#i have a recording off the full fight but i think that would've been a bit overkill

[antirepurp]

welcome to my "eurobeat belongs in sonic" propaganda

[telesodalite]

With Krok now on my mind, it's reminded me of like, the whole deal of him coping with the loss of his squad by believing they'd just become separated? Because that bit is such a fascinating aspect of his character to me.

It's vague in a way that doesn't totally confirm whether he truly 100% deluded himself, or if he just kept telling himself that to try and distract from the truth and memories he didn't want to face.

(Which, for some reason this pisses Misfire off? Which implies something really interesting there about Misfire and his own coping mechanisms and issues that we don't get much of a peer into unfortunately.)

Anyway, I spent way too long thinking about it when I was reading through the comics. And it's like, did studying battles and strategy play a part in this delusion/lie?

Like, you're a being that lives for millions of years, in the middle of a war spanning those millions of years. So, at some point, surely those battles are going to start to blur together. So you've got that, and then you go and face a frankly horrifically traumatic fight that quite literally rips the people you cared about most, and felt responsible for, apart.

Presumably, Decepticons aren't the greatest at handling shell shock and other such side effects of war. So they just take this freshly traumatized mess of a dude, take him off the front lines and plant him on a warworld to aid the fight from a more comfortable distance.

With all this, the mind is bound to be fickle when faced with such sudden loss and change. But Krok obviously did his job there, or at least he was very knowledgeable on history and tactics beforehand.

Either way, he studied battle after battle, went through records of fight after fight, planned for what's next and reconsidered what had already happened. Hundreds of wins and losses.

So did it get jumbled there? In having a head full of battles, did some of them blur and mix with the one that took everything away from him? In trying to solve the failures of past battles, did he try and find where a victory could've been had against the wreckers that day? Did he find a solution that would've had his squad still whole and alive?

From there, did it slip into delusion, or a desperate lie to keep himself going?

I feel like his "mental health matters" moment was an interesting insight into it and possibly the average soldier's rough outlook on trauma. But it was still very surface level I think, but I guess going too deep into the why's and how's wouldn't have been important until maybe the Scavenger centric comics that uh, never happened :/

[eggsaladstain]

elaborate on the wasted potential? What parts would you have liked to explore?

Hi anon, I could go on and on about the wasted potential of Gyeongseong Creature but I will keep it relatively brief for both our sakes.

For the record, I did like the show, particularly the way it combined history with fiction to tell a story about dehumanized Koreans fighting back against their oppressors during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The titular creature is a physical manifestation of the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers against the Korean people and seeing the monster going on a violent rampage against those soldiers feels like an extreme version of the Korean people fighting for their country's freedom. But despite its best efforts, the show never really finds a way to tie the central theme of resistance and freedom to the rest of the plot. The resistance is more or less used as set dressing as neither of the two main characters, Tae-Sang and Chae-Ok, are members of the resistance movement, and the central plot of the season is a heist/horror story about uncovering the mysteries at Ongseong Hospital. The character who actually is a member of the resistance, Jun-Taek, has no real impact on the plot at all and his only noticeable contribution is the explosives used in the finale.

Think about how much more compelling a character Tae-Sang could've been if we'd gotten to see him transform from a selfish man who only cared about his own interests to a proud member of the resistance, finally finding a cause worth putting his life on the line for. By the end of episode 7, I thought the show had mostly achieved this, albeit clumsily, because we never really see why Tae-Sang had a change of heart and decided to be a hero, and if we're supposed to believe it's because of his feelings for Chae-Ok, I don't buy that for one second because the romance was half-baked at best. But then by the end of episode 10, he's once again shrugging off the title of patriot, and this is not a man who is humble, so what gives? Is he meant to be a charming rogue with a heart of gold or a selfish man who will be a hero only if it aligns with his personal interests? I still can't tell and I don't know if the writers themselves even know the answer - they kept trying to tell us he was the former but most of his actions pointed at him being the latter.

Even the horrific creature could've had a genuinely compelling arc if the show had bothered at all to humanize Seong-Sim prior to her transformation. I wanted desperately to root for mother monster to get her revenge against everyone who wronged her, but the show didn't give us any time to get to know her as a human, so it was hard for me to see her as anything but the monster she became. I wanted to believe that she still had some humanity, but the scenes of her protecting Chae-Ok ultimately fell flat because we never got to know the loving mother she had once been. Consider the flashback where Chae-Ok discovers the message her mother left for her on the wall. Now consider how much more impactful that scene would've been if we'd gotten to see it from Seong-Sim's perspective in real time in episode 1. It would've gone a long way in showing Seong-Sim's humanity and it would've made us believe in the love she had for her daughter, a love she would continue to hold onto even when she had lost everything else.

Towards the end of the show, it's revealed that multiple people close to Tae-Sang have all betrayed him at one point or another. But we barely know any of these characters or how they all became a part of each other's lives, and that emotional beat is once again lacking. This is what I mean by wasted potential. The show is full of moments like this, moments that should have been compelling and emotional, and could have been, if they've been tied together with a stronger, more cohesive script.

I don't know if you've watched Kingdom, anon, but it executes a similar concept to absolute perfection (in just 12 episodes and 1 movie) by using the supernatural element, zombies, as a vehicle to discuss its broader theme of hunger, both literal and metaphorical (which I've previously written about here and here). If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it because it's a fantastic show on its own, and if you liked Gyeongseong Creature, I recommend Kingdom even more as an example of how this show could've been so much better than it was.

[ratlivesonblog]

I wonder why sans does battle us if we even spare one monster. And i don't think it's because of the promise, he doesn't kill us at the start because of it. But later on? When we wiped all his friends?

I truly don't know if its because he adapted papyrus mindset and thinks people can be better. Because even in one neutral ending he tells you that you could do better(even if i really think he was being sarcastic or something) so maybe he has that mindset but in a more passive way and still has some hope to get out. That is, despite him saying he lost hope long ago in the geno route. But we are unsure how long long ago is since it's a pretty relative term.

Or maybe is it because of Chara's influence? They are clearly driven by our actions but even if we reach 19 exp and go to him, he does not battle us, unless we are locked in a geno route. Which i find very odd because does that mean there's a connection? Is he truly so lazy? Does he think there's still some hope? Does he want us to kill him? Why the fuck does a bleed?

A lot of facts make his character intresting and unique. Like he is aware of the timelines and likely he may even remember them (es, secret secret word, expression on your face) but it is untrue wheatear he is fucking with us just to not make us sure. He very likely comes from another world (in geno he says he lost hope to go back and ALSO the surface doesn't appeal anymore) along with papyrus, we're not sure if that world is deltarune, but he is the only character there with no differences from his ut sprite.

He has a strange lab behind his house and a photo with people we don't recognize.

Why is he the only one using karmik retribution(KARMA) in a fight? How is he able to make our invincibility last nothing? Is it really possibile that it would've been his turn forever had he not fallen asleep?

Why the fuck does he bleed?

Gaster blaster, W. D. Gaster, the man who speaks in hands, 17th lab record, both fonts, both scientists.

Who's this "our" You're talking about when saying our records showed a massive anomaly in the time-space continuum. You and alphys? Yours and gaster? Yours and papyrus? Asgore since he seems to know about it?

Why do you BLEED BLOOD. WHY DO YOU DUST OFF SCREEN?? DO YOU EVEN DUST??

His whole character is full of jokes but in reality he is a space-time bending nerd who got stuck in an infinite loop he is aware of being in, he became so self-deprecating and a apathetic he manages to not care, he doesn't act or stop you from doing anything even if you kill his brother. He is spiteful about it but won't do anything. He judges you but won't do anything, can't do anything? He holds his promises really near his heart. He probably lies a good amount. When he does something to stop you is because you threaten to erase the fucking world. And he dies only because you fucking cheated. He managed to dodge your knife even while asleep. We shouldn't have been able to double slash.

He cares a lot about his brother yet he doesn't stop us from doing anything, only judges it for us. Not even mentioning it a lot of times. He steps down to an apathetic leven where he probably only feels emptiness and sometiems spite at the loss of papyrus. In neutral endings he keeps living on without him.

His letterbox is full.

Flowey says if we let him know anything about us it will not end well in taht timeline. Yet he didn't kill us sooner because of a promise.

Why does he care so much about a promise from a lady behind the doors? Is it because he trusts her/her judgement 7?

IS IT KETCHUP? DOES HE BLEED FUCKING KETCHUP??

[thefirstknife]

Another lore dive because I see people asking around about the following:

Why didn't Neomuna help humanity after the Collapse?

This is directly addressed and it's really interesting and potentially something that will bring conflict (both in the game and probably with the fandom).

To find out, we have to look at the lore book about four Cloud Striders which you can get when you do a quest to acquire the exotic glaive Winterbite. The quest can be picked up at the archivist Quinn. The lore book is called Cloud Strider Legacies. Under for length:

The first Cloud Strider in that book is Stargazer, real name Laminak Li. They (canon pronouns) were a mathematician and an explorer prior to becoming a Cloud Strider.

In the early days of Neomuna, it was almost impossible to see through Neptune's atmosphere:

Not only did Stargazer allow Neomuni to finally study the sky, they also made it possible for them to detect Earth.

This is an important first part of the answer because it tells us that for an indeterminate amount of time, they could not physically see or check on Earth at all. So Earth could've spent decades or even centuries in the Dark Age and Neomuni stuck behind Neptune's thick atmosphere and powerful magnetic field.

Stargazer was finally able to see Earth and check for human activity. And they did. And they... were not impressed. More accurately, they were afraid:

This happened at some point in the Dark Age. When they looked at Earth, they saw violence and devastation and war. The lore book continues and says that Stargazer went to Earth and used the Warmind to erase records of Neomuna. So it was Stargazer who erased it!

This is further elaborated in the lore tab after this one where we actually see Stargazer on Earth, fighting off some warlords while in a bunker and linking with Malahayati The lore tab I copied so far is a sort of a tale about the Cloud Striders as told to children.

The second lore tab about any given Cloud Strider is a more realistic and often quite weirder story because it's an official record as things happened. Stargazer was not just a curious explorer, they were a powerful warrior who led a full expedition to Earth and lost several people in the fighting.

A Lightbearer died as well and Stargazer was afraid that other warlords would access the Warmind bunker:

At that point, they even considered nuking the entire group of people to prevent them from ever finding out about them visiting Earth, but decided against it because it would've obviously been inhumane.

I want to take a very brief detour because the dead "Lightwielder" is named:

The name Carnunta sounded familiar to me so I ran the name through Ishtar and voila. Loreley Splendor Helm:

"The crate says it was recovered from the tomb of Carnunta, a Warlord in the EDZ. Lightbearer."

Cool detail!

In the end, they decided to wipe all data about Neomuna and the Exodus ship that founded it. They also spoke about how their original intent was to "teach" the people on Earth about civilisation and help them recover, but when they found only warlords, they gave up as they believed it wouldn't have worked and that it would've only provoked warlords into attacking Neomuna.

This point from the first tab is important because it says that to Neomuni, ALL Lightbearers are "warlords." To this day. As a matter of fact, this is repeated a few times in the game, with various characters calling us a warlord and Lightbearer interchangeably. This point is best explained with this patrol Neomuna News lines:

Earth representatives today objected to the identifier “Warlords”, preferring the label “Guardians”. They claim that while they command similar powers, Guardians operate within a system of checks and balances overseen by the Vanguard. Critics remain sceptical, citing the Vanguard’s apparent lax control over their membership and lack of accountability.

Of course, people tend to think of Neomuni as bad people for not helping Earth. However, first, as we've seen above, they tried. They first spent years not having the technology to even see Earth and then they tried helping and found only warlords fighting over scraps and killing people with strange powers. When they tried helping, they were attacked.

Second, something that we don't really think about or talk about is just how utterly incomprehensibly strange Lightbearers are to almost everyone in the universe. We are risen from the dead by an unknown power. We are immortal. We wield incredible superpowers. And we cannot be controlled.

This is referenced throughout the lore in various ways, sometimes in a kind of a funny way when we're referred to as space zombies or when someone comments how strange we look dancing in the Tower aimlessly or randomly jumping to our deaths. I don't think we really pick up on this because we're the heroes and Guardians are a force of good, but we are really a force that could do whatever it wanted. We could conquer the universe in the blink of an eye if we wanted to. We can easily become corrupted or mishandle our powers or our weapons in devastating ways.

Point is, the fear Neomuni have of Lightbearers is entirely justified. Even when we first landed, Rohan's first question was "Are you here with the invaders?" Rohan repeats that a few times; he later tells us that he always thought that when he finally meets Lightbearers, he would be fighting us.

Neomuni believed that if Lightbearers find Neomuna, they would come over and wreak havoc and endanger their entire population. Helping is a noble thing to do, but what if it would result in your own extinction? Neomuni have a responsibility to their own citizens.

I think it's reasonable to be angry with them for not trying harder. I also think it's reasonable to be a Neomuni and think that it would've been too much risk. It's definitely an interesting possible conflict that would hopefully be mentioned more. I would love to see reactions from various characters about this, and even reactions from random citizens of the Last City.

There is sure to be some resentment between Earth and Neomuna, because it's natural. But I would also not be too harsh on them and I would definitely not call them bad or evil people for not dragging us out of the Dark Age. I also want to add that Neomuna wasn't just chilling and doing nothing; hey had their own challenges and survival to worry about. Some of their own wars and conflicts are detailed in the Cloud Strider Legacies lore book, mainly conflicts with the invading Vex, but also conflicts amongst each other. Not to mention that building a city in such a hostile environment surely took a toll.

Overall, I think that the question of "if Neomuna existed all this time, why did they never help us?" has been addressed pretty well, all things considered. A significant portion of the lore was dedicated to explaining Neomuni's re-discovery of Earth and their attempts to help and their fear of Lightbearers. Even people on Earth spent centuries absolutely terrified of Lightbearers!

The very obvious misinterpretation of Guardians as still "warlords" is also a pretty good way to show just how separated and alien we are to each other. But it's also a good point to make. The only thing separating us from warlords is that we're not fighting for territory with other warlords. But we could easily revert to that behaviour and we did in many other timelines where corruption prevailed. Obviously we won't now, but only we know that. A society that grew on horrifying stories of immortal warlords can't possibly have that insight about us. Their caution can be read as cruel, but it should be read as complex.

[whumper-whimsy]

CONTAINS: captivity whump, forced murder, graphic depiction of death

Two whumpees lay together, one sitting up against the wall while the other lays their head in the first's lap.

They both move to sit on their knees as the basement light flickers on, their chains rattling obnoxiously. The lights' hum buzzes through the air eerily, accompanied by the thump of footsteps down the stairwell.

Whumper steps in with a grin, a large knife in their grip.

"Darlings, good morning!" Whumper beams at the two. "Rise and shine! How are my pers this morning?"

Whumpee A just scowls at them, while Whumpee B presses their back against the cold cement wall, shaking.

There's a long pause, and Whumper continues without response.

"I've had you two for what- 6 months now? You know- feeding you both, keeping you hydrated, paying for medicine and gauze and such- it's a lot. So!" They smile, pausing to scan the faces of their pets, "we're cutting down on expenses."

Whumpee B is still shaking, and Whumpee A feels their clammy hand grasp at their own. They let B hold it, rubbing their thumb delicately across its dry back.

"I'll make it simple. One of you will die tonight." Whumper states this breezily; it's a fact, not a suggestion.

The knife hits the floor and is kicked at the pair. B yelps and wraps their arms around A's waist, shivering with their head on A's thighs.

A glares up at Whumper, resting a hand on B's back. "What are you talking about?"

"Whoever lives gets to be my one and only pet. The one who dies- well- dies." Whumper shrugs.

B turns their head to Whumper, looking up through wet lashes. "Why? I thought- but-"

Whumper sighs, smiling as they come closer, just out of range of the chains. "Im assuming you won't be killing A, then? Unfortunate- ill miss that darling look of fear on your face." Whumper's grin widens as they continue, their voice becoming mocking.

"Unless A is too weak to kill you? They've got a soft spot for you, don't they? They've always been a coward." Whumper teases. A rubs B's back firmly.

"They aren't a coward!" B cries, "they-"

B cuts off with a shriek as the knife sinks into their neck.

"You're right," A glares at Whumper. "I'm not."

B is in shock, looking up at A as blood fills their mouth.

A winces at their expression. They run their hand through B's hair, holding them against their own body. "Shhh, shh... hey, it's okay. Close your eyes." They speak softly and steadily as the other claws at them with all the desperation in the world. "I've got you. Sleep."

Whumper is grinning ear to ear as they watch. "I almost wish I would've recorded this! How intriguing~"

"Shut up." A hisses, then returns to their gentle tone as they console B. "I know it hurts, I know..."

B is fighting to stay awake, to stay alive as the blood pours down their neck. They let out a gurgling groan, gripping onto A as tight as they can. Their eyes are so full of fear that A can't look for too long.

They pull B's weakening body flush against their own, shushing them sweetly.

They lean down and whisper into their ear, "it's over now. You're free."

Heartbeats later, the blood stops gushing. It slows to a trickle as B finally slumps against them.

"Well," Whumper chimed, "wasn't exactly expecting that. Didn't know you had it in ya."

"You know damn well that they wouldn't have lasted a second as your only pet. I saved them from a lifetime of torture." A spits, pulling B's corpse closer to themself.

Whumper laughs, shaking their head. "What, you think you're the one who sacrificed yourself? B just died so that you could have another couple of months in here. Face it, A. You're a selfish prick."

A pulls the blade from B's neck and tosses it dangerously close to Whumper's foot. "Get the fuck out of here," they bite, glaring at the other as they sit with B's body.

Whumper grabs the knife, taking a horrible second to lick off a bit of the blood, and heads upstairs.

A lets themself cry as they cradle the corpse of B, tracing their fingers along cold skin.

"I'm so sorry, " they whisper. "I had to save you."

[heavensbeehall]

"Catching Fire", Chapter 14

Part 2: The Quell

Chapter 14: Katniss knows she won't write goodbye letters to her family. Effie has an idea. They watch the recap. Katniss has nighmares so Peeta and she watch the tape of Haymitch's games. Haymitch says his trick with the force field was almost as bad as Katniss with the berries.

Thoughts:

-- A lot of faves first appear in this chapter. I am excite.

-- The Victor of the 25th Hunger Games is not in the lot Effie sent. Peeta thinks "they must be dead." I suppose the Victor could've just had cancer or drinked themselves to death. I immediately suspected foul play though. I always assume the Capitol is up to something.

-- I might have to put my thoughts on Haymitch's games in a separate post. SO MUCH HAPPENING.

Quotes:

"I had it especially done to match Katniss' pin. I was thinking we might get you a golden ankle band and maybe find Haymitch a gold bracelet or something so we could all look like a team."

Effie expresses herself with fashion, guys. She had her hair done to match Katniss' pin before the Reaping to show her solidarity. IDK why this makes me want to cry. It's not rebellion really. It's more like Effie is like one of those sportsball fans who paints themself in their team's colors. Except she's not just rooting for 12 to win some trophy, but to live.

If he were the tribute, he would have owed Peeta nothing and could be as drunk as he liked. Now it's going to take all he's got to keep Peeta alive in an arena full of his old friends, and he'll probably fail.

I think we're all lucky Haymitch wasn't the tribute in that case. Being hungover in the clock arena sounds miserable (so much lightning and noise!) Although maybe if Haymitch and Katniss had been the tributes they would've just jumped off their podiums and high-fived each other before drowning themselves in the sea?

In the history of the Games, there have been seventy-five victors. Fifty-nine are still alive.

33 victors are NOT reaped but killed between now and the end of Mockingjay. More than die in the Arena. You actually had a better shot if you volunteered. (Congrats, Enobaria.)

Effie makes hushed, distressed comments like "Oh, not Cecilia" and "Well, Chaff never could stay out of a fight.""

I understand the "not Cecilia comment" since we are later told that she has three small children. Did Chaff volunteer? Or is it just he got reaped so "oh well he could never stay out of a fight"?

I try to make some mental record of the other tributes, but like last year, only a few really stick in my head. There's the classically beautiful brother and sister from District 1 who were victors in consecutive years when I was little. Brutus, a volunteer from District 2, who must be at least forty and apparently can't wait to get back in the arena. Finnick, the handsome bronze-haired guy from District 4 who was crowned ten years ago at the age of fourteen. A hysterical young woman with flowing brown hair is also called from 4, but she's quickly replaced by a volunteer, an eighty-year-old woman who needs a cane to walk to the stage. Then there's Johanna Mason, the only living female victor from 7, who won a few years back by pretending she was a weakling. The woman from 8 who Effie calls Cecelia, who looks about thirty, has to detach herself from the three kids who run up to cling to her. Chaff, a man from 11 who I know to be one of Haymitch's particular friends, is also in.

First appearance of my beloved Mags! Also I'd like to see the footage of Johanna rolling her eyes as they brought out the reaping bowl with just her name in it. It also means Johanna has known for months that she is going back to the Arena. I wonder how she handled it compared to Katniss?

After the anthem, they show President Snow drawing the envelope for the second Quarter Quell. He looks younger but just as repellent.

So Snow definitely moved up from Gamemaker to President by 50. But Finnick says he was a "young man" when he rose to power so I am thinking he became President around 25. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

[deadmegumi]

sorry hi if we’re talking about this i need to know what your thoughts on ca: civil war are… (love, a civil war plot hater)

TIME TO DEFEND A MARVEL MOVIE ON MAIN SORRY EVERYONE. Well I think it's the last time any marvel movie presents any sort of interesting conflict- in the mcu man v man is always better than the various monster/alien stuff unless they're done very well, which they are. not- as well as the last time marvel prioritized plot and tension > trying to make the audience laugh. I understand being annoyed with the sokovia accords plot- on some level it IS stupid and pointless and I do think you have to turn part of your brain off while watching bc otherwise both arguments are full of holes, but it's still interesting to me because it's just. So much more self reflective than any other marvel movie I guess? <- guy who loves when fake guys are forced to take responsibility for their actions and it hurts really bad. I'v been #teamcap since day one but both sides have points that are not necessarily right or smart, but introspective enough to make you interested in the argument. It's rare that interpersonal conflict like this has space to breathe in big huge spectacle movies like this so I enjoy it. Sorry for this lapse in judgement everyone. Also I know everyone has made fun of the airport fight for being silly and it IS but I like mcu battles that are goofy fisticuffs + yelling at your buddy while your other buddy puts you in a headlock much more than like. Throwing a car at an alien. Its fun for me. Ok wow that was a lot of words in service of the marvel cinematic universe im gonna have to like scrub bathroom floors with a toothbrush as penance.

Other stuff:

- as much as I hate to admit it the russo brothers know how to direct action and it makes it enjoyable purely on that level; the chase scene w bucky steve and t'challa + the fight after zemo rebrainwashed Bucky + the airport fight (😔 sorry I know) have some great sequences that unfortunately I really like.

- Zemo is a great villain, extremely common daniel brühl slay. The last confrontation with him and t'challa is great

- rip chadwick boseman last good actor in the mcu. He's so fucking good in this like if I was any other person in the cast I would've left the set in shame

- again: last time the jokes are mostly funny and dont overwhelm the emotional impact of the conflict. The bucky and sam bits will ALWAYS get me

- final confrontation. #1: GO BUCKY!!!! I will never not have a ball on this bitch watching that recording... #2: good god I love watching my best friends steve and bucky go sicko mode. GET his ASS. I dont really hate tony but its just fun

- ok. And I know im biased as a stucky 4lyfer. But. #1 your pal your buddy your BUCKY is like burned into my brain. #2 he literally. he literally. he gave up the shield for him!!! he gave up his relationships with half the team for him!!! he gave up his status and power and became an international criminal for him. HE GAVE UP THE SHIELD FOR HIM. Its just an insane movie for stevebucky and I cannot help but admire it for that.

Goobyebye sorry for this. I am allowed one major lapse in judgement per week and this is it

[yoroiis]

" And! I think one little firecracker should add up the scores! You might've won the last time we fought, but you know I've got the better record in between us. Just like I also know you've been on the losing end of my sights more than I've been pinned under that blade of yours. Tell me I'm wrong! "

She couldn't and Childe was confident of that that! Kag might've been an amazing sparring partner. He'd even admit she'd caught him off guard more than once in their fights, and if she would've been someone actually set on killing him, could've easily had his head by now. She really was the real deal when it came to ferocious and worthy battle opponents.

But all her playful teasing and malicious grins would only be considered another challenge here, too, and he'd dish it right back! First, with a lighthearted nip back at kiss she'd just tried to use against him like bait.

" Are you so sure you'd win again though? I've learned a lot since we fought last. So if you say 'yes' this time, you're gonna have your hands completely full and then some before you even realize what you agreed too! "

A brow shot up at his teases. Of course he'd turn her words against her, but in her defense, she'd only said as much between taking care of their twin daughters and starting to feel the weight of her newest pregnancy! With two crying kids in the middle of the night and another on the way already draining her energy more than she'd have liked, it was a note that'd just slipped out - And now, she caught herself absolutely regretting it, pulling a hand back over his shoulder to shove into his face with a playful grin.

"Oh, shove it! You remember who won our last fight? Pretty damn sure it wasn't me pinned to the floor with a blade to my damn throat-" Two could play at this game, of course, and there was nothing that could hold her back in her own teases - Even if her 'tease' was more of a reminder she could still keep up just as well as he could, exhaustion and all. If he wanted to rile her up, she could very much return the favor without issue! "Or should I remind you of who had you pinned on your back, harbinger~? You wanna run that shit by me again~?"

Her. It'd been her to win the last fight, and when she lifted her hand from his face in favor of running her fingers through her husband's hair, it was a smug turn to her grin that'd greet him. Winning was rarely something to brag about, especially with how often the title of 'victor' changed hands between them, yet she couldn't help herself this time, leaning in close to nip at his lower lip. "You just aiming for me to make the deal sweeter? 'Cause I can, y'know. Don't tempt me, Aj... Or you might just pout when I win again."

[chaotic-beautiful]

Random rambling on Porsche

I didn't feel for a second that his character is being extra or OOC with his 1st episode version. I mean , this is the same guy who snatched a watch from the hands of powerful ( possibly crime related ) man and later simply yeeted out of the boat , knowing full well they can shoot him from behind or spit Kinn in the face while being defenselessly tied up to a chair.

He believes in living dangerously , carefree. It's his character trait. That's who he is. That's what sets him apart. If he was orderly and disciplined like the rest, falling into the line easily, I don't think Kinn would ever have even noticed him, no matter how hot he is . After all, with Kinn's power and money , he probably has a collection of catalogs or something or pretty boys doing tours of his bed room. Porsche being the chaotic disaster and fearlessly upstart is kind of adorable for him and Kinn can never ignore him when he's around.

Porsche's behavior is what I call a coping mechanism. He must be feeling claustrophobic to be put on a place amongst a group of robotic ruthless hostile individuals who are keen on bullying him at every turn of the way , where he couldn't even contact his friends or brother to unwind , it's just a complete drastic change of lifestyle and life itself . Yes , he chose this life because of their circumstances. But he only signed up for being bodyguard , not for every single private aspect of his life being controlled and choked out . No going out, phone conversation recorded . Heck, I was feeling claustrophobic! What kind of people survive and thrive in a place like that ?? I almost wanted Porsche to just quit then remembered he can't. And I'm pretty sure he can't go back to his old bar tending job either because Kinn is a partner now , remember ?? So, he'd basically forced with only this option out. It's but natural that he'd flail a bit. 

And it's not like his luck is being very friendly with him either. Yes , certain things could have been avoided with tact and a slight upgrade of common sense but really some were just shitty luck. One thing leading to another .

As in the kitchen one. He was having a mild breakdown ( a completely legit one at that , a lesser man would've pissed his pants , but he is really tough ) .Poor guy was just wanting to have a quite moment of smoke ( in the kitchen that's never a good idea but his brain was kind of in shambles after literally having a bullet fly off 1/2 inch above his head ) and then the maid came and he'd make do in haste and that's just shitty luck that the 1st bottle of clear looking liquid he grabbed turned out to be of alcohol rather than water. And the alcohol thing was the same, he shouldn't have gotten drunk on the job. But he didn't really take it seriously how often and how brutal the ambushes on Kinn's life are. He probably thought his army of guards are like his army of cars , mainly to show off money and power .

Also, he probably should've been careful before having a fight with Macau, but really he was being such a little shit I wanted to slap the teeth out of M's jaw too. And he's completely used to the important members of the family always surrounded and accompanied by big fancy henchmen , so he didn't think one of them would be loitering around alone.

Truly the man is having a terrible, horrible, no good very bad first day,  is all. 

[cherrycheridarling]

'someday maybe' | t.h.

tom holland x singer!reader

warnings: one swear? fluff and angst? kisses

summary: you're so close to finishing your second album when your manager pushes the deadline, your ex tom helps you write the final track.

{listen to someday by michael bublè and meghan trainor (if you want)}

wc: 2.1k

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey,"

"Yes, yes. I know. You are not being a very helpful manager right now, Noelle." you spoke to your phone as you paced around the living room, "Okay. I'll get working on it. Bye." you huffed and threw your phone against the couch.

Your album was due to be released in two months and you needed one more song to tie it all together. Your manager, Noelle, was pushing you to finish the song so she could start the promo of the album.

You were incredibly grateful for your career, but the pressure weighed down on you everyday. Never ending.

With a final groan you picked up your acoustic guitar and sat on the couch. Picking at the strings, trying to find a melody. You hit record on your voice memo app before strumming away.

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey, we can be in love once more. 'Till then I won't give my love away. Darling, I'm forever only yours." you sang softly.

You and Tom had a joyous relationship. A love that only ever existed in movies and fairytales. The type of love story that gets told for generations and onwards. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Your breakup was calm, serene and clean. A mutual agreement as if your whole relationship had been a business deal. There were no loose ends or jealous passive aggressive remarks made. Just maturity and respect for one another.

Your pinky still held the promise ring he gave you. A token of appreciation. A reassurance that he'd always be there for you. And he lived up to his word.

Tom walked in and sat across from you, startling you, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Whatcha writing?"

"Need a final song for the album. Sorry for showing up unannounced. I just get better inspiration here, with all the memories, you know?" you timidly looked back down at the guitar.

Tom nodded, "No need to apologize. We gave you a spare key for a reason."

You couldn't stop yourself from spilling the words from your lips, "That was when we were together."

You could hear the awkward silence start to fill the room before he spoke again, "Still our best friend, Y/L/N."

The pain that crossed your features was instant. Being addressed by your last name felt like a stab to the gut. Especially by Tom.

You nodded before playing again, "Can I help you write it?" Tom asked as he sat next to you.

"Dancer, gymnast, actor and now songwriter. How many hidden talents have you got, Holland?" you teased making him laugh.

He shrugged with a smile, "It's kind of like writing a poem, right?"

You pondered on his analogy before slowly nodding, "Yeah, it kind of is. Give it a go."

You began playing the melody and he listened intently for a few moments before singing, "I love seeing you happy. I miss seeing that smile. It's been such a long time. A– Nope. Nope. Nuh-uh. I can't do it." he shook his head aggressively with a loud laugh as you stopped playing.

"No!" you quickly protested, "That was amazing! Don't leave me hanging, c'mon." you nudged him with your shoulder before strumming again.

"Alright, alright." he ran his hands down his face, "And although I don't have you, I know now that I need to?" he paused and gave you a skeptical look before you nodded again, "Somehow make you mine. Mmm."

"Oh, okay. He's giving ad-libs and all. Get it." you nodded as he laughed.

You were so engrossed on Tom actually writing a song with you that you didn't focus on the lyrics he was singing.

"And I won't lie, it's hard seeing you with him 'cause I know he can't hold you like I can." his mood seemed to drop by a thousand as the words left his lips.

"When can we meet this boyfriend of yours?" Harrison flicked your forehead from across the booth.

You, Harrison, Tom and Tuwaine were all sat in the local pub. Pints of beer in front of each of you as loud music and chatting filled your ears.

You shrugged, "He's picking me up, so possibly tonight."

Tuwaine's eyes lit up, "Fina-fucking-lly. I swear you've kept him hidden for years."

"We've only been together for three months, T." you laughed lightly with the group of boys.

And they met him. It wasn't the smoothest of introductions, but an introduction nonetheless.

"Boys, this is Kai. Kai this is Tom, Harrison and Tuwaine." you gestured to the parties as they all shook hands and gave polite greetings.

"So," Harrison started, "What do you do for a living, Kai?"

Kai cleared his throat, "I'm a Senior Resident at Kingston Hospital. Working towards being Head of Pediatrics."

Tuwaine and Harrison both nodded, impressed by his profession. Tom's face remained expressionless as he stared at Kai with cold eyes.

"Do you have any siblings, Kai? Any psycho ex-girlfriends? Any wacky cousins?" Tuwaine joked making everyone laugh. "'Cause Y/N has a lot of wacky cousins."

"We could be in love once more,"

"Hey!" you gasped with a laugh.

Kai pulled you closer to him as he laughed, "No, no wacky cousins or psycho exes, but I do have an older sister and a younger brother."

This game of ask and answer continued on for a few more minutes. Tom didn't say a word, just sipped his beer and burned holes into Kai with his eyes. If looks could kill, Kai would be six feet under.

Kai was a sweetheart, but you two ended ages ago. His work got too much for him and your job had you touring and travelling every second.

You picked up after him with the chorus before diving into your own verse, "I remember that love song. I sang every word wrong, but you didn't mind, no, no."

"I love the things you do. It's how you do the things you love. Well it's not a love song, not a love song. I love the way you get me, but correct me if I'm wrong. This is not a love song, not a love song!" Tom belted the 'Austin & Ally' song from the top of his lungs.

"Your turn!" he pointed the pretend mic in your direction.

You laughed, not knowing any of the lyrics, but still wanting to participate, "I love that you not a licket! And you own a watch and chicken! We got a car!" you sang with full confidence, making Tom burst with laughter.

"Yes! Sing it, darling!" he cheered you on, "Absolutely butchering the lyrics, but sing it!"

"Being stuck inside a car. If it's not a doe, don't kiss it! I can't hear a missing, when there's a shoe inside the ceiling! If you really need to fart, you can lunch on a pig farm! Love song! Love song!" you couldn't even hear the song in the background, your voice overpowering it.

Tom was hunched over from laughing before he came back up and planted a soft kiss on your lips, "You are one hundred percent ridiculous and I love it."

You brought yourself back to reality and sang again, "And I'll admit that I miss you, but only if you do. 'Cause you know that I'm shy. And I can't lie, it's hard seeing you with her. 'Cause I know she can't love you like I can."

Tom's eyes met yours as the words fell from your gentle lips. His mouth was slightly agape as you continued to strum.

"You are absolute rubbish. Imagine coming in eighth. Embarassing." you laughed as you crushed Harrison in a game of Mario Kart.

He shoved you with his shoulder, "You're such a try ha—"

"—It's always the same, Tom! How can I trust you? You follow gorgeous models on Instagram and expect me to trust you?" Nadia's voice cut Harrison's words off.

You looked at him with wide eyes, his expression matching yours.

"Those women that I follow have been my friends for ages. Who I follow on a stupid app shouldn't effect how much you trust me."

You paused the game, cutting off the theme song, "How long have they been fighting like this?"

Harrison sighed, a long groan following, "A few weeks. I think it started when she saw that he liked your Instagram picture?"

You stammered, "M-my post? She got mad about my post?"

Harrison nodded before opening his mouth to speak, but Nadia cut him off again, "And she practically lives here! How do you think it makes me feel seeing my boyfriend play house with a superstar?!"

"Aw, a superstar? I'm flattered." you joked making Harrison stifle a laugh.

"I've been friends with Y/N since we were in nappies!"

"I can't be with you if you're going to be friends with her."

Your laughter abruptly died at her words. Harrison stiffened beside you.

"Y-you can't be serious. You can't make me choose between you and her."

"Why? Because you're gonna choose her?" you could hear her voice crack.

"I-" Tom couldn't make out a sentence for a few moments, "Yeah. I'm gonna choose her."

Your heart fell from it's place, stopping at your feet. Harrison brought a hand to his mouth, "H-he chose you. He chose you!" he whisper shouted before you shushed him.

"Of course. I don't know why I expected anything different. I think I'll be going now." Nadia's footsteps approached the living room.

You and Harrison scrambled to look as if you weren't eavesdropping on their argument/breakup.

Tom followed close behind her, "I'm sorry. I really am."

She nodded, hand on the doorknob, "I know. Goodbye." she stepped out of the house, slamming the front door shut in the process.

Tom let out a breath of relief before turning to you and Harrison who were staring at the Mario Kart home screen with the infamous tune playing.

"You guys are terrible actors."

"'Till then I won't give my love away,"

"I'm forever only yours." the both of you finished the song in unison.

There was a moment of silence before you reached over and ended the voice recording.

"T-that was really good. You can change what I wrote, I know it isn't as good as anything you would've written, but I tried. And it was actually pretty fun and I never knew how difficult songwriting was un—"

"—Kiss me." you cut Tom's rambling off.

His eyes grew wide, "W-wha—"

"—Kiss me, Holland."

He swallowed, a small smile stretching on his lips, "Thank God."

And with that, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Interlocking like missing puzzle pieces. Moving in sync like waves in the ocean. Soft and sweet, but filled with passion. You could feel his smile against your lips causing you to grin.

His hand came up to pull your face closer into his. Caressing your jaw, fingertips playing with the hairs on the back of your neck. His other hand holding your hip in a tight grip. Pressing the pads of his digits into your flesh, scared that you might slip through his fingers again.

One of your hands was pressed flat against his chest. Steadying yourself, the heat of the kiss threatening to throw you off of your axis. Your other hand tangled itself into Tom's curls. Pulling and tugging lightly causing small groans to fall from Tom's lips. Your fingernails scratching his scalp. Pulling him impossibly closer to you.

"I want my ten pounds." Harrison's voice snapped you and Tom out of your make out session.

Him and Tuwaine stood in the doorway, shit eating grins on their faces.

Tuwaine laughed before placing a ten pound note in Harrison's palm, "You guys couldn't have waited until next month to get back together?"

"You two were betting on us?" Tom laughed at his mates who nodded.

You shook your head with a smile, "Absolute idiots, all of you."

Harrison let out a happy sigh and pocketed the money, "Today was a good day. Had a sick ass shoot. Got ten pounds. And my best friends are finally together again." he waltzed into the kitchen with Tuwaine, leaving you and Tom alone again.

Tom's shy expression met your gleeful one before he spoke, "Someday came a lot sooner than expected, huh?" he chuckled.

You nodded with a laugh, "It certainly did and I am not complaining."

He sent you a wide grin before cupping your face and connecting your lips to his again.

"Darling, I'm forever only yours."

[big-tiddie-squad]

I did it again.... 😶🤫

The Tease in the Recording Studio

"Try it again, but more seductive. We're going for a sexy vibe for this song, you have to make them feel like YOU want THEM." The producer in charge of the recordings offers. "You've got this, the fans already want you. You just need to give a little extra back to them."

Bangchan runs his hands through his hair. He's been singing the same part over and over, bringing forth his most charismatic personality, but Ms. Park says it's not enough after every recording. "Alright," he sighs, "let's try it again." He puts the headphone back up to his ear but you can see he's tired and confused on what she wants from him now.

"No problem, have a quick drink and we'll roll it back and start at the beginning again." The woman watches Chan through the glass studiously, then turns to you to apologize, "I'm sorry we're taking so long Ms. Y/L/N, but the job isn't done until it's perfect. I know you've been waiting here awhile but I appreciate you being patient with us. It shouldn't take much longer."

You always liked this recording producer. She was brilliant at her job and she's also very sweet and always allowed you to sit in while recording when you got bored of waiting at home. "It's fine! I understand completely. Can I say something to him before you start again though?" You ask.

"Words of encouragement are always welcome. Go ahead!" She shows you what to press to speak to him. You wet your lips and speak clearly through the small mic. "Channie?" He straightens and smiles at your pet name before replying right away, "Its okay if you wanna wait at home sweetheart, I know it's taking me a bit to get this right but I'll be home at some point tonight, you don't have to wait for me."

"What-? I'm not going anywhere," you laugh, "I just wanted to let you know that you can do absolutely do this, I know you're tired but I also know that you've got this!! Just know I'm here to support you!" You offer up a cheesy grin and wink at him causing him to laugh as well.

"Of course I do. I'm sexy after all right? Singing seductively should come easy to me if I don't think too hard." His eyes brighten and he puts his headphones on before giving his producer a thumbs up to signal he's ready.

"Here we go again!" She says cheerfully, as you sit down on the couch to watch your boyfriend make magic happen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A frustrated growl leaves Chan as Ms. Park tells him to take a break. It's been over an hour and he's made no progress. He chugs his water bottle and slams it down. You don't typically see him this angry and maybe it's caused by sitting here for so long but... it's kind of hot. He only gets aggressive when you guys are intimate, becoming a whole other person it seems. You get up to go eat something with him while you all take a break.

You both sit in the small break room together as you watch him eat the small sandwich you brought him from home hours ago.

"I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong?" He complains, furiously taking a bite. "How can I not have given off the right vibe by now?" He licks his lips and you're thighs close on their own, stirring up memories of what the two of you did last night. His tongue seemed to have a map of your pussy memorized. Oh how he took you on a mind altering trip. Bending you to his will, literally.

He notices you're staring into the distance and waves a hand in front of your face, "Y/N? You okay? Maybe you should go home and go to sleep now, it's already 11:18 at night." He reaches down and puts his hand on your knee, you'd worn a cute black skirt that comes about halfway up your thighs. Thanks to his touch alone, an immediate urge woke in you and caused you to almost jolt from the contact. Apparently, your poker face needs some practice because Chan picked up on it almost instantly. His eyes dilate a bit as he watches you take your lower lip into your mouth and your breath hitches.

"Oh princess..." he coos at you teasingly, "does my little love need some special attention?" He slides his hand up from your knee to your thigh and begins to stand up and lean in slowly, almost like a predator stalking his prey. "Well, do you?" Every nerve in your body is firing off and your brain is giving you a fight or flight command, but that's what he wants right? He wants you to feel like prey, like you need to run. You wonder if you don't back off... if you were a bit disobedient, maybe this time you could take charge...how would he react?

Wouldn't hurt to find out right?

"Why does it matter? It's not like we have any time for you to do anything about it." You smirk at him, folding your arms and leaning back. His face goes slack for about .5 seconds before his eyes turns a whole new shade of brown. So dark you could be lost in them forever. "Excuse me-" he begins, teeth gritted, just as the door opens to reveal a newly energized producer.

"LETS GO PARTY PEOPLE! We need to get this done and I feel like this next take is gonna be perfect!" She's comes and goes like a hurricane leading the way to the recording room, with you and Bangchan following behind.

Once you all get to there, Chan immediately goes into the small sound proof portion to begin. However, his eyes continue to flit to you, and you can tell he's a little annoyed with being interrupted in the break room. Especially after your last comment.

Ms. Park tells him he's definitely giving off the right kind of energy atm and to keep his head space where it's currently at for the song.

And then you have a wonderful idea. Seriously, you should be an evil temptress. He nods at her but doesn't take his eyes off you for long as he starts singing. Perfect. You look at the back of his Ms. Park's head making sure she's focused on what she's doing. Before swiping your tongue slowly and suggestively over your lips, making full eye contact with Chan. He stumbles over his words, and Ms. Park sighs and asks him to start over, jokingly saying that that was just a warm up.

You smirk it feels nice to have control especially when he isn't able to do anything about it. You're almost positive that this will come back to bite you in the ass but.... it's kind of fun. So you continue. You lean forward and dig through your purse, fishing out a sucker, but as you do you begin letting your breasts tumble out as much as possible. His voice has a slight subtle change to it. And the producer claps her hands excitedly. So far so good.

You sit up and unwrap the sucker placing it in your mouth as you open your legs widely before crossing them, knowingly giving Chan a peep show. His voice is radiating through your body now causing a deep aching in your cunt. Damn was this what Ms. Park was wanting from him. You didn't know how you felt about other girls receiving this special type of feeling from him. A small sting of jealousy courses through you and though you know how deeply you've both fallen for each other. It's just a song, you tell yourself.

You decide to keep taunting him, and you finally run your tongue of over the sucker. You twist it against your lips before sucking it into your mouth, cheeks hollowing as you slowly pull it back out of your mouth smiling at him. His eyes haven't left you this whole time, and the dangerous and almost feral look he gave you was making you clench at nothing. Your pussy was already slick causing your panties to grow wet with your need. You didn't realize how much you were testing him.

He was already harder than hell but thankfully Ms. Park couldn't tell with his sweats and baggy hoodie on. He didn't know where you got this cocky and teasing attitude from but he couldn't wait to take you home and fuck it out of you. You'd never purposfully been this much of a tease before and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. He takes a breath before going into his solo part in the song and in that exact moment, he knew you were going to be punished tonight.

You'd waited for his part to come up and just before it did you spread your legs to show off your soaking panties slowly slipping a hand down over yourself and rubbing gently. You were so caught up on teasing him you hadn't realized how sensitive you'd gotten. The moment you pressed onto your clit you're mouth opened a bit and you wiggle slightly at the stimulation.

And BOY does Chan notice, his hips jerk forward slightly. Chan watches as your legs close tightly around your wandering fingers, wanting so badly to to replace your fingers with his own. He's in the clear now. Finishing the song with a lusty, almost dangerous note as he sees you bring your fingers up to your lips and suck your own juices off of them with a minx-like grin. You pull your skirt back into place and pop the sucker back into your mouth.

"THAT WAS IT! THAT WAS AMAZING! It's exactly what we needed! We are DONE!" Ms. Park yells whilst jumping up and down. She turns to you and thanks you for your support. "I don't know WHAT you did on lunch to help him get the right mood but whatever it was we might have to have you in here more often!" She laughs. You all gather your stuff and part ways once you get out of the building.

Chan wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you in tightly before leaning down, voice rumbling in your ear, "you have awakened a whole new side of me I hope you know that."

You look up at him with the biggest most innocent grin you can muster, the friction of your thighs rubbing together and the meaning behind his words and tone setting your stomach alight with a monstrous sexual hunger. The walk home was difficult for many reasons and at least one of them was because Chan had slipped his hand under your top, fingers brushing your bare skin and adding to the discord of tingles you already had.

"Who would've known you could be such a brat," he says as you both make it to your apartment. He opens the door and let's you walk in first slapping you on the ass and causing you to squeak out in surprise. He enters behind you and locks the door before quickly grabbing your hand and pinning you against the wall. Your lips meet and you can taste his need, the pure desire to ruin you tonight. His hand sneaks into your skirt and panties feeling how wet you were for him. You moan at the contact, your body almost crumbling in on yourself. "Chan" you manage say. "Babygirl- you have a three second head start." He tells you voice coated with a dominant and feral tone as he removes his hand from your warm sheath and licks his fingers clean. "1.......2...." and before he could get to three you bolt for the bedroom, the immense need to run taking over. You haven't even made it 5 feet away before you hear him say three. Before his foot steps are sounding behind you. And all you can think is.

It's going to be a long night.

[gothwives]

"oh, you don't think so? you don't think it takes work to perform every night for five fucking months, dancing in heels and singing live for a full hour? all while recording, doing press, and recording content for my socials off an average of three hours of sleep? you think i just wake up and get handed a fat stack of hundreds?" furthering her music career had been the hardest, most physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing endeavor she'd ever taken on, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. this was what she was born to do, and she wasn't about to sit back and let some jealous asshole downplay all the struggle she'd put in. "do you want me to apologize for who my parents are? i can't help that i was born with money, just like you can't help being born a worthless piece of dirt!" she'd never say it, but petra had always been wildly impressed by joey. that he was able to pick himself up and keep going after the hand he'd been dealt, constantly striving to better himself was incredible to witness. "don't act like you wouldn't crumble without having me around to use as a punching bag!" another accusation that was clearly more applicable to her than it was to him. "you need someone to blame for how shit your life is going, and you picked me." leaving him permanently would've crushed the both of them, so that was out of the question. for all their vicious fights and toxicity, she needed him around to keep her grounded. "you're so fucking full of shit, joey! you don't know anything about me, you don't know what i've been through, you have no fucking clue..." an accusatory finger pointed his way, closing the space between them to jab him in the chest. her privilege had clearly aided in her success, but that didn't mean her upbringing had been easy— or healthy, in any way. "quit fucking picking at me just because you're ashamed of how fucking pitiful your life is! that's not my fault."

" blood, sweat, and tears? " his SCOFF echoed, following with a laugh that could put the joker to shame. " you're fucking joking right ? you wouldn't know what it meant to actually work for something, even if it bit you on your pretty little ass. " he was worked up, ready to hit as low as she could , blow for blow as the insults hurled between the two. " was that supposed to hurt my feelings ? sorry i can't take anyone seriously who get's everything handed to them. " a dismissive wave, aware of their class differences, yet he wasn't sure he could ever leave. despite owning his own food truck, a step in the right direction to eventually owning a restaurant all she saw him as was a fry cook. he couldn't lie... that one hurt. there was no point in correcting her, she wouldn't listen anyways. " then leave petra! if im that god damn embarrassing, why are you here? no one else out there to fuck besides a greasy fry cook? " despite his words he didn't want her to. they fought hard, but loved harder, no matter how fucked up it was. " maybe you'd see i actually am making something of myself, but of course your head is too far up your own ass to see that. " statistically he shouldn't have made it past the age of 21 with his up bringing, yet here he was. " if you spent as much time worrying about your actual music and lyrics, as you do your image maybe mommy and daddy wouldn't have to buy your way to the top. " one last jab to continue the fight.

[thedumbdeputy]

If you’re taking the yearning requests, may I have “just let me look at you for a little bit.” for Alex and Jacob 💕🥺

Thank you so much for requesting!! I haven't done any writing in a long time so this is a nice start <3 Also may have gotten a little out of hand

Something Undeniable

Words: 1K

Warnings: Suggestive Content (Not explicit though)

'Another day in sunny Hope County..' Alex thought to herself. If only she had a chance to enjoy it. She spent some of her time terrorizing Faith's region before going to John's again. She felt terrible for the poor girl. She does, but Faith is so stubborn. Even before joining the cult, she always has been when Alex and Tracey knew her. And John, oh God, and John. Ever since he and Alex's sister had wedded, it's like nothing can stop him. Each day he seems to get bolder.

'I guess the song fits, and it doesn't help how catchy it is,' She thought as she started humming the tune to herself before being interrupted by crackling on her walkie. Not long after it starts, a low, gruff voice breaks the silence between the two frequencies.

"Alex, paying a visit, I see.." How the hell did he already know? She just crossed the line to the Whitetail Mountains last night. Yeah, maybe a dumb idea; Jacob will always be more dangerous than his younger brothers. Better looking too, but she won't ever tell him that part.

"So...you’ve spotted me already, impressive Jacob. I think that's a new record," She replies in a bit of a snarky tone, maybe a little more daring than she should be right now.

"Oh no, I knew you were here last night. I just didn't have time to go out and getcha."

"Well, you're out now; why not come and get me?"

"I already am...see you soon." She felt a wave of dread fall over her, like every time she's been marked by him. It felt intense this time; it was never hard to fend off his soldiers. Even the chosen who should've been the strongest. But Jacob? She isn't strong enough to fight off a man like him, and a part of her doesn't even want to. She'll be dead soon enough. She still tried running, though, and running and running, but there was no point. Jacob knew each forest, all the cracks, rivers, every twist and turn, all the highest and lowest points of his mountains.

She hoped, though. Maybe she somehow knew them better. She was wrong, though; when looking behind her, she runs into something in front of her. Something far more powerful than her. "Shit.."

"Well, gee pup, if I knew you were this excited, I would've grabbed you earlier." He stood tall and unwaning over her. He could easily be mistaken as a tree from her spot on the forest floor.

"Jacob...I uh wasn't-" ‘Expecting him? Of course, you were Alex, just maybe not so soon.’ He cuts her thoughts off, crouching down to her level and grabbing her shirt collar.

"What a pretty girl, you'd look good like this under...different circumstances.."

She gritted her teeth and clenched her legs. She knew what he had meant, and she hated herself for it. But before she could say a word, he had a gun up to her side.

"Shame I have to do this now." The last thing she heard before a shot and searing pain rippled throughout her left side. Followed by a feeling of bliss and drowsiness, and she slipped away.

* Jacob’s Bunker *

"Awwe fuck man...what the hell. Don't you have other ways of doing this besides shooting me?" Alex wakes up, already full of fire and spite.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you, pup?” Jacob replies with his back turned. He was messing with something on the table in front of him. The room they were in was tiny, maybe not much bigger than her room back at home. With the cold fluorescent lighting bothering her eyes, she hangs her head low with her eyes shut just for a moment.

“Sure am…maybe in more ways than one. Besides that, why the hell do you have me here? This isn’t the cage you always like to put me in.”

“Well, pup, you see. Your whitetail buddies have been making a mess of my operation here. I need more information before attacking them again, and well…you’re the closest I’ve got. You have the most information as well.” She looks back up at him, trying to see what he’s working on but to no avail. She just stares at his broad shoulders, unholy thoughts racing through her head of how easily he could pick her up. A sudden sigh from Jacob breaks the silence as he picks up what he was messing with. He turns to face Alexandria and slowly walks over to her; she realizes what he has. It looks to be some kind of shock collar.

“And what do you plan on doing with that?”

“Patience, you’ll see….” He carefully slips and clips it onto her neck. Alex could feel her heart pounding as her breath stuttered, feeling his large rough hands rubbing around her throat.

“I- Jacob, please, stop….”

“What is it? Are you nervous? Think you aren’t strong enough, dep?”

“No, just…let me look at you for a little bit. Please.” She lowered her head to look at him, holding as still as possible, almost like it would hurt if she didn’t. Her face grew hotter by the second, and she started to feel sick to her stomach. There was a pause between them. She couldn’t pinpoint his emotion, which scared her. He just stood there, looking down at either his feet or hers; she didn’t know because she was doing the same. As he started to walk towards her again, she closed her eyes and looked away out of fear of what he’d do. His hand grabbed her softly by the jaw as he forced her face in his direction. “Look at me.”

[george-fabian-weasley]

the mad hatter — g. w.(chapter 3)

Summary: You had found clear evidence that showed George as The Mad Hatter. And it had ruined you more than you thought.

Words: 2,771 words

Warnings: TW death, TW murder, TW poisoning, TW injuries, thriller, angst, fem!reader, husband!george, dad!george, serialkiller!george, sadism, bickering, mentions of sharp objects,

Disclaimer: I'm sorry for the 3 hours of delay, guys! My Internet wasn't working that well lately! Anyway, here's chapter 3! Prepare for some tissues, because this is pretty angsty. Reblogs and Comments are Highly Appreciated!

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“... Recorders?”

Inside the big drawer of George’s, were neatly placed recorders. You were confused, what the hell was he doing with these recorders in the first place?

Each of those recorders was labeled with initials you didn’t understand, along with them were numbers, six numbers underneath the letters. You reached for one, the top of the stack.

‘D. B.’

‘120121’

“DB…? What’s DB?” You muttered to yourself, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. You tried to wreck your mind, thinking hard. There was a small voice in your mind, telling you the answer. Slowly it got louder and louder and louder until it’s the only thing you heard.

‘David Bush. 12th January 2021.’

The first victim of The Mad Hatter.

Without you knowing it, your fingers had grasped the recorder and pressed it to play. For the first few seconds, you only heard the static noises of the wheels inside the recorder turning.

“Date. 12th January. Subject. David Bush.”

It was George. This is his voice. But at the same time, it’s not. The voice you knew was gentle, understanding, and loving. This voice, however… was rough, deep and… and murderous.

George was breathing heavily on the tape as if he had exercised after a long while. You could hear him trying to regulate his breathings with the deep breaths he made. “I… I’ve stopped doing this for a while. It was a perfect shame that I did,” George huffed out a breath that you assumed a smile rose on his lips.

“Because I’ve forgotten how thrilling it was.”

It was an understatement; the fact that goosebumps ran up your spine heavily as you heard him. What… What was he talking about? What is the thrill? Please, please please, don’t let it be what’s in your mind. Please—

“Subject was held at knifepoint when I gave him those lovely macarons I bought from the newly opened bakery. Only I’ve put my own special ingredient in, just for him,” George’s voice cut your train of thoughts off. The way he held his words was delicate, like a piece of paper shaped into a knife kind of delicate. You could hear from his voice that he was smiling, he was smiling big.

You could imagine him at that moment, on the 12th of January, sitting in his workspace holding the recorder in his hand and let out all those words… purposely recorded.

“I’ve only tried my luck when I gave him those, and it seems my luck has not yet run out. Because a few moments later, he couldn’t breathe on his own. He couldn’t breathe, and as I watched him fight for a huff of air, excitement bubbles inside of me. The thrill, the nicotine of it all was, exhilarating. Addicting. I didn’t know why I stopped doing this in the first place.”

You felt like throwing up. He didn’t have to say what he was doing, or what was the special ingredient. Everything clicked in perfectly. Way too perfectly.

It’s him. George is The Mad Hatter.

You took a shaky deep breath, trying to digest everything. The Mad Hatter… was your own husband. The man that you have wed. The man that you have born a child with. The man that you’re in love with. You felt your heart ramming up your chest, the palpitations were fast and so unnatural, you felt like you would have a heart attack if it continued for a few minutes. You ran a hand through your hair, suddenly feeling chills on your body, it was cold in here.

“I did mess up though,” His words caused you to look up to the recorder. “I brought with me a thermos of tea, in case I was feeling cold. And I did, but I accidentally spilled some of them on his hands.”

“Thinking back about it, it wasn’t a mess up at all,” He started to chuckle, “Because as soon as it made contact with his hands, the subject let out this hoarse, strained scream. And it was… It was nothing I’ve ever heard before.”

“It was a masterpiece.”

You pressed the stop button on the recorder. You literally couldn’t bear to hear another word coming out of the recorder. Who is he? Who is your husband? Do you really know him? Or do you only know the front that he used in front of you for the past 7 years?

Your eyes snapped back to the content of the drawer. You rummaged through them all, the initials and the numbers. All of them aligned with the names of the victims and the dates they had been murdered.

David Bush. Peter Pettigrew. Severus Snape. Barty Crouch Jr. Spencer Gillard. Albus Dumbledore. Ralph Wilkins. Every single one of them, and their own recorders of confessions. All victims of The Mad Hatter. Victims of George Weasley.

And then you heard the front door open.

“We’re home!” Rafael’s cheerful voice had caught you off guard. You glanced at the watch on your wrist in haste, it was only 3:30 pm, they weren’t supposed to be back until 5. You felt fear running through your bones. What if George caught you snooping around? What if he's mad at you?

Wait. No. Why would you be scared? You’re not the murderer here, he is.

“Y/N, love? Are you home? We saw your shoes at the front of the house,” George’s voice, different from the one you had listened to in the recorder, had disgusted you in many ways you couldn't have imagined. You would've never thought his voice, which you loved so much before, could bring so much anger and hatred in you. But here we are.

Hearing him say your name, with love after, was he really honest? Or was he just lying, like he always does for the past 7 years? Hearing him saying it was repulsive, dirty, and full of hate.

He’s fooling with you. How dare he.

You stormed out of George’s workroom, surprising the two of them. “Mumma— '' Rafa's words were cut off when you grabbed his wrist, “Rafa, baby, I need you to be in your room for a minute alright? Mumma’s talking with Papa.”

“B-But— ” He was cut off again when you pushed him into his room and slammed the door shut. You could hear your son slamming his arms on the door, wailing to get out already.

George looked at you in confusion, “Darling, what— ” “Don’t call me darling. Or love, or honey or literally anything else!” You snapped, seething your next words, “It disgusts me.”

“What are you talking about?” George tried to get close to you, he tried to hold your hand but you shrugged it off harshly, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me.”

“Mumma! Let me out!!!” Rafael’s screams and wails had your husband’s attention, “Let him out of his room, Y/N,” he said seriously. You chuckled with no humor, “No, no. I’m not letting you near him again.” You narrowed your eyes at him, watching his furrowing his eyebrows.

“He’s my son!” George’s voice started to rise. You clenched your jaw, “He’s mine too! And I have the right to protect him from a serial killer!”

“You’re scaring him— wait what?” George looked at you with a frown. You shook your head as you scoffed, amused by his faux innocence, “You can’t fool me, George. Not anymore.”

“Papa! Papa, help me!” Rafael sobbed from the other side of the door. You watched as the hard look on George softened at the voice of your son. You were struggling as well, you have never heard him sounded so scared and terrified, and it was because of you.

But you had to protect him.

"Let him out, Y/N," George voiced out trembling. You took a shaky breath, "I will, as soon as I put you into cuffs. Turn around."

"What?" "I said turn around!"

"Rafa, baby, please hang on for a minute okay? Mumma's letting you out soon, can you stop crying for me?" You called out to your son. You heard the little sniffles, "Mumma, I'm scared…"

You heard your heart break into pieces, "I know baby, I'm so sorry, but just a little longer okay? Can you be a big boy for me?" You asked, and it was silent before Rafael let out a small, strained 'okay'.

"Y/N, please," George voiced out, "Let him out. He's scared out of his mind!" "I'm scared too, George! I'm scared too!" You cried out loud, feeling tears threatening to come out. You weren't sure if those were tears of fear or betrayal.

“Of what?!” “Of you.”

You walked towards him and pushed George to the wall, his back facing you. "Wha— hey!" he complained. "George Weasley," You spat out, gripping the handcuffs on your pockets and strained him with all your will to not let him move, "You're under arrest for the first-degree murder of 7 people. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

You purposely tightened the handcuffs, causing him to groan in pain. You neared your mouth to his ear, pushing his body against the wall harder.

"Teatime is over, you sick bastard."

"Mumma, why is Uncle Blaise here? And who are these people in our home?" Rafael asked you in your arms. You sighed as you laid down on the couch, hugging your son tight. "These people are going to check our home, baby. They're good people, don't worry." You sighed out, playing with his hair.

A moment later, George passed by the two of you as he was escorted by a few police officers out of your house. He was handcuffed. "Papa?" Rafael rose, calling his Papa. George looked up and saw him, and he smiled, "Papa's going to be fine, Rafa!"

"Are they going to hurt Papa? Where are they taking him?" Rafael turned to you, worry etched on his face. You strained a smile, an effort to comfort your son, "Papa will be safe, Rafa. I promise."

"Mumma promise that Papa will be fine? And he'll come back home to us?" His little voice asked, his little pinky finger lifted. You opened your mouth, and closed it back again; speechless. You knew George won't ever step his foot back in here. You wouldn't allow it.

But for the sake of your son's innocence, a fake promise is still a promise. So, hooking together your pinky with his, you whispered, "Pinky promise."

"Mumma's going to the bathroom, okay? Can you stay with Auntie Lav for me?" You asked, and Rafa obediently nodded. You smiled softly, kissing his forehead, "That's my good boy."

As you leave your son with Lavender, the smile on your lips vanishes instantly. You looked left to right, precious belongings of yours ransacked and searched by your fellow police officers for clues and evidence that George may have brought into the house.

Your home, destroyed because of your so-called loving husband.

It was overwhelming; watching your home, the place where you first moved in together, the place where you made love to your husband, the place where Rafa had his first walk on, the place where you called home for 7 years, ruined.

Your life is ruined.

You felt your chest constricting, igniting a sensation of pain inside of you, and you struggled to see, due to tears blocking your vision. You quickly went to the bathroom, slamming the door shut as you leaned your back on the wooden surface.

You placed your hand on your mouth, clasping it down tight, hoping it could muffle the pained sobs coming out of your lips. It was a breakdown you would never wish to happen to anyone else. Your knees felt weak, so you slid down and collapsed on the tiled floor, tears dropping with the soft sound of 'plop' each time.

You remembered the first time you had met George. He was tall and dashing, you met him in his shop he ran with his brother, Fred. He was friendly and kind, showing you around the shop for hours before you asked for his number. You felt a connection towards him that pulled you into him, and you thought he felt the same when he called you later that night.

Was that all a lie?

You remembered the first time you had your date, it was at a park and you held hands as you walked on the trails in the forest of autumn. There were dead leaves everywhere, and you had thought the brownish-red surroundings had made his orange hair pop out more. George was so beautiful during that date, as he smiled at you, as he kissed your forehead, as he kissed your lips with such tenderness.

Was that the truth?

You remembered the first time you had told him you loved him. You were in bed, cuddling in winter because the heater of his house broke down. He was listening to you talking about one of the cases of Izzy Einstein when you stopped and stared into his eyes. He said what's wrong and you said, nothing, it's just that I realized that I love you. He was silent for a while before a soft smile rested on his lips as he spoke, I love you too, my love.

All of those… Do those moments mean nothing to him?

Fuck those early times, because what about your marriage? He proposed! Your child? He wanted kids too! Your life together as a small happy family? He told you he was happy!

Was he lying the whole time? Did he even love Rafa? Did he even like this family he built together with you?

Did he even love you?

Thousands and thousands of questions ran through your head that you didn't even have time to process all. They were bombarding your mind non-stop. It had become so noisy in there, "Shut up," You sobbed, holding your head tightly with your hands. Tears running down your cheeks furiously as you shook your head, a weak attempt of shooing the thoughts away, "Shut up!" You cried again, whimpers coming out of your mouth as you failed to silence the noise in your head.

You felt so many things at once. You couldn't even name a quarter of them. Everything was happening so fast and it's… it's not fair for you. It's not fair for anyone.

Angry. Frustrated. Betrayed. Annoyed. Upset. Disappointed. Disgusted. Repulsed. Responsible. Heartbroken.

And those weren't even half of it. How you wish things wouldn't have changed. How you wished you would've never taken this case in the first place. How you wished you could have your small, happy family back.

How you wish you could turn back time, with the ignorance for the truth.

But you can't. Everything is bare now. Everything is exposed. Your husband on cuffs, your son scared out of his mind, your home ransacked, you broke down in the bathroom, what good did it bring;  solving this case for your family? Nothing.

Not even a promotion can heal the deep wound in this family. And it pained you that things will never be the same again without George.

Before you knew him as a serial killer, he was your husband. He was the father of your child. He was attentive, responsible, loving, caring, gentle, the perfect man for you. The perfect father for Rafa.

He was the love of your life. And he still is.

The tears coming out of your eyes were relentless, they won't stop coming out and you felt exhausted. Emotionally and mentally exhausted. You gasped for air as you cried, hearing the several knocks on the door from Blaise, "Y/N, open the door, please."

"Leave me alone, Blaise, please," You mustered out, with a weak voice. "Open this door, Y/N, " He said again, and you closed your eyes at his stubbornness.

"Blaise, please," You whimpered desperately, shakily taking in a breath, "Leave. I just want to be alone."

It was silent at the other side, and then a sigh, "I'm taking Rafa to my house. It's getting late and Lav wants to cook him something," He said and you unconsciously nodded, even though he couldn't see you, "... Thank you."

"... Take care, Y/N."

You silently scoffed at his goodbye, how could you? How could you take care of yourself? Your life is ruined. Your family is ruined. Everything, everything had gone into dust.

Everything.

TAGLIST:

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[rabbiteclair]

okay, Magia Record essay, as promised.

behind a cut because it is too fucking long and also obviously full of spoilers.

i think I would be remiss if I didn't start off with: the show is kinda a fucking mess. I mean, it came from a gacha. They've got a lot of characters to showcase, and something like 14 or 15 are heavily plot-relevant. There just isn't room to develop them all, and it feels like they try to hit the big story beats anyway, so a character will get introduced for like ten minutes, and suddenly she's having some big moment and you're not actually invested. There are random fights that impact nothing scattered all over the first season. A lot of things just... happen, without any real foreshadowing, and you don't know why until much later.

The plot is fucking bonkers, but to heavily summarize: a group of magical girls created a system to tweak soul gems so that, instead of becoming a witch, the magical girl just burns off all her angst to become a Doppel, a kinda half-witch. She retains conscious control, gets a combat powerup while it's active, then changes back. This isn't a foolproof system at all, but it's the one they've got. They were only able to make this work within their city for now, so to extend it throughout the world, they... created a series of supernaturally-empowered rumors, which they're using to kidnap people en masse, so they can harvest the negative emotions from these hundreds of comatose people and use them to farm witches, which they then feed to an even bigger witch, who will somehow spread this system across the planet once it's mature. They have a subterranean witch factory. The witches are loaded into trains and then ramped into the big witch's mouth. The big witch is pinned up against a wall or something in a manner that's suspiciously similar to Lilith in Evangelion.

to accomplish all of this they have a magical girl secret society with magical girl communicators that also function as key cards, and magical girl uniforms, and a magical girl secret base with magical girl machine gun emplacements and a robust series of magical girl trams, and Evil Magical Girl Brand apples in their evil magical girl kitchen. The evil magical girl secret base seems to be modeled on the Italian Fascist Party's headquarters, and also it teleports because why not.

i promise the actual experience of watching it is like 3x as disorienting as this. Kyoko spends half of an episode wearing a theme park mascot outfit for no real reason. PMMM characters just kinda pop up out of the blue throughout the first season. I already mentioned the magical girl machine gun emplacements shaped like teddy bears. Sometimes it'll be like 'hey this character is glowing green and surrounded by floating words now, look don't worry we'll come back to that in several episodes.'

But, all of this chaos kinda serves a purpose, because also: so far, as of the end of season 2, not a single character has died or become a witch. For one, there's the doppel thing. They're shown to be kinda addictive, and if the magical girl complete gives in to grief while she's using it, she pretty much becomes a mini-witch... but she's still inside the doppel stuck in a comforting fantasy world, and if somebody can get through to her, they can work through whatever trauma put her there and fix it. This is a thing that has happened. But it isn't just limited to that, either. At one point Sayaka starts kinda giving in to grief, and Madoka... gives her a pep talk about how they're all working through the same kinds of fear and she isn't alone, and she recovers.

It kinda goes with what is the show's main real attempt at a theme, which is that nobody is strong enough to stand alone, and even the girls who seem super cool and confident need to lean on their friends from time to time. And it's... shown to work. Like repeatedly, people save each other from things that really feel like they would've been bad ends. Every time somebody starts throwing up death flags, she gets a lecture about the power of friendship or whatever and recovers.

it makes me feel like they looked at PMMM, accepted that okay, yeah, that worked pretty well, but you can only do that once. After Mami getting her head bitten off and Sayaka becoming a witch, you've blown your two big twists, and repeating them loses a lot of impact. So presumably this is a sign of them trying to find ways to tell stories within the setting that have stakes other than death.

As I put it on Discord the other day, "it's magical girls, we aren't just killing them left and right, but we're still marketing toward adults so we can have more stuff going on and darker things lurking in the background, and also Gekidan Inu Curry is still doing half the graphics" isn't a bad direction to pivot in. Whether they actually stick with it long-term is a bigger question.

i feel like the other real change to the feel is that the city it takes place in has a very different... magical girl culture. Which is to say, it actually has one. There are established groups of magical girls, and magical girl mercenaries, and magical girl back alley doctors, and a magical girl boarding house, etc. They've got their own little society. There are 19-year-old magical girls who've been doing it for seven years and know how to drive, and drink liquor. There are experienced magical girls who take batches of newbies under their wing and help them learn the ropes until they're established. They act like people instead of streamlined Drama Robots.

all of that... chaotic stuff I described earlier also kinda works, in the sense that it feels much more like what would happen if you had a bunch of teenagers with magical powers who'd all gotten wishes granted. They aren't just all passively running off and dying, they're doing stuff. Weird stuff. Kyubey pretty much explicitly has no control over any of it anymore, and can't even enter the city.

Which just makes it feel much more like an actual setting. Mitakihara in PMMM felt like a series of stages for scenes to play out on, rather than a place. This gives the sense that everything happening onscreen is just a snapshot of all the weirdness going on in the city.

it's also just a more gameable setting overall. I am kinda having to fight the urge to go off and start recruiting for a new Magical Burst campaign.

(In PMMM's defense: a lot of this is incompatible with its overall presentation. If there's one compliment I will unreservedly give PMMM, it's that it had some real efficiency of storytelling where practically every single word felt deliberate and necessary. You can't really have that and a big complicated setting that isn't just in service to the plot.)

So to summarize: Is Magia Record a good show? Well. It has its moments (season 1 episode 9. If you wanna just watch one episode of the show, that's it,) but its overall storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. But despite being a bit of a trainwreck, it has a lot of good ideas, and between those and its general tone, I'm actually a lot more interested in seeing the next entry in the main series than I was before this.