#also me: but we can twist the knife a little. as a treat

[petermorwood]

Today's like yesterday...

@dduane is recovering from a really wicked IBS / lactose intolerance attack and I've been acting as medic & general helpmate, all while doing a Long John Silver impression after twisting my ankle when going downstairs in too much of a rush.

Wonderful... :-/

*****

This is a PSA of sorts for others prone to IBS / lactose intolerance.

Something that's safe cold may not be safe after heating.

As far as we can make out, the cause of this attack was a processed smoked-cheese-with-ham, despite it giving no trouble before now.

Out of the fridge and sliced thin with crackers, great stuff. DD just took a Lactaid or similar to balance the presence of the milk products, and all was well.

On Sunday evening, however, she tried baking it in egg-enriched saffron-flavoured bread dough left over from making this loaf.

Those little round things are bite-sized sausages. Very good, too.

Here's the cheese-stuffed version.

Looks lovely, right? Fancy knife. too... :->

However, baking this cheese seems to have caused some sort of chemical change, as happens with cooking oil, or heat concentrated the milk proteins beyond acceptable levels.

Either way, even after taking her usual Lactaid precaution before eating a couple of slices, the IBS / lactose combo still hit DD like a hammer, and It Was Not Fun.

She's on the mend, though tired from lack of sleep (me too) and very achy from all the throwing-up, also vexed that there may be yet another food added to the increasingly long list of once-tasty things needing treated with extreme caution or avoided completely.

The problem is that she might now be sensitised against eating this cheese at any temperature, and there's only one way to find out.

As she's said more than once: "Every woman her own test-tube".

It's not as good a quote as the one about books and potato chips, but is just as accurate.

[weewoo911]

I hope Chris does come back from Texas soon but I also hope he’s still mad and it’s not all instantly forgiven. I wanna see the work being done. Maybe I’m an angsty bitch but I’d love to see Chris go through a phase where he’s started to talk to his dad again but he only calls him Eddie

[ssa-neeks-prentiss]

hello hello hello !!

a teeny tiny request for you (hopefully it's not much to deal with): reader seeing Spencer interact with the kids who come knocking for treats, he does a small little trick for them too

Or

reader with the team goes to catch an unsub hiding in an abandoned lab or hospital (maybe x aaron?)

honestly idk what I'm yapping about but here are some mediocre thoughts from my side

‹3

AN: Sorry for not being able to do the top ask, I started getting motivation a little too late- I also need a name for this series so tell me if you have any ideas :3

Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader

Word Count : 1k

You stepped forward with your gun out. The team spread around you. You looked up at the large abandoned building in front of you. You let out an exasperated sigh as you finally noticed why the building was so large.

"An abandoned hospital. This sounds like it's straight out of a horror movie."

You muttered to no one in particular but they all heard and responded non verbally with grimaces. Frowning, you opened the door but winced as it opened with a loud creak.

"There goes our sneak attack."

Emily said to the team. You nodded in response. You agreed and you jogged forward, not caring about not making a sound anymore. The unsub had been alerted of your presence the moment you had opened that door.

Once all of the team was in the building, the door creaked shut, it was unsettling once it shut completely. As it was now dark and completely silent.

You crept through the hospital. You saw many things, but the thing that irked you the most was the fact the walls were void of graffiti. It was an obvious sign of something ahead. Especially since the place was obvious and not far from the main city.

The team split up and you were set with Aaron. The adrenaline rushing through your veins became more and more intense with each room you walked into. You came across many things, security cameras in tact and functioning, fully set up operating rooms, expensive equipment was still there.

"Something isn't right."

You muttered until you heard a bang and a loud scream. Both you and Aaron snapped up and ran to the sound of the scream. Panic made you run faster than you had before. Quicker than you thought was your limit.

You skidded to a halt as you rounded a corner but not before Aaron smashed into you due to your abrupt halt. You grabbed Aaron's hand and twisted sideways to avoid the knife that was being held out using some sort of contraption. You let out a quiet sigh of relief as you saw the rest of the team come from the other way. None of them would get hit by the knife. You sat up from where you were on the ground. Helping Aaron up, you dusted yourself off.

"This place is full of traps."

You muttered bitterly and Aaron gave you an apologetic look and you gave him a small smile in return. You trudged to the others.

"What did you find?"

Aaron asked them. Emily and JJ gave each other a look.

"We found a morgue."

You looked at them with a perplexed look, that was normal for a hospital like this. That was until JJ added onto Emily's statement.

"It was full of the missing people."

You paused. Oh. So this was where the unsub dumped the bodies. You turned to Rossi and Derek.

"Did you find anything?"

You asked the other two.

"We found.. Uh.. Organs."

Derek said with a tone of disgust. Your head snapped up in surprise.

"Where? Take me."

You asked and he nodded. The team followed behind you two.

Once you got there, you scanned the organs that were in the room.

"These are all the things that were 'wrong' with each person. The heart for heart problems. Lungs for asthma. The spine for back problems."

You listed off a few things. Until Aaron clicked it together.

"He was trying to fix them. Make them better. Take away what was bad and let them leave in perfect condition."

You nodded in agreement.

"Exactly."

You spun around at the unrecognizable voice. Your gun raised along with everyone elses. He held his hands up.

"I can go. I've saved all the people I need to."

At that Aaron nodded and Derek surged forward to snap handcuffs on the guy. They decided to go the way the guy came but before Derek could step forward with the guy you held a hand out and stopped them. You told everyone to go the other way and they did with only Aaron as an exception.

"Why did you tell them to go the other way."

Instead of answering properly you spoke instead.

"When I shout run. You run."

You waited for his nod and you grabbed something and threw it forward and the motion set something off as the place started to tick loudly.

"Run!"

You shouted as the two of you dashed out and got out of the hospital just in time to see the section of the building they were just in blow up. The two of you were slightly breathless from the running as the rest jogged to you both and bombarded you with questions.

"How did you know?"

You shrugged nonchalantly.

"He smirked and I noticed the motion sensors."

AARON'S POV

Aaron smiled slightly as the nonchalance reminded him of your daughter, Eleanor, he could tell that she got it from you. The smile was quickly wiped from his face as Rossi walked up to him with a knowing smirk.

Though you didnt notice that as you walked back to one of the vehicles, speaking with Emily.

He noticed a light red blushing on your cheeks as Emily teased you about something. You groaned as Emily laughed. Aaron didn't take notice of what Rossi was saying as he followed you.

He climbed into the drivers seat as you called shotgun and scrambled into the passenger seat. He smiled softly as you grinned and stuck your tongue out at Emily. You were a mix. You could be serious in times of need but also childish and light hearted. He admired that in you.

Emily grumbled and took the seat behind you and he held back a laugh as you gasped dramatically when Emily jokingly kicked your seat. You whipped around to glare at her but the smile that graced your face told him that you didn't mean it.

He turned the key as you begrudgingly turned around but not before giving Emily the middle finger.

Aaron enjoyed watching you interact with the team, he didn't know why but he did. It was nice. He enjoyed being with you overall but he didn't know why he felt a fluttering feeling with you. It confused him to no end but he didn't mind being confused if he got to spend time with you.

That was one of his favourite things to do and he could do it for hours.

[quitealotofsodapop]

With all the bs and teasing being thrown around this doesn't seem like a fight that would end in Macaque's Death but rather Mac being unintentionally flattered/flustered enough to be talked down if Wukong decides to turn the tables and start complaining about missining him only for macaque to show up and be a little shit about it. I love that the pokemon that looks most like the other is their most spoilt on the team. You didn't say it, but I imagine it's mutual. Peachy is a beloved brat if the back talk implies anything. I can also imagine Macaque trying to call Moon back and the fox is just like "No??? This guy treats me the way you treat peachy! It's pretty sweet over here!" Wukong sees the out of place fox in Mac's arms and looks up at him smug "Peachy?" "No." "You call him Peachy, Moonflower?" "Irrelevant!" "Hey, Peachy, you don't mind if we switch places for a bit, do you?" "Not at all, mama needs to get laid" *tries to jump out of Mac's arms but he scrambles and holds on tighter like he's a shield from the sudden flirting, stuffed animal style* "OH my gods, STAHP!!!!"

Zhu bajie, for once, is happy to watch silently with the others, this is the best(non-life threatening) entertainment they've had in months. Even if he wants to laugh and cry at the same time, Big Brother sucks at flirting if this is as familiar to them as it looks, but it's WORKING. Why does Monkey get to (terribly)flirt, but Bajie had to give up his marriage?! That's not fair!

- @fruit-fight

Prev.

To further twist the knife, Zorua canonically transform into little kids, so they 100% could turn into little humanoid demons like they're the Shadowpeach's children.

The two Zorua kits are yipping at each other like siblings playing favourites. Moon likes Wukong more cus he's more understanding of Moon's quieter nature, and Peachy likes Macaque more cus fellow drama queens.

Peachy: "Mama Macaque likes me more!" Moon: "Only because you're a suck up!" Peachy: "I am not! Mama! He's being mean to me! MAMAAAA!!" Macaque, pretending he can't understand them: "How did I get into this?" (´°ω°`)

When Zhu Bajie starts complaining about Wukong getting to flirt, his Oinkologne-mom starts arguing at him, scolding him for his behaviour! Can't he see that these two boys are rekindling an old romance? Bajie sulks like a little kid sent into timeout when he tries back-talking her.

By the end of it Wukong and Macaque are begrudgingly on good terms like parents splitting custody of their fox children.

[simplydannie]

Hi ! Can you write a Velvet centered fanfic ? Maybe where she gets hurt and doesn’t say anything until it gets bad because she doesn’t wanna been seen as weak

Haii!!

Okay you got it! Forgive me if it takes awhile by the time I post this lol I wanna make sure it’s decent for you! I also work on the fics off and on as I have other stuff too 😊 Okay let’s see how this would go:

TRIGGER WARNING ‼️ Mention of blood and g*nshots

The twins are on the run. A gang of Rageons hunt them down. Velvet finds herself injured, but she keeps it hidden… she needs to be strong, she has too…

They ran and ran. They could hear the screaming and yelling coming from behind them…

“Damn succubi get back here!!”

“Don’t look back! Keep running!” Velvet yelled as she pulled her brother.

“Where? Where are we running?” Veneer asked nearly tripping as his sister pulled him by his sleeve.

“ANYWHERE!!”

She maneuvered them into an alley. She followed the twists and turns hoping it would lead to a way out…. Dead end.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” She murmured. Glancing up at the wall there was nothing for them to climb…

“A window!” Veneer exclaimed. He got near, bending down, holding his palms together, he motioned for his sister to go up first.

“What about you?”

“Pull me up when you’re through… JUST HURRY! They’re coming!”

Their pursuers footsteps could be heard echoing down the ally way. Veneer boosted his sister up through the broken window, she reach out to grab her brother pulling him in.

Thankfully, the building was empty. She grabbed his wrist and lead him through the dark abandoned building. Velvet knew it would be a matter of time before they figured out where they went. They best not be there when they did.

It felt like hours, but the twins finally made it out of the building and through the front door. Velvet let out a sigh of relief… they were in the clear… for now. She stared up and around what was the city of Under Rageous. A scowl came across her face…she couldn’t believe she was back. She couldn’t believe the life of luxury and fame was over. What’s worse, the thugs of the under-city knew who they finally were…. No, not pop sensation super stars Velvet and Veneer…. The daughter and son of one of the most ruthless crime lords in the under-city….and now bounties were on their head.

“We need to get the hell out of here.” She declared, “Let’s make a run for the border… I know a way we can escape.” She said.

Veneer frowned, “Vels there’s nothing but the woods surrounding us, you know how dangerous that is?”

“Nothing different than what we’re facing here Ven!”

“….. Maybe we can go back to….”

“No.”

“But…. He’s our dad. He’ll…”

“I said no! I’ll be on my death bed before going back to him again! After all he’s done and treated you Vennie, you still want to go back?”

“….. he’s our dad…..”

“He’s a nobody!”

“Now, now, what will daddy think if he hears you talking like that?” The voice startled them. They turned and a saw the Rageons had finally caught up to them… they lingered to long. The twins backed away until they saw they were surrounded…. There was no way out.

“Just leave us alone!” Velvet demanded placing a protective arm over her brother.

The Rageon smirked, “Don’t you know how famous you two are now in the under-city? I mean you did want to be somebodies after all didn’t you?” He took out a knife and waved it in the air, “You think your daddy would mind if we sliced you up a bit?” He reached over and grabbed Velvet by her wrist.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Her brother lashed out but was grabbed by a second goon behind him.

“Let us go!!” She kicked and fought against her captor. He pinned her to the floor hovering over her, a scowl of disgust on her face.

“You’re feisty, and cute…. I like that combination.” He smirked at her, running his finger along her cheek.

“In your wildest dreams!”

SMACK!!

She headbutted the goon straight in the nose. He screamed and fell back holding on to his nose for dear life.

“She broke it! Little bitch broke it!!!”

Velvet reached over and grabbed the knife he dropped. She ran to the Rageon who still held her brother and stabbed him square in the leg. He yelled in pain dropping Veneer to the floor.

“HURRY UP! RUN!!” She began to pull him again. They didn’t make far enough when they began hearing it…

BANG! BANG!

The twins could feel the bullets buzz by them. Pulling Veneer she dove underneath an opening that lead into another alley way…

Thats when Velvet felt the scorching pain on her side. She fell to her knees… but she didn’t cry, she didn’t scream… she sucked in the pain…

“Vels!” Veneer called out trying to pull her to her feet.

“I’m fine. I just tripped.” She lied as she stood up, “Keep going come on!” She gripped her side as she ran.

They really had no sense of direction, they just ran until they could feel they were safe. Eventually they came upon an old abandoned factory.

Velvet lead them inside. She saw it was an old mining factory, containing numerous levels. They could easily find something and hide for the night at least. So, she kept walking.

The more she ran, the more she was walked, the more pain scorched her body. She leaned against the wall, “Wait, let catch my breath really quick.”

Veneer nodded, “I’ll look ahead just a bit more okay?”

“Whatever.” When she saw the coast was clear, that her brother wasn’t near, she removed her hand from her side….a bullet wound….blood. How much has she bled out? She looked back from where they came from… Crap. There was a small trail of blood… she’d lead the goons right to them. But she couldn’t tell her brother. He’d freak out. He was relying on her for strength, she just couldn’t do that to him. She peeked making sure Veneer wasn’t coming back. Taking a piece from her skirt, she wrapped it around her wound and pulled it tight, hopefully good enough to stop the bleeding… at least momentarily.

“Come on!” She hears her brother call out as he approached her again, “A little bit further. Maybe we can find like a break room we can stay in.”

“Let’s just go.” She pushed past him as she lead the way….

…. They walked…. And walked…. And walked…. They walked until Velvet felt like she couldn’t anymore. The pain was to much. Nausea began to over take her. She peaked inside a room, “Let’s just call it a night here. We’ve gone far down enough.”

“Okay.”

They secured the door behind them, and as soon as they sat down, exhaustion took over. Veneer looked at his sister as she was sitting a ways off.

“Vels?” He patted the spot next to him.

“No. I want my space.” She told him…. Truth was, she didn’t want him to see the mess she was in. Hopefully the bleeding would stop soon enough; maybe some rest would make her feel better. Veneer just frowned as he looked at her..

“Good night.” He said, but she didn’t reply…

…. She waited until he was out cold before she tore another piece of her clothing to wrap the wound some more. Velvet tied the knot tighter, allowing for more pressure on the wound.

“Dammit.” She said to her self. How could this have happened? Her eyes darted around the room… no cabinets, nothing… no first aid, no cloth… empty. Velvet curled herself into a ball hugging her knees. She leaned her head against the metal beam near her….

In the morning, she had to find something that would help her, at least until they could run into someone willing to help them. For now, she would rest. Velvet didn’t realize how tired she was until she finally let her body relax…within seconds, she shut her eyes… and was out cold.

Veneer woke up with a yawn and stretch. He rubbed his eyes. Being so deep under ground he couldn’t tell whether it was still day or night… he would have to check somehow. Veneer looked to where his sister slept; she had fallen asleep leaning on the beam. He crawled over to her to silently wake her.

“Vels.” He called to her….. she didn’t move.

“Velvet, wake up.” He whispered again….nothing.

“Wakey, wakey. Come on.” He reached over to touch her…that’s when he felt the coldness in her body.

“Vels?” Frantically he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, her head dropped motionless to the side, her lips were pale.

“VELVET!” He began to cry. How? Why? He looked at where her hand lay, clutching her side. “Oh no, no, no!” He removed her hand to see the wound that had bled out. How long had she been like this? Why didn’t she tell him anything? “Velvet please!” He begged.

He gently positioned his sister on his lap. Moving his head to her chest he stood quiet…..

THUMP….THUMP….

Her heart…. It was barely there, but he could feel her pulse…. She was alive….barely.

“It’s okay Vels. I got you. I got you.” He hugged her as tears streamed down his face… was this how he was going to loose her? How long did she have? Veneer held her tight as he thought what he could do to save her…. He had an idea… he knew someone that would help them… someone who would save her….but he knew she would hate him for it… he knew she’d rather have died… but Veneer didn’t want his sister dead, he needed her, she was his pillar…and right now… he had to be hers…

… He had to get word out to their father somehow.

[kingsofneon]

Concept is: JayTim omegaverse non//con, where Jason decides he wants Tim's first heat in exchange for joining the pack. Tim knew his first would be sold, it's just a thingTM, but once he started living with Bruce, had been under the impression he'd get to pick....based off https://archiveofourown.org/works/47094745. But i wanted to see more character study/what tim thought about the situation of having his first heat sold off. And then also mind break because it Feels Good, which is my favourite 🎉 Sorry! 💪

Tags: non//con / mind break / omegaverse. Size difference, ONLY jaytim unlike the insp fic. About 1k of a snippet bc i lost juice unfortunately. I would say Tim is about 17-18 and Jason is 19-20: takes place probably after the Joker UtRH standoff. Bruce is a Bad Dad in this.

Tim doesn't know Bruce intends to sell his heat when Bruce knocks cautiously on his door frame and says, "Would you be alright to patrol alone tonight?"

"What?" he asks, then, "Oh, yeah, I mean, sure. That's fine. Did you let Dick know? We were going to go past Burnley for that smuggling case."

Bruce's face gets all...twisted. "Yes," he says, and Tim can lie to Batman - but Batman can't lie to him. He frowns, but lets it go.

When Jason corners and scruffs him, he doesn't realise it's connected to Bruce. It's only after Jason clicks his tongue in disdain and says, "You'd think fucking Batman wouldn't have me do all the work," that he realises something about this is planned. He kicks back, trying to catch Jason's leg, but Jason's fingers worm under his gorget and press harder, cracking a strangled whimper from Tim's throat. He hates being scruffed on patrol, and Jason - Red Hood - has never been gentle.

"Jay," he breathes out, because scruffing barely makes it possible to think, let alone talk, "wha's-?"

Is it proof he still trusts his "allies" too much, though Jason is barely considered as such? A lesson, because Tim keeps skipping scruff training to pack bond with Young Justice?

What test is this, he wants to ask, how do I win?

He doesn't think about heat until Jay's wrist is pressed to his nose and his next inhale burns. He coughs, struggling harder against the scruff as menthol and magic burn against the roof of his mouth.

"You're- in trouble-" Tim says, slurs really, fighting to get the words out. "Jay. Jay- rut-"

"I won't be in trouble," Jason promises, softer than he's been so far. "And we might finally get rid of your stupid Bat-worship. So you can see how Bruce really treats his kids."

"M'not? His kid-" Tim manages as Jason's fingers sink further into his neck, making him choke as it moves from scruffing to leverage. Jason hauls him up, a dizzying movement when Tim's thoughts are already syrup, and he barely hears Jason's words as he gets dragged down to street level.

"I know, little bird. It's why this'll teach both of you a lesson."

The lesson is this: Tim is shoved down a fire escape and into an empty room, head still reeling from Jason's rut-scent and the mean scruffing. He's trained enough to hear zipties and mostly break out of it, but Jason's still bigger than him, and the broad palm pressed flat to his back is warm and awful.

Jason comes up behind him, and Tim flinches at the press of a knife against his side. It slides firmly under the stitching, leaving him shivering in the night air, skin pebbled with goosebumps.

This is the lesson, Tim thinks as Jason shoves him onto an unmade bed. Don't trust your allies.

This is the lesson, Tim thinks. Don't let people tie you down. They'll want to hurt you.

Jason peels off their scent blockers, leaving them on the bedside table, and pulls Tim to the edge of the bed. He makes Tim sit up, and cups his cheek when he pulls off Tim's mask.

This is the lesson, Tim thinks, his heart beating double-time, his scent floating in the air and easily drowned out by the smell of Jason's oncoming rut. They'll be soft. They'll be mean. They want to see you undone.

"Tim Drake," Jason says, hand cupping Tim's cheek. "I'm going to show you why Batman should never have had another Robin."

"We were past that, asshole," he manages, the scruffing having faded and his stomach in knots, too nervous to keep him drifting and pliant thanks to the oddness of Jason's actions.

"No," Jason said. "No, we never got past that. 'Cause you never gave it up, and Bruce won't admit he's wrong, and I'm going to show you - he wants me back more than he wants to take care of you. He's always gonna want something more than he wants to take care of you."

"Your mommy issues are not universal," Tim scoffs, and then Jason presses a knee to his crotch and Tim jolts. "Wait, what are you-"

"Batman," Jason repeats, vitriol in his tone, "wants me to rejoin his pack. I don't give a shit about his fucking pack. But he said I could take it out on you."

"And- you told him where to shove it," Tim says, because Robin's still about hope and he's never learnt his lesson, no matter how many times Bruce tried to teach it.

They want to see you undone.

"Tell me, little bird. You shared a heat yet? Picked who you're gonna sell it to?"

His stomach flinches involuntarily. He can make a connection faster than he can stop a reaction, and this connection lets slip a lot. Too much.

"Omega don't pick who buys their first heat," Tim says, steady and firm, his hands clenched behind his back as he thinks about Jason's thigh between his legs.

"Yeah but Brucie's always been such a soft touch with his pack. Everyone knows it. His lil wards are special. They get to pick."

"I'm not his ward," Tim tries, "My family already had expectations-"

"Batman's not, though, is he. If you had to compare. Batman wants what's good for Gotham."

"What did you want for it?" Tim growls, because playing the fool only gets you so far if the person you're playing against won't let you divert.

"Aw, baby bird, I'm gonna get it. It's more about what he wanted for it. We'll see how that goes."

-----(this is where i lost juice and need a connection pt1)

"Wait, wait, wait-" he pleads, breathless and barely stretched, Jason's perfunctory fingers having done less than just heat alone, and his cock felt maddening, pressed against Tim's cunt. "Please-"

"You want me to slow down?" Jason says, and Tim can hear his grin through the words; can hear his laughter when Tim nods, just on the edge of frantic.

"S'too much," he whispers, mortified, and his fist curls into the blankets. He can't take Jason's cock, not like this, not with his core shaking and his mouth already fumbling, stumbling, tripping over his brain. "I- I can't-"

And now so is his cock.

"Think I'll fuck you stupid?" Jason sneers, and Tim's stomach curls, because...humiliatingly, yes. How could he not, when Jason knew what he was doing? When the heat of Jason's body pressed against his back reminded Tim so much of the singular time Robin had rescued him and scented him, chuffing in the tone of a reward: good-puppy-safe. Jason's new scent burns his nose, but the memories are still there.

Tim cries out at the stubborn press, Jason's cock bullying into his pussy, and his hips jerk against it. The grip Jason has on his waist keeps him presented, though, unable to escape, and then suddenly they're pressed together and Jason's other hand is at his throbbing clit. "Don't worry, little bird," he sneers, pulling back to thrust and making Tim choke, "Bruce will be able to replace you too."

A sob slips free of Tim's mouth, Jason's words taking a reckless stab at his heart even as pleasure rockets through his frame, and he buries his head in his pillow to try and muffle any further noises.

It doesn't stop him from going slack-mouthed and moaning as his second orgasm hits, though, and the clench of his cunt around Jason's cock makes him claw at the sheets, drooling. It feels so much bigger when he's clenching around it, and the aftershocks make him tighten involuntarily, rhythmically, riding it out and trying to convince Jason to knot.

Jason's hot inside him. Burning, human heat, and it's awful because Tim can feel his knot, just outside his cunt, rubbing against his pussy, and logical thought sobs no even as every other part of him weeps for relief.

It's too big, if Jason shoves his knot in now, he tries to convince himself, tries to think, but his mind feels like it's melting in pleasure and he's drooling on the mattress.

----(need more juice pt2)

The slick sound of his cum gets louder in his ears, and Tim whimpers as the edge of his heat gets more prevalent, thoughts dripping slow and unpleasant. He's cum three times now, but his Alpha- but Jason hasn't yet popped a knot, and the scent in the air reflects that. It means something's wrong. That Tim's not- he's bad, he's not working right- and Jason said he could be replaced, and why wouldn't he, if Tim couldn't get him off, couldn't make him knot, does he even deserve-

Jason strokes across his oversensitive clit and Tim squirms with a bitten-off shriek, jerking against his hold to try and escape the ever-present touches. "S'sto-p-," he whimpers, the words slurred from between his teeth, "J'son, st'p-"

"You don't wanna get me off?" Jason asks, and Tim's stomach drops. Oh god, was he really stopping Jason's knot, by protesting? By not squeezing him well enough, that Jason had to make him cum to get him tight?

"P'ls," he whimpers, the words caught tight on a sob. "J'son-"

"What're you begging for, pretty O," Jason whispers, dragging Tim up into his lap, his arm a band around Tim's stomach. The firm hold makes Tim squirm again, crying as he notices again that Jason's cock is filling him up, as the press of Jason's arm makes it more obvious there's a cock filling his insides.

[yenforfairytales]

Might be a hot take, but I’ve always thought that Johnny is Kreese’s weakness, and Daniel is Terry’s. Like, I know some people think Terry’s weakness is Kreese (and to some extent, yes), but Daniel seems to be his absolute obsession, his total undoing. Kreese at least had the best friends/comrades in arms thing, but the Daniel thing is just plain weird from any side. This once 17 year old brat has such a hold on Silver that the man threw away 30+ years of peace at the mere mention of his name. It was never about Cobra Kai. It was always about Daniel.

YES. I completely agree. And as more time has gone by since Season 4 came out, I've noticed even the more casual fans have noticed. Someone took this screenshot from YouTube, but I've seen similar comments on reddit too.

And Kreese, being another master manipulator, knew exactly what he was doing when he brought up Daniel to Terry again in 4x01...

There was literally no reason for Kreese to bring up Daniel LaRusso unless he knew that Terry would care. Why would Terry care. 👀

Kreese knows how to get people to come to him. How to dangle something that they want in front of them that only he can seemingly give.

When no other tactic worked on bringing Terry back into the fold, Kreese brought out the big guns and dropped Daniel's name.

Not to take away at all from the love and friendship that Terry felt towards John. But it became nostalgia and obligation, ultimately ruining their bond.

Little side note-- the fact that we watched Kreese make others do what he says in order to get what they want for three seasons made the prison scene in 5x07 even more satisfying:

AND the first person to play the uno reverse card and use this tactic against Kreese was Daniel. Terry's student. You gotta love it.

There's always been a little Cobra Kai in you...

I mean, we could speak at length about the parallels between Kreese and Terry and their star students Johnny and Daniel. The narrative mirrors and foils. But it's precisely their respective relationships with their students that is more compelling.

Anyway. I'm going to quickly list examples of Daniel's hold on Terry and then focus on the meat of the issue.

Terry falls apart and goes ALL IN on everything Cobra Kai only AFTER Daniel rejects his apology.

Terry gives Daniel multiple warnings to not interfere but never tries to gets rid of him like Johnny or Kreese after no warnings at all.

Terry dated a woman who looked a lot like Daniel with similar values.

Terry treats Kenny near identically to Daniel as a student but in the sincere way he wishes he had with Daniel.

Terry loses his cool when Daniel wants to surrender and walk out of his life.

Terry tells Chozen he considers Daniel his only rival. As in Equal.

I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting but you can find posts in the silverusso tag about all these topics and more. x.x

Now, let's get to one of the most important and defining scenes for Terry's arc. And again, it's a direct result of Kreese's manipulation:

Kreese, knowing what makes Terry tick and how to get him further on his side, comments that Daniel really knows how to hold onto a grudge. As if he doesn't. Anyway, it's twisting the knife into Terry again when he's clearly already low.

You don't think Kreese noticed how hurt Terry was at the rejection?

He notices everything. He learned in Vietnam from his Captain how to use love against someone as a perceived weakness. Many thoughts on that.

Anyway

The way in which Kreese says, "So... what now?" Tells me that he told Terry this was going to happen. You also have to remember their conversation leading up to the garden scene:

Terry was damn near close to defending Mr. Miyagi and Daniel over Kreese's own personal grudge. To the point where Terry was rolling his eyes and sighing over his friend being overdramatic about what happened in the past.

He was tired of hearing about it.

I'm sure Daniel told Terry the truth about that Halloween night. And look who Terry seems to side with...

Kreese wanted violent retribution and Terry was the one that talked him down. It was Terry's idea to apologize to Daniel and we'll just allll get along. Easy peasy. Surely, Daniel would forgive him.

But, Daniel proved Kreese right in Terry's eyes. As I'm sure Kreese hoped would happen. Couldn't have worked out better. I bet on the car ride over to Miyagi-Do, Kreese was complaining how this was a waste of time and LaRusso isn't the sweet kid you remember etc.

From that day forward, Terry is determined to prove Daniel wrong. About him, about Cobra Kai, about everything. Terry is going to make Cobra Kai work and help kids and he'll be the best sensei ever and Daniel will be sorry!

You'll be sorry you weren't a part of it!

I firmly believe that Daniel is Terry's true weakness and he didn't even realize it. But Kreese did.

And if Daniel had seen it, then he could've had Terry eating out of the palm of his hand.

The one movie quote they haven't used in the show yet is, "For person with no forgiveness in heart, living even worse punishment than death."

I'm hoping they'll use this with Daniel realizing he can help heal himself, and Terry, by forgiving him. Of course, Terry will have to do something more to redeem himself. I'm just saying.

And then maybe Terry can see that Daniel was his weakness all along, but there's still time to make him a strength.

One could argue that he already felt that way while he was being arrested. The way he was looking at Daniel... That awe. Daniel LaRusso got the best of him, again, all because he couldn't let him go.

Here's to hoping that Season 6 ends our suffering lmao.

I mean, who else has ever given Terry Silver goosebumps?

[god-has-entered-my-body]

i’ve only recently stumbled across your blog and it has been the biggest treat ever. mpind throuple is making me sweat but is also so sweet. i’m feeling so spoiled with all the filth but my hurt/comfort roots were wondering if you’d ever feel inclined to write something about mpind!matty getting overwhelmed/ stuck in his head/ upset during a session and george + girlie helping calm him down? or anything along the lines of that? if that’s not really your thing then please disregard i’ll eat up anything you post anyways😁🩷🫶🏻

of course babe!! thank so much for taking the time to write this it really means a lot, so heres a little snippet for you xx

I can see how Matty might get in over his head at times, desperate to please and show off and be paid attention to and that leads to situations where even he doesn't know his own limits.

It'd probably be during a particularly rough sesh, you pressing him face down into the mattress, fucking into him as his head rests in George's lap, cheek nuzzling the bulge in his trousers.

Matty is a crier, a frequent one at that, but there's a big difference between his tears of pleasure, and ones of pain or discomfort. As whines and gasps spill from his lips, George's hand in his hair might grip tighter, your grasp on his waist even harsher as the sheer force of your thrusts moves the bed, the headboard banging against the wall.

"Doing so good for us, beautiful, so fucking pretty." George coos, the sight of Matty writhing and hiccuping from the pure pleasure he's experiencing getting him incredibly hard.

Matty can only answer in choked gasps, hands gripping the sheets so hard his knuckles turn white, and he gets a bit quiet. That's the first sign something is wrong. Matty is incredibly vocal, babbling and talking back all the way up to his climax, never letting up no matter how well you try to gag him. So when he goes silent, George immediately cups his face, brining it up into view.

Matty had been crying, but he can tell it was that good kind of crying, his eyebrows knitted together and eyes vulnerable in a way that cant be put into words. "M'sorry, I can't-" Matty speaks, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm so sorry, i don't want to ruin it, I just-" he hiccups, shaking his head at himself in disappointment. "Matty, do you want to stop?" You ask from behind him, feeling your heart drop into your stomach.

"I think we need to, he doesn't look well." George says, wiping off the remnants of Matty's makeup with his thumbs, mascara mixing with glittery eyeshadow as George's heart breaks into a million pieces along with yours, shattering at the sight of Matty's apologetic expression, like he had been the one who'd done something wrong.

You slip out of him, immediately getting tissues and your clothes as George drapes a blanket over Matty, who is now laying against his chest, a thousand yard stare visible in his eyes as the blonde whispers comfort into his ear, rocking him back and forth as if he were a small child.

"You're safe Matty, you want to tell us what happened?" Matty nods his head tentatively, his words getting caught in his throat. "It was too much. It felt good, i swear, but something just-" you cut him off "Didn't fit right? What was too much for you, baby?"

"All of it." George makes eye contact with you, a silent exchange happening as Matty blinks back to reality, coming back to the present moment.

"You know you can always tap out, yeah?" he asks, running a rough hand through his curls. Matty looks genuinely confused, cocking his head to the right. "I can? You wont be mad at me?" You sigh, scooting nearer as Matty leans into your embrace, his tears wet against your top. "Of course baby, why would we be mad?"

"Because I ruined it, wasn't good enough for you." his tone of voice twists the knife, and you hold him close, letting George say all the things you couldn't.

"You need to know when you've reached a limit, and that you can tell us." Matty nods, a look of shame creeping onto his face as george continues. "We love you, so so much, and we need to know we aren't hurting you, ever."

Matty sniffles, nodding in agreement and George just stares at the two of you, a look of love in his eyes. Thunder claps softly from outside, a flash of lightning shooting through the opened curtains as you all hold each other, whispering quiet "i love you's" into the darkness

[dailycass-cain]

How I Came to Appreciate Batgirl: Redemption Road More...

Once upon a time, I wasn't really fond of this story. I hated and loathed it. Since 2020 however, I gained a greater appreciation for the mini-series. Now it isn't on the top tier of Cassandra Cain stories, but I don't see it lower tier list anymore.

Why?

Well, I'm going to tell you, and maybe you'll appreciate this story too.

I fully confess this story more as a "Schrödinger's Cassandra Cain" story. There is a lot of bad in it, and yet there is a lot of good in it. First off, the one element I do enjoy is the art by Jim Calafiore.

There's a grit Calafiore brings to this story. It helps balance the good and the bad. The good is that he draws a very scary Cass. That and I do enjoy the opening homage to a certain two-clawed Wolverine in the opening spread:

Now for the very title of the series, you can interpret "redemption road" as two-fold: in writer Adam Beechen redeeming not only Cassandra in the eyes of the Bat-Family but redeeming himself with readers for well turning her heel back in Robin #150 and "Titans East" (Teen Titans #42-47). Cause let's face it-- it was not a good story by any means and did neither Cass or Beechen any further favors (but I digress, Geoff Johns, plotted that all out and there are "reasons" for Slade getting away free).

You have those factors and this little tale. So at Wizardworld Chicago 2008 I attended a panel where the infamous Dan DiDio revealed that Beechen bugged him for pitches and the one of approved was this mini.

He also revealed Beechen was the only one pitching stories on Cass (which was a half-lie, if you've seen my "Lost Tales of Cass" post, you know Chuck Dixon had a fill-in issue of Detective Comics ready to go telling how Cass/Bruce mended).

Course, by this time period Dixon was exiting Robin and Batman & the Outsiders so, yeah it was a "half-truth".

That made me angry back then, but now I see the why, and I'm okay with it. In his original ways of writing Cass, Beechen's attempts were-- not good. This was his chance to show readers he had really looked into the character's history and fix these issues that he himself put in.

Think about it we came from this in Robin #152:

To this. Beechen calling out the grand problem within the Bat-books (even now it seems). Cass is important in the Bat-Family, SO TREAT HER AS SUCH. Which he does by having Alfred (of course) pointing these things out.

But Alfred isn't the only one being meta in this story. I didn't even realize it, until 2020, but there is one other character playing a meta part in this comic, Nightwing.

If there's one HUGE gripe with this particular volume it is the relationship of Cass/Dick in it. We went to them being brother/sister.. to well. We have Dick literally acting like a dick to her.

Then it hit me.

Who was writing Nightwing at the time period? Peter Tomasi. Who treated the character of Cassandra like what Alfred says? Then suddenly Dick's characterization here began making sense much more sense (when you have this going right after this series as if that writer was flipping off Beechen) in Tomasi's final page of Nightwing:

Cass was supposedly living in the Manor at this time (per this story). Funny how she was "forgotten" in Nightwing. I guess Tomasi was REALLY spiteful because he revisited this subplot during the New 52 Batman & Robin too with Bruce even twisting the knife further:

Though for Beechen's purposes he revisits on WHY Cassandra should be a key member of the Bat-Family. Not only that, but Cass goes thru a journey that explores the limits of the Bat-Family's underlying culture of vengeance. And she reaches a natural conclusion to this (more on that later).

So let's get to the real bad. No not the 90s designed goons of David Cain or Deathstroke. No not the David Cain characterization. I'm talking about #1's wall of text that would make even Brian Michael Bendis blush.

This is only one page of it in the issue. We got TWO.

Until this issue, we never really got a "defined" timeline of Cass's EVIL period. We just figured OYL, Supergirl #14, Robin #161-162, and Titans East was how it happened. Turns out we were WRONG. Did we really need to see these pages of text? Not really.

In all honesty, I think a simpler solution would have been just tiny panels of Cass seeing the various people she killed when drugged up. At the very least, it would put faces on those Cass was forced to do. You could feel her rage on why she's hunting Slade/David Cain then.

Plus it feels like we're missing something as Tim was basically like Dick in Titans East. But now he's changed. Why? There could have been panels of Tim showing care for Cass in this. Instead, he just feels muted throughout this mini.

The first issue ends with Cass confronting another mystery lady murdering some of Slade/David Cain's assassins. And again, a problem I have with this mini.

These "children of Cain" feel so nameless save for Marque, who is the opposite of Cass. She embraces the violence that she was taught and is David Cain's own Frankenstein Monster. Throughout the mini she just comes off as superfluous and edgy. Really edgy...

I really think Beechen missed a prime chance here in having Cass trying to save someone like herself. Someone unlike Cass, didn't realize life as much as she did. That finally, Cain cracked the code (with help from the Slade juice). And Cass could try to redeem her.

So this whole theme of redemption could be all over the place then. Marque throughout this just feels, meh. Speaking of meh say hello to meaningless male love interest #3 for Cass.

This subplot just feels pretty meh. I get the why Beechen tried it. The writer from Batman: City of Light attempted this. Dylan Horrocks with Black Wind during his run on Vol. 1, and Andersen Gabrych attempted this in his run with Zero (and let's face it we only remember his name because he died).

The whole love subplot just feels so unnecessary here. Again we could have more stuff with Tim helping her. Something. Instead, we get someone we care little about. Because A.) we've seen it before and are so over it.

B.) Compare it with Shadow of the Batgirl which did this right. It balanced everything by showing Cass being the focus here (you know the actual main character), and less on the intended male love interest (until later when she gets to know him, Erik, more as the reader does too)

Which leads to this positive in #2. In one page we are given Babs realizing what Cass has been up too and is all for her going on this quest (probably knowing where this will end). Which is again, a good contrast to where Babs and Cass are here. Babs knows Cass needs this.

Bruce doesn't. Dick SOOOOO doesn't. But Babs fully understands. And I do love me some Babs being a good mentor.

Another positive in this issue does is laying the groundwork on how David Cain/Deathstroke forged this partnership when Cass/Marque visit a former colleague of both men.

That these two knowing one another was hinted at in Batgirl Vol. 1 by Kelley Puckett himself when Cain told Bruce in #5 of a job that was beneath him, Slade, and Lawton's talents. So in that regard, that's a nice callback.

Speaking of callbacks, you can't have Cass hunting Slade and not have run into Ravager (who was also actively hunting her father too during this time period of DC). And here the two's interaction is hit or miss.

Rose equally has a grudge against Slade for pulling the same stuff that he did to Cass. So they can easily relate to the other. Also, you have a built-in Rose going to more extremes than Cass (thanks to Sean McKeever's underrated Teen Titans run character arc involving her).

This is why Marque again comes off as the third wheel in all of this. If you're reading DC Comics at the time (or even now). You want the Cass/Rose interactions here. You don't care about the gritty edgy third person who's ruining the antics between the other two.

Like literally, the tension between Cass/Rose should be all that you need. There's history between them both. There are similar goals each wants. But it comes off as meh throughout this due to Marque. I mean look at this panel below and tell me who sticks out as the sore thumb?

Cause then you have panel later on in the book that makes you want to fist pump with these two now that are Marqueless. Who doesn't want to read THAT?!

Look, the idea of Marque is intriguing but there should have been a clear subject spawned from Deathstroke/David Cain's alliance. An assassin. A roadblock. A hurdle. Not nameless ninja assassins with badly designed outfits.

If this was just Marque fighting Rose/Cass then at least the fight could have meant more meaning. A face to go along with someone who's being down there as Rose/Cass got away from their murderdads.

Because there's no weight to any of these fights which should have more impact. Instead, they come off as weightless. And more blood spilled by Marque because the EDGE MUST FLOW!

But if #3 has another problem is Dick really being a bastard. Seriously, WHAT THE HELL DICK?! But then again, I get it now on why Dick is acting as such. Just that this bad characterization does come at the expense of Nightwing. Like WOW.

So here I am bashing the heck out of this third issue, with very little good finding in it. Well, there is one other additional good. That's the opening page/panel when Cass is out (due to Rose from last issue).

Where does this love of Cass/Shiva together come from? This comic! Beechen of all writers laid the seed that Bryan Edward Hill in Batman & the Outsiders and Michael Conrad & Becky Cloonan on Batgirls would use. The hidden desire Cass has: she wants Shiva to be a mother to her. Yes, Barbara is a good mother too (and dammit where is she in this panel above?!)

Regardless, Beechen does understand a want Cass has that James Tynion opened (and failed at) while Hill fleshed out WAAAAAAY more. So much more that now this has to be the standard of their relationship now. Literally, this is just gold between the two of them now.

But if you want to know where this hunger for Cass/Shiva to have an actual daughter/mother relationship came? You can thank Adam Beechen for that!

#4 finally has the long-awaited fight between Cass and Slade with it well being quite lackluster thanks in due part to Marque and the nameless daughters of Cain.

But I do confess there are a few dialogue pieces in #4 I do enjoy. Like Slade twisting the mental knife to get the better of Cass here.

We get no cathartic scenes for either Rose or Cass here (everyone seems to get robbed of having them with Slade at this time period in DC). Just a rushed end to a rushed subplot.

Again, this could have been the point where Cass was reaching to Marque and that could have been the point for Slade to decide, "WHELP TIME TO EXPLODE AND RUN!" Setting up the next issue. Instead, these nameless kids all die and we the reader feel nothing for them.

When in fact we should feel more. But so it is comics and we get the abrupt ending of the Cass/Rose union. Because this is all we get of Slade and her after this issue. Which is a pity.

Again given how both have similarities with horrible fathers. There should be much pathos here between Cass/Rose. How Cass sees going down this path of vengeance can poison you still (as it is doing to Rose). With Marque being.. ugh.

If that wasn't enough we get again nameless male love interest and ugh. Yeah, I'm just not gonna post more of that. Other than Cass realizes just who Slade and her pop would target to announce their alliance but also hurt the heroes: Oracle.

Which makes complete sense. I just wish the comic did a better job with it like Bruce Wayne: Murderer did only now David Cain this time going after Barbara (as he went after Bruce in that event story). There's a lot of things this comic could have done better at.

#5 opens with Dick, Bruce, and Tim fighting Cass due to the former ratting out her plans to kill David Cain to the latter two. Still, it is kind of cathartic Dick getting punted.

...

I hate myself for enjoying that.

If you're expecting any sort of closure between Dick/Cass here you aren't going to get any in this series. Dick continues to be a dick to Cassandra in Frank Tieri's fill-in arc of Batman & the Outsiders #13-14. After that, Dick FINALLY stops acting so OOC.

Here we go back into the positives of this series. I do enjoy Cass scoping the eventual scene of the crime out. She looks at the evidence she's got and with her skills predicts how and where her father will try to take the shot at Babs.

These pages come to show that Cass indeed can be a fine detective on her own right (thanks to Babs, Bruce, and Tim teaching her). Knowing how and when the crime could occur before it even does with what she knows.

And so we get probably the second-best part of this series. These next two pages.

I mean it's not Damion Scott, but Calafiore does have the nice little details here and there. Also nice of Beechen to use TWO homages of Cass here. From this set-up shot from Vol. 1 from above too…

To Cain about to strike a Gordon down and once again, his daughter stops him from taking the killshot. There's a bit of poetry there.

So in some callbacks, the creative team does nail them. I have to confess other than Marque, #5 is probably the portion of the story where it actually gets good. Even if it does come at the small price of David Cain's characterization.

Look, yes David Cain is a monster, but there's a difference between monsters who aren't portrayed as human and the ones who are. Cain had a perfect balance of this in Vol. 1 The stuff in this volume (and until again Shadow of the Batgirl) David just is a complete monster.

In that regard, the pathos of the villain just feels more hollow. If save Slade talked to him while in prison. Told him he could perfect and deliver that perfect child soldier. Bring a reason for his life again. I'd buy that more than what we got here in Vol. 2.

Why going into the final issue why I go into that mindset. It helps the reasons flow better for the character then what we actually got. And the ultimate fight between the two is handled well.

I also love that both Babs/Bruce are doing crowd control here (both at this point knowing this is something Cass NEEDS). I love that Charlie sees what is going on and her first instinct is to help Cass.

It's a pity we never got more interactions between Charlie/Cass. If only there were some subplots that could have been dropped so we could have got that.

While we don't get the cathartic stuff with Slade we do get it with Cass going up against her father. Just unloading the life he never gave her with a fury.

It's an almost Return of the Jedi moment of Vader/Luke's final duel with Cass just unleashing it all on her own father who cannot defend himself against the rage of his child. And much like Vader/Luke there's that moment when the later realized what will happen if he continues.

Like Luke, Cass has that realization too. That if she has her vengeance what will it solve? All this pain. All this suffering that's she has dealt with these last few months. Will killing him solve it? Of course, we know the answer cause it's Cass.

No. Being a killer is not who she is. She is a hero. So she attempts to save her father, but well as we find out this is where Bruce and Tim were hiding. Waiting and watching to see if Cass would come to this realization.

And we come to the best moment of this comic where Bruce puts his batdad side full-on. I love that the focus is on Cass here. Hearing what Bruce is saying and you just see the raw emotion of her just cracking up wanting this so bad until...

The hug from her true dad with a proud brother looking on. If only you know a stupid tie-in didn't have to ruin the good moment making any readers go, "What the hell is R.I.P.?!"

Like seriously, I'm surprised no one has photoshopped that R.I.P. out of the panel. If you take it out. Damn does this work more. But by putting it in there. "Oh yeah, Bruce is about to die. ...." And that emotion just leaves you to do this.

So if any of you great Photoshoppers out there can take that R.I.P. out? That'd be just great.

So Batgirl vol. 2 looking under this lens isn't the worst Cass story, nor does have enough good to be amazing to recommend. It's just there with both good and bad. It's average.

Hence it is Schrödinger's Cass. It is exactly this. But it was worth talking about. Because it is a period of Cass that should be talked of more. Because it does redeem Adam Beechen with the character.

Along with redeeming Cass with the Bat-Family. It's just a pity only Frank Tieri decided to follow on this and NO OTHER WRITER. Sadly not soon after we'd be getting the teases that Babs would be back as Batgirl from the Blackest Night mini caps at the end of BoP and Nightwing.

For certain folk at DC already made up their mind with the character, and she wouldn't be Batgirl or apart of the Bat-Family that much longer. I guess they assumed this Volume would be considered a "gift". That Cass got closure... Ugh.

If you want to know more about DC meddling. Then see here when I go more into detail on that.

That said, Batgirl Vol. 2 gets a lot of bad rap, but it isn't all bad. It's highly flawed, but there is some good in it. … And here's me going all RoTJ fully with it. 😋

With that, I'm gonna call it a night. Because tomorrow there are things I hope for tomorrow. REALLY AMAZING THINGS for us Cass fans tomorrow at long last.

But not freaking Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War. That can go to hell...

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for stabbing somebody in the eye?

(Canon setting, OC pov + some minor headcanons)

Hi so uh, you can call me S. I turned 16 the day the incident I'm talking about happened, and I'm a boy.

So I sell papes (uh, newspapers for people who aren't used to my group's lingo) for a living. Dawn to dusk most days. It's brutal work, but it's worth it for my family. Well, not my birth family, but the guys I live with. They're my brothers, or in the case of some, annoyances that have their nice moments.

I guess onto the actually reason I'm here. On my 16th birthday, I was selling papes like normal with my best friend R (18 M)! We were sticking closer then usual, because we were goin' to go get candy after selling! A little treat for my birthday, because you don't turn 16 every day!

After we had finished selling, we were walking to a store where we could get candy for cheap. We were laughing, and R was making fun of S (17 M), who was my closest friend when I lived in Brooklyn. It's all good fun, R and S are great friends. R just makes fun of everybody and S deals with it. We were a few blocks away from the store, when I noticed a drunk guy trying to ruin a flower bed. I knew from experience that the woman who tended the flowers would beat his ass for daring to touch her flowers, and I didn't want him to get hurt.

However... when I told him off, he started yelling at me, and when I tried to defend myself, he slapped me and ended up tackling me to the ground. This made my already questionable leg a bit worse (my ankles tend to get twisted often, and my knee also sometimes hurts if I use it too much) and I got punched in the nose. I could see that my life might've been in danger, and while R was trying to get the guy off of me, he's pretty skinny and isn't very strong with one-on-one fights.

So, I barely thought about what to do, and reached for a knife in my pouch. I had only been meaning to catch his hand, to get him off so I could run away. But I misswung and got him in the eye. There was a lot of blood. And screaming.

I don't remember much of the fall out (when I get stressed, I tend to block out everything. This leaves me with some gaps in my memories that the others fill in), but I almost got sent to this jail for kids. However, that place is worse then hell. I've seen friends come out different. I don't want to change. And... if I got taken, my parents might come and pick me up. I don't want that to happen.

The newsies I live with say I'm not an asshole because it was self defense, but I'm not sure. I mean, I stabbed somebody in the eye! That isn't good, not at all. R and S have both been really understanding at least, and they're not treating me any different. Which is nice, I still wanna sell papes and hang out with them.

So yeah, am I the asshole for stabbing somebody in the eye?

[wings-of-sapphire]

Snow White rewrite

Hello loves, so I’ve been procrastinating this for a WHILE but I was like fuck it I’ll post what I have so far

Remember like fifteen years ago when I said I’d post my Snow White rewrite? Well, I want to get at least some of it out to get some traction going, especially since Disney’s live-action Snow White is coming out soon and I’m… intrigued to see how it goes.

Anyways, here’s my WIP rewrite— not finished, may be subject to edits later, I have reasons for what I’m doing trust me

Red as the Rose

A Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs rewrite (revamp? Idk)

Meet Snow Dysni.

Her stepmother is not the nicest person.

She’s never met her mother, as she died shortly after Snow was born, so she wasn’t exactly well-versed in motherhood knowledge. But she was pretty sure stepmothers aren’t supposed to kill you.

Some backstory.

Snow is the princess of the kingdom of Grimm. Grimmians are a wonderful people. At least, Snow assumes so. She hasn’t interacted with them much.

Her birth mother was allegedly murdered by an enchantress, and then her father sort of freaked out and banned all magic. All the neighboring kingdoms started to follow his rule, forcing all the magical creatures to go into hiding. Most fled to the Twists, a cursed forest full of the Wrathborne– nightmares come to life. Yeah. Magic, from what Snow has learned, isn’t the greatest.

But still, being cooped up in this castle all day isn’t really the life. Snow knew all the staff’s names by heart. But there’s no teens in the palace, and her only friend is this cat that roams the castle grounds sometimes. Snow named her Shanks. She brings Snow flower snacks sometimes.

It’s just meetings and being locked up in her room. Her stepmother says it’s unbecoming for a princess with such little social awareness to be among the people. Snow’s only meeting royals and nobles. Like today, a meeting with Isel, the eastern kingdom, and their prince, Florian White.

Snow talks with Florian. When he laughs, it makes something inside her bubble. Maybe he poisoned her.

Oh, no. He poisoned her!

The royal nurse clears Snow, though. I guess Florian can pass for now.

There’s also Huntsman, whose real name Snow doesn’t know. She tries to talk with him sometimes. He doesn’t really talk otherwise.

But one day, Huntsman tells Snow that he can sneak her out of the castle for a night. She agrees. Because obviously!

Huntsman takes Snow out to see the Grimmians. To see her people! Away from her stepmother. Queen Isla Grimhilde. Snow doesn’t know why her father puts up with her. She really doesn’t.

They end up in the Twists.

Snow asks Huntsman what they’re doing here.

He pulls out a knife and stabs her. Snow screams, blood splattering the floor. She hears a Wrathborne near, then something tackles the Huntsman. Probably. She can’t see anything, too blind from pain. White, searing pain. All she can think of is blood. Her blood.

Snow sees the Wrathborne fighting with the Huntsman. Snow gasps out in pain and starts to stumble away. She sees a cottage in the distance. She falls to the floor. She hears voices above her.

She passes out.

Snow awakens up to grumbling. Something about red on the sheets. She blearily opens her eyes. She see six noses poking out on top of the bedframe.

She tries to scramble up. Someone cries out. It took Snow a moment to realize it was her. Red-hot pain shoots up her back.

“Woah, woah, steady there!”

Snow stares at the man beside her. Er… child? Man the size of a child?

Oh. Dwarves!

“You’re dwarves!” she croaks out.

The dwarf laughs. He introduces himself as Doc, the eldest brother. He explains how their nephew found me outside, bleeding, and had to go, but notified Doc and his brothers about her. They treated her.

Snow tries to scream, but a hand claps over her mouth. Snow sees another dwarf in front of her. He looks like he wants her head.

“Quiet, lass! You’ll attract Grimhilde’s soldiers!”

“The heck I will! You’re illegal magicals! You should be arrested!”

“We saved your royal life! Show some gratefulness!”

Aaaanyways. The seven introduce themself. There’s Doc, the oldest and the kindest. Happy, who’s… happy all the time. Snow has a suspicion he may be on drugs. Grumpy doesn’t like her at all. Dopey— at least she thinks that’s his name… maybe it’s Mopey but that doesn’t seem right— is mute and signs. Snow unfortunately doesn’t know sign, so his brothers have to translate.

Uhhh there’s Sleepy. Mate, same. Sneezy… please stay away. Bashful Snow doesn't know much about, as he tends to stay away.

Apparently there was an eighth named Raspulstin or whatever… Snow wasn’t really paying attention. She’s too busy analyzing everything.

Magic was evil. Magic killed her mother. Magic is what creates the Wrathborne, the evil spirits of the Twists.

But these magicals… saved her.

[reddogf13]

Outlast 2: Deliverance CH 14

Also on A03

Status: Incomplete

Rated: M - Dead Dove Do Not Eat This takes place in the Outlast 2 universe after all.

Read from beginning: CH: 1 Death

Previous chap: CH: 13 Blight

Next chap: None (coming the ???)

__________________

~Ch: 14 Seraph~

Marta glanced at the door then to Blake. “What do you want to do?”

John knew, that explains why he panicked the whole way. “Stay here.” He pushed the door further out of his way. Peeking in he saw a smaller room with a burning fire. Looking like a nursery with a twig assembled crib in the corner next to a bed. Creeping in deeper he jolted back at the sight of a young woman.

“GET OUT!” She ordered past her terrified shivering. Holding a knife out with one arm whilst holding a bundle in her other.

He retreated and made sure Marta stayed back. “Wait here, don't go in, but watch her. I'm fetching John.” Rushing out to just past the entrance. “JOHN!” He roared out the man's name to command him forth.

John had a hollowed out deadened look as he stepped with Blake into the tunnel. Soon as he saw the hidden door was found he collapsed against the cave. Slumping to the floor against the wall on the verge of hyperventilating.

Forcing Blake to hold him straight for one final task. “John, you can't do this! Not yet!” Shaking him to stop his wheezing.

He pleaded with tears pouring down his face. “I can't do this! I can't do this! Don't make me do this! Please! Please! Please!” Hacking and wheezing out of breath between pleas.

“They have to come. Especially the baby. What if they get sick? We can treat them both and get them vaccinated!”

“Please leave them! Don't take them! Val will kill us! You don't understand how protective she is of them! Please, please don't take them!”

“We have to. Please talk with her. I don't want to drag her out and all the way back. If I have to, we'll have to separate her from the baby to make sure they don't get hurt along the way. I'll deal with Val after we get back. You won't have to and neither will Mathew.”

He wheezed. “I-I- okay.” Gathering himself with the help of Blake getting him back on his feet. Leaning partly into the other down the tunnel to the door.

“What's their names?”

“Her name’s Sophie. The baby's Jess.”

Hearing the child's name had Blake swallow down a rush of tears. Forcing them back to not be distracted at the moment. Patting johns back as he headed alone to talk. Blake stood back by Marta to listen in on what little they could catch of the conversation.

“It's okay- … I know- … Its- ...” John's speech passed back with hers.

“No!... What- … Wheres- … No! I- …?” Then both went quiet.

“They're coming.” Marta whispered, stepping back to give the two room.

Sophia was snug up against John's back cowering in fear. Looking between Blake and Marta before locking onto her only. John kept an arm back to make a small buffer between her and Marta. Keeping the mother a little calmer while surrounded by everyone.

Blake caught a glimpse of the baby hidden in her arms. Appearing to have not been born too long ago. After leaving the tunnels the guards didn't react much to the new found member. Going wide eyed at the baby spotted in her arms they tensed up. Blake reacted the same when he saw the Voltaire looking not so nearly relaxed as before. Twisting at their bindings to jerking on them to get free. Guards forced others to stay seated as they moved to rise. Shoving them down by the shoulders to readying their loops if needed. This whole easy gathering was to make him leave quick before the baby was found. Not for treatment or peaceful cooperation's sake. Rising struggles between the two groups were gearing to break out into full on fighting.

Blake had to be quick on calming everyone. “Listen, they won't be hurt.” Talking not only toward the Voltaire, but his own guard. “I don't believe in that Antichrist bullshit. It's just a baby. Many more have been born and the worlds doing fine. It'll be treated if it's sick and be vaccinated like the rest of you. Then they can leave with the rest of you. None of you will be separated from each other's sight. You'll still see her in the same quarantine, at all times.”

The Voltaire stopped trying to break their bindings, but held their glares on Blake. Breathing out as he motioned to “Get everyone moving.” Watching a few pick up a now gagged Ayzel to carry down. Paired guards were dotted between a few tied in a line. Blake toward the back, then John comforting the mother and baby, with Marta behind them over-watching the line for trouble. Chances of escape dwindled rapidly with all those ill reaching their limits. Breaks had to be done a lot, slowing the whole move down that worried Blake.

Halfway. Helping alongside the guards to get everyone on the boat. Relaxing after a long walk down the mountainside. It hit everyone sick the hardest, wheezing for most the boat ride on the verge of passing out between coughing fits. John looked practically comatose from his extreme anxiety of facing Val after this. Sure to have gained many gray hairs from this day. Blake was careful about looking in the mothers direction. Knowing that staring wouldn't help her feel comfortable. She looked incredibly young, around twenty. Her hair a dark brown with multiple nicks across her face from old injuries. Many more spread across her arms. Scar rings around her wrists matching ones Blake had seen before on slaves he freed. After touching the shore he was far more nervous passing through Temple Gate than the forest. Terrified Val would come out of nowhere to gouge his eyes out. Setting everyone in a jail cell, he set the mother in the one at the end of the hall. Easily seeable from the front at a glance. Telling the guards to fetch more things for her. Wanting her and the baby to be as comfortable as possible. Leaving Marta in charge while he zoomed off to grab Mathew and the medicine.

Mathew came right over while being told very little details. “So what are we doing?”

“Some more people need vaccines, but they're a bit nervous.”

“And they're in jail because they refused?”

“Uh, no, other reasons.”

“What reasons?” Stepping down into the jail Mathew froze at the sight of every Voltaire. When he saw Sophia and the baby he had a similar breakdown like his father. All the air in his lungs shot out in a crushed wheeze. Sucked back in to furiously scold Blake. “What did you do?! Put them back!”

“I cant put them back!”

“Yes you can!”

“They're here, they're getting treatment. The sooner they clear quarantine the faster they get to leave. So get to treating.” Pushing Mathew along.

“Quarantine?! You crazy?! Val's going to burn this place to the ground soon as she knows! What are you going to do?! Hope she doesn't return home and notice everyone’s gone?!”

“No, I'll tell her. Tonight… In an announcement.”

“Do you have a rotten brain?! You want to announce to a town of baby killers that we now have one?! This was the reason why she didn't want to bring them! If it got out, they'd be put at risk!”

“Look, it has to happen at some point and it's better we do it now. A baby coming along was only a matter of time. How long do we allow Knoth’s teachings to haunt this place? When we have three newborns in town? After six come along? We have one now and it's not going away. It's better we do it while we have only one. Easy to move, easy to hide, to keep safe. Everyone will know it's in town, but I'll make sure they won't know where until I'm sure they're safe in the community.”

Mathew’s eyes were full of fury. “Can you promise that?! That all of Temple Gate won't descend on this place to burn it down! That they won't be victims of a second culling?!”

“Yes.” He stated. “I promise.” His words slow to calm Mathew.

“... Alright. … Don't untie Ayzel yet.” Moving toward him to get his vaccine out of the way. Being healthy he didn't need a treatment of antitoxin like the others. When he reached the mother she was nervous, but trusted Mathew enough to take the vaccines. Both were given a clean bill of health after a look over. Mathew explained what everyone had, how serious it was, and when quarantine would end for them. John took the supplies from the guards Blake had them gather. Better bedding to keep them warm. A rocking chair and a wooden box to work as a temporary crib for now. In a few hours dinner was started on at the hall's kitchen. Food for the Voltaire was taken away early, by Blake in a separate pot, before anyone else could ask why. Wanting to keep the Voltaires whereabouts a secret for as long as possible.

John stopped Blake from leaving after delivering the pot of food. “She wants to see you.” Tipping his head toward the end cell.

“Okay.” Dipping his head as he passed by. Preparing to be insulted from dragging her here. Standing before her cell he softly spoke. “You wanted to see me?”

She hesitated to say anything at first. Sat quietly in the rocking chair wrapped in a blanket with her baby. “... You're Blake?”

“Yes.”

“... Val says you're harmless.”

He chuckled, sarcastically joking. “Well, nice to hear my intimidating reputation is so well known.”

“She said if anything happened I should talk to you.”

“Yeah?” A part of him beamed. “Uh, well, You can. I'll try to help with anything. Do you need anything?”

“Can I talk to Val?”

“Uh, soon-ish. I need to tell her what's going on first. She doesn't know about any of this and I'm still thinking of how to.” Rubbing his neck. And if she doesn't kill me after.

“Oh.”

“I'll try to get her down here soon. I don't think that'll be too far. … Soooo, is Val the uh-” Pointing to the baby.

Shaking her head. “Heh, no.” Her somewhat happy demeanor diminished. “It was from my ex-husband.” Looking to the side in disgust. “At least its not Knoth’s. I made sure he never got near me.” relaxing again. “I was pregnant months before his death. My husband panicked soon as we realized I didn't bleed that month. We argued about him telling Knoth or performing some sort of abortion himself. Scolding me for letting this happen to us. That it was our duty to kill the Antichrist. I didn't want any of that, didn't feel right. If we had faith in God couldn't he stop this? Why was Satan winning this war? I wanted to keep my child. At my refusal he chained me up in our basement.” Lifting an arm to look down on the scarred ring on her wrist. “I strangled him with those very chains, grabbed the keys off his corpse and escaped. No one else knew or realized what happened. People we're dyin' everyday and he was just one more gone missin'. I feared the day I'd start showin'. Even more when the big day would come if I managed that long. When John and Mathew freed the others, I saw my chance and ran with the rest. I knew I wasn't safe in Temple Gate and went to Val. She was… Nerve wracking at first. I wasn't sure if I made the right choice going to her. A few days later she wasn't like that anymore. A lot calmer and easier to approach for things. A while later I started to show and needed to tell her. She would have figured it out soon enough anyway. She was as excited as I was. She taught me a lot about baby's and helped me through the eventual birth.” Smiling at her little girl bundled in her arms.

Both were startled by John yelping at a thrown bowl. Voltaire across the way dodging a splatter of venison stew. Empty tin bowl clattering across the floor. A bunch of insults thrown by Ayzel. “Keep your shhit away from me! Fucking bull shhit of a traitor! Val will hhang you by the balls when she finds out!”

“You okay?” Blake shouted down the hall.

John sighed as he picked up the bowl. “Yeah.” Waving the bowl in the air. “I knew it would come, but gave it anyway.” Continuing to serve the others their portion.

Sophia mumbled to be barely hear-able. “He's always like that.”

“Always? Does he cause problem's back home?”

“A lot, even Val isn't sure what to do with him anymore. She hasn't kicked him out yet because she feels responsible for him. She “Lead the heretics out.” and she “Can't abandon him now.”.” Taking a bowl of food from between the bars.

“I'll leave you to eat. Mathew will be here if you need anything and he can fetch me for things. I'm gonna-” Clearing the lump in his throat. “Go tell Val.” And the rest of the town.

Ayzel voiced his fury. “Yeah, go tell her! Hope she slits your throat and eats your hhheart!” Laughing while Blake left with a developing pain in his stomach. Half the guard came along in case things got out of hand after the announcement.

Taking deep breaths down the long road toward the lit up grand hall. Marta was already waiting by the stage. He glanced around until he saw Val with James not too far away. He prevented her from running home this whole day. She already looked agitated, repeatedly drumming her fingers on the table as she leaned her head on the other hand. Passing glances to James staring her down the entire time he ate. Stepping up to the podium Blake cleared his throat. The usual assembly far smaller after putting so many into quarantine. Guards lining up around the hall were noticed right away by Val. Her drumming stopped to sit up straight. Her eyes locked onto them for glances next.

“Val-” He paused to think. “Refused to bring the Voltaire down for quarantine. I couldn't treat them or give them vaccinations. That was something I could not accept. Left alone they would have died or re-spread the disease. Today, I went with the guard to force them from the mines into a new quarantine spot.” Tapping the podium when Val's head whipped forward. “They're being treated now and will be let go in the future when healthy. … In the group was... A baby.”

Everyone's heads shot up at that. Food suddenly forgotten with a couple choking on their last spoonful. Watching Val from the corner of his eye he could clearly see the glare of death she shot him. Welp, I'm gonna die. Bounced around in his head. Taking a deep breath he settled his nerves, not wanting to stumble his stance on this. “I want to be clear. There is no Antichrist, I will not entertain the ridiculous idea of such. The baby will not be harmed, there's no reason to fear it. Anyone caught planning to do so will face punishment by death. When the Voltaires quarantine has ended they can freely leave back to the mines. Remember, they were heretics under Knoth, but not under me. They're to be treated like anyone else, with respect. I will not tolerate any refusal to follow these rules. Agree, or leave Temple Gate.” Waiting for any negative reactions. Noticing a lot of looks passing between people. Val still had her dagger eyes on him. Taking responsibility for it all he faced her silent rage. “I overstepped Val's rule on this without her knowing. I hope she hears soon that I'm sorry for this. And that if she still wants to speak with me, she can.”

She tightly gripped into her other arm. Refusing to react further among the townspeople.

Blake faced the rest of the room, giving others a random stare. “Same as anyone else with a problem.” Avoiding in exposing that she was there. “That's all.” Leaving to meet with Marta in his room. Talks in the dining room erupted to life about what was said.

Marta warned before they could reach his door. “She'll come after you.”

“I know, but let her.” Stepping into his room he began slipping off the armor.

Statement hidden as a question. “I should guard?”

“Leave me a few guards, while you guard the mom and baby. Don't let anyone but John or Mathew near them.”

Nerves shown in her hollow tone of acceptance about leaving Blake so unguarded. “As the angel asks.” Meeting up with the others to split who was guarding who for the night.

“Going to be assassinated for sure.” Looking down into his leak bucket half full. Taking it to splash out the hall window. Catching that some of the guard were posted at both ends of the hall. His stomach growled from not eating today. A knot in his stomach making him not want to eat at all. Guess I'll sleep while I can. Don't know what I'll do tomorrow. If Val doesn't come forward, will I have to send John? I said he wouldn't have to face her and maybe he shouldn't. Just have Marta meet her instead for a talk? But that seems so threatening. I could go myself... Grabbing his other hand to stop it from trembling. Fearing she'd do what Ayzel shouted if they were to meet alone. Settling the best he could in bed while his thoughts ran wild. Should I have left them up there? Val still would've been pissed, but less so. But if they got sick, they wouldn't have made it. The baby especially. Even if they get sick down here, at least they can be treated right away. Or rushed to the doctor… Hmm, that baby should get all the vaccinations it should. Maybe I can get that doctor to send in proper paperwork for a birth certificate and a Social security card. Don't know what will happen when they get older. Thinking about if the kid should go to school. It took him a few hours, but he managed to fall asleep.

Dreams filled by a suffocating presence dancing with the heavy smell of rot. Trapped in a dark tunnel made from many maggot festering corpses. Cold interior stung his skin covered by a layer of frost. He'd brush it off then find more on him a moment later. Snapping his head forward to a young voice screaming his name. “Blake!”

“Jess?!” He ran down the disgusting tunnel of rotten bodies. Little thought given to where he was running, just that he had to be quick about it.

“Blake!” He heard Jess shout again, but it was fading at each call. “Help me, please!”

No, no, no, no! He thought to run faster. “Jess!” He called out when her voice stopped. “Jess?!” He called out desperately. God, please, no! Tears stung his eyes that he was too late. Skidding to a halt when he heard a sinister laugh. Prying himself from the wall was that monstrous figure he hadn't seen in so long. Made up of skinless twisted limbs and a disgustingly long tongue that hung from its jaw lacking mouth.

“Help me.” It demanded so chillingly clear.

Blake shook off his fear to refuse. “No!”

It laughed at him. “You don't want them to find out. Help me and they won't come for you.”

“No!” Blake roared in refusal. Past all the disfigurement it was no demon, but may as well have been. “I-it wasn't my fault!”

“You didn't say anything. You helped. You wanted her dead. You know why!” It gurgled and growled at him. “Your a disgusting pervert who wanted to fuck her.”

“No!”

“Don't lie! You kissed her before she was even cold! What would you have done had I not come? Admit it! Admit to God! He'll forgive you! You're not evil for wanting to, just confused.”

Blake felt absolutely disgusted by his vile words. Acid welled up at the back of his throat in readying to vomit. He probably would have if he had anything in it. He couldn't bear to look at the disfigured priest any longer. He wanted to run, but that never helped. What else was he to do? He faced off Knoth with all his vile lechery. Was this demon any different? “Go away.” He commanded.

“We can help each other. Don’t be afraid. If you let me-” Its words threatened to bring something down. That dark wall blocking a threat that pained him to even approach.

Any threats he wanted to shout died in his throat. “G-get away from me!” He shrank under the looming pressure to be a helpless child back in school. Rotten halls were crumbling to a grotesque pulsing of veiny meat.

“You stupid little shit! Why are you doing this? You don't know how bad we need this! Kneel and pray with me before God gets angry! Did you hate her? Jealous of the other little boys she looked at? You didn't have to kill her for that. God hates lusting sinners, you need to repent. I can help you if you just got on your fucking knees.”

Blake's fear died to an anger that rose with each insult. That's not what I wanted. I didn't hate her. That's not what I am. “Shut up! I killed one monster and I can kill another!” Trying to get the bastard to shut up for once.

It laughed again. “What would your parents think?”

Blake's fury reached just below his skin. The frost melted off as the leftover water steamed away into a mist. “Shut up!”

“Watching their little boy. A disgusting, worthless, perver-” It wheezed in a gasp of air. Unable to speak another insult after crumpling down in fear.

Blake felt invigorated to shut down the disgusting monster. Did I really do it? Doubt chipped away at his boldness. He watched the demon, seeing that it wasn't looking at him anymore. Slinking away back into the darkness to hide from something else. Blake turned to see what it was that had the demon running so scared. Shrinking down himself under the towering figure of some horrifying beast.

Tall as a two story building, it stood cloaked in tattered black feathered wings. Blood dripping off the few bare sharp quills prodding through. Barely seeing the top of its head appearing like that of a deer. A pair of sharp antlers long and tall twisted outward. Peering through the wings were three other heads belonging to crows. Sickly thin, to the point of skeletal, each one snorted out red embers falling to land on Blake. Eyes as red and fiery as its breath. He couldn't see much else of it, being so covered. Except for many hooved legs stretching out from below the wings. Something like a deer's hind legs, but not entirely so. Spindly and black like the branches of a dead tree shaped into bladed hooves. Breathing out a cloud of ashes it spread open six of its wings. Each covered by a cluster of red eyes looking down upon him. The jaws of each head opened as if to speak something. Maybe it already was by how the tunnel of corpses rumbled at its jaws spread. Blake didn't hear a word when his eyes shot open to a guard barging into his room. Door slammed open so fast it bashed into the wall.

Guard blurting out. “Val’s fighting!”

Blake, hardly awake, still got the message enough to leap out of bed. Throwing on the armor he left on his desk to then run out with the lone guard. Hearing already a lot of yelling from the dining hall followed by things being thrown to crash against the wall. Everything flashed by until he saw her fighting the others. Time slowed until he thought it stopped. Getting a good look at her for the first time in months. She had changed since he last saw her. Hair having grown out a lot to be shoulder length. Some old scars skipped down the left side of her face. In long vertical lines like a large scrape. A bigger one marking down her forehead on the same side. Wrapped in the loose black fabric she'd been hiding under this entire time.

“OUT OF MY WAY!” She demanded of all the guards surrounding her.

Struggling to get a loop on her as she swiped a blade at them. One wired loop was already broken. Her next furious swipe slashed through the chain mail on a guard's wrist. Almost carving another's face to force them back. Using the table as an annoying block to keep the others at bay.

Her hard glare across them all locked onto Blake when she saw him. “YOU! WHERE ARE THEY?!” She would have gone for him if the guard had not stepped in her way. Earning them a violent attack of retaliation. One was punched in the face, another had their chest slashed. The chain mail rained down onto the ground in broken bits. When they started to outright grab her she viciously fought them off. By a stab to the shoulder she threw one out of the way over the table. Stomping another in the knee she forced them to the floor. Knocking another to the side by punching his throat followed by a stab to the chest. Blake's guard was rapidly thinning without a chance to recover.

“Val! Val, wait, stop!” He tried to talk to her, but she didn't bother to listen. “Val!” Blake shouted one last time. Tensing up when she broke through the last few guards. He froze like a deer in headlights. Body preparing itself for the pain about to hit.

Lunging for him, she was yanked back instead. After a gag she twisted around to slash at what guard grabbed her hood. They let go, but Val tensed with a sucked in breath when she saw who. Marta leaned back from the slash, her eyes bore down into Val on what was to happen. Val’s will to fight died immediately, turning to make a run for it. She didn't gain a step before Marta had her by the throat. Slamming her hard enough onto the table she dropped her knife. Clawing into Marta's arm to flailing kicks in trying to break free. Val thrashed against the tight grip blocking her air way. Marta pressed down to choke the life out of her without a flinch. Blake saw by how much Marta was leaning into it physically.

He had to stop her before Val was killed. “Marta, stop!” He ran over. “Stop!”

Her hard glare on Val turned toward Blake before softening. She hesitated, but relented in the end. Val gasped for a desperate breath of air. Given no time to recuperate before a bunch of loops were tossed on her. “Get up.” Marta ordered.

Her strength to argue swiftly crushed under Marta's presence. Passing a side eyed glare, but didn't say anything when she slipped off the table. Her legs needed a moment to set themselves after the suffocation. Recovered enough she snapped at Blake despite her sore throat. “Where are they?! What'd you do?!” Kept back from stepping forward due to the loops. She grabbed one on reflex to yank her way, then froze when Marta stepped into her space to stare her down in warning.

Blake rubbed his head. This wasn't how I wanted it to go, but here we are. No changing it now. “They're here and they're safe. I'll bring you to them, but you have to take some deep breaths.” Giving a moment before he gestured them all to start walking. Blake was at the front while guards surrounded Val. Marta being near her enough to just be in view of the corner of Val's eye. At least we won't be seen by a crowd of people. Glancing around at the town still dark, sky brightening before the sun fully peeked past the mountains. Taking a look at Val she didn't look to be doing well. Dark circles around her eyes as if she hadn't slept in years. Head low with gaze aimed to the ground. A bruise darkening around her neck to match Marta's grip. He worried if she would collapse on the way. What after? He'd have to do something after her visit. Would he leave her in there to, but as a prisoner?

She stopped whenever they did. Making no attempts to escape. Down into the jail they stepped, hearing Ayzel pop right off. “Did you find hhim? Your precioussh angel dead?” He mocked in laughing toward Marta stepping ahead. Unable to see Blake, perfectly fine with a captured Val in tow. “How butchered was-”

Val was the one to shut him down. “AYZEL, shut up!” Soon as they could see each other. The smirk slapped right off his face at seeing the group, glaring at Blake as he passed by. Down the aisle Val was already looking for Sophia. Head turning back and forth between the cells. All of Ayzel’s yelling had Sophia look down the hall, standing from her bed at seeing Val escorted over. Blake opened the cell door with a gesture for Sophia to stand back.

“Get the loops off.” Allowing Val to enter freely on her own.

Soon as the loops were gone she rushed in to give Sophia a hug. Getting hugged back just as tightly by her. “I'm sorry.” She whispered an apology.

“It's okay.” Sophia replied.

Blake closed the cell door, shooing everyone to move away. Giving the two some time to talk with a bit more privacy. Along with giving Val time to cool down. He left Marta to watch everything at the jail. Escorting the injured guards to the hospital for care. Mathew was asleep at the time, but another carer was awake to help. When Mathew woke a few hours later he panicked when he heard what happened.

“Val did this?!”

“Yes.” Shushing him. “And keep your voice down.”

“Where's she now?!”

“In the jail with Sophia.”

“Does dad know?!”

“No, not yet.”

“He has to know!”

“We'll tell him when- Mathew!” Calling too late the boy was out the door running down the road. “Ugh, would have let him sleep 'till morning at least.” Glancing out the window toward the deep blue early morning just before the sun would peer over the mountains. Tired, he rubbed his face to stay awake. The adrenaline rush he had was gone as everything felt strangely quiet now. The injured guards were up and walking again without anything too serious. Two would need time off as one had an arm in a sling and another had their knee in a cast. “You two can go home. I don't want those getting worse.”

“We'd like to come.” One replied.

Followed by the other. “Never seen Val before.”

“Uh, I don't know what you expect.” Blake asked. “Why?”

“No one's been able to catch her. It's hard to believe she's back in Temple Gate at all.”

“Knoth tried everything to lure her back and failed. We want to be sure that she's really there.”

“Pfft, that all? Maybe if he listened he would- the heretics probably wouldn't have existed in the first place I guess. She's there, waiting for me to deal with her.”

“What are you going to do?”

I should ask myself that. “... Talk?” Turning to head for the door.

---------

been a while. i wanted to get season 2 finished before starting to post, but I've hit some writing snags. so it'll still be a bit before a more reg posting of it, but the story is def not dead!

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

Trick + something Disko (or if you have nothing in the pipeline, WIP of your choice)

Treat + something Garashir

No Disko wips right now lol!

Below the cut there’s a freshly written scene following up on this other scene from my Sub Rosa sloanshir wip where Sloan makes a sleepwalking Julian stab Garak, and then a garashir pining part of my soulmate au (starts off with a discussion of Sloan, who has just convinced Julian he’s his soulmate, but it’s chock full of Julian thinking about garak and the events of The Wire).

Sub Rosa sloanshir:

Julian tended to Garak’s wound by muscle memory alone. He felt like he was in a fog, like something was trying to hold him back from acting and he had to fight against it each time he wanted to make his arms move, so he was glad the medical procedures themselves were not complex.

It had helped that he’d stabbed him somewhere that the scales were toughest and the layers of fat above anything vital were thickest. He shuddered to think about what further damage he might have done if Garak hadn’t woken him up immediately. Probably more than his medkit could have handled.

Tears stung his eyes. He’d hurt his dearest friend, his would-be lover. He twisted where he sat on the edge of Garak’s bed so that he could lean down and bury his face into Garak’s chest as he cried.

Hands on his back surprised him and he sat up.

“Doctor, I’m not dead yet.”

“Thankfully I’m better with a scalpel than a kitchen knife,” he sniffled.

“Yes, I’m sure you could be a much deadlier surgeon with the proper tools.”

Julian grinned in spite of himself, glad that Garak was in a joking mood, but his face fell again a moment later.

“But what are we going to do? Get rid of everything sharp? Lock me in my room at night?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Garak…”

“Locking your door will guarantee that the only person you can hurt will be yourself, and I refuse to accept that as an option. You’ll stay with me. I’m a light sleeper, I’ll notice if you get up.”

~

soulmates AU:

“So what does it actually mean, that you’re soulmates with him? You hate the guy.”

“I truly don’t know.” He burst out laughing, a little hysterically. “I guess I’m destined to fall in love with him. Or maybe it’s not even romantic, there’s people with platonic soulmates, right? Maybe I’m just… the only one that can fix whatever’s wrong with him. Or something.”

He thought of Garak snarling and pushing him to the ground, in the throes of drug withdrawal and organ failure; and Garak, a few days later, smiling at him over I’danian spice pudding. He clutched onto the memory.

Miles snorted. “I don’t think that even you can make Sloan any less of a bastard.”

He sighed. “No. I suppose not.”

“Speaking of bastards,” he said somewhat more affectionately, “have you talked to Garak yet?”

“I’m going to.”

“What’s the hold up?”

“It’s difficult.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “He doesn’t have a functioning soulmark, you know.”

“No. I don’t know that. Why the hell would I know something personal about him like that?”

With a little help from Nurse Jabara, Julian had undressed Garak to get him into hospital garb. It had been impossible for him not to notice that Garak had no soulmark, and just as impossible not to clock that Garak’s tattoo of flower petals over his heart was different than his other ink. There was a faint scar all the way around it, and the colors looked more faded than the seal of the Cardassian Empire that he had on his side or the parallel sequences of moon phases that circled his wrist like an enjoinment bracelet. Julian knew instantly that he’d once had a soulmark and it had been taken from him.

And he knew Garak knew that he’d seen it. Julian knew also that this must be a big part of why he’d never come to the infirmary for anything serious before.

And so Garak had given him three stories of his exile, each with a distinct explanation for his lack of a soulmark. Firstly, that he’d killed his own soulmate Elim in cold blood rather than let the Bajoran prisoners escape and his mark had faded from his skin entirely just as Elim’s pulse had stopped; secondly, that he’d killed Elim by mistake in his negligence when he’d let the Bajoran prisoners escape and his mark had gone static, frozen as the insignia of the Cardassian Union, which happened for all Cardassians whose soulmate died; and finally, that he was so much of a monster that he’d never even had a soulmark or soulmate, and his attempted betrayal of his lover Elim was proof enough of why he didn’t deserve one.

“Well, he doesn’t have a mark anymore but he used to. I shouldn’t have even told you that much because he’s very insecure about it, but the point is I can’t very well tell him I’ve matched with someone who isn’t him, without risking breaking his heart.”

Miles groaned. “If you two ever just talked to each other, without the bullshit…”

Julian slumped. “Oh, like you’re so good at communicating. It’s complicated, okay?”

“You’re both into each other. You’ve been into each other for… forever. What’s so complicated?”

He didn’t answer, just nursed his brandy. He knew that Miles would never understand what it was like to not know whether the soulmark on your arm was your own or not. Miles’ life had been straightforward. Miles’ parents hadn’t changed him into someone new at a young age.

[rontra]

Pls tell us more about ur summer/salem rare pair cuz I'm so interested

ok ok stupid ass post incoming its also at least a couple thousand words long so be warned

like i CAN yes, but it'll be rambling and inconveniently longwinded!

this is because my thoughts on this and the context for the pictures i drew actually hinges on a bunch of rwby analysis that has to be established First for any of my conclusions to make sense. i actually thought about making a comic about them to lay this stuff out in a more convenient format…maybe i will do it, but until then, umm. i'm sorry about this level 9000 nerd wizard post. it's the autism and passion for women kissing (the 2 reasons behind everything i do)

as an aside before i lose my lucidity, i'm not claiming the stuff i'm about to set up is 100% absolutely indisputably true and if you disagree you're wrong. it's just sort of my interpretation of a bunch of different stuff. it's fine if you disagree or have your own reading! but for the purposes of this specific content we're discussing, in the context of the women kissing AU if you will, these are presupposed "truths" . idc if you think i'm wrong as hell in real life! but in the world of the pictures i drew/my feelings on this ship, this is the list of Things That Must Be True.

(the salem/summer torment nexus is built on a bunch of overthinking rwby and then a little bit of lesbian high romance, so we do reach a point where we finally veer off from "analyzing rwby" and into "and that is why women kissing women", but that is, all i can do . because just putting down the "here's why they should kiss" conclusion makes me sound insane. so before we go into why they should kiss in the way i've depicted, here are some points that must first be true)

Summer is alive and well, and

Summer is Salem's unseen lieutenant at Beacon, and is working for her by her own free will, because

Salem is right (caveats about being evil rn notwithstanding) and

Remnant treats them in similar ways, for opposite purposes (thus in the women kissing women world, they are not only women who should kiss, but foils who should kiss: a far more powerful gameplay unit that inflicts a Brainrot DoT on its target (me))

i'm not going to be completely thorough here: i'm omitting anything that doesn't feel immediately important to understanding me, so if it feels like i skipped something, i definitely did. please bear with me bc this post's existence is already hilarious. the omissions probably aren't me missing things (depending on what it is) i'm just genuinely trying not to get derailed by factoring in every nuance and perspective (which rwby has, A Lot, of,). do not tweet at me

1 and 2 are almost self-explanatory, so they're quick: scenes about summer are nigh-universally conspicuous in how they talk about her, and there are too many questions raised about her/her fate that only she (and salem) could answer. her just being dead is too straightforward for all this effort, so something else is surely going on. in v8, the "Hound Summer" idea is raised, but i don't think they would let a character onscreen spill the beans ahead of time if it was actually the truth. (additionally, salem herself describes the hound as "an experiment", indicating there isn't like a bunch of them running around or anything...)

HOWEVER, letting ruby draw the "hound summer" conclusion on screen leads me to believe the actual truth is not FAR away: it'll be a knife-twist on what ruby said. the More Harrowing version of "my mom is alive but a tool for salem against her will" feels like it's naturally "my mom is alive and working for salem on purpose".

for 2, salem has an additional lieutenant that we have not been shown; being at beacon working on the Beacon Relic Puzzle ever since the Fall. we see salem contacting this agent to give them verbal instructions over the grimmphone, which is…not typically how she directs grimm, suggesting it is a person. we aren't privy to any further information about this person except their station being Beacon, which…i hate to say it but that's a "dramatically seeing summer rose alive" ass place….

the REASON for summer being salem's lieutenant as opposed to A) dead, B) a tool, C) a double agent, D) literally anything else, is because of 3 and 4.

this is where things are gonna get really cringe and potentially deranged but i need you to stay with me. let's go in order and focus on 3 first: salem is right.

saying this will cause some immediate pushback from some people, but to those people, please set that gut reaction aside for now and play in the space with me; i'm not saying that her current plan of action is like, nice, or Good, but i'm saying she is ideologically the one in the right. like Thematically. it took a lot of work for the world to make her be evil (across quite literally millions of years, potentially hundreds of millions) and now she's like "fine i'm about to be hilarious", but in the fundamental conflict rwby is about, she hasn't stopped being RIGHT.

just before this, someone on twitter asked me what i think salem's goal is, because a lot of people jump to assuming it's planet-destroying stuff; i had to make it a twitlonger just to answer them because (in case it wasnt obvious already) im head FULL thoughts SALEM mouth RAMBLING. instead of spending time and wordcount rehashing all of that i'll just relink it here because all of it is important to THIS discussion too: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss7lck

You Have To Read That Post Because I Won't Re-Type It. But It Is Important For This Post. TM.

ok. you're back? hi. sorry about that. let's continue

okay so we have the "disquietingly genocidal if carried out to its natural conclusion, which is that we should surrender ourselves to the complete custody of the World Destroyer" guy, and the "humanity inherently has a right to exist and doesn't need babysitting from someone who believes otherwise" guy. One of these sides is currently in control of remnant. and it's not the one you'd hope! and it's not the one the show agrees with.

(sidenote before it's too late I should clarify i have a Lot of thoughts about ozma's side of all this and like i said rwby is incredibly rich when you begin to mine for nuance and in-universe perspectives; i love that guy to bits and pieces. there are a lot of angles to this dangle. it's just that neither the twitlonger nor this post is About Him, so if it sounds like im dismissing his own nightmare situation i'm NOT im just not posting About Him Right Now. love you oz sorry you're also in the bullshit swamp etc amen)

i mention this very briefly in the twitlonger, but ozma has a vested interest in A) wiping salem from history/humanity's knowledge, and B) making sure the people who DO know about her see her as completely incapable of being reasoned with, the source of all evil, and so on. he's been pretty aggressive in these efforts, successfully paring salem's perpetual existence in remnant down to a spectrum ranging from "i have never heard of this woman in my life" to "exaggerated fairytale image that can be safely ignored" and maybe like "scary witch story to keep kids from wandering into the woods (FAKE, NOT REAL)". and to his circle, she's evil incarnate, and nothing more—still the fairytale witch, just an actual threat this time.

there seems to be a belief among some of the characters in the show that if you stop salem, you win; you've Fixed The Problem. in this way of thinking, salem is the one thing holding remnant back from being Normal And Good. she is the single cog not turning in time with the rest of remnant, and she is Fucking Up The Machine For Everybody. obviously this is a very simple and easy way of looking at her, and it is also desperately encouraged by ozma's version of the story. for his story to work, salem MUST be the source of all evil, the well it all springs from, the clear villain who's behind every bit of suffering and wants to destroy humanity; if she is NOT, his own comprehension of his trauma falls apart, his life's work and mission loses meaning, and the world he's built on them falls apart too.

(unfortunately, you cannot fix a dysfunctional world by destroying a single woman (no matter how much some certain gods try to tell you otherwise) if the dysfunction is systemic and foundational the way remnant's is)

with that in mind, summer rose (aw hey girl i forgot you were in this post) seems like a pretty stark opposite to her. but i would like to argue the…opposite. opposite double reacharound combo: They Are The Same edition. aka 4

okay, so, another facet of ozma's ideology that goes pretty visibly hand in hand with his own baggage (rip) is the fixation on this, idea of, a Hero. a Guardian. a "simple soul". specifically, he tends to nominate a Lone Hero, who must shoulder an unfathomable burden—usually a secret one—with little to no support (because they cannot share the burden). and this is, demonstrably and in no uncertain terms, a practice that breaks heroes.

(without getting too distracted: this is pretty obviously what was also done to HIM, and ozma continuing this pattern is not surprising with that fact in mind; i do sympathize. but girl…<3 you are crafting the crux of an insane post on rontra.tumblr.com and you dont even know it)

the Lone Hero is perfect. they fight alone, carrying humanity's light, and when they die they do so heroically, righteously, bravely. they are a symbol, praised and exalted even into their own deaths. their torch doesn't burn for long, but it's beloved whilst it does! the superhero dies young, but dies well.

this idea is a motif that recurs in rwby; all four Maidens are historically isolated, working alone, their very existence a secret except for when they swoop in to save the day. Huntsmen can become Lone Heroes if they're exemplary or unlucky enough. it was done to Pyrrha on-screen, by backing her into a corner and nominating her for an unfathomable burden she could not possibly refuse—and it lead to her death, alone, in a fight she knew she could not win.

of course, it also intersects with the Silver-eyed Warriors, who are (like Maidens) secret and largely isolated, but (especially when combined with being Huntsmen) make extremely powerful Lone Heroes. THERE'S our girl we've been waiting for! summer came out of the extremely notable team STRQ, and she's got silver eyes; with her pedigree we've got another legendary Grimm Reaper on our hands!

ha ha…

the weight must be crushing.

i can't say for sure why summer left; maybe she really thought going in guns blazing could finish this. maybe she had encountered a piece of information that alarmed her, or even seemed to corroborate something Raven tried to tell her team years prior. maybe it was something else that drove her to take the fight to salem on a solo mission. maybe being a Hero from a broken team just does that to your brain. we don't know yet! but she went out alone and she met up with salem.

this was never going to work, and not ONLY because salem can't be killed: it's doomed because rwby, the show, does not give praise to self-sacrifice. it is opposed to the very idea of the Lone Hero. when characters break the buddy system and face the bullshit alone, they usually don't get out unscathed, and usually don't succeed in accomplishing much of note. if anything at all, they usually attain something temporary or minor that isn't at all worth the sacrifice they made. because how can anything be worth that? rwby so far is pretty against the idea of both a lone hero and of "good death"; you can't die heroically, because you only ever die tragically.

but the Hero, Lone or otherwise, is needed. it's a twisted hope, but it is hope: there are people, real heroes, who will do anything to save us; including die, over and over and over and over and over again. remnant runs on hero blood. the academies are major arteries that pump out more of it, and even while you're at an academy you're not in the clear, because the students are included as a layer of protection around the relic. if something comes for the school, you are intended to die for it.

Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em! You wanna be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!

and the selected Lone Heroes, even more so, are intended to die fighting an unwinnable fight, bearing unfathomable burdens. proverbially speaking, it keeps the lights on: keeps the fight going. keeps humanity from losing its grip on faith. and it completely robs each Hero of their humanity.

this kind of hero is not human: it's romantic like a fairytale and reduces a human being to a symbol. one of hope, sure, but a symbol nonetheless. the perfect hero isn't permitted to doubt or fear or hesitate. they're something distant, something else, something beyond humanity, something conceptual. and THIS, (points at it) is BAD

but it is the other side of the coin. the Lone Hero who represents all of humanity's hope has a natural obverse: the Sole Evil responsible for all of the world's darkness. the Single Enemy who springs forth all the things the Single Light stands against. these two concepts together pull an astonishing amount of the weight to make ozma's ideology function. without them, the wheels do not turn.

it's important how successfully ozma has eradicated salem's humanity and cast her as a force of blind evil. you can't reason with her, it's futile to try… but we know that salem may be very fucked up indeed to people, but she's also plenty willing to talk; essentially the only reason no one even thinks to try it is because her carefully designed reputation precedes her. the ruling world ideology prominently features the bastions of humanity, the bulwark against evil, the Lone Hero figure; the Guardian…and it hinges almost entirely upon the Sole Evil of salem, who can't be reasoned with but must be destroyed, even though the war against her is eternal, impossible, unsustainable.

by design, neither one is permitted any humanity at all.

Summer Rose and Salem are both ideological work-horses. in the world of remnant, neither of them can retain their humanity: they are conceptual existences that pull ozma's world through the motions, step by agonizing step. they are both yoked to the same plough.

if those two TALKED—and salem is very much willing to talk—i think a lone hero with a passion for humanity and way too much skin in the game would be repulsed by the system she lives in. she would recognize that she (and huntsmen as a broader institution) would be in the Wrong to support ozma—and by extension the gods, who look at humanity as a thing to be corralled and punished, something that must actively justify its own right to exist—

—that she's got two kids in this world, and she suddenly hopes to high heaven that they never get pulled into the same cannon fodder machine that created the Guardian summer rose, who bleeds and bleeds so that all humanity can cling to a hope that is bound to be false because the arbiters of their worth do not find them inherently worthy of life—

But, baby, please don't do what I did; I don't want you to waste your life in vain.

the reason women should kiss is that there is a mutual understanding that they are both beasts of burden to this world: two less-than-human icons, unpersoned on purpose, merely representing a concept. they perform roles in a narrative written by somebody else. they are not human! they are bearing unimaginable weight in service of an idea!

and they don't want to see humanity's fate be shackled to that idea for a moment longer.

i think when i say summer/salem most people think im trying to conjure like a dark spicy image full of like, power and control, and tension, and stuff. and there's nothing wrong with those, i do make a lot of those. but in reality im picturing the most tender secret in all of remnant. could you imagine?

...they are both yoked to ozma's ideology in these weird twisted ways so theres a lot of understanding and sympathy there, even if their Functions are different. opposite even. perhaps like foils one could say...

it's a ship built on that kind of understanding. the theme tying it together is that grueling dehumanization and the tenderness of seeing that you're both human to the core regardless. remnant yearns to grind them both up, one in service of the other, for a horrifically cruel ideal they can't just lie down and surrender to. humanity deserves better. so do they.

salem is right. summer rose knows it.

in the pictures i made, there's a protective angle to their poses and interactions: sort of a knightly, HER Warrior, type thing. "NOT YOUR SACRIFICE". etc. i guess salem is a lady with a tendency to attract the heroic knightly type (rimshot)

and that's why summer and salem should kiss. i dont know. i know im the one that locked you in this room but we should get out of here before i transform like a werewolf. wanna listen to Until The End in the car?

to live free or die, it’s all the same the enemy was right, there’s no reclaiming in waves of shame, we’re desperate to make amends but through a simple soul we lie complacent.

awoo...

[myers-meadow]

This is the first piece of writing for my House of 1000 Corpses OC Meadow "Doe Eyes", this is her meeting with Blinky (@immortal-velociraptor s OC) and how she became part of the family!

The hand of the artist is gentle with its creation.

“We don’t often keep ones like you around,” grinned Otis, tugging at the ropes binding my torso to the chair. Saying anything would be futile thanks to the rag in my mouth – so instead I stared at him with all the fierceness I could manage. The stretch in the corners of my mouth was growing from annoying to outright uncomfortable. Otis leaned forward again, his long hair brushing the ticklish inner part of my arm and I jolted from the sensation.

Suddenly, a chipper voice from behind. “Otis, did you take my Black Sabbath cd?” It was Baby.

At that, the man pulled the gag down – no consideration for my soreness, and stepped around me to address Baby.

“I ain’t have it, can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Busy doin’ what?” Baby retorted. I could envision her clearly, hands on her hips, staring him down. I stretched my cheek muscles and wet my cracked lips.

“I think he’s gonna kill me,” I spoke up, mouth dry, “but then you won’t be able to play with me anymore, Baby.”

A hand fell onto my head, she walked around me and having her attention on me felt like balancing on a tightrope. She pet my hair, then pouted before she spoke. “And we wouldn’t like that, would we? What a sweetheart, to consider my feelings. Unlike you, you brute!”

Otis, moving around the room now, twisted the knife in his hand. They shared a look that made me shift in my restraints. I was on outsider in this interaction, only a by-thought in whatever schemes the family came up with. The only thing worse than one of them, was both of them, so the way Baby twirled a lock of loose hair around her finger made my heart beat in my throat.

Then she said: “I do like you, sweet thing, but I also like Otis. And I think I like him more.”

Otis’ grin was all teeth. “Hear that sugar? Looks like we’re gonna have lotta fun, you ‘n me.”

“I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll go ask Tiny if he’s seen the cd.” With that, Baby left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Why the long face? With me at least you’ll keep all your fingers.” Turning to the radio on a dresser, he turned it on. “Don’t worry, I know how to treat a nice little lady like you,” and he laughed something nasty. He didn’t like the music that played, so he turned it off again and sat down to leaf through his cd collection. After a while – I struggled in the ropes until my wrists were too sore to continue – he left the room without another word. Perhaps that was the worst of it – being ignored so casually. As if the presence they demand by keeping me around bored them after just a couple minutes.

 .

When Otis returned, he found another member of the family sitting on his bed, kicking their legs, a palette of face paint next to them. It was Blinky who found me in his absence. The brush that painted a little tear by my eye was cold. They had painted my entire face already, these were just the finishing touches.

“Otis,” they said, hopping off the bed, when they spotted him standing in the doorway. “Look!”

With a wild gesture, they pointed to me, and Otis walked around the chair. His eyebrows were raised.

“I like her, she has pretty doe eyes. Perhaps we can keep ‘er a little longer?”

Otis groaned, then stared down at Blinky, and the rest of their conversation was unspoken. He shrugged, and left the room, mumbling unfriendly things.

[ultravioart]

????

So I'm trying to write out some ideas for Dominion au scenes and I guess I'm questioning what kind of humor fits Dominator? She's definitely comically evil + mean spirited so there is dark humor galore (Plus with kid cosmic using death as a punchline, lmafo it makes for some dark opportunity),

but if.... sighes, If the writers really were trying to go for the "she doesn't belong in the show" anime-op-badass "sexy bully"(<<<gags I hate this approach i hate sexy bully) archetype, I have to wonder if she's conscious of herself in situations or not. In Q&A they say she loves riot grrl but she's also fine with using a guy persona to "mess with people"?? Mess with them how? Make them double take and awkwardly scramble to treat her differently? Or make them not judge her as a (gender) but as a badass foe first and foremost regardless, and being a woman is just the cherry on top? I have to wonder if her love for the riot grrl genre includes the fundamental girl empowerment (proud to be a girl), or the "don't judge me just because I am a girl! I belong here too!" aspect. Is her perspective that she is proud to be a badass woman, or does she feel she's a badass who happens to be woman therefore women must be great? She seems to use whatever tools she has at her disposal, but also has a comedic self care routine of fluffy towels and pink guest bathrooms. So she's all out evil villain, but also has sensitivities and seemingly personal boundaries with "me-time" which doesn't read entirely as the all out off the wall destroyer, but a quirky lethal evil conqueror. It matters because like, would she be a "sexy" bully that has personal boundaries over her body, or is it all in, make the others squirm and yelp? Is she vulgar and unhinged? or does she have some kind of pride that would prevent her from "degrading" her self in her view by flirting with people she sees as losers? We have characters that have a sense of pride or a sense of boundary, which can make for good kind spirited humor too, but if Dominator really doesn't belong, it's hard to discern just how far her actions would go. basically it's one of the two: A) she embodies the "intensely evil little girl" all grown up into a fearsome villainess, playing godzilla with living toys. This is within the same vein to Hater's "spoiled brat emo prince" all grown up into a manchild rockstar tyrant personality. This means she would have some personal boundaries and sense of pride, meaning she would toy with others (flirting, teasing) but not be intensely vulgar. Fits the setting of WoY pretty well, though? Is... being pretty and mean enough to be a sexy bully archetype? Ugh Man, I hate this trope lmao. It feels gross. B) She embodies the "evil no matter what" and just happens to be a woman. she relishes in bullying others and making them squirm, wanting to destroy everything in her path. She's super unhinged and even self-destructive if not careful. No sense of sympathy for others, she just. wants. to. destroy. those puny little faces. (Cute aggression over 9,000!) And it's bleak! Yeah! ...and, lonely. Woops. This means she would be very vulgar, and not care what people think about her or her body because of course she's already perfect, she's HER. This to me reads as more so the sexy bully archetype, but ignores some semblance of her softer sides like her "...friend?" moments with Sylvia or her funny reactions to things like "what? Ew--no." which imply personal boundaries. I'm writing a whole damn essay about this because I don't want to make her too vulgar if it's ooc. But... it's seriously hard to understand what the hell the writers even meant by "sexy bully" because is that just a hot mean girl? Or a get under your skin and twist the knife just "to break your heart and watch you cry" kinda thing??? HOW FAR DOES IT GO, idk idk. Frankly I wish canon Dominator was not fanservice sultry and only sporadically "maniac pixie nightmare girl" like the VA's videos implied, because that stuff was hysterically fitting for WoY. Unhinged and unfitting of the WoY universe, but in a light goofy turning instantly heavy and dark humored way.