#but it's their choice and they have to live with the consequences

[ionfusionpunk]

Maybe an example will help anyone still struggling to understand.

I had two main abusers in my childhood. One of them deeply regretted his choices and faced the legal consequences of said choices willingly. He went on to have a family and live a happier life. I haven't and will never forgive him for what he did to me. But I can clearly see that he *has* changed. I don't have to interact with him *ever*, and that's my choice. But he has to live with himself. And he wants to be *better*. He *has* changed, so even if I never forgive him, I'm not mad that he's out improving himself.

My other abuser, on the other hand, has never once changed. He's gone on to stay the same person he has always been. He's doubled down and accused my siblings of being awful because they asked for acknowledgement and compromise and improvement on his part. I won't ever forgive him for his abuse, either. But I AM angry at and with him because yes, he has to live with himself, but he's making that everyone else's problem by trying to trap us there with him. There is no improvement.

People can change. People SHOULD change. If we don't change, then we're only hurting the people around us as well as ourselves. Abuse isn't okay. But in one scenario, the cycle was broken, and that's what I *wanted*. In the other scenario, the cycle has perpetuated, and that's what *you* fear.

the thing is, if your younger self was a bigot or an abuser, u can't make people forgive you. but you still gotta forgive yourself, like that's non-negotiable, dude. that happens before u can even ask the question of earning forgiveness from anyone lese

[bullet-prooflove]

The Wedding Gift: John Shen x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @miraclesabound @cannonindeez @fadeinsol @nommingonfood

Companion piece to:

Ashes - You take revenge on the first man your parents sold you to.

The Choice - In the wake of his brother’s suicide John goes against his parents’ wishes and makes a choice about his residency.

You Should See Me In A Crown - A chance encounter sparks the beginning of something special for John.

Dick Pics - You and John discuss your dating life in the ambulance bay during a rare shift break.

Brunch - John refuses to give up when you miss brunch with him.

Silly Little Boys (NSFW) - John's not like the other men you've been with.

In The Summer - You discover John's secret.

Tiger, Tiger - John reveals the truth between his engagement and his history.

Jack - John's mother opens up old wounds by giving John a copy of your DCFS file.

Bare (NSFW) - John and you commit to each other in a special way.

The Shirt - Jack realises that you're wearing a boyfriend shirt.

Tradition - Mrs Shen makes a decision regarding the wedding.

John’s dad brings out the worst in him.

John knows this because whenever he sits across from the man he’s filled with an inexplicable sense of rage, one that burrows like a barb underneath his skin.

It started after Michael passed away and has continued throughout John’s three year residency into his attending career.

After four years he thought it would have ebbed but it’s still there, vengeful and prevalent. It’s made worse by the fact his father is trying to treat him like a teenager, to dictate his life yet again from a leather chair in Pittsburgh’s most expensive gentleman’s club. The scent of old money, cigars and entitlement permeates his nostrils, only adding fuel to the fire.

“I’m not giving up Cici.” He tells Bo Shen as the other man swills the ice cubes in his glass, making them clack together. “I do not give a shit what deal you made with Jia’s family…”

The left side of Bo’s mouth tips up into a sneer at the sound  of your name and John wants to flip the fucking table.

“We’re rescheduling the wedding for the Spring.” Bo tells his youngest son. “After that I expect you to work your hardest on producing an heir. You can keep you little American fling on the side. It’s of no consequence.”

“That’s not happening-”

“Jian-Wen.” Bo says sternly, using John’s Chinese name to reinforce his words. “You will do as I say!”

“No I fucking won’t.” John says, raising to his feet. “Don’t think that I don’t know what this is about, your media company, it’s failing isn’t it? The Mings, they’re offering you a cash injection under the guise of a wedding gift?”

The expression on his father’s face in that moment, it tells John everything he needs to know.

“It started with Michael didn’t it? He knew what was going to happen, how it would ‘dishonour’ the family so he sunk all of his money into it and it still wasn’t enough, in fact it killed him.” John places his hands on his hips as he stares down at this father, his eyes glinting like polished onyx. “And now you’re trying to sell your youngest son just so you won’t have to face the ugly truth, that the company is floundering, that it’s been floundering for years and it is dragging you down with it.”

“You don’t understand.” Bo says harshly. “You don’t understand what it will do to our reputation, how it will ruin your mother…”

“She doesn’t know?” John asks incredulously. “She doesn’t know how close to the edge you are teetering?”

“This marriage will put things back on track. Each child you have will add more abundance to the business.” Bo informs him and John feels like he’s losing his damn mind because in what world would a man put a price on his grandchildren.

 He can already see their lives playing out in horrific detail, promised to other wealthy families under the same premise, their own children paid for. He won’t contribute to that legacy, he won’t be a part of it.

“If you loved me you wouldn’t ask me to sacrifice my happiness for this.” He tells his father, giving him one last chance.

“If you cared about this family, you’d do your duty.” Bo counters and John knows that this is a losing battle. 

“When all this shit comes crashing down around your head, I’ll still be here as your son but I won’t be marrying Jia, and I won’t be leaving Cici. You’ll have to find some other way out of this mess.”

He walks away then, leaving his father in the rearview to face his reckoning.

Love John? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Before you join the taglist make sure to read the rules here as you otherwise you won’t be added.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[soratatakano]

Silco Wasn't Good — But He Was Enough

I keep seeing debates about whether Silco was a “good father” — but the more I read, the more I realize that so many people judge him by the standards of our world, not his. Zaun is not a place where gentle ideals survive. It's brutal, broken, and unforgiving. You don’t get to parent in a world like that the way you would in ours. And yet… Silco still tried. That’s what makes his relationship with Jinx so powerful — and so tragic.

So I wrote this — not to excuse who he was, but to try and understand how he loved, and why that still matters. Was Silco a good father?

It’s a question that often divides Arcane viewers — yet too often, it’s judged through the lens of modern, idealized standards, rather than the brutal reality of the world Silco and Jinx lived in. To answer honestly, we have to separate our expectations from the world of Zaun — a place where innocence is a liability, and survival outweighs morality.

Silco was a criminal, a revolutionary, a murderer — someone who acted with cold calculation. But he wasn’t hollow. Fatherhood wasn’t his goal — it was a consequence of a choice made from a place of humanity that, despite everything, still lived in him. He wasn’t capable of being a "good" father in the social sense — he didn’t know how. He had never experienced those ideals himself. He was a man shaped by trauma, betrayal by Vander, years of isolation, and a consuming obsession with Zaun’s freedom. Such experiences warp your moral compass. And still — he tried.

You can’t give more than you have. Silco didn’t know how to love in the way we often expect. He had no softness, no experience of tenderness. But he gave Jinx everything he did have — his time, his attention, his presence, and most importantly, a place at his side. He didn’t shut her out or keep her at arm’s length for her protection. He brought her into his world, made her his equal, trusted her with secrets no one else knew. Their relationship was built on trust and understanding — even if the language they spoke was violence and survival.

And more than that — he tried to give more than he had. Even though he wasn’t built for softness, he still tried to protect her, took responsibility for her actions, justified her choices. He sought stability for her, even when he had never known it himself. He was willing to abandon his dream — the dream he had sacrificed everything for — if it meant she would be safe. That’s not manipulation. That’s love, expressed by a man who had no other way to show it.

Jinx, though damaged, wasn’t passive. She recognized in Silco the only person who never left her. Her loyalty wasn’t forced — it was conscious and deep. And that’s why she became his weapon — not because he made her into one, but because she chose to. He never tried to fix her or force her back into being Powder. He let her be who she was. And in her own understanding of love, she accepted his monstrosity and chose to shield him from the world that would tear him down.

He wasn’t a good father by ideal standards. But he was a good father in a world that had no room for ideals. He gave everything he had — even if all he had were broken things. And still, he tried to give more.

[loredrinker]

Walking the Din'anshiral: Inquisitor Lavellan 

Days ago, I wrote about Solas invoking the din'anshiral in Trespasser. But Solas is not the only one who walks it. Inquisitor Lavellan, left in the aftermath of Trespasser, begins her own long journey on it. However, unlike Solas, the path doesn't destroy her - it reveals instead her resilience and inner strength and that she's redefined the meaning of the path itself. 

To understand her arc, we return to the moment Solas first names the din’anshiral: 

Lavellan: Let me help you, Solas.  Solas: I cannot do that to you, vhenan.  Lavellan: But you would do it to yourself? I cannot bear to think of you alone.  Solas: I walk the din’anshiral. There is only death on this journey. I would not have you see what I become. 

Many have interpreted Lavellan’s ‘let me help you” as a willingness to join Solas’s cause, but I see a different interpretation. This dialogue sets a foundation for the Lavellan we meet in Veilguard - the one who has not ended the relationship and who ‘vows to save Solas from himself’. Let’s call this Lavellan Atonement Lavellan. This specific dialogue reflects a lot about this character’s written core – how she sees Solas and instinctively refuses to abandon someone to suffering. 

If you are playing Atonement Lavellan - or choose to have any high approval Inquisitor in the atonement ending - I believe you are playing a character oriented toward connection.

Atonement Lavellan instinctively understands that Solas’s weakness isn’t his pride or arrogance - it’s his isolation. Her offer to walk beside him is a quiet act of resistance against the ideological death march he's committed himself to. She isn’t offering agreement with his plans - she’s offering her presence. I'm not certain at this point Lavellan has a plan, she's winging it (she's just found out he's the Dread Wolf after all), but all she knows is that she can't bear to think of him alone, meaning she intuitively knows that him cutting himself off from connection is not good.

Replaying Veilguard and returning to this moment in Trespasser, I saw this Lavellan symbolizing connection as a response to suffering. This is consistent with the kind of Inquisitor who helps Cole find his way, who hugs Varric after losing Hawke, who checks in on Cullen during his withdrawals and who offers Blackwall another chance. This is an Inquisitor who meets pain with presence and that doesn’t believe pain should be carried alone.

This dialogue choice also reveals something about Atonement Lavellan’s character framework in this narrative. She's not operating from wounded pride, nor seeking affirmation of his love as a salve for her own pain. Her instinct tells her this isn’t about her - it’s about the internal war Solas is fighting against himself. She swallows her own pride and heartbreak (heartbreak that would have been justified) to reach for something higher – something Solas is unable to do. Her true opponent in that moment isn’t actually Solas. It’s the din’anshiral itself. 

What I love about Atonement Lavellan is how she balances two seemingly irreconcilable truths: she is the Inquisitor, a symbol of political leadership and martial consequence - and she is also someone who loves a man now prepared to destroy the world. Her narrative doesn’t resolve that tension – it lives in it. It is her din'anshiral.  

Lavellan’s Own Din’anshiral 

"I am here, walking the din'anshiral with you." 

A quiet evolution takes place for Atonement Lavellan between Trespasser and Veilguard - one we don’t witness directly in the game, but which becomes clear in these words to Solas. In the years since Trespasser, she has walked her own road of sorrow and loss. All Inquisitors bear the heavy responsibilities of consequence, but for this elven Inquisitor, the din’anshiral resonates on an ancestral level. It connects her to the ancient Elvhen world, becoming a journey she walks to understand Solas more deeply, to understand that world. Somewhere in those intervening years, I believe Atonement Lavellan made a conscious choice to walk the path. But where Solas walks the din’anshiral in service of destruction, Inquisitor Lavellan walks in resistance to it.

By Veilguard, we see a romanced Atonement Lavellan who has paid a steep personal price for her choices. Her clan has been harmed or killed due to war table decisions. Learned revelations that have shaken her understanding of her gods and culture. She's a Dalish elf forced into the role of a religious symbol in a Chantry-dominated South and has either disbanded the Inquisition or surrendered it to the very systems that once oppressed her people. The Venatori still hunt her. The Grey Wardens don’t trust her. Varric is dead - killed by Solas. The title of Inquisitor, regardless of their background, is marked by compromise, impossible choices, and death. 

Despite the collapse of the Inquisition and years of political fallout, it is still the Inquisitor the people look to when the South begins to weaken under the failed ritual's chaos. That tells us something fundamental about who the character of Atonement Lavellan has become through the din'anshiral lens. The path includes defending a world that both mistrusts and depends on her. And in this new war, she may well die before ever facing Solas again. No promise of reward, no expectation of reunion. Even stripped of title and institution, she stands at the center of the fight, holding the truth that she leads Southern Thedas’s survival because of him. 

And this is the contrast to her walking the path as opposed to Solas. She's reclaiming the din’anshiral, transforming it from a path of death into a journey of survival. She doesn't give in to despair, though it might have tried to claim her many times.

So when Lavellan stands before Solas at the end of Veilguard, her words carry all of that. "I am here, walking the din'anshiral with you" - is a declaration forged through lived experience. She’s a woman who has known her own darkness and has chosen, again and again, not to let it define her. In my eyes, she is a hero of Thedas, standing beside a broken god, offering not salvation, but presence. Oh, what the history books will say of her 100 years from now! 

Whether the din’anshiral began as a vow of exile among the ancient elvhen or is simply a metaphor of ruin, there’s a quiet symmetry in Lavellan telling Solas that she, too, has walked it - not in opposition, but in parallel - their two paths finally merging.

Is the din’anshiral over for them? Not yet. Lavellan’s words in the present tense make that clear. For the Atonement Lavellan who leaves with Solas, it's the continuation of that path - perhaps shadowed and uncertain at first - but no longer walked alone. 

[regretismyconstantcompanion]

Albus stood still, the air between them thick with the sting of Harrys words and outburst. He didn’t flinch. Not when Harry stepped back, not when the Chocolate Frog card was snatched from his fingers, not even when Harry spat the last bitter syllables at him.

"You are right,” he said, his voice quiet, measured, but clear. "You are not a child. And I do not claim responsibility for your choices. Nor do I question your right to make them." His expression, however, had shifted—cool but not unfeeling. There was a sadness there, yes, but not the kind that begged for forgiveness. It was something older, something that had come to understand that being right and being good did not always walk hand in hand. "But you are mistaken in one thing, Harry," he said slowly, eyes narrowing just a fraction. "I do want you here. But wanting and allowing are not the same." He took a step forward. Not close enough to crowd, but enough to make sure his voice would reach without force. "Time is fragile. And so are people. The moment you arrived in this world, you risked changing it. And while I do not believe in fate, I have lived long enough to know that meddling in the fabric of reality has consequences. For you. For others. You may not care about that now, but someday, you will."

He nodded toward the Time Turner, now hidden in Harry’s robes. "And as much as it pains you to hear it, the Time Turner does not belong to you. It never did. It was meant to return you to your own path—not to offer you an escape." He inhaled, and this time, the weight in his chest was unmistakable. "If there is nothing left in your world, then build something. Fight for it. Don’t run from the ruin and call it freedom." There was no raised voice, no thunder behind the words. Just Albus Dumbledore as he truly was—tired, brilliant, and burdened by truths he never enjoyed speaking aloud.

"And yes," he added, "perhaps I am a prick. But I am not your enemy. You may hate me, Harry. I will not stop you. But don’t confuse your pain for clarity. That, I have watched destroy too many good men." He stepped back now, letting the space between them widen once again.

"You may go. I will not stop you. But if you stay… know that it must be for the world’s sake, not just your own." Then, softly, almost too softly to be heard. "And for what little it is worth... I am sorry."

Albus Dumbledore was sitting on the couch, staring into the fireplace that was across from him. The crackling of the flames was the only sound breaking the silence in the cottage that was nestled in the Scottish Highlands. It was isolated, miles away from even the nearest village. He had chosen it for that very reason, desperate for solitude even if it wasn't something that had been forced upon him. He had lost the duel against Grindelwald. He had known that had always been a possibility. There were equals after all and had known each other painfully well. They had spent that summer duelling, friendly but pushing each others boundaries. They had grown and changed and become more powerful but their tendencies had lingered. The fight had lasted well over an hour but in the end, Gellert had just gotten the better of him and managed to disarm him and send him flying backwards. His only minor consolation was the fight had left them both panting and injured. But it had been clear who the winner was. There was no backing out of the agreement they had made. His time in Nurmengard had been brief. A chance to recover from the duel before Gellert gave him an ultimatum. He could remain free if he agreed to leave Hogwarts and retreat from the Wizarding World. Albus had already known he would leave the school, for certainly he had lost that right when he had failed his students and the Wizarding World as a whole. He had agreed, knowing Gellert wasn't giving him a choice and not agreeing would result in either his death or being imprisoned in Nurmengard forever or the deaths of those he cared about. And so here he was, over a year after the duel. Staring into the fire, sitting beside a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Books had been removed from the overflowing bookshelves, scattered around the room. Some had been read, some he hadn't even yet opened. Plain parchment piled up on the desk. Few knew where he was and so letters came rarely. He had picked some of the fruit and vegetables he grew in a small garden he tended to. Perhaps he would make some jams and chutneys if he could find the strength and motivation. It came sometimes, mixed in with the heavy weight of despair that seemed to fill his waking hours. He had failed. He had let down the wizarding world and now he banished just beyond the world he loved so much. He knew what was happening there, of course. He did his best to learn of Gellerts ongoing plans and rise to power. Without him there, there was nothing to stop him. He knew the few Ministries that still existed moved against him but it wouldn't take much for them to fall. Everything would be lost then and Albus knew he was powerless to stop it. @johamfated

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Anyway Monty is a Gothic heroine send tweet: Aka, Monty the Crow and The Devouring House

Gothic literature/horror is about pushing societal taboos/exploring the implications of what isolation/the literal house(family) as a haunting can do to the human psyche. What happens when you fuck with the human condition and turn it in on itself and trap it in a cage where the child has no idea of what usual societal expectations are? What if they have no access to socialization and only what is provided by the parent/the house? What can be normalized? What taboo is not seen as taboo? What can they do with all these human feelings but no healthy outlet?

It's Wuthering Heights. It's the Haunting of Hill House. It's Frankenstein. It's the house as a ghost. It's the family as an inversion of itself. It's the blurring of lines between what is healthy and unhealthy and what is love and what is obsession and what is temptation and sin and what is expected.

Gothic literature comes from the castle. From the imprisonment of ladies within a context that they cannot escape from and what the pressures on their shoulders trap them in and the unhealthy ways that feminine sexuality (historically speaking) might express itself when it has only ever known suppression due to societal expectations and history. It takes its name from Gothic architecture, these dark, sweeping buildings of stone and arches and where you cannot step inside without feeling the literal weight of history and Catholicism (one of the leading causes of female sexual suppression/guilt/etc. During these time periods) bearing down on you. As a result, sexuality can only be expressed in unhealthy ways (women falling for their uncles/guardians/and even step/half-siblings) both because of a) if you feel sexual feelings you direct them somewhere but you only have the outlet of the people you're surrounded by b) economic circumstances often dictate you gotta marry someone wealthier/older/has more power to than you and then these stories often end with tragic consequences (discovering your spouse is keeping his ex-wife in the attic (Jane Eyre)/killed his ex-wife (Rebecca)/murder by spouse(so many I can't count)/murder by parents/murder by self) due to the fact that as a result of you being unable to live 1) in the castle because the pressures are so unhealthy or 2) out of the castle because you do not know how to live in the real world you can exist nowhere. 

It's for these reasons why you can't extricate Monty and Esther from their Gothic origins. The house is haunted. The house is a ghost. The house consumes its young. The house is the vampire, the house is the all-consuming stomach, the house is an extension of Esther and her power and Monty is a bird being eaten by a snake and the snake is Esther and Esther is the house and the cage door is unlocked but Monty can never leave.

Gothic literature which is a subgenre that is literally built around the cycle of abuse/the inability to escape the House (both the literal house and metaphorical House- i.e., the family and the generational trauma/ghosts haunting it) and how the only way the heroine gets to escape its influence is through Death, and how Monty is the one character in the show who never gets to escape the cycle/dies both tragically and is folded back into the House itself (literally being stripped of his humanity/choice) at the end of the episode.

The house as a cycle of abuse. The house as generational trauma. The house as a prison. The house as a stomach. The house as the devourer of youth. Hannah, Hope, Charles, Monty- all with their adulthood stolen from them by the family/house that trapped them. Getting stuck in the loop. Getting stuck as a ghost. Edwin and Crystal pulling Charles/the Devlin girls out and breaking them out of the Gothic genre. No one being there to break Monty out and so him, being more than any other character, the embodiment of the Gothic heroine.

[eclipse-rain]

I feel so very deeply about Jean 'i wish i didnt feel anything' Moreau

Jean with his blank expression and dull eyes being disgusted with feeling his emotions after years of supression. For example - the way he clutched his hands over his mouth in Rhemmans office and begged himself not to cry, to endure like he always did. How he cried after the news of his sisters death in front of Neil because its Neil - someone whos mere presence annoys the living daylights out of him yet knows would do him no harm when vulnerable - and no one else was there. How he has yet to smile a genuine smile that wasnt out of malice or a laugh that wasn't out of incredulity as his entire worldview collapsed.

How he hurts himself when he's uncomfortable because he doesn't know how to deal with it. How he's irritated by his sessions with bee and locks himself away in rooms in the process for privacy even though he's just listening to her speak and not actively participating and voicing his own emotions and problems - again, like Neil, so it's very dear to me that Neil and Rhemman are the two people Jean got to be vulnerable in front of and without consequence which is a big thing for him. "Why didn't they love me?/i want to go home/i didnt deserve it" Jean who never had a choice and had to try and keep his heart contained in a box to survive.

And then in contrast we have Jeremy who had a choice and tried actively not to feel his emotions. He tried to drown them out with anything he could, drugs, sex, alcohol, so he wouldnt have to feel the wretched emotions dug up from his shitty home life where his mother neglected her childrens emotions and brushed them off whenever they would come to her eg. Jeremys sexuality, Brysons drugs, Annalises pain, Joshuas worry, Noahs obvious unstableness. (Not to mention his break up with his boyfriend that his own parents forced and him choosing a car over Jeremy which again was done by his parents as well as seeing his siblings having to recover in the hospital after their accident when they looked on deaths door and lets be honest their parents probably only came to check they were alive).

His mother made it seem as if their (her childrens) emotions were a burden and that they should be digusted by their own emtions too. And even though she got Jeremy into rehab it wasnt for his wellbeing or emotions it was for the Wilshire image. And she got him a therapist that she wont let him stop seeing weekly even though he has obviously progressed to the point of only need monthly sessions - again, showing how negelectful she really is. It isn't like he isnt talking to his therapist as well, he has actively been making progress with her which has been shown since she has given him solutions but he backs down from ever using them (eg. that one time with Annelise) because it would only dredge up more unwanted feelings and this time he has nothing to fall back on (sure if not the drugs then there's still the smoking and alcohol but both Laila and Jean hate it).

I could probably talk about both of them longer but already no ones gonna read this long ass paragraph so im gonna leave this here

[koiiiso]

Two Fates Linger.

Batfam/Reader

The Flowers in the Attic will Rot.

Some HCs, summaries, and a poll with options that you can choose within a week’s time. Remember, this action will have consequences. Whether good or bad, that will be up to fate’s choice, you only have a small pick in it.

╰┈➤ ˎˊ˗

Lore HCs. [These are my personal ideas, but they are up for your own interpretation as you, the reader, are them.]

The Reader has always felt differently from the others, always felt distant despite a constant trying.

Originally they were with their mother, but she ended up passing in a car crash, they were left with the police, the other driver was a drunk, and ended up in jail.

It took about five years for them to stop trying to impress the family, and over those five years, they started self destructive behavior.

It was self deprecating at first, which isn’t any better but still stands. Anyway, the first thing that started was the diary entries, the ones that depicted how they wanted to either live long enough to be noticed or simply die before the family would see them.

They were first integrated into the family at five, young enough to be innocent, to allow the neglect to foster in a more sensitive way, though even if they were with the family at an older age, the neglect would still be unwarranted and unacceptable.

When they were ten, they started to pull their hair. It started with simple strands here and there when they felt worse and worse, then it became multiple at a time until it was full strands.

Two years later, they started to actively search for another way as insecurity bloomed like an ugly flower.

Wigs were a common thing, and they had a little fun with it, probably the only real fun they had at the manor.

Their school life isn’t that different or outstanding. They were good at somethings, bad at others, it was an unfortunate thing really, they were never enough truly.

Sure they were bullied a bit, but sometimes it was better than being straight up ignored.

The second instance of self harm was actual cutting. They took a rusty blade bit off of an eyebrow razor, and you can probably tell the rest.

They were caught once after an overdose attempt at eleven by Alfred, they denied, denied, denied, unaware of how desperate they would be to talk to someone years later.

They would have benefited greatly if they did end up getting therapy at an earlier age, just saying, but you can’t blame them really.

The reason Dick went into their room was because he was going through some stuff and since their room was right next to a closet, he mistook it.

Personal HCs [These are personal things, like hobbies they held, interests, and just happy stuff.]

They have many hobbies, most chosen to distract themself from their own mind, the first was writing, and their last, and favorite, was photography.

Photos litter their walls alongside posters, their favorite things littered across their room, trinkets and all.

They have a lizard, the little guy is their best friend. They’re very, well happy.

They had a friend before they were made to leave to the manor. They don’t remember her name, but she was the best person they ever knew, it would be nice if they could meet again, in any place, maybe even in a video game store.

They collect vintage things, specifically vintage cameras.

Summary 1/2. [It’s Never Over.]

After everything Dick saw, after every word he read, he came to sense that he needed to tell someone, anyone. He needed to talk to the one person anyone could rely on.

Alfred.

Alfred was always there when needed. He’s perfect. So he told him.

You woke up alone, like it was a bad dream. Except it was real. Your arms were bandaged, your pills weren’t there, and your sheets were changed. You reach over, and the blade was gone.

You look around, staring at the ceiling, and then the walls, posters gone, chandelier now missing.

This wasn’t your room.

Summery 2/2 [The Calm Before The Storm.]

That night, in disbelief, Dick left your room, box in hands, contraband inside and not near you.

You wake up again, like another morning as the sun shines down on you, peaceful after everything.

The day wakes and you, despite everything, get on with your day, like before, like how it often is. Get up, ready, go to school, go to the video place, and see her.

Her.

She’s the only one person who’s nice to you, the one who remains. You would get her number if you weren’t a bad texter.

You talk with her, hours and hours, then you make yourself go home.

No that wasn’t home, you go back to the manor.

Nothing changed as you go on with your life, except Dick started to talk to you.

He never spoke to you after you quit talking to him.

Weeks pass, and the eyes on you increase, and yet you remain the same. The same routine keeps with you.

Until the shootout, until she was taken from you.

dniweR

The day starts again, and after you got ready, you skipped school. You went to her, and she remained.

What the fuck.

Moments like these make me ponder what direction to go in, so I will let you decide. Remember, your choices have consequences, whether positive or negative.

So choose.

[siren-of-fire]

"Maybe the corruption needed me as much as I needed it"

Where did this need come from?

Was it the helplessness of Mocha never being given a choice from the start, desparately surviving and in the end he grew so tired of everything and wished to escape.

Was it the the tragic nature of Pili five apples tall- how he couldn't find his way back home, how nobody saw him as his own person, constantly put the blame on him by saying he had amnesia and he should be understanding of others feelings when they never even tried seeing his feelings ever, didn't trust him at all and was rude and unkind to him, didn't help when he was getting stalked or when his house was blown up or when he was killed multiple times and when he was having his best day since he came to this Realm and was murdererd. And all those times he couldn't do anything and just had to accept it. Just like so many other things he just swallowed it and let it happen.

Helpless and weak yet again just like Mocha. Pili 2 didn't do anything but the actions of the version who lived before him still haunted others mind and he faced the direct consequence of it.

Is it the multiple people constantly telling him that he will never be good enough, telling him he will always be a void that will never be satisfied with anything, calling him weak over and over and mocking and making fun of him?

Is it the irony of how everyone he is close to ends up somehow getting away from him?

But corruption revived him, it doens't leave him but instead gives him a motive.

Ace sees corruption as a misunderstood thing and a sentient being, it listens to him and follows him and in return he gets to be powerful and spread its seed everywhere for others to see its beauty as well. Its a bond where they both support each other.

Corruption doesn't make him feel helpless but instead makes him feel stronger and more in control. It doesn't judge him and needs him just as much desparately as he does because without a host corruption can't spread it's roots everywhere. Ace is acting as agent in helping it seek that motive.

Many others never even cared for him but maybe the corruption provides him with that care and warmth in its own twisted way. When Mocha's soul suffering from too much burden was in a fragile state, his soul was open to the hands of corruption and revived him and consumed all those painful memories he once had.

Corruption gives him a powerful tool and made him the Harbinger of the 4th and he in also returns that care with gentle words, singing and hugs essentially spreading the seed of it even more. Their motives to cause chaos align quite well too some would say. Now that's what some might say is a perfect teammate for Ace.

So yes in a twisted and weird mind control way him and corruption do need each other and are working together quite well it seems.

[tcoaal]

Got this ask about Andrew becoming Lord Unknown's servant and... honestly? I think that might be a good contender for a bad ending in Chapter 4 Decay.

I am of the belief neither demon has Andrew's or Ashley's best interest in heart: all their actions have pointed to them wanting to be more useful in what they claim will be a mutually beneficial relationship. It's why I don't really like to call what Lord Unknown does as "Demon Therapy" or anything: it's a forceful probing of Andrew's mind without his consent to "fix" him so he can hatch into an apparently more useful Tar Soul.

I think one of the most poignant scenes in all of 3A was how Andrew reacts to being shown... comfort from someone other than Ashley. I think it's a very important scene.

When I first played this I kind of gasped. The way the music stopped, and the transition from "Fucking Snoop" to "Something Terrifying" to "Something Kind."

Suddenly, you understand why people join cults.

I do not believe the demons have Andrew's or Ashley's best interest in minds, and I think Lord Unknown's personal desire is to sever Ashley and her memory from his life in some capacity. So I think Decay's ultimate bas ending will ultimately be an ending where Andrew lives without Ashley. An ending where Ashley is dead and he just... keeps living on as this thing's puppet.

There's this quote from No Longer Human I think about in regards to this specifically, now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness:

“Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness. Everything passes. That is the one and only thing that I have thought resembled a truth in the society of human beings where I have dwelled up to now as in a burning hell. Everything passes.”

And that's Andrew with Ashley dead and his emotions hollowed out by this demon. And afterwards, Lord Unknown essentially tasks him with leading the cult,

Freedom from the person he has hated more than anyone else, but also the only person he's ever truly loved in any true capacity. No more of the consequences he has feared: if things get dicey, Lord Unknown will simply move him without effort.

Freedom from choices. Freedom from hatred. Freedom from love. There is no happiness, but there is neither sorrow. There is no hope, yet there is no despair. Simply... a simple existence and orders followed. Full indoctrination into a cultist way of thinking, leaving behind absolutely everything, even the sole thing that was precious to him solely for the sake of "peace."

Peace, and praise: that too is important. You did good. I'm proud of you. Wonderful work, Andrew. You did a good job. Your work is valued.

The complete and absolute obliteration of everything that made him Andrew graves. There is another text comparison I have, the ending of the script of Midsommar relevant to this as Dani fully embraces what happens and accepts being absorbed into a cult once and for all: "A SMILE finally breaks onto Dani’s face. She has surrendered to a joy known only by the insane. She has lost herself completely, and she is finally free. It is horrible and it is beautiful."

I can see Andrew like, in the future, being the cult leader. He's gaining more followers, and more important, actually knowing how the summoning works has gathered more souls and sacrifices for Lord Unknown. Hey, please imagine him talking with some of the new recruits or something-

"O-oh... s-sorry sir, didn't mean-"

"No, please, it's fine- no need to be so formal. Call me Andy."

But not Leyley's Andy. Lord Unknown's Andy. Someone incapable of happiness or sorrow, content to finally have obtained what he once thought he wanted.

... I doubt it'd go this way, but I guess that's how I'd want a Decay bad ending route to go! I've been meaning to talk about this since getting an anon almost a week ago, and I figured might as well finally share!

[tinytalkingtina]

WIP Weekend

Thanks for the tag @sourw0lfs!

I know I still have a number from last weekend in the inbox, but this weekend I actually will have the time to get to them, huzzah!

Rules: Send me an emoji in an ask, and I'll write 3-5 sentences and/or paragraphs from that WIP. No limits to the amount of emojis you can request, please feel free to send multiple

🐶 B.A.D. D.O.G. (sequel to the college AU puppy play Stomeddie/Stommie fic) is nearly there! Hoping to have time this weekend to make a final push <3

🧜‍♂️ Participating in the STMonsterCalendar Mermay Bingo event, with 2/4 fics for this completed so far. Still need to work on the SFW paired buckingham/steddie fics, but been having fun doing research on waterparks and fleshing out what were supposed to be super short 300-500 word fics. They'll both probably end up closer to 1k, oops. Gonna publish the first of these probably this coming week though!

🏴‍☠️ Eddierotica: "Eddie writes the world's worst erotica about characters who are just poorly disguised versions of himself and Steve. They're not dating." continues! Loving the enthusiasm for this one, hoping I'll have more creativity in the tank to do this justice haha. For what I've been picturing as Steve's live reaction please see this coincidentally perfect photoset Djo recently released. 💥Steddie Big Bang: Secret fic is at 5.5k now, and written out some fun consequences to the worldbuilding choices in this story. This can't be publicly shared yet, so if you send in this emoji feel free to pick another fic as well, and I'll write 3 sentences for both.

Tagging some folks to join in and work on their own WIPs this weekend :D

@vthx @hbyrde36 @pearynice @queenofshenigans @onirislanding

@dame-zoom-a-lot @fkinkindagauche @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @queenie-ofthe-void @yesdangerpls

@apomaro-mellow @strangerthingswritersguild

Enjoy a SFW snippet from 🧜‍♂️ below the cut featuring Eddie's gay longing

Just as he managed to get his group seated, tinny speakers stuttered to life and began to play a jaunty naval-themed tune: it was time for the show to begin. Eddie’s heart beat faster in anticipation of seeing him again. One by one, the mermaids appeared, decked out in bright colorful tails and waterproof makeup to match. Each one was “more lovely than the last!” as the announcer proclaimed. Except that wasn’t true. Because Mermaid #5, with his fire engine-red tail, was the only one Eddie had eyes for. As he swam around, Mermaid #5’s blonde-highlighted hair swirled in the current. It made the perfect halo for his beautiful face, with it’s strong nose, sparkling eyes, and infectiously warm smile. From his vantage point in the arena, Eddie could just make out moles dotted all over his mermaid’s body. And, oh, what a body! Mermaid #5 wasn’t jacked up with bulging muscles like Schwarzeneggger. No, he was all lean lines from swimming strapped into a tail all day. He even had visible abs from some angles, like when he was picking up and tossing another mermaid to fly and flip in the air. Eddie swallowed a sigh. Surely, Mermaid #5 had to be the prettiest boy in the world. And the prettiest boy in the world would never know how smitten he was. Eddie was too much of a coward to even ask around for the guy’s name, much less strike up a conversation. Sure, the sparkling stud Mermaid #5 wore in his ear was promising, but the guy had to already be taken by someone (that hypothetical lucky bastard). Which meant he’d have to be content with pining from afar and bemoaning his fate to Chrissy evening after evening. Not that she was any help, egging on his hopeless crush and laughing at how he tripped over himself to hide whenever he spotted anyone with frosted tips coming his way.

[areyoudoingthis]

i love talking to my friends who also have shitty parents cause they immediately understand the situation without me needing to explain and it's like "one of those conversations?" "yeah"

[mamawasatesttube]

peak timsteph to me is like, some situation where they are in the heights of their divorce era, but something happens that gets steph real rattled, and tim doesn't want to comfort her himself but he doesn't want her to be completely alone with it either. so she hears a knock at the door and opens it to find a plate full of steaming hot mashed potatoes. he's nowhere to be found but she knows no one else would've known what her number one comfort food is. the presence of the potatoes means something. so does his absence. who else knows her like he does? it haunts her every time she sees the scars on the nape of his neck. (not that she sees those often. there's a reason he keeps the cowl up and his hair long, these days.)

[crabsnpersimmons]

swapping Y/N's with @starriegalaxy!!

i'm still learning magma, so starrie and i decided to draw our moons swapping Y/Ns from our AUs!

if you haven't yet, check out Starrie's Fear Factor AU: https://www.tumblr.com/starriegalaxy/739357795303014400/dca-x-scared-of-animatronics-mascotsreader-au she's got lovely sketches and drabbles and her DCA designs are so huggable!

[fjordfolk]

My two greatest character flaws are that I'm cranky and lazy.

My third greatest character flaw is the acute lack of compassion for people who smuggle exotic animals (like a serval) into a country where they are illegal (like norway) because keeping one as a pet is 'their dream' and then throw a pity party when said animal is seized and at risk of euthanasia. I'm sorry pal but you did that.

[scootersscooter]

Hazel Wells I love you,,,,,