#and then once I get it people just use it as ‘’proof’’ I’m incapable
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"Proof of having autism" the fact that youre asking me this and it makes zero fucking sense is enough, trust me
This still blows my mind
#like at work you can’t ask for accommodation until you show ‘’proof’’#and then once I get it people just use it as ‘’proof’’ I’m incapable#and I’m like Are You Kidding Me#<-my man#what the fuck#actually autistic#autism
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I reread a portion of PHF for another post I’m making and realized smth interesting… When Sheila kicks Fugo out of the car, the conversation they have prior, and then when she floors it to hit Volpe, it sounds like… she actually plans to RUN AWAY. As in, thinks she’ll most likely win (Volpe doesn't power up until the very last second and looks very nonthreatening), and will then get to flee for good, which would honestly fit with her tendency to run away from what haunts her than face it head on [stay tuned for my upcoming post about her (not) dealing with grief].
Evidence 1 and 2:
To me, this reads as her giving up on her role in Passione – resigning on her following Giorno and scramming. I haven’t gotten to evidence 2 yet where the point is that she believes she actually CAN take care of Volpe, but going off of that, this sounds like her basically doing Fugo a solid. “You stay here and do what I no longer can (follow Giorno), and I’ll take care of this thing for you so you don’t have to risk your life.” But it’s also a selfish thing on her part – bc by doing this solid for Fugo, she ensured he wouldn’t intervene with her plan, nor her subsequent escape bc she has him pegged as a coward who WOULD accept that offer if it meant ensuring his own safety, which she later learns isn’t all that true.
Evidence 3 and 4:
I’ve seen takes (and even subscribed to it at some point myself) that Sheila purposefully threw herself in danger here for ReasonsTM, but she doesn’t sound all that careless here, nor worried – she’s still trying to be strategic about this, not reckless, like she DOES want to survive, and her “refusing to believe any of this had happened” makes me think she genuinely did not expect Volpe to win this and not this EASILY at that. It’s like she expected to just run him over and then speed off, away from all this to God knows where.
What I adore about this reading is that it gives a more concise direction to Sheila’s arc, while also giving her more narrative power as a character. Something I absolutely loathe about the Volpe fight is how once Sheila rams into him, she loses all agency and gets subjected to what genuinely feels like torture porn with how unnecessarily brutal it is and she doesn’t get to say anything, doesn’t get to fight back, and is only used to lure Fugo in which. doesn’t even make much sense in-universe bc Fugo and Sheila r basically strangers and Volpe considers Fugo as someone incapable of making friends and a coward or whatever so using Sheila to get him to come doesnt sound like that good of an idea… it’s all really unnecessary and gross.
If you consider her throwing Fugo out and solo-ing Volpe to give herself the option to disappear afterwards bc she underestimated him, then what Volpe does to her, although still unnecessary in its extent, serves as a narrative consequence to a mistake she CONSCIOUSLY made, and Fugo coming to save her feels less like a prince in shining armor moment and more as her being granted another chance, on top of being yet another proof that she was WRONG in her beliefs somewhere.
Fugo coming back to save her is incomprehensible to her bc it shows her assessment of his character was wrong and so is her view on people and interpersonal relationships by proxy, and I’d like to think that THAT is what gets her to stay post-phf, since she survived and her worldviews have changed but now there’s something new ahead of her that could help her grow and change.
#phf#purple haze feedback#phfposting#sheila e jjba#sheilaposting#sheila e#pannacotta fugo#i nearly had a post done and then i got possessed to write this instead smh#but it means more sheilaposting for y'all#btw no hate if you have a different reading#i just thought this was cool#i hope it's comprehensive and with as little typos as possible
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Train Talk Tuesday
Hi, so it's been quite a while since the last post, hasn't it? It's been so long since the last post that a lot of stuff has happened since then in the world of rail-based transportation, stuff which I have a few thoughts on, but not enough to laser focus into a single post. So instead, I’m choosing to compile a ton of different news items into one post, as a lightning-round like thing. I’ve done this kind of thing before (see this post), but I don’t expect this to be a norm going forward, there’s just been quite a lot of news recently, and I figured it would be best to do it all in one post. With that out of the way, it's time to commence the news!
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First up on the list, Brightline West has officially broken ground in Las Vegas. For the uninitiated, Brightline West is a high-speed rail link between Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles*, California. It is being built by Brightline, the private company which runs trains in Florida, hence why it's called Brightline West.
I am personally really excited for this project. With the exception of the Acela in the Northeast (which you can argue day and night whether its actually high-speed or not), the United States doesn’t have any kind of high-speed rail right now, so seeing projects which aim to bring high-speed rail to a country which largely sticks with cars is a refreshing sight to see. It's not 100% perfect, as there will be some single tracking and there won’t be a direct link to LA Union Station at first, but there are plans to remedy this in the future. Just like with California High-Speed Rail, once completed, this line will have the potential to radically change how people in the area move, and it will be a major stepping stone toward a more sustainable future.
Speaking of California High-Speed Rail, the next news item is about a project very close to it! Caltrain has officially finished electrifying their main line between San Francisco and San Jose!
For the uninitiated, Caltrain is a commuter railroad that primarily serves San Francisco, California. As part of California High-Speed Rail, Caltrain has been electrifying their main line between San Francisco and San Jose, as CAHSR will be using the Caltrain main line as part of the route into San Francisco. Recently, though, the project has reached its end, and Caltrain will begin electric commuter service soon.
What makes me really happy about this project is it demonstrates that the United States is capable of these kinds of projects. Time and time again, there is cope about how the United States is incapable of electrification projects, and that we are meant to just stick to diesels. This project reaching its conclusion is hardline proof that it is possible, but only if we actually make a worthwhile attempt at making it happen. There is no “We’re not ready”, no “It's too expensive”, just build the goddamn wires and stop screaming about it.
Moving all the way from one coast to the next, we arrive at the City of Brotherly Love for our next news piece, which is that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has terminated its $185 million contract for bi-level commuter cars with CRRC, a state-owned Chinese rolling stock company. The reason for the termination seems to be the delay in getting the new cars and the shoddy craftsmanship of the ones CRRC did deliver.
I’m personally not going to get too into the whole shenanigans with CRRC, as there is a fantastic video on it here, but the main sparknotes of it are that CRRC was chosen by SEPTA as Pennsylvanian law mandates that the lowest bidder for a contract like this is guaranteed to be chosen, and CRRC happened to be the one who bid the lowest when SEPTA was looking for companies who wanted to build new bi-levels for them. This is something that is also in force in Massachusetts, which is why the MBTA picked CRRC as the company to build out the replacement cars for the Orange and Red Lines for Boston's subway. Said cars have not only been severely delayed, but have experienced numerous manufacturing issues which required them to be pulled from service to remedy. I think that CRRC has played a clever game here, where by exploiting a bad law, they were able to secure the contract from much more reliable manufacturers. This is just another case of how penny pinching transit agencies always leads to trouble, but I also would stress that this is another issue with not having domestic manufacturers anymore. With the exception of the Brookville Equipment Corporation, the United States has no rolling stock manufacturers anymore, let alone large ones on the scale of Siemens or Alstom. The United States used to have these, like Budd Co. and the St. Louis Car Co., but a lack of investment into railroads ultimately drove these companies into their graves, and the void they left in their wake continues to plague the United States to this very day. As of now CRRC has made it clear they will look toward re-negotiating the contract with SEPTA, but I doubt that SEPTA will be willing to talk.
The final news item takes us up north to New Jersey, at the Portal North Bridge, which has officially reached 50% completion status. This new bridge will be replacing the older Portal Bridge, which is a railroad bridge which carries the Northeast Corridor over the Hackensack River.
Originally constructed in 1910 by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of the connection to New York City, the replacement of the Portal Bridge is a key part of the Gateway Program, a major infrastructure project meant to increase the capacity of the Northeast Corridor between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station. Right now the NEC between these two stations is only double tracked in some areas, including the Portal Bridge, which limits how many trains can be run on the line. In addition, the Portal Bridge also enforces a speed limit on the NEC, making trains run at a glacial 60mph maximum while on it.
As someone who has mentioned how much the connection from NYC to NJ sucks in the Penn Station rant (see here), seeing such a milestone is a refreshing sight. Just like Caltrain wrapping up electrification of its main line, this is proof that large public infrastructure projects being accomplished aren’t some kind of myth here in the United States, it can be done, we just need to actively try to do them. The Gateway Program in general will likely need its own post one day, but seeing such a large project reach a critical milestone is a refreshing sight, especially since it will rectify a major issue with the NEC. The NEC won’t be totally perfect even after the Gateway Program concludes, but this will be a major step forward for the NEC in general, be it Amtrak or NJ Transit.
And that’s all of the news I have! There was definitely a lot of stuff I missed that I couldn’t do in this post, which is unfortunate, but to be expected. I did my best to pick out the stuff that I thought could use the most spotlight on, so some stuff unfortunately didn’t make the cut, but that’s just how I roll. More posts like these may or may not happen, it will depend on whether more news stuff happens. I do expect the hiatus on posts to persist, as I still need to find some ideas for stuff worth talking about, but I will do my best to try to keep the hiatus as short as possible. Until then, I hope to see you all for the next post!
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I’ve noticed so many contribute JL’s growth by the end of the novel as proof that JC (and sometimes JGY) raised JL right and I’m like, people that’s all WWX!
JL having a bad temper? Being homophobic? Having no friends? Not really standing up for himself when he did try holding in his temper? Being lonely as hell? That was all because of JC and JGY!
JL letting his anger go and opening up more? Accepting people? Actually caring about people and helping them? Learning to put pride aside and stand up for something? Getting proper discipline that includes his safety being a priority? That his safety is a priority even when he’s being a brat? That was WWX!
WWX did more for JL in a couple months than anyone else did in JL’s life, whatever development he got it was because of meeting the real WWX and not the version everyone told him he had to despise for his whole life.
Absolutely. WWX corrected Jin Ling's behavior but he also extended Jin Ling empathy. Something jc is incapable of, and that JGY mostly did artificially in the pursuit of one interest or another. I do believe Jin Ling was inherently a good person to begin with, after all jiang cheng grew up with WWX and all that goodness didn't make a fucking dent. But Jin Ling in his drive to make jiang cheng proud, was on a terrible path. The contrast between him and Lan Sizhui could NOT be drawn more clearly. We're introduced to Sizhui, who is leading cultivators from one of the most prestigious Clans, and has rude Madam Mo on his hands. He doesn't strike back, doesn't even talk back. Then you've got Jin Ling who is alone because no one even wants to interact w him, and most importantly he's genuinely putting people in mortal peril to cheat! Cheating that jc is enabling and encouraging.
"The middle aged man calmly and respectfully said, “Please, Young Master, help us out and free us.”
The youth, impatient that his prey was taking so long to appear, vented his anger on the country bumpkins. Clenching his fist, he said, “How about you just hang here? That way you won’t randomly run around and get in my way! Once I’m done catching the soul-eating creature, I’ll cut you down, if I still remember.”
If they were forced to hang here the whole night and whatever was prowling around Dafan Mountain happened to find them, they had no hope of getting away. Their souls would be sucked dry. The round-faced girl who had given Wei Wuxian the apple became scared and started crying loudly." (Chapter 7)
Then you have jc stans being like: " LWJ was a meanie bitch to jc and cut his nets down >:-/". Uh, jc and Jin Ling were literally putting people's lives in danger to get Jin Ling some cultivation cred. Are you fucking nuts? jc has zero empathy & morals and JGY is only vaguely more human but too concerned with forwarding his own interests to do more than distract Jin Ling with a dog and moderately shield him from jc's tantrums.
Side note- It will never stop being amazing to me that Jin Ling knew WWX for so little time, after hearing only the worst things about him from the cultivation world and from one of the people closest to him- jiang cheng, and literally stood up to jc for him!!! AND TOLD jiang cheng OFF!! Jin Ling grew up hearing only the worst things about WWX, met him, and then turned around to jc and went- nah it's a YOU problem.
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Hahaha... I used to be very against optimism or positive framings, very big on like, ppl should just handle the truth, lies don’t solve anything, it’s just proof the optimist cares more about comforting themself than about you so when someone feeds you platitudes it’s proof they are no help whatsoever etc.
Of course then I came across a solid body of evidence on how it can indeed be an advantage sometimes in some ontext to the point where it was eventually undeniable that it is, at least, not a net negative thing with negligible benefits.
It has occurred to me to wonder if some part of me is simply salty that I am incapable of self-sustaining delusion and just wants to pop everybody’s little rainbow balloons so they are forced to stare at this awful reality just like me.
In some ways it might actually be more impressive to manage to, bear existing here and get yourself to do shit despite everything, than it is to simply see the gaping blackness up there in the night sky. Cause, you’ve seen it and then what?
A lot of the time it rather pays off for the 7s to just act confident, look for some wiggle room & see if they can convince ppl into doing their will, & like, generally strut around like they’re gods gift to mankind...
You can’t positive think mortality away, but if the setting is like, a job interview...
As one of my sisters once said “Overconfident idiots get jobs they’re underqualified for all the time and youre not even one of those things, just send in your application anyway even if you don’t tick all the boxes!” - but recognizing that and casually swaggering in myself are two different pairs of shoes...
Speaking on the 8 side of things, there was once this quote like, “Anime girl A is probably more popular with masochists, girl B with sadists” and I thought to myself, “Well screw you, pretentious director man, I like girl B and I am not a sadist. I have no preference in that regard whatsoever, that whole thing is stupid.”
And then many years later it dawned on me. Some crucial neural connection really failed to fire there, considering the amount of secret vengeance fantasies I’ve entertained over the years. (for all that I’d quite reasonably ruled it to be something best relegated to the realm of fantasy) - obviously I could have told you about how having sadistic impulses/fantasies is not the same as acting on them (the id simply craves what it craves), but it had not quite percolated that this is also true for me in the specific case, or, I had it compartementalized away somehow I guess.
I could argue that the link between Girl A and masochism was clearer (she likes to trash talk & diss people) & neither did I ever picture myself doing any outright sadistic stuff to girl A if she had been real & available to my 15 year old self, but neither do girl Bs fans typically imagine themselves being trash talked by her, they’d probably picture themselves applying wholesome comfort to her too, even if something subconsciously responded to the trashtalk as validating some hidden negative self-image.
Other people kinda knew this about me before I did (like some ppl were like ”Top me please!” and man did I get some serious visceral gratification out of it the kind of which I rarely experience. Which should not create any impression that it was long missed or needed fulfillment, but it was a different experience. Something I’d certainly remember, for a moment it did make me understand why everyone else is so gaga about ...everything pretty much, or whatever is thought to bring pleasure. I legit just supervillain laughed in the middle of what was being done. Worry not I believe the other person was into it. That was really validating actually.)
I’m the worst kind of sadist which is some utterly toothless, twisted repressed one who won’t own up to it on the pretense of “just dismantling your silly argument”. And my younger dumber self would’ve denied that such a covert motivation could exist, “ppl are just taking shit personally that is really topic-related!” But it’s right there in the metaphor of “dismantle” innit? How deluded can you be...
So, uh, there definitely some destructive, vengeful & punitive set of impulses in there somewhere, even if I’m positively harmless in day to day life.
Or I guess one way you could interpret that whole constellation is that when you’ve dedcided to say fuck it & dispense with most things there comes to be a significant pent-up tension over the few things you do want.
Not sure I’ve decided what to do with that information really, aside from pondering whether it might be good material for some “anti-romance novel”
This is probably a part of the problem hehehe...
I should probably take my sisters’ advice about the job applications at some point....
More Enneagram 6 Thoughts
What’s been churning over in my brain the last couple of days is how vastly important your lines are, and how you are going to start seeing them at work in your core type when you really start self-observing. I’m starting to see my line to 3 a lot, through the lens of 6, which is to say, you need to think about how you are using your lines in service of your core type. This requires thinking about it in terms of, “How am I using these two numbers as a strategy to get what I want?” Or “To avoid what I don’t want?”
Since I am a 6, I’ll use 6-ness as an example. Deep down inside every 6 is a 3 who is jealous of other people’s successes, their unapologetic boastfulness in being the best, and someone who wants to impress or dazzle others with their achievements. But all of that 3 is drowned out by self-deprecating, super-ego infused “should” self-talk (being boastful is bad), tied to the strategy of not wanting to stick up your head too high, since the 6 is convinced that’s a good way to get it chopped off (fear). So inside a 6 is a 3 envious of these competent, successful folks – and that’s where the 6 need to “take arrogant people down a peg” comes from. Because we are insecure, secure people upset us; they can’t be right about everything, so we feel like we ought to kick their legs out from under them. We make it about them and their “self-promoting arrogance,” when in reality it’s about us ignoring and denying the fact that we want that for ourselves. To be able to trust ourselves, assert ourselves, feel confident in how cool, competent, and decisive we are, because inside, we fear we are not fully competent, and we are angry that we can’t trust ourselves.
Then there’s the line to 9. 6s are not peaceful, and we know it; but we actively want peace in our life, a repose from our constant anxiety and ruthless superego inner-berating. We use 9 as a strategy to avoid the things we fear, not because we forgot what needed to be done or got distracted (real 9) but because we are consciously avoiding what scares us with menial tasks, hiding out as an intentional distraction to avoid potential challenges. We try to generate peace for ourselves, but we mostly use 9 as a strategy under the self-governing process of the superego. Richard Rohr said it best, inside every 6 is a slothful 9 who doesn’t want to do anything except be happy and calm. But the super-ego won’t allow us to do nothing; so we fight our own inertia, our own desire to be passive and calm and our complacency, with an inner battery of “stop being so lazy, do what you should do, stop procrastinating, ignoring housework, etc!”
There’s also the mixed arrogance/confusion of both types, present within the 6. Going off of this post, I can elaborate further. I will spare you the details, but I saw 6>9>3 behaviors in myself yesterday. I had come off a long and exhausting work week and was looking forward to a peaceful day at home to recharge, but I had to make a bunch of decisive decisions NOW instead of procrastinating for later (9 avoidance supporting 6 fears of choosing the wrong thing), and then I had to take immediate action and be proactive for once (use 3). And, I was mad all day long. Why? Mad that my mapped out day got screwed up (6 planning), mad that when I get upset or anxious or rattled, my brain stops working and everything becomes a haze of confusion and I don’t know what to do first, and can’t focus (low 9 “haze/indecision”), which gets in the way of me being competent and getting stuff done (line to 3, competency focus). Mad that this always happens, combined with being over-reactive, suddenly wanting to procrastinate endlessly, instead of calmly handling things, and then having to re-sort-out my day, and start over. Often, because I’ve been “disrupted” that’s impossible without calming down, getting out of 9ish clouded, easily distracted thinking, and identifying and working on my goals (3). Instead of being clear-headed as a 6, I am full of confusion and feeling overwhelmed by "too much" (9).
This is pretty much how the internal system operates for a 6 – we pull on both a desire to be left alone (9) and a desire to be seen (3) without being attacked for it. And we can’t fully embody ourselves and heal, until we admit we WANT both of those things (peace and praise), and allow ourselves to have both… by slowing down and becoming more independent from others (using 9 healthfully) and by allowing ourselves to take pride in our hard work and achievements without feeling compelled to be fake-modest about them (using 3 healthfully). By learning to act decisively instead of procrastinating out of fear, and by accepting it's all right to do nothing sometimes. Most of all, we have to learn it's okay to get it wrong and not see criticisms as a blow against our insecure 3ish competency fixation, but as a chance to grow.
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Y’all are too nice to me I swear… here I am being horny and nasty on main and I’m getting encouraged, damn. But for real ( ´ ω ` ) thank you so much!!
I’m gaining more confidence to post more smutty stuff and the kind of dark shit I like, so I might go back and make more nasty Childe content later on too… After Albedo, I got Razor and Zhongli coming up, and a few ones I just worked on for fun. But yeah, just in case it wasn’t clear for anyone who followed me, I’m going to be writing almost entirely dark content and some really nasty stuff, so just be aware of that, and don’t consume my writing if that’s something that may be harmful to you.
Albedo is so pretty… and such good dark content material… He treats you like a science experiment but has the audacity to make it hot smh
I haven’t seen a whole lot of him outside the cutscenes, so potentially ooc (as if yandere content isn’t already ooc, lmao)
Albedo - Yandere Profile
tw: general yandere content, obsessive behavior, stalking
tw (below cut): smut, noncon (seriously, you’ve been warned)
What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?
Very much aware. In the beginning, it frustrates him. He’s never been particularly attached to anyone, outside of his former instructor. He’s always enjoyed being out on his own, spending extended amounts of time by himself – the desire to be around someone is a foreign feeling for him. He immediately notices how bizarre the emotion is for him, how it changes his behaviors. His self awareness combined with perceptiveness makes him able to acutely recognize not only how unusual this emotion is for him, but also how the extent of his feelings, the types of desires they ignite in him, is unusual even for “normal” people who aren’t social recluses.
He’s frustrated by his own actions, feels embarrassed at how attached he is to you, how easily you make him flustered and trip over his words. As he is a very aware yandere, he’s definitely afraid of rejection to some degree. He has no idea how to navigate feelings and interactions with other people, he’s never really had the desire to form a particularly strong bond with anyone before. As such, he’ll come across as very awkward, and he will interact with you less than most yanderes – he knows he’s just going to embarrass himself if he talks to you, right? He’ll just mess up and say something strange, so instead, he opts to watch you from the shadows, go to places where you are, but keep a distance from you, just being able to watch you makes him feel fluttery and overwhelmed.
He will definitely be one to collect things from you. He collects plenty of things for the sake of science, this is no different. Or so he tries to tell himself, but he can’t delude himself even if he tries. He knows its weird, he knows its wrong, but the overwhelming urge to have things of yours is too great to resist. He’ll start off with more innocent things, but it will gradually progress to not-so-innocent… items of yours.
It may not be obvious, but he’s actually a fairly sensitive person, at least regarding you. He places a lot of value in what you think of him, and wants to ensure you’ll respond positively to him. He views it like a science – there should be some formula by which he can put in the correct actions, and produce a specific result. Unfortunately, unlike real science, there’s not much room for trial and error – he feels he only has once chance.
How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?
It will take some time, as he’s got to get over his own nerves first. He’s torn between the fear of you hating him for such a thing, it would be the end of the world for him, but also the desire to pull you away from the world, to keep you hidden from others, to have you all to himself, to be the only person that gets to look at you. If you start showing positive signs, reacting positively to his gifts, expressing interest in conversation with him and going out of your way to see him, he’ll start to get more confident, think that he can afford to do something that might sour your opinion of him, hoping it will merely be temporary.
He’ll probably start to do so several times and back out. He’ll set out at night, make it all the way to your room and stand over your sleeping form, and he’ll start to worry, wonder if someone saw him, see holes in his plans, he gets too nervous and bolts. He’ll persuade you into being alone with him, and although its the chance he’s looking for, again, he’ll get nervous, worry about being caught, run through all the what-ifs, and miss the chance. Honestly, when he does finally take you, it will probably be not planned, but in the heat of the moment, a rash decision from desperation. Something like you coming to visit him to tell him you’re leaving the area, came to say goodbye, and he’ll panic, ultimately grabbing you by the arm as you try to leave and dragging you back inside, silently, but forcefully.
How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape?
Moderately difficult. Your best bet is to take advantage of his tendency to be absent minded when he’s absorbed in his work. He gets very lost in his thoughts, to a point where he’ll completely zone out and be oblivious to the world around him. On the downside, this means you won’t have much time to cover distance, he’ll be close behind the moment he realizes you’re gone.
The route he’ll probably take is actually one where you won’t need to be too restrained, because you’ll be taking… a little research trip. Out to the most freezing, desolate areas of the mountains. He’s convinced the knights he needs to stay there for his research, but in reality, he’s internally panicking, as he tries to figure out how to make this work – after all, you two can’t stay here forever. You’d be foolish to run out of the little cabin he’s bought, out into the perilous freezing cold and jagged, high slopes. At first, he thinks there’s no way you’d try it, so he’s content letting you have free reign to walk around as you please. If he has to leave for whatever reason, he’ll probably lock you into a single room, but he won’t chain you up, as again, he's really trying to avoid making you hate him.
If you prove to be determined to leave, he’ll be hurt, but mostly concerned for you. He’s actually not one to get too mad over an escape attempt – he’ll blame himself, or theorize it’s just a natural response your brain triggered. Against his first choice, he’ll end up having to get more strict with your restraints. If you get too whiny, though… you might trigger one of his more frustrated moments.
“I didn’t want to have to do this… I’m sorry. I can’t risk anything bad happening to you. Tell me if it’s too tight… I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t blame you. I know you’re probably panicking over all this, but you’ll get adjusted to it, I promise. Just… just give it some time… it’s not so bad, living with me, I promise.”
“Don’t be like that. You’re only tied up because you tried to leave. You should understand why you have to be kept like this… If you don’t want to be restrained, you shouldn’t have run out, trying to get yourself killed.”
How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?
For all his academic intelligence, he’s not highly skilled with people and socialization. He’s not too good at being able to tell when he’s being lied to, and he definitely won’t pick up on subtle manipulation. It’ll be pretty easy to wrap him around your finger, he’ll do what he can to make you happy.
Once he finds out you’ve lied to him, though, he’ll get pretty upset. He likely won’t trust you again, and will require proof of anything you say, or set out to find out if you’re telling him the truth or not.
How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?
He’ll try to accommodate you, giving you things you ask for, but he has limits. He’s too paranoid to let you have any contact with the outside world. You do have him wrapped around your finger to an extent, though. Whatever he’s doing at the moment, he’ll drop it in a heartbeat if you want to spend time with him in any way, even if its just you asking for food or to take a walk. He’ll be willing to take you for very short trips outside, no further than a few yards from the lodging, if only because he knows sunlight is vital to your health.
What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?
The basics will be there – don’t try to leave, don’t be difficult with him, try to cooperate, be obedient. However, he’s also particularly overprotective of anything that can hurt you – even yourself. Under no circumstances can you handle anything that can hurt you – that means no cooking, no knives, no lifting anything heavy, no going outside without him. If you’re determined to cook something, he’ll have to stand right behind you, and watch while you do it. If you get so much as a little cut or burn, he’ll take over, insisting you go sit down after he tends to your “wounds.”
At the very beginning, he’ll be hesitant to punish you too much, as part of his plan to get you to like him. However, he can be a little easily frustrated, and your safety and well-being comes first, even if it means he has to make you upset. He will have to restrain you, take away what little privileges you had. If you try to bolt while you’re outside, no more going outside. If you try something foolish like attacking him with a knife when he gives you cooking privileges, you will lose said privileges. Really, the worst part of it all is the humiliation, being treated like a dumb, incapable baby that can’t do anything for yourself. He insists on doing everything for you, even down to bathing you and dressing you, even feeding you if you can’t convince him to take restraints off your hands. He’ll talk down to you in that way, too, talking to you as if you were a child.
How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?
It’s a situation he’s not prepared to handle, and he’s unsure of what to do. It strikes fear in him that you might have someone else interested, so he has to get rid of them as quickly as possible. He’s not opposed to killing, if it comes down to that, but initially, he’ll try to work behind the scenes – expose something that will ruin their reputation, get them accused of a crime. This would also be one of the possible aforementioned situations that might cause him to kidnap you a bit earlier than he normally would, as well. If he can’t get rid of them easily, he’ll just take you away from them.
He will absolutely try to make you hate them, try to ruin your image of them, and he’s rather good at falsifying evidence for his claims of their behavior. With his alchemic skills, that sort of thing is easily possible.
How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?
He gets more frustrated than anything, when you’re being difficult. This is mostly just him sighing quite a bit, speaking a bit harshly, even pouting and sulking a bit if you’ve offended him. But true anger in him is not pretty, and almost never happens. It’s a buildup, a slow rise that has a boiling point. If he reaches that point, he can definitely get mad enough to hurt you, it’s actually kind of terrifying in how sharp of a contrast it is to how he normally is. It’s a side of him that’s very difficult to draw out. He’s not one to yell or shout, no, his anger is a suffocating silence, he slams down whatever he’s holding as he stomps over to you, grabbing you by the arms hard enough to bruise, and dragging you by the hair to whatever he has planned.
With mild frustration outbursts, he will feel justified, but if it reaches that intense anger, he’ll usually give at least a little apology, tell you he didn’t mean to go that far. He hates to think of you fearing him, but ultimately, if that’s what’s necessary to keep you safe, then he can live with it.
Do they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?
It’s an odd mix. On one hand, he sees you as utterly fascinating, the most beautiful thing he’s ever laid eyes on, more than any landscape or art he’s seen or made, an invaluable treasure to be kept on a high pedestal. Simultaneously, however, he will treat you like a child, thinks you can’t do anything for yourself. It’s a bizarre duality, but one he is consistent on. You’re precious, so very precious, and he’s undeserving of you, but at the same time, you need him to be safe and sound.
How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?
Of the genshin boys, he’s one of the most determined. He’s not good with people, and he doesn’t really have anyone particularly close to him left anymore. He tends to keep people at a distance. You sort of fill an space inside him that he never knew was empty, a void he wasn’t aware he had until it was consumed by thoughts of you. He doesn’t need anyone or anything else, so long as he has you with him, but he really, really wants it to be true that you love him. He doesn’t need you to even love him as much as he loves you – he doesn’t even know if that’s possible – but he just wants to know that, even if only in the slightest, his feelings are returned. He’s so distant from everyone else, but you wormed your way into his heart, even if you didn’t intend to, with your smiles and softness and kindness towards him. For the first time, he feels weak around someone, but in a way, it’s a good feeling. He wants to be able to be vulnerable, be weak, and not have anything to fear by doing so.
He’s lucid, though, so he doesn’t expect you to love him immediately. As he’s not good with words or displays of affection, he’ll get you all sorts of gifts. Rare items that you wonder how the hell he obtained them, beautifully crafted little trinkets from all his searching and time traveling, more clothes than you could ever wear. You’ll start to feel a little guilty, it’s so much, and you’re certain he doesn’t have that much money. He’ll blow it off, say it’s no big deal, but if you insist, he’ll have to start finding new ways to convey his affection. In captivity, he won’t stop trying, but he’ll understand why you might be angry. In that case, he will utilize what he’s learned from research in books he’s read. He knows that eventually, with him being the only one you have, the only company, the only one to talk to, the only source of touch, you’ll eventually have to cave. You’ll become attached to him, bond with him, whether you like it or not. He knows how powerful the affect of touch can be, and will make sure to hold you in his arms, keep you on his lap, make you crave the only source of human touch you can get. Dependency, he thinks, is the gateway to you loving him.
Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?
Drawings. So many of them. Much like his drawings he uses in notes, he’s found he tends to start scribbling a familiar face when his mind drifts off. He’s memorized every little detail of your face, every curve on your body. If you’re ever snooping around, you’ll eventually uncover a book of sketches he has solely dedicated to drawings of you. Drawings of you laughing, smiling, sleeping, drawings that you’re certain were of real events you were at, that you didn’t remember him being at. Every bit in perfect detail. If you confront him about it, he’ll be horrifically embarrassed, insisting they’re no good, or, if you’re upset, trying to reassure you it was all from his mind and totally not him lurking in the shadows as he watches you.
Also, if you want to make him happy, get him on one of his spiels about his work, his interests, anything that he can catch onto and go on and on about. He’ll catch himself rambling and apologize for being “annoying,” but if you reassure him, and express interest, that will make him feel particularly appreciated. It would be a primary way to get on his good side and manipulate him, or lull him into false security to make your escape, if that’s what you’re looking to do. But be warned, it will only work once, and he’ll be far too hurt to let himself indulge in sharing these things with you again.
General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?
Publicly, definitely highly reserved. He’s easily flustered, and thinks of sex in a very scientific way, for the purpose of procreation. For fun? He knows it’s enjoyable, but can’t separate it from his very analytic, scientific way of viewing things. It’s a formula, you touch this here and pull that there, and the result is supposed to be orgasmic bliss. He just isn’t very familiar with pleasure – he doesn’t drag out masturbation, even, as that would be a waste of time. He gets it over with quickly, taking short breaks during his work. He is a fairly high drive, though, and gets the urge fairly frequently, about once or twice a day.
He’ll be hornier with your presence, having to leave more frequently to get off to the little things you do, quickly getting himself off while recalling the mental image of you holding a pen in your mouth, the little moan when you stretch, the way your clothes fit to your frame.
Prior to abduction, he’s not particularly touchy at all, in fact, he’s very jumpy if you touch him. Once he’s gotten you alone with him for the foreseeable future, isolated, dependent, he’ll gain more confidence, be willing to give into his cravings to touch you, hold you, eventually progressing to groping you, moving his hands up and down your body, under your clothes, slowly peeling them off.
He’s initially a bit ashamed of his urges towards you, feels guilty every time he gets off to you, but will likewise gain more confidence once you're his.
A guy can only fight off the urge for so long before he cracks, before he can’t continue to care about the consequences. For him, that point is when he knows he finally has you all to himself – his worries fade, and while the guilt is still there, it’s far outweighed by desire.
How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?
He does care, but as stated previously, it’s hard to fight the urge for so long. It will be torture, but for the first few days, he wants you to “adjust” to your new “home,” and not add to your panic. After that, though, he’ll try to assess your reactions. If you’re extremely resistant, he’ll give you more “adjustment” time. He can’t really hold off forever, though, and eventually, maybe a few weeks in, comes to the conclusion that if he just does what he wants, so long as he’s gentle and reminds you he loves you, it will help you get past the mental barrier in your mind. He’s convinced there’s simply a psychological issue, and that sometimes, people need a push. It’s like having a friend who can’t swim – sometimes, you just have to throw them into the water, help them get over that mental hurdle, and they’ll be grateful in the end. That’s what he tells himself to justify it, anyway. He has enough… anatomical prerequisite knowledge to know what’s good and what’s bad, and will take your body’s positive reactions as a sign of what you really want. Is definitely the kind to use that against you, holding up his fingers to your face after you cum on them, as if to prove a point.
“See? I told you, you just have to let go and give in to what you want… if you didn’t, my fingers wouldn’t be dripping like this, now would they?”
What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?
He wants to experiment on you. This manifests as him being something of a service top without really intending to be, even if you’re not exactly happy about it. He likes to watch your reactions, watch the way your body moves, test the pleasure you get from different things, discover what it is that you like, even if you weren’t aware of it. In particular, he’s fascinated by the fact that girls have so many types of orgasms. He’ll want to try them all, watch and see which ones are more intense than others, which ones make you convulse, makes your toes curl, your eyes roll back. Which erogenous zones make your breath hitch, make you twitch and whimper. Probably the type to be determined that he can make you cum just from something like sucking on your nipples, and he won’t stop until he achieves it. He’ll also want to try everything. At least anything that he thinks has some potential to appeal to him, mentally. He’s a busy man and hasn’t really taken the time to explore his own sexuality, and has virtually zero experience.
Edging, overstimulation, forced orgasms
Experimentation also means testing limits and thresholds. He’ll bring you up to the edge, learn to watch for the slightest of signs that you’re close, listen to your breath, watch your face, wait until you’re just so close and then draw back, stopping just short of letting you catch that high. Then he’ll let you drift back down, and bring you back up again. No amount of begging will make him show you any mercy, you’ll only cum when he’s decided he’s observed enough. He wants to push the limit, see just how close to the edge of orgasm you can get without spilling over, just how much it takes to drive you insane. He’ll also want to see how far you can go after it as well. Orgasm won’t be the end of his ministrations, no, he wants to see how much stimulation you can take. You won’t be able to get away from his tongue, he’ll grab you by the hips and slam you back down, continuing to lap at you even if you’re so sensitive it’s painful. Watching you cum will just make him rut into you harder, bruising and abusing your insides to a point that they’re so sore you can feel it long after it’s over. At first, he might feel a little guilty, and may very well after it’s over, but in the heat of the moment, he can’t fight the insatiable urge to listen to you squeal, feel you convulse, watch the tears from overwhelming pleasure run down your face.
He’ll make it his personal mission to see how many orgasms the female body is capable of within a given amount of time - per day, per hour, how quickly you can have them in succession. For scientific purposes, of course. Anatomy and human biology isn’t really his main field of focus, but he likes to expand his research horizons.
“Just one more… cum one more time for me, then we’ll be done. Come on… I know you can, just one more.”
How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?
He’s actually good with children, usually. He has a calming effect on kids. He isn’t sure how he feels, though. To some degree, he fears his capabilities to parent, thinks he would be too cold to be a good father. But he also likes the idea of a protege, an heir to his title, one he can teach everything he knows. If he does end up having one, this fucking nerd man will read every book on pregnancy, birthing, and parenting that he can get his hands on.
Also, he’ll absolutely be one to track your cycles, even better than you can. He’s researched enough to know exactly when you’re most or least likely to get pregnant, and you can’t help but notice how much more he seems to cum in you when you’re at your most fertile. Nor can he deny how satisfying it is to watch his cum slowly drip out of you, watching you twitch with aftershock and slowly drift off in exhaustion.
What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?
Unfortunately for you, since overstimulation and edging are already normal and everyday for you, he’ll have to amp it up a bit if he’s trying to make you regret something. He might get rougher, abusing more pleasure spots on your body, keeping his hands, mouth, and cock occupied all at once with driving you over the edge until it’s painful. But if you’re exceptionally misbehaved, you might not ever get a release to his edging, instead left to suffer from being so close, tied up so you can’t finish yourself off.
In moments when he’s really, truly angry, the peak of it, and that blends with arousal, he’ll really, really throatfuck you. Grabbing the back of your head and shoving his cock down as deep as he can, holding you there as you gag and choke, feeling your throat convulse around him, desperately trying to pull back for air. The movements are harsh and brutal, pulling harshly on your hair, moving at a pace so fast you barely have a second to breathe. Thankfully, when it gets like that, he won’t last long, emptying out into your throat, holding your jaw shut and demanding you swallow. If any spills off on your chin, he’ll gather it up on his fingers, hold it to your face, and command you to open your mouth, suck it off, and swallow again. That’s at the peak of his anger, though, and you’ll have to substantially piss him off to reach that point. He’ll apologize later, holding you close, but his guilt doesn’t change the fact that it’s one of the most intense orgasms that he’ll have, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t sometimes think of doing it again, even without provocation. He’s restrained enough not to, but the thought is there… and deep down, he’ll entertain the idea.
What body parts of their darling do they like the most?
The curves of your body, no matter how defined or faint they are, no matter the general shape of your body, to him it’s the most beautiful thing. He’ll definitely want to draw you, even if you’re not too keen on posing. He’ll run his hands up and down your body, squeezing every little bit of flesh he can, moving his palms over every little curve, every inch of your skin.
#yandere x reader#yandere genshin impact#yandere albedo x reader#tw: extreme content#tw: noncon#yandere albedo
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Nili’s Benchmark Geraskier Fic Rec List
hey yall! I officially hit 750 followers (a few days ago, I blew past the benchmark without even realizing!), which is... insane. I truly can’t believe that so many people over the last year have enjoyed my presence in this fandom enough to continue to follow my work. you guys are so great and I love you all so much, so I decided to put together a gift for you!
this is a list of my favorite geraskier fics from the fandom, which I have been putting together over the last year or so. a few of these are big in the fandom, but a lot of them are smaller pieces that I feel deserve more attention! I have provided ao3 and tumblr links where I could find them, as well as ratings and summaries. Most of these are canon!verse because I’m not personally a big fan of modern au’s, but there will be a few of those scattered throughout as well. I’ve divided the fics into two sections: oneshots and multichapter. See the list below the cut!
Being in this fandom truly has gotten me through the pandemic in a big way and I have made so many good friends while here. thank you all for validating my weird obsession with these characters and enabling me in these trying times <3
Oneshots
all that was good, all that was fair (all that was me is gone) | M | 7517 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions Of Violence | @xdandelionxbloomx
Somewhere, deep in a forest, a man drags himself from his grave by sheer power of will. He lies gasping on the forest floor and does not know who or what he is. The world is wide and wonderful, though, and there is so much to see.
Or, Jaskier is so stubborn that he literally comes back from the dead.
Another fascinating addition to the mythology of the Witcher. Jaskier’s slow rediscovery of himself is so well done here. One I’ve come back to again and again.
As Fast As Love Can Go | T | 9628 | @bygodstillam
There are Faeries in the Wood.
That's what everyone said, at least, not that there was any solid proof. Jaskier had tried, more than once, to find some. Just a hint somewhere, of a real story, of real magic. But all anyone seemed to have was stories.
Jaskier was determined to find proof. He wasn't expecting to find a witcher in the process.
Fascinating fic with some really interesting worldbuilding, and a fresh new take on True Love’s Kiss. Also with some great art by @hehearse!
beautiful, he stirs up still things | T | 2575 | @alittlebitmaybe
“You’re not asking me to dance,” says Geralt.
Jaskier turns his palm up on his knee, offering it. “I think you’ll find I am.”
Just them dancing. This is a lovely sort of pre-relationship dynamic. So soft.
Dialogue Prompt | NR | 2932 | @reinvent-and-believe
Dialogue Prompt 48: “You make me want things I can’t have.” Wordless I-love-you 50: buying them a special treat when you go out shopping
Geralt gets Jaskier a gift, which prompts some confessions.
Even a small love | E | 22,272 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con
“Well,” Jaskier replies distractedly. “Lots of things want to strangle you.”
“You don’t.”
It isn’t a particularly troublesome accusation, or even necessarily an accusation at all.
This is one I read early on in the fandom, and it really stuck with me. The dynamic between Jaskier and Geralt is perfect, and the misunderstandings between them feel so realistic. The non-con is not extreme, but do mind the warnings.
For the Space of a Heartbeat | T | 2021 | @drowningbydegrees
As it turns out, falling into bed with your very best friend who you are privately very much in love with isn't nearly so nerve wracking as waking up with them the morning after.
Just sweet, morning after discussions. I love to see them talking for once.
Greensleeves | T | 10,414 | @rebrandedbard
When Geralt crosses paths with Jaskier in the spring, the world is dressed in green. Quite literally. Everyone everywhere is wearing green, and it all comes down to a song Jaskier has written that, to his mortification, has become popular throughout the Continent. It's torment, being forced to preform the song over and over again and have his heart broken anew. But who is this Lady Greensleeves the people say Jaskier is so maddeningly, heartbrokenly in love with? At the baron's wedding party, Geralt is determined to find out.
This is one of my personal faves - there’s just something about Jaskier’s feelings being put on blast while Geralt remains totally oblivious that I think is so very them. And the resolution at the end is delightful.
I Don’t Wanna Fall (If It’s Not In Love) | E | 13,902 | @writinglizards
The first time it's out of desperation. Things get rapidly out of hand from there.
OR the building of a relationship through mutual wank sessions.
I love everything Ashley writes, but this one was the first fic I read by her and it still has a warm place in my heart. I also highly recommend It’s Been A While (makes me cry every time) and Tell Me Honestly
Like a Storm, Like a Flood | T | 1065 | @valdomarx
Jaskier is leaving for the winter, and Geralt can't bear the thought of not seeing him for months.
It was soooo hard to pick only one fic by George, but this one is so soft and sweet and yearning I just had to go with it. This is really just about Geralt finally hitting a breaking point and saying enough is enough.
one flesh | E | 10,763 | WARNING: MCD
“Well, then. I’m a ghost.” Jaskier spread his arms grandly. Geralt held his gaze for a moment, then dropped his head and laughed. Jaskier put his hands on his hips. “Do fill me in on what’s so funny.” It wasn’t funny. It was just so - ridiculous, the things Geralt’s fucked up brain would invent. This had to be the last nail in the sanity coffin, it just had to be.
Or: Jaskier is a ghost, and Geralt is a mess.
Jaskier dies and comes back as a ghost to haunt Geralt into taking care of himself. Geralt does not handle this gracefully. This fic is so sad and heartbreaking, but the ending is so sweet.
to render it transparent | E | 23,901
Geralt wakes up warm, peaceful, and utterly content, which is how he knows that something is severely wrong.
Sigh. This fic. This is a time travel fic - Geralt ends up in the future living with Jaskier on the coast, just after the mountain. It’s slow and beautiful and extremely bittersweet, all about how we choose to love people despite how much it can hurt us.
With All the Continent A Stage | M | 4745 | @greyduckgreygoose
Later, Geralt learned that the play was four hours long. Four hours long. It didn’t feel like it. Most of it passed by in a fever dream of ominous music, dance-fighting and dryads in gossamer leaves, swinging from hoops attached to the ceiling. Yennefer made an appearance, played by Priscilla in a glittering negligee. She sang a song to Geralt about putting him “Under Her Spell”, and they had a sensual dance number which was made a little strange by a sickened Jaskier (played by Jaskier) coughing loudly in the background.
(Jaskier invites Geralt to a musical production inspired by his own life.)
Jaskier basically writes Geralt a love letter in the form of a four hour long play. Geralt is an idiot about it.
Multi-Chapter Fics
A Lover’s Lament | M | 25,364 | @somedrunkpirate
So,” Jaskier begins, as casually as he can, “you are telling me, that in theory, if I were to be in love with someone — anyone — that person could well be in terrible danger?”
Of all terrible and ridiculous things that have threatened Geralt’s safety, Jaskier’d never thought that loving him might be what will get him killed.
I honestly can’t count the number of times I’ve read this fic. The monster is so interesting, and the mythos of it fits seamlessly into the world of the Witcher in my mind. Jaskier being so afraid that his feelings are going to put Geralt at risk, clearly unable to see that Geralt is going through the exact same thing. I think about the scene with them looking at each other almost daily.
A Pair of Gloves, the Scent of Roses | M | 24,134 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence
In the bustling days before the Midsummer festival, Geralt is sent into the countryside to deal with a monster - with Jaskier once again by his side. But the bard has not forgiven him, and while he's not hiding his contempt for the Witcher, he is recalcitrant about revealing his true motives for joining him. As the hunt turns into a desperate mission to save an innocent man and the monster is not what is seems to be, Geralt learns a few new things about his old friend and decides to finally attempt to mend the rift between them...
This is one of my favorite’s in the fandom - it feels so believable, the world is so rich and the oc’s are convincing and charming. Geralt and Jaskier feel so honest here, stumbling around each other but still drawn together. Beautiful beautiful beautiful
Bearing the will of the flower | NR | 11,449
The way Jaskier sees it, his hobby of following a witcher around was always pretty likely to get him killed.
The fact that it's happening now because the witcher in question doesn't love him, he thinks as he coughs up crumpled flowers, hardly makes a difference.
My favorite hanahaki fic in the fandom. I’m such a sucker for these, and these two idiots being so incapable of talking about their feelings really makes them prime candidates.
Food of Love | T | 22,488 | @wallatile-qvibbler
I brought a dead princess back to life through the power of song is the kind of thing that would have got an eyebrow raise even from the stone-faced Geralt of Rivia, so it's a good thing he and Geralt will probably never see each other again.
(or: the one where Jaskier channels magic through his songs, and it almost never goes as expected.)
This is a Jaskier and Renfri centric fic, which wasn’t something I knew I wanted until I read this. Jaskier is a bard which in this AU comes with magical powers, but it feels so well integrated into the universe that I wish it was just... how the Witcher is. Renfri is so good here, and even though Jaskier and Geralt barely even interact you can feel the tension and love between them. Cannot recommend highly enough.
friends and allies of the witcher | T | 10,312 | @theamazingbard
Yennefer crawls over to her newest cellmate. They’re curled up on their side. Breathing, but only just. She’s not sure what she’s hoping for when she turns them over. Still isn’t when she sees that it is indeed Jaskier.
“Shit."
Yennefer and Jaskier each suffer in more ways than one at the hands of Nilfgaard.
Yennefer and Jaskier get capture by Nilfgaard and tossed into a cell together. Exactly what I want out of season 2 honestly. Their interactions are gold.
I’d Be the Choiceless Hope | E | 45,188 | WARNING: Rape/Non-Con | @lesdemonium
As a baby, Jaskier was visited by a fae, who gifted Jaskier's mother with Jaskier's obedience. As Jaskier grew older, the "gift" became more of a curse.
You know I’m not gonna make a rec list without listing Zoe’s Ella Enchanted au. Need I say more?
Silver and Copper | M | 56,139 | WARNING: Graphic Depictions of Violence | @kaer-cuan
Geralt is just supposed to pass through the quiet Lettenhove area. He's not anticipating being begged by its people to help save their viscount from a curse that keeps him from daylight. Lord Jaskier, they call him, and he's likely dying.
As Geralt struggles to untangle the ugly web of history that has lead to the increasingly complicated curse, he finds himself spending more and more time with the strange young viscount and wondering just what he might have been before the curse, and who he might be after. But things are not always as they seem, and as the curse tightens its grip on Jaskier, Geralt is forced to face the fear of failing yet another person whose choices were stolen from them.
Or-
Jaskier is kept from becoming a bard. Geralt finds him anyway.
This is a fic that haunts me. It’s very scary in parts, and mind the tags - there are some very heavy themes here. But it’s beautiful and touching, and Jaskier feels very true to himself even though his origin is so different.
we could be married (and then we'd be happy) | E | 50,222 | @a-kind-of-merry-war
Jaskier reached into his pocket, fingers grasping around the little box. He pulled it out with what he hoped was a romantic flourish, flipping it open to reveal the simple gold band inside. “Geralt,” he said, confidently, cooly, like this wasn’t terrifying, “Will you marry me?”
Geralt and Jaskier fake marriage proposals to get free deserts and shit but it goes tits up when Vesemir catches them in the act. Not knowing how to fess up, they go along with it for a while, which is hell because they’re both pining like mad. As I said, I don’t love modern au’s, but it’s merry so of course this one had to end up on my list.
~
And that’s it! 20 fics for you, and hopefully you can all find one or two you haven’t read before. There are a lot of people and fics that I didn’t include in this list only because I was trying to not put a million down (which I could). I highly recommend anything by @wherethewordsare, @julek, @contemplativepancakes, @witcher-and-his-bard, and @inber, as well as those linked to fics above, and I’m sure there are others I forgot to mention. Yall have truly made being in this fandom worthwhile <3
#geraskier#geraskier fic recs#geralt of rivia#geralt#jaskier#witcher#fic recs#fic rec#I'm certain i missed a lot of good ones I've read over the years but I didn't want to risk making this super fucking long anyways#if you didn't see your name listed it isn't bc I don't adore you and your fics it's because i'm stupid <333
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RUN: Chapter I
Jeon Jungkook hops from bed to bed, sleeping with as many beautiful, rich women as he can possibly find time for. He’s young and attractive, with a silver tongue that gets him practically anything he wants. So when his friend and boss, Kim Taehyung, tells him it’s time to settle down, Jungkook takes it pretty badly. And when he finds out that the woman he’s destined to marry is, in fact, his little sister’s best friend, he is less than impressed.
You have spent your entire life trying to forget the way you feel about Jeon Jungkook. So when you find out that Jungkook is to be your husband - and that he is anything but pleased about it - your world is thrown into chaos. How can you survive a loveless marriage with the man you are hopelessly in love with?
WARNINGS: Language, some violence and eventual smut.
A/N: I changed Jungkook’s story slightly from my original story. Hope you guys like it!!! Enjoy :)
You were in love with Jeon Jungkook.
You had been in love with him, since the moment you understood what it truly meant to love someone.
The engagement party was in full swing - people chattered around you happily, congratulating the supposedly happy couple - but all your attention was on him.
You watched him from across the expanse of people wedged between you both. He leaned against the stone wall, observing, as he always did. Arms crossed, dark eyes narrowed.
You knew you probably shouldn’t watch him for long - that if he felt your gaze on him he would add it to the long list of reasons why he’d probably noticed you were in love with him years ago. But you couldn’t help yourself. He looked so handsome - so inviting - and you swore at yourself for still holding a candle to someone who didn’t see you as much more than an accomplice to his little sister.
Your best friend Nayeon had been born only a year after Jungkook, but sometimes it felt like he would treat her - and by association you - as a child forever.
“Stop staring,” Nayeon had sidled up beside you, a flute of champagne clutched in her hands, “You’re making it so obvious.”
You rolled your eyes, “You mean twenty three years of following him around like a puppy hasn’t been proof enough?”
She sighed heavily and slipped an arm through your own. Nayeon had known about your unfortunate feelings for her brother for a long time. Unfortunate because, really, in what world would your love ever be reciprocated?
Not only had you been relegated to little sister status long ago - but Jungkook was so handsome he could have any woman he wanted.
It was well known that Jungkook was Bangtan’s resident playboy. He’d made no effort to settle down in the years since turning a ‘marriage-appropriate’ age, and had done just about the opposite. Flitting from woman to woman (and coincidentally bed to bed) with an easy smile and eyes that could warm the hardest of hearts.
Eventually, of course, he would be forced to settle down. Not only was he an important member of Bangtan - he was in the capo’s inner circle. Soon Taehyung would choose a wife for him whether he wanted it or not. Because Jungkook needed to produce heirs - it was what had always been expected of a made man.
“I’ve told you to talk to your father,” Nayeon’s voice was sympathetic, “Our families are such good friends - maybe the two of you could get married.”
You felt your chest pinch at Nayeon’s suggestion. She was right, she had been telling you this for years. But you knew that speaking to your father wouldn’t change anything. Had told her just as much.
“Taehyung will choose his wife Nae, you know this just as well as I do.”
Her eyes softened and you felt yourself grow tired again. Your feelings for him were exhausting sometimes.
“Talk to Taehyung then. Your family is well-respected, Y/N. It wouldn’t be a downgrade.”
You scoffed, “For Bangtan’s golden boy? C’mon Nae. Let’s not start this again. I’m not in the mood for it.”
Your eyes moved towards Jungkook once more, but they widened slightly when you realised he wasn’t there anymore. Probably off flirting with some beautiful woman…
Your heart clenched in jealousy as it always did when you imagined Jungkook with someone else.
“Looking for me?”
There it was. His voice.
You turned sharply, eyes lifting to connect with his own. Jungkook’s face was unreadable as he stared down at you - and you wondered for a moment, if he was angry with you.
“What?” The word escaped you, “Uh… No. No. Just enjoying the party.”
Nayeon’s arm had slipped out of yours at some point.
His expression was dark and you felt like perhaps he was glaring at you. Glaring? Why would he be glaring? Your chest tightened.
“You couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
The words sounded venomous, almost. You felt confused.
“What?”
Jungkook quirked a dark brow, “Playing dumb doesn’t suit you, Y/N.”
Nayeon cleared her throat noisily and stepped between the two of you. You were grateful for her presence. Jungkook had never spoken to you like that. Almost as if… He hated you.
It was so much worse than the way he usually treated you - like a little sister he begrudgingly liked. What had you done to deserve this treatment?
“What is going on, Jungkook?” Nayeon’s voice held a note of warning.
His gaze snapped up to meet hers and he scowled, “This hasn’t got anything to do with you.”
“Like hell it doesn’t,” Nayeon growled back, eyes narrowed harshly, “Y/N is my best friend and you, regrettably, are my brother.”
“Why don’t you ask your best friend, then?” He spat the words out almost viciously, “Ask her why I got called into a meeting with Taehyung, our father and her father, this morning.”
Your heart felt like it was going to fall out of your throat.
“What?” Your voice was quiet - little more than a whisper.
Jungkook’s eyes shifted for a moment and he softened - before his face became that impassive mask again. It was the Jungkook of Bangtan that stood before you. Not your Jungkook.
Not the Jungkook that used to pull on your hair when it got too long, or the Jungkook that taught you how to swim. This Jungkook was scary, unpredictable even.
“I suppose I should welcome you to the family,” His voice had lost all of it’s anger - it was just cold now, “Mrs Jeon.”
Your heart stopped.
“I….”
“What are you talking about, Jungkook?” Nayeon interrupted and though you wanted to look at her, your eyes seemed incapable of moving away from Jungkook’s.
He wasn’t glaring at you anymore, thank god, but now his face was just blank - unmoving. You recognised that look from your own father’s face. Long ago you’d dubbed it the Bangtan face. The way coldness seemed to freeze over any warmth. It frightened you more than any anger could.
“I’m marrying her,” He said, emotionless. Like a robot, “At the earliest opportunity, apparently.” His eyes flickered for a moment, and you thought you saw something gentle, in them. But it was soon replaced by that same, cold indifference.
“Me?” You squeaked, heart thundering in your ears.
Nayeon was silent. It was the first time in a long time that something had left her truly speechless, you reckoned.
When Jungkook nodded, once, sharply, your insides twisted.
“I’m sorry,” You felt the tears burning, but you refused to let them fall, “I didn’t… I never asked for this. I swear, I had no idea.”
The conversation you’d had with Nayeon just moments ago flashed through your mind. It was so ironic you almost wanted to laugh.
“Your feelings for me have become… Increasingly clear in the last few years.” Jungkook’s tone wasn’t cruel, but you felt the chill in it, “I suppose your father realised, as did mine. Taehyung has been wanting to marry me off for years, so he was only happy to accommodate.”
On the last word, you flinched.
Accommodate. Like you were a burden being handed to him.
“I’m sorry,” You repeated, although you weren’t entirely sure what you were apologising for. Was it your inability to keep your feelings under check? Should you really feel sorry for something you couldn’t really control?
“It’s not your fault, Y/N.” Nayeon had seemed to regain some of her sense, “You know how this world works. She didn’t choose this, Jungkook.”
But you could see that he blamed you.
And in some ways you understood. It was your clear feelings for him that had caused a matrimony that he didn’t want. Jungkook valued his independence, his freedom. He’d told Nayeon and yourself time and time again that he would try to delay his getting married as much as he could. Another twenty years, at least.
And now he was saddled with you.
You had taken away that freedom he treasured so dearly, without even meaning to.
“No I didn’t choose this but I am sorry,” You felt like you might crumble to dust under Jungkook’s stare, “I shouldn’t have made my feelings so clear.”
The words were difficult to say - was it really your fault that you loved him? - but they seemed to do the job. Jungkook’s shoulders relaxed and his face softened.
“So you didn’t ask for this?”
You shook your head once, rigidly.
“Then I’m sorry for getting angry,” He said gently, his eyes roving your face carefully. He was doing that thing he always did - he was trying to read you - the same way he read everyone.
But you were like a book to him, weren’t you? So open. So obvious. So easy to read. He barely needed to try.
Jungkook had never made it as clear as he had right now, that he knew you were in love with him. You supposed you should be embarrassed - and you were, to a degree. But some part of you, a much larger part, just felt sorry.
“And I’m sorry you had to find out like this.” He added, hands moving towards the pockets of the trousers he was wearing, “But in a month’s time, you will be Mrs Jeon Jungkook.” A month? You felt sick - like you might throw up.
This was all you’d ever dreamed of… But you didn’t want it like this. Forced and angry. You wanted love and passion and affection. Things you knew Jungkook didn’t feel for you.
Things you’d always worried he’d never feel for you.
You were content watching him from a distance but now? Now he was up close and personal, and you could barely meet his eyes.
Without another word, Jungkook slipped away from you, probably off to find some kind of alcohol to drown himself in. In one month you would be Mrs Jeon Jungkook…
“Oh Y/N.” Nayeon’s voice caught, and suddenly you realised you had started crying.
The man you loved probably hated you now and in a month you would become his wife. Any hope of Jungkook reciprocating your feelings for him disappeared.
It was all one big, scary mess.
//
You hadn’t spoken to Jungkook since the night he had told you about your upcoming nuptials. From the little information Nayeon had been able to gather, he wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of having to marry you.
“He’ll come around,” She told you time and time again. But you could barely bring yourself to believe her.
It had been years of loving him. Years of watching him from far away and never being able to call him yours. Why would that change now?
How could it change when he probably despised you for this wedding?
You couldn’t bring yourself to hope for anything more than civility. Anything else would break your heart.
Everything about the wedding had been decided for you. Down to even the dress. You had tried things on, a mannequin for the women of your family and the Jeon family. Your mother had tried encouraging you to enjoy yourself, as had Nayeon, but nothing seemed to work.
“I’ll be married in a week,” Your stomach twisted, “And Jungkook hasn’t even looked at me since that night.”
“He’s just getting used to the idea Y/N.” Nayeon tried to convince you but it was as futile and pointless as ever.
“He hates me.”
“No he doesn’t. It’s Jungkook.”
You felt your heart pull uncomfortably. It was Jungkook. You wanted so badly for him to be yours - had spent years and months and hours thinking about it. And yet….
That would never happen.
Nayeon was helping you wrap up the wedding favours. Another thing you’d had no part in choosing. Jungkook’s mother had ordered bracelets for the women and cuffs for the men.
“Don’t you have someone else to do this?” Nayeon fiddled with the baby blue crepe paper, “I’m so bad at this.”
“I asked to do this.” You shrugged, “It was the only thing my mother trusted me with. I wanted to feel somewhat useful.”
“I’m sorry Y/N.”
Any hope of magic for your special day had been obliterated the moment Jungkook had confronted you. He would never accept this marriage as anything other than something he’d been forced into.
And he would probably always blame you for it.
“It’s alright,” You cleared your throat of the thick tears threatening to spill, “I never expected to choose anything for my own wedding anyway.”
“Still. This is meant to be exciting.” You laughed and it caught in your chest, sounding suspiciously like a sob.
“I’m marrying the love of my life and yet… I’m miserable,” You shook your head, “Only Bangtan could be capable of causing something like this.” Nayeon opened her mouth - maybe to tell you that her brother would come around - when a knock at the door stopped her.
“Yes?” You answered quietly, half expecting it to be your mother with yet another ridiculous demand.
The portal opened and revealed your husband to be - Jeon Jungkook - looking decidedly sheepish as his eyes met your own.
Sheepish? Jungkook? It couldn’t be.
“Your maid… Jennie. She let me in.”
You nodded and felt the questioning gaze of Nayeon flicker between both you and Jungkook. What was he doing here? You were curious, too.
“Could I… Nayeon…Could I talk to Y/N for a minute? Alone?”
Nayeon curled her top lip, “You’re not going to be an asshole to her again, are you?”
When Jungkook gave her a look that could freeze hell over Nayeon merely shrugged. Though they’d grown up in Bangtan - and though Jungkook was as dangerous as they come - Nayeon and him still shared a relatively normal sibling dynamic.
They were both stubborn of course, with tempers that could rival even the scariest Bangtan member…. But they loved each other.
And they were fiercely loyal. A Jeon trait, you’d come to learn.
“Just five minutes okay? Then you can continue to be a pain in the ass,” Jungkook glared at his sister as Nayeon stood, eyes narrowed.
“I’ll be just next door Y/N. Scream if he pisses you off.”
She patted your hand, face still scowling at her brother. He flipped her off before she pulled a face, sliding out of the room with a quiet click of the door. When you were alone with Jungkook, your heart felt like it was going to crawl out of your mouth.
His eyes were almost warm as he turned to you again.
“Y/N I wanted to… Apologise, for my behaviour at the party earlier this month,” He seemed genuinely sorry, “And for…” He trailed off before clearing his throat again, “And for ignoring you, the last few weeks. This marriage has been difficult for me to process.”
You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak.
“But I wanted to come here and tell you that… If we’re getting married to one another, then I suppose we should try to get along for the sake of our own sanity.” He stepped towards you and almost looked like he wanted to touch you, but thought better of it, “But that doesn’t - I don’t…” He paused and you noticed his eyes seemed almost sad, “I know how you feel about me, Y/N. But I can’t… Promise anything. I’ll be kind to you like I’ve always been. And we might grow closer because of this marriage but… That’s all I can offer.”
You knew what he was saying.
He was happy to be your friend. Maybe to even warm your bed at night.
But Jungkook would never love you as you loved him.
You nodded, mutely, feeling that if you said a word you might break down in tears. And you refused to let him see you that way, no matter how much your heart ached.
“I don’t want you to resent me, Y/N. But I’m not… I’m not a man of commitment. You understand, don’t you?” You almost laughed in his face.
He wasn’t a man of commitment? Jeon Jungkook spent every day of his life committed to the cause of Bangtan. He was willing to fight for it. To die for it.
It wasn’t commitment he didn’t want - it was you.
He didn’t have to lie to try and placate you. You were a big girl. Stronger than he took you for.
“You will never love me as I love you.” You said, voice hollow, “Is that what you’re trying to say Jungkook?”
He winced, “I’m sorry.”
The words hurt you more than if he’d slapped you across the face. He was sorry?
“Please don’t apologise,” Your chest twinged, “There’s nothing to feel sorry for.” The way he was looking at you made everything a million times worse. You felt like a glass vase, teetering off the edge, about ready to shatter into a thousand pieces.
After a moment you cleared your throat, “How long?”
He raised a dark brow, “What?” “How long have you known about my… Um… Feelings for you.”
Jungkook shifted, clearly uncomfortable, but you decided you didn’t really care. If you were going to spend the rest of your life committed to a man that didn’t want you, the least he could do is give you this much.
“Since your sixteenth birthday party.”
The memory seared your heart and your stomach fluttered. Even thinking of it now, almost ten years later, caused something indescribable to pass through you.
It had been a summer’s evening - you were born in late August.
Your mother had planned this overly flamboyant affair (she had a flair for the dramatics, clearly) and though you hadn’t wanted to attend, you’d done so anyway, not wanting to upset her after all her hard work.
And of course, she’d invited all the girls from Bangtan’s most powerful families including your arch nemesis at the time - Jihyo.
Jihyo was as beautiful as she was mean, and though she was a little older than you were she never passed up the opportunity to humiliate you. Your birthday was no different.
When you’d turned up in that ridiculous excuse of a dress - a frilly, pink puff pastry of a thing - Jihyo had spent all evening making fun of you in corners, and whispering cruel things behind your back.
Nayeon had threatened to bite her nose off but the both of you knew she was untouchable. Jihyo was the Taehyung’s father’s niece. She moved around the room like she owned it (and in a way she did) and it wasn’t until she made a comment about the angle of your mouth that Jungkook had stepped towards you and taken your hand.
Of course, Jihyo seethed with anger and jealousy all night.
All the Bangtan girls wanted just a little of Jungkook’s attention - but he spent all evening treating you like a princess. He laughed at your jokes, and danced with you, and even tucked your curls behind your ears.
And you knew it was only because Jihyo was a bully and Nayeon was his little sister so you were too, in a way, but it didn’t really matter. Because that evening it was like he’d plucked the moon right out of the sky and placed it in your pocket.
That was how special you’d felt.
And that was the Jungkook you fell in love with.
You nodded, once, sharply and then took a deep, calming breath.
“You don’t have to worry, okay?” Your voice was shaking but you forced yourself to move past it, “I won’t let my feelings for you get in the way of things. Ever. I know what this marriage means to you.”
For a moment - just one moment - it seemed like something close to regret flashed past Jungkook’s eyes. But it was gone before you were even sure you’d seen it.
“Thank you, Y/N.” He bowed gently and you tried to smile.
It was only later on, when Nayeon came back with a cup of chamomile to calm your nerves, and a sympathetic smile to stroke your pain, that you finally gave way to the tears that had threatened to spill since Jungkook’s arrival.
This was all a fucking mess.
//
#love#fanfic#tsundere#mafia au#mafia boss jungkook#jeon jungkook#golden maknae#fanfiction#smut#fluff#angst#jungkook x reader#arranged mafia au
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Glad You Came (Julie x Reader)
Request: Julie x reader where reader is kind of the fuckgirl of the team. Reader knows that julie have feelings for her and like her attention. Julie thinks that reader plays with her feelings. But reader actually like julie and try to get her trust back. End with fluff please.
Author’s Note: Idk if this actually fits the prompt, but I just couldn’t get the image out of my head. I hope you all enjoy.
Jj had always been a sucker for a good Rom-Com. The ones where the good girl fell for the bad boy (with a good heart) and that bad boy stepped up to the plate and got his shit together for her.
But alas, though you were the team’s resident bad girl, this wasn’t a rom-com and it appeared you had zero intention of making a dent in your precious reputation. At least that’s what she thought.
You always did have a knack for proving people wrong.
*****
The bouquet of roses was the first thing everyone noticed when they stepped into the locker room. It was an amazing surprise after such a rough practice. A not entirely unexpected, but still incredible surprise.
JJ blushed as she approached her overflowing locker. This secret admirer stuff was getting a bit out of hand.
“Why does Julie get roses, but none of the rest of us do?” Emily whined, settling down in front of her own bare cubby.
Lindsey rolled her eyes. If JJ was going to keep getting gifts from a random person, she and the rest of the girls with significant others on the team were really going to have to step up their game.
“You don’t like dead flowers Sonnett,” She called to the blond 3 lockers over.
“Yeah, but it’s not fair if she gets them and the rest of us don’t,” Emily sighed dramatically, and the rest of the room giggled.
“It's from her admirer,” Kelley chimed in, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
JJ’s blush deepened. She carefully reached out and grabbed the thornless Rose with a little tag on it, bringing the delicate petals to her nose before examining the little handwritten note.
“Ooo, what’s the note say this time?” Kelley asked, as half the team crowded around the midfielder.
Julie took a big deep breath before reading the black cursive words out loud.
“I wanted to get you something as beautiful as you are, but couldn’t find anything that came close,”
“Awww,” the team cooed, some rubbing Julie’s back and others ruffling her hair as they made their way back to their respective areas.
She ran her fingers over the little words, trying to imagine the face of the person who could have written them. The person who would go to such lengths to show their interest in her. But the gifts were always sweet and never creepy.
The gifts ranged from coffee orders sent to her hotel room, to a signed Mia Hamm jersey that had shown up in her locker, but the thing that always remained was the smooth black cursive notes that accompanied them.
She brushed the soft petals against her nose again. How she longed to know who thought so highly of her.
“Who could get roses in here?” Sam snorted, pulling her boots off.
“It’s gotta be a teammate. They show up literally everywhere we go,” Rose said thoughtfully, glancing around at all the women in the room, her eyes lingering on where you were grinning down at your phone.
There was just something about your smile and the way you kept glancing up at a certain blond midfielder.
“At least we know it’s not Y/n,” Emily cackled.
You looked up at the group from your place across the room, where they all thought you were trying to ignore the commotion (probably in favor of texting a random girl for a hookup).
You had the reputation of being the fuckgirl of the team. And you took pride in that. You liked when women gave you attention, and as long as everything was consensual, you didn’t see the harm in messing around. That didn’t mean you treated women like objects. Quite the opposite. You loved to woo them, to make them feel beautiful, and then move on to the next conquest.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“With a body count as high as yours, I doubt you’re capable of being this romantic,” Julie spat back, glaring at you. Your history with her was far from perfect, and she had found out about your reputation first hand.
You smirked. If you couldn’t positively have her attention (the way you wanted but were too afraid to admit), then you would take the hostility any day. Angry Julie was still sexy after all.
“How do you think I get them into my bed? Maybe I’m a secret mush at heart,” You asked, standing and approaching the woman. Your hands gently brushed over her shoulder and you began to lean in close to her.
She brought her finger up to push against your nose, stopping you in your tracks. You tried and failed to cover your smile at the touch.
“Yeah right,” She scoffed, shoving you back.
Your smile widened, as you stepped back, your arms wide. “You never know till you try it, Jules,”
“Been there, done that. No thanks,” She shook her head and turned away from you. “At least I have enough class not to fuck anything with a pulse”
Rose tilted her head to the side at the brief look of sadness that crossed your features. Her eyebrows furrowed at the look, and how quickly it was gone.
****
You picked at the tape around your wrist- a habit that started in middle school after an unfortunate event that required stitches and had become one of your many signatures within the team. The pressure around the area was calming now, and always put you in the right mode of a game.
It also gave you something to absentmindedly play with as you waited for the next set of drills on the bench (totally not checking out a certain blond when she wasn’t looking).
“When are you going to tell her that you’re her admirer?” Rose said, settling down on the bench beside you.
You shrugged. “First, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” You glanced up at the bling again, before blinking back to Rose’s raised eyebrow.
You took a deep breath, finally managing to get a finger under the tape.
“And second never. I’m defective remember? Completely incapable of love,”
You repeated the words JJ had said to you that fateful night. The night you had ruined the best almost relationship you ever had. It wasn’t you exactly, just the fact that a woman was texting you while you were in bed with Julie. You weren’t going to respond, but the blond midfielder had caught sight of the screen before you could clear the notification.
That was enough proof for her. She kicked you out and didn’t let you explain- there was nothing to say apparently.
“That’s why you always send her flowers and notes, and other gooey stuff right?” Rose rolled her eyes.
She had known you since the two of you were in diapers. She knew all about your hang-ups on relationships, but she also knew the secret romantic side. The sweet side that you didn’t show to everyone. Everyone except a blond midfielder (who was still very smitten with you, even if you didn’t want to believe it).
“I-,” You paused, biting your lip, your eyes getting that faraway look Rose knew all too well. You shook your head. You had your shot and it had blown up in your face. “She doesn’t want me. It’s just easier this way,”
“What, to hopelessly pine after someone? Or to completely avoid rejection all together?” Rose snorted.
You shook your head again, finally looking rose in the eyes. “I hurt her Rose. She doesn’t want someone she can’t trust,”
Rose softened at the admission and the unspoken “I’m not good enough” that went with it. You had always struggled with that, maybe that’s why you were such a lady killer. You so badly wanted to be enough, that you jumped at every opportunity. But it was different after you met JJ.
“How many people have you slept with within the last 3 months?” Rose asked suddenly.
And you blinked at her a few times, completely unsure of where your best friend was going with this.
“What?”
Rose rolled her eyes. “If you can’t think of an exact number, ballpark it for me,”
You vehemently shook your head. You hadn’t met a hookup since that night, too hung up on JJ, and afraid that continuing would destroy any remaining chance you had with the woman.
“I haven’t,”
Rose snapped, patting your shoulder. “Exactly. You’re proving to her, the entire team really, that you can change. She’ll come around, especially if you’re honest with her and I don’t know, try to keep it in your pants for once,”
The team had taken notice of your change, how you hadn’t engaged in hookups. Only a few of them knew the real reason behind your apparent abstinence.
“You think?” You asked softly, and Rose sent you an indulgent smile.
“Yeah, you just gotta grow a pair and tell her you’ve been her secret admirer for the last 6 months,” She finished with a cackle and you blushed.
That was easier said than done.
*****
Julie had never been this impressed in her entire life. Sure she had been to some amazing restaurants before, but nothing like the little place her admirer had chosen. She felt every bit of hesitance leave her as she stepped into the building. It was quaint and romantic with an amazing buzz in the air.
She had found the handwritten note with the time and place on the floor outside her hotel room door, along with one of the cutest black dresses she had ever seen. It fit her perfectly, and she looked good if she did say so herself.
She approached the hostess stand, and the man behind the counter smiled at her. “Good evening miss, how may we assist you?”
She smiled back at him. “Um, I have a reservation. It’s under Mystique,” she said, suppressing a grin at the name her admirer had chosen.
The man’s smile widened as he reached into his suit jacket pocket, and retrieved a neatly folded letter. “Ah, yes. I have this for you,”
JJ to the heavy paper in her hands, running her fingers over her name written in familiar black cursive reverently. Her admirer rarely ever wrote her name out.
She very carefully unfolded the note, revealing more of her favorite handwriting.
Julie,
First and foremost, I’m so glad you could make it. I know I’ve written this beforehand, but I must say I’m sure you look amazing. You always look amazing. It doesn’t matter if it’s during practice, or during one of our very chill team bonding nights. You never fail to take my breath away, but that’s not why it’s taken me so long to finally grow a pair and come clean.
I know that you and I have history and that I’m not your ideal significant other, but I promise you’re not just another person to add to my long list. You make me feel things I’ve never really felt before, and that scares me. I don’t know how to do this, and I can’t promise I’ll be perfect, but I can promise that I’ll try my best. I will do everything I can to show you how much I love you, and to be someone worthy of your love in return.
Now comes the hard part. If you want to give me the chance to show you that I’ve grown up and am ready for a serious relationship, just tell the matroids you would like to take a drink at the bar. or If you don’t want to see me, but want to eat, just tell him you’re ready for your table. Your meal will be paid for, and I’ll leave you alone. We can even pretend it never happened if you would prefer. Or if you want neither of those things, you can walk away.
The choice is yours J. Ill respect whatever you choose, and no hard feelings either way.
Truly yours,
Y/n
Julie stared down at the letter, completely stunned, almost unable to believe that you could ever do anything this remotely romantic. A small part of her cheered as if she was waiting for you to finally step up.
She didn’t hate you, contrary to popular belief. She just thought you were incredibly confusing. You would flaunt your reputation, but then you would be sweet and shy with her. In the end, your first try at a relationship didn’t work because she was tired of you jerking her around. But this was a side to you she had never seen. One that intrigued her to no end.
“Have you made your decision ma’am?” The maitre d’ asked kindly, sliding up beside her. She blinked up from the neat handwriting towards the man (who looked like he wanted to say more).
She nodded at the man. “I have. I’d like to have a drink at the bar please,”
his smile was blinding as he gestured to the left with his arm. “Right this way,”
*****
You carefully swirled your finger around the rim of your drink, staring listlessly into the amber liquid. You weren’t quite sure how long you had been sitting here, but with every passing second, you couldn’t help but think about how much of a terrible idea this was.
She was never going to choose to come sit with you at the bar, and the longer you waited, the more pathetic you would look in the end.
You almost felt bad for the staff. They were so excited to help, so enthusiastic about helping you get the girl of your dreams. You were sure you were going to disappoint them.
“Fancy meeting you here stranger,” Her voice cut through your internal monologue. You lifted your head to meet her blue eyes, and the sight alone took your breath away.
“JJ, you came,” You said breathlessly, standing to greet the woman.
“I did,” She nodded, blushing when you took her hand and kissed the back of it before pulling out a chair for her. You sat down next to her, flagging down the bartender for the woman.
“You look stunning,” You said softly, finally turning in her direction, and she caught the light shade of pink that tinted your cheeks.
“So you’ve said,” Julie laughed, holding up the letter. The red in your cheeks spread up to your ears and down your neck as you ducked your head in embarrassment.
“Megan may have helped me pick it out…” You mumbled, your fingers returning to your glass.
Rose may or may not have gotten the entire team involved when she finally convinced you to make your move. While you were relieved to have help picking out the perfect outfit, you hadn’t enjoyed being made fun of for your “questionable” fashion sense.
“Was she behind the other gifts too?” Julie asked, taking a sip of her drink with a raised eyebrow.
You shook your head, rubbing the back of your neck. “No. Those were all me,”
Julie smiled softly, reaching up to intertwine your fingers. She wasn’t used to seeing you so shy. It was kinda adorable.
“Well, I loved them,”
You nodded again, taking a big gulp of your drink, trying to calm your racing heart. “I’m really glad you came. I was afraid you would find out it was me and change your mind,”
“I’m glad I came too,”
You smiled brilliantly at the woman. You hadn’t completely redeemed yourself yet, not like Zuko or Snape, but at least you were going to have the chance to try. You weren’t going to let her slip through your fingers again.
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As a casual nat stan, i feel a little bit weirded out the amount of genuine smiling throughout the snippets i've seen--to the point where i thought it was uncharacteristic. Not that i think nat is incapable of basic human emotions, but i guess i'm used to her being so stoic? Weirdly, her stoicness is what drawn me to her bcs i too am a very guarded person. How do you think the film portray her in this department?
I have been sitting on this one since before the movie came out because I couldn't figure out how to answer it in a way that wasn't spoilery.
Let's gooooo.
I am ALSO seriously into Nat's guardedness. I think that media very rarely knows what to do with women who aren't either great at emotions or complete robots, and in past movies Natasha has given us just enough to show that she's neither. And Nat's reliance on performativity, in particular, has always worked for me; I grew up with the belief that you have to behave in certain ways for people to accept you, and seeing characters get emotional with very little provocation makes me actively uncomfortable as a viewer, like I'm seeing something private I shouldn't.
Nat's emotions in this movie worked for me for a few reasons.
One is one of my favorite details of the movie: Natasha (and Melina) were psychologically conditioned, while Yelena (and the other Widows in her cohort) were brainwashed. The conditioning required the Widows to be extremely carefully controlled, because of the negative consequences if they didn't. The brainwashing removed the ability to control, because it was never their choice. So we see that in Morocco Yelena is extremely controlled, and then right after that we see her expressing emotions far more freely than we ever see from Nat (even ten-year-old Nat) or Melina. She doesn't have the instincts to not.
Another is that in most of the scenes where we see Natasha showing strong emotions, positive or negative, it's with people she was only close with from ages seven or eight to ten or eleven. There's an element of Nat unintentionally regressing and needing to consciously regain her Adult In Control Of The Situation approach, repeatedly; we see it most clearly in the "don't slouch" scene but for me her first scenes with Yelena are that much more telling. She's metaphorically an adult staying in her childhood bedroom at her parents' house and trying to figure out why the bed doesn't feel like she remembers.
A third is one that I didn't actually realize until thinking more about this movie: yes, Natasha is smiling sincerely more here. But she's also angry more. It wasn't until I had seen this movie a few times that I started to think of all the times I've identified Nat as angry in other movies. I still think she HAS been angry, but she's grit her teeth and she's smiled a very tight smile and she has done everything in her power to defuse the situation. (I can't help but think of how Carol's anger got so many fanboys to be like "Why doesn't she smile more?" while Natasha's anger has passed by them entirely unnoticed.) Her smiling, to me, is connected to her ability to express her rage: to try to drown Yelena before offering a truce and drinking together; to yell at Alexei rather than coquettishly convince him to find the Red Room; to call Melina a coward to her face.
Compare it to her conversation with Ross; her tone never wavers. When she has her first conversations with Mason, even though he can tell she's run-down, she's presenting Public-Facing Natasha, who just wants to Get Shit Done. When she thinks Taskmaster is sent by Ross, her ONLY emotional reaction is to say that she's a better shot when she's pissed off. It's only once the Red Room is brought in, and her history is part of things, that her emotions show more on her face.
I don't think Natasha lost all her levels of guardedness in this movie- I think comparing her to Alexei and Yelena is proof of that, as is, frankly, the number of critics who didn't seem to understand what I saw as an extremely clear emotional arc- but I think this movie is a lot closer to the nerve, and as a result we're seeing more get through her mask than we usually would. If that were only positive emotions, I don't think it would work for me. But the film's active choice to give Natasha greater capacity to show her anger made her visible happiness feel more earned, and both parts together made Nat feel like a more complete person to me.
#allofthereplies#Anonymous#Black Widow movie spoilers#BW spoilers#Natasha Romanoff#smiling#anger#psychological conditioning#brainwashing
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They had Tai narrate the story to Ruby and Yang, and in it he inserted himself onto the boy and Summer and Raven onto the Warrior. The result was that the Warrior, once a POC, was turned into a white person. It makes logical sense, but it's also kind of stupid. It's not as if the parallels were difficult to spot, but if they were difficult to spot there were still other options. Like, just change things other than the hair and skin color... It's not as if there were no options.
Thanks for the info, anon! I want to stress that I haven’t watched the episode myself yet, but based on this and what else I’ve seen in the RWDE tag… I’m inclined to agree that this was a bad call on RT’s part. A couple of my own thoughts include:
1. Why does Tai have to do a visual comparison? Can’t he just tell his kids a story? We're capable of connecting with characters even if they don't look like us.
2. Fans fling out the “hand-holding” complaint a lot when reviewers mention that such-and-such wasn’t explained or established, but this sounds like the closest thing to hand-holding we’ve gotten in a while. As you say, does RT think we’re incapable of drawing comparisons between the fairy tale and the rest of RWBY unless we're given a visual guide going, "This is meant to be [insert character here]"?
3. As you've also pointed out, they could have easily made a change that doesn’t involve stripping this character of her established identity. And if they want to make sure we 100% understand that this is Tai's version of the tale, we can just lean into that and get some dialogue between him and Ruby, replacing the partial exchange we lost between the mother and child in "The Shallow Sea" (which I loved). Imagine something like this:
Tai: Once upon a time there was a fearsome huntress with silver eyes [animation shows the woman from Myers’ book]
Little Ruby: Like me??
Tai: Just like you. [A red cape pops into existence on the woman’s back]
Ruby: Did she like cookies too?
Tai: She loved cookies. [The woman whips out a cookie, eats it Ruby Volume 1 style, and then grows serious. The tale continues��]
Obviously I'm making up an introduction because I haven't learned the plot yet, but the point is, you can establish that Tai is making changes to this story for his and Ruby’s benefit without erasing the character's identity. You can also do that work whether the VAs are available for lines or not. Dialogue is just one option.
4. I’ve seen a couple, “Well, the books aren’t canon” takes and while acknowledging that yeah, the fandom has always debated the canonical status of RWBY’s supplementary material (with RT sometimes coming in to say that such-and-such does or does not count), do we honestly believe that there wouldn’t be controversy if the identity was something other than race? Queerness remains RWBY’s primary example. The fandom has long upheld Myers’ works as proof that RT as a whole is good with queer rep, so imagine if, say, Volume 9 comes along and Coco is depicted as straight. Then a bunch of fans started defending that with, “Myers books aren’t actually canon. It doesn’t matter how he writes the characters, or what illustrations are attached to his books. Only animated content counts,” well… people would probably be pretty upset about that.
5. Finally, I think it’s worth noting that the adaptation has mostly followed the illustrations in Myers’ book, except for two cases.
The King in the animation looks remarkably like the King in the book: a good-looking white man with long, wavy black hair and a black beard. The Crown is even depicted as gold despite Myers writing that it was silver: “he pulled a silver crown from the sack” (40). Clearly, the illustrations were an inspiration for the adaptation.
Poppy, though depicted as older than she is in the book, still has her illustration’s most defining features: white skin and curly red hair. Despite the difference in style, RT pretty obviously used the illustration as inspiration for her looks.
“The Hunter’s Children” doesn't provide an illustration of the family, just the symbols that represent what they’re most focused on, and given that we already know that the “Girl in the Tower” is Salem, it makes sense that they’d draw her to look like the Salem who existed in “The Lost Fable.” “The Judgment of Faunus,” on the other hand, moves from a generic God/Jesus like depiction of a bearded white guy to the far more creative Animal God.
So it’s worth praising both RT’s decision to forgo that Christian-esque depiction and their choice to animate the Hunter’s children as black when given full freedom… but praising some parts of the story doesn’t erase the problems inherent in other parts. Yes, I find it a problem that outside a single exception, RT has clearly been using these illustrations as a guide, up until they had a woman with darker skin and textured hair to adapt. Making the Hunter’s children black isn’t a way to excuse breaking their almost-pattern here. That just raises questions like, “What? We can’t have more than one fairy tale staring a person of color?” The fact that she was a SEW just makes it feel like we lost even more. Yes, Maria has dark skin, but Maria is also a mostly retired fighter who has been used primarily for comedy and has been forgotten by the story twice now, her status as The Grimm Reaper utterly meaningless. I wouldn’t call her the best rep anymore, despite the hope we had for her at the start. This woman, however, looks badass
and though the rest of the episode might have a lot to offer, I am disappointed that we didn’t get to see the animated version of her like we did with Poppy and the King. The message, across the animated portions of RWBY, whether intentional or not, is that 'real' SEWs have light skin. Ruby is a SEW. Her mother was a SEW. So is the woman from this fairy tale. So is the Hound, made into a tragic case who lost his fight against Salem. They're all light skinned. Meanwhile, Maria is the warrior who has fought once in three volumes and freaks out about cashews, disappearing for long stretches because she's just not important to the story. Ozpin's children existed for a single scene in one flashback, unconfirmed in the story whether they ever became SEWs or not. And Violet Tobacco's version of the SEW here has now been ignored. As with so much in RWBY, it's not about a single example. Any individual problem can be explained or brushed aside with excuses or forgiveness for a mistake, rendering it inconsequential. Rather, it's about the pattern each example helps to establish and in this case, the pattern doesn't look great. Toss in RWBY's terrible handling of the White Fang, the recent refusal to acknowledge Ironwood's design within the fandom, the fact that eight of our nine main heroes are depicted as light skinned (with Oscar acting as the exception, even though frankly his skin tone seems to change with each Volume)
and that's why fans get upset when something like this happens. RWBY has such a bad track record overall that they can't afford to 'just' make a change like that.
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if you'd be so inclined my dear, what are your thoughts on how Tomura's character has developed over the series' timeline? -☼
So, I think Horikoshi did an excellent job at character development- especially considering that he's a villain (not the focal point of the series) and he really didn't have to do that. He easily could have kept Tomura an impudent little man-child, but he didn't, and I truly appreciate that.
So, in season one, we get his debut as USJ, and it became quickly apparent that he was... disorganized. Intelligent and dangerous, clearly, but not quite there yet. He essentially threw money at a pack of sell-sword villains, had a basic plan for how he wanted things to go, and relied on his Nomu to do the majority of his work for him. He didn't even consider variables and other things he couldn't have foreseen- he took Master at his word and just went for it.
He makes a multitude of mistakes during this attack, and it's part of why he fails so hard. Underestimates the kids simply because they're young, not factoring in that these are to be the nations top heroes. Even young, each one is sporting a power that puts them at the top of the class and above the rest of the nation. He basically goes "Fuck it, just scatter them and have these no-name villains kill them. No way that could go wrong." not considering that these children have been learning from the best of the best and are clearly already intelligent of their own accord.
He doesn't take into account that these heroes actually care for these kids and that feeling responsible for them works in their favor as opposed to being a detriment. They fight harder and take more abuse to keep them protected (Aizawa getting absolutely demolished but still persisting to defend the children even as he bleeds to death with a broken body.)
The intel wasn't wrong, per se, but he took it at face value, not even bothering to consider that All Might would push far past his limit to keep these kids safe. For someone as obsessed with felling All Might, he certainly didn't really know a thing about him. His genuine goodness and character would not allow him to fail when their lives were on the line. And then there's the matter of Midoriya, and while Tomura had no way of knowing that he's inherited All Might's power, he should have been able to account for wild cards like that from valiant children dedicated to heroism.
More under the cut because I’m just rambling.
I think this defeat humbles him. For most of his life, things have gone his way because of who is backing him and because he is extremely dangerous with a powerful quirk- this teaches him that raw strength and basic strategy won't be enough.
He watches Stain take the country by storm, and he can't understand it. Doesn't get what the big deal is- he believes he and Stain are mostly cut from the same cloth because of their penchant for violence and murdering heroes, totally blind to the convictions behind Stain's actions. He's incapable of thinking outside of his own view points, and it cripples him. These are his first few steps outside of his own comfort zone and where he begins to grow.
He's forced to consider not what he wants, but why. He resists this every step of the way, but ultimately realizes that paying off little bastard villains to work in his name isn't enough. He needs players under his command that will fight for more than money- and sell swords are loyal to nothing but that. He needs to find a conviction (even as he ends up stealing the mask of one and using it as a facade at first) that others can relate to and be passionate about.
So he does.
He steals Stain's ideology for his own and uses it to recruit some of his top members- even if he is a right little bastard about it at first. While he throws a tizzy fit because they aren't "perfect" (his standards are very high despite the fact that he's arguably not a very effective leader) but eventually ends up utilizing them regardless.
It's around here that he starts sharpening his instincts and learns what it is to be a true leader. He learns he cannot casually throw around his pawns because ultimately, he cannot win this war by himself. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' and while he isn't as enchanted with Stain's entire gimmick as his comrades are, he still wields it effectively.
He's still learning, however, as we learn when he takes Bakugo. Had he gone to the effort to get to know a single thing about him, he would have learned very quickly that trying to recruit him would come up completely pointless. He just saw untamed anger and unrestrained violence bordering on unhinged and thought "Ah yes, he's powerful and very much like me- he'll do nicely" and put together a whole plan to kidnap him. I think the vanguard's success in capturing him shows Tomura just how useful it is to have clever little birds under your command, and that sticks with him.
Losing his Master, like AFO says, forces him to become his own man. He loses the cushy abode he'd had for most of his life, loses many of the benefits afforded to him by being AFO's protege. He and his ragtag team of villains live in squalor, almost entirely destitute, and are forced to survive- but they stay loyal, and that means something to him. I think it’s around here where he actually begins to care about them.
We see how he reacts to Magne’s death. I don’t think for one second he aided in destroying Overhaul simply because he was a threat. If that was the case, he would have stopped once he was arrested. He risks everything to get vengeance. Cuts his limbs off and renders him completely helpless as payment for what he did to Compress and to avenge Magne’s wrongful death.
Over the course of everything, he’s become more patient, more cunning, more dangerous. He’s learning quickly from his mistakes, how to command his ranks in a respectful, effective way, and how to keep them safe. He learns their strengths and weaknesses, and while he’s still a bit thorny, it’s very apparent he does care for them. He’s on his own now, and knows he needs greater power, greater numbers to achieve his goals. He is ruthlessly ambitious, willing to endure ungodly amounts of pain to meet his ends.
So now we have this season (which I haven’t actually watched, as I’m just waiting for disappointment because I fucking know Bones won’t do him justice) and he’s seeking out both Gigantomachia, a former ally, and the PLF. Both things that could be of great value to him. His leadership skills and ability to command will be put to the test, but so will his endurance, his willpower, and everything else. This is the beginning of him as a truly devastating threat.
He’s growing into the villain I think he deserves to be. He’s facing down the very bones that comprise him and learning why he is the way he is. What his convictions really are and how far he’s willing to go to achieve his goals. HIs past, his life as he knows it, what needs to be done to put a pretty little ribbon on everything. He is, in a way, shedding like a snake- ridding himself of weaknesses, growing into his strengths, and evolving into a more capable predator.
If you ask me, realistically, I think Shigaraki would actually win. When it’s all said and done, I think his arc is far more compelling than any of the heroes or their children. I think he has more drive, more wit, more raw power and more reasons to keep fighting. A lot of the kids, while cute and the main characters, are quite hollow. But over the course of all these seasons, we get to watch Tomura’s metamorphosis and his evolution into a purer, undiluted evil. He transforms into something truly sinister- a literal manifestation of all of the flaws and pitfalls of society and hero culture as it exists. He is undeniable proof of the toxicity and that the way things are cannot be allowed to stand, and the fact that so many people resonate with him and follow him loyally should be the ultimate clue-in.
I think if the heroes weren’t blinded, they would look at Shigaraki and his league and consider it. Wonder if, just for a moment, there was something there that they should pay attention to. A cry that they should hear rather than be willing deaf to. But they don’t.
Gran Torino is a prime example of this. So are all the other so called ‘heroes’. Calling him evil. Underestimating him. Considering him someone who just woke up one day and decided ‘I don’t like this so I’m going to kill a lot of people’. You’d think that they’d recognize that a drive like his does not come from nothing. If they sat down, shut the fuck up and listened for ten seconds, maybe they wouldn’t be dying by the dozens.
I’m not saying that they should allow him to continue to trample the world and kill at will. But what I am saying is that part of how they’re fighting him and how they’re viewing this in terms of black and white and good versus evil is exactly the fucking problem, and it’s that kind of bullshit that birthed the villain we know as Tomura Shigaraki to begin with.
#Shigaraki#Tomura Shigaraki#just my thoughts on it#Thank you for the question anon!#Morgana and friends
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The Evolution of Will Graham’s Darkness
This meta is mostly written for new viewers who find themselves confused by Will as a character. I’ll incorporate some bits of analysis I’ve written before into it. Let’s start with a thesis of a sort: Will is a dark character who had this darkness from the very start, even before his encounter with Hannibal: he was terrified and disgusted with it, but after meeting Hannibal, slowly, he began to embrace himself, getting bolder and bolder in his violence.
**Before the show**
Will initially tried to get into the FBI but he didn’t pass the tests. It’s revealed in E1 of S1 when he’s ambushed by Beverly.
Beverly: Never been an F.B.I. Agent?
Will: Strict screening procedures.
Beverly: Detects instability. You’re unstable?
At the same time, Will became a police officer, working in the Homicide department. These decisions show that he's been stubbornly and rather hopelessly drawn to darkness, seeking ways to interact with it while remaining on the side of law. However, he had to leave the police, too, because he was incapable of pulling the trigger even when his life depended on it. He preferred to allow himself to get stabbed rather than to fight back and kill someone, which points to him having very serious issues with his violence. He knew that once the door in him opens, it might not close again, that if he kills or harms another person, he might be unable to stop (this is proven when he shoots Hobbs and then immediately tries to kill Stammets).
And still, Will chooses to stay close to darkness, only in safer ways. He becomes a teacher in the FBI Academy, letting himself delve into the ugliest cases from a theoretical perspective. This constant pull and struggle leave Will lonely and hostile to everyone. He avoids eye contact with people; Jack’s first impression of him was that he’s rude and arrogant (when they clashed about the name of the museum). Will is rude and haughty with his students, too – but more about it later. Alana refuses to stay alone in the room with him, thinking his instability is too fascinating and she might want to dissect it. Will has no friends; he lives in isolation with his dogs, someone who would never judge him. There are a lot of rumors about him going around, and most people don’t like him (based on Price’s and Zeller’s initial reactions as well as their later conversations on this topic). Will is lonely and pretty miserable.
S1
The first real words we hear from Will are:
Will: Everyone has thought about killing someone.
It is very demonstrative of his personality. We also get evidence right here that Will is drawn to darkness primarily, not to the idea of saving lives (although the latter helps him feel better about his urges). He delves into the minds of killers even when he isn’t involved in the investigation. He had no other reason to explore the Marlows’ murder like he did at the start of the episode, when he was simply teaching students. It’s proof that he willingly craves contact with violent and disturbed minds — it’s not like he actually tries to solve this case for real, he just imagined himself there.
Will’s first conversation with Hannibal speaks volumes about who he is — because Hannibal senses it seconds after meeting him.
Hannibal: Do you have trouble with taste?
Will: My thoughts are often not tasty.
Hannibal: Nor mine. No effective barriers.
Will: I make forts.
This exchange has Will confess that his thoughts are often dark and that he dislikes it. To hold this darkness at bay, he literally builds forts around it, not letting it spread to other parts of his mind.
Hannibal: Your values and decency are present yet shocked at your associations, appalled at your dreams. No forts in the bone arena of your skull for things you love.
Hannibal almost directly calls Will out on his struggle with his inner darkness. He’s saying that he sees it, that he knows it’s there, in Will, in his mind, and Will is very disturbed by this — because Hannibal is right. The script even explicitly backs it up:
Hannibal has just described Will Graham to a letter.
Will is immediately wary and hostile, and he ends the conversation with snappy,
Will: Please don’t psychoanalyze me. You won’t like me when I’m psychoanalyzed.
What does it mean? It’s simple: Will assumes that Hannibal is a typical psychiatrist who wants to dissect him, so he says that once it happens, Hannibal won’t like what he finds (darkness and ugliness Will carries inside).
His hostility to Hannibal lasts up until the moment when Hannibal acknowledges him as a predator and shows approval of it. This is how it happens: Hannibal tries to subtly tell him that it’s all right to be who he is, hinting that they are the same.
Hannibal: You and I are just alike. Problem free. Nothing about us to feel horrible about.
He’s obviously talking about their darkness, but Will doesn’t react, so Hannibal continues. He tells him that Jack views him as a fragile tea cup, and Will genuinely laughs, amused by this (which is also very telling). Then Hannibal says:
Hannibal: [I see you as the] mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.
Will grows quiet after this, and then his interactions with Hannibal become much more relaxed. Will takes him to search the property and even bothers to explain how they reached their conclusions and what they are about to do. Him grumbling, “What are you smiling at?” shows a much higher level of familiarity they now share. Something in Hannibal’s words made Will open up a bit, and everything indicates that it’s the acknowledgement of his predatory nature that played its part in it.
Will kills Hobbs by shooting him 10 times. This is his first kill, one he’s been trying to avoid for so long, ever since his police work. It’s not surprising that Hobbs haunts him later because his death became a breaking point for Will. A door did open in him, and he was unable to close it again.
In E2, Will is distraught. But first, we get a glimpse into how rude and insensitive he generally is. Look at how he treats his students. He tersely thanks them for clapping and then snaps for them to stop. He devises a little malicious test for them.
Will: It’s [Hobbs’] resignation letter. Anybody see the clue?
A few hands go into the air. Will ignores them.
Will: There isn’t one.
He looks so long-suffering with them, as if they are idiots. The fact that he asks a question, waits for people to think and raise their hands, and only then he tells them there is actually no answer is petty at best. He also admits to Jack that he doesn’t consider lessons socialization because he doesn’t have to actually talk to students, he talks at them. Not good for a teacher or even for a person who works with other people like this.
But Will has more serious problems. He keeps imagining Hobbs, and after his messy kill, Jack becomes worried about him. He makes Will go visit Hannibal for one-time evaluation. Will is naturally not fond of the idea, but he and Hannibal have a pretty personal talk. Hannibal ends it with an even more explicit hint at Will’s own darkness:
Hannibal: And Will… the mirrors in your mind can reflect the best of yourself, not the worst of someone else.
Hannibal is talking about Will’s personal brand of violence again. He’s trying to tell him that it’s fine to be a murderer in every way he can, that Will’s darkness might be the best part of him. He also gives him a fake official approval to work in the field, showing that Will can trust him. But their obligatory session ends and Will leaves — only to return after he tries to kill Stammets and misses (their talk about it was cut from the episode but is echoed in the conversation below).
Hannibal: [You are here to] prove that sprig of zest you feel is from saving Abigail, not killing her dad.
Will: I didn't feel a sprig of zest when I shot Eldon Stammets.
Hannibal: You didn't kill Eldon Stammets.
Will: I thought about it. I'm still not entirely sure that wasn't my intention when pulling the trigger.
This is a huge evidence of Will struggling with his violence. It proves that he had it before becoming actively involved with Hannibal — all Hannibal did was recognize it and coax it to come to the surface. Will has always been like this, and after finally killing a person, he found himself unable to stop because he liked the feeling too much.
Hannibal: It wasn't the act of killing Hobbs that got you down, was it? Did you really feel so bad because killing him felt so good?*
Will: I liked killing Hobbs.
Hannibal is pleased to receive the confirmation of what he sensed in Will. Seeing that Will is terrified about his own confession, he comforts him.
Hannibal: Killing must feel good to God, too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in his image?
Let’s be honest, every sane person would have run for the hills after hearing this. Hannibal literally justifies the fact that Will liked murder by drawing a parallel with God. That’s such a narcissistic, serial killer thing to do, and yet Will welcomes it with open arms. He’s happy to find someone who doesn’t think he’s a monster — he’s relieved to be able to finally discuss his darkest impulses freely. This is the reason why Will started coming back to see Hannibal on a constant basis, to Jack’s surprise.
The next huge proof of Will’s ever-present darkness is found in E5 (actually, every episode has some bits, but I’ll cover only the major ones). The Angel Maker, a killer-of-the-week, has a unique gift of being able to see if a person is good or evil. First, Hannibal tries to tell Will that he doesn’t have to self-destruct because of his darkness like he’s been doing.
Hannibal: Angel Maker will be destroyed by what’s happening inside his head. You don’t have to be.
When Angel Maker dies, Will suddenly sees himself through his eyes. And he sees a demon. He sees himself as evil. It proves that Will’s darkness is inherent since he hasn’t done anything really bad at this point. It also proves that he’s perfectly aware of who he is and the darkness he has. He has the following conversation with the imagined Angel Maker.
Angel Maker: I see what you are.
Will: What do you see?
Angel Maker: Inside. I can bring it out of you.
Will: Not all the way out.
So, Will acknowledges that his darkness is rooted so deeply inside him, it can’t even be extracted fully. It’s an inseparable part of him.
Will is shown admiring the Ripper’s murders, calling them elegant and referring to them as art. Meanwhile, he’s trying to half-heartedly flirt with Alana, but they don’t have a meaningful connection because Will can’t be happy with a person who doesn’t know him. He wants to be normal but he just isn’t. If you’re interested in my opinion about their relationship, it’s here.
Will’s next morally gray action happens when he agrees to cover murder for Hannibal and Abigail in E9. He agrees quickly and then he’s shown being fiercely devoted to it. He doesn’t seem to care that Abigail killed someone much — in fact, he basically threatens Freddie, another person who sees him for who he is, to make her write a book favorable toward Abigail.
In E13, Hannibal says what he wants from Will directly.
Hannibal: If you followed the urges you kept down for so long, cultivated them as the inspirations they are, you’d become someone other than yourself.
Will remembers this phrase (he later throws it back into Hannibal’s face), but for now, he’s too angry and bitter to listen.
S2
Will is healthy again and he struggles with realization that Hannibal betrayed him. He starts a dark game of his own: he pretends he’s vulnerable, moving Alana to tears in the process, and asks Hannibal for help. He’s still drawn to him, but he also wants to take him down — for himself and for Abigail.
In E1, Hannibal tells Will the purpose of all their past meetings, how they were aimed at helping Will Become.
Hannibal: Our conversations, Will, were only ever about you opening your eyes to the truth of who you are.
Alana tries to hypnotize Will to help him remember what happened.
Alana: Imagine yourself in a safe and relaxing place... safe and secure here, safe to relax completely...
What does Will imagine? He sees Hannibal’s room and them sitting at the murder table together. He’s freaked out by it, but it proves how twisted his perception is: regardless of the betrayal, a part of him understands that Hannibal is the only person who’s ready to accept him, and he feels safe with him. @bloodsmile wrote a great meta about it here.
Will coldly manipulates Beverly, refusing to help her save lives unless she helps him as well. In E5, he engages in yet another manipulation. He gets Matthew Brown to try to kill Hannibal. This is the first premeditated murder attempt Will is responsible for. That is why we see him growing horns, that is why he sees a sink full of blood — his darkness starts progressing in noticeable ways. By E7, Will has figured out that Hannibal really did everything to open his eyes to the truth of who he is and that he wants to be his friend, but as he still wants revenge, he decides to honey-trap him with Jack.
In E8, Will is dealing with his complex feelings for Hannibal and explores his darkness further. He admits that Hannibal made him feel less alone and that he doesn’t hate him, no matter what; that he has no idea what he feels for him. Then Will tries to kill Ingram in cold blood as revenge for Peter. He asks him to pick up the hammer, indicating that he plans for the murder to look like self-defense. Hannibal tries to talk him out of it, but Will still pulls the trigger. It’s by a miraculous accident that Hannibal manages to stop him. This is the second conscious murder attempt by Will.
In E9, Will has a dream about Hannibal, love, and darkness.
Dream Hannibal: Must I denounce myself as a monster while you still refuse to see the one growing inside you?
Meaning: Will is fully aware of both the presence of this monster inside him and his attempts to ignore it since this is his dream.
Dream Hannibal: No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love we see potential in our beloved. Through that love we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloved's potential comes true.
So, a part of Will realizes that Hannibal loves him, and that he really wants him to Become, to realize all his potential.
Will is shown as feeling bitter at Hannibal for not letting him kill Ingram.
Will: I regret what I did in the stables.
Hannibal (thinking Will means murder attempt): Then you were lucky I was there.
Will: Being lucky isn't the same as making a mistake. Mistake was allowing you to stop me.
Hannibal: So it’s not pulling the trigger that you regret. It’s not pulling it effectively.
Will: That would be more accurate.
Hannibal: I want you to close your eyes, Will, and imagine a version of events you wouldn't have regretted.
Will obeys, and he sees himself murdering Ingram. It proves that every word he says to Hannibal is true — he really does regret not killing him. But there is an even creepier dialogue ahead.
Hannibal: What did you see?
Will: A missed opportunity… to feel like I felt when I killed Garret Jacob Hobbs. To feel like I felt when I thought I killed you … a quiet sense of power.
This is disturbing. It proves once again that Will isn’t just a righteous killer, he enjoys the act of murder itself, and like many serial killers, he craves the feeling of power that comes with it.
He and Hannibal talk about the intimacy of murder, how Will was hiding behind a gun when he tried to kill Hannibal back in E5. Will takes note of it. Hannibal, remembering Will’s complaint about a missed opportunity, sends Randall to him as a gift. When Randall breaks into Will’s house, Will is shown thinking and then deliberately throwing the gun away. He doesn’t want to hide this time — he attacks Randall with his bare hands. This isn’t about self-defense or justice, this is about Will trying to experience a more intimate kind of murder. He beats Randall up until he’s incapacitated and then he snaps his neck, even though there was no reason to do it. He could easily call Jack and have Randall arrested at this point (since he was barely conscious and not fighting back). This could help him in his plan to catch Hannibal. But Will isn’t particularly concerned about it, he’s more interested in realizing his darkness.
He takes the body to Hannibal. This moment got deleted, but Will actually had to stick a note to it:
A piece of paper is pinned to his chest. On it is written: "Return to Sender."
Which excellently shows Will’s dark humor. He laughs with Hannibal a little as they talk about murder right above the corpse. Then Hannibal is treating his hands, and he says:
Hannibal: Stay with me.
Will: Where else would I go?
Nowhere — because Will understands that Hannibal is the only person who can understand his darkness and accept him for who he is.
Will: I've never felt more alive than when I was killing him.
This is, once again, huge. Will is a murderer who can get dangerously high on the act. The moment when he felt most alive is the moment when he took a life from another person — and he was vicious about it. Will is very, very dark in these scenes — and it’s going to get worse.
Will mutilates the body and places it in the museum. He keeps Randall’s suit in his house as a trophy, and he keeps his butchered parts of meat in his fridge. In the following discussion, Will confirms that he enjoyed doing all that. When Hannibal suggests that Randall’s killer felt disdain for him in front of Jack, Will disagrees.
Will: He isn't mocking him. This isn't disdain. He's commemorating him.
Hannibal: This killer has no fear for the consequences of what he's done.
Will: No guilt.
Then Will retreats into his mind to talk to Randall’s corpse.
Will: Hello again.
Randall: Come closer … Can you see you?
Will: Clearer and clearer.
This proves Will’s honesty in all his discussions with Hannibal. He really is exploring his violence, not just pretending to do it, coming to the realization of what kind of monster he is.
Will: You forced me to kill you.
Randall: I didn't force you to enjoy it.
This takes place in Will’s head, so every word is genuine.
Will: I gave you what you want. This is who you are. What you feel finally matches the reality of what I see.
Randall: This is my becoming. And yours.
Will shakes his head, this is not his becoming.
Will: This is my design.
So, what do we have here? Will calls murder, mutilation, and storage of Randall’s meat his design. It’s not his Becoming, not yet, Will isn’t ready to fully embrace himself, but this is a start. He understands his design now.
In the same E10, Will attacks Freddie when she discovered his trophies. We know he didn’t kill her, but would he have done it if she hadn’t called Jack? We can only guess. Will sure took his chance to be creepy and physically violent with her. At the end of the episode, he brought Randall’s meat to Hannibal and they cooked as well as ate it together. This was not about getting Hannibal to trust him. Hannibal already did, especially after thinking Will killed Freddie, so there was simply no need for it. Bryan Fuller confirmed Jack had no idea this happened, so Will was acting on his own, out of his genuine curiosity. This is where he willingly became a cannibal.
In E11, Will dreams of burning fake Freddie and hears himself screaming. It’s easy to interpret this dream: he feels guilty for betraying Hannibal. Alana comes by and Will is being deliberately creepy again. He gives her a gun for protection, but later, it almost becomes her undoing. Will is equally creepy during the funeral. He enjoys being dark, and he feels free to act like this because technically, he has an excuse.
In E12, Will is freshly angry at Hannibal. He fantasizes about murdering Hannibal in the most violent way possible. Then he makes three deals. The first one is with Mason: they agree to kill Hannibal together. The second one is with Hannibal: they tentatively agree to target Mason together. The third one is with Jack: they agree that when Hannibal tries to kill Mason, Will is going to arrest him. Will goes with his and Mason’s plan at first. Hannibal is kidnapped and presented in front of Will just like in his fantasy. But instead of acting on it, Will chooses Hannibal and frees him, getting all Mason’s people killed in the process. Later, he watches Hannibal mutilate Mason, approach him to kill him, and snap his neck. He does nothing: he ignores his deal with Jack completely and covers for Hannibal. Yet another proof that Will is siding with Hannibal more and more, and that his initial honey-trapping plan is almost a formality at this point. At the end of the episode, Will offers Hannibal to kill Jack.
In E13, Hannibal and Will are getting ready to kill Jack while Will and Jack are getting ready to arrest Hannibal. Will doesn’t seem to know on whose side he is until the end. At the same time, he lies to Jack about where the attack is supposed to take place. He helps Hannibal burn all evidence, even though he could have easily preserved some of it to use it later. He burns the evidence related to himself as well. Will doesn’t take Hannibal’s chance to run away before dinner, but he does hesitate and wonder about it. When the final moment comes, he calls Hannibal to warn him — he chooses him above everyone. Justice for Abigail, justice for himself, the desire to save other people — none of it matters to Will now. He made his choice, he chose his side, but he did it too late. When he goes to Hannibal’s house, Alana tells him that Jack is still inside, and Will takes out his gun. He doesn’t even try to point it at Hannibal. When Hannibal accuses him of lying, Will implies that he’s wrong.
Hannibal: I gave you a rare gift… But you didn't want it.
Will isn't so definitive.
Will: Didn't I?
Because yes, Will wanted it. He was ready to accept it. But he did so too late.
S3
Will’s thoughts are only about Hannibal and Abigail. He breaks into Hannibal’s empty house and sits there in silence. When Alana comes to find him and tries to talk to him, he coldly sends her away. He’s repairing a boat to go after Hannibal. When Jack comes to him to ask about his motivations, Will is very open — he doesn’t care about hiding any more.
Jack: Do you remember when you decided to call Hannibal?
Will: I wasn't decided when I called him. I just called him. I deliberated while the phone rang. I decided when I heard his voice.
Jack: You told him we knew.
Will: I told him to leave. Because I wanted him to run.
Jack: Why?
Will: Because he was my friend. And because I wanted to run away with him.
In Italy, Will is full of regret over his actions. He blames himself for what happened, admonishes himself for lying to Hannibal. E2 shows his state of mind perfectly – Hannibal is his everything and he admits he wants to be with him. He doesn’t care about justice at all.
Will: I do feel closer to Hannibal here. God only knows where I would be without him … He left [me] his broken heart. He misses [me]. [I] still want to go to him? Yes.
He admires the corpse twisted into a heart, touching it and then lying at the place where it was located. He intimidates Pazzi who tries to talk sense into him and indicates that he’s not here to catch Hannibal.
Will: You couldn't catch him when he was just a kid, what makes you think you're going to catch him now?
Pazzi: You.
A small, polite scoff from Will, unable to take his eyes off the small stairwell to the catacombs.
Will: What makes you think I want to catch him?
Later:
Will: You shouldn't be down here alone.
Pazzi: I’m not alone. I'm with you.
Will: You don’t know whose side I’m on.
Pazzi stares at Will, cautious.
Pazzi: What are you going to do when you find him? Your Il Mostro?
Will: I'm curious about that myself.
Pazzi: You're already dead, aren't you?
Other people realize how dark Will is, too.
Then we move toward Will’s trip to Lithuania in E3. His reverent attitude to Hannibal begins to change once he meets Chiyoh, but he admits the following:
Will: I’ve never known myself as well as I know myself when I’m with him.
Will learns that Chiyoh has been staying here for all these years because she doesn’t want to kill another person. He notes that they can’t be sure whether her prisoner really killed Mischa because Hannibal is the only person who knows the truth. Despite all this, Will sets Chiyoh up to kill or be killed, releasing her prisoner secretly. Chiyoh rightfully accuses him of it:
Chiyoh: You said Hannibal was curious if I would kill. You were curious, too.
He was, if he is honest with himself.
What Will did was cruel and violent. Hannibal just left Chiyoh be, he openly and boldly risked her life, not caring about her safety or about whether her tortured prisoner deserves this. Will stays behind to make the body into art in Hannibal’s style, in accordance with his own design from when he killed Randall. This Will is dark and confident, and very in touch with his dark side. He dreams of killing Chiyoh and keeps asking her whether she saw what a monster she was, unable to accept the idea that only he has real darkness while Chiyoh doesn’t and that murder didn’t make her feel good. He repeats to Jack that a part of him will always want to be with Hannibal. Sadly, he then sees Bedelia as his replacement, grows even bitterer, and tries to attack Hannibal with the knife.
In E7, Will bites into Cordell’s cheek and tears a piece of meat out of it. Then he looks at Hannibal to see his reaction, waiting for his pride. He shows zero reaction to the news that Jack is alive — he doesn’t care about it. He rebukes Alana and shows that he still sees himself and Hannibal as a team, referring to them as “we”.
Will: You helped Mason Verger find us.
Alana: I helped Mason find Hannibal. We followed Bâtard-Montrachet when we should have just followed you.
Will: Almost as ugly as what Mason wants to do to us is the fact that he can do it with the tacit agreement of people sworn to uphold the law.
Alana: I was trying to get to Hannibal before you. I knew you couldn't stop yourself. So I had to try.
Will: By facilitating torture and death.
Alana: I can abide the thought of Hannibal tortured, not necessarily to death. I'd say he has it coming, wouldn't you? Or maybe you wouldn't.
Alana can no longer deny Will’s twisted morals. Will tries to push Alana to a darker side, manipulating her into releasing Hannibal, by telling her almost exactly what he and Hannibal were discussing in S2.
Will: Then you have to evolve, Alana. You have to spill blood. By your own hand or someone else's.
After the escape, Hannibal says the words that define Will perfectly:
Hannibal: You delight in wickedness and then berate yourself for the delight.
This is exactly what Will does — he acts on his darkness again and again, but then he gets scared and makes two steps back. He’s not ready to fully let go of the idea of a normal life yet.
Will sends Hannibal away. When Jack arrives, Will doesn’t even bother to pretend he tried to arrest him — he just says that Hannibal is gone. Jack clearly has zero trust in him at this point since he sends people to break into Will’s house without asking his permission. Will has completely discredited himself, proving himself as someone dark and twisted.
But Hannibal gives himself up and 3 years pass. After the epic Europe failure and his new insecurities, Will tries to retreat again. He decides to try being normal one more time, despite his previous failures at suppressing his darkness and his feelings for Hannibal. So he marries Molly, and it goes as well as expected. Their relationship is shown as weak from the start. The first time we see them, they are apart: Molly and Walter have gone fishing, which is what Will loves and dreamed of sharing with Abigail, yet he stays behind. He didn't let go of the past. He subtly manipulates Jack into talking Molly into urging him to come join the investigation — he deliberately leaves them alone under a weak excuse, knowing very well what Jack is about to do. Will is bored with his normal life and he misses Hannibal, even if he isn’t ready to fully admit it yet.
His treatment of Molly deserves a separate mention: this is the woman he lies to through his teeth, the woman whose “I love you” he doesn’t bother to return and who he doesn’t want to interact with the second she raises the topic he finds personally uncomfortable, someone he leaves her at the first opportunity. He never told her the truth about himself. The way Molly tries to joke about him having a criminal mind proves that she knows nothing of Will's dark struggles, and the way Will immediately shuts down demonstrates their incompatibility and his unwillingness to be honest and open with her.
On the very first day, Will demands to see Hannibal, lying about having to restore his mindset. We know it’s a lie because we’ve just seen him reconstruct Francis’ murder perfectly. He just wanted to see him because he missed him, and both Hannibal and later Bedelia call him out on it.
E9:
Hannibal: You just came here to look at me. Came to get the old scent again. Why don't you just smell yourself?
E10:
Bedelia: Have you been to see him?
Will: Yes.
Bedelia: Haven't learned anything, have you? Or did you just miss him that much?
This is what Hannibal says about Will’s marriage — and another reference to his darkness:
Hannibal: How did you choose yours? Readymade wife and child to serve your needs. A stepson or daughter – (off his look) – a stepson absolves you of any biological blame. You know better than to breed. Can’t pass on those terrible traits you fear the most.
This is very accurate and Will doesn’t bother to deny it. He’s more concerned about stalking Bedelia and asking her about her relationship with Hannibal than anything else. He makes zero efforts to preserve his family, which shows how irrelevant they are to him. This makes him a very cold and cruel person. Also, the way he acts with Bedelia is very different from how he acts with others. With her, he can be himself. He’s dark, relatively confident, and dangerous — which is likely why he keeps coming back to her. With others, he still puts on a rather meek mask.
There is quite a solid idea that a part of Will knew Hannibal might target Molly and Walter and send Francis after them (it’s up to interpretation, though). Hannibal gives Will very clear hints.
Will: Tell me who [the killer] is.
Hannibal: I don’t know who he is. When you close your eyes, Will... is that your family you see?
[Will scoffs at this.]
Will: Do you know who they are?
Hannibal: Yes.
Will: And you're willing to let them die.
Hannibal: They're not my family, Will. And I'm not letting them die. You are.
These are huge hints, and since Will is supposed to be an excellent profiler — more than that, a profiler who understands Hannibal intimately, it’s strange that he didn’t even suspect anything. Maybe a part of him subconsciously wanted proof that Hannibal is in love with him — since he goes to Bedelia with his question right after the attack. Maybe he wanted reassurance that the passion is still there. Maybe he even wanted an excuse to abandon Molly and Walter (and he does it very easily an episode later).
Ultimately, Will seems genuinely infuriated by the attack, but it’s possible that “the enemy inside him” secretly hoped for such outcome. He spends about a minute being truly angry at Hannibal — then he becomes concerned that he’s competing with Francis for Hannibal’s attention, which underlines the irrelevance of his family to him once more. When talking to Walter, Will doesn’t try to hug him or actually comfort him. They are like strangers, and Will shows resentment about having to explain some facts about himself to Walter later.
Will: He read about me in a Freddie Lounds article. I had to justify myself to an eleven year old.
Not “to my son”, but an indifferent and impersonal “11 year old”. Another reminder that Will is a cold person.
This attack made Will realize Hannibal is in love with him, and it finally started the process of his Becoming. Will is shown as full of resentment toward Jack and Alana. He callously sets up Chilton, an innocent person, for torture and death in E12. He explicitly says that he did it deliberately and doesn’t regret it.
Will: Damn if I'll feel … The divine punishment of the sinner mirrors the sin being punished. Chilton languished unrecognized until Hannibal the Cannibal. He wanted the world to know his face.
Bedelia: Now he doesn't have one.
At first, Will makes a half-hearted attempt at denial.
Will: I put my hand on his shoulder for authenticity.
Bedelia: To establish he really told you those insults about the Dragon? Or had you wanted to put Dr. Chilton at risk? Just a little?
Will: I wonder.
Bedelia: Do you really have to wonder?
Will: No.
Bedelia: You were curious what would happen, that's apparent. Is this what you expected?
Will sounds very ironic.
Will: I can't say I'm surprised.
Bedelia: Then you may as well have struck the match. That's participation. Hannibal Lecter does indeed have agency in the world. He has you.
Considering the timing, Chilton looks like Will’s courtship gift to Hannibal. This is the second time Will harms an innocent person, which makes him far darker than a righteous killer should be. And why? Just because. His darkness is really evolving.
When Will visits Chilton with Jack, he openly lies to him (Jack) and tells him Hannibal is responsible for what happened.
In E13, Will stages another deadly game. He plots with Francis to break Hannibal free — the immediacy of his plan makes it look like Will has already been thinking about it before. He lies to Jack and Alana. He hides the fact that Francis is alive from them, and when they discover it by themselves, he offers a plan: to use Hannibal as a bait and stage his escape. Jack begins to plan everything. If Will had actually followed this plan, it would have gotten Hannibal and Francis killed. But Will doesn’t care about justice — he wants Hannibal free and he doesn’t give a damn about the consequences. He shares his true intentions with Bedelia and threatens her.
Will: I don't intend Hannibal to be caught a second time.
Bedelia studies Will. Sensing where he might be going. Hoping she is wrong. A flicker of alarm plays in her eyes.
Bedelia: Can't live with him. Can't live without him. Is that what this is?
Will: I guess… this is my Becoming . I'd pack my bags if I were you, Bedelia. Meat's back on the menu … Ready or not… here he comes.
This is a crucial moment because while in S2, Will called Randall’s murder his design, now he’s finally Becoming. It’s the climax of everything. He leaks info about Hannibal’s transfer to Francis (who, if you recall, has attacked Will’s wife and her son). He gets many officers murdered by proxy; he sets up Jack and destroys him professionally again; he endangers Alana and her family as well as Molly and Walter. Without showing even an ounce of regret toward the dead officers, Will climbs out of the car. We don’t get to see it, but this is what he does according to the script:
Will takes the gun off the dead cop.
Still with no care, he watches how Hannibal throws another body out of the car and offers Will to take a seat. Will looks long-suffering and fond, even though he has just gotten about 5 people killed. He goes with Hannibal.
In the cliff house, he admits he’s not sure if he can “save” himself by killing Hannibal.
Will: I don't know if I can save myself. And maybe that's just fine.
He intends to try, though, but when Francis attacks, Will naturally chooses Hannibal because he can’t see him killed. He reaches for his gun and the fight begins. Seeing Francis strangling Hannibal, Will pulls out the knife from his body and rushes to protect him. He and Hannibal kill Francis together, and Will plunges the knife into him with obvious relish. Then he admires the way the blood looks on his hand.
Will: It really does look black in the moonlight.
This is proof of how Will remembers everything Hannibal has ever said to him. He reaches out to embrace Hannibal, finally allowing himself this weakness, finally accepting that this is who he is and that there is no way back.
Hannibal: See? This is all I ever wanted for you, Will. For both of us.
Will: It’s beautiful.
These words have a tremendous worth. Hannibal’s dream for them, the one he has been hoping for since early S1, has just become realized, and Will found it beautiful. The script confirms it additionally:
A moment as Will considers the brutal pack hunting he shared with Hannibal Lecter. He genuinely feels it is beautiful.
Upon this realization, Will gives the fate the last chance to stop himself and Hannibal, knowing that if they live, they’ll unleash their mutual darkness on the world. He pushes them off the cliff that has been confirmed to have no rocks by Hannibal, giving them a chance to survive. And they do — and they stay together and hunt. Will threatened Bedelia with being eaten and he kept his promise. The deleted epilogue to the series shows him and Hannibal in perfect harmony with each other.
Note that this is far from the only moments and details of Will’s long Becoming. There are many more, but if I addressed them, this meta would be even longer. However, here’s a quick analysis of Will’s softer sides — because they also aren’t as simple as it might seem at first. Will seems to sympathize only with people he can relate to personally, who remind him of himself in some way, and most often, they are murderers. He’s bitter about not being able to save killer-children in E4 because like them, he struggles with understanding what family means; he feels close to Georgia because he also thinks he’s losing his mind and no one can understand him; he’s gentle with Peter because he sees him as his fragile mirror; he’s soft with Reba because like Bryan said, they are both people in love with serial killers. With everyone else, Will is indifferent or cold. These traits were less visible in S1, but after he started to Become, they began to come to the surface. His softer sides still have a degree of selfishness to them.
So, Will has always had darkness in him. He has always been a rather cold person despite his genuine struggles, confusion, and the desire to be normal. Hannibal changed his life, helping him embrace himself and find unconditional love and acceptance. Will’s journey was very long, it had many setbacks, but in the end, he made it. They both did, and now they are free to enjoy their new life together.
Tagging some old fans who might be interested! @typicalher @hannibalized @bloodsmile @victorineb @he-s-dead-jim
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DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE BLOOD Vol.2: Mukami Kou [Track 7+8]
Original title: 堕落した証 & いらいらする
Source: Diabolik Lovers More, Blood Vol. 2: Mukami Kou [CD not owned by me]
Audio: Here
Seiyuu: Kimura Ryouhei
Translator’s note: Oh boy oh boy. I should have kept my mouth shut during the last few tracks because these two tracks had me wriggle around in my seat as my stomach turned upside down. > < Those of you who have been around since last year might recall how I struggled with Shuu’s D-S Kyuuketsu CD because of the ‘bodily gore’ noises when he cuts the MC with a knife and then stirs his fingers around in the open wounds. KOU DOES THE EXACT SAME THING GDI. I had to pause several times because I got nauseous. :’’) Please no more of this Rejet.
Track 1+2 ll Track 3+4 ll Track 5+6 ll Track 7+8 ll Track 9+10
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Track 7: Proof of Corruption
“Well then, where should I bite you next...~? Both your neck and arm are already dyed a bright crimson from your blood. Fufu~ While I’m at it, I guess I should make you even more red...Perhaps that’ll improve your looks a little.”
*Rustle*
[00:25] “Hmー Such slender wrists...Fufu, I could probably twist them with ease. If I were to plunge my fangs in, they might just pierce right through, don’t you think? Come on, show me your hand.”
*Rustle*
“Hm...These marks are still fresh. Hmー They weren’t left behind by me, which means they belong to one of those guys? Heeeh...Now what a lovely decoration you have here. You really are a maso-kitty, aren’t you? I sort of get now that you’re not doing all of this on purpose. Which means...is someone controlling you behind the scenes?”
*Rustle rustle*
[01:18] “Take flowers, for example. They don’t particularly wish to bloom beautifully, do they? However, some larger force in nature is ordering them to do so to lure in birds and insects. So perhaps you were put together by someone with the specific goal to seduce us Vampires? If not, a plain girl such as yourself couldn’t even dream of having someone like me suck you, not even out of pity. Fufufu...~”
*Rustle rustle*
He digs his finger inside your skin.
[01:59] “Ah-aaah...Since the wound hadn’t fully healed yet, my finger sank in the moment I pressed down. Does it hurt? Fufu~ I’m digging my nail into the open wound after all~ I bet it hurts...Then suffer more...Scream...! Nobody will hear you here. This place has been equipped to ensure that they won’t find you.”
*Rustle*
“But...Well...If they did know you were here, I wonder if they would come and get you? These guys who seem to be oh-so obsessed with you, I mean~”
Kou continues to stir up the wound with his nails.
“Are you writhing in pain? Ah-aaah...Your ugly face only became even more hideous. Should I say it has a certain charm to it? I’m incapable of loving you while you look like that though. However...”
*Rustle*
[02:57] “In regards to these wounds, I feel a strange sense of attachment. I wonder why? Perhaps it’s just fun to compete with other Vampires over a prey such as yourself? Hahaha...But in that case, I have to leave behind my own marks as well or it’s no fun, right? ...I’ll leave my mark on top of these wounds, as if to overwrite them. It’ll be perfect proof of how thoroughly corrupted you’ve become.”
*Rustle*
Kou bites you.
*Gulp*
“Mmh...*
*Gulp gulp*
“ーーHah!”
*Gulp*
[03:50] “Mmh...Haah...I can smell them from here...It pisses me off...Hahn...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Hah, haah...It makes me want to just rip up your whole arm with my fangs...”
*Gulp*
“Fufu...This must be the taste of hatred...~ Exactly...I can’t forgive them...Never! That’s whyーー”
*Gulp gulp*
“Haah...Haah...”
*Rustle*
[04:38] “I won’t return you to them. You’re basically mine now. Offer both your body and soul to me...And go mad. Fufu...Damn~ What’s wrong with me? Am I being spurred on by you? Uwaah...This is a first for me. Fufu~ I truly got my hands on a nifty toy. I was just going to have a little taste before handing you over to Ruki...but I might not want to let you go again.”
*Rustle*
[05:22] “Haah...Let me suck more...Your blood is messing with my head...as I find myself wishing you would offer more of that delicious blood pumping through your veins to me and me only.”
*Rustle*
“Oi. I bet you have other marks left behind by them as well, don’t you? Tell me. I’ll make you go through those painful memories again. Come on, hurry up and fess up.”
*Rustle*
[06:00] “Hey? Are you listening? If you space out like that, I’ll do something much, much more painful and rough?”
You muster a response.
“Hm? Your belly? Eeeh~? Now where could they be...~?”
*Rustle rustle*
“Ah, you must be talking about these. Marks spotted~ They really don’t hold back when devouring you, do they?”
He licks the marks.
“Oh, this one smells different. So, tell me. Did you have them bite you from head to toe? Hah! What a slut you are.”
You protest.
[06:46] “Hm? You didn’t wish for any of this to happen? ...Che. Why are you giving me that defiant look? Do I have to repeat myself a million times before your idiotic brain gets it? I was reminded once more the moment I sucked your blood. You’ve been tampered with in some way to lure in Vampires. I wonder who could be behind it...~? Fufu...Somehow that piques my interest...”
*Rustle*
“But for now, I’ll cover you with my marks. So I’ll thrust my fangs inside these wounds as well...”
Kou digs his nails into your skin once more as you flinch.
[07:31] “Aren’t you happy? I’m the one saying these things after all. ..Aaah-aah, such filthy marks. I’ll erase them right away.”
He bites you again.
“Hahn...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Hah...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Haah...Haah...”
*Sluuuuurp*
“Haah...This stench is persistent...It won’t disappear...Ugh, it pisses me off. If I can’t get rid of it with my fangs...It just makes me want to mess you up as a whole...”
*Rustle*
“Haah...Guess I’ll just have to sink them in deeper and deeper...Like thisーー!”
*Gulp gulp*
“Hah...Nnh...”
You cry out.
[08:41] “Ah...It hurts? Look at you gushing blood all over the place. You really have no shame, do you? But you shouldn’t be able to feel the pain, you know? My fangs have already made it so you perceive everything as pleasure. Fufufu...”
*Rustle*
“I can tell you want me, so try and voice it out loud? Beg for me with a cute tone. Come on, hurry...Ask me to make you feel ever better~”
You whimper.
[09:24] “Hmm~~? I can’t hear you...~ You’re going to have to speak a little louder. Also, don’t forget to sound cute, okay?”
You repeat it.
“Fufu...~ Exactly, like that. Just be honest with yourself...Perhaps then I’ll be able to feel a little affection for someone as ugly as yourself.”
You beg again.
“Mm~ Good. You managed to beg for it cutely, so I’ll love on you in return. ...With these fangs of mine, that is.”
Kou bites you again.
*Gulp gulp gulp*
“Hahn...Mmh...”
*Sluuuuurp*
[10:14] “...Hah...! ...Hm? ...’More’? ...You can crave it more. I kind of like it when people yearn for me. ...I’ll plunge them inside even deeper than before...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Haah, haah...Ugh...Haah...I guess the smell is starting to fade a little?”
You moan.
“Fufu...Seems like you’re feeling rather good as well. Your body has completely given in to the pleasure, it feels as if your blood has become sweeter as well.”
Track 8: Irritation
Kou inspects your body.
*Rustle*
“Where else have they bitten you...? ー Ah, don’t tell me. I’ll try finding it myself this time...~ After the stomach, it has to be...The legs, right~?”
*Rustle*
[00:18] “Yes, I got it right! ...They sure love going for the risqué spots, don’t they? Hah! Right near your crotch (1) ...How lewd. On top of that, you can tell they’ve sucked from here repeatedly...Very dirty! I wonder what kind of expression you made as they sucked from here? Perhaps you didn’t realize it yourself, but they pretty much got a full view of aaaall your embarrassing places.”
You squeak.
“How embarrassing, gosh! ...But I’m sure you love that sorta stuff, don’t you? After all, I can see a glint of anticipation in your eyes. Or am I just imagining things? Is it because I’m the one doing this to you? ...Well, I guess I’ll figure out the answer to my own question once I bite you. Well then...”
*Rustle*
“Where should I leave my mark? ...Right here. I’ve settled on this spot.”
He bites you again.
*Gulp*
[01:28] “Mmh...Hah...Haha! What a lovely view...Fufu...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Seems like it’s making you weak as well...Look at you twist and turn your body like that...What a dirty girl you are.”
*Gulp gulp gulp*
“ ーーHah! We’re still nowhere near done...Let me suck more and more...Hahn...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Hah...Hah...”
*Gulp*
[02:11] “Haah...Fuck...Could this be a trap of some sorts...? Fufu...I feel as if your blood is leading me straight to my own demise...Well, I guess that’s fine. As long as it feels good...whether it’s a trap or whatever, I’m not scared. Perhaps the person who set you up this way predicted this all along? ...Say.”
*Rustle*
[02:44] “I bet they knew that we would try and snatch you away like that. Guess we’re being mocked, huh? That pisses me off. ...You seem to be feigning ignorance but you’re part of the whole scheme, aren’t you? ...If you think this will all pass as long as you just obediently spread your legs, you’re gravely mistaken. I’ll give you something much, much, much more painful, you’d find yourself wishing you’d be dead instead...!”
*Thud*
Your eyes widen in horror.
“Hehe...”
*Gulp gulp*
[03:26] “...Heh. Does it feel good? Lucky you! I think you might be the first human who has gotten the honor to receive this much pleasure from me. Well, under normal circumstances, one bite is plenty to make any human ascend to Heaven, but in your case, the more I have, the more delicious your blood becomes and on top of that...You dare oppose me. It pisses me off. ...Mmh...”
*Gulp*
“...Hm? There’s marks on your thighs as well!”
*Rustle rustle*
[04:06] “I have to engrave my own mark here as well. ...Geez, I wonder what they find so appealing about these stick legs? I can’t relate, but I don’t like the idea of there being marks from someone other than me. ...Mmh..”
*Gulp*
“Nnh...”
*Gulp gulp*
[04:37] “...Hah...Ah...Haah...~ I feel sluggish for some reason...Have I been numbed? In that case, your blood is to blame. ...This is bad...Fufufu~ I just don’t understand how I want to keep an ugly girl such as yourself all to myself...Makes no sense, does it? I feel irritated by it myself but...I also just can’t help it. This strong desire for you keeps on welling up inside of me...What is happening to me? Geez...Honestly, it pisses me off! I’ve never felt this strongly attached to anything or anyone before!?”
*Rustle*
“Hahn...”
*Gulp gulp gulp*
“...ー Hah!”
*Gulp gulp gulp*
“Mmh...Haah, haah...I can’t get enough...Do you want me more? ...So do I.”
*Gulp gulp*
[05:57] “Hah...Yearn for me more and more...You just need to keep your eyes on me. ...You belong to me now. Happy? Of course you are. If you continue to writhe around like that, I’ll give you never-ending pleasure.”
*Rustle*
“Mmh...Haahn...”
*Gulp gulp*
“Mmh...Nnh...”
*Gulp*
“Haah, haah...!”
*Gulp*
[06:37] “Haah...! I can’t...I still haven’t had enough...Hm. I still refuse to give you up. I’ll make you forget about those other guys in no time. I’m obsessing over you, so it only makes sense. ...Unlike those guys, I won’t call you prey either. You’re mine after all. ...Doesn’t that make you happy? I’m a gentleman after all~ I know how to make a girl happy. I’m sure you didn’t like being degraded by having them call you ‘prey’ either, right? Fufu...~”
ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー
Translation notes
(1) 足の付け根 or ‘ashi no tsukene’ is the root/base of the leg where it connects to the hips.
#diabolik lovers#dialovers#kou mukami#diabolik lovers translation#diabolik lovers more blood#diabolik lovers drama cd#drama cd
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A Favor: Part Eleven
Nessian Modern AU
Masterlist
a/n: first chapter after acosf!! im sorry for how short this one is, but acosf wrecked me and writing this put me back together. i hope it does something similar for you ❤️
***
“You say you’ve been doing better lately?”
The therapist’s office is plain, a little gloomy, but big windows overlook the center of town that make Nesta feel less suffocated.
She nods, “Yeah.”
“How would you describe ‘better’?” Dr. Bond— Lana, she insists on being called— has been endlessly patient with Nesta’s non-answers so far. Nesta almost feels bad and decides to throw the woman a rope.
“I’m not alone anymore,” she says. “I used to be alone all the time, but now I have friends, sort of… and a boyfriend.” She still loves that word. It’s never tasted so exciting before.
“You were always alone before this, then? Or were there just people that you didn’t consider noteworthy?”
A scowl rises to Nesta’s mouth. Damn, she works quick. “I was raised with two sisters in a one-bedroom apartment. I never got to be alone, but then I grew up, and…” Her mind wants to skip over the time she spent in college. “For the last couple of years, I holed up in my own place. Never wanted to talk to anybody or see them. If people took an interest in me, I shut them down because I didn’t have an interest in them.”
“You missed a few years,” Lana notes.
“What?”
“You’re twenty-four, and you moved out at eighteen. Where were you before getting your own place?”
Numbness seeps through Nesta at the question. She knows she can ask Lana to change the topic, but that will only bring it back later. “I had a boyfriend in college,” she says flatly. “I lived with him for a few years, but like you said, it isn’t noteworthy.”
“As a fellow lone wolf, I disagree.” Lana’s clinical polite face is unchanging. “Any person who you trust enough to let into your life is noteworthy.”
Nesta says nothing.
“I’m interested in these people you’ve chosen to trust,” her therapist continues after a beat of silence. “Why don’t we start with whoever you trust most?”
Nesta snorts. This she can talk about.
“His name is Cassian. I’ve been living with him ever since my apartment got flooded a couple of months ago, and he’s always been a good friend to me.” She sits there, thinking about what else to say. “I think I like him more than I’ve ever liked anybody.”
“This is the new boyfriend?”
Nesta nods.
“Do you compare him to the old one?”
Nesta doesn’t know what this lady’s angle is, but she answers carefully, “I used to. Back when I first moved in. I haven’t done it in a long time, though.”
“Why not?”
The answer is simple. “There’s no need to. He’s not comparable to anybody.”
“Is that why you opened up to him after two years of self-imposed isolation?”
Nesta looks away. “It wasn’t isolation,” she defends. “It’s just… after a lifetime of being subjected to the gaze of strangers, I wanted to hide. I liked hiding.” Mostly.
“What does that mean, the gaze of strangers?”
Question after cool question, this one. Nesta struggles to find a proper answer.
“You know how,” she starts slowly, “as soon as you start school, you’re placed into this bubble with a bunch of people who don’t know you and have no reason to care about you? There’s a shift in how you view people, and how people view you. And I thought I could leave it behind once I graduated high school, but it followed me to college and to parties and into everyday interactions.”
“What is it?”
“It’s this—” Nesta waves her hands, “judgment. It’s that thing you do as soon as you meet someone, and you try to determine whether they’re worth your time or not. Whether they’re above or below you in this made-up social hierarchy in your head.”
“Explain that more,” Lana says.
“We want to hang around people we find cool. And when we meet someone new, we inspect them, look them up and down, to see if they fit our definition of cool. We take them apart. Everyone does it, even you. And with me,” she shrugs, “I’m pretty, I wear the right clothes, I do my makeup. So at first glance, people think, ‘Oh, I can see myself getting to know her better. I can see myself liking her.’ But then they take a closer look at me, and it’s like…” Her fingers flutter in the air, trying to support her thoughts. “I can see their minds changing. ‘Nevermind, I was wrong. Nevermind, there’s something off with her. She’s a little quiet, a little weird, a little bitchy.’”
Lana narrows her eyes. “And Cassian doesn’t look at you like that?”
Nesta looks away. “He doesn’t look at anyone like that.”
It’s what used to make her so uncomfortable about him. She was incapable of fathoming his honesty, his genuineness, his kindness. She thought he was even weirder than her for it— she placed him beneath her on her social hierarchy for it.
Lana frowns thoughtfully. “And now you two live together?”
Nesta nods, then shrugs. “For the next twenty-four hours, we do. He’s helping me move back into my old place.”
Because that was another conversation she and Cassian had on Thanksgiving night. It was a long time coming, but also the perfect time.
“You’re saying your apartment has been ready for weeks? Why are you just telling me now?”
Nesta pillowed her face on his chest, not as upset at revealing the news as she would have been some days ago. “Because I was scared that if I moved out, I would lose my friendship with you.”
“That never would have happened—”
“We wouldn’t see each other every day anymore. Even if we didn’t go back to being complete strangers, the closeness would be lost.”
“You must not know me, then. I would’ve texted you every fucking hour. You’d never hear the end of me.”
“I couldn’t guarantee that back then.” She looked up at him through her lashes. “I can now.” She crawled higher up his body, lowering her voice to a secretive pitch. “Want to know why?”
“Why?” he whispered.
“Because you’re mine now. And that’s what I was waiting for while I made Lorene hold that shitty empty apartment for me. I was waiting for a catalyst, a revelation.” She pressed a kiss to his sternum. “And I most definitely got it.” The pleasant ache between her legs was proof enough. “Also,” she added, “it would be weird if you lived with your girlfriend before even having a first date with her.”
Cassian huffed a laugh. “You have a point there. We have been moving backwards, haven’t we?”
Nesta nodded into his skin.
He got a little quiet. “Still,” he said after a moment. “I’ll miss you.”
“You’ll see me every day. I’ll be fifteen minutes away.”
“I’ll still miss you.”
“I know.”
“What does talking about guys have to do with my therapy?” Nesta squirms, getting restless with the topic.
“Lots of things,” Lana says, putting down her notepad. “It gets you comfortable with expressing your feelings to me, and it teaches me about how you view the world. Besides, therapy isn’t just a rehashing of past traumas, you know. We can talk about whatever you want here, especially if it makes you feel good.”
“Well, I want to talk about something else.” She’s not spending this much money by the hour just to talk about how much she likes Cassian— she can go to Cassian for that for free.
“Like what?” Lana asks smoothly.
She’s offering an opening, finally, to the real reason that Nesta’s here.
Nesta pulls at the sleeves of her sweatshirt, wondering where to start. “I feel like I’ve been growing up lately,” she says carefully. “I have all these new people in my life to be responsible for, and I’m— I want to do it right. But I’m worried I won’t have room for new things until I pack up some of my old shit, so that’s why I’m here, I guess. I don’t want to hold on to all of my old shit anymore.”
At Lana’s encouraging silence, she continues, “I spent my whole life stuck in a suffocating town, and as soon as I left, I got stuck in a relationship. By the time I knew what freedom felt like, I— I’d been left behind. Everyone I knew was moving onto bigger things and all I had was this shitbag of a past. So I got a new place and started law school and called it a fresh start, but now I’m here and I’m not sure if I ever got better.”
She takes a sharp breath after everything that’s spilled.
Lana purses her lips, letting the room absorb Nesta’s words. After a long moment, she says, “Just because bad things stop happening to someone, doesn’t mean they instantly get better. It’s a good thing that you’re recognizing that before stepping into new relationships, Nesta.”
Lana glances at the clock on the wall. “I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today, but this was a productive first session.” She offers a small smile. “Same time next week?” She says it as if it isn’t already a done deal.
Nesta nods gratefully anyway, unable to say anything else. As soon as she’s out the door, a pent-up sigh escapes her. That wasn’t so bad.
***
Later that night, Nesta doesn’t miss Cassian’s wistful stare as he takes down the painting he got her from the fall festival. Nor does she miss how slowly he packs it away.
Once the bedroom she made her home is as sparse as the day she moved in, all her things packed away neatly in boxes, Nesta wraps her arms around Cassian and pulls him to the bed. There, she lets him hold her close, their breaths and limbs intertwining as they lie in thoughtful silence.
“I can’t believe I’ll never see this room again,” Nesta says quietly.
Cassian’s eyes widen in alarm. “What do you mean, never again?”
“I’ll be staying in your room whenever I visit, remember?” Her underwear already occupies a drawer in his closet.
Cassian visibly relaxes when he remembers, then smiles. “Right. Of course.”
She lets herself sink deeper into his embrace. “I just realized you’ve never seen my apartment before.” He was waiting at the front door of Lorene’s place while Nesta collected her things all those weeks ago, but she cringes at the thought of him visiting now. The clear wealth gap between her and Cassian doesn’t usually show, but it’ll be undeniable with the cramped room she calls an apartment. “Maybe it’s best if I move back in without your help. There might not even be space there for your huge body.”
“Sounds more appealing by the minute.” He’s not joking. He tilts up Nesta’s chin so she’s forced to meet his eyes. “I can’t wait to start partaking in your life the way you took over mine. Spending nights at your place, meeting your friends, riding in your car instead of mine.”
Nesta swallows.
“I’m gonna miss you like hell, but it’ll be for the best.”
He’s right: this is what’s best for their budding relationship right now. Moving out, creating even a little bit of distance— all of it is so they can finally learn each other as lovers instead of roommates. So when they do come back together, which Nesta firmly believes they will, it’ll be stronger than ever before.
Some of their shared sadness flits away at the truth of it. She only places her hand on his cheek, content to appreciate this view— this beautiful, hazel-shaded view— without further chitchat or goodbyes.
Cassian is not as fond of the silence. “I need to tell you something,” he says seriously after a few minutes.
After only a handful of days dating Cassian, Nesta knows what he’s going to say. “Don’t,” she warns, unamused.
He grins conspiratorially and leans in even closer, until their mouths are almost brushing. “You’re my everything, Nesta.”
“Oh my god, stop it.” She squirms out of his hold and gets up, tossing the blankets off herself.
“No, come back!” He makes a grab for her sleeve. “We have to use the bed one last time—”
But she’s already running off.
***
Cassian carefully arranges the canvas painting on the wall, taking a step back to determine if it’s hanging straight. The ruby and amber leaves of the landscape stand out against the dull teal walls of Nesta’s basement apartment, but he’s just getting started.
The rest of Nesta’s things are half-unpacked from their cardboard boxes, but instead of going for the important shit first, he finds the box he specifically marked FAVES in bold letters the night before.
While Nesta wrangles to get her clothes back into her old closet in the background, Cassian crouches and rips open the small box. There, lying atop his girlfriend’s favorite trinkets and personal items, is the framed photo he snuck in without her noticing.
It’s of the two of them at the fall festival, taken mere hours before their first kiss. Nesta is pressed up close to Cassian (her excuse being that it was cold), and a genuine light fills her eyes, one that Cassian never thought he’d be able to capture on camera. Cassian himself isn’t looking at the camera, but down at Nesta with wind-flushed cheeks and a distant smile. Making sure she’s having a good time, that she truly wants to be there with him in that moment.
He never realized how close they looked in that picture until he had it printed and framed, not long after Nesta announced she was moving out. He can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner.
Standing up, he places the photo on Nesta’s wooden dresser. Nesta still has her head in the closet, moving things around, but Cassian makes no announcement of his gift to her. She’ll notice it sooner or later.
He clears his throat. “Wanna take a break and order Chinese?”
Nesta pops her head out of the closet, her ponytail ruffled and eyes narrowed at him. “Have you even been helping this whole time?”
“Standing here and looking pretty is harder than it seems, but I don’t expect any credit from you,” he jokes. “Just let me buy you lunch.”
Nesta grumbles something he chooses not to hear, but straightens up and rubs her spine with a wince. “I need a fucking chiropractor,” she mutters.
Guilt shoots through Cassian at that small wince, and he resolves to finish organizing Nesta’s closet for her before the day is over. Nesta goes on, “So? Still determined to split your time between here and the cabin?” She gestures to the apartment with an arm.
It’s really just a glorified single room, with a rusty kitchenette in the corner, a hallway near the stairs that holds the bathroom, and Nesta’s bed pushed against one wall. It’s nothing special, but Cassian loves it. Mostly because he can already envision each new nook and cranny to take Nesta against, and how he wants to wake up in that too-small bed on days that he’s too lazy to drive home.
“It’s perfect,” he says simply. Thank you for sharing your home with me, is what he really means. Speaking of homes—
Cassian digs around in his pocket, finding and pulling out a newly-minted silver key. “I almost forgot to give you this.”
Nesta frowns, coming forward to take the key from him. He uses the closeness as an excuse to wrap his arms around her waist while she inspects the object.
She glances up at him, eyes softer than they were a moment ago, lips slightly parted. “You’re giving me a key to the cabin?”
He shrugs casually. “You should’ve gotten one a long time ago.” She used either Cassian’s key or the spare while she lived there.
Her mouth is still open, and she closes it once, twice, before finally saying, “I don’t have a key to my place for you.”
“But I can get one,” she adds quickly. “If you want it, that is.”
Of course he wants it, but he keeps his face carefully neutral. “Only if you want me to have one. We’re still new, and this is your personal space.” He emphasizes your.
Nesta purses her lips, then says, “I’ll think about it.”
Cassian’s shoulders slump in relief— relief that Nesta is being honest with him instead of doing something she isn’t yet ready for. He’ll take her honesty over an apartment key any day.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he smiles brightly and shoves her toward the bed. “If we’re getting dumplings again then you can’t steal mine.”
***
a/n: fair warning that ive never been to therapy, but in stories therapists are usually a mode for character exploration and development, which is what nesta's therapy will be for.
also im so glad i got to meet gwyn in acosf and im so excited to introduce her into this fic too!! if you have ideas for her origin story feel free to share because nothing is planned yet
taglist: @ladywitchling @sjm-things @thewayshedreamed @drielecarla @valkyriewarriors @superspiritfestival @aliveahaahahafuck @cupcakey00 @sayosdreams @rainbowcheetah512 @claralady @thebluemartini @nessiantho @missing-merlin @duskandstarlight @lucy617 @sleeping-and-books @everything-that-i-love @cassianscool @awesomelena555 @julemmaes @wickedqueenoffantasy @poisonous-bloom @observationanxioustheorist @gisellefigue08 @courtofjurdan @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @wolfiixxx @cass-nes @seashade @royaltykxx @illyrianundercover @queenestarcheron @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies @humanexile @that-golden-lyre @agentsofsheilds @mercy-is-alive @cassiansbigwingspan @laylaameer01 @verypaleninja @maastrash @bow-dawn @perseusannabeth @dead-on-the-inside666 @jlinez @hungryreadingaddict @anidealiveson @swankii-art-teacher
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Shut up
Kinktober day 6: face sitting
Pairing: Dean Winchester x reader
Summary: You find a way to shut Dean up.
Warnings: oral sex (female receiving), hate/love relationship, making out, hint of daddy kink, consent is sexy, mentions of humping
Dean Winchester gets on your nerves sometimes.
No, scratch that. He always gets on your nerves. You don't know what irks you most about him: the stupid, lopsided smirk; the constant teasing sarcasm in his words, if he were incapable of taking anything seriously; or, maybe, it was how he was so impossibly gorgeous even when he was bleeding out.
Dean irritates you more than any other being, from the poor excuse of a president of your country to the stupid demons that you face from time to time.
So, it's good to finally shut up his mouth. Even better, you’d put it for a good use for once.
His green eyes glow as he looks up to you, naked body impatient on the mattress as he nibbles on his bottom lip in anticipation. Dean's cock is already completely hard only from making out and some humping. It’s so easy to get him all worked up for you.
You throw your shirt away, and Dean lets out a quiet grunt his response. His idiotic lips are parted slightly as he watches your boobs. You aren’t wearing a bra. Fuck, he just wants to touch you, but for right now, this isn't about him. Well, not directly. This is about how furious you are because Dean Winchester has no right to make you feel like a high school girl discovering how a crush felt. You were always surrounded by a light-hearted feeling that made you want to do a dumb thing like kiss him in the back of a bar or jump in front of a bullet to save his ungrateful ass.
How did you, of all people, develop a crush for Dean? Dean is Dean -- a selfless, cocky son of a bitch. Come on, you're smarter than that! You’ve gotta be a masochist.
Nonetheless, you get rid of your pants and underwear, pussy almost dripping for this idiot. The Winchester whimpers at the sight, licking his lips. The only thoughts revolving around in his head are: I need to taste you.
You glance at him, the beginnings of a smile lightening your features. The big, bad hunter certainly doesn’t have the usual arrogant look on his face now.
You still have your boots on when you climb on top of the bed, and Dean doesn't seem to care one bit. If anything, his livid, forest-green orbs catch a glimpse of you, naked and climbing on top of him, only wearing those fucking boots. He gulps, not remembering the last time he’s been this turned on. He is a goner.
You place your hands on his shoulders, and you're sitting on his legs. The wetness of your needy cunt makes a mess there. Part of you wants to ride his thigh, rubbing until you achieve your share of relief. You have a thought or two about just taking his length inside you — how couldn't you? The tip of his hardness is pressing against your belly, his desire palpable from the precum sluicing your skin. When Dean groans, it's almost silent; animalistic, even. He grabs your hip as if you were his. God, you want to be, but not today.
Dean leans in to capture your lips in another savage kiss, but you pull back. He gives you a confused look. “You okay?”
You know he's going to stop if you tell him to because Dean's a decent man. The thought just turns you on even more. “Come on, Dean. Your thigh’s a hot mess because of my pussy. I think I'm more than okay.”
Once again, he offers your that signature, lopsided grin. It’s filled to the brim with confidence. “Well, sweetheart,” he breathes, and you groan at the stupid nickname he gives to every single woman he meets through the road. Son of a bitch. Fucking womanizer. “What's it to you, then? You want me to get on top of you so I can fuck you nice and slow?” You are about to laugh at his face over the implication of being dominated by him, but Dean's fingers slide into a clandestine meeting with your clit, carefully caressing it as if you were lovers. All you can do now is sink your nails into his skin and moan, shamefully loud. “Or you want to ride my thigh? Come without even touching my cock, all for daddy?”
That wasn't your plan, but it felt so good. If Dean's fingers are that heavenly, fucking his cock might turn you into a goddess, but you can’t.
You aren't going to give in that easily. He tried to give you orders through the whole hunt. Sam might have a high tolerance for his control-freak brother, but you don't. You're going to teach him a thing or two about shutting the hell up.
You push his hand away, your body aching as if you broke a bone. Yet, you persevered as you took a deep breath and grinned impishly at Dean.
“You talk way too much, Winchester.” Your fingertips trace a line from his jaw to his neck, trailing down his chest; always following his foolish, adorable freckles. You catch a glimpse of goosebumps rising under your touch. It only causes your smirk to go wider. Dean is glaring at you with slightly raised brows, and you push him to lay on his back.
His cock twitching is proof enough that he enjoyed that.
You press your warmth on his length, retracting your hips when he tried to get inside you. Dean lets out a beautiful, frustrated grunt.
“Y/N…” Now that's better. He's groaning your name, fully aware only you are giving him pleasure. This is personal, this is dwindling, it's everything you both have been craving.
“You talk too much, Dean. Always trying to boss everyone around or joking as if you don't take anything seriously.” You're basically climbing on him now, your pussy enjoying the small relief of friction from Dean's hips, his stomach, his chest. You opt to sit there. “Someone should shut you up.”
Dean wishes he could answer. He wants to smirk at you, bring up other teasing comments only to get more of this. You were frisky and dominant -- everything his body and soul begged for. Yet, he can't bring himself to do anything other than lean his head forward in an attempt to catch your pussy with his lips. You smell so good. He can't wait to taste you. He just wants to eat you out, but you pull away from him with a laugh as if you found amusement in his suffering. Fuck, he’s getting even harder
Dean is so touch-starved for anything you're willing to give him.
You rise from his chest, your wetness leaving him soaked. He can't complain, though. Not when you blessed him with the sight of paradise.
That's it, Dean decides. I'm dead and in heaven… Again.
Because you're over his head, literally. Knees to the mattress on each side of his head, your pussy is right on his face, so appetizing and wet all for him.
“Y/N-” he tries, but you are quick to stop him. It’s a good thing. He'd probably make a fool out of himself from begging to let him touch you, just a little.
“Shh, sweetheart. Just shut up.” Dean barely catches a glimpse of pleasure for that before you sit on his face. “Now eat me out.”
Nevermind, this is his heaven.
You bite your lower lip, trying to regain some composure as you coil your fingers around the bedpost, nails pressed so strenuously into the hardwood there that you wouldn't be surprised if you left marks carved there. What else are you supposed to do? Dean doesn't waste any time when you sit on his face, eating you out like you’re a fucking meal and he’s a starving man. His chin and lips and nose are all wet from you.
This man really loves women.
“I knew that pretty mouth of yours could go to good use, baby,” you mumbled amidst his pornographic groans, grinding your hips down to ride his face. Dean shoves his tongue inside your warmth, finding comfort between your tight walls. “Mmh, Dean. Yes.”
He pulls away, but only because he needs to breathe. Dean nibbles on your inner thigh, smirking when you whine for him. So gorgeous and delicious. He gets your clit between his teeth carefully — this isn't supposed to hurt.
You inhale sharply, looking down to catch him in the act. He looks so hot like his, eating you out with his viridescent gaze fixed on your face as if you were his grand enlightenment. You look like everything he never thought he could have when you were like this: sitting on his face and giving yourself to him, glancing at Dean with your hands fixed on the headboard and tresses of your hair falling on your face.
After this, he has to kiss you some more. He just has to.
For now, though, the hunter is more than happy eating out his prey. He enjoys every aspect of this. You taste as if you were made to be this good for him. The tip of his tongue brushes your G-spot, and he can't wait for you to come.
The idea of tasting your orgasm makes his cock ache deeply in the best ways possible. Dean's freaking sure he's about to come untouched because of your needy cunt.
He licks your clit before enveloping you with his lips, sucking on you at your neediest. You begin to lose your cognitive senses, melting into a screaming mess and pressing your pussy closer to him. Dean's almost suffocating, and he couldn't be happier.
Your thighs tighten around his ears, a cry leaving your lips as Dean focuses all his attention on your clit. He only pauses to sink his tongue into your warm wetness before coming back to your sensitive spot.
You clutch the bedpost as if you are holding onto dear life as you come all over Dean's face. He tries to catch all of you — not because he doesn't want to get dirty, but because he ain't gonna miss one single drop of your juice.
You taste so fucking good, much better than anything he has ever put on his tongue. Dean is an addict now, and he can't get enough of your cunt, your cum, or you.
He licks you clean, getting the most he can of you, and you whine through the intense sensation of freedom that comes with it. Fuck Dean and his spoiled tongue.
You get up with trembling legs. Your hand slides to find his hard cock and offer what relief you can, but you just find milky come on his stomach.
Did he come only from eating you out?
Holy fuck.
You make the mistake of looking at his face after that realization. He's breathless, glancing at you and licking your juices off his lips. He looks flushed and satisfied, smirking with dimpled cheeks. You can see your come on his chin and nose. “Remind me to never stop talking if this is how you're gonna shut me up.”
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