#and i think placing the blame on that prevents you from actually seeing what didn't work

[prettybearbutch]

I think life gets so much better when you stop thinking of everyone as either being strictly the 'good' anxious attached or 'bad' avoidant attached. I think you can be both/either depending on the specific relationship, outside stressors, other things happening in your life

[sturnioloszn]

IN LOVE WITH A CRIMINAL - C.S

summary; after almost being caught committing murder, chris reassures you that everything is fine and helps you relieve some nerves...

warnings; smut, mentions of committing a crime (murder), gun kink.

a/n; i'm lowk stepping out the comfort zone w this one, so if it's dogshit, we know why. btw, if u don't understand the relationship, chris and y/n work together as hitmen (or ig hitman and hitwoman).

★ ° . *　　°　.　°☆ 　. * ● ¸. 　　　★ 　° :. ★　 * •

I sit on the edge of the bed, leaning down to undo the straps on my black heels. I'm usually focused on how sore my feet are after wearing heels for several hours, but my mind is engrossed with one thought.

It wasn't uncommon for Chris and I to be paired together for hits; actually, we worked well as a team. But tonight didn't go as smoothly as it was meant to.

It was supposed to be a straightforward night; while I kept the ambassador distracted, Chris would take him out.

Unfortunately, my charm worked a little too well, and the ambassador wanted to "find somewhere more private," so we kept changing locations, meaning Chris couldn't take the shot easily.

We eventually managed, but the authorities were on scene immediately, which wouldn't have been the case if we had stayed at the original location. Due to this, we were almost recognised, but we fled the scene just before they could recognise us.

Yet, I can't help but feel paranoid. I know what line of work I'm in, and yes, I know the risks, but it's still an insanely scary thought. What if they saw my face? Would I have to be a fugitive? Would I have to live the rest of my life in the shadows to prevent from being seen again?

Fuck.

The sound of ammo hitting the bathroom counter snapped me out of my anxiety-ridden thoughts. I slowly stand up from the bed, stepping out of my heels and heading towards the bathroom in the hotel room.

I reach the doorway and see Chris at the countertop, he's clearing the gun that was used tonight. I lean against the door frame with my arms crossed over my chest as I watch his hands work the gun. I won't lie, Chris was hot as fuck, he had a sharp jawline and a beautiful side profile with gorgeous brown hair that fell over his forehead.

But it doesn't matter how sexy he was, there's no way anything could happen between us, especially with work. It would just get way too messy.

"Do you think they saw us?" I ask, breaking the deafening silence that was lying between us.

"No," he replies coldly. I know he was somewhat upset at me due to the fact that I couldn't keep the ambassador in one place, making his job harder.

"There were a lot of them... what if they did see our faces?" I say, now beginning to share my inner conflicts with him.

"They didn't. Stop stressing," another cold reply.

"They saw us leave though, we had to have looked suspicious, right?" I question once again. I could sense he was getting annoyed at all my questions but I really couldn't help it.

"We're fine," he huffs, as he sorts through the unused ammunition. I watch his fingers work diligently, organising everything so carefully. I wonder what else his fingers would be good at.

Fuck, I really have to stop thinking these things, because I can only blame myself for the dampness in my panties right now.

"Listen, it's not your fault, okay?" He sighs, turning his head to finally look at me. I think he feels slightly bad being so harsh on me, even though it really isn't my fault that I'm so hot.

I nod at his words, dragging my eyes to the floor to avoid eye contact. He takes a few steps towards me and places his index finger under my chin, tilting my head high enough so that our eyes could meet.

"I mean it...I'm sorry for being a dickhead," his words are soft and sincere, almost enough to make my knees crumble completely. "And no, I'm sure they didn't see us. Stop stressing your pretty little head about it,".

He's so close that I can almost hear his heartbeat, and the small touch he has on my skin is enough to burn up my entire body. There's no way he can't see the effects he has on me.

"What can I do to ease your mind, hm?" He says, moving his finger from under my chin and using his entire hand to cup the side on my face; his thumb caressing my blushed cheek softly.

"Nothing, I'm fine...I probably just need some sleep," I say. But even if I take him up on his offer, what is he really laying out on the table? Maybe I'm reading too far into this.

"Nothing? There's absolutely nothing I can do f'you?" He asks, lowering his head to my neck and planting a soft kiss there. I lean my head back, surprised by his actions.

Chris and I have been strictly colleagues, and other than the occasional flirty joke, there's not been anything else between us... until now.

"Chris..." I whisper, almost as a warning, as if someone could catch us at any moment.

"Hm," he mumbles against my neck, still peppering small kisses. I sigh and give into his touch. He feels me surrender, and he moves his hands to my curves, drinking them in with every touch.

"This dress looks so fucking good on you, y'know that?" His words are barely recognisable, so I weave my hands through his hair and tug his face away from my neck. I guide him towards my lips and it doesn't take long for him to crash his perfect, plump lips into mine.

The kiss is instantly hot, burning even, and the feel of his hands all over my body definitely doesn't help with the heat. His hands slip down to my ass, grabbing handfuls. A light gasp leaves my mouth, surprised by his direct actions.

"Can I make you feel good?" He asks, briefly pulling away from my lips. There's a look of hunger in his eyes, which makes him look even more irresistible.

"Please, Chris," I reply pathetically. By now, my panties are soaked, and we're both still fully dressed. God, what is he doing to me.

I feel him reconnect our lips and slide his hands under my ass to my thighs. I feel his arms tense, and my feet lift the ground. He places me onto the bathroom countertop, and I wrap my legs around his torso.

His hands find my hips again, but instead of stopping there, they continue downwards towards the slit in my dress. His right hand slips under my dress, and he reaches for the fabric at my hip.

He invites his left hand under the dress, too, finding the fabric on the other side of my hip. He tugs both sides down, removing my panties completely.

He looks up at me, his cold, blue eyes meet mine. I've never seen anyone with eyes as pretty as his; they really are his best feature.

"Do you trust me?" He asks, his eyes locking me in a trance. I nod, unable to get any words past my lips.

"I need you to use your words," he speaks again. If he keeps speaking like this, my composure will be out the window any minute.

"Of course I trust you, Chris," I say, wondering why he's even asking me that. He then turns and grabs the gun next to him. What is he doing?

He returns his attention back to me and slowly spreads my legs. My dress rides up, leaving me more than accessible to him.

"Fuck, look at how soaked you are and I haven't even touched you yet," he groans, and I can see the buldge in his trousers form.

He then does something that I would have never dreamed he'd do.

He took the barrel of the gun and ran it between my folds, lathering it in my fluid. The cold metal of the gun against my hot core makes me jump slightly.

"C-Chris... what are you doing?" I ask, my breathing getting shallower.

"Shh, just let me take care of you and ease your worries," he says, his eyes never faltering from my dripping cunt. I throw my head back and enjoy this new sensation that I'm being guided through.

Then, out of nowhere, I feel the gun slip into me. No way he's fucking me with a gun.

"Fuck, Chris," I say, bucking I'm hips slightly. I'm not completely opposed to this idea but it's definitely something new.

Thank God I saw him take out the bullets otherwise my stress level would be through the roof.

He starts pumping the gun faster and faster, and a familiar heat is building in my stomach. Moans start spilling from my lips uncontrollably and my hands find their way to his hair again.

"Chris, p-please... don't stop," I say, at this point I'm fucking the gun back, and I'm so close to euphoria.

"I wasn't planning on it," he breathes out. A few strokes later, and I'm spamming around the gun, letting my wetness coat it as Chris' name, along with a string of curse words, leave my mouth.

He slowly removes the gun from my hole and looks at it in wonder before turning to me.

"I've never been more turned on in my life," he says, his eyes bouncing back between me and the gun.

I'm sure I look a mess right now, I'm panting heavily, my hair is frizzy, and mascara is likely running down my face, yet Chris doesn't think twice about calling me beautiful.

"What does this mean for us?" I ask, pulling myself down from the countertop, grabbing onto Chris to steady myself.

"I've liked you for a while, y/n, I was tired of pretending like I didn't need you," He admitted. My cheeks are definitely blushing, and not because I just orgasmed.

"Me too... but what about work?" I question, work is the main reason I hadn't made my move. I'm already a criminal, I can't be in love with one, too.

"We'll make it work, now stop worrying about everything, I'm going to run you a bath, and you're going to relax," he says, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

★ ° . *　　°　.　°☆ 　. * ● ¸. 　　　★ 　° :. ★　 * •

a/n; well... I don't think this is too horrendous (if it is, keep ur mouth shut otherwise i'll cry). alsooo, 151 notes on my last fanfic?? u guys are insane but i appreciate it sooo much, thank youuu and love youu smm 💙

[felis-rach]

This world needs more bowsareach! So here's a little something I wrote for them! (It was part of a bigger fic I didn't finish, but it doesn't need context)

Mario was starting to think that all the “hero” thing made him forgot how to deal with mundane challenges.

He realized that when he saw himself using the cat-bell to climb up the wall and get a book from the top of the shelf. And when he tried to explain the claw marks to Peach, saying, “but what ELSE could I have done?” Her answer was silently pointing to a chair.

Bowser thought this was all hilarious, of course. And Mario had to remind him of who breathed fire into the oven when it wouldn’t turn on. And the reason they had to eat microwaved food for a week.

It was just a simple memory of some random day, but it made Mario feel so nostalgic. Their little home, hidden in a hill on the edge of the kingdom and accessible through a warp pipe they built, was no less than a dream come true.

After all, dating two monarchs meant that the three of them couldn’t simply rent an apartment together. Peach had to stay at her castle, and Bowser, at his, and when they eventually arranged the marriage that would unite the two kingdoms, it would be time to live together and Mario would come along.

But for now, the three of them settled in getting a little house to be the place they could run away to when Peach and Bowser got a moment of peace. It was great, especially when they managed to spend a whole weekend there.

Mario had the time of his life watching The Royals get used to the cottage. Peach, as a regent who always placed herself at the same level of her people and hated to be perceived as superior, gave her best to act naturally, so Mario tried to hide his laughter when they sat down to eat and her face just read “Oh, indeed, this table has but four chairs and doesn’t occupy the whole room.” He could see her dying inside a bit when all the plates and cups got too cramped up.

Bowser, on the other hand, being made of ego as he was, absolutely made sure he was seen as superior by his subjects (which never prevented him from being a caring ruler, going personally to a civilian’s house if they had any trouble, and screw his schedule). So he didn’t even pretend to be comfortable there. It was such an ordeal to prevent him from turning the house into a second palace. The most that Mario and Peach gave in was to make a living room big enough to fit a grand piano. Even so, he complained at every possible time about the house’s size.

“Pff. The fifty-second heir to the mighty koopa empire, living on an ant’s house like this… Of course, we left it to Mario to lead the project. He measured the house based on his own size.”

And Mario simply answered by sitting on the table in front of him. “Truly, I am so very small.” He placed Bowser’s hand on his back. “Look, I even fit on this huge and scary koopa’s hand. Oh, my stars! I sure do hope he doesn’t take advantage of all this size to grab me and kidnap me to some dark castle. Poor me!”

His voice was casually innocent, and Bowser’s face was on fire since he was still a mess whenever Mario and Peach gave him attention like that (and the two of them abused the heck out of it).

“Don’t you tempt me, plumber.” Bowser warned, holding his breath.

“Your hand is still around me.”

“…”

“Oh, no! That terrible monster is kidnapping my Mario!” Peach entered the room, and Mario fondly smiled with the “my”, dumb as their playing was. “Will I have to rescue him? But what if he kidnaps me, too?” She threw herself at Bowser with a hand dramatically at her forehead.

“STOP THAT!” Bowser jumped out of the chair, like Mario and Peach were contagious. “You two, you’re… you’re unfair, that’s what you are!”

“Weeeeeee?” They got closer, blinking innocently at the koopa, who got all the more red.

“…Dddddon’t you blame me when I actually kidnap you.” He turned to leave, visibly wanting to die in some corner and regain his dignity before he could even think about flirting back. And hit the doorframe with his shoulder. “STUPID small house! That’s YOUR fault, Mario!” They heard, as he ran to the room. And just laughed together.

“I definitely won’t mind if he goes through with this threat.” Mario smirked. “What about you, Peaches?”

“Not at all.” She agreed, before placing herself in front of her boyfriend, pinning him to the table with both arms. “Just beware, or I might take you first, sweetie.”

And she kissed his nose. Yeah, he’d definitely not mind that too.

[ot3]

hey, i only just recently finished bridge to turnabout (the final case of the aa trilogy) and wanted to go back and see your thoughts on godot since personally i have very mixed feelings on him altogether. you can just reply with a link to a post where youve already explained how you feel in more detail (i remember seeing a post where you have but tumblr search function is ass so i cant find the one i was thinking about) or use this as an opportunity to bitch about him if youd like. but i generally think that you have a knack for putting opinions i already have into words perfectly and wanted to revisit ones on him specifically with a new set of eyes now that i finally understand the context behind everything. peace and love ✌🏽

ohhhhh man godot. a lot to unpack there. I feel like for the most part whatever thoughts i've posted about godot have been kind of piecemeal so ill try and put it into something more coherent and comprehensive here. well first of all congrats on finishing the trilogy i hope you enjoyed it!!! bridge to the turnabout is SUCH an excellent case on almost every level but. the writing centered around godot really spoils it and stops it from living up to it's full potential....

i was warned i wasnt going to like godot going in so i was really surprised that up until bttt, i actually did end up liking him! i thought he was hysterical! and i still do. but i really can't Like him because of what the writing centered around him does to the integrity of aa3's arc. I don't like what it does to mia's place in the narrative and I think it undercuts the emotional realism that makes ace attorney's slapstick ass nonsense murders manage to land right. i guess ill address each one of those points on their own?

I don't like what godot's writing does to mia's place in the narrative!

Mia's death is something that's completely within her own agency; it is her own phone call with her own sister, talking about evidence for the case she herself has spent years building, that gets her killed. None of this has anything to do with phoenix. She is no strings attached presented as his mentor figure and I think this dynamic is what prevents Mia's death from feeling like fridging despite it technically being something that has to happen to allow phoenix to take center stage in the upcoming events of the game.

then godot comes in and the narrative he imposes on her death feels like it retroactively turns it into Fridging! I mean 'is this character death the Fridging Trope or the Death of the Mentor Trope' is kind of milquetoast tvropes brained level media critique here but im really using these concepts as a shorthand for the level of agency a female character is allowed to have in her own death, and the degree to which that death is used as a tool for men's emotional development. but anyway the point being that the fact that godot views mia death as phoenix's responsibility is an inherently misogynistic bit of character writing. their power dynamic is such that mia was the one responsible for phoenix's wellbeing if anything, as his boss, his senior, and his mentor; the only reason godot presumes phoenix to be responsible for mia's death is because he a man who was in proximity to her! which fucking suuuucks.

Something I don't see talked about a lot is that godot also has beef with phoenix for being dahlia's stooge, which i think is a MUCH more interesting angle for his character. but that's presented as a separate thing from his feelings about mia's death

Godot: …… I never liked you. Six years ago… …you helped the woman who put me to sleep by hiding her bottle of poison. And then… While I was sleeping… …you let Mia die. But you didn't care. You just kept living your pathetic, happy-go-lucky life. You even had the nerve to follow in her footsteps as a lawyer. I could never forgive you. That's what I thought.

now to be clear i don't think the narrative frames his blaming phoenix as something we're supposed to agree with. Godot has his whole confession at the end where he admits he views himself as responsible for failing to protect her. but it does basically mean that her death stops being something that was About herself and the choices she made and her relationship to her family, and instead becomes About the effect it had on the men in her life. which i really don't like!

NUMBER TWO. I think godot's writing lessens my ability to get emotionally involved in this case

Even within ace attorney's fucking moon logic bridge to the turnabout pushes my suspension of disbelief past its breaking point. I don't care about the pendulum horseshit. I don't care about the ghost possession. I'll accept all of that. What I can't accept is: why does no one EXCEPT godot himself seem to care that this entire murder could have been avoided if maya at any point been warned about it? Misty and Iris just as guilty of this as godot is, but the biggest difference between them and godot is that 1. misty has been a deadbeat for ages and is now just Dead. Her primary established character trait is not talking to her fucking kids. 2. Iris has been working as dahlias accomplice for her entire life and so the idea that she would willingly conceal this has much more legitimacy to me.

We are supposed to accept and sympathize with the idea that protecting maya Actually Was Something He Did. I say were are expected to accept and sympathize with that because phoenix and maya sure do! I guess you could interpret this as them trying to give some comfort to a man that is clearly at the end of his rope and about to be sent to prison.

Phoenix: Y-You're wrong! You put your life on the line to save Maya! Godot: Was it really for Maya's sake...? Even I'm not really sure. [cut some lines for brevity] Godot: You were the one who made me realize my folly. You never ran away from Mia's death. Instead, you picked up where she left off, as a true defender of the people. In that one moment... I understood everything! Phoenix: Mr. Godot... Godot: I think you already know this, but if you don't... My name is... Diego Armando. Maya: M-Mr. Armando! I believe in you! I know you were trying to save me!

then, later on:

Phoenix: (So I guess it's all over... The way everything ended... Was justice really served...? The man who risked his life to save Maya is being sent to prison by my own hand...) Mia: Of course justice was served. Phoenix: M-Mia! Mia: ...I'm proud of you, Phoenix. Your defense was... truly brilliant. Phoenix: B-But I couldn't save Mr. Armando! The man who cared so deeply for you... Mia: You're wrong, Phoenix. You did save Diego. You saved him in the only way possible.

I guess technically godot did risk his life to save maya. and I do like the conclusion that basically being laid bare and brought to accountability like that is what godot needed to 'save' him. but i'm just not sure why the fact that maya was only in danger in the first place due to godot's choices doesn't factor into how phoenix feels about him 'saving' her. I just don't buy it!!!

It lacks the emotional weight that other instances of Avoidable Tragedy in the series have had. Ace attorney is at its best when the relatively grounded emotions are contrasted by the zany impossible crime antics. But i think BTTT is an instance where the emotional realism isnt taken far enough to distract me from the convoluted nature of the actual events that have just taken place. Rather than being so in touch with the characters during this case that i can tap into the Tragedy aspect of 'this didnt need to happen like it did' i just find myself frustrated by the fact that it didn't need to happen like it did. It kind of chafes the whole case for me and at the end I didn't feel any sort of cathartic victory regarding the events that had just transpired. but that was clearly the feeling they were going for

i did enjoy godots for the most part, but i think you'd need to make some serious overhauls to the storyline to have this specific case reach its full potential. it's a good case! but as the end to the entire trilogy i just can't help but resent the fact that it has the clumsiest writing out of any of the individual games' finales. and that everything i disliked about it is attributed to the actions godot took and the reactions other characters had to that.

[ticklygiggles]

Lovelynim's tickletober Day 26: Timer

Sylus x Reader

A/N: big thanks again to always kind and never late @squeenxart! Espero que disfrutes de este Sylus otra vez, bonita 💖

"I bet I can find your tickly spot in less than five minutes."

For a moment Sylus thought you were talking to Mephisto, but turning to look at you, he was surprised to see your pretty eyes on him. He blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what you had just said.

The bright mischievous smile on your lips made him laugh softly and he knew the cuddle session was over, at least for now.

He sighed, shaking his head a little. "Kitten, we already talked about this. I am not ticklish."

"Mhmm mhmm," you said absentmindedly as you placed yourself on top of him and Sylus's hands immediately grabbed your waist. "I'm gonna-" He whined as you grabbed his wrists and pulled them up above his head. "-Say five minutes just to save you some face."

Sylus followed your every move as you pulled out your phone and showed him the timer set to five minutes, you then placed it on the bed and tapped the start button. He sighed, his eyes heavy with sleep, but smirking as he let you have your fun.

He chuckled. "Oh? Should I say thank- !!"

Sylus couldn't help but jump when he saw your hands moving at a dizzying speed towards his armpits. His arms moved down instinctively and he looked up at you when you laughed loudly, your hands just hovering his underarms.

"Oho? Not ticklish at all. I see, I see."

He huffed, moving his arms back up. "You can't blame my body from reacting when a mancing kitten is trying to bully me"

"We'll leave that spot for later," you said ignoring his words and checking the time. Barely half a minute. "The spot I'm aiming for is a biiit lower"

"Oho? Are you trying to be dirty now, sweetie?" Your cheeks blushed, and he chuckled, but you didn't say anything as you raised his shirt to expose his toned stomach.

"It's here."

Stylus arched an eyebrow, "my stomach?"

You nodded, "more precisely... here"

You poked the soft skin between his hips, just under his belly button and he jolted, his cheeks turning a bit pink. His eyes widened slightly as he looked down at your finger still pressed against his skin, well... that certainly did tickle.

"Scared?"

"Should I be?"

His heart did a little fluttering when you giggled. "I think so because, no matter how bad you beg, I'm not going to stop."

"Hah, we'll see about th-that, ugh!"

He really talked too fast. His skin covered in goosebumps as your fingernails gently tickle his lower belly. He gasped and squirmed slightly as your fingers traced his veins and the pockets of his hips. His back arching slightly when you circled his belly button and zigzagged across his skin with soft tickles.

Sylus didn't squirm much and he definitely didn't laughed, but the muscles of his tummy jolted whenever you touched a sensitive spot and his legs jerked when you poked here and there.

"It... kinda feels good."

"Yeah? What about this?"

"Ack!"

He jumped, sucking in his lips to prevent any other sound to escape his mouth as you started to squeeze his warm skin, fingers digging and clawing into the muscles. Sylus arched his back, but his hands stubbornly kept up, trembling

"Also here~"

"Ahahahaha!"

His laughter finally escaped in a frantic flurry as your fingers started to squeeze his hips, thumbs digging into the soft flesh, rubbing circles and pinching. His hands finally descended and he wrapped them around your wrists, trying to push them away.

"Okay! Okahahay! You f-found it, now stop!"

"Look at the timer, only two minutes and a half, hehe. I'll stop tickling you when the timer stops okay?"

"Nohoho! K-Kihihihitten, I'm s-seheherious!"

Ah, yes. He couldn't blame anyone but himself for letting you do this in the first place... who would have thought he was actually ticklish?

[sena-shi]

Protector of Teyvat (a troll hell-bent on reviving everyone just for fun) P—1

Isekai’d reader who is hell-bent on reviving everyone using your cheat code as the protector of Teyvat. With great power comes great benefits! Teyvat population stonks

Note: asmoday is the unknown god, reader also grants gnosis and visions, isekai, slight sagau, op reader

Summary: You are just a regular human being living your best life on Earth, collecting husbandos and waifus in Genshin Impact when all of a sudden you were isekai'd to Teyvat, but not as a traveler, a creator, or an NPC. You were a very close friend of both Celestia and the Unknown God, who is known as the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles. You too, hold a very important position of the highest order because unbeknownst to the general populace, you are the Protector of Teyvat from the outside forces. And so imagine the Archon's faces when their dead friend suddenly came back to life just so they can accompany you together with Aether and Paimon on a journey to spit on the Celestia's face

Timeline in Teyvat when you got transmigrated: Before any wars happened. Zhongli is probably sucking on a dragon pacifier or something if that even exists.

Warning: curse words, slight ooc, lore flying over the ocean and going for a swim, author removed the lore from the irminsul so act like you know nothing of it, i'm putting the lore in the cheese grater

Teyvat is at last protected from the hostile forces of the outside world; however, you cannot be certain that Teyvat is safe from the inside due to the fact that those petty Gods have a tendency for wreaking even more havoc. Who the hell told them to compete with each other by trying to kill one another just so they could get a position?

Ah, yes. There's no way out of this one except to blame Celestia! The people you consider to be your closest friends are actually the embodiment of headaches.

However, despite the fact that it is your job to prevent travelers from entering Teyvat so as not to upset the balance of fate, one of your other best friends has in fact literally trapped the twin travelers inside Teyvat!

Just what the hell is Asmoday thinking!

And now, one of the twins is dead set on eradicating your other best friend, who is a professional for wreaking havoc within the world that the three of you have taken an oath to defend.

You would have annihilated the world a long time ago if it weren't for the fact that you made a pledge to safeguard it so that you could continue to observe your characters.

It's unfortunate that you only get to see Venti once in his adorable little form before the two headaches call you to join them in observing the people like the creepy stalkers they are. It would have been better if you can see more of Venti in that little elemental spirit form of his.

But hey, at least you made it possible for Venti to grab a position as a form of repayment for the times you would drop an apple right above his head.

If only the gods knew that developing a close relationship with you would also result in them gaining a gnosis, it would make everything so much easier for them.

No war, no killing, but they would probably need to act cute right in front of you to get one.

Though, you’ll be going against the Celestia if you did that. But what are they going to do? Hit you with an Anemo vision?

“...you can't just go ahead and do that.” The Celestia grunted and slapped themselves in the face.

“But I just did.” A lazy smile crept across your face while your chin relaxed on the palms of your hands as you watched the newly formed seven rule over their respective nations.

If you hadn't been smiling in such a devious way, the two individuals would have complimented your beauty on the spot.

“Oh my god—” Celestia bemoaned.

“You’re a god…”

“So, to put it simply, the battle hasn't even begun yet, but somebody has already won a seat. You called him a little floatie, didn't you? What sparked your interest in them in the first place?” Asmoday or the Unknown God, spoke to you as she continued to look at you with a curious expression on her face and a raised brow.

“Haha— you should've seen how Vent— little floatie bit into an apple that was way bigger than him. Quite adorable if you’d ask me.”

“…you granted him a seat just because you found them cute?”

“Oh my god—” Celestia lamented once again, “So it wasn’t a fair fight for the seat?”

“Never was.”

“Oh my g—” You couldn't help but chuckle darkly as you stuffed an apple in her mouth in an effort to silence her.

You jotted down a long list of things that need to be done, and you intend to get to them after you've finished taking care of everything else.

Resurrecting the pitiful gods that perished as a result of the archon war; perhaps rebuilding Khaenri'ah as a means of spitting in Celestia's face; perhaps as an act of retaliation for giving you more work all the time; or perhaps guiding the traveler yourself.

The sooner they reach their final destination, the sooner they will leave this world.

Once they leave the world, you are going to take a break and drink one of Asmoday's best wines until you drop dead.

But there's no doubt that those two will irritate you to death faster than you can get drunk.

You devoted your entire life to protecting the world from those pesky travelers who never stopped making a nuisance of themselves within Teyvat.

Because there are so many of them, you can actually see Asmoday rolling her eyes and simply wrapping people in her cube-thingy before sending them off to some unknown location in the vast universe.

And standing before you right now is the traveler that Asmoday entrapped in this world.

You only blinked in amazement when Aether pulled a flying fairy out of the waters in a literal way.

“Ugh…” The winged fairy in flight coughed several times before rising back into the air and floating once more with a slight swaying motion, as if she were feeling dizzy. “Paimon was terrified that she was going to pass away...”

"Well, if you're feeling like you're going to die, why don't you come over here? I'll make you feel better."

While you were laying on your side on top of the flat stone, you spoke with a joyful tone in your voice.

Aether turned around and looked up at you as he saw a hint of a smile on your face while you were looking down at him. Even though you were only dressed in plain white clothing and had flowers the color of the sky adorning your hair, he couldn't help but be taken aback by your otherworldly beauty. He found himself blinking multiple times.

Paimon, who was still not acting like her normal self, floated towards you without consciously trying to do so.

"Quite an obedient one, I see." You laughed as you poked the flying fairy in the forehead, and something glowing within her.  Paimon's eyes widened in an expression that suggested she was startled, and she began looking around in a frantic manner.

“Oh— oh, you saved Paimon!”

You gave a slow shake of your head while pointing at Aether, who was still standing there, and said, "It was he who saved you."

“Oh! Thank you very much, you are my savior!" Paimon flew towards Aether and smiled at him with a broad grin, to which Aether responded with a friendly one of his own.

Aether scratched the back of his neck and said, "It's nothing," giving the impression that he was embarrassed to have been caught by the mysterious woman who has the presence of a Goddess. "The only reason I was able to save you was because of sheer good fortune."

"Well then, why don't we all go around and say a few words about ourselves?" You spoke as you sat up from the stone and descended down to their level.

The two people looked at you with their mouths hanging open as they watched you walked in the air.

“Hey! You are also capable of floating!” Paimon exclaimed, her eyes glistening with happiness at the sheer joy she felt.

When Aether opened his mouth to speak, you quickly silenced him by placing your finger over his mouth and pressing down lightly.

"How about we start by introducing ourselves to one another, shall we?"

After both of them nodded, it was clear that they were ready to start introducing themselves.

“And just like that, the god took away my sister. Some kind of seal was cast upon me, and I lost my power. So, while we used to travel from world to world, we are now trapped here.”

In response, you hummed to express yourself. Naturally, you were already aware of this information; however, this is not only due to the fact that you are now the Protector of Teyvat and are familiar with the God who trapped the twins in this world; rather, this is also due to the fact that you were once a player in the game.

“So… you are not familiar with this world?”

Aether heaved a sigh and gave the disappointing response, “Unfortunately, no.”

"As a gesture of gratitude, Paimon promises to do everything in her power to be an excellent guide!"

“How about you, Y/N? Are you like Aether too?” Paimon cocked her head to the side and scanned your entire body from head to toe while keeping a close eye on you.

You let out a chuckle as she looked at you with an inquisitive expression while speaking in a very assured manner. “I know Teyvat very well that I can practically see it with my eyes closed.”

“Oh! Then you can rely on us to steer you in the right direction, Aether! We will definitely help find your sister!”

Aether's grin was sincere, and it seemed to him that a weight had been lifted off of his chest. "Thank you."

You replied, "It's not a problem at all," while twirling a strand of your hair and acting as if you were unaware of Aether's gaze on you.

"Then, why don't we begin by trying to get in touch with the seven?" You offered an idea.

Paimon started explaining about the archons and the nations that they would have to travel through before Aether even had a chance to ask what the seven is.

As Paimon went into extensive detail describing the location where the three of you will begin your journey, you softly hummed a lullaby, your voice gently caressing the ears of your two traveling companions like wind chimes.

"Mondstadt, hm? Stunning decision, if I do say so myself. Do you know that the archon is just around the next corner?" You made them both laugh by making a joke. Ha, if only they know you weren't kidding around.

"Where?" Paimon sputtered in shock. “Are you familiar with the archons? Do you know the archons?"

"Haha, well, of course it goes without saying that I do. After all, I did grant him that position." You smiled at them in a careless manner, and in return, they flashed a blank expression in your direction.

You never had any intention of concealing your true identity, and now it is up to them to decide whether or not they will believe you. A person who is able to grant a Gnosis is considered to be on par with the Celestia, or possibly even on a higher level than them. This fact alone makes it seem impossible that you are saying the truth.

Therefore, they may believe that it is impossible for someone like you to be wandering the lands of Teyvat instead of keeping an eye on them from a higher vantage point.

“Uhh… Paimon is unsure of whether Y/N is teasing us or whether they are actually being serious…”

Aether gave it some thought before finally agreeing with the statement.

"Enough with the small talk, let's make our way over to the statue."

The two remained silent as you led the way, and your lullabies are the only sound that they are able to hear presently. It was a very relaxing stroll to get to the statue, and the two of them couldn't have been more happier to be in your calming presence the whole way there.

You have finally arrived at your destination after what seemed like an endless amount of time spent walking there.

You made the decision to step back, but not too far away from them as you watched the blond hair traveler put his hand on the statue, and the power of anemo swirled around before touching him.

“Ooh! Did you just feel the elements of the world?”

“Seems like all you had to do was just touch the statue and you got the power of Anemo!”

“Quite handy, don’t you think? At least you won’t have to rely on visions.” You said as you sat down on the grass.

“Y/N is correct! As much as they may want it, people in this world can never get a hold of powers as easily as you...” Paimon explained as she crosses her arms.

Aether frowned slightly. “I think I know why, it's because...”

“Ah-ha, it's because you're not from this world to begin with.” Paimon replied nodding in agreement.

“Well, if you’re done, it’s time to go to the city.” You said before yawning boredly as you heard Paimon explaining things to Aether again. Spoken like a true floating compass indeed!

Aether paid close attention, making sure he understood all of the new information that he had just been given.

During the length of time that Paimon spent slowly explaining the details, you did not speak, and you did not interrupt her. You were only going along for the ride because you thought it would be fun, Paimon can be the guide for all you care.

The three of you had just made the decision to leave once more in order to travel to the city of Mondstadt when all of a sudden, a large dragon appeared in the skies above and began flying in the direction of the center of the forest.

“There’s something huge in the sky!" Paimon let out an exclamation as Aether, who was protecting his eyes from the brisk wind by covering them with his arm, hummed in response. 

"I'll take a look at it. Please, bring Aether to Mondstadt first, Paimon," You only gave them a quick look, but just seeing the concentration on your face was enough for them to agree and nod their heads.

You kept an eye on their rear ends as they moved further and further away from you, and it wasn't until you were no longer able to see them that you started to make your way towards the center of the forest, stopping to pick an apple from a tree along the way.

You approached the archon and the dragon stealthily, being careful not to make any noise with your steps and moving as quietly as possible. You used your flying abilities to get to the branch of the tree where Aether had been hiding during the cutscene, and then you sat there and watched the anemo archon take his sweet time trying to communicate with Dvalin.

"He's poisoned, it's pointless," You spoke but there were no sounds that came out of your mouth. The only thing that carried your message to the ears of the anemo archon was a light breeze.

Venti jerked his head in response to the recognizable voice that he heard in his head, which resulted in Dvalin being startled. The dragon let out a deafening roar, and the wind whipped around erratically in the areas surrounding it.

“Who’s there!?” While Dvalin was behaving erratically, Venti looked around. He would not continue to stay if he hadn't just heard a voice that sounded familiar just now; otherwise, he would have vanished at that very moment.

Dvalin let out one final roar before spreading his wings and making the decision to flee the area, leaving you and Venti behind in complete silence.

You heaved a sigh as you took another bite out of the apple that you had earlier plucked from the tree. Venti turned his head in the direction of the sound of the crunch to look in your position, and all you did in response to his keen observation was raise an eyebrow.

"Well, how are you doing today, Barbatos?" You said while giving him a friendly smile as you threw the apple with the bite taken out of it, which he caught with the right hand.

A puzzled expression appeared on Venti's face as he pondered how you are familiar with his name. You do not give the impression of being an enemy in any way, but you were not also an archon. Therefore, how are you able to know his name?

“Hum…” You hummed while resting your cheeks in your palm and tapping the side of your face lightly with your fingers, "When I first saw you, you were just a little elemental spirit. Quite adorable, if I may say so."

You found it very funny when Venti's face started to flush and he turned his head to the side to hide it; cute, you say?

“Do we know each other, my lady?”

“We haven’t really met formally but…” You stood up on the branch, smiling down at him with your bright expression. “Perhaps the wind will tell you of my identity, or is that even a thing? Haha!”

"I'll bring more apples next time, and maybe your bard friend and the other archons to accompany us!"

Venti gaped openly, "Bard friend? But he's..."

Your lively laughter was the last thing he had heard before you had vanished from your place, and now all that is left in his hand is an apple that has been munched on.

Venti stared at it for a moment before bringing the fruit up to his lips and biting it in the same spot on the apple that you had previously bit.

As Venti held the apple gently in his hands and licked his lips, he was aware that butterflies were fluttering around in the pit of his stomach.

He recalled how, back in those days, apples would all of a sudden appear in the sky and fall on top of his head. Due to the fact that he is only a small elemental spirit, he would fall to the ground along with the apple.

The fact that somebody is spending their time playing with him is another source of happiness for him, despite the fact that there were times when he would tumble right into the water.

He can't help but show a grin that tugs at his lips. It's possible that the two of you have been connected for an even longer period of time than the first friend he's made. Perhaps there was someone else there with him after all.

‘Sweet’ was the only word that came out of his mouth as he chewed slowly.

If you had stayed and watched the act, you would have been so horrified by it that you would have wanted to cringe. Hygiene is important!

Meanwhile on the other side, Amber screamed in surprise when you suddenly appeared in the sky and revived all of the hilichurls that they had just bombed. The most shocking of all is that the hilichurls suddenly turned into humans.

Somehow, you can feel that Lumine will chase you down soon.

honestly, because hoyo has a knack for killing npcs, I just want to go mad-rage and revive them like a madman. i kinda want to slap a fried egg on signora's ashes hehe. i also want makoto to come back to life and adopt my precious scara umu

[sepublic]

So there's gonna be chaos after Belos' death, and people are going to need structure, they're going to look to for guidance. So I can see people temporarily resuming the coven system form of government for the sake of simplicity, until they can all repair and then figure stuff out. So given what we've seen of Terra, Adrian, and Vitimir, what if they tried to run for election as the new Emperor of the Boiling Isles; Everyone was betrayed and targeted by Belos, so it's easy and not really untrue to hide under the defense that they also didn't know better and meant well.

I'm just imagining it now; The Coven Heads agreeing to an election to prevent a messy war, competing over the role of new, interim Emperor, and vying for control in a mostly-legitimate way. Adrian obsesses over getting his campaign videos and presentations right, but his notoriety as a bad and incompetent boss quickly spreads and he becomes like that Jeb Bush meme. Hettie Cutburn utilizes her E-girl status and understanding of social media to cultivate a decent following.

Given Abomatons were present during the failed sabotage, I like to think they have the ability to record footage, and Alador released the footage of the CATTs trying to prevent the draining spell to give them validity. Mason would've been a popular candidate, being seen as a witch of the people, but he's not sure if he can trust his own judgment after misplacing his trust in Belos; So instead he throws his support behind the CATTs. There’s accusations of staged footage but some people were able to notice the commotion from below, and Mason’s support adds trust, but of course others like Terra and Vitimir will attempt to discredit.

Osran is forced to drop out early from the election because everyone places particular responsibility and thus blame on him for failing to predict Belos' treachery. Kikimora would've attempted to run for election given her previous role as Belos' right hand, and bring up the fact that she saved everyone by introducing King to the Collector; However, the kids at Hexside made sure to keep her in the dungeons to prevent this. And thank goodness for that, as she considered spinning the narrative that the draining spell was only because of the CATTs’ sabotage, and that Belos is being slandered (so as his confidant Kikimora can preserve his image to hitchhike on it).

In the end, at least one of the CATTs is elected (maybe Darius since Eber is fairly nonverbal and Raine has stage fright), and there's a bit of awkwardness in that a lot of citizens don't consider the idea of a dictator to be inherently flawed, and are assured that this new one is an actual good guy so there's nothing to worry about; So then you have the CATTs using their power to pass legislation that lessens it, and results in the council system that the writers confirmed as canon.

Technically, nothing's saying Raine, Darius, and Eberwolf are the ONLY members of our confirmed council (signified by their Titan badges); For all we know, Hettie, Mason, and Osran are included given they're not depicted among the coven heads who clung to the old structure for power. Just because they didn't show up in the epilogue doesn't necessarily mean they aren't up to anything; It's just that Doylistically speaking, the epilogue is meant to check up one final time on characters the audience was actually introduced to and thus familiar with!

[yannaryartside]

the payoff for this love triangle shit better be good

a Sydcarmy vs Claircarmy rant

So, to ramble here, I am starting to wonder what place romance has in the overall plot of The Bear as a show and, by that, what function it will execute. I am going to write about some alternatives that I can predict.

The overall purpose of the show is to heal Carmy, or to put Carmy on a path when self-healing is the only option. He is a sinking ship that has been treating his holes with tape instead of acknowledging the "bear" trauma. At the present of the show, the bear is still in a cage.

So, what paths of healing romance could offer Carmy? Love and loving others is essential to learning to be better versions of ourselves and achieve happiness.

Option one: ClaireCarmy

Yeah, we are here again. Stick with me after the next paragraph so I can dispute what I am about to write.

I must admit, if I take the most superficial parts of the show's structure so far, Claircarmy seems to be the clear endgame. What we are seeing with them could be categorized in one of the most used tropes in romance: the "I am not good enough to receive love" trope, in which a character is afraid of being loved, so they push away the romantic interest until they heal their wound, they make a love confession, and they get back together. I know a movie/show came to mind. We have seen it a dozen times. Even what Claire told Tiff "If something good happens to him, he would blame me." We see Carmy thinking about her and missing the relationship they had. He even declares her as his peace. It would make sense that this is a story about a girl who wanted to love a boy and a boy who was too wounded to accept that love. It would make a clean ending for Carmy to go to therapy, learn to accept love, and reconcile with Claire, who has all the attributes of someone who would fall in love with a broken person.

The grenades are in the way.

NOW, the show has been planting grenades for option one to feel like "the right one" even if our protagonist seems to think it is the case. There are Claire's obvious red flags of course, behavior that looks naive but has some manipulative undertones. The fact that she is written like a woman with no personality, or at least no personality outside helping people in pain (Carmy included). She still talks about her patients as subjects, and there is a theory in the sydcarmy fandom that she may feel powerful or valued only in a position of taking care of people who cannot fend for themselves. There is also the fact that she is not a good doctor (she almost killed a patient over a very preventable mistake). Her comments of setting things on fire being cool while Carmy is afraid of setting himself on fire is still, for me, the biggest red flag.

My theory is that Storer just didn't want to show people with depression to accept love but to be wary of the love we accept while we are still stuck in our old ways of thinking. It is true that even at your worst, you may find yourself in relationships that keep you that way, but the relationships may feel good, so we have a hard time moving away from them. If that is the case, Storer, I promise to never commit blasphemy on your church.

The SydCarmy option.

I am not going to repeat myself. They read each other's minds. They can actually give each other real advice and support (While Carmy kissed Claire after she admitted malpractice). They make each other better, while Claire keeps Carmy as broken as he is (never apologize, you can pretend to be someone else at a party).

Sydney brings him actual peace and self-understanding. It is actually very important to me that they made Sydney say she has difficulty keeping with Carmy at his worst because she is not a mind reader. But at this point, there is no doubt in my mind that she has feelings for Carmy, or that she at least has felt the sparkles of what it would be love in the future.

The payoff.

I swear to god, the next season better provide clarity on all of this because, at this point, it is too much. There is no way you give so many clues in the background for one ship and pursue the other in the front.

My worst fear, which is actually really possible, is that the show wants to concentrate on the "being stuck in the past" narrative so that all the elements for the future are there, but we won't act on them until the end of it. So Carmy can kill all his bad habits, the self-isolation, aggressiveness, depression, self-harming tendencies (fire), and Claire, and THEN, he can open his heart to Sydney. It is obviously not what many of us want to see; maybe this was never a love story, but an "unstuck yourself from the mud" story.

I wish the progress of the love story you actually want to tell (Sydcarmy) would progress with the show's actual plot (Carmy's mental health) a little more. Otherwise, the payoff is never going to feel quite like one. You may have done too much of a good job misguiding your audience, and then it will feel like a change of direction, like a plot twist at the end of a mystery novel, but that rarely works in romance subplots.

I know the clues were there, but your narrative seems to ignore them so far, making it feel more like gaslighting.

Anyhow, thank you for hearing me ramble.

[olderthannetfic]

I remember when I was a kid in the '90s, overhearing my parents talking about a news story about two kids who had been playing make believe Power Rangers and one been injured and died.

My mom was insisting that Power Rangers was evil, that Satan was somehow involved, and that the TV show and the people who created it had directly and willfully caused this child's death. She always believed that TV itself is evil (and anything Science Fiction or Fantasy especially so), and this incident demonstrated that.

My dad, on the other hand, was trying to explain to her that what had happened had been a tragic accident and no one, neither Satan nor the TV show, was to blame. Children play rough and sometimes go too far, and the fact that these children enjoyed Power Rangers didn't actually have anything to do with the accident, they could just as easily have been playing any other game.

That conversation stuck with me, because my dad's argument made a lot of sense to me and I always knew my mom's Satanic Panic stuff was ridiculous. (I had a hiding spot in the hallway where I could sit and listen through the air conditioning vent to conversations in the living room, and I'd evesdropped on a lot of debates like this; this one stood out because my mom's stance was so far fetched and my dad's counterargument was so .... sane).

It's downright weird to see kids these days(tm) sounding exactly like my mom, only with Satan stripped out. But having grown up with this perspective and with arguments against it, I think I can see where they're coming from. Both teenage antis and Satanic Panic moms are simply looking for something to blame. They don't want a world where tragic accidents just happen, they want it to be someone's fault. Because if it's someone's fault, then you have something concrete you can fight and defeat, and if you can defeat the evil thing that's causing the tragedies (be it Satan's influence on television shows, or fanfic that ships the wrong cartoon characters), then you can prevent the tragedies in the first place.

But sometimes, bad things do just happen, and the ways to prevent them is far more complex than shipping the right ship or unplugging the TV.

--

Yup.

Psychological resilience is hard to instill in people if they don't already have it, unfortunately.

Grabbing futilely at any sense of control is how people try to cope.

[ceilidhtransing]

I see people saying “a vote for a third party isn't a vote for Trump, no matter how much you try to tell me it is” and while this statement makes sense from one perspective, it also sadly just misunderstands the material reality of politics.

If we're talking about voting purely as something that affects the moral tally of your individual heart, then yes, a vote for the Greens or whatever isn't morally equivalent to a vote for Trump. If the way you think about this is in terms of getting to the pearly gates and being asked “and did you always vote for the purest and most morally clean person?” then yes, a Green vote is not the same as having to say “actually I voted for Trump”.

But down here in the real world where voting isn't about maintaining your own personal sense of having a Morally Untarnished Heart but about, you know, real material consequences, a vote for a third party is functionally, if not morally, equivalent to a vote for Trump. You might not be voting for Trump but you are voting in a way that only makes it harder for the only candidate that has an actual chance in hell of beating Trump to win. There is no world in which that does not simply help Trump. You are splitting the anti-Trump vote and making it easier for him to win because that is how this voting system unfortunately works. Frankly, you may as well be voting for Trump.

“But my vote isn't an endorsement of Trump! It's an endorsement of the exact opposite values of Trump!” Yes, but again, this terrible first-past-the-post voting system does not produce “the average of all the values that people voted for”. Any votes that don't go towards the winner are wasted votes. And the winner, especially if that winner is Trump, will not care that you voted Green. They will govern just the same, and your voice will carry no weight at all electorally.

“Stop blaming people who vote third party for all the terrible things Republicans decide to do! Those things aren't my fault; I didn't vote for them.” There is a certain value to the argument “it's not my fault for voting third party; it's the Democrats' fault for not putting up a candidate I could vote for”. But this slightly falls apart when it comes to the people who have already decided they will always vote third party, regardless of how perfect a candidate the Democrats run, so this whole “it's the Democrats' job to convince me” is purely theoretical. And I too hate the way our society often defaults to blaming leftists for whatever the right does, as if leftists are the only ones with political agency and the right can never be held accountable for anything. But when leftists had an opportunity to prevent the right from doing something evil and they chose their own moral purity over an imperfect choice that would nevertheless have prevented some harm, then no, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to place some of the blame on those people.

US presidential elections hang on relatively tiny numbers of people in only a few crucial swing states. And because 132,476 people in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin decided to vote Green rather than Democrat in 2016, abortion is illegal in 13 states. That's less than 0.04% of the US population. Even margins that small matter. And no, those people didn't vote “against abortion”, but their failure to tactically unite behind the candidate who would have protected reproductive rights and who had a chance of actually winning directly led to the victory of the anti-abortion candidate. I'm sure all the people who now can't access abortion (ironically, none of whom lives in MI, PA or WI) are really glad that those people voted with their hearts rather than strategically. Votes have consequences, and things do change (for the worse, as well as for the better), much as some people like to harp on about how “nothing ever changes” and “your vote doesn't matter”.

“But why are you blaming those people? What about the people who actually voted Republican? Or the people who didn't vote at all?” Well, first off, this post is about third-party voting, not Republican voters or non-voters. But I do feel there is more ground to be gained by talking about the consequences of third-party voting than by discussing the others. Many Republican voters are essentially unreachable; they're not remotely progressive, so trying to convince them that they should be voting Democrat is mostly like talking to a brick wall. And non-voters are the people who didn't show up anyway; arguably they should have shown up, but they didn't. But third-party voters got involved, made sure they were registered to vote, got all the way to the voting booth, and then decided to vote not in the way that would defend at least some progressive values, but in the way that would only make it harder to beat the ultra-regressive candidate. There's an understanding that a lot of third-party voters are on the right side, they're just not making the right strategic decision, which is why so much more progressive energy gets put towards trying to convince e.g. Green voters than towards trying to convince people who aren't even remotely on our side to begin with.

“But both major candidates are agents of capital who will ultimately work for the continuation of the American empire. I'm voting for the benefit of the world, not just for the benefit of a few people in the US.” I'm not going to argue with you over that first sentence, because yes, you are correct. Both Democrats and Republicans ultimately support capitalism and both Democratic and Republican presidents have been responsible for some absolutely heinous crimes of US foreign and military policy. But as a non-American, the idea that voting in a way that makes it easier for Trump to win rather than uniting behind the person who might actually beat him - who is still flawed, but orders of magnitude better than him - is in some way liberatory to the rest of the world is just... what??? Do you not hear the people who are screaming “please stop the guy who's basically in favour of Putin annihilating Ukraine and endangering the rest of Central and Eastern Europe”? The people who are screaming “please stop the guy who seems like he just can't wait to drop nukes somewhere”? The people who are screaming “please stop the guy whose victory will only embolden the far right in our own countries and make it harder for us to beat them here”? Non-Americans are, by and large, not saying “ah yes, we are grateful that you chose moral purity rather than supporting one of the two capitalist candidates who will continue US imperialism”; we are screaming “PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LET TRUMP GET ELECTED; THIS WILL MAKE EVERYTHING WORSE FOR ALL OF US”. Your Green vote does not help the world right now. Please get behind the person who isn't a massive, immediate, almost unprecedented threat to everything we hold dear, and then we can fight for a better world together.

[drugs-and-daddyissues]

𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖

𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎 After all your friends are murdered by Freddy Krueger, you and your boyfriend- Glen- are the only ones left

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 canon typical horror themes, grief of death, survivors guilt

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 Glen Lantz x gn! reader

It had been a hard couple of weeks. You'd somehow found a way to defeat Freddy Krueger, but unfortunately, you had already lost all your friends. Tina, Rod, Nancy.. All of them were gone. But you had Glen, at the very least.

You and Glen had been clung to each other ever since the incident happened, but he could tell you were taking his harder than him. He snuck into your bedroom via your window one night (you left the window unlocked for him at all times now), only to find you crying.

"Hey, hey, what's going on, babe?" He asked softly, quickly at your side, wrapping you up in his arms.

You took a couple deep breaths, trying to compose yourself enough to talk, all while he was just gently rubbing your back.

"I feel like I could've done something sooner." You whispered, your tears soaking his t-shirt.

You felt him shake his head softly, although you didn't look up. "No, baby. Don't put that burden on yourself. You didn't know. You did what you could with the information you had." He gently reassured. He hated seeing you in distress, let alone blaming yourself for the incident.

"They're gone, Glen. We can't get them back. How is that fair that we made it and they didn't?" You sobbed through your words.

He placed a gentle kiss on your forehead, shifting you so you were curled up against his chest, legs over his lap. "It's not, but that's not something you could've prevented. We got lucky."

You buried yourself in his touch, his comfort, like you were trying to just feel as secure and protected as possible. "What if he comes back and gets you too?" You asked, shuddering at the possibility that Freddy wasn't truly dead.

"Baby, we saw him be burned. He's not coming back. And I'm not leaving you. Okay? We've been through hell together. You're nutty as a fruitcake if you think I'm going anywhere. You're stuck with me, sweetheart." He whispered, using one hand to cover you with the blanket on your bed, hoping to make you feel more safe and less exposed.

You appreciated his words and soft, protective affection. "Okay." You said in a small panicky voice. You still didn't fully believe the nightmare was over, but you were exhausted from the guilt.

"Get some rest, I'll be here. All night, I'll be here. You're safe now. You can sleep peacefully." He said in a voice soft with affection, as he kissed your temple.

For once in a long time, you actually fell asleep with a semblance of tranquility, feeling the guardian presence of your boyfriend.

┆𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐈┆

As always, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! Thank you for reading and supporting my work!

[beevean]

A more fleshed out idea of how I would have ended the Lenector story in the most balanced way I can think of.

Lenore is Hector's prisoner, as per canon. He still treats her as nothing happened, like a good friend, but Lenore is sulking and angry and not even bothering to keep up the façade like Hector used to do in her position. It's unfair, after she treated him as her only confidant, and she couldn't care less, that's what the traitor gets. Hector thinks he should be happy, to have reversed the roles on her... but he isn't. Unlike Lenore, power over another person doesn't satisfy him. He can't help but see her as a depressed animal in a cage... much like he used to be.

He wanted to protect her, he really did, but only now he's seeing how much hurt he caused her. Much like she said she meant to do with the ring, although to this day he doesn't know if it was a lie or the truth. There is no joy in inflicting her the same fate she inflicted upon him, even if it comes from a place of well-meaning and not selfishness. He has seen what that kind of "eye for an eye" mentality brings to the world, and he wants none of it.

So, he finally takes a decision for himself, and repays the one debt he has with her. He helps her flee from the castle. He is, for the first time, showing empathy to a person and not an animal.

(I don't even think Isaac needs to be kept in the dark. Lenore on her own is harmless, nothing like Carmilla who became a danger to the world. Hector and Lenore are dangerous tools in the wrong hands, but they lack the ambition that makes them solid threats, as they are mostly concerned with feeling safe. If Isaac truly wants to do good to everyone, he has no reason to keep Lenore as a prisoner, not even to force her to work for him. Same for Hector, since the two might have "forgiven" each other, but they have no relationship whatsoever. Perhaps him heeding Hector's request could show more how compassionate he has truly grown.)

Lenore is confused as to why, and Hector more or less explains that he couldn't bear watching her drinking herself into a stupor. Lenore snaps, and yells at him that he has no right to feeling sorry for her after what he has done, after going behind her back, after ruining her life... and is promptly shot down by Hector flashing his mutilated hand. Every ounce of ire Lenore directs at Hector is actually directed at herself, and they both know it. She is deeply regretting everything she did for the sake of people that didn't even respect her, she is just too proud to apologize. And her pride, her insecurity, her need to be the one in control, was what prevented her from truly being the good person she wanted to be. The very reason Hector wasn't happy with her despite her best efforts, and destroyed her life.

She really thought something so paltry as a slave ring would tame the human spirit. She really thought humans, like vampires, would care more about safety than freedom. For a diplomat who set herself to bridge humankind and vampirekind, she let her basic instincts get the better of her.

"Why didn't you just kill me back then?" she yells, attacks, it feels so good to blame Hector rather than herself. "At least I wouldn't have known how little I matter to you!"

"I'm no longer that child," Hector responds. "I'm no longer the boy who believes to have the right to punish others. Besides, shouldn't you know the desire to spare someone's life no matter what?"

They had never breached that subject again, not after Lenore dismissed it in a fit of denial. It still weighs on her. He can no longer care.

"All this time," Hector says at last, "I expected an apology, but I think I don't need it anymore. As much as I don't need you anymore. I'm grateful for your efforts to protect me from your sisters' ire, so now I'll use them to live for myself. I'm sorry it had to be this way."

He holds no grudges anymore, and he has genuinely come to appreciate the real Lenore behind her masks and the way she took care of him during the previous six weeks, when the world would have chewed him and spit him out; but at the same time, he can't bear staying with her. She makes him too sad. It reminds him of how low he allowed himself to be brought for the sake of some scraps of love. She reminds him too much of a version of him he doesn't want to be. There are too many conflicting feelings in him. He can't help but think that, in another life, the two could have been genuine friends, if not more... but not this one. Too much baggage, too much shared misery. He is done with it. No more will he seek safety and love in other people, as if he wasn't strong enough. He deserves better.

Lenore doesn't know what to think anymore. She wants to die so badly, she is almost tempted to not hide herself from the sun: she can't concieve her existence as nothing more than a black hole, unworthy of living. She is nothing more than a disgusting monster doomed to spread misery to the world, she thinks, and she should die like one. She has nothing left, no allies, no home, and the one person she fell in love with is pulling away from her, and she can't bear being abandoned, and she completely understands why he's doing so. At the same time, however... Hector too has nothing left, and yet he wants to live. After everything he went through, after himself desiring death at Isaac's hand, he wants to experience real life, not survival like he has done since he was born. Lenore pretended to praise his strength when she was manipulating him, but now she has come to genuinely admire that trait. Can she, a vampire used to nothing but comfort, be as strong as a human being?

She wants to ask Hector if he thinks she's a good person. A glance at his mutilated hand answers her more than any word could. Lenore, all this time, had no idea what being "good" meant, she was only good at putting up a façade of gentleness, and she thought it was enough. All this time, she behaved like a vampire pretending to be human... so now, she will learn from the best human she has ever met. The best person. The only one who saw her as a person as well, behind her masks, behind her usefulness.

Even if Hector is now walking towards the dawn, with nothing but his resolution. For the first time, he will live for him, for himself.

They will never meet again, but in a twisted way, they gave each other what they needed to grow.

[theinheriteddutchess]

Song Of Betrayal

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Underneath the water lurks a creature that's deceivingly dangerous. It's not much safer for you on land. Still, you never expected to die.

Word count: just over 4000

Warnings: death, murder, deceit, killing and eating humans, dark romance, miscarriage, domestic violence, manipulation, pregnancy, minors dni

Notes: here it is. My dark siren skinny!Steve story. Let me know what you think, I thrive on comments and reblogs 💕

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“What are you doing here?” you turned your head, smiling at the sight of the man walking towards you. He grinned at you, and your heart fluttered. Something wasn't right. He shouldn't be here. He didn't know where you went hiking, he told you he was going to go over to a friend. You went here to clear your head. You're favorite spot. Secluded. Things had been rough lately. You'd lost the baby. The stress had been too much for your body. He hadn't wanted it. But he still blamed you for losing it. 

Yelled at you, then ignored you for days. Refused to bring you to your check ups. You started worrying he got sick of you. You actually suspected he was playing around on you. You always watched him like a hawk. Trying to prevent a fight, trying to make him happy. So when he acted different, you knew. The way he left you alone, the way he touched you less. Of course he became meaner, but at least you got a break once in a while, when he was gone. 

And now he was here. But the look on his face was off. He was smiling, and his eyes looked pleased, but something looked wrong. Abnormal. It was like the bigger his smile became, the more inhuman he looked. 

“Came to see you, of course.”

“How did you know I was here?” your heart was beating a mile a minute. You kept telling yourself you shouldn't have to worry. This was your boyfriend. He loved you, right? He had talked about marrying you in the past. He was safe. Wasn't he?

“I followed you.” He simply said. “Need to know where my girl is at all times, remember?”

You did. 

He always wanted you to let him know if you went out. Even if it was to the grocery store. Or a walk. But you had never shared this specific place. This place was between you and your mother. The place where you scattered her ashes after she died, like she requested. 

And now he was here. And it felt wrong. 

“Thought you kept it from me? I saw you here all those times. Crying, like the weak bitch you are. Missing your mommy. Blaming me for your failures. But we both know it's you, isn't it? You're so…disappointing. A weight around my neck.”

“I-” but you didn't know what you were going to say. 

“Shh, I need you to be quiet. The last thing you can do for me.” He walked towards you, while you took a few steps. He suddenly looked taller than he was, towering over you, and you felt like you were going to have a panic attack because it seemed you couldn't breath properly. You couldn't forget the time he had grabbed your throat, and though he hadn't squeezed you couldn't forget what it felt like, knowing he could tighten it if he had wanted to. You froze. Hoping to calm him down. Running made him angry. But then, lately, what didn't? 

“It's a good thing you love this place so much. It's so…deserted.” He murmured. As his hands grabbed your arms and he pulled you towards him, his cheeks pressed against yours. “And you get to be with your mommy forever.”

And then you were falling.

Everything was cold. And dark. You were dead. You thought so for a long minute. The quiet, the peace, what else could it be?

But there was movement. And the thought slithered inside of you that you were not. You had to move. You have to move!

As you opened your eyes, you saw white at first. And then, more colors rushed forward and combined, and you could make out a light beam and shapes and shadows and you noticed you were under water. 

You were floating, no drifting, no, moving…you couldn't yet make sense of it, but your body wasn't still. Though how could you be alive? How could you breath? You swallowed water but it didn't burn, it didn't suffocate. 

There was a boy, no, a man. There was a man! Your eyes turned to slits and you flinched. But he didn't move. He was staring at you. 

He was.. Unappealing. You couldn't help thinking it. Ugly maybe, was the first word you thought. He was so odd looking. Silver or grey covered his body, webbed hands, his eyes were not normal, like cats or a reptile. The irisses so different than a human. And he had fins around his arms and back. Weird ridges on his back.

He scared you. He looked terrifying. 

He opened his mouth to speak, and the sharp shape of his teeth were making him look even more sinister. This was a danger. 

“Are you hungry?”

What? 

“You must be. I was. When I woke. I have food.” He was offering it to you with his webbed hands and it had a few fishes in it that you were apparently to take. Raw, dead fish. Their open mouths in terror, bug eyes staring at you with empty looks.

“It's fresh,” he said, like it mattered. 

Your eyes darted around. “Where am I?” Your voice, you had a voice, sounded so different under water. Was this a dream? Would you wake up?

“You're in the sea. He killed you, you drowned, you're…one of us.”

“Us?”

“Mermaids, Siren, the lot.”

“I'm going to wake up soon, aren't I?” You murmured, it sounded like a plea. 

He grinned again. Those horribly sharp teeth too near you for your liking. “No, you already did. I know it's a lot, but you won't have to be alone. Like I was. I will help you. No one did for me, but I won't let you go through that. I can explain, but you must be calm. You can't turn back, it's done.”

Turn back? You didn't understand. You tried to swim, but you're legs didn't work, it seemed to move both of them, and it was when you looked down, you noticed that your body was attached to a tail. Like someone had cut them off and attached a random long tail instead. It looked hideous. You grabbed it. Scaly. Hard. You panicked, but the lack of heart pumping in your chest only added to it. You started grabbing your tail firmly, trying to get it off,  when cold, harsh hands gripped yours and took them away, and held them tight so you couldn't hurt yourself.

“Stop! You can't hurt yourself. We don't die. Not easily, you will just harm yourself but you won't escape it. It's a curse.”

“A curse?” You cried out, confused. 

“When you die in the water, you turn into this, a siren. He murdered you, I saw it, who was he?”

You blinked, and it felt like you had to twice before your eyesight was sharp again. “My boyfriend.”

He tipped his head to the side. “He killed you, without remorse, he gave you a water’s death. You will live here forever. Dead but not dead. You will hunt and eat and you will be alone, if you choose. Unless…”

“Unless what?” You said shakily. The thought of being alone in this cold dark place frightened you. To be left all alone, with nothing, no one, seemed impossible to bear.

“Unless you come with me. I will take care of you. I will teach you. The sea is cruel, but I can help you.”

You eyed him. He was skinny, he wasn't bigger than you, he looked frail, but what choice did you have? He might not be able to physically protect you, but he knew more than you, he said he could help. What else was left for you? 

“Can I turn back?”

“Never.”

And your new life began. Steve was there. All the time. He taught you to hunt, everything that came nearby was food. You had to get used to a tail, the way your eyes had a nictitating membrane to protect your eyes, the way your teeth could easily cut through flesh and bone. 

Steve was a very serious guy. He seemed to always be in thought, and for someone small, he had a fierce personality. 

He didn't allow any of the others to be near you.

“Nasty creatures,” he hissed. “They look pretty, but they are cold. They will not hesitate to rip you to shreds.”

You feared them. At first you were taken with their beauty, their colors. Steve's were so dull, you were too. At least his scales were shiny, while yours seemed to repel any color or shine. 

“It's because you haven't completed the curse,” he'd explained. “You have purpose now.”

“What is it?”

“You were placed here to right wrongs.”

“And what does that mean?”

“You are to punish those who harm others. Like the one who put your here.”

You thought of your boyfriend, who had turned you to your death. The pleasure you’d seen in his eyes before you fell. The cold of the water as it swallowed you, how it sucked you in its current and took you. 

“You punish them?”

Steve nodded. “I do.”

“Has someone harmed you?” you asked him. 

His face tightened, the thin skin looking skeletal on his bones. “They did, and I made them pay.”

“How?”

He grinned, and it caused a shiver going through you even if the cold wasn't supposed to touch you. 

“I will tell you one day.”

You weren't sure if you wanted to know.

But until you did your purpose, you were stuck looking like this. Plainer than Steve even. 

You had watched the mermaids, in all their beauty and grace. All smiles and playfulness. Unless they ate. Blood still poured from the carcasses they killed, pieces of flesh ripped and devoured. And they hated people. Played with the ones dying. But their beauty still enthralled you. A sense of envy when you saw them, then looked at your own colors. 

But Steve, he was excluded. They whispered about him, and turned their backs. It was clear they disliked him.

But they didn't attack him. 

“They tried,” he says, puffing up. “But I'm stronger than them.”

That was strange, you hadn't expected him to. But it turned out Steve was a lot stronger than he seemed. 

He was determined and waited for the right moment, but once he made a decision he was precise and his prey never stood a chance.

Time passed different underwater. You started forgetting things about your life soon. It didn't matter. But certain things were never forgotten. A person wronged you. It needed to be righted. Steve told you, it would bring peace. The man who had murdered you needed to be punished. Were you going to let him live a happy life? No. He was right. That man was dangerous. Had wronged you. How many more lives did he hurt? 

“He deserves it,” Steve insisted, circling around you. “How can he live while you have died? Is that fair?”

“No,” you agreed. You turned with him as he kept circling. Things were easier now, swimming went without thinking, hunting became easier. The more you learned, the calmer you felt. The first time you watched Steve drown a person, you were frozen. In the back of your mind you knew this should be wrong. That you would not have liked it if you had been human. But you weren't. That was taken from you. And this new life had been given to you. A purpose. You watched him drag the man deeper into the water. Watched the fanatic look of devotion on the man's face as he kept staring at Steve until his last heartbeat, until the water took him. Like Steve was the only thing that mattered. Like Steve was the most beautiful thing in this world. And Steve was beautiful. The more time you had spent with him, the more you noticed things you hadn't before.

The blue of his eyes, so bright and clear, the pupils only accentuating the color of them. The way his grey scales sparkled like silver in the sunlight. His sharp teeth not bothering you anymore, or his webbed hands, not when it showed his strength and hunting precision. The way his hands grabbed your arms when he needed your full attention. He never hesitated to touch you. Where to stir you into the right direction, point your attention somewhere, or grooming. It was something you did often. You never thought yourself overly vain in your human life, even if those memories faded more and more, but you knew you enjoyed it now. 

Breaking the surface to sit on a rock overseeing the beauty of the ocean, bathing in the sunlight and letting Steve braid your hair, putting little things in the braids like shells or sparkly things that made you feel pretty. 

You returned the favor, his hair soft under your fingers. He always looked happy after. He enjoyed your attentions. You knew he hadn't had it for a long time. You had not seen sirens around, no matter where you went, and the mermaids were repulsed by him. And he had told you, when he was human he was teased and beaten. And one day the beatings weren't enough. That they had lured him to the cliffs and they had beaten him for the last time, threw his body off the edge and watched him disappear. 

But he had taken revenge. 

He had lured them into the water and killed them. Made sure they recognized him before he ripped them apart. He didn't even eat them. He was repulsed by the thought of consuming anything of them, he pulled them deep inside the ocean and tied up their dead bodies and watched them slowly rot and be eaten by other life. 

Until there was nothing left but their bones. Still safely tied in the deep. He had shown you. And a rage welled up in you at the sight. These men had hurt him. But this strong man, who was so very part of you, had taken revenge. Had made sure they didn't exist anymore. 

“This is your purpose.” He had told you, as he watched the rage on your face.

“To kill the men who do this.”

And you knew he was right. 

People like these men, people like your former lover, didn't deserve to live. Didn't deserve any happiness. 

And there was a power you hadn't had before. A strength no one could resist. 

Steve showed you. When he sang it was beautiful. Clear and powerful, and your dead heart almost felt alive. But it was just a song. Until he showed you how the humans reacted to it. 

As soon as they heard his song, they stopped with whatever they were doing to listen. And then he could make them do whatever he wanted. He could lure them into the water, he could make them want him so much they fought each other over it. He could deny them, so they kept where they were, staring into the water in hope of a glance at him, until they withered and died.

They went mad with desire for him.

The look on their faces as he killed them. Nothing but devotion and exhilaration to have his attention on them. Their lives meant nothing to them anymore. 

It was beautiful. 

He told you that was your power.

Mermaids were beautiful, and they could lure people in with their looks, but they often didn't dare to come closer and be captured, humans desired them, but they kept their wits.

“But Sirens,” Steve told you. “They can't be resisted. When we sing, they will do anything to be near us. You can eat them alive and they will not fight you. They want you so much, they will offer themselves and anything they have to have even a glance at you.” the glint in his eyes would be chilling, but you listened with rapt attention. 

You wondered if it was his voice or his face that lured people in. 

It was beautiful to you now. His face. Alluring, with his blue eyes and full lips, the skinniness of him giving him an otherworldly beauty.

He had told you how lonely he had been. Had. He never used present tense anymore. It made you feel fiercely for him. Emotions had changed to you, where there was warmth there was fire, where there used to be anger there was cold, everything was different. But your feelings for Steve were inexplicably devoted, you didn't imagine your life without him. 

Two sirens, alone, but together. 

You watched the mermaids have babies, they sometimes mated with humans. You watched with confused intrigue. They were so tiny and helpless, but they learned quickly. There were no siren babies. 

“Mermaids are born or turned,” Steve explained. “I don't know if we can have children.”

No one told Steve anything when he turned. He had been shunned for being a siren. For being ugly, for being powerful. They feared him and envied him for his power. 

They didn't like you either. And the more you witnessed them, the more you disliked them. Their vanity, their cruelty, their colors now looked too bright and showy. Everything was too much. They just had beauty. Not brains like Steve. Not his sturdiness and devotion. 

His touch sometimes felt like it warmed you up. His kisses cut your mouth, but you both didn't mind it. 

His hands explored every part of you. He used to paint, he told you, the one thing he wished he could still do. If he couldn't paint you on canvas, he would paint you with touch. 

You couldn't remember sex as a human anymore. There had been no one. Just Steve. Your past didn't feel like yours anymore. Only your hatred. Only your urge for revenge. 

Nothing mattered but hurting those who hurt others. Humans always hurt someone. 

You realized that as you watched Steve lure more people into the sea for you to eat.

They always turned out to be flawed, every single one of them. 

No one wanted you but Steve, and you wanted him. It wasn't even a thought anymore, just reality. You spend your life with him, forever. 

And then one day, everything fell into place. The last piece.

The sun was shining bright, you had been sitting here for a while, your hair had dried completely. Steve’s was shining in the light, his scales shimmering brightly. He was looking at you with such happiness. Your hand touched his face gently, like you couldn't stop touching him. 

“It will be so easy. You will sing, and you will know what to do.” He told you. 

He showed up. Skinny, sunken eyes, he looked like death alive. How much time had passed? You did not know. Nor cared.

The hatred flared up inside of you. 

This was the man. The man who had harmed you. The man who had taken your life. He was so ugly. He was repulsive. You watched him move, slowly, like he was in pain, and he was monstrous. He was no threat to you, however. You began to sing, just like Steve had told you. And it was easy. The notes coming out, so beautiful. 

The man shivered, looked pained. But he obeyed.

He stumbled forward, into the water. Ankles deep. Clothes getting wet the more he waded through the water. Chin almost under, and down he went. 

As soon as the last of his hair disappeared you jumped into the water. Graceful. The water was guiding you, your speed unchallenged as you caught up with him. 

You thought about Steve's humans, untouched, undevoured, tied down for eternity. But your baby had to eat. 

You bit into his neck and ignored the blood that flowed down the water as you bit into him over and over again. Every bite nurturing you, nurturing your growing child.

When you were done, you turned and Steve was right behind you. 

His eyes shining brightly, he was pleased.

“Look.” He said. 

You followed his stare. Your tail shining grey, almost silver in the sunbeams shining through the water. Like Steve. You watched your webbed hands as they glided through the water. Felt the sharp teeth, not realizing how easy it had been to rip through the man until now. How you turned once you lured him into the sea.

“You're like me,” Steve chuckled. “ With me. All together.”

He was happy, and you grinned, your pointy teeth on display. 

A family, tied together. You would never be alone, and neither would Steve be ever again. 

He watched her round with his child. Stroking her belly tenderly, humming at it. Their song didn't harm their own, only other creatures. Their child would be safe. Strong. What could harm a siren? Steve hadn't found out yet. All his life he had been weak, but not anymore.

It had been amazing to find out how fast he was, how despite his stature he was strong, and how his song would drive others crazy. 

He lived a long time alone, after he turned. Full of hatred and bitterness. All he thought about was the faces of those that hurt him. How he wanted to hurt them back. And then he could. It had turned him into this. But he didn't mind it, he was satisfied. But the loneliness was eating at him. He watched them together, a happy pod, in all their shallowness and cruelty, covered in a sheer sheet of beauty. He had never been beautiful. Not even now. But he was sick of being alone. 

And then he saw her. He was drawn to her sadness. Her pain. She first was with another woman, but then she showed up alone. Like him. She was lost. 

And he watched her look worse and weaker with every visit she made. 

He knew he couldn't touch her. If he lured her, she'd be nothing but a shell. Meat and bones. Turned insane. If he killed her she would have only death. 

But he wanted her.

Steve wasn't stupid. He was probably the smartest creature in the sea, and he could be patient. And he found out what to do when he saw that creature following her, watching her like Steve did.

So he lured him. He was so weak. It was easy. And he told Steve everything he needed to know. Begged him to stay with him. Like Steve would want to be near him any longer than he needed to. 

He told him what to do. Go home. Spy on her, tell Steve everything, make sure she knows nothing. 

And then the day came when everything changed. It went so perfectly, just like he had planned.

He watched her fall and made sure he was by her side as soon as she split the surface. When she woke up. When she was learning. He was there. The man who was with her before had his orders, he still had purpose. He didn't want to, but Steve ordered him and, anything, anything, to make Steve happy. He went home, he was to wait. It didn't matter to Steve how he would wither and suffer. He was only a means to an end.

And Steve had her. He wasn't going to let them near her. To poison her, take her. She didn't need know there was a choice.  He was going to be the only one. And she listened so well. He knew she started to care for him. Look for him. Let him take care of her. Let him touch her. When she touched him, he knew he belonged. He didn't feel lonely anymore. 

He never expected to have children, wasn't sure if he was able to. So when she started swelling, when they sensed what was going on, it felt like his heart was finally beating again. It couldn't. But it was close. She looked serene. When he led the man back and she killed him without hesitation, devoured him, giving their child the nutrition it needed, he couldn't be more proud. 

He watched her change into who she was always supposed to be. Beautiful. His.

[quigonswife8]

Looking after him: Leon Kennedy x reader

When Leon is injured, you look after him | gif creds: @luke-skywalker. also even though I used a resi 2 remake gif, this is before resident evil 2.

----

When Leon was injured by some crook, who'd broken two of Leon's ribs, the doctors had told him he'd need to rest for a few weeks. Actually they'd told him to stay at the hospital, but after some convincing from them and you, he'd ended up at home.

This isn't how he thought he would get time off, but regardless, at least he can spend time with you.

"I'm back." you chime, shutting the door with your foot. "...and I got the food."

"I'm in here."

He announces, moving to stand. As you enter the room you notice this, "Leon." voiced soft- hands moving to place the food nearby. "...you need to lay back down."

"I'll be..."

"I don't want you injuring yourself further. You've only been home for a few days." you chime in, "...if you're not careful." placing your hands on his shoulders, but you don't push him down. "....you'll hurt yourself more, so please lay back down."

Leon blinks, a bit surprised. To see you so authorative is rare, not that it bugs him or anything, it's just a surprise. What you said, though, you're right. Leon just feels weak, 'cause he's so used to doing things himself.

See in Leon's mind, you shouldn't have to look after him. He should be able to look after himself. He should be capable of doing that, he thinks. Though Leon can't help but find it nice to be cared for, even though he 'shouldn't.'

He mutters "okay", reclining his body back down into a comfortable position. "Thank you, love." you lean down to press a kiss to his lips, before turning and walking off to grab the food. Leon watches you, and all he can think about is how much he loves you.

----

"So..." you look from both DVD's in your hands, then back to Leon. "...what do you wanna watch?"

Leon cranes his neck to the side, One DVD is an action film, the other is a comedy. He loves action films, but..

"The comedy one."

"Gotcha." placing the action back, you walk over to the DVD player. Taking the dvd out of it's case and placing the case nearby, you kneel down to pop the DVD in, "...not feeling an action film?" and as you stand, you hear a hum of agreement.

You don't blame him for not wanting to watch an action film. He loves action films, you know, but because of the whole incident which resulted in his broken ribs, you understand that he'd want to watch something not actiony.

Picking the remote up off the table, you walk over to the bed. Leon is smiling up at you and oh how you love his smile. You lay down, carefully moving to lean against the bedframe as you don't want to injure Leon if you were to lean against him instead.

With a few taps of the remote, you begin the film. Then you put the remote next to you, and as the first scene of the movie plays, you turn to look at Leon. Leon isn't even looking at the tv, he's still looking at you- that look in his eyes, though? Even after years of being together, it always gives you butterflies.

It's like the first time he said he loved you, and the many times after that.

As you get more comfortable, and ready to focus on the movie, Leon decides to say something first.

"Thank you..."

"For what?"

You tilt your head at him, to which he replies. "For looking after me, and just being here for me, so thank you."

Leon deserves everything good in this world. He didn't deserve to go through what he did, and you would have prevented what happened, from happening, if you could. All you can do is be there for him, look after him as best as you can.

"You're welcome Leon."

You nod, stare at him a few seconds more, before looking at the TV. Though you can't help the butterflies when you feel his hand intertwine with your right one, and the feeling of warmness rises to your cheeks.

------

[minty-muse]

Ok but one of the things that people miss is that Rika is basically the reincarnation of Hanyuu's actual daughter. And that makes her a bit more nuanced than what some people take away from her character. It's always "Hanyuu is selfish and only kept Rika in the loops because she was lonely." I know it's outright stated at some point. But I feel like that's a very surface-level take, if you can't get anything else from their relationship.

Of course she'll be sad when Rika's gone. They've been physically and emotionally connected since she was a baby. She basically raised her. She knows her better than her real parents. They're literally inseparable. Not to mention, Rika is the spitting image of her real daughter. It's literally her chance to start over as a mother, without the guilt of the burden she placed on Ouka.

And although Hanyuu loves Rika, it's only natural that after being together for so long, she would be terrified of going back to being a single entity. Their existences have been intertwined for so long that the thought of being apart-of being independent- is terrifying.

And I'd go so far as to say that Rika feels the same. Hanyuu does get on her nerves, but she's relied on her for so long that the thought of losing her isn't even something that crosses her mind. Because Hanyuu has always been there. She'll always be there. Hanyuu is the only person who understands her grief on a personal level. She's the only person she's shared her pain with for all those years.

Rika is Hanyuu's daughter. Hanyuu took on the burden of raising a child who wasn't her own and in doing so ended up in the position of a mother who would do anything to ensure her daughter lives a happy life. Especially after she loses the ability to send Rika back far enough to even attempt to save her parents. At that point it isn't just a desire to protect Rika, but a responsibility. The responsibility she must bear for selfishly touching the world of man and choosing to adopt a child who wasn't hers to begin with.

Sure, she places the burden of having to live through endless suffering on Rika. But at the end of the day she only wants Rika to live. She wants to see her reach her happy ending. Being lonely is just an excuse, so she doesn't have to divulge into the deep-rooted guilt she associates with her powers. Her powers are what got Rika into this mess. They're the reason Rika will never eat dinner with her family again. The reason Rika began to reject her real mother and sabotage any semblance of a good relationship she had with her. And even if Hanyuu isn't the direct cause for that, she probably still blames herself for it, as someone who meant to keep Rika safe.

She can't let Rika go until she knows for sure that she'll be fine without her. Even if she doesn't really believe it will ever happen. She needs an excuse to hold on. Because the thought of letting Rika die for real without doing everything she can to prevent it is too much to bear. Maybe Rika resents her for it. But Hanyuu is fine with that. So long as her daughter survives.

One thing I can't wrap my head around is that, if Hanyuu really truly didn't want Rika to be free, then why did she decide to put her feelings aside and fight with her in the final hour anyway? Why did she decide they'd succeed and attain happiness together when she could have easily kept Rika trapped forever and prevented her from ever accessing the final fragment? And then she leaves after Saikoroshi/Sotsu/Meguri anyway once she believes it's time for Rika to be independent. She lets go willingly despite the uncertainty, because she thinks that's what's best for Rika's development and she wants her to be able to move forward and live the normal life that was robbed from her so long. So sorry. but I can't see Hanyuu as just some irredeemable bitch who only wants Rika to suffer.

I get making the Umineko connections with Featherine and trying to come up with an explanation for how everything ties together between the connected universes is fun but this one just doesn't sit right with me.

[darkonekrisrewrite]

Something I've noticed is that MHA and MLB (miraculous ladybug) is that they are similar in how their protagonists are blamed for the wrong things.

Like Deku constantly injures himself because no one taught him how to use his quirk, and is over a decade behind his peers, gets blamed for that. Or how the series seemingly gives him equal responsibility for him and Le Million not saving Eri right away, when he wanted to, Mirio overruled him, meaning he wouldn't get the support needed to push this and he's supposed to listen to his upperclassman.

Yet he isn't given any blame for his lack of critical thinking skills when it comes to heroes and morality. If they are a hero they must be good, and villains must want to be perfect heroes for the law, to be redeemable.

Endeavor says to his face that he only took him and Bakugou on to manipulate Shoto, after Shoto has told him he bought & abused his mom, and himself. Deku "oh it's so good that you are working on forgiving your dad," right in the same room as Natsuo who isn't. Then tells Dabi "Endeavor is such a good hero and mentor, you have no right to be upset"

Let me know if you want me to go more into the parallels of this

Yeah, Deku getting blamed for not knowing how to use his (very new) Quirk was wrong.

At that time, it made me feel bad for Deku, because anyone could see that those circumstances weren't really his fault.

It was the fault of UA and All-might for not giving Deku extra time and help in mastering OFA, even if there was some attempts at instruction, none of them ever cut Deku any slack for having completely understandable difficulties.

Not a very logical line of thinking...

The Eri situation was a little different because while Deku is supposed to listen to his senior for what to do, he did let a clearly scared little girl go off with overhaul, a man they knew was very dangerous.

Basically putting his orders above the little girl's safety, I didn't like that.

(Because Deku could have run off with Eri and Mirio could have taken overhaul out by himself if there was a fight.

Because if Mirio was able to fight for a while against overhaul in a fully enclosed space (something that heavily compliments overhaul's quirk), while he was quirkless...Mirio could have curb stomped overhaul while protecting any civilians that may or may not have been close.)

That was where my problem with Deku started I think.

Because Deku doesn't have anything to criticize about hero society or the victims it creates.

He says that he needs to extend a helping hand, not giving a single thought to the idea of preventative measures to stop people from falling to villainy in the first place.

And apparently, not giving them any real mercy or help either, other than a fist bump at their death.

All for the sake of protecting the "innocent" people who created the villains and who would have laughed at Deku's own suffering as a quirkless less than a year ago (canonically).

These are meant to be the ideals of the "World's Greatest Hero" btw...

So I guess it makes sense that Deku wouldn't be blamed or called out for this, since he's just doing what hero society needs to be "Normal" again.

Deku didn't even save the world technically.

Because if the same problems that created the Lov still exist, then all Deku really did was beat at a rising Ocean Tide, no different than what All-might was doing during his time.

As of yet, nothing has actually been accomplished or achieved.

All the endeavor and Dabi stuff ties into this too.

At this point, I don't think Deku will ever have any real negative feelings towards hero society, and thus never change anything.

(Despite all this, I'm still hoping shigaraki is alive and Deku conflicts with him more to prove me wrong 🤞🍀)

And yeah, more parallels would be cool 👍 thanks for the ask!