#i can't believe i didn't ask my father if he had anything abt it. he has tons of this sort of book

[arkhammaid]

— ˚₊‧⁺˖THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | THE GRID'S REACTION

fandom. formula one & mcu

about. the grid reacts to the news!

content warnings. some drivers are acting like assholes, some cursewords, 23!grid

notes. have another reaction chapter hehe

daniel ricciardo Guys

Guys wake up

IT'S IMPORTANT

lando norris ???

daniel it's 5am, why are you spamming rn

carlos sainz It's summer break, why can't you all shut up for once

daniel ricciardo Did no one see the news? Stark is coming to F1

carlos sainz To a race?

daniel ricciardo No you shithead, he's making a team

charles leclerc !!!!

lando norris at this point you'll never win monaco (because once stark joins, there no longer will BE monaco) charles leclerc Fuck you, nowins

daniel ricciardo This is serious... Tony fucking Stark wants to create an F1 team for the next season. @/max verstappen your winning streak will be over

charles leclerc Next season??? I thought for 26?

lewis hamilton Of course he would do that

charles leclerc Lewis, explain?? daniel ricciardo Yeah Lewis, please explain?

lewis hamilton Did any of you ever meet Tony? He will probably see the next season as test for the 2026 season. To train his mechanics and engineers and go all out. I bet many are saying it's a waste of money

carlos sainz It is a waste of money.

daniel ricciardo Yeah, they do. Reactions vary but 'experts' are saying that Tony is just wasting his time and should properly prepare for 26

lewis hamilton Knowing him, he already has a fully built car for 2026 and it's a beast.

fernando alonso Only the best for his daughter!

charles leclerc What. lando norris wdym his daughter??

george russell Why are you all awake at this bloody hour?

kevin magnussen Read the room. Everyone is in schock.

sergio perez Stupid. She will fail like every woman in motorsport with a rich father. Too dramatic.

lando norris i'm still confused???

oscar piastri Tony Stark has three children. Harley Keener-Stark, Y/n L/n-Stark, Peter Parker-Stark. Y/n is his only biological child and currently racing in Formula 3. She won Formula 4 last year.

charles leclerc I thought he only had sons?? When did Y/n appear? oscar piastri She 'appeared' the first time in January this year as Tony's daughter, no one knew before. lando norris how did you know? oscar piastri Google exists.

carlos sainz So daddy's money... great.

max verstappen I swear to god I will leave this chat the next time you all decide to fucking gossip at 6am like old women

daniel ricciardo It's important news!

max verstappen No it's not. Stark will be in F1 for a few years maximum and then leave again. It will pass

daniel ricciardo @/lewis hamilton you here? Don't you have anything else to add??

Fine, I'll guess I just ask the rest of the grid, you fucking bore.

daniel ricciardo @/everyone wakey wakey, it's time to wake up and talk!

mick schumacher Daniel? What's up?

george russell Ignore him. He has been annoying us because Tony Stark is coming to F1 and no one really cares. charles leclerc Lies and slander! I care!! lando norris yeah! me as well, idk what you're yapping abt

carlos sainz It's bullshit.

arthur leclerc Why do I have a bad feeling about Monaco...

ollie bearman THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN THINKING bianca bustamante It will be something for sure

lance stroll Well, I'm just happy to see another friendly face at the paddock :)

carlos sainz Of course you know Stark.

lance stroll You're just jealous esteban ocon As am I??? I'm your best friend AND MY BEST FRIEND HAS THE POTENTIAL OF KNOWING SPIDER-MAN???? AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME???????

daniel ricciardo I want everyone who knows anything related to Stark to immediately share with us because Lewis is ignoring me and I need to know. The only info we have right now, is that Stark will make a F1 team and that's it. I refuse to believe that's it. So, @/mick schumacher @/lance stroll spill the beans.

mick schumacher He didn't say anything last time I saw him, so I can't help you much.

lance stroll I know nothing, ask my dad.

daniel ricciardo I don't believe you.

pato o'ward If they say they don't know anything, then they don't? I don't know what's the problem, just wait for the next press release

max verstappen Do you even know Daniel. He's unable to wait for gossip. And he classifies this as gossip

daniel ricciardo Gee, thanks, feeling the love here

nico hülkenberg I wake up to 100+ notifications, why are you all like this?

kevin magnussen They're all idiots.

kevin magnussen @/tony stark could you please speed up with the press release? Daniel is setting all grid chats on fire and it's not funny anymore.

y/n stark ha, weak ass bitch kevin magnussen Watch your mouth missy

tony stark Should I tag Seb in a Tweet to announce it?

peter stark do it y/n stark do it harley stark do it

pepper potts-stark Don't do it. We will proceed with the plan. No matter how annoying the people in your private life are.

kevin magnussen Yes, ma'am, sorry for asking.

sebastian vettel I deserve more than a Tweet at 10am.

y/n stark speak your truth king peter stark sorry for suggesting otherwise (@/yn stark stop being such an attention seeker, we all know seb loves charles the most) y/n stark but charles is not here rn is he?

daniel ricciardo @/kevin magnussen EXPLAIN YOURSELF?!

carlos sainz What is going on now...

charles leclerc KMAG FOR STARK???? I didn't put this on my bingo card, now I lost 100 bucks. Fuck you Kevin

arthur leclerc Pay up bitch

oscar piastri Well done, man

nico hülkenberg And so he leaves he burning, ever sinking ship... the true hero- sorry, I meant coward

daniel ricciardo @/kevin magnussen I KNOW YOU'RE ONLINE YOU COWARD, COME HERE

I just want to talk to you

kevin magnussen No.

*kevin magnussen has left the chat*

fernando alonso There is your answer

several people are typing...

taglist. @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel, @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @akiraquote , @kiiyoooo , @nichmeddar , @nothingfuninthislife , @minkyungseokie , @fionaschicken , @lyrasconstellation , @spideybv28 , @keii134 , @starssfall , @tpwkstiles, @fangirl-dot-com , @nichmeddar , @lady-laura-speaks , @nikfigueiredo , @hinamesgigantica , @brakingboundaries , @almostjollypizza , @yoremins , @raizelchrysanderoctavius , @celesteblack08 , @watermelon-sugars-things , @lighttsoutlewis , @radiantdanvers , @vellicora, @sterredem , @hiireadstuff , @jolixtreesunn , @mypage-myfandoms , @nelly187 @greeneyesandsunshine , @fulla02 , @welovediaaxx , @whyamireadingthis , @67-angelofthelordme-67 , @blueberry64857959 , @winchesterwife27 , @six-call , @skywalker1dream , @mellowarcadefun , @cherry-piee , @peterholland04 , @motorsportloverf1 , @renarots , @msbyjackal , @woozarts , @leclucklerc , @yl90

crossed off tags mean i can't tag you!

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

[dearhargrove]

True colors

Summary Ethan would always protect you. Even if he had to go against his family.

word count 1610

tags violence, blood, scream 6 spoilers, probably unrealistic but whatever :)

a/n idk but u couldn't stop thinking abt this so I wrote it heh. Pls enjoy 🫶🏻 also im morally this is very wrong and that he actually kinda coo coo towards the end of the movie but I'm delusional and gonna keep believing he was how he was most of the movie. Also yes the title is inspired by the song from the weeknd I'm sorry I couldn't think of anything else 😭

masterlist navigation

You're standing in the middle of Sam and Tara as Bailey explains how he was the one behind all of this. You're just as shocked as the two sisters when Quinn takes off her mask and grins smugly.

The attention turns to the other Ghostface next and no one moves for a second. Bailey nudges him with a disgruntled look and they move, taking the mask off.

Your breath stops and your tears blur your vision as Ethan stands there, eyes desperate as he looks at you.

"No, no, no this can't be, please…" you cry out and shake your head, still in denial.

"(y/n)..." He tries and his voice sounds just as shaky and desperate as yours had seconds ago. "No, don't-", you're crying against Sam's shoulder as she cradles you against her protectively.

"Please, I never hurt you- I would never hurt you!" He tries again, and you can hear he's close to tears as well. You hiccup and wipe your eyes, turning around slowly.

"Ethan, you murdered one of my closest friends," he flinches as if he didn't know what he had done and you walk closer to him as anger takes over the absolute desperation you were feeling.

"That wasn't me!" He yells. Quinn interjects from behind him, proudly pointing to herself as she claims it as her own doing.

"Was this all fake to you? To get closer to Sam and Tara?" You ask, and when you're close enough, you look up and push him back with a hand on his chest, sneering. He tries denying it, "No, please, I really do love you!"

"If you did, you wouldn't have done any of this."

He chokes on a sob and chokes out another apology as his father speaks up. "You think he did anything? He was useless in this whole plan, kept saying how he couldn't hurt you, and how he would just kill Sam in the end instead of doing anything else." Bailey scoffs, and you frown.

Your head is basically exploding at this information. It certainly makes you feel less repulsed towards Ethan, but did it matter when he helped his father with this plan, anyway?

The boy in front of you hangs his head in shame, and you instinctively reach out to lay a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring motion, pulling back quickly after.

You were lost - you loved this boy, and you could easily tell when he was lying, just as you could tell he was being truthful about this. But still, he had also been an accomplice to two killers.

You definitely didn't trust him anymore - how could you? - but you couldn't just stop loving him. You turn to Sam with a lost expression, and she seems to understand, sighing.

There seemed to be a mutual agreement between you, and she huffed. She turns back to Bailey and Quinn, the two frowning at the closeness between you and Ethan.

"Get back here, boy," Bailey scolds, and Ethan sways, his fists clenching. "If you go now, every chance you have with me is gone."

He looks up again, and his expressive eyes meet yours. There's fear more than anything on his face, and he turns to look at his dad and sister before turning to you again.

He tilts his head with a frown and puts a hand on your cheek before pulling your body in front of his chest and holding a knife to your throat in one quick movement. You gasp and grasp his forearms, did he just act remorseful to kill you?

He leans forward, "Trust me," he whispers before taunting Sam and Tara about how they'd lose. Your heartbeat falters at the warmth, radiating off of him and the general comfort he gave you.

You give Sam a look, hoping she understands, but Tara is already off to fight Quinn, brick gripped tightly in her hand as she hits it over the other girl's head.

You wince at the resounding crack and turn to Sam hurriedly, Ethan walking backward with his eyes on his dad, who was watching with an approving smile. "See? Knew you could do something right, son."

Sam takes off to the man, leaving Ethan and you without any attention on you. He leads you to the back of the stage, curtain hiding you from sight.

You crouch down behind some furniture that was definitely rotting and look at him. His knife laid next to him as he kneeled next to you, anxiously surveying the area.

"Why'd you do it?" You whisper. You genuinely wanted to know. He exhales and settles his eyes on you for a moment before looking towards the doorway again.

"I... wanted dad to see me for me. Not just Richie's brother or an accomplice. As his son."

You feel remorse for him, your gaze softening, and you take his hand again, the familiar feeling making you feel less on edge. "I see you for what you've shown me of yourself. But I don't know if that was a lie. If… our relationship was even real." It hurts to say, but it's the truth - he was okay with killing, something he'd kept hidden from you for more or less good reason. What else did you not know about him?

He hesitates and fidgets with his hands, "At the beginning… at the party. I didn't have to get close to you. Dad said it'd be better if you trusted me since you're close with Sam and Tara so he wasn't against it, he just didn't tell me to do it." He starts.

"Did he tell you to get close to Chad and the others?" He nods solemnly and you hum, motioning for him to keep going.

"The more we talked the more I started liking you and.. he didn't like that." He frowns and looks around again before hurrying up, "I told him and Quinn not to hurt you and that if we had to kill you I'd do it. I would've never done that but at least they wouldn't have tried anything." He looks at you for a reaction and though you're shaken you're also surprised he was so adamant on keeping you safe from the beginning.

"Thanks," it's basically a question but he chuckles and shrugs, nodding.

"It wasn't hard to fall for you. I never really fit in so when you just went with everything I did and cared-" he smiles with a slight flush on his cheeks and under different circumstances you would've cooed at the endearing sight.

"I knew you would find out about this," he motions to his robe, "so I thought why not? And then I confessed. I never expected you'd like me back but you did," your heart clenches when he says 'did', as if he expects you to have stopped loving him in the short time you've known about all of this, "And I've never been happier than when I came to class and you were waiting somewhere for me."

His shoulders shake nearly unnoticeably but you still see it, and you watch as he hastily wipes his eyes.

"Oh, Ethan…" you mumble and pull him into a hug. He reciprocates it after a moment, his arms wrapping around your waist as good as he could with both of you kneeling in a dusty corner with the smell of rotting everything around.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he breathes and you place a hand on the back of his head. "I know," the moment is interrupted when two gunshots sound through the theater and the screaming goes silent.

He lets go of you and grabs his knife again. You wait with bated breath when footsteps start approaching and someone calls your names.

"Ethan- ah, there you are," Tara had a wound in her stomach, and there was blood splattered over her face. You smile in relief that she was, at least to an extent, okay, getting up to hug her.

She laughs, and you know it's pure relief that you were still alive. When you part, she turns to Ethan, who was standing off to the side with furrowed brows.

"You," she starts but you interrupt her. "He saved me. And he explained it. I know you don't trust him but please," she's conflicted and just stares at him, not wavering even as her older sister comes up behind her as well.

"Tara, it's okay. Trust her with this."

The younger girl huffs but nods, taking Sam's offered hand. "Listen, you tell the rest of the group the truth and the police that you were manipulated or whatever." She orders and he nods, quietly thanking her.

The pair of sisters walks away after that but not without Tara staring at Ethan with a harsh glare once more.

He shrinks even more into himself and you're somewhat glad he was still the shy bean he was before.

-

It took everyone some time but now, almost half a year later, you're sitting in Sam and Tara's apartment, having dinner together.

Ethan was sitting next to you, holding your hand under the table and talking to Chad. You smile happily and lean back in your chair, watching everyone interact calmly.

It had taken Mindy the longest to trust Ethan - though you're unsure if she does - but she tolerates him by now.

Your gaze falls back to your boyfriend, his fingers playing with your bracelet.

You don't think you'd ever be able to forget all of what happened back then but you stopped associating him with it quickly enough. Ethan turns to you with a confused head tilt, squeezing your hand in question. You just smile and lean against his shoulder.

[barcalover86]

Heyyyyy

I was wondering if u can make a story abt reader has daddy issues like her dad is abusive and really mean with her? Also how her mom does care at all and that she only wants reader to be perfect and she thinks that she’s a disappointment but when Gavi (your boyfriend) came to dinner at readers parents house he was disgusted by how they treat u?

It will mean so much if u write this bc I have dealt w something simular

Daddy issues

I'm so sorry that you are going through this! Stay strong! Much love to you.

If you don't like this type of stuff or if you are sensible! Do NOT read it!

I'm sorry for everyone that has to deal with this. NO ONE deserves it!

"Are you sure you want to meet them?"

"Yes, cariño. I really wanna know your parents." Gavi told you.

"Then today at 6 it will be alright."

Pablo was begging you to introduce him to your parents for some weeks. You knew since the beginning that this is not a good idea, but Gavi sometimes doesn't stop until he gets what he wants.

Now you've got home and you went directly to your parents to ask if Pablo can join you to your dinner tonight.

They found out months after that you were in a relationship with a football player and they didn't like this much. He was too good for you, and you won't be anything in this life by his side.

"Are you that stupid, y/n!?" said your father.

You sighed, knowing that this was going to be a long talk.

"Please, papa. I already told him that he can come."

"Don't 'papa' me! You don't deserve to call me your father, understood?"

"Yes."

"I can't believe how you invited someone over without asking me first!"

"You would have said no! He really wants to meet you. Do you think that it is also my pleasure? I don't want to eat with you!"

"Don't you dare talk with me like that! I'm your father, you have to respect me!"

"Oh, so now I'm your father then?"

Right now, he got super angry and started to throw things on the floor. You flinched a little, which made him chuckle sarcastically.

"10 minutes. That's all I'm asking for." you finally said.

He looked at you for some seconds before agreeing.

"Only because I really wanna see how much money does this kid has."

You rolled your eyes before going to your room texting Pablo that you talked with your father and he agreed. You didn't say much details.

Gavi knew you had a complicated relationship with your parents, but you never told him how hard and bad it is. You never told him the nights that you would cry because he would come drunk home and start to shout at you for no reason. How your mother was afraid to stop him. She never took your side. She was barely there for you.

After some time she started to say bad things to you. How you disappointed her in this life and how you will be homeless after she will die.

It was really hard, but you were strong. Every time you dealt with it. Tonight is not going to be different.

Gavi was asking you what to wear and after some good minutes spent together, you chose a nice and perfect outfit for a family dinner.

You got dressed into a pretty black dress.

When Pablo knocked at your door, you smiled and opened it for him.

"Hola, amor!" he said before giving you a sweet kiss on your lips. "You are so beautiful, cariño."

You smiled at his compliment before guiding him to your parents.

You mouthed a "be nice" to them when your boyfriend introduced himself, and you hoped that this will be a calm night.

Your father was really nice to Pablo and your mother as well. Of course, they were acting. They only wanted his money.

"I'm sorry if my daughter is sometimes.." he looked at you "a disappointment."

Pablo look at you then at your father before raising his eyebrows.

"What!? No, she is not a disappointment. She is the perfect girl for me. There is no need to be concerned about this stuff. She treats me so well."

Pablo tried to make you say something, but you didn't. Why were you silent?

"I really like you boy and trust me when I say this. You really deserve better."

Gavi was shocked. He held your hand before talking again.

"Why do you say that?"

"She just can't do nothing. Stays all the time in her room, isn't productive. Doesn't have any talents and she is completely useless."

"How can you say such things to your daughter, señor!?"

"I just want to help you get rid of her."

"What? I don't want to get rid of her at all! And just so you know, she is-"

"Stop it, Pablo." you said before he could continue.

"No, I won't stop he can't talk-"

"It's alright, ok? Just eat." you said and he was shocked, confused..and hurt.

How could your father talk to his daughter like that. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he stood up, held your hand and said that you two are going to his home.

"What, Pablo, no-"

"Oh, yes. You can't stay here."

"You are not taking my daughter anywhere! She will stay here with her parents!" your mother spoke for the first time tonight.

"Oh, you are not her parents! You can't talk about her like that in front of me!"

When you stood up to leave with your boyfriend, you accidentally hit a glass of wine and it spilled all over the white table. Your parents got angry.

"See!? She is no good! She can't do anything right! If you leave then you won't be my daughter! I'll forget you, you piece of shit!"

"She was never your daughter, señor. Never!"

And with that, Pablo took you to his house.

You didn't want to cry. You wanted to be strong..

It was hard to leave your parents. They were still the people who gave you food and learned how to walk. They weren't good people, but leaving the house where you grew.. it hit you hard.

"They don't deserve you, cariño. I'm so, so sorry. You had to tell me-"

"It's alright, I swear. I'm used to it."

"Please, tell me what did they do to you. All this years where I couldn't be by your side. What did they do to my sweet girl?"

You told everything. All your problems with him. He was by your side, telling you how he loves you and how you are not a disappointment at all. How all they said to you all this years, wasn't true. Not even a bit.

You cried in his arms, speaking your heart to him.

Since then, Pablo promised himself to be there with you. He took you to his family and showed you how true parents are.

They treated you just like their second daughter, and after some time, when you managed to heal, leaving your parents and finding your family was the best decision you've ever done.

"I love you.."

"I love you too, my sweet girl!"

No one is a disappointment!!!!!!

[sugarywishes]

Tell me your headcanons about Elizabeth or FNaF1 Freddy, if you want to!

YES OF COURSE!! Elizabeth is one of my favorite FNAF characters so I have more than enough hcs about her (but as usual I can't put every single one into one post)

Elizabeth Afton Headcanons!

🍭🤡🍦

- Elizabeth had the most nicknames in her Family (her dad just calls her Elizabeth, Mike calls her Lizzie, Evan calls her Liz or Lizzie, and her mother calls her Beth or Lizbeth) (I know Lizbeth is technically another name but it is a variation of Elizabeth so it counts)

- Lizzie resembles her mother the most (obviously based off on my design lmao) she kind of resents this fact because in her mind, it's another reason why her father doesn't favor her over Evan (bc she doesn't remind him of himself like he does with her brother)

- As I said in the Charlie post, Lizzie and Evan are twins! Evan was born 2nd so he is the baby so she's stuck as the middle child :(

- Do you guys know that one tumblr (or twitter?) Post abt the person who, when they were a child, would host executions for their ugly dolls and make the prettier dolls watch it to see what will happen to them if they're ugly? And then they'd throw the ugly dolls in the closet?? Yeah that's literally my version of Elizabeth lmao

- But her way of punishing her toys would just be breaking them all to hell. If they're porcelain she'll smash them against the wall, if they're a rag doll or anything of the sorts she'll use scissors and disfigure them. If they're plastic dolls like Barbie, she'll turn them into Weird Barbie. But weirder 😬😬

- Of course sometimes she just destroys them because of her temper issues (she got them from her parents lol!!)

- She hosts tea parties with her toys, and I am a firm believer than Lizzie would be such a big fan of 'proper etiquette', she thinks it makes her fancier (and better than her brothers)

- But of course she is still a girl with brothers. So she's kind of boyish for girls her age (SHE KILLS BUGS WITH HER BARE HANDS ❗❗) (It very much grosses out her brothers)

- She has the 3rd strongest Bri'ish accent in the family, 1st being Will and 2nd is Mike 😭😭 (I personally hc that despite being her brother, Evan doesn't have a strong accent and it's more American like his mom)

- She only really started to hate Evan once she genuinely realized that the birthday party was made with him in mind. William nor Clara asked what Lizzie wanted. It was like she didn't exist. And so when she finally opened her eyes to the fact that Evan, her weak, misfit crybaby of a brother was her dad's favorite, the man she thought was more incredible marvelous than any God in existence, and not her who was desperate to get any sort of attention or validation from him...she turnt against her brother (If the prank didn't happen, she would've started bullying Evan like Michael does :(( this is all William's fault)

Thanks for asking! If you want more just ask!!

[streamdotpng]

UHHH YOU’RE WELCOME FOR THE PLAYLIST ?? Can’t believe that that’s what made me finally make a Spotify account lol also a lot of good songs in here, apart form the ones I already knew (Tear You Apart, Smoke and Mirrors that dug up my nightcore days in middle school.. and The Other Side Of Paradise) I really liked IN MY MOUTH, An Unhealthy Obsession, Kiss Me You Animal, The Dismemberment Song and Brutus. Idk if you’ve talked abt The Hearse Song (I liked it too btw) before but I need to know how it fits t&t

Now that I’m hooked back on t&t, I’ve got more questions. Does Enid interact with her brothers at school ? How’s their relationship ? How do they view her now that she’s part of the elders ? Are/Were they worried ? Has her view of ‘regular’ werewolves been altered by the elders ? Like, "don’t mingle too much with them, they got domesticated". The elders view Enid as family (do they all really ?) but, and even after having been kinda Stockholmed by them, she doesn’t. Her earring is for Wednesday. Does any of them know it ? suspect it ? If (when) she leaves them for good, how will they react ? Will they make her fight for it ?

And now my cents on the Jenna Ortega’s characters love triangle. (I have never seen any of the other shows) You said that Enid was like ‘just a monster’ when Tara asked abt her scars. And like, Tara’s gonna be like ‘How ?? why ?’ and Enid will just look at her and respond ‘had to protect someone’. And she will say it with A Look in her eyes, like she’s looking not at Tara but at that someone. Someone so important that now Enid is covered in scars.

Phoebe and Tara may have a place in her heart (and her bed lol) but Wednesday also has one in her flesh. Forever.

-🦎🧦

The hearse song fits bc it's this acceptance that you'll die like the rest is how I think Enid's mentality during the winter. Just this morbid mindset as she lived with the elders during her denial stage

Nightcore days is such a mood tho, when I first got into yt that was my jam and how I found most of my music taste before transitioning to actual bands

Enid does not interact with her brothers actually! Like she won't even glance at them. They didn't do the same before so why must she? It doesn't stop them from prodding however because they don't know anything about the situation other than Esther telling them to stay away from Enid.

The last time they saw their sister, there were litter of bruises along her wrist and her teeth was bared as she pushed herself into the house to move out.

I don't think enid really cares about the other werewolves bc again, idt they paid much attention to her since she couldn't wolf out. She does however find them being competitive over things that don't matter irritating. Like which one of them get to sleep with the most girls or smth along those lines, just crude things that don't matter in the end. If they were to brag about how easily they stripped flesh from bone she'd perk up but outside of that, she doesn't really bother with them

Enid can't leave though, as much as she plans too. Sure she can walk away, she can live her life but the elders will always be apart of it whether she wants too or not. Romulus is aware of her intentions but he isn't worried, his daughter is growing and what kind of father is he if he doesn't nurture her independence? He spoils his family yes but his methods of living is simply unorthodox and wrong in alot of people's eyes

Not Tara realizing that she isn't the first girl. Yknow what they say abt first loves, they'll always be remembered even if they don't stay

Do love the mention of how Tara and phoebe may hold space in Enid's heart but the wolf bled first for wednesday, different kind of devotion right there

[lambergeier]

always thinking abt itscu so dvd commentary "As it all goes gray and thin, he’s beset by the certain knowledge that he fucked this up. He didn’t just fuck this up on the day-to-day level, daily and nightly and every so rightly, he fucked this up big. It’s worse than drinking, than faithlessness, than murdering his brother. He missed something. He’s made a fundamental error." i want to know all your thoughts on executing this moment/play

oooo my pleasure, fellow lover of sylvain's problems 🤝

so, sun comes up is a fic about how sylvain should never have listened to his dad lmao. it is a fic about how listening to his dad ruined sylvain's life! the whole story is a series of moments in which sylvain had the opportunity to choose another path/liberate himself/reach for love/ask for more and does not do so, because he was told that you get what you get and what you've gotten is what you deserve. as he says in the first scene, wanting things is a stupid fucking trick. in my planning for the fic sylvain might have learned this from a couple different places (his mom, rhea) but ultimately it was narrowed down to just his dad, who told his kids there was no forgiveness, and thus killed them both! thanks dad!

the one exception to the aforementioned structure of sylvain is offered/sylvain refuses is ofc the scene in the goddess tower with felix—the single time in his life, until the end, that sylvain doesn't run away from an offered hand. unfortunately, a lifetime of being terrified of his every desire/need does not leave him super well-equipped to deal with the really serious consequences of defection, so we get back to the old pattern soon enough lmao.

so the death scene itself was quick to write--i write in a strict beginning-to-end order, so by the time i got to the death scene all the groundwork had been laid, i knew where i was going, i just had to roll that rock down the hill. the whole fic is sylvain turning towards known hurts to escape the possibility of unknown hurts, and it's only at moment when there is no further possibility of escape, period, that he realizes what he's been doing. he's actually had a chance every day of his life to live differently and he didn't, because he was scared! uh oh! he's been aware at his every waking moment that he's a piece of shit, but turns out he's a stupid one, too!

i had to make sure to include miklan in sylvain's list of his own sins bc this is also a fic where killing miklan haunts sylvain for the rest of his life ofc. it's the same thing as listening to his dad: sylvain killed miklan because they both believed their dad about the nature of the world and themselves, and that guilt kills sylvain as much as anything else. he never figures out a way to live with it, felix tries to help but can't singlehandedly make him a different person, so it goes. rip!

as a little present lol, here's a shitton of my initial planning bullet points from when i started outlining this fic. as you can see, loads of it didn't make it into the fic, or made it in in another fashion entirely, but all of it fed one way or another into that final moment before he finally asks for help!:

So it’s about the fact that sylvain does have a very deep obligation to his people and his lands even if he can’t scrounge it up for the larger structures. And it’s BE route, byleth married edelgard then watched her die, sylvain was offered an out time and time again– you don’t have to run gautier, you don’t have to take over for your father, but he didn’t feel he deserved better and so he never took it. He tried to make felix stay. And felix knew it would have killed them in a good life. In a life where they betrayed Faerghus, all it would ever do is make them hurt. 

The margrave jailed by edelgard for violating a treaty with Sreng, sylvain thrust into the role but still guided by all the people his father employed. He does the right thing, but in the worst possible circumstances because he never changes his circumstances lmao. (realizes he was always somehow waiting for miklan to come back. You live long enough as a second son, you’ll always keep waiting for the first son to return, lance between his ribs and ready to take the march) 

About his relationship with byleth: mom and dad expected an infinite number of things from him. Even when miklan was torturing him he was still expecting better. But byleth only expects him to be good. You don’t even have to be a general. They did the mercenary life, they know killing is brutal and unfair and rightfully hard to stomach–you can just live your life. First time this has ever happened to sylvain. Liberating if he knew what liberation was–just enough to get him to edelgard’s side.

With felix: recognizes before any of them that they can do this, and it’s right that they do this, but it will kill them if they stay. And that they have the choice to leave. Knows Ingrid will resign herself to it, but knows Sylvain has a chance. Asks Sylvain once to come and Sylvain is so terrified of it he shuts him down for the rest of their lives. All following questions: Sylvain asking him to stay, Felix saying only that he’ll go. Knows Sylvain is lost.

Punch line: there’s always a second chance if you’re willing to break the chains. 

if you cannot give it, you do not have an obligation to give it. (edelgard will take over. It won’t be as good, and it won’t give your people what they want, but would you ever have been able to give them what they want?)

choose a life with love. That about trumps just about everrything else.

Talking about his relationship with faith: his parents only gave him the fear. Rhea did too. Ingrid purports that there’s love too, and community, and joy, but he’s never seen it. He’s only seen the desperate grasp towards redepemtion, and thought himself unworthy of it/better than it, for really most of his life.

Trajectory: Sylvain dedicating himself to things that will cause him pain because he feels that’s the only way forward until realizing, at the last, that sometimes you will simply never be the person capable of this. And that was worth it in its own way.

Sylvain post-CF, so unable to ask for what he wants and that he ruins the entire length of his life. Watching Felix get ready to leave and unable to make him stay, bc the trick is you can’t make Felix stay, you can only go with him.

Sylvain being presented again and again with both opportunity and impetus to leave and staying anyways because:

Because he was taught from day 1 that any bad thing that happens to him, he deserved it, and because he deserves it, bad things will happen to him. From his father, his mother, the goddess, miklan–the only way out is through

and this was a kind of final condensed summary of ideas i did before i went through and nailed down the actual plot:

Sylvain is a good person but doesn’t believe it

Conversation with Byleth: you’re a good person though you don’t believe it

Conversation with Edelgard: you’re not as obligated as you think you are, though you don’t belive it

Conversation with Felix: you have other options, though, etc.

Sylvain finally asks for a second chance

I may not deserve it but please god let me say that i finally want it.

[pe0ple3ater]

OK I've had a full hour and a half driving to think about this so I have a whole etoiles/bad/cellbit au to present to you now 🖤 but before I begin: RAHHHHH Cellbit angst my absolute beloved thank you PeopleEater you're so right and based and roier would 100% beg cell to eat him omnomnom

Now without further ado:

This is gonna come in 2 parts and I'm gonna start with Etoiles because goddamn that man is WOOF. Etoiles in clerical clothing BARK he is so fine he would look so good in that sexy little priest outfit.

They probably didn't have anything properly his size because how many priests are absolutely jacked? (mmm thinking abt fit too) So it's a little small. So his shoulders and chest stretch the fabric and his thighs and ass in the slacks are enough to distract many parishioners from the word of the lord. Maybe a few of them even come to confession to talk about it. Whether he knows that they're talking about him who knows

He'd be really good at it too, I mean, that man is so sweet and honorable and bright, he's like the golden boy of the church, everyone's favorite priest for his sermons alone. Of course he gets up to some nasty debauchery behind the scenes. (Im still thinking about that one fooletoiles size kink ask and imagining Foolish meeting him in a back room between services to fuck between his thighs still in his pants and turn the confident, holy man into a begging mess to have Foolish inside him. Etoiles gets upset with him afterward because now he has to change)

Cellbit is the newer, priest. Etoiles knows he has some issues, he just doesn't know what and he doesn't make it his business. What matters is that Cellbit is doing well and working to become a good man. Etoiles thinks he already is, Cellbit just has a hard time believing him. Etoiles is teaching him exorcism

Then one day Cellbit comes to him shaking and on the verge of tears and asks him to come to the confessional. He looks really good like that, but Etoiles is good at ignoring such unholy thoughts...Until Cellbit tells him what happened and he gets to prescribe some...particular acts of penance

Etoiles stays in the confessional for a while after Cellbit leaves. It's late, there weren't even services today, but he's expecting someone. And sure enough, though he can barely see it through the small holes in the booth wall, the door to the next chamber opens. He can't see who or what entered, but the scent of blood and ash follows after it, something Etoiles didn't expect to find so alluring. "Greetings Father."

The voice is sweet, high and thick with amusement. Etoiles isn't in the mood for a demon's play, he's fucking upset. He skips the pleasantries. 

"You turned that poor man into a monster," he hissed. 

"He already was a monster." A pause. "You don't seem to be all that offended, are you father?"

The demon plays tricks, they get in your mind. "You dragged him from the faith!"

"I didn't make him do anything. He did it all on his own."  He could practically hear the smile on the creature's face and it made him sick.

"You know," the demon offered. "I could help you too."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can see the truth in you. You liked hearing what Cellbit did. You've tasted blood before and you want more."

Etoiles froze. The confession felt like it had been ripped from his very mouth, yet he hadn't said a word. 

No. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Etoiles took a deep breath in, letting the demon's temptation roll off his shoulders (even if the idea of watching cellbit tear into someone, covered in viscera was enough to start making him hard).

"You ought to burn for what you've done."

The demon tsked. "You're no fun. What are you gonna do? Exorcise me?" Then in a flash, before Etoiles could respond, the world warped. Suddenly he was no longer alone in his side of the booth, but with a pitch skinned, grinning demon perched on his lap. A very pretty demon, wearing nothing but a wine red dress, archstar criscrossed over its bare chest and skirt slit high up over its hips. "Or are you gonna make me repent like you did with your student?"

The demon's tail swishes behind it, and he looked for all the world like the cat who got the cream. Without thinking, Etoiles grabbed the tail and yanked. 

The demon lets out a high gasp that goes directly to his dick. It hadn't seemed to notice, but one clawed hand had shot out to grip his shoulder. Etoiles barely flinched. Instead, he pries it off with his other hand and dropping the tail, picks the demon up to slam it against the wall. Etoiles rolls his hips into the demon's making him whine. "You don't deserve to repent," he mutters, still grinding, nails digging into the demon's exposed flesh. "But I'll fuck you so hard you'll never go near my student again."

"Wh- Language!" For a moment he has to stop. You've got to be kidding.

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he rolls his eyes and drops Bad to a heap on the floor, grabbing one of his horns and shoving his cock in its mouth before they complain. 

Anyway--this definitely wont be the last time they see each other. Etoiles fucks bad's throat against the wall then makes Bad grind on his thigh until he cums, clawing at his back making the priest hiss with delight. Bad begs Etoiles to choke him and he takes his crucifix to burn into the hollow of Bad's throat like a brand as he does. Etoiles also definitely gets Bad a collar with a chain for him to hold short and tight when he fucks Bad ruthlessly over the altar

Bad definitely has a pussy and a dick in this and Etoiles makes good use of everything. I have a lot of demon Bad fucking thoughts. He/it/they Bad is my everything, also.

I have limited time so the cellbit part will come tomorrow but I might make this properly longer and into a fic we'll see

--Sin Anon

OKAY SO I'M INSANE ABOUT THIS BY THE WAY. SIN YOU'RE INSANE!!

"Etoiles in clerical clothing BARK he is so fine he would look so good in that sexy little priest outfit." I have a Thing for priests so I was SO EXCITED to read this. You did not disappoint AT ALL

"So his shoulders and chest stretch the fabric and his thighs and ass in the slacks are enough to distract many parishioners from the word of the lord. Maybe a few of them even come to confession to talk about it. Whether he knows that they're talking about him who knows" First of all, Etoiles in tight black slacks made me dizzy to think about. Poor guy is constantly dealing with leering, hungry eyes and he doesn't even know.

"..imagining Foolish meeting him in a back room between services to fuck between his thighs still in his pants" HEY HEYUM YEAH. Yes Foolish fucking his thighs, yes please. Making a pretty mess of his clothes and laughing at Etoiles frustrated little whines when he realizes he has to change. hah yeah.

"He looks really good like that" YEAH HE DOES, yes Cellbit with big wet eyes all sniffly and needy ngh..yeah I feel normal about it. I'm normal.

"(even if the idea of watching cellbit tear into someone, covered in viscera was enough to start making him hard)." yeah we're the same btw, Etoiles being a good man of faith and yet no one can deny how pretty Cellbit would look covered in blood!

"..grabbing one of his horns and shoving his cock in its mouth before they complain." YEAH GRAB HIM BY THE HORNS. PLEASE. Bbh having horns that people grab to fuck his mouth is everything to me. It's what he deserves!

"Bad begs Etoiles to choke him and he takes his crucifix to burn into the hollow of Bad's throat like a brand as he does." HOT, a brand from a man of the lord. Etoiles is doing gods work, purifying this demon from the inside out! He can't be blamed for it, it's the only way to get to the demon.

Sin anon..please make this into a full fic and drop it in my inbox I love it very very much. Hell, I'll even edit for you

[pixiedust-poppers]

can you do an infodump about one of your jatnlp au’s or headcannons? Make it one of the dark ones!!

IM SOOO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO INFODUMP ABOUT I had an idea VERY MUCH typed out and i showed a friend and then they said some criticism back for a scene that made me stall and realize i need to work it out more and the more I thought this I realized it was dark but.... not entirely unhinged (and you asked for dark so. I will bring the unhinged factor to my aus) so I bring you one that is a bit shorter dark and unhinged.

To note: This takes place in alternative version of cdbazemore98's Jake and Tori Stories series but focused more on Izzy and she is SO mentally ill and has been for such a long time. So, the credit for the main series goes to her. (Please. DO NOT go after her)

note 2- This takes place in J&TS4 a week or so after chapter 25: Spouse betrayal and to give a short gist of the emotional side of this . Jake was overtaken by lust and forced himself (for a kiss) on Ally (an oc of the author) with her husband and his rival Blake (also an oc of the author) there and Izzy watched to whole thing go but didn't reveal herself until Blake and Ally left. She rightfully slapped him and when he revealed why he did what he did (he saw her mother in her; Tori (as is Victoria Vega)) and she screamed "oh so your still in love with tori?" and then proceed to dig into abt him probably wanting to fuck her (she is in her sixties) and her daughters and when Jake couldn't get a word in + very upset at these conclusions she came to he raises his fist at her and threatens to knock her out if she doesn't shut up. Both he and she are shocked at this, and when he tries to explain himself 5 secs later, she is not having it, so she leaves and tells him that her and their youngest daughter won't be at home when he gets there and that he is dead to her.

There is some ongoing mystery plot in the story itself but for this alternative time-line that doesn't matter, and you're going to see why💀

SO once again DISCLAIMER: I do not Own Jake and Tori stories series. I do not own Ally, Blake, Troy, Maia and Kari they belong to cdbazemore98. DO NOT harass or go after the author.

CW: suicidal ideation, suicide, OOC FOR SURE.

--

Isabella Green was a miserable woman; she has been for a loooong time and her week just got even worse. A few days after Jake forced himself onto ally and she leaves him to stay at tori's with their youngest daughter Hikari (kari for short). Tori being mostly team Jake although she "hears her out" for her side of things she talks to izzy in a way that makes it clear to her that she's moreso going to believe Jake's side of the story. She never liked her anyway, but she continues to stay because free rent is free rent.

The more kari whines about wanting to see her father and be kissed goodnight by him instead of her, she begins to reflect. "Does anyone really give a shit about her?" "How did her life turn out like this?" "Why didn't she do the deed sooner?", she's been unhappy for a looooooooooong while in her life, even from the age of 11. Depression and low self-esteem have had this girl in a chokehold for a long time, the choke is less or more depending on the day but it's always in the back of her mind. She thought that staying and marrying jake would help that; it does! ...depending on the day. She thought having children would make her happier; It does! though it was unconditional when they were younger... and sure she wasn't always the best mother, but she has noticed that Jake can do wrong in their eyes meanwhile, she isolated from immediately the moment she fucks up.

She doesn't have many friends, she hates the way she looks, any time she tries to do anything that will make her happy, everyone is suddenly a critic. what's the point of being here anymore if she can't be happy? She knows she can't convince Jake to go to couple therapy, everyone will tell her to get over it and what's the goddamn point??? Her kids will probably be smitten to just be with her dad, Jake can find a wife he actually wants to fuck and she can be happy in death.

So after kissing Kari goodnight, she answers Jake nightly call for once. Goes to the bathroom and basically trauma-dumps and chews him out, then after he gets his "I love you my fair maiden please" She traumatizes him for life by shooting herself in the head while he's on call.

Now because she married him, and bore his children, she does get into this Super pirate heaven. Homegirl is vibing, she LOVES it. Got her nice lil tiny home set up and everything and now she can start getting into hobbies she genuinely enjoys without anyone's judgement and she is safe

Meanwhile on earth, they're um ehhhh… Tori and the other's don't really give a shit, they're sad for Jake's sake(Cubby is genuinely sad though). Troy is more devastated than Maia over her death considering he was a momma's boy, Kari is traumatized as she was the first to find her mother's body and Jake is in Tatters, because he knows fucked up majorly to point where he actually doesn't date (he does the occasional prostitute) again despite others recommending he does, but he doessss get into drinking abit more, but he does like his job so.. not really.

Months pass and things have calm down, Jake obviously isn't over his wife's death so he's just semi-misrable and desires to see her again but then skylar so kindly reminds him "Hey what if u use super pirate powers? you can use those to see her like you did with me and maybe bring her back!" Eureka moment there. So he tries, but to no avail she doesn't want to connect with him. After complaining back and forth to the Og Super pirate spirit is like "Ok lemme talk to her... I'm sure we can come up with something." He goes to talk to her and she's like "No i don't want to see them, I doubt they give a real shit" and then trauma dump to him too and tells it about all the things she wished to have done with Jake and her life if not for the twins and having to settle down so early in their 20s. it's like "wow... hmmm you suffered alot.. I think i might have a deal for you." and she was like "??? I'm not a super pirate though?" And he's like "You wish for a new life and your husband wishes for a life with you in it, I can help with both." And he tells her of the plan if she agrees which is, for them to "start over" and take her back to the night where the twins are conceived but she can put a stop to that happening, and with changing that turning point in her life to possibly never or a later date, she can hopefully get the adult life that she truly wants. And while she personally wants it to be younger, she thinks about and realizes she can still do what she wants since she'll still be young with all of the amenities she’s grown accustomed to and agrees. And so with this Izzy is responsible, for the unbirth of her children, de-aging basically everyone and significantly pushing back time. She wakes back up again, as 19-20 year old izzy who is a nervous very uncomfortable wreck because Jake is about to walk in and they're going to have the sex they agreed to do earlier in the week (it was consensually dw) and this time instead of going along with said sex, she works up the courage in her to say no and actually explain to Jake why she isn't interested in sex as whole. She didn’t do so the first time mostly out of fear that it would significantly hurt their relationship or that Jake would leave her or that Jake would just snap and force himself on her, she was scared. And with this no twins are created so you have now a whole new sandbox of conversations that should be haved and therapy to fuck about with.

[coachbeards]

okay now for a tl question: as someone who also dislikes season three, i'm curious to know how you would have liked season 3 to end? i'm pretty sure you've talked abt it before but i'd love to hear your thoughts.

well, i think there are a lot of things that could've happened....but i'm not entirely sure, as i haven't seen the season since it aired. that means i can't give the biggest in depth answer to it regarding every single tl character, so i'll just give my thoughts on what i think should've happened............................................for beard

first of all, he should've broken up with jane after mom city. i've talked a lot about that, and how i believe that beard's forgiveness of nate should've been shown as a forgiveness of himself as well, and by extension beard finally beginning his journey of self-healing. because, no. forgiving nate didn't Heal beard, not by a long shot, but it helped fix a little bit within himself that would've paved the road to his breaking up with jane. realizing he didn't need to be punished anymore.

so, if there was no jane involved in the finale, there would be no wedding or beard choosing jane over ted.

HOWEVER. i think it would've been amazing to see beard choose richmond anyways.........finally making a choice for himself. he came to richmond in the first place because ted asked him to, and he was willing to leave richmond all because ted asked him to. ignoring the jane of it all, beard choosing to stay in richmond because he wants to....he wants to continue coaching the team, he wants to complete their mission of winning the whole fucking thing, he wants to nurture those relationships he made and be .,,,, well. his own independent person, something we never really saw considering he was either following ted or following jane. never on his own.

regarding the other characters,

JAMES DIDN'T DESERVE TO BE FORGIVEN. i am all for james's recovery arc, showcasing him in rehab and actively trying to get better. but just because a character is in recovery doesn't automatically erase all the harm they've done, nor does it mean their victims need to forgive them for anything. i think jamie should've been shown to grapple with what he wanted to do, forgive him or not, and come to the conclusion that he doesn't need to do anything. he doesn't need to care what james thinks of him anymore, he doesn't deserve to have that weighing on him. i think jamie should've been shown to be ... idk not Happy or Supportive, but be okay with james in recovery, but draw boundaries that he doesn't need to do anything past that. he should've had someone tell him it was his choice, rather than being told to forgive him.

roy should've been in therapy earlier on in the season than last second. i'm glad that roy is seeking help, obviously, but i think it would've bettered his arc if we saw more of it starting like,,,, 3x08 onwards. maybe. idk. again, i haven't seen s3 since it aired.

not sure about rebecca, since i didn't really pay attention to her arc that much in s3 (sorry to all) because i disliked the psychic aspect so much. i like her ending up with the dutch man! wish we got more of them between 3x06 and the finale, but i understand the romcom aspect of reuniting with someone you thought you'd never see again. i don't hate her ending !!!!

ted needed to go back to kansas, sorry. it wasn't dottie "forcing" him to go back, even though i will admit she's a pretty shit parent lmao. but it wasn't like that wasn't the plan from the very start. could it have been handled better? absolutely! should've jason played ted with way more emotion in 3x12? YES. but,,, come on. ted is a father first and foremost. before a coach, friend, romantic interest, etc. he's a father. and that's actually been a really big part of his character, so i never understood when people said that it "came out of nowhere" or it was so "out of character" for him.........to....be with his son? DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE HENRY LASSO HATE. i swear some of y'all forget the message of being curious, not judgemental lmao. ted was always supposed to go back to henry. i don't agree with the idea of uprooting a literal child to a whole other country, though i can picture there being a time where they do move back to richmond together! the door is left open, not closed! i could picture him going there as a teenager and going to school there, but again. he's like.....12 lmao. ted's arc always circled around his son...and he needed to go back.

also keeley just deserved better. i'm perfectly okay with her remaining single at the end of the show, as i do think that that could've helped her heal herself and her relationships with other people and her career. no, giving her a romantic ending wouldn't have impacted her career, but i think i like where she ended up. on her own, with her new friend of barbara and their company, her and rebecca, and even her and roy and jamie!!!!!!! i think there's chances for their to be romance, but like. i think considering how much of keeley's arc has revolved around romance, it's nice that she didn't end up with anyone. idk.

[mj-102009]

Heiress of Crimes (Dazai Osamu x oc)

This was written abt a year ago; made me proud of how much I've grown.

I had been in the mafia since birth, my mother and father were both talented mafiosos; renowned by their bosses.

 Mori had taken me under his care when they died of mysterious causes. He raised me to be a thousand times better than my parents, and I was so much more.

All had been well until I met Daza; he was loud and eccentric, I was more on the quiet side. Mori introduced me as Executive Pierce and said that I was his higher up and he was to report to me.

We didn't talk often, he came into my office every once and  while to drop off a folder or ask a question.

But as Dazai flew through the ranks, it was only a matter of time before we were partnered together for a mission.

Mori called both of us down to his office. "We seem to be having a bit of an issue with our weapons developer, we're not exactly sure if something’s happened to him, if he's been harmed in some way, or compromised."

I nodded. "What time?"

"I've already sent the details to the both of you."

I sighed and tied my long and unruly hair back, I didn't bother to hide my appearance around my targets. They would be dead before they could report anything after all.

"Sooooooo," Dazai drawled, sliding up next to me. "You're like the hot shot around here huh?"

I gave him a glance out of the corner of my eye. "Sure, why?"

"Just curious," He said.

"I don't believe you," I told him.

He laughed darkly. "Should've known, Mori warned me before you came into the room that you'd be a powerful force."

I hummed. "You'd be wise to listen."

"Tell me, Pierce, what is your ability?" He asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Bandages?" I snapped.

He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a man walking over with a smug grin. "Well, well, well, can't get along with anyone, can you Pierce?"

I sighed. "Hello Odasaku."

Dazai looked at the Oda. "Are you our escort?"

"Yes I am," He said. "Pierce here called me."

"Sorry to bother you," I apologized. "Didn't feel like using one of Mori's lackeys."

He shrugged. "It's fine."

"Where too?" Dazai asked.

I pointed to the fire escape. "Climb to the top, sweep the area for the weapons guy, get out and report to Mori."

"What if it's a trap?" He questioned.

"Then we kill everyone in the room," I said with a glower aimed at the brink wall.

"Aren't you just a bundle of joy."

Slowly I opened a trap door and we slinked down into the room. Dazai turned to me with wide eyes and gestured for me to come closer. I turned around and closed the trap door, but turned my head to Dazai, all in one fluid moment.

"Down to your right," he whispered, so hushed I had to strain to hear it.

We moved down and as I went I got a better look at the cameras that laid by the door with two armed men by it. We sat just out of their view, but if we moved at all from the shadow they would see us.

"That's not Port Mafia tech," I whispered.

He gave me an 'oh really' look. "Do we go in?"

I pulled out a dagger. "We don't know how many men are down there. If I knock out the cameras and you get them, we have just a few minutes before any sort of back up comes."

Dazai nodded. "So act quick."

In one smooth movement; I leaped down, using the walls to help slow my fall and cut the wires off the camera. He followed behind me and shot the men down just as fast as I had.

I pulled out my smaller blades and readied it along my hands. "Ready?" I asked Dazai.

He cocked his gun and stood next to me. "I suppose."

Flinging open the door, I prepared for blood shed.

But there was no one there.

"Fuck," I hissed. "Call Mori."

We drove back to headquarters where Dazai and I walked into Mori's office to give a statement.

"What happened?" He asked the moment we walked in.

"There were two men in the warehouse," I told him. "No one else."

He swore and pushed back his hair, he turned to us with a frown. "This is troubling. Pierce," I raised my head, "I'm assigning you and Dazai to the case, for the time being I need you to work as partners."

"But-" I tried.

He cut me off with a wave of his hand. "Don't argue, this needs an ability like yours."

I scowled at the floor but nodded.

"What good will I be, Boss?" Dazai asked curiously.

"I trust you to keep Pierce in line," he gave me a look. "She tends to forget her mission."

Grumbling some stuff about how this was bullshit and I didn't even like Dazai, I left the room, Dazai following close behind.

"Wait."

I paused my stride and turned over my shoulder. "Yes?"

"This is a detrimental problem for the mafia," He told me. "I understand your dislike for me but I need you to kindly fuck off and work with me for this."

Glaring at the floor– I mumbled a quick: "Fine," and turned down the hall. But not before turning my head over my shoulder and shouting. "But that means no bullshit suicidal remarks."

He didn't answer but instead headed in the opposite direction.

[magnoliamyrrh]

Hey, sorry, just adding on to the pile of stories from the Balkans. I also grew up with family groping me and being uncomfortable with it, but never being allowed to say anything against it. My mother and father often made sexual comments about me, or when I went through puberty they would occasionally grab at my breasts and butt and comment on them. It's mostly stopped now, thankfully. It always felt so invasive and in general I hated how much focus there was on if I was growing up beautiful or not. My grandparents often did so as well. Whenever I would try to make any of them stop, show discomfort, or have a negative reaction I would get treated as if there was something wrong with me and I was being rude. Looking back I can't believe just how much we have made this sort of behavior normal. Ugh. Family members should not be calling children sexy under any circumstances. There is no possible reason for there to be discussion around a kids genitals. This should not be normal and so many of us shouldn't have stories like this. I'm glad to hear other's speak of it but it has made me so disgusted. We really are taught to ignore any bounderies

heyo anon <3 no need to apologize. yea its.. jfc. this whole thing has left me disgusted too. and frankly, baffled. i just feel so baffled. i keep trying to wrap my head around all of it, try to make some damn sense of how and why, and yet all it leads me too is just.... bafflement and being grossed out. when i asked on here if anyone knew what i was talking about i was not expecting this many ppl to get it. i wasnt sure if anyone would get it

im sorry u went through this, it really is a fucked up way to grow up. and the gaslighting that goes on - bc i rly do think thats what it is - tends to rly mess with your head. its immensely messed up that somehow in all this its children who keep being blamed and made to feel bad for.. v much having normal reactions to things. its a very jarring feeling to know something is just.. wrong. and not be allowed to feel that way. im sorry again that you were put through this, tho i am glad its no longer going on; i hope eventually you'll be able to heal from it all <3

and youre right. were very much taught to not have any sort of bounderies with our bodies. weather its this shit or the beatings or generally being treated as if were property, were really raised to not have much of a say.... it sets a very bad precedent and teaches a very bad and dangerous lesson

i was thinking abt this last night actually. when i was around seven or eight i would spend a lot of time with my cousin at my uncles house. he was some years older than me, by five i think. we used to get along well because i was a tomboy and he didn't make fun of me for it, he liked it. but i remember this one time he started showing me sexual games on the computer they had, some game in which you would give virtual money to a woman to see more of her naked, and it just made me feel so gross. i never looked at him the same, i felt he thought women were just pieces of meat. other times i remember laying in bed with him and he would want me to show him what's under my clothes, though he never took it further than that i don't think. he would occasionally grope at me but basically everyone did that anyway. i remember being upset with him, and him taking me to the candy shop down the street to make up for it

i always wondered if he had been abused first because i found out later his dad had molested another family member of mine. but looking back maybe it was the things he saw on the internet or from other boys. anyway, i tried to tell my mother and grandmother about it but they never took it seriously. never even scolded him. "boys will be boys" mentality and i was told i was being dramatic and shouldn't take it to heart because it's normal for boys to do things like that sometimes. it was normal to be felt up by family in general i guess bc. idk this culture is a fucking nightmare sometimes. now when i see him we just pretend it never happened i guess. it really is fucked up how much this sort of behavior is normalized, excused, and frankly defended at the expense of the saftey and comfort of kids... like what lesson does this teach other than, its ok to let people do whatever they may please with you, regardless of how much you dont like it? it must be some form of grooming i swear to god

[llycaons]

scattered thoughts

paul 🥺

armand's tale sounds plausible ig but what is the truth!!!!

jacob anderson EMMY!!!!!

gay blade gay blade gay blade

burn bitch!!!!

"It's because we started speaking English" 😭

the sexy background jazz...😍

ik he's not in a good place but this louis is soooo conpetent and cool omg

kurapika is filled with an indescribable emptiness indeed...

armand's defense is subtly blaming loyis himself for his own betrayal. not 'I didn't love you enough' but 'you won't love me as long as them' insane

armand doesn't even feel bad. he's just playing the part. asking for forgiveness rather than permission. does he care about anything...

YOU LOOK SMALL

lestat self-reflecting????

akasha mention 👀

holy shit he's staying with armand to get back at LESTAT 😭😭😭 louis do not torment yourself for such a sake!!!!

chaining himself to a lying man he resents for eternity for THAT...

'there's nothing else' - over half an hour is left of the episode louis!!!

also, his life with armand being described as NOTHING. lestat and claudia were stories to tell, daniel was a story to tell. but once they were gone there was nothing to tell!!

uh daniel picking up plot holes!!!!!

TIME HEALS, DANIEL???? TIME HEALS????? HES A DJ????

sam. lestat. the inconsistencies of sam's presence. MENTION IT ALL

damn thought he was gonna mention armand's powers too

SECOND SCRIPT?????

HE WROTE IT

HE WROTE THE FUCKING SCRIPT!!!!

of course he did!!!

HOLY SHIT IT WAS LESTAT??

obviously it's not like I'm a loustat proponent but my hand is clapped over my mouth. ARMAND WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM

'he wantes me to suffer' oh so this is all about you

'you're over this' BITCH YOU DON'T GET TO TELL HIM THAT. his sister was murdered abd he was tortured for days...

what does raglan have to gain from this?

YESS YES!!!! LOUIS!!!!

this is just like when skyler left walt 🥰

back in new orleans 🥺🥺🥺 the accent...

his home...

black amex 🤑

the misconstruing of their history...

poor goth vampire...

lestat eating rats now huh...

his collarbones...so rakish!

companion enough for himself now....I'm so happy for him

LESTAT SAYING SIRI LMAO

he's weirdly humble, lestat

still old-fashioned. but the fact that he never interfered w armand and louis's relationship. that's growth

ig it's hard to know what's the exact truth, but louis fresh from his interview is apologizing for what he did to lestat, and I believe he means it. I believe he feels he wronged him

thanking him for the gift...his LIFE 😭

fuck this is so emotional. the difference between lestat's teaeful, genuine concern and fear vs. armand's contempt and cold blame. damn he really sucked. lestat was never a good liar

he can't stop thinking abt her either!! and he KILLED her so yeah but MAN I'm about to cry!!!

LIKE A CHILD LOOKiNG TO HER FATHER 😭 he killed her but still...

what a hug...

who gives a fuck about this tv program

he's so rude which is kind of fun but bragging about how many copies he's sold is so tacky. bro we know you got money. how's your relationship with your kids

WHATTTT

I thought the glasses were weird. fuck

it's good louis has a friend 🥰

aw his home has color now

and the art! I don't know what it means but it's colorful and passionate!

PAULLL 😭😭😭😭 that's paul!!!

and claudia's dress 🥺 the people he really loved

his ssshhsshing hehe

he's got some of that bravado back, thay swagger.

honestly kind of a corny last line...

overall very satisfying and weirdly hopeful! MUCH moreso than I had expected!!!

[haxxy]

was given this book by my dad bc he saw that i had a similar one on my wishlist + someone fucking stabbed it to death?? these holes go all the way through 

[mono-dot-jpeg]

antarctic idiots [pt.4] - c!technoblade

summary; in which two anarchist piglins adopt an ender boy.

genre; child! ranboo, piglin hybrid! reader, slight canon divergence from dream smp, fluff, found family au is my shit, reader is now ranboo’s parent i don’t make the rules, techno is a grumpy father but it’s okay you love him, realistic minecraft? (idk how to describe it-), uh angst (if you squint)

pairing; c! technoblade x reader, platonic! ranboo x reader

word count; 1.2k

spotify playlist | main masterlist

< previous - next >

a/n; i forgot what my draft a/n said bc i accidentally deleted the og part 4 of this. but it's not like i wrote much for this part yet, so not much will change.

i think i did mention that i meant to make reader around techno's canon height so i think i've might've gotten it wrong in the last part but tbh idc too much abt it, i wanted reader to just be as tall as techno bc they're both piglins and yah know, big build go brrr

anyways with a whopping 195 votes for yes, reader will be fighting in the battle of the lake, although i won't write much abt it bc im bad at fight scenes

ALSO IF YOU GUYS WANT ME TO EXPLAIN WHY I PICKED CERTAIN SONGS FOR MY PLAYLIST SEND AN ASK SKDJKSJ I WILL GLADLY EXPLAIN-

"it's not like i have a choice, do i?" you moved to stand by techno and tommy, unsheathing your sword. you hear the sound of teleporting and within seconds, dream is right in the middle of the battlefield. you hid your surprise in seeing the male suddenly.

now i wasn't informed that tommy planned on working with dream for this... you thought, looking at the masked male.

"well, ain't this just fun." you said, catching dream's attention. both of you share a look (though you can't really see under his mask), a dead stare towards him as he nods at you in acknowledgement. you would have to talk to him later. "let's get this done quickly, shall we?"

"but who are you exactly?" sapnap had asked you.

"does it really matter when i'm about to kill you?"

"harsh." techno commented.

"says the one with the title of blood god." you shot back.

"this isn't the point! the point is..." you had long stopped listening to tommy's declarations and rants, patiently waiting for the battle to actually start. and start it did.

every move you made didn't even feel like you were doing anything. your muscle memory just guiding you through your fight. it didn't feel like you. your brain was on auto pilot. everything felt like a blur. quickly and almost underwhelmingly, the battle had ended with pogtopia winning.

you sheath your sword back to its normal place, right by your hip. your eyes half lidded and bored as you stared at tommy relish in the rewards of battle. "all of that for a fish?"

"not just any fish!" tommy huffed. you look at techno who has the same unimpressed look as you do.

"i'm going for a walk. i'll be back by night." you don't waste any time leaving, heading out to a much more secluded area of the smp. your thoughts mindlessly floating around as you take your time, walking.

"y/n."

you turn around, looking at the masked man, "dream."

"what are you doing here?"

"none of your business." a dead silence hangs for a moment. "i'm here for a favor."

"oh? is that so?"

"a favor that doesn't involve you. you don't need to know anything about it."

"well, if it involves you, it must be important. come on. we're friends, aren't we?"

"not on my own will. and not by yours. you and i both know we are not friends." your voice is low as you glare at dream. "we both have our benefits if we work with each other. that is why our deal exists. i would never want to work for you willingly."

"but i mean in a way, you're still working for me."

"that's what you think."

"i thought you said you fight for what you believe in." wilbur said.

"are you mocking me, mr. soot?" you raised an eyebrow at him. "i fought because it's not like i had much of a choice. tommy would've been on my ass about it if we lost."

"but you still fought. even if you didn't want to. you didn't even know who you were fighting for."

"i still do not know what i'm fighting for, even though you brought me here." you look at your hands, both of them shaking as you open and close your hands. "i was not myself during that battle."

"what do you mean?"

"i wasn't controlling myself. everything was a blur." you move your hands into your pockets in an attempt to stop the shaking. "i was not thinking, everything was like instinct." you explained it the best you could.

"is that the other reason you left l'manburg?"

"no. would you stop trying to figure that out?" your words held no sternness but wilbur knew better than to not push you further. you were never really one to try and hold your anger against someone.

"sorry. maybe you should just stick with techno for while? get some rest after that? i'm sure tommy won't go through much conflicts with others while you rest. i won't let him." wilbur put his hand on your shoulder. you sighed.

" 's fine. i'll be with techno then. i expect to have no communications alerts from tommy about fighting." you went to find techno in the ever so wonderful pogtopia ravine. wilbur watched as you left his view to find his twin.

"hello again tough guy." you entered the room, seeing techno turn his head to look at you before continuing to farm potatoes. "even after a battle, you're still working."

"revolution waits for no man."

"that is true." you sit next to a large chest filled to the brim with potatoes. "how are you after that battle?"

" 'm fine. it wasn't so bad." a beat of silence fills the room before techno speaks again, "are you okay?"

the question confused you, "what do you mean?"

"i saw you fighting in that battle. i knew that look in your eyes." you faintly think back to the fight, remembering how you didn't quite feel like yourself.

"was it that obvious?"

"maybe to me, i'm not sure about the others though. you didn't seem like yourself." he mindlessly harvests more potatoes as you rest your head against the stone walls.

you bit your lip, hesitant to tell him that he was right. were you even ready to fully trust techno with something like this? this may just be more important than i realize… you thought. “what did you see in my eyes at the time?” you asked, moving the subject just a little bit to move away from the main topic.

“... unrestraint. while your fighting was not very unrestrained, your eyes… they look hazed. i wouldn’t really say it was unrestrained but you seemed very spaced out and yet you still managed to fight like it was nothing.”

“i don’t really wanna talk about it, i still don’t know if i could trust you yet, mr. blade.” you joked, attempting to move the conversation forward to a different topic. “how long have you been planting these potatoes?”

“since i joined.”

“and when was that?”

“probably a week before i met you?” he guessed.

“that’s pretty impressive. you seem really focused on everything that you do.” you commented.

“it’s sort of my thing.” techno shrugged. “i had a 9 month war about potatoes.”

“holy shit. and you won?”

“of course i won.” he started to ramble about the potato war, while you listened to him in full interest. despite how ridiculous the whole war sounded, you had to admit it was pretty amazing.

“who knew the blood god would be so intent on beating a kid to win a war about potatoes.” you joked. “i never would’ve guessed that you would be so passionate about potatoes.”

“well, never judge a book by its cover.” techno hummed, wiping the leftover dirt on his hands as he finished farming. “you got any stories of your own to share?”

“i have a few. they’re not very interesting though. they were all stories from my times in l’manburg.”

“you lived in l’manburg?”

“i was the general of the army.”

taglist; @justahostaccount, @olyink​, @aikochan4859​, @classycookiebailiffstudent​​, @stickk-bugg, @goldensunshineshit​, @sadlyitsme-boohoo​, @jace-the-ace12​, @2cuteforyourlies​, @lvlyjuro​, @kiinokochii​, @anxiousnarwhale​, @jaciahbabes​

[taglist closed]

[greensaplinggrace]

honestly THANK YOU for saying all that abt baghra bc i thought i was going crazy from not liking her??? bc i haven't read the books and only summaries of them on wiki and like. i dunno why ppl like her actually even in the show bc this guy, her son, is like "i wanna make the world better for us grisha" and she's just like "no." even tho he sees that she's MAKING HERSELF SICK from suppressing her powers! she's literally like in bed coughing in the flashback yet seem much healthier at the little palace. also like after everything, after her disapproval, after the fold, after centuries of waiting for the sun summoner.. he never abandons her. he makes sure she's cares for. he doesn't harm her. and i have to wonder if baghra has ever thanks him for that, for just not leaving her alone. like i dunno how im suppose ro believe aleks is a heartless villain when he still cares for his abusive mom like this. like has baghra even told her she loved him (honestly she reminds me of a classic emotionally unavailable asian parent but maybe that's just me). also im wondering if baghra ever told aleks that he had an aunt.. bc like.. now that u bring up her isolating him it's like hmmmm...

not at me being like alina... why do u trust the bitter old woman who literally beats u with a stick and verbally abuses u every chance she gets.. just bc she showed a bad painting... like.. pls use two braincells to see that who u figured out as his mother... is also using his protection..

like baghra could've upped and left with alina. but no. she stayed bc she knew she was safe under aleks's protection.

alsoim just impressed that after his first friend tried to drown him and harvest his bones... he didn't go into hiding???? he still wanted to make a safe heaven for grisha!!! HE STILL WANTED TO PROTECT GRISHA EVEN AFTER HIS GRISHA FRIEND TRIED TO KILL HIM FOR HIS FUCKEN BONES. like... this is the guy im suppose to believe is the villain???

honestly i feel like part of the reason why LB's plotlines seem so bad and disconnected (and sometimes outright racist but that's another rant) and why darkles is disproportionately more violent and villainous in the later books is bc she didn't expect the darkling to be so popular and wanted to stick with her guns of making him the villain. but also wanted the money from aleks's popularity. but like you can't have ur cake and eat it too.

Well thank you for sending this ask! It's very sweet and very passionate. I'm glad you liked my post! I didn't put as much thought into it as some of my others lol. I kind of just talked. But it was nice to be able to finally talk about some of the problems I have with both her character and the fandom/author's perception of her.

HERE is the post this is referring to, in case anyone's wondering.

👀👀 You've hit the nail on the head for so many things, here!

Baghra is extremely emotionally unavailable, basically to the point of neglect. She's also verbally and physically abusive, traits which I doubt were only reserved for her students and not her son. Baghra claims she would do anything to protect him, but I've known a lot of parents who have that mindset and yet still harm their children because they think it's "good for them".

Aleksander stays at Baghra's side for years, and even when they're opposing each other she's never too far away from him. Idk if you've read the books but he does eventually hurt her. And as much as I don't like Baghra, I think his actions were horrid. But I'm also honestly kind of surprised it took him so long lmao.

Yeah I mean, in terms of isolation, let's not forget that she never wanted to introduce him to his father, either. Baghra's sense of eternity clouds a lot of her judgments on relationships, which means she views most people as dust and therefore teaches her son to as well. The problem with that is that he's a growing child, and he needs those social and emotional attachments for healthy development.

I would bet quite a bit of money that Baghra has either never told him she loves him or she has told him so few times it's practically forgettable.

And everything becomes more complicated because so many of Baghra's actions are understandable because of her life and her history, but the impacts they have on the people around her, especially Aleksander, are permanently damaging. And the fact that that's never gone over in critical depth in the books or how it's glossed over in fandom is just very disconcerting. Like, acknowledging Baghra's failings doesn't mean we're excusing Aleksander's actions, it just means we're holding Baghra liable for her own. Which the fandom should be doing, considering she's the epitome of an abusive parental figure.

And Alina trusting Baghra over Aleksander is even more confusing! Especially in the show!! This is the woman who beat her and abused her and tortured her friends when they tiny little children (and who probably still does so now that they're adults). This is the woman who mocks you and harasses you and insults you on a regular basis. Why does Baghra revealing she's Aleksander's mother make Alina change her mind?! Like fuck, I'd just feel bad for Aleksander. No wonder he kept it a secret, I would too! And that painting is enough evidence?! Really?! A random painting shown to you by this abusive mentor that's been making your life hell. That's what you're going to betray your new lover over?

The friends trying to harvest his bones thing is a good point, too. I think Aleksander, especially show Aleksander, is incredibly idealistic. I think he cares too much for others - those he's deemed worth his care (a sentiment given to him by Baghra). Despite everything she's tried to teach him about hiding and abandoning others and never caring and never doing anything to help or reach out or connect with people, Aleksander still continues to do so. It's likely because he never got it from Baghra growing up, and so is desperate for those emotional needs to be fulfilled elsewhere.

His turning point, when Baghra tells him it was understandable that those kids tried to kill him because the world is such a hard place for them - that's crucial. And the reason it's possible as a motivating factor is because of that idealism and that desire to help and that desire to be everything his mother isn't. Baghra tells him this trauma he just experienced was because of the oppression of his people, and instead of following her lead and accepting that, going into hiding and abandoning everybody to their misery, he goes I can do something about that. I can make it so this never happens again. Which is usually how trauma like that combines with one's core personality traits at a young age, especially when there's none of the essential support systems in place to aid in recovery (ie, the role Baghra should have been filling but wasn't, because she decided to exacerbate the problem instead).

And yeah, one of my biggest problems with the ham-fisted "beating you over the head with a sledgehammer of evil deeds" look-how-bad-this-character-is! portrayal of the Darkling in the later books comes from the impression I get that Bardugo doesn't trust her readers. She's so desperate to have us hate this character and think him an irredeemable villain, not trusting any of her readers to engage critically with a morally gray character, that it feels quite a bit like condescending fucking bullshit. Which ew, I know how to engage with literature, thanks.

She really does seem to look down on a large part of her fandom, and imo, the infantilization of the female characters in her books seems to carry over to her impression of most of her female readers as well. Which is why the Darkling's character arc gets fucking destroyed. But he's still a good cash grab, of course, so she'll shake his dead corpse in front of the fandom for money every time she wants something from it.

Also! Another reason I think her plotlines feel disconnected (I'm sorry Bardugo I respect you as a person, but shit-) is because the writing in SaB is just bad. I mean, nevermind the absolutely nauseating implications of the way she portrays the Grisha as a persecuted group who's situation is never actually fully addressed as it should be, considering Grisha rights is what her main villain is fighting for (imo for a series called the Grishaverse, LB seems to be pretty anti Grisha), but her characters and story alone are just wrong for each other. They don't fit together.

And the ending is one of the main pieces of evidence in that regard! You can’t say the ending where Alina isn’t Grisha anymore is her “going back to where she started” when she’s always been Grisha. She just didn’t know she was Grisha because she denied that part of herself that she was born with.

Alina is reluctant to move forward or change, she struggles with adapting, and she’s very set on the things she’s grown attached to throughout her life. She also has some latent prejudices against the Grisha, and so denies the possibility of being Grisha for those reasons as well.

Alina’s lack of powers in the beginning of her life because she willfully doesn’t learn about them to avoid change versus her lack of powers at the end of the book when she’s accepted them and then they’re stripped away from her by outer forces are two entirely separate circumstances. You can’t make a parallel about lost powers and lack of Grisha status bringing her back to the start when she was always Grisha and she always had powers and she simply refused to come to terms with it because of personal reasons.

The first situation is an internal conflict that indicates a story about growth and a journey of self acceptance. Denying herself the opportunity to learn about her heritage and to find acceptance with a group of people like her because she’s tied to the past and because of the way she was raised is the setup for a narrative that tackles unlearning prejudice and learning how to connect with a part of her identity that was denied her and learning how to grow independent and self assured. It’s the setup for a different story entirely. The second situation is an external conflict that centers around the ‘corrupting influence of power’... for some reason.

In a world where Grisha do not have social, political, or economic power and they are hunted, centering your heroine’s journey of self acceptance and growth around an external conflict about... the corrupting influence of power (in a group of people that don’t actually have any power?!) just doesn’t work. It is literally impossible to connect the two stories Bardugo is trying to push in Shadow and Bone without seriously damaging the main character’s developmental arc.

The only way a narrative like this would work, claiming that she has gone back to where she started, is either a) if the Grisha weren’t actually a persecuted group and instead were apart of the upper class, or b) if the one bad connection between the two instances is acknowledged - that Alina denied a part of herself crucial to self acceptance and growing up, and that losing her powers at the end has also denied her. It is a tragedy, not a happy ending.

Alina suffered because she didn’t use her powers. She grew sick. It was bad for her. This was not a resistance to 'the corruption of power and the burden of greed', it was her suffering because she couldn’t fully accept herself.

Framing the ending as a return to the beginning can’t be done if you don’t address how bad the beginning was for your main character. You brought her back to a bad point in her life. You regressed her. This should be a low point in her arc. It should be a problem that’s solved so she can finish developing organically or it should be something that is acknowledged as a tragedy in it’s own right, for the future the world (the writing) denied her.

This is a ramble and it makes no sense and I’m really sorry, but my point is that Bardugo put the wrong characters in the wrong story. The character arc required for organic development doesn’t match the story and intended message at all. The narrative doesn’t fit the cast. She's got two clashing stories attempting to work in tandem and she ends up with both conflicting messages that fans still can’t comprehend in her writing and an ending that doesn’t suit her main character to such an impossible degree that it’s almost laughable.

So yeah, there's a few reasons why I think the story and the plot feels so bad and disconnected. I hope you don't mind me making this answer so long! 😅 I was not expecting to write this much.

[nextstopparis]

Has the fandom addressed the parallel between Uther and Arthur’s death where they are both stabbed in the gut and held by one of the most important people in their life and they have to sort of tell the person not to go or get them help (“stay with me” and “just hold me please”) and they have their final “I should have appreciated you more you’re so important to me” speech?

anon i am SO sorry this took like two days sakjnxakx i dont know whats been wrong with me kjdnsncs

also. OH MY GOD?????

(4.03) (5.13)

first thing i can think of is:

ARTHUR: I'll go get help.

UTHER: Stay with me.

vs,

MERLIN: I'm not going to lose you.

ARTHUR: Just, just - just hold me. Please.

(YES I CRIED TYPING THE 'PLEASE' OK LEAVE ME ALONE) which is just. a father telling his son (often described by canon as a person who uther treasures unlike anyone he's treasured before) (erm. idk if i agree with that buT ANYWAY) to stay with him (hold him) in what he believes are his final moments. and also arthur asking his best friend to *just* hold him in HIS final moments.

UTHER: I'm sorry.

ARTHUR: No. Don't say that.

and

ARTHUR: ... For the kingdom you helped me build.

MERLIN: You'd have done it without me.

to me, in both scenarios, it just feels like. arthur is trying to reassure his father before his death ('no, don't say you've been a bad father. dont die thinking i blame or hate you. no.') (which i personally disagree with but ANYWAY). and merlin trying to reassure arthur before his death ('no, you didn't need me. don't die thinking you're worth any less. no, you could have done all this yourself') (which i also talked about here).

there's also:

ARTHUR: You can't die.

and

MERLIN: You're not going to say goodbye.

five stages of grief, beginning with denial, anyone?

after this, as you said, both arthur and uther give like. this mini speech. which at first i couldnt find any parallel between UNTIL. UNTIL I REREAD WHAT YOU WROTE ABT THE APPRECIATION. because uther talks about how arthur has always made him proud, how arthur is ready and HAS BEEN ready to be king for some time. which 1) is, from my understanding, the one affirmation from his father he has ALWAYS craved, literally since season one ("i always thought i was a big disappointment to you") BUT ALSO 2) it's almost. exactly what we as an audience need to hear? like, ok. i dont think anyone much CARES for uthers opinion on who's ready to be king but. still. if he's going to say anything, if he MUST, this is what the best thing he could say? this serves as like. one last confirmation i guess? like the "official" approval? arthur's father FINALLY saying something fatherly to him. lmfao

and, to parallel that, arthur THANKS MERLIN!! he acknowledges all the work merlin has done for him (whether he knows abt it specifically or not. i also wrote abt that here) and THANKS HIM!! again, at first i was thinking, idk how these two speeches parallel besides the timing and general sentiments but. LOOK. just like arthur has been dying for his father's approval since season one, merlin has also been dying for arthur to know about his help since season 1 too!!!! AS WELL, it's exactly what the audience wants to hear from arthur!! like we can talk about timing and execution and whether it was enough or not, but... more or less, it's what WE have been waiting for as well. arthur is FINALLY aware (to enough of an extent, imo) of how much More(TM) merlin is, you know?

and,

UTHER: I've always loved you.

this, to me, is kind of the same thing as:

ARTHUR: I want to say something I've never said to you before. Thank you.

because it's like this big. FINALLY. moment, you know? as well, it's their final words to the other person. idk if that made sense i hope it did. ANYWAY.

one interesting thing is that, unlike arthur (that we now know), that wasn't actually uther's death scene. BUT THE PARALLELS DONT STOP. BECAUSE MERLIN IN 5.13 THOUGHT HE STILL HAD TIME TO SAVE ARTHUR, JUST LIKE ARTHUR THOUGHT ABT HIS FATHER IN 4.03.

so the other parallel is: merlin begs kilgharrah for one last favour to take them to avalon just like arthur begs dragoon for a favour to save his father.

arthur's already dead by the time they get to avalon, unfortunately, and uther (not so unfortunately) has his fate sealed bc of morgana's neckless.

OH AND ALSO

dragoon gets a ride from a pendragon and

pendragon and dragoon get a ride from a dragon. which is the best/most serious parallel i think but. anyway.