#i wish i didn't live in a state where it was a saw trap to try and get fucking disability

[watasemasaru]

im so tired of being angry, sick, and broke lol

[foldingfittedsheets]

My mom has this awful friend, Cynthia. My loathing goes deep enough that I’m not even going to change her name. If she ever finds this she knows what she did.

On multiple occasions my mom asked this horrible irresponsible chicken brained woman to watch after our animals while we were away. I don’t know why once wasn’t enough, because the first failure was so spectacular that anyone in their right mind would know she couldn’t be trusted with any level of responsibility or direction following.

You might be thinking to yourself, FFS, this level of antipathy is surely unwarranted! But you’d be wrong.

To set the scene, we were living in downstairs of our house when I was about fifteen. My mom has always wanted more animals than can reasonably be kept indoors which is how we ended up with three cats. When she wanted to kick them all outside I protested, and so all three cats lived in my bedroom with no access to the rest of the house.

That really wasn’t great, so in an attempt to give them options we made a window cutout with a cat door in it to give them access to the outdoors. Looking back on this as an environmentally conscious adult it’s wretched, cats should be indoor only, but at the time I was desperate to give them some freedom because one bedroom is too small for three cats.

So my parents and I went on a week long trip to visit family out of state. We told Cynthia to come feed and water the cats, and to scoop the litter box. Most importantly, don’t lock the handle of the door, because we only have the key to the deadbolt.

I’m sure you can see where this is going.

Cynthia locked us out. We arrived home after 12 hours on the road, desperate for the comfort of our own beds. We were met with an unyielding door. With a sigh I volunteered, “I can punch in the cat door and climb in the window.”

I slipped behind the bamboo outside my window and pushed in the cutout. A horrible insidious reek wafted out at me. I paused, prickling with foreboding. But I had a job to do, and by god I’d see it through. I hefted myself up into the window and my hand immediately landed in something wet.

Skin crawling, I pulled myself up and surveyed the darkened room as a miserable odor of decay and suffering poured out of the room around me. I could see dark shapes littering the carpet and it didn’t take a genius to guess that the cats had taken up hunting in a big way during my absence.

I pulled my hand out of the pile of vomit it had landed in and dropped into my onetime bedroom turned now into a hellpit of decomposing wretchedness. I turned on the light. I wished I had not turned on the light.

My eyes scanned across the floor, tallying as they went. Two dead birds, a dead baby rabbit, five dead mice, and one dead snake. I paused on my alarm clock, perplexed to see a stain of white on it. I stepped closer and saw a furtive movement.

The tally suddenly contained also: one live bird that had shit in several places, probably in pure terror to find itself trapped in a room littered with decomposing woodland creatures, which honestly, fair. I coaxed it out the window and finished the survey with five discrete piles of vomit.

I unlocked the door and let my parents in. They exclaimed in disgust at the horrible smell. We stood together in my doorway floored by the magnitude of neglect. The unscooped litter box was a subtle footnote in the tangible reek my living space. I disposed of the parade of ecological disaster, cleaned vomit, and scooped the box after a brutally long day on the road. The cats were fine, and happy to see me. They had a huge dish or food and water so Cynthia’s neglect at least hadn’t harmed them.

Then I slept on the couch while my bedroom aired out, the windows flung wide to dispel the uneasy ghosts of the hunted. I spent the whole night cursing Cynthia’s name for this evil she’d visited upon me. When my mom asked her, "Cynthia, didn't you see the dead animals?"

Cynthia responded, "Yes, they smelled so bad, I just ran in and out as fast as I could." I fully don't believe she did any caretaking, and I'm personally of the opinion that she locked herself out on the first day and never came back.

The next day my room had returned to a habitable level of smellscape and I gratefully crawled into my bed that night. I stretched out and froze as my foot brushed something cold and wet?

The final indignity: one last dead snake, inside my very sheets.

Fucking Cynthia.

[go-go-devil]

I still really love the reveal that The Pink Opaque was always a show meant for much younger kids as opposed to the teen action show we're first presented with, but mostly due to how well the film tricks us into seeing it the way Owen & Maddie saw it.

Really it's so painfully obvious right from the get go that this is a kids show: Maddie defensively stating that its "too scary for kids" despite being on a young adult channel, the first episode we see having a plot revolving around wishing the ice cream man delivered ice cream all year long, the show's villains having very cutesy names, Isabelle & Tara's pink ghost tattoos being very cartoony, etc.

Yet we the audience see the Ice Cream Man as a grotesque monster with far more disturbing practical effects than the very low-budget real version. We see all the characters appearing older than they actually are. We see dark, dramatic themes of being trapped in a false identity slowly poisoned from the inside in the final episode only because by that point we've become JUST as personally invested in the show as our main characters do.

Upon getting to the reveal that what we saw wasn't actually a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of show but actually more along the level of Goosebumps, we end up questioning our memories of the show just as Owen did seeing it again after all those years because it seems so unreal! How can we possibly deny all the intense, compelling drama we just witnessed?!

One might call this a commentary on how nostalgia can blind us to a show's actual quality as we grow older, but personally I see it more as how one's attachment to a show can end up LITERALLY changing it into something else entirely.

Now I never watched Buffy and can't relate to all the references the film gives to it, but as someone who frequently watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as a teen despite not at all being the target audience I can heavily relate to what Owen and Maddie saw in The Pink Opaque.

It didn't matter that the show wasn't actually as intense and well-written as they thought, what mattered was that the show gave them EXACTLY what they needed at that time in their life. Owen saw herself in Isabelle, just as Maddie found her true self through her love for Tara. It allowed the pair to bond and form a real fulfilling friendship during hard times. Their warped memories of the show aren't stupid, they stem from what happens when a piece of art has such a profound effect on us to the point where it ends up shaping our very lives!

The Pink Opaque was never a groundbreaking show with any ounce of queer themes in its narrative, but it helped Owen realize she was trans, and in the end that's all that really matters. 💖👻

[srslyblvck]

dark echoes, the umbrella academy

pairing: hargreeves siblings x sibling!reader

synopsis: you are ben's twin sister. after he was murdered, you were never yourself. you were on the brink of madness when your brother who was considered dead comes back asking for your help to stop an apocalypse.

warnings: suicide and suicidal thoughts, drugs, alcohol consumption(not in a healthy way)

author's note: alright, this was an impulse decision. my first series here, lets see if i continue it lol

word count: 0.6k

chapters: 1/?

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ YOU COULDN'T REMEMBER THE last time you saw the sun. It had been years since your twin brother Ben was killed, and every day since was a blur of shadowed memories and endless pain. You hadn’t moved on; you couldn’t. The echoes of his absence haunted you, made worse by the voice in your head that never stopped. The other you—your darkest thoughts—was always there, gnawing at your sanity.

No matter how much alcohol you drank or how many pills you took, the voice stayed. It felt like your mind was a prison with a warden who never gave you a break. It was maddening, like being tied to a tormentor who sometimes took over your body, making you watch helplessly as it carried out its dark desires.

You tried hard to act normal, but it was exhausting. When you did go outside, you felt like a stranger in your own life. You’d walk around, feeling like people were watching you, or glance at your reflection in shop windows and be shocked by how different you looked. Your world, once full of colour, had turned grey and unchanging.

Your job used to be a place where you could escape your inner pain. But now, it just added to your misery. The paperwork stacked up, deadlines loomed, and your coworkers seemed distant. What used to make you proud now felt like another trap you couldn’t escape.

The only thing that offered a temporary escape was the haze of drugs and alcohol, but even that couldn’t quiet the relentless voice in your head. Every bit of peace felt stolen, leaving only your torment. You’d sit in the dark, the TV flickering, too tired to turn it off. Your life had become a series of dull days and empty routines, and even the job you once cared about felt like a burden. You felt like a burden.

Your siblings didn’t know. They couldn’t. They saw only the surface, the mask you wore to hide the suffering inside. Your eyes were hollow, your face thin. You didn’t need a mirror to see that you were a shadow of who you once were. But you didn’t want them to see you like this. The pain was yours to bear alone.

In your grief, the pills were a temporary relief, but they never silenced the voice completely. It only got louder when you tried to stop using them, a constant reminder of your pain. You had tried to end it all more than once, but each time, the voice took over and stopped you. It was as if you were doomed to live in despair.

You had seen the news about Reginald Hargreeves, your father's death. The man who had orchestrated so much of the pain in your life had finally met his end. You wished you could have been the one to deliver that final blow, to exact the revenge you had longed for. The thought of him lying in a casket brought a dark satisfaction, but it was fleeting. The funeral was to be held soon, and you had no intention of attending. You didn't want to face your siblings, to see them mourn the man who had taken so much from you.

On the day of the funeral, you were sprawled on your couch, having taken more pills than you could count. The numbing haze of the drugs clung to you, but you were still awake, lying in a stupor. It was during this disorienting state that you heard it—a faint shuffling coming from the kitchen. Your instincts, sharpened by years of vigilance, kicked in. You summoned a knife with a golden hue, its beauty masking its lethal purpose.

You moved towards the kitchen with slow, deliberate steps, the voice in your head urging you to be cautious. It was as if it knew something you didn’t.

As you rounded the corner, you saw him. The figure in the kitchen was unmistakable. A boy, maybe around five feet three inches tall, with messy hair falling into his eyes. He wore the Academy uniform, the sight of which haunted your dreams. Even through the fog of the drugs, you recognised him instantly.

Time seemed to freeze. The knife in your hand vanished into thin air. You took a shaky step forward and whispered, “Five?”

[carabas]

Sorting out Veilguard thoughts. This is very long, I had mixed feelings about Solas's endings and this is me trying to make Solas's actions and motivations make sense to me through quotes and bullet points.

Basic starting principle of the game: Solas is trapped by regret. We left him at the end of Trespasser heading out on the din'anshiral but not exactly enthusiastic about it, he's conflicted, he doesn't want to break the world again but he feels he has to, the whole plot here grows out of that. He tried to save the world and woke up finding he'd created a nightmare hell world a la the Inquisitor's trip to the terrible future version of Redcliffe, and it's his responsibility to fix that.

Specifically, the problems that make this a nightmare hell world:

The Blight's still here!! The whole point was to trap the Blight and yet it's still leaking into the world, his world-saving plan didn't even get that part right, what the fuck.

Mortality. First spirits took bodies which he had mixed feelings about to begin with, and which was the crime against the Titans which ultimately resulted in the Blight which I can't imagine improved his feelings about it - but also now they die, he is personally responsible for generations of people being permanently trapped in bodies which die, he didn't even want a body in the first place. "Your legends are half-right. We were immortal. It was not the arrival of humans that caused us to begin aging. It was me. The Veil took everything from the elves, even themselves."

A world of Tranquil. It's not just how long mortals live, it's the way they live, with no connection to the Fade outside their dreams. "You saw the remains of Vir Dirthara. The library was intrinsically tied to the Fade, and the Veil destroyed it. There were countless other marvels, all dependent on the presence of the Fade, all destroyed." Instead of those marvels, there's a fear and distrust and ignorance of all things Fade - and there are few things that frustrate Solas as much as ignorance - and that fear of the Fade naturally results in the fear of mages, the whole central plot of DA2, the struggle for mage freedom which Solas was vocal about and which was a big factor in his approval in Inquisition.

The effects on the spirits of the Fade, who Solas sees as people when most of the mortal world does not. ...You know what, I'm just going to copy-paste some longer quotes from Inquisition for this one because this is something that wasn't touched on much at all in Veilguard.

Even in Solas's very early-game conversations with the Inquisitor, he tells us exactly how he sees the effects of the Veil on spirits and how the mortal world relates to them:

Inquisitor: I'd like to know more about the Veil.

Solas: Circle mages call it a barrier between this world and the Fade. But according to my studies in ancient elven lore, that is a vast oversimplification. Without it… Imagine if spirits entered freely, if the Fade was not a place one went but a state of nature like the wind.

Inquisitor: It sounds like it would be wonderful.

Solas: And dangerous, but… yes. A world where imagination defines reality, where spirits are as common as trees or grass. Instead, spirits are strange and fearful, and the Fade is a terrifying world touched only by mages and dreamers. I am glad that I am not alone in seeing the beauty of such a world, along with the obvious peril.

And:

Inquisitor: I’d like to know more about demons.

Solas: The Chantry says that demons hate the natural world and seek to bring their chaos and destruction to the living. But such simplistic labels misconstrue their motivations and, in so doing, do all a great disservice. Spirits wish to join the living, and a demon is that wish gone wrong.

Inquisitor: Is there a way to coexist? To live with them, if not in peace, at least without such active confrontation?

Solas: Not in the world we know today. The Veil creates a barrier that makes true understanding most unlikely. But the question is a good one, and it matters that you thought to ask.

And this was the codex entry description of demonic possession in the first two games, as written by a senior enchanter from Ostwick:

Why do demons seek to possess the living? History claims they are malevolent spirits, the first children of the Maker, angry at their creator for turning from them and jealous of those creations he considered superior. They stare across the Veil at the living and do not understand what they see, yet they know they crave it. They desire life, they pull the living across the Veil when they sleep and prey on their psyche with nightmares. Whenever they can, they cross the Veil into our world to possess it outright. We know that any demon will seek to possess a mage, and upon doing so will create an abomination.

And this was Cole's reaction to discovering the history of the Veil in Trespasser:

Cole: The Veil isn’t real. It’s false, fake, fabricated to forbid. Isn’t it wonderful? It means I belong here! Helping, healing the hurt! I’m not a wrong thing, a wreck, a ruin. I’m what I should be!

...We're repeatedly told throughout the series that spirits desire to be with the living and the Veil is preventing that, for good or ill. Rook's team cares about this in terms of the threat of their world being destroyed by a sudden flood of demons, but from Solas's point of view the spirits belonged here to begin with and it's his mistake that makes coexistence impossible.

But at the same time, the first three games were set in the South - Veilguard shows us the Mourn Watch and Rivaini seers who do coexist with spirits, even with the Veil still in place. Other characters are less comfortable with this, but we're not getting anywhere near the same focus on the fear of spirits and mages here that we saw in the South. The game's just... not really interested in discussing this, we're not focusing on these ongoing effects of the Veil right now in this game about Solas trying to bring the Veil down, sure there's the occasional haunting and plenty of demons to fight but we're treating the ability to coexist with spirits as basically a solved problem in northern Thedas. And we've already put the mage rights plotline to rest in Inquisition. We're done, we're moving on, those parts of Solas's motivation are still important in that Solas's attitude toward spirits is important, but focusing on those problems is not a priority right now.

So of Solas's motivations that we saw back in Inquisition, the outlook now... the Blight's a problem, everyone's on the same page about the Blight being a problem, and in the good ending Solas winds up working on that aspect of the problem - but his other motivations, although they may still be problems, do not look as huge and pressing in Veilguard as they did in Inquisition. We've seen cultures where people and spirits coexist even with the Veil in place; mages in the north seem to be doing fine, at least as far as my Nevarran mage Rook's experience goes, and even in the south the treatment of mages is no longer what it was in the first two games; and the wonders of the Fade may be great but there are also dangers, acknowledged by Solas, and if a lot of people would rather keep the dangers out than bring the wonders or the immortality back in... who has the right to decide that for the whole world?

That's become the sticking point here. It's not really about how to solve the ongoing problems created by the Veil... it's whether they're Solas's problems to solve. And there's plenty of reason for him to answer yes to that, he created the problem to begin with and few other living people even have the knowledge that the Veil is unnatural, much less the ability to fix it - but also, let's be real, his attempts at solving problems have had some extremely fucking questionable results thus far.

And the stance this story has taken is: Solas is imprisoned by regret. Whether the Veil should come down or not, the reason Solas specifically has to walk this path is because of regret. And this story's happiest ending that takes the most effort to unlock is trying to release him from the role his regrets have imprisoned him in. (Relevant parallel: Lucanis carrying his mental prison around with him to the point that Spite can't tell they ever left.)

It's not like the whole world has taken a vote and decided that the Veil is good and immortality/wonders/coexistence with the Fade are not worth it. Obviously the player character of Veilguard is firmly in favor of guarding said Veil, but in Trespasser and the Masked Empire, Solas had agents working for him; in Tevinter Nights, Solas's monster wolf form was followed by an army of Valor and Justice spirits; in Veilguard, Solas said he had a host of spirits ready to help when the Veil fell to minimize the loss of life. For all the reasons Solas believed the Veil must come down, there's room to believe there are other characters on both sides of the Veil who also see those as problems and would presumably still be working on those problems, although that's not the focus of this game. And more people know about the origins of the Veil now, the story of the gods and Titans.

Solas tried to share the truth with the Dalish when he first woke up, but it went badly then; we know the truth now. Maybe if Solas were just a wisdom spirit he could even have been satisfied by sharing that history and having the truth be heard without taking the whole fate of the world on himself - but Solas is not just a wisdom spirit, and he has been defined by both wisdom and pride. He took on a role he never wanted because Mythal asked it of him, he so hates when spirits are twisted away from their purpose and his got complicated the moment he first took a body. Having the truth heard isn't nearly enough to fix this situation, and he needs to fix it, it is his responsibility to fix it, he is trapped by his regrets.

Talking with Rook about Elgar'nan...

Solas: Can you see how he and I might frustrate one another?

Rook: The two of you are too much alike. Both of you want to be in charge.

Solas: I have no desire to be "in charge."

Rook: No, you just want to be able to correct anyone who's not doing everything the way you'd've done it.

Solas: (Chuckles) I see you have been observing me as well during these conversations.

...Rook and their team can come up with a very wide variety of opinions on Solas, but that line did seem to amuse Solas, Rook had a point with that one. That is the place where Solas's wisdom meets pride.

Rook: All right, I can see how you and Elgar'nan would hate each other.

Solas: He has always been what I most feared becoming. Callous and uncaring, his arrogance unchecked. To have that much power and no one to remind him that he could be wrong…

Rook: Well, he had you.

Solas: (Chuckles) And I suppose I had you.

Solas was afraid of becoming like Elgar'nan, more pride than wisdom. He could see the possibility of that happening, the same way spirits become demons. And in the final scene, if he's not convinced to turn away from his path and attempts to tear down the Veil, he sounds very much like Elgar'nan. In the trickery version, Rook calls him out on this and Solas argues against it but then he comes out with these extremely Elgar'nan-like lines:

Solas: You think yourself capable of judging me? I have faced things you could not possibly comprehend! You are a mortal! A mortal! And I am a--(Rook interrupts him by shoving him toward his prison, and then Solas 'chuckles bitterly') I am a fool…

Even more so if Rook fights him instead of tricking him, with Solas declaring that compared to you mortals, he is a god - which Solas was pretty emphatic about denying before. And maybe that's what he was starting to say in the trickery version too before he was interrupted, "I am a--" and then he had a moment to realize what he was saying.

He was a spirit originally, and spirits are changeable by beliefs and expectations, and in this game the attempt to tear down the Veil very much does change him, instantly. The game treats him as a spirit who is being twisted away from his purpose by the act of tearing down the Veil. More than that, his purpose has already been twisted for a very long time, he already had regrets about this in those memories of ancient Elvhenan, talking about how at least the Disruption spirits died without being twisted from their purpose. He was wisdom before he was pride.

So if the bad endings are about Solas being twisted away from his nature by the very thing he feels he must do to save the world - the good ending is the opposite. It's about bringing him closer to the spirit he used to be, by finally putting down the thing that has been twisting him up.

In the good ending, Rook tries to talk Solas around even before Lavellan and Mythal join in - Rook doesn't want to see the world go through even more pain on top of what Elgar'nan has done, the world is broken but breaking the world again is the wrong way to make up for the damage Solas has caused, Solas has a chance right now to save the world by saving the Veil - and this argument is actually tempting to Solas! It's not enough, but he does pause, he thinks about it, he's conflicted, he's been conflicted this whole time, he was already wrestling with this back in Inquisition when he had only just woken up and had only seen a little of this new world, he has never wanted to break the world. He believed he had to.

Solas: I cannot. To stop now would dishonor those I have wronged to come this far.

Lavellan: Even if those you've wronged asked you to stop?

Solas: Vhenan…

Lavellan: You think you've gone too far to come back, but you're wrong. I am here, walking the dinan'shiral with you!

Solas: I lied. I betrayed you.

Lavellan: I forgive you! All you have to do is stop.

Solas: Ir abelas, vhenan… But I cannot.

...He actually paused way longer for Rook's argument about breaking the world than for this. He is more emotional with Lavellan, this did affect him, but that wasn't a convincing argument. I lied, I betrayed you - she tells him she's with him and he gives her a list of reasons she shouldn't be, he can't let himself respond to this right now.

Solas: Long before we met, I failed my oldest friend. She died for that failure. If I leave the Veil in place, I am destroying the world she wanted. And I will have… She will have died for nothing.

He believes the Veil is destroying the world Mythal wanted - and they were the firstborn elves, she invited him to take a body, the union of spirits and the mortal world is integral to his memory of her.

Side note here. If Bellara is in your team when you and Solas are traveling together during the endgame, you get this conversation:

Bellara: All I really want to know is why you killed Mythal.

Solas: The Evanuris killed Mythal.

Bellara: Only the first time. The second time, she was in Flemeth's body, and she didn't want you to destroy the world to avenge her… But you killed her. Was it because she was willing to stop, and you weren't?

Solas: That was not Mythal. It was merely a fragment.

Bellara: Right. That you killed.

…He didn't answer her after that. And now, here at the end of the game, "I will have.... She will have died for nothing," the fact that he killed that merely a fragment of Mythal for this is sticking in his mind, and we saw his regret about that moment plastered on the wall of the Lighthouse, and he is imprisoned by that regret - however conflicted he might feel, he was firmly committed to this path the moment he killed Mythal for a second time.

The final straw, the moment he finally gives up his plan, isn't about the fate of the world at all:

Mythal: I pulled you from the Fade you loved and sent you into war. I used your wisdom as a weapon… and it broke you.

Solas: The things that I have done…

Mythal: Are not for you alone to bear, my friend. The many wrongs we did, we did together. I release you from my service.

For this, he is hunched over and small, like she broke him all over again - maybe he had the right idea and breaking something a second time is the way to fix it in his particular case. He was a wisdom spirit before she sent him to war, before he was the Dread Wolf, before he broke the world trying to save it. He has been at war with one thing or another for a very long time.

Here Lavellan says "There is no fate but the love we share," and he doesn't argue with her this time. He can't look at her yet. He makes a fist. He puts a hand to his brow - was Mythal's vallaslin there once? Lowers his head. Looks at the tear in the Veil. Now he finally looks at Lavellan and the other people standing in front of him, not that fragment of Mythal, Mythal is gone. And then he binds himself to the Veil.

He hasn't let go of his past mistakes, that's not what's happening. He's still got regrets. He is letting go of the Dread Wolf, the role that a spirit of wisdom was twisted into.

Solas: With every breath I take, I will protect the innocent from my past failures. The Titans' dreams are mad from their imprisonment. I cannot kill the blight, but I can help to soothe its anger. I will go and seek atonement.

And then he is finally able to respond to Lavellan's love for him, to make this journey together.

[veespee]

Vinnie is *such* a complex character i feel. And he makes me feel very conflicted, but here are some (personal) opinions about him: (kinda an analysis? idk i'm just rambling)

-Firstly, he's the voyeur, although unknowingly. The word “voyeur” has two meanings, the first one is.. we won't talk about it, but the *second* one is: a person who enjoys seeing the pain or distress of others. Now, i don't really think he actually likes seeing people in pain. Of course, he shows remorse and guilt over the deaths of his close ones, and even people he didn't know that where victims, so why voyeur? Why would HABIT describe him as a “voyeuristic fuck”?

So, i may be getting some lore wrong, and i apologize in advance, but it's revealed that he has led everyone to their deaths, due to his insistence to keep filming and find answers. Also, if i remember right, he had intentionally left out footage that caused him to be seen in a bad light, and it showed that he had led Jeff and Alex to their doom.

-Now, of course for any sane person, why would someone do that? The answer is… well, for answers. That's the word he seems to be infatuated with, ’answers’. And it's made pretty clear. He saw what HABIT was doing, he saw the state Evan was in, and he knew. He was fully aware, he's not stupid, and he knew what he was doing. If Evan wasn't going to do what Vinnie was telling him to, then… he was going to summon HABIT. He was also aware of HABIT's intelligence/experience with the human race, which was good for him, since he was going to get his questions answered.

-Now’s the trick question (for me at least), is Vinnie a horrible person? Well… yes, and no? I mean, he did do horrible things, that much can be said. He led everyone to doom, he purposefully ignored people's wishes (Evan's request for Vinnie not to upload the video about Jesse's grandmother dying), and of course, continuing to record after all of these things happened, despite Jeff's and Evan's wishes. But he feels incredibly guilty. “Sometimes you gotta do stuff that you don't agree with, but that's the price you pay. But you gotta remember, sometimes the price is too steep, and you just can't live with yourself... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry to everyone that I've hurt, to everyone that has died, around me or because of me.” (these are his own words).

I honestly believe he's a very, very flawed character. His goal is answers, and he will do anything to get them. He has the drive to get what he desperately wants, even after being tortured by HABIT. And i feel that HABIT has some respect for him because of that. And of course, his role was set from the start. Everything was calculated, and he was fulfilling his role, “the voyeur”, “the guardian”, whatever it may be. Everything happened for a reason, the God Killer was created, Vinnie's “purpose” was completed. I guess he could be described as a pawn, a follower that was blinded by his desperation for knowledge and control, but fell into the traps of the bigger entities at play.

thank you for reading! i apologize if i got any characteristics wrong, i just wanted to get my thoughts out. and this is very yap-y, so here's a TL;DR:

Vinnie is a complex ass character, who's blinded by his search for control and answers. He's guilty and self loathing, but avoids responsibility. Basically… opinions vary about him, you either love him or hate him.

[akwolfgrl]

LFT PART 41

"I can't reach my nose from here,” Luffy whined, unable to pick his nose.

“Quit that idiot! You are about to witness an execution” Buggy snapped at him.

“Oh cool! I've never seen one before who's being killed?” Luffy asked.

“You are dumbass!”

“I'm sorry please let me go,” Luffy pouted, it was no fun being stuck like this, he wanted to live and go on adventures, he wanted to eat good food, to spend time on the Marry with his Nakama, to meet up with Ace again. He still had yet to become the king of the pirates!

“As if I'd just let you go, you rubber idiot!” Buggy shouted at him, his pointy shoe resting atop his hat. “Any last words?” The annoying clown asked him. When Luffy didn't immediately respond, he kept going. “Well whatever or not you say anything, it does really matter. It's not like anyone will care what you have to s..”

“I'M THE MAN WHO WILL BECOME THE KING OF THE PIRATES!” Luffy screamed at the of his lungs, declaring his interactions and ambition for all to hear.

“Is that all you have to say…" You stupid rubber brat!?” Buggy laughed at him, kicking the wood he was trapped under.

“Wait!” A familiar and welcome voice shouted from the crowd. In the distance, he could see Sanji and Zoro fighting to get to him.

“Sanji! Zoro! Help me outta here!”

“So you have come, Zoro! Well, it's too late now! Your precious captain is going to die!” The obnoxious clown began to laugh maniacally above him. “Bear witness to your captain's last moments!”

Oh looks like this was the end after all, Luffy would miss his friends. Maybe Nami could become Captain, they could still go to the Grand Line and achieve their dreams without him.

“Sanji! Zoro! Usopp! Nami!” He called each of his nakama by their name, his heart felt full with love. He wished them all the best. “Sorry but it looks like I'm dead,” he stated with the widest grin he’d ever smiled, looking much like the man executed in that same spot 20 years ago.

<>

Zoro sliced and diced anyone who got in his way. Wave after wave of weirdos, clowns and circus freaks that made up Buggy's crew met their end at the tip of his swords. Sanji by his side fighting just as hard to get to their Captain. It couldn't end this way before they even made it to the grandline. He should have gone with him! It was his duty to protect the crew.

What good was his swords, his dream, his ambitions if he could protect those that belonged to him! If Zoro couldn't save the man who had saved him! He would be dead if not for Luffy. No chance to fulfill his and Kuina’s dream.

“Move it!” He yelled slicing into yet another body, they were all just cannon fodder to hinder him in his quest for Luffy. “Come down and fight me you coward!” Zoro screamed from behind Wado clenched tightly between his teeth.

Where were the Marines who were supposed to protect this town and its citizens? There were more than just pirates here. There were innocent citizens screaming and running from the grave danger they were in. The World Government yet again proving to be useless as always once again.

If only he could just cut down that damn execution platform then everything would be fine.

<>

If only he could kick down that execution platform then everything would be fine. Sanji thought to himself as he kicked his way towards his captain. He knew Zoro was beside him doing the same with his new swords. To hear the peril in Luffy's voice broke Sanji's heart. Luffy should never sound like that! Unless he was asking for more food. Just what was this clown's issue with Luffy and Zoro anyway?

“Bastard!” Sanji cried out filled with rage and desperation.

“Sanji! Zoro! Usopp! Nami! Sorry but it looks like I'm dead,” Sanji watched helplessly just like everyday as a child. Too weak to stop what was happening before his eyes as his captain smiled as the sword drew near to his neck.

“Don't say that, you idiot!” Sanji pleaded, this couldn't be happening.

There was a flash of lighting and the rumbler of thunder Sanji saw the executioner's platform explode, its smoking remains soon soaked with the falling rain. In the rumble stood Luffy unharmed as if he hadn't been about to die. The strange clown with the vendetta was covered in charcoal.

“Looks like I did survive!” Luffy chuckled, placing his hat atop his head. “How lucky! Thank goodness!”

“Hey…” Sanji turned to Zoro who also was standing there lost. His swords sheathed once more as Sanji continued on with his question for his lover. “Do you believe in a god?” Sanji had never been much of a believer himself. The ocean was his goddess, he knew she could be harsh and cruel but he loved her all the same. She was his first love, she was a part of his dream. He had spent the majority of his life on her. But this couldn't be anything other than a sign from something divine.

“Enough talking and let's leave this damn town already. We've got more trouble on the way,” his ever so blunt partner stated.

[geniemillies]

Yearning For Spring | Ch. 2 | Tamlin x Oc

◇— Chapter 2 - The Lighthouse

<<Ch.1 ||◇|| Ch.3>>

✧ masterlist

Ch. Warnings: brief mention of murder (no one important), King of Hybern is a warning on his own.

For years I slept only to dream of spring and an eternal field of flowers. For years I lived in daydreams where I dared break free from my cage, to spend my days without a mask or a glamour on myself. Living in my thoughts seems to be the only remedy to the cruel reality I wake up to everyday. I tried my best to hang on to the memory of that golden haired boy at the terrace, I cling to it every chance I get. And yet no matter how much I burn his face in my mind it fades through the years that slip by me.

The last I saw him he had been crying, his hands bloody while emerald eyes pleaded to me. His face is all but blurry in my head. But his voice..

His voice still plagues my thoughts.

Four hundred and fifty years have passed, I've grown into something unrecognisable. What used to be the meek little girl who served as the King's servant has now climbed the ranks in his Court. Throughout the years I grew tired of always running to him, filling his cup and holding his wine and sought something greater. I was not spared from military training. I trained and bettered myself alongside the many children that wished to serve the King with a greater purpose. My first kill was a Lord in his Court. Lord Galdiir, the sleeze who'd always make advances at me. I can still remember how the King’s face twisted in cruel satisfaction at my bloodied state, on a bed, with the Lord's head limp on a pillow before me.

“Red suits you.” He once said.

That is when he first realized that there was more to me than just his cupbearer. I was invited to his tower where he worked. He taught me how to wield dark magic and cast spells without needing the Mother's gifts to do so. He taught me until I felt my hands melting off my bones, my power seeping out of me, clawing to be free.

He awakened something in me that even I am terrified of. He said it is a good thing to fear one's self. One must know the monster to properly unleash it.

The King has always been a student of the dark arts. Everyone knows of his experiments and more often than not he shares that hobby with his people in the most cruel of ways. My resilience in both physical and magical training sparked a curiosity in him and I became a subject to his experiments.

Those experiences are ones I try to forget the most.

Meanwhile I entered competitions and duelled soldiers of varying ranks, my strength ever growing thanks to countless hours with a sword and on the floor writhing from his experiments. In Hybern, the only way one can get what they want is by taking it by force. By winning. So I took and I won a million times over. My many triumphs lead me to a seat in his Court serving as another commander of armies. While I still do run to him at every beck and call, at least now I don't have fill his goblet.

I worked my ass off earning such a title. The last battle I won for something I wanted, it was Amarantha and I who clashed blades in a ring. She was his second in command and I wanted that title. I won it in exchange for her hatred. Not like she didn't hate me before but now she just despises me with every fibre of her being.

And now she's gone, turned her back on Hybern and while I do not miss her, the duty of keeping armies in check now falls into my hands alone. The bitch. The nerve of her.

The King seethed for days. His throne room is a disarray of broken furniture and tattered tapestries. Amarantha hasn't sent us back ravens with word of her progress with her mission in Prythian. Turns out she has abandoned her duties and crowned herself High Queen in light of her success of manipulating the entirety of the Prythian Courts. Now I hear she's trapped all the Lords in a cave somewhere.

Matters concerning the neighbouring islands never reach me as my duties are solely in Hybern so I can only rely on Court rumours and gossip of what she might be doing over there. And even then, I cannot trust their whispers.

“Welcome back, Commander.” Two voices said in unison as I walked into the castle, the large doors opening at my presence.

“Brannagh. Dagnan.” I nod to them as they welcome me back. My heart swells with an aching I try to ignore. They used to hug me back from my travels, prying my pockets for any sign of a gift. But they've grown too. And while the King favoured me when it comes to testing spells and experiments they were not spared from that particular hobby.

And they were not as resilient as I was.

I can scarcely recognize them. For there's nothing left in those eyes. They might as well be strangers to me. And I will forever mourn their souls.

Where ever they might be now.

“How is he?” I ask.

“Better.”

“And the throne room?”

“Better.”

“Good.”

As we reached the doors to the throne room, “Your Grace—” I bow–no. I duck and I feel the twins do the same behind me just before I feel a vase thrown to my head.

“Ah, great you're here.” He breathes deeply before running his fingers through his crownless head. “Leave us.” He orders and the twins immediately disappear and the door behind me shuts closed.

“My King.” I step forward, examining the ruined throne room. The twins either lied or he threw another tantrum.

“Little dove.” I cringe at the nickname.

I bow slightly. “At your service.”

“The ‘High Queen’ of Prythian does not wish to speak with her King. She rejects every attempt at a negotiation. She has cut ties with Hybern. The little...” He trails off, struggling to maintain his graceful front before letting out a half laugh.

I walk towards the round table at the centre of the room, my eyes skimming past the many scrolls spread open on the dark marble. “It is difficult to tug on a dog’s leash when it's put a crown on its head.” I look up at him as he walks past, returning to the dais and back on his throne, menacingly slow. “Shall I fly to Prythian and seek her out? I will gladly rip her head and return it to you. Maybe then she'll remember where her loyalties lie.”

“No..” He breathes out. “No. We do nothing. Nothing. For now.” He collects himself. “This is not a loss.” He whispers to himself, a smile forming on his face.

“If my Amarantha seeks to play games I am.. more than happy to indulge her. Let her play Queen a while longer.” He stands again only to walk towards a window overlooking the sea, where Prythian lands peak at the horizon.

The balcony doors open and he calls me to follow behind him. The open sea greets us, the air a smell of death and rot from the bones and cadaver that lay beneath the castle and onto the cliffs below. Failed experiments. I try not to look down but their stench seems to claw their way up to me even at this height.

As I approach him, I speak up. “Amarantha is a fool to challenge you, my King. If she thinks that a crown atop her head is enough to save herself from Hybern's wrath.”

He hums. “She is a fool. A clever, cunning little thing but a fool nonetheless. I always knew she would falter after her countless requests to invade have been denied. Too impatient. Too driven by anger and a desire for vengeance. She lacks clarity. Even more when that sister of hers died. Yet another embarrassment.” He turns to me.

“Tell me, little dove. If I had sent you to overtake Prythian, what would've happened instead?” His question takes me off guard but I do not show him not a flinch of surprise.

“While I may not be as cunning as she, I would make swift work of the island. Bring the courts to heel without unnecessary bloodshed and bring them right before your feet. Amarantha has always been distracted by other pleasures on her conquests. Pleasures that are irrelevant and therefore, useless to our cause. If I had been sent instead of her I would've done the job by now. And we would’ve found the Cauldron and the books.”

“Hm. Precisely why you are my second in command. Not her. But I needed you here so she was the secondary option. A poor choice I will not commit again.”

“The poor choice was committed by her. Not yours.”

“Do not attempt to coddle me, child.” He hissed and I almost flinched at his tone. “I know where I've faulted.”

I close my eyes. “Apologies.”

“I have decided. We will indulge in this little game of hers. A.. sort of experiment if you will. I wonder how long until the High Lords break under the pressure and rebel against her. Or if she surprisingly succeeds my expectations and brings them to heel– hm. I'm rather curious now. Excited even.” I force myself not to cringe. His experiments have always been brought to the most extreme ends. Even when such games are losses to him, he is not affected much. In fact, he is amused by all results whether or not they turn out to be failures. The subjects of said experiments however… suffer all consequences.

I raise a brow. “You will let her do as she pleases?”

“Why not? See if she can actually be of use for once. I consider myself a very, very patient male. I will wait..~”

“That you are.” I look down. “What if they rise against her? And this experiment fails? What of our own plans for the mortal realm?”

“It is no consequence if the experiment succeeds or not. If she manages to control the seven courts then it's a win. If she does not then I will have the pleasure to trample them myself. Either way, I will be happy with the results.”

“I see.”

We stand in silence, our gaze never tearing away from the island that pokes out in the horizon. Spring. Autumn. And for a moment I hesitate to ask him. “Has she.. gained control of all the Courts?”

“The winds return with word that she has. But they prove to be unreliable these days. She has ways of turning the Attor completely to her side so they do not. Return. To. Me. Anymore.”

“If you wish for a messenger I am available.”

He smiles, a cruel and wicked smile. “Eager to visit Prythian are we?” He asks. I avoided his gaze and swallowed the lump in my throat. “You have never set foot outside Hybern since.. that little expedition I sent you all those years ago, haven’t you..?”

“No, my King. I have never. But visiting foreign lands is of no importance to me.”

“Surely you've been… Curious?”

“Perhaps. But Hybern is my home. I'm well content here.”

“So you are.” He looks at the sea then to me. He shrugs. “Why not? I shall send you as a messenger. Tomorrow you are to step foot in whatever hovel she has made her castle and tell that traitor that if she does not kneel before her King then she will break. Scare her a little.”

I nod. “I will see to it done immediately.” But before I leave the balcony he stops me.

“And another thing?” His voice echoes, louder than the waves below.

“Yes?”

He approached me slowly, his body relaxing and he breathes deeply. And as his black eyes stared into mine I saw a softness in them that I once longed for.

He flicks his wrist and my mask disintegrated into glowing embers, revealing my face in its entirety to him. He cups my cheek with one cold hand, showing his illusion of affection that could only make my stomach turn. I wish to flinch away at his touch. “You are my second in command. Amarantha is a fool who lets her emotions control her. Her sister is the same. They are my greatest embarrassment and no longer will I tolerate such failures in my Kingdom.”

His gaze is intense, his eyes a gateway to a hellscape I no longer wanted to look into. My shields are up immediately, like an iron wall of defence, showing him only what he wants to see. My blind devotion.

“See to it that you won't disappoint me either.” His head tilts ever so slightly, his thumb caressing my cheek, his voice soft even as he threathens me.

“I would never betray you, my King.” I held my head high.

“I know you wouldn't, daughter.” He grins, using that word on me. Daughter. As if it held meaning other than that I am a most beloved possession and nothing else. My blood boils beneath my skin.

“I am not Clythia. I am not Amarantha. I have no use for emotions. Feelings are useless but I offer my love and devotion to you and you alone. And my strength and power, all but yours to wield like the sharpest of blades.”

Something flashes in his eyes that is akin to pride. Prideful he is, no doubt. He's made me into his image. Forced me to glamour my silver hair to his onyx black locks and forced a mask on my face at all times just so he wouldn't see my mother's eyes when he looks at me. Through his experiments he's moulded me into a soulless, obedient little thing, always waiting for his command.

And for four hundred years I worked to the brink of death to convince him that he's truly broken me.

I am not broken. Not yet.

Not yet..

— —

I return to the Lighthouse, the smell of rot and decay never reaches this place. Not since I took over it. While the skies above were still tinted and foggy and the pine forests nearby still lifeless and dull as always, it is.. home. A safe haven as opposed to the rest of the island, anyway.

A great estate is built around the lighthouse, a gothic styled piece of architecture in the edge or the cliffs. It used to belong to a rather vicious priestess belonging to the King's Court. The old crone was in charge of taking in orphan children and drilling their heads with religious nonsense. Though, that was before she became a victory of mine and the estate passed down to me. No longer did I wish to live in that horrid palace for a moment longer.

The children she kept.. stayed. And.. additional orphans came soon after because, much to Father's dismay, I still do possess emotions. Sympathy amongst other things. Though, unlike the priestess in charge before I did not push outdated teachings into their little heads. In fact, I taught them nothing at all. They just.. live here.

Most of them..

To avoid the nightmare that is the King finding out that I take in orphan children, I challenged him to a duel to keep the Lighthouse strictly my business and whatever happens in these lands are to be turned a blind eye on by anybody. Granted, I lost the duel. But to a dramatic turn of events he commended me for my confidence and sheer audacity to challenge him. He let me have my privacy, claiming that whatever I do in my off time is none of his or anyone's business and we never spoke of the Lighthouse ever since.

“The children are awfully obedient today. Not one child missing from lessons. Most of them can read two full sentences.” I heard Vel behind me as she undoes my braids and brushes my hair. The Lighthouse is the only place where I can drop my glamoured hair and the mask, the only place that I can ever be someone else other than High Commander or Princess or little dove. The duel with my Father to keep this place private was a bloody one. I still have scars from his sword from that battle. But it was worth it to keep these people close to me.

I don't know what I'd do if he gets his hands on this place. The children. Vel.

If anything happens to them I might actually break at last.. They’re the reason I haven’t yet faltered.

“You okay..?” Vel asked me as she continued to brush my hair. “Has something happened?”

I shook my head and looked down at my hands, a small, green fabric in my palms. The handkerchief the golden boy gave to me all those centuries ago. I rub it in my hands, as if touching it would make me remember his face that's all but fading in my mind. I never lost it. Never let go of it, not even for a second. It's always nestling inside my pockets, tied around the leather of my armoured wrist, on my head serving as an accessory– Never.

It's the one thing I have of him. The one thing that keeps me from forgetting just how green his eyes were that night.

I close my eyes. My mate..

“I'm going to Prythian.” I declare and I feel her shift behind me. “Negotiate with Amarantha. See what she's up to or if she's willing to return to Hybern.”

I look up at the raven-haired girl, her expression twisting into a sickly one. “Will you..”

I nod. “I will confirm it for you.” Her shoulders soften a bit as she thanks me before she turns around, pacing the room. She looks even more at unease.

“She will kill them. I see what she does in that throne room, what she encourages.”

“I know. I know..” I look away.

“I'll try my best to lessen her damage. No matter how light my efforts might be. Though I doubt she hasn't already traumatised the people.” I breathe deeply, and looking at Vel now, with her face filled with dread, I know she's thinking of it too.

“Please.. make sure she doesn't hurt him.” She pleads. “Please, Niamh.”

“I cannot guarantee that. Amarantha has always been a spiteful little creature. If the King cannot control her, what hope will be there for me?”

I can see the hope die in her eyes almost instantly and I falter. For her I falter.

“While I cannot guarantee your brother's safety..” I sucked in a breath and stepped closer. I cup her face and touch our foreheads together, an act of reassurance.

“I'll try my best, Velaria.”

— —

A/n: cough. Iykyk. Also a little bit of math here. Last chapter was set two years after the Treaty/War and we know the war lasted for seven years. And we know Tamlin was born just around the beginning of the War. So during that party Tamlin was nine years old. Niamh is around his age, maybe younger. They were both just babies :') if I'm not mistaken.. And if I'm right then canonically Tamlin's father has been bringing him to Hybern around that age. Amarantha when I catch you..

[intertexts]

@stuck-in-the-ghost-zone WOE. NHW TRIGGER EVENTS BE UPON YOU.

-dakota was young-- maybe a bit older than in canon-- & out in the city with his parents when they all got caught in the collateral of an attack by some member of the slaughterhouse 9 (my impulse is siberian or one of the other messy ones) & dakota got lost and separated from them. the emotional state associated with his trigger isn't really even the horror of finding what was left of them. it was before that-- the sudden terror and panic and desperation of losing them and searching for them and not being able to find them in the crowded, violent packed rush to get away. he was up close to the fight when the heroes got there because he wouldn't leave without his parents (he's like. nine years old!! of course he won't :( ), close enough to be sprayed with hot blood, & saw firsthand the wanton violence and gore of it all & was half terrified because of it & also because he just saw her gut someone like cutting through soft butter. and he can't find his parents. that bone deep terror of oh, i'm *alone* & knowing that something dreadful is happening and you're not there and you don't even know where it is or where to be but you feel it in your gut. there isn't a thing in the world he could do to find them or help anyone. that was it. & also the other big part of it is how fucking sudden and out of nowhere it was. one minute you're having an awesome afternoon n the next minute it's a waking nightmare.

--virion saw his father betray the rest of his team in cold blood. he grew up around capes-- his parents both headed the independent team the greats, & the rest of them were always around the house n helped raise virion his whole life. he had so many cool aunts and uncles who did awesome hero work with his parents!! think new wave if it wasn't a torment nexus. he was never allowed out with them, except on patrol sometimes, but he never really had a burning desire to be a cape? he enjoyed being on the other side of it-- they all taught him how to shoot and fight hand-to-hand and resist mind shit & all of the unpowered parahuman response type shit, everything they knew so he could take care of himself. it was good. eventually he started sneaking out to watch their fights & shit, see what they do and how they do it. as much as he didn't want to be a cape, he couldn't just sit and do nothing! the last fight he snuck out to watch was the final confrontation between them and the real, dangerous warlord embedded deep into their city-- the lich. he shouldn't have come. it was so dangerous. they'd have been so mad. he saw their big confrontation and all the bluster and everything. saw his dad shrug and apologize to their family and toss down his weapons. it was a trap, of course, and the first time virion ever wished he had powers, realized how fucking useless his pistol and taser and flares were useless in this situation. he watch, helpless, as they all were quickly and brutally and unceremoniously killed, so efficient that the lich must have studied them for a very long time. or had inside information. he triggered from the bubbling cocktail of visceral betrayal and horror and wanting, above all, to have the power to do something, anything to help his family-- wishing, for the first time, that he was like them, and being frozen powerless.

--william is a bit more complicated (partly bc i want to learn more about deadwood and double check that all my assumptions r correct) but he triggered from the isolation. living somewhere that hated him, where it felt like there were threats in every tree, every aisle of the ancient grocery store, always something awful and malevolent behind him. & the social isolation too, especially. being alone and mostly friendless and wanting to get out, not sure if the awful things he's seeing are real or not, if he's just irreparably fucked in the head or he's living in hell, or what. everyone thinking he's fucking crazy. that always being the only thing he's ever known. anyway. he fell. i still have ambiguous thoughts as to the intentionality of it, as in canon. he didn't die, here, though. just-- mostly died. landed fucked up, bone poking out where it shouldn't and stuff, couldn't move. lay there for hours, knowing that no one would come, knowing that deadwood was still fucking toying with him even as he lay numb and in excruciating pain and bleeding out. anyway he triggered when they found him. <3 & yes it is extremely important that it was when they found him, not before. do u get what i mean?

[sprunki-hcs]

I got some hc about the death and like who killed who

Oren was kocked unconscious then cut open

He was one of the frist to die

Raddys side of his face was eaten by simon but bc he was strong (and i hc simon to be blind in horror mode) And he got away then wenda and simon both attacked at once cutting his lower half off but he was still alive and didn't want to die at the hand of the killers so then he went to go hang out with mr tree (the was already rope there for the plot or sthm or wenda was gonna use it for someone else)

Vinnera was poisoned by black and her death was slow(like a snail hehe) and painful bc it was from the inside out

Pinki was knocked unconscious like oren but wenda wanted to do sthm different with each victim so she tried to skin her alive but pinki woke up mid attack and got away (im pretty sure it was stated somewhere she lived correct me if im wrong)

And then black tricked durple with some gold to walk into a summoong circle and then a demon possessed durple and now he is a mindless demon with no intent of killing

I think clukr was killed by black or simon bc you would need to be strong to slam the symbol so hard it dose you know what to him and bc sprunkis have bones as seen with raddys horror mode

And finally i think Simon was the frist victim due to him being the protagonist in the non horror version and he died from black stretching his jaw and taking his eye (like a saw trap) and possessing him after he died

(And i wish everyone reading this a good day or night where ever you are <3)

🎶.

[countrymusiclover]

3 - Looking for an Alliance

Part 4

Are You District or Capitol?

Pretty please leave your thoughts in the comments 🙏 😁 ❤️ Tag list ( send an ask in my ask box to be added ) @lemonluvgirl @virtualsweetsdreamer @emma-andrea1 @voiddylanobrosey @kmc1989

@agentxx92

Sitting at the foot of my bed in the fancy bedroom I just silently stared at the wall. My stomach was twisting in intense nervous knots wishing I was somewhere else. Wishing that we weren’t back home just staying away from the Capitol. I had managed to hide for so long I felt trapped here more than I ever did when I would hide on the Reaping days until a few days ago. Hearing three knocks on my locked door I got up from my spot on the bed. “What are you doing here, dad?”

“You’re mother and I want to talk some things out with you.” He explained in a long Grey tea shirt and some black pants standing in the hallway.

I clicked my tongue not sure where this would go but agreed nonetheless. “Okay. I guess it's about time I meet my mother.”

My father and I went down the hallway and into the open living room with a lot of light being provided through the large windows. “My sweet dear, I would first like to apologize for the horrible state your father must have raised you in.” My mother Effie spoke up before we had even sat down on the couches.

“I may have drank around her but I never endangered her life while doing it. I took the best care that I could manage.” My father started talking to her.

She rolls her eyes wearing a pink wig and a dress to almost match its color that was all poofy too. “You say that now but she might have just spared your feelings.”

“When you come home after winning the games and your entire family is killed a few days later then we'll talk about what I spared her from!” He raised his tone, clutching the alcohol glass he held in his hands.

She went to respond but closed her mouth. “Haymitch, I-”

“So what did you need to talk to me about or is this what you meant by talking, angrily yelling how the other would've messed up my life.” I swore the tension in the room could be cut with a knife if you tried showing there was definitely history between these two.

My father shifted next to me on the couch. “I was thinking that you should start making some allies here. I don't know why Snow wants you but we should be prepared for the worst.”

“The worst being he throws me into the arena.” I gulped the end fabric of my shirt I had on. “So who should I start with first?”

He picked up the tv remote turning it on showing me the District 4 Reaping zooming in on Mags and Finnick. “I'd suggest Mags. She's a sweet elderly woman and is a mute unfortunately though.”

“I'll figure something out. What about the Capitol Darling?” I decided to use the nickname he had mentioned to Peeta, Katniss and I the other day.

My mother clasped her hands together in joy. “Ohhh. He's quite charming.”

“I'll talk with him and I'll do my best to convince him to help you out.” Dad touched my shoulder before I nodded leaving them there heading to the training area.

Walking around I didn't focus on what Katniss and Peeta were doing considering I wasn't experienced in any of this stuff. Finding a station that had ropes hanging on it I shrugged my shoulders deciding to start there. Picking up the rope the screen showed the direction to follow so I started folding it under and over until I felt someone move their hands over mine. "What the hell!" I jumped back elbowing whoever it was in the rib.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. I am really sorry, blossom." Spinning around I saw that it was Finnick Odair. He sends me a cheeky smile now holding the rope that I was holding in his hands.

Crossing my arms over my chest I take a step back away from him. I had my hair in a ponytail where some of it fell over my shoulder. "What do you want, Capital darling. You should know better than to sneak up on someone."

"Well yes I do know that. Now we should talk about what your skills are in the arena." He nodded where my eyes drifted down to the ways he was moving the rope into a knot. "Let me show you the best knot to know in the games."

"Why do you think I want your help. For all I know the second we get in the games I am the first person you go after." I scoffed under my breath glaring at him trying to remember that my father said there is no trust in the games. You had to look out for yourself and that's it.

Finnick stepped closer to me pausing his actions on the knot where we were almost pressing up against each other. "If I wanted you to be the first one dead I wouldn't be willing to help you. It may be hard for you to believe right now but not all the carriers are assholes..not really anyway."

"I....I'm sorry Finnick." I couldn't form a sentence because I was too focused on his eyes. I could see that they were watering meaning that he was telling the truth.

He sniffed changing his demeanor when he saw that Katniss was watching us from affair. Turning my head back to focus on him he sent me a smile and a chuckle. "Alright now this is where it can get quite complicated..don't look at me. Look at the knot."

"Sorry." I apologized softly seeing that he had finished the knot.

He then put it over his neck like he was hanging himself holding the rope out to me. "You want to take me down for a walk, blossom?"

"I'm good...why do you call me blossom exactly?" I questioned meeting his gaze when he removed the rope from around his neck.

He stepped up where he dropped his hands down at his sides, sending me a smile walking away. "Cause you came out as a surprise to everyone in the districts.” He slowly began walking away towards the elevators.

"I wouldn't trust him if I were you. He is very skilled at tricking people." I closely watched him walk away until Katniss walked up to me, arms crossed over her chest, sending me a look I couldn't read.

Shaking my head at her I turned back towards the knot that he had done and attempted to repeat what he had shown me. "The only secret that I had is known by the whole country now. I am gonna need any help I can get." She walked away where I huffed feeling more nervous of the days leading up to the games.

Standing there for a few after she had walked away I noticed that Finnick had hit the elevator button about to leave. “Finnick, wait a second! I - um - could you try and find out why Snow wants me here. If not I understand with the games things are different-”

“I'll do my best, Ariyne.” He flashed me a grin and I hated to admit that I enjoyed the way he said my name with that tone of voice.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[themculibrary]

POC Masterlist 2

part one

5 Times Fury Saw Something On Security He Really Didn't Want To (ao3) - lilsmartass, ramsay_baggins steve/tony, clint/phil, maria/tony G, 1k

Summary: Just as the title describes

5 Times MJ Made a Friend (+1 Time She Wanted More) (ao3) - juurensha mj/peter G, 3k

Summary: It’s hard moving to a new school, but maybe hanging out with a bunch of nerds is exactly what MJ needs. Also, she tells Spiderman to call her MJ because really, who does Peter think he’s kidding?

A Million Shades of Blue (ao3) - Not Applicable (not_applicable) rhodey/tony M, 8k

Summary: “I just know that if I could get to wherever he is, I could find him. Dead or alive, I’d bring him back to us.”

James Rhodes will never stop searching for Tony Stark.

Because the Night (ao3) - ladydeathfaerie nick/phil, sam/maria, melinda/victoria, mack/leo M, 9k

Summary: Monsters walk the earth. Some of them are good. And some of them are bad. Nick Fury has dedicated his life to ridding the world of the bad monsters. He and his team of specially trained hunters have dedicated their lives to exterminating the monsters in order to keep humanity safe. But what starts out as a simple hunt turns out to be a trap set up by his old nemesis.

Will Nick and his team finish the hunt or will tragedy strike the family that Nick has made for himself?

Family (ao3) - woamx G, 1k

Summary: Sam’s surrounded by people. Bucky is not.

Forged in Sparks (ao3) - SailorChibi T, 8k

Summary: Being kidnapped by Hydra wouldn't be anyone's idea of fun, and that included Shuri. She had no idea what Hydra wanted with her - or with the scruffy, skinny man in the cell right next to her.

how may i help you? (ao3) - yachi_kinnie druig/makkari G, 13k

Summary: Makkari is a barista at a coffee shop. One day, a serious-looking man enters.

In Paper Rings, In Picture Frames (Oh, You're The One I Want) (ao3) - OceanSpray5 druig/makkari G, 14k

Summary: Or, Druig and Makkari get married and wait for the rest of their oblivious family to figure it out.

Kissin’ Dynamite (ao3) - crime_fighting_spiderling pepper/tony, mj/peter G, 27k

Summary: “Maybe I shouldn’t go.” Peter spoke. MJ shoved a permission slip into his hand at his comment.

“You’re going.” She simply stated.

Where Peter and his class go on a field trip to Stark Tower.

Kiss the Cook (ao3) - AvaKelly rhodey/sam T, 6k

Summary: "You have no idea what you're doing," Rhodey concludes.

Sam crosses his arms and raises his chin. He won't go down without a fight.

The smirk on Rhodey, though, turns into a small smile, and he pulls out his phone. "Don't worry," he says as he waits for a call to connect, "we'll help. Hey," he speaks into the mic, "you alone? Uh-huh. That's close. Ditch Rogers and come early. Need you. All right, see you in twenty."

~ Or the one where Sam can't cook but everyone thinks he can.

Let's Play House (ao3) - Not Applicable (not_applicable) rhodey/steve M, 4k

Summary: “So. Good morning, I guess.”

“Yeah, good morning,” Steve said, and he took a seat on the bed beside Rhodey. Rhodey was still just in his boxers with his phone resting on one leg, and he was twisting his matching wedding band around his left ring finger as he grinned warily at Steve. “So,” Steve continued, and he held up his left hand, “this happened last night.”

Love, Rhodey (ao3) - MelissaBosquez rhodey/tony G, 3k

Summary: After being outed at school, Rhodey takes his life and potential relationship with his anonymous pen pal, Blue, into his own hands. He tells Blue and the world that he loves him and to meet him on the Ferris Wheel at the winter carnival if he feels the same.

My Autumn Touch of Gold (ao3) - prettylittlementirosa sam/bucky E, 76k

Summary: Sam seriously considers checking the ‘regretfully declines’ box. It’s not that he isn’t happy for Steve and T’Challa or that he doesn’t want to be there to see them get married. He’s just not sure he can handle seeing Bucky up close and in person, even after all this time. He wishes he was a better person. A more put-together person. A more over-it person, but. Well. It’s a Friday night and he’s at home drinking twelve-dollar wine by himself, staring at a little rectangle of fancy stock paper, trying to decide which tiny box he should scribble in.

Nick Fury doesn't make mistakes (ao3) - gorgeousnerd nick/rhodey E, 2k

Summary: Nick Fury doesn't make mistakes. Even when he goes to Stark Tower with a bottle of whiskey in the middle of the night.

Old Wounds, New Scars (ao3) - NachoDiablo steve/sam T, 11k

Summary: Sam thought he was fine with Steve leaving. Until Steve comes back.

AU where Steve returns post-FATWS finale and Sam has to sort out some resurfacing feelings even though he absolutely does not want to.

One Tuesday Morning in Wakanda (ao3) - hantumomo G, 4k

Summary: To help Bucky, Shuri sets herself a dangerous task.

Angst, a not-so-secret admirer, a gender non-conforming AI, and minor goaty shenanigans add to the fun.

out of the strong comes sweetness (ao3) - lunarriviera steve/bucky, bucky/m’baku M, 6k

Summary: When Bucky wakes up again, the first face he sees is Shuri’s.

summer’s end (ao3) - junipermoss sam/bucky n/r, 5k

Summary: When Sam shows up to Sarah’s house with an injured Bucky, she expects them to hate each other.

They don’t.

take me back (ao3) - jaybaybay T, 47k

Summary: Peter and Shuri are kidnapped by a gang of bandits who demand ransom money for the princess of Wakanda. They’ll soon find out that they have more than one prize in their grasp.

True Resurrection (ao3) - Vampiric_Ant T, 24k

Summary: A year after the events of "Secret Invasion", Maria Hill mysteriously appears on S.A.B.E.R. Space Station. Only she's not the Maria Hill whom Fury knew.

[felidacy]

Because I have been sucked back into my figure skating a.k.a. Yuzuru Hanyu like every couple of weeks by now I will share a random idea I've had in my head for a while now. Secretly hoping that maybe someone writes something like that. (I could write it myself but it wouldn't feel the same.) The man has a chokehold on me for real. It doesn't help that I genuinely have been picturing Tim more than once in Yuzuru Hanyu's stead. It would even work together with his grace and because they both seem small and very lean, while having the appropriate muscles for the needed work.

Idea begins down below!

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I wanna share my random little thought of Tim after getting Bruce back from the timestream debacle he comes to a well needed realisation. After two more near death experiences, one lost organ and a struggling morales complex, Tim makes the discovery that maybe he doesn't want to live a life that is barely going forward any longer. And though he acknowledges that he deserves to be happy and have a good family and friends, he does not know how to set boundaries and what changes are needed so he doesn't feel so tired anymore.

Tam Fox, his still fake fiancée that both forgot, then comes to the rescue to talk some sense into him. She is her fathers daughter and not one to mess with. This is why she manages it that Tim actually listens to her. First of all he finishes high school, moves in with Tam (Tam was not amused when she saw how he lived. Tim has never been so terrified.) and tries to keep a healthier work-life balance.

But Tim loaths the work as CEO, because it's so monoton he has too much time to overthink and it is what Jack and Janet Drake had always wanted for him. Tim did learn by now that he was never treated like he should have been. Not by the Drakes or the Wayne's. And so the decision is made that Tim needs to get out of Gotham - far, far away to heal.

Tim is smart, but he can also be so incredibly dumb sometimes. Which is why instead of being honest with family and friends, he fakes his death while in his Red Robin disguise and after that is secured he runs away before anyone can even properly mourn him. Tim would like to clap himself on the back, the death was a 10/10 in his mind with all the dramatic flair that his family naturally possess. Tam knows the truth immediately after all she didn't find the boy all across the world for nothing and so he instead gets nagged for hours on end after some hits.

(Tam later on does apologise. She had been worried sick as she once again went after him without knowing for sure that he lived and now they were in Malaysia.)

Tam refuses to leave and after a long talk with her father she decides on staying with Tim. Tim could have left again to shake off Tam, however he had always wanted to come to his mothers hometown and he was not willing to give that up now. They take up new identities, still engaged because its easier to explain and have a new life. The regular normie life does not work out for Tim that much. In winter Tim rescues a young child that's trapped on a frozen lake where locals were ice skating and is in danger of sinking. Unable to let a innocent person die, Tim takes one of the skates and relying on his training he is able to get the child back on safe land.

He was a bit too impressive as a figure skating coach saw him and Tim promptly gets scouted by the woman. At first he doesn't want to, but she is stubborn and Tam wants him to have a great future if that is what he wants as well. In the end he gives in and the coach is delighted because she wishes to come very far with Tim so her beloved, old company can see it's glory days again.

Cut to three years later, newly 21-year-old Tim comes on on the TV in the Manor while holding a gold medal. After the ceremony a young woman runs towards Tim and only when he spins her around do the people in the living room recognise them as Tam and Tim. Who were apparently newly married as a reporter states? Tim was secretly alive in another country and became a championship winner in figure skating?

Mayhem ensues.

[iheartgod175]

Fanfic Sneak Peek Theater ACT 1: For the Fighters

Hey there everyone! As promised, here’s the previews for the fics that I’m currently working on! A few you guys already know about already, while a few others may surprise you! And I did my best to pick a few parts from select scenes that will leave you all foaming at the mouth for an update. Uh, just don’t beat me up to get an update, okay? ^^

As the title states, the first part of the SPT is for those who love action and violence. And with how my mind works, there’s no shortage of that in these works lol.

First up, Chapter 5 of Darkness Rewrite, titled “Stronghold of Darkness”! If I launched into a summary, I’m going to spoil the whole thing, so let me just leave ya with a lil’ preview!

The shingles of the roof were scraped off as Material-B made contact with the roof, racing up to meet him. His next punch sent the Super Reader through the chimney and into a tree, bursting through the wood and sliding through the dirt. His opponent didn't give him a chance to even rest, coming up behind him and kicking him in the side, so hard that he was certain he felt bones shift in ways they weren't supposed to.

"SIR! RESPOND!" Juggernaut's voice, uncharacteristically for a computer, sounded horrified.

Alpha Pig would have, but Material-B dragged him up by the collar of his uniform to meet his face. He sneered.

"So much for that dare. Admit it. You lost, Alpha Pig. But don't worry. You'll join your dear friends, soon enough."

He dropped him, and the punch that slammed into his stomach tore a heaving gasp from the preschooler's throat, his blue eyes widened with pain. He hurtled through the air, crashing through another tree, splinters digging into his limbs and machinery. He bounced off the ground twice, eventually coming to rest against one of the boulders that remained in the forest. His body went limp, unimaginable pain coursing through his body.

Material-B's horrifying laugh echoed through his ringing ears, being the final nail in the coffin for his defeat.

Second on my list is chapter 4 of The Zula Patrol: Dreamscape Crusade Remastered, titled, “Breach”. Things get a little dicey for Multo as he navigates an unfamiliar world with an unlikely foe as an ally.

He couldn't help but wonder: was this his fate for his refusal to listen to the Temple's teachings? Was this his punishment: trapped in a horrible world, where he didn't know what had happened to his friends and family, alone and hunted?

He shook his head. No, now's not the time to think of that! I've got to find out where I am, and how to get out of it!

He let out a low groan as he pushed himself out of bed, the papers crumpling under his feet. On the chair next to the bed was a small stick, which he used to prop himself as he walked. It would do as a makeshift weapon, but he hoped that nothing would come to that.

He pushed open the door, looking down the corridor, noting that it was a little cleaner, but not by much. Similar marks were all over the walls, these written in green ink rather than red. A tangy, metallic odor reached Multo's nostrils, and he winced, a sinking sense of dread filling him. My stars...is that blood?! What sick person draws on the walls with other peoples' blood?!

The metallic smell became stronger, almost overpowering. His heightened senses allowed him to pick up more sounds: the sounds of teeth tearing into flesh and intermittent growls.

His gut screamed at him, "Get out now." And although he knew he should, a part of him wanted to see. Against his better judgement, he stole a glance around the corner, praying that it wasn't a rabid animal.

What he saw made him wish that it was.

And finally, this project is one that I’ve been working on since last year, titled “Hardly A Laughing Matter”. It’s one of my numerous Hanna-Barbera Head Dumps that I wrote when I had finished watching Date a Live IV. @blazing-shadows will probably get super hyped about this scene XD

In seconds, Hardy had gone from remaining on the ground, to pushing through the crowd, even shoving a kid to get to his best friend. He fell to his knees and held the lion's shoulders, shaking him. "Lippy! Say something! You've got to get up!" he cried. "Oh, I knew something bad was gonna happen today! Oh, dear, oh, my…"

"An' your day's about to get a lot worse."

A hush fell over the crowd, and everyone turned to face the speaker. A rabbit strode into the room, fur whiter than the floor, his spurs clacking against the ruined floors. He was short, coming to about three feet, give or take...but the look in his amber eyes, set against tanned sclera, bore into the crowd's, locking them in place. His tattered leather vest, adorned with spikes, billowed with an ethereal wind as he stood in the middle of the room. His stance was casual, but Hardy could see the tautness of his muscles; one wrong move, and they'd all be dead before they could blink.

"I'm-a only gonna ask this once," the rabbit started, his Texan twang quick, his voice hard. "Tell me where Avenger is. I tracked him down here, so don't none of y'all tell me you haven't seen hide or hair of 'im."

Nobody answers him, too stupefied to do so. Hardy stares at the rabbit, his head beginning to pound as more memories flow into his mind.

It then clicked, and ice filled his veins. No...no, it can't be!

He doesn't see the rabbit's hand move. All he and the crowd hears are gunshots. Seconds later, five people are on the ground, dead before they can scream, and shock sets in. People start to recoil, screaming in horror. The rabbit glares down at the remaining victims, smoking gun aimed at them.

"So none of ya know, eh? Well, let's make this interestin'. I'm-a kill each of you until someone decides to tell me where that bastard is," he snarled. "So someone had better start talkin' an' fast." Another gunshot, and a woman drops to the floor. "I don't have all day."

This post is already long enough, so I’d better leave things here before I run out of character length. Let me know what you folks think below!

[milesconure]

Ngl I wish Sonic's corruption in Sonic Frontiers was showed differently. I saw sobie reviews for the game and one person had this interesting idea that when Sonic would get corrupted, it would kinda be like a new form. Something like Dark Sonic. When Amy, Tails and Knuckles were trapped in the whole cyber thing, they were living through something like a nightmare. It would just be so... cool to see Sonic also have some kind of nightmare while corrupted, seeing himself but evil maybe?. I just would love to see more than just "oh look, something is wrong with Sonic, oh wait nevermind, his friends saved him". I get that they probably didn't have time, because the end of the game is... clearly rushed. But still. Maybe they could do something like that in the next game. I'm gonna be honest. I was always a huge fan of Dark Sonic and only recently learned that he's not really canon, since he only appeared in Sonic X. Something like that could be possible tho, because I've read that there is a reason why Sonic uses Chaos Emeralds only in emergency situations and why he doesn't always have them around. The creators stated somewhere that if someone would use Chaos Emeralds all the time, the user would want more and more power. And because of that greed, the power in Chaos Emeralds would become something negative. I think it would also apply it the user wanted to use the Chaos Emeralds for not so good reasons. Of course, Sonic isn't a bad person and that's the reason why creators don't want him to turn into something like Dark Sonic (like they stated themselves). But in my opinion, this idea would be great if it was executed correctly. What if something bad happened to Sonic's friends? What if Eggman or other villain went too far. What if Sonic just snapped this one time. Of course I don't want him to become something like Steven in Steven Universe Future or I don't want another game like Shadow The Hedgehog. I don't want him to go bizzare and start killing people and stuff. But I still want to see Sonic in some really serious situation where he actually showed emotions and he had to be the one to be saved. I guess I want something like that, because I feel like Sonic rarely shows his more vulnerable side. I get that he's the best positive boy, but I want to see him angry or sad sometimes AND COME ON. WHY WOULDN'T I WANT TO SEE HIM IN FORM LIKE THAT?

But I guess for now, the only thing I can do is to mod Sonic Frontiers and beat up Titans with Dark Sonic lol

[impromptuwriting]

Ooohhhh, I like this one! All under cut!

The themes here are a bit heavy, so I am rating this as nc-17.

Sexual assault mention, sorry about this.

My lair is usually pretty hidden. It's a big city the one my rival and arch nemesis and I fight in.

Very few people know where it is and for sure my arch nemesis does not know its location.

Or so I thought.

See, I don't exactly keep a doorbell. That night, however, the insistent knocking at the gates was unnerving - my minions had clocked off, I was about to go to sleep, because even a super villain needs rest, and whoever was knocking at the gates really had a death wish.

Or so I thought.

I grabbed my incinerator and power walked at the gates. "Who DARES show up at Hell's doors?" I asked threateningly.

And then I saw them.

My arch nemesis, my rival, the superhero, the Golden Hawk in flesh and blood and bones.

I stared at them for a long moment - they were hurt, they were covered in blood, they were disheveled. They also appeared to be in some sort of drugged state.

And they were scared.

Well, I wasn't the only villain around, but I was the only one having had beef with them.

And I surely had not touched them, you know, PTA meeting and all.

Yes, I have a teenage son, he's going to college soon, anyway.

"What the fuck." I said.

The Golden Hawk trembled like a leaf. That Golden Hawk, the same who had handed my ass to the authorities so many times. They spoke.

"Sorry... I didn't know where else to go..." they muttered and before I could say anything they collapsed in front of me.

And for a moment I turned my back.

For a moment I thought, great! No superhero to deal with means I can do whatever! I can just chuck their dead body somewhere and declare the city mine!

But then I started having a nagging feeling. They came to me directly, they are scared and bleeding...

And I turned back.

The Golden Hawk was still there, unconscious.

And they reminded me of things I thought they had been removed from my memories.

The nagging feeling was still there.

Their unconscious body was still there.

"Ah, fuck." I said out loud.

I picked them up and dragged them inside the lair, placing them somewhere comfortable and not booby trapped, as in my own living area of the lair.

I checked their wounds, although I could not exactly define them as wounds. They were of a different kind, the assault kind, and I knew them well.

Way too well.

Again the nagging feeling and the unwanted memories kicked in.

I pushed all of this back.

I got one of my minions, the one with the medical degree, to check on them and do something to make them feel better.

Not because I cared and especially not because of that nagging feeling.

As if I had some sort of sixth sense, I decided to check my phone.

And the feed immediately showed me a video that was going viral - and I saw.

The Golden Hawk had been drugged and taken against their will.

Several times by several people.

It was disgusting and it brought back really unpleasant memories that I thought I had buried.

I felt anger. I felt exactly like that day.

But I had to wait.

When the Golden Hawk finally woke up, they were still shook.

I had, in the meantime, hijacked whatever website had hosted that video, took the video off the world wide web and sent it to the entirety of the family tree of those animals, sent it to the police and also sent their IDs to every single villain I knew.

Also I was planning for their destruction too.

Anyway.

The Golden Hawk woke up and looked at me like a deer caught by a flashlight.

I was sitting on a chair in front of them. I prepared myself for my monologue.

"You see, my first crime was my villain origin story, you know that. What you don't know is that the man I killed, the so-called great hero of all time was a violent and abusive prick, a drunkard and also a pedophile. Also, my biological father. He broke several of my mother's bones, sent her into a coma for several months and he also abused me. Several times. I finally got a hold of his weapon and put him out of his misery."

They stuttered. "Wh-why... Why are you..."

"I saw what they did to you and they will be dead soon if they are not already."

"Wh-why..."

"Animals like those are so low in the food chain that they constantly feel the need to assert dominance. They are disgusting."

"B-but..."

"You will be okay with some medical attention and a lot of therapy."

There was a long silence, I reckon that the Golden Hawk was gathering themselves. "Why did you..."

I shrugged. "You had nowhere else to go. I had ghosts that would not let me sleep at night."

"But you are a villain..."

"Okay, what about the animals that hurt you?"

There was a long silence. I kept speaking. "I didn't choose being a villain. When I killed that man my mother was not even a little grateful that I had gotten rid of him. She demonized me, witnessed against me in court and let me rot in prison."

"Why didn't anyone... Help?"

"Why would anyone? I killed their so-called hero. But mine is an, old story. These animals have now a big red target on them. What will you do?"

"I... I don't know."

Figured. I sighed. "Well, go to the hospital. Wash, change and then go to the hospital. You will decide then. I personally have already decided what to do now."

The Golden Hawk nodded. They stood up slowly, still wobbling a bit. They grabbed the change of clothes my minion left, disappeared, reappeared a while later and then nodded. "Thank you, I will remember this."

"Just don't say it, I have a reputation to defend."

"Sure."

They went off shortly after. Now, I have not heard from them directly, but news are talking about a big lawsuit, the aforementioned animals being in jail and in isolation - those who are still alive by the way, my villain colleagues have gone ham on these dudes.

I have plans to make now. Scram!

You, a supervillain, answer a knock at your door, only to find your superhero nemesis shivering, bleeding, scared, and slightly dazed (as if drugged). They appear to have been assaulted. The hero mumbles “…didn’t know where else to go…” before collapsing into your arms.