#but i want to see that evil mean face with HIS FACE

[takashi0]

This is only true if you're one of those people who think that a DnD campaign where Orcs are the primary villain is some sort of coded message saying that being racist to black people is good, aka a fucking psychopath who is projecting their own bigotry onto fantasy media.

Literally the entire point of the Hearth's warming special with the Windigos and Zecora's introduction episode was "hey being racist is BAD!" Or more accurately mostly the first one since the second one is also a "Don't judge a book by its cover" aesop that also had smatterings of "racism is bad" with it thanks to Zecora being a Zebra. I can't fucking stand this notion of "If you ever had bigoted tendencies ever at all you're irredeemably evil and we will never, ever acknowledge the fact that you changed for the better."

That is some fucking Lily Orchard tier "Straight up lying about the show", there's like FOUR episodes out of Nine seasons!

I'll concede that the buffalo thing wasn't the best thought out idea, but you're talking about a tv show meant for seven year olds and the moral of the episode is "Learn to compromise", you are out of your goddamn mind if you think they're going to touch on things like the Trail of Tears, let alone do it in a fantasy world where you can just say that shit didn't happen.

I'm pretty sure the actual thing they said was "G5 being a distant sequel where the ponies are racist to each other like the Hearths Warming Origin episode completely undermines everything Twilight and co did through the show", but hey acknowledging that means you can't make the show look bad or the fandom look irrational for no reason, and God knows we can't have that!

Oh wow the main protagonists aren't perfect people, I thought that's what you fucking yahoos wanted.

Also didn't Yona give up trying to act like a pony and the ponies gave up on trying to make her act like one too?

Again, real "Orcs are totally black people you guys" vibes

Dragon culture was made up of Fratboy douchebags who tormented each other and other races for fun, to the point where they tried to get Spike to smash Phoenix eggs for shits and giggles. Another dragon straight up tried to KILL SPIKE just for entering his cave.

The Griffons were rude assholes who only cared about themselves and money.

My memory is hazy but I wouldn't blame anyone for not being super stoked about Yak culture since the most I remember of the Yaks outside of Yona is "Screaming loudly and breaking everything in sight."

And I swear to God if you use THE CHANGELINGS as an excuse to slander the ponies you are a complete goddamn idiot. Their first introduction on the show is them INVADING A CITY and attempting to harvest the population for love! Which is exactly what they did in their next appearance to Ponyville! Yes, Thorax exists! Yes, they all eventually did a face turn and Chrysalis left because she's a bitch! That's great! That's wonderful! But that doesn't change the fact that Thorax's whole challenge was proving to the ponies that he wanted to peacefully coexist! The ponies not trusting him were obviously in the wrong to do so, BUT THEY HAD GOOD FUCKING REASON TO NOT IMMEDIATELY TRUST HIM.

If you're going to give the mane six shit for thinking the Zebra they've never seen before who hangs out in THE DANGEROUS FOREST OF MAGICAL PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT CAN KILL YOU could MAYBE be dangerous, but act like the Changelings did nothing wrong, you need to sort out your priorities!

The Seaponies/Hippogriffs were the only culture aside from maybe the Zebras (who we didn't see until the season 10 comics which I haven't read so idk) and I guess the Kirin (who had like one problem that one of their own already understood how to solve anyway) that you could say "nah they don't need to learn friendship from the ponies." And see the buffalo thing above for "These aren't missionaries you fucking morons, this is a little girl show about friendship."

Yeah! And the board were the ANTAGONISTS! The main villain of the season was the head of the Board's DAUGHTER who worked with the closest thing the show had to SATAN to try and sabotage it! Again, why the fuck are you guys acting like Calvinists?

They fucking didn't, you should know better than to blindly trust tumblr users on anything.

i'm gonna be honest i don't get why they say everypony instead of everybody in mlp. it's not like the word everybody is human-specific. the ponies have bodies. the word everypony, however, is pony-specific in a world where ponies are not the only people in their society, which means it would be more accurate and inclusive to use everybody instead of everypony. it all makes no sense to me

[prettygirl-gabi]

Chapter 5: In the Spotlight

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: none

Paring: Paige Bueckers x !photographer fem reader

Fandom: Women's basketball

Summary: being the "babysitter"= fun...right?

Welcome to the chapter 5 of Through The Lens. I hope you all enjoy and there is more to come...stay tuned my loveies!! 🏀💕📸

The whispers started as soon as I entered the gym for practice the day after the Villanova game. People were staring, their eyes darting between their phones and me. A couple of players from the men’s team even snickered when I walked past.

I didn’t understand what was going on until KK intercepted me by the bleachers, her expression somewhere between amused and concerned.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

She sighed and held up her phone. On the screen was a blurry video of me walking into the locker room at Villanova. The caption read: “Paige Bueckers’ mystery girl? 👀”

I groaned, my face heating up. “Are you kidding me? This is so out of context!”

“Yeah, but people love a good rumor,” KK said, scrolling through the comments. “Most of them are just shipping you and Paige.”

“Shipping us?” I echoed, incredulous. “We’re not even—”

“Relax,” she cut in, her tone gentle. “It’s just noise. Don’t let it get to you.”

But it did get to me. All day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone was watching me, judging me. By the time practice ended, I was ready to throw in the towel on my entire final project.

I went straight to Coach Geno’s office, my camera bag slung over my shoulder. He looked up from his desk, his brow furrowing when he saw me.

“Y/N, what’s going on?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” I said, placing my project proposal on his desk. “The rumors, the stares—it’s too much. I didn’t sign up for this.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Let me ask you something. Why did you choose this project?”

I hesitated. “Because I wanted to challenge myself. To tell a story that mattered.”

“And do you think you’ve done that so far?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

He stood, walking around his desk to stand in front of me. “I see potential in you, Y/N. You have an eye for this—an instinct. Don’t let a bunch of gossip derail what could be an incredible project. Push through. Finish what you started.”

I nodded, his words sinking in. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Later that evening, I found myself in the gym. The empty court was a welcome reprieve from the noise of the day. I was adjusting my camera settings when the sound of sneakers on hardwood made me look up.

Paige.

“Hey,” she said, her smile soft. “Mind if I join you?”

I shook my head, and she dropped her bag on the sidelines before walking over. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” I replied, letting out a bitter laugh.

“Let me guess,” she said, crossing her arms. “The video?”

I nodded, surprised she even knew about it.

“People are ridiculous,” she said. “But you can’t let them win. Come on.”

She grabbed a ball and motioned for me to follow her to the three-point line. “Let’s work off some of that pressure. I mean granted im kinda banned drom practice though.”

“I’m terrible at basketball, and yeah you are banned.” I warned.

“Then it’s a good thing you’ve got me as your coach, speaking of coah i asked fo sit with you..so like you're my babysitter” she said with a evil grin.

The first few shots were laughably bad, but Paige was patient, adjusting my form and giving me tips. By the time I finally sank a three, I was laughing so hard I almost dropped the ball.

“There you go!” she cheered, throwing her arms in the air.

“Beginner’s luck,” I said, but I couldn’t stop smiling.

She pulled out her phone, recording me as I took another shot. “For posterity,” she said when I gave her a questioning look.

“Hang on,” I said, running out to my car to grab my personal camera. When I came back, she was dribbling the ball lazily at half-court.

“Let’s use this instead,” I said, setting up the tripod.

We spent the next hour goofing off, filming everything from trick shots to ridiculous commentary. Paige even tried to reenact her infamous Villanova assist, but it ended with her tripping over her own feet.

As it was getting late we headed back at my dorm, we poured Shirley Temples into a giant pitcher, the fizz of the soda filling the room.

“To surviving rumors and bad basketball shots,” Paige said, holding up her glass.

I clinked mine against hers. “And to you, for teaching me how to shoot a three.”

She laughed, leaning back against the couch. “You’re a natural.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe again.

As the night wore on, we sat there talking, the camera still sitting on the coffee table. Part of me wanted to grab it, to capture this moment. But another part of me knew that some things were better left undocumented, kept just between us.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

Tag list: @sayurireidotcom , @astroeliza , @paxaz535 .... (more to be added)

[p1astr81]

I love you, dad

in which: Oscar and Ryder face each other for the final time.

pairing: spiderman!oscar piastri x reader

warnings: angst, injury, cursing, kinda short, lowkey corny dialogue, lmk if there’s any others!

an: this will be the final part, thank you to everyone who has been reading!

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

‧‧₊˚ ⋅* ۶ৎ ‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅

It was late. One in the morning to be exact. Oscar went patrolling after dinner at yours, but he couldn’t get something off his mind. Which led him to Tony’s doorstep, fist balled and banging repeatedly on his front door.

Eventually, Oscar’s fist met free air as Tony threw open the door. The older man was disheveled, hair a mess and eyes half open. “What, kid? What do you want?” He asked, highly annoyed.

“Is it possible for Ryder West to know who I am?”

Tony blinked repeatedly. “What?”

“Well, cause, he saw me—like—out of uniform, and I don’t know he was looking at me while talking about spiders so it felt like-“

Tony interrupted his rambling with a sigh. “He doesn’t know you, kid. Not unless you told him.” A pause. “And why would he see you out of uniform?”

Oscar stumbled over himself. “You know what, come in. I feel like this is going to be a long one.”

The door was held open for him. Oscar found his way to the couch and sat with his head hung. “So, I have a girlfriend.”

“Yes. I know. She keeps you from patrolling every night, this isn’t new information.” Tony twirled his wrist in a circle, motioning for him to continue. “Well, her dad is…” Oscar scoffs, stalling to avoid Tony’s reaction.

“Her dad is Ryder.”

Tony’s brows shot up, his mouth gaping slightly. “Wow. Didn’t see that one coming. But that’s a tough problem for you kid. Real tough.” Oscar just nodded.

“So I take it she doesn’t know her dad is evil Elsa?”

Oscar shook his head.

“Yikes.” Tony’s hand landed on Oscars shoulder. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.” His remorse was minuscule as he stood up, walking away.

Oscar watched with his brows drawn together in confusion. “Mr. Stark? Where are you going?”

“To bed. Goodnight Oscar.”

۶ৎ ۶ৎ ۶ৎ

The landing was messy and uncoordinated tonight. He was trying to balance two cups of hot cocoa and a box of two chocolate donuts while also sticking a clean landing on the rooftop. Safe to say he failed. The drinks splashed on his boots and he just barely salvaged the donuts when he stumbled.

“Package retrieved!” He cheered as he sat down on the ledge beside you. You laughed at him and took your cup from his hand. “You make such a good delivery boy.” You bumped your shoulder with his.

He flipped up his mask just enough to eat, and through a mouth full of donut responded with, “glad to be of service!”

You chuckled under your breath.

After the both of you had finished your donuts, Oscar hummed. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he continued once your eyes met his through the mask. “And you don’t have to answer but… why do your parents have a different last name?”

You shrugged. “My mom was an only child. Grandpa had no one to carry on the middle name, so they gave it to me at birth.”

Oscar nodded in understanding, his eyes on his swinging feet. After a moment, he looked up at you smiling. “You know, the lady at the donut shop was gawking at me the whole time. Super uncomfortable.”

You scanned him, eyes enamored. A tender smile. “Can’t blame her.”

Oscar scoffed a laugh. “Oh come o—mfph” he was cut off abruptly by your lips on his. Subconsciously, his body gave into your touch, leaning closer and getting both of his hands on you. “Gonna- mhh- gonna- be seen.” Oscar managed to mutter between kisses.

You broke away and tucked your hair behind your ears. Two hands placed on his biceps, you shoved him off the ledge and onto the flat roof.

“Now we’re out of sight.” You gave a cheeky smile before diving back in.

Before your lips even made contact, Oscar’s warm body disappeared from below you. He was perked up, his mask messily yanked back down over his face. He was frantically searching in every direction.

“What is it?” You we’re cautious.

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know.” He breathed out. His senses were at an all time high, his body screaming at him that danger was inevitable, but the city looked normal.

“Is it your… tingle?”

Oscar nodded, in a trance.

Then his head snapped to the left just as a boulder of ice flattened a car. They heard the shattering and the crunching metal from yards away.

“Shit,” you gasped, a hand finding Oscar’s arm quickly. It secured you.

He got to his feet. “Get inside. Find a basement, or get under a sturdy table.”

“Oscar,”

He looked back at you.

“Be safe. Please.”

Oscar nodded before taking off.

Mid-flight, he activated his nano-suit. In the case of any sharp icicles flying his way, It would protect him better than the suit he wore currently.

Subzero swiveled on his floating block of ice to face Oscar’s direction. “Ah, and the bug is here!” His voice was loud, filled with disdain and malice. An ice shard, the size of Oscar’s own head came flying at him as he swung from building to building. He had to drop a couple of stories to avoid it, losing any elevation ground he had on Ryder.

“Arachnoid!” Oscar corrected.

“Doesn’t make a difference to me, I’ll squash you all the same.”

Oscar did not doubt the truth in that statement. He was very aware that it only took one boulder-sized ice cube to flatten him. But he wasn’t worried. He was quick. He could dodge anything that came his way. His main concern remained with the innocent people of the city.

Oscar swung underneath Ryder, hoping to draw him away from the crowds. Unfortunately for Oscar, he didn’t take the bait.

Cursing under his breath, toes pointed to the sky, he launched himself into the air and stuck to the side of a building. Eye level with his own girlfriend’s father.

“Last time wasn’t enough for you?” His laugh taunted Oscar. Another shard came right for him. He flipped, managing to web one of Ryder’s hands, and landed on the building opposite. The shard pierced the window, shattering its panes.

A blade of ice materialized in Subzero’s other hand. He made quick work of slicing the web.

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”

Oscar rolled his eyes at the man’s incessant yammering. He tried to web him up again, but he predicted Oscar’s moves. His webs met empty air.

It was a constant game between them. A web shot at Ryder. Ice flying in Oscar’s direction. It was a constant back and forth, and neither of them were winning. They’ve moved a couple of blocks from where they first began, and Oscar started to realize they were getting dangerously close to your place of work, where you were currently hiding out.

When he tried to move back in the other direction, he was hit with a solid rock of ice that blew him back, right onto a rooftop.

Your rooftop, he realized almost immediately.

Shit, he cursed quietly, trying to get away but his web was turned to ice, eliminating it’s elasticity and shattering it. He went rolling back on to the concrete rooftop, letting out a small grunt.

When he looked up from where he lay, Ryder had joined him. Oscar hoped you had the mind to get out of there.

He tried to get up, but Ryder had kicked him back down. Now a firm boot pressed his body against the concrete, cementing him in place. “I admire your determination.” Ryder’s boot pressed harder, earning a small groan out of Oscar. “But you were never going to win this.” He feigned sympathy.

Oscar’s ears picked up the smallest sound. Footsteps. He turned his head in its direction, finding you at its source.

Eyes shifting down to where you grasped a dull knife in your hand, his heart leaped to his throat. An attempt at communication was made, through the subtle shifting of his eyes. You hadn’t picked up on it.

You continued to advance, but your foot crunched on a broken piece of ice. Without looking, Ryder shot out an ice shard in your direction.

A broken gasp was punched out of Oscar’s lungs. You stumbled, the knife falling from your hands. Your hands surrounded the icicle that was impaled in your stomach. “Don’t!” Oscar shouted. Your movements halted.

Oscar was quick to web up the knife, and plunged it into Ryder’s foot once in his hand. Shocked, Ryder stepped back, allowing Oscar to get up. He ran to you as you continued to stumble. You tried to stay on your feet. You were disoriented. That much was clear.

His instinct took over. Webs were shot across the rooftop. As many as he could manage. He stuck Ryder to the very ledge the both of you sat on each night.

You slumped against Oscar. Heavy breaths. Eyes half open. An attempt at a smile. A hand coming up to cup his cheek.

The tears fell fast. His fear undeniable. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” He was unsure which one of you he was trying to reassure, but he kept repeating the words.

Your name was called. A tone of horror. Your father. He struggled against his restraints. You squinted at him. Tried to identify him. You couldn’t. Not when your eyes were as unfocused as they were.

“Friday, alert Mr. Stark.”

“Right away.”

“Oscar,” you breathed out. Affection.

A shaky breath. “I’m gonna get you to a hospital.” He stood. You slumped against him. “Hold on as tight as you can for me, yeah?” Oscar was choking on his own tears at this point.

“But… I’ll get blood on your suit.” A feeble laugh. A shuttered sob. He was failing at holding it together. “That’s okay. I can wash it.”

Oscar shot off into the air. A yell of objection following him.

A slight whimper. “Hurts.” You managed. “I know.” He repeated over again.

Tears blurred his vision, nearly running into a stoplight. “You’re a reckless swinger.” You muttered. Oscar gave a weak laugh at the fact you’d called him a swinger.

He landed right outside the ER. Your legs gave way. “Woah, hey. Okay.” He was sure his mask would be soaked through with tears if it wasn’t for the nano technology.

He picked you up bridal style. “I need a doctor!” He pleaded, not caring how broken his voice sounded.

۶ৎ ۶ৎ ۶ৎ

You shifted, letting out a low grunt. Your abdomen housed a dull, throbbing pain. You tried to move your arm but it’s mobility was restricted by a light weight.

Oscar’s head. Eyes closed. Asleep. His eyebrows were furrowed. His body tense. “Os,” your other hand threaded it’s fingers through his hair.

He stirred but didn’t wake. “Hey,” you poked his shoulder. He slowly lifted his head, blinking a couple of times before gasping loudly. “You’re up.” He was shocked, arms wrapping around your neck to pull you into him. He let go when you winced. “Sorry.” He stepped back.

You made him room on the bed, allowing him to sit next to you. “Where are my parents?”

Oscar’s eyes could no longer meet yours. His hands were suddenly fascinating. “Your mom is on a work trip.”

You blinked. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days. Medically induced coma. They said it would help with recovery.” You nodded. “And my dad?”

Oscar bit his lip. “He’s…” he sighed. “I shouldn’t be the one to tell you.” He shook his head. Your eyes widened. “What? Is he dead?” You were panicked.

“No! No… just away.” Oscar reassured. You sat up, wincing at the pain from the sudden movement. “Away? What the hell does that mean?” You demanded.

Oscar met your eyes. A deep breath. “Mr. Stark took him to a high security prison. In the middle of the Ocean.”

A wave of different emotions crashed over your expression at his words. Confusion. Sadness. Anger.

Realization.

Oscar’s hesitance when they met. On the rooftop, how he knew your name. The familiarity of his voice. “Oh,” you put the pieces of the puzzle together. Your eyes became glossed over.

Then the denial came.

You shook your head, the motion never ending. “He…” A shaky breath. “He wouldn’t have…” Oscar pulled something out of his pocket. A folded piece of paper.

“He wrote this for you.” He offered the small square to you. You took it between your nimble fingers, unfolding it carefully. You swallowed your fear, leaning into Oscar as your eyes met the first line of the page.

To my daughter,

I hope this gets to you, alive and well. I want to first apologize to you for the secrecy on my part. I thought it was better to keep this from you. My alternate self, subzero, wasn’t something you needed to know about. It would have put you in more danger than you already were.

I believe it is important that I tell you exactly why I became this. Twelve years ago, when the aliens came to New York and the world first became aware of the Avengers, I believed I needed to protect you from them. I believed they were frauds. They caused irreversible damage to the city and the people, I believed they truly didn’t care about the people. They only cared about looking heroic.

So I vowed to take out each and every one of them. I’d been building high powered weapons ever since then. One of them went wrong, and somehow changed the composition of my cells and DNA. That’s how I ended up with these powers.

They were never meant to hurt you. I always wanted to protect you. This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. I’m sorry for it all, and that I had to end up in this prison without saying goodbye to you. I was angry with that boy that night. I believed it was supposed to be me by your side. I didn’t understand his connection with you, why he held you so tightly and why his voice shook when he reassured you. Until they told me who he was.

I know now that my perception of the avengers was wrong. They truly are trying to help those who cannot help themselves. I regret it.

I also want you to know that I approve of your boy. I assume you know he’s spider-man. I don’t know if that was part of your reason for choosing him but it doesn’t matter. Oscar is a kind, confident, and resilient young man. It’s become apparent that he cares for you deeply. For that, I truly believe he is what’s best for you. I don’t think there’s anyone I’d approve of more.

If this gets through, please write back to me. I don’t know if they’ll let you visit, but please ask Oscar. Maybe with your connections, they’ll make an exception. If not, I’ll write to you every week.

I love you,

Dad.

[lunarriviera]

What are your thoughts on the last ep of under the skin...that cant be shen yi right...im seeing a lot of twin theories but thats a weird plot twist honestly 😅

to answer this question i guess i have to get up off the floor first, where i have been lying facedown and motionless since uts2 ended over a week ago. two weeks ago? yesterday? today? i don't know anymore i've lost all track of time, who are you? where are we?

oh right—the s2 ending. you must mean this scene, right? what a great way to end things! du cheng, happy, walking to meet a group of friends at his birthday party! truly wrapped up the whole drama, and left us in such a heartwarming place with our favorite characters!

...oh you didn't mean that ending? you mean there's another one?

[mindless screaming behind the cut AS WELL AS SPOILERS]

[and this winds up being about all of s2 as well as the final tag, OOPS]

so okay listen before i can even address this without the mindless screaming, i have to level with y'all here: s2 was rough on me. there are only like three du cheng stans in all of anglophone cdrama fandom and i'm probably two of them ( @wannings-wontons is the other one, thank god for her). i've written eleventyleven fics from his pov so i am ferally protective of my big stupid hot cop son. this season put him through the goddamn wringer and for my taste there were just a few too many scenes of du cheng looking like he was about to burst into tears while shen yi was smiling winsomely, for all the world as if he were not the one personally causing his captain to experience devastating mortal agony. allow me to demonstrate.

in the driver's seat: unspeakable anguish. literally can't talk.

in the passenger seat: hey nice air conditioner! guess what i have a new friend! i spent the night at his place, talking about infinity and human potential! in a few more episodes he'll be a murder suspect!

(i'm getting to the cliffhanger, believe me i'm getting there, no really i am, we just have to spend a minute dealing with the divorce arc first)

because, while i absolutely adore angst bambi (as @whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst has immortalized him), and thanks to @elenothar have firmly adopted him as a most beloved emotional support twink (not least because i suspect tan jianci is himself kind of a genius; no triple threat should be this good of an actor), i also honestly not infrequently this season wanted to drag shen yi into the men's room by his pretty hair and flush his pretty little head down the [redacted] until he came to his pretty little senses. because while later in the arc he clearly is, you know, attempting that deep-cover thing, and has to reject du cheng to his face, right in front of Evil Eugenicist Art Critic Weasel Man, in order to gain Weasel Moriarty's trust, etc.—

there are also a bunch of times when du cheng is visibly upset and miserable and in genuine pain, and shen yi just laughs. literally laughs at him. like tan jianci what are you doing, do you want the audience to dislike you? how are you trying to play this?? are we supposed to think, wow shen yi sure knows what he's doing? are we supposed to think he suddenly has the world's worst taste in men? because long before Weasel Man smashes a vase and snaps at his lab assistant and possibly kills someone and has assorted tantrums which start to tip off shen yi that maybe his new bestie is kind of a bag of dicks—long before that starts happening? shen yi just likes that guy. he LIKES him. enough to quote whitman to him (fang kaiyi you take his queer name out your mouth); enough to stay up all night painting the stars with him and we don't know what all else. enough to hang out in his lab for days on end, listening to junk science and pretending to understand the human genome and just what. shen yi. WHAT. he's literally a Bond villain styled like an asymmetric reptile—all this, just because he's tall? and he's gone to the symphony a few times? what, because he negged your painting, and that turned you on? i shouldn't have said any of that, but i did; and now i refuse to take it back. because inside me are two wolves, and they sound like this:

one wolf has been extremely online for many years, and thinks she's very hip and chill and jaded. this wolf talks in memes and laughs at herself, and she's like: “haha fun drama! Solving Crimes Through Art! lol i can't believe this turgid love song playing over a romantic montage, wow it's so stupid.” and also: “lmao divorce arc so hilarious, WELCOME HOME CHEATER lol get it, good joke right?” and: “oh my god why is there another pointless cliffhanger, they will NEVER GET a s3 what are they thinking. this scene is therefore not canon and can be safely ignored, just like the s1 tag turned out to be a ~~~dream."

but the other wolf is lying motionless in her barrow in the darkness flat on her stomach in mouldering leaves and mud head resting on crossed paws staring into the night with her old yellow eyes and she says they stabbed my son and left him alone in his blood and the last thing he saw was a cruel face worn by the boy he has come to love a boy standing at the end of the alley looking down at his phone who then moves past him and keeps on walking

and then, you know. then i lie on the floor for a week! which is fine, i'm an extremely psychologically healthy person who has certainly not at all outsourced her entire emotional well-being to an imaginary public safety bureau criminal investigator on the coast of southeast china.

so what do i think about the cliffhanger? here is what i think about it; and again, sorry for the hatchet job on shen yi but it was relevant:

1. i do think it's a dream, yes. they've already played that game with us—we waited two years to find out who was carving up shen yi's creepy murder-red self-portrait and whomst should it be but…nobody! just shen yi having nightmares about his future fling, apparently. (notice, too, how fang kaiyi GRABBED that craft knife, which shen yi had deliberately left on the easel, and didn't even ask why it was there. he might be tall and elegant and have good taste but he's nowhere near as smart as you are, shen yi. do better.)

2. whose nightmare is it, though: shen yi's, or du cheng's? remember that the first time du cheng meets fang kaiyi, he tells shen yi, "he reminds me of someone: the old you." (and shen yi laughs merrily, even though nothing about that is funny, either the observation or du cheng's immediate mistrust and jealousy. TAN JIANCI WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING). then, later, on the precinct rooftop, after the case is all over, shen yi confesses yet again that there's something in him that's not altogether good, that he has quote "demons," and that if he hadn't met du cheng, he might have gone down some vague unspecified dark path. not quite sure how a portrait artist was gonna become a mass murderer or whatever, but okay i guess. there was something off about shen yi 1.0, and du cheng could see it even a decade ago and he didn't like it then any more than he does now.

given all that, then, the nightmare is probably shen yi's. he's prone to them anyway, and he knows now how badly he's hurt du cheng, and that he came dangerously close to, well, getting into bed with the enemy. i don't think it's even until fang kaiyi is so limpidly nonchalant about zhou shanshan's death that shen yi's inner moral compass comes shrieking back into play (and then it really does; shen yi who never raises his voice out there just shouting that man down).

there's one argument to be made for the case that it's du cheng's nightmare, though, which is the way that he looks up at the camera at the very end of the shot, and laughs. shen yi 1.0 is standing too far away for that to be his point-of-view. so who's standing over du cheng? and who would he laugh at, in recognition, like that? shen yi 2.0, presumably (or 3.5? not sure what version we're on anymore).

either way here's my final observation, and then i swear to god i'll shut up, before the shen yi stans come for me like maenads. i was chatting with @wannings-wontons and she said something that absolutely blindsided me, which is that the cliffhanger literalizes the arc of the series: shen yi did, in fact, metaphorically stab du cheng in s2. why else would either of them dream that? du cheng being badly, even fatally wounded by arrogant young artist shen yi is precisely what happened during the divorce arc. and their reconciliation was so heavily censored as to be, to some of us anyway, unpersuasive. (two cops, talking on a rooftop all night! five feet apart cause they're not gay!) as @wannings-wontons said: "the last scene just reflects how badly hurt he was. and we're left to decide whether he'll recover."

so which is worse, dreaming that your lover stabs you? or dreaming that something twisted inside you stabs the man you love?

tldr, shen yi doesn't need a soap opera evil twin: he's his own evil twin, and he knows this. and what is more, du cheng knows it now too. if there's ever a third season, which seems completely impossible to me, the writers have to know that they have NOT fixed this.

fortunately, we have something censored production companies don't have, and it's called fanfiction. so bring on the episode codas, my friends. bring on the long painful conversations and the shouted arguments (du cheng never even got to yell, except once in a parking lot because he was frantic). bring on the tender reconciliations that can only come after those blowout knock-down-drag-out fights, and are therefore real and grounded, not stilted, wooden, woefully inadequate mockeries of reunion. let people throw furniture and cry and try to explain and plead and confess and even, sure, why not, grab the other person and kiss him breathless, and say I don't want to do this without you, say don't put me through that ever again, say but this isn't enough and I need something different, say okay then let's figure that out together, say i'm sorry i hurt you, you're the most important person to me and that's the last thing i ever want to do.

it's up to us, not to leave them there in the alley like that. but the good news is if it's work, it's only work. and it's our work to do.

[heretyc]

Hi! I’m the anon with the maneater wife for Franco and I just wanted to say thank you so much! You met and exceeded my expectations ten fold with my request I really liked what you did and if you ever wanted to write more for it I’d absolutely love to read more! ♥️

(Also you were right on the money with the naming scheme I personally envisioned the mantis myself but you can absolutely leave this up to everyone else’s own interpretation)

I 100% plan on writing more! It's addictive I s2g. [NSFW ahead. Not kidding, I got real dirty with this lol]

Franco meeting you was totally unexpected; he was roaming the streets of Havana, trying to locate a buyer who pussied out on him to no avail. He stole Franco's money, and as a result, his trust. Nobody fucked with a Barbi. This shit was next to impossible, with how many dark alleyways there were in this place. However, he didn't expect to see such a gorgeous woman standing over the man who fucked him over. Your face bloodied and your throat seemingly purring with delight like a cat with fresh cream. Franco wasn't disturbed, no. He's seen much weirder shit. He just raised a brow, "Good, is he?" "Very." You licked your lips free of blood to no avail, your face coated in the substance, "However he tastes a little...bitter." "Considering he ingested my fuckin' goods..." Barbi smirked, growing amused at how you described your fresh kill, "I wouldn't be too surprised." It took you no time at all to connect the dots. Havana was known for its drug rings, so you merely raised a brow, ready to rise. "Did I take a loyal customer from you? My mistake." "Loyal ain't the word I'd use to describe him, doll," Barbi sucked his teeth, growing a little irritated at the reminder, "Fucker stole my shit." "...Ah." You nodded, moving to rip a lung from the corpse's midsection. "May I continue?" "By all means." He didn't understand why he had a hard-on, but he's not one to question the body's desires.

He couldn't let you go. Absolutely fuckin' not. That'd be a crime against his carnal desires. For some odd reason, he found himself captivated. You were a woman who knew what you wanted, and you wanted to steal hearts. Literally. So he got to know you a little bit. This is what he learned; A runaway from your home country due to your strange craving, you abandoned your life after a series of murders. You've always found yourself enamoured with the delectable nature of human flesh, and after your father cheated on your mother and left you two with nothing, you had even more of an urge. So on your 17th birthday, you were found eating him. His body cut into sections, his new, young wife - whom he cheated on your mother with - found her step-daughter with hands full of intestines. She didn't live long, either. Your 17th birthday was satisfactory indeed. The government, however, did not agree. You were messy and you left fingerprints after his wife's family called in for a wellness check. A little hard to call her family when her head's in the toilet and her cunt is stuffed full of knives. So you hid on a cruise ship to Havana, and have lived there ever since, surviving off of your cannibalistic urges and theft. So you were the infamous maneater, he questioned. You certainly had a reputation here...albeit quite niche. You ate only men. Sure, you tried to eat evil men, but all men were good enough to your palate. He was obsessed already. Was he a little intimidated? Absolutely. But that's even better. You grew to enjoy his company. And for the first time in your life, you didn't immediately think of ways to devour him. He wasn't edible...to your mouth, anyway. But your heart? Definitely. You wanted more.

Your first date was held at a restaurant that he co-owned. Well...co-owned meaning he tied the owner up in the back and threatened him if he had plans on ruining your date. His men held guns at the staff, and threatened them to continue on with their duties. He even went as far as to hire a chef known for working with human meat. Nicknamed "Havanabal" [Hannibal and Havana], it was fate. Franco was more than enchanted, leaning his head onto his gloved hand as you spoke of random topics, occasionally sipping on wine. You were, however, rudely interrupted. "Hey, boss," one of his henchmen walked inside of the empty dining room, and Franco couldn't stop his hands from clenching. "We got somebody wanting you.." "You were told not to fuckin' bother us." "I know, but there's a potential buyer wanting to see you," the man whistled, "Lookin' mighty rich." "He better be rich with patience, then," Barbi rolled his eyes, "I'm fuckin' busy." The henchman just nodded before looking you up and down, a smirk forming onto his face, "Damn...and I can see why. She's worth it." He didn't have the time to notice Lupara's barrel firing into his jaw, and the other men working under Barbi didn't think to expect one of their allies laying on the floor, bone shards and flesh littering the floor. You weren't even bothered, either; you simply smiled, "I like my men how like I like my popcorn...popped." You teased. Franco snorted before snapping his fingers, "Clean this shit up, and cut him into pieces. Put this fucker into mia bella's meal," he cooed at you, before turning to look at the men beginning to drag the corpse away. "Keep the fuckin' bones intact...I have an idea." Thankfully, no questions were asked, and the chef came out within the next half hour with two dishes. "Carbonara for the sir," the chef hummed, but he purred the moment he placed yours down, "And livernese for the cultured lady." "Thank you," you hummed, putting your hands together in delight, "it smells lovely...blood in the sauce?" The chef grinned, nodding, "Of course...it's the perfect taste and colour, no?" "Absolutely." He soon bowed, and left you two to eat. Now, Barbi should have gagged. This was against human nature...but he wasn't one to give a shit about human nature. He watched with interest as you slurped a piece of liver, moaning at the taste. "So...rich." He wasn't fond of eating another person, but even your reaction had him curious about the taste.

[Inspired by this anon here] Franco's support of your lifestyle had meant the world to you, and it was clear you were meant to be the moment he took you shopping to places. The bar, the grocery store, the sex club. You'd be leaning into him as he pointed at random men, hoping to help you find something to quench your thirst. "What about that fucker?" He picked his teeth with a toothpick, his free hand placed onto your hip with affection. His eyes were on a priest, speaking with a man. "Hmmm...tempting," you murmured, "priests tend to be quite...unholy. Unfortunately that transfers into their taste," you sighed, shaking your head. "Next one." "Alright...what about him?" He motioned to a man twitching out of his mind, seemingly shouting at nothing, "Nobody would miss him, darlin'." "He's high off of something...the only product I take is yours," you quipped, shaking your head. "Besides, I feel like the demons would miss him." "Touche," he clicked his tongue, before finally narrowing his eyes at a man walking past. "Him." You looked at the individual, noticing how...shady he looked. "Fucker's a rival of mine." "Oh...well, in that case..." You chuckled, taking his hand into yours. "Give me a hand."

[NSFW, blowjob] Your second date was in a hotel; it was moreso forced, seeing as he started a gunfight over your little cannibalistic habits, but he told you to meet him in the hotel across the city. You'd be safe there, he promised. And so, you separated. You stuck to the shadows and he shot at anybody who dared look at him. You took a little too long for his liking, and he worried if you got caught...until you walked into the room, coated in blood. A trademark look for you, but he simply raised a brow. "Sorry...I ordered takeout," you joked, sucking on a finger. God, if only you knew the effect you had on him- "Oh?" You purred, making your way over to him to place a hand over the bulge forming in his dress pants, "Am I making you...excited, Franco?" "I'm not the lying type, sweetness," he bit his lip, his breaths becoming shallow, "You make me fuckin' harder than steel." You simply laughed, pushing him onto the bed before locking the doors, and pulling the curtains over the windows. "I had a feeling...I saw your little friend get excited the day we met." You winked at him, your steps silent as you made your way to the bed. You took no time at all to pull his pants and boxers down, and you whistled at the size of the cock bouncing free from its confines. "Sorry...big friend." You snickered, a bloodied finger moving to trail down the shaft. A mere 9 inches and deliciously thick, you traced your bloodied nail along every vein that seemed to throb each time you came close, and you drank up Barbi's frantic breaths like water in the desert. "Does this excite you?" You tilted your head, beginning to stroke his cock with a slow pace. "Knowing a maneater is stroking your cock...knowing I could bite it off in one bite." "Fuck...yes," Barbi growled, a gloved hand gripping the sheets as the other gripped your scalp, "I could...fuck, I could die happy thinking about that shit." You smirked, your tongue peeking out to lick the bead of pre-cum forming on his cockhead. His cock was turning a sickening red, a result of the blood on your hands wiping off onto the thick organ, "You could, hmm? Tell me more." "Tear my fuckin' throat out, crown me with your halo of crimson," he began to pant, his cock beginning to twitch out of eagerness, "FUCK, you excite me, you vixen. Take me into your mouth, please," he huffed, his eyes wide in excitement. You felt like a drug with how desperate he was. He didn't have to ask; you were quick to take half of his length into your throat, bobbing your head as you moaned at the taste. The combination of his musk, the blood, the sweat...god, it was addictive. His hips showed no mercy as they began to thrust. "Bite me," he choked, "bite my fuckin' dick. Show me how much of a danger you are, you fuckin' TEMPTRESS," he groaned, tossing his head back. He cared not for the sirens outside, or the screams of people in the streets. You grazed your teeth along his length, not yet biting down, but making sure he knew they were an available threat should he thrust too hard and too fast. The thought of having you rip his cock off...fuck, why did that excite him? He felt his balls begin to tighten, and he yelled out in pleasure, cum rushing from his cockhead to travel down your throat. Nothing was more erotic, more divine than seeing you pull off of him, bridges of bloody saliva connecting your lips to his softening cock. You chuckled breathlessly, laying a kiss onto the cockhead, "I think I've found my new favourite taste..." Oh, how he became a whore for that sentence. A shame neither of you noticed Clyde Perry sneaking in during your moment of bliss.

[thedissonantverses]

Just Another Screaming Speck of Dust

Today Could Be the Last - Chapter 17 - enc0432 - Dragon Age (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own] Chapter preview under the cut.

Weisshaupt. Davrin and her back-to-back against the darkspawn. Stone crumbling around them and the cacophony of the death screams and howls of the monsters. It was chaos and destruction and she didn't know if she could stop it. She was exhausted. Her lungs burned and her thoughts swam. All she knew was she had to keep swinging her daggers. They had finally cut a swathe through. They might be able to escape. Only something howled, anguish matched only by Rook’s fear as the darkspawn crowded them again. Nothing for it but to keep fighting. The wolf howled for her, calling her to heel. He’d stop the nightmare, if only she’d give in. He wouldn’t make her watch again.

Only Ghian’nain emerged, the blight coming with her. She grabbed Rook up with her tentacles and Davrin cried out. A laugh, cold and calculated, as the sun was blotted out with red. She struggled and Ghilan’nain crowed her victory as she drove her tentacles into her chest and through it. Worse still was the blight. Davrin was caught, struggling. She screamed as he disappeared to it, flailing to the last to get to her. Her fault. It was all her

“ENOUGH.”

Rook pushed back against him. It was like throwing her weight behind the world’s most obnoxious boulder.

'This is what will happen if you continue to ignore me. Will you watch your lover die? I suppose for one waiting for the Calling it might be the lesser of two evils.'

“Rattle the bars of your cage all you want. It’s still your cage.”

He started the nightmare again. This time it was D’meta’s crossing. This time she s-

“Sihu!”

She sat up, gasping and reaching for her dagger. Davrin caught her hand, squeezing it.

“Hey. Hey. Look at me. You’re safe.”

It took her a moment, then she shuddered, letting him wrap his arms around her. He stroked her hair and murmured in her ear. He was safe. He was alive. He was here. When her breathing returned to normal and he pulled back, she noted she was in the dining hall. Which meant-

Lucanis brought her a cup of collata colada, his eyes sympathetic. She took it, hanging her head. He had to have been making it when she fell asleep. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen again. You were up so…” She wanted to babble.

He stopped her, wrapping his hands around hers on the mug. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Davrin moved to sit beside her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Assan had followed, and he lay his head on her leg. The heavy weight of it was soothing.��I can’t protect them. She set the drink down and buried her face in her hands. Davrin let her go but waited, settling in next to her. Lucanis went out the front with a second steaming cup, muttering something about seeing Neve’s light on and her latest case. The fire crackled merrily and she was warm and she was safe and-

“You can’t go on like this Sy. I can’t watch anymore. We need to figure out another way.” His voice was carefully calm. He was holding back, and that made it worse.

“I know. It’s just…” He leaned forward on his elbows, and she looked over at him. “Solas knows how I feel about you.”

Davrin took her hands in his. “I know who we’re hunting. I’m not going anywhere. But right now, we need to figure this out.”

“I need more to go on.” She echoed him and he huffed. Assan butted her and she released Davrin reluctantly, scratching under the griffon’s chin. “I know something we can try. But you’re going to hate it.”

“If you’ve got a plan, I’m there.” He answered easily, rote.

Rook chuckled, reaching for her drink. “I need to go back to the crossroads. Find more of the Dread Wolf’s memories. And I need the mages.”

“Ah. Which means I’m…staying here.” He threw his arm around her again and she leaned into him, pillowing her head on his chest. “What do you think you’ll find?”

“I don’t know. Anything that might shake me out of his grip I suppose.” Rook fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

“Mmphm.” He kissed the top of her head. “You’re right, I hate it. But it’s your call.”

She yawned in response, and Davrin chuckled, the sound sparking through her. “You can sleep with me tonight you know. In a real bed.”

“You’re persistent.” But she sunk further into him, the heat of his body irresistible.

“You’re exhausted. Let me take care of you.” The mischief in his voice told her he knew he’d won.

Rook groaned. “Alright-”

He picked her up and she gasped, laughing. “Dav!”

Assan squawked behind them in alarm as he carried her back to his room.

[ansxit]

Like the Ocean

[Katsuki Bakugo x Reader]

a/n} SO sorry about that break!!! Life hit me hard but I'm back and better than ever!!! btw there's a reference to another anime within the chapter.. let me know if you find it

(Also!! Please reblog + like!! It would really mean a lot to me !! <33)

Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

- [ Y/n L/n - Quirk: Water, She can manipulate any amount of water through the different states of matter and bend it to her will. She appears to have no limit to how much she can move ]

(Y/n) always wanted to become a hero. She had been training for it ever since she was young. Her quirk sounds simple but can be very dangerous, and when in use it takes constant focus to command it. However, ever since a dangerous incident in her childhood, her quirk hasn't been the same. Despite it all, she remains hopeful that she can grow to be a powerful Pro-Hero. Nothing will stand in her way.

Except, something does.

Someone by the name of Katsuki Bakugo.

-

TW] Fights, Some Verbal Harassment, Mention of Broken Bones, Bloody Nose

You stared down at the small sheet of paper in your hands, the bolded letters creating a pit in your stomach.

'I'm the only one without a partner??’

A quick look around confirmed it. Your classmates were neatly paired together, some conversing while others just awkwardly standing. Attempting to recover your shock, you turned the paper on the back to try and see if it was a misprint of some kind. Sadly, it only revealed the same message as before. You would be competing alone.

“I see you’ve all found your partners!” All-Might grinned up by the screen. His eyes passed throughout the room before finally falling to you. Standing alone. “Ah and we have our single player! Young (L/n)...” A flicker of recognition stirred in his frame as All-Might straightened. “I wish you the best of luck. Your grade will be curved because of your situation so don't feel so disappointed if you fail at your mission.”

Your classmates turned to stare at you as he spoke and few of your more… academically challenged peers commented on how lucky you were. Trying to save face, you stuffed the paper into your pocket and looked at your teacher.

“Thank you, All-Might.” You bowed your head and he quickly took hold of the class again.

“I've decided that the first teams to compete will be Team A and D!” All-Might motioned to the far right of the room. Midoriya and Uraraka, who were standing next to each other, look to their right at Iida and a certain blond boy.

Bakugo was practically quivering in anger, his head bowed and his hands were twitching. Part of you wanted to laugh at how emotional he had gotten over the assignment but as he turned to Midoriya, a sick sadistic grin split his face.

‘He's going to kill him.’ You realized in horror.

Oblivious to the growing tensions, All-Might raised two thumbs up at the groups.

“Team A will be the heroes, and Team D will be the villains! Remember, Team D, you are playing evil-doers so you must truly act the part. Everyone else, head to the monitoring room!”

Iida bowed his head to All-Might and turned to Bakugo who couldn't have cared less about what he had to say. With one last glance towards Midoriya and Uraraka, you started to walk to the back of the room to exit. 

‘Something tells me this isn't going to go the way All-Might hopes it will…’

—

The battle certainly had ended… explosively.

Midoriya was beaten to shreds, his costume torn in a multitude of places and his clearly broken arms were bruised.

Bakugo had targeted and tormented Midoriya, strictly focusing on him instead of Uraraka, who was making her way to Iida. While the monitors cut between the two heroes fights often, the damage Bakugo was doing to Midoriya was brutal. Many of your classmates had demanded All-Might end the fight prematurely. 

However, at the last minute Midoriya had launched a punch through the roof and led to the capturing of the bomb. And while it led to victory, it seemed to land an equally devastating blow to Bakugo.

Enraged wouldn't even describe his expression after Midoriya destroyed the building. The heroes team were carted away to the nurses office and the villains were escorted into the monitoring room. The whole way back Bakugo wore the same stunned and calculating expression.

“He looks like he went through shell-shock.” Mina muttered to you, resting her arm on your shoulder. “There must have been some serious drama in that battle. I'll have to ask Uraraka about it once she's done puking.”

“He didn't even have to pretend to be a violent villain.” Tsu shuddered next to you. “That felt way too real to be an exercise.”

“With the way he's been treating the class and especially Midoriya, I'm not shocked he lost.” You remarked. “He clearly thinks he can do everything himself because he's strong, but in reality it makes him weak. This exercise only proves that.”

Bakugo was now standing towards the front of the class alongside Iida. He was far enough away that you didn't mind badmouthing him but the way he stiffened after you spoke had you worrying he heard every word you three had said.

“Wise words.” Mina nodded seriously before breaking out into a grin. “Did you hear yourself (Y/n)?! You sounded so wise and ancient!” She started giggling and patted your back.

“Let's review the training.” All-Might boomed. “Young Bakugo, while you lost the round there is always something to gain from these exercises. Remember that. However, the MVP is Tenya Iida!”

“How is that fair?” Kaminari yelled out, his hands waving in the air. “The heroes are the ones who won!”

“Yeah, that doesn't make much sense, teach,” Mina nodded. “No offense, Iida.”

“...Is there anyone who can tell me why I chose Iida and not one of the heroes?” All-Might sighed.

“I can, sir.” Yaoyorozu piped up. “Iida was the only one to truly embrace the challenge presented. Bakugo was clouded by bias and Midoriya’s explosive plan was dangerous. Uraraka also was callous and was too reckless during the final moments of the battle.”

Everyone stared at her in dumbfounded shock as she continued.

“However, Iida anticipated his opponent's attacks just as a villain and strategized accordingly. He is the only one to have truly embraced the exercise you created.” Yaoyorozu smiled up at your professor and All-Might gave a tentative smile.

“Yeah that's pretty much it!” He declared. “Now, onto the next match! Team B are the heroes and Team I are the villains!”

You glanced over to a blond boy with a tail and a floating pair of gloves. He shyly looked away from the gloves and turned towards his opponents.

Shoji’s intimidating figure stared back at the two before looking down to his teammate. The cold empty eyes of Todoroki stared back at Team I and without any semblance of acknowledgement, he walked out of the room.

And with no fanfare from All-Might, the next battle had begun.

…

You, Tsu, and Mina stood near the back of the room eagerly watching the cameras. Mina was shaking with excitement and leaned to whisper in your ear. “I'm super pumped to see how Todoroki handles this!” She even raised her fist in the air for extra flair.

“I am too.” Tsu added. “You two as well as Yaoyorozu had gotten in on recommendations, right (Y/n)?” You glanced from the screen focused on Ojiro and Hagakure to the green haired girl.

“Uhh, something like that. Todoroki showed off a lot of skill in the exam but there's something so cold and… uncaring about him. Something tells me this fight isn't going to be fair. Like Bakugo’s fight.” You turned back to the cameras but quickly met face to face with piercing red eyes.

“What were you saying about me?” Bakugo demanded. You stepped back in shock but quickly covered your expression with a frown. “Well?!” He harped, sparks flying out of his palm.

“Just that you're a bully.” Mina coughed out. Bakugo whipped his head to her but she looked away from him, whistling.

“What was that, Pinky?” 

“Calm down you ass.” You huffed and crossed your arms. “We’re trying to watch the match like everyone else. Can't you mind your own business?” Admittedly, hostility wasn’t your usual go-to when de-escalating a situation, but you were still upset from that morning. And after the way he acted during his match, his immaturity only infuriated you further.

“It is my business if you want to talk shit about me, you damn fish!” Bakugo shouted and pointed his thumb to your chest. “You're just jealous because you're weak and your quirk is useless in combat.”

You glanced down at his hand and felt the spikes on your suit raise in alarm. 

“I can beat you in a fight any day, shit for brains.” You retorted, shoving yourself towards him.

“In your dreams!” He barked out a laugh. “What do you do when there's no water, huh? Your quirk is useless without it and you're too puny to withstand a physical fight against me.”

Your left hand inched down to the water bobble, the liquid inside screaming to boil and sear his skin. But you thought of your friends who probably wouldn't want to see that. And you didn't want All-Might to see you acting so violently. Acting like… Bakugo.

So you simply breathed in slowly and relaxed your muscles, letting your metaphorical hackles lower.

“That's what I thought. You're useless.” He scoffed and turned around. “You can't even stick up for yourself. And that’s why you'll never beat me, I'm leagues ahead of you."

"Says the boy who's scared of some rain."

Mina and Tsu ooed looking to Bakugo with wide grins on their faces. The blond boy stopped and as quick as a whip turned around with his fist in the air aiming for your jaw—

“BATTLE OVER!” All-Might boomed. “THE HERO TEAM WINS!”

Bakugo had stopped mid-punch, only inches away from making contact. You had reflexively raised your arm in an attempt to block, and by the force he carried himself you had no doubt he would've shattered your arm.

You quickly glanced from his face to the monitors behind him. Todoroki held his hand on the nuke, evaporating the ice coating the ground. Shoji still stood outside, looking displeased about his lack of action.

‘The battle’s already over??’ You thought. ‘It just started, how is that possible?’

The cameras zoomed into Todoroki’s face as he walked out of the building. His cold, left eye stared ahead without any remorse as to what he'd just done.

“Wow, that guy is incredible!” Kirishima cheered. “The match was over so quick!”

“He did get in on recommendations.” Kaminari shrugged.

‘I didn't even get to see his technique. What a pain.’ You frowned. A shadow moving to your right brought you back to Bakugo’s face and you blinked in shock at how close he was standing.

“This isn’t over, fish.” He sneered. Bakugo gave Mina and Tsu a quick glance before shoulder-checking you and walking out of the room.

“That was intense for no reason at all.” Mina shuddered, watching him disappear through the door.

“Are you okay, (Y/n)?” Tsu asked, motioning to your shoulder. “You still have to fight today, so I hope Bakugo didn't injure you.”

“I'm fine, Tsu, thank you.” You smiled at her and rubbed at the area he hit. “I'm glad Todoroki ended the fight when he did. Bakugo probably would've broken my arm which would've been really inconvenient.”

‘Mama would not have been happy about a broken arm on the second day…’ You sighed and dusted off your costume. ‘UA’s known for being intense though.’

“It's good you're not hurt then.” Tsu said. “I want you to be at full strength for if we end up fighting today!” Her eyes shimmered with competition, combatting her gentle smile.

“Even if I did break my arm, I'd still want you to hold nothing back!” You gave her a thumbs up, similar to how your teacher did earlier, and smiled. “Pain is how we learn!”

—

The majority of your class had completed the battle training. Only two teams remained; Team K and Team E.

All-Might had declared that you were going to compete as the villain, while Mina and Aoyama were the heroes. While the role isn't quite what you wanted, you knew you'd have to play the part to truly complete your assignment.

The building you were in was very similar to the previous matches, a tall multi-story building within a city. Yours held five stories, and had the appearance of a fashion outlet. The flickering LEDs overhead only added to the ambience of being abandoned.

The nuke you were tasked with protecting sat cleanly in the center of the floor, with little to no coverage from the heroes attempting to find it.

‘Mina and Aoyama should be on the top floor right now.’ You thought, mentally mapping out the store. ‘If I know Mina, which I think I do, she might try to fight head-on in order to distract me from Aoyama.’

You recalled back to his.. flashy costume and personality and disregarded that plan. If anything, they would try to overwhelm you and attack together, trying to get as close to the bomb as possible. So, you'd have to corner off the nuke better.

“YOUNG (L/N)” All-Might’s voice crackled from your earpiece. “Since you are without a combat partner I will be your eyes,  Young Ashido and Aoyama are making their way to the third floor, together. They have not split up yet.”

You looked up to the camera in the corner of the room and gave a thumbs up. 

‘I can take them both in a physical fight. But with the capture chains, I need to avoid close combat too.’ You plotted. ‘I'd just need to surprise them… make them think this is an empty room.’ But with Mina’s acid she could easily burn through whatever defenses you used on the nuke… you'd have to be careful of her.

You grabbed at one of your water bobbles and threw your arms out towards the wall, scattering the contents about. You grabbed a second one and placed the bobble gently against the feet of the bomb.

‘I need to prepare fast. Mina or Aoyama could appear at any—’

“Young (L/n)! Watch out!” All-Might’s voice boomed in your ear. With no hesitation you dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding a bright beam of light.

Shit.

Mina exploded out from above you, acid sizzling through the concrete and splashing nearby.

“We’ve found you, villain!” She cheered. “Your plans will not come to fruition with us here!”

So you didn't quite get the surprise you wanted on them.

Mina raced towards you, bringing an acid-covered kick towards your left shoulder. With a hiss you rolled out of the way and jumped to your feet, barely avoiding Aoyama’s beams.

Blood rushed in your veins as you grabbed at your shoulder to pull three spikes into your palm. As Mina whirled around to no doubt throw acid again, you summoned the scattered water with your right hand and blasted it towards her.

“OWWWW MY EYE!! WATER GOT IN MY EYE!” She yelped and hopped around, but something seemed… fake. As she hopped further right she suddenly dropped her act and shouted, “AOYAMA!!! QUICK!!”

“Of course, Mon amie!” Appearing out of nowhere, he blasted another beam in your direction and this time charged towards you to cover Mina. With the spikes in hand you arced your arm over your head and around your body—

Time seemed to slow.

The water from the ground called to you and you were taken back to the nights on the beach. You sunk your feet into the ground and breathed in slowly. 

Follow Me the water whispered.

Follow Me the water breathed.

Follow Me the water motioned.

“Follow Me.” You commanded.

Water seeped through the floor and followed your throw as you released the spiked towards Aoyama's stomach. The moisture clung to the barbed blades and with perfect precision, hit its mark.

Mina, who had rushed towards the nuke stopped and turned around, fear flashing in her amber eyes.

Aoyama stared at you for a long moment before looking down at the spikes lodged into the belt of his armor. Your blood turned to ice in your veins and panic overwhelmed you.

‘Did I aim wrong?!’

A hush fell over the building for a long minute, when finally,

Aoyama’s support belt snapped and broke off, leaving his stomach’s light to slowly seep out.

“SACREBLEU!” He cried out, toppling onto the floor. “She got me… Ashido. This is…. the end of my light……..”

“Aoyama no!” Mina shouted, taking an uneasy step forward.

“Go mon chéri,” He fakely coughed out. “Stop this villain, and save the world.”

‘At least he’s acting the part…’

Adrenaline coursing through your veins, you grabbed the white band out of your pocket and snapped it onto Aoyama’s arms, just for good measure. Mina watched for only a moment before turning around and rushing to the bomb.

At this rate, she was too far away for you to reach to capture her. Grabbing another spike in your hand you planted your feet again. You would have to hope you prepared just enough for this to work.

“I've got it!” Mina shouted, throwing herself into the air. Just before she landed you launched the spike towards the feet of the bomb. Popping the bobble underfoot.

You stiffen your arms and let out a strangled cry, forcing the water up into a shield and freezing it as soon as it had set. Mina’s hand slapped at where the nuke should have been, but fell face first into the ground.

‘Todoroki won when the bomb was in place after freezing it, and Iida managed to tire Uraraka by running around the room.’ You forcefully exhaled and pushed your arms towards the nuke, feeling the ice eagerly latching onto your grasp.

“SHE DIDN’T SECURE THE BOMB YET ALL-MIGHT!” You shouted, curling your fingers into your palms so hard they nearly tore the fabric. With a final cry of effort, you flung the bomb far into the other side of the wall.

It made contact with a loud crash and from the debris that kicked up you wouldn't be shocked if it had actually exploded.

Liquid dripped down from your nose underneath the mask, and it shocked you to taste blood on your tongue.

‘I guess I need to train more with moving objects in ice, I forgot the gravity would be different.’

Mina rubbed her head and stood up shakily. Her eyes flickered over from the bomb to Aoyama and then to you.

“Guess it's a one-on-one fight, huh, (Y/n)?” She asked, still managing a grin. “This is going to be so awesome!!”

She slammed her hands together, creating a line of her acidic slime between her hands. You lowered your mask down and wiped your bloodied nose with your hand.

“Let's do this, Mina.”

-

tag list: @desiree-lee , @atsumusth1ghs

[iconicname]

Yeah

Always think about that scene where lucifers mother tells him that instead of being sent to hell, God wanted to kill him.

And while she clearly had her own motivations for telling him this (to get lucifer angry enough to get revenge)

So whether or not she was straight up lying for bending the truth, what gets me is how fast lucifer believes her. That belief doesn't come out of nowhere. Which never gets addressed ever again???

Though you could argue that that belief came from sending lucifer to hell indefinitely (which is just if not more cruel because c'mon) Netflix lucifer has a lot of canonical self hatred and implied suicidal ideation (plus his "devil form" which supposed to be a reflection of how he subconsciously see himself)

Coupled with the fact that we've never been given any indication whatsoever of the actual events that led to lucifer being sent to hell other than a vague "rebellion" and a something about Michael manipulating lucifer (which feels like a cop out but whatever)

uppermost with how in the show (bcs comic lucifer is a completely different dude) lucifer is extremely pacified, sure he makes scary faces and will get violent every now and then but nothing about him screams "diety who committed a sin so grave and horrific and showed no sign of stopping that the only option was to banish him to a place so dreadful that the goddess (a being who should effectively be God's equal) feared going back" painting a picture that lucifers punishment was not necessary or just.

And speaking of the goddess or Charlotte ig, she was also sent into hell. And I get the reasoning that it's because she kept causing mass death to humanity, which might seem justified from a human perspective, but to her, God, and her children this is the equivalent to sending her son to Diyarbakır Prison because he said "no" to you or challenged your authority some way. And then later, sending your wife to the same place because she knocked over your ant farm that you were investing more time than into your family.

Because both Lucifer and Charlotte have shown to be good people. Sure they're a little fucked up and have a tendency to use underhanded methods to get what they want but they're motivations while sometimes misguided are rarely malicious.

Charlotte was introduced a big scary figure (let's not forget how wary and downright scared of her he was initially) but she's really a hurt (rightfully so) ex spouse who wanted to get back at God for what he did to her (and lucifer bcs that scene in hell with dead uriel proves that she does love her kids she probably has trouble expressing affection in a straightforward way a trait that was either worsen or caused because of stay in hell) her method of revenge was likely the only thing that could save her herself too because lets be real, everytime both lucifer and her were on earth they both had angels coming down to bring them back to hell through extremely violent means. (I don't care if they were apparently "misguided" every angel that came after them wholeheartedly believed that what they were doing was justified and were pretty damn sadistic about it, too. that belief didn't come from nowhere)

From episode fucking one, it's unsaid, but we establish lucifer as a character who has already had his redemption (and this is through the assumption that he was more "evil" before the show starts) the whole plot with Delilah, someone who made a deal with lucifer to become a star but ended up a addict and involved with shady people. She was at her lowest when she asked she owed lucifer (I think about this a lot bcs I believed she assumed that whatever lucifer would ask of would either be something she couldn't give or something she wouldn't want to) lucifer said to "get her life together" as payment, thus giving Delilah a second chance at life.

Again this is episode fucking one, one of the things I hate about the show and fandom is it portrays Chloe and Lucifers relationship as "the awful misguided evil who is tamed, saved, guided by the second coming incarnate" everytime lucifer has growth as a person the credit is given to Chloe like she did something or just being around her gives you heaven points instead of the reality "lucifer holding Chloe in such high esteem because he's falling in love with her that he bends himself backwards to make himself into someone she would approve of"

because that would acknowledge that God was wrong, that lucifer didn't grow because of his interference, not in fact he did all the work himself (reconciling with a sibling who was hostile for a long time, forgiving his mother for being a bystander, even going to therapy like srsly bro is stronger than me).

And this is why they have God coming in acting like some goofy harmless guy because the narrative established that lucifer doing good thing = Chloe doing "miracles" and since Chloe was directly made by God thus put in lucifers path, it means Lucifer's "redemption" and happiness is on account of god.

That's why everyone is so easy with him. Lucifer is hurt and mad and God is like "but a gave you Chloe ☝️😊 aren't so much happier now?" And "lucifers like damn ur right, all is forgiven!" Chloe's the same way.

And since he's literally God the same goes for every other character for whatever reason or another he's essentially bribed every character to like him and has been playing a long term honeymoon phase (cycle of abuse) with lucifer. lucifer has essentially lost his support system which makes me grind my teeth.

OP you're especially right about Linda because Lucifer specifically made himself vulnerable to her about his traumas, self-esteem, self hatred and so much more to her and for her to say that to him must be gut punching, because she essentially invalidated everything he expressed to her 🫠

Honestly, to me, Lucifer Netflix as a whole has a lot of trouble validating lucifer as someone who was hurt. They love to hammer on his flaws (which makes sense since it started as a series about growth) but when it comes to his trauma, self-hatred and or when he's hurt by another character it gets brushed aside or mentioned once and never again.

Take for example the early seasons with Chloe and Lucifer first developing their partnership it it always delves into a series of misunderstandings, Chloe being a no-nonsense person and lucifer doing everything out of the box. What usually happens is that lucifer steps out of line Chloe will lash out (verbally) and lucifer goes "I don't understand your point I will go to Linda about it" wakiness ensues and by the end of the episode Lucifer has learned some kind of life lesson.

But the thing is that Lucifer is a character who's so genuine with his actions and is worldview is vastly different from hers in so many ways, he always means well so when Chloe says hurtful things (I'm not berating her for this it's completely understandable from her perspective) it's never acknowledged later, no "Hey I was wrong" or "sorry for calling you that" or maybe a "I should have taken you seriously"

It's such a miniscule aspect but it's brushed aside. Same thing with the whole poison situation there's little remorse and Chloe gets to handle the consequences on her terms.

Its like that with every situation really, any character (but mainly chloe) gets to stomp all over him and he's never allowed to fight back or they get "proven right" .

the most annoying part of lucifer on netflix is that he was literally right the whole time. i don't give a shit if the literal actual god was "just trying his best." lucifer was 100% right to be angry at god and in fact, i think everyone should've been downright pissed when they met him. ESPECIALLY linda. fuck her for real for telling him that his conflict with god was partially his fault. lucifer described an abusive father to her countless times and the second she met him she started fawning over him? fuck that. chloe should've punched god in the face

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The musical episode.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[fairyroses]

He was about to kill you, Lex. Or divulge something you didn't want me to know.

— SMALLVILLE, "Forever" (4.21)

+ bonus from "Arctic" (7.20):

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

We should talk more about the fact Jason got swarmed and attacked by a mob as Robin, like??? Hello. He had to be left there because the mob was too violent with Batman near. He had to be taken to the hospital.

Look at those injuries!!

The next time we see him he's forcing himself out of bed and putting on the Robin costume thinking "I've gotta do what I can to help, even if it kills me!"

The next next time we see him he has walked into yet another violent mob

I cannot stop thinking about this story and the effects it probably had on him honestly. Do you think it's made him nervous in crowds, do you think it made him trust others just that bit less. How long do you think he was being attacked before he was found, the scene had cleared. "I've gotta do what I can to help, even if it kills me!",,,,

Just the concept itself! I don't know about you guys but being attacked and grabbed and trampled into unconsciousness sounds absolutely terrifying! Did he black out, still getting hit, thinking he was going to die? Knowing he couldn't defend himself as his injuries to took their toll? At their complete mercy?

1986-87 Legends, issue #2 (the attack), #3 (the hospital), #5 (getting up), #6 (defending heros from another forming mob)

2010 DC Universe: Legacies, issue #6 (flashback panel to Legends moment)

[grendil9]

Evil and creepy and horrific and possibly fake.

I mean there may well be no euthanasia patients at all. The only thing we are shown is golem actors doing interviews before the deed is supposedly done. What if they do the interview, get wheeled through the flaps crying or something, get up, hop off the gurney, and walk out the back? Then they take their paycheck, laugh, and say "I hope the humans fall for it". Then they resurface in another country with another name and hair dye. It's not like you'll check. I'm guessing you, a normal human, will get the run around if you tried to call and schedule. But who knows?

I'm partially joking, obviously in real life the young Skeksis director will yell "Cut.", and everyone will get up and get lunch. Then they'll edit and post the video.

They'll do one or two pre-death interviews like this for youtube or the news. Maybe they'll have a youtuber crying on his/her channel saying he's gonna sign up for it, because he/she can't stand living with some fake disease anymore. Six gorillion views out of nowhere, recommended to you out of nowhere. And again he/she disappears with one last farewell video, and his name is changed, he is paid, and he's passed off to a new Skeksis handler.

It's a hoax, probably, but you've gotta understand, it's still genocide against white people. It's not something that can be laughed off and excused. This is pure evil.

This is soft genocide, not hard genocide, it's the pride of the Skeksis and their golems that they are utterly ruthless, yet in their own eyes completely innocent. They live under the sweet "law", a fabrication of masonry that stands against our creator and spits in the face of the innocent and righteous. Protected through gentle ritual, and a whimsical culture of utter secrecy, and predatory cruelty towards those who care about the truth.

So the point isn't really actually to kill anybody. The point is that you know this whole euthanasia thing is going on. The point is the recommended video. The point is to attack you with falsehood, with a message of death. It's spellcraft. It is violence, inflicting injury, against your conscience and spirit. In many ways, actually all ways, it is far, far worse than outright violence.

The message is the same across the board. All hoaxes only really have one thing to say these days, at least to me: If you are white, die or degenerate or you are not wanted.

All propaganda is this in the end. Unaliving yourself if you are white. It really doesn't matter if it comes in the form of homosexuality or transgenderism or even this, the natural evolution: outright medically assisted unaliving. It literally doesn't matter. In the end it's about ending your white, non-golem bloodline. The entirety of modern culture is set up to send you and every newborn child this message as often and as ruthlessly as possible.

Non-golem and non-Skeksis white children, normal white kids, especially in this generation, go as far as to castrate themselves and dance around in skirts because of the sheer consistency of the messaging. Literally look around to see this truth. It's death.

Yet not one proud "Christian" organization seeks to save them. Because Christianity is a conquered religion, and white people like us are in captivity to our slavers. The Skeksis. There is no mouthpiece against it, so you don't notice it at all. Until now (maybe, I'm trying to point it out as Christ commanded, because it's true).

Every single day, every single avenue of communication demands unaliving from white Christians. And it's not just hoaxes. Every story in every piece of media with a white male Character will only portray him as a good and positive force if he becomes a homosexual, or was at first born a woman and changed his gender. Otherwise he is portrayed as the villain, or as an untrustworthy, uncaring antagonist figure. There is not one single example of any alternative anywhere at all.

In nonficion, the news, and fiction, hollywood, we are told to die. We are told to destroy ourselves. And where is our Christ to save us from this unending assault that OBVIOUSLY works and works very well? Dubai? Switzerland? Wherever our savior is, I hope he is safe and having a good time.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Okay but forreal, now more than ever I desperately NEED Aya to eventually wreck Fyodor's shit somehow. I already wanted her to get her revenge before, but I didn't think Fyodor would even remember or know who she was, and would massively underestimate her for that reason (just like Jouno knew that Fukuchi would underestimate her). But now the story has instead created this twisted, fucked-up dynamic between them, where Fyodor not only knows her, but is protective of her for reasons that are not his own: he has taken the pure, noble, kind, fatherly love motivating Bram to protect Aya and warped it into something horrific, vowing to protect her body only while not caring how much her heart and mind has been scarred, and claiming to be doing it for her own salvation, when he cannot possibly understand the selfless feelings Bram had that made him want to protect her and care for her — feelings that he does not have. He may genuinely have some sort of affection for children (the way he treated Karma, "blessings for the children", this), but it is twisted and hollow and is quite possibly only him unconsciously acting out the motions due to behavior instilled in him from the feelings of all the people he's subsumed in the past.

All this is to say that, now the narrative has specifically pitted Aya and Fyodor together as direct enemies: she not only had reason already to hate him because he killed Bram, but because he's also taken Bram's love for her and defiled it, dishonored it and him and all that he was; meanwhile, Fyodor has given himself an arch nemesis that he no doubt takes great pleasure in seeing how much she hates him/how much despair he's brought her, but paradoxically at the same time feels a compulsion to "protect" her that draws himself to her and that he can't ignore. Aya has to defeat him somehow (not permanently, mind you; Dazai will undoubtedly be his final end), and the setup for Bram being able to fight back enough to stop Fyodor from the inside with her help is all right there, too. Their love for each other is still enduring, stronger than ever, Fyodor is proof of that right now, and they will be able to defeat him together, at least enough that Bram can be freed and come back to Aya. Dazai told Fyodor that he would lose because he doesn't understand and underestimates the power of friendship bonds and love, and there is no better a time for that to happen than here, when he is literally using someone's strong love for and connection with someone (acting as that person and claiming to know how they feel and to be the same as them) in a way that he cannot understand, which will be his undoing.

[novadreii]

hold up. pause.

i couldn't get 15 minutes into the finale without crying. had to stop and write this. my heart SO goes out to marissa! i relate to her so hard, having been in a weirdly similar situation to her. was also with a two-faced performative leftist Nice Guy who looooooved that i'm a Strong Woman with intense energy in the beginning, and once we moved in together decided actually, i was too much. EERILY similar to ramses.

"that's what every guy feels. they love the first few months of dating me, cause the energy is so fucking great. like i get it, i've heard that before." i wanted to hug her so badly!!!! it's the most vile feeling on earth for someone to use the reasons they used to love you as the reasons they don't anymore.

meanwhile, marissa sees their difference in vibe/energy (ramses being the "calmer" one and marissa being the more intense one) as something to be celebrated and just worked around where consideration is needed. her love supersedes and she doesn't have a need to be in a relationship with someone who is exactly fucking like her.

the poor girl was so shooketh. she couldn't believe how suddenly he changed his mind, from one minute loving everything about her and wanting to get married to wanting to break up the next. god, i understand the whiplash from that shit. she is going to need therapppyyyyyyyy.

we as women need to stop thinking that men are just having a great time in a relationship with us if they haven't brought anything up!! they do not communicate the way we do. women being quiet = everything is fine. men being quiet = everything MIGHT be fine, but he could just as equally be deeply unhappy and plotting his escape/affair. they actually are sociopathic in that they can act like they love us to placate us while they find a way to fade out of the relationship. us women know that if we're done we can't even touch him anymore!

i'm so tired of seeing the pure love of women be fucking corrupted by user men. please understand that a man's emotional landscape may as well be an alien planet, they do not experience love the way we do at ALL. women love unconditionally, faithfully, like mothers. a man's love is conditional to the dopamine he gets from your presence. that's it. and because dopamine and therefore feelings fade in and out, you point blank cannot trust a man to stay by your side throughout all of your seasons of life.

maybe he's good for right now, sure, but don't depend on him being in the picture long term. imagine when you give birth and experience physical and emotional changes, or if you go through an illness, experience a personal loss, etc. most men will not hesitate to cut you loose the moment you don't make him feel good 24/7 anymore and need to lean on HIM. they don't want to be depended on, because dependence = expectations, and expectations = control = loss of freedom to a man. there is nothing more important to a man than the freedom to do whatever the fuck he pleases at all times.

please watch this show as a way to better understand how duplicitous men operate. i don't care if you don't watch reality tv bc you're better than that, neither do i, but this show is the exception.

every SINGLE man on the cast this season has displayed GIANT red flags from day 1 IF you know how to look. there isn't a single man on S7 who i would say is real husband material. whether it's being a liar, unfaithful, hiding things about their pasts, and being actual man children who have never had to lift a finger in their entire lives, it's clear this season that the casting of the men was meant to be a cautionary tale.

[billysgirllol]

"you'll do that for me?" really, she should stop askin' him that. clearly, he'll do all the good deeds for her. but surprise once again comes and takes over all over again. she just can't believe it. "just be as careful as you can, i'm sure you will be though." a gentle smile spills over her visage, if he's been this gentle with her tangled up curls without making her wince once. the warm water he spills over her back chases out the shivers that were creeping up, how much more tentative could he possibly be? "well we didn't, til you pointed it out." a little laugh bubbles up. "'course. it's the truth." about him and horses being very intelligent, she wonders why no one's told him that before. it's an admirable trait. "why not? you're allowed to." saying sweetly, figuring he just feels like being polite which is kind of him once more.

"i believe that is what i'm sayin'..." didn't really know what she wanted to believe herself. "one time in the woods, we spoke on that. i told 'im everyone's born with a natural goodness. and how.. it's up to us whether to use it or not. he thought that was funny when he scoffed at me and didn't think it was true. i see why now." jaw clenching at the reminder, "i guess he knew deep down he didn't feel any goodness. and i understand... getting angry is a valid reaction. yelling, throwing things, stormin' around... that's a valid reaction. that doesn't make a person evil. but he tried takin' my life, he took three lives. he wanted to make me a fourth. if i didn't upset him that day, it was just a matter of time he strangled me or somethin'. he pretended to care and then has capability to take my own breath. ...does that still mean he was born good?" questioning herself, "i'm not sure." lucy gray really didn't want to believe people were born evil, but what does she think when someone tries murdering her. "i think about that, too. a lot." on what would happen if she turned back around when he kept yelling at her, they could 'talk it out'.

"but like birds... i didn't trust it. i don't know if he'd still point that gun at me. but i have a bad feelin' he would've pulled the trigger even if i had been loyal. i don't think coriolanus is the type to freak out and then expect he'll calm down and still be nice to you." that would've been enough alone for him to put a bullet in her. so it was definitely best she kept running once she already made the move. "oh, it is. it's definitely accurate." the story is insanely accurate, she's witnessed it firsthand. "i appreciate you wantin' to look out for me..." the add in about reva blue cute and making her smile but the worry takes back over. "i just don't want you getting involved, he could hurt you too. i wouldn't be able to live with myself." and what if he'd hurt her over his own brother when it came down to it? nothing can be trusted anymore. "coriolanus may never care a single thought about wonderin' if i'm alive or not. he may be convinced i am, for all i know. so hopefully... it never has to be an issue. but it's the unknown that worries me." knees still folded, arm wrapped around her legs, turning back to face him in the slightest.

“once we’re done here, i’ll wash it and it’ll be as good as new,” he promises, knowing how much sentimental value the dress has. fingertips absently stroking her hair, not even trying to brush it anymore, just trying to make her feel good and help her relax. “i haven’t, by the way. gone through your songbook, i mean.” in case she’s wondering. she gave him permission to do so last night, but it seemed too personal, too invasive. “thank you, lucy gray.” it’s been a while since someone complimented his heart. people often admire what’s on the outside — his blue eyes and dark curls, his nose or cheekbones. she’s one of a very few who seem to care more about what’s underneath. “it means the world to me. i won’t let you down, i swear it.” scooping up a handful of water, he carefully pours it over her back to ensure she stays warm. “so are you, little bird. you’re very smart, too. way smarter than me.” she wouldn’t be here with him if she wasn’t highly intelligent. she wouldn’t have escaped coriolanus. which is still such a strange thought… “oh, yeah?” thankful for the distraction, he lets out another laugh. “never noticed you were also bird-sized and i was horse-sized,” he counters, getting to see her sense of humor for the first time and letting it bewitch him. he adores this side of her, but it has him wondering if this is the girl that she used to be — full of sassy remarks and giggles and sweetness. maybe she’ll be that girl again one day.

“i see…” billy hums, nodding his head even if she can’t really see him. he quickly picks up on what she’s implying, putting two and two together. the stories that she told him last night… “you don’t think my brother was born with a good heart, is that what you’re sayin’?” as children, they were like daylight and dark. polar opposites. but can he call that little boy evil? sure, they’d had their differences, but he wasn’t bad to the bone. he didn’t chase stray cats around the neighborhood or rip the wings off flies. “i’m not sure if i agree. maybe the capitol and our grandmother did that to him.” or maybe he was born with evil already inside him and it just came to light later in life. who knows? “i’m not defendin’ him, just thinkin’ out loud,” he says quickly when lucy gray’s head snaps around, looking at him with something that he can’t quite name or understand. it has him wondering if he’s said something wrong. a small, uncertain smile remains plastered to his visage, his own heart picking up pace. “did i —” say something wrong? but before he can get the words out, she’s speaking up again and he’s falling silent. gesturing for her to carry on.

“you planted a snake to scare him away and slow him down?” dark brows lifting, impressed and wary in equal measure. what if she still thinks he’s coriolanus? will he wake up with a snake under his pillow one morning? and lucy gray nowhere to be found? the idea has his heart missing a beat, chest constricting. but if she wanted to run, she would have done that while he was out by the creek. “i didn’t know ‘bout that. i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to bring back any bad memories with that story.” features softening, understanding her reaction better now. amusement fills his eyes, and he can’t help but think it’s such a badass move, setting a snake trap. “oh, i bet he thought it was venomous. what does he know ‘bout snakes? nothin’. i think that was a smart move. risky but smart. and it served its purpose, right?” it’s scary to think that his own twin brother was trying to hunt her down, shot at her, but then he thinks about their father, the kind of person he was… and it’s not so surprising anymore. “you think he would have hurt you anyway? if you came back to him instead of runnin’ away and plantin’ that snake?” is his brother truly as ruthless and heartless as their father? his heart aches for lucy gray, but for coriolanus, too. it must be awful, living that way, filled with hatred. “mhm, yeah. it’s just a silly story, but the moral is very accurate, i think. if you go through life with hatred festering in your heart, you’ll never be happy. but if you learn how to forgive and focus on healing from the bad experiences, you’ll be alright.” as if reading her thoughts, he adds, “he won’t ever find you, lucy gray. reva blue and i won’t allow it. we will always protect you. i will protect you.” 

[cryptid-killjoy]

"Cool, we're the pineapple under the sea crew if Iorek's in."

Normal chatter until Livvy came up. There was Figaro looking on the bright though.

"True. She's not dead. At least I'm not mourning her legendary pirate soul." He started to grin at the simple act of calling her a pirate recalling how she got her name to begin with. It was so silly. How could he not smile? Then it fell. "Pretty sure she wouldn't want to see me if we did bump into each other." Then it started to grow again. "But watching her attempt to ignore, act cool, or act audacious, whichever would be cute either way." He chuckled at the thought wondering where her instinct would take her.

As for missing the randomness of people in society for these two social creatures Will was nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, exactly. That's exactly what I mean. We need chile, Smalls. I'm more used to life being a chilli cook off actually. Not just Skyline versus Goldstar, but a god damn county fair cook off any day I feel like not being in the walls. You hit the nail on the head there. Some days I even want a Chilli Dog."

Nothing got his smile to spread more than the mention of Hansel. His time in the walls was special to him. But, oh the phrasing, in the closet. He laughed out loud. "Don't crush me with ideas, Smalls. Hansel's a handsome guy." Willem would hardly be ashamed to admit he got off with a couple girls more on the idea Hansel might have been peeking through the secret wall holes and believing he was giving him a show than the thought of the girls he was with. He never said these sorts of thoughts out loud though. Hansel was probably that best friend secret soft-crush he'd never move on because A. dude was straight, and B. he'd never want to hurt Funkytown if something went wrong even if he wasn't straight. He started to realize flirting with Diana too much started to be an issue. He never wanted to hurt a doll in any way. Either way he sure didn't mind giving Hansel a show and enjoyed it.

When they got out of the bus it was hard not to notice the amount of corpse debris strewn about. He flared his nostrils on first foul breath. He put the back of his wrist up to his nose. "You might want to wear that around your neck. Damn." His brows furrowed as his face cringed unable to stop inhaling in the pungent odor due to need for breathing. He'd smelled worse, especially in the beginning, but he still wasn't used to it no matter how long he'd lived in Feral.

All he could even think to say about Quarantine was, "That's Feral for ya." It was hardly shocking even if his nose still disliked it.

Another big smile spread when he saw Figaro with a rather large weapon. "Hell yeah. That's what I'm talking 'bout. Dear Davey Jones. You look so... kick ass."

The best part of Bastien and his hoarding and their strange nothing you need store is everything that's expensive is nothing but a treasure hunt away. This appealed to Willem's pirate looting side. Bastien had a tendency to hoard anything and everything and organized in a system of his own design. Willem was more specific with his looting. That said one can best bet Wild Will came home to Funkytown one day with the Resident Evil VRs for his horror movie watching household. He brought enough headsets for half the dolls to play and even modded them to fit smaller dolls heads. Of course, the Polly Pockets and action figure sized were still out of luck, but he tried to make them user friendly. It was one of his own favorite loots.

"Yes, and please." He was ready to go up and check out the dolls that were haunting his mind tonight. He knew he wasn't going to sleep well if he didn't go check on them. So, he led Figaro on up to Livvy's old apartment. Willem had over time even gotten the key to the front door to the place because he heard of Frank's people races for Feral. The reality was most didn't make it beyond the race and if they did, they weren't prepared for what Feral was. The zombies got them before they had a chance to settle in, but on the off chance someone was a tough cookie that survived the Feral trials he wanted to keep this one space safe. So, he'd be seen pulling out a key of his own and unlocking her apartment as if it was his own. It wasn't a difficult item to acquire when the Landlord's office was abandoned.

"This is it." He knew Figaro wanted to rummage her uncle's belongings, but he still walked back to Livvy's room first.

"Her room is back here."

The shelving unit he made that Livvy never saw would be there, installed, and covered neatly in her collection of dolls and figurines. They were all lined up with care and placed at aesthetically pleasing angles.

He reached in for the mermaid first and sat on the edge of her bed. "I love this one." He said before kicking off the portion of his costume that made his feet look like hooves. They were getting uncomfortable, and it was a show he was making himself comfortable and intended to stay for a while. He was in no rush.

He took a dust cloth that was sitting off on a side table and wiped it off. It was still sitting there from last time he'd been in along with some Windex and dust spray. He intended to wipe down the shelves and tend to each one like he always did.

"She loved this one." He added. The Livvy Mermaid. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment, but he enjoyed letting the memories whirl around his head as he touched each one that were living in boxes before he pulled them out, like a collector too afraid to open them up afraid of them losing value instead of enjoying them. The only difference was he knew that wasn't why she kept them in the box. Willem always saw Livvy as another little giant too busy trying to be what she wasn't or who she thought others needed her to be to enjoy who she was. That's why he knew those dolls were loved even shoved in the back of a closet in boxes instead of given away, donated, or sold off. It was thoughts like that which Livvy never quite knew or understood about Willem because they never dwelled long on depths of each other, but it was still thoughts like that which kept Willem attached. It was too close to home.

"Every now and again I think about bringing them all back to Funkytown, but I think they'll worry they might miss her if she comes back." He'd say as if they were actually alive and had thoughts and feelings even all of these didn't have any of the Geppetto magic on them. Willem believed he understood all the feelings of dolls even when they didn't.

"They don't get too lonely. They have each other." He let Figaro know in case they were worried. It had been a worry of his.

He looked more at peace in there than at the ball. "You don't have to sit here while I tidy them. You can go exploring like you wanted. I can meet you in there when I'm done if you want?" He had a feeling Figaro would get bored watching him dust the figurines and shelves and fluff the dolls.

“I am feeling pretty jolly,” Figaro admitted. Seeing their father was bittersweet but there was a lot of good to take away from that. He was watching over them. And he was proud. The ghosts of their Merry Men friends stuck around. There wasn’t much reason to not be jolly.

“I think I’d make a sick Larry,” Figaro hummed as they careened the bus down the mountain road. “Hey Iorek, you wanna be Gary?”

The bear let out a sound that sounded half-whine, half yawn. Figaro looked over their shoulder at him.

“Mrs. Puff? You want to be Mrs goddamn Puff?” They said, with wide eyes. “Damn. I didn’t know you wanted to go for sex appeal. Let’s fuckin do it.”

They nodded, not having much of an opinion either way of whether Livvy was still going to be active in their lives or not. “Hey, she’s alive though, that’s something,” They said. Not a lot of people were these days. “So there’s a chance that you’ll be able to see her again.”

Looking on the bright side wasn’t always their forte but when it came to Will? Goddamn, they really wanted him to be happy. Even if it was with someone like Livvy. That girl had made him smile, while also being frustrating at the same time. Messy - but at least he was showing his teeth.

“You’re right about that, I miss meeting people,” Figaro said, eyes on the road, their voice actually being serious. “Nothing against our friends obviously but - yeah. Variety in the spice of life and we’re not getting that. I’m growing sick of paprika, I want some chile.”

They didn’t mean this romantically, obviously, but they were a social being. There was nothing shy about Figaro. They’d just pop in and make themselves at home, that’s how they made a lot of their friends. And either they gott rejected, or they were invited in as if they had always been there. Meeting Flotsam, as if they had been instant best friends the moment that they met. The high school cafeteria table where they sat, despite not really talking to Arthur and Lance, boom, as if they had been sitting together since kindergarden. And then inviting Willem over to live with them despite only having spoken for a couple of days. They tested that chemistry with a lot of people. And now there wasn’t anyone to pop up on.

Figaro agreed though. Willem did need a certain kind of chaos in his life. “Maybe she’ll surprise ya one day,” They offered. Granted, it seemed HIGHLY unlikely that Delta was ever going to invite in someone like Livvy, a human that didn’t offer that much to her at all. Not without killing her or something similar. But regardless. Stranger things have happened.

They chuckled as they heard Willem sing and joined in with the tune. “-in the closet, that’s Hansel, he’s a bit shy so don’t scream too much!”

They parked up by the playground and looked out the windshield at the building. This area didn’t get much upkeep in Feral. Willem was the only one who really ever came to it. Old blood - once a bright red but now a brick-brown, blended into the walls, and a few bodies still lay around, decomposing. Figaro grabbed the Dragon-Fruit Little Tree air freshener from the mirror and wrapped it around their wrist. “Man, I hate the smell of the dead in the morning,” They sighed.

The bodies didn’t smell too much. It was mostly just bones and a bit of ooze. Being left out in the elements like the sun and the rain definitely had their effects. But they took a big whiff of the air freshener before daring to step outside.

It was still dark, the sky only lightening slightly, as they approached the building. It seemed so desolate. It didn’t need the Frank and Delta treatment to be spooky. “Why am I getting REC vibes? Quarantine? I wish I had a machete.”

That’s when they spotted something glistening. “Oh hey, a dead cop. Oooooh, hey, a dead cop’s gun!” They said, going towards it and took it out of the corpse’s fingerbones. “Now we’re going Resident Evil, baby. Let’s go hang out with some cool dolls.”