#I just think we should stab hawks

[hanniebaeee]

The Wedding Heist

Danceracha x fem!reader

Warnings: some threats

Genre: Best friends to lovers?, fluff, angst

Summary: Your parents are forcing you to marry a man you don't love or even begin to think of a life partner. You're being kept locked at your home, and your best friends (well, it's obviously more than friendship here) are planning a wedding heist - stealing the bride on the wedding day!

a/n: Also from a dream I had 🤭 Also I don't hate Yeonjun - just a character in the story !!

The smell of something burning filled the boys’ apartment, but Minho barely noticed as he stabbed furiously at the wok with his spatula. Two other pots boiled on the stove, one very close to spilling over.

But he didn’t seem to care. If he didn't keep moving, he was pretty sure he’d implode.

In the living room, Felix was a mess - blotchy tear-streaked cheeks, and brownie crumbs everywhere. He sat cross-legged on the sofa with a giant plate of brownies in his lap, sobbing as he shoveled the treat into his mouth.

“I j-just don’t understand!” he wailed, crumbs spraying everywhere. “Why isn’t she texting back?!”

“She obviously doesn’t have her phone, Yongbok,” Minho said, his shoulders sagged under his own misery. “Her parents must have taken it just to make sure we can’t talk to her.”

Felix’s face crumpled. He let out another sob and crammed another brownie into his mouth.

“W-We’re supposed to protect her! But we're just sitting here and letting her suffer! What if she thinks we don’t care?”

Across the room, Hyunjin was perched on the window sill, staring into the night like a lovesick Victorian poet. He hadn’t spoken in days, his brooding silence actually starting to make the atmosphere even more miserable - if that was even possible.

His hair was unkempt and dark circles shadowed his eyes - he has done nothing but mourn your absence from his life.

Minho side-eyed him while poking furiously at his chicken.

“Alright, broody. That's enough. Both of you, stop. This isn't doing us any good!” he snapped, and Hyunjin hopped off the window sill, glaring at Minho. 

“You think I’m sulking? She’s getting married - to some random asshole who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her - and you’re over there making soup!”

“It’s a stir-fry,” Minho deadpanned. 

“She’s probably crying herself to sleep, and you’re stir-frying?” Hyunjin hissed. “We should be doing something! Not standing around like idiots while Yeonjun gets to -”

Felix burst into fresh sobs at the name.

“Don’t say his name! Please!” He said, hiccupping through the tears. “He doesn’t deserve her. He doesn't…What if she's moved on? What if -”

Hyunjin whirled around, facing Felix, taking two steps towards him. 

“Don’t you dare.” His voice was low and he sounded so furious, Felix looked terrified. “Don’t you dare question how she feels. She loves us. She’s just… stuck. You know that.”

Minho groaned, tossing his spatula onto the counter.

“Okay, this won't do. Hyunjin, stop scaring him. And Felix, you know her better than anyone.” He said, glaring at both of them. “We’re not sitting around and crying anymore.”

“We’re going to…going to stop the wedding, then?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes moving from Minho to Felix.

Felix sat up straight, brownie crumbs falling down his sweater.

“Ok, so we find out where she’s being kept, get her out of there, and make sure her parents know they can’t control her anymore.” Minho offered, and Felix just looked at Minho and Hyunjin with wide eyes, his mouth falling open. 

“Alright, but we need to be smart about this. Her parents are probably watching her like hawks.” Hyunjin added. 

“Let's do it then.” Felix said, finally putting the plate away and brushing the crumbs off him. 

The car was parked a safe distance from your family manor. Everything was so silent, but the tension inside felt like a blaring alarm.

Hyunjin sat in the driver’s seat, staring at the security guards patrolling your front yard. Felix was watching from the back, and he already looked so discouraged, it was sad. Minho, on the other hand, looked like he was about to start breathing fire.

“This is ridiculous,” Minho spat. “What do they think she’s going to do? Tunnel out of the house with a spoon?”

“M-Maybe they think we’re going to rescue her…” Felix hiccupped, his red-rimmed eyes peeking out from under his sleeve.

Hyunjin gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white.

“We can’t even get close to her,” Felix choked out. “She’s right there, and we can’t do anything! What if she thinks -”

“She’s not going to think anything,” Hyunjin said softly, but there was a shadow of doubt in his voice.

He looked back at the house, the corners of his mouth tightening. Minho, however, wasn’t having any of it. He slammed his fist against the dashboard, startling both of them.

“No. No way. We’re not giving up. If we can’t get her out now, we’ll do it when it matters most.”

“What do you mean?” Felix blinked at him, sniffling. 

“The wedding. If they want to lock her up until she says ‘I do,’ fine. Let them think they’ve won. But when she’s at that venue? She’s ours.” Minho said, his jaw clenching. 

“You’re saying we crash the wedding?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, completely invested in this plan. 

“No,” Minho said, a devilish smirk forming on his lips. “We steal the bride. We’ll take her someplace where she can actually be happy.”

---

Back at their apartment, the boys huddled around the coffee table, a hand drawn map of the wedding venue (courtesy Hyunjin) spread out in front of them. Minho was pointing at various parts of the map with a chopstick like a general planning a siege.

“Felix,” Minho began. “Your job is the most important. You’re going to sneak into her dressing room and get her out. I hope you're good at climbing because -”

“I’ll climb whatever you need me to climb!” Felix interrupted, looking determined.

Minho gave him a half-smile.

“Well, you'd climb in through her window for now,” he said. “While you’re doing that, I’ll create a distraction to draw security away from her side of the venue. Fire alarms, and maybe some smoke bombs -”

“Smoke bombs?” Hyunjin cut in, looking suspicious. 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to,” Minho shot back, smirking. “Anyway, while we’re at it, Hyunjin will have the car ready and waiting.”

“I can handle that.” Hyunjin said, arms crossed and leaning back. “But what about after we get her out? They’ll chase us.” 

“Let them,” Minho said. “She's an adult. She can easily make a police complaint about being kept locked in, and maybe get a restraining order or something.”

Felix bounced in his seat, as he said, “This is gonna work. I know it will! She’ll see us, and she’ll know we’re there for her.”

Hyunjin gave a small smile and said, “She’ll know.”

It was the day of your wedding, and you were sitting in the dressing room, suffocating in the layers of white silk and lace - waiting for your death sentence. The pressure in your chest grew with every passing second. This was so wrong. This whole thing was. 

You stood in front of the mirror, staring at your reflection with terror. The dress was stunning, yes. But it didn’t feel like it belonged to you. Not when you had no say in it. 

Memories of last night surfaced and you felt extremely nauseated. You'd begged Yeonjun to reconsider this insanity. You’d pleaded with him, told him how you didn't want this.

But his response had been one that you'd never forget. 

He'd sneered at you and grabbed your chin so harshly as he said, “You’ll learn to be grateful for this. I’m going to teach you your place. And when I'm done, no one's gonna want you again. Especially those losers you call your friends.”

You felt your stomach churn. You weren’t afraid of him - no, not really - but you couldn’t deny the power he held over you. 

The power your own parents had bestowed upon him. Because they thought it was ok for him to threaten you into submission. 

And that terrified you.

More than anything, the thought that you'd never see Felix, Minho or Hyunjin ever again - that crushed you. There wasn't a night that you didn't cry over how much you missed them. They meant the world to you.

You walked towards the giant window, gazing out while considering climbing out. You wondered if that was actually feasible when suddenly, a face appeared just in front of you.

A very familiar, and very attractive, face.

“Felix?” you gasped, your heart leaping into your throat as you quickly grabbed his arm helping him through the open window.

He was dressed in a white suit that made him look like the literal definition of an angel sent to save you. His eyes were wide, and he looked like he was ready to weep.

“Oh my god, baby…” Felix whispered, and you barely had time to process this before he was pulling you into an hug.

The sob that escaped you was strangled and pained. You wrapped your arms around him, clutching him like he would disappear any minute.

You weren't even sure if you were hallucinating from hunger and exhaustion or if he was actually here. What helped was his scent - he smelled like vanilla and something spicy. And more than anything, he felt like home.

“Oh my god, Lixie, what are you doing here?” you asked breathlessly, tears streaming down your face.

“I’m here to take you home, of course,” he said softly, cupping your cheeks and brushing his lips against your forehead before moving to kiss you full on the lips - deep and slow. This was your first time kissing him, honestly, it sent shivers down your spine. You could feel his heart racing against yours, and his hands slipped down to your waist, holding you tight against him.

Felix was here. And he was taking you away.

He pulled back, his eyes taking in your wedding dress and a soft smile grazed his face as he said, “You’re so beautiful,”

You could see the lust burning in his eyes, a hunger that he was trying so hard to suppress. But there was no time to indulge in it now.

“Come on,” Felix whispered, taking your hand gently and guiding you toward the door. When he opened it, you gasped loudly, because you saw Minho stalking towards you and Felix with a smug grin on his face. 

“Minho!” you said, as your heart pounding in your chest. He was so damn sexy in his suit, his expression a perfect mix of arrogance and affection.

He didn’t even give you a chance to react before he was pulling you into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around you.

“You're not getting married today, sweetheart,” he whispered, his lips brushing against your ear.

You blinked at him as you tried to take this all in. You were sure your life was over till about five minutes ago. You were scared to even hope, because at this moment, you had a lot of it flowing through you. 

You glanced around, looking for Hyunjin. But you don't have time to ask where he was, because at the exact moment a shrill sound fills the area.

A fire alarm. The wail echoed down the hall, and you could hear a soft hiss of smoke drifting from somewhere in the building. There were people running towards the source of the sound and the smoke filling the area.

“Minho…” you said, your voice almost incredulous, “Did you set off the fire alarm?”

“Would you prefer I hadn’t?” Minho teased, and Felix chuckled softly behind you.

You didn’t have time to process what was happening before Minho was pulling you in for a kiss of his own. And the look he gave you promised you something safe and beautiful you couldn't have dared to dream of until a few minutes ago. 

“We're taking you away from all this,” Minho said, breaking the kiss. “You belong with us.”

As if on cue, you heard the door swing open from the other side, and Yeonjun’s voice cut through the air like a knife.

“What the hell is going on?!” he bellowed, his face twisting in rage. “Where is Y/N?!”

The three of you ran. It was an absolute pain to run in that damn dress (which you thought was why Yeonjun wanted you to wear it in the first place - so you can't run away from him). And those heels - you kicked them off and Felix quickly lifts the front part of your dress a bit so you weren't tripping on it. 

And you ran.

Minho pushed open the door and you could hear Yeonjun’s loud voice even through the fire alarm. And the three of you raced down the steps, and there. 

Leaning against a sleek black car was Hyunjin.

Your heart skipped a beat. He looked even more stunning than usual in his suit. But it wasn’t just his looks that made you shiver - no. 

It was the way he stepped forward, grabbing you by the hand and pulling you into his chest. And again, he stole your breath away (like he always did) by kissing you. 

Hyunjin kissed you right in front of Yeonjun, and the kiss was rough and desperate, like he’d been waiting for this moment forever.

Yeonjun stood frozen for a moment, as the wedding guests and your family surrounded him. Obviously, there wasn't much he could do anymore. His perfect reputation was at risk here.

Hyunjin pulled back, his hand still gripping your waist as he gave Yeonjun a cold glare. And then taking your hand in his, he slipped your engagement ring off your finger, and tossed it towards Yeonjun, who looked like a volcano ready to explode. 

“Not today, you loser,” Hyunjin said with a smirk, watching as the ring tumbled through the air and landed at Yeonjun’s feet with a soft clink. “Not my girl.”

You were frozen, your heart racing as Minho and Felix joined you and Hyunjin, keeping you well shielded from your parents’ glare. But no one said anything.

Not a word.

Felix squeezed your hand, and Minho patted your shoulder as he watched you gaze at your parents who didn't look apologetic at all. Hyunjin pressed a soft kiss on your temple before leading you toward the car. 

And as Hyunjin opened the car door and grinned at you, you knew. It wasn’t just the end of a wedding - it was the beginning of your life, your new life, with your three beautiful boys. It was complicated, yes. But one thing you knew for sure was that they'd never let you shed a tear again.

And hell, you couldn't wait for whatever this was because you were finally with your boys. 

Divider - @saradika-graphics

Tags: @moonchild9350 @velvetmoonlght @eastjonowhere @pixie-felix @sailor--sun @satosugu4l

[leejenowrld]

spoilers please? 🥺

-🎀

You’re gripping the bouquet like it’s a weapon. Not a dainty little floral arrangement but a goddamn threat. The stems are crushed in your fist, white orchids bent out of shape, and someone’s added fucking pink roses—pink. You don’t even remember how you got to this point, but suddenly you’re standing dead center in the villa’s staging room, bridal robe falling off one shoulder, hair only half curled, and murder in your eyes. “Who,” you breathe, slowly, dangerously, “did this.”

The room freezes. Chenle’s the only one dumb—or brave—enough to answer. He glances at Jaemin, who’s already halfway behind a curtain. “I think she’s gonna stab someone with that,” he mutters under his breath, but not low enough. “Should we disarm her or… watch?”

Your head snaps in his direction like a hawk, bouquet raised. “You think this is funny?” you hiss, seething. “You think I spent four months coordinating hand-tied, stem-cut, ivory-only orchids for one of you frat-touched Neanderthals to fingerfuck the arrangements like it’s an elementary school art class?”

Jaemin fully vanishes. Chenle throws up his hands. “I didn’t finger anything. Bold accusation.”

You’re halfway to lunging when a hand wraps around your wrist—broad, firm, claiming—and it stops you cold. Jeno doesn’t rush, doesn’t flinch. He moves in slow, all quiet control and barely veiled heat, like he’s handling something wild that only he’s ever been allowed to touch. His shirt clings across his chest, open at the throat, collarbones shadowed and sharp, his forearms flexing where his sleeves are rolled, veins thick, hands made to restrain. He looks down at the bouquet in your hand like it’s ridiculous, then meets your eyes again. “Put it down,” he says, voice smooth and firm, no space for argument.

You don’t. Not right away. Your breath is shaking and your pulse is feral, hammering in your chest like it’s trying to break through bone, and the bouquet in your hand feels heavier now—less like decoration, more like a threat. “I swear to God—” you snarl, voice splintered, on the verge of detonation. Karina freezes mid-step, her eyes darting from your hand to your face like she’s weighing whether to intervene or sprint. Areum mouths something silent and horrified to Mark across the room, hands clutched to her chest, and Shotaro—sweet, useless Shotaro—literally ducks behind a drinks cart like flower shrapnel might fly. No one steps in. No one ever does. You’ve been like this before—volatile, burning at both ends, impossible to soothe. They all know there’s only one person who ever gets close when you’re like this.

“You’re shaking,” he says, voice like the press of a thumb to the back of your neck—firm, intimate, final. His fingers tighten around your wrist just enough to make you feel the difference in control. “Look what you’re doing.” He nudges your hand up, just slightly, makes you see the bouquet trembling in your grip, petals bent and bruised, stems crushed where your fingers won’t let go. His eyes stay on yours. “Calm down.” Another beat. Another inch closer. “Breathe for me.” His tone dips lower. “Or I’ll make you.”

Jeno’s already taking the bouquet from your grip. He doesn’t throw it, doesn’t mock it, just sets it on the table like it’s done nothing wrong. Then he moves closer—right into your space—and tips your chin up with two fingers. His palm curls around the back of your neck, grounding, thumb brushing slow beneath your jaw. His eyes lock on yours, and everything around you starts to dull.

“Come with me.” His voice is low, warm, dipped in something rougher now—something that brushes right up your spine and doesn’t ask twice. His hand slides down your wrist, fingers curling around yours like a command dressed as comfort. “We’re gonna take a breather,” he murmurs, stepping in until your bodies touch, “and you’re gonna walk out of here before you do something stupid with a centerpiece.” His mouth grazes your cheek, not quite a kiss. “Now.”

You’re still fuming, jaw tight, shoulders locked, every instinct in you wound tight enough to snap as you chew through crisis after crisis, running on caffeine, sex and the desperate need to have everything perfect because if you stop moving, you’ll fall apart. You haven’t breathed all morning, haven’t let anyone touch you, calm you, help you—not Karina, not Shotaro, not even Mark—but his hand is still on your neck, warm and firm, thumb stroking just beneath your hairline like he owns the fuse and knows exactly how to keep it from blowing, and the heat of his body crowds yours until for the first time today you stay still. You don’t speak, but he sees it in your face, the twitch of your lip, the defiance behind your lashes, the way your throat works like you want to spit something bratty just to push him and maybe you will, maybe you want to, but you don’t pull away and when you try, just slightly, he leans in closer, mouth brushing your temple like he’s memorizing your temperature, and you—wild, wound, ruthless—you let him because he’s the only one who’s made you breathe.

“Or,” he murmurs, “if you’re still feeling mouthy… I’ll take you upstairs, bend you over the bathroom sink, and fuck the fight right out of you.”

That’s what breaks you. Not the threat. The promise in it. The way his voice goes soft and low and vulgar all at once, like it belongs closer to your skin than your ears, like he already knows exactly what you need before you admit it. The way you know, know, he’d do it right now if you said please, no hesitation, no mercy. Your breath stutters and your body tips forward without thinking, a soft moan breaking loose as you lean into his chest, your fists curling in the fabric of his shirt like you’re anchoring yourself to something solid. One tear slips out, then another, hot and silent, streaking your cheek as your jaw locks tight and your eyes flutter shut. His hand never leaves your neck, never loosens, just holds you there, steady and close, like he knew this was coming and planned to catch it all.

From behind the curtain, Chenle mutters, “I knew she’d weaponize florals. Respectfully though.”

“She was wielding that bouquet like she trained in ancient Greece,” Jaemin whispers, slowly crouching like that’ll save him. “That’s not a centerpiece, that’s a goddamn war hammer.”

“Bro, those are hydrangeas,” Chenle hisses. “She was about to commit a felony with hydrangeas.”

Jaemin peeks out again, eyes widening. “Do you think if I scream ‘she loves me, she loves me not’ she’ll chase me?”

“You’ll be dead before she hits ‘not.’”

“She’d look good at my funeral.”

“You need help.”

“Out,” Jeno says without looking away from you.

The room clears in fifteen seconds flat. It’s just you and him now, heat pressing off your skin in waves, his hand still holding your neck, your breath catching between your lips like you’re about to either scream or cry. He leans in, tilts your face, eyes searching. “Say it,” he whispers. “Say please.”

Your pride burns through your chest. Your throat tightens. You say it anyway—quiet, low, breathless against his mouth and when he kisses you, it’s rough and slow and grounding, like you’re still holding the weapon, and he’s letting you use it.

[crashlanding-skywalker]

[Fox babysitting the 501st]

Kickback: How old do you think I am?

Striker: Kickback, age doesnt matter.

Striker: You can die at any time.

——————

Tag: I’m not an idiot, I just lack all common sense.

Tag: Like, I can build an entire flying ship with complex circuitry.

Tag: But you can bet that I’ll be doing the Tide Pod challenge.

——————

Ringo: Without ugly, there would be no beauty in this world.

Attie: Thank you for your sacrifice, Contrail.

——————

Nax: I know it's sad but death is a natural part of life and by the time I finish this sentence, a hundred people will have died in Lothal.

Matchstick, visibly distressed: WHY DID YOU STOP TALKING-

——————

Fox, playing with Ridge: Axe, where are you going?

Axe: To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense.

Ridge: And who's that?

Axe: Myself, Rid.

——————

Hil: You know, not every problem can be solved with a knife.

Echo: I know, that's why I always carry two.

——————

Jinx: Hi :).

The 501st:

Jinx: Everyone's bones are wet.

Fox: Why would you say that?

Jinx: Nobody was saying hi back :(.

——————

Fox: You're a loose cannon.

Echo: No, I'm not. Am i a cannon? probably yeah, but a loose cannon? Is that what you think of me, Fox?

Kix: I think you play by your own rules.

Jesse: No way, he thinks rules were made to be broken.

Fox: And those are all attributes of a loose cannon.

Echo: No, I'm just a reckless renegade.

Echo, pointing at Fives: He's the loose cannon.

Fives: *smashes a chair*

——————

Fox: Why can’t y'all just get along?

Vaughn: Because most of us are assholes, Commander.

——————

Echo, holding a knife: Imagine stabbing someone with this knife.

Kix: It would instantly cauterize the wound which means the person wouldn't bleed, so it's not very useful.

Fives: If you want information it is.

Attie: Why would you STAB a person when you can have TOAST?

——————

Echo: We should normalize not loving family members.

Dogma: You can just say “I hate my dumb fuck uncle” or whatever.

Dogma: Talk like a normal person.

——————

Kano: Remember what I told you.

Contrail: Don’t be a cunt.

——————

Attie: I think I should be allowed on ghost hunter tv shows.

Swoop: I think that would be dangerous for the ghosts.

——————

Hawk, to Dogma: ARE YOU

Jesse: Fucking.

Hawk: KIDDING ME?! YOU

Jesse: Fucking.

Hawk: IDIOT!

(silence)

Appo: What was that?

Jesse: Fox banned Hawk from swearing, so I’m helping him out.

——————

Swoop: I'm sorry. Please talk to me.

S. Fox:

Swoop: Hello? World's most amazing person?? Sweet pea? Precious cinnamon roll that's too good for this world, too pure?

S. Fox: 'Sorry' doesn't bring back my fucking froot loops.

—————— Tucker: "you should be at the club" Tucker: I can't go to the club, I'll be in there saying shit like "perchance" and "thrice"

——————

Boomer: I think I should be allowed on ghost hunter tv shows.

Swoop: I think that would be dangerous for the ghosts.

——————

Echo: Bet you can’t eat 15 crayons.

Fives: Bet you I can!

Fox sipping caff while checking to make sure Rex and Cody are still on speed dial, and goes back to reading the paper:

——————

Fox, entering the kitchen:

Fox, sees Hardcase: What are you doing?

Hardcase: Oh, I was just gonna light this chicken on fire to see if it turns into a phoenix.

Fox: It's 3 am...

Hardcase: *puppy eyes*

Fox, sighs: We can try it later

——————

Fox: Is anyone d-

Kix: Depressed?

Dogma: Drained?

Voca: Dumb?

Fives: Disliked?

Fox: -done with their work...

Fox, calling Rex: What is wrong with you kids...

[pimpedoutgreenears]

The thing about Cobra Kai that’s so unfortunate is that it’s not a character focused show.

What I mean is, I think the writers approach things from a place of, ‘I would like X to happen, so we will make the characters get there no matter what.’ Rather than from a place of, ‘What would the characters do if X happened?’

And, yeah, some cool stuff happens in Cobra Kai, but so often at the expense of characterization. And in the process of getting to a certain place they leave no time to really explore these cool characters that they’ve made.

So many of these characters have such deep traumas and insights, but the audience never gets to see anything come of them. It’s all just left in the background.

And, possibly even worse, you end up with these 2 dimensional characters like Zara and Kwon who are just doing bad shit for the sake of doing bad shit (and I’m not even gonna touch on the racism aspect-that’s its own post). I’m not saying every antagonist needs a redemption arc, but the things they’re doing should make sense, especially if you’re going to kill one of them off. Like, if they had done ANYTHING to show that had Kwon had a different mentor things could have been different, that would have hit HARD. But instead the only real sadness is because he was a kid and Kreese brought the knife. It doesn’t hit the way it could have because Kwon was more plot device than character. He should have been a parallel to characters like Hawk and Kenny. Like, this is what they could have been had they not had the support they did to get them out of Cobra Kai. This is what happens when you let hatred lead you. Instead, asshole kid got stabbed 🤷‍���️

And it’s just so unsatisfying to have all of these characters and never get to see the things they’ve been through get unpacked in a meaningful way.

It’s always episodes worth of conflict that they decide to gloss over in one line to get to the next thing. And it’s so underwhelming. You have these great moments of building only to have the world’s most pathetic climax.

Cobra Kai has great characters with interesting backgrounds if they’d ever follow through with the effects of those things.

[mango-bango-bby]

Hii so like, no homo but u should totally write another safeword fic 🤭 like maybe yan!dabihawks teasing their partner like yk doin foreplay and it's going well but then they say something degrading so she safewords bc degradation makes her feel icky

Ly pooks 🫶

♡ Crybaby ♡

(A/N: I love safeword fics, they’re so comforting!! I’m not a degradation girl and so it was a strange to write this but the praise at the end made it okay lol!! I actually love this so much I even thought of making a part two to this. I really hope you like 💖💕 *also I made this mafia!dabihawks so I hope that’s ok)

Content Warning ⚠️: Yandere, MAFIA AU, NSFW, degradation, name calling, use of safeword, praise, aftercare, super sweet near the end 💞, not exactly proofread

Summary: You use the safeword(Yan!Dabi x Fem!reader x Yan!Hawks)

Masterlist ➸ ♡

Series Masterlist ➸ ♡

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Keigo and Dabi didn’t often get frustrated with their work. But there was every once in a while were they would get incredibly frustrated. You could kind of tell that they were on edge tonight, they were a little rougher than normal but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t deal with.

Keigo had you say in his lap, his fingers pulling and tweaking your nipples. Dabi was infront of you, leaving bite marks across your thighs as his fingers rolled your clit to tease you. Neither of them had even gotten undressed, leaving you completly nude while they stayed clothed. Both of them wearing slacks, although Keigos button up was on the floor while Dabis was still on but half-way unbuttoned.

“You’re whimpering like a little slut” Keigo almost hisses in your ear. You uncomfortably squirm in his lap. “I-I’m not-” you whisper weakly, trying to deflect what Keigo had called you.

“You’re gonna’ say you’re not when you’re so wet?” Dabi asks, flicking your clit causing you to jump and let out a small squeal. “Mm, so dirty, aren’t you going to admit it? Say you’re a dirty slut?” Keigo says, earning a low chuckle from Dabi against your thigh.

“No..-” you whimper, Dabi cutting you off. “Lucky we caught you, you’re always begging for attention, who knows the men you would fuck if we weren’t around to watch” Dabi says, your eyes welling up with tears who you dreaded falling.

“Stop! Stop- Apple, apple…” you sniffle out the safeword, bringing your hands up to wipe you tears and hopefully conceal them. Both men immediately freeze up at you saying the safe word. They told you to say it and they would stop whatever they were doing to you but this was the first time you had ever used it.

“Hey, baby-” Keigo calls, rubbing your arm from behind in concern. “Don’t like it when you call me that” You cry softly, Dabi moving your hands out of the way to wipe your tears with his thumbs. “We’re sorry, pretty, it was just the heat of the moment” He says although it doesn’t calm your crying.

“Did you mean it? Do you think I beg for attention?” You cry, your tears and sobs stab through their hearts. “No, baby, I didn’t mean any of it” Dabi says, leaning closer to you to kiss away your tears. “No, you’re our sweet girl” Keigo whispers in your ear, gently petting your hair.

They really should have known better. You were their sensitive girl. Their sensitive girl who cried at a sad scene in a movie or an advertisement about a dog, or even scenarios you made up on your own head. They’d should’ve known calling you any names at all would’ve made you upset!

“You’re okay, birdy, wanna’ go take a bubble bath?” Keigo asks, you crawling off of his lap and onto the bed. You nod your head, Dabi lifting up your face to give you a small kiss before leaving to start the bath.

“You’re our sweet girl, you know that?” He asks, giving you a small peck on the forehead.

“We love you, you know that?”

You nod.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Thank you for reading, darling!!

[hey-august]

I just got a vacation and I set about catching up on your fics and oh boy The hero au got me Is there no chance of a second part?

Aaaaaahhh! @unicornzombieapocalipsse was really onto something with that idea, right?!

Honestly, it’s really fun to keep thinking about. (And the way I thought about what a second part could look like, then promptly forgot all the ideas, and had to rethink them lolol)

I have an idea of where the story could go after where we last left our dear Hero and Villain.

WC: ~800

Warnings: buggy x gn!anon, villain!buggy, hero!anon, brief profanity, minor mentions of violence and blood, smidge of angst, bit of fluff, no spice though, lol this part is past tense but the first part was present tense oopsie

It wasn’t really a suspicion as much as simply knowing. Knowing that Buggy was a villain. An enemy.

But it was weird that he hadn’t tried anything. Nothing. No amount of insider information or weak moments were taken advantage of. Family members hadn’t been abducted or assaulted. No threats lobbed at friends who didn’t know as much as Buggy did. Home still felt safe.

Oh, and there were those moments that made more sense. Trails that went cold suddenly had new leads after complaining to Buggy. Fights that could have ended poorly if that clumsy clown didn’t fumble at the last second.

So Anon started to mess with him. Teasing. Testing.

When fights would break out between the hero and villains, they started to flirt. Of all the tactics they’ve tried, this was new. And they were good at it. Taunting opponents is a good way to mess with their head, and Anon had a way with words. 

But the flirting wasn’t always directed at Buggy. Sometimes he was aided by others in the organization. Other times, the scarier entities he made deals with felt it was necessary to accompany the fool on important missions.

“Careful with that thing, I might start to wonder if you’re hooked on me.” “Like what you see, Hawk boy?” “Usually I’d ask for dinner before you get me in a position like this.”

Buggy was not thrilled. Maybe it was a ploy - he certainly was one to play dirty - but hearing those words still stung. And it was too much of a damn distraction. Here he was, trying to make sure Anon didn’t get stabbed, slicked, bit, torn to shreds, bruised, or even just pushed too hard, but this dumb monologue was pulling at his attention and his nerves.

The irritation quickly formed a pearl of jealousy and resentment that Buggy carried away. It was a small thing, one that was easily lost during afternoons spent watching movies on the couch, inside shared bottles of beer, and misplaced in rumpled sheets.

While the Hero was busy spreading their charm and laying it on thick, Anon was spending their time wrapped in Buggy’s arms and sleeping in when they could.

Maybe it was mean for Anon to do that. It wasn’t virtuous or kind. Not the kind of behavior one would expect from a hero, but sleeping with the villain is also not at the top of the list of Heroic Duties.

The game didn’t go for long. Anon never planned for it to continue, really. Just once or twice felt like enough to balance out the secret that Buggy had been keeping from them.

But the choice to stop playing was not made by Anon. Or Buggy.

Maybe, in a sense, it actually was their decisions. It was because of their actions really.

If you hadn’t been busy throwing kisses at someone else.

If you had been paying attention to your surroundings.

If you weren’t accustomed to Buggy having your back.

If Buggy didn’t care about you so much.

Then maybe he wouldn’t have put himself in danger.

Maybe he wouldn’t have led to the capture of his cohorts.

Maybe he wouldn’t have panicked about being captured himself.

Maybe Buggy should have caved to the demands to stop fighting, instead of worrying about revealing his identity.

But that’s not how it happened, is it?

He got hurt. Badly.

Before anyone could congratulate Anon for their part in taking down the three biggest villains, for being their hero, Anon shed that label.

A hero wouldn’t turn against their own for following the plan. A hero wouldn’t use the power and strength reserved for villains against those who fought for justice. A hero wouldn’t be scary. Frightening.

But there they were, fighting to protect a villain. Crying over a fallen friend. Someone they loved.

And they continued fighting, tooth and nail. Fighting for Buggy to get medical attention. For his identity to remain secret. For there to be balloons in his hospital room when he woke up.

And to Buggy’s surprise, that’s exactly what he woke up to.

Plus a pardon from the city. Something about not realizing he was a double agent who had been working alongside Anon the whole time.

They also appreciated his donation to the local school, which they discovered had been done under a pseudonym. (Buggy wouldn’t tell anyone that he had meant to launder that money and sent it to the wrong place.)

Things were different. But also the same.

Labels like Hero and Villain didn’t have such rigid expectations anymore. Sometimes, heroes did things that were bad. And some villains were actually not so bad.

At the end of the day, they are two people who care about each other. 

There are still some secrets, though. 

Anon tells Buggy that he doesn’t snore that loudly. (He does, but Anon likes it now. The throaty noises are like a personal sound machine for them.) 

Buggy steals flowers for Anon every week. (Why pay for something that’s going to die soon?)

[fullmusicbardsquared]

previously I have thought that twin peaks is driven by characters being substitutes for each other, or echoing, or being kind of doppelgangers. horne is at laura's autopsy instead of leland, gerard & his brother are mixed with Bob and Mike, audrey & maddie try to "be" laura, and i still suspect jacoby being an "evil cooper mirror" even if the way I phrase it is mostly joking (I have abandoned the Icelandics as parodies that was stupid). I tried doing this because I felt like the "mystery" was supposed to be secondary, because of cooper's methods being hit-or-miss & most of the ~big reveals~ being packaged in television / soap opera language, & Invitation to Love is right there - a convoluted "everyone is everyone else" made a little bit more sense with all the parallels.

I now am starting to think that these parallels are also a ""joke"" on the viewer. this all started with me seeing cooper approach his dream as code, but also interpret it literally (telling hawk to look for a one-armed man), and going the opposite direction - okay, it's not code, so I should interpret it metaphorically. this is just stabbing backwards in the dark, instead of forwards - it doesn't really accomplish anything more than he does. sure, gerard may lose his arm when he loses his brother, which is probably a genuine 'manifestation'/refraction of Mike separating from Bob, but whatever Mike & Bob are, they are not people. dale and laura - the points of refraction elsewhere - are. them having some kind of influence makes no sense - and really, most of those examples are loose (cooper) or forced upon them (laura).

besides, if they really were "archetypes" that the rest of the cast plays with, then it would make since for cooper & laura to somehow "be" each other, or echo each other, like how Mike is the "arm" of Bob who removed himself from Bob. I could make up reasons for cooper to be a part of laura & vice versa, but I wouldn't say those are grounded in the show itself, just speculation - in season 1 at least, they are completely separate, and the closest that barrier comes to being breached is when cooper baits-and-switches the mystery of laura's death to talk about the mystery of marilyn monroe & the kennedys.

I do believe one thing, though - I think I am right about twin peaks mixing soap opera tactics with the mystery, and I have seen one actual point of mirroring between those two. cooper's most obvious 'quirk' is his logs*, which contain mostly personal thoughts (not strict case data) and are addressed to the unseen unexplained Diane..I doubt that Diane is the old love he talked about at the gun range, but she is probably someone real, or at least a part of him that's patterned after someone real. meanwhile, all of our knowledge about laura also comes from explicitly recorded & performed roles - the film, her tapes to jacoby, and even (if you stretch it) jacoby's programmed confession from leo. what we know about her alone is basically nothing - so that's performance to an unseen audience, and performance for audiences we know better than the actress.

*chat is this a joke on logs & the log lady that I just got >_<

[hellafluff]

Thinking about a proper Bad End world state where every Bad Decision is reflected in DATV. Heres a few specific thoughts:

Origins:

Kill Leliana, and her ghost disappears at the end of Inquisition and she never comes back > She cant be or help the Divine > Divine less powerful, the South is more fucked.

Stab Morrigan in Witch Hunter > Injury causes permanent damage. She's just weak enough and/or jaded enough that by DATV she didn't accept Mythal and can't help you.

Sten Loses Sword > Never returns to Seheron and never becomes Arishok. The Arishok in DATV stays with the Antaam and makes them a stronger, more unified military under a power crazed leader controlled by the Evanuris.

DA2, imagining DA2 companions would have comeback to DATV otherwise:

Any of the companions dying/not loyal results in them being absent in DATV and weaker factions as a result. Merrill would have been a leader among the Veil Jumpers, Fenris would have been a key member of the Shadow Dragons but now they aren't. Isabela no longer leads the Lords and the Lords are fewer in number and weaker now, if she was taken by the Arishok, she's been made Qunari and you have to kill her (ala Jack in ME3.)

Anders may not have had much impact either way honestly bc I think him living would still be pretty contentious with a lot of characters and he's not having a great time either way. No Aveline means weaker/fucked Kirkwall as she's not there to be the interim Viscount while Varric's away. Dead Hawke siblings means weaker Grey Wardens.

Inquisition:

A lot of Inquisition decisions should make or break the survival of the south. Majority sidequests done > Stronger South. Otherwise they have less morale, less troops, and still recovering from the Blight and Corypheus. Sidequests in DAO can effect the South's Readiness here too (can you tell I like ME3?)

Companion loyalty affects returning characters again. No loyalty Dorian has way less resources, if not just ousted from the Magisterium all together. Absolutely no Archon Pavus. No Sera means worse off for the people, Red Jenny's less effective if not wiped out. No loyalty Viv or Cass means the Divine is not going to send much if any aide. They're too busy trying to protect the South. Cole's just gone, otherwise I think he should have come back at the end to help you convince Solas. Dead Blackwall is a less strong Wardens. Not helping Josie or Cullen means they are in absolutely no position to assist and Cullen is just dead from Lyrium addiction. So little help from the nobility and Templars. Varric's ending is the same. We already get an Iron Bull loyalty effect in Trespasser.

Speaking of Trespasser; keeping the Inquisition means you have a bit more resources but Inquisitor is mostly relegated to helping the South. Dissolving the Inquisition means the Inquisitor is available as an advisor/leader in the North but with fewer resources. Solas loyalty should also affect how bad Quizzy's arm is. If they weren't friends he ripped the anchor away and now they have chronic pain and are less combat capable.

Bonus: Lavellan who's clan died is extra depressed and the Veil Jumpers have less strength.

Bonus 2, this actually would have been good: Saving Avernus' research and letting the Architect live with a living Hero of Fereldan should have let us find a cure for the blight. This doesn't happen but will be factored in as if it could have in my following summary:

Have it all come together and a Rook who does everything right can barely scrape by, but with no chance of convincing Solas to bind the Veil to himself. The world is fucked and it will take decades to recover. The blight is still causing mayhem but it recedes as years go by. Tevinter doesn't survive at all, with the hit to its military strength with the massive loss of Venatori + the remaining Antaam absolutely decimating both sides. The Qunari in Seheron close themselves off and don't interact with any other country for years. Southern Thedas is nearly a wasteland and the Chantry breaks up into disjointed, often warring, sects despite the Divine's best attempt to keep power. Mages and elves persecuted everywhere, blamed for everything.

A Rook who does everything wrong just ends the world. Special options appear when encountering Elgar'nan and Ghilanain to agree with them or consider their reasoning. Taking these let's you change sides at the end of the game and let Elgar'nan rule. Potentially even cause Ghil to survive if Harding/Davrin aren't loyal or you can send someone unqualified to sabotage the plan. If you change sides with any companions still alive you have to fight and kill them. The world is engulfed in Blight and everyone dies.

Alternate Bad End: You become convinced by Solas to side with him. Everything is already so fucked that tearing down the veil sounds like the only good option remaining. You fight back your own companions while he finishes the ritual and the world is engulfed in raw magic, killing every non mage, awakening the magic in all elves, and unleashing every spirit and demon alike on an unprepared world. Also considering Dwarves kind of surviving but being thrust back into a world filled with magic but no connection to the Titans leaves them fully Tranquil.

[nightlilly0110]

This is literally a villain death tally for BNHA. Spoilers, obviously. I…hate this. I absolutely hate this. I knew some of them would die and I know that character deaths don’t necessarily have to have meaning, they could just be casualties, but the way this played out, it just seems to fit into a neat little box of “the bad guys are not allowed to have a happy ending.” Which. Goes against the entirety of the premise of Deku’s reasoning to become a hero of “I want to save people.” The only named character I can think of that he saved was Eri (not counting rescuing Bakugou from the League, Iida from Stain because they’re not civilians, feel free to tell me any others I missed) and she fits the stereotypical Perfect Victim trope. She’s just a child. Anything bad she did (rewinding people out of existence) it was done by accident, because she didn’t know any better. She has the chance to be rehabilitated into society without any of the bitterness that the League carry with them.

I really don’t like that there’s a subsection of this fandom that’s like “well they got what they asked for.” And yeah. Don’t use whatever issues you have going on as an excuse for your shitty behaviour (read: don’t be like “well the villains are abused so they have a right to kill people”) but also maybe think before saying “I think it’s good that the guy who got abused and manipulated as a child and groomed into being a mass murderer died. I think killing the murderer instead of addressing the societal problems that made him that way will fixeverything.” Your “they got what they asked for” also falls a little tone deaf with “what they asked for” boils down to “don’t be treated like shit” and the narrative of the manga has always been “we should save people.”

I also think these deaths are in bad faith when you have the hero side critically injured every five seconds and coming back from that (with the exception of Midnight, don’t get me started with that I hate that she was the only named casualty of that arc other than the racist guy) with Bakugou literally having his heart stop especially, and then with the villains it’s like “well can’t do anything about that, bye loser.”

So yeah, here’s what we know about the villains with the last three-ish chapters pending and a bit as to why I’m more than pissed about how this turned out, keeping the above sentiments in mind.

TLDR They died in vain. They accomplished nothing, no one bothered to listen to their message, and they died.

Magne - died protecting her friends from Overhaul. Body not recovered because it was cut in half (top half exploded) and only her legs remained. Might be reading into this a bit too much but a little weird that the trans woman was the first death we had in the series. Also weird that her motivations to join the League was presumably her horrible treatment for being trans but we don’t get that context until the circumstances surrounding her death. We know very little about her backstory.

Twice - Literally stabbed in the back while trying to flee. Body left in an active war zone, assumably recovered by the Hero Commission/whoever is responsible for cleanup. Mild closure in the fact that he did find out that he was the real copy of himself but not really because we still have people, years after this death, saying that it was “justified” and “a necessity” because Twice was resisting arrest trying to flee while being a non-combatant. I cannot stress enough that he was unarmed while he was running, ran past Hawks and did not attack him, and the “help” Hawks was offering him was throwing him in jail and never letting him see the light of day again. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.

Toga - Sacrificed herself to save Uraraka (semi-implied she might have been in love with Uraraka). Only Uraraka knows of her sacrifice. Has to endure in death people saying that she was nothing more than a villain, same as in life. Nothing changes for her - she’s still considered creepy, a freak, a villain. Body assumably left in an active war zone recovered by Hero Commission.

Mr. Compress - Arrested and in prison. We still don’t know why he joined the League. (Thank you @themattress for correcting me in this, glad he’s not dead but damn.)

Kurogiri - MIA. Assumed dead. Not mentioned in the final act and without closure as to his identity, only that he is still loyal to the League.

Spinner - Hospitalized. Says he’s going to preach about Shigaraki’s message. Honestly, it’s a good sentiment, but he’s clearly going out into a society that is a) hostile to people with mutant quirks like him b) hostile to villains c) canonically resistant to change and resistant to anything related to Shigaraki if those TV interviews were anything to go by. It’s a lost cause.

Dabi - Alive, but barely. He’s restrained and being kept alive by medics equipment but it’s clear his life will be short and in pain. I saw someone say that it’s “ironic justice” because he always wanted Endeavour to watch him and now he has no choice in that his family is going to be (in Dabi’s words) “gawking at him like a tourist attraction.” He’s miserable, he’s going to die, and he doesn’t even get the freedom that he wanted while his abuser walks off without punishment and still adored by society. This isn’t justice, it’s cruel, especially when we know it’s possible for him to be properly put back together (since that’s what happened after he “died” as a teenager).

Shigaraki - Dead, turned to dust after being possessed and used as a puppet by AFO after being his puppet and manipulated by him for years. Was not saved despite the fact that the entirety of the last arc was propped up by the sentiment that Deku was trying to reach out to him and save him, specifically Tenko, the spirit of a little boy who wanted to be a hero. I don’t believe in redemption through death. People calling this a redemption arc is an insult. It wasn’t a sacrifice - he was killed. He had no agency in his life and didn’t even get to choose his own death. Deku tells him to his face that his death is his own fault (what happened to saving him?!). He died hoping his friends would be able to carry on and something about hero society changed. His friends are dead, dying, or have lost everything, and society stayed exactly the same as it was at the start of all of this.

[realuity]

an entirely biased review of all of the original killers in dead by daylight

okay so I don‘r play DBD. frankly, I’d rather shuck myself like a cob of corn than subject myself to whatever nonsense rhe game’s playerbase is up to. the lore’s not my thing and some of the character choices make me wrinkle. but I like horror things and I have a vague understanding of how they play. and I have some opinions. so i’ll throw them here.

thsi only includes the original guys made for the game. no liscensed visitors! (If you are wondering though I like myers and pig for their gimmicks and xenomorph because I love women)

evan macmillian - the trapper

i am excruciatingly neutral on this guy. he is kind of John Killer, which makes sense for how much I dgaf, but still. his mask is cool as fuck, but his lore really doesn’t resonate with me. trapping is a fun gimmick but apparently he lends himself to a lot of campy playstyles, which doesn’t sound too fun. he just exists to me.

philip ojomo - the wraith

this guy’s just really downright miserable. he doesn’t even wanna be here. he just wants to work at a Denny’s and live alone with a cat or whatever. invisibility is neat and the big stupid bell ring for whenever he does it is really funny though. cool guy I just feel bad for his existence

max thompson jr - the hillbilly

iunno this guys concept and lore just rub me the wrong way. just feels tone-deaf. much like wraith i think we should just leave this guy alone and let him farm in peace. he’s had a rough go of it. letting him be just some normal guy would make everything feel less. ew.

sally smithson - the nurse

how does she see out of that thing.

jokes aside she’s another i don’t feel strongly about. apparently she’s pretty meta due to her teleportation shenanigans, but otherwise she doesn’t catch my eye. I’m sorry women

lisa sherwood - the hag

really strong design-wise. really neat looking fungus plant lady. another one that really doesn’t wanna be here. like holy hell ma’am. maybe she and billy can go grill things together away from killing people for a big spider demon. otherwise I’m neutral on her too.

herman carter - the doctor

oh YEAH baby. this guy’s my MAN. he’s a complete SHITHEAD and is TERRIBLE and he’s very fun to watch. Electroshock Andy over here is the giggliest guy on campus and has some really funny builds and gimmicks and is also unreasonably complicated. jumpscare doctor is so fucking funny plus electricity themes are cool even if it is the endlessly fucked up existence of electroshock therapy and military-funded abuse, but what is horror without being a little slice of messed up reality? I never want to go near this man in my life.

anna - the huntress

I like her!! she’s pretty and fucked up. i like predator/prey motifs and she’s got a nice voice. my fav thing about her is the existence of orbital huntress. hilarious as hell. you can just cross-map bean someone with a hatchet to their skull. fuck yeah.

jeffrey hawk - the clown

he’s not even the cunty jester or joyous giggler kind of clown. he’s a freako with a thing for fingers that drugs people. i don’t want to be anywhere near this man in my life. fun short film though. damn good horror villian I just. ewwwwwwwwww

rin yamaoka - the spirit

she should be allowed to kill people actually. literally just some kid as far as I know. i’d be pissed off too if my dad got so fucked over by a company that he started killing people. living in the scary dimension and stabbing people sounds like a way better time than that. saw someone cosplay her once at a convention too and that was pretty neat.

the legion

genuinely wonderfully funny concept. these lot are just some kids that kill people as a hobby. they have a logo and listen to mixtapes while doing it and all. they’re spy mains that think they’re hot shit. the title is unreasonably cool for what they are. the fact they just have to like lie down and take a moment to go wheeze after using their ability is great too. they forgot to pack an inhaler or four to the scary dimension

adiris - the plague

frankly unreasonably badass design. ancient mesopotamian preiest that just like.vomits on people. i'm not too invested in whatever she's up to religion-wise i just think the fact she horfs up blood as a projectile weapon is sick as fuck. the censer as a melee is cool too

kazan yamaoka - the oni

this is the spirits great great peepaw or something aparently. i do love the aestehtic of traditional japanese masks i just wish the mask here had the big ol' eyes and bigger teeth. he hits people with a big club too i guess. neutral on this bloke.

caleb quinn - the deathslinger

IRELAND MENTION LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

otherwise this is a sick guy. old freak who got fucked over by capitalism so hard he decided to build a gu and shoot people with a harpoon about it. plus he's a cowboy. consideirng my biggest interest right now is great god grove, i am predisposed to liking cowboy motifs. also he's really funny in the 2v8 gameplay ive seen you literally just go fishing

talbot grimes - the blight

his main gameplay loop involves ramming into walls like an idiot before hitting someone with a big stick. i guess thats what the infection from hollow knight does to a guy. my only other strong opinion is that they shuould make his rushing running scream be the scotland forever voice clip

charlotte n' victor deshayes - the twins

can this game be normal about facial differences for two fucking seconds . anyway te concept is neat i guess and i like how kicking the infant is so tempting within this game that theres apparently entire meme playstyles based aroud baiting people into kicking the baby, thus getting them out of position for you to go hit them with your scythe

ji-woon hak - the trickster

shame that yet another title that couldve been used for a cunty jester has been taken. oh well. at least we have this guy who's pretty neat. a whole thing based on the k-pop industry is a rlly oddball choice for a horror game, but i dunno i've heard that said industry can get pretty fucked and exploitative. also i like neon colours a lot. the whole bit with him making his synths out of samples of his victims which he goes on to put into his work is really neat i think. hes kinda just some guy though

carmina mora - the artist

alright. her design is really neat and i like all the ink and strong red and black colours and her weird claw hand she turns her hand into. but she is possibly the funniest design slip-up ever. she's chilean and from chile and her major thematic throughline is crows. apparently, chile is like, one of the only countries to not have crows in it. lmao

the dredge

dredge!! dredge my friend dredge!! one of the three Creatures Buddies, dedge is like so fucking cute to me. thats a puppies dog. sure this puppies dog was formed from a dark fucked up ritual spawned from a jonestown situation and is the amalgam of hundreds of people stuck in a high-control cult enviornment, but consider that they're a puppies dog. i think if igave them a sugar cube things would be ok

tarhos korvács & the wacky bunch - the knight

i mean, cool ass concept of a murderous knight and his buddies all being played at once. i'm otherwise neutral. not really a medeival fan, but they're cool i suppose.

adriana imai - the skull merchant

alright she was definitley spawned from the result of a gaggle of designers throwing concepts at the wall and trying to shove them into a pile. a cut-throat millionare who kills ceos for fun, a comic book hero brought to life into a villian by the author's daughter, and a sci-fi high-tech conniving surveillance master murderer. i can respect that mish-mash design philosophy a lot but i'm otherwise also neutral. her little claw arm contraption thing is fun though

hux-a7-13 - the singularity

i really, really like hux! i'm a sucker for evil AI, especally one that's also getting into bioengineering and meaty mechanics. for a heartless killer who's hellbent on the kinda cliche goal of becoming the ultamite lifeform by assimilating others genetic info, he's actually kind of a smug snarky cunt. he calls people worms for no reason. he literally calls people annoying for screaming in pain. i think he and p03 would get along disastrously.

the unknown

one banger to the next. unknown here is a wriggly strange mass that's a love letter to creepypasta, urban legends, found footage and perhaps even the more recent development of analog horror. a squirmy fella who steals voices and fucks over anyone who comprehends them. doesn't even wanna be in the scary spider dimension if i recall correctly. i love the disjointed voicelines that come across as them mimicking whatever they've heard, but they're definitley like.. sapient. i think they have a dashing smile and a lovely crawl.

portia maye - the houndmaster

um. hi. hii hello ma'am. hellou. hi.

this is the newest addition, and she's a doozy. scotish pirate lady with a big ol' dog she loves very much. i don't know much about her.. but apparently her dog's breed is like, a notably loyal and strong one used as a guard dog/ and the lady herself? oh my god she's so fucking pretty. the gold and red on the coat. her badass knife cane. im quaking in my boots for a variety of reasons. i don't find her scary, don't find any of this lot traditionally scary, but yknow. she/s still sick as hell.

[simplyscarlet]

"The executioner's within me and he comes blindfold ready, Sword in hand and arm so steady." - FaTM "Make Up Your Mind."

Hawks is the executioner. He's within Toga. There's a companion fanfic here mind the tags.

I've posted/deleted this picture several times now because its' kinda a raw piece and I feel super vulnerable posting it, and also no photo I take seems to get all the colors right, so I just stare at it and pick it apart digitally and then decide I hate it and delete it. I'm gonna try and leave it up for real this time.

[hongjoongscafe]

Bloody Love...

Chapter: V-Familiarity-

♠︎Pairing: yandere!king!jungkookxoc(coronis)

♠︎Genre: angst, smut, yandere, gore, dark romance, horror, creepy (dark fantasy).

♠︎Summary: "you happen to be in a world where wrong is right and right is wrong."

♠︎Word count: 4.6k+

♠︎Warning: murder, stalking, pussy eating (gxg)

♠︎Note: lemme know if you wanna be added to the permanent or specific taglist!

♠︎Masterpost

♠︎Serieslist

Midnight. The time when the silence washes over the village. It is said that after midnight, the souls of the guards that died run around and protect the realm. This village was just a tiny part of that. There were numerous villages in this realm. But what made this village the worse was that the castle was closer to there.

Coronis found it silly. She loved the darkness of the night. The hauntingness of it was thrilling for her. The mist surrounding her vision gave her another satisfaction. She loved how calm and quiet it would get and there was no one hurdling her way.

Sometimes, she found everything extra silly. Things around her were unrealistic. The baseless hatred among mankind was exceptionally gruesome. It was like an everyday activity to pierce a knife through someone's heart.

At least at night, everyone was tired and shut in their shacks, leaving a speck of stability around. There was no one fighting, no one was drowning themselves in alcohol near the slouchy path. There were no deafening herds of horses or blood-curdling screams for mercy.

At night, it was all calm and collected. Yet it felt like some hawk eyes were piercing through her brain.

Coronis was with her father, coming back from the meadows on the other side of the woods. The only light reflecting was from the lantern they both held and the foggy moonlight.

The trees were blurring behind the thick haze. The path back to the village was horrendous and soaked. The mud was grossing Coronis out. The howls of the Owls were unsettling.

Amidst all the silent chaos, she could hear a crow cawing in the distance. That made her heart thump against her chest. The creepy horror was seeping into her bones as time passed.

After her brief engagement with Nori, when she returned back home, Martha told her about the work that she had to do with Draco. And they left for the meadows the next moment.

Her aunt had passed away after suffering from a bacterial infection. Though they had not visited her lately, she was still important to the family. And the wealth she had left behind was even more critical to take care of. Not because they were greedy for money but the fact that Cousin Griffin had left for the South for King's work. The property was needed to be saved from the predators who were too eager to get their hands on anything that could buy them a quick inebriation. This wealth belonged to Griffin, rightfully. And they needed to protect it for him.

Onyx had also returned the same day. He looked paler and thinner almost as if he was not fed enough. On asking, he just shrugged and said “I am just thankful to be here, alive.” which practically did not satisfy anyone's worries. Even Circe looked sympathetic to her older brother.

It was not surprising.

“We should have stayed there for a night,” Draco sighed as he stopped. It was a frigid night but his forehead was covered in sweat. He wiped and looked back at Coronis who was walking behind with a jute carrier on her shoulder, filled with emotional possessions.

Coronis stopped next to her father and dropped the sack on the ground. Her breath was huffing. “I think so. But it would have been much more perilous to bring it all with us without getting stabbed… So I think it is better now than tomorrow.”

Draco nodded, agreeing with her. “We should rest here before proceeding with this path. I feel my legs falling off.” He took out a little sheet for his daughter to sit on. They both sat down and sipped some water and munched on some bread that Coronis packed with them.

They both sat there in silence, hearing animals howl and growl in the space. But one echoing cawing was making her eye twitch... Again and again. Deep down, she could feel the frightening feeling crawling up her spine. Something was coming her way.

“Coronis…” The father sighed.

“Yes, Father,” She looked at him, who looked tired. His eyes were shrinking into his skull. The dark circles were reaching far below his cheekbones. The wrinkles looked deeper and the skin looked rough, dead of any moisture. Her heart squeezed inside her chest. He looked like a dead man walking around.

It was the first time she noticed him up so closely.

“I don't know what happened to Martha… I'm scared for her,” he let out another sigh. “We have been together for so long. I was only eighteen and she was sixteen. Since then, we have never separated our paths. We knew how things were ruling over here. None of our parents were nice to us. It was bad, really bad. When both of our parents passed away, we cried tears of happiness. We knew in this world, only we both could be nice to each other and give all the love we could… It was never enough. I never gave her enough love. I was always on foot, going around, surviving and trying to bring some food home. It was all worth it though. Whenever I came back home, she would let out a sigh of relief and look at me, head to toe, to see if I was wounded or not. Whenever she would find even a tiny little scratch, she would cry and treat it with full care.”

Draco was looking up at the dull sky, eyes holding all the stars, that the sky couldn't hold, for his wife who was waiting back at home for her two gems to come back, safe and sound. He continued, “For her whole life, she just focused on keeping us safe. You know when she was pregnant with you, she would stitch these little gowns and bows for you… I always used to ask how she was so sure that it was going to be a girl. You know what she would say?” she shook her head and he chuckled, “she would say with a blushy face that she is sure about a baby girl because she feels less stressed as if the baby in her belly was taking half of her worries. She started to Iive happier and would talk to her swell all the time about everything.” his eyes filled with tears at the far memory. “Then you were born. So calm and collected. As if you were an old lady trapped in an infant's body. You would not cry but sit there, looking tiny and pretty and just look at your mother. You brought her happiness no one ever did. Not me, not Onyx, not Circe. For some reason, you were all she ever wanted to have with me. Not that she didn't love the other two… you were just a part of her that she couldn't keep her mind away from. Someone special you could say.”

Coronis didn't know how to say anything. Her senses were filled with emotions that she couldn't quite put a finger on. She was aware of her family, and how much they were different from others. They never fought. When she saw others beating their wives to death, her father kissed his wife's pain away and told her how much he loved her and that everything will be alright.

“Seeing her so tense reminds me of days when we used to live with the fear of your grandparents attacking us. But only worse.” He said. “I hope she feels better soon.” Draco stood up, cleaning his clothes. “Stay here, I'll be back in a second.” he gestured his pinky finger and jogged deeper into the woods.

Coronis sighed and stood up herself and started folding the sheet and packing the stuff back. Soon, she heard the fluttering of a bird closer and then right above her. She looked up and saw a distressed crow above her. She gasped and tried to fling it away. “Coro! No! What happened?!” she hissed. The crow clawed her hair and turned her head in one direction. She opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. A scream bubbled in her throat but never escaped.

There stood a man much closer yet still far away. She could tell who he was. This time, his face was covered but his chest was bare… Drenched in blood. The sweat started trickling down her face, and the crow sat on her shoulder. Her chest rose up and down, trying to take in enough oxygen to at least make her stay awake and not faint. He looked like a monster standing there between the thick mist around him. The lantern in his hand made him look bloodthirsty. Though, he looked like he had just drunk up a whole human. This made her think about her father in an instant. Was he okay? Who's blood is on his chest?

She looked around and saw about five more pairs of eyes looking directly into her soul. The panic started to bubble up. She rubbed her eyes to see him clearer but the moment she opened her eyes, he was gone, as if he was never there. But she knew he was. She knew he was there to see her and would follow her along.

“Coronis,” she flinched violently and turned around. A sigh of relief escaped her seeing her father alive in front of her eyes. “What happened? Why are you looking like you are about to pass out.” He held her against his chest and patted her head. Coro flew and sat on Draco’s shoulder.

Coronis took a deep breath and closed her eyes, listening to her father's panicked heartbeat that slowly calmed her. “I got scared.”

“Of what?” he carefully asked.

“Just that you took some time to come back,” she whispered and hugged her father tighter.

Draco kissed her head, “I'm back, okay? C’mon, let's go before it is even later. And why is Coro here?”

“Nothing, he just flew and came to us.”

…

The father and daughter knocked at their house’s door. Not even a breath later, Martha opened it with a huge smile and welcomed them in.

“Ah, I was getting worried about you two,” Martha said. “I couldn't even close my eyes.”

Draco smiled and hugged her tightly and pecked her lips. “We took a break in the forest. It was a long walk… I can feel my feet falling off.”

Martha chucked, “Hm, I knew it. So, I have prepared some warm water for you to soak your feet in.” She quickly bought two buckets with her and placed them in front of two chairs. “Here, sit.”

Coronis let out a sigh as her cold and tired feet touched the warm water. The burden of the day washed out and her brain started to shut down. She had no more energy to think or process the night. It had taken a heavy toll on her mental and physical health.

The image of his blood-blanketed chest spiraled in her mind, making her shiver. In the deepest of the forests, he was following her with silent steps. She did not see him again after that. But this time she realized how much he was prowling her without her knowledge and it was enough to make her awake in alertness.

“I would say we should make Circe sleep in your room from now on,” Coronis spoke in a low voice. “I don't feel comfortable sleeping with her anymore… I'm getting older and,” she cleared her throat, “I have my own needs to take care of.”

As awkward as she made it sound, Martha understood why she said that. However, Draco felt concerned. Seeing that their daughter is now an adult and so ready to get married. He didn't voice his thoughts but kept them in his mind.

“Of course, sweetheart… We understand,” Martha said. “Would you like to have something before going to sleep?”

How lucky could she feel thinking about the chances of Circe sleeping with her parents the night he gifted that awful locket?

…

The morning was silently chaotic. The whispers, people running around, gasps. Coronis sighed, knowing exclusively well what was happening.

“What was the number?” she asked as she stepped out of her slot and paddled towards the kitchenette.

“Two hundred sixty-seven,” Onyx reminded. “But in my opinion… You should start another set of counting.”

She stopped and turned around to look at her brother with a confused look. “Why?”

“Hmm… Maybe a new tendency of assassinating the lord's men has begun. If you want to, see it for yourself… I would not propose it though but it would be three if we count the one who captured Circe. It's not a sight to see…” he saw her running outside and shook his head. He knew it was something Coronis didn't need to see. It was horrible yet not surprising.

Coronis regretted it in an instant. She shouldn't have left her shack. The scene was horrible. Gut-wrenching. One of the men was hung on the hook, his chest ripped apart, his eyes ripped out– leaving a bloody trail on his cheeks. For so long, she had only seen people with large gashes, naked, hung on the hook. In the worst scenario, a headless body with their heads hung around. It always looked like an easy way to go. Breathing life was torturous. But death came with just a few gashes and a quick snap of a sword. Later the body was mutilated but the death couldn't feel anything.

This… This was horrendous. The nails of the man were covered in fresh blood which was still not dried yet and his arms had scratches. He looked like he went through hell before he died. Unlike others, he played with hell himself.

Was it the worst anyone could do? No.

The switches in her mind snapped and lurked back in time. Last night. He was standing there covered in blood, eyes looking shallower and colder. Was he there to kill this man? What was the purpose of him to be there at all?

Something in Coronis’s mind knocked that he was behind this unfortunate. Even though any man of the Lord did not deserve any mercy, considering this man has undoubtedly beheaded many. But the cruelty he has been through shone through his limp body.

It's all his deed.

The neigh of the horse made her flinch and look in its direction. A big blunder. His piercing gaze was looking deep into hers. He had two more men on his side. One of them seemed like he was talking to him, telling him about stuff. He patted his back and nodded.

“Coronis, come back inside,” Onyx called her back, seeing how she was almost hyperventilating. She didn't even feel it. “I warned you. But my mistake is telling you to see it yourself. Now, calm down, okay? It’s alright. Everything is okay. I’m here. You don’t need to worry.”

Brothers, if good, are the biggest blessings. Coronis always felt protected and easy whenever Onyx was around. She remembered when they were little, he would always be around her. Whenever they went to the market, he would hold her hand and never let it go. And when the patrolmen and guards passed by, he would cover her eyes and hug her, whispering that everything is okay and that he would never let anyone touch any hair of hers let alone her body. He was like a human shield for her and still is.

“I’m fine, I just… I feel tired,” she whispered against his chest as he hugged her.

Onyx rested his palm on her forehead, “Coronis, you are burning. You must have caught a fever after travelling for so long. Go into your room… I'll come to you in a moment.”

Coronis followed his command like a little puppy. She slipped into her blanket and lay down, closing her eyes. She tried to shut down her brain before the anxiety rushed in. But it failed terribly.

Things have taken a big turn. It was only going downhill and she was dragging others with her, too. She didn't know why that guard was hung over there but she was worried about her family and Nori.

“There, there, little girl,” Onyx came in with a bowl full of soup and some bread. “You eat this first. I'm right here. I don't have to go to work today.”

“Where is mom?” she asked.

“She had some errands to run. She is at the market. Won't be long,” he said as he dipped a piece of bread in soup and fed her. “What happened? And don't even think of lying… I can see right through you.” He waited for her to finish and speak.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Coronis. Nothing is not the answer I want,” he said authoritatively.

Coronis sighed and tears pricked in her eyes. The burden was whacking against her chest, trying to escape and scream freely. She had no clue about how to stop all of this mess and save everyone she loved. It did not seem like a good idea to bare her feelings in front of her brother who had just returned from only he knows what misery.

“Everything is falling apart. When I think that I might be getting better or that everyone around me is getting better, it all goes down and crushes into dust. All the hopes and expectations fall apart and hurt. I'm bringing down everyone along with me,” she cried. “I feel like this is going to end very badly.” She looked into his eyes. “I do not want to lose any one of you.”

Onyx sadly chuckled and threaded his fingers through her hair. “It is going to end badly one way or another… So why not keep us aside for once and think about what makes you happy?” He smiled and hugged her. “We all are built to go away at one point. So just enjoy what makes you happy for these moments and see what happens…”

Maybe for once, she needed to break the ties.

…

A light hand caressing Coronis's head and a cold handkerchief on her forehead woke her up. Her eyes slowly blinked, trying to focus.

“Ah, did I wake you up?” a soft familiar voice spoke.

“Nori?” Coronis whispered.

“Hmm, yeah?” she asked.

Coronis looked at her and saw her sitting beside her, looking pretty as always in her black gown. She was stroking her hair, making her head feel better. “What are you doing here?”

“I met Martha in the market. She said she was going to be late as her work was still stuck… Something about the aunt that passed away. So she sent me here to hand over some stuff that was needed. Then Onyx told me you had a fever. He needed to be somewhere so I offered to stay with you,” she laid next to her and hugged her side.

“Circe?” Coronis asked.

“She went with Draco who came a few moments ago. They went to the meadows,” Nori tucked away Coronis's hair behind her ear.

“So we are alone here?” she asked.

“Mhm,” she smiled.

Nori felt like the home Coronis craved. Her sympathetic eyes and delicate face brought euphoria to her footsteps. It was the vulnerability that was fogging her mind again.

Being with Nori was what made her genuinely happy. Love or lust… She didn't know what it was but whatever it was, it was addicting. She felt like the weed that Coronis needed to smoke.

Nori… was all she felt.

“Your fever is down now…” Nori started. “ I heard that you travelled for a long time yesterday. You were already tired when you left my place,” she blushed thinking about the things they did. “I think that is why you got a fever.”

Coronis listened to her talk, “I want to be happy,” she said, keeping all of her shame aside.

Nori looked at her, “hm?”

“I want to feel happy,” she said again. “Can you make me happy? Please me? Just me and nothing in return? Would that be too selfish?”

That's what made her happy. The feeling of her hands and mouth on her. For Coronis, there were lesser feelings but the itch for physical affection was overpowering. Her needy wants were what she wanted to satisfy. As much as she felt horrible for using Nori for her needs, she had started to feel some attraction, too. Every day, she found herself drifting towards her with a need to look at her and feel her against her fingertips.

This was the only time she let go of herself and became desperate for herself.

Nori bit her lower lip shyly. “You don't have to please me in return. I love pleasing you and the feeling of you near me. That's all I want.”

Coronis turned to her side and held Nori's face. She slowly pecked her, “Then please, help me feel happy,” and whispered.

Nori kissed her passionately. Their tongues tangled together. Coronis could feel herself getting embarrassingly wet for Nori. “Please, Nori, I can't take it anymore.”

Nori crawled down and removed the blanket from her and raised the skirt of her gown. In no time, she was bare in front of her eyes.

She kissed her ankle and slowly made her way up while licking and kissing every inch of her. She kissed her inner thigh and blew hot breath on her dripping core, making her shiver and giggle dumbly.

They looked like a lovesick couple.

She could see how Coronis was dripping wet for her. Her cunt was begging for attention and so she got. Nori dipped her head between her legs and licked a long strip, capturing her clit between her lips and sucking on it.

“Fuckk,” Coronis moaned. She could feel the vibration of Nori humming on her cunt. Her fingers grabbed her hair and pushed her face harder onto her cunt. “So good for me!”

Nori pushed her two fingers into her cunt and curled them, hitting her G-spot perfectly. Coronis's back arched and her mouth fell open in a silent scream. Nori quickened her pace and fucked her with her fingers. She licked and sucked on her clit until she could feel Coronis cum. Her legs shook and closed around her head as she came.

Nori sat up and looked into Coronis’s eyes and licked her fingers clean. She smiled, “you always taste so sweet.”

Coronis chuckled. “Thank you so much,” she said after catching her breath. She sat up and fixed her clothes. “Thank you for understanding me and helping me… I can't say something out loud but you get me through so much.”

“I said it yesterday… I’ll say it again. You don't have to tell me anything. I'm just glad that we can be together here and just… Exist,” Nori smiled. But before this exchange could proceed to something schmaltzy, she spoke up again. “I have to go to the market nearby. Will you join me?”

…

As Nori was pulling Coronis with her through the crowd of the market, Coronis got lost in her thoughts.

Her mind wandered back to the morning. When she saw him covered in blood, it was around midnight. And when she saw that man hanging on the hook, it was late in the morning. It had a difference of almost two-quarters (basically, almost twelve hours) of a full day and night when she saw him and then the man on the hook.

He was covered in blood at night but the man that she saw had fresh blood dripping down his body. It looked stiff. And he was there, clean in his attire. Not a spec of blood.

The man was not killed at night. He did not kill him. As far as she could think.

Then who did? A guard or patrolman, for sure. But why?

Was he out there at night hunting for wild animals? Or was there something else he was doing? Why did it feel like it had to do something with her?

She felt like she was making everything about herself at this point. Nothing was adding up. It was all a big mess. She could not wrap her head around anything that was going on. What exactly was this?

“Coronis,” Nori shook her out of her thoughts. “Are you alright?”

“Hm?” she looked around and then back at her. “Oh yeah! I am fine, yeah.”

Nori felt strange. She could see the gears turning around in Coronis’s mind. “Can you do me a favour?”

“Yeah, of course,” Coronis said.

“I'll get the meat. Can you get the fruits from Eli's?” she sweetly asked.

“Okay,” she took the money and walked towards the Eli’s. She checked through the fruits and got the best one she could find and paid the price.

On her way back, she was met with a familiar scent that made her shiver out of her boots. She looked to her right and saw a young girl, around her age, preparing some redolent.

Coronis stepped into the shop and looked around and saw many glass bottles containing pretty coloured liquid. Each of them was labelled as different redolent. Some were floral and some were labelled as cigars. An odd choice of scent but she couldn't make a remark on it.

“What would you like?” the girl asked as she looked at the newcomer.

Coronis looked at the bottle that the girl was preparing. Its scent was almost making her suffocate yet it was pleasant to sniff. She had only sniffed it once. It had a delightful scent of woody and musky redolent.

“How much for that?” she pointed at the bottle.

The girl's eyes widened. “You can not buy that,” she said.

“Why not?”

“It's for the Lord. You know, no one can use what he exploits,” Coronis’s ears started to ring. She got out of the shop and quickly walked in Nori’s direction.

No no no, this can't be it, she thought. This can not happen. This is not real. This is not fucking real. Her hands and pupils shook in dread after the realization hit her in her guts.

Her world shattered in front of her eyes after hearing just a few words. Out of everyone, him. How unlucky was she that she was thrown into this situation? She thought she was playing with the devil but it was the Lord himself.

The sweat trickled down her face as her colour went pale. Her lips felt chapped and her throat went dry. It was forbidden. Everything that she was committing was forbidden. This could no longer happen.

Her brain was empty of thoughts and only those firey gaze remained stuck.

“Coronis!” Nori caught Coronis by her arm. “What happened? Why are you sweating like that? Did something happen? Talk to me!” she started to panic after seeing how Coronis was hyperventilating.

Coronis shoved the fruits into Nori's hands and pulled away. She looked at Nori as if she was a ghost. Her steps moved away from Nori as she tried to get a grip on Coronis. But she whimpered and her tears rolled down her cheeks. She vigorously shook her head and gestured to her (Nori) to stop wherever she was.

“Coronis, why are you doing this?” Nori felt hurt seeing the woman she loved running away from her like this. Her heart felt heavier and on the edge of bursting.

She felt sympathetic to Coronis as she saw how her face drained out of blood and looked like a phantom. Her body shook like a leaf and sweat soaked her face like water.

Poor girl must have seen something awful to make her look like this. Coronis was stronger than any woman Nori had ever seen. She always carried herself with a tough demeanour, scaring people away. And now, seeing her crumble in front of her eyes, broke her heart. She wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was fine.

“We can’t do this anymore! We are done!”

.....

Sanaa's note:

I hope you guys are doing fine! I love interacting with you all, it makes me feel like you guys actually care for my blog. It makes me feel a little important, not gonna lie. So thank you so much. I hope you will leave some feedback for this chapter as well😊

The behaviour of all the characters is visualized.

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Have a nice day/night💓

[herald-divine-hell]

Although I still love DA:V (depending on the day, it goes to the second or third favorite DA game), I increasingly abhor the way BioWare choose to handle the Inquisitor.

Say what you will about the Warden and Hawke - the former who legitimately cannot be actively seen in-game unless they actually accept giving a canon voice to the Warden, and Hawke who really does get the short-end of the stick - but this was the second time they implemented a previous protagonist in their game, and, in my view, I think they failed. They should have learned from Hawke...but somehow, I think they regressed.

This is just opinion of course, before anyone comes at me saying that "Well, really, Hawke/Warden has it worse because a, b, and c." But I think it is very much different here. Narratively speaking, Solas and the Inquisitor are more foils than Rook could ever be, and given your more personal relationship with Solas, the importance of the Inquisitor is very much weakened given Rook is DAV's protagonist. But that's not entirely the problem here in my opinion. The problem is, that due to the lack of world-state options, the Inquisitor comes off as more one-dimensional that many of their naysayers claim the Inquisitor is in Inquisition. Their entire being there is for Solas...to either save or kill him (which, you don't even do as a Friend!Inquisitor, anyway.)

It's just...heavily disappointing because they knew they struggled with implementing Hawke, but at least when it came to Hawke you can get hints of Blue, Purple, and Red!Hawke given the world-state. We don't even get that with the Inquisitor.

I think that's the ultimate problem that they ran into when it leaked that we will be playing a new character. No matter what BioWare did, Solas' story is the Inquisitor's story. They are more tied together than Rook could ever be. By limiting them to an NPC, they are compelled to limit that relationship such binary terms that it feels fake, it feels like this is simply a charade of the Inquisitor.

If they wanted me to feel for the Inquisitor actually have them impact the story - have Elgar'nan or Ghilan'nain capture them and twist them with the Blight and red lyrium. Or have them be stabbed by Solas at the beginning of the game. Do something that gives the Inquisitor some importance.

But all we got is some letters, and at least with friend!Inquisitor an attempt to save Solas, and that's it.

[gunilslaugh]

I'm not the original ask, but the bet fic is sooooooo good. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Could you possibly do a part 2 where they regret it and the reader is doing great? Could you maybe also do an angst ending and happy where they get back together with conditions and time? (If not, that is perfectly fine. Your writing is so good❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️)

Thank you! Here is part 2! Only with angst ending though because if I wrote a happy ending too I felt like this post would have been too long. I guess I could do another post with the happy endings if you guys really want though.

All members < ~ _ ~ >

Summary: Xdinary Heroes sincerely regret ever making that bet. They feel horrible for hurting you, but when they run into you they find out that you’re just fine.

WC:~2.8k

Warning:angst

photo not mine credits to owner.

Gunil

“I hope I never see you again.” Gunil keeps hearing you say those words. He remembers the pain in your eyes and the anger in your voice. Your last conversation haunts him. It’s been a few months, but he still plays it over in his head everyday. He feels absolutely horrible. If someone asked him right now what his biggest regret was he would answer making that bet. Betting that he could make you fall in love with him. He doesn’t even have excuses to make about why he did it. Maybe he thought that it would make him seem cool, although how would doing such a horrible thing make him cool? It made him a massive jerk.  Perhaps he thought that it could give him some type of street cred, but who would want street cred about being a guy who played with someone’s feelings? Even any possible reasons he tried to think of could never justify for what he did. Gunil is only left with the consequences of it. 

Gunil was stopping in to grab a coffee before heading into the studio for the day. Much to his surprise he finds you inside the shop as well. You’re with one of your friends and you look really happy. It makes Gunil feel relieved. He thought that you would still be hurting, like him. However you deserve to be happy and Gunil was about to exit the shop, to let you keep being happy when, “Gunil!” you called him. He was even more surprised, you said you never wanted to see him again. He turns to look at you and finds that you're approaching him.

“Y/n,” he says.

“Can we talk for a minute?” you asked. You just keep surprising him. 

“Yeah, sure,” he agreed. The two of you went and sat at a table. He notices your friend watching him like a hawk, but he knows he deserves it. “You look good,” he said. 

“Thanks,” you smiled. 

“You don’t have to believe me, but I am really sorry about the bet,” he apologizes. You know he is, you can tell by how awful he looks.

“I do believe you. I’ve forgiven you too. I was really upset at first, obviously,” you chuckled. “I healed from it though and I’m doing really well now.”

“I’m glad.” 

“You should forgive yourself too, Gunil. I can tell you’re beating yourself up about it. What you did was wrong, but learn from it, move on,” you tell him. Gunil doesn’t want to move on from you, but he can tell from your words that you have moved on from him. He wants you back, but he does not want to ruin your happiness either. 

“I’ll try.” 

“Good, I should get going now. My friend is waiting,” you say, standing up.

“Right, of course. I need to head into the studio too.” Gunil also stands up. 

“Bye.” You waved a simple hand to him. 

“Bye.” He also raised a parting hand. Then he watches you walk out of the shop and he’s left feeling a stabbing pain in his heart.

Jungsu

Jungsu didn’t take the money just like he said he wouldn’t. He regrets everything. He never should have made that stupid bet. 

“You act like such a nice guy, a caring guy, a sweet guy. And I fell for it.” Jungsu’s head falls into his hands as he recalls your words. Why did he have to make that bet? He could have just dated you normally. Been a nice, caring, sweet guy that you would fall for, but no he wanted to prove that there was more to him than being a nice guy. Even looking back that sounds so stupid. What did he think was wrong with being a nice guy? Jungsu guessed that he did get what he wanted. He doesn’t view himself as a nice guy anymore. He hates himself, thinks that he is pathetic and a horrible person. He hurt you and he will never forgive himself for that. 

Jungsu is out wandering the streets. It’s night and the air is chilly. Jungsu didn’t bother to put on a jacket because he didn't care. Presently he didn’t care about himself because he was a horrible person. He thinks he might be going crazy as he sees a person who looks exactly like you coming up to him. There’s no way you would ever willingly approach after what he did to you. 

“Jungsu, why are you out here? It’s late and cold.” Jungsu blinks his eyes multiple times. Was it really you? Were you really  standing right in front of him? “Jungsu?” You waved your hand in front of his face. 

“Y/n?” His voice almost cracks.

“Hi,” you said. 

“I really am sorry, so sorry. I’m a horrible person for what I did. I never should have done it. I regret it so much. I didn’t take the money either for whatever that’s worth,” he began to ramble, leaning forwards. His knees even looked like they might buckle any second. 

“Jungsu, Jungsu.” You reached out, taking a hold of his arms, scared that he would fall. “It’s ok. I’m ok. I’m great actually.” 

“You do look great,” he voices, looking you over. “I miss you.” he whispered, almost like he didn’t want you to hear it. 

“Thank you,” you said, but you didn’t say that you missed him too. Jungsu understands though. Why would you miss him? He hurt you. “Can you get home ok?” At least you still care about him.

“Yeah.” He straightened himself out. You let go of your hold on his arms and he misses your warmth. “Don’t worry about me. You get home safe,” he tells you. 

“I will.” With that you two part ways. Jungsu goes back home to his bed and cries his broken heart out.

Gaon/Jiseok

“That’s how I feel knowing that I was just a bet.” Jiseok sighs, sitting down on his bed. You weren’t just a bet. He knows that you don’t believe him, but it is true. After getting to know you he fell for you too. He stopped caring about the bet. That’s why he never told the members when he found out that you fell for him. They only found out after seeing a “love you” text that you sent him. You don’t know that though and you also don’t know that he returned the money his members paid him for winning. He didn’t want it. It made him feel bad. In fact he was even planning on telling you about the bet, but he didn’t know how to. He knew that telling you about it would risk losing you. He didn’t want to lose you, so he thought he would take the time to plan it all out. Figure out how to tell you in a way that hopefully wouldn’t result in you leaving him.

Alas you found out before he could. He tried to tell you the truth, but you didn’t believe him. He can’t blame you though. Jiseok wanted to explain the situation to you so badly, but he could see how hurt you were. How your trust for him had been broken, so instead he let you go. Watching you walk away he wanted to chase after you, but he knew at the time it wouldn’t do any good. 

Now all he can think about is how he should have never made that bet. How he should have called it off. Why didn’t he call it off? Why did he make such a huge mistake?

Jiseok was on his way back to the dorm after finishing up practice when he crossed paths with you. Ironically enough it’s the exact same spot the two of you broke up. 

“Hey Jiseok,” you spoke up first. 

“Hey,” he said back. 

“How have you been?” you asked him. 

“Not great, I feel really bad y/n. I did really mean it when I said that I cared about you. I made a mistake not calling the bet off. I regret even making it in the first place too. I’m sorry,” he answers. 

“I believe you and I accept your apology.” you tell him. 

“Then-”

“Y/n, baby!” A guy comes up, throwing an arm over your shoulder. “Who’s this?” they ask.

“An old friend,” you told them.

“Nice to meet you,” they say. Jiseok nods.

“Well don’t let me keep you two.” Jiseok excuses himself. He turns back to watch you walk away, in the embrace of another man. Jiseok is left alone with his aching heart.

O.de/Seungmin

Seungmin returned that day from the cafe and immediately started arguing with Hyeongjun. 

“Why did you tell them? You ruined everything!” Seungmin yelled as he held Hyeongjun by the collar. The other members were quick to separate them. 

“Yes, I know I ruined your fun, but you were just playing with them! You were gonna break up with them after you won the bet. They deserved to know. I couldn’t just let you play with them!” Hyeongjun yelled back. The other members and Seungmin were shocked. They never heard Hyeongjun shout like that before. Seungmin went to his room, slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t actually mad at Hyeongjun for telling you, he was mad at himself. Hyeongjun was right. He was just playing with you. He was gonna break up with you at the end of the three months. However, seeing how hurt you were, being seconds from breaking down. All because of him made him see how awful what he was doing was. He regrets it. 

The sights of you walking out of the cafe and the last words you said to Seungmin, “I hope I never see you again.” keep stabbing him in the heart. The event even haunts his dreams and sometimes he wakes up with tears in his eyes. He finds that he misses you. That all those dates he took you on weren't just so he could win the bet. He actually really enjoyed spending time with you. Seungmin thinks of it as karma. It’s what he gets for doing a heinous act. He hopes that you’re doing better than him. That you aren’t still hurting because of an asshole like him.

Seungmin in a convenient store buying some snacks for the form when the bell chimes, alerting that someone has entered. He looked over to the door just in time to see you entering. He briefly thinks about hiding. You did say that you hoped you never saw him again. 

“Seungmin!” Before he can even decide you’re calling his name. He’s surprised to say the least. However he is pleasantly shocked to see how good you look. Your eyes are bright, you’re wearing a smile, your outfit is cute. 

“Hey y/n,” he greets you a bit awkwardly.

“I’m not mad at you anymore Seungmin,” you inform him. Seungmin doesn’t know what he did to deserve that. 

“Thank you. I’m really sorry for what I did. I mean it. I’m not only sorry because Hyeongjun told you. I’ve come to regret what I did. I was being an awful person. I’m sorry I put you through that. You didn’t deserve it…and I miss you too,” he apologized. You can tell he’s sincere. 

“Sounds like you did some growing up,” you said. Seungmin nodded. “Don’t hurt the next one,” you tell him. Now Seungmin knows he can’t get you back. 

“I won't,” he replied. The two of you say goodbye and Seungmin tries to hold himself together until he gets home.

Junhan/Hyeongjun

Hyeonjun really didn’t want to hurt you. He knows that it doesn’t sound believable because if he didn’t want to hurt you then why did he do the bet? Hyeongjun doesn’t have a simple answer for that. Honestly he was interested in you before he even made the bet with his members. In some twisted way the bet gave Hyeongjun the confidence to go up and talk to you. As to why he didn’t call off the bet after your relationship started, Hyeongjun doesn’t know himself. He wished that he had though. He regrets taking the money. He regrets buying something with it. He felt so much guilt that he returned what he had purchased. He also gave the members their money back. Hyeongjun desperately wishes for a time machine. A way where he could go back and fix what he did,but he can’t. He wishes that he tried to explain why he did it, instead of telling you goodbye. Because even if you didn’t believe him at least he would have tried. Maybe one day you would believe him and know the truth. What’s done is done. He has to live with the consequences. The guilt, the pain, the heartache. He’ll deal with it because he knows that he deserves it. 

Hyeongjun likes to go to your guy's old spot. To reminisce on the good times you had together. The times where he was just happy to be with you.

“You still come here?” Your voice caught his attention. He turns around to see you. He almost can’t believe it. He thinks that he might be dreaming.

“Yeah, reminds me of good times,” he tells you. You smile. It’s just as beautiful as he remembers. 

“It reminds me of good times too,” you state. 

“I know you probably still won’t believe me, but I really didn’t want to hurt you. I returned what I bought with the money and the money. Because it didn’t feel good, it felt horrible. I shouldn’t have gone through with the bet. I regret not calling it off. I really just wanted to be with you y/n. I’m sorry for everything,” he expressed.

“Thank you. I’ve forgiven you a while ago Hyeongjun. I wouldn’t have been able to move on and become happy if I didn’t. I fondly remember our time together. That’s why I still come here.” Move on. You had moved on from him. It was too late.

“I remember our time together fondly as well,” he said, masking his pain. “Uh I have practice in the morning, so I should get going,” he excused.

“Right, you should go.”

“Bye,” he tells you. 

“Goodbye Hyeongjun.” For Hyeongjun these are the most painful words you ever told him.

Jooyeon

“Don’t be too sorry you did win the game. I fell in love with you, so congratulations. I hope you had fun playing.” Jooyeon hasn’t been able to play games after you said that. Anytime he tries he thinks about how he hurt you. You were right he did know what he was doing. The bet sounded like a fun game to him. He wanted to play and win and he technically did both of those things. However it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t have fun playing, well maybe at first, but definitely not at the end. He regrets it so much. He was foolish and awful. 

Jooyeon kept that plushie that he won that day. The one you harshfully shoved back into his chest. He doesn’t know why he keeps it though, it only tortures him. Reminds him of how horrible he was. Maybe that’s why he keeps it. It’s like a form of self punishment. He hugs it to sleep as he cries wishing that he hasn’t been so dumb. That he could still be with you. 

Jooyeon stands in front of the arcade. The last place he was together with you. He comes here sometimes to think about that day. What he possibly could have said. What he shouldn’t have said. Maybe if he just came clean and owned up to it all you could have found a way to forgive him. That two of you could have worked through it and still be together. 

“Aren’t you gonna go in?” Jooyeon can’t believe the voice that he is hearing. He must miss you so much that now he is hearing you. When he turns around he finds that he is not imagining hearing you, it’s actually you. 

“Y/n,” he says in disbelief. 

“Hi,” you greet him. 

“And no I’m not going in. I can’t play games anymore,” he reveals.

“What? You love games.” Now you are the one in disbelief. 

“Not after I hurt you. Making that bet was one of the dumbest things I ever did. I viewed it as a game that I wanted to win, but I regret it all. It wasn’t fun and horrible towards you. I did enjoy our time together though for whatever that’s worth. I liked gaming with you and going on dates. I do care about you.” I’m in love with you, but those words didn’t leave his mouth. 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Jooyeon. I’m glad that you matured and realized that it was wrong. I’m doing great now and I want you to be too. Let’s both grow from this and remember each other fondly,” you tell him. Remember each other fondly, those words shattered Jooyeon’s heart. He couldn’t fix things. You and him would never be together again. 

Jooyeon nodded and then you both parted ways leaving Jooyeon with the pieces of his shattered heart.

[codenamesazanka]

i've seen the theory that Hawks will pardon Toga like he pardoned Nagant/Gentle/La Brava but i have a hard time believing that Toga would be happy about that. i think she would just stab him in response (and she would be in the right for it)

I feel like those examples are flawed for comparison because Nagant/Gentle/La Brava were on the Heroes' side and fought for them, demonstrated their allegiance to the Heroes, worked to maintain the Hero System in this war, so of course they would get rewarded by being allowed to go free in the same System. They're not a threat.

If we want a better comparison, we have to look at Twice. Hawks was also willing to help out Twice—provided Twice renounces the League and goes to jail for an undetermined amount of time. And he made this offer not because of the injustice of Twice's background and he wants to correct that, but because he personally thought Twice was a Good Person who was just 'unlucky' - pity.

So Hawks isn't in the business of justice. He's in the business of maintaining the Hero System. (He admits on TV he failed to get Twice to atone for his crimes and that this speaks to his "lack of character"... so obviously when offered the position of HPSC president - who is responsible for the procedure of successfully getting criminals to atone - he feels he's the right person for the job because he did so well before, right?)

If Toga is alive, she's going to be given the same choice. Admit she was wrong and denounce the League and her time with it, then serve her sentence. As long as she's still attached to the League and she's unwilling to kneel before the Heroes, she's a threat and Hawks probably will not pardon her. He killed Twice for that. He can't just willy-nilly kill Toga now that the battle is over (or can he??? He's HPSC president! Carrying a sword on his back around???) but he can keep her locked up.

Will Toga renounce the League? Or is it more likely that even though she's offered this deal, she'll ask about Mister, and Spinner? Will they get pardoned as well? What about Touya? What are they doing to do about them? Or is she just being pitied?

idk, maybe Hawks is planning to pardon Spinner and Mister too. (And he can easily pardon Touya knowing that Touya is basically in hospice and not going to be an issue soon.) But if not, if this is just the same deal Hawks offered Twice...

As you said, anon: I have a hard time believing Toga will be happy about that. And she should stab him.

Thanks for the ask!

[mackerelphones]

Even more movies I've watched lately

Absentia (2011): This movie is fine (and bleak), but it felt especially cheap, almost like something I should be watching on YouTube. This is because, according to Wikipedia, it was funded via Kickstarter. I used to have the same sheets as the Christian sister, Callie. One of John Bauer's charming troll illustrations turns up around 1:20:20. I suppose the lesson is "never give food to homeless people," or maybe "if you find a man with a deathly pallor collapsed in a tunnel who incoherently pleads with you about something, take his words extremely seriously"

Inland Empire (2006): David Lynch's final feature film. A scary man named Krimp looms in his front yard with a light bulb in his mouth. A surprisingly large portion of the dialogue is delivered in fake Southern accents. I know I'm supposed to say the film is a moving, visionary masterpiece from a genius, but despite enjoying the start, I don't think I've done enough Transcendental Meditation to "get" this one. I'm too far outside, well, whatever language this film is speaking and Lynch's religious understandings to care much for or about this film. (I have never seen people take this angle, but imo Lynch films tend to be highly religious, or rather, rooted in a particular religious cosmology involving intersections of dream universes. Imo anyone who isn't reading them with some of this religiosity in mind is overlooking an essential quality.) I suppose the lesson is "movies and reality are different"

Full River Red (2023): Despite the title, there is in fact a blue filter over a large portion of this very blue movie. My opinion changed over the course of the run time. At first, I thought it was bad. Then it became compelling. Then it wasn't merely compelling but nonstop great moments that retroactively improved and deepened the earlier scenes. Then it was shocking and viciously violent and still great. Then it became kind of silly. Finally, it's mediocre. Feels like it ends at three points but has to keep dragging on instead until they could contrive an over-the-top patriotic conclusion. It would have been a 9/10 if it only ended earlier, but instead it's probably more a 5/10 or worse. Like you don't need to actually show Qin Hui losing directly--the audience knows he lost in the long run because his name became synonymous with "traitor." Anyway, regardless of what Sun Jun says at the finale, the assassins are ABSOLUTELY there to kill Qin Hui, not to force him to recite a poem. That stab we see is a stab to fucking kill him. You saw it too, Sun! I suppose the lesson is if you are a patriot in the end, any amount of previous murder, torture, betrayal, or threatening Yaoqin with gang rape can be forgiven

Blue Gate Crossing (2002): Ironically, this one is NOT blue. A growing-up movie. Kerou's friend Lin Yuezhen is stalking her male classmate Shihao and stealing his possessions, including his shoes, as all normal girls with a crush would. Shihao swims a lot. He is a real charmer who gives his buddy money to masturbate in public, but as we get to know him, we see he also has plenty of energy to be unpleasant to Kerou as well. He becomes persuaded Kerou is the one who likes him and falls for her, which leads to some awkwardness. Kerou seems to hit on her adult PE teacher at one point. The big twist is that Kerou is actually in love with Yuezhen, but as with most things in the film, nothing much happens as a result of the lesbian twist. I suppose the lesson is if you follow and pester someone often enough long enough and never take no for an answer, you're really kind

Lupin III: Goemon's Blood Spray (2017): This one is disgustingly violent. I don't know why Goemon didn't just kill Hawk. Goemon showed NO mercy to the gangsters! None! What makes Hawk worthy of sparing? But I guess unpleasantly inconsistent narrative ethics are the bread and butter of this Woman Called Mine Fujiko-type Lupin stuff. At least there's no rape. I suppose the lesson is "If you turn off all your senses and stop feeling pain, you can keep fighting even with your arms chopped open." I apply this wisdom in my daily life very often. (If only I could just make pain stop)

The Thief and the Cobbler Recobbled Cut (2013): Richard Williams's uncompleted life's work. A sensory overload film. While the film displays technical excellence and many gorgeously stylized visuals, I cannot imagine putting so much effort into such a mediocre, vapid story! The story, of course, is the scaffolding that the animation, the real star, is hung up on. Being a showcase only for technical skill, the movie is not very entertaining, either. Watching a painstakingly animated slapstick sequence of the Thief, I'm not gasping at the impressive, mind-boggling visuals but wondering when this interminable nonsense will end so we can return to the cardboard-cutout characters advancing the paper-thin plot. Even the climax is not a showdown against the evil Zigzag or the One-Eyes (the villains) but a ludicrously protracted Thief-bouncing-around scene. Tack, the cobbler, isn't even given the agency to intentionally defeat Zigzag: it has to happen by mistake, in an instant, and then the movie keeps staggering on and on and on anyway to show off technically incredible work with no drama or substance. Just exhausting animation for the hell of it. Zigzag dies a rather gruesome death for being the only entertaining or fun character, especially when the ruthless conqueror who has actually killed tons of people apparently doesn't even die but instead gets sat on by a bunch of large women, which is more of a reward than comeuppance if you ask me. I suppose the lesson is that even if you are a master of your craft, perfectionism can get in the way of the qualities that most matter in art. Wait, that might legitimately be the lesson

Hells (2008): The first half of this animated movie is irreverent, madcap, hammy. It's crude, it's violent, it's ridiculous. The opening shot is a cherub's anus while a voice screams that everyone goes to Hell when they die. The scenes are so explosive and rapid-fire that many of them seem to cut off before the scene is actually over (but hey, it's not boring). Though not as well-written or super-sexualized to the nth degree, Hells was reminding me of Kill La Kill. Then comes the big reveal and the villain powers up. Suddenly the setting totally changes for the rest of the movie, the established character arcs and relationships come to a dead halt and most of them reverse, the tone becomes extremely sincere, and the movie degenerates into a tedious chain of monologues about the power of faith and redemption (albeit in a rather non-Christian way). The ending also feels like they forgot what happened earlier: why are they rebuilding the abusive, terrible school? They didn't learn jack shit there. Did we forget the scene where the headmaster sexually tortures a student on a roulette wheel? Why the hell are we now acting like the school was a bastion of inspiration and hope that saved everyone? Madcap entertainment gives way to a back half where I'm begging the movie to end. No wonder Hells is forgotten. The lesson is that love and faith in people is more powerful than God

World Apartment Horror (1991): Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, story by Satoshi Kon, screenplay cowritten by Keiko Nobumoto (creator of Wolf's Rain). Whoa! Is it awesome? No. I kept hoping, "Please don't be a story about how a bigot learns not to be a bigot because minorities are nice to him." But then it was. Even after the bigot attacks him with a chainsaw (!), the literally magic Black man remains steadfast and compassionate. But then it kept going long enough to be slightly more complicated. Another big problem is that the "horror" stuff is barely present until about an hour through (more than halfway), but at this point the script acts like it's been going on a while regardless. They should have showed us the protagonist's deterioration instead of just cutting from him being his usual dumbass self to him already being haunted/possessed. Really takes you out of it. The lesson is that revenge for genocide is wrong but maybe you need a supernatural being to defend yourself from racists even so. Apparently there's a manga version of this too

Rare Exports (2010): Surprisingly enough for a film involving murderous magical naked old men abducting children to ritually torture for Christmas, I'm disappointed it wasn't weirder. There is not a single woman anywhere in this film. The male characters are seemingly incapable of affection, tenderness, or kindness. Like you keep suspecting maybe someone will be nice a little bit, but nope. The world is brutal. I guess the meme that says Finns are "weird and sadistic" is true. I kept thinking how many of the children being swung around by the helicopter at the climax must be puking or passing out or screaming their lungs out. Speaking of the climax, why does Piiparinen know how to pilot a helicopter? Maybe I missed a setup for that. Or maybe the setup got cut

I Hired a Contract Killer (1990): This being an Aki Kaurismäki film, the actors can rarely tear themselves away from guzzling alcohol and smoking, and primarily speak in terse, austere, odd statements delivered awkwardly. Often feels like dialogue in a fairy tale. My favorite moment is when two ruthless hitmen earnestly, passionately attempt to persuade the protagonist (Henri) to love living. "But life is beautiful!" one hitman tells Henri. "It's a gift from our Lord," says the other. The lesson is cigarettes, booze, and sex make life worth living, but also, cigarettes will kill you. Though the cancer in the film is stomach cancer, actually, so maybe not

The Shooting (1966): All these years, those Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns have taken up so much cultural space. Meanwhile I never heard of this western, which is better: more interesting drama, more interesting characters, less egregious day-for-night scenes. (Still slightly egregious.) Real good. Tense, even scary. The lesson is there is no amount of money that should be enough to go into the desert with a shady stranger

Surveillance (2008): With David Lynch's recent passing, I was thinking with some regret that there aren't more David Lynch films. Then I thought, well, I've never seen any film his daughter Jennifer Lynch was involved in. So I watched Surveillance, the second film she directed, the first being critically panned and, more importantly, sounding so disgusting I don't want to watch it. Surveillance was pretty disgusting too, it turns out. Of course it's unfair to expect Jennifer Lynch to be like David Lynch, and Surveillance, despite what you might guess from the gist (extreme and bizarre violence, FBI agents investigating a serial killer, etc.), is really not like a David Lynch film whatsoever. It matches the level of depravity in his films, except with zero mysticism or love, only cruelty and nihilism. You don't leave even Lost Highway feeling like it presents a desolate, hopeless universe. You do this one. Basically it's about the serial killers from The Reflecting Skin (1990) I mentioned in my previous movie post

Road House (1989): I watched Road House because on a certain podcast one person said this cult classic is a movie with no good guys, and then the other person said it's a quintessential story of good versus evil. It tells the tale of a bouncer martial artist named Dalton who can rip people's throats out with his bare hands. One day he gets hired to clean up the Double Deuce roadhouse, which is rife with violence and crime. Then he starts flirting with the doctor who is stapling the open knife wound on his side. I kept thinking that if there was a Streets of Rage movie, it should have exactly the same mood as this. Then I got thinking I could write an awesome Streets of Rage movie if I learned how to write screenplays. The ending is probably too happy (no way is Elizabeth going skinny dipping with this guy like everything is fine), but so is the ending to Taxi Driver, and that movie is so serious and realistic up to that point that it ruins the movie, but people still consider that a classic. The lesson is that snitching is bad

Apocalypse Now Final Cut (1979/2019): How little the story cares about Vietnamese people hit me a lot harder now than when I saw a different cut when I was a teenager. Somehow, murdering a Vietnamese family in cold blood for no reason toward the midpoint is treated as less traumatizing or severe than murdering a brutal warlord at the climax. I doubt it's exactly unrealistic, but man, throughout the story Vietnamese people are slaughtered, blown up, and denigrated with slur after slur, yet the script never takes the time to even once have an actual Vietnamese character partake in the story. Somehow there's time for a colonial French plantation owner (!) to share his perspective about "his" land, but no time for his all-Vietnamese servants or some ARVN guy or, God forbid, Vietnamese civilian to get a drop of character development. Hell, why is it that the main guy talking to Willard in the Kurtz sequence is a white American, while not a single person in Kurtz's overwhelmingly indigenous army ever speaks a word? I bet at least a few of these people know English if they're taking orders from Kurtz. Also, the finale apparently depicts an actual ritual butchery of an animal carried out by real indigenous people (specifically Ifugao, who are totally unrelated the highlanders they portray in the film). Pretty messed up to use a real practice by a real, contemporary indigenous minority group as a metaphor for primal ancient brutality and violence. Guess it's hard to scrub the racism from Heart of Darkness. I hope those extras were paid well at least. Anyway, despite all of that, this is one powerful movie! Cinema magic

The Abandoned Field (1979): This one was a pain to find. Cánh đồng hoang, directed by Nguyễn Hồng Sến. The version on Internet Archive is a VHS recording and unwatchable. I never found a version with no compromises. Anyway, here's a Vietnamese war film that came out the same year as the (original cut of) Apocalypse Now. Certainly lower budget. It's a bit propaganda-y, and it has the issue of all the US soldiers being played by (I assume) Vietnamese actors who happen to have American-style haircuts. Biggest problem is the baby. Babies can't act, and this baby keeps staring into the camera and never behaving the way the baby should behave in the moment. Just looks confused and scared the whole time. They should have told the same story but with a kid old enough to act properly, though it would mean they'd have to write the kid as a more developed character. Anyway, it's still a thoughtful film. Get this: the Viet Cong characters have motivations and dialogue! Amazing! Viet Cong agents Ba Do and Sau Xoa raise a baby in a tiny shack in the Mekong Delta, the last Vietnamese in the area after the US forcibly relocated the other villagers. Ba Do is a sweet, charming guy and loving father. Plays guitar too. Though in a moment of heightened tension, he does hit his wife once. He finds, catches, and kills a big snake with his bare hands then cuts out the gall bladder to sell. He really just wants to farm rice and lay around smoking in peace, but he won't give up his home to the US. Sau Xoa does a lot of domestic labor but is a soldier herself since communists are feminist. Ba Do and Sau Xoa's lives seem poor and hard though also idyllic, if only these deafening helicopters weren't swooping through like aliens to spray the paddies and woods with gunfire. Rather implausibly, the US Air Force official Mitscher becomes fixated on specifically capturing Ba Do because his resistance is too powerful a symbol for the Viet Cong. They really should have written that differently--have Ba Do be essential for Viet Cong communications or something instead. Well actually, he is I think, but for some reason Mitscher never mentions that. There's even enough compassion in the film to do what Apocalypse Now wouldn't dare and make the enemy actually have some character, however simple: the US airman Jean is the primary antagonist, but he also has a wife and baby just like Ba Do. The film is a tragedy. That baby is over 40 now