#and no frank isnt canonically dead

[femscottlang]

Red, Blue, and Black

Frank Castle x Reader 

Summary- After meeting Frank Castle and Matt Murdock while trying to gain information for Nick Fury, you find yourself taking care of these two grown men who are constantly getting themselves hurt. One day they bring in a half-dead kid in a spider costume. 

Content warnings- UHhhh injuries, angst, fluff, death threats, I think Frank just being himself needs a warning tbh. 

Word Count ≈ 2k

A/N- This isnt exactly canon but this takes place after No Way Home and this is absolutely so self indulgent i just thought this would be like kinda sweet. 

You pushed open the door to your apartment and dropped your stakeout gear on the kitchen table, letting out a huff before going to your fridge to pull out a beer. You opened it on the counter and stomped to the couch to slump down, letting your shoulders drop for the first time in 2 days. Rubbing a hand over your face, you reach for the remote to put on a thoughtless program, in hopes of distracting yourself from your aching limbs. 

As you were flipping through the channels, you heard your window being pushed open. You whined and stomped your feet, putting your beer on the coffee table before standing up and helping Matt open the window. He climbed in with a sheepish smile, taking off his helmet and moving out of the way for Frank to climb in. You sigh and put your hands on your hips, looking at the ceiling and praying to Saint Monica for the patience to deal with these two. 

You watched as frank came in with his back to you, being more careful, slow and deliberate with his movements than you had ever seen before. It was Matt who was more careful and rational whilst Frank just destroyed everything in his path. You looked at matt in concern who was laying on the chair holding his side. He waved you away “Don’t worry about me right now” he grunted, running his finger through his sweat-drenched hair.

This just added to your confusion as you looked back at frank you had finally gotten through the window and turned to face you, laying down an unconscious man in a suit on your couch. “A new superhero? we have enough of you guys. Frank go get my kit” you grumbled, pulling your hair back into a bun and taking off the button up you had over a tank top. “Yes ma’am” he said, hesitating to leave the new found vigilante before going to your bathroom, grabbing the kit and coming back out. 

 You had rolled him over, unzipped his costume and was examining the giant gash from his left shoulder to his right hip “Jesus fucking christ what happened?!” you hissed, opening the kit and disinfecting the gash to the best of your ability before reaching up and taking off the mask to help the vigilante breathe better.

 As soon as you saw his face you shot to your feet, your heart sinking to your stomach as you felt the blood drain from your face. You looked at Matt and Frank, fuming “you better tell me right now that this is just a guy with a baby face. You have to” You pleaded, looking back at the unconscious kid on the couch.

Frank sat on the coffee table, taking a sip of your beer and watching you work “I didn’t ask for an ID, doll.” he shrugged, resting his elbows on his thighs. 

“Are you two fucking serious?! This kid can’t be older than 18, max. This is a child! Its one thing for you two to come into my apartment half dead but to bring a child?!” You reprimanded, going back onto your knees in front of him and starting to stitch up the gash before the kid can wake up.

Matt said your name and tried to sit up “If he wasn’t with us he would be doing this by himself anyways.” you glared over your glasses at him “I expected this shit from castle, but cmon.” you let out a shaky breath, wrapping his abdomen to keep the stitches clean. “Hes a kid.” you used some hand sanitizer and iodine before going over to Matt “lose the suit” you murmured as he took off the top of it. You looked at the bullet hole, moving to look at his back to see if there is an exit wound. You reached in your kit and pulled out your tweezers, looking up at Matt to make sure he knew what you were doing. He nodded as you doused them with iodine and pushed against his chest to get him to lay further back. Frank stood up and walked behind the chair, wrapping his arms around matt to restrain him. 

This was a familiar routine to you three, happened at least one a week whether it was Matt being held down or Frank. You winced every time you heard him whimper in pain, but eventually you fished the bullet out, repeating the movements of stitching and bandaging as you did on the vigilante. You went to the kitchen to wash your hands and face, leaning over the sink. You tried to organize your thoughts, wanting to avoid having a child die on your. You huffed as you heard heavy footsteps behind you. 

“Angel…” Frank grunted, leaning his back against the counter next to you 

“Don’t Angel me, Castle. You bring a kid. A child into my apartment. There is a  kid dying on my couch.” you frantically ran your fingers through your hair as you began to pace in front of him “If he dies, how are we gonna explain that. Please enlighten me. And how did you come out relatively unharmed and the kid is half dead?!” You stopped in your tracks and poked a finger at his chest “So help me god Frank, if that kid dies your next. You know I know people.” you said through gritted teeth.

“I know you know people.” he said, taking your hand and kissing it before holding his against his chest with both hands. “Stupid kid is too selfless. No regard for personal safety. Tried to stop him,” you looked at him skeptically “I did.” he insisted “So did Red. How’d you think he got shot. Fuckin’ idiot” He grumbled, letting go of your hand and pulling you agaist him 

You felt his chest vibrate as he talked, which inexplicibly always grounded you. He knows that. “Order some food, I dont have anything to eat. Havent been home in a couple days, you’re lucky I just got back” you said as he pressed a kiss to your temple “I know, angel. What do you want?”

You looked up to think “indian. Get me kosha mangsho.” you decided“Matt will want biryani and get butter chicken for the kid. Thats neutral enough and he’ll be starving” you said. He nodded, reaching in his pocket and pulling out his phone. You gently moved away from him to go back into the living room. You knew Matt could hear your conversation so you didn’t bother reprimanding him. “Go take a shower, Murdock.” you said, nudging him “I got one of those old people shower chairs for you and Castle when you two are too hurt to stand.” 

He looked up at you and smiled “Thank you. God we really need to stop dragging you into this shit, huh?” he asked as he pushed himself off of the chair “Yeah you do. Now go. You’re gonna get bloodstains on my furniture.” you shooed him off before taking his spot on the chair, watching the kid sleep. 

Frank walked into the living room and sat on the arm of your chair “His name is Peter.” he said, his eyes scanning over your face “the kid on the-”

“Yeah. Yeah I got that, Frankie.” you let out an airy chuckle. 

Peter began to stir, groaning in pain before trying to sit up and look around. “Ow- Where am I?” he asked, eyes wide. You immediately got up and gently pushed back down the panicking boy “Hey Hey. Hi. you’re alright. You're safe. Please don’t try to sit up you’re gonna tear your stitches.” You said in a soothing voice, looking at Frank “Daredevil and The Punisher brought you here. See? He’s right there” You pointed at Frank, who didn’t even attempt to comfort the poor boy. “Red’s in the shower.”

You watched his eyes frantically scan the room before landing on Frank with the daredevil mask on the floor next to him, he let out a sigh of relief “Ok. ok. Alright” he said, grunting as he sat up on the couch. 

You gave him your name “the two of them come to me when they’re hurt. Or hungry.” You said, giving him a weary smile “Frank told me you’re Peter?” 

“Yeah, Peter Parker”

“Well, Peter Parker, Is there anyone I should call? I don’t want your parents to worry, hon. I have a car, I can take you home once you’re okay enough to move” You explained, moving back to sit in the chair, putting your hand on Frank’s knee. 

“No- uh there’s no one to call” he said solemnly, leaning his head further back to stop himself from crying 

“No one? That can’t be true. You’re what? 16?17? You have to have someone.” you pushed “an Aunt? Uncle? Foster parent? CPS officer? A friend even?!” 

“17 and no, no one. I live by myself.” he looked down at his hands. He gave you a rundown of his backstory, the spider, aunt may, Dr. Strange. 

You looked at him with furrowed brows before sucking in a breath “Well I have an extra bedroom, you’re staying here at least for tonight and are welcome to stay here as long as you need. It was my nephew’s, but he’s in college with his own apartment now.” you said in a hushed voice, reaching for Frank’s hand. He placed his hand in yours and gave it a squeeze 

“Foods comin’ soon” He said to peter, not knowing how to navigate the situation. The doorbell ringing was his saving grace as he went over to get it 

“Thank you,” Peter said with a sad smile.

“Of course, sweetheart” you insisted “Sorry ‘bout Frank. You get used to his…uh…he’s an acquired taste” you said apprehensively

Matt stepped out into the living room in a t-shirt and sweatpants from the stash of clothes him and Castle have accumulated over the months of staying over. “Peter, why dont you wash up?” Matt urged, still limping from the bullet wound. “C’mon I’ll help you get in” He said, reaching out a hand

“I’ll help the big bad punisher with the food.” You said, pushing yourself up and going into the kitchen. You drag a chair to the cabinets and get out the bowls and glasses, putting it down on the counter before hopping off the chair. 

You took a shaky breath and covered your eyes “Fuck…Fuck, Frankie.” you whimpered “Fuck. that kid.” you turned to face him, hot tears streaming down your face.

 Frank took a few steps to be right in front of you, holding your face and wiping the tears as they fell “What? What about the kid?” He tilted his head, voice just as stern and harsh as it always but eyes softened.

“He can’t- I can’t-” you took a deep breath to make yourself coherent “You’re a selfish man. You are. I know it. You know it. A-and I am just as selfish. We are selfish people. Matt is too, just not nearly as self-preserving as us.” You reached up and held his hands

 “That kid is selfless, you said it yourself. He’s gonna get himself killed, frankie.” you tightened your grip “You and Red are gonna die before he even gets a scratch, do you understand?!” you hissed, chest heaving “If either of you dare to step foot in here alive and he is not? I am getting my .22 magnum and I am shooting you both. Am I clear?” your harsh words were softened by the shaking in your voice 

“Hey. I’m not gon’ let anythin’ happen to him, alright? I promise.” he said, pulling you into his chest “Jesus Christ I wouldn't've brought him here if you were gon’ get all attached” he muttered, trying to ease the tension and covering your ears to keep you from hearing Peter cry out in pain while trying to shower.

[lunadreamscaper]

color palette challenge as well as my first VenturianTale oc for a long time.

Her name is Marigold Casket-Morrison.

to be more specific this is a VenturianTale AU oc. She's not apart of my main timeline. and some of you are either gonna love or hate this- she's johnny ghost's sister separated at a young age LMAO ik pretty cliché 😏 but also this oc and her au are heavily inspired by cool dreams so you can't really fault me for that. (surprise the person named Luna Dreamscaper bases all her stuff off of her dreams :P)

She's an acalacam though like shatterverse!Gavin, her powers are purple though instead of green and manifest for crystal-like than Gavin's flamey-wispy look.

(Timothy Casket, Johnny Ghost, Frank Ghost-Morrison, and Johnny Ghost's birth mother [Leslie Morrison] are also other canon acalacams in this au <3)

Ghost in this au has one identical twin brother and a fraternal twin/triplet. so theyre all a weird amalgamation of triplet/twins.

Timothy Casket is still alive/around in this au, and is the reason why she doesnt have her arm anymore but its okay bc cool acalacam powers manifested as an arm so its cool.

people are 50/50 when it comes to ocs in this fandom i feel like. but i hope she pops off a little bit.

hiding this here. since this au is based on my dreams. its also a crossover au, VenturianTale is its main source but also contains Dead By Daylight, Supernatural, and Resident Evil, and maybe The Owl House?

like Supernormal (my SPN x PIE comic) is still canon but the SPN world is one in the same with the VT world, same with Resident Evil. (DBD and TOH have more indirect tie ins?)

yeha i forgot what else i was gonna put here tbh

but yeah this au is just for me to enjoy and isnt anything to serious. like there isnt an exact timeline (maybe some different timeline variants) but its mostly just vibes and some canon events here and there.

i don't expect many to have interest in it since its so self indulgent, but if u do lmk :3

this au is called Sibling AU btw lol

what the where did these songs come from woahhh 😳 (theyre oc coded and i'm silly)

[jacenotjason]

These all are for the opposite au :3

1.What is everyones race??

2.If Eddie was given that chance would he move in with Frank?

3.Does Howdy care about money or his family more?

4.Did poppy teach Barnaby about the outside world when they escaped?

5.would Howdy be upset if any of his siblings got into a romntical relatonship with anybody?Likeeee would he be protective or not. :3

6.Does Julie have a name 4 her plants :o?

7.What would each character do if they found a crying child on their doorstep?

That was the last question,I'm really sorry if this are a lot of questions

excuse my bad grammar(english isnt my 1st)

WOWWW SO MANY QUESTIONS ill try and keep this short!!

I don't really have anything set in my mind rn. so.. feel free to head canon away!! I did talk a little about Julie celebrating the day of the dead, which implies shes hispanic? Sort of? Feel free to hc something different

yes, but hed never admit that

i think hed cry if he was given that choice

she taught him a little about it when they were in the 'school', but Barnaby just didn't believe her. Imagine someone denying the existence of the ocean- anyways, he learned from the library once he discovered it!

oo.. i think hed only be protective if he felt something was wrong with the person they were dating.

she calls them all "baby" idk if that counts

aa character specific question- Barn would take it inside and take care of it, Eddie would call Barn, Frank would hug it, Howdy would wait for it to go away, Julie would shoo it away, Sally would start crying too, Poppy would give it some beer Thanks for asking!!

[inkynightmaresau]

[HIYA! I'm not dead!!! But I have a lot of important things to say below the cut!!!!]

OKAY. as you guys know, this blog has been dead since.. sammys birthday. even before then. sorry guys :(

the reason why: I GOT MORE INTO BENDY. I DONT KNOW HOW THAT MADE MY BATIM ASK BLOG GO INTO HIATUS. I WAS DRAWING EVERY DAY... but. BUT!! it was not our beloved inky characters. It Was Pre-Cycle. ((oopsies))

looking back onto this blog, i need you guys to understand I made it with no story in mind, and thus everything was a mess. I was makin stuff up as i went. and then the craziest thing happened (delusional attatchment to wally franks + memories attatched to it... soo. uh yeah)

look, this blog isnt gonna disappear. BUT. im gonna pull a sneaky on you all and instead of doing that week-long event i said i would, i'm just gonna restart it from the beggining. HOWEVER!! everything will still be here! I'm gonna try to attatch links on all of the current things and get things sorted so that it's cleaner, because all of my old (and very very icky) drawings are gonna be archived. NOT REMOVED. they will still be here, but you won't be able to reblog them because... just. ew. lmao

now that im not completely angst-ridden, and my art style has vastly improved, i actually have a plan for the inky nightmares au! however, it's going to take a completely different turn- new characters, wally isnt bendy anymore, kana (unfortunately) isn't a part of the story, etc etc. it won't be canon compliant (as... it's an au,) but it'll have a whole lotta things changed! i hope you guys enjoy what i have planned, and i hope you'll bear with me while i give this blog an almost COMPLETE make-over!!

thank u guys so much for reading, ik that was a lot, ily all have a good day muahmuahmuah have some cookies🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

[longdeadking-moved-blogs]

ok hi guys i have. genloss thoughts.

so we've seen a few different "archetypes" for characters, right? we have the hero (ranboo), the side characters (charlie and sneeg), the antagonists (the puzzler and demon charlie), the background characters (niki, austin, etc), and who i'm calling the crew (the ghouls & rats, the cameramen, and the drones). (hetch is his own thing but i will Get to him, also security and squiggles.)

all these archetypes are very distinct, there's not a lot of overlap between them (the only exceptions i could think of would be frank, who doesnt really count since he's not. yknow. alive. and rat-rae, who has speaking lines, but is still obviously crew.)

i'm thinking, these archetypes almost seem like... a life cycle. let me explain.

first, showfall finds a Hero. they need to be naive, blinded by fear and hope. so the Hero needs to be the first step. and there are three directions the Hero can go after that.

if the Hero is just... boring, uninteresting, going through the motions, they become Crew. the masks (or the goo, in the case of the ghouls) control them permanently.

if the Hero goes the way ranboo did, there are two options. either they die, and stay dead (or restart, becoming a Hero again), or they live and move on to the next step - becoming an Antagonist.

Antagonists have more freedom than Heroes (squiggles outright says they let the puzzler do whatever he wants), but they're still under showfall's control. the freedom is helpful because it makes them more interesting, but it also makes them unpredictable.

once an Antagonist has run their course, there's three options again. if they're too complacent, they become Crew. if they're too volitile or if showfall needs some drama or a Hero needs a win, they die. but if they prove to still be useful, they move on. they become a Background Character.

seems like a weird jump, right? but we saw it happen, with charlie. he died as demon slime, then reappeared as patient charlie.

also, i think this is the reason neither Antagonists lasted more than an episode. they need a lot of Background Characters, so turnover is quick.

by the time Background Characters arrive, they have developed personalities. or, more accurately, a single trait that showfall can monopolize on. charlie was slimy. niki was nice. austin was gay (a nice nod to the token gay trope, btw). and Background Characters switch up the formula a bit.

i think, by the time you get to this point, you aren't at risk of becoming Crew. or at least, it isnt likely (i'm thinking rat-rae was a BG Character who got turned into crew, which is why she can talk). no, instead, your two options are as follows:

you can stay a Background Character, "dying" and being reset every episode.

or, if you're a fan-favorite, you get upgraded to Side Character.

again, we saw this happen with charlie, and also with sneeg. i believe sneeg became a Side Character between episode 1 and 2, which is why he was allowed to see beyond the 4th wall. gotta have your characters be a little haunted, right? it's a horror show, after all.

and if you become a Side Character, there's not a lot of places to go. viewers will recognize you in different shows, so the question is - what does showfall do when a Side Character's show ends?

once again, they have two options. death or promotion.

and this time, the promotion is a little different.

so. hetch. a villian for sure, but he's in a weird position. he tells ranboo - and the viewers - during the final scene that he's just following orders. he wears his own mask, same as ranboo. but why? why have this weird, semi-canon, rebel traitor figure?

i think hetch made it to the final archetype. a subsection of Crew that's picked out for a special characteristic. anything that makes them truly compelling. i think the wire monster made it here, too (they were so consistently rebellious that showfall had to strip away all of their humanity, leaving them a mess of wire).

hetch became a Mascot.

hetch, the wire monster, and squiggles went through every step, proved their worth, and what did they get in return?

knowledge, but not freedom. never freedom.

and i think if we'd voted live, ranboo would have made it all the way as well.

[glsneeg-enthusiast]

both. i want both.

pleahs

cannibalism and gay sex

so franks fr a corpse right just under the filter i hope you know that. and he was canonically friends with sneeg and its. implied. theyre in love. if you just watch the show. and the gay sex is funny haha unless you think about it and how mlm couples are always portrayed in media. like brokeback mountain for example (praying youve watched it) was turned into a big fucking joke about the characters constantly having sex when thats not at all what it was about and im using that as reference. gay men are always portrayed/watered down to three tropes (constantly having sex, gay because its funny, or guy thats "straight") and thats what showfalls all about. and clearly austin represents the last one and sneeg and frank were the second but theyre also the ones that have sex jokes centered around them so you can only Assume right. anyway sneeg still sees frank as The Real Guy so whats stopping him from doing things youd normally do with your boyfriend yknow. and theres also like. sex holiness metaphor but thats a whole nother thing and idk if youre deep into the rc thoughts like that

and i have like a whole thing about the cannibalism that ive sent to someone before that im not rewording and typing so im just pasting it -> sneeg ate frank which is caused by a whole thing in itself right because slimecicle wasnt feeding him in the cage and he didnt even get through the cooking show where slimecicle tried to feed ranboo like twice but even if he did get that far he probably wouldnt have eaten any of it anyway with how he talks about slimecicle right. and its more or less implied that sneeg had been in the cage with franks body for atleast a little while and he would still have to eat something. and slimecicles a cannibal so why would he even bring sneeg food in the cage when theres already food in there with him? and even if you were to ignore all that sneeg was still the only one that consistently ate throughout episode two. and its really implied that all the food in general is organs n such just under a filter because slimecicle was eating it and then in episode two in the candy room when vinny tries the candy he spits it out and says its disgusting but sneeg didnt have a problem with it he was eating the entire time they were in there. sneeg knew frank before he died and if you take the "everything about the characters is a metaphor for how media portrays things" seriously you can assume that they were in love with eachother which leads to really the main reason i think showfall would kill frank and not bring him back like they do with everyone else because evidently theyre homophobic. anyway you put sneeg in that cage with franks body and nothing to eat he will eventually have to eat frank to stay alive whether he even knew frank was dead or not. and cannibalism can be a metaphor for so much like sure i guess from a meta perspective you can take the cannibalism in the show as a metaphor for how audiences just take and take but in universe they really are eating people. and innocent cannibalism is traumatic and awful and would add the layer to the characters that everyone always talks about but i really do think the idea of sneeg eating franks body is so much more compelling than charlie unknowingly eating some guts that was served to him. cannibalism isnt an easy thing it takes hands and teeth and bravery and you really do have to be set on it to do it. and it wasnt like he could leave the body after eating or get rid of it or anything and no matter what kind of cannibalism it was he still was carrying around whatever was left of frank and talking to it like frank had never died at all and in the bad hat scene when the filter broke for sneeg he had to have seen that frank was dead and fucked up from getting eaten. and with the idea that they were in love you can take the cannibalism as a metaphor for it because even after frank was permanently dead he wouldnt leave sneeg because sneeg ate him and its not like showfall could just undo that even with how powerful they are they could never undo that sneeg had bloodied himself and touched and tore and consumed and loved frank no matter how many times they reset him or how many times they kill him in gruesome ways

[mysimsyuri]

FUCK IT im infodumping abt swap au frank lore on here. ive been listening to his playlist a lot today and he wont. leave. my brain.

ok so i know ive shared that frank is canonically dead before but ive got a swap au where. youll never guess. he Isnt /lh

(the gist is just that he survives whereas nick doesnt, and thus takes his place in the story. a Lot of things change cuz frank and nick are Different People !)

ok so,, i Was originally gonna have the main plot points be the same so its still recognizably the same story but tbh. i think gatsby wouldnt die. frank isnt held back by catholic guilt and whatever else is wrong with him (affectionate ofc) i dont think hed let that happen

today ive specifically been thinkin abt chapter 8 and like... frank still leaves for work (he Does still do the "theyre a rotten crowd" bit but he changed his wording cuz hes Different. hed prolly say smth gay like "theyre all ASSHOLES and youre worth the GOD DAMN lot of em" (he swears a lot)) but he comes back like an hour or two later like ".....i changed my mind."

he also Does stop wilson but gets shot in the process,, and gatsbys like "omg old sport are you okay :((" and franks like. bleeding out on the ground like "what do you think pal,,," (he calls ppl pal and buddy. idk where this came from tbh it just feels Right)

idk what happens after that tbh. ive had the thought that gatsby just,, leaves after that but idk. its both hilarious and heartbreaking to think abt frank getting the "happy ending" w him that nick never got to but also like,, its a tragedy. smths gotta happen. WHAT IF FRANK DIED SFHDGJK YOU CANT ESCAPE FATE BITCH!!!!! thats funny as hell actually

ok wait back to the general swap stuff cuz like. i wanna share as much as i can while im thinkin abt them...

frank is very much Not related to daisy that would be Weird. he Does however meet tom at a speakeasy and they like,, kinda hit it off?? tom likes the cut of franks jib and while he does make frank kinda uncomfortable hes like. the closest thing he has to a friend in this new place (and also frank mentions that he knew a guy named nick in the war and tom is like "...i know a nick. hes dead?" and thats how frank gets invited to dinner the next day)

also daisy tries to set up frank and jordan but frank doesnt like to lie and isnt catholic abt being gay so hes just like "listen pal. im sure youre neat and all but im a faggot" and jordans like "oh i know. me too" and now theyre friends<3 besties even<3

AND frank just straight up tells gatsby hes handsome when he sees him. gatsbys all "im gatsby :) i thought you knew im sorry :)" and frank, drunk off his ass on champagne, is like "my god. youre the most beautiful man ive ever seen. i think im going to cry"

ok that. might be it. im all outta juice. (for this particular au anyway,, i have so much for some of my others.... one day ill share the entire lore for the au where everyone is happy and alive together<3 yay<3) goodbye

[atlasalexanderwrites]

Welcome Home Baby Brother (a Queen!Reader x Malcolm Merlyn verse one shot)...

IMAGINE...being the eldest child to Robert Queen, (Being in a relationship with Malcolm Merlyn,) and having your baby brother, Oliver, come back from the dead after five, long years.

Word Count: 1,868

Warning: Possible out-of-character canon characters! Spoilers for any readers who haven’t watched Arrow (I guess lol)

A/N: This one got longer than I expected it to so I’ve decided to make it a two parter! PART SEVEN(7) will be a continuation of Oliver’s return home!

A/N2: I hope you all enjoy!

PT 1 2 3 4 5 7

(GIF ISNT MINE FOUND IT ON GOOGLE IMAGE! WILL REMOVE IF ASKED)

“You killed my Father and Brother.” The words had spilled from your mouth with so much belief, each syllable coated with a venom that might as well have been acid. You had been so angry, and your words had caused you to grow even more so.

You had stared across that coffee table at Malcolm, each of you seated on separate lush couches in his Merlyn Global, Starling City Branch office. Your gaze was made of daggers, your hands tightened into fists as you spoke once more.

“I don’t know why, not yet, but I will find out somehow and when I do…when I get proof that you caused the Queen’s Gambit to go down, I will watch you burn in hell.”

After a quick exchange of words, back and forth, you had sworn you wouldn’t regret your actions as you brought your knee up, driving it into his chest with a force nowhere near what you had meant to hit him with.

You hadn’t thought that you would regret hitting him, taking your anger and well-hidden grief out on him.

You had believed so deeply the whispered secrets you had accidentally overheard Moira and Frank say in the entry hall of your family’s mansion, there had never been a reason not to believe your dead father’s wife, and that belief had led you to Malcolm’s office. That belief led you to drive your knee into his chest after realizing how big his hands were compared to your own, after realizing that Malcolm wasn’t a man to mess with, after realizing that...that for once in your life you had been rash and let your emotions cloud your better judgement.

You had sworn not to regret it, he argued otherwise as his hand wrapped tightly around your throat.

You still believed that he had done something to your father’s yacht.

Malcolm swore otherwise. He had been oh, so convincing.

Even now, that moment between the two of you - the first ever kiss you had shared - was cloaked in confusion for you. Why had it happened? It came out of nowhere. Had he said something else before his lips were pressed to your own? Was it really just you staring up at him like an injured animal, confused and hopeless, that pulled him forward and led to that kiss?

Was there another moment you weren’t aware of? Something that even now was out of place, hidden in plain sight?

You were left so confused after that. Every time you saw him, for months after, all you could do was fight against whatever pull he had suddenly gained on you. Breathless with your thoughts always racing, you had sworn to yourself that Malcolm hadn’t killed your father and brother, but you had already placed yourself in Malcolm’s radar and even if you had truly wanted nothing to do with him, there was no way he would have allowed it until he was done.

Confused or not. Understanding what you were getting yourself into or not.

You chose Malcolm Merlyn to be your one selfish thing in life after spending your entire life being the good girl. The Golden Queen Child. The one who never stepped a single toe out of line.

Whether it ended badly or not...whether Malcolm turned out to be the bad guy or not...you chose him and all the pain that came with him.

You may have underestimated how much pain that was.

And what that pain could cause when left to fester and spill over.

*

“...believed to have died five years ago when his family’s yacht went down during a storm, Starling City’s Oliver Queen - of Queen’s Consolidated - has been found alive...”

On television sets across the country this broadcast was being shown. For complete strangers, it meant nothing to them. Wow. A billionaire playboy had been found after his family’s boat was lost at sea. Cool. For those in Starling City who knew of the Queen family, of Oliver in particular, there was a mixed reaction. Some were excited to have the well-known party boy back in town; the city was never dull with Oliver Queen around. For others, there was apprehension and sadness. If Oliver was alive, what about the others who had been on that yacht with him? Why did Oliver get to live, and the others didn’t?

And you?

For you it meant everything.

You were alone in the home you shared with Malcolm; he was overseas on a business trip and you had just returned from a very long day at Queen’s Consolidated when your late-father’s wife had called in a rush, ordering you to turn on the nearest television.

Whatever you had expected it to be, it certainly wasn’t a news broadcast reporting your baby brother to still be alive. Reporting that Oliver had survived the Gambit going down, reporting that Oliver had been shipwrecked for the last five years, and reporting that your father’s only son was on his way home.

Shock wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the feeling that immediately settled in your stomach when realization of what the news broadcast was reporting finally registered.

You could hear Moira saying something on the other end just before the call ended, your step mother having hung up.

Your cell was abandoned on the coffee table as you sat on the couch, watching the broadcast over and over. At one point, there was a far away live feed showing an airstrip and a crowd of people screaming as a dozen people descended from the single airplane that sat on the runway.

You couldn’t make out which was your brother; all of them kept their heads down and hurried to the awaiting cars.

Was it really him? Was he truly alive?

How long had you prayed for this? How long had you asked God for a miracle and to bring back Oliver? You had even offered up your own life if it meant your stepmother and Thea would have Oliver back.

And now it’s happening. And instead of taking his place, we’re both alive. We’re both here...neither of us will be taken away from Moira and Thea.

There was no thought then about the changes that happened in your family; there was no thought about things that rock Oliver’s world, about the things that were going to be a shock - things that could upset him.

Moira and Walter.

Malcolm and I.

Thea’s attitude.

Tommy and Laurel...whatever is happening between the two of them even if Tommy tries to hide it.

You wondered if your father had had any last words. You wondered if Oliver had been there with him if Robert Queen had lived long enough to say goodbye to his middle child.

And you wondered what kind of person Oliver was returning to Starling City as. Was he a playboy still? What horrors had he been forced to live through on that island?

Are you still my baby brother, Ollie?

Please. Please still be my baby brother.

*

How is one meant to act as they stand in their family’s home, waiting for a long-believed dead family member to be brought home?

You wished you had the answer as you stood in the living room, heart racing, and waited for Moira to return home. Nervously, you played with the ring on your left hand and hoped that everything went alright at the hospital.

“...your room is exactly as you left it...”

You met Walter’s gaze only briefly before he was heading into the entrance hall to greet your stepmother and brother.

You followed, remaining in the doorway - taking a moment to take Oliver in.

He looked the same. And the smile he gave your family’s maid, Raisa, melted your heart. There he was. Your sweet, baby brother.

A door shut from upstairs, drawing Oliver’s attention just as Raisa informed Moira that “Mr. Merlyn” would be joining the family for dinner.

Tommy, of course, as Malcolm was still away on business.

You barely acknowledged that small exchange, honestly, as you watched Oliver focus entirely on the stairs. On Thea.

Your heart broke all over again at their reunion; tears streaming down your cheeks as you watched your baby brother and baby sister interact after the tragedy that had fallen your family that fateful night when the Gambit went down during that storm.

Look at them dad. Look at us.

You weren't sure where the thought came from; it had been so long since you had thought about what your father would think if he could see the family he left behind. It reminded you of the pain and the sadness you had felt when you realized that only Oliver had returned, that Robert Queen was truly gone forever.

“Y/n,” Oliver’s voice saying your name pulled you from your thoughts before you could spiral down any further.

At first it didn't even register that he had spoken, and then you lifted your gaze and met his, stared back at your brother who looked so happy after reuniting with Thea. Happy, but with a darkened undertone that later you would wonder how much Oliver had gone through while he was shipwrecked?

Still, even with the onslaught of curiosity and thought...a sob ripped its way from your chest as you rushed forward and finally hugged your brother, holding Oliver for the first time in five years (but oh lord did it feel like so much longer).

"Oh Oliver. Olive." Thea and others referred to him with the nickname Ollie, but he had always been Olive to you. Since the day five year old you so proudly and confidently held newborn Oliver Queen for the very first time and swore to protect him with your own life.

As the two of you got older, your use of the nickname had faded; Oliver got older and became embarrassed by it, but as it slipped from your lips then your brother didn't cringe away from you as he would have years earlier, instead, Oliver's arms tightened around you and softly whispered the nickname he had childishly given you when he was a baby just learning to talk. A nickname he hadn't used since he became a teenager.

There was so much you wanted to tell him; so much you just wanted to start catching him up on. You wanted to apologize for being a bitch toward him the last time you saw him; for treating him like he was a mistake and worthless, useless to the Queen family name...

He knew. You knew that your baby brother knew how sorry you were and how grateful you were to have him back by that bright, Oliver Queen smile he gave you when the two of you finally ended your hug.

“Y/n/n,” your nickname, again, fell from Oliver’s mouth and you wanted to start breathing all over again. “You still look bossy.”

“Yeah well...” you cleared your throat and laughed shortly, “I have two younger siblings who need a bossy older sister. They’re always getting into trouble, you know.”

Oliver just chuckled and whispered, “Don’t I know it.”

You smiled, at the time oblivious to the hidden something in his words.

*

A/N3: I hope you all enjoyed it and that it’s a worthy addition to the series! Apologies for it taking a while to get typed out and posted! Please consider liking, reblogging, leaving a comment, and donating to my Kofi! Thank you so much! Please stay safe and healthy!

~ Atlex0616

[escapetothelake]

rusty lake theory: frank vanderboom died at some point between 1935 and 1939 and was reincarnated as the cat from cube escape: birthday

there is no evidence for this, they just eat fish the same way and im tired

[donutfrost]

you’re fucked up in the head, frankie

[that-sarcastic-writer]

Girl's Got Attitude (Frank Castle)

Pairing: Frank Castle X Latina!Reader

Summary: you get caught in the crossfire as a result of Frank's intervention. You're both getting shot at and you react in the only way you know, with lots of yelling, cursing and shooting at people. Loosely takes place during s1 of Punisher when Frank is believed to be dead.

Warnings: canonical violence, mentions of blood, guns, people getting killed, some couple bickering between Frank and reader, cursing obviously, some light fluff at the end.

WC: 3k

A/N: this is going to flop, 100% im calling it right now. But yes, yes I know this isnt exactly self insert because I'm specifying the readers ethnicity, but I just wanted to get some representations for myself and for any other PR/latin reader that wished they got to see this in fics. I promise that's literally the only thing I specify, reader is still physically neutral, I dont use any physical descriptions or anything that falls into OC territory. Just let me have this one. If anyone feels too awkward reading this because of the readers ethnicity then that's totally understandable and you're free to skip it. And if you're cool with it, I hope you enjoy it, this one was a personal favourite.

Reblogs and feedback are highly appreciated!

Sometimes you put your judgment into questions. Sometimes you wished you were more reasonable. That you didn’t act on impulse all the time. It would save you a lot of trouble, and pain.

But tonight wasn’t one of those times. You needed to do this, for his and for your sake.

But maybe you should’ve probably questioned the choice of meeting spot. It was this abandoned construction site, like so many in NYC. But this place felt like the air would give you tetanus. You were gonna make sure you got your shot as soon as possible after this. It was dark and cold, and definitely felt eerie. You had a bad feeling in the pit of your gut, but you got this feeling a lot, you just learned to be cautious and stay alert, but you never backed down. You looked around, eyes squinted and alert trying to find any immediate threats. There wasn’t anyone. Yet.

You shuddered softly, the cool night breeze hitting the back of your neck, so you hugged yourself in an attempt to keep your body warm. You swore that if they didn’t show within the next five minutes you were going to walk. To be completely honest, you didn’t actually know why you were there, you just knew some people had been looking for you, going to the same places you went to, talking to the people you knew just to get a hold of you. That would’ve been understandable, but from what you were told, they were pretty sketchy, and very persistent, and not exactly nice. So you wanted to see what they wanted, in person. You were prepared though, your handgun was strapped securely to your hip, but it was hidden under your shirt and jacket. You had a few spare magazines in your jacket and you had a spare knife strapped inside your boot. You weren’t about to walk into an ambush naked.

“Fuck this.” You shook your head, the time had passed and nobody came, so you figured it was just a bluff. You sighed heavily, turning around to walk the way you came from, but when you did you ran right into a group of men, you counted six. That you could see. You squinted your eyes, eyeing the front man. You didn’t know them by name, but you had seen them around, bars, shooting ranges, the typical military men type of scene. They were dressed like that too. Not exactly like the military, but like they were a team of some sort. Great.

“Y/N L/N is it?” The front man asked, looking down at you with a raised eyebrow and a small grin. Ugh. You had to suppress the urge to roll your eyes.

“Depends who’s asking.” You shrugged, a shit eating grin plastered on your lips.

“You got a piece?” You snorted, making a gesture with your hands and an ‘duh’ expression on your face. “Lose it then.”

“Not a chance buddy. But I’m not gonna use it. You keep your hands off yours and I’ll keep my hands off mine. We can stay civil, don't you think?” You slowly raised your hands up, showing they were empty and nowhere near your hip. They didn’t look convinced, you could see the ones in the back had their hands on their hips, like they were getting ready to be given green light to shoot. Great. “Listen I don’t know who you are or what you want with me, but if you wanted to kill me there were easier ways to do that, you didn’t have to hunt down my people to bring me here.”

“Let’s just cut the shit yeah? You seen Frank Castle lately?” And just like that your lips went into a flat line. You bit the inside of your cheek and scoffed softly, you were taken aback but you tried to play it off by feigning confusion. You were good at keeping a blank face and showing little to no reaction at all.

“Newsflash, pendejo, Frank Castle is dead, and has been for a while. Didn’t ya hear? Are you new in town or something?” You chuckled mockingly, scoffing softly. You were good at putting up a front, but deep down it freaked you out. Frank was supposed to be dead to the public, nobody other than a few people were supposed to know he was alive. And the fact that some sketchy looking men were asking about him worried you.

“I thought I told you to cut the shit. Listen mamacita I would suggest you start talking. It’ll be a whole lot easier for all of us.” You internally cringed at the name, it almost made you throw up in your mouth.

“Call me that again and I swear I will cut your tongue off.” You huffed, your whole demeanor changed to defensive and tense. You pushed your lips together and glared at him with a clearly distasteful expression on your face as you watched him get all up in your face. “Frank Castle is dead. So unless you think I can bring people back from the dead then I have no fucking idea what you want from me.”

“I don’t think you heard me right mamacita,” you clenched your jaw, fist clenching to stop you from taking a swing. But you wished you had, because before you could react, the front man grabbed the back of your head and he tangled your hair around his fist, making you hiss in pain. He got all up in your face, so close that you smell the nauseating mix of tobacco and liquor in his breath. Your hand hovered over your hip, ready to grab your gun and start shooting, but the man got the same idea. He pulled out his own gun and pressed it right against your jaw. “You think we don’t know you’ve been whoring yourself out to Castle? He pissed off a lot of people by coming back from the dead, and it will be a lot easier for you if you tell us where to find him. I’ll make it quick, there’s no need to mess up this pretty face.”

“Kiss my ass, pendejo.” You spat on his face, jaw tight and eyes narrowed. He was going to kill you anyway, you weren’t going to give them what they wanted. He pressed the barrel with more force against your jaw and he gripped your hair so tight you almost felt like your hair was being ripped out. The man puffed out air angrily, his face getting crimson red. You screwed your eyes shut, getting ready for whatever was coming your way, whether that was a bullet or a punch.

You let out a small scream when you heard the deafening sound of a gunshot and you felt blood splatter on your face. You jumped, gasping for air when you realized you were in fact still breathing. You opened your eyes, frantically scanning for the shooter, it wasn’t any of the four other men there, in fact, they were just as shocked as you were. It took another gunshot to get you to snap out of your small shock. You reacted when you saw the body of another of the men pile up next to the man that had his gun pointed to your face mere seconds ago and your survival instincts took over. You pulled your gun out of your hip and shot the man that was closest to you in the head without a second thought. He dropped dead instantly. You took the opportunity to get cover. You had to jump and run around to avoid the bullets that were going your way. You eventually found cover behind a wall of cement. When you turned to face the men agai. they were down to two now. What the fuck. You only shot one of those, but there were four bodies on the ground. Who the fuck was helping you? You didn’t tell anybody you were coming here, bad idea now that you thought about it. But there was a more important question still unresolved, where the fuck was this other shooter.

“Carajo.” You cursed, switching between shooting at the remaining men and getting cover. You got one down, but as a result of the distance and them also taking cover, you were down a magazine. Well great. You took cover to change magazines, dropping the empty one to the ground and grabbing the new one from inside your jacket. When you turned back to the scene there were now eight men. “Que mierda? Fuck.” You cursed when you realized there were probably more hiding somewhere. You just kept on shooting. You got another one down. But there were two bodies on the ground. Thanks unknown shooter, you guessed.

You could only shoot so much before you were down to your last magazine, you weren’t counting on this turning into a one against all type of shoot out. You leaned your head against the concrete wall and held the gun to your chest, taking out the magazine and cursed under your breath when you realized you were down by half. Well this was it, you guessed. You pushed the clip back to resume shooting, but when you did you saw two of the remaining six drop to the ground, also very dead. You frantically looked around for the unknown shooter, because those shots weren’t sniper shots anymore, they were handgun shots, from up close. When you turned your head to the side you spotted a man you’d recognize anywhere.

“Castle! Que cojones? What the fuck are you doing here!?” You shouted at him, he wasn’t too far, maybe a little over five feet away, he was also getting cover. Frank turned his head when he heard you, he didn’t look too amused to say the least.

“The hell do you think I’m doin’? I’m savin’ your dumb ass!” He shouted back, glaring daggers at you as he also took shots at the remaining men. It was surprising how he could shoot people without actually looking, because he was just glaring at you.

“Well I sure as hell didn’t need saving! You made it worse, puto imbecil!” You shouted at him, shooting a glare at him when you turned to keep taking shots. There were only four now. Better. For now.

“Don’t curse at me in Spanish woman, I saved your ass!” You had no idea how a man with such a deep and raspy voice could shout so much, and so loud and clear too, but he did.

“Ugh puta madre. I’m out!” You groaned and squeezed your eyes shut in frustration when your gun ran out of ammo. You looked over at Frank, he was still shooting so he probably still had some ammo left. “Cover me, I’m going over there!” You waited for him to nod at you and moved to shoot again before you made a run for it.

Frank was still shooting and you were still running, too many things going all at once to stay aware of every little thing happening around you, so when you were about to take cover behind the concrete wall next to Frank, you felt something burn in your shoulder, and in a matter of seconds that burning turned into excruciating pain, so you cried out in pain.

“Agh! Goddamnit!” You got cover next to Frank, you threw your head back in pain and squeezed your eyes shut, placing your hand where you felt the pain, and who would’ve guessed, there was blood pouring from your shoulder. Nice.

“You okay?” Frank asked with a bit of panic in his voice, he heard you scream but he didn’t see the blood until he actually looked at you, his eyes grew but his jaw was tight and eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown. “I’m gonna get you out of here sweetheart.” And without another word he was gone from your side.

You hissed in pain as you moved to peek over your shoulder and you wanted to face palm yourself, and punch Frank right in the face when you saw him stand dead in the middle of the gunfire. You knew he didn’t care, this man was damn near immortal at this point. There were only four of the men left, nothing Frank hadn’t handled before. He took all of them out in a spawn of a minute, a mixture of headshots and just a bunch of fatal gunshots to several body parts. But they were all dead on the ground by the time he ran out of ammo. You let out a sigh of relief when you saw the last one of them drop to the ground. But you knew it wouldn’t be long before more of them came for you, or Frank, probably for Frank.

“Sweetheart?” Frank called out to you, wiping the dripping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he approached you, seeing you slouched against the cement wall, blood dripping from your shoulder.

“Hey Frankie, nice of you to join me.” You shot him a shit eating smile, knowing he damn well could see you were in a lot of pain.

“C’mon..” He mumbled with a bit of annoyance at the nickname and grabbed your hand, helping you stand up straight. You hissed in pain at the subtle movement. It hurt like a bitch.

“Agh, me cago en la puta madre que te pario.” You glared at him, sucking in a sharp breath. You knew it wasn’t his fault you got shot, but it kind of was his fault. He blinked a couple of times and scrunched up his face in confusion, like the words that had just come out of your mouth were registering in his head and it took him a minute to process.

“The fuck are you shitting on my mother for?” He finally said, a bit offended and scoffed. You were surprised he understood that one. He threw an arm over your uninjured shoulder and led you back to where he had his van. “I didn’t shoot you, what are you cussin’ at me for?”

“I didn’t need your help Castle,” you huffed, calling him by his last name rather than his first, a sign you were pretty pissed off. “They were looking for you, you know. Someone knows you’re alive. And I got shot because they wanted your ass.”

“Yeah I know..” He mumbled with a small groan and looked down at you, seeing the way your expression changed from pissed off to confused. “I might’ve uhm.. Y’know, gotten taped by a cop car camera. It’s on the news and shit.”

“Fuck sakes Frank. The whole point of faking your death is to y’know, have people believe you’re fucking dead so they don’t try to kill you, again.” You let out a frustrated sigh, shooting him another death glare. He looked back at you with a clearly unimpressed look and shook his head at you.

“Yeah no shit.” He muttered, opening the passenger’s side of his van and helped you get in despite your visible protests. But he gave you an annoyed look, one of those looks that said to just do as he said and not protest. You knew that look pretty well.

“Eres putamente anormal. I hope you know that.” You muttered under your breath, hissing in pain when you tried putting on the seatbelt. Frank got in the driver’s seat and once again looked at you like his brain had just short circuited. He squinted his eyes and mouthed 'what the fuck'.

“In English please. I can’t understand you when you talk shit in Spanish, sweetheart.”

“I said you’re a fucking idiot and that I’m going to break your nose again if you don’t take me home to take the bullet I got in my shoulder because of your impulsive ass. Did you understand that or should I draw you a damn picture?” You huffed, there was so much attitude and frustration in your tone that Frank was taken aback. He was driving but he turned to look at you, lips pursed and jaw tight, but his eyes weren’t hard like before.

“Listen sweetheart I had to. I wasn’t about to sit there and watch that dipshit shoot you, or worse. I didn't mean for you to get shot, you know damn well I would rather get shot instead.” Frank was always rough, not great with words, but you knew when he was being genuine and when he was trying to be sweet, in his own way, but he tried. “I’m gonna patch you up okay? You’ll be okay.”

“I know, I know. I’m still worried, Frank. The people that killed your family, I think they’re coming after you now. I don’t want you to die.” You said softly now, your demeanor slowly changing as soon as the adrenaline and anger faded and the worry came crashing in.

“I ain’t dying sweetheart, not yet. Don’t worry ‘bout me alright? Let’s just get you home first, we’ll figure out the rest later okay?” His voice was still rough, it always was, but his tone was softer, caring even, you could’ve sworn you even saw a small smile. You couldn't help but feel a bit of relief, you knew you would keep each other safe.

“I’m gonna take your word for it, but I swear to God Frank Castle if you die I’m going to drag your ass from hell, kill you again and then I’m going to drag you back out because I need you.” You frowned, sniffling softly and blinking a couple of times to avoid tearing up, but you didn’t know if it would be from pain or from emotion. Probably both. Frank sighed heavily and nodded, taking your hand and squeezing reassuringly.

“Glad we agree on somethin’ sweetheart.”

[tigerdrop]

Cringe is dead, talk to me about the funny half-life men and their relationship

okay here is my essay. it is titled These Guys Actually Like Each Other, and Gordon Freeman Is Just Kind Of A Dick*

(disclaimer: these are just my 2 cents. dont take me too seriously! im just some guy online who has watched this shit too many times.)

first things first. these guys actually like each other. this is a key aspect of their relationship. benrey, obviously and textually, digs gordon freeman - you dont flirt that heavily with guys you arent into, and so much of what he says and does is geared around making gordon crack up. thats pretty gay.

but the counterpart to this is that gordon freemans pretty fucking gay for benrey, too. you may say, “oh, but word of god says its not requited!” and to you i will say: bull shit. gordon is uniquely obsessed with benrey compared to all the other characters. if gordon didnt like the fucking guy, he wouldnt giggle with him and share in-jokes with him and bring him up every 5 seconds when benreys not around. thats concern, bro. thats worry. thats real shit

but i cant blame people for thinking that gordon freeman genuinely doesnt like benrey. benreys partially responsible for some of the worst things that have happened to him, the Arm Thing among them. and gordons very insistent afterward that he doesnt like benrey. he even goes so far as to try to kill benrey a couple times. to this, i must argue that gordon freeman is just kind of a dick.

lets talk facts here. canon. Lore. from the moment we hop into gordons shoes, we can see that he is a jerk to every npc on his way into black mesa. this is his default: a dude who just runs his mouth and says rude shit. he calls tommy a freak within 5 minutes of meeting him. he infantilizes the guy and barely considers him a real scientist. he doubts that bubby is a real name for like no fuckin reason. in “real life”, this is because its funny, and wayne is trying to make a funny half-life stream. in a textual sense, this is because gordon “hlvrai” freeman is a dick. this is the way he acts, consistently, throughout the series.

(brief aside: this is why the whole “gordon is a nice guy and a great dad” characterization baffles me. the way he actually acts in canon is, in short, bitchy and lacking in self-awareness. and i love that for him, i really do. it makes the moments where he just tries to be a nice guy stand out. but thats the thing: his intermittent moments of decency and kindness are not the whole of his personality! this dude kind of sucks most of the time!)

the way that gordons general asshole attitude extends to benrey is complicated. in fairness, benrey makes it his job to annoy the shit out of gordon as much as possible, and that warrants a negative attitude, but gordons pretty paranoid and ends up blaming benrey for nearly everything that happens to him, regardless of if its warranted. this is a pattern he exhibits both before and after the Arm Thing. its a little bit of a dick move! especially considering that, prior to the whole “betrayal” subplot (which was not exactly planned very far in advance), benrey is no more malicious or annoying than anybody else gordons having to travel with.

(okay, this is kind of a subjective evaluation, but still. my point stands that benrey is not any more of a hindrance to his progress than anybody else in the science crew, and neither is he particularly more violent or murderous. hell, gordon freeman has probably killed more guys than benrey. benrey just tends to get.......special treatment.)

all that said, i am still convinced that gordon really fucking likes benrey. please consider with me the following: it would be remarkably easy for gordon to just ignore him and do what he has to do, but he doesnt. he could stop engaging. he could stop thinking about benrey. he could stop bringing benrey up to the rest of the crew every time benrey leaves to do his own thing for awhile. but he doesnt. and, again, yeah, the extra-textual reason for this is “two guys are doing an improv comedy thing and bouncing off of scorpy is kind of the point”, but within the text it reads to me as gordon not being about to get the dude off his mind.

and this is in addition to all the times we see gordon being genuinely nice and receptive toward benrey! its in the little things: laughing the hardest and longest at benreys jokes. only ever reciprocating that stupid underwater “BBBBB” thing with benrey. trying to catch benrey when he falls, despite his insistence moments earlier that benrey should hop in the wack ass crystal generator and get hypermurdered. fondly remarking that benreys sweet voice sounds beautiful. his sort of flustered responses to most of benreys overt flirting. none of this is the way normal people react to a guy they hate. this is all fuckin gay to me, man.

its this combination of the outward insistence that gordon hates benrey with his inner eagerness to be around him and think about him and engage with him that gives off strong “repression” vibes, to me. for whatever reason - pride, embarrassment, resentment - gordon maintains a front of hating the guy and wanting to kill him for a lot of the series, but it doesnt gel with the way he fucking giggles and plays along half the time that benrey starts fucking with him. its a game, and that game is one of the only ways gordon knows to manifest affection for him.

(remember “oh my god, hes got a knife!”? that was the gayest shit i ever seen in my life. tittering like a schoolgirl while benrey chases him around like “im gonna get you haha”. insanity.)

the cool thing about repression is that you can have it manifest in a lot of ways! and this is where things like “headcanons” and “my own personal affection for repressed bisexual men” come in. a lot of how i characterize their relationship is an extrapolation of a lot of things like gordons canonical insecurity issues/anxiety, gordons whole anti-bootboy thing screaming “internet wokeboy who means well but probably has a lot of repressed baggage” to me, etc.

how do you get massive amounts of sexual repression out of what you see in canon, you might ask? well. if wayne would stop having gordon talking about being jerked off by the suit, or talking about chugging a 40-gal drum of potion and having to hold his piss, or worrying about being eaten by benrey the moment he sees benrey at setscale 10, maybe i would have a higher opinion of gordon “hlvrai” freeman and whatever latent psychosexual issues hes got going on. but here we are

i havent even touched yet upon how benrey feels about gordon. this one is helpfully made a little more plain by the fact that benrey very much wants to suck his dick in canon. (i dont even have to go into details. we all know.) but IMO the best part about this ship isnt just that they dig each other, but how. benrey gets overtly flirtatious in the second half of the series, but IMO his preferred method of flirting is just fucking with gordon: chasing him with knives, shoving him around in a bathroom, trying to get scans of his feet. but all in like a slapstick, giggly, fun-and-games sense, you know? at least when it works.

a lot of the time, though, it doesnt work out that way. he clearly just likes doing it whether or not gordon responds positively. which is, you know, Weird. not very nice. but also in line with the way everybody else treats gordon freeman. gordons kind of the universes chew toy in any given universe, and the same holds true here. hes kind of helpless......subjected to 4 demons attempting to make his life as difficult as possible. in a way its cathartic.

sorry. i got sidetracked. anyway, benrey very much likes to mess with him and unnerve him and demean him and i will be perfectly frank with you: that is hot. i have problems and illnesses and one of them is that i am a masochist who goes crazy for that kind of thing. calling gordon a “dirty lil boy” and telling him to “look at the mess [he] made” is some straight up kink scene shit.

i like to imagine that a lot of this behavior isnt caused just by the guy who played him wanting to be funny and antagonistic, but by benrey as a character not really understanding what constitutes “pushing a joke too far”. hes not human, and whatever he is doesnt have a very normative way of understanding the world around him, full of people who actually get hurt for real and die for real. benrey expresses what seems to be genuine surprise and distress after the Arm Thing, as if he didnt know that his actions would have serious consequences. and it doesnt seem to fully sink in afterward, either.

it reads a lot to me like hes used to video game rules and treating people around him like NPCs. if they get hurt, its no big deal, because its not real. he likes jamming random buttons on gordons interface and seeing what comes out. its probably a lot of fun for him, the same way that seeing a streamer or a youtuber suffer for our amusement is fun. its like, you know, in my opinion, gordons very cute when hes frazzled. hes also cute when hes laughing. pushing gordons buttons has a 50/50 chance of either of these things. and this is how he ultimately flirts with gordon: by pulling his pigtails.

but at the same time, benrey does legit care about gordon and knows some boundaries. benreys the one most often shooting at enemies to protect gordon, and he spent most of the last act trying to convince gordon to turn around and not fight him because they were friends (best friends, to be specific). he just lacks a lot of the emotional intelligence it would take to express the feeling of “he digs gordon and likes seeing his face get all red and sweaty regardless of the cause”. and gordon lacks the emotional intelligence it would take to express the fact that he doesnt know if he likes or hates benrey and hes scared as hell that its the former

because, lets be real. unironic benrey-liking is a sign of problems disorder. just look at all these words ive written about it.

can you imagine? this bizarrely powerful, non-human entity that can shrug off gunfire and grow to the size of a building has decided that youre his new plaything. benreys the bored guy booting up skyrim and fucking around in the console, and gordons the hapless favorite follower that hes taken a liking to. its a really fun dynamic IMO

after all this, its safe to say my title is a little misleading. the asterisk stands for * and So Is Benrey, Actually. they are both kind of awful dudes who thrive off of teasing each other and they deserve each other. and i am crazy about it. thank u for coming to my TED talk

[mattelektras]

Im not the anon that asked but I would love to hear the serious answer on why you love elektra because I love her too 💗 and I feel like not enough people love her lol

hard to do this without getting into My Issues as a person because thats a huge part of why i just. vibe with her so hard. but GENERAL things 

i joke a lot about how i like women who are mean but i REALLY DO LIKE WHEN WOMEN ARE MEAN!!!!!! women who’ve had shitty things happen to them and it hasnt made them kinder or nicer or whatever. not women who dont not take shit because theyre strong n independent or whatever trope we’re on this week but women who dont take shit because they know they dont have to and they dont have to be nice about not taking shit. women should be mean n not worry about being gentle and letting people down gently when they have no reason to listen to them in the first place 

negative character development baby!!!!!!!! she started out as a nice wholesome college girl who wanted to fight her cause and help the world, but then these shit things just KEEP happening to her no matter what she does, whether she kills people or she doesnt, it never seems to get better for her and i just love how that SHOWS. she comes off as cold, she’s a little bitter, she doesnt trust people, she doesnt commit to friendships or relationships easily, she doesnt trust anyone, the list goes on. it just very realistic to me how shes allowed to be all of those things that are usually afforded to grizzled male characters like batman and the punisher and any other dude with stubble and a dead girlfriend 

all that being said, she has a lot of her fundamental beliefs like she DOES, despite herself, believe people can be good inherently, she just doesnt believe it’s her. she’s a staunch defender of women and kids who've been in shitty situations because she wouldnt want what shes had for anyone else

she canonically has depression and has taken medication for it for a long time, even before her father died in some comics, and she’s believably (to me at least. which might say something about me but. next) someone who grew up w depression and thats just how she is. she doesnt emote much, even negatively. and imo, a lot of depictions of depression are based in like... heightened sadness?? idk how else to phrase it, and whilst that can be the case, its not the only way depression shows itself and i just.... relate to her version of it so much

the fact that she was created by one of the most misogynistic comic creators in the history of the medium who wanted an outlet for his hard on for japanese culture who’d die after her first outing, and shes evolved into such a complex, difficult, unique female character who exists so strongly outside of the man she was written to support 

her potential!!!!! she has a best friend within the xmen but shes never interacted with the team as a whole, she has a complicated relationship with black widow who she has so much in common with and would have SUCH a good rapport with, and theres so much to be explored with them in regards to organisations moulding them to be something. she’s died twice and come back not quite the same. can she even die???? what has hand magic done to her??? shes immune to their control, what else has it changed about her??? someone with a brain and taste write a comic about it

while she is completely human, she’s got such total control over her own mind and body that she can slow her heartbeat so no one knows when shes lying, she can hold her breath whilst fighting the purple man so he never gets control of her, she can, to a certain unknown extent “””throw””” her mind at other people’s to immobilise them. there’s a lot that needs to be filled in there but shes potentially very powerful even outside of her physical abilities 

one of, if not my absolute favourite thing about her is that you do NOT get to fuck her over twice. bullseye killed her once with her own weapons, she’s a) beat him every time since to the point where he’s openly admitted she was always better than him and b) had her weapons modified to electrocute anyone who touches them that isnt her. she doesnt let herself be hurt twice in the same way. shes just so protective of herself which comes off as being manipulative or cold or that she only really cares for her own wellbeing, which isnt true but she does what she’s gotta do

which is how we get into the whole murdering for money thing like. she doesnt enjoy killing, she doesnt care for the money, she does it because the things thatve happened to her have made her the sort of person who CAN kill and she sees that as being what shes good for. so if thats what she is, she’ll do it well and use her own murderous skills to do good in the only way she thinks shes capable of 

ALL THAT BEING SAID. shes not infallible, in secret invasion when she encounters bullseye, she physically shakes like, shes TERRIFIED, but she gets her shit together in a second and shuts that off so she can do what she has to do

and speaking of secret invasion, she was the catalyst for this whole universe altering event and no one ever gave a shit about her except for logan!!!! she lost months of her life and her bodily autonomy and she never once asked for help or got any support and she just got the fuck on with it!!!! jessica got a whole comic about her trauma with the ending being that people DO love and care for her but elektra never got that. she’s just incredibly strong and even if she wasnt, no one would ever know because she deals with it alone

shes just so fucking GOOD at what she does and she rarely gets recognised for that like 

wolverine has said she’s more dangerous than him

she took down an entire helicarrier full of shield agents 

she took down 3 super skrulls, two of them disguised as the two people she loves most (logan and matt) and again, just!!!! got!!! on with!!!! it!!!!!

got kicked out of the chaste for being too angry or whatever when in fact, stick just didnt like the fact that she was better than the rest of his secret ninja group

matt knows she’s better than him, and that if an enemy can take her out, then he doesnt stand a chance 

and finally, just the pretene and mythology to her is really... something. being based on a greek play in name and vague backstory in regards to her father but it being so much more deep and woven in than that, to the point where, if you read electra by sophocles, which i have many times for this specific reason, you would think she came first. and frank miller is NOT that smart to have done it all by himself. she is herself such a refined, classic concept with modern ties but also this ancient ass mythology that  makes her so much more than just something marvel did like they do not have the range

idk. she means a lot to me in a way thats kind of embarrassing to admit in regards to a drawing in some comics, most of which i dont even LIKE. you will not catch me being this emotional for any other bitch. i love her so much and whether im projecting or not, no character will ever be Mine (copyright pending) in quite the same way

[wamiandayne]

its like every single daredevil ship has problems like

mattfoggy - foggy isnt going to be able to understand matts reason for doing it. he doesnt get it in the show (sees it as an addiction, needless violence vs matt seeing it as fixing injustice when the law falls through the cracks, using the "devil" as a tool to help), and like neither of them can compromise

clairematt - see canon

fratt - the differences and consequently the similarities between them drive them apart. matt is never going to be okay with murder and frank is never going to gonna be like "ok honey whatever you say ill put my guns down" bc they have two Very different motivations, and while yes they are "one bad day away" it still has like . the negativity connected to that alone. both have such shit self worth and stuff. god.

karedevil - matt will always view her as something needing protection n karens own goddamn self worth problems will get in the way of that bc she doesnt she herself as someone needing or worthy of protecrion, yet still has self preservation bc shes too scared to die. death scares her. its traumatized her enough. matt is so close to it p much all the time their core values just dont click

mattelektra - both want the other to be what they cant. matt wants to save elektra from herself, elektra wants to save matt from himself. both remind each other of what Could be, In Another World, plus elektra cant settle while matt cant run away

matt/wade. - frank adjacent. completely different understandings of. stuff.

matt/jessica - ngl theyre probably closest but theyre literally both so unhealthy for each other. u just know ones trauma is gonna be a hindrance to the other while still finding ways to overlap. matt would probably end up dead. theyre both very depr essed.

[maleloli]

this is just me rambling about hoo

- Nico Di Angelo, love that boy, wanted to be his boyfriend but he already has a boyfriend so

- can u belive that athena is canonly ace

- artemis?? ace/aro queen

-the hunters?? not stright

- reyna is a lesbian

- listen listen, nb frank,,, please consider,,,,,

- im, in love with the platonic relationships in the book,,,

- the friendships,,,,,,,,,,,

- the kids. need. therapy.

- also nico getting better what a good consept

-i.. dont want to die?????

-he is overall really confused and doesnt know how to act beacuse he isnt suffering???? he is openning up to the people he cares about??? he.. deserves love and a decent life????

- piper,, isnt stright,,, 

- leo

- just

- leo

- the gods are asholes i hate them all

- sally is blessing

- i said this on a post but all the apollo kids are not stright sorry i dont make the rules

- after nico is openly gay he just, randomly makes gay jokes, but,, they are a little disturbing,,,

- ‘’summoning the dead is gay culture’’

- hazel,,, is,, such a good girl,,,,

- hazel and frank are so cute together i cant,,,

- im to emotionally atached to the canon couples i get upset when i see other ships why;;;;;;;; shiping other stuff is ok im just v sensitive and a baby

- i often forget that jason needs glases but when i remember,,, blessed.

- everyday is apreciate frank day

- anabeth is bi that is just the truth

- piper is my hero

- frank, hazel and piper: what kind of white bullshit is this

- will isnt a soft boy uwu 

- when jason tells nico hes fucking brave i might have cryed a lil bit

- i cryed a lot

- leo is such a noble guy

- percy

- i love percy

- love that guy so much

- he is, a dork

- also the ‘ im not ur type?????’ thing isnt his vanitty he is just confused

- he thought nico hated him from a long ass time and he felt guilty about it

- their relationship is really awkward at first but then they are just pals, cause everything is cool and they are cool and its great

- the part when nico thought about the myth of men and women being one being but were to powerfull

- hit TO CLOSE HOME

- dont ship percy and nico the crush he had on percy was highly idolized ive been there its not great and it hurts and please let nico get over it and move on and be happy

- again leo

- i loved the books so much thank you rick rordan

[angel-of-death-diangelo]

What if Nico Di Angelo isnt a son of Hades, but of Ares. Nico technically wasnt claimed, everyone just figured it out. I think Ares becuase like Frank, he can summon soldiers. So i think everyone thought he was a son of Hades because he summoned the dead. But the dead he summoned were soldiers. *MIND BLOWING UP RIGHT HERE"

That's a really cool theory, and while it may not be canon, it's a really cool au idea!There was that flashback where we saw Hades with Nico and Bianca and Maria, but it's still a really cool thought! Thanks for sharing it with me I should write this!