#and it was one of the most popular series during its season

[nottheweirdest]

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask Game Part II

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[saintescuderia]

pancakes (pt. 1)

welcome a new multi-chapter fic. enjoy.

AKA - the story of how the naive australian rookie befriended the gym junkie F1 hospitality worker with the shoe collection - and inadvertently broke the grid's most treasured and unspoken rule: you don't go for y/n.

series masterlist here :) // the pancakes recipe here :)

P1 - bulgarian split squats

Really, the only way to survive Formula 1 was by going to the gym. 

The gym addiction was something that had existed long before joining the circus of a motorsports paddock filled with politics and rumours, as well as the slim fitting uniforms that always seemed to be accompanied by, in your opinion, ugly ass shoes. 

Sure, Puma was the offical sponsor but couldn’t they get anything other than the Speedcat? And what even was that name? Speedcat? It was on brand, sure, but at what cost? Really? If Formula 1 was trying to grow its popularity they could honestly start with their dress code. Seeing Christian Horner in Skechers really took the intimidation out of him when you served him his double espresso during the Spanish Grand Prix that one time last season. 

One of the perks of working in Hospitality - and there were very few far and in between - was that uniform was not so strict. F1 Hospitality only required an all black service with ‘comfortable shoes.’ This you took for interpretation. Dunks. Jordan 4s. Maybe 1s. Never 13s. Forces were good for a night race - that usually meant more stairs - and Vans were what you reached for in the morning when you knew you’d be working the barista shift. Converse were for ‘throw away’ races.

These were the races where you knew the shoe-care was not important. For example, Silverstone with its torrential UK drinkers who were likely to throw up on your beloved sneakers. Alas, you had learned the hard way when you almost lost your job by rushing to the kitchen to start scrubbing the vomit off your blue and red Cortez during peak lunch.

Never again.

Admittedly, you did try to keep at least one pair of Converse in good care since they were the renowned shoe come leg day. 

Another perk of working in F1 Hospitality was that every circuit’s map layout had been drilled into your head. Meaning you always knew exactly where the communal driver’s gym was located at and could therefore get your daily dose of dopamine before dealing with… well, everything.

You silenced the shrill horror that came from the iPhone alarm. 4:00 read the lockscreen, the light shining brightly into your face. It didn’t help that your wallpaper had a photo with a clear blue sky, making the light even harsher in the darkness. You could’ve very well changed it and avoid the pain you routinely go through every morning. But it was this very photo that reminded you why you were getting up in four in the morning in the first place. 

You had snapped it during a free practice in Italy that had miraculously lined up with a break in your shift. The sky was clear and the red car was small, but clear on the circuit. Ferrari, of course. You still remember the buzz that circled around the paddock staff that day. No matter who you routed for or whatever bias you had, there was a unanimously acknowledgement that Ferrari winning at Monza was special. He was special. 

Then again, you’ve known that long before he stood on that podium in Italy and was given his infamous nickname. 

It didn’t even take you ten minutes until you were out the door. Your gym clothes (pump cover included!) were on the one limpy chair that decorated your poor little hotel room, your shaker sat on top of your gym bag with you black high top Converse right beside it. By the time you had made it to the gym, it was a little past 4:15 and you had already scooped in pre-workout into your mouth ready to get through the oncoming pain. 

Your hips were a little tight, as per normal. The left side even more so. The hood of your hoodie was up, headphones on and blasting the hardstyle house music that would see you through the next two hours. You went through your usual stretches but with today’s added focus on the lower body. 

And then you went about destroying your legs. 

It was about an hour or so that Oscar finally sleepily arrived. You weren’t actually sure what time it was but you were up to doing bulgarian split squats - and hating life - and that was usually at the hour mark. You gave him a curious once over, noting the odd choice of clothing. It was a little odd to see a driver in the paddock wearing athleisure that wasn’t their team uniform.

“Bro, it’s five in the morning.” Oscar groaned, shuffling over to come and sit on the bench next to you. You gave another three more reps - Oscar silently watching you groan in pain through the last two - and then finally dropped the dumbbells. You reached over to take a sip of water and checked the phone for the time.

“It’s five thirteen in the morning.” You corrected. It had been just about the hour mark. “Are we training today or?” It wasn’t the first time Oscar had joined you. The reason his neck was getting stronger was because of you. In your opinion, the trainer Alpine had assigned Oscar was a fucking idiot.

“You’re doing legs.” Oscar pointed out, as if that was enough of an answer. He leaned to lay back down on the bench and stared up as he continued to speak. “Drivers don’t need bulky legs. We’ve been over this.”

You had. Many times. You knew he was right. It still would be nice to have someone to go through legs with you, though.

“So train with light weights.” You offered, trying. Oscar just gave you a look that made it clear he was not picking up any type of weights. You shrugged, not deterred. “I’ll do calisthenics with you. Or we can work on plyometrics.” Oscar’s response was to close his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Fuck it man, do some cardio.” You came to the last resort, coming to kick his legs as you walked past to load up the smith machine with some different plates. 

“Piss off Tezza.” The Australian-ness continuing to shine through with the nickname that Oscar had specifically designed for you in respect of your shared citizenship to the ‘land down under.’

Except unlike the blond caucasian boy who loved AFL, grew up in Brighton East and attended Haileybury, your Australian-ness was less obvious. Your accent, for one, wasn’t as prominent since your parents were African immigrants. This, of course, didn’t just influence your speech patterns and accent.

Dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair, you weren't exactly the picture of a 'true blue Aussie.' The rite of public school bullying from those who did look 'Australian' (whatever that meant) had you scoffing at vegemite and preferring to follow EPL and La Liga than whatever the fuck was Aussie Rules Football.

Why is it called football if the players pick up the ball?

Still, when a homesick Oscar Piastri overheard one of the Hospitality staff yell out that that they were going for a 'Macca’s run' between the practice sessions on his very first F1 race weekend, he instantly picked up on the Australian-ism. And he didn’t let it go. And cue the beginning of a friendship that had Oscar Piastri calling you ‘bro’ and shortening your last name as per Australian rite.

Even if you had sworn off that sort of thing.

“Oscar, man, if you ain’t here to train then why are you?” You said, locking the plates in place on the smith machine. You lifted up your hood up and ducked under the bar to rest the metal against you shoulders, the hood acting as a cushion. The starting weight was light enough that you wouldn't have to worry about music for your first set. Besides, if Oscar was here, he could be the entertainment for this set. “You forget that this is a driver’s only gym. You could get in trouble." The sarcasm was all too clear in your voice.

No one used the ‘drivers-only’ gym. It was something that every Grand Prix had set up. Mobile, communal and high-end, it had enough equipment to rival the local 24/7 studio franchise gym that seemed to exist in every neighbourhood. Despite the fact that every driver preferred to train at their own motorhome gym - or that every team had their own mobile gym set up in conjunction to the motorhome - F1 still went about packing up and moving their own studio gym to every single location come race weekend.

If anything, it was a nice stop during the presentation walk during the sponsorship lunches where good old Stefano Domenicali would show off all the amazing resources that the Grand Prix space has to offer. 

So, no. F1’s Driver Gym was not used.

The only reason it wasn’t gathering dust was because every weekend it was packed up and moved. That and you woke up at 4am every weekend to destroy your muscles in the familiar red and black equipment.

"You're here." Oscar reminded you. "And not a driver."

You ignored him and just kept up with your repetitions, focusing on engaging your glutes and keeping your core tight. Oscar was silent as you finished your first set. When you finished your last rep, he stood up and came round as you locked the machine. He knew you well enough to pick up the 10kg and help add it to the sides.

"Thanks." You said. Oscar nodded and added the weight to the other side. There was a quiet air for a moment and you went to pick up your headphones to put them back on. Things were getting heavier and you would need music to get through the next few sets.

“I might be leaving Alpine.” 

You looked up at Oscar who dropped the bomb and then looked back at your headphones. You sighed and then dropped the headphones back to land in your gym bag. Headphoneless, you went back to the machine and Oscar took your invitation.

“Zak Brown approached me yesterday and suggested something about picking me up for next year.” Oscar said.

You just kept squatting. Oscar was far too removed to yet be aware of - well, everything.

“And with talk of Fernando quitting, I know that Alpine will be calling me up but do I trust that? Honestly Lando has been doing so well and Ocon has always pissed me off.” Oscar watched as you started to struggle.

He stood up and came around to help you but you just shook you head. You pushed through one more rep and then called it. 

“He does have a punchable face.” You said, now out of breath. Esteban had always annoyed you and before meeting Oscar, you used to dread the weekends where you were put on Alpine.

Your friend handed you the water bottle sat beside your gym bag before you could even ask. You gave a two finger salute in thanks as he continued on.

“And Lily and I got into this massive fight again! Apparently I don’t communicate enough!” He huffed. “But I sent her flowers and chocolates because she’s going through finals and she likes daisies and Cadbury."

“Yeah, but is that her love language though?” You asked, dropping your bottle and going to stack up the final set of weights on the smith machine. Oscar stood up again to help you.

“Her what?” He asked, handing you the plate.

“Love language.” You answered, still panting, and explained, “You’ve got physical touch, gift giving, quality time, words of affirmation and acts of service.” 

“Are you saying people love in specific ways?" Oscar asked, quick to process new information as always.

“Exactly. You did something nice for her, an act of service. Maybe all she wants is a nice, long phone call or maybe some texts complimenting her or something.” You shrugged and then brought up your headphones.

Oscar accepted this, knowing the last set would require music.

He watched you as you settled back under the smith machine bar and went on squatting more than his body weight. He shook his head and ran a hand over his face. He really shouldn't have been surprised at your lack of surprise. Little shocked you. That or your might’ve already known and just kept it to yourself. F1 Hospitality were a part of the Formula One Group and, therefore, were not associated to any one team. They had rotations across all teams and, therefore, every member of staff were required to sign an NDA. Not that ever did anything in this damn place.

Still, Oscar knew that you were one of the few genuine people left in this place.

He knew that there would’ve been so many opportunities where you could’ve easily done something for yourself by recounting something you had overheard while pouring Toto Wolff his coffee or serving Mattia Binotto his lunch. It was the reason why so many teams hired their own internal hospo staff.

It was also the reason why Oscar felt comfortable coming to tell you about Alpine and McLaren before he had even told his own parents, or Lily. The argument with his girlfriend had prevented him from getting any sleep, mulling it over in his mind for hours. Oscar knew you would be able to help him through it all.

And that you would be the only one awake at this godforsaken hour.

By the time you had finished your first set, he was Googling love languages and having a quick read through. 

By the time you had finished your second set, he was halfway through doing the love languages quiz.

By the time you had finished your third and final set, he was seeing what the problem was between him and Lily.

“I think Lily is words of affirmation and I'm acts of service." He said, coming up to the machine as you stepped back and pulled down your headphones. You blinked and nodded, still put of breath. "I think I forgot to check in with her and send her some compliments. Tell her I'm proud of her for getting through exams. Especially because she never is one for gifts, really."

You held out your hand to him. "There you go. Growth."

"I don't know what to do about Alpine."

"Call a lawyer."

Oscar pursed his lips and then considered this. That wouldn't be his first move but thinking about it, it was probably for the best. "That's actually a good idea."

"Isn't that why you're here?" You retorted. "Since you're not here to train. Speaking of which, the fuck is that?"

“What?” He asked and realised you were looking at his feet.

“Zak Brown isn’t going to hire you if he finds out that you’re wearing fucking thongs with socks.” You said, finally recognising the flip-flops he wore with some white socks that really needed to be washed. 

“You’ve been a great help, thanks.” Oscar smiled. You rolled your eyes and went to your gym bag. Pulling out a pair of white Adidas Sambas, you tossed them to Oscar.

“Put these on.”

“Is my footwear really that offensive to you?”

“We’ll go run the track.” You said then gestured to all of him. “It’ll help you burn all of this off.”

Oscar sighed and did as he was told. He laced up the shoes you'd given him that surprisingly fit his large feet and followed you out to the track. He used his pass to get through since a driver running the track at 5:30 in the morning would just be seen as the dedication to the grind. A Hospitality staff member would just be accused of breaking in. 

“Maybe it’s a good thing you’re going through a crisis. I’ve always wanted to do a morning run on the track.” You said with a grin as the pair of you came to the starting line that, in a matter of hours, would be full of mechanics, engineers, reporters, camera crew members and, of course, drivers.  

“If I get a seat at McLaren, you can be my trainer.” Oscar said as you both started warming up into a light jog.

"Ha." You snorted. "As if you could afford me, bro."

next ch [2] >

[simp-ly-writes]

YOUTUBE / SMOSH MASTERLIST*

[ angst: 🌧️ | suggestive: 👀 | fluff: 🌸 | author fav: 🫶 | popular: ⭐️ ]

─────── · · SERIES:

THE COMMENTS SECTION: The youtube comments section ship you and Spencer together heavily and so does the rest of the cast it seems. (Spencer Agnew x Reader)

(pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.3.5) (pt.4) (pt.4.5) (pt.5) (pt.6) (pt.7) (pt.8) (pt.9) (pt.10) (on-going) 🌧️ 👀 🌸 ⭐️

word count: n/a

LOVE AND ZOMBIES: When Amanda calls in sick for the shoot day you are taken out of your cubicle and transported into a world of violence and destruction, only to find love with those you least expect. (Spencer Agnew x Reader)

(pt.1) (pt.2) (completed) 🌧️ 👀 🫶 ⭐️

word count: 5,062 words

─────── · · STANDALONES:

─ · · SPENCER AGNEW:

Crush: You try and hide your crush on your co-worker. 🌧️ ⭐️

What Would You Do?: In this standalone part, everyone finds out how Spencer seems to know you better than you know yourself and the comments go wild over it. It's still recommended that you read the series for the full effect. 🌸 ⭐️

Hard-Launching: When you and Spencer decide to give the fans what they want. 🌸

Under The Weather: When Spencer takes care of you because you're sick. 🌧️

OH, BABY!: Smosh Baby #2! The sequel nobody knew they wanted or needed that finds you walking around the office with a robotic baby and leads to you and Spencer realizing that getting another cat was the best choice for now. 🌸 ⭐️

Meet-Cute: When contributing a meme for Who Meme'd It, you decide to make fun of the way you met your Fiancé Spencer. 🌸

Boss & Bothered: Spencer is your boss to a degree and you spent a large majority of time by his side that you begin thinking things about your boss an employee really should not be considering... 🌧️ 👀 ⭐️

The Silent Duke: Your parents say you must marry by the end of the season (much to your horror) but what happens when a mysterious gentleman appears, what difference will that make of your marriage outlook when sparks fly and yet you are being paired with another- the mystery-mans best friend out of all people! *F!Reader 🌧️ 🫶

Gentle-Fellows: You, Spencer and your fellow cast mates Angela and Shayne all star in yet another Don't Win Mario Party, Gentlemen addition! 🌸 ⭐️

Love is Blind: Smosh Games is making another title in the smash hit board game series, love is blind, but is it all fun and games- or will you actually end up winning something worth a lot more? 🌸 ⭐️

Breaking Character: You try your hardest to beat Gentleman Spencer at his own game of saying increasingly outlandish comments while trying to get him to break character! 🌸

"Need a Lift?": It is your first time traveling to the USA, once there you are like a fish outta water but thankfully you run into Spencer who is more than willing to help you! 🌸

Jenga, Jokes, & Comfort: You are starring in your first Gentleman video, anxious beyond belief and worried for Spencers jokes and your relationship. Spencer is right there to make sure you are having fun and to comfort you afterwards! 🌸

Rat Boyfriend: You hated Charles Spencer Agnew. Well... maybe hate was too strong of a word, severely dislike would be a better descriptor. But what happens when Spencer dresses up as your number one type, a rat boyfriend? 🌧️ 🌸 🫶

─────── · ·

─ · · TREVOR EVARTS:

Chocolate Chip Cookies: You are Trevor can't be trusted anywhere with one another, so during one of the few occasions you are allowed to film together- you both decide to make the most of it. 🌸 🫶

Cookbooks & Love Letters: You are a celebrity chef, rivaling gordon ramsay himself online and when you come to Good Mythical Morning to star in one of your favourite childhood youtubers videos, you find yourself falling in love as well out of all things! 🌸

"Not-A-Couple' Couple: Its Who Meme'd It time yet again and the guest star today is you! It being your first time on a Smosh set, you don't expect anything to happen but how wrong are you when all the meme's appear to be about you and your totally-not boyfriend (and coworker), Trevor. 🌸

Safety Hazard: You cannot cook to save your life so much so that it even endangers others when you do not mean it to but good thing you have a patient boyfriend who is more than willing to help! 🌸

─────── · ·

─ · · IAN HECOX:

Here With Me: you could confidently say that you were a fan since practically day one, growing up alongside Anthony and Ian before life has you changing schools, states, and relationships only to come back together and for what? a company that is falling a part as soon as it had grown legs? but maybe there is something or someone that allows you to stand above it all... and you the same for them... 🌧️ 🌸 🫶

─────── · ·

─ · · ALEX TRAN:

Dating Headcanons: What if would be like to work at Smosh and date Alex! (Alex Tran x Reader) 🌸

──────────────── · ·

*Disclaimer: I respect all the people I write about and their relationship situations. These are real people and I do not know them personally, I only write about the character they portray on camera and separate that from reality. If any individual I have written for does not feel comfortable with having content written about them, I will be taking these works down.

[mementomoriwithacherryontop]

Thoughtful and heartfelt article written by Lacy Baugher about the cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives, and why the decision just doesn’t make sense for Netflix.

I could literally quote the whole thing. Instead, I’ll leave you with these three (lengthy) quotes and encourage you to read the article in its entirety. And you totally should. It’s worth the read.

Quotes Below:

“On paper, the Dead Boy Detectives has all the ingredients to succeed. Its cast is charming; its vibes are fun and accessible. It features a genuine connection to an established and successful genre property, but not one so deep that new viewers would find themselves overwhelmed by lore. Perhaps most importantly, it has so, so much heart.”

“The pieces were in place for the series to run multiple seasons with rich character dynamics between the core quartet and a template that allowed for all sorts of adventures for the living and the dead. If this had been a show introduced during the heyday of The CW, it probably would have run for the better part of a decade. Alas, that's almost never a possibility in today's streaming landscape. Even the most successful series tend to come with a built-in expiration date. (Five years, max.)

Netflix has something of a history when it comes to cutting promising genre shows off at the knees. In recent years it has unceremoniously dumped all sorts of series, from fantasy (Shadow and Bone, Warrior Nun), and supernatural (Lockwood and Co., First Kill, The Midnight Club) to sci-fi (The OA, 1899). Dead Boy Detectives is certainly joining a good company. But the fact that its main characters were part of the same universe as The Sandman makes the show's cancellation even more galling. What streamer doesn't want a franchise to call its own? The Sandman is still one of the most popular comic series ever, and Netflix is currently gearing up to drop the second season of its successful TV adaptation.”

“That Dead Boy Detectives wasn't given more time to build an audience — or a bigger promotional budget to let viewers know of its existence — feels particularly criminal because Sandman's second season would have almost certainly given the drama a needed awareness boost.”

[plaguedocboi]

Waterfalls! These gorgeous, powerful features of nature have been oddly lacking in my past lists, I think in part because their danger has always seemed more “obvious” to me. But doing the research for this list has reawakened my phobia of the water. Some of the later entries (numbers 9 and 10 especially) brought back anxieties that I thought I had gotten over long ago, but it was kind of thrilling. Like watching a particularly scary horror movie. Let’s get into it!

1. Underwater Waterfall, Mauritius

No, it’s not really a waterfall. It’s just an optical illusion caused by sand falling off the island’s slope down into the deeper water below. But it looks cool and scary, and the drop-off is 2.5 miles deep so that’s pretty impressive and I think it deserves at least a mention.

2. Blood Falls, Antarctica

There’s nothing particularly dangerous about this one, it just looks incredibly creepy. Obviously, it’s not actually blood, it’s just water that’s very rich in iron. But the really fascinating part of this waterfall is that its source seems to be a subglacial lake that contains a unique microbial ecosystem which has been isolated for two million years! These microbes are like nothing else we’ve ever observed in nature before. They live in an incredibly cold and extremely saline lake, and metabolize sulfur and iron ions with no oxygen present. They are being used as a model to study what life on ice-covered alien planets could be like.

3. Khone Falls, Laos

This waterfall is not nearly as famous as some of the others on this list, which is surprising because it’s the widest waterfall in the world, with an average width of six miles! Although not particularly tall, it is the second most powerful waterfall in the world, more than double the power of Niagara Falls! The Khone falls divide the Upper and Lower Mekong river, making travel by boat between the north and south impossible. What makes it kind of unsettling to me is that during the rainy seasons the falls are basically swallowed up by the river, turning them from a spectacular waterfall to a series of massive rapids.

4. Huntington Gorge, Vermont

When water levels are low, this river is a popular and scenic swimming spot, and the canyon has an almost otherworldly quality with its unique bends and overhangs. Unfortunately, these very features are what makes it so dangerous. Much like the infamous Strid, the gorge is full of holes, steep drop-offs, and powerful currents hidden beneath the water, which can suck people in and trap them against the cliff walls. Over fifty people have died here since the 1950s, and many more have been injured. With proper precautions, one can safely explore the gorge and swim in the river, but don’t forget that this water has swallowed up many people before you.

5. Victoria Falls, Zambia

I’m sure most of you already know about Mosi-oa-Tunya, more widely called Victoria Falls, as the largest waterfall in the world. Formed as the Zambezi river pours into a series of massive gorges, this curtain of water spans nearly a mile and falls 300 feet with such force that columns of rising spray can be seen for miles around. Despite this, the pools around the lip of the falls can be relatively tame, and locals have fished while balancing on the edge of the cliff for generations. The safest and most famous of these fishing holes is the Devils Pool, which allows you to literally swim right up to the edge of the world’s biggest waterfall. The pool is actually very safe when the correct precautions are taken, and I can only find one death attributed to the pool specifically, when a tour guide in 2009 fell while trying to help a man who had slipped and was dangling off the edge (and, honestly, I was expecting a lot more deaths given the amount of clickbait articles advertising it as the most deadly swimming hole in the world). Although that was the only death from the Devils Pool, there have been many other deaths at Victoria Falls, mostly tourists who underestimate the power of the river or get too close to the edge. So if you ever visit this spectacular waterfall, please observe it from a safe distance and follow all the rules.

6. Huka Falls, New Zealand

This is not a traditional waterfall, but rather a series of small waterfalls along a narrow stretch of the Waikato river, creating an incredibly turbulent chasm that ends in a whirlpool. The 300-foot wide river is funneled into a 50-foot wide stream, causing a torrent of water that flows at a rate of 58,000 gallons per second. Obviously, this is not an area that you should get in the water, but not everyone takes that advice. There have been multiple deaths at this waterfall, and a few narrow escapes, including two swimmers who, incredibly, survived after trying to raft down the falls on pool toys. Please, for the love of god, don’t do that.

7. Niagara Falls, US/Canada

These falls are the only place on this list that I’ve visited, and I can tell you they are certainly an incredible sight, but also rather intimidating due to their sheer size and power. These three massive waterfalls are fed by the Great Lakes and, combined, have nearly 700,000 gallons of water thundering down every second. There is also a permanent whirlpool in the river that has existed for over 4,000 years and reaches depths of 125 feet! Besides being huge and awe-inspiring, these waterfalls are known for their appeal to daredevils who have gone over the edge in barrels or, in one case, a giant rubber ball. But these famous success stories are punctuated with tragedy. Roughly 20-30 people die at Niagara Falls every year. Most of these, sadly, are suicides, but others are failed attempts to replicate the successful daredevils of the past, and others are accidental. An estimated 5,000 bodies were recovered at the bottom of the falls between 1850 and 2011.

8. Murchison Falls, Uganda

Also known as Kabalega Falls, this is the worlds most powerful waterfall. Formed as the Nile River flows from Lake Kyoga to Lake Albert, this waterfall is so strong it literally causes the ground to shake around it. Here, the Nile is constricted from a river nearly 400 ft wide to a passage only 20 ft wide, creating an incredibly turbulent and violent tunnel of water that tears its way into the pool below at 79,000 gallons per second. And this is no ordinary pool. Waiting below the falls is the highest concentration of large crocodiles observed anywhere in the world, waiting for any dead or stunned animals caught in the falls to wash into their lair. Although the waterfall and surrounding park are now a beautiful tourist attraction and wildlife refuge, the history of the falls includes tales of human and animal sacrifices, thrown in alive to appease the gods that some believed resided beneath the raging waters.

9. Bath Fountain, Jamaica

This is just a random little waterfall along a hiking trail, but the video triggered some intense bathophobia in me for the first time in a while. Like, I was scared to get in the shower after watching this. Proceed with caution:

10. Kipu Falls, Hawaii

This one scares me because, despite my research, I can’t actually figure out what the hell is happening here. Multiple people have died here; all tourists, all drownings, all of seemingly very unclear causes. Kipu Falls is a beautiful and popular swimming spot, and locals frequently dive off the top of the falls with seemingly no danger. However, five deaths over the course of five years from 2006-2011 challenged its reputation of being a safe swimming hole. All the articles I could find seem to repeat the same information; there is no current in the pool and the waterfalls are not especially powerful. Despite these established facts, all five deaths were the same. Someone jumped in, surfaced, and then were dragged back down to the bottom of the pool and held there until they died. This has resulted in a lot of speculation, including everything from a hidden whirlpool current to evil spirits. I’m just. Really unsettled by the lack of information on this one. Every article I found was published in 2011 and I couldn’t find any updates, which hopefully means people aren’t still dying here, but… what the fuck???? Was going on????? Sorry guys this one might not be as dangerous as some of the others but it freaks me out a lot so it’s getting a higher rating. I want to know what’s going on but I’m sure not going to investigate it myself.

[writingwisterias]

His New Obsession (Part 1)

Yandere!Leon Kennedy x AFAB! Reader

Words: 13.2k Warnings: MDNI, 18+ ONLY, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, behaviour, Light violence, Creepy Leon, Masturbation, Drinking, Leon watches the reader on home security, Manipulation, Smut, Unprotected Sex, Breeding kink, Mentions of baby trapping and pregnancy, Oral (F receiving), Daddy kink Summary: You live a simple life trying to make ends meet as you work at a bar but what happens when your life starts to get a bit creepy and you turn to one of the regulars to help you...accidentally falling into his trap

Hope you enjoy this fic! I've been working on it for a few days and I've decided to make it a series so let me know what you think! any feedback is appreciated. ~ Mads <3

Masterlist

The evening wind chill caused you to tug on your beanie tighter and pull your jacket closer to your body. Autumn was a welcome season for you, the pumpkin spice latte in your hands warming your insides as you drank your much-needed caffeine intake. The mall was fairly busy as you wandered around the numerous shops whilst you attempted to kill time before you had to start work at the bar. You flicked through the items of clothing on the rack, the prices were too high for you to be getting anything so you were only really window shopping. That was until you found something you liked - a dress. It was black much like the rest of your clothes however it was like one of the milkmaid dresses you had seen a lot online, the back had a corset that would cinch in the waist as well as a tie in the front to adjust the cups to your breast size.

The item was expensive but it didn't hurt to try it on at least. You flicked through the selection looking for your size before you took it off the rack carrying it towards the changing room to try on. Once in the changing room, you began to take off your current clothes mentally thanking yourself as you had decided to wear a skirt and top today, so it wasn’t a long task to change. 

The changing room was round the back of the shop, the curtain didn’t reach the floor and there was no mirror inside meaning once you had slipped the dress on you would have to go out of the room to get a chance to look at yourself. As the dress slid on your body a smile formed on your face, you felt amazing with how it sat snugly against your waist. The fabric felt so soft against your skin. You approached the mirror with a large smile plastered on your face, the skirt swaying with your hips as you walked towards the mirror for a closer inspection. You looked heavenly and felt so good in it but the tag draping down your shoulder was a reminder that you couldn’t afford it and a glance at the clock broke your little daydream with the reminder you needed to leave for your shift or you were going to be late. You sighed as you wandered back into the changing room.

The bar you worked at was fairly run down, it was located on the busy shopping high street where you found most of the customers during the day as it gained its popularity for its cheap liquor and atmosphere. But you worked the closing shifts so you mainly interacted with the many locals, most of them you knew by name and loved to spend a few minutes chatting with you about whatever sad thing had happened in their life. You didn’t like working here, you would much rather work somewhere else but money was money and at least the hours were regular enough for you to afford the bills. You checked the clock on the wall, the glass of whisky ready for when your favourite local would appear. He always entered at the same time of day, ordering the same thing and finishing off the night by staying until close. You often let him stay in the bar as you cleaned up, the conversations you had with him were always the most enjoyable. He would tell about all the things he encountered during the missions that the government sent him on, you knew he spared any gruesome details along with anything he was strictly forbidden to say. He informed you about his job when you allowed him to take you home once. That night he had linked your arms together the entire way, as if finally telling someone what he did was a weight off his chest, he was smiling brighter that night more than you had ever seen him smile before. 

Like clockwork, you watched as the blonde made his way to the bar he was perfectly weaving his way through the crowds of people dancing. The lighting made him look angelic as it highlighted his features but with what his job made him do he was anything but that. “Hello Stranger” He greeted you as he took his normal seat right next to the till. You smiled at him and placed the drink you had ready for him in front of him. “Well hello there, Good to see you haven’t died” you chuckled. Leon nodded a chuckle of his own leaking from his lips. “Bit bruised and battered but not dead yet. Not when I have such a pretty girl to entertain on their long ass shifts” Leon replied, taking a long sip from his drink as he looked at you, his eyes scanning your features as if he was trying to remember them. You laughed a wide smile adorned your features, Leon's flirting wasn’t unusual for him and you had never had an issue with it anyway always assuming it was just some playful banter between the two of you. As the night went on Leon began chatting to you about his mission, obviously sparing all of the gruesome details about the village he had just returned from. The horrors were so bad even he was struggling to comprehend them so why would he worry your pretty little head with them he always thought. So the conversation was mostly about the scenery and a vague description of the castle, he occasionally pulled out his phone to swipe through some of the photos he had taken of Spain, most of them just the view from the aeroplane since it wasn’t like he had time to stop and take a photo as a man with a chainsaw swiped at him. 

Most of the party groups had left now, leaving the last few regulars that stayed until the last call. “Anyone give you any trouble tonight before I came in?” he asked as you began to clean up and count the cash register. You thought about it for a second, the night had gone by very slowly until he came in to keep you company but no one stuck out that particularly bothered you., “Not really, apart from the usual old man flirting as his wife is at home with the kids” You joked. “What about when I was away?” He asked again, swirling the last drop of whiskey in his glass before he brought it to his lips, savouring his last drink from you for the night. It was never his last drink of the night as he always poured himself another one when he finally got home. But it feels different when he’s taking it from your smaller hand instead of pouring it with his own hands. Almost like the taint of his job enters the drink when he makes it himself. 

“There was one guy that gave me his number. I haven't done anything with it, it's been behind the bar for a few days,” You said, picking up the napkin that you had left by the till. “Are you going to do anything with it?” He asked, looking at you as he took another sip. His body became tense, he seemed almost agitated by the idea of another man hitting on you. You were cautious with your words, his reaction made you uneasy. You weren’t used to the strain in his voice, the way his jaw tensed. “ I haven’t messaged him yet,” You said, keeping the sentence short and to the point so he could interpret it in another way. It must have been a bad mission if he was this unsteady with you of all people. To be honest you had even forgotten about it as the same night Leon texted you that he had returned and would see you as soon as he got the chance. His return excited you and filled you with the fact that he hadn't died so you had completely forgotten about the regular that had even handed you the number - not that you would let the man know though. “I see. Are you going to message him?” He responded again, his eyes finally met your own, a dark glare gleaned over them. One you had never seen before, your palms became sweaty as his behaviour unnerved you further. You shook your head, your brain was unable to form the right words as you became increasingly worried about the mood he was currently displaying. Leon didn’t respond either; he just stared at a spot on the bar zoning out. You decided to resume your closing tasks, not bothering to ask him to leave but instead offering him a safe space to continue whatever train of thought he was currently going through. 

He finally looked up when your hand came into view to pick up his now empty glass. His boy slightly jumped as you brought him out of the headspace he was drowning in. Leon looked around the bar only the soft sounds of the rock music you had been playing filled the space. “Bar’s closed now, time to go big guy” You joked, shrugging your jacket on as you walked around the bar to his side. “I didn’t pay for my tab” he mumbled, standing up from the chair himself. His figure towered over yours like a dark shadow, “I did, you can repay me by walking me home or a nice tip,” You said as you linked your arm to his and began to make your way to the doors of the bar. Leon nodded before forcing a smile on his face, this was his favourite part of the night when he was home. Something about protecting you as he escorted you through the darkness of the city made him feel important to something other than the government. He enjoyed the way you talked about whatever show you had watched or the both of you would just enjoy each other's company and the ambience of the city as the two of you walked in silence. He looped his arm through yours after you had finished locking up the bar. “Penny for your thoughts?” you spoke softly, leaning into his arm as you craved his warmth. Leon sighed, tilting his head to look up at the endless dark sky. “You’ll need a lot of pennies” he chuckled his eyes scanning every dark alleyway as if something would pop out and take away his light. Take away you. 

You clutched his arm tighter bringing his attention back to you briefly, a silent reminder to him that you were safe and he could let whatever was on his chest free. “The last mission fucked me up I guess, I was so worried I was going to fail at protecting another person. I didn’t even care if I made it back,” You knew he wasn’t going to give you much more than that, he wasn’t allowed to even if he wanted to. “Did you fail?” The question was innocent, it wasn’t meant to strike a nerve with him but it just seemed like he was on edge tonight and you were unfortunately walking on ice that had already been cracking for hours due to the number of reports he had to fill out about his last mission. The task made him relive the situations he wanted to forget, the blood on his hands of people he was too late to save or had to kill to Ashley out of there. Only for someone to then put them away in an archive and never be seen again. “No,” He said, his tone sharper than he meant to be. He felt your grip loosen on his arm as an attempt to give him some more space, except his arm muscles contracted trapping your hand in the crook of his elbow and keeping you from moving away. You didn’t try again after that his actions made you realise he needed contact from you to ground himself. You walked in silence after that, occasionally glancing back up at him to try and gauge his expression.  

You had finally made it to the small bungalow you rented. The place was a bit run down, Leon hoped one day you could live somewhere nicer that suited your personality like a small cottage or terrace house you could decorate as your own. But as you got closer to the door you spotted something weird waiting for you on the doorstep; a small package wrapped nicely and tied off with a pink bow. “Weird” You muttered under your breath as you bent down to pick it up examining it briefly before tucking it under your arm as you turned to face Leon. “I’m glad you’re safe. Thank you for bringing me home again.” You said standing on your tippy toes to give him a peck on the cheek. You giggled as you had left a lipstick mark and went to rub it away but he gently grasped your hand to stop you. “It’s no problem, have a good night sweetheart,” He smiled, dropping his grip from your hand. You nodded pulling your hand away timidly and put on the biggest smile you could muster up at his odd behaviour as you said goodbye and headed inside. 

You flicked the main light on, dumping your keys at the small table near the entrance. The bungalow wasn’t big but it was the cheapest place you could find that was close enough to the city. It had an open plan kitchen and living room which you attempted to decorate nicely with a bunch of second-hand things you had collected so it had a warm and cosy atmosphere. You choose browns and greens as accent colours to reduce the amount of white. The kitchen was bland only having your necessities as you couldn’t afford much more than that. Most of your paycheck went to the rent and other bills. You mainly survived off the tips you collected during the night. You placed the package on the kitchen counter and unwrapped the bow gently. It was the dress. For the one you had tried on earlier in the day, the price tag was removed but the sizing tag had your exact size. You dropped the item on the floor, your brain trying to figure out who could have gotten you the item and not only have gotten the exact one you wanted but also the exact size you tried on. Your hands shook as you looked down at the bundle of fabric on the floor. A note you had missed the first time you looked at it lay neatly folded on the top. You picked it up and gingerly unfolded it before you began slowly reading:

Hope you enjoy the present, I saw you looking at it today. Hope I got the right size  <3

You hesitantly picked the dress back up and folded it, the note however was now crumpled in your grip the handwriting unfamiliar to you. You placed the dress on your couch before turning the light off and making your way through the house to the bathroom to continue your night routine. Trying to ignore the way your gut was telling you were in danger. 

Leon stood across the street leaning up against a streetlamp, watching as your light flicked on and off throughout the house, smiling as he caught your silhouette and read the handwritten note he placed in the dress. He hoped you would have opened it in front of him on the doorstep so he could have seen how happy he made you. He watched the dress drop to the floor in what he assumed was pure excitement. He supposed there was always another time to see your excitement over a gift he would treat you to. Leon stood up straight as he finally watched your bedroom light turn off before making his way down the street to his bike. He sat on the bike and pulled the napkin with the guy's number from his pocket, the one he had taken from next to the till while you were busy dealing with another customer. He put the helmet on and drove off into the night to deal with a problem before it could start in his mind. As well as to get some sleep before he eventually returned to check up on you in the morning. 

You had found yourself unable to sleep all night, you spent your time staring at the ceiling trying to figure out who could have seen you at the store or flicked through your phone to double-check your text messages in case you had mentioned it to anyone else. You decided to let yourself sleep in later in hopes that it would cancel out the fact you didn't sleep until 3 am. You briefly peeked out of your curtains to see if there was anyone there, but you didn’t notice anything unusual. A loud sigh of relief left your lips as the street was empty and a new wave of calmness came over you as you walked into the living room to put on the TV and start the day. The sun peeked through all the curtains brightening up the small open plan, the TV was quietly playing some daytime TV as you rummaged through the cupboards for anything to eat. However, as you assumed there was nothing so you retreated towards your bedroom to get dressed so you could venture out to your favourite coffee shop instead. 

A shiver went through your body as you opened the door and were met with yet another autumnal chill, today however was colder than yesterday. You mentally braced yourself for yet another walk in the cold, making a mental note to save up for a new jacket. Once you lock the door and turn you stop dead in your tracks at the sight of a coffee and a small food bag already on your porch. There was no note this time. You hesitantly stepped out towards the coffee like a deer heading out into the meadows after a harsh winter. You tried to use the bushes around you as cover as you picked the items up. Just from the smell alone, you could tell it was a pumpkin spice latte and a bacon roll. You’re usual order. It probably wasn’t too big of a deal, maybe it was because of the dress last night that caused you to gingerly place them back down.,not trusting the food items in case they have been contaminated with anything. Just as a precaution you picked up the spare key you normally left in the flower pot at the end of your drive, you placed it in your bag and began to take the walk to the cafe in the town centre.

The uneasiness in your stomach increased as you found yourself trying to spot any suspicious behaviour from the crowds around you, it felt like you were just winding yourself up overthinking everyone who would occasionally glance your way. The familiar logo of your favourite cafe shop came into view eventually and you practically ran to the doors. Your eyes scanned for any cameras trying to make note of them in case something did happen. ‘Yep, you were definitely overthinking’ You thought to yourself as you waited in the queue. You found yourself trying to think of anyone who might have got the dress for you, you definitely didn’t mention it to anyone yesterday you were sure of it, the coffee this morning didn’t help narrow the internal search as you knew you rambled about your favourite drink coming into season again to many drunk people during your shifts. 

The barista smiled at you as she took your order, her words were gentle and calm as if she knew your head was exhausting you. You focused on her work allowing the simple task of her making your coffee grounding you back to reality for just a moment. You mumbled a small thanks as you collected your order, the cold air made you shiver as you walked out the doors. The city was filled with the lunchtime rush as you opened the door to the busy town centre. Businessmen rushing to get to their next meetings with their coffees also in their hands trying not to spill it on each other as they bumped shoulders with tourists as they tried to weave through the crowds. There were groups of friends laughing from the restaurants that offered a bottomless brunch. You wished you still had a friendship group to be able to partake in these activities but the only person you enjoyed talking to was Leon and with his busy schedule you doubt he would want to spend time with you like that.

You ended up finding an empty bench to sit on as you drank and ate your food, and your mind wandered back to Leon. Would he be able to help you? Maybe he could help you rationally think about your situation, and help you see that it's not what you think it is. You pulled out your phone, your finger hovering over his contact number hesitantly to see if you should call him to meet before your shift. Until a text from him chimed in saying that he was going to be at the bar tonight, the text wasn’t unusual but he would normally have sent it later on in the day. Maybe he just woke up earlier. You tried not to think too deeply about it, sending a small reply back saying that you’ll have his drink ready. 

Leon smiled as he felt your text vibrate in his pocket, he didn't have to check to know who it was. He always knew it was you with the same reply you always gave him when he told you he was coming to the bar tonight. However, he was currently leant up against his bike outside the office of some crappy construction workers office, if he didn’t know any better he would have assumed the company were cowboy builders with the signs and lack of site safety they all displayed. If they were then well it would make what he was about to do more enjoyable. He had searched the number the guy gave you online at work today. Leon figured if he was going to be stuck in his office then might as well use the system to find out who the guy was. A deep dive through the man's social media only fueled Leon’s anger towards the man that he even had the guts to go after someone as sweet as you. His eyes scanned each of the worker's faces as they left the office waiting for the one he wanted to leave and finding the perfect time to strike. 

He tightened his fingers into a fist before walking over to the man when he eventually appeared out the door. A sickening grin was placed on his face as he was looking at his phone laughing with who Leon assumed were his mates. ‘What an arrogant asshole’ Leon thought as he swung his arm back. The punch was in perfect form, he had spent 8 hours in Spain to perfect them after all. It landed perfectly on the man's nose, he found himself grinning at the crunch that followed as the guy's nose broke. Leon’s smile only grew as he continued to pummel the man. He ignored the pleas of everyone around him to stop, the man's grunts and whimper of pain only fueling Leon’s desire to do further damage but the man's eye was already turning black and blue, his nose was definitely broken and a mixture of blood and drool dribbled out of the side of his mouth pathetically. “Stay away from my girl” Leon growled, his voice low and predatory. He chuckled to himself as the man pathetically nodded a whimper escaping his lips. Leon practically dropped him on the floor before walking back to his bike. He winced as he gripped the handlebars, he didn’t need to take off his gloves to know that he had bruised his knuckles and only praised you wouldn’t ask any questions. 

The bar was quiet tonight as only the regulars were in due to it being a work night for most of the people who came to the party on the weekends. Their idle chatter filled the silence along with the quiet hum of music you had playing, a few of the groups were laughing and playing a round of cards. Some girls were giggling in the corner as they flicked through their phones. You were standing at the bar drying some glasses mindlessly listening to some of the chatter when a conversation piqued your interest. It was the construction boys. You had noticed the number was missing from behind the till when you came in but assumed that one of your coworkers had finally binned it. You also hadn’t seen the man come in today, he wasn’t with the group of what you assumed were his coworkers. “Did you guys see what happened to Dave today?” one said, pulling out his phone to show the group. They all gasped. “Poor bloke, he’s been beaten to a pulp. What did he do? Piss someone off?” another one spoke. The guy shrugged as he put his phone back into his pocket. “Asked some guy’s girl out or something” The group began to laugh it off as if it was something normal that Dave did. Yet the uneasy feeling crept back in, like pieces of a puzzle were presenting themselves to you and you just couldn’t figure it out. 

You didn’t even notice Leon go to sit in his usual seat, he had to wave his hand in front of your face to break you out of your trance. The action caused you to jump and drop the glass which landed on the floor and shattered. “Christ you scared me” you spoke, holding your hand to your chest as you turned to look at the man. “Sorry I didn’t mean to make you jump” he apologised, as he watched you bend down to pick up the shards of glass. “No, don't worry about it, I didn’t even see you come in. I’ll get your drink once I’ve cleared this up” you said smiling softly at him, wiping the hair away from your face as you stood back up. “There's no rush sweetheart, I’ll be here all night” he said leaning back into the stool he sat on. 

You missed the way his eyes lingered on the group of construction workers as you turned to make his drink, a smirk appeared on his face as he realised the man he had beaten up earlier in the day wasn’t there tonight. You however noticed the bruises on his knuckles when you finally handed him the drink “What happened to your hand? Did they send you on a small mission today?” you enquired pointing to his knuckles. Leon let out a low chuckle as he took a swig of the drink but shook his head. “No, just training at work. Got a little bit too rough” he said looking back at you with a small smile. Leon didn’t miss the way your eyes narrowed slightly as if you were trying to figure out if there was a lie within his words. “Do you want some ice for it?” You asked him. Leon only shook his head muttering something about being fine. He observed you again as you wiped down the bar, you didn’t say or give him any inclination that you knew anything about the man that was missing. So maybe he was all in the clear. “What’s got you on edge anyway? You’ve never jumped like that before” He spoke as he went to take another sip of the amber liquid appreciating the burn as it filled his chest. “Just some weird things have been happening to me lately, I’m sure I am just overthinking it” You sighed wiping your hair out of your face frustratedly. Leon looked at you with a comforting smile, one he often gave you to encourage your rambles his hand was placed over yours stopping you from excessively wiping at the bar. “There will be no wood left if you keep doing that sweetheart. Come on tell me what's up,” He encouraged. You grabbed the bottle to top up his glass as you contemplated what to tell him. 

A sigh left your lips as you decided it was probably helpful for you to inform him of everything happening. Either he would be able to help reason your thoughts and see that you were overreacting but if it was serious - if anyone could help you stay safe it was the one government agent you knew. “I think someone is following me..but like ugh. I know it sounds weird, but I went to a shop before my shift yesterday and there was this dress I found. I loved it but put it back because I couldn't afford it and when I finished my shift yesterday the package I picked up as you dropped me off was that exact dress and in my size. Then this morning, I woke up late so I was going to get my coffee but again when I opened the door my exact order was already on the doorstep” 

Leon’s body tensed slightly, he hadn’t assumed you would catch on or be bothered by the gifts so quickly. His brain was running wild trying to think of excuses or anything he could say so you wouldn't keep being concerned as he worked on getting closer to you…which was his end goal. Leon just wanted to keep you safe and protected, after Spain he became terrified of losing anyone. He had to kill or watch his friends die, people who now shaped him into the man he is today. He watched a young girl be taken from the safety of her routine and infected with a horrible parasite whilst he tried to help her with no idea if she could even be saved with a cure. She was the president's daughter and even with the amount of security they gave her she still managed to get kidnapped. 

Leon had always liked you, that's why out of all the bars in the cities he kept coming to the one you worked at. The shitty cheap one in the crappy part of town that he never really ventured into except for one night when he wasn’t to create as much distance as he could away from the capital. Yet even in the town full of shit people and shit bars, he found you, laughing and smiling at him during the shift like there wasn’t anything wrong with the world. He loved how you always remembered what he said, even going as far as asking about the meetings he would talk about briefly or mention that he had a few scheduled. Your genuine kindness was different to the others that he was surrounded by and something that he wanted to keep in his life, just so he could keep going for just that bit longer.

Leon finally pulled himself out of his daydream, his attention now onto your face, your features laced with concern. “It does seem all too convenient” he finally spoke, his heart hammering as he watched your body language for any evidence of you not believing him or suspecting him. But why should you suspect him? He had done nothing to display his obsession with you, other than showing up as a regular and walking you home. To anyone that could just be a good friendship.

“What should I do? It’s scaring me, I struggled to sleep last night after the dress and the coffee this morning has just really thrown me off guard” You admitted. Guilt struck at Leon's chest. He hadn’t meant to scare you this much, he just wanted to be kind and helpful. “I could stay around yours for a few days? To ward them off, maybe if they see a guy with you they will leave you alone?” The suggestion was even a shock to him, having no idea where this sudden surge of boldness had come from. He watched as you pondered the thought trying to decipher if it was a good idea or not. “It seems like that could work, Do you mind if you stay over tonight? I’m still pretty shaken up and it might help me get some sleep” You said, looking back towards the shelves behind you in an attempt to hide how nervous you were. Leon smiled at your request his stomach fluttering with excitement as he tried to plan his new course of action to finally keep you safe and protected. He nodded “I’ll have to go back to mine for a change of clothes,” You nodded, smiling as relief flooded throughout your body at the idea of Leon staying around. “Thank you, I’ll be off my shift soon,” You said as if he didn't already know. 

You locked the doors of the bar after you had finished the closing shift. The chill wasn’t forgiving today as the wind whipped at your body. “It's a good thing I bought my car today” Leon said, the keys jingling as he fished them out of his pockets. “You’ve had a drink today, is that wise?” you asked innocently following him to his car. A laugh you have never heard him make before left his lips, “One drink isn’t going to affect me that much sweetheart. Besides I’ve done a lot worse things whilst drunk than driving” He joked. Leon opened the door for you, ushering you inside the jeep with a hand on the small of your back. The interior of the car was basic and clean; you could tell this wasn’t his primary mode of transportation. Leon sat in the car getting himself comfortable as the engine hummed to life, the radio turning on to whatever track he had been playing when he was driving earlier. “It will take a while to get to mine, If you wanted to, you could stay at mine instead since it’s pretty late. I have a meeting in the morning but you can stay there until I can give you a lift back” He suggested. You shrugged, not opposed to the idea. “Seems like a plan, only if we are sure though. Is my place on the way so I can get some clothes to change into tomorrow? I don’t have work either so there’s no rush” You replied as you settled into the warmth of the car. Leon smiled, “Not a problem” 

You tucked yourself further into the jacket as you approached your front door. You intentionally ignored the coffee and food bag that you still left in the corner of your porch. Leon however frowned at the sight of you refusing his gift this morning, even if the logical side of him knew it was only reasonable for you to reject food you had no idea where it came from. “Sorry about the mess, I woke up late and didn’t expect the company,” you said as you both entered your living space. Leon didn’t expect your home to look like this, there was a warm comforting glow as you opted to turn on the lamps instead of the overhead light but there wasn’t a lot of furnishing. Only a handful of pillows and blankets draped on the sofa that looked second-hand. “It’s not much at the moment, I only really earn enough for the rent and food” You shrugged, draping your jacket over the kitchen counter. 

He watched you disappear down the hall assuming you were beginning to pack an overnight bag. Leon began to survey the space, practically giving himself a tour of the place, making a mental note of how many windows there were, and which door led to where. You jumped when you turned around to him in your bedroom, not expecting him to have followed you through the house, he was looking at the numerous photos you had displayed along your vanity. “They are all my family, I moved away a few years back due to an argument. I haven’t spoken to them in a long time though” You admitted, standing next to him. Leon hummed in acknowledgement. “So you have been alone all this time?” He asked, his brain registered the question as innocent, not noticing the way his tone changed the meaning of the question. You didn’t respond straight away, a chill running up your spine at his almost aggressive undertone. “Yeah, I have been for a few years,” You said, turning to look at the man beside you. You watched his eyes darken as they met your own, you swore little black veins spilt into the whites of his eyes like ink. “Not anymore” He spoke, his voice never faltering. You weren’t sure if the admission was comforting to you or made you feel unnerved. 

Leon was right about his place being far as he pulled into the upper part of the city. You watched the towering buildings as they passed by you. The sheer size of them makes you feel so small. Leon pulled into the parking lot, effortlessly parking into what you assumed was his spot. His hand found his place on your back again as he guided you through the apartment complex, your bag was draped over his shoulder as he had refused to let you carry it. The bright lights of the elevator highlighted his features perfectly, almost making them seem heavenly. “Take a picture it lasts longer” Leon joked as his eyes met your own, smirking at the light blush that started to decorate your cheeks as he caught you. The doors of the elevator soon opened to a small corridor with double doors at the end of it. He opened the doors to a large living space, the decoration was more modern than you thought he would go, and the space was filled with the basics like your own but you could tell they were much higher quality than your own. Already his apartment was much bigger than the bungalow you lived in but you supposed with his job he was bound to afford something much nicer than you could.

“Wow, This is really nice” You spoke out loud, spinning to take in your surroundings. Leon smiled at your reaction, watching you as you wandered around looking at the numerous trinkets he had lying around. “It’s not decorated much, I only got it a few months back after I finished my training,” He said as he walked through his apartment towards the bedroom. “You can take my bedroom tonight, I’ll just sleep on the couch. I have to get up early anyway so it saves me from disturbing you” He shouted throughout the space. 

You felt yourself grow nervous at the idea of sleeping in his bed. “It's no worries, I can sleep on the sofa. I'm not fussed” You said when he finally returned to the room. “Nonsense, make yourself comfortable, I’ll be out here if you need anything. Hopefully, you can catch up on some of the sleep you lost” He said whilst smiling sweetly at you as he guided you to his room. You bid him goodnight as you turned to observe his bedroom. The room was filled with shades of blue and black creating a calm atmosphere you assumed could easily make you fall into a deep sleep. You pulled open the curtains to reveal the skyline and a soft glow fell upon the room clearing out most of the dark corners. You were so tired that you were sure to fall asleep as soon as you got into Leon’s bed even with the light of the city. The nighttime routine you normally did was cut short as you only bought a small amount of products with you due to limited space in the backpack you had quickly packed. However, after rummaging through the contents you couldn’t find your PJs, it seemed you had forgotten to pack them. The t-shirt you were wearing was too impractical to sleep in, so you hoped Leon wouldn’t mind if you asked to borrow one of his shirts to wear instead. 

The living room was dark except for the soft glow of the TV which highlighted where Leon was lying on the sofa. His head propped up on the arm that he had thrown behind it, the other arm outstretched as he flicked through the late-night TV. He was shirtless, the screen light perfectly bouncing off the abs that he had gained during his long years of training. You noticed the small trail of hair from his navel down to where his jeans sat on his hips. You felt yourself grow hot with the need for him, guilt running through your body at your not-so-innocent thoughts as the man was just trying to help you out. The thought of him being so invested in your comfort and safety created a swarm of butterflies to form in your stomach. 

“I didn’t have it too loud did I?” He asked when he finally noticed your timid frame in the doorway. “No no, I just forgot my Pjs, I was wondering if I could borrow one of your shirts to sleep in,” You asked, your hands nervously rubbing against your thighs as you worried you were being too much of a pain to him. Leon felt his cock throb at the idea of you wearing one of his shirts to sleep in desperately craving to see how the fabric engulfed your small frame. He nodded adjusting himself as he stood up and began following you back to the bedroom to begin rummaging through his drawers to find what he considered the perfect shirt. You tried not to stare at his back muscles or how his arms rippled with each movement as he dug through his drawers. 

You had a light blush on your face when he finally turned to look at you with the shirt in hand. You accepted it with a small thanks, bowing your head slightly so your hair fell in front of your face in an attempt to hide the rosy tint on your cheeks. “If you need anything else sweetheart don't hesitate to let me know” he said as he left the room giving you privacy to change. You began to slowly peel the shirt off your body, pulling his shirt over your head. You admired the size in the mirror as it fell to your thighs in length. You began bringing the soft fabric up to your nose in an attempt to get a whiff of his scent. His bedsheets were smooth, the cushions and duvet pulling you into their cosy embrace helping you eventually drift off to sleep. 

Leon sat on his sofa staring at the TV screen, which was currently displaying the security footage of his bedroom. He gently teased his tip, smothering the precum that had gathered messily around the sensitive area as he watched you curl into the softness of his bed. The previous display of you checking yourself in the mirror after you changed into his shirt was the cause of his current actions. He attempted to try and imagine the smell that would be left lingering in the fabric based on what he could remember your perfume smelled like earlier when you were both in the car. Leon softly groaned at your leg lifting over the blanket catching the sight of just your underwear, his shirt had now lifted so it was around your hips. You weren't even doing anything and it was turning him on, he just wished he could feel the weight of your leg over his body. Or the way your breath would tickle his neck as you tucked yourself into him for safety. The more he thought about it the harder his cock got, it was practically begging for more friction, the tip leaking a steady stream of pre cum. He worked quickly, the wet sound of his actions filling the silence of the room as he thought about entering you, finally claiming you so you would never leave him. His brain wired onto the different ways he could complete this task until finally, his balls tightened as his cock began to spray his cum all over his abs. The light from the TV helped him clean it, he soon felt his heart lurch in his chest as he looked back over to the security feed and saw you walking out of the room. 

Leon had quickly covered himself with a throw blanket and turned the TV to some random channel whilst he pretended to be asleep. You need a drink after having a small nightmare, you didn’t expect him to be asleep on the couch but you supposed he had to be up early and you had no idea what the current time was. So you manoeuvred around the space as quietly as you could in search of a glass. Thankfully there was one on the side that he must have recently washed up, you quickly filled it up with water taking a few sips before retreating to the bedroom with the glass in hand. Unbeknownst to you Leon had his eyes open watching you flutter around his apartment like it was your own home, the sight causing him to smile hoping his plan was finally going into action. 

When you woke up Leon wasn’t there you had gotten dressed in an oversized hoodie you found lying around his apartment and some leggings you had packed. You forgot to pack a jumper of some kind not expecting his apartment to be so cold when you woke up. You supposed with him being so high up in the building it would naturally be colder. You spend the first few hours watching some daytime TV, then eventually starting to flick through the Food Network channels in the hope of something entertaining. Eventually, the brain-rotting TV became too boring leading you to now, helping yourself to a tour of his space. He had a few rooms in the house, one room was an at-home gym another just a spare bedroom which looked like it was mainly filled with storage. Which is why Leon probably didn’t offer it to you last night, he wasn’t expecting your overnight company. There was only one door that was locked. It was the furthest on the corridor, you assumed it was his office or maybe where he kept all his weapons and gear he used whilst he was on missions. After snooping around you didn’t see any gear that would insinuate the type of work he did. If he did hide it behind the door it was like his way of shutting that part of his life away.  

Leon had seen you snooping around his apartment during his time in the office, they were briefing him on his next mission as well as asking him to finalise the reports from Spain. He wasn’t going to lie but the sight of you going towards his locked office made him second guess whenever he had locked it this morning as he left to grab the mission reports he needed for the meeting. Leon was uneasy when he got into his car, his fingers gripping the wheel tight enough to turn his knuckles white. He tried to blink away all of the memories about Spain, get the actions that haunted him the most to leave the forefront of his mind. Trying to remember that he was no longer infected with the Plagas. You always remembered him and his order when he got back from missions so why was the idea of leaving on this one worrying him over the progress he had made? He wanted to see you curled up against his pillow each morning as he got dressed like he did this morning. He was worried that if he left for this mission it would mean that you would lose your panic about the situation and no longer come to him for help. The train of thought caused an idea to spark as he then started to drive to your home instead. 

It was around midday when Leon finally came back, his posture relaxed when he walked through the door at the sight of you cuddled up under the blanket he had left this morning. “Hey, How was your day?” You asked him as you turned your attention away from the screen in front of you to him. “It was alright, I’m being sent away again soon though” He sighed, chucking his bag on the dining table. A small frown was placed on your lips, you always hated it when he went away. A small part of you worried he was never going to come back and the last night would be him explaining his sorrows away before he left. “For how long?” You asked, attempting to keep your voice neutral in an attempt to not let your disappointment filter through your tone. “Just a few days they say…but it never is” He sighed, flopping on the couch next to you. You nodded in understanding looking over at the man, he was so tired and fed up with his job. You often found yourself wondering what even kept him there, it wasn’t the pay he had enough money to now retire. “Do you still want to go back to your tonight?” He asked opening his eyes to look at you. “Yeah if that's okay, you are welcome to have dinner at mine if you want. It's the least I can do after you helped me out” You replied with a soft smile. 

It was another reason why Leon loved you, the way a smile was always on your face so effortlessly no matter the conversation. “Are you ready to leave now?” He asked a small groan left his lips as he stood back up. You nodded, running into the bedroom to grab your overnight bag. Leon’s body froze at the sight of the jumper, you were wearing his old RPD jumper. He didn’t know why he kept it or when he last wore it as it didn’t fit him now he’s added more muscle since his training. “Sorry, I’ll return the jumper soon. It was just cold when I woke up” You said fiddling with the sleeves that were too long as you stood in front of him. You had noticed his attention lingering on it, you weren’t sure what RPD meant and assumed it was an old brand of some kind, but judging his reaction it seemed like it held a few memories for him. “You can keep it don’t worry, you look cute in it” He managed to sputter out when he held the door open. 

The car ride was filled with idle chatter, mainly talking about the funny news headlines you had seen on the TV. You were impressed with the scenery as you got stuck in traffic, daydreaming about what it is like to live this far up in the city, the neighbourhoods were quieter at night you assumed there was less crime. It seemed peaceful, maybe one day you could move further upstate and be closer to Leon if he needed you but at the moment you liked the crappy part of town you lived in. The people gave the area character, you knew most of your neighbours by name. “Do you like living this far upstate?” you asked him. Leon pondered your question, he was lucky to be living in this area but he wasn’t sure he enjoyed it exactly. “I’m not against it, I know I’m lucky to be living here, It's closer to work I suppose” he answered. “That’s always a bonus. I suppose it doesn’t matter since you aren’t really at home” you shrugged. Leon flinched at your words unintentionally, his absence due to the government using him always bothered him. Not that you would know that because he had never told you why he has the job that he has. 

The gravel cracked as Leon pulled into the driveway, he nudged your arm when your front door came into view. Your eyes opened at the sight of it cracked open just a tiny bit, you knew you locked it yesterday and you hadn’t returned so there was no reason for it to be open. Fear rushed through your body as you got out of the car, wincing at the loud bang of the car door as you closed it a bit too hard. “What the fuck” You said aloud as you finally came close enough to see that the door had been kicked in, the wood cracked along the frame, splinters sticking out from the frame. A hand grasped your wrists pulling you back slightly causing you to jump. Leon had stepped in front of you, his hand resting on his sidearm you didn’t even notice he was wearing. “Leon” You whispered as he pushed the front door open so you could both enter. “Stay there whilst I check if the place is clear” He instructed, his tone stern and harsh which made you stop in your tracks abruptly at his order. You watched him disappear into your home faintly hearing his footsteps echo against the hardwood floors. It wasn’t long until he reemerged with a grim look on his face, “I’m sorry they did this to you, sweetheart” 

At his words you pushed past him, a small cry left your lips as you looked at the damage done to your home. Your sofa was smashed up and the TV was too. The plates were smashed up in the kitchen. Someone had ransacked your clothes underwear spilling out of the drawers, t-shirts littered everywhere as if someone had stolen them for their use. You didn’t even feel the tears run down your face until Leon had gently wiped one away from where he now stood in front of you. “My- my stuff. I can’t afford to replace it. What do I do?” You wept into his arms burying your face into his chest, clutching desperately at his shirt.

Leon couldn’t help but smile at how his plan was just perfectly falling in place, part of him felt bad for the damage he had to do to your property after knowing how hard you worked to even afford any of it. “It’s alright, You can stay at mine. There’s a doorman and no one but me can access my floor unless they have my permission” He reassured you. “That’s a temporary fix, Leon, whoever did this will just follow me to the next place until they are stopped” You sighed pulling away from him and wiping your eyes as you again looked at the damage. “This is the dress they got me, It’s untouched and where I left it” You said picking up the garment. “That means whoever did this is the same person that bought the dress as they want me to have it and wear it”

Leon cursed you in his head because of how easily you noticed things. He forgot about the dress but not the coffee as the coffee was now thrown against the wall outside as he took his anger out. Along with the rest of the house, all of it failed against the brunt of his anger at his life. It was like he used your house as a rage room as a way of therapy to regain himself after his torturous day of filling out paperwork. “I’ll file in a report at work, my tech person will investigate it for you to see if they can spot any activity,” He said, his brain working overtime to try and remain as neutral as he could be. You nodded sighing as you began to repack a few bags/boxes of things you didn’t want to be stolen whilst you remained at Leon’s. You paused at the sight of the photos of your family members on the floor, the frames were broken and the glass had cut into some of them. Leon watched your reaction carefully he didn’t mean to get the photo but in his fit of rage, he was just so angry at the way they had left you all alone in this cruel world and didn't even bother to check up on you; that he thought they deserved it. “I guess I don’t have to think about them anymore,” You said, your voice slightly faltering as you looked away from the damaged photos. 

“I think it’s a junk food and movie night instead?” he joked as he helped you carry the boxes to the car. You let out a small scoff the only sound you could muster up to show your amusement at his joke. “What would I do without you Kennedy? Providing all the comforts for me” You teased. Leon grinned at your compliment, his heart fluttering at your praise. “At least I’ve got someone pretty to try and return to from my mission” He teased right back. You felt your cheeks heat up again, his flirting was getting bolder the closer you got. Heat filled your core at the possible idea of him liking you back. Maybe spending some time at his would help you gain something good out of the situation. “I’ll make sure to play the part of housewife whilst you are gone. I’ve phoned into work and explained the situation. Just to stay extra safe at yours” You said. Leon nodded as he tried hard to suppress the grin on his face from how easily this was working in his favour. He had to adjust his cock yet again as it hardened in his pants from the idea of you playing the housewife in his apartment whilst he was away, keeping you up there all safe from anything that could harm you. No one could take you away from him as long as you were locked safely behind those doors. 

It was getting dark by the time you had finished gathering anything that wasn’t damaged. You stood at the entrance looking at the small bungalow, it made you sad as you didn’t know if you were going to be able to go back there or not. “The scariest thing about this situation is I don’t think I pay for the damage if I have to move out” You joked. Leon chuckled from where he stood next to you. “I’ll pay for it,” he said, his arm draping around your shoulder and guiding you away from the bungalow. You quietly thanked him before getting into the car. Rock music slowly filled the silence as Leon started to drive away, his eyes flickered at your defeated form. Your small area of peace in this world was now gone by his hands, he really wanted to feel guilty yet his brain told him it was for the greater good of your safety. He just now needed to keep you from leaving his side where you are the safest he was sure. Leon let you take the drive back in silence not wanting to interrupt your silent mourning period.

“I don’t want to take up a lot of your space Leon so you can sleep in your room. You have already done enough for me” You finally spoke. “It’s fine, I get lonely being in that large space on my own. You can stay there for as long as you need to” Leon reassured, he placed his hand on your knee and squeezed it comfortingly. “Well I assume I’ll be evicted from the damage so it might be for a while” You said, looking down at the text you had sent to your landlord about the damage and situation. You didn’t mean for the paragraph to be so wordy but you assumed that the more honest you were and the more information you gave him, he might let you off the hook a little bit since it wasn't exactly your fault. “That's fine you can use the spare room, I’ll clean it out once I get back. The bedroom can be yours whilst I’m away though. No point in you sleeping on my sofa” he said. You nodded, returning to your silence for the rest of the journey. 

You were mentally and physically exhausted by the time you reached Leon’s and had finished unpacking the car. You flopped down on the sofa and began curling into the same throw you were snuggled into earlier in an attempt to hide away from the world. Leon smiled at your frame hidden away in the corner and offered to make you a coffee. You gratefully accepted it as you began to flick through the channels, the entire evening felt more domestic. It sorta felt right, like you were meant to always be in Leon’s space. It wouldn’t be a bad thing surely, being roommates with him?  He was tidy and respected your space so far, he was also kind and attractive. You knew him too after spending hours at the bar with him. Out of everyone you have met there, he has been the kindest and never displayed anything you should be concerned about. Leon placed the warm mug on the coffee table before sitting down next to you, his arm was draped over the back of the sofa behind your head. It was almost like an invitation into his warmth. You slowly scootched over to him, snuggling yourself into the small gap wanting some form of comfort after the past few days of torment your life had decided to give you.

Leon smiled down at your form snuggling into him, his arm moved down to drap over your waist. He could feel his cock harden again when he caught a whiff of your shampoo, your hand was laid against his thigh very close to his crotch. It was like your touch and presence made him into a teenage boy again - or maybe it’s from the years he spent at training with only the thought of someone he presumed was dead. He never really had the time to sort out his problems having no privacy in the army base when you shared a room full of men in bunk beds. His breath caught in his throat as your small fingers began to draw circles idly on his thigh as you watched the mind-nubbing TV. “Careful with what are you doing there Sweetheart. Don't want you to start something you don’t want to finish?” He spoke, his voice was low and his eyes were almost black when you looked up to meet him. You daringly moved your dingers to graze over the outline of his erection. “Or what?” You dared with a smile. 

Leon didn’t hesitate to lift you off the sofa. Carrying you to his bedroom with his hands gripping your thighs tightly as your legs wrapped around his waist. He left hot kisses along your pulse point nibbling small marks as he went along. “You have no idea how long I've wanted this sweetheart” he groaned when he finally placed you on the bed. His hips ground against yours, your leggings doing little to prevent the feel of the friction. You whimpered as his hips pressed against your clit you became desperate for him to remove the clothing between the two of you. “Such pretty noises, I can’t wait to finally hear the sounds you make when my cock is inside your pretty cunt” He groaned as he rolled his hips again trying to draw the noise from your plush lips. 

He kissed you again, his teeth biting down on your lower lip begging for access with his tongue. The kisses became sloppier the more turned-on he got, his cock begging to be released from its restraints behind his pants. His fingers teased the waistline of your leggings before slowly pulling them down your legs, hot sloppy kisses following them. He groaned at the sight of your arousal already seeping through the cotton of your underwear. “Such excitement for me sweetheart, have you been wanting this for a while? Touching your precious lips to the thought of me each night” He tease, the pads of his fingers running up your clothed pussy. You whined at him bucking your hips to follow his gentle touch. “Please don’t tease me Leon” You begged. 

Leon tutted through his teeth at the sound of his name, “Silly girl, do you really think I want to hear my name roll off your lips? Now sweetheart address me properly…use your pretty brain to figure it out” He prompted whilst kissing the inside of your thighs, his teeth gently nibbling at the soft skin leaving small bruises. He let your brain figure it out, his fingers drawing circles around your clit as he waited. Leon smirked watching you writhe underneath him trying to chase his fingers. “Daddy?” you eventually whimpered out. Leon chuckled, and his fingers slowly began to pull down your underwear as a reward. “Good girl- you know good girls get rewards” he spoke as he began to kiss your slit. His tongue lapping up at the juices dripping out of your pussy moaning at the taste of you. 

He cock twitched at the sounds that left your lips when his teeth grazed your sensitive bud. You whined when he pulled away but watched with greedy eyes as he slowly undid the button of his jeans freeing his erection. His cock slapped against his stomach, pre cum seeping from the slit on his tip. Your fingers grasped the bottom of the hoody preparing to pull it over your head and display your breasts to him, but he stopped you. “I want to fuck you in my clothes, so you think of nothing but me. To have my scent fill your cute little nose as your cunt gets stuffed with my cock. So you know that you'll be fine as long as you have me” He spoke lowly in your ear. You probably should have been more concerned by his words, by the claims of possession that snuck their way in. But he was right, in this moment you wanted nothing more than the feeling of his cock filling you up as he slowly thrust into you. 

Leon didn’t want to waste any time with you, he had waited patiently for months for this moment, for the feeling of your walls enveloping him in their warmth as he pushed his length inside of you. He leaned back grasping at your hips as he brought them to his own and began thrusting himself into you, he enjoyed the way your soft flesh spilt from between his fingers and grew hornier every time he heard a whine from your lips as he angled himself up. His tip began to hit the perfect spot. You could feel every stress and worry from the past few days leave your mind as he fucked them all away. 

“Fucking hell, you feel like heaven” he groaned as he picked up his pace. He practically ignored how you wriggled and clutched at him desperately like the pleasure was too much and your poor oversized body tried to escape. He enjoyed the feel of your nails drawing lines on any part of his body you grabbed at. The word daddy was a chant leaving your mouth like you were born to call him it. His desire was growing to keep you hidden from the world, to leave you here where you are safe in his apartment so he could provide you, and treat you to anything you wanted. You had been alone for far too long, he wanted to be your salvation. He wanted to give you a part of himself so you always had him close by. His thrusts became harsher and deeper as he thought all of the people he's seen miss treat you at the bar, or even the scum of a man that he had beaten to a pulp yesterday for even thinking he was worthy enough of your pussy. 

Your walls gripped him tight as you drew closer to your release, your legs locked him in tight not even caring he hadn’t bothered to put on protection before beginning his actions. Leon however was aware he was bare right now, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to see what would happen if he dumped himself into you, to see if you would swell with his child. It would give you even more of a reason to stay with him, to help raise the life he created inside of you. The thought encouraged him even more as he tugged your body into a mating press, his weight crushed you as he drove his hips into you with the intent to spill himself inside of you. “Such a good girl sweetheart” he praised when he felt your walls clench tightly around him as you experienced the rush of your arousal as you orgasmed. The added moisture now caused him to slip in and out of you faster, it wasn't long until a stream of curses left his lips and he finally deposited his load inside. Driving his hips as far as they could go making sure your pussy drank up every last drop he had to offer. 

Leon slid his softening cock out of you as he left to get something to clean you up with. His brain was nervous to see if you would regret your actions, however, when he walked back into his room he was met with your sweet smile which made his heart beat just a tiny bit faster. “Hi handsome” you whisper when he gingerly began to wipe away any evidence of himself from your pussy. He would have preferred to keep you messy with himself, using his cum as lube for his next round, but this was a big step towards his dream with you and he didn't want to ruin it because he acted like some horny teenage boy. He felt himself grow hard again seeing you blissed out on his bed leaking his cum as you beckoned him to cuddle with you. He wasn’t going to refuse, instead, he threw the rag across the door and began to look for a shirt you could sleep in. 

You however were quite happy to continue to wear the shirt he was currently wearing and had just fucked you in, your fingers tickled his sides as you lifted it over his head. Leon groaned at the sight of your breasts as you swapped the jumper for the t-shirt, the soft mounds of flesh on display for him the entire time. “You make me a happy man love” he muttered as he laid down next to you, he pulled you against him so his chest was against your back. “We’ve only had sex once” you giggled as you curled yourself into the warmth of his bed. “For months you have made me a very happy man, I'm glad you are finally mine” he muttered into your hair. His words made you pause your daydream, you hadn’t agreed on anything yet, and you thought this was going to be something that steadily grew into a relationship but Leon had different ideas. You tried to ignore it, instead just appreciating his hold on you. 

When you awoke, Leon was again missing, except this time he had left you a text. 

‘Good morning sweetheart, I had to leave for another debrief of my mission but should return in the next few hours. Make yourself at home, I ordered you some breakfast and left it in the kitchen…hopefully, it's still warm. I’ll see you soon 

You slipped on some underwear, that you had dug out from one of the many bags you had bought with you, and walked towards the kitchen to see what he had ordered you for breakfast. You noticed the logo straight away, it was again the exact order you got from the cafe but you had just assumed you had told him at some point it was your favourite. The day went on fine, you spent most of it scrolling on your phone or watching TV until eventually, you found yourself itching to do something useful. You wandered around the apartment trying to remember which door led to the spare room so you could start unpacking the things you had bought, but when you opened the door you were met with his office. The space was filled with a dark mahogany desk that was placed in front of the windows which had the best view of the city skyline, it made sense why he made this room his office the view itself was inspiring. You slowly made your way over to the desk to look at the view closer until you noticed a large binder with your name on it. 

Curiously you began to flick through the pages, your heart dropping at the sight of all the photos of you taken from a distance. Your fingers shook as you turned each page, his handwriting had filled out a bunch of notes with things that you must have spoken to him about whilst he was at the bar drinking. Each page was like a diary entry, talking about what you did that day, and what route you took to work. How your shift was and if you mention any new information about yourself to him. “It can’t be him” You whispered to yourself, fear flooding through your body as you scanned through the book until the more recent entries. You dropped the book with a loud thud when a photo of you in the dress showed up, the receipt of the item stuck in like it was some token of his day. Your skin felt clammy as you began to run to the bathroom to throw up. 

You came to him for help and comfort, blindly trusted him with everything as he acted like your friend. He was your stalker. You began to cry into the toilet, clutching the cold ceramic like it was your life line. He had betrayed your trust, Leon had spent months laying a web and you had blindly walked straight into it. You stood up quickly and ran to the front door, you began to push and pull at the wooden barrier but it wouldn’t budge. You were locked in here…he had trapped you.  “Fucking asshole!” You screamed into the empty apartment. You began to pound and kick the front door in hopes it would pry open. Eventually, the fight left your body and you sunk to your knees still weakly banging on the door, tears now leaked from your eyes. 

Leon was sat in his office when his phone chimed in with a movement alert, you had woken up. He spent his time watching you flutter around the apartment like it was your own, but he abruptly stood up when he watched you enter his office. He thought he had locked it, even double checked it. Without letting his superiors know why he raced out of the building thanking the lord he decided to take his bike today and not his car. He didn’t allow himself time to even process how he was going to react to the situation, all he knew was to get home. 

You stood up leaning against the door for support as you swayed slightly, your head spinning as a headache began to form from the tears. You walked back to the office and sat in the chair looking at the files on the table and reading through each entry that he made about your days. Tears running down your face dripping onto the paper. The sound of the door unlocking made you jump as you then paused what you were doing. As his footsteps began to thud around the apartment you spun around to greet him as he entered, your hands were clammy you began to sweep them away on your thighs nervously. You had no idea how he was going to react once he found you. 

 His hair was windswept when he finally made it to his open office door, his eyes widened at the sight of you sitting in his office chair and you swore those same inky black eyes leaked into the whites again. Your eyes however were red from crying causing him to change his posture at the sight of them and with how your cheeks blotchy with tears as you looked at him. He waited for you to say something so he could begin to form a reply that would suit the situation the best. His brain automatically finding ways to try and manipulate the situation to his advantage. “Why?” You said, your voice cracking slightly. “I need to keep you safe, I can’t lose anyone else” He said bluntly, his body was stiff as he began to move close to you, almost like he was approaching a scared deer. “And locking me up here whilst you left was the most reasonable way to do it?! By stalking me for God knows how long instead of just asking me out on a date? You’re insane” You spoke, you could feel the tears pooling at your eyes again. “Get away from me” You said as you shoved his hands away, standing from the chair and backing into a corner.

You hated how he wasn’t replying, you hated how despite how much he's hurt you, you still wanted to be in his arms to cry it all out. Maybe that's why you only flinched when his arms circled around you and pulled you close to him. You weakly tried to shove yourself away but ended up just sobbing in his arms, falling to the floor again but this time he fell with you.“Let me go leon, I want to leave” you begged. “I can’t. You need to be safe, there's things that can hurt you- i can keep you safe” He whispered. “You fucking asshole” you said shoving yourself out of his embrace, you could tell you were whiplashing him with your emotions. You tried not to feel guilty at the way they were displayed so honestly on his face. “You manipulated me, I trusted you Leon! I trusted you would keep me safe from the person stalking me and it was you- I slept with you” 

You began to itch your body as the memories from last night flickered through your body, you felt so gross and slimy as you remembered he orgasmed in you, he implanted himself in you. You silently prayed to the gods above that nothing would come from that. “Are you just going to lock me in here?” you said, your tone harsh and louder as you became more angry. “If that’s what it takes to keep you safe” he muttered, his hair falling over his face like he had any reason to be scared. You scoffed and walked out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind you. You collapsed against the door, tucking your head in your knees as you cried, your body shaking with heavy sobs and you tried to form a plan around getting out. 

[thunderandsage]

hannibal fic recs

(in honor of my first ever fandom… yea i get the implications of how that makes me look 😂 anyways, i tend to like the hannibal fics that are closer to the tone and content of the series vs some of the more popular ones jsyk, and i’m putting the more “same characters, different vibes ” fics in the bottom section. my absolute favorites recs are the ones with red titles)

SEASON 1 ERA/VIBES

Pièce Montée, 3k words, episode-style case fic with well-written original characters and plot, sympathetic killers, would kill (ha) for this to be an actual episode on the show

where there is smoke, there is fire, 3k, georgia madchen character study, reading experience comparable to the joy and dread of watching sparks catch on kindling

Foreplay, 1.5k, despite the title not a smut fic but is actually a hannibal character study which takes the premise “seeing people as meat” and seeing how he does/doesn’t view people’s humanity

SEASON 2 ERA/VIBES

Salome, 6k words, tension, delves into the dark obsessive side of oscar wilde’s work, excellent hannibal pov

As Smoke to Flame, 3k, wherein the seduction does include fucking and predictably doesn’t make anything better, focuses on the inherent angst and betrayal of will’s ploy

Trotline, 7k, takes the fluffy-sounding premise of “will takes hannibal fishing” and makes it uh hannibal, an incredible take on hannibal’s sadism/cruelty, gorgeous looming sense of dread

each according to its own kind, 192k, after getting released will ditches the fbi and leaves for the other side of the continent, a love letter to the pacific northwest, the best will graham interpretation i have ever seen, slowburn character study, bonus points bc hannibal gets decked not once but twice in glorious detail, john steinbeck vibes, one of my favorite pieces of writing ever

pitiful things sometimes born in hospitals, 8k, daemon au where will has yet another difference, not a hannigram fic, beverly/will vibes, bittersweet and tragic

your heart is a vast stone desert, 10k, a conversation goes left field and enters the thorny splendor of psychedelic imagery and the most sinuous dialogue you’ve ever read, takes inspiration from ives’s play venus in fur

SEASON 3 ERA/VIBES

Silver Springs, 2k, a Dolce “let’s make this worse,” non-linear writing, heavy angst but god it hurts so good, gorgeous feels from the eponymous song

Tenderest touch leaves the darkest of marks, 6k, a short scene in the BSHCI, what it means to be loved gently by a monster, grotesque and tender at the same time

highway 190, 10k, will graham growing up as a queer man in the deep south and beyond, religious trauma, prose as vivid and striking as a poisonous snake

Churrasco, 2k, leans into the avant-garde vibes of the show, all characters start out using false identities and you get to see them revealed slowly

Au Natur, 9k, a bleak but beautiful imagining of post-fall hannigram, fully embraces will graham’s manipulative tendencies

forgiveness, 1k, a poem-with-footnotes format as Will attempts to explain what his life has become to his father

Sins of Omission, 15k, Jack Crawford’s perspective on the development of hannigram, regret, very good outsider pov

VIBES-ADJACENT (aka fics that don’t “feel hannibal” or are vy AU, but are vy good nonetheless)

Adrasteia, 96k words, Kitchen Nightmares AU, nsfc (not safe for chilton), a hilariously sarcastic and done(tm) will graham, the first long hannibal fic that i read

Black Swan, 10k, as per the tags “all serial killers are birds, some birds are serial killers,” a cracky Swan Lake AU

Separately to a Wood, 13k, a “love at first sight” leads to “proposal during the breakfast scene,” soft

They Came to Florence or: Plagiarize This Fic, 5k, hannibal is a huge fan of will graham’s novels and becomes incensed when someone plagiarizes them, the author was apparently inspired to write this after someone plagiarized one of her fics and i respect that

Poppies, 5k, wherein it is acknowledged that for all the horror she’s been through abigail is just a teenage girl and is allowed some soft moments

their beaks not yet turned red, 134k, magical realism au where the baby does miraculously save the marriage, includes hilarious takes on the inherent absurdities of hannibal’s trial

Be Your Dog, 4k, a rock band au that adapts will graham’s proverbial “descent to the dark side” with an ominous intensity

Sagittarius, 13k, a salem witch trials au where will seeks to avenge abigail’s death by any means necessary, dark but cathartic

a siphon; to pass through, 71k, will has type one diabetes and hannibal is an infuriatingly smug vampire, crack but extremely well-written

[sammyycain]

Sam Winchester and Themes of Sexual Assault, Bodily Autonomy and Impurity

Sam Winchester from the hit 2005 CW show Supernatural is a much overlooked character, by fans and the story itself. Despite being one of the main characters in the show he and his problems are often sidelined in order to make room for more popular characters like Dean and Castiel. This leads to a lot of his problems not being taken seriously and played as jokes by both the show itself and the fandom. Sam’s entire story is deeply routed in themes of bodily autonomy, sexual assault and the resulting feelings of impurity. However these themes are often sidelined and played as jokes due to him being a man.


The theme of sexual assault is shown very early on in the show, staring with Sam’s encounter with the demon Azazel (often referred to as “Yellow Eyes”). In the show Sam and Dean’s mother, Mary Winchester makes a deal with Azazel in order to bring her husband back to life, thus giving him “permission” to do what he wants in 10 years. This choice culminates in a 6-month old Sam being fed demon blood by Azazel, thus starting the pattern of Sam being groomed in one way or another by almost everyone in his life. Mary walks in on Azazel and Sam, leading to her death which sparks John Winchester into his obsessive hunting for the demon that killed Mary. The implications of this scene are made abundantly clear in the later interactions between Sam and Azazel where the latter refers to what happened between them as “their little secret.” Azazel also implicates Sam in his mother’s death through the line “she walked in on us.” This line is a blatant innuendo and forces Sam to place even more blame upon himself than John did. Sam’s attitude towards this whole encounter is one of clear disgust and shame which is shown when Sam says “So he could bleed in my mouth.” This line especially implies CSA (child sexual assault) as it shows just how little agency Sam has had over his life.

These themes continue throughout the series as both Sam and Dean have suggestive remarks made towards them by various supernatural creatures. One example of this in the first episode when the woman in white attempts to force herself on Sam in order to make him become unfaithful to Jess. While this is brushed off very quickly in the show, it sets a precedent for the tonality of the show regarding sexual assault towards its main characters and Sam in particular. This comes up again in a scene where the demon Meg has both of the brothers tied up but focuses specifically on Sam, making suggestive comments towards him and touching him inappropriately. He looks extremely uncomfortable throughout this entire exchange. Sam is then possessed by Meg in a later episode, with possession being used as a metaphor for sexual assault throughout the show, especially in relation to Sam, she then uses Sam’s body to harm his family and friends, making suggestive and threatening comments to them while doing so. In fact, most of Sam’s romantic and sexual interactions with female characters are non-consensual on his end. While these are all played for laughs because of Sam being a man, they are horrifying when looked at through any other point of view. An important example of this is the character Becky Rosen and her interactions with Sam; when Sam asks Becky to stop groping him it’s played entirely for laughs despite Sam looking immensely uncomfortable. In a season 7 episode Becky drugs Sam with a love potion, strips him half naked and ties him to her bed. This is often referred to as a funny episode both in the show and by the fandom, further cementing how the show refuses to acknowledge Sam’s trauma.

The themes of impurity due to CSA and grooming reappear during season 4 when Sam is in a relationship with the demon Ruby. She, in a way heavily reminiscent of Azazel encourages Sam to drink her blood in order to gain powers or so she tells him. To me, this entire relationship had the opportunity to explore Sam’s trauma in a creative and interesting way, and despite not doing this, Sam and Ruby’s relationship still portrays many interesting themes such as addiction being used as coping mechanism and the desire to take back agency after being assaulted. Through Ruby’s encouragement of Sam’s consumption of demon blood, he forms an addiction and starts to associate demon blood with sex, something that had the groundwork laid for it when he was a child. This plot line is especially interesting to me as it seems to be heavily reminiscent of the way many trauma survivors seek to have the same or similar experiences on their own terms as a way of taking back control from their abusers. Throughout Sam’s relationship with Ruby he is being groomed into opening Lucifer’s cage and letting him, thus giving way to the next important theme in Sam’s story: his lack of bodily autonomy and feeling like his body is not his own.

Themes of bodily autonomy play heavily in season 5 when Sam is pressured by everyone around him into giving up his body to Lucifer in order to bring about the end of the world. Eventually he does do this, using the last of his mental power to throw Lucifer back into the cage, thus resulting in both of them being trapped inside. Sam’s body is then brought back to life, leaving his soul to be tortured in the cage by Lucifer. It’s heavily implied that Sam was also raped during this year with Lucifer. When Sam’s soul is reunited with his body, he beings to hallucinate Lucifer and being back in the cage, with the only way to stop these hallucinations being to cause himself pain. This is once again played as a joke by the show, making Lucifer a funny and charming character, subsequently meaning that the fans perceive him as a likeable character, once again causing everyone to sideline Sam’s trauma. Another instance of Sam’s bodily autonomy being ripped away from him is when Dean helps the angel Galadriel trick Sam into letting him possess Sam. I’m in no way attempting to apply blame to Dean as he was also tricked, however he also trivialises his brother’s experience in a particularly shocking exchange after Sam managed to get Galadriel out of him. Sam says that Galadriel left some of himself behind but Cas fixed everything up, Dean then makes a joke saying that it sounded like an episode of teen moms; this conversation further displays the way that no one in the narrative takes Sam’s trauma seriously.

In conclusion, Sam Winchester constantly has his bodily autonomy taken away from him in many different ways throughout the show. He also has his struggles and feeling of impurity trivialised and played for laughs by the writers, actors and fandom. He is referred to as a freak and abomination due to his trauma and never has any of his problems resolved in any meaningful way. Sam Winchester could have been a much better character if he was not so overlooked and joked about.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: bluegill

This series goes all over the world; from the tropics to the poles to the deep sea. After all that, it can be nice to go home. For this Wet Beast Wednesday I'm going back to my spawnpoint of Illinois and discussing the state fish: the bluegill.

(Image: a bluegill underwater. It is a round fish flattened on the sides. It is green on the top ans fades to yellow on the sides. The underside of the chin is bright blue and behind the head is a bright orange patch. End ID)

Lepomis macrochirus is the most popular and famous of genus Lepomis, known as the sunfish or true sunfish (not to be confused with ocean sunfish). These fish are native to freshwater lakes, streams, wetlands, and rivers of North America and all share a fleshy ear flap extending from the operculum and are usually quite colorful. Bluegills are large for sunfish, which isn't saying much. Adults can reach and average of between 10 and 30 cm (4-12 in) and the largest bluegill on record reached a whopping 41 cm (16 cm) and was weighed in at 4 lbs 12 ox (2.2 kg). Bluegills and flattened and deep bodies with fused dorsal fins and spines in both the dorsal and anal fins that help prevent predation. The fish are brightly colored, but coloration varies widely based on size, diet, time of year, location, and many other factors. Because of this, two bluegill can look like completely different fish. Their bodies can range from dark green to orange, darkest on the top, and they usually have green faces with blue markings on the chin and bottom of the face that give them their common name. The "breast" region just below and behind the head ranges from yellow to orange and is usually a bright orange in mature males. A key feature is that the ear flap is black. Bluegills usually grow more brightly colored during mating season and less colorful other times of the year. There is a series of vertical stripes going down the side of the body that can quickly be darkened as a threat display.

(Image: a bluegill in a net with its stripes in full display. End ID)

Bluegill are skilled swimmers thanks to the shape and flexibility of their fins and the amount of fine control they have over them. This lets the fish maneuver gracefully through obstacles and confined spaces that other fish would struggle in and turn while not having to move forward. Bluegills are also one of a relatively few fish that are skilled at swimming backwards. This requires very different fin motion than swimming forwards. When swimming forwards, bluegills use their tail fin to provide thrust with the other fins helping with steering as is typical for fish. While swimming backwards, the dorsal and anal fins provide thrust while the pectoral fins are moved in a rowing motion to provide steering. Bluegills are also fast swimmers, their slender bodies allowing them to cut through the water at high speeds. Bluegills are also often used as an example when explaining the c-start escape response. This is a behavior found in tons of fish used to escape from danger. When the fish senses danger, a group of specialized neurons called Mauthner cells activate and control the escape response. The fish bends its body into a C shape. This shape allows for maximum thrust when it rapidly straightens its body out again for a speedy getaway. The c-start escape response is heavily customizable, allowing the fish to shoot off at nearly any angle it needs.

(Image: a young bluegill swimming amongst lilypads. It is not as round as the larger fish and its colors are more muted. End ID)

Bluegills are found in freshwater systems east of the Rocky Mountains (so most of North America) but they have been introduced west of the Rockies and to other parts of the world. They are very adaptable fish that can live in a wide variety of environments. It is probably easier to list bodies of water in North America that don't have bluegill than the other way around. They prefer to live in areas with cover, live brush, aquatic plants, and shady spots. Bluegill are diurnal predators that subsist on aquatic invertebrates like insect and crayfish larvae and worms, along with the occasional smaller fish. In times of famine, they will eat aquatic plants and algae or turn to cannibalism. Like many fish, bluegill feed through suction and they need to get within under 2 centimeters of they prey for the suction to be effective. Bluegills are also prey to larger predatory fish, turtles, birds, raccoons, and otters. Bluegill are mostly active in the morning and evening and will often move between feeding grounds and shelter during the day. They are reported to be aggressive to each other and other fish. Sighs of aggression include darkening their stripes, flaring their ear flaps, and biting.

(Image: someone holding a very fat bluegill. End ID)

Bluegills mate in the summer between May and August. Males will build nests in rocky or sandy bottoms by clearing away sediment to expose hard surfaces. The nests are circular and 15 to 30 cm (6-12 in) in diameter and built in shallow water. Males will swim around their nest to try to attract females through displays and grunting noises. Females carefully analyze the male's displays and appear to prefer males with larger ear flaps. Once a female chooses a male, they will circle each other as the male acts aggressive. Once they meet in the middle of the nest the two will touch their underbellies together, with the male on top, and the female will lay her eggs as the male fertilizes them. The eggs sink into the nest and stick to hard surfaces. After mating, the male takes the kids in the divorce chases the female away and will guard the nest until the eggs hatch and the larvae swim away. During this period, the male will aggressively defend the nest against anything that comes near. They have been known to approach and bite snorkelers who get too close. Females can produce between 1,000 and 100,000 eggs depending on their size. Bluegill will mate multiple times each season. Larvae live in the shallows and feed on plankton. They grow rapidly for their first three years and then slow down. Bluegill can live up to 11 years, but usually live between 5 and 8 years.

(Image: bluegill nests seen from above. The nests are circular depressions filled with pebbles. Each nest has a male hovering over it. End ID)

Bluegill can hybridize with other sunfish, though this is rare in the wild. It usually happens when two sunfish species live in an area with limited nesting ground. The most common hybrid is with the green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) to produce an offspring called a greengill. Greengills are highly varied in appearance and typically between their parents in size. Most greengills seem to be the result of a male bluegill attracting and mating with a female green. Greengills were long thought to be stile as are most hybrids, but a least some second generation hybrids have been discovered. Greengills do have reduced fertility compared to their parent species. Another hybrid that is less commonly seen and not as well studied is the pumpkingill, a hybrid of bluegill and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus).

(Image: a greengill being held in someone's hand. It is more elongated than a bluegill and reatins the orange breast, blue chin, and black ear flap while being otherwise darker than most bluegills. End ID)

Bluegills are classified as least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not in danger of extinction. Bluegills have been introduced to waters well outside of the native range by anglers and they have become an invasive species in multiple countries. They are banned from being imported in Germany and Japan because of how invasive they became. Bluegills are highly popular among anglers. They are small and easy enough to catch to be a good target for beginners and large bluegill are a good example of panfish, fish small enough to be cooked in a frying pan. Large males are particularly easy to catch due to their aggressive defense of their nest. Many places have very low populations of large males. Lakes and ponds are frequently stocked with captive-bred bluegill to attract anglers. Population management is important because bluegill can damage the local ecosystem if their numbers grow too large. They can also be introduced to ponds to try to help control aquatic insect populations. Bluegills have little fear of humans, especially in places where people feed them. I personally have been SCUBA diving in a quarry where people feed the fish and the bluegills swam right up to me. Bluegills that are very familiar with people are know to allow themselves to be pet. Bluegills can be kept in captivity, though they need large tanks and tend to be aggressive to other fish.

(Image: a larval bluegill. It is a long, white fish with small fins and a very large eye. A scale identified part of the tail as being 2000 micrometers long. End ID)

[dckweed]

TORMENTED TRAGEDY, benedict bridgerton

summary: in which ruth archibald participated in her first social season in two years, re-introduced to high society after a years long retreat to a rest home after having had a horrid break down during her first season. she expects the whispers and sideways glances, the purely evident lack of suitors (what man wants a crazy wife?), however she doesn’t expect to find companionship in that of Benedict Bridgerton, and least if all the affect she so unknowingly craved.

warnings: brief mentions of abuse & attempted suicide. depression is going to be a heavy theme throughout the series so if you're uncomfortable, please do not read any further. cold and uncaring maternal figure, crazy twin brother who helps his sister be happy by sneaking off with her favorite bridgerton brother, loving father figure, its brigerton so ofc she's gonna be featured in whistledown and most likely bullied by the ton...eventual smut

series masterlist here. if you would like to be tagged in future parts, please comment on the separate taglist post!

i. seasons greetings

The sun rose over the blackened iron gates of the Archibald family’s city home, a grand structure (much too large for their family of five) situated on it’s own city block merely four streets over from the royal palace, and with it, Ruth Archibald woke to the sights of here own bedroom for the first time in two years.

The walls were still the peachy pink color of her girlhood, her room still decorated with that of the last things she’d touched, a book on the table next to her bed, her hairbrush and jewelry and in the corner, that god forsaken baby blue dress..She stared at the ceiling, unmoving from her bed despite the early morning light filtering in from behind the drapes. She felt like a stranger to herself in these four walls..Ruth had left a crumbling mess of a distraught girl, and had come home an entirely different person. 

Two years in a glorified mental facility could do that to a person, though deep down, she had always quite felt like this, like she was just going through the motions and painting a bright smile on her face while doing what was expected of her, and there was always so much expected of her. 

The Marquess and Marchioness were of one of the highest rankings, The Marquess, Lord Archibald serving as advisor to King George and Queen Charlotte. His children were expected to be intelligent and beautiful, sociable. They were expected to be prim and proper, to be knowledgeable in politics as well as being proper hostesses, fine horsemen and cordially impeccable. They were expected to be the most popular of the Ton’s high society, the most desirable for courtships and the perfect marriage for even someone as high ranking as a prince. 

All of which, Ruth had been. Perfectly perfect in every aspect..though it seemed never perfect enough for her mother. 

Marchioness Archibald was not an easy woman to please, the three of her children had learned that together, growing up competing for the womans cold affections their entire lives. It seemed that Ruth had finally won them two years ago when she had landed herself the fancy of a soon to be Duke, someone she had known her entire life..The boy was handsome, her mother had said, his father worked closely with the king and queen, he had troves of money..they would make a fine match, she had said. 

Ruth couldn’t do it. 

The soon to be Duke was not a kind nor caring man, something that Ruth had known growing up. Her brother had protested (having gone to eton and oxford with the man), her father had seemed angered by the arrangement that had happened behind his back. Ruth had tried to tell him no, but her other had already betrothed them, making the plans with his father,.the family would be receiving an ungodly amount in the form of her dowry. 

Ruth tried. 

She smiled politely, she wore her most flattering dresses, she spoke kindly and intelligently. She did everything she had been taught to, Cecil seemed to have responded well, though he spoke hardly in a cold tone not unlike her mothers. Her mother, though, had seemed quite pleased with her for once and Ruth basked in it, feeling the warm tickles of her conditional love. 

The girl had managed to keep up with it, her upcoming nuptials the talk of the ton. She kept up the smile, the ruse of love drunk bliss, had done all that was expected of her by society, and most importantly, her mother. She thrived under the pressure, until she couldn’t. 

It had happened on the eve of their wedding, the two families had been rehearsing how the next day was supposed to go, where each person would stand at the ceremony, what the couple would say as their vows..

Ruth couldn’t quite meet Cecil’s eyes as she repeated the vows after the priest. Something about the man she was set to marry the next afternoon seemed extra foreboding, his entire body looked rigid, tense, and his voice was cold and empty when he spoke his words. Short and to the point, as if he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. Honestly, Ruth couldn’t blame him, she herself would rather have been anywhere besides there. 

The rehearsal came and went easily enough, and the entire party went back to the Archibald manor, where the grooms family was joining the Archibalds for a friendly, but formal supper. 

Ruth had taken to her room nearly immediately, having politely mingled with her mother and father in law to be for a few minutes before feigning exhaustion and retiring herself upstairs, where se paced tirelessly, attempting to calm her nerves as she thought about the wedding, how in mere hours she would belong no longer to her own self but to a man that she had been afraid of when they were younger. 

It had terrified her how unhappy she already was. 

Ruth knew not how long she paced for, but a soft knock at her door brings her out of her reverie. At her approval the door opens and her lady’s maid Esther appears. 

“Yes, Esther?” Ruth asks, feigning a smile as she looks her young maid in the face. The girl was a shy thing, her face flushing at being put on the spot by her mistress. Ruth envied her something awful. 

“Your betrothed has asked me to come fetch you, Miss..your families are sitting down for supper and noticed your absence.” The girl can’t even meet her eyes, staring down at Ruth’s bare feet poking from under her skirts. “He seemed most irritated, Miss..” 

Ruth sniffs, turning towards her window. “Kindly inform my betrothed and his family that I will not be joining them for supper, I am unwell. I bid them good evening..” She says, voice stiff. “And then please help me prepare for bed..” There was noway she was going to get the stays of her dress or untie her corset without help..her mother had been insisting on her wearing them as tightly as possible the past few weeks. 

Esther rushes out, leaving Ruth alone to her thoughts once more. The girl, resumes her pacing, mind reeling about her impending nuptial. She so desperately did not wish to marry this man, but she saw no way out without facing her mothers wrath or ruining their family reputation, unless her father put his foot down of course..

An idea formulated as she paced, her mind working on what to say to her father that would make him give final say on the matter. The Marquess had always been soft on his daughters, so really, she knew it would be easy. 

A short moment later a sharp knock sounds on her door, thinking it her maid she’s quick to allow entry, not even bothering to glance. “I should like a hot bath prepared, Esther” Ruth says, opening her wardrobe to find herself a nightgown. 

“Well, i’ll be sure to let her know on my way out.” His vold voice sent her body rigid, a chill creeping along her spine. Ruth turns slowly to face him, offering a soft smile. His face was blank, eyes dark and empty. Slowly he walks towards her, as if stalking prey, until he comes to a stop merely inches from her. “Your young maid said you were unwell and had taken to bed, i thought i would do the husbandly thing and coem check on my bride to be..” His lips purse as he stares down at her, his hand raising to caress her cheek. Ruth felt no emotion behind what should have been a loving touch, and instead her nervousness increased. “Though it seems to be unnecessary, you appear quite well.” 

Ruth wondered where Esther was, they weren’t yet married and she knew they still require a chaperone. “My apologies, your grace,” She says, hoping the smile she wore would help her matter. “I am feeling unwell, nervous about tomorrow I suppose..I was hoping to prepare for bed early so I could be well rested.”

Cecil purses his lips, removing his hand from her face. A feeling of relief flow through Ruth, though it is only for a moment as her cheek is met with an open handed blow, skin stinging as her head is flung to the side. The metallic taste of blood hits her tongue as tears fill her eyes, threatening to spill over. 

Ruth looks to the man that she was meant to wed, eyes widened in fear as she presses a delicate hand to her smarting cheek. “I do not tolerate liars, darling. “ His voice is cool, uncaring that he had just struck his bride as if she were a man. “I will tell our families that you are unwell and wsh to not be bothered.” He caresses her cheek once more, almost affectionately this time, before turning on his heel and marching out. 

A sob wracked her body as the door slammed shut, crumpling to the floor in front of her wardrobe. Esther had nearly fainted at the sight of her, but had stood by her mistress through the night as she lay in bed weeping. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning when Esther had gone to fetch something for the girls aching head that she had done it. Ruth wasn’t entirely sure what possessed her to take the ornate silver letter opener to her arm, but she had done it. Panicked by the sight of her own blood, the girl had collapsed to the ground, a heap of sobs. 

Her mother had shipped her off to the rest home quicker than she could eat breakfast. Hadn’t come to visit her but one time within two years, to tell her with contempt that it was time to come home and marry. That was how she wound up back here, with these memories plaguing her..

A sharp knock at her door moves her mind from the past and into the present as the heavy door swings open, a tuft of graying hair peaking around the edge. 

“Papa?” Ruth asks, sitting up in her bed, worried that something may be wrong. The man sighs and steps into the room, he had not entered it since the morning of the almost tragedy. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were alright, my dear..” The older man speaks, placing a warm and loving hand to his daughters cheek as he takes a seat at the edge of her bed, near her pillows. “I know that your Mama didn’t give you much choice in coming home, I begged her to at least move your room, or for god sake get the damn dress out of here..” His jaw ticked as he stared at the scrap of fabric as if he had wished to burn it on the spot. 

Ruth places a hand on her fathers arm, giving a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be okay, Papa..” Her voice was soft as she spoke, as was the smile that her fathers face bore. “I’m sorry to make you worry, but I promise, it won’t happen again..” 

A large hand covers her own along with a squeeze as he looks down at the smaller form of his youngest child, eyes watery. “I know my daring, I won’t allow it.” Another squeeze, an unspoken promise to do better. To protect her better. “What have you got there?”

And thus began a quiet morning of reading the novel Sense and Sensibility to her father, a fond memory of him reading to her in her youth crossing her mind. When she finally heads down for breakfast with her family, she notices her Mother and older Sister reading little leaflets, the words ‘Seasons Greetings’ emblazoned across the heading. 

“Mama, when may i see the dress for tonights ball?” She asks, sitting down across from her twin brother, who tosses a melon ball in her direction as she’s being served. She rolls her eyes, returning the warm smile he offers her. She had missed her twin brother something awful. He had been her best friend growing up, always getting up to no good with each other. 

Maybe being home isn’t such a bad thing, she thought. 

taglist: @cherrylovers-world @little-boats-on-a-lake @imgondeletedis

[roe-and-memory]

before his debut in the piston cup racing series, lightning spent the previous season (that of 2005) in the dinoco grand national series (the pixar cars equivalent of the nascar xfinity series, essentially a level lower than the cup series).

at the time he started the season at 16, turning 17 in may, and became the youngest driver to ever win a race across all three of the top series (PCRS, DGNS, PCTS), and eventually he would become both the youngest person AND the first ever rookie to win a championship in any of the top 3 series as well.

at this point, this is his first year with harv as his agent, and his first year racing in the big leagues — meaning longer races in hotter places on longer tracks and much more restrictions on what he’s able to do within his car. he doesnt do much, of course, he’s waited his whole life to be at this level and is happy to accept their rules. he excels within this series, much better than anyone thought he would, and gains himself a fanbase of people who watch the DGNS regularly. hes not popular by any means, but damn is he good. he wins eleven races that season alone, including the final race of the season in which that crowns him as the champion (despite his already extreme points lead).

harv is very harsh. lightning assumes thats the way his agent should be — i mean, he IS trying to get a ride in the cup series for the next season — so the agent being on his back about winning and “not failing” seems natural to him.

halfway through the season, during the summer months, one saturday afternoon, its hotter than usual.

typically lightning would have a small desk fan in his car, but the piston cup prohibits that because, of course, they have other options that are more advanced than a plastic clip-on fan.

however, after the start of the race, about midway through, actually, lightnings gear malfunctions. he doesnt tell anybody until the race is over, in which he places ninth and gets out of the car in his pit box, immediately collapsing to the ground.

severe heat exhaustion is what hes suffering from, with headaches, lightheadedness, nausea, hyperventilating due to his struggle with breathing, and muscle cramps all throughout his chest and legs. there are immediately officials at his side, medics following soon behind with ice packs and more water bottles. he will have to go to the hospital, they figure out pretty quickly, as he’s panting like a dog and very obviously struggling to function. he cant even bring himself to think straight, ignoring the questions thrown at him and just curling in on himself.

an official helps him pull his firesuit down to his waist, another official is combing his curls out of his eyes and pressing a cold towel to his forehead, and another is calling the ambulance out from the garage area, all while the medics tend to his burns and press ice packs to his skin.

harv, of course, cannot have his driver looking like a fool in front of the cameras. ESPECIALLY after he embarrassed the entire team by coming in ninth when he had a car that was most definitely first place material. the man storms over to where the teenager is sitting on the ground, back against the side of his car, and starts yelling at him for his performance on the track and his “dramatic act”, referring to the kids medical episode that is still actively occurring.

the official that had helped him get his firesuit off his torso was having none of it. he stands up, gets right into harvs face, and tells him to leave immediately or else security will escort him from the area. when harv protests that hes the kids agent, the official scoffs and tells him it does not matter who he is or what he wants, he will be removed from the premises forcibly.

lightning wants to apologize for disappointing him, but he cant seem to form the words to say it, instead the mans words bury themselves like daggers under his skin and only make his hyperventilating worse.

that hospital trip wasnt fun. harv was angry, impatient, the entire time. he had the official that defended him and mack at his side the whole time, after the official informed the nurse that the teenagers agent should not be allowed into the room the man simply paced outside the door, occasionally peering through the small window to glare at the three.

lightning was plagued with guilt, and profusely apologized to mack for the disappointment. the trucker insisted he shouldnt apologize, it wasnt his fault — he just wishes the kid had told them that his cooling equipment had broken so they couldve fixed it and not had to have experienced this kind of hospital trip.

[gravityglitch-blog]

Another Murder Drones AU

"Uzi the Vampire Slayer"

I haven't seen the Buffy series in forever, and even then, I fixated on the early seasons.

This AU idea kept coming back to mind, so I had to write it out. It's not meant as a direct replica, just its' own thing that borrows elements from both shows. (Also, I apologize in advance if someone else has already done this!)

___

The Absolute Solver, an ancient horror awoken by the reckless greed of JCJensen In Spaaaace, now seeks to control and consume all life in the universe. It has created all sorts of monsters to be its' servants, none more feared than the vampire-like Disassembly Drones.

The Worker Drones only hope of safety is to stay barricaded behind the doors of their colony.

If only someone would slay the monsters, possibly even the Solver itself. But no one would be crazy enough to try that, right?

Uzi as Buffy

The daughter of Khan, maker of the colony's doors, and Nori, Copper Nine's first Slayer.

Nori disappeared one night during a mission, along with her own best friend, Yeva, when Uzi was still in her early teens.

Uzi has been very lonely since then, with her father dedicated almost entirely to colony security. There's only one other person she could possibly call her friend. Most others consider her weird for wanting to get outside and battle the monsters herself. When she finds her mother's journals about life as the Slayer, her resolve only grows stronger. Her personality is much the same as we know it💜

Doll as Willow

However, Doll's personality is very different in this AU.

Because of the close friendship between their families, she and Uzi grew up together, like cousins. Though both girls became more withdrawn and lonely when their moms disappeared, they still look after each other.

Doll's father is still alive here (calling him Adam, for now, because I don't know if he has an official name.) He is kind but very overprotective. She learns that her mother was also hiding a secret: she was trying to harness the Solver's own power to use against it, a practice that can overwhelm anyone who isn't strong enough to wield it.

She has faith in Yeva, and becomes obsessed with the idea that she, and possibly even Nori, are still alive somewhere. When Uzi takes on the mantle of the Slayer, Doll begins studying Solver magic to help in the fight.

Teacher as Giles

(Okay, I could not find a name for him, but did learn that he was voiced by Liam Vickers himself. With this in mind, I'm choosing a name that starts with "L". He is Linus until further notice.)

Though he appears eternally bored, Linus was a good friend to Uzi and Doll's parents. He also wants to rid Copper Nine of monsters, but acknowledges that he's no fighter. Instead, he studies the different creatures, learning all he can about their strengths and weaknesses, to help defeat them.

He's felt like a failure ever since Nori and Yeva disappeared. When their daughters approach him with their findings, wanting to continue the battle, he makes a personal vow not to repeat his mistakes.

He might not always express it, but he really does care about all the kids in his charge.

Even when they make him want to rip off his helmet and any hair that might be underneath it.

Lizzy as Cordelia

Lizzy was content to stay in her popular-girl world, until her own life was threatened by a Disassembly Drone (in this AU, there are many more than our original three) and she was rescued by Uzi. Ignoring the nightmares outside was no longer an option. She found that she had a talent for adventure and monster-fighting. No one was more surprised than she was.

Thad as Xander

Normal guy with a good heart and lifelong dreams of being a hero. He finds it easy to befriend just about anyone, and has a natural courage that drives him to fight for his friends, no matter how scary the situation. He's the most optimistic of the group. Also has a sarcastic sense of humor, which can either lighten the mood or drive their enemies crazy.

And that's Copper Nine's "Scooby gang".

Moving on now.

N as Angel

The only major change I see for N is that he's a little more serious and broody in this AU.

Deep down, he's still his lovable self. Along with J and V (who are more like his sisters here), they were pulled from their old lives on Earth by the Solver and transformed into one of the most feared Disassembly Squadrons on Copper Nine. Though he won't say it in front of them, he dreams of reclaiming his freedom.

When Uzi and her team start to become a real threat to the Solver, it orders N's squadron to destroy them. They clash several times, and despite everything, N finds himself impressed by Uzi’s courage. He soon realizes that she could be the key to destroying the Solver and setting them all free. But to help her would mean betraying his family and risking the anger of an ancient evil.

I honestly couldn't think of good character matches for J and V. Their original personalities still fit pretty well into this AU, I think. Initially they just do their jobs. When they begin to question if they can or should change sides, this creates conflict. V is eventually willing to rebel against the Solver, J is more hesitant.

While J is a fierce fighter, she is terrified of disobeying orders, the consequences that could come from it. She knows she will have to make a choice between life as the Solver's servant, or a chance at freedom.

Nuzi would still happen (because it's my favorite ship and I can't let it go), but it would be a slower burn.

___

And this turned out way longer than I intended.

Thank you so much for reading.

Like I said, this is only a rough idea for an AU, but it wouldn't leave me alone. With Halloween coming up, it might be a good time to re-visit both series again.

[pinkscaped]

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚ . . ࣪. CICADA was a seven-member boy group under ANGELICO ENTERTAINMENT. They were well known for their dark, apocalyptic, and mysterious concepts. The group was very popular domestically, always charting high within Korea. While garnering minor success internationally, they were wildly more successful within Asia.

CICADA was first introduced to public through a series of puzzles via the Angelico website in 2019. The website had appeared to be “hacked” with crypitc messages and instructions on it that varied randomly alongside ciadad imagery. After solving the randomized puzzle, it would redirect you to page with a profile of a “cicada” none of their names being revealed and most of their information being blacked out besides their birthday, position, and how they plan to defeat the “infestation”. While these puzzles confused the public at first, it was very interiguing and left the public curious.

Three months after this “hacking” occurred, an apocalyptic drama titled “CICADA” appeared on Netflix, starring a main cast of eight boys. The plot revolves around a group of survivors during an apocalypse caused by an infection of mutated cicadas. The series was praised for its unique plot line, horror elements, and surprisingly good performances performed by the soon-to-be idols. The group also recorded the soundtrack for the show. After the first season was aired, CICADA debuted in 2020 under the same name with the members ISSEI, MIDNIGHT, CHANSOL, ASH, DAEUL, JIHO, and HYO.

Despite their domestic success and the millions of dollars poured into them, Son Roan disbanded the group in 2023, not even a month after being appointed CEO. Their disbandment was shocking and sudden, resulting in protest trucks being sent to the company with Son Roan would pose mockingly in front of, showing no empathy or mercy for his decision to disband the once successful boy group.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. BASIC INFO ?!

DEBUT DATE: March 12th 2020.

FANDOM NAME: LOCUSTS.

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020 - 2023

DISCOGRAPHY:

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. THE LINEUP ?!

TANAKA ISSEI. 1996. LEADER & MAIN VOCALIST.

JEON JIHO. 1997. MAIN VOCAL & LEAD DANCER.

LEE HYOJIN. 1997. MAIN DANCER & MAIN VOCALIST.

PARK DAEUL. 1997. MAIN VOCAL & LEAD RAPPER.

NA "SOL" CHANSOL. 1999. MAIN RAPPER.

ASH KIM. 2000. VISUAL & LEAD VOCAL.

SAMMY "MIDNIGHT" SON. 2002. MAIN DANCER & LEAD RAPPER.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. WHAT'S THE STORY ?!

TW // Mentions of Death, Murder, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault under the cut.

After Cicada's disbandment, Tanaka Issei returned to Japan with much love. He left music behind and became a highly sought-after actor, ignoring his idol past. He even seemingly had "Cicada" blocked from his Instagram comment section. The past is the past to Issei. He wants to let it die.

Jiho would leave the group before the official disbandment, sensing the ship was already sinking. He never liked being an idol, especially in Cicada. He's openly discussed how he disliked most of the members, calling them "entitled assholes" and saying how he is in contact with none of them. He is now the drummer of the band Bones N' All. He seems happier now.

Lee Hyojin was last seen on October 7th, 2023. He was the most popular member with a promising solo career ahead of him. No one is sure where he went or what he's up to, but there is no active investigation into his disappearance despite his fans' protests for the police to at least perform a wellness check on the idol. Their cries fall on deaf ears.

Park Daeul would leave the idol industry and become a creative director and producer. His fans insist he's been blacklisted due to his short-lived solo career being blocked from broadcasting by Angelico Entertainment for "copyright issues" that no one could find the logic behind. Daeul succumbed to his fate behind the scenes quite easily, primarily known for working with the up-and-coming group Brat Pack and being Amanda Summer's protege.

Na "Sol" Chansol would become a successful soloist, actor, and producer. Sol is very well known around the entertainment industry and is the only member who speaks neutrally about Cicada. He never said he hated it, but he never said he loved it. He just says he was there, and he's grateful for the musical growth. Sol is signed under Pursue Entertainment and is their highest performing artist though the bar wasn't high.

Ash Kim would become an actor and influencer, but he expressed interest in being an idol again and would need to be in a group. Ash talks pretty negatively about his time in Cicada, often saying he was picked on and outright bullied by the other members, but refuses to drop names. It doesn't matter now, though, that Ash is a wildly successful actor, specifically in the BL genre, which has garnered him a strong and dedicated fanbase.

Finally, Sammy "Midnight" Son would re-debut as a soloist under Angelico just a few months after this sudden disbandment. He's pretty sheltered, not allowed to speak about the group or how he feels about the disbandment. There's always a manager with Sammy, watching what he does and says, carefully protecting his image. No one knows Sammy's true thought but his eyes are sad.

So, what is the real story of Cicada? Most of the characters are evil, particularly Lee Hyojin, Park Daeul, and Tanaka Issei.

Lee Hyojin would begin dating Chloe Lee of the massive girl group, Venus. To put it bluntly, he was abusive. He often berated Chloe, talked down on her, pushed her around, and sexually assaulted her multiple times throughout their relationship. Chloe had never been in a relationship at that point; she thought it was normal until the night in the field.

Under the assumption they would be having sex in Hyojin's car in the field behind the Angelico dorm, a common hang-out place for Angelico artists, Chloe would go without much of a debate. She didn't know the actual plan Hyojin had crafted.

That night, Hyojin would make Chloe have sex with three other men that night, three men she didn't want to have sex with. The only two she knew were Daeul and Issei, but the other one still remains nameless. All of this was done for the men's enjoyment, Hyojin believing it would give Chloe "Stockholm syndrome" and keep her with him forever––Yeah, incredibly ass backwards but there's no logic in a mind like Hyojin's.

In a final act of cruelty, the men would leave Chloe in the field after the attack, leaving her to walk back to her dorm alone and in the dark. On her walk back, she bumped into Son Jinhwa, who immediately took her to the hospital due to her condition. Though she had a rape kit done and a police report, she would not name her assailants either to Jinhwa or to the police.

Still, it didn't take a rocket scenitist to figure out who was resposible.

Hyojin had never been right. He had an extensive record of harassing girls at his school and beating the shit out of any guy who disagreed with him. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father hated him because of it. You could say, from the start, he was born rotten. He was raised by his grandmother, who became bedridden when he was eleven, leaving him to take care of her. His life was tragic, but none of that mattered. An abuser is an abuser with a tragic backstory or not.

After Son Roan disbanded Cicada and effectively blacklisted Hyojin, Daeul, and Issei from working in the Korean entertainment industry ever again, Hyojin would storm to the Venus dorm at 2 in the morning in a rage. He would then not only beat the daylights out of Yoonah and Klara, but he would attempt to murder Chloe for "ruining his life" by choking her. This would result in him being struck upside the head with a frying pan by Sena Kim, effectively killing him.

Later, his body would be burned by Chloe Lee, Son Jinhwa, and Son Roan.

To read about the extent of Hyojin's crimes and further lore on Angelico's cover-ups, you can click anywhere to be redirected to a discontinued piece explaining all of it. While the lore surrounding Jinhwa has been completely altered, the scene where Hyojin and Daeul (pretend Issei is there as well lol) is unaltered.

[fostersffff]

hey foster what the hell is kinnikuman about

Kinnikuman is the story of Japan's Worst Superhero turned Universal Savior, that also (by my current understanding) laid the foundations for what people think of when they think of "A Shonen Series".

It started in 1979 as a gag manga written by two college kids collectively known as Yudetamago who really love pro wrestling, and trucked along for a while doing one-off chapters about a "superhero" named Kinnikuman, who is actually the lost prince of Planet Kinniku (hold onto that for later). They introduce a couple supporting characters here, most notably Terryman (named for professional wrestler Terry Funk), a superhero from the Southern United States, who becomes friends with him after Kinnikuman does his first genuinely heroic act in the series: punching Terryman for charging a kid money to save his dad from a monster (this completely changes Terryman forever).

Sometime later, they hit the first actual story arc: the Superman (Chojin) Olympics, which is where the series first struck upon the winning formula of "what if a bunch of dudes with weird superpowers do professional wrestling moves on each other". It still has it's gag manga sensibilities- Kinnikuman winds up winning all of his matches via shenanigans- but in hindsight it's pretty clear they realized story arcs about tournaments are a really good idea.

After a short arc about Kinnikuman going on a world tour to defend his title (which the anime speedran because they knew what was up), they go back into the Chojin Olympics, which is where the series really seems to have found its footing by still being comedic, but also realizing they can get serious for more compelling action. For example:

Ramenman- a horrifically racist caricature of a savage Chinaman- goes from constantly talking about noodles and China's 4000 Year Tradition and how much he loves murder to forming a mentor-mentee relationship with the son of a chojin he murdered during the previous Olympics, before being put into a vegetative state by arc antagonist Warsman (he gets better). Important to note that Ramenman was and still is one of the most popular characters in this series, easily.

Warsman's manager is revealed to be Robin Mask, the former Chojin Olympics champion Kinnikuman defeated through shenanigans, and who trained Warsman with the specific purpose of getting revenge on Kinnikuman.

Kinnikuman then goes on to defeat Warsman, not with goofy antics, but tapping into his Burning Inner Strength (literally, a Hot Blooded Shonen Power Up) and inventing the Kinniku Buster, a move so cool that professional wrestlers in real life started using it.

And from this point it was basically off to the races with story arcs about a bunch of fucked up dudes who want to wrestle Kinnikuman and/or his friends, including:

Chojin who sold their souls to Satan for strength

Chojin who sold their souls to Satan for strength and stole the source of all Chojin strength in the universe

The source of all Chojin strength in the universe

Space God Chojin

Other Kinnikumans claiming to be the true heirs to the throne of Planet Kinniku (remember what I said about him being a lost prince)

This is when the original series ended, and then about a decade later they launched Kinnikuman Nisei, a Next Generation sequel about Kinnikuman's son. This is most notable for the 4Kids adaptation, Ultimate Muscle- especially seeing as subs for Kinnikuman Nisei basically don't exist, and a third season of episodes was produced specifically to be dubbed.

Years after that, Yudetamago relaunched Kinnikuman in 2011, taking place in the time between the end of the original series and Kinnikuman Nisei and even picking up the chapter/volume numbers, which is still ongoing and quite well received, and just recently started being adapted into a new anime series, the zeroth episode of which speedruns all the important bits from the original series (recapped above), notably leaning more towards action and drama than comedy.

I started checking it out after the new anime started up, and- unless I'm missing something that came before it, which is certainly possible- it's kind of crazy how foundational it feels to everything while not really feeling outdated (except for occasional contemporary-to-the-70's/80's-jokes). New villain(s) show up with some fucked up powers, the heroes have to muster their strength to either outwit or overpower them (or both), more than likely in some kind of tournament-style format, and more likely than not Kinnikuman will make some new friends along the way. In the same way that people often say that you don't know how much Japanese media has the DNA of tokusatsu/Kamen Rider until you actually watch it, Kinnikuman feels like that for Shonen Jump specifically.

I would actually heartily recommend the checking out new anime, again because that zeroth episode gets you primed with everything you need to know about the series and jumps right into "DUDES WITH FUCKED UP SUPERPOWERS WRESTLING".

Oh also critically important to note: that's not his face, it's a mask, and he's the the most beautiful, handsome man in history underneath, but by the laws of the Kinniku Clan neither he nor anyone else in his clan can show their face, which is why they all look Like That.

[fantasygerard2000]

Have Fandoms Become Ungrateful?

It's not exactly a surprise that not every fandom is healthy, especially the ones towards popular media. However, even small fandoms can just be if not more unhealthy, mainly because the media they're a fan of is just a version that exist in their heads.

There's this issue within fandoms where they want more of the things they want over appreciating the things that were already made. Unless you're in the Miraculous fandom. However, instead of dropping media they don't like and watch something else different that suits their tastes, they want to change the already existing one to cater to said tastes.

And what better fandom to use as an example than the Wish fandom, or rather the fans of a version of Wish that doesn't exist, where they didn't like the movie for scrapping unused and cut concepts like a villain couple and Star having a human form to which they misunderstood as being Asha's love interest. These fans make numerous fan material based on these unused drafts and that's what most of the Wish fandom is while the fans of the film that appreciated it as it is are rare.

Honestly, I am not against making fan content based on unused ideas. I do encourage making content based on early ideas. I just don't like encouraging this behavior of treating a content that has a thing you're like is better than the one that doesn't.

I do in fact agree the an unused draft of Ruby Gillman is kept where Chelsea is indeed Nerissa's daughter and not a fake identity is better than in the completed film. Some fans say so because they like Ruby and Chelsea's friendship or because they shipped them, but for me and several people is because of the film's plot point about prejudices between the Krakens and the Mermaids. So having the "good mermaid" actually being evil all this time sets of a bad example for a plot point about prejudices.

Another example for unused concepts is Emperor's New Groove. During development, it was originally intended to be an adaptation of the Prince and the Pauper called Kingdom of the Sun with love interests for the two main leads and songs. However, production issues cause the film to change into the one we all got and love. And as much as I wanted KotS to the one that was completed and released , I am fine with ENG being the one released because I don't really need to see KotS. In fact the reason why I liked the KotS draft because it was more in line with classical Disney. And that's sort of why I have a soft spot for Wish, because of the classical tropes.

I'm not bothered with the vocal minority of people who don't like the film, it is Disney in 2023 after but the ones that do over the dumbest reasons like the aforementioned unused concepts do. Like, you can just watch a completely different film that has a romance with a human and a star or one that has a villain couple.

Controversial examples are the Steven Universe and The Owl House fandom. And I wrote controversial because I'm aware that the fandoms of these shows disagree and would witch hunt me but here me out first.

Despite already ending and getting a movie AND a sequel miniseries, SU fans still wanted more of this show. Now, I don't like Steven Universe, as in I am neutral towards it, but I do genuinely hate the writing and the implications about its themes. So seeing how fans wanted more of it is like "what else is there for you to WANT more"?

Same thing can be said with TOH fandom, which also ended but fans want more. Which is partially justified since the series was planned to have three seasons but was cut into two with the last three specials being made to serve as a finale. However, as much as I understand that this show deserved its story told through three seasons, I genuinely think that it should have cut several things out.

Now, I like The Owl House, but I would be lying if I say it doesn't have any issues. Said issues being that it has the need to spread its lore like puzzle pieces around for fans to put together when all that lore is just a backstory for the villain and it serves very little purpose to the story currently, that is Luz's journey to stop Belos.

TOH and similar shows like Star Vs and Amphibia all share this problem where they want to do what Gravity Falls did, leaving in clues and lore tidbits for the fans to piece together but all that secret lore stuff feels like an imitation just to get fans invested when they should be invested are the characters, not some information about the villains' backstory.

This extends to shows after the Owl House where fans of it skipped Hailey's On It because "it wasn't becoming the next Owl House". That's it. That's the reason why they didn't wanna watch this show, and that's what this whole thing is. They just want Owl House again.

In Ghost and Molly McGee, fans wanted Andrea to be the next Amity Blight and I find that baffling because we already have Amity Blight, why do you want her to be like her?

Same thing with Zuko from Avatar and how every show after it, there will always be that one character who is like Zuko, but without the charm that made us all love Zuko in the first place. His "clones" are just there for the trope of "recurring villain turning to the good guy's side" and the satisfaction it gives the audience who are into that over the genuine redemption they deservedly earn.

This is the real issue with fandoms. Their media diet are so rigid that they want the same show, just with a different skin. They say they want a sequel series or a prequel series, but they actually don't like the ideas of prequel and sequels in general but still want to, because it's more of the media they like.

Fans want more of Steven Universe and Owl House because they think they were unfairly canceled despite they were finished over the actual shows that were indeed canceled.

Being mad at a movie because it didn't have a trope you like isn't the fault the creators, that's just you being upset about your specific tastes not being fulfilled. You want an original 2D animated film, yet you are too lazy to find one to watch.

Instead of watching and praising existing 2D animated films, you complain more about Hollywood's over reliance on sequels and reboots.

If Potterheads need to read a different book, then fans of any show need to watch a different show.

[getcuboned]

The hardest thing for a show to do without absolutely Destroying its audience's belief in stakes is fake out deaths. It happens all the time during a season or even series finale: A main character dies, but then is revealed to be mildly/moderately/extremely hurt (throw a dart).

All the emotional payoff a character dying is immediately followed up with a cathartic return of a beloved figure. When its done right, it's Effective. That's why it was so popular, that and another reason.

The other reason is that its relatively Easy. It doesn't require the writers to change the status quo. Silly fun adventures with the gang go on as always without any real changes. This is so Cost and Idea effective, that it got overused and now everyone is jaded.

Now there's good ways to do this of course. AtLA comes to mind: Genuine threat of death, maguffin from last season finale which has been haunting the previous episodes comes into play, and the status quo changes: Aang is recovering from a serious injury for weeks, is furious that he died and failed Again when the world needed him, and he can't tap into god mode anymore.

So what's this got to do with the tags? Well if you know you know. Otherwise spoiler warning so gtfo already.

Sir Pentious, and I suspect Adam, did die a fakeout death, but the death part was genuine. Sir Pentious was not found in the rubble of the Hotel. Sir Pentious didn't respawn and explain that Adam's divine energy beams weren't angelic steel. Sir Pentious was Genuinely dead and the status quo has genuinely changed.

But! The show's premise is that the Hotel can help sinners redeem themselves. Redeption isn't a reward you seek. Its a condition that one meets on a personal, individual level. Sir Pentious came to the Hotel as a spy, and when he was shown that Charlie was willing to forgive him, it changed his understanding of the world. He realized that he could improve, it just starts with one good sorry.

Sir Pentious put aside his self loathing, his shame, his anxieties. He used his inventions to put himself on the line rather than keep himself out of danger (I mean that's what the airship is all about isn't it?). He fought for the people he cared about. He died to protect the ones he loved. And that transformation: from a paranoid worm of a human being (slimy? Snakes are not slimy), to an actualized individual willing to put himself on the line, earned him salvation.

Now Sir Pentious is an Angel! He's in Heaven! Even more so he bypassed the Pearly Gates and functionally respawned In the Seraphim's boardroom. Frankly He was one of the older sinners to be around so it doesn't surprise me the implication that he's powerful enough be worth the notice of the Seraphims.

So what about Adam? Why do I mention him? He was killed by a filthy janitor. Well. As another post mentioned: In the 10,000 years that Adam has been in charge of killing his own descendants because Lilith and Eve (where the fuck is she anyway?) screwed him over with the assistance of a short, dumb, naive angel (poor guy just wanted to share his ideas, look at him. 10,000 years later and he's hardly got a drop of malice in him that isn't put there by someone else), Adam has become Prideful, Slothful, Lustful, and Wrathful. Even one of those is enough to make you fall. Yet he was tolerated by heaven, most likely due to his extenuating circumstances.

Adam has died. He died full of Wrath, and Pride. He died because he was unmotivated to come up with a better solution, and unwilling to keep himself in shape. He died because of his Blood Lust.

So I think that very early on in season two, we will get to see Adam's demonic form.

Two fakeout deaths! But not really. Both characters have provably died and both (theoretically) will create a new status quo not just by dying, but by reincarnating across enemy lines.