm despite your obvious distress as though he enjoyed humiliating you. 

"Come back to bed, love," he urged in a saccharine voice that turned your stomach.  

Your body shivered in reply as you headed toward the sitting room in search of your coat. Blinking back the tears at your lash line and biting your tongue until it bled, you promised yourself you wouldn't let him see you cry. It had been the same tactic you used that morning when your father admitted he'd gambled away your innocence in a scrap metal yard when Tommy goaded him into a coin toss.

"You're going to allow this?" Bonnie yelled at your father, pacing the floor in anxious rage reserved for fight days. 

Placing yourself between him and the two blinders who had come to collect you, you mumbled, “I'll be alright.” It was a meager attempt to convince him and yourself. Turning to your father you asked, “It’s only one night?”

Watching from the corner of the room, deathly still, your father replied "I hope so." But his eyes were wide and filled with terror, the likes of which you'd never seen. 

A harsh tug on your elbow startled you out of yourself as Tommy towered over you. "Where do you think you're going, eh?" he asked tightening his grip, all attempts at gentle tactics now vanished.

"I'd like to go home to my family," you choked out desperately, fingers ghosting over his in a vain attempt to soften his grasp. If he held any affection for you, perhaps he would allow you to leave with a shred of dignity.

He smirked wickedly at your cowering form, “I don’t think you understand, love. This is your home now." Tucking your disheveled hair behind your ear to reveal a bite mark on your shoulder he added, "We're just getting started, you and I." His thumb traced a dark bruise forming higher up on your neck and you winced as he pressed into it. He placed a kiss to your lips and murmured against you, “Going to tell me how much you loved having me inside you, filling you up?” 

His nose brushed against yours as you pulled away. Taking a deep breath, you attempted to steady your voice. “Tommy, how can you expect me to stay after you hurt me like that?” you asked, eyes burning with tears as you relived the pain inflicted on your body and heart as you realized he’d never meant a word he said to you when you were courting.

“Everyone’s first time is like that, sweetheart. It couldn’t be helped,” he replied, caressing your cheek. You felt the bile rising in your throat as you thought of how rough he’d been, holding you down and rutting into you like an animal without any regard for your comfort. 

Mustering all your courage you asserted, “I don’t want it like that ever again.”

Tommy chuckled, “Every woman says that until she wants a baby. Then you'll be begging for it.”

You shook your head as you spat, “I don’t want a family with you.”

His eyes narrowed, large hand sliding down over your midsection as he tsked, “A bit late for that. You might already be carrying my child. What will you do then?” he asked with raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t ask anything of you and I don't want..."

"I don't give a fuck what you want," he interrupted, eyes blazing with fury. "You belong to me,” he hissed, hand snaking down to your throat. 

“I'll never be yours!” you shouted, fighting against him. You were paralyzed by the feeling of your airway constricting under his crushing grip, reducing you to pathetic whimpers. He squeezed until your lungs burned from lack of oxygen, your fingertips scrabbling for his wrist and clawing uselessly. 

Leaning to whisper into the shell of your ear, hot breath fanned over you along with his terrifying words, “You don’t want to make things worse now, do you?”

Just as your vision turned dark, he relinquished you and you fell to the floor gasping for breath. Between coughing fits, you became aware of the housekeeper, Mary, standing in the room. When Tommy had summoned her you weren’t sure. Perhaps you had lost consciousness at some point because she stood with Charlie in her arms and the ringing in your ears soon turned to shrill crying. 

“Ch-Charlie?” you asked, reaching for the child with a hint of a smile in hopes of cheering him.The brightness returning to your eyes told Tommy all he needed to know. With clenched jaw, he  jerked his chin and Mary left the room as quickly as she had appeared. “What’s she doing?” you mumbled, attempting to stand despite the fuzzy feeling swimming inside your head.

Tommy didn’t answer, pretending as though he hadn’t heard you. He picked up the phone, adopting a business like tone, and began, “Good evening, put me through to Sister Agatha.” 

You could still hear Charlie’s desperate sobs echoing down the corridor as Tommy greeted the woman on the other end of the line. Standing on wobbly legs, you hesitated with uncertainty, wishing to comfort the boy. However, your attention was brought back to the cruel words you overheard next. Your jaw dropped as you heard Tommy proclaim, “Send someone to collect the child tonight.”

You scrambled toward him, a look of horror crossing your face. “What have you done?”

Tommy stood like a brick wall, cold and impenetrable. “What necessity dictates, my darling.”

“I d-don’t understand,” you stuttered in confusion, unable to think clearly while being tormented by Charlie's unending screams. Finally you begged softly, "May I hold him? He's upset." You stared at Tommy's stone like features, wondering how he could be so heartless toward a baby.

Taking his time to light a cigarette and toss the match into the fireplace, Tommy smoked quietly for a few moments before ushering Mary back into the room. He took Charlie from her and placed the toddler in your trembling arms. Within a few minutes the boy settled, his chubby cheek resting upon your shoulder. As your hand caressed his golden curls, his cries turned to quiet hiccups and you felt the gentle motion of his thumb sucking before his limbs grew heavy with sleep.

“Tommy, what’s going on?” you pleaded as fresh tears slid down your cheeks. “Why are you behaving this way?”

Tommy stalked to you in three long strides, forcing your chin to meet his gaze. Icy blue stare cutting into you sharply, he scolded, “You’re the one forcing me to do these things.”

You tried to shake your head in adamant denial, but his harsh grip kept you in place. Through pinched cheeks you sputtered, “I never told you…”

“But you did,” he bit back. “Weren’t you the one saying you wanted to leave? That you didn’t want a family with me?” He threw your chin away in disgust as your brain reeled.

“You’re twisting my words…” you protested, voice cracking with emotion. Looking down at the sleeping child in your arms you began, “Of course I didn't mean Charlie..."

Just then a knock came at the door, followed by two nuns announcing themselves as representatives of St. Hilda’s. You backed into a corner, holding Charlie to your body protectively, heart beating wildly as you thought of a way to save him.

“What a darling little boy," one of the nuns chirped despite the late hour. Then she added carefully, "May I take him now?”

Tommy caught your eyes from across the room, “Go on, sweetheart,” he urged. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?” 

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

Tag List:

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[pxnsneverland]

Something Immortal | Biker!Austin Butler x OC (part 2)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

plot summary: In the gritty underbelly of a city ruled by werewolf biker gangs, Austin Butler reigned supreme as the ruthless leader of his pack. A man of unwavering ferocity, he lied, killed, and stole without remorse, living by a code of violence that defined his kind. Yet, even Austin harbored a secret weakness – his childhood friend Bonnie Barlow, the one woman he had loved in silence for years. Bonnie's father had once been part of Austin's gang, but after his death, she fled the treacherous world of the werewolves, unable to stomach the endless cycle of crime and brutality. For five years, she remained a fugitive from her own nature, until a fateful night when her life took an irreversible turn. Freshly released from a two-year prison stint, Austin returned to his pack, reveling in the debauchery of their den. But his revelry was cut short by a frantic call from Bonnie, pleading for his aid. Rushing to her side, he uncovered a grim truth – in a desperate act of self-defense against her abusive boyfriend, Bonnie had taken a life, awakening the dormant werewolf within her. As the next full moon loomed, she would undergo her first agonizing transformation, a fate she had always dreaded. Defying the pack's ruthless code, Austin sheltered Bonnie, guiding her through the excruciating metamorphosis that tore through her body each lunar cycle. In the depths of her torment, their bond rekindled, blossoming into a love they had long suppressed. Nights of shared laughter and reminiscence gave way to stolen moments of tenderness, their connection deepening with every passing moon. Yet, their newfound bliss was a fragile thing, forever threatened by the harsh realities that governed their world. For Bonnie was branded a deserter, her very existence a betrayal in the eyes of the pack. If Austin's treachery was uncovered, retribution would be swift and merciless.

pairings: biker!austin butler x oc

word count: 2961

warnings/notes: violence, murder, blood, death, mentions of abuse

Chapter 2: A Desperate Call

Bonnie Barlow. His Bonnie. After what felt like an eternity, she was finally on the other end of the call. Her voice, like a gentle melody, washed over him and brought back memories of happier times. But underlying that beauty was an unmistakable panic. Something was wrong. Very wrong. His heart hammered against his chest, threatening to burst out as he stumbled across the room, frantically reaching for his jacket once more. Through the phone, he could hear her soft sobs, tears evident in every quiver of her voice. He had to get to her, no matter what obstacles lay in his path.

“What’s wrong, Bon?” His voice quivered with emotion as he made his way back out the door.

“I need you, Austin…” Her words were muffled by her sobs, but each one pierced through him like a dagger. He knew he had to get to her quickly.

The sound of her heart-wrenching sobs cut through him like a knife. “Please, baby…tell me where you are.” He pleaded, his heart pounding in his chest. The thought of her being in danger made it difficult for him to catch his breath. Bonnie remained silent, and for a brief moment, he feared she had ended the call. With trembling hands, he pulled the phone away from his cheek and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the call was still connected. Bonnie leaned in close, her voice a low whisper as she recited the unfamiliar address. Austin's fingers flew over the keys of his GPS, determined to reach this mysterious destination. He didn't dare hang up the phone, afraid that he might lose contact with Bonnie forever.

Like a bullet fired from a gun, Austin tore down the road on his sleek motorcycle. He weaved between cars and disregarded any semblance of traffic laws. The roar of the engine echoed off the buildings. If a police car had spotted him, they hadn't bothered to give chase. And even if they had tried, he wouldn't have stopped anyway for them tonight.

As Austin rode, the cool breeze whipped past him, carrying with it the faint scent of pine and damp earth. The dark expanse of night enveloped him like a shroud, making the world seem surreal and hazy. But his mind was focused on one thing - Bonnie. Her soft voice still echoed in his ear and the sound of her heartrending sobs reverberated through his mind. He gripped his bike's handlebars tightly, feeling the worn leather of his riding gloves beneath his fingers. As he picked up speed, the engine's growl grew louder and more urgent, matching the racing beat of his heart. His gut twisted with unease as he drew closer to the unfamiliar address, a nagging feeling gnawing at him that something was dreadfully wrong. Finally, the building came into view as he rounded a corner - an old house nestled in the middle of the dense woods. Its decrepit walls and windows gave off an eerie aura, adding to Austin's growing sense of unease.

With a quick twist of his wrist, he brought the bike to a stop and hopped off, feeling the weight of his body shift as he landed on the ground. Without hesitation, he flipped up the kickstand and grabbed his phone, grateful once again that the call was still connected. “I think I’m here.” As he jogged towards the front steps, his breath quickened with anticipation.

With a creak of protest, the old door to the house slowly opened, revealing Bonnie's haggard appearance. Her clothes were torn and blood stained, while her face was marred with deep bruises and dried blood. Her usually radiant features were now twisted in pain and fear as she stood in the doorway.

Austin's breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of her. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, pounding with such force that he could feel it reverberating through every inch of his body. The blood in his veins turned to ice and a shiver ran down his spine as he saw the pure terror in Bonnie's once bright eyes.

His legs moved forward on their own accord, driven by an overwhelming need to protect her. But as he reached out for her, his hands trembled with fear and hesitation, afraid that she would break apart at his touch. The pain etched on her face tore at his soul, threatening to consume him with its intensity like a raging fire.

Bonnie managed a weak smile, her lips trembling with agony. "Austin," she whispered hoarsely, her voice strained from holding back tears. She looked up at him, determination shining through the fear in her eyes. With all her strength, she threw herself into his arms, clinging onto him as if her life depended on it. "I'm so glad you're here," she cried out.

Austin's powerful arms envelop Bonnie's broken body, cradling her with a fierce protectiveness. She is his everything, and the sight of her battered and bruised fills him with a boiling rage. The sweet scent of wildflowers and fresh rain that clings to her skin only intensifies his desperation to make things right for her.

"What the hell happened to you, Bonnie?" His voice trembles with emotion as he presses his lips against her hair, trying to absorb all of her pain and suffering. She shudders in response, seeking solace in his embrace as she buries her face against his chest, unable to put into words the horror she has endured.

"In...inside," Bonnie muttered, her voice barely audible. She pulls away, wincing at the pain that follows, and starts to lead him inside the decaying house.

His blue eyes scan the room, taking in the dimly lit interior. Every corner seemed steeped in shadows, shrouding the room in an ominous veil. An uncomfortable chill fills the air. He steps inside cautiously, his boots making soft thuds against the wooden floorboards.

And then, he sees it. In the middle of the room laid a body, cold and lifeless. The man’s face is stuck in a permanent grimace, eyes wide open in terror as if he were still trapped in the moment of his death. A knife protrudes from his chest, glinting menacingly under the faint light from the overhead lamp.

Bonnie's voice caught in her throat as she whispered, "His name is Liam. We started dating a year ago."

Austin's gaze remained cool and unmoved, despite the lifeless body lying on the floor between them. "Did he do that to you?" he asked, his tone flat and devoid of emotion.

Bonnie nodded, tears streaming down her face as she recounted the horror of her recent encounter with Liam. "He was so angry...I could see it in his eyes. He was going to kill me this time, I just know it. I didn't have a choice," she sobbed, her body shaking with fear and regret. The room felt suffocating, like the walls were closing in on them, carrying the weight of Bonnie's pain and trauma. She couldn't bear to look at the body on the floor any longer, but she knew she would carry its image with her for a long time to come.

“This time?” Austin growled, his anger bubbling up like a volcano ready to erupt. He longed for the satisfaction of killing the jackass all over again, cursing the fact that he was already dead. How dare he lay a hand on her, let alone think about hurting her? Every muscle in Austin's body tensed as he fought to contain his rage, but his grip on self-control was slipping fast. The mere thought of someone harming her sent a wave of fury through him.

Bonnie nodded, her gaze dropping to the floor as she began to recount the numerous times Liam's outbursts had gotten out of hand. He had always been quick to anger, but in that moment, he was a different person - a monster. And in her fight for survival, Bonnie too had become a monster.

Austin's grip on Bonnie tightened as he processed her words. The image of this petite woman having to defend herself against a man like Liam infuriated him beyond measure. "You did what you had to do," he said, attempting to offer some comfort, but his voice was lined with an undercurrent of beastly rage. Not only had this despicable individual caused her physical pain, but he had also manipulated her to do the one thing she had always feared: take a life. As a blood born werewolf, taking a life meant triggering the dreaded werewolf curse itself. No longer could she hide behind human form - on the next full moon, she would transform into her true beastly self for the first time.

The thought sent shivers of dread down her spine as she remembered the stories her father had told her about the uncontrollable rage and carnage that accompanied the first transformation. "Austin," she whispered, her voice shaky. "I'm scared." Her eyes were pleading, filled with terror at the thought of her impending transformation. Her heart pounded in her chest like a wild drum, echoing the dreadful rhythm of her fate.

His heart clenched at the raw vulnerability in Bonnie's eyes. He was a leader, a protector, and seeing her in such torment was more than he could bear. "Listen to me," Austin said firmly, cupping her chin to make her look at him. His gaze bore into hers, the intensity making her breath hitch. "You're not going through this alone. I'm here. I'll help you."

The promise in his voice was a lifeline, a beacon of hope in the storm that raged within Bonnie’s soul. But despite his reassurance, she couldn't shake off the fear that clenched around her heart like a cold fist.

Austin kept her gaze on him purposely using his body to shield her from the sight of

Liam’s dead body lying on the floor behind him. “Go pack your stuff.”

“But what about…?” She trailed off, trying to see Liam's lifeless body on the floor.

He firmly refused, determined to protect Bonnie from any further pain. “I’ll take care of it. Go, now.”

With no energy left to argue, Bonnie nodded and swiftly disappeared behind a nearby door to begin packing her belongings. Left alone with Liam and his blood-stained body on the floor, Austin looked down. He didn’t even feel sorry for him. With a deadly calm, Austin approached the body. His nostrils flared at the scent of fresh blood and death filling the room. His instincts were pulling him in two directions. The werewolf inside him was poised to revel in such carnage, yet the man in him recoiled at the sight of what Bonnie had been driven to do. The room was silent save for the faint rustling from the other room where Bonnie was packing. A shiver of disgust went down Austin's spine as he stood over Liam's lifeless body, his cold eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. The blood under his chest had already begun to coagulate, darkening the pale wooden floor beneath him. Austin's jaw clenched with fury, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the man who laid a hand on Bonnie.

Kneeling down, Austin pulled the knife free from Liam’s chest with an efficient tug. The metal looked cold and unforgiving in the dim light, a stark contrast against the spreading crimson stain on Liam’s shirt. He wrapped the knife carefully in a rag he found lying haphazardly on one of the chairs. Austin stepped away and made his way to the back room where they kept the cleaning supplies. He returned with a bucket of water, bleach and a brush. The sight of Liam's lifeless body greeted him again, but with grim determination he set to work, methodically scrubbing away the blood. When he was done, he made quick work of dragging the body outside and rolling it into a nearby river. It would be so destroyed by the elements that the police would never figure out what had actually killed him. The silent night held its breath as the lifeless body of Liam disappeared beneath the dark, churning waters. Bonnie’s haunting cries of despair seemed to echo in his ears as Austin stood there, watching the river claim its gruesome prize. A sudden rage roared through him, a savage desire to tear everything apart with his bare hands for what had been done to Bonnie. But he reined it in, focusing on the task ahead. He returned to the cabin, ignoring the lingering smell of fear and death, and grabbed a bag of lime from their utility shed. The sharp stench of bleach still hung heavy in the air while he went about covering the patch of the floor where Liam had lain with lime. It would speed up the decomposition process and help eliminate remaining traces of blood or odor that might lead anyone to them.

As he finished, a soft sound from behind made him stiffen. He turned around slowly, finding Bonnie standing at the entrance of the small living room, her wavy hair cascading over her shoulders like a protective curtain, dark eyes wide and shining in the pale light. Her small frame was covered in a loose cardigan despite the muggy summer heat outside, as if she was trying to shield herself from her own actions.

“It’s done,” Austin announced quietly.

Bonnie nodded, her gaze averted from the spot where moments before Liam's lifeless body had laid. She clung to the straps of her bag like a lifeline, her knuckles white from the strain. The comforting presence of Austin was the only thing that stopped her from collapsing under the weight of her guilt and fear.

Austin moved towards her, moving slowly as if not to startle a skittish deer. He reached out and took her bag from her trembling hands then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. For a moment, Bonnie stiffened under his touch but slowly relaxed, allowing herself to lean into his warmth.

"We need to leave," Austin said quietly, his voice soothing in the otherwise silent cabin. “You can hide out at my place.”

“What about the gang?” Bonnie's mind was overwhelmed with all that was going on, but she couldn't push aside the thought of her pack. As the alpha, Austin was responsible for punishing deserters and loyalty meant everything to their kind. If they found out about Bonnie, they would expect Austin to execute her as punishment. She knew he would never harm her, let alone kill her. His position as alpha would be threatened, and his loyalty to the pack would be questioned.

His voice was firm, allowing no room for argument. “They don’t have to know that you’re staying there. For now, we just need to focus on getting you through the next few days. We’ll figure the rest out later.”

Bonnie found solace in his resolve. His confidence was contagious, and despite her trembling heart, he made her feel safe. Austin had always been a rock in her life; looking at him now, she felt hope bloom within her."Alright," she whispered, nodding. Her trust in him was implicit, thought not without fear. But if there was anyone she could rely on in this treacherous journey, it was Austin. A tear slipped down her cheek as the reality of her situation began to sink in further. She felt Austin's grip tighten around her, as if he could sense her internal struggle.

Bonnie looked up at Austin, suddenly consumed by an inexplicable urge to memorize his face. The sharp contours of his jawline that made women weak, his intense blue eyes that reflected loyalty and a steadfastness she could always count on. His blonde hair that fell onto his forehead, stubbornly refusing to be tamed. Despite the harsh exterior, there was a kindness that lurked beneath the surface. A kindness that compelled him to risk everything for her.

Austin looked down at Bonnie's tear-streaked face and felt a familiar ache in his chest. Over the years, he had watched her grow into a beautiful woman who deserved so much more than the hand life had dealt her. He couldn't help but feel responsible for bringing this darkness into her life. It was the curse they both carried within them - their shared lineage as werewolves. But it was this same curse that drew them to each other. Bonnie, the girl who was afraid of her own strength, and Austin, the man who was too strong for his own good. Both were anomalies in their own world. He was a hardened gang leader with a heart that bled for Bonnie; she was a runaway who ran straight into Austin’s arms. It seemed like fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Austin led her towards his motorcycle, parked just beyond the cabin’s porch. The roar of its engine echoed through the silent woods as it rumbled to life. The sound seemed to pierce the eerily calm night and Bonnie wondered if it was a precursor to the storm that was about to break in her life.

“Austin,” Bonnie started as she hopped onto the seat behind him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist for support as he began to pull away from the cabin. Her voice couldn’t hide the tremble in it, yet she continued on bravely, “Thank you.”

Austin didn’t respond immediately - he didn’t need to. His hand came to rest over hers where it held onto him tightly from behind and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The message was clear: he would protect her, no matter what cost he had to pay.

Stay tuned for part 3!! Click HERE to view!

[chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter]

This drabble is born from a really angsty brain riot with Bonten's origins, that happened to me after reading this words from @just-sp-in-inginthevoid :

"Bonten is a memorial for Izana, its symbol, its members’ tattoo come from Izana’s earrings and the (天) ten of Bonten 梵天 from Tenjiku 天竺, the (��) bon of Bonten 梵天 comes from Brahman 梵. (...) There’s no need for Senju to have the same role as Izana in Bonten if she’s not dead."

(I always pictured Senju being death in that timeline, but the reality of the kanjis being literally THAT... ajfshgsjgejgrjg, the pain of this. Wakui, you know how to break us every timeline! 😭)

Bonten was born from pain.

(drabble of the day that Bonten was created)

Warnings: I'm so sorry, this is just angst and hurt/no comfort. I wrote it as an attempt of coping with canon and how painful is Bonten timeline when you actually look closer to it. It's from Koko's POV and everyone is just broke and devastated in their own way. Again, I'm so sorry :(

(English is not my first language, so be nice please 🙈)

Most people think Bonten is synonymous with fear.

But they are all wrong. Kokonoi knows better.

Bonten is synonymous with pain, it was born in it.

He still remembers the day that Bonten was created, even if it wasn't the official date, any of the executives would pinpoint the exact same moment.

Probably, only Koko could actually offer a coherent narrative of that night. The only outsider of all the chaos unraveling in front of him.

He still has nightmares of what he saw. But is not what happened what haunts him, no. Is the voices, the faces surrounding him.

Wakasa covered in blood, his eyes looking completely empty. His blank stare, like he couldn't believe who this blood belonged to. Benkei's hand on his friend shoulder, tearing up like a baby.

Takeomi curled up in the floor, sobbing next to his sister's body. Saying “it should've been me” over and over, the older man stuck in a loop of guilt and denial.

The former members of Tenjiku looking shocked, not moving a finger for what was supposed to be their gang, their leader. Koko spent enough time with them to know that, even if they were ruthless, seeing the leader of another gang being shot like that... Was too familiar.

Anyone who looked at them could see they never agreed with that. The ghost of Izana Kurokawa still lingered over them.

Kakucho was shaking, his lips trembling. The rain and the blood mixing with red snow in the scarred boy's mind.

The Haitani brothers unconsciously getting closer to each other. Ran pulling his arm around Rindou in a protective way, the younger one allowing it without complains. Both of them staring at Sanzu, terrified with the possibility of being on the pinkette boy place.

Sanzu's screams were the worst of it. The excruciating pain in his voice while he was holding Senju's body. His little sister's body. How he looked at Takeomi, tears rolling down his cheeks, his gaze filled with hate when he spoke to his older brother “I agree, it should've been you.”

Mikey standing there, the void in his eyes while his knuckles kept dripping with South blood. The man's body at his feet.

That gaze, dark and lacking of any emotion. Pure void that swallowed everything around.

(That swallowed them, trapped them like moths that flied too close to the sun)

Bonten was born from pain.

Bonten grew in pain, thrived with it.

And, Kokonoi is sure that whatever destiny awaits for them...

Bonten will die in pain.

[beardedmrbean]

Iran's Supreme Leader released a message of support for American college students who have participated in pro-Palestine protests.

"Dear university students in the United States of America, you are standing on the right side of history," Ali Khamenei wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

His comments sparked fury on social media, with several people suggesting that having support from the authoritarian leader was not a good thing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on X: "When you've won the Ayatollah, you've lost America."

A popular right-wing X account, End Wokeness, wrote: "Imagine telling someone 10 years ago that the Iranian Supreme Leader would be thanking a bunch of blue-haired atheists at Columbia."

Several other X accounts, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Orthodox rabbi and adjunct professor David Bashevkin, suggested that having Khamenei's support might suggest the protesters are actually on the wrong side of history.

Iranian American activist, Elica Le Bon, who often criticizes the Iranian regime as well as pro-Palestine protesters, wrote on X: "From the regime's Supreme Leader to students in the U.S. How can it be right in front of them and they still can't see it?"

In response to Hamas' October 7 attack which killed 1,200 and took 250 hostage, Israel began an aerial bombardment and ground offensive into Gaza. Nearly eight months later, Israel's campaign has flattened much of Gaza, displaced millions and killed more than 35,000 people, many of them civilians, per the health ministry.

In response to Israel's offensive, pro-Palestine protests have erupted in college campuses across the U.S., leading to thousands of students being arrested.

Iran's Supreme Leader also shared a piece of advice with American students, writing on X: "Dear university students in the US, my advice to you is to become familiar with the Quran."

Khamenei also released a longer open letter, in which he wrote that he wanted to express "empathy and solidarity" with student protesters.

"You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure—a government which openly supports the usurper and brutal Zionist regime," he wrote.

Khamenei also invoked antisemitic tropes about Jewish people controlling the media.

"The global Zionist elite—who owns most US and European media corporations or influences them through funding and bribery—has labeled this courageous, humane resistance movement as "terrorism," " Khamenei wrote.

Iran has long been one of Israel's greatest regional foes, and tensions have reached new highs in recent months, escalating to the point of Iran launching hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

The Islamic nation has also been known to support Hamas through providing training and funding.

Khamenei has repeatedly expressed support for Hamas, describing them as "defending" their home. He also met with the militant group's leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this month during the latter's visit to Tehran.

[blep-23]

Each time a read about Spitelout I have more and more hate for him.

I was looking for Snafflefang references and saw that Spitelout rides one in THW?? Which means that his talk about an old sword going dull and getting a new one in RoB was actually serious and his Nadder, Kingstail, probably got the old sword treatment

WAIT.... STFU WHAT

[hunn1e-bunn1e]

Written & Received Asks!

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

If you sent me an ask, it's most definitely in this list. Asks are (usually) written from oldest to newest (top to bottom) with the exception of emoji'd anons; so if if you sent me an ask just recently, its not likely to be posted soon. However, there are other asks you can read while you wait for your own.

Second List!

                                                                                                   

1.) Hitachin Hikaru & Hitachin Kaoru - Giving Male Reader A Collar As A Prank, But Male Reader Likes It

2.) Grim, Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Jack Howl, Epel Felmier, Sebek Zigvolt & Yuu - Silly & Strong Male Reader

3.) Venti, Diluc Ragnvindr, Zhongli, Baizhu, Kamisato Ayato, Al'haitham & Kaveh - Mammon-Like Male Reader

4.) Baizhu - Hawks-Like Geo Vision User Gn Reader

5.) Zhongli - Gojo Satoru-Like Archon Male Reader

6.) 🫓Bonten - Debbie Jelinsky-Like Male Reader, 7.) Part 2

8.) Divus Crewel, Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Ruggie Bucci, Vil Schoenheit, Rook Hunt, Epel Felmier, Malleus Draconia & Lilia Vanrouge - Strong, Understanding & Teasing Male Reader

9.) Demiurge - Fair & Just Supreme Being Gn Reader 10.) 🥕Part 2

11.) Sebastian Michaelis & Company - Riddle Rosehearts-Lile Male Reader

12.) (OM!) Leviathan, Riddle Rosehearts & Idia Shroud - Male Reader Who Cheated On Their Past Partner

13.) Dorm Heads - Male Reader Who Has A Collection

14.) 🫓Bonten - Morticia Addams-Like Male Reader

15.) 🐀Demiurge - Gn Supreme Being Reader Falls Asleep On His Lap, Panic Ensues

16.) #0747 Shina - Idol Male Reader Who Ended Up In Nanba

17.) Guy Crimson & Diablo - Flirty Hombo Male Reader

18.) Dorm Heads - (Magi) Sinbad-Like Male Reader 19.) Part 2 Part 3

20.) Malleus Draconia - Cyno-Like Male Reader

21.) Kalim Al Asim - Roughhousing With Male Reader

22.) #0382 Honey - Teaching Male Reader How To Throw Darts

23.) Demon Brothers - Flirty Male Reader

24.) Dorm Heads - Zhongli-Like Male Reader

25.) Fairy King Harlequin - Touch Starved Gn Reader

26.) Ego Jinpachi - Assistant Gn Reader Makes Him Take A Nap

27.) 🌾(OM!) Solomon - Magic Blacksmith Male Reader

28.) 🦈Hayakawa Denji - "Half Your Melon Bread" Part 2

29.) Leona Kingscholar & Ruggie Bucci - Helping (Masc Leaning) Gender Fluid Reader With Gender Envy

30.) Samon Gokuu - Inmate Male Reader With A Mischievous Monkey Companion

31.) Gojo Satoru - Gn Reader Falls Asleep Mid-Conversation With Him

32.) Sesshoumaru - Neuvillette-Like Male Reader

33.) Terano 'South' Minami, Kurokawa Izana & Sano 'Mikey' Manjirou - Sweet & Gentle Gn Reader Who Is Ruthless In Fights

34.) Azul Ashengrotto - Sesshoumaru-Like Male Reader

35.) (T) Sano 'Mikey' Manjirou - Chifuyu's Older Brother Male Reader

36.) Arashi 'Benkei' Keizou - Cuddling With Male Reader

37.) Haitani Ran - Attacked By Turkeys, Male Reader

38.) Haitani Ran - "Bitch, What's For Dinner" Tiktok, Male Reader

39.) Samuel Seo, Sinu Han, Eli Jang, Jinguji Jakurai, Baizhu & Caelus - Beig Bridal Carried By Male Reader

40.) Suguro 'Bon' Ryuuji - Very Affectionate & Supportive Male Reader

41.) Orochi Yamada, Sanzou Houzuki & #0689489 Hakushaku - Bubbly, Naive & Friendly Gn Reader

42.) Sebek Zigvolt - Having A Crush On Male Reader Who's Malleus' Younger Brother

43.) #0944 Sith - Talking About Beliefs, Male Reader

44.) Joseph Joestar & Ceasar Zeppeli - Male Reader Who's Suzie Q's Older Brother

45.) Luka - "Biggest Fan", Bottom Male Reader

46.) Welt Yang - Vidyadhara Male Reader

47.) Al'haitham - Tartaglia-Like Matra Male Reader

48.) Dazai Osamu - Jessica Rabbit-Like Male Reader 49.) Part 2 50.) Part 3

51.)🎨Kirishima Ayato - Ghoul Male Reader Who Can't Control His Kagune

52.) Terano 'South' Minami, Haitani Ran & Kurokawa Izana - Trying To Make Male Reader Fail NNN

53.) 🍬Gaara of the Sand, Kalim Al Asim, Idia Shroud, #1325 Nico, Cyno & Suzuya Juzou - Hanging Out & Snuggling With Male Reader

54.) Demon Brothers - Wednesday Addams-Like Gn Reader

55.) Albedo, Xiao, Baizhu, Kaedehara Kazuha, Tighnari & Cyno - General Fluff, Male Reader

56.) 🕸Dorm Heads - Male Reader Who's Clingy & Flirty To Hide Their Insecurity

57.) Enel - Raiden Shogun-Like Male Reader

58.) 🌾Argenti - General Fluff, knight Of Beauty Male Reader

59.) Jack Howl - Gorou-Lile Male Reader

60.) Lilia Vanrouge - "Holding Hands Before Marriage" Prompt With Male Reader

61.) 🦊Kawasumi Itsuki, Amaki Ren, & Iwatani Naofumi - General Fluff + Kicking Kitamura Motoyasu Down A Well, Gn Reader

62.) Julius Novachrono, William Vangeance, Nozel Silva, Fuegoleon Vermillion & Leopold Vermillion - Flare Corona-Like Crimsom Lions Gn Reader

63.) Leona Kingscholar - Being Spooked By A Cucumber, Gn Reader

64.) Poly? #0737 Mina & #0727 Nina - Reacting To Their Partner Ending Up In Nanba For Trespassing, Gn Reader

65.) Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix - Celestial Supreme Being Male Reader

66.) (WHB) Satan, Mammon, Beelzebub, Leviathan & Lucifer - Getting Matching Rings With Gn Reader

67.) 🍁(AFTERL!FE) Day - Calm & Supportive Male Reader

68.) (WHB) Satan, Mammon, Beelzebub, Leviathan & Lucifer - Kissing Headcanons With Gn Reader

69.) Eli Jang (+Yelena) - Very Protective Male Reader, Leads To Smut

70.) 🍁Demon Brothers - Reacting To Male Reader Who's Manipulative & Sadistic Towards Mammon

71.) 🥕Gazef Stronoff - Patron God Male Reader Who Used To Be A Yggdrasil Player

72.) (WHB) Minhyeok - Being Pampered By Male Reader During A Quiet Night In

73.) Hatake Kakashi - Male Reader Teases Him By Reading His Erotic Novel Out Loud

74.) (WHB) Belphegor, Asmodeus, Bimet, Astaroth, Ronove & Bael - Getting Matching Rings With Gn Reader

75.) (WHB) Belphegor, Asmodeus, Bimet, Astaroth, Ronove & Bael - Kissing Headcanons With Gn Reader

76.) (WHB) Valefor - Getting Matching Rings With Gn Reader

77.) (WHB) Valefor - Kissing Headcanons With Gn Reader

78.) (Secretary Anon) Wriothesley - Seductive Secretary Male Reader

79.) (Secretary Anon) (OM!) Uriel - Treating Male Reader Like A Pet

80.) Diasomnia Dorm - Chuunibyou Male Reader, Fluffy Headcannons

81.) (WHB) Satan, Mammon, Beelzebub, Leviathan & Lucifer - Being Carried Bridal Style By Caring Tsundere Male Reader, Leads To Smut

82.) 🍁Eiden (+ Aster, Morvay, Quincy & Kuya) - Cold Gemstone Dragon Male Reader

83.) Jamil Viper - Sinbad Reader Takes Him Back To Sindria And The Two Get Married, Male Reader

84.) Edmond - Overprotective Yushirou-Like Knight Marshal Male Reader Follows Him & The Other Clan Members

85.) 🫧Shigaraki Tomura - L.O.V. Member Gn Reader Is His Infatuation

86.) Lancelot (Saber) - Gn Reader Feels Insecure After Finding Out About His Past Relationship With Guinevere

87.) 👻Riddle Rosehearts, Leona Kingscholar, Azul Ashengrotto, Malleus Draconia & Dire Crowley - Cheating With A Friend Prank, Gn Reader 88.) 👻Part 2

89.) Mitsuba Kiji, Yozakura Kenshirou, Gokuu Samon & Sugoroku Hajime - Shy & Antisocial Building 11 Supervisor Male Reader Who Shows His Kindness Through Small But Thoughtful Actions

90.) Sawamura Daichi, Oikawa Tooru, Kuuro Tetsurou, Bokuto Koutarou, Ushijima Wakatoshi & Miya Osamu - Pretty Manager Male Reader Who's Easily Flustered

91.) Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix - Gn Supreme Being Reader Who Is Like Ashlesh (L.O.L)

92.) Malleus Draconia - Meeting Male Readers Based on the Various Dragons in Genshin Impact

93.) Demon Brothers - Tattooed Male Reader Coincidentally Has Tattoos Of Their Figurative/Respective Animals

94.) Mitsuba Kiji, Yozakura Kenshirou, Gokuu Samon & Sugoroku Hajime - Anxious & Timid Vice Warden Male Reader Who's Filling In For Hyakushiki

95.) Saitama/Caped Baldy - Monster Housespouse Male Reader

🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.•°•.🐇.

[blep-23]

Already know where the next dagur interaction is going Lmao. It’s not even this chapter.

[the-gone-ton]

The York Galleria is the only surviving one of five malls developed in York, PA, over the years. Prior to the Galleria, the east side of York had the York Mall, opened in 1968, with anchors JCPenney, Montgomery Ward, and York's own The Bon-Ton, as well as a flagship location of McCrory's variety store. The west side of town was dominated by the West Manchester Mall, a 1981 mall from major mall developer Crown American Corporation. This mall featured Hess's, The Bon-Ton, and Gee Bee as anchors. The two other malls, North Mall and Delco Plaza Mall, were smaller and both struggled to compete with the nearby West Manchester.

In the late 80s, another big mall developer, George Zamias, chose to build the York Galleria in east York - right next to the York Mall. He described the Galleria as the 21st century mall that York deserved. Upon opening in 1989, York Galleria featured Sears, Boscov's, JCPenney, and The Bon-Ton; the latter two stores had left the York Mall behind to join the Galleria.

This presented an opportunity for Arkansas-based Walmart to open at the wounded York Mall in its former JCPenney building in 1990. It was the first store in PA for the particularly ruthless Walmart, which would spend the next 30 years laying waste to rival northeastern discount stores. The West Manchester Mall wasn't hit as hard by the opening of the Galleria, but it too made the mistake of welcoming in Walmart to replace their closed Hess's store in 1993.

Walmart later expanded both stores into supercenters that swallowed up huge sections of the malls they were attached to, and a Sam's Club was added at the York Mall site next to Montgomery Ward. Far from keeping these two malls afloat, Walmart helped kill them from the inside out. The closure of Montgomery Ward in the late 90s was the final straw for York Mall; West Manchester was slated for redevelopment after The Bon-Ton left in 2011. Today, the York Galleria stands as the city's only mall, but it has faced its own struggles recently. At least part of this comes from the various former malls in York that the Galleria had previously helped to kill.

[sanjiaftersex]

Pre-timeskip thoughts :

I just finished pre-timeskip and before i get into fishmen arc here are some thoughts

Favorite Strawhat : Sanji, Luffy

Favorite non-Strawhat : nefertari vivi, Bonclay

Other characters I liked : Dr Kureha (girlboss), the baratie workers, portgas d Ace (*sobs uncontrollably*), Hachi the octopus, Vivi's duck karoo, boa hancock, Rayleigh, ivankov HEEHAW,

Favourite friendships : zoro-luffy, zoro-chopper, sanji-ace (sobs uncontrollably), nami-usopp, Luffy-vivi, Luffy-bon chan

Favorite island : Little Garden, Water 7

Favorite Villains :

Captain Kuro and the kuro neko pirates were good and i liked the unique fighting style they had (siam and buchi, then jango was hilarious as hell etc)

Don krieg was the scum of earth but he made the story progress into something more serious and thrilling.

Sawtooth Arlong, the fishmen were all intimidating as hell and the whole arc was filled to the brim with excitement

The Baroque works concept was very cool with all the code names and i felt eager to find out the powers of the duos being revealed slowly. I liked Ms. Goldenweek and Ms doublefinger and would love to see more of them in the future. Finally Crocodile served well as a villain and later as an ally.

Skypiea Eneru (enel?idk) was so formidable and his power was so very unique from all the villains up till that arc, so it was very refreshing to watch. Plus the priests and their fighting style was a good introduction to haki (called as mantra) and its influence in a fight. (Strawhats' fight with satori was fun HOH HO HO).

CP9 were all parts of ruthless and annoying about their government assigned crimes but i like that Chapapa guy the most, he's cute asf and Rob Lucci turning into a tiger gave me a shock lmao. But damn rob lucci as a shipwright was some hot shit

Aokiji gave me blood pressure from how angry he makes me but him letting go off robin in water 7 and all that time ago in ohara, he has left an impression and I'm looking forward to find out more about him

Bartholomew Kuma gave me the HOLY FUCK OH SHIT OH GOD FUCK HE IS HERE AGAIN jolts but then turned out to be a nice person with mysterious lore that im eager to find out so he deserves a place here. Plus his paw paw power is cute

Perona's negative hollow power was hilarious and she's a nice cutie girl who considers zoro a boytoy like me and Luffy so that's a plus

Favourite devil fruit power so far : tori tori no mi : model phoenix (marco) i like the flight and his regeneration power

Favourite moments : Enies Lobby Sogeking shooting down the govt flag as the strawhats announce war against them, sabaody archipelago Luffy punching a celestial dragon (GOAT Luffy), marineford Luffy punching Garp (GOAT LUFFY), Luffy crying after Ace's death, Luffy punching bellamy

Favourite fights : Luffy vs kuro pirates, Luffy vs Crocodile final battle in alabasta, Sanji on the train fighting that ramen guy, zoro vs hachi, little garden final battle

a few tears may or may not have been shed : Chopper's backstory, going merry funeral, little Luffy being kidnapped :(, marineford ace-Luffy

Best arc : Arlong, Little garden, Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark (i love spooky things and tb was hilarious)

Thoughts on the Strawhats :

Luffy : I've grown to love him a lot. His innocence, childlike excitement and badbitchery have rizzed me up, your honor. Also he is a musical genius, minami no shimawa has been SOTY for decades. Plus I really love Luffy's eating moments. He looks so cute and stupid and it melts my heart so much i know a Luffy mukbang show would go SO HARD

Zoro : His backstory felt a bit lukewarm but he later made up for everything. He turned out to be so thoughtful, brave and selfless, especially, zoro's character got new dimension during water 7 saga and ofc thriller bark zoro is one for the history books.

Nami : at first she irked me a bit, but after knowing her backstory, I started loving her. She's strong, resourceful, selfless and smart.

Usopp : his quirks, especially during the G-8 filler arc after skypiea, Usopp's CONDORRRIANO still cracks me up like no other. And him getting all the protective religious gears and garlic necklace when he saw Brook, was hilarious.

Chopper : little baby, soft fuzzy and dumb as fuck but has been so so traumatized. Also Tony Tony chopper has to be the cutest name anyone has ever been given, little baby is always too hard on himself (typical capricorn) and needs to chill.

Franky : I love his dance routines, and his franky family was cool as well. I once even followed one of his routines he does after he landed in the karakuri island (it was a good hip movement after binging one piece for HOURS). Also i miss mozu and kiwi dance icons

Robin : She filled me with rage during water 7, but after her backstory, I understood her more. She's cute and her nihilistic outlook on life is hilarious

Sanji : PERFECTION. He took my heart even before baratie (I saw a person doing leg karate in one of the openings and couldn't wait to meet him). His initial backstory (the starvation and zeff) moved me,and based on that i can see how thoughtful and kind he is. I can't wait to discover more about this wonderful character in depth. His badbitchery with fullbody, His kindness with Gin and don Krieg, the unique way he fights - he had me from the very first appearance. And I can't believe he has more depth to his already beautiful complex character. look at my pretty boy

Brook : i love how polite but chaotic he is and how easily he blends in with the strawhats. And i absolutely love how open minded Luffy was with Brook, and their interactions crack me UP.

General thoughts about op :

- op keeps me on my toes with the constant new islands, the new characters, both allies and villains, being gradually introduced feels very refreshing and thrilling

- Even the Strawhats slowly joined with a fun (sometimes sad) story. The introduction with a fresh face and the development of a new friendship felt good and didn't jumble my brain with too much information at the same time

- I love the dynamics of the strawhats and how wholesome all of them are in their own ways

- The summit war wasn't as exciting as i was expecting, it felt too drawn out and the constant switch between different fight scenes and fighting parties made things feel unfinished. On that note, whitebeard and his pirates were disappointing asf

- Excited to see more of Bartholomew Kuma, shanks, crocodile, mihawk, ivankov, perona, captain kidd, Law

- Bon chan is GOAT and i better be seeing him soon

Looking forward to see what the series has in store for me <3

[magic-crazy-as-this]

fanon vs canon: we're talking (an essay)

Hiya! I've been seeing a lot on my dash these huge arguments about fanon vs canon in the DC/Batfamily univers, and it's getting pretty heated. People seem to be getting upset about what "counts" as canon, what parts of the story are "real" or "made up by fans" and what is "allowed" to be "real".

Personally, I find the entire argument to be reductive and extremely so.

Here's why:

Batman as a property has existed for 85 years. The idea and mythology and story of Batman has been handled by countless writers and artists, been seen in every kind of artistic medium, and has been changed over and over again over the past eight and a half decades. This story has never been told the same way twice and that's half the point of these stories and mythologies we've built up. We've seen Bruce Wayne be morally questionable if not outright reprehensible, a loving father, a staunch loner, a murderer-by-proxy (Batman v Superman, you know not what you do). It's okay to pull ideas from across time because, well, there's a lot of it and things are changing all the time!

There's a lot more there than we can easily comprehend (this is kind of more of a "1a, but fine, whatever, hey) This is something I see a lot where someone is accused of being "too fanon" only for it to turn out to be something pulled directly from the over eight decades of work. Maybe it's not productive to accuse people of this kind of thing when maybe, just maybe, there are sources for this.

Flattening these characters into "allowable" ideas of the character limits our creativity I mean, think about it for a moment: why should we limit what stories we tell and things we create by what other people tell us is acceptable? After all, if we said there were only certain kinds of stories and ideas allowed, we would never have Dark Knights of Steel, Red Son, or even Batman Beyond. Without taking risks, making changes, and telling our own stories, we miss out on so many amazing ideas that would never be permitted to bloom. (ok but the LEGO Batman movies make Damian this cheerful people-pleasing little ball of sunshine and that's not it tbh, there are limits)

People are more nuanced than you think - it's okay to be a little contradictory (this means you!) When I was growing up, I was in an intense and huge music fandom that engaged in something called The Great Poser Hunt of '07 (IYKYK). In what was supposed to be a loving space for the outcasts and forgotten weirdoes of every known high school, we would bully each other relentlessly for "not liking the right thing" or "not being a real fan" and we would constantly test and torment each other over it. It was stressful, it was awful, and it made me and many others like me feel like we had to fit a certain aesthetic, mindset, and media taste otherwise we would be outcast again and this time from a group already ostracised. (And these aesthetics and media tastes that were chosen for us by large corporations but whatever, that's another essay for another day) I listened to Backstreet Boys in secret with my iPod under the blankets, I could let none of my friends know about my secret love of Bon Jovi, and the parts of my heart devoted to 80s New Wave were locked away where no one could see. I felt reduced to what other people wanted from me. I hope you're reading this and thinking "man, that sucked, I don't want to be like that! I want to like all the things I like and proudly!" Which is grand! Please continue to think nice things for yourself! My question to you now is: why would we do this to fictional characters, too? Why can't Dick Grayson be cunning and clever, sometimes kinder than he is wise, friendly and funny and horribly ruthless when he needs to be and all at once? Jason Todd already embodies this kind of thing by being a head-taking badass biker who loves the classics but you know what, he can listen to Slipknot and Britney Spears! That's okay, too! And whatever it is you like, whether it fits a certain aesthetic or scene or mould, that is okay. You deserve to enjoy your things freely and without shame and without shaming others. (So leave Jason's Katy Perry CD collection the hell alone, ya vultures!)

In conclusion:

It's okay for people to make up new ideas for the things you love. It's okay for people to try new things. It's okay for you to disagree with them, too, you don't have to like everything anyone ever comes up with.

But bullying people for their creativity, especially when there's over eighty goddamn years of media to be inspired by, when limiting creativity is stifling and has us miss out on truly special things, and when people in general are more nuanced than you think?

[mediauser325]

Bon Clay and Ivankov tickle HC'S!

(Queer kings/queens my beloveds! No headcannons were here for them so I am doing the honors)

Bon Clay: 90% Ler, 10% Lee.

This silly buddy isn't that ticklish except a bit on his neck, but you can get a few laughs out of him before he switches it 'round onto you. He seems like the type to enjoy tickling, a subtle poke here and there, but he won't go for a complete tickle session unless he's properly provoked. Maybe a 3 strikes kinda thing, if he's tickled first or many warnings, but provoke him too much, the gloves are OFF. I'm talking frantic pokes, scribbles, working to find what gets you the most, digging into a particularly sensitive spot, maybe raspberries if you're unlucky and he's feeling evil on that day. He is such a taunter, but your arms are already pinned so you can't hide your face. Next up...

IVANKOV: ULTIMATE LER HEE HAWWW

This lovely queen isn't ticklish but man can he dish it out. Same as Bon, maybe a subtle poke once in a while to keep you on your toes, but he won't full on attack unless provoked. Has definitely tickled Sanji for being rude to one of the drag queens. Ruthless. Need I say more? He doesn't tease or taunt, but it's already bad enough without the teases. Have fun dying :)

[pumpka-sysflags]

Horror/Bloody-Themed Names, Pronouns, and Titles!

Requested by anon!

Names: Agatha, Agnes, Belladonna, Buffy, Calantha, Calypso, Carmilla, Circe, Drusilla, Elena, Elvira, Esme, Glinda, Glory, Ivy, Lamia, Lorraine, Melanie, Morgana, Morrigan, Morticia, Persephone, Ravenna, Sayona, Seraphina, Tabitha, Xenia, Yolanda, Zilla, Alaric, Blade, Burton, Crowley, Cullen, Dagan, Diablo, Draven, Dullahan, Emmett, Fester, Giles, Griffin, Hatchet, Riot, Epitaph, Fang, Bloody, Veins, Scar, Slash, Bones, Corvid, Shade, Hellion, Terror, Fright, Dread, Fear, Alarm, Demon

Pronouns: Gore/Gores/Goreself, Guro/Guros/Guroself, Vio/Violent/Violentself, Stab/Stabs/Stabself, Cut/Cuts/Cutself, Scar/Scars/Scarself, Scar/Scarred/Scarredself, Bloo/Blood/Bloodself, Blee/Bleed/Bleedself, Skull/Skulls/Skullself, Brai/Brain/Brainself, Bon/Bones/Boneself, Teeth/Tooth/Toothself, Necro/Necrom/Necroself, Spook/Spooks/Spookself, Fear/Fears/Fearself, Startle/Startles/Startleself, Creep/Creeps/Creepself, Dark/Darks/Darkself, Ruthle/Ruthless/Ruthlesself, Brutal/Brutals/Brutalself, Cut/Throat/Cutthroatself, Merci/Merciless/Mercilesself, 😈/😈s/😈self, 👹/👹s/👹self, 👻/👻s/👻self, ☠️/☠️s/☠️self, 🎃/🎃s/🎃self, 🫀/🫀s/🫀self, 🫁/🫁s/🫁self, 🧠/🧠s/🧠self

Titles: The Horror, The Fear, The Epitome Of Horror, The Epitome Of Fear, The Nightmare, (The/My/Our) Worst Nightmare, (Pronoun) Who Strikes Fear Into Your Heart, (Pronoun) Who Strikes Terror Into Your Heart, (Pronoun) Who Brings Horror, The Heart, The Liver, The Lungs, The Nerves, The Heart Lungs Liver Nerves, The Paranoid Chant, (Pronoun) Who Is Paranoid, (The/My/Our) Paranoid Deity, The Blood, The Guts, The Gutted, The Disemboweled, The Degloved, (Pronoun) Whose Guts Hang Out, (Pronoun) Who Bleeds, (Pronoun) Who Wants Revenge, The Blood And Guts, (The/My/Our) Vengeful Deity, (The/My/Our) Bleeding God/Goddess

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 2/6/2024

some weeks it's really hard to come up with a snappy little bon mot to put here

listening

Barbarella, by a fuck of a lot of people. yes i DID watch this movie this week! this is the single catchiest theme song i have ever heard. i cannot link the actual opening credits scene bc tumblr will censor that shit SO fast. spotify

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reading

Rebecca Roanhorse's Tread of Angels novella. this is an urban magic old west religious fantasy novella. VERY sangfielle friendsatthetable vibes, there's an old west mining town centered around the body of the demon Abbadon, which is being mined for its powerful properties. demons and angels have sort of interbred throughout the human population. there is some deeply nerdy catholic bullshit and i say that as someone who was in catholic school for fifteen years. actually let's just take Roanhorse's explanation

the setting and premise are not where the novella bites off way more than it can chew. the main character, a cardsharp, has a chanteuse sister being held accused of a murder and she's got 48hrs to prove her innocence. the time limit and general structure is good, and it uses its side characters wisely, there's just a fuck of a lot of them.

in general, this novella does not have the emotional room to make its emotional beats really count. for example, there was a second breakup with an ex after a night of passion that mostly just left me confused. more broadly, the main character has an oldest sister's selfsacrificing nature that has twisted into utter ruthlessness with regards to her sister, and i'm both impressed Roanhorse managed to convey that in so few pages and annoyed bc i really wanted to see more of that in way more detail. due to the nature of it being a novella, the series of escalating decisions she takes feel very jagged in their escalation. i hope that makes sense.

it's got really interesting ideas! i want to know more about the ideas! i wish this was a full book instead of a novella, so the ending hits a little better instead of a Well That Just Happened way. from this interview it seems Roanhorse also wanted it to be a full book, but it was sort of a "i need something short and sweet so i don't go insane while adapting my other book for TV" (which is very exciting!!!)

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watching

really a bizarre set of films. extremely unemployed energy in this watchlist this week. largely composed of "what's on my letterboxed watchlist and also available for free on tubi, with brief forays into hulu"

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013, dir. Chow). loved the overall visual design of the antagonists and the monsters, did not overall love this movie. it is a solid martial arts showcase and the first twenty minutes with freshwater JAWS are the most tightly plotted. it kind of flounders (lol) after that. can't find a gif i like.

INU-OH (2021, dir. Yuasa) genuinely healed my heart a little i think. queer (complimentary, not queer in the western massachusetts housing coop way) feudal anime glam rock opera. i am sooooooo picky about bad dads in movies as a driving force but this really soothed my daddy issues. stuck the landing on both storytelling and visuals.

Barbarella (1968, dir. Vadim) WOW Jane Fonda was hot. this was both sillier and less porny than i was led to believe (if we ignore the softcore porn opening credits). however horny this movie was it was not brave enough to have some girl-on-girl action with barbarella and the evil empress, even though the evil empress never seems to actually learn her name and just calls her “pretty” or “pretty-pretty”. shoutout to the one fic on ao3 that rectifies this situation. certainly a piece of scifi history, i wish modern scifi was as brave with its theatrical set dressing, i think one viewing is good enough for me bc i cannot stop thinking about how all the women on set might have been treated.

john philip law popped up and i said out loud to my cat “hey i know him from cowboys”

Flower Drum Song (1961, dir. Koster) got conned into watching this by the hotvintagemen poll bc i wanted to see what james shigeta’s deal was, and if he did have a sort of ratpack sensibility as the propaganda described. he does! however this movie is unrelentingly awful. it is so so so slow. all of its comedy is racism-based. it feels like a three and a half hour two-VHS set instead of two hours. i like to think i have a stronger stomach for older media and am able to consider things as products of their times but this is my upper limit i think. one brief fleeting moment of cool production with this triple mirror effect

Dirty Dancing (1987, dir. Ardolino). we were trying to find something to watch on either peacock or hbo max, and when i said "oh i've never seen that" out loud my my best friend said "that's insane we're watching it". i did not hate this movie, but i feel like i missed some critical window of development in which i would have had to see this movie to really love it. i had sort of an abnormal high school experience and i am a smidge too old to relate to bildungsroman any more. but it was cute! it was fine! i think patrick swayze’s jawline could cut glass. this film was made after Roe v Wade (1973) and i feel like the backstreet abortion b-plot has done this interesting 180 from sort of a historical novelty to a real threat and terror again. fun!

that’s it for the watching section i promise

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playing

im doing the thing where i play a game for ten minutes, put it down, and then pick it back up again, which is probably not terrific for the health of my elderly switch. but whatever. what have i been up to in breath of the wild?

not a ton of progress map-wise, but did make it up to zora’s domain.

i was planning on the camel being the first divine beast, to get that over with bc i had such a devil of a time in my last playthrough, but the thing about the desert is it’s really far away.

dicked around the dueling peaks stables for a while without managing to defeat that guardian and unlock that shrine. so it goes. i think i really need an actual guardian shield from one of the minor tests of strength shrines instead of a normie shield. this line and sidequest made me laugh— it wasn’t terribly hard to find this little cache but it was a tricky bit of gliding.

didn’t realize the horses don’t have that much vertical threat perception, just like real horses. this little band walked right under me and i failed to glide down and land perfectly on someone’s back, which did freak them all out.

i think my new favorite place in a game is this little grove clinging to the side of the dueling peaks. it felt very peaceful and cozy. nothing can get me up there and there’s more than enough room to make a little campfire and cook dinner and not roll off the mountain in a sleeping bag the middle of the night.

also fully kitted out my house bc i had a very successful mining expedition along dueling peaks. EXTREMELY forgiving and generous secondary opening area imo, thanks game

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making

i started this glitch sampler pattern by tumblr's own mathysphere (not @'d bc this is a fuck of a long post) at the beginning of the pandemic, june 2020, while thinking "eh let's give this friends at the table counterweight thing a shot" got most of the way through both counterweight and this piece, put it down bc i was so annoyed with all the confetti stitches (random one-off stitches of colors that aren't anywhere near other stitches of the same color. i think i resorted to fraychek at several points in the rover square) and then put it down so long i had to throw it out during the great moth debacle, bc it was partly eaten.

here's what it will look like finished, and a link to buy the pattern

i think this time around i am a much better technical stitcher (the first crack at this i didn't know the loop method of starting, or pin stitches, or really any alternate endings except running the tail under the last few stitches). i usually stitch with three strands bc i like the look, but i think the loop method with three strands is overly fiddly. i have not picked up cross stitch since mmmm 2021, but any mistakes or unevenness in this will simply contribute to the glitch effect. i'm going to go back and backstitch the four "frames" and key portions of the sampler to highlight portions of the glitches (eg the yellow and blue centers of the spiral galaxy, the interior of the eclipse, perhaps add an antenna to the rover).

still not my tidiest back, but hey. it's going to sit in a frame and not have any sort of friction or extra force applied to it ever

i am really looking forward to framing this in a deep shadowbox, i have an idea about how to mat it with little melty cutouts for the drips at the bottom.

[iniziare]

Kafka: The topic of killing, and/or death at her hand.

Sometimes I wish I could say anything other than 'it's not that simple', but I really can't seem to say that... ever. As much as Kafka seems to take to killing and chaos relatively easily when the need for it arises, I don't particularly get the impression that she bears any sort of craving for it. Yes, she's rather exemplary at it from what we can see in her trailer, her combat calling back to a sort of... 'John Wick'-like style if we're talking aesthetically (which is reinforced in the glimpse of her in Acheron's trailer), and outside of that, we can see there's an emotional distance between her and when she's actively engaging in taking lives, as if it is quite literally a means to an end, a necessity that she doesn't quite feel anything specific in regards to. There's no excitement in her, there's no proper smile, no laughter, nothing that seems to inherently indicate that anything is really 'tickling her'. And outside of her trailer, there is also her voiceline about Sam that goes as follows, which shows that killing isn't something she does merrily nor necessarily often (this may tie into her character as a remnant of what she did and/or had to do on Pteruges-V):

"Oh, Sam isn't nearly as picky about his prey as I am... you might consider it a lucky break running into me."

There's an element of her being a little particular as to her engagement with this, which makes quite a bit of sense to me if you see how its really kind of drawn across the board for her character that while she can do things out of necessity, Kafka is primarily one to pursue things when something piques her interest in one way or another. She doesn't do much without some sort of engagement and/or motivation to and behind it, which I don't attach to an overall lack of emotion, as I don't draw a direct correlation between the two. No, to me, it's simply the concept of 'quality over quantity'; the reality of having specific preferences and standards that guide the choices that she makes. Remember her words to the Trailblazer? She doesn't say it without reason, it's also a glimpse into her own motivation(s) in life when it comes to what she wants to do, rather than what she does when she needs to do it/them:

"When you have the chance to make a choice, make one that you know you won't regret."

All of this plays into the motivator that Kafka isn't a fully ruthless killer in the sense that this is some pastime that she seeks to engage in simply because 'it's fun', or anything of the sort. Does that mean that she's opposed to killing? Absolutely not (obviously). Does this mean that she is good at it, and even finds likely enjoyment in the realization of the latter? Certainly. But there's still a discrepancy between that and enjoying it enough to actively seek it out for that purpose, which nothing in canon seems to point at so far. Besides, let me add to it, that Kafka's list of offenses across numerous wanted posters that have her bounty up so high that she's wanted 'Dead or Alive' (cue Bon Jovi), don't technically list deaths/murders, outside of the 'lethal crimes' noted by the Devils on Pteruges-V against her (where to be 'fair', she was a Devil Hunter of said 'Devils', but her motivation behind it actually has you questioning morality quite heavily). But, if we look at it logically, the nature of these 'Devils' may actually come to bring about the destruction of Pteruges-V, as self-indulgence to the extreme is often described to ultimately be 'self-destructive'.

So in essence, I think the answer isn't as simple as a clear-cut 'yes, she loves it' or 'no, she hates it'; I think there's a level of indifference, but not quite what one might tie to someone who veers close to the path of a sociopath, for example. This is definitely a topic that I want to revisit, but for now, this'll have to do.