#but they literally treat her like a criminal like she is just as bad as him

[mithrun-house-of-kerensil]

Lately, I've been thinking about Mithrun and the ways he is dehumanized in canon.

Before I get started, we know that elven society is incredibly afraid of death and illness. This is obvious in how they look down on the short lived races and see them as weak and childlike. We also know that Mithrun himself had ableist views toward his brother and these values did not leave him once he, himself, became disabled. He is a product of the society that raised him, but I also think how Mithrun is currently being treated contributes to his view of himself.

Mithrun has had three different caretaking groups over the years. The first are the ones his brother hired for him. From what we can see, they did the job, but we can understand that they did not know what to do with him. No one had ever recovered from having their desires eaten so the focus was less on rehabilitation and more on keeping him alive.

Later we see Milsiril take an interest in him because of his desire to return to the dungeon. Since she did not bother to visit him for decades after finding him, we can assume that there is an ulterior motive here. Timeline-wise, this was when the majority of the canaries had just been wiped out. They needed more men, and Mithrun is set up to be the perfect single-focused soldier.

Honestly, we can assume that Milsiril doesn't really care about him or see him as a person. Mithrun is just a new project for her to play with. We can see this in how she's focused on superficial level concerns like the fact that he doesn't look nice and wanting him to be overly grateful toward her. She also talks about him like he's not in the room and can't hear her. This is a dehumanizing trait shared by many characters when talking about Mithrun.

When he finally does recover enough to return to the canaries, the military does not make any effort to accommodate his needs. We know the canaries are understaffed and the ethics are already bad, but they really did not even try to care about Mithrun's safety at all.

Entrusting a criminal with his care was questionable at best, especially when Cithis immediately took the opportunity to abuse her power over him and no one stopped her.

While acknowledging the light-hearted nature of the manga, it's uncomfortable that Mithrun was treated like a child and an animal by Cithis for her amusement. Regardless of her 'learning to respect him' later, the point is that Mithrun was taken advantage of and degraded because she believed he couldn't say no. No one bothered to do anything about this until Pattadol yelled at her.

Truly his treatment is summarized well by Milsiril here. Mithrun is extremely vulnerable to being abused by those taking care of him because he won't advocate for himself. He has one desire so he won't fight for himself in any other way.

It is obvious that Mithrun was not treated well by his caretakers and this has resulted in him identifying his needs through a disconnected and frankly, infantilizing lens.

I understand that it may have been a translator's decision, but I always thought it was interesting that Mithrun says that he's "not sleepy" which is a childish term. Otherwise, he speaks like everyone else, if not rather posh.

This, followed by the fact that he is responsive to Kabru treating him like a literal infant to get him to eat, paints a clear picture of the fact that Mithrun is not unfamiliar with being treated like this. He responds to it because he's used to it and has no desire to argue with being treated this way. When we consider the fact that the chapter started with Milsiril treating an older child Kabru in the same way, it is likely that she also did the same thing to Mithrun when he was under her care.

In these panels, we see that Mithrun does not believe that he can sleep without magical assistance, even though it is immediately refuted when Kabru takes the time to bundle him up and help him relax. Not only does he fully believe he can't sleep without external assistance, but he states directly that there is no point in him getting comfortable.

As Kabru observes, Mithrun's inability to recognize his needs applies to needs such as hunger and exhaustion, but it obviously also applies to emotional needs. Kabru just wanting to feed him something delicious and not wanting him to give up on life is the most consideration someone has given Mithrun in years.

The relationship they form over the course of a single week is enough to shape Mithrun's behaviour completely. Mithrun ignores Cithis's demand in favour of asking Kabru's opinion. It is Kabru's hand Mithrun takes to pull him out of his defeated state. It is Kabru Mithrun confessed his true desire to.

Do you realize how depressing that is? All it took was the new perspectives from Kabru and Senshi to make him consider the fact that he should keep living despite no longer needing to fulfill his duty. Being treated well could have helped Mithrun much sooner and this shift in the way he sees himself contributes to his recovery going forward.

TLDR: Mithrun has no desire to be respected, but why does that make people feel comfortable acting like he doesn't deserve it? Someone not caring about being treated well doesn't give you permission to treat them poorly. This feels like a playschool-level consent lesson: just because he's not saying no to a humiliating or degrading act doesn't mean it's a yes and therefore okay to do. Acknowledging this is the bare minimum of treating him as a person.

[saturns7moon]

ASTRO OBSERVATIONS P2 ٩(˘◡˘)۶

hihi everybodyyyyy, astro observations p2, let’s gooo 😋.

personally!!! i’ve seen that a lot of venusian influence within a family can show instances of having health issues linked back to sweet foods. like for example, my taurus mother is a pre-diabetic, and she’s told me that it generally runs throughout our family. i don’t have diabetes but i’ve noticed how me and my siblings have a really bad sweet tooth. eating too many sweets makes my (7H taurus moon and mars, sidereal libra sun and rising) tooth ache, the youngest (taurus rising, sidereal pisces stellium) has been scolded a lot for eating way too much sugar as well. same as i, lol.

now question for my fellow taurus placements. how do u feel about cooking? are you good at it?

i’m crying, right after i wrote this, i was scrolling on tiktok and there’s this video of this woman, meg deangelis, who says that one thing that she can never understand is when people say they can’t cook, and she’s basically saying how it baffles her. i had an inkling, so i searched up her chart and she’s a taurus sun and aries venus 😭. taurus people are commonly stereotyped to liking food a lot, which makes sense since taurus is the more down-to-earth side of venus, and venus is about comforts, and taureans find comfort in food! aries is ruled by mars, aka planet of war and what-not, and i’ve found that aries placements mixed alongside taurus placements love to cook in the kitchen because the kitchen is known to hold sharp cutlery in there, which commonly used whilst cooking.

i was listening to criminal by britney spears earlier today, and i swear that song is so so 7H mars coded. like falling for someone that isn’t the best of the best or people being against who you love like. i still can’t word it properly, but if you’re a libra rising/taurus rising/7H mars (scorpio/aries/venusian mars can count as well depending on aspects!!) please listen to the song (specifically whilst watching the music video🧍🏾‍♀️) or read the lyrics and tell me you understand what i’m talking bout 😭. like i know y’all would get it 😭‼️

^ also “why try” by ariana grande feels the exact same to me toooo omg.

having an afflicted 3H, 7H and 11H is literally my villain origin story. like it’s either i have no friends, i get bullied/outcasted or i go through the WORST friendship breakups ever like oooooh whoever has it out for me did a good job bro 🤧🤥.

(i have a 3H capricorn chiron, 7H moon and mars, virgo rules my 11H, and my mercury (sagittarius) is afflicted, i was never gonna win bro 😭)

a mutual of mine on twitter said something that i completely agree with, and it’s basically saying how having any ill feelings towards someone like, for example what she talking about, beauty can really damage ur venus personally. like, people who are severely racist for example, do y’all see how they age or look so ugly because they were berating how other people look specifically. or people who hate on women are just naturally nasty to be around. they don’t have to be physically ugly (they usually are tho) but you can tell by how they treat women what rewards and punishments they receive in life.

does that make sense? let me know guys 😭.

i absolutely love when i have my venus return/when venus is in capricorn because i feel so so pretty which makes so much sense considering in sidereal astrology i’m a libra rising ruled by my sagittarius venus, like i love all things venus, and when venus is in capricorn/sidereal sagittarius, i feel so good. which makes a lot of sense on why i don’t really care for or feel irritated when mars returns to taurus (or sidereal aries) because aside from the fact that i never really related to being martian ruled, my natal mars is literally retrograde, so yeah mars returns are not my favourites at ALL 😭.

(actually i take it back it’s not that i feel irritated? i just don’t think anything significant happens to me during my mars returns. i probably need to go check personally in my own time, but yeah. i just backtracked since in both my tropical and sidereal chart, i’m martian and venusian either way 😭.)

what’s ur favourite planetary return?

“bedtime story” by frank ocean (unreleased!!) is the most scorpio venus ass song i’ve ever heard in my life…i love it so so much sigh. the poetic, angsty, yearning that a scorpio conjures up because who could honestly be better at being so deeply consumed by emotions than scorpio? (many many other signs but it’s not about them rn!!)

yknow a while back i did a part one for sos the album by sza as the signs, and i haven’t made a part two but would y’all like another part!? or would you like me to do this with other albums? let me know pls 🧍🏾‍♀️.

this is probably common knowledge amongst other astrologers, but i definitely believe that virgos, specifically the risings, are so mean to their selves is because their 12H is ruled by the sun, and whilst the 12H is the shadow side of ourselves that we choose to hide from, as much as they would like to hide, virgos have their shadow side constantly in their face as the sun shines so hard on everything they aren’t ready to touch or aren’t ready to see. whether it’s their selves personally or others around them, there’s an underlying sense of dread that they live with because they know that no matter where they run, their mind will always remind them of what they choose to hide underneath, which results in the fear that people/society (scorpio 3H) will see the absolute worst of who they truly believe they are, and judge them ruthlessly for it (aquarius 6H).

one thing i’ve noticed is whilst saturn in pisces has been transiting my 5H, is the romantic side of my life has been lacking so much 😭. like coming april would make a year since i last had a crush on someone, which is funny to me since i used to crush on ppl so often. however, it makes sense since saturns main themes are about structure, discipline and what you want to create in the long-term, and i’ve noticed that i don’t just want to even have small crushes or what not on others because not everyone meets my standards (structure) and i want my first relationship with someone to mean something and to become something (long-term plans involving relationships) and nobody around me has given me that, so the lack in my love life is mainly just because i’m sticking to my standards and they haven’t been met yet 🤷🏾‍♀️. saturns job is to make you understand what you truly want and what you don’t want or what isn’t benefiting you, and since saturn had gone direct back in november, i’ve definitely been noticing this, especially since we’re in a saturnian season rn (aquarius) and valentine’s day just passed lmao. so just to give an example or help you understand how saturn has been impacting you, let’s say saturn is trainsiting your 9H and you’re in education, maybe you’re realising the course that you’re on isn’t for you, or your long-term plans just don’t mesh well with what your studying for yknow or you could realise how you’ve started building more around your education in regards to what you want in place for you in the future.i’m also using that example since saturn is currently trining my 9H and i’ve realised university is definitely not what i want to go through with after i graduate college tbh.

thinking about how majority of my planets are in my 1H-7H axis (1H sun and jupiter, 7H moon and mars) and how i genuinely can have the choice to create multiple identities 😭. to explain, when i was born, my mum gave me three names. mae, lola and the last one i don’t wanna disclose lmao, but i saw a tweet a while back talking about how your name(s) can definitely link back to your birth chart, and remembering this again makes me love astrology a whole lot more tbh.

(actually i lied i have 4 different names, but that name is very very close/similar to my younger sisters name as well and i can never tell the bloody difference 😭, but y’all get my yapping.)

feeling tired or like u can’t be bothered to do shit???? the moon is most likely void of course or your mars/moon is negatively aspecting (square, opposite, conjunct) transit mars/moon. when the moon is void of course, it’s basically just a period of time (usually less than a day i believe) when the moon is literally like not aspecting anything in the sky, so she’s wandering around until she transitions into another sign. usually astrologers say that during this time, it’s difficult for ppl to make plans or have any motivation to do anything as ppl are less likely to make solid decisions about anything in general, to summarise, it makes ppl lazy 🤥!!

having 1H synastry with anyone depending on the planet is so interesting to watch from an outside perspective, because you can either see two people adore one another’s energy or be completely revolted by one another. like for example my best friend has my younger sisters aquarius stellium in her 1H and it’s hilarious to me how much those two dislike each other, and then not too long ago my best friend told me how my sister reminded her a lot of herself at my siblings current age and it just clicked for me lmao.

i’ve noticed that people with a mix of aries, gemini with a small dash of water in their chart have such a hard time processing their emotions or are just very abrasive when it comes to their emotions, putting practicality over emotions most of the time, leaving people to perceive them as quite emotionally stunted or selfish to be honest. i’ve noticed that it’s commonly believed that these types of people don’t really care for others as much as people care for them, leaving a lot of miscommunication within these relationships, especially if the other person is water heavy compared to them.

hi yes this is long overdue, i’m very very sorry, i just lost motivation to continue with my stuff and life unfortunately has been a mess to keep up with! i’m not gonna promise anything new cus knowing me i’ll probably dip for awhile again, but hopefully you all liked these observations and pls leave ur thoughts and opinions in the replies, i always enjoy hearing what you guys have to say :)

okay bye bye, lots of love, lola <3.

[operator-report]

In middle school, I read a short story for English class called Flowers for Algernon. Maybe you’ve read it, too. In the story, a disabled man named Charlie is given a medicine that cures his disability. Over the course of the story, he comes to realize that his “cure” is temporary and that he will “regress” into being disabled again. The story makes it clear that this is a tragedy. As a disabled teenager when I first read it, the story affected me deeply.

I’d like to talk about David and Noelle. 

Content warnings for discussion of suicide, self-harm, ableism and eating disorders below the cut. Spoilers for Worm through arc 27. 

When I was first reading arc 18, one of the things that stuck out to me is how much time the story spends on Eidolon. For me, it was the first time I paid much attention to him - prior to that, Eidolon was just an extremely powerful background character to me. But in arc 18, we learn that (1) Eidolon is losing his powers and (2) he believes that fighting Echidna will allow him to tap into some sort of reservoir to bring them back.

We find this out, of course, through Tattletale exposing him, which is always an extremely embarrassing event for Tattletale’s target. It makes it extremely clear that what Eidolon is doing is pathetic. He is going to kill a teenage girl so he can feel something. 

Which would be messed up enough, right? We don’t need to make this even worse, right? Wrong. Because Wildblow has spent the last several thousand words building up the Case 53s as X-Men style metaphors for oppressed groups, and one of the forms of oppression that Wildblow generally writes well is ableism. I think you can consider most, if not all of the Case 53s as disabled in some way. I think the link is extremely clear with Noelle.

Noelle doesn’t get her powers from traditional Cauldron human experimentation - at least, not directly. Instead, she and Krouse are facing what is, to them, a no-win scenario. They’re quarantined with limited access to medical care. Breaching this quarantine would permanently render them criminals. If Noelle survives her surgery, which is a pretty big if, she’ll become disabled, in a way that both Krouse and Noelle agree is ugly and undesirable. She won’t be able to do “boyfriend-girlfriend stuff” because she won’t be “any good to look at, after.” 

Krouse and Noelle are terrified of death, yes, but they’re also terrified of disability. They are desperate for control over Noelle’s body, control that, as of that moment, only the state has. (Remember the quarantine?) Krouse pressures Noelle into drinking the vial. Noelle is cured. 

Noelle’s cure does not last. In attempting to assert control, her body becomes uncontrollable. Her body is her trauma and her eating disorder made literal. She still needs care.

Worm would be bad if this is why her life sucks. But Worm does something better, instead. Noelle goes through hell, not just due to the sheer difficulty of having her power, but because of the way her teammates and Coil treat her. They talk about Noelle like she’s already dead. They’re ashamed of bringing her the food she needs. When Krouse “includes” Noelle in a discussion in arc 12, it’s mostly perfunctory. They do not believe Noelle is human any longer. They lock her away.

Noelle doesn’t want to be put in a cage. Noelle doesn’t want to be dehumanized. In interlude 18, when we get insight into Noelle’s thoughts, we learn that what Noelle is angry about is the fact that Krouse locked her in a concrete bunker and placated her. When she tells people not to look at her, there’s a coda to that sentence that she doesn’t get to verbalize: don’t look at me like that. 

This is the person who Eidolon is going to kill. 

Via the Simurgh, this is a person Eidolon has unknowingly created.

A few thousand words of Worm go by. It’s Gold Morning. Eidolon is fighting Scion. Now, at the end of the book, we finally get substantial insight into David, the man behind the mask. 

David takes a Cauldron vial to cure his disability. David sees this as the only way out, after an unsuccessful application to join the military, and then, an unsuccessful suicide attempt. David is bearing an immense amount of shame and internalized ableism. David is worried that father’s friends are watching him. (Don’t look at me.) David cleaves the world into two kinds of people: those who can have jobs, who are liked and respected because they are useful; and people like him, who are useless.

It’s a terrible way to think. Without that worldview, how could a person not take the vial? David wants to be used, because David wants to be useful. He never gets the independence he craves – not when he’s in that level of debt to Cauldron – but he gets to be useful, and that’s one of the best things you can be.

Like Noelle’s, like Charlie’s in Flowers, David’s cure doesn’t work. His abilities are wearing off. He is essentially told, when Doctor Mother administers his booster shots, that his medicine is too expensive. 

Cauldron creates Noelle. David, as Cauldron’s soldier, has a role to play in her creation. David knows exactly what he is doing to Noelle. It happened to him. Worm fandom talks a lot about David being a father. He’s a father in more ways than one. (David’s father is always watching him.) (Don’t look at me.)

Cauldron never cures David’s ableism. In his world, you can be useful, or you can die. David asks Noelle if she wants to win. Noelle tells him no. You can have a job, or you can kill yourself. When David tries to kill Noelle to help himself, isn’t that a mercy?

Of course it isn’t. It goes without saying that all of this is extremely fucked up. When it comes to disability, “cure” is a complicated concept. I’m not going to get into all the ways it can be treated; this post is already a thousand words long. But I do think that Worm, through Noelle and David and the concept of the Cauldron vial, provides an extremely vivid picture of the problems with cure. 

Under ableist logic, when you have a disability, a cure is something you’re expected to want. Without it, the story goes, you can’t be useful. You can’t do boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. The expectation is social, like the act of staring. Your desire for it should drive how you organize your life – it is control, like a quarantine. David is crushed by that expectation. He throws his lot in with Cauldron, the cure-makers. The expectation is passed along to Noelle, and even though David can recognize that inheritance, he cannot imagine any other way to respond to it other than attempted murder.

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that Flowers for Algernon is a tragedy. The reason that story has stuck with me so long is that I keep going back and forth as to why. Is it a tragedy because Charlie goes back to being disabled? There’s a good chance that’s what the author intended. I don’t know. It would be a pretty shitty story if that were the case. Is it a tragedy because people only treat Charlie well when he’s “cured,” and when that stops, he’ll go back to abuse? Seems plausible. I don’t think there’s one right answer. Regardless, when you’re disabled, there’s an immense pressure to seek out a cure, and a cognizable loss when it is withheld. The fact that Worm captures that social pressure and social loss so well is extremely compelling for me, and I’m going to be thinking about these characters for a long time.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

One of the things that annoy me the most about people (mostly zutarians) trying to argue that Zuko saying he wasn't being himself in a war meeting with Ozai somehow means he doesn't want to be Fire Lord or date Mai is not just how it completely misinterprets Zuko's character and the things he has explicitly stated to want multiple times - but also because it ignores one of the most realistic portrayals of what it is like to live with an abuser that isn't on Evil Bastard mode 24/7.

During "Nightmares And Daydreams" Zuko is being treated shockingly well. He can get literally anything he wants, whenever he wants. He is being so pampered that he doesn't even have to walk anywhere if he doesn't feel like it, and everyone adores him - he is basically being treated like Azula.

Yet unlike Azula, he was not invited to the meeting. And he doesn't feel safe to ask his father about it directly or to just assume there was some communication issue and show up regardless of the "lack of" invitation. And considering what happened last time he tried, it's not hard to see why he feels that way.

But oh look! He WAS supposed to be there! And Ozai even refused to start the meeting without him! He saved Zuko a spot so he'd be at his right hand, and even wants to hear him out when discussing ideas! Surely that means he cares about Zuko and values his opinions, right?

Not quite. There's another catch. There's ALWAYS another catch. He can say what he wants... provided it is what Ozai wants to hear.

Zuko has every privilege in the world, but he doesn't have the basic to right to have his own opinions, to speak to his own parent and to not constantly fear he will suddenly be, at best, ignored, and at worst physically abused, kicked from home and cut off from everything and everyone he is familair with just because Ozai woke up in a bad mood or felt challenged/insulted in some way.

This episode was not about Zuko realising he didn't love Mai, or wanted to go back to the job he canonically hated. It's about him finally realizing that the most luxurious cage in the world is still a cage. That he will never feel safe with his abuser around, even if Ozai isn't constantly lashing out. That no matter how good his life seems to be on the surface, he will never truly have anything (from basic stuff like a roof over his head to luxuries like literal royal treatment) when there's someone that can just randomly decide to take it all away from him and not face any consequences for it because he has absolute power over everyone.

That's why in lots of frames during his conversations with Iroh, the animation makes it look like Zuko is behind bars while his uncle is free. Why Azula, the child that stuck by Ozai's side, ends the show having a breakdown and feeling worthless after being randomly abandoned by him and excluded from what was supposed to be THEIR moment. Why during the eclipse, Zuko literally says "I'm going to speak my mind and you're going to listen."

And why he confessed that entire inner conflict to Mai - yes, his girlfriend, but also someone who can RELATE to his struggles, because while her parents are not abusive, they are neglectful to the point of it being criminal and she full on says "I could get anything I wanted, as long as I behaved."

She knows what's like to feel trapped, and that's a big part of why Zuko felt comfortable enough to "take the mask off" with her instead of with anyone else.

[ohbo-ohno]

hey hey heyyy saw this and thought of youuu

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT83xLH3c/

(completely sfw don't worry) but like, Imagine for one reason or another you desperately need to get married (maybe to qualify for your medieval grandpa's will) but no one wants you for whatever reason so you promptly go down to the gallows where this murderous ex Soldier was to be executed and you are just "he'll do" not aware that he comes as a package deal with his partner who didn't get caught 👀

are you. are you joking. oh my god

thinking about a woman who's got a terrible home life. i feel like either her parents want to marry her off to some guy who's like 80 or they treat her like a workhorse and are super abusive

and to her, quite literally Anything is better than the life she's stuck in. and for a woman in this time period the only real way to escape is to get married. and since no one will marry her (she's poor and everyone knows how her family is).... well there's really only one choice

she definitely proposes to soap, not ghost. the man getting dragged to the gallows is perfectly at ease - shoulders rolled back, easy smile on his lips, you would never think he's being led to his death. there's something in his over all demeanor that makes it almost easy to jump from the crowd and shout a proposal

he's excited, almost ferally so. he grabs your wrist and holds tight, doesn't let you get even a full armlength away from him. that's when you start to think maybe this was a mistake, but it's far too late now. he's also weirdly insistent about the two of you going to a very specific room in a very specific hotel (or whatever they used to be called)

you get a bit more scared every second that goes by, but you're well aware what a man expects on his wedding night - you grew up on a farm, you know how animals mate. it's scary, of course, but you know you'll have to bear it

except when you get to the room, he doesn't try and take you. you know he wants to - there's a tent in his pants that makes your face flame - and he keeps you flush against him. he sits at the table? you're in his lap. you try to go to the bathroom? he stays so close to you that you decide it's not worth the potential humiliation.

he talks your ear off the whole time - tells you how pretty you are, goes into frankly excessive detail about what he likes about every single part of you, tells you how he wants to "stuff you full", says things like "'m not so bad, kitty, know ye must be scared but i'll take care of ye, don't worry" and "just wait til he gets here, then we can get started" and no matter how much you ask who he is he refuses to tell you

he has his mouth pressed against you throat (switching between licking, biting, and talking about how he can't wait to see what's under your skirts) when the door opens, and you realize that you've truly made a mistake

the new man who walks in has to duck beneath the door frame, he's so massive. had he been the one walking to the gallows, you never, ever would have proposed. he's got to be twice the size of you, his face covered, the rest of him filthy and covered in dirt

(((if i had the energy i'd write dialogue here, but anon i am sleepy)))

soap would be soooooooo happy to present you to ghost, is literally drooling and beaming as he grabs you by the hips and hooks his chin over your shoulder, big hands stroking across your stomach and skirts as he says isn't she so pretty?

anyways. you're getting railed that night. hope you like being on the run with two criminals who have absolutely no intention of crossing over to the light side!!

(ghost fucks you first, bc soap needs to learn to be patient with his new toy, but he lets you suck his cock while he waits for his turn. when soap fucks you next, you're laying on ghost's stomach and he wipes away your pretty tears as johnny does his best to break your back. the next day johnny laughs when you're walking with a small limp, and ghost makes him apologize with his tongue <3)

[five-bi-five-mind]

request where you’re rossi’s daughter and work for the BAU and you and emily start dating but keep it a secret until you get hurt on the job and she won’t leave your side and saying that she loves you and when you wake up she kisses you in front of the team and everyone is like, “yes!!” and rossi is just confused

Overprotective

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Emily Prentiss x fem!Reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt & Comfort

Words: 7k+

Summary: Ever since you and Emily entered a relationship, she got a little too protective of you. It didn't help that she was also your boss, but still you didn't love that she was holding you back from doing your job. It also didn't help that your father figure worked with you, that was two people holding you back from your job. So when you finally put your foot down with Emily and got out in the field once more, none of you expected what would happen next...

Warnings: Blood mention; hospital scenes; mentions of car accidents; mentions of head trauma.

A/N: I'm so bad at descriptions... Anyways, this is my own take on the request. And also proud of myself for kinda posting three fics back to back. This one is a lil late but still one a day so far. Yayyyy 1k celebration continues lol

Emily was an overworrier. She always had been, but when it came to you.. well, she took things to a whole new level.

To say she was protective of you was an understatement and honestly it caused some tension in your relationship. She had been in the BAU far longer than you, but you were an agent too and had been for a few years now. Either way, even if Emily was your girlfriend, in the workplace she treated you like a rookie. 

Most of the team just thought she was hard on you. No one really knew that you two were a little more than colleagues. It hasn’t even been long since you two realized you had feelings for each other, but as soon as you did everything just clicked. You both fell fast and hard to say the least. 

And in that time Emily got more and more protective. There were some curious eyes, people had their suspicions. One person in particular changed the way he looked at your interactions and any time he was near, it made your palms sweat and your stomach twist. Rossi was always one to keep a close eye on you. He was protective too, just like Emily, if not even more so. It wasn’t like you could blame either of them though. 

Rossi was the closest thing to a father you ever knew; he watched you grow up and make your way to your position at the BAU. He never pulled strings, he never asked for favors. Rossi made it clear that you earned this position and everyone who worked with you saw just how true that was. So of course, he was a proud and protective man when it came to you. Just as Emily was a proud and protective girlfriend.

But as you and Emily got closer you could tell it piqued his interest. He would linger in a room if you two were left behind by the rest of the team. He'd stop and peek around a corner if he saw Emily get a little too close when she needed to discuss a case. You weren’t blind either, you were trained to notice things and you definitely noticed the way his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on.

He even asked you about it once, approaching you with innocent curiosity to which you tried your best to shrug off.

His question was simple, he had you trapped in a car as he was driving you home so his timing was perfect. You literally couldn’t avoid him without jumping out. So when he said “do you want to tell me what’s going on between you and Emily?”  All you could think to answer was “it’s complicated” and, yeah, that was true. 

Luckily for you he just gave you a skeptical “alright, kid.” Before turning his attention back to the road. The amount of relief you felt when he didn’t pry any further was immense. 

You told Emily that night over the phone that he questioned you and she tried her best to keep her distance from you in public ever since. The overprotectiveness was still there, but so was this awkward silence that happened whenever another member of the team was alone with the two of you.

Not only was Emily’s overprotective nature a problem, but now so was all this secretiveness. Something which you point blank told Emily needed to change. She was hesitant, worried about how it may look for both of you, but especially you. The man who raised you was on your team and now you were dating the boss. Yeah, some people might point to nepotism, but your work spoke for itself. Plus, the team knows and respects you enough to understand that wasn’t the case. 

Emily still refused and insisted you both wait a bit longer, to which you begrudgingly agreed. You didn’t love being a secret but you also weren’t about to leave the woman you were head over heels for just because of a tricky situation. 

So when you agreed to wait you still let Emily know you both couldn’t hide forever. Her overprotective nature would get her busted, or Rossi would see something he shouldn’t, or hell maybe another member of the BAU would put the pieces together. Both of you were, after all, surrounded by profilers. It was everyone’s job to be perceptive. 

Emily still exuded confidence when she said she was sure it would happen on both of your terms. Of course, not everything is that simple. Especially not after today. 

—————————————————————-

This case was brutal. Many people had gotten injured in their past pursuit of the unsub and each time the unsub slipped away. The team had been on this case longer than most and was following as best they could. 

You were deep in this case too, following every development and giving your insight as best you could. Emily was not happy. She insisted you stay back at the police station you were helping rather than be out in the field. Even more, she had tried to convince you to stay all the way back at Quantico, but of course that wasn't going to fly. You won that fight by convincing Emily if you stayed back her exaggerated concern for your safety would be evident and people would get suspicious. She was frustrated, but she agreed. 

But even then as you two made your way to the precinct for this case, you both argued back and forth. Emily begged you to stay still and work behind the scenes, but you weren’t going to do that when the rest of the team was putting themselves in direct danger. That included both Emily and Rossi. 

“It’s not like you wouldn’t be helping! We need a member there, to keep an eye on what comes in.” Emily was so stubbornly insistent. 

“Okay, but that’s what the general police force is for.” You tried your best to stand your ground. “I’m going out in the field with the rest of you, Emily. I’m tired of being sidelined, because you don’t think I’m capable.” 

“It’s not that!” Emily’s voice was raised as she tried to defend her position. Lucky for the both of you, this fight escalated in the privacy of your own hotel room. One that you very sneakily and strategically booked right next to Emily and no one else. “Even Rossi would say this is a bad idea.”

“Don’t bring Rossi into this! Of course, he’d say that he’s almost as bad as you are.” Saying Rossi would back anything up for Emily was just another sign that your girlfriend and your father figure were way too protective of you. It was starting to get very old very fast. “You know, Emily, this whole protective girlfriend thing is really not working out if it’s also interfering with my work here as part of the team.” 

“What are you saying?” Emily looked at you with skepticism in her eyes. You knew you were taking this argument one step further, but you couldn’t help it. 

“I’m saying that if we’re to have a relationship this has to be an equal partnership.” Emily was full on glaring at you now, but you weren’t finished. “We can’t have that if you shield me from everything like a child!” 

“I am not shielding you!” Emily threw back with clear frustration written all over your face. 

“Yes, Emily, you are.” 

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” Emily’s frustration dropped immediately at that and you almost felt sorry for the way you were putting your foot down. She looked vulnerable at that moment and genuinely concerned. You knew she was; you knew the thought of anything happening to you killed her because it did the same for you when you thought about her being in direct danger. Still, you were part of the team and you needed to pull your weight. You were not going to be sidelined just because you were the boss’ girlfriend. 

“I know that,” you sighed. “But you have to trust that I’m capable of taking care of myself while we work. It’s part of the job. I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t.” 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“Then what is it? Really, Emily, what is it?” You felt that frustration bubble up in you again. “If it’s about worrying if I’d get hurt, don’t you think I have that same worry about you? But I don’t try to convince you to stay back. If you really trust my abilities as part of this team you wouldn’t be so up in arms about the idea of me actively working on this case. So do you? Do you really trust me as a member of this team?” 

“I do, but…” Emily trailed off. That “but” said it all for you and you just nodded. It told you she didn’t think you were as capable as the rest of the team, as skilled. You worked your ass off to get here and even your own girlfriend didn’t think you were ready for this position. That stung. 

“I think you should go,” you nodded towards the door to your hotel room. “I need time alone.”

Emily went to speak but stopped herself when you gave her a pleading look to at least respect your need for space. She looked almost like a sad puppy with her head hung low as she walked out the door. 

It wasn’t a great way to end the night, and the tension between you two was certainly palpable throughout the rest of the day. That is, until the accident happened. 

—————————————————————

No one saw it coming. How could they? The MO of the unsub was calculation, even when backed into a corner. So when the team got so close they found the unsubs home and you got the call to come quick, no one expected him to take off full speed in a hijacked car. And what was worse was the lack of eyes on where he went as he sped through a suburb to escape. 

You were riding shotgun while Alvez swerved the car around and whipped through the streets upon being informed that the unsub was on the run. What you were looking for was a man on foot, not even aware of his hot wiring abilities. So when a car rammed straight into the passenger side of Alvez’s SUV at top speed, shock flooded both your systems right before everything went dark.  

When you regained consciousness, if you could even really say that you did, all you heard were sirens and yelling. Hands were yanking at you and with each moment they jostled you, sharp pain shot through your entire body. There were sounds of gurgled coughs that hit your ears closer than the yelling that surrounded you and eventually, as you felt warm liquid drip from your lips, you realized those sounds were coming from you. The taste of iron in your mouth mixed with the horrible pounding of your head was making you nauseous.

Your eyes cracked open, but everything around you was a blur. You managed to turn your head, wincing in pain at that simple movement, and saw who was tugging at you. Even if your vision was severely hindered, you knew who it was.

When the accident happened, most of the team wasn’t far behind, leaving everyone chasing the unsub watch helplessly as he smashed into the car Alvez drove. When that happened, Emily made a mad dash out of her own SUV straight to where you were. Now, Emily was trying her best to tug the seat belt strapped to your body, her hands trying to check your whole torso. Your eyes moved to her hands, your head lulling further down with your gaze than you meant to move it as you tried to look. The blurred form of her fingertips were covered in a crimson red and it just confirmed your suspicion that you were losing blood. 

“Hold on, just– Just hold on, okay?” Emily’s voice felt like an echo in a tunnel, so far away from you. Still, though it only faintly hit your ears, you could hear her worry. Your heart squeezed, knowing that you were somehow the cause. You tried to will your hands to cover hers, not sure if they were actually moving for you like you wished. 

Emily stopped her frantic check of your body. “Help is coming soon, okay?” Her hands pressed to your face, your own blood smeared to your cheeks as she held your head up for you. “Stay with me, you have to stay with me. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

The words felt like they were getting further and further away, even if you were aware of the fingertips pressed to your cheeks. Your eyes squinted, as if you thought that would clear the fog that clouded your vision. It didn’t, but still you tried to hear Emily and to will yourself to listen. 

At this point, Emily’s hands were the only thing that was keeping your head from falling back. The strength to keep your eyes open and your head up was way too much for you. Your limbs were feeling heavier too, and your body was feeling cold, as if your veins turned to ice. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Emily’s voice was pleading. “Keep those eyes on me, okay love? Keep them on me.” They were slipping; you were slipping. You could feel the heaviness of your eyelids as you gave all your remaining strength to keep them open. 

In the distance, you thought maybe you could hear the sound of heavy footsteps rushing up towards the both of you. Hands were on you again, this time rougher, as the ones on your cheeks were pried away.

“Ma’am, step back,” a voice ordered. You didn’t hear a reply, the horrible jostling of your body had another anguished groan rip from your lips. A sob followed, but you thought it couldn’t possibly be you. Your body didn’t feel like it was capable of doing anything else other than succumb to the pain. Before you could feel your body be fully removed from the mangled car, your eyes slipped shut. The last thought you had was of Emily’s request and your guilt for not being able to fulfill it. Consciousness quickly slipped from your body the minute your eyes fell shut, your head finally falling back. 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was a mess. The way you looked, so broken and bleeding in that car had been forever burned into her brain. The last conversation she had with you was replaying through her mind as her foot anxiously tapped on the hospital’s dull white floors. 

Half the team sat next to her. Each one of them looked the exact same as her, just as worried. Rossi was going through many different stages of emotions. Anger at what had happened, denial that you could even possibly be teetering on the edge of death, and then worry that he might never see your bright smile again. 

The car had been totaled, your side crunched in with many different injures scattering your body. When the paramedics came they dragged you away so fast without giving Emily the chance to come with you. Luckily, Alvez wasn’t too badly injured, a mild concussion and some cuts from the broken glass. Minimal stitches needed, so Emily didn’t have to worry about it. It was you that she was spiraling over. She had never hopped in her car and sped faster than she did today. The worst thoughts were going through her head all the while. 

What would happen if you died before she got to the hospital? What would happen if you died on the table? The worry that ensnared her made her hands tremble as she sat and kept rubbing anxiously at her knuckles. 

Your blood still stained her clothes too, but she had long washed it off her fingertips. Tara had recommended she get a change of clothes from the hotel, but she had adamantly refused. To most of the team, they thought she was just feeling guilty for giving in to your insistence on being in the field. Although, how anyone, even Reid, could see this incident coming, would’ve been impossible. 

Another good thing, if Emily could even call it good, was that the accident incapacitated the unsub. This easily allowed Reid and JJ to apprehend him and make the arrest. Meanwhile, Emily was busy running to you and desperately trying to find some possible way to help you from dying right there in front of her. There was a lot of blood, a lot of glass that shattered and slashed through your skin on almost all of your body. From small cuts, to large ones, from the few moments she had with you, it looked pretty brutal. Not to mention, now that someone had talked to her once she arrived at the hospital, that there was internal bleeding and you had quite the head injury. 

They had rushed you into surgery the minute the EMTs made it in with your broken body. Emily was informed of everything first, then Alvez since he was already at the hospital getting checked out. Maybe about twenty minutes had gone by since Emily was informed about everything before Rossi came bursting in. 

Rossi was definitely on a warpath when he arrived too, his worry for you turning into anger. At first he blamed Alvez for not being a better vigilant driver, then Emily convinced him to turn his anger towards her. After all, she was the one who let you go out in the field, but then when Tara came in during his tirade towards Emily, she was the key to keeping the peace. She was surprisingly calming for everyone that waited at the hospital for you. With Rossi, she redirected his anger towards the unsub until he settled down into his quiet worry that he was currently exhibiting now. Then, with Emily, Tara just urged her to sit down before sitting right next to her.

When Tara saw the way Emily was angrily rubbing at the skin of her knuckles, she placed a gentle hand over Emily’s. “I know,” Tara spoke softly. “But she’s a fighter, you know that.”

Emily looked up at Tara as she spoke, her eyes searching the other woman’s. Tara looked back at her with a knowing look, but one that also showed conviction for her own words. 

All Emily could muster at that was a nod, but her words did help. Emily knew you were strong, even if she was doing a shitty job of showing you that she thought that. Truth is, she knew deep down that no one could have guessed that this would happen. She knew you were right, she couldn’t keep shielding you from everything if you were part of her team. It wasn’t like she could’ve ever tried to shield you from this. It could’ve happened to anyone, not just a member of her team. The worst part was that, of course, it had to happen to you. 

Even if she knew she couldn’t shield you from what happened, even if she understood that it could’ve been anyone’s car that the unsub rammed head first into, there was still a harrowing part of her that told her this was her fault. If she had listened to you and put you in the field maybe you would’ve been fine. It surely would guarantee you were in a different place than that damned car. You’d be with Reid and JJ, two other capable members of the team, and not in a car completely oblivious to the dangers that hit you head on before you even arrived. Emily knew she couldn’t think like that, but she couldn’t help that she did. Usually she was rational, collected, she had to be in her position. Except, she never thought she would fall for a co-worker and she certainly didn’t predict her overbearing need to protect you that came with all of it.

But now, as Emily sat and helplessly waited for any updates on you, she began to bargain with herself. If you pulled out of this Emily would never stop you from going out in the field again. It was clear that her actions to keep you safe by keeping you behind were futile, so if you were in the field at least you would be with other members of the team. Capable members who had your back the same way you wanted to have theirs. To agree with you and let you go out, if anything, would stop you from ever looking at her with such hurt and disappointment ever again. That look, when you kicked her out of your hotel room the night before, haunted her.

Emily refused to believe that could possibly be the last conversation you had with her, the last look she got from you. Usually, you looked at her with such love and joy, but this was different. Emily had spent that whole night, barely sleeping, her thoughts wrapped up in the way you looked so utterly betrayed. If that was her last conversation with you, how would you ever know that she did trust you, that she did know you were strong and capable? It was just that you were the most meaningful thing she’s ever had in her life and she was still learning how to handle that. But she would do better if you pulled through. You had to pull through so she could get the chance to do better.

Luckily for Emily, she was pulled out of her thoughts by a doctor approaching the group. Emily shot up immediately when she realized she was about to be approached with news on your condition. Her body stood rigid, her hands still trembling and balled into fists at her side. Tara put a reassuring hand on Emily’s shoulder and Emily took a deep, grounding breath, able to calm herself a bit with Tara’s supportive presence.

“How is she?” Emily’s voice sounded raw as she spoke. Tears hadn’t been shed since she was ripped from your crumpled body, as she had stopped herself before she entered the hospital. Yet she was still a wreck with how many emotions were flowing through her and with how hard she was being on herself. 

“She’s stable,” the doctor reassured. “We found the cause of the bleeding and now she’s in recovery.”

“Oh, thank god,” Emily breathed out. It felt like her whole body deflated, all the fear she was holding finally washing away. There was still guilt and worry there, but now she had more reassurance that you would be okay. 

“Can we see her?” Tara spoke up, her eyes flicking to Emily for a brief second before they turned back to the doctor. Emily looked back at Tara, knowing that Tara was asking the question for Emily rather than herself or the rest of the team. So, it seemed your worries were right, at least one member of the team noticed the two of you. Although, Emily didn’t really care at this moment. They could all know after this, Emily wasn’t ready to hide her care for you, not when she almost lost you. Screw anyone who was watching, Emily just needed to see you and somehow, Tara understood that. 

“Soon,” the doctor replied. “She’s being set up with a room. She’ll need to stay and be monitored for at least a few days.” 

Tara nodded at this. “Thank you, doctor,” she responded before turning back to Emily. “I’m going to go get you a change of clothes and something to eat for all of us, okay?”

“You don’t have to-” Emily was cut off by Tara’s gentle hand placed to her forearm. 

“I don’t think you want to leave right now.” Tara gave Emily a knowing smile. “Go tell Rossi and Alvez the news, I think I saw Rossi switch to pacing down that hall,” she pointed to where Rossi had waltzed off to. “And then text me with her room number. I’ll be back.”

“Thank you,” Emily whispered. Tara just nodded and turned, leaving Emily alone to grab the two others. When the news was broken to Rossi, his whole demeanor changed. Just like Emily, all the fear fled his body, and he was left to sit next to Emily and wait. 

It was silent between them all as they waited for an update on when they could see you. Emily was trying her best to sit as still as possible, what with Rossi glancing over at her every once in a while. His gaze was scrutinizing now, rather than angry, but Emily still wondered if he blamed her for the position you were in. 

When they were finally told they could go see you, Emily didn’t hide her anxious scurrying. It wasn’t a race, but if anyone who didn’t know them saw the way both Emily and Rossi hurried down the hospital halls, Alvez in tow, they’d think they were competing for first place. Rossi got their first, Emily backing off since she figured she already did enough to anger him for one day. After all, he was practically your father, he should be the one to confirm you were okay first. 

As he got into the room, Emily heard him take a deep breath before exhaling in relief. Emily, however, did not feel any relief when her eyes settled on your unconscious form. There were angry bruises across your skin on any part of your body that was visible to her. Bandages wrapped around random parts of your arms, some small ones stuck to your face. The way you looked almost lifeless had Emily swallowing hard. It was only the steady rhythm of your heart monitor that reassured her, you were still alive. 

Rossi seemed to be in way better spirits as he pulled up a hospital chair to your bed and placed his hand on yours. “That’s my girl,” he said to your sleeping form. “Knew you were a fighter.” 

Emily’s heart clenched at the love he was showing for you. More guilt flooded her mind as she watched him look at you with all the love a father would have for his daughter. Emily swallowed hard again, her nerves spiking for some reason as she took a few steps closer to your sleeping form. 

Alvez was kind enough to pull a chair closer to your hospital bed for both himself and Emily. They both sat at the opposite side of Rossi and Emily couldn’t help but keep her eyes glued to him for a minute. Part of her wondered, as she watched him gently stroke the top of your hand, if he’d ever accept her as your partner now. There was a suspicion he held for her since you started at the BAU and got closer to Emily that made her nervous to go public. She trusted Rossi with her life and she knew he felt the same, but did he trust her with you? Would he ever after this? 

Her eyes fell back down to your face, noticing a lock of your hair fallen on your cheek. With a shaking hand, Emily brushed the hair from your face, her fingertips brushing your skin as she did. Your face twitched for a moment and Emily retreated her hand, her body perking up. This was the first time you’ve moved. Another reminder that you were pulling through, Emily cherished that tiny twitch of your cheek like it held all the meaning in the world. No one else seemed to notice, but this small movement made Emily think touch might be the key to having you open your eyes. And, while Emily understood you needed time to wake up from the whole ordeal, she also so desperately needed to see you open her eyes. 

Unfortunately for her, you didn’t wake up any time soon. The remainder of the evening, you stayed asleep, something that the doctors reassured all of you was absolutely to be expected. For hours, Emily held one hand while Rossi held the other. Eventually, Tara came back with a change of clothes, to which Emily begrudgingly agreed to rip herself away from you and change. They were also all given food, to which Rossi and Alvez gladly took, but Emily refused. Tara opted to just leave it by her, in hopes she would feel up to eating soon. 

When it was becoming quite late, Tara, Alvez, and even Rossi planned to return to the hotel. However, Emily insisted on staying right there, in that chair, for the rest of the night. There was no way in hell you were going to wake up alone in that hospital room, she decided. Tara urged Emily to reconsider, saying she needed rest, but Emily insisted she would be fine sleeping right there on that hospital chair. Rossi remained quiet the whole time, eyeing the two of them discussing Emily’s decision, before Tara finally gave in and left with the others.

Emily didn’t really sleep, her eyes were glued to you the whole time. Her hand left yours, only to stroke your cheek as you slept. She whispered different things to you, talking about how much she loved you and how badly she felt. It was heartbreaking for her to sit here with you, even if you were going to be okay, there was still part of Emily that wouldn’t trust that until she could look into your eyes and hear your voice. 

When the sun rose and you still hadn’t opened your eyes, Emily’s anxiety was through the roof. A doctor eventually came in to check on you and as he did, Emily couldn’t stop the flood of questions she forced onto him about your condition. She was reassured over and over again this was to be expected, you’d wake up when you were ready, and that you were just fine as far as they knew. What she didn’t like hearing was the last comment, “we’ll know more when she’s awake.” As if there was some hidden threat to your health and wellbeing that none of the doctors knew yet. She dwelled on that thought for far too long. So long, in fact, that when afternoon came and the team all filed in to see you, she was still chewing on that piece of information.

Rossi, upon arrival, sat right back where he was the night before. This time a little more relaxed, his hands cradling a cup of coffee rather than your own like he did the night before. He seemed more confident, less shaken. Emily wished she could say the same about herself. 

When Tara came in to see you, she stopped next to Emily, her hand placed gently on yours with a pitying smile on her face as she looked down at your unconscious form. “You need to wake up soon,” she whispered to you. “Emily’s worried sick and I know you wouldn’t want her to worry.” Emily watched, knowing that you probably didn’t hear any of those words, but hearing Tara say them gave her an odd sense of reassurance that it was okay to be more open about her feelings for you. Maybe if Tara knew, the others did too. And if they didn’t, well at least it seemed like Tara was in Emily’s corner. 

“As for you,” Tara turned towards Emily. “Have you left this room?”

Emily looked up at Tara sheepishly. She was busted. Of course she hadn’t left. What if she missed it when you finally opened your eyes? Or worse. What if she missed it if your condition unexpectedly took a turn? 

“I’m sure you haven’t slept either,” Tara continued. “You need to at least eat something and maybe also walk around a little. It will be good for you.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Emily insisted. “Not yet.”

“She’ll be right here when you get back.” This time it was Rossi who spoke. Emily was shocked at this, he hadn’t really said much to her since he blew up when you were in critical condition. Emily didn’t blame him for that, but she did think it would take awhile before he felt okay about her again. “She’s okay now, Emily. I wouldn’t have left if she wasn’t.” 

Rossi’s words hit Emily hard. It seemed like he knew more too, but Emily didn’t question it right now either. He would know eventually, especially after her behavior surrounding this ordeal. “Okay,” Emily’s voice broke as she spoke. “Okay, I could use some coffee.” 

Rossi nodded his approval and Emily stood on shaky legs. Her whole being screamed at her not to leave, but she knew she would be no help to anyone if she passed out from exhaustion. Plus, it did feel good to finally stretch her body after being hunched over you in that uncomfortable chair overnight. 

“But if anything happens,” Emily turned to speak again, “you call me immediately.” 

“Of course,” Tara reassured and Emily willed her legs again to move as she exited your room. 

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily hated to admit they were all right. It felt good to stretch her legs and as she made her way back from the hospital cafeteria, the taste of warm coffee was comforting. She was already exhausted, practically running on empty before any of the team had returned to your hospital room. Hopefully, the coffee would give her a much needed boost. Or, at the very least, keep her awake long enough to see you open your eyes again. She really hoped it would happen soon. At this point, with each passing minute, it was getting more painful to see your unconscious body lying barely patched together in that hospital room. 

What Emily didn’t expect was that she didn’t have to wait much longer. As she rounded the corner to your hospital room, she heard louder, more animated talking than when the team first arrived to see you. She thought it was curious and her steps hastened as she made her way to the room. When she got to the doorway, she stopped in her tracks, her coffee slipping from her hands. 

The coffee hit the floor with a splatter, causing everyone to pause and look over to her, but she didn’t care at all. Right in front of her, she finally saw you, barely sitting up, but still in a different position than she had left you. More importantly, as she took in your form, her eyes moving from where your body had shifted all the way up to your face, she saw them. Curious, open eyes peering back at her. The eyes of the woman she loved so much, finally open and looking straight at her.

“Oh, thank god,” Emily whispered, taking long strides towards you. She practically pushed Reid out of the way to get to you, and then Alvez too, who was standing right at your side. “You’re awake,” Emily exhaled as she stopped right next to your bed. Her body was moving without her even thinking. Trembling fingers pressed themselves to either side of your face, much like they had when she found you trapped and bleeding in that car. This time, with gentle care, despite all her haste, she turned your face to hers and pressed her lips against yours for a long, but gentle kiss. 

“You’re awake,” she mumbled against your lips. “You’re awake, you’re awake.” Her lips pressed to yours again and you weakly kissed back. As much as you wanted to kiss her with as much emotion as she was giving you, you were still a bit dazed from everything. Still, relief flooded your body when her lips pressed to yours. The first thought when you woke, and were told of what happened, was how angry Emily might be. After all, she had insisted you stayed back to keep from getting hurt. And here you were, in a hospital room, recovering from a major surgery as a direct result of getting hurt on the job. 

Emily left another lingering kiss on your lips. “I love you,” she whispered between soft kisses. “I’m so sorry, I love you.”

A throat was cleared in the room and Emily snapped out of her stupor. She pulled back, guilty eyes looking over to Rossi, but hands never leaving you, just dropping to rest on your shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Emily repeated, this time to the whole room. “It’s just-”

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” you interrupted Emily before she could spiral. Your voice was hoarse as you spoke, trying your best to clear it, you knew you had some apologies to make. “I should’ve listened and stayed behind. I am so sorry, Emily.”

At this point, you honestly weren’t going to hide anymore of your emotions from the group. The cat was already out of the bag, what with Emily striding in, kissing you, and declaring her love for you in front of everyone. Plus, you were stuck hooked up to an IV and other odd wires, so you couldn’t move. It was rude to kick everyone out of the hospital room so you two could talk, but this couldn’t wait. She had to know how sorry you were.

“I know I worried you,” you continued. 

Emily was shaking her head furiously. “No, it’s not your fault and you’re right. I’m too overprotective.”

“That’s an understatement,” you heard Alvez snort from the back of the room. 

Emily turned back to glare, the tension in the room leaving when a few others chimed in with a chuckle. Now that you were awake, it was like everyone was able to breathe out. You seemed fine, the doctor that Tara grabbed when she noticed your eyes flutter open, promised you were fine. Emily was probably going to need a lot of convincing before she could truly trust that you were fine. Especially since she was out getting coffee when the doctor came, but it seemed some of her tension was even finally leaving. 

The whole group talked for a little bit, with Emily seated by your side again. Her hand gently and carefully trailed over your arm as all of you spoke. When requesting water, both Emily and Rossi jumped at the chance to get it for you. It was honestly a little endearing to see them act like this, but you couldn’t stop the roll of your eyes when Rossi beat her to get up and fetch a nurse for your request. 

When water was brought to you, Emily helped you sit up, a strong hand on your back as you winced while trying to move. The flash of pain in your face didn’t go unnoticed by Emily and a large frown was written on her face as she brought the cup of water to your lips. Rossi stayed silent, his eyes glued to the two of you, switching back and forth from watching your face and Emily’s.

“I figured it out yesterday,” he finally broke his own silence. “So, you and Emily are together then?”

You nodded hesitantly, Emily’s hand withdrawing from you for a moment in hesitation. 

“I knew there was something. How long have you two…” Rossi trailed off, letting either of you put a label to what you two were, not wanting to be too presumptuous himself.

“Oh!” Reid chimed in. “We have bets on- oof!” He was cut off by a strong elbow to the rib from Alvez, effectively shutting himself up. 

“Maybe about a month since I started at the BAU,” you said sheepishly, looking back at Rossi like you were a child who just got busted for cutting class. In the back of the room, you heard some whispering between some of the team, a couple of disappointed voices in who was wrong and who was right. It didn’t matter what they were saying though, both you and Emily had your eyes glued to Rossi, waiting for any sort of reaction.

His brow furrowed for a minute, a small frown playing on his lips. It was embarrassing that the heart monitor was giving away the increase in your heart rate, but no one seemed to comment.

“I wish you would’ve told me sooner,” Rossi finally sighed. “But if anyone were to date you,” he looked up at the two of you, “I’m glad it’s you, Emily. You’ll take good care of her.”

Emily nodded, her hand squeezing your arm where it rested. She looked down at you and you met her eyes, seeing all of the love she had for you fill them the instant they met. It seemed that everyone had approved of the two of you. Emily honestly felt a little silly and even more guilty about trying to keep the relationship a secret, but she also had never felt more relief in her life.

You were okay. The team and, more importantly, your father figure, knew about the two of you. Rossi was right, she would take care of you. She would make sure she didn’t hold you back, and she knew she still had some making up to do from that last fight in your hotel room, but she would do better. She had the second chance and you didn’t seem upset about it all. Instead, you both were just relieved to have each other. When you were healed and ready to get back to work, you both would talk, but Emily promised herself she would find a way to trust your capability a little more. You, meanwhile, promised yourself you would find more patience and understanding for her worry over you. 

This whole situation was terrifying for everyone involved, but you and Emily had to admit that you grew from it. As you regained your strength, your body wasn’t the only thing healing and strengthening. Your relationship was healing from the fight too and your love for each other, now that it was out in the open, was stronger than ever.

Taglist: @geekyandgay98 @desperate-gay @finleyfray @natashamaximoff69 @high--power @demonicbaby666 @storiesofsvu

Join the taglist here

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

Finally watched Caped Crusader and I have ✨thoughts✨.

Oswalda is straight up iconic. Loved every scene with her. I actually laughed out loud when the dude goes "Thorne got you to kill the wrong son?" and she responds "Not that!" I'd let her lock me in a suitcase and throw me in the sea. She gets a gold star ⭐

I like that we get to see Selina's origin. I like the classic suit. That's kinda it though. A bit sad that Bruce didn't feel any connection with her. Just not a huge fan of her character here. She doesn't feel like Selina (a problem most of this show faces tbh).

I was loving the Harley stuff. The bit with Renee was so cute, and I love that she really was passionate about helping Bruce move past his trauma. I really like that she's Barbara's friend. Was really upset at the fakeout death but at least she was just joshin. The villain stuff felt like fetishes which like okay. I guess Bruce needed to put in something to replace BruceBabs. Anyway, that's the final dig towards him. As much as this Harley episode wasn't my favorite, a promise is a promise. Although I do gotta ask, WHY CAN'T RENEE CATCH A BREAK IN HER LOVE LIFE >:(((

No fucking way the moral of episode 7 was "the system is totally not screwed, it's just a few bad apples and also a criminal is a criminal and should be jailed". Barbara literally says the system sucks cause the cops can do what they want and get in anyone's pockets and then nearly gets killed by a cop and then they end it with "actually, I think you do"?! I mean yeah that specific guy deserved prison but ending it on that note of Barbara feeling betrayed and confused on her morals tells a very not-so-delightful message. Glad the show backtracks on all that immediately but it's still weird and definitely could've used some revising to fit in with the rest.

Onomatopeia was awesome though. I remember people claiming his shtick couldn't work when he appeared in Superman and Lois. They said that it only worked in comics and would be too silly out loud. Happy to report that they're wrong.

I feel like I'm the only one who was excited to see Waylon but that's okay cause I got enough excitement for everyone. Love to see my mans kicking the shit out of potential perverts. You go, Waylon!

Dick, Jason, Steph, and Carrie. Definitely an interesting combination. But it's also so nice to see a Jason who grew up in a different environment and is therefore adorable with no rage in his heart. As opposed to Carrie who was ready to kick some ass. The ending to episode 8 really understood Batman, what with him saying he can't leave her there, carrying her and shielding her under the cape, and then asking about her later.

The Harvey bit is kinda cool but 1, I've always been iffy on the shotty DID stuff and 2, I think they coulda gone further. Just watch The Long Halloween for a better Two Face plot.

I like Harvey helping that guy get his stuffed animal back. That was a nice small character moment. If we had more stuff like that and Bruce being unable to confess his emotions to Alfred, I think this whole thing would be better. This one made up for episode 7's little message by having Barbara tell Harvey that it's not so cut and dry and that he deserves help too. I'm glad they went back to that after the whole "sometimes things are black and white" bit. Batman is about helping people just as much as Superman is and I feel like sending a message that "nope, bad is bad and he should just punch people" doesn't fit the entire thesis of Batman.

This finale really encapsulates how this show doesn't quite understand the character of Batman. It may be comic-accurate for him to be an asshole and put on the voice randomly, treat Alfred like crap, and randomly break character with stuff like "don't start growing a conscience now, Dent" but as I said it goes against the whole thesis. This is more along the lines of the Nolan films with the "Bruce Wayne is the mask" bit. And we all know how I feel about those films.

And then it ends on a boring cliffhanger with the boss guy and then a shitty Joker teaser. Boo.

In short, this show is good but it's not anything special. I do really like the classic Batman aesthetic, but that's pretty much it. It doesn't really understand the characters like MAWS and WFA, the overarching plot is kind of uninteresting and it doesn't feel like we're building up to something great. I feel like this show really wanted to use the episodic style to take a look at all these different elements of Gotham's world with references to existing characters and aspects. But whereas MAWS smoothly slid those into its narrative and setting, this just kinda feels like a villain of the week show instead of working towards this grand narrative. And that can be a good thing, I mean I'm a Scooby Doo fan for crying out loud, but in this scenario, it just doesn't work that exceptionally. If it gets a season 2, I'll probably watch it. But this isn't something I'd be excitedly waiting to see new episodes of.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

s5 and the trivialisation of catra's crimes

i couldn't be the only who noticed the language that s5 used whenever it came to talking about catra's actions.

(i probably missed a bunch of other instances, so feel free to reblog and add more!)

“hurt people” = huge understatement.

you also abuse them, try to control them, emotionally manipulate them, gaslight them, and attempt to murder them.

“for everything” = again, vague.

what's everything? we see later that catra still holds adora accountable for “abandoning her”, she still acts like adora is dumb and weak and easily manipulated, she still shows no remorse for the way she treated adora. what did she mean by everything then?

“tried to kill me a bunch of times” = only touching the surface.

she also physically and emotionally abused you, scarred you, kidnapped your friends, mind controlled you, kidnapped you, drugged you, and almost ended the entire universe just to spite you.

“stubborn brat” = huge understatement 2.0

she was acting like an abusive bitch person. stubborn brat makes it sound like catra is a pre-teen throwing a temper tantrum (which is exactly what she acts like, to her credit).

“i thought things would be different”, “fixing things” = vague terms + trivializing the situation.

adora is speaking as if the only problem here was a rough patch in a relationship or a bad breakup and not, you know, dealing with a literal war criminal and abuser.

“it's a long story” = vague and refusing to explain further.

said long story being that catra only sided with you because she had no choice and is still actively abusing you.

we're talking about a war criminal here. we're talking about someone who put the safety of the entire universe at jeopardy.

why is s5 using such vague terms and trivializing everything that catra did? why is it acting like the only problem with catra's character was that she had some relationship issues with adora?

oh wait, i know why. it's because the creators were hoping that we don't remember what happened in the previous seasons or sweep everything under the rug. and luckily for them, 90% of the fandom fell for it.

[drgnnova]

Who is the most mischaracterize character in the Honkai Star Rail fandom and why is it Yanqing?

I could go into detail about how the fanon likes to mischaracterize him. they'll call him a brat and overconfident for thinking he could beat Jingliu, Blade and Dan Heng. but it makes sense Yanqing is a prodigy which is why he's the youngest lieutenant in the history of the Xianzhou, Cloud Knights. (this can be found in this character story) and it also mention that "No one can best Yanqing when he holds a sword in hand."

people treat like he weak just because he lost against Jingliu, Blade and Dan heng. which is weird, do you want some "random" kid to be stronger than immortals who are more than twice his age. you claim these characters as strong but then call him Yanqing weak for losing agaisnt them. so it makes no sense to me, It kind of contradicts what your saying lol.

also Yanqing was only doing his job, yes Jing Yuan told him to not go after them. but he was still doing his job, it his job as the cloud knight lieutenant and he wants to prove himself to Jing Yuan. (This was only hinted at when 1.2 came out with these quests, but was confirmed later in the ghost event when Yanqing was getting manipulate/control by a heliobi/heliobus name Apyra).

and people are calling him a brat because of how he acted in his companion quest and the 1.2 quest even thought he was literally talking to wanted criminals so of course he's not going to be all rainbows and smiles. ignoring how nice he is outside of those fights/scenes.

in the 1.3 quest, Yanqing is seen trying to make sure Jing Yuan rests after his battle with phantylia. he even apologises to Jingliu for assuming she can't see due to her blindfold. Yanqing in his messages (not everyone gets this because it's only if you get hie character) stays in the rain with some kittens, and feels bad for them as he waits for the mother to return. and in most if not all other interactions that doesnt include villains, Yanqing is shown to not act bratty and even has good manners, and isn't rude.

also after the 1.2 quest, when Yanqing is a visitor to the astral express, he shown to be kind to Dan heng who he was agaisnt in the 1.2 trailblaze quest, wanting to know what Dan heng is interested in who he can talk to him. he evens fell bad when he thought he misspoke to Dan heng, saying this to Trailblazer "I was worried I spoke out of turn or upset him." and this "I'll keep talking to him — maybe I can eventually unlock his chattier side!", he clearly wants to be friends with Dan heng, and cares about people.

he considers Trailblazer a friend, even talking about the General says it "show proper etiquette...". and Yanqing wants to repay the Trailblazer but doesn't know how. and gives Trailblazer some beautiful stones he found. at the end of this conversation he says "The next time I'm here, I want to have more conversations, watch the universe, and eat some good food together with all of you!"

also i think it weird if you hate a character (not gameplay wise, I can understand why people don't like Yanqing's gameplay wise) because you lose a 50/50. you losing your 50/50 to Yanqing shouldn't make you hate his whole character. you're ignoring his character lore/personality over a game/wish.

also it stupid to hate Yanqing because of what he did in HI3, Yanqing character is completely different than his H13 counterpart/Expy (the original) because he hasn't done what he did in HI3 and it a completely different universe (think of the multiverse, if you're in a different version you won't be exactly the way because of different events happening and molding you)

[dangermousie]

oooooh nooo. did they actually fuck up Jing or is he just one of the characters you're annoyed they removed important scenes with?

If they knew they couldn't have CX actually kill Jing because of censorship, they should have worked on restructuring his arc up to this point so that made sense. They can't just give him the same arc and then change the logical conclusion.

I wasn't annoyed with Jing per se but I was annoyed at the removal of a lot of his arc - like when he literally gate crashes her ceremony of becoming a nun (!!!!) and I just think that the second half of s2 put him into background to such a degree he ceased to be interesting to me - he was barely there and not given much to do when he was - that reunion scene was just so abrupt and filmed so randomly, I didn't even have a chance to care. A lot of second half of s2 felt like Cliffs Notes version in general but it got really bad by the end and I think Jing was hit by that along with most of the rest.

He's lucky he wasn't Cang Xuan - what they did to that character and that arc are utterly criminal! I agree if they knew they couldn't have him be a killer, then rewrite it way earlier - as is, it is like building building building and then NOTHING.

But also, in wrecking his arc, it wrecks Xiao Yao as a character. In the novel, it made sense she peaced out never to be seen by CX again - the person closest to her killed her love AND also confessed he was in love with her and etc etc - in fact before Jing comes back, she was planning to become Holy Mother ie be in one place where CX could never gain admittance. She felt blindsided and betrayed by the person she loved most (even if as a family only.) By the time Jing came back and she got married, the relationship between the cousins was irrevocably broken.

But here? She NEVER finds out CX loves her romantically. He is not in any way responsible for Jing's death. Sure, he can't execute Xinyue for the murder because she's the queen and it will start a war, but especially after Jing comes back alive, it makes NO sense for XY to just peace out in such a fashion that CX can never see her again - like why how - he's her beloved brother who approved of her marriage and where there are good reasons why he didn't punish his queen who ultimately did not murder anyone (and owed her nothing) - none of it makes any sense! It makes her awful tbh. (They try to do the thing where he says if he could choose the crown or her, he'd choose the crown but she is not shocked and it's not treated as a reveal because it obviously isn't.)

The whole structure falls apart.

(It also makes Jing weaker because it's one thing to not be able to guard against the freaking emperor of the world and another a fellow clan and plots by idiot Xinyue.)

Honestly, demon boy is the sole character who emerged from this with any semblance of a coherent character.

The title doesn't even make sense any more - it always came across to me as largely about CX losing XY forever (and vice versa.) But why does he lose her forever here? It makes zero sense.

It's like if they made Goodbye My Princess and at the end "psych!!! it turned out FL's fam were all alive and protected by ML and she got her throat stitched up and they lived happily ever after." It's not that it's a bad twist in a vacuum but it makes no sense with these characters and this story.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Villain's Coffee Shop part 3

Warnings: bleeding out, gravely injured Villain, stab wounds, corrupt Superhero

"Where's your hideout? Is it close by? And does it have medical equipment?" Hero bombarded him with a barrage of questions.

"Like I would ever... kff... tell you where I live..." Villain coughed wetly, the metallic tang of blood coating his tongue.

"Shut up," Hero hissed, and the uncharacteristic urgency in her tone gave Villain pause. Why did she even care? Wasn't she going to kill him anyway?

"You are dying, Villain," Hero growled, tearing open his leather jacket with ease to get a better look at him. "These injuries are deep, and you've already lost a lot of blood. Tell me where your hideout is and I'll take you there to be treated.”

"...No hospitals?" Villain rasped in surprise.

"No hospitals," Hero confirmed. "Pretty sure you would never let me take you to one anyway, considering you're the most wanted criminal in the city."

Villain hummed in acknowledgement, but flinched with a pained hiss when Hero lifted up his shirt, examining the stab wounds. She paled, and Villain knew it wasn't good. "That bad, eh?" He croaked. He was dying, she'd said... but that couldn't be true, could it? Villain was strong... and yet... he'd never been this weak. Was he in denial? Is this what dying actually felt like?

"Are you armed?" Hero asked, drawing him back to reality.

"I'm a villain. Of course I'm armed."

"What did I say about dropping the attitude?" Hero scolded, but Villain knew she was just trying to distract him from the pain. Hero gave him a quick pat down, confiscating every blade she found on him and tossing them aside.

"Can't risk you trying to stab me in the back," Hero rumbled. "Now. Are there any henchmen at your place I need to worry about? Or do you have anyone you can call to take care of you?"

Villain let out a weak laugh that ended in a cough. "You said it yourself; I'm a lone wolf. I don't have anyone. I'm alone."

Hero's eyebrows arched with skeptical surprise. "No teammates? Nothing?"

"Nope. Just me, myself, and I, one big... not-so-happy family..."

Hero shook her head, slipping one arm behind Villain's back and another under his legs behind the knees, effortlessly lifting him off the ground.

"Whowhoawhoa put me down," Villain hissed, startled.

"Which way to your lair?" Hero asked firmly.

"Why bother helping me?" Villain groaned, his eyes rolling back in his skull as he fought to stay conscious. "I'm just another villain to the city. No one will miss me if I die, and it'll be less trouble for you later."

Hero fell silent, and Villain forced his eyes to focus on her face, spotting the flicker of sorrow in her expression before her usual composure returned. "You can question my motives later, but right now you are quite literally bleeding out in my arms, so will you please just tell me where I'm taking you! I'm helping, so be grateful, and help me help you. I can't save you if you don't want to be saved. The choice is yours."

Villain balked. He hadn't expected that. Another surprise. But as much as he wanted to be stubborn and tough it out like he always did, he was highly aware of his blood soaking into Hero's suit with every one of his sluggish heartbeats.

He didn't want to die. Dying was terrifying, and agonizing--

"Okay," he rasped weakly, giving in. "My hideout is two alleys to the right of this one, there's a place called 'cops and coffee'. I always leave the back door unlocked. It leads to a secret back area where I keep all my stuff when I'm not running the main shop."

"Cops and Coffee? Seriously? How have you not been caught yet?!" Hero scoffed in disbelief. "Me and the other heroes go there all the time -- wait... are you the hot guy always taking orders at the front desk?!"

"Did my undying charm and charisma give it away?" Villain wheezed sarcastically, a small smile cracking his lips.

"You've been right under our noses this whole time?!" Hero gaped down at him in shock, still holding him in her arms.

Villain tried and failed to shrug nonchalantly. "What can I say, the last place I figured people would look for me is in the center of a bunch of cops and heroes in a coffee shop. It's great camouflage."

Hero shook her head and started walking briskly down the alley, muttering to herself under breath the whole way.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @i-don't-know-sal @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222 @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees

@federthenotsogreat @everynameistakencarrots

[aluraveil]

Yandere Chrollo Headcanons

Note : I finally write for Hunter x Hunter! Chrollo was the reason I started watching this anime and I'm addicted to the show <3

Out of all the Yanderes in the world of Hunter x Hunter, if you had Chrollo as your yandere.. then goodbye. You’re never seeing the light ever again because my mans is scary and powerful as shit.

Chrollo is by far the worst Yandere to have.

Chrollo is literally the leader of the Phantom Troupe, of which is infamous for being nothing but bandits who take whatever they want without caring about how many people they have killed in the process.

The Phantom Troupe is a group of cold blooded criminals who kill innocent people and steal. 

If you ever tried to escape, it’d be so easy for Chrollo to track you down. He might even ask the Phantom Troupe to help find your location.

The Phantom Troupe is a gang full of thugs who are talented in combat and other things. It would be so easy for them to track you down.

Who knows? The Phantom Troupe might even have a contest on who can find you first..

Chrollo encourages you to talk to the other Phantom Troupe members. Afterall, they’re his friends. But you took one good look at them and decided to keep your mouth shut.

Sometimes Shizuku might even try to start a conversation with you..

Shizuku honestly wasn’t that bad. She was really nice to you and you sometimes talk to her. Even Shalnark is really polite to everyone too.

Overall the Phantom Troupe isn’t that bad. Afterall they don’t treat you coldly. You always make sure to stay away from people like Hisoka. Something is just off about them..

Another thing that Chrollo loves to do with you is have you sit on his lap during meeting with the other Spiders.

Hisoka also stares at you weirdly and once during a meeting, you both made eye contact and he winked and grinned at you. That creeped the shit out of you..

You don’t sleep with restraints because for one thing, Chrollo knows that even if you try to escape; he’ll find you eventually. Also his tight grip on your waist as he cuddles with you doesn’t help either..

Chrollo’s embrace is super suffocating. You always feel like you can’t breathe around him.

In the end, having Chrollo as a Yandere sucks ass. That man is nothing but a criminal to you in your own eyes.

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Loser Round 6: Damian Wayne (DC) vs. Mabel Pines (Gravity Falls)

Propaganda below the cut

Damian Wayne (9-14):

Damian is a kid who was raised as an assassin and because of that when he first appears he has some really messed up ideas of how to prove himself to his father by being aggressive with the criminals they capture and attacking his brother. Because of this people act like he is the most evil character ever and refuse to give him any grace. They make him out to be this awful irredeemable monster who just wants to kill his brother and hurt people. If the fandom isn’t making his out to be The Worst(tm) then they are ignoring his existence all-together. He is a really interesting character who has done some not so great things but he’s grown and learned a lot through various character arcs (as much of an arc as a comic book character can have) and he deserves to be acknowledged for himself and not just as a villain so that people can woobify his brother.

——

HES JUST A LITTLE BABY GUY!!!!! Little baby man raised as an assassin and learning how to be a real person <3. But because he was kind of a dick and also a little stabby early-on, especially to the fandom's main "so sad uwu depressed baby" blorbo (and also he's not white), people treat him like he's satan incarnate

Mabel Pines (12):

I literally saw a tiktok today about how Mabel is a bad person. She’s 12! Like yes, she has made some mistakes and bad choices, but so has everyone else. And I never see any of the other characters in the show criticized the way she is. Everyone in the show has made mistakes (Grunkle Stan commits crimes practically every episode ffs) but because Mabel is a 12 year old girl and acts like it, she gets the most hate. Mabel deserves to be loved 🩷

----

girl gets so much flack for being... immature and kind of selfish at age 12? like she had whole video essays made on why she is a horrible person who deserves punishment. god forbid girls be silly

----

!!! Spoilers for Gravity Falls last 5 episodes !!!

This has gone down a lot but when the Weirdmaggedon arc was happening, the finale of the series, a big part of the fandom started hating Mabel because she accidentally caused the Weirdmaggedon (basically an apocalypse + bizarre shit like the water tower becoming an eight-legged monster with a giant mouth).

For context, in the episode that starts this arc, "Dipper and Mabel vs The Future", Mabel is really excited to the end of their summer vacation at Grunkle Stan's house, since it will be her and Dipper's 13th birthday and they will enter high school (her idea of high school of course coming from teen movies). But then this whole idea starts to shatter when Wendy tells her that high school isn't like a Disney musical, but it's okay, she will get through this since she will be with Dipper, her twin brother...

Except, that Dipper receives an invitation by Grunkle Stan's scientist brother Ford to become his apprentice after summer ends, staying in Gravity Falls, without Mabel. When she discovers it, she gets really mad at him and in a fit of rage, she accidentally picks Dipper's bag instead of hers and runs off to the woods.

When she gets there, Blendin, a time-travelling friend of theirs finds her and tells her that he has a way of making her brother stay with her, and make the summer take a little more to end, and that he just needed a little thing that Dipper has in his bag. That thing is a dimensional rift that Dipper and Ford contained to not cause the Weirdmaggedon, but Mabel didn't knew about that and gives it to Blendin. Blendin then breaks it and it's revealed that Bill Cipher was controlling Blendin to get the rift and release the Weirdmaggedon. He then traps Mabel in a bubble, starting the final arc of the series.

So, a few episodes later, that bubble she's in is revealed to be a world of fantasy that she controls, and that she didn't want to leave that world, as she was scared of growing up etc.

Context given, A LOT OF PEOPLE HATED HER FOR THIS. Suddenly people started seeing Mabel as just a selfish girl who wanted things only her way, when she was only a 12-year-old scared of growing up without her twin brother (they do end up going back together at the end but still).

The worst part is that apparently the people behind it took note of this, and on the comics that where released after the finale, she is a selfish spoiled brat. I haven't read the comics though so I'm going off what some people said about it.

[archivalofsins]

I'm glad I don't look in the tag like the shit that passes my dash is like stuff I know, and then Mikoto being hypersexualized on a bimonthly basis with the implied impression that it's fine as long as it's a male being sexualized. I have no stake in it one way or the other. If that's fun to some, it's just fun, and I'm certain other characters are sexualized just as much in different circles. Maybe I'm just lucky enough not to have seen that.

Yet that again would be due to people recognizing subconsciously or not that hypersexualizing certain characters of the cast is problematic on some level. I don't see this sort of discussion as often around Yuno despite the content within her music videos. I don't see it around Mahiru or Kotoko as much either. This is excluding every other character that was a child when Milgram started all together.

This may sound like a complaint or a dig at this fandoms ethics, but it isn't because literally most fandoms treat male characters like this. This isn't something the Milgram fanbase created or anything it's quite common.

It's why Persona 5 wrote those story beats around Ryuji how they did- Because when sexual harrassment happens to a man in fiction it's comedy when it happens to a woman in fiction it's either horror or very notably a moral failing on the one doing it. Or maybe again I've just gotten lucky and haven't read a lot of egregious shit in that regard.

The way all fandom tends to hypersexualize men in general is a byproduct of how the sexual issues of men are discussed in media and ignorance. The same as it is when it comes to hypersexualization and caricaturing of female characters past and present as well. I don't want this to come off as me saying being overly sexualized is a male issue alone. Because it's not. This is a very reductionist explanation of sexualization in media, something that affects all genders differently.

There's much more to it than what I'm saying here. Plus, not everyone does this with the intent of demeaning a character or reducing them to their sexual appeal alone. Some people just find a design sexy or aesthetically appealing that's pretty reasonable. Displaying why that is- is reasonable as well.

However, when that is put alongside comments like "I'd never judge a female character like this, of course, I have some class." It starts to make me raise an eyebrow just a bit. Like, I end up wondering like um why not though?

Hate to be openly pansexual (no i don't this is hyperbole) but um, women are hot, lol. What does no one else think so? Is it bad to point out the features of the Milgram women too. I'm sorry but Mahiru is hot she dresses well and homely she has a decent figure and she is not lacking in the chest department.

It really comes down to preference at the end of the day. Am i going to sit here and say Mikoto looks average? No, like Mikoto, Kazui, Mahiru, and Shidou are all genuinely attractive and can be somewhat charismatic people. Ya know something that a good few murderers are. That's kind of the point of them being the adults of the group.

They are the end result of everyone here younger than them and are more than likely the best at what they do.

Outside of that, it would be weird of me to hold anybody to a certain standard when it comes to what they're attracted to in fiction. Unless they are romanticizing a criminal act or a child. Gotta make that really clear. Since that isn't really occurring here, it is kind of free game. Go nuts, really.

I just find it interesting that everything a person would ethically have an issue with someone doing to a character that's a woman has been done to Mikoto with reckless abandon.

From hyperfocusing on the measurements of his body, overtly sexualizing him regardless of how covered up he is, making assumptions about his romantic or sexual preferences. It's like everything that would make anyone rightfully a creep if they did it to a woman whether that be in real life or in fiction has been done to this one fictional dude to the point it technically happens in cycles. I can tell when a month has ended based on if this man's body is being talked about sometimes, and I shouldn't be able to do that at any time.

It's impressive. I need to note again that I'm not saying this because I'm a prude or to protect Mikoto's very nonexistent innocence. It's just a funny and interesting double standard to look into within any fandom, not just this one. I know it's all in good fun, and this isn't meant to call it out or anybody in any way.

It's just meant to be me going,

"Hey, this is a funny thing that hasn't really been questioned that much that actually ties into other writing tropes in media that are pretty bad. Let's talk about it."

Even if it is not that deep.

Personally, I've always found it interesting as daughter of a guy that suffered interpersonal partner violence and being raised in a community where the sexual assault of both men and women is prominently discussed to see how men and women are sexualized not only in media but by fanbases. Of course, I'm way more interested in this when it comes to black people. However, when a good example of the differences is sitting right in front of me, it's hard to overlook it.

Better excuse, though- Mahiru is hot, too! Maybe stop talking about how she's delusional and instead discuss how she had low confidence and rejection sensitivity. Causing her to not understand what she was doing was too much for the situation as well as made it difficult for her to let the fact that she was not accepted by someone she liked go. Similarly to Mu.

Like maybe this line from This Is How To Be In Love With You deserves a bit more focus,

"What do you think? I know it's not the type of question you want to be asked."

A common question for one to ask their partner about the outfits they put on.

Or this one in I Love You,

"Sigh... No appetite, I can’t sleep, my hair’s a mess. What am I supposed to do now? If you won’t tell me, I can’t be me."

I'm not hungry, I can't sleep, and worst of all- I'm not even looking good right now. Yeah fuck it actually this is a Mahiru appreciation post now that woman served this community several different outfits and this bastard only gave two fuck Mikoto stop complimenting this man for his cycling body.

Yeah, he's fit. We know! The man bikes to work to stay in shape and practices swinging a bat when angry.

But guess what-

Mahiru jogs, and she even has a cute jogging outfit. We've never even seen this man on a bike. Let alone in a cycling outfit.

Q.04 Are you picky when it comes to fashion?

Mikoto: Of course I am. Nobody would want to ask for anything from an unfashionable designer, right?

Oh, you're picky huh. People wouldn't ask for anything from an unfashionable designer, yeah... So, why does Mahiru Shiina's first music video look like a fashion catalogue-

While all we see from you is you putting your clothes where they belong,

Sorry, I got heated there. It's not a fashion competition because we clearly know who would win that. Long story short, Mahiru has a cute design too.

[meear]

I hate how the consensus in the fandom is disliking Romione because "Ron isn't good enough for her". lmfaoo y'all, Hermione isn't good enough for HIM.

Remember guys, she got jealous that he was dating someone else and physically assaulted him until he bled. He had scratches. What the fuck was that and how did anyone read this scene and not think Hermione was a disgusting, abusive piece of trash? No because if Ron had been the one beating up Hermione like that you can BET people would've remembered it and held it against him forever (as they should!).

And I saw so many people defend Hermione saying shit like "oh i don't excuse her but it was understandable". She was just acting like "an irrational teenage girl"! Yeah uh no that was not just irrational teenager behaviour. Teenagers are emotional yes but most teenagers don't beat up their crush when they kiss someone else unless they have some serious disorder. Like, St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys level of disorder. She actually needs to be locked up, asap. The most understandable depiction of violent teenage behaviour in HP was OotP, and Harry was literally traumatised. Rowling wants you to believe that Hermione, on the other hand, is supposed to be a well-adjusted teenager.

"oh but Ron was rude to her too wah wah" yeah I don't give a fuck. Nothing Ron did to Hermione was on this level of violence, I genuinely do not give a fuck.

You know who angerly retaliates to Ron's rude remarks without acting like fucking Vernon Dursley? Ginny. And I don't even like Ginny. But when Ron acts like a jerk towards her, she understandably shoots back, she gets spiteful and mean, in an actual teenage girl way. No way y'all are trying to normalize the shit Hermione pulled.

"but", I hear you say, "it's normal for characters to have flaws :((( you just want every character to be flawless! It just shows that in HP no one is perfect! It's realistic!"

First of all, Harry Potter characters have the depth of a wet tissue, be fucking for real, second of all, that argument might hold water if the narrative held Hermione accountable and criticised her for what she did. but it didn't. The narrative blamed Ron. Ron is written as a flawed character, but Hermione isn't.

I love flawed characters, but I don't love flawed characters whose shit behaviour constantly get excused/validated by the author at all. They are actually the type of characters I despise the most. they become very unlikable and not in a fun way. If there's one thing in a story I can't stand it's inconsistent morality and the author playing favourites (looking at you Isayama)

Also, I'm pretty sure there's a world between "not being perfect" and being a genuinely abusive, bad person. HP1-3 Hermione is the former. HP6 Hermione is the latter. Ultimately, Rowling does intend for Hermione to be a good person. She kinda failed at portraying that. Hermione wasn't even shown as the bad guy for what she did! Harry felt a bit awkward 'cause he saw her cry and the narrative treated Ron like a jerk for daring to be interested in anyone other than Hermione and not realising she wanted him. How dare he! Nevermind that Hermione dated Viktor and Cormac. It's okay when she does it, but how dare he! Even when Rowling talks about these two, she thinks Ron is the one who needs to grow up and get himself together. He needs better friends. And a better author.

[chronicbeans]

Hazbin Hotel Rewrite - Charlie (+ Razzle, Dazzle, KeyKey)

I like her character in canon, but I think she needs a bit more maturity. I understand that they were going for like a Disney Princess sort of characterization, but even Disney Princesses have their mature moments.

TW: Neglect, Maladaptive Daydreaming, Imaginary Friends, Dissociation, Depression

Charlie was created from the white sands of a beach on Earth in order for Lucifer to try using her as a way to woo a woman he loved. Once that didn't work, he took her back to Hell with him, never letting her see the woman she had already grown to see as a mother ever again. Instead, when she grew old enough to question who her mother is, he lied and told her Lilith was her mother.

Lucifer was very, very neglectful towards Charlie, and she never understood why. She wasn't allowed outside, either. So, she began to create imaginary friends to help her through it. There was a cyclops cat named KeyKey, an odd mad hatter like man named Razzle, and his rabbit named Dazzle. The Razzle came to be due to her subconsciously wanting a father figure in her life, and Lucifer's unwillingness to provide that for her. Dazzle came as a need for a friend. Then, KeyKey was created as a desire to have something to care for.

Her teachers, who were demons who visited the castle in order to teach her at home, expected these imaginary friends to leave during her teenage years. When they didn't, they expected to leave during her adult years. And, well, they didn't. Instead, they have stuck with her throughout her whole life.

People often say that imaginary friends can be killed by someone if they began to fill the role the imagination played. That's exactly what happened with Dazzle, as Rebecca, under the alias of Vaggie became a good friend to her. As funny as it may sound, Charlie claims Rebecca sat on the poor bunny, crushing him, and eliciting a loud scream of dismay from Charlie. However, considering Charlie and Rebecca are now dating, and Charlie is well aware her friends are imaginary, Charlie's forgiven Rebecca.

Outside of her imaginary friends, Charlie also has the habit of excessively daydreaming to cope with her problems. It's become an extremely maladaptive coping mechanism, however, as she often forgets her duties to the Hazbin Hotel, or has trouble listening during conversations as she dissociates into a daydream. She's well aware that this is a problem, but struggles to figure out how or why it happens. Rebecca tries to help her, since she knows they both suffer from depression, but she's never experienced something like this in her life. She was actually never aware someone could daydream their life away...

Charlie, due to being partially an angel and partially made from the grounds of Earth, making her half human, has only a slight knowledge of good and evil actions. She can point to someone kicking a puppy and go "that's evil", and point to someone saving a puppy and go "that's good". However, she can't differentiate between levels of good and evil. She can see someone committing literal war crimes or cannibalism and not see how that's worse than stealing some pocket change. In turn, she can see someone saving an orphanage full of children from a fire and not see why that's praised more than saving a cat from a tree.

This is important, because her letting in war criminals and the likes into the Hazbin Hotel, believing they're redeemable, is tied to this. Much like Lucifer, her views on good and evil are flawed, but just not to the same extreme. She truly believes someone like Valentino, Baxter, or Alastor could be redeemed because she, literally, cannot see how they're worse than others. She knows they're bad, yes, but cannot tell just how irredeemable they are. It's especially heartbreaking to Rebecca because Charlie is unable to see how bad Lucifer's treatment of her truly was and still is. Charlie knows that her father's treatment of her was bad, but she treats it as if it was on the same level as forgetting her at school one time and not the actual neglect it truly was.

Rebecca tries her best to let Charlie know, and although she's frustrated at Charlie's inability to see the type of people she's letting in, tries her best to understand how she sees the world. It's just difficult, sometimes, because it's a fundamental difference between the two. She's even considered the possibility of trying to see if The Tree of Knowledge is in Hell and asking Charlie if she'd like to see if eating the fruit would expand her concept of good and evil further. However, she's also scared Charlie would see it as wanting to change who she is, so she's never actually done it.

My version of Charlie would consist of a lot of reds, black, gold, and a bit of orange and yellow in her design to contrast Rebecca's cold palette. Her skin, much like in the show, would literally be white due to her being made from white sand. However, outside of that, her design wouldn't have that much white in it. I'd also make her suit the black, like the one from one of her concept designs, and turn it into a tuxedo suit with a yellow rose to symbolize both her lively, joyful attitude, as well as the fact Rebecca sees her as her warm sun rising above the dark (the dark being symbolized by her black tuxedo). Her hair would be more on the harvest gold side instead of the platinum blonde we see in the show, her eyes orange, and she'd have a red undershirt and black bowtie.