#but alas. i do care very much unfortunately

[keepthemacramesecret]

uh oh i found a third seperate conflicting description of the stupid cricket jackets 😭

[miiilowo]

do you think afton like had a moment of ‘oh shit, but im in too deep to stop’

for sure, or at least something kinda similar to it. the interpretation i have of the timeline is closest to the one wendigoon spat out a while ago (which i recommend watching if you havent because it fucks and he managed to make sense of everything)

if hes right, then it would go:

evan dies (fredbear bite of 83) -> william notices evans soul inside it -> wants to figure out how to bring him back by experimenting with possession and the like -> funtime animatronics -> lizzie dies (unintentional) -> hollow.jpg -> henry notices something is up, kicks him out of fazbear ent -> kills charlie -> kills 5 kids at freddys. obviously theres more to it than that and beyond that but thats where ill cut it off for the sake of this ask

i think he started out with.............somewhat okay intentions? but immediately took a hard turn into "what the fuck is your problem" street with the whole murder-kidnapping thing. grief pushes you to do weird shit i guess. i personally think he was always a little bit unstable and thats why he turned to killing so quickly, but it wasnt for fun or enjoyment at all; it was for sake of bringing his son back. thats why the funtimes did the job for him.

the first crime of passion he ever commits is killing henrys daughter, and i definitely think that his whole "fuck it, i guess this is who i am now" moment happened when henry booted him out and he snapped and killed charlie in retaliation

[calsvoid]

yall best be glad im not a sports fan or else i would be like 100x crazier about f1

[fuckwoodyallen]

Okay so there is a very real possibility that I am "technically" genderfluid judging from the posts I've read on here that are about being gay for both men and women or whatever the hell I was talking about in earlier posts, but also it's like that one tweet that goes "I'm probably nonbinary but I have a job so idrc about that rn". Or maybe I should just get over myself and accept that I'm probably bisexual

[sapphireis]

Dark/Yan Aemond HCs

ೃ⁀➷ TW/CW: DARK CONTENT, 18+ (MINORS/AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DON’T INTERACT), Bad English, Toxic Relationship, Implied AFAB Reader (talk about pregnancy and stuff in a part, but for the rest pretty GN), Jealousy, Manipulation, Breeding Kink a bit, OOC?, let me know if I need to add more TW/Tags ♡ My blog contains dark content, be careful when interacting/following! ➳ Characters: Aemond Targaryen

⤠ I'd do anything for you, Mrs. Highness (Aemond) ⤟ Masterlist (soon!) ⤠ None ⤟

hello hotd fandom... pls be nice to me since this is my first time posting smth about this fandom hndhhd and I'm also very insecure about my writing rn, anyway... i wrote this mostly for myself so I'm sorry LMAO

He's so possessive and protective of you. To the point where you can't go anywhere without guards who are loyal to him, due to his paranoia. Aemond would prefer to be your guard all the time, but alas he is unfortunately a very busy man so he has to trust the guards

When you are forced to do parties or appear in public Aemond is always around you or watching you, his eye never really leaves your figure. He always has his hands over you either on your lower back, guiding you where he wants, or on your waist. To remind you who you belong to.

Heleana and Alicent are the only one who he lets be around you when he is gone to keep you company, his brother Aegon? AH. No. Maybe Daeron, but Aegon absolutely not. Why would you want to spend time with a drunken fool?

In truth he is insanely jealous about everything and everyone, including his own family. He trusts his sister and mother to not pry too much into your relationship, and in fact his mother is more of an enabler for him. She is just so glad her son finally found someone he loves and cares about, so that he isn't alone anymore. How could she deny him such happiness?

Will try to get the two of you married instant. As soon as he saw you Aemond knew he had to marry you, it doesn't matter if you are highborn or not to him. Much to his mother and grandsire's displeasure of course

Once you are married of course he's gonna make you pregnant if possible. You wouldn't try to get away from him with a child on its way no? When he has endless ways of helping you with a babe, both during the pregnancy, the birth, and the years to come. Why have it the hard way when you can live a life of luxury?

Talking about a life of luxury, Aemond will give you anything you might need and more to keep you compliant. However, some things are not negotiable like for example what you wear: its either green or sapphire blue, no other clothes are tolerated for him. If you want to be more transgressive you can wear something outside of that, though the consequences...

He's so manipulative and wouldn't care to bring the situation in his favour, and would absolutely use your own emotion against you. "If you are hurt imagine how I feel" and stuff like that is often said when you two are fighting often over nothing, if not directly about Aemond's way of treating you.

You think it's unfair, Aemond thinks you don't understand how he feels. There is a war coming and he won't always be there protecting you since he will be on the battlefield. Its only fair that he fears for your safety, no? What kind of husband would he be otherwise?

This work belongs to @/sapphireis, do not repost, translate, copy, rewrite or share on tiktok without my permission. Reblogs are appreciated and encouraged♡

[blorbocedes]

BLONDE TWINK BARES IT ALL! GETS A MASSAGE ;)

williams!era nico gets a massage by dr.dot for RTL in a video that looks like a casting couch bad porn intro. 1/2/2009

below i explain the lengths i went to find this 👇 its v long

so our story starts a few months ago when i began frantically dming my oldest nicologist friend @colors-of-feeling if she remembered this video. I had only half remembered recollections at this point, and i really only remembered the video because it looks so much like a casting couch porn intro. I know I screenshot it but I went through my gallery and couldn't find it. i knew I had seen it a very long time ago and care is one of my first mutuals, so anything nico I've seen she's seen. she doesn't rmbr 😓

now im like holy shit did i make it up. still i plead care to turn her archive public so i can go through it. no luck. i went through my own archive, even though i know I didn't reblog it because it had been a youtube link instead of the video. and i regretted it so bad, because i know that low quality few hundred or thousand views videos from 2000s is basically lost footage because youtubes search is basically incomprehensible. I also went through the archives of other blogs that nico posted back in 2021 for any sign that I didn't just project and Imagine it. no luck.

feeling defeated i go to my final hope, the nicologist of all nicologists @distantlaughter... with only half baked and increasingly hysterical descriptors "umm its like a casting couch video! a boat! but the boat is parked 🤔 maybe the masseuse had pigtails" i rambled, normally like a normal person.

ren the absolute darling immediately pops up with a video of shirtless nico get massaged. its not.

and another one. not that either 😓 we underestimated just how much nico posted getting a shirtless massage.

finally. FINALLY. ren dms me like 10 seconds of this video hidden in a nico rosberg compilation fan video that is even in worse quality. but it's this video!!!!!! it EXISTS!!! im not crazy....... but that 3 pixel collage was proof that it was real, but alas not post worthy. There was an RTL logo in the corner so in one final futile search, we searched RTL archives which unfortunately did not go far enough. We were doing literal detective work like from the 10 seconds of the fanvid we concluded it was like, probably an RTL monaco promo video hence the coastline and the boat, and given nico's hair length it must be williams (or 2010 merc). but nothing further than that. still ren is the absolute goat nicologist who figured it out from just my descriptions alone 🙏🙏🙏

with that I ended my search, knowing it was real at least, even if it wasn't the full video.

today i got a storage full notification. so I started frantically deleting random videos I had on my phone from years. and buried in august 9, 2022 almost exactly TWO years ago . was 5 seconds of this video and the when the screen recording closed you could see it was from a video called Dr. Dot.

this time im posting the video, im also going to ask @argentinagp to gif it so this buried, almost lost footage less than 1k youtube video can get a second life again, and so we can all enjoy weird late 2000s whoring drivers out. ❤️

all of this could be avoided if simply 2 years ago I had reblogged and tagged the original link. archival work is often thankless and pointless but wow, sometimes it can feel so rewarding. so enjoy!

which brings me to the most important part. doesn't he totally look like a twink in a bad porno here?

[starlitiris]

“Imperfect Hatred” ~ (Sebastian x Reader)

Summary: A little while after you pass Sebastian’s shop, you mysteriously run into him again. And just in time, by the looks of it.

Notes: The prompt for this chapter was suggested by LukeySkywookie in the comments on the last chapter on ao3!

If it ends up being a terrible then I blame the fact that I worked a 9 1/2 hour shift yesterday. Yippee!!!! A little heads up, you might be out of character if you hate squiddles and not-so-imaginary friend

Also the title was inspired by Ultrakill i LOVE REFERENCING THINGS WITH CHAPTER TITLES please enjoy my goofy ass writing <3

ALSO NOT TO MAKE THE NOTES TOO LONG BUT I PROMISE I’M WORKING ON MORE PAINTER x Y/N JUST HANG IN THERE COMPUTER KISSERS I GOT U

~ 🦈 ~

Sebastian was just out scavenging for data and supplies when he stumbled upon you by pure, unfortunate coincidence. He didn’t think the navi-path would lead you in this direction, but alas, here you are. Lovely. Just when he was finally enjoying some alone time.

He watches you search through all the drawers and shelves in the room. You shove whatever you can find into the bag given to you by Urbanshade with the intention of collecting assets. A smile paints your face when you find an orange vile alongside a stack of files and USBs.

How pointless. You’re just going to die soon, anyway. Don’t you get that by now? Any kroner you’ll get from having that crap on you is completely useless. It does nothing for you. You can buy all the supplies and ferry coins you want with that stuff, but you’re still going to die. You always do. Why bother picking things up after you pass his shop? Are you really that stupid? He’ll never understand you.

As much as you frustrate him, he finds your ignorance and determination… amusing. If he were in your position, he would’ve given up a long time ago. But here you are. Nearing your 50th death, and still aiming for that crystal with a stronger will than what you started with. He cannot fathom why.

You had no idea he was watching you. The only way you would know he was there is if he wanted you to know. Large as he may be, he’s gotten very good at sneaking around undetected since the lockdown started. He’s a lot more quiet than you would think.

Whilst pondering your infuriating inability to simply give up, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to stick around for a bit. Just to see how you get on. And to collect anything you might have missed while making your way through the blacksite.

When you enter the next room, he follows not too far behind. He watches you check for dangers, collect assets, and move on to the next room. He keeps stalking you, watching you repeat this process every time you open a new door. This was all routine for you – something you were now able to do without giving it much thought. Aren’t you miserable, doing this day in and day out? You really are a pain in the ass.

You could feel his eyes on you. An uneasy feeling of being watched that you couldn’t shake crept up your spine.

This experience wasn’t new to you by any means. Something was almost always watching you, if Urbanshade wasn’t. Cameras were littered all over this wretched place. But this time, something just felt… different. And you couldn’t for the life of you explain why.

You had gotten used to the feeling of being watched by now, but the unfamiliarity that you couldn’t quite place your finger on unsettled you. It had you looking over your shoulder more frequently than you usually would.

Sebastian took notice of this. Not that it bothered him, though. You wouldn’t be able to find him. He knew that. It did mean he would have to be more careful to stay hidden, however. He didn’t want you to know who your new stalker was.

You kept trying to ignore the feeling, forcing yourself to stop looking over your shoulder after some time. It was just making you feel more paranoid. Whatever was watching you, if anything, definitely wasn’t going to show itself if it hadn’t by now. You just hoped it wouldn’t be what ended your run.

Soon enough, you found a temporary distraction from that paranoid feeling. A little red remote, hidden away in a small locker. A soft gasp leaves you, and you pick it up.

“Imaginary Friend!” You smile, handling the little toy with care. You’re about to press the button on it, but you stop before you can push down on the soft silicone. You frown. “Aww… I probably shouldn’t. I’m sorry my beautiful angel princess, but I don’t want you whispering about things crawling in my skin while I’m already feeling really paranoid. Sorry…” You gently place the remote back where you found it.

Wait.

Pause.

You actually like that thing?? What the hell is wrong with you?

Sebastian grimaces as you walk away from the locker, genuinely looking sad and guilty- what the hell is wrong with you??? That thing is FREAKY and WEIRD, and you’re apologizing to it when it probably can’t even hear you?? What on earth do you have to be sad about?? It probably doesn’t care, and likely doesn’t even know you found the remote!

You sigh a big, sad sigh and look for the next door to open. You are fucking strange. Sebastian shakes his head at you. What a moron.

A few rooms later, you find yourself in a large area with all the lights out.

“Great,” you mutter bitterly and pull out your flashlight. You traverse carefully through the open area, making sure you don’t trip or bump into anything. You groan, loud and annoyed when you reach the door to the next room and find that it needs a keycard. Wonderful. Splendid. Time to backtrack.

Sebastian stifles a chuckle. Your poor idiot.

After searching around for almost 5 minutes and wasting nearly all of what remaining battery power you had in your flashlight, you finally hear that satisfying buzzing sound that emits from the keycards for some reason. You sigh in relief and turn off your light, hoping you can find it on sound alone.

You follow the buzz, inching closer and closer until you reach a wide cabinet with a single thin drawer right beneath the top of the furniture. You eagerly open the drawer and scan the interior for that stupid piece of plastic. You’re barely able to spot it in the darkness, but you see it on the far right end of the drawer. You move in to grab it, but stop when a loud hissing starts right in your ear. You look up and are met with one of many familiar glowing white faces, inches away from yours. You jolt and stumble away from it as soon as you process that you were toe-to-toe with a squiddle.

“Dammit!” You look at the keycard after the squiddle calms down, then look back to where you saw its face. It is standing directly in front of the keycard. “Why can’t you just move??”

Sebastian had to cover his mouth so he didn’t snort out loud at your persisting misfortune. He’d like to see you get out of this unharmed.

This has happened to you once before. You know if you're quick, you can just grab it and go. You can do this. It won’t be fun, but you can do it.

You take a deep breath to brace yourself, then quickly move forward and slap around the inside of the drawer to find the keycard again.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” You repeat as the hissing starts up again, getting louder with each passing second. After desperately failing to pick up the piece of plastic way too many times, you’re able to pick it up and throw yourself back just in time before the squiddle attacks you. You let out a big, exasperated breath.

“Fuck!” You look at the squiddle again once you’ve recollected yourself. “Sorry, buddy… didn't mean to invade your personal space like that.”

… What.

Did you…

Did you just apologize? To the squiddle?

The Not-So-Imaginary Friend is one thing, but the squiddles? Those are actual threats. They can, and have, killed you. More than once. You have their full document to attest to that. Hell, it could’ve been this specific squiddle that caused one of your past deaths. But you are honestly, sincerely apologizing to it for ‘invading it’s personal space’? You have GOT to be braindead or something.

You unlock the next door.

Sebastian is baffled. Baffled, and quite frankly, very angry with you. There is no room for kindness down here. Nobody wants to be your friend, nobody wants to see you succeed, and nobody wants your goddamn apology. All this place has ever known is misery and hostility. Everything is out to get you. You have over 40 deaths at this point to prove that you aren’t naive to that.

This place has tortured you. Not once has it ever shown you a fraction of the kindness he’s just witnessed you showing it. Since the first time you arrived on that submarine, you have been burned, drowned, electrocuted, beaten, consumed, crushed, mutilated, drained of life, and shot dead more times than you could count.

Even Sebastian himself has killed you once before. Given you might have deserved it – even though he was egging you on as well that day – but even after that, you still try to be nice to him when you have it in you to be. You’re polite to him. You never try to touch or climb him like he’s some animal at a petting zoo. The run he killed you on was the only time you ever flashed him with the flash beacon. On most of your runs, you buy shit you don’t even need if you have the data for it. He knows you only do this to give him more research. He doesn’t understand why, but he knows you do it. Nobody needs a lantern and a normal flashlight when they already have a hand crank one.

You are kind. You’re kind, determined, gentle, considerate, funny… a breath of fresh air. He desperately wants to understand how somebody like you can exist in a world so cruel and unforgiving.

He can almost admit that he’s fond of you. Almost. Maybe he would be able to if you didn’t make him so angry.

It’s every man for himself down here. Why don’t you get that?

Why waste your time caring about anybody but yourself?

You won’t survive like this.

You haven't been surviving.

If there’s any chance at all that you could get that crystal and leave with it, he’s certain you won’t be able to do it if you keep going on the way you have been.

It doesn’t do you any good. He would know better than anyone.

Nobody is on your side.

The next couple of rooms are uneventful. The lights were all out, so you didn’t have to worry about anglers or Pandemonium. You had put a new battery in your flashlight at this point so you could see where the hell you were going. You were back into your rhythm. Look for dangers, check drawers, find the next door, repeat. Like it’s second nature to you.

Finally, after what felt like forever, you enter a room with the lights on. You turn off your flashlight, and proceed with your routine.

A gross, wet sound assaults Sebastian’s ears – or lack thereof. Looking in the direction of the sound, he spots exactly what he expected to see.

A wall dweller. Gross.

He looks back toward you to see if you heard it as well, only to find you still opening drawers for loose assets. Apparently you hadn’t, then.

Sebastian watches the wall dweller slowly creep up behind you while you’re none the wiser.

He stares. Intently.

You’ll hear its footsteps any second now, surely.

Surely.

… Why are you still checking drawers.

Sebastian squints. The wall dweller is nearly on your heels- are you not paying attention?? Where is your head?!

A wave of panic washes over Sebastian as the wall dweller is right on your tail, reeling back with an open mouth to kick you down and take a good chunk out of your neck.

You’re looking through yet another drawer.

The wall dweller lifts its leg.

It braces itself to kick the back of your knee, and-

KRRKNCH!

The loud sound startles you, and you whip around immediately to see what it was.

Sebastian was behind you, snarling over… what you think used to be a wall dweller. You aren’t sure what you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this.

You stare, shocked.

He makes eye contact with you.

He looks panicked for a brief, fleeting, almost unnoticeable moment before he stands up straight to recollect himself. He wipes the wall dweller remains on his hands off on his jacket, cringing in disgust at the carnage he caused.

“Why don’t you pay attention next time? Considering what I almost just had to witness, I’m shocked you even made it this far,” he snaps, ignoring how befuddled you are to be seeing him outside of his shop.

“You.. when the hell did you get here?!” You question, rightfully confused.

“I was just passing through. And by the looks of it, you’re lucky I was,” he mockingly grins.

“Really? Just passing through?” Something in you doesn’t want to believe him.

“Yyyup.”

“I’ve never seen you outside of your shop before,” you state, your tone indicating disbelief.

“I have a life outside of my shops, you know. How do you think I stock up after you expendables leave me empty handed?”

“Well… okay, I guess that’s fair. I know you scavenge around for things, I just never expected to run into you while you were doing it.”

“Yet here we are.”

“Right…” your gaze drifts back down to the, uh… splattered wall dweller remains on the ground. “Ew… uh, thanks for that by the way.”

“Don’t mention it,” he replies bluntly.

You step to the side to make some distance between you and the carnage- and then a realization strikes you.

“Wait, why didn’t you just let it kill me? If you did, you could’ve just looted my corpse again. It’s not like you haven’t done that plenty of times before. Don’t you want me to fail?”

He stares at you. Usually he’s quick to respond to anything you have to say to him, but it seems you might have actually stumped him for once. You weren’t exactly sure why, though.

You stare at each other in silence for a little too long before Sebastian finally speaks up.

“... Well. Some of you expendables like to eat this disgusting shit, don’t you?” He picks up a dweller chunk off the ground. “I just figured since I’ve seen you freaks eat them often enough, and they’re usually so hard to come by, I could start hunting them down once in a while and sell chunks of them for a good price! Smart business move, no?” He grins again, seemingly back in character.

You blink. “... Okay, yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“See? I’m just scavenging. Nothing more to it. This is purely for my benefit, not for yours.”

You frown, annoyed and unamused. “Right. Got it. Thanks.”

He hums with a cheeky smile before turning around to leave. “Well, I best be going. See you real soon, Expendable.”

“Wait!”

He halts, glancing over his shoulder to find you removing your bag from your person.

“While you’re here…” you hand Sebastian your bag. “Want this?”

He’s staring again. At you, then at the bag. Then back up to you.

“… What do you want?” He asks, turning to face you once more.

“Nothing. I have everything I need, really, and I don’t want you to have to re-scavenge for whatever I would buy off of you here. So… take it.”

You’ve stunned him again. This time you figure it’s because you’re basically offering him free money.

Once again, he is trying desperately to understand you. But he can’t. He never does, and he doesn’t think he ever will.

Seriously, what is wrong with you? Why are you like this? Why are you so kind to him, even in moments like this? And why does it make him feel so…

“Sebastian?”

Your voice interrupts his train of thought.

He rudely snatches the bag out of your hand. “Don’t expect me to give you anything for this later,” he warns.

“I won’t. Consider it a thanks for saving me,” you smile.

“I wasn’t trying to save you.”

“I know,” you assure him and make your way to the next room the navi-path is leading you to.

He watches you.

You wave to him as you walk off, facing away from him as you do. “See you soon, fish sticks!”

He watches until you’re out of sight.

A strange, fluttery feeling occupies his stomach. You did this to him. He hates it.

He hates your stupid nicknames for him. He hates your stupid face, and that stupid smile you give him almost every time he sees you. He hates your teasing, and your little playful remarks that you send his way when he’s being an asshole. He hates your stupid laugh. He hates that he’s memorized the way the corners of your eyes crinkle when you do. He hates all the little things you do to show that you care and don’t want to upset him. He hates that you express that same kindness to other occupants of this hellscape that deserve it more than he does. He hates that you’re an unstoppable force that won’t quit no matter how often he discourages you.

He hates you. More than anything.

And yet…

For some reason…

A part of him still can’t wait to see you again on your next run.

[undiscovered-horizon]

Rainy Season - Morpheus x Reader

[Spoilers for Brief Lives I guess?]

[MASTERLIST] | [Sandman-inspired playlist]

SUMMARY: Fed up with Dream's stubborn and at times childish attitude, you leave Dreaming. But when Morpheus's sorrow makes itself known, Matthew has to fetch you before the kingdom completely floods.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.7k

It’s a tumultuous morning in the Dreaming. Even if none of the dreams and nightmares are privy to the ongoing feud, they know something is wrong. It’s as though the air in the kingdom, the marrow of their bones, turned bitter last night. Their skin is crawling but the sun is shining as it did yesterday. They birds chirp the same song they had throughout centuries. And yet, against their better judgment, something is terribly out of place.

To be honest, you don’t even remember how all of this started but the damage is already done.

A frustrated scream ripples through your chest, "The world doesn't revolve around you!" You're fuming. There's only so much patience one person can hold and recently, Morpheus had proven himself exceptional at trying to reach its limit until he, unfortunately, succeeded today. "For someone who's supposed to know every thought ever entertained, you sure can not look past the tip of your own nose."

His eyes, cold and hurt, stare at you in utter confusion. Dark eyebrows furrow. "I do not know what you're expecting of me,” he states in an angry voice. It appears that he really does not understand the reason for your outrage. "I am not human, I am unable to look at the world as you do."

Of course he says that, you think to yourself. It seems to be his favorite line of defense. Dream of the Endless is a strange, eldritch creature. He doesn’t comprehend the world like a mortal does and, or some reason, he treats this fact of nature as an excuse not to try. At first, you thought it charming - to see the universe through the eyes of a creature you can barely begin to understand. Who wouldn’t? The strange wonder of the man in front of you made you seek his company again and again. Truthfully, there’s something poetic about it: the reason you’ve come back to him so many times might be the very reason you bid him farewell. For good.

"Good news, then: you don't need a cardiovascular system to exercise empathy.” Your sarcastic tone has an effect on Morpheus. He frowns, hurt by your words, only to grow angry that he’s so affected. Dream’s pride makes him want to not be influenced by your bitterness. Alas, he cares more than he’s willing to admit. "Not everything is about you, Morpheus, and until you realize that, I don't think we've got more to talk about. Goodbye."

Even after you shut the door behind you, the word echoes through the castle. The stone walls seem to whisper it back to Morpheus, rubbing the salt in his wound. How strange it is - to be haunted by somebody still alive. To be the king of dreams and feel hopeless. It would be funny if it didn’t make him want to be unmade.

A thunder rolls. A blue lightning splits the sky in two. Despite the lovely weather in the morning, it starts to rain in the Dreaming.

The storm doesn’t stop after a few hours nor does it cease after a few days. Black clouds cover the sky as they did four days ago. The only change is in the water level: the kingdom is flooded. When everyone thought the rain is bound to stop soon, no one minded much the rising tide. However, when the situation only worsened with no evidence that it’s going to improve in the near future, worried voices started to reach Lucienne. If the storm doesn’t cease in the next day or two, some parts of the Dreaming will share the fate of Atlantis.

If Morpheus knew he was being observed, he didn’t show it. Perhaps he doesn’t feel up for another confrontation. In any event, he remains still, standing against the balcony reiling, as his friends begin plotting:

"How is he?" Matthew whispers to Lucienne. "Has he moved from there at all? Ate something? Said anything?"

"That's three 'no's, I'm afraid,” she answers slowly. The librarian lets out a heavy sigh. "He's just dramatically standing there, wallowing in pity."

Dream really is 'just standing there’. Drenched. His hair and clothes are stuck to his pasty skin. It can’t be comfortable but it would appear that matters other than cosiness are on his mind at the moment. For the past few days, ever since you left, he hasn’t moved even a quarter of an inch. Truthfully, he looks about as alive as a marble statue, if monuments could appear excruciatingly miserable.

"Should we do something?" The raven continues. What he really wants to ask is 'What should we do?’ but Lucienne seems to catch the undertone of his words nonetheless.

"You could ask her to come back but no guarantee she'll want to,” she thinks out loud. "They've fought before but this time she looked really defeated."

Morpheus, although doesn’t need to breathe, sighs loudly. As he exhales, another lightning tears the sky apart.

"Alright, I'll try to convince her to talk to him again,” Matthew states. His worried voice makes him sound determined to have the two of you reconcile. "Hopefully, we'll be back before you need a canoe."

Lucienne doesn’t respond. As much as she doesn’t want to admit to her pessimism, she knows better than to have much hope in the matter of Dream’s love life.

Repetitive tapping on the window diverts your attention from the dishes you were washing. Seeing the black bird sitting on the outside windowsill, you quickly wipe your hands against the dishrag and jog to open the window.

"Matthew?" you ask in surprise.

He wastes no time pleading his case in a plaintive tone. "You gotta go back to him. Everything's gone to shit."

You furrow your eyebrows. Leaning against the wall, you cross your arms on your chest. "What do you mean?"

The raven hops closer to you. "It's been pouring nonstop since you left. He's just standing there, soaking wet and he won't talk to anyone."

It might sound sadistic but it’s a nice thought that he’s grieving your departure so severely. For what it’s worth, it means he’s not as blase as he likes to appear. Perhaps, Morpheus cares about you more than you’re even aware of.

"How bad is it?" you ask warily.

"How bad?!" Matthew screeches. "The House of Mysteries is so flooded, Abel is fishing."

It sounds like 'bad' is nothing more than an elegant euphemism. In his heartache, Morpheus is willing to let Dreaming decay and fall into partial ruin. If your accusation had been correct and Dream of the Endless truly is unable to care about anyone but himself, such a disaster would never have happened. A selfish ruler wouldn’t let his realm turn to rubble because of a broken heart. And if you’re more important than what he calls home, then…

"I'm assuming that's not a usual feature,” you give the raven a half-hearted response. The thoughts inside your head are in a painful turmoil, trying to lift the truth out of the indications.

"Yeah," he answers sarcastically.

Matthew glares at you in anticipation. Perplexed, you rub your arm without thinking much about it. Right, it's the mature and responsible thing to do but at the same time, why do you have to be the one to cave in every time you two fall out? If Morpheus cares for you as much as his dramatic show of pain and grief would suggest, shouldn’t it be him travelling across world and realms to reach you?

The raven cocks his head. Something about the look in his eyes changes as though his frustration has faded away or grown into desperation if not powerlessness. He’s tired and out of options.

"Alright, let's go," you say with a sigh. "But no promises. I still have pride and self-respect and he's still a stubborn..." you take a deep breath, "nevermind. Let's just go."

Miserable.

That's the only word that comes to your mind as you stare at him from afar. One would think that an entity of his sort can not be or look miserable but maybe this world is even stranger than you've thought. His clothes are drenched to the point of being see-through. Dark, once-tussled hair is now stuck to his face and neck. Dream's body looks even more stringy as his head is hanging low between his shoulders.

The rain is almost deafening. Your cautious, hesitant footsteps shouldn't be audible and yet Morpheus turns around to look at you when you come closer.

"I didn't think you'd come back," he says in a low, groggy voice. Dream's eyes, once blue and cold, are now red and unsettlingly vacant. Has he been crying? "What do you want?"

You take a deep breath. It was vain to expect him to welcome you with open arms. An eldritch being with a bruised ego and a broken heart could never make for a hospitable host. Even to those whom he misses the most.

"I still stand by what I said, it's just..." you hang your voice for a moment to find the proper words. Seeing him so broken by your fight makes some part of you want to renounce everything that lead to your argument. Anything just for him to be alright again. But the more reasonable side of you knows that such an action would only hurt both of you in the long run. "I admit, I could have said it in a more civilized way. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that harshness."

His gaze falls and Morpheus looks away for a moment.

Whether he's doing it consciously or not, the rainstorm ceases. Black clouds slowly drift away to uncover a clear, blue sky. Somewhere in the West, if there are cardinal directions in Dreaming, the sun is beginning to set. Despite the significant improvement, the air remains cold. A harsh wind nips at your drenched form. In a vain attempt to shield yourself from the discomfort of the weather, you put your arms around your torso. Still, your body trembles.

"Perhaps I should have put more effort into understanding your concern. I'm..." he turns silent for a second. His lips are apart but no sound is coming out of his mouth. Dream's hurt gaze meets yours. "Sorry," he whispers finally. Despite his voice being hardly audible, the weight of his confession is almost deafening.

"There's one more thing, Morpheus."

Those sad blue eyes stare at you in anticipation. The misery on his face makes you think that he's expecting to have his heart broken again, instead of mended.

A couple of grey clouds reappear above your heads. Oh no.

"I'm tired of always being the one to reach out," you confess. His gaze is too intense and you quickly look away from him. There's much on his mind. "No matter who's right or wrong, it's me who bridges the gap between us. Even if that angers me, I still do it. Every time. And I don't know what that says about me."

Your body trembles again but this time it doesn't go unnoticed by Morpheus. He, quite literally, pulls a coat out of thin air. Dream's movements are almost fearful as he cautiously places the garment around your shoulders.

"Perhaps in certain aspects, you are better than me," he answers quietly while fixing the coat to fit you better.

You know you're pushing your luck when you look at him again and ask a not-so-innocent question:

"You mean a 'better person'?"

"I'm not-" He bites his tongue just in time. Morpheus is not a person. Both of you are perfectly aware of it. But it was the mention of this very fact that had brought such disastrous rain to Dreaming. "Yes. A better person."

There's not much conviction in his words but there is, however, a silent promise to find it.

______

Now that I’m in mourning, I thought it fitting to finish reading "Brief Lives" and the bittersweetness of it felt all the more pronounced. Reading it prompted me to rewatch the show and long story short I’m kind of back in my Sandman feels.

[cursedzucchini]

You know what? Fuck it

DC x DP prompt #3

I think at least lmao.

Anyway! Jason starts making videos on YouTube for one reason or another (is really stressed, no one listens to his rants Abt books who cares). His content is mostly bad books he read or really really really long rants Abt pride and prejudice. Like 3 hours on one tiny detail he noticed on his 214th read through.

He's kinda popular, mostly bc his terrible books videos. He talks Abt the ones that made him the most mad, which coincidentally are mostly romance and supernatural. Like he's one of the well known figures in the supernatural romance critique group (whcih is pretty small, but well). (Also he doesn't show his face on camera, bc secret identity and stuff, it's just his voice over a video of something mundane, like the sky or a room in which is a fly or something)

And now this can go two ways, that i can think of (w dead on main in mind at least)

1) one day Jason finds a book which is supernatural romance and is actually good. It has a kidna cliche system for the supernatural stuff, but with a refreshing twist. The characters have depts and flaws, yet are still very likable. The plot is actually interesting and overall the story's theme is death, not belonging anywhere and overall stuff that is very close to Jason's heart. The story doesn't shy away from violence and it is suprisingly accurate.

(I'm.gonna reblog this w pretty long idea of what this book could be Abt, bc i don't wanna annoy ppl lol)

Anyway Jason kinda falls in love w it, and it becomes famous for being the first novel Jason rated positively or something.

Meanwhile Danny, who was told by jazz writing is good way to get his feeling out, and just wanted to make a quick buck, is really fucking confused how tf did his book become so popular and who tf is this nerd who rates books for a living.

(basically big fan Jason and suspicious/awkward Danny lmao)

2) there is a famous series on Jason profile. It's the worst fucking series he ever read and it's just fucking awful. All the characters are fucking terrible, always going on and on about one thing, the romance sucks in a way that isnt even funny. Jason would love to believe some wrote this as a joke, if it wasn't for the absolute cringefest this was, and it wasn't a whole ass series!! Like who writes 12 books for a joke?

Danny ducking Fenton that's who. Dude was so ducking annoyed at his rogues, he threatened them w writing a terrible romance novels abt them. The ghosts, knowing his terrible grade in literature backed off for a moment, before someone crossed the line. And write Danny did. It was the worst thing he had ever written, the love interest was perfect caricature yet still faithfully go the original. And Danny, because fuck them he lost sommuch sleep over that one prank, decided to publish it. (The book was pretty thin so it didn't take that much time writing it). Unfortunately it became immensely popular in the infinite realm. So the ghosts started crossing lines on purpose. Before Danny figured it out, he had already published his fifth book and was writing another three. After some bargaining, getting a book written Abt them as a piece of shit love interest became a reward.

And while yeah, he had to say his writing was terrible and the books sucked, some small part of him was kinda proud y'know? Like a mother of her twelve ugly as fuck toddlers.

So when he saw some nerd on the internet not only shit talk his book, but also get money of it?

Danny decided to haunt him (just like his books did him, now that everyone knew Abt them thanks to this guy)

(enemies (sorta it's not that serious tho) to lovers ala terrible writer Danny who hates his books and kinda famous YouTuber hasn't who also hates Danny's books)

--

Fuck this is way too long wtf. Anyway imma reblog this w 1) book idea. Might add whatever i think the twelve books could be Abt. Pls if u want to add anything to this pls do!!

[spinji]

I NEED TO YAP ABOUT THIS MOVIE MY GOD-

YOU'RE NEXT SPOILERS UNDER CUT

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaokayokay-

Can I just say I DO NOT recommend seeing this the same day as watching the new episode because I have had a DAY-

Unfortunately, the theater I went to didn't have the booklets or promotional cups but not a huge loss. It's the price I pay to have my boyfriend by my side; worth it. ♡

As with all my other MHA theater outings the screening was packed with delightful weirdos (dubbed, if you happen to care). One guy had an extensive set of custom MHA lego guys (very cool) and two very enthusiastic Toga cosplayers were so kind and kept me from feeling like a dork going out in public in a Deku wig. All the love to them, fr.

The movie itself though ohhhhh MY~

If I'm being honest this one didn't surpass World Heroes Mission or Heroes Rising for me, but also I don't know what you could do to beat out the movies that gave me such extreme brainrot it got me to be a part of this fandom in the first place. Personal rankings for the movies, best to "worst" is 3, 2, 4, 1.

Maybe it's because I had higher expectations instead of being given the best character in the franchise suddenly with no warning but I did still really REALLY love it. The highest point I can give it is easily the animation. Absolutely zero scenes in this movie feel like they fell to the standard of the anime. Everything was fluid and detailed and so fun to look at. And yes, of course it made every attack flashy as fuck. I was giddy every time Bakugou let out an explosion.

The premise did sound insane going in, and it is, but it's an anime side movie. Caring about the plot is a bonus, not a requirement. I guess my only real gripe is that it felt a little too fast? Very few scenes had time to breathe and unlike the other movies there wasn't really any slow establishing opening. If you come to MHA exclusively for the action, I think this one will be your new favorite.

Okay- I'm gonna just bullet point my highlights because I'm barely restrained enough to sit down and type.

First of all GIULIO!!!

Listen- I knew I would love this guy but oh my god babygirl~

He responds to literally everyone approaching him by pointing a gun at them. No comment this is just great

When Deku tells him to stop shooting at someone, he just pulls out a SECOND GUN and points it at him too

His motorcycle also has guns. Ngl I have expected his eye implant to also have a gun for a moment there.

He is SUCH an asshole to Deku in the first half and I love it. Their dialogue exchanges were so funny.

And in the second half he just,,,,cracks under the pressure so hard,, Man is having the WORST day of his life fr. It's really nice to know he and Anna are safe at UA rn. Poor things deserve it.

Anna and Giulio are really cute romantically, Giulio is definitely adult but he's going in the Deku harem anyway. You can't stop me, I am capable of worse.

Anna herself unfortunately doesn't get much time since she spends most of the movie mind controlled but she's harmlessly sweet and adorable. Anna they could never make me hate you.

I want to smear Dark Might across the side of a wall and given how much they overanimated his expressions, I believe this is the intended effect.

Am I the only one that hopes he sees the Mech Might livestream just to rub salt in the wound? Don't you dare let All Might's name fall from your mouth again, you bag of scum.

I really REALLY wanted Izuku to get pissed off and start naming off inconsistencies between how All Might and Dark Might look: "His eyes are SKY blue, not ocean blue, and while his broad features don't make it obvious, his chin was actually much slimmer, also you got the silver age colors wrong-!" alas... you know he was thinking it though-

Big tiddy mind control gf Deborah my beloved- she has pretty privileges for everything

Actually a lot of the lesser goons of the family were kind of dorky and odd. I loved the energy! Why was one of them literally a D&D nerd that put on a wizard robe OVER HIS SUIT. Most entertaining movie villian group for sure.

The personal dreams everyone had under the mind control? Kill me. Kill me right the fuck now!

Shoto literally just wants a happy childhood with his family??? Where Touya wants to play with him????? And Rei was still happy????? UUGAHWAAAAAAAA

Tenya and Tensei being heroes together STOP-

Shoji with the little girl he saaaaaaved,,,and he didn't have his face scars anymoooooore,,,

So glad they didn't show Ochako's because you know they would have just animated that what if pixel animation of her and Toga being childhood friends and I would have vomited in sorrow.

Absolutely infuriating they broke continuity to have Katsuki call Izuku "Deku" and not "De-Izuku". Never forget what they took from us.

"Beat it, cool side character!" is the best line in the movie. Katsuki does not forget what happened with Rody and he does NOT forgive.

Followed closely by "I'm falling down crotch-first!" And you wonder why I write the fics I do about you, Deku-

Deku being a legend as a jailbreaker hunter is so amazing?? Yes baby, they're so scared of you! You're doing amazing sweetie!

I might think of more but tldr: YOU'RE NEXT IS A REALLY FUN TIME AND YOU SHOULD WATCH IT!

[midnight-black2]

𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄

pairing : farleigh start x reader

synopsis : you decide to show farleigh just how much you love him

disclaimer : praise, sub!farleigh, softdom!gn!reader, masturbation (m receiving), very sappy, just a bit vanilla unfortunately but i wanted to keep it gender neutral

note : this is loosely inspired by the song "to love" by suki waterhouse, so to enhance the reading experience, listen to it !!

it was dark outside, the moonlight spilled into your dorm through the window. farleigh lie next to you, peacefully. the two of you completely content with the warm silence that filled the room. completely content in just each others presence. he was looking at the moon and you? you were looking at him. he seemed, preoccupied; a look on his face you couldn't quite decipher.

"y/n?" farleigh called, softly.

"hm?" you hummed, eyes darting between his and his lips--you couldn't decide what was a better sight.

"i think you're the only person who's actually cared for me...loved me, even," he said, pensively as he kept his eyes on the moon. there was a beat of utter silence. "i mean, just think about it, you were supposed to be out having fun with your friends and instead you're here, with me. anyone else i know would've dropped me in a heartbeat."

"you don't know that," you answered, with a small frown.

"oh but yes i do," he countered, with a sigh. he chuckled, he didn't know how else to deal with his feelings but laugh. alas, he was never good at expressing himself through words. "it's just i-...why do you stay? even when im rude, or i don't communicate properly like im doing now, you stay. why?"

"because i love you, farleigh. you're the only person i've ever wanted to be around. we understand each other, and i understand you, all of you. your flaws and your strengths," you responded. it almost broke your heart the way he couldn't see how much he meant to you. "i love you so, so much."

"yeah?" he queried, a small grin creeping up on his lips, as he turned over to face you.

"yeah," you assured, returning the smile. he leaned in just a bit closer, your noses touching.

"let me prove it to you," you uttered out, against his lips. his brows furrowed slightly, as he swallowed shallowly.

"what?" he questioned. he knew what you meant, although he wanted to hear you say it.

"let me show you just how much i love you. then maybe you'll stop all this crazy talk," you said, eyes flickering to his lips. he nodded eagerly, a small smirk on his face. you pulled him into a kiss, a gentle one. you wanted to treat him right. your hand found its way to his cheek, holding gently. you slipped your tongue inside his mouth, before you adjust yourself to straddle him. you break away from the kiss, the both of you breathless.

"you're so pretty, love," you said, gazing into his eyes. his cheeks turned a crimson color, as he kept eye contact with you. you leaned back in for another kiss, before grabbing the hem of his jumper. he helped you in the effort of pulling it over his head. you tossed the sweater off to the side, before you trailed kisses down his chin, and to his neck. you left faint marks and hickeys on his smooth skin. he sighed pleasurably at the feeling.

your hands traveled down his unclothed chest , your fingers grazing his nipples, causing his breath to hitch in the slightest. you smiled at that, reminding yourself of how sensitive he really was. your hands found their way to his jeans. his eyes were trained on you, anticipating every single action you made.

"do you want me to continue?" you asked. after all, consent is hot. he squinted his eyes a bit, and scoffed.

"are you seriously asking me that?" he asked, sassily.

"yes, i am. do you want me to continue?"

"wha-yes! yes of course i want you to continue! please."

"that's all you had to say, love," you said, with a small laugh, before you began to unbuckle his belt. you then unbuttoned his jeans. he pulled them down, and you lifted your hips so he could get them off. you discarded the jeans to go along with his jumper. he was left only in his neon orange boxers. they were bold, they were very...him.

"interesting choice of boxers," you teased, with a chuckle.

"oh don't bully me," he replied, dramatically with an eye roll. nonetheless, there was an uncontrollable smile on his face.

"i like them, i do. they are definitely something you would pick." you both shared a laugh, before you kissed him once again. you smiled against his lips when he pulled away to say something.

"god, can't you just fuck me already? with all of this love and kissing you're making me feel so...i don't know," he protested, a prisoner to your stare.

"i wanted to take my time with you." he gulped, cheeks burning. he felt showered in love by you.

"i don't think i could love you anymore."

"likewise." you said, as you continued kissing his neck. your hand snuck its way into his boxers. your forefinger circled his tip. he whimpered, softly, but still audibly. he was growing harder by the second.

"you're such a tease," he said, breathily. you grinned as your finger traced up and down his length. you put him out of his torture, and finally form a circle with your fingers, properly stroking him.

"oh fuck," he whines, as he locks eyes with you. you smile softly at the sight of him, writhing and whining and moaning underneath you.

"you're such a good boy, farleigh," you say, quietly. he whines even louder, he didn't think he could handle it--he was gonna faint. you were being so kind, and he didn't even know how to handle it.

"i-i oh, oh my god," he moans.

"you're doing so well, angel," you praise, before enveloping him in yet another kiss, swallowing all of the sounds he let out. your pace sped up, your thumb rubbing the tip of his cock gently. he let his mouth fall slack, brows knitting together.

"s-shit please," he moaned. goodness, he wasn't even sure what he was begging for at that point.

"i love you so much, sweet boy," you kissed his forehead. he looked up at you, big doe eyes clouded and hazy with pleasure.

"l-love you too," he barely managed to mumble out. he whines as your hand twists and teases his length. "fuck, y/n, think m'gonna come."

"come whenever you want to, my love," you responded, admiring him as he breathed more heavily. soon enough, he stayed true to his word, cumming. he felt utter euphoria wash over him, as his mouth fell impossibly more open in a silent moan. you rode out his high, slowing down your pumps. he could hardly breathe, but there was a content smile on his lips.

"you did so good f'me, farleigh," you said, before pecking lips softly. "now do you believe i love you more than life?" there was a beat of silence as he tried to catch his breath, he smirked a bit.

"i don't know, you might have to prove it to me again."

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 © 𝐤𝐲𝐚-𝐢𝐬-𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐥

𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲? 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞

[dapper-nahrwhale]

Now hear me out because I typically detest soulmate aus with the fiery burning passion of a thousand bad bus schedules and all.

But for leverage, a soulmates au, with their name written on you, is more like the hope and promise that you have the capacity to care about someone one day, maybe. But also:

I think Sophie would be terrified of it I think it would keep her up at night, that someone knows her name, but they don't know her. That there's no way anyone can because she's not real. She's such a hopeless romantic, but to her it's not romantic, it's terrifying. It's an existential crisis. I think she would try to lose herself in the romance of it but when she thinks about soulmates too much it makes her feel sick.

Nate, predictably, is cynical about soulmates. Just a fluke, just pointless hope, just connecting with anyone who has their name on you, it's just a placebo effect, it's not real. It's just the convenient mathematical probability of how many soulmates stay together and lying to yourself to do so. That's just what love is. It doesn't matter.

Hardison thinks soulmates could be pretty cool, if they were real. Unfortunately, they're not. At least not for him. He's looked, he's tried, he's searched every single person on earth with the names on him, but no such luck. With his skills, he should be able to find them. Alas, he can't find them so they can't be real. He thinks soulmates would be nice, sure it's some weird thing that this, but this is just the way the world works. For everyone but him.

The amount of thought Parker has given to soulmates is the exact same she gives to anything that doesn't concern her or thieving. Almost none. She just thinks it's kinda creepy. That the words written on your skin say who you're going to be with. It's weird. She doesn't give any thought to hers. Whoever they are, they don't matter. They'll just get in the way of her doing thief things. She works alone.

Eliot isn't scared of pretty much anything. Except soulmates. Seeing those names on him terrifies him, just a bit. Knowing him will get them hurt in the end. That's how this works. He doesn't want to know them, or meet them, or ever see them. He avoids anyone with similar names, he can't get attached, they won't last, it can't bring anything good. Soulmates are a very real thing, and he won't be burned by them again. When he was a kid, he thought it was a sweet thing. Now he knows better. Now he knows it's not.

Of course, all of them are wrong.

[sharkneto]

So. Season 4.

Let’s start with the good. In no particular order -

The road trip. Loved the energy of them all together again and suffering mildly and looking terrible. I appreciate we didn’t waste a bunch of time with them without their powers.

Gene and Jean were great. Loved their energy, the right level of weird. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally were perfectly cast for the roles.

Liked the idea of the Keepers, the consequence of all the timeline meddling leaking through.

Loved the concept of the subway-between-timelines. That aesthetic slaps for the map alone.

 The Truman Show Christmas Town. They nailed the creepy energy, I liked how ridiculously well-armed it was, I liked that they all died badly, I liked that the Umbrellas got to flex their powers. Diego’s flipping and bullet-mancy was fun, as was him cheating at the axe game to win his kids toys. Luther finally being properly bulletproof was also nice.

Ben Doc-Ock-ing around on the Horror. And the Horror dragging behind him while powers were booting back up. Silly fun.

Loved that Viktor dated and was unable to hold on to every eligible woman in Halifax. Daddy Issues strike again and again, poor guy.

It makes no sense for the level of tech in the show, but I did laugh at Ben being a Crypto Bro. That is the exact way in which his personality sucks.

Jerome and Nancy. If they had left Diego being suspicious of Lila seeing that “little Greek guy” as a “haha it’s just Five!” joke, it is very funny. But they didn’t. Alas.

I didn’t hate the ending! I will always think redemption through living is a better and more powerful conclusion, but them all dying to save the world because they’re the force causing repeat apocalypses was always on the table as an option. I thought they did a good job hitting emotions, them all snarking together until the end felt in character and heartfelt; if other writing choices didn’t happen before it, I think they could have really stuck that landing. I thought the easter eggs of characters from earlier seasons was fun, I hope the Handler still sucks as a regular person.

Overall, I was vibing for the first four episodes. Was it perfect? No. It was never going to be, but I could overlook the usual UA cringe and plotholes because my favorite guys were back on the screen and having good character moments together and fumbling along to save the world. I don’t usually care about spoilers, but I worked hard to avoid S4 spoilers specifically because I didn’t want expectations. The show was going to do what it was going to do, and I didn’t want to judge it for things it was never going to be. And that strat worked well for the first half of the season! It was on par with S3, which I’m an apologist for – had stuff I liked and stuff I was going to be happy to ignore, but overall we’re having a good time! My favorite dysfunctional family is here, I had missed them!

Then Ep5 hit. And we’re onto the problems and things I would change (under the cut --)

The biggest problem of the season is that the pacing was wack, in both an internal time-frame and technical-writing frame.

Internally, media for some reason has no idea how long a year is. Some of the Hargreeves’ problems at the beginning of the season would have worked much better if we were jumping in at year two or three of being in the new timeline, six years is a long time. Diego and Lila’s growing pains at being parents and living a domestic life, how to balance having kids makes more sense to be at this point. And the first couple years of adapting to no-powers-new-universe is way more interesting that hopping in once they’re all settled into mostly-sad patterns (which is in character for them all, they’re disasters). Why not an opening montage of them in their active struggle? Why are we picking up six years later? Unfortunately, because of Ep5, it does feel like the whole point of such a long time jump was to get Five’s body to a legal age and not just so Aidan wouldn’t have to pretend he’s physically a teen anymore (even though we have 30-year-olds playing teens all over other TV shows).

From a technical writing standpoint, for a show that only has six episodes to bring about a satisfying conclusion to a plot as convoluted and bonkers as UA has, they squandered Episode 5. The first four episodes we were moving along, finding plot points, getting Umbrellas in position to move things forward, and then Ep5 hits and is anyone except Viktor and Ben doing something for the plot??? The show is at its strongest with the Umbrellas are together, and it went out of its way to split them up. I also usually love character time, but we had no time to spare! We spend most of the episode either with Five and Lila in the subway, or with Klaus in the world’s most fucked-up situation. And neither do anything to build meaningfully towards the final episode! A weird choice to have your show screech to a halt in its penultimate episode.

Usually, Klaus’ side adventures loop in some important detail that pushes things forward in an unexpected way – he destroys Hazel and ChaCha’s briefcase because of Vietnam, he finds the Kugelblitz, he puts Reggie in position to use Oblivion. This time? He’s getting used and abused by a gang and buried alive to be reunited with Allison so that we… gain nothing? Except Klaus and Allison have made up from their fight? Why did I have to watch Klaus get possessed and fucked for that to happen? Why did they do that to him and me. I don’t mind angst and the incredible fucked-up situations, but it has to be earned and the story didn’t gain anything from it. Klaus just had a horrific time because that’s what he gets, I guess.

And now we get to Five and Lila. Five and Lila, Five and Lila, Five and Lila. The thing is – I don’t hate the idea of them. Obviously, it’s not anything I was ever going to ship on my own, but if they’re going to do it, I can see how and why. They even set it up in a way that I go “yeah I get it.” The thing is, after setting it up, they completely forgot what makes either character themselves or compelling so that they could be shoehorned into Cottagecore Bliss in the greenhouse and the most boring romance possible. If we're committed to doing this, I wish they’d had a weird trauma-bonded relationship in the rat pits of the subway, I would have understood that. Supported it even, tbh. Let them be weird and feral together, yelling and emoting at each other over eastbound vs westbound trains. Instead, Five, who for the past three seasons has been driven by his need to save his family, is happy to delay returning and give up on them to keep very quietly playing house with Lila. What the fuck. Lila, who cannot handle domestic life with Diego and her three children, can handle being a housewife with Five and wear soft sweaters and dresses. They didn’t try to kill each other once! I said way back after S3 aired that I didn’t like Lila’s pregnancy plot because it was going to tie her down in weird ways, and lo and behold! UA writers cannot write women, and it sucks that Lila was yet another casualty of that.

And then the whole thing shafts Diego. I know Diego and Lila don’t have a particularly healthy relationship, but he’s an Umbrella and Lila’s mom is the Handler. I think they do pretty well for what they’re working with, they have a fun chemistry, and it seemed (before this season) they really loved each other. Why did Steve write them off instead of letting their arc be them falling back in love (well, I guess that was Diego’s arc. Wasn’t Lila’s)? Now the three of them get to spend the final episode of the entire show in an unhappy, unnecessary love triangle instead of us getting to watch the Umbrella Academy fully join together to save the world one last time.

After all of that, the rest of my complaints feel like small potatoes. Why don’t we do another numbered list to round out this essay. In no particular order –

It sucks Ben was the plot driver of the season and then doesn’t even get to die with his family, just melted and turned into mindless Cleanse Goo. I was excited for him to get to do more, was excited for a payoff for Viktor trying to return the favor of Umbrella Ben sacrificing himself for him. I wish the Cleanse was more squiddy because it was made out of the two squiddiest characters.

UA has gotten more and more flexible with powers as the seasons have gone, but I straight up do not know what Allison’s power was at the end. Was she telekinetic? Was she Rumoring reality? Why did we have to use that to graphically crush a man’s balls in front of Claire? I liked that the powers got an upgrade and a twist, for the most part, but that only works if we know what they are. Lila has laser eyes and I thought that was it until they needed her to mimic powers again in the last episode. Five can’t blink anymore because he now just goes to the subway (still an aesthetic that is cool, and a cool way to have it tied in a different way to time), unless he’s doing it with Lila? Viktor just has energy now, I guess, sound doesn’t seem to be part of it.

Abigail. I did not fully follow what her motivation was. I wanted her to be comically evil, worse than Reggie, but – again- UA writers can’t write women so I guess she was just a good guy benevolently taking skin suits so she could get the world to end to save the world. Boring. Reggie also should have recognized his wife even if she was wearing Gene and kissed Nick Offerman.

Why didn’t Five have a reaction to his Apocalypse? He had PTSD flashbacks in S1! He was trapped there for four decades! It’s been six years but it’s not like he was working on his mental health during that time. No reaction???? Don’t even get me started on Delores and his “Good thing I’ve never been married” comment.

I’m not usually for fan service, but it felt like the season was actively trying to avoid fan service. Was Gene and Jean’s dance really the only dance party of the season? Five doesn’t have a single fight scene to fun music? Five doesn’t kill anyone all season??? What the fuck.

I wish the Fives in the Five Diner were Sean Sullivan. Bring back Old Five, why would Five fuck up his jump back in every timeline.

The gratuitous fat shaming. It’s always been bad with Luther, but absolutely ridiculous the comments made about Diego.

I don’t particularly like Sloane but where the fuck was Sloane. And I hope Ray not being in the show was a scheduling conflict, because that was tragic that he off-screen left Allison with no further explanation or context. Didn’t feel very Ray.  

A lot of character arcs from over the whole show stagnate or go backwards. Luther is back at the Academy after working to build his own identity. Klaus I guess has to be on drugs if he has his powers. I don’t know what’s going on with Allison and Claire’s relationship – it seems bad at the beginning but just sort of fixes itself when they go rescue Klaus? Diego tries to have an arc to understand how much good he has with his family, but the writers won’t let Lila be part of that. Don't get me started on Five.

I wish the writing team cared enough to actually know the characters. Luther’s powers aren’t tied to him being gorilla’d – that was a separate event, why would the marigolds re-gorilla him. Lila likes bracelets, one of the very first things she did in the show was take and keep the one Diego made. It’s little things, but they go a long way in making us know the creative team cares, rather than just jerking around these characters because they have an idea the think is funny or shocking and requires characters to go against their established personalities and motivations to pull off.

Overall – it was fine, which is not the energy you want when finishing one of the most popular shows on one of the biggest streaming platforms. I get why people are upset, I get a lot of mourning is happening, but I hope we can find a spot where we can enjoy what we have and play in the space again.

It was always going to be a rough goodbye. This show, as cliché as it is, changed my life. I started writing because of it. I’ve made some incredible friends because of it. It helped me figure out I was trans, because of Elliot Page. I’m going to miss it. I’m going to keep hanging around here having fun with the characters, but I’ll miss the fandom, too, as people move on to whatever the next new thing is.

It's been a ride, everyone!

[soldrawss]

Just wanted to let you know I love your Italian keeps us dancing au! So much it’s such a cool and cute concept!❤️ is there anything bout this au that you would love to share with us? Eg: how did 12!Mikey kick rise splints into being a better dad or will 12!Mikey ever get reunited with his bros etc etc

First of all, THANK YOU for liking this au, I'm honestly SHOCKED that so many people like it already! These silly goofballs mean SO MUCH TO ME so it makes me really happy to hear your kind words! SECOND, THERE IS SO MUCH I WANT TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE!!! IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD BE WRITING WHOLE NOVELS WORTH OF CONTENT! Alas! I will satisfy the need by answering the questions you've asked!

I say this with my whole entire heart that I REALLY DO LIKE RISE SPLINTER! LETS MAKE THAT VERY CLEAR! But this poor man was going through SO MUCH and that was BEFORE he even got mutated. There was so much grief towards his own life that I am NOT surprised by the kind of father he became towards these super intelligent, hyperactive little kiddos who needed so much of his time and energy and attention and care. There was SO MUCH standing in the way of him being a good parent, and I'm not using this as an excuse, but I understand why his depression was just too powerful and loud sometimes, and unfortunately, his babies being so young, couldn't/didn't know how to compete against it.

But then here comes 2k12 Mikey, 16 and freshly traumatized after having been ripped away from his own family and tossed into some strange dimension he has no business in, but who's also incredibly capable and clever and cheerful and kind! Who swept into his life and carved out a place for himself and who loved his boys from day one like a force of nature that never really quite got the hang of being told 'no' before.

He out-stubborned Splinter at every turn, because Splinter needed someone to affectionately kick his ass a little, and helped him not be so alone after his entire reality as he knew it shattered. There were STILL bad days, because grief and depression don't just go away, and 2K12 Mikey was still pretty much primary caretaker, but he helped just by BEING there. By making sure Splinter got up every once and awhile, and showered, and ate, and helped with bathtime and read stories for the boys so 2k12 Mikey could run errands really fast. And it helped to have someone competent and catty and nice to talk to, and it forced Splinter to reevaluate some things, because this is a 16-year-old, freshly orphaned kid who is HELPING HIM take care of his own kids, and it forces Splinter to carve his way out of his own mental fog and be PRESENT because DAMN, he can't let this kid take care of HIM TOO ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE.

[deathbxnny]

Cold body, colder tears. | Kinich x Gn!Reader

This is the first fanfic idea I had in mind when I played the 5.1 Archon quest... so enjoy!!<33

Content: Spoilers for the 5.1 Archon quest, heavy angst, hurt/no comfort, mentions of war/death, mentions of Kinich's past/backstory, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not proofread!!!))

Kinich remembered the day he met you like it was yesterday.

It was a dark, moonlit night, and he was sitting outside of his childhood home, listening to his father's degrading yells and rants, until those faded away with every passing hour. His head rested against his arms, body hunched over, eyes staring into the worn-out floorboards of the wooden stairs that led up to his house. His thumb absently rubbed a bruise on the pale skin of his left arm, mind reeling back to that man's drunken actions, when he carelessly tossed him outside in an iron grip.

A kick to his shoe is what made him look up, then, his eyes meeting yours. “Hey… sorry, didn't mean to bother you or whatever-” Your hands disappeared into the pockets of your cardigan whilst you spoke. “-But do you know where the nearest Inn is around here?” You must've been the same age, and yet you immediately seemed a lot more mature, a lot more independent than him. He didn't know it yet, but it was something that made him admire you deeply even then.

Taking a dry gulp, he shook his head weakly. “I'm afraid I don't… besides, it's really late now. I doubt they're open.” “... Right. That makes sense... Well, thanks anyway.” You waved your hand lazily as you turned to leave, and something about your indifferent nature is what made him so quickly grab onto your sleeve then. It surprised even him. “W-wait… uh… why are you out here alone? It's dangerous, and there are monsters that could…” He trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward. Where was he going with this? Why did he care about the strange kid that very obviously didn't belong to his tribe? “You mean those abyss creatures? Ha! They are nothing against me! I've defeated plenty before! All over Teyvat, in fact!” A childish grin raised to your lips, one filled with confidence that made Kinich blink in surprise.

“All over…? So you really aren't from Natlan?” “Nope.” You shrugged, arms crossing once the boy let go of your arm. Tilting your head, your eyes fell on the bruise in thought and then on the house he was sitting in front of. You were always so intelligent, so thoughtful. It came to no surprise that you immediately noticed what was wrong. But what really stayed in his memory is how you reached out a helping hand by asking him for a simple request. “Mind showing me around your village then? Dawn is approaching soon, so might as well…” He stared at you for a while before letting out a shaky breath and descending the stairs.

“Okay… but I can't stay out for long.” You grinned gratefully and began walking alongside him. The silence between you two was comfortable and peaceful, nothing like the one he experienced after the lights inside went out. You broke it, however, the moonlight reflecting in your eyes so beautifully it took his breath away. You whispered your name to him. One he could never forget.

“What's yours?”

“... Kinich. My name is Kinich.”

You became friends after that night. Best of friends, as you'd call it.

He learned over the years that you were an orphaned traveler who traversed all of Teyvat in order to find out what exactly you were meant to be in this world. Unfortunately, you have yet to still find that out… but alas, this didn't seem to ever bother you all too much. The fire that burned in you was impossible to dim after all. And whilst Kinich grew deeply fond of the warmth you gave him, the coldness that was left in the lack of your presence is what he hated the most. You were an adventurer at your core through and through. Since you could walk, your legs took you to places farther and farther away from your starting point that you claimed was Liyue.

Yet you never forgot about him.

You'd never dare to.

The mountain of letters he had saved so lovingly was proof of it. You wrote to him practically weekly, detailing in perfect recollection all you've seen, everyone you've met, who you've fought. And at times, you'd even return every few months to see him, just him, again. You've never missed a meeting with him and even raced all the way from Inzauma to Natlan for him on the day he made the deal with Ajaw. Said almighty dragon learned quickly not to face your wrath, Kinich's heart forever warming once more at your protective presence at his side.

The man was no fool of course, despite how many times his rude companion enjoyed telling him so. He understood his feelings and yet he never acted on them. His love ran deep, deeper than the roots of the leylines that dug their way under the earth you wandered on. He didn't want to lose the friendship you two had. Lose the one person that kept him going even on his darkest days. But even he couldn't deny those small moments you had together, that made him rethink his decision.

Was it normal that you began ending your letters with “Love you” lately? Was it casual when you let him press a kiss to your neck that one night you came back for a day to see him? You let him hug you, hold you close, even dare to whisper “please stay” into your ear. Did you hesitate to leave that morning because you felt bad or because you actually wanted to stay? Did those moments matter? Did they?

Mualani, who Ajaw had unfortunately spilled everything to spitefully, told him it did mean something. Something he was scared of facing despite knowing how his own feelings were. Maybe it wasn't casual. Maybe you actually meant to stay. Maybe you felt more for him. Maybe you lov-

“HEY! GET IT TOGETHER IDIOT!” Ajaw's screeching voice in his ear made him flinch and finally come to his senses again. “W-... What…?” “Why the hell are you stopping? We have a job to do, dumbass! And whilst I'd love for you to get beaten to death by some abyss monsters, I'd rather not get dragged into it myself!” His yellow companion flew around his head, clearly angered by Kinich's lack of focus. But could anyone really blame him? He had just read your name on one of the reports whilst he was running to his next stop.

Your name was on there.

Everyone in Natlan knew you as a famed adventurer. Of course, they knew your name. Especially when you aided in many battles and helped out its people at his side. You were a hero. A hero he couldn't get enough of.

But this time, instead of reading details of a glorious battle you've once more won, the letter detailed that you were “gravely injured” and were being rushed back to the stadium for emergency medical care by Mualani. Yet deep, deep down, he knew it was too late for you. You were all in the middle of a devastating war. It would take too long to get you there. The medics can't treat you with the medical supplies they don't have. And ultimately, you'd be left to die on the hard, cold ground of the stadium, left to stare up at the dark skies above whilst your life flashed before your eyes. Would you think of him then? Would you resent him for not being there with you?

Would you hate him for not telling you that he loved you?

It felt like he was being doused in ice-cold water, his body going rigid and tense as he tripped over his feet and was sent flying down a hill. Ajaw stared at him in near surprise, considering this was the first time he had ever seen the man so… in shock. He was usually so cold, so emotionless. His face was always unreadable. He never allowed anyone to truly know how he actually felt. But when the pixilated saurian quickly made his way to him again, he watched as Kinich sat there hunched over, face in his hands, eyes wide with hunched tears. Ajaw had never seen him like this. Never. And that alone unnerved him way more than he liked to admit.

“They… they're dead.” Kinich whispered in a daze, his words near unintelligible. His mind was spinning, the guilt and shame creeping in and strangling him for his foolishness, deservingly so. He had asked you to join them. He wanted you to be there at his side and do what you were always so good at, which was fighting. You were a true warrior, so much more than Kinich could ever be. What was the use of his ancient name, his title as a hero of Natlan, when the person he loved the most was dead? Why did he ever ask you to come? Why is he always doing everything wrong when it comes to you? Why, why, why-

“-OI! LISTEN TO THE WISE WORDS OF THE ALMIGHTY K'UHUL AJAW-” “-I give up.” The silence that followed was deafening. The rustling of the trees and bushes around them felt too serene then. Nature continued on without you. Life went on without you. No one would truly notice your death in the end. You've traversed the whole continent. You've met countless people you considered friends. But most would assume you've just finally settled down after not visiting them for a while. Perhaps with the kind man you always spoke of.

The world would keep spinning, just like it did now. But Kinich's life had come to a stop from the moment you took your last breath.

The report stated that you were unresponsive and not breathing anymore. In fact, they were trying to reanimate you in the last sentence of the letter. Knowing the situation of the war you were in, he figured that it was definitely over for the both of you. There were no assumptions to make, no false hope to hold onto. The situation was too dire and he wasn't strong enough. But if there was something he learned throughout his years of bearing his ancient name, then it was to always sacrifice for Natlan.

Everything for Natlan. Anything for Natlan. All for Natlan. Sacrifice until there is nothing left of even you. Until you've sacrificed every tear, every drop of blood, every shred of your existence.

Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.

“... huh?” “I'm not strong enough. You were always right about that… but this body can still fight.” Standing up weakly, he gave Ajaw a look he had never seen before. It was empty, soulless. He had nothing left in him, he had done exactly as taught. He had sacrificed until there was nothing left of him… and you. He had accidentally sacrificed you. That's the reality he now had to face. He hoped the Pyro Archon was proud of him.

"What… What the hell are you talking about, idiot?! Get it together. We don't have time for your foolishness-” “-You don't get what I'm saying, right?” Weighing a blade in his hand now, his eyes bore into those of his companion who for once seemed to have lost his ability to speak. But Kinich knew that he understood, despite his doubts. He wondered if Ajaw was excited to finally get what he wanted. And this wasn't the way things should've gone. In the back of his mind, he envisioned a life with you, a ring on your finger and an eternity at your side. It seemed to fade away in the moment and all he could see before him was his reflection in the steel of his trusty sword you had once given him. Your eyes stared back at him through it, angered and saddened by his betrayal. You had trusted his judgment. You had come here despite your worries of not being strong enough. You weren't even from Natlan and yet, you wanted to protect it with him and he had used your determination to do so for his country.

Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice.

“Hah… Hahahahaha!” Kinich didn't look up at Ajaw, eyes unable to look away from you. He wanted you to be the last thing on his mind as he took his last breath too. And when he woke up, he hoped to see you again on the other side. Would you forgive him then? He didn't care as long as he could see you one more time. Even if you hate him in the afterlife, his love would forever stay. “Are you for real? Have you truly finally given Up? The almighty K’uhul Ajaw will finally collect your debt you owe! The world is finally in my hands, you fool!” Kinich noted that he didn't sound all that convinced, that there was something under the surface that felt hesitant, perhaps unwilling to go through with their deal but the man didn't care. He doubted that the saurian overlord was even capable of doing anything but hate.

“... Under one condition however…” Kinich's dead eyes finally met Ajaw's frozen grin, his reluctance so jarring and odd, it just didn't suit him. But at least Kinich would finally be out of his debt to him. “You have to aid the Archon in this war.” Silence filled the air, a finality that suddenly made Kinich feel so… relaxed. He wasn't entirely useless in the end. He was getting his nation an unlikely ally that was much more powerful than he ever could be. He wasn't worth his ancient name, he realized then. You ironically were much more worth one than he ever could be. “You're… so pathetic. A fool. But, since you were a good servant to me, I will grant you a man's dying wish. But after that… I will do as I please.” Kinich nodded his head, before raising his head to the dark skies above, wishing he could've just seen the bright skies of his home one last time. But oh well… he'll get to see it with you again soon enough.

“Thank you.”

Ajaw didn't respond. Maybe because he perhaps realized himself, that this power and glory he always seeked was lonely.

When Kinich stepped into the stadium, everyone went dead silent, unable to look away from the hero. That wasn't him. You could feel it in the dark aura that surrounded him. You could see it in his devilish grin and casual strut. You could just tell it was him.

Mualani froze in her step as she stopped in front of him, her face betraying her sudden horror and grief, but she couldn't get any words out. His other friends stayed away too, unable to comprehend what they were seeing. And then there was the Archon. She stood there at the top of the stairs leading to the stadium, a cold glint in her flaming gaze and yet Kinich didn't seem bothered. If anything, he seemed amused. “Oh my! If it isn't the Archon coming to greet your new overlord! Fortunately for you, I've come in peace for now.” “What… wait… You're not Kinich! You're-” “-Yes, it is I, the almighty K’uhul Ajaw coming for his rightful throne at last!” His smile twitched when Mualani gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth, Kachina sobbing into her parents arms then filling the air.

And suddenly, when a certain someone rounded the corner to stare at him too, the fun was ruined. His smile faded, his body felt colder than before. If he wasn't so shocked, then he may have laughed at the scene that played out before him. The tragedy was hilarious, so painfully hilarious.

There you were. You hadn't died after all. Your body was barely supported by the wall next to you, a wrapped up wound on your hip, and yet you were still alive. You were breathing again. The reanimation had just barely worked. You weren't entirely sacrificed after all.

“Oh… what a shame… I suppose he won't see you again after all.” He whispered to himself, and the emotion he felt then was one that disgusted him. Something rolled down his cheek, something cold and wet. His hand wiped it away and he realized it was tears. The body was crying, the still heart in it clenching at the sight of your agony, as you crumbled to the ground in shock with a yell of Kinich's name. Mualani quickly reached you and then it was the both of you crying, holding onto each other, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Finally, Ajaw noted that being all powerful was indeed lonely. And his body was cold, but the tears were colder.

[jymwahuwu]

i will give my Capitano thoughts even though I lay in bed ill. 💪 I tried to post it on my blog but boo, covid got hands😔 And I don't know a single thing going on in Genshin..

Capitano who often needs to correct your posture and stance whenever you train.

You are a new soldier that he must whip into shape. But it's fine, he is a very respectful man who believes all can do right once given the chance.

But you are..unfortunately helpless in your endeavours. It's amazing how your eyes shine so much like his blade whenever you get tear-eyed after accidentally messing up.

Capitano can only sigh softly before walking over to you. He pats your head before giving you his hand to help you stand once more. You're bruised and injured and exhausted but you look so memorizing like this.

Tears almost like crystals, he (almost) feels bad for seeing them drip down onto his gloves. He allows you to rest your cheek against his palm, unintentionally reminding him of a tuckered out kitten.

He is Capitano. He knows everybody can fight if given the chance but..perhaps you are simply not meant for fighting. You..seem so fragile in his eyes that he can't help himself from personally taking care of you. It's inappropriate. It's unbefitting for him to take advantage of you during weakness like this. But he can't help himself.

He asks somebody to look into your files and your background. He wishes to see if he can spare you from the fate of being a Fatui Soldier bound to die..but rather become his bride.

Don't get me wrong, he's a very good man..even if he's very busy. He tries his best to court you as a gentleman should. All is fair in war..but for love, I imagine him to be more..skittish.

He does not wish to take you by force, no. He only wishes to woe you like the knight of darkness he is(or I imagine him to be).

He wishes for you to see him as a lover. To win your heart fair and square. But alas, why is it that you keep rejecting his confessions? Why must you act like he is a Brutish, ravaging dog whenever he comes near?

Please, allow him..to show that he can do you right.

(Semi) Gentle Giant and Skittish darling..I low-key like this trope ngl. Like the darling is so scared of him that they unfortunately try to run away..only to be caught by him in the end by himself.. (I'll probably continue the thirst later)

part 1 story is here. tasty.