#i'll try going there and getting a proper in-person quote this coming week but it's prob still gonna be that LMAO...... man | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

nc-vb · 2 years ago

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I'd been so emotionally baffled by the Elliot Gindi situation that I've stayed off of Twitter for most of the week, so much so that my nails are bitten down to their beds (an old habit I kicked around six years ago, with the current situation bringing it back), but going on for the first time since learning about everything and being bombarded by piece of evidence after piece of evidence, both factual and disproven (confirmed), I've decided to put together a post of links and summaries where you can find this evidence.

As Tumblr only allows a certain number of photos per post, I'll either have things collaged or will have simply added the links to the posts for larger bits of evidence; whatever's necessary.

This compilation will begin beneath the cut of this post to avoid unnecessary exposure to those who wish to scroll past. Additionally, I would like to note a few things to keep in mind while this situation continues to, unfortunately, unfold, in regards to Elliot, the victims, and Genshin Impact.

Elliot may have voiced Tighnari, but as we all should know and be able to differentiate, he is not the character. There is no point to hating on a collection of pixels. For some, it is difficult to separate the two, or for better phrasing, knowing that Elliot voices/once voiced him, it will be hard for some to not associate the two so closely. Please respect those who have this difficulty. This isn't an easy time, but the conversation on this abuse should not be trained anywhere else but on this matter.

Victim blaming is cruel and senseless. At this point in time, over twenty victims have come out with proof/evidence/information, and as such, they should not be treated with the "looking for attention" party line. Be respectful to the victims during this time, because as hard as you might be taking this news, I can personally assure you that they are taking it much, much harder.

Finally, some of these victims are underage. I'm talking as young as 13, here. All the more reason to not victim blame, as they are literal children. There's nothing more easily manipulated and pliable as a child's mind, something a good, proper adult knows full well. And, the bad ones know this, too, which is why they do what they do, the "what" being all of this.

Be respectful to the other voice actors, as well. Some of them were good friends or good acquaintances or coworkers with Elliot and are also taking this news difficultly. Some more than others, which I'll get into below, as well.

Finally, please remember that when people like this pull stunts like this and reuse and recycle the same tactics on those younger and more impressionable, and then begin "apologizing", it is not for their own guilt. It is for the fact that they were caught, and are now backtracking to try and save their own asses.

As of February 13th, 2023, there appears to be a formal investigation of Elliot Gindi and all existing evidence has been collected for the purpose of this investigation.

While I will be adding TWs in the tags below, I'll also include them below this paragraph, as I'm sure not everyone has tags blocked on here. I will not be going into any specifics on a case-by-case basis out of respect for the victims, nor will I quote any specific comments/remarks made by Elliot. I don't know if there are words that get triggered for post review here on Tumblr like other sites have, so you might find some words asterisked (*) throughout.

Tw warnings for p*dophilia, tr*nsphobia, gr**ming, ableism, sexual assault, self-harm, emotional abuse, blackmail, mentions of s*icide (manipulation tactics), mentions of eating disorders (sexual relations with minors.

Okay, I think that covers all of that. Let's begin.

Minor note before we get into things: as it stands, all evidence provided has pointed out undeniable proof of Elliot Gindi being problematic in almost, if not all, every shape, way, and form. I think the only thing he's yet to do is physically act on some of the things he has said over the course of his time of voicing Tighnari. That we're aware of, anyway. But he has admitted to his foul behaviour.

In early February, Twitter member and former Discord mod for Elliot's Twitch channel, FretCore (Matty), came forward with a compilation doc of screenshots of submitted conversations between Elliot and other fans. The original Google Doc has since been removed in accordance with their terms of use rules, but since then, a WordPress site has been created. A majority of the following evidence comes on behalf of them and the other mods, as well as the victims (who remain nameless/anonymous/under aliases).

(I've linked their Twitter account for ease of access; however, please know that the evidence you will find either posted or retweeted there is not for the faint of heart. I advise you to heed general TWs should you choose to browse.)

Before the allegations went live, Elliot had already been in contact with numerous fans since October of 2022, betraying their trust by using their adoration for his work as Tighnari as his weapon of choice. He would target young, influential fans, especially those who had revealed themselves to have a mental health condition that might be easily manipulated, for the purpose of and resulting in installing a power dynamic. Elliot spoke with Corina Boettger (Paimon VA) and mentioned that he "spoke with them", referring to him coming "clean" about his behaviour (I will post her responses in another section below).

On February 6th, 2023, Elliot posted this on Twitter, announcing a "temporary" departure from social media:

As well as this "apology":

Over the past two weeks, twenty-four victims have come forward-- Tokki, Kazuya, Haruka, Faru, Atticus, Cal, Luc, Kit, strrbryss, Miki, Aynour (submitted to Matty), An (account protected), Roro, Lei Lanii (account protected), and ten other unnamed victims. Not only were the messages sent by Elliot highly manipulative, but they were extremely inappropriate for multiple reasons. Below, I will tl;dr for you the specifics of each case. I know many of you haven't been able to stomach the details of the situation for numerous valid reasons, and I'm sorry that this has reawakened a lot of pain for everyone in the process.

TW User Tokki (he/they, 17y.o.) shared the messages between them and Elliot where the former VA had been the one to initiate contact. Tokki had been a member of Elliot's Discord server and would frequently message them under the guise of a mental health check-in, until admitting that he took notice of them after they'd posted a cosplay. The use of their dead name and incorrect pronouns went hand-in-hand with fetishizing their sexuality and mentioning other harmful comments in regards involving conversion and transphobia. He also used their mental health history (past and present) to try and cover himself by calling Tokki "crazy"; Tokki later relapsed around New Years and was almost sent to a psychiatric hospital when Elliot threatened to commit. When Elliot was kicked from a private server they were both in, along with Tokki's friends, the two spoke only enough that Tokki eventually blocked him and contacted a mod. TW

TW User Kazuya (pronouns unknown?) shared the messages between them and Elliot that had the former VA using inappropriate nicknames, encouraged them providing sexual favours to him over video and voice recordings, and wound up hospitalized for attempting to comply with one of his requests. Other messages from Elliot included him encouraging Kazuya to get tested for any sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) so they could engage in unprotected sexual intercourse should they ever meet. TW

TW The first unnamed victim sent Elliot a fanart of himself and a nice message. It wasn't soon after that Elliot began making sexual remarks. Elliot deleted their conversation before it could be recorded through screenshots, but Elliot began to fetishize their bisexuality for his own personal enjoyment. TW

TW User Haruka (assuming she/her, based; 20y.o.) also sent Elliot fanart and told him how much she enjoyed his Tighnari work. The conversation, which wasn't expected to become a conversation, quickly escalated into one of sexual remarks from Elliot, that Haruka felt "extremely obligated [to] give him what he wanted" (nudes). Haruka says that before the escalation, she felt "safe" speaking with Elliot, but the 180-degree on both her and the others' situation has since put her in a "horrible mental state". TW

TW User Faru (he/they, 14y.o.; Ace) met Elliot through IG when they sent him fanart and pulls from Genshin. After a bit of kind conversation, Faru opened up about a previous SA where Elliot asked invasive questions on the matter; whenever it got too much and Faru got upset, Elliot would guilt them into rejoining the conversation, which only got more explicit (again, I won't be adding any details here). While all of the cases here are extreme, Faru's evidence has its own TW within one of the screenshots, so please bear this in mind should you decide to read the texts yourself. TW

TW User Atticus (he/they, 18y.o.) had a brief encounter with Elliot through a voice call. He dm'ed Elliot some Tighnari doodles and he called them "cute", before asking if they could chat over call. They did, and it was at first normal, until Elliot eventually turned on his camera and revealed him to be naked and masturbating (Atticus assumes it was to his voice). Atticus was 17 at the time of the incident, and his age was public in his Discord. He immediately left the call and blocked Elliot. TW

TW The second unnamed victim had sent Elliot a Tighnari edit through Twitter, not having Discord. Elliot saw it on his personal account, but messaged them back on a burner account. Elliot almost immediately inquired to their sexuality/gender details and country. It was obvious in the intonation of their text that this unnamed victim felt uncomfortable with the flow of conversation, but felt obligated to indulge him. The two exchanged certain photos, and even multiple voice clips. This victim ghosted Elliot for two weeks, and upon re-entering the conversation, Elliot immediately went into a guilt-trip/self-loathing/pity party that frightened them. Another picture was sent, this one involving self-harm that greatly triggered the victim. They told him to seek help, and presumedly, blocked Elliot. TW

TW User Cal (he/they, 14y.o.) tells that he reached out to Elliot about Tighnari, as well, and Elliot repeated the previous pattern of asking personal questions, asking for Cal's deadname (which he did not give) and for Cal's discord. Elliot eventually asked Cal to delete their IG chats and was manipulated into doing so, so unfortunately, they are unable to provide physical evidence. Two months ago, Elliot asked for a picture of Cal. At this point, it is unclear if Elliot is aware of Cal's true age (unlikely). Elliot throws another self-loathing/pity party. Cal has declined to share anymore information, to spare his mental health. TW

TW User Luc (any pronouns; 21y.o.) spoke to Elliot on their old Discord account around September 2022, having joined Elliot's server with it but quickly leaving as they felt uncomfortable being in a server (general). Elliot private messaged Luc, eventually falling into his same pattern of personal, inappropriate questions of Luc's sexuality, what they had on, where Luc lived, etcetera. When Elliot asked for Luc's Snapchat, Luc declined, not keen on giving it out. The day after, Elliot asked if Luc would join them on video call and masturbate with him. Luc expressed how uncomfortable they felt during this exchange, and demanded he stopped when Elliot asked for photos of Luc's breasts. Elliot began apologizing, and asked Luc to make a new Discord and delete the one used in their conversations, hence why Luc has no available evidence. Luc did send a clothed, full-body picture at Elliot's request, but Elliot made a comment on his thinner appearance (unfortunately, This spanned over two days. TW

TW The third unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 18y.o.) was also a victim to Elliot's pattern of abuse: the personal, invasive questions once the victim introduced themselves as a supporting fan; "where do you live?"/"what are you wearing?" This victim chatted with Elliot on Discord through an alt account of his and experienced his self-deprecating remarks once being told that they were uncomfortable with the situation, and the fact that he heavily used their trauma against them. The victim believes that after they blocked Elliot, he deleted the alt account. TW

TW User Kit (he/they, 13y.o.) came forward with some of the most sickening evidence that I'd read at this point. In being the youngest victim, it was quite painful reading through his testimony. Their interaction started off the same way as the others, along with the personal questions. Kit assumed he was being friendly and knew his age, as it was posted to his bio. Elliot continued to address Kit with female pronouns despite being informed of Kit being afab. He asked Kit more invasive things (I will not list them) before jumping into the extremely sexual comments, additionally calling Kit "good girl" on a consistent basis, and even sending Kit a dick pic. When it was finally attached to the conversation that Kit is only 13 years old, Elliot goes through his self-deprecating, s*icide-threatening spiel to gain sympathy from Kit, and successfully encourages him to delete their Discord chat. But, Kit kept the receipts. TW

TW User strrbryss (unknown pronouns, 14y.o.) posted their recount of their experience with Elliot on TikTok, which was then sent to Matty. Again, it was the same pattern of manipulative abuse he used on the other fans after receiving an edit from strrbryss: the personal, invasive questions turn to requests for sexual favours, which were, at first, rejected by strrbryss (Elliot managed to manipulate and bait her through threatening s*icide); the self-deprecating remarks. strrbryss blocked him soon after. TW

TW The fourth unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 14y.o.) opened up to Elliot after having made an alt account for the purpose of sending him fanart, where the former VA created another false place of safety before asking about their personals. This victim unfortunately did provide their personal information. After giving Elliot their Snapchat, he began making advances on them and would ask for nudes, despite making it clear numerous times that they were underage, and even make them sit through inappropriate video calls with him. The fourth victim ultimately stopped talking to Elliot and blocked him, and he deleted their messages. TW

TW The fifth unnamed victim (assumed pronouns being he/they [enby], 20y.o.) sent Elliot fanart, who turned their current fixation of Tighnari into full-on conversations, appearing as a friend to them. Elliot soon began asking for personal audios, admitting to masturbating to one of the voice clips sent by the victim (presumedly?); he would ask to sext with the victim, as well, where they would then try and shift the conversation to get out of it. Elliot began guilt-tripping the victim, getting in their head and using their situation with their friends as a catalyst; he requested explicit videos from the victim, and even photos of their s*lf-h*rm scars. Elliot would eventually start harassing this victim's friends, and ultimately blocked Elliot. TW

TW The sixth unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 13y.o.) sent their compliments to Elliot on his work as Tighnari through Discord back in late December. They and Elliot began a conversation, talking more regularly until Elliot began asking the same personal questions and attempting to give the victim the same false sense of safety. This victim had already informed Elliot of their age multiple times. Elliot made inappropriate/sexual comments regarding the victim wearing their favourite lipstick after showing just them wearing lipstick (and nothing else) in a photo to him. The victim began to purposely distance themselves from any conversation with Elliot as the inappropriate behaviour progressed, where Elliot then spammed them on Twitter and Discord asking if they were "mad at him". He tried backtracking and "apologizes". The victim has deleted their chats together and has blocked Elliot since. TW

TW The seventh unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 12/13y.o.) was 12 at the time that they contacted Elliot Gindi to give praise for his voice acting. This victim has a prior of being sexually harassed/gr**med (one of the abusers actually being similar to Elliot), and Tighnari was a comfort character for them. The victim shared their IG handle with Elliot when he asked for photos, and only commented on them (not mentioning the victim's mother, who was also in the picture). He began asking the victim "weird things", such as the type of clothes they wore, if they had a boyfriend, if they could send him a picture of what the victim was presently wearing. The victim would brush off his questions, still wanting to stay connected to "Tighnari". The questions got more sexually inappropriate, to which the victim informed Elliot of their history of being a gr**ming victim. Elliot sent the victim a dick pic along with extremely sexually vulgar comments. These events sent the victim into a panic attack and forced them back into therapy, and even to the greatest extreme of begging their mother to move out of the United States in fear of Elliot. TW

TW The eighth unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 15y.o.) had conversations with Elliot in vanish mode (due to a previous experience, but also as Elliot said it was "better that way"). The two sexted back and forth. The victim had heard that it was "easy to get a response from him" and wanted to speak to the voice actor of her favourite character. Elliot lured them in by providing them his Tighnari voice for NSFW roleplays. When the victim explained that they were getting bored of Genshin Impact, Elliot immediately began guilt-tripping them, saying that they "just hated him and wanted to use him for his voice and talents", that "he should just disappear then if [they're] so bored", that they were "breaking his heart". The victim (thankfully) recognized his behaviour and kept their distance, eventually deleting the messages from their conversations (five conversation took place beginning late December, three of which were sexual). TW

TW The ninth unnamed victim (unknown pronouns, 26y.o.), while they didn't suffer from any sexual advances from Elliot after initiating conversation with him over IG, they were on the receiving end of Elliot's request for them to s*lf-h*rm relapse. He even attempted to gaslight the victim by saying "if you really cared for me". They had to "lecture" Elliot about asking for this. TW

TW User Miki (he/they/she, 13y.o.) says they don't have any evidence of the "cringy sex talk", but managed to keep the screenshot from the day Elliot threatened them. They assume he has kept the nudes they sent him, as he also threatened to share them if they revealed anything of their interactions. Miki is currently suffering through depression, and shares their regards to the other victims. TW

TW User Aynour (assumed pronouns being she/they, unknown age) was a lip MUA and would post the looks on IG, at the time that they messaged Elliot to compliment him and his work. He complimented them in turn and asked if they could video call while they put on their makeup. He didn't say much during the interaction and his camera had an odd angle to it; Aynour later found out that Elliot was touching himself to her applying lipstick. Elliot proceeded to make sexually inappropriate comments that made Aynour so uncomfortable that she immediately ended the call. Elliot apologized later, dubbing what happened during the call a "misunderstanding", and telling Aynour that he thought they knew he'd been "interested in [me] sexually". Aynour does not have the screenshots, as they deleted their entire IG account after being unable to take the thought of anyone looking at any of their photos and thinking the same thoughts that Elliot voiced to them. "I can't put on lipstick anymore." TW

TW The tenth unnamed victim (now "named" Rhea; assumed pronouns being she/they, 19y.o.) was a member of his Discord server and complimented Elliot on his voice work for Tighnari; they additionally said they enjoyed the stream Elliot had done with CyYu (Cyno's voice actor), and when they went on about the latter, Elliot showed signs of jealousy. When the victim opened up about a prior sexual assault by a family member, Elliot inquired if they "liked it", to which the victim informed him that the event had been why they were now into females only. Elliot proposed that he change this for them, himself, or by means of a threesome with another fan. Elliot exploded on the victim, lying and bringing up CyYu's name in the guise of him hating the victim, and saying that the victim was "a disgusting attention seeker that plotted against him to ruin his career". Elliot's response was enough to send the victim to seeking psychiatric help and stayed in a psych ward for two weeks; they stopped playing Genshin, stopped watching Twitch, stayed indoors. The victim finally told their mother what happened and both had gone to the authorities and sought an attorney's help. The victim deleted their Discord and the evidence, after being told they couldn't help with this situation. The victim laments that they allowed themself to be fooled by his words, and that he manipulated them into hating CyYu from Elliot's lies, leading them to tear up a treasured autograph from CyYu. Elliot, before the evidence from this victim could even be posted, sent this victim more messages (20 minutes before Matty posted the evidence). TW

TW User An (they/it, 16/17y.o.) met Elliot on Discord in the beginning of December, and complimented him on his work in Genshin. A few days after talking, the two would voice chat (vchat?), when Elliot commented on their voice and how attractive it was. On December 27th, Elliot began asking An about their sexual fantasies, and asked them to show their face to him. An would ask him to stop, and after An told their friend, Kishke, about the situation, Elliot told An to delete their messages-- and An would, if he apologized. He "did", and An deleted them. Elliot then threatened s*icide and s*lf-h*rm to get his way, using the words "If you tell anyone else, I might have to kill myself". An would try to talk him out of s*icide, and Elliot proceeded to sexualize them helping him, calling their efforts "sexy". The day after, An blocked Elliot on Discord and Twitter. TW

TW User Roro (unknown pronouns, 19y.o.) contacted Elliot two weeks before their 19th birthday, to express how much she loved his character and the voice used for him. After a bit of conversation, and Roro saying they've done some commercial work on the side, Elliot proceeds to make a sexual comment/joke(?) about their voice. Elliot would ask stranger questions, specifically regarding if they'd had bottom surgery. Roro later offhandedly mentioned having a Tighnari pillow, to which Elliot asked them to send a video of them humping it-- Roro blocked him and deleted the messages. TW

TW User Lei Lanii (unknown pronouns, 16y.o. - 21y.o.) met Elliot much earlier than the aforementioned victims, in a Pokemon server called PokemonGoGo, where Elliot defended Lei Lanii when they'd been bullied for their art, and then sent them a friend request. From the age of 16, Lei Lanii and Elliot would speak often, the latter consistently sending Lei Lanii compliments about them and their art, and eventually, asking them if they would sneak out to see him, or draw lewd art for him. Elliot would trick and gaslight Lei Lanii into clinging to him (they have attachment issues), and they have been speaking ever since. Please, if you decide to read their evidence, it is very triggering. Caution yourself. TW

Even now, more victims are coming out with statements. Unfortunately, it is too vast a number to keep up with. Should the WordPress document ran by Matty be updated, I will add them into this posting. I only relay information, but I am not in a place to verify truth or falsities.

GENSHIN IMPACT STATEMENTS

February 15th, 2023 @ 9:30 PM "Dear Travelers, After communications with the voice recording agency, we hereby confirm that Elliot Gindi, the English voice actor for Tighnari will no longer be voicing the character in subsequent versions due to a breach of contract. "At present, we are communicating with the voice recording agency regarding matters of casting and re-recording. We will gradually replace Tighnari's existing in-game voice lines, and issue these updates in the corresponding announcements. Thank you for your support, Travelers!"

ACTOR STATEMENTS

The following are comments and statements supplied by the Genshin Impact English voice cast (as of February 15th). I've likely missed some. There's a lot.

Corina Boettger (voice of Paimon)

"I was one of the people he called before this all came out 2 days ago to "come clean". Which I don't know why. Besides a few random tweets I haven't had a direct conversation with him since I think august last year. I feel gross that he came to me. Worse is that he told another person that I "took it well". Which makes me feel gross that he thought I was on his side. I wasn't. Even him watering down the situation I told him it was bad. And yeah over the call I didn't yell or freak out but that doesn't mean I was okay. I shut down. My partner has had to deal with my mental state for the aftermath of this & it is not good. Cause at that point Elliot told me he didn't think anyone would come forward because he "talked to them" which really just tells me he tried to manipulate them more. But I was immediately in a position where I was thinking "who do I go to... I have to let people know he isn't safe". Luckily shortly after that call someone else reached out to me and notified me that things were in motion, people were being notified, and then they also sent me the actual severity of what happened. I knew he wasn't giving me the full truth. He even alluded to me that because one of the victims had a mental disorder that they don't really have the wherewithal to come forward. Which completely broke me. To be honest I disassociated through the conversation so I am only remembering what I can but my partner was there during the conversation and I was on speakerphone so I know I didn't imagine it. But I am autistic. I know with previous experience how I was scouted by abusers because of it. Cause then my word would not be trusted. Also when he told me he made sure everything was deleted so they have no "real proof" I told him that was stupid cause if you did nothing wrong you wouldn't have had them delete anything. He knew. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway. And I feel so gross and sick that he came to me like I was a friend when I never was. I had a feeling from the start something was off about him but I said nothing because you're not supposed to judge people instantly like that. I feel like maybe if I had spoken up no one would have gotten hurt. But all I had was my gut instinct at the time. Thank you to those that came forward. It isn't easy. You didn't deserve this. And I'm sorry this happened to you. I feel so guilty. I feel like I could have helped more. He knew it was bad or he wouldn't have called me to try to change the narrative before it was even out. He even told me that he was going to contact others he worked with. Meaning he was trying to garner support before it happened. I wish when he told me I yelled at him. I wanted to. But I thought that would make it worse for the victims. I also thought maybe if I kept calm he would give me more info so I could help the victims. But it made me sick. I feel sick for not telling him right then and there to f*ck off. I replay what I can remember from the conversation over and over thinking "yes you told him what he did was bad but you could have done more" cause the fact that he told others I took it well? That just makes me so angry. I cried after that call. My partner has done nothing but comfort me the last 2 days saying I did the right thing. Thank god someone contacted me shortly after that call saying they had it handled and that the victims were safe. Because I really thought it was just down to me at that point and I had no idea who the victims were or how to handle it. I wish I could have done more to help. I wish my stupid disability didn't make me shut down when dealing with stress especially when there are people who are hurting who could have used my help.

Zach Aguilar (voice of Aether)

Disappointed and angry. I have removed the stream with Elliot and will no longer be associating with him. I refuse to give someone like this a platform in any way. To use your power this way over fans is disgusting and shameful. My heart goes out for the victims of this situation

Sarah Miller-Crews (voice of Lumine)

Shocked and disgusted. I’m sending all my heart to the victims of this situation, I hope all of you are okay. Elliot’s behavior is absolutely inexcusable and he won’t be part of any group streams I help organize in the future.

Cristina Vee Valenzuela (voice of Bennett & Xingqiu)

I am so sorry to all the victims of that person’s horrible and inexcusable actions. I’m so appalled and disgusted. I didn’t know them well but I have cut all ties. Recovery can be a long and difficult journey, please be strong.

Brianna Knickerbocker (voice of Hu Tao)

I am furious. HOW DARE Elliot threaten to take his life if the victims came forward. Truly sick in the head. Everything Elliot has done has left me so angry and triggered. There needs to be consequences for his actions. There needs to be support for the victims. BELIEVE VICTIMS. Victims. Please speak up if and when safe to do so, please don't stop speaking up. I'm so sorry we live in such a dark place with such disgusting predators, groomers. I'm sorry it's hard and scary to speak up. Don't let them silence you. Don't let them win. I BELIEVE YOU.

Brandon Winckler (voice of Tomo, Takuya, Nervous An)

As an actor you have a responsibility for how you handle yourself with fans. Alot of these people are literal children. They adore you/the characters you play. To take advantage of that is beyond gross. In an industry like ours, fandoms can be a reprieve from actual issues some face. I remember how much my fav shows and games would help me. This just really disappoints me beyond belief. It happens too often.

Valory Pierce (voice of Tanina, NPC)

When you’re considered a public figure, it is your sole responsibility to set appropriate and respectful boundaries especially with fans and admirers of your work. But taking advantage of someone else’s fragile mental-health for your own narcissistic pleasure? Absolutely vile.

Allegra Clark (voice of Beidou)

It is critical—as actors, streamers, content creators, whatever your profession—that we be aware of dynamics in relationships between us and the people who consume our work. which is a fancy way of saying don't knowingly pursue fans and especially underage ones CHRIST It shouldn't have to be said, but also, why do people even THINK about that? Why do people meet fans and think about getting their dicks wet (literal or metaphorical)? Why is that something that occurs to people? Why do people LITERALLY seek out fans like that? As baffling as it is to me, I'm fully aware that people look up to me. We aren't trained on how to deal with that, but simultaneously there's a difference between being awkward and *PREYING ON FANS* I'm just. Really angry about this. So much love to the victims, that shouldn't have ever happened to you. The community deserves better. It costs $0 to not be like that. also while I'm venting about his stupid decisions, nonblack people shouldn't say the n-word. idc if you're a person of color, if you're nonblack? get that word out of your mouth. holy shit.

Cory Yee (voice of Gorou)

Like many of my peers and the community, I am thoroughly disgusted by Elliot’s actions. The victims’ bravery is so very important here, and I stand in support of them. My heart goes out to them, but even so it feels so woefully insufficient. Since I found out about what happened, I’ve been reflecting about what to say, and it’s been incredibly hard to put words down. It makes me sick to think about the platform we’ve been gifted being used for such acts. Care and empathy must always be at the center of any community It’s our responsibility as public figures to protect and listen to our community. It’s also our responsibility to create spaces for voices to be heard. And it’s our responsibility to provide a safe place where people can trust one another. I hope the victims will be able to have some level of closure and healing over time. And I can’t speak for everyone, but I know so many of the members of my part of the Genshin fandom stand with the victims, including me.

Christina Costello (voice of Collei)

I’ve spent the last few days viewing my kindness as a flaw and telling myself I need to change it desperately. I now see it’s not a flaw, it’s my strength. Even if I’ve been burned because of it, it’s still my strength. I am with you all. My heart is with you all. I do not know if I will ever have the right words to say. I’m still blinded by anger and hurt right now. But please know my heart is with you all. I’m sorry. Sorry that your light has been taken advantage of. Please continue to let that light shine. Please be kind to yourselves. It has taken me a long to accept that sometimes, kindness is simply manipulated. It hurts. It’s anger introducing. But it doesn’t mean I should stop being kind. I’m proud of the person I am. Working on being kinder to myself, so please, keep being kind to yourselves too 💕 I love you means nothing when it’s being used to manipulate and cause harm. “Kindness” means nothing when it’s being used to manipulate and cause harm. Once again I am so sorry your lights were taken advantage of. I truly understand. I’m so sorry. Please continue to shine. Shine bright, loud, and continue to be your powerful selves. My heart is with you. At the very least, my kindness was (and still is) real, genuine, and came from my heart. Even if the kindness I received back was not. I was still kind. And I’m proud of that. But how dare you be “kind” to others with the intention to hurt them.

Ratana (voice of Yae Miko)

Fame- at any level- comes with a responsibility to its fandom. I do not condone predatory behavior at all. To those affected: thank you for speaking up. I'm holding space for your healing + peace. I'm sad, angry, and so so effing tired. You deserve better.

Chris Tergliafera (voice of Capitano)

Fans sending fan art of a character you voice is such an honor. To take their love for the character as an opportunity to groom/manipulate them is pure evil. My heart hurts for all the victims. No excuses for it, period. Go away, get help, don’t come back. With new survivors coming to light, I want to share some Red Flags to look out for when talking online with any online celebrity, voice actor, influencer, etc. Let's not allow another Elliot Gindi to hurt others, ever again. I also want to say how incredibly proud I am of how every survivor responded to his evil. Y'all knew something was wrong and took the right steps by either cutting contact or telling someone. This was MAJOR manipulation/grooming and you all stood tall to prevent future victims. Additionally, Chris has made a TikTok video in response.

Ashley Biski (voice of Layla)

Why is it so hard to be a decent human being?? My heart, my love, and my prayers go out to anyone that was hurt in this situation. And you are so strong and brave for speaking out Now to say I’m pissed off is an understatement. So do not EVER utter my name, it’s consonants, or it’s vowels in the same breath as that persons. Please and thank you. Not all VA’s are bad. & so many of us do what we do to bring joy and a safe way of escape from the turmoils of the world to those that consume our media. Now with that being said I am very loving, kind, and I mind my business, but know that I am NOT the one to play with. Trust. And I'm not retweeting no damn "apology". You're sorry you got CAUGHT. So please seek help. I have seen some peers literally take this situation that you have zero to do with and instead of just saying something in support of the victims you decide to use this as another “moment” for yourself. And I say another because you love to have a moment. If I see it again I’m calling you out and I’m flaming you. So don’t let the fact that you are a VA on Twitter with a couple thousand followers get you caught up, because the thing about me is that I scrap for real. And let this be a warning for anyone else in this industry that’s doing some dirty, grimy, underhanded stuff. You woke up the lion so trust you will be dealt with. Have a nice night. I am literally sick to know that I did a couple streams with Elliot. Like I want to vomit. But for him to use a cast mates name to lure people in?! “Alexa, play ‘Knuck if you buck’” cuz at this point I have no words anymore. I’m ready to fight. In response to unnamed victim ten: I want you to know how proud I am of you. Continue to chase your dreams. If you still wanna be a VA I pray he hears your voice in every game, every cartoon, every commercial til it haunts him in his sleep. I am currently your biggest fan so don’t stop! I just wanna end the night with saying I have never been more proud to be apart of the #GenshinImpact community. Y’all are ride or die for real! You have shown tremendous support for these sweet victims and also sent love to us in the cast that I genuinely feel. & I’m sorry I tweet kinda scrappy lol. Im usually easygoing & mind my business but once you piss me off it’s over. For someone to look & act the way he did he really had the audacity. But that’s okay cuz he has another thing coming. Layla may be asleep but Ashe is wide awake!

Alejandro Saab/CyYuVtuber (voice of Cyno)

Sorry for the delay on this, I’ve been at the hospital all day What Elliot did is awful, vile and I’m sorry to all the victims he affected. It’s inexcusable and I’m hurting physically and emotionally! I do not condone any of his disgusting actions. I’m mad, sad and just… frustrated. I considered him a friend and this… this sucks and I’m sorry. My heart goes out to all the victims he affected. Love you guys and you all deserve better Afterwards: I wasn’t to make this tweet cause I thought I said my piece. But after I found out he was using my FUCKING NAME to lure folks in. I gotta say something. I barely knew Elliot Gindi. We literally just played games together. The first time I talked to him was on a live stream Then we literally just talked about collabing on stream and the occasional dumb joke or something Genshin. That was the literal extent of any relationship we had. Just because I voice Cyno and he WAS Tighnari, doesn’t mean it went any deeper than that. I’m sorry to anyone he made false promises to, he used, abused, sexualized, and any other unspeakable shit I’m unaware of he’s done. He’s a FUCKING DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING and I beg he gets recast as quickly as possible. I know it may take some time, but the sooner the better. I’ll probably address it a hundred times. But we were not close. At all. We could’ve been, but no. That’ll never happen. He’s fucking scum, and I hope karma comes his way soon. I’m sorry guys.

Kelsey Jaffer (voice of Yao Yao)

My stomach is in knots…this is a lot to deal with for us, and I know it is for a lot of you. Please be gentle with each other and with yourselves. Take some time off of social media today, if you need—I’m going to. Do something that makes you smile. Be well, everyone. I can’t say anything that’s not already been said, but I just wanna make it clear that the victims of Elli*t’s rancid behavior are incredibly brave & deserving of love &support. victim-blaming, shaming, or minimizing won’t be tolerated—& neither will anyone twisting the situation People love to exaggerate certain parts of a story and minimize others, especially online and on this platform. Don’t let any hot takes, nitpicking or conspiracy theories distract from the issue at hand—what the victims had to go through. I see you and support you. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making Hoyoverse aware of this horrible situation--you were clearly heard and considered. This is a step in the right direction, and I hope it gives some of the victims even a little peace

Kelly Baskin (voice of Amber)

Disappointed and angry with the actions of a fellow cast member. Sending love and healing to all of the victims. Thank you for speaking up. Y’all, I beg of you, please stop apologizing to the internet when you have personal circumstances to attend to. You have the right to your privacy and people understand. The interweb will still be here; take care of yourselves, unapologetically. Said with love.

Risa Mei (voice of Kokomi)

I am incredibly outraged. What happened was disgusting and inexcusable. That is predatory behavior and I do NOT tolerate any of it. My heart goes out to the victims in this situation. I am so sorry. Thank you for those who were brave enough to come forward, that is not easy. There are so many of us hurting today, so please be kind to each other out there and do what you need to do to protect your mental health

Judy Alice Lee (voice of Yunjin)

WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST BE GOOD PEOPLE

Matthew Greenbaum (voice of Azhdaha)

Regarding the situation with Elliot Gindi. I'm disgusted to see someone use whatever tiny modicum of fame they have to take advantage of their fan base. It should go without saying, but if you have a fan base, it is crucial that you set strict boundaries and don't cross them. My heart goes out to the fans and the victims, you deserve better. For any fan who needs to hear this, don't trust anyone you don't know reaching out to you randomly online. Those of us who are safe would never do that in the first place, so if someone does that, red flag. If there's anyone who hopes to be best friends with their favorite voice actor, let me pull back the curtain real quick: we're not any more cool than anyone else. Many of us are so overworked that we don't know how to talk about anything else. Otherwise we're average people.

Valeria Rodriguez (voice of Sucrose)

Everyone makes mistakes. Lots of us struggle with our mental health & there's not a single human without flaws/issues. But he should have known better. Especially being older. ESPECIALLY now. It is not hard to not be scummy. Not once- But twice, I'm a survivor of almost this exact same thing. I hated having my innocence crushed and taken away by them. I'm so sorry to those affected by his actions. You do not deserve that from ANYONE. Least of all someone you trusted and looked up to. To clarify- The beginning of my 1st tweet is, "Mental health is not an excuse." We must ALWAYS take accountability. Moreso- we have the power & foresight to make sure we don't hurt people because of it. It was not a simple "mistake" on his part. There was no excuse. That's all.

Sean Chiplock (voice of Diluc)

If/When Tighnari is recast in light of the absolute horror of this past week, please remember one extra thing - *DO NOT* associate the new actor, performance, the character with Elliot's horrific acts. They shouldn't suffer for the 'crime' of being tasked with his replacement. “If” exists solely because neither I nor any of the cast have the power to make that decision for them. Of COURSE we’d hope the decision will be an obvious one, though.

Nazeeh H. Tarsha (voice of Alhaitham)

Absolutely vile, heinous and despicable. To the victims, coming forth is not an easy thing to do by any stretch of the imagination. Your bravery is nothing short of admirable. May you find some semblance of solace in the outpouring of support and begin your healing process.

Khoi Dao (voice of Albedo)

Absolutely fucking gutted. No one should abuse their power like that, and no level of fame could ever excuse it or make it anything less than fucking horrible. My heart goes out to the victims. I’m sorry you had to be brave like this today, and I hope you can find a way to heal. Every time we learn something new about Elliot my heart breaks all over again. Knowing he hurt so many of you in such profoundly evil ways rots me to my core. To those who came forward, for what it’s worth, I want you to know I see you, I believe you, and I’m with you.

Chelsea Kwoka (voice of Shenhe)

To the victims, your feelings and boundaries are valid. To everyone affected, my heart goes out to you. I’m often intimidated by this platform, but please know the cast stands with you. Regarding VA update: It doesn’t change what he did, but I’m proud to work for a company that listens to its employees and customers. I hope this brings everyone affected some amount of peace

Anne Yatco (voice of Raiden Shogun/Raiden Ei)

It's hard to put my feelings to words. People with public visibility (actors) bear a responsibility to treat their fans w/ respect. To do the opposite or worse is absolutely inexcusable. If you're hurting, I'm sorry. If you spoke up, thank you. I had no clue. I’m sad and angry. I’m canceling today’s streams. To be honest, I’m too angry to stream. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And to the people that Elliot hurt, my heart goes out to all of you. It was so brave of you to speak out, and I hope you can begin the healing process.

Jenny Yokobori (voice of Yoimiya)

Now that I have more spoons: Elliot Gindi is abhorrent. The abuse that he inflicted upon his victims is unforgivable. I am absolutely disgusted with him and anyone trying to defend him. I wish nothing but peace for the victims. I don’t give a shit about any “apology”, though “I want to be a champion for women” You can keep it. Stay away from any afab people for as long as you live. “I’m not used to having this much attention!” AS IF THE REST OF US ARE Genshin BLEW up and a lot of us have entered the public eye very quickly. I’m so goddamn sick of the excuse of “sudden fame” for these predators. A lot of followers doesn’t make you a predator. You were just a predator waiting for a lot of followers. This is ESPECIALLY obvious since he admits he went after a specific victim BECAUSE they were a fan

Jennifer Losi (voice of Ganyu)

To the brave folks who shined a light on the predatory behavior of a voice actor in our community: thank you for stepping forward to protect others. I am holding space in my heart for anyone who was hurt by this horrific misuse of his platform and your trust. People with bad intentions don't show their true colors to everyone and continually try to build allies for exactly this sort of moment. If you are replaying every conversation in your mind right now, please know this is not your fault. For the victims: you are not alone. Many of us have been in coercive situations that wish we had been able to handle differently at the time. It's easy to blame yourself when other people take advantage of your vulnerabilities. Please don't. Be kind to yourselves today.

Bradley Gareth (voice of Yuehui, Hishida, Uncle He)

It really isn’t that hard to be a voice actor without being a total creep We go into the little box to make silly voices. Some people, usually impressionable people, usually young people, get really attached to the characters we play. We as voice actors enjoy a little bit of celebrity, a little bit of power with these people. Don’t abuse that. If you feel yourself being tempted to do any of this bullshit to fans, especially younger ones, 1. Close your fucking DMs 2. Seek psychiatric care Deeply embarrassed to even be in the same field that keeps having this problem. Please believe all the victims and support them in this difficult time. Do not be surprised if the perpetrator decides to embrace people who don’t believe in any victims at all.

Stephanie Southerland (voice of Jean)

Just becoming aware of the situation with Elliot. I'm disgusted & upset to say the least. To anyone who has been taken advantage of, my heart hurts for you. Speaking up is so difficult but please know that the rest of the cast stands with you.

Marco Domenico (Meatball) (voice of Dvorak)

As a person who covers a lot of Genshin Impact content on my channel and now a member of the cast, I just want to say I'm sorry this terrible shit happened. In fact, it's completely fucked. a LOT of people lean on you when they feel safe with you. Be Responsible.

Robb Moreira (voice of Mika)

As actors, we have a responsibility to represent ourselves, our clients, and the characters we represent with decorum and respect. Responsibility to treat fans with the same decorum and respect. Responsibility to know that people are safely interacting with you. To take advantage of the trust between actor and fan for your own heinous goals is inexcusable, regardless of the guilt you feel. Which only exists BECAUSE you were caught. Underage grooming is disgusting, vile and the worst act an actor can do. I stand with all victims

Laura Stahl (voice of Barbara & Xinyan)

im so sick and heartbroken to those who have been hurt, you have my love and sympathy. to those who came forward i admire your strength. i wish you never had to use it this way. our community is so precious, and you all deserve so much better. please take time to heal.

Chris Faiella (Genshin Impact voice director)

I appreciate everyone bringing the situation regarding Elliot to my attention. To say I'm angry, disappointed, and heartbroken about it all, would be an understatement. My heart goes out to anyone who has been victimized by this unacceptable and inappropriate behavior. I personally would like to champion the ones who stepped forward and brought all of this to light. Trust that I am doing everything that I can, using what limited power I do have, to rectify this situation and will absolutely inform the folks at miHoYo. I appreciate all of your love, concern, support, and vigilance.

Mick Wingert (voice of Dottore)

I just became aware of the #elliotgindi allegations. I have no comment on Elliot, as I don’t know him, but to the #genshintwt and #dottoretwt communities: Your boundaries are important and valid. No person, no matter how famous is allowed to compromise them.

Erika Harlacher-Stone (voice of Venti)

Furious. Elliot Gindi has been removed from all group streams/activities I have any part in organizing moving forward. I’m… this is really triggering for me… Honestly I thought he was rude and egotistical from my first interaction with him but didn't want to exclude castmates based on a personality clash. Should've trusted my instincts.

Josey Montana McCoy (voice of Kaeya)

I stand with the victims of this (and all) abhorrent bull shit. It’s our responsibility as actors to hold the boundaries of professionalism and basic decency. Believe victims.

Jackie Lastra (voice of Xiangling)

Now that I’ve sat with my feelings I want to address the Elliot Gindi situation. I’m an appalled at everything that’s come to light. Fans trust you with their hearts & to abuse that trust & take advantage of your position is deplorable. My heart is with the victims. We see you.

Griffin Burns (voice of Tartaglia/Childe)

I just wanted to say… to the victims of a certain actor’s predatory behavior, you are so brave for sharing your stories and I support you. What they did is abusive and simply inexcusable. No one deserves to be treated that way. Stay strong comrades, you’ve got this!

Patrick Pedraza (voice of Scaramouche/Wanderer)

Hey y’all. Im one of the few on the Genshin cast that is married and has a 5 year old daughter. Shit hits different when you think of someone physically or mentally abusing your kid. The thing that sucks, is you can only do so much to protect them, as the world and lots of people are unstable. I wish I knew the answers. All I can do is lead with love and do my best. I hope whoever is hurting right now because of abuse or other trauma seeks help and uses the hard situations in life to grow stronger and more resilient. Love y’all.

Emi Lo (voice of Columbina)

"Fame" should never be an excuse to be a manipulative creep and to take advantage of those who admire you. NOTHING should ever be an excuse to do that. It's disgusting behavior, and my heart goes out to those affected - whether they have come forward or not.

I hope this was safely informative. I know, it's a lot. I'm sorry to all. I deeply empathize with this current struggle. For anyone wishing to talk/discuss things, my inbox (and arms) are wide open. Let's heal together. 💕

LINKS

FretCore (Matty) - Twitter

Arrest Elliot Gindi evidence site - WordPress

Discord convos between Elliot & his moderators - WordPress

Burner accounts used by Elliot to contact victims - WordPress

#tw elliot gindi #idk how tumblr works in terms of certain words being used that will or won't get a post deleted or whatever so i apologize for this.#tw pedophila mention #tw transphobes #tw grooming #tw ableism #tw sex abuse #tw mentions of suicide #tw eating issues #DNI #MINORS DO NOT INTERACT #minors dni #elliot gindi #genshin impact #✦ nc vb.#i think i tagged everything correctly... lmk if i need to add others!!!#this took me three days to compile... now... i sleep.

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tentacledtherapist · 8 months ago

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Lisa,

I love hearing about your new project. I do hope you'll post photos! I would personally go with "I'll love you forever." (It is also my favorite quote so I am a little biased!)

I am unsurpised we both enjoy campy movies, would we be here if we didn't? It's funny, I've been attending RHPS since my 13th birthday. That is probably what really got me into horror and camp and things like that.

I'm curious what your 'canon' is like, what your thoughts and theories about the end of our story is, etc, etc.

- Creature

P.s.: Sorry if responses are sparse this week!

please don't worry about not being able to talk much! it's not like i'm owed your time or anything. i'm happy to read your 'letters' whenever they get to me :)

i think it was also rocky horror that got me into camp and horror fully? but i've been listening to hair metal/glam rock for a long long time, and there's a lot of elements of camp in that too. twisted sister's whole schtick was a gateway drug, i think. i hadn't been to a midnight screening until just last year though, since finding a theater near me that actually put on proper screenings was near impossible

i'll for sure be posting photos of the project as i make progress on it. and thanks for the input on the quote! i agree, it's kinda my favorite quote of the bunch, but i think i held out on actually deciding on it 'cause it feels less like a "merch tagline"? but that actually will probably make it better, since it's my own personal project. as soon as my craft store has the bright pink embroidery thread i need back in stock, my work will begin

as for my 'canon'... unfortunately, what i remember is mostly little snippets of moments that are shown in the source. one of those moments i remember most vividly is when creature first played the piano? up until that point he was mostly just a... concept to me? i cared about him, sure, but there was this sort of... disconnect. like the care you have for a pet, i guess. and that feels really bad to say, but i had spent a long time, months, just spending time with his gravestone and thinking of him as an abstract concept? he still kinda was once he came back. but i distinctly remember the feeling of. realization, i guess. where creature really became a person. he always was, of course, i was just a little blind at the time. that's definitely the moment where i started to fall in love with him too, even if it took me still longer to really get there intellectually.

i do remember little glimpses of moments from before, too. grass and mud stains on my jeans cause i was working on homework or a poem at bachelor's after it rained and forgot to bring a blanket to sit on. i remember brushing my teeth and washing my pj's like 5 times the morning after creature first showed up cause i couldn't get the smell out of my mouth or out of the cloth. i think i threw those pj's away, actually. i remember being hugged. creech always hugged so tight, like it was the last time he could ever hug anyone? it was nice

i try not to remember the actual moment of death, and i don't know anything that happened between death and rebirth, really. but after coming back it was. kinda rough. better cause i had someone to help me through it. it's another one of those 'i remember vague snippets and feelings' things. but i remember that my eyes were shot for a bit, i think they got. replaced. somehow. i never really got my depth perception back 100% though. i remember the feeling of missing taffy? i loved my sister, but logically it makes sense to not see her cause the whole 'corpse' thing would've done way more harm than good

i wish i remembered more things solidly, but finding these memories is almost always like trying to remember a dream the next morning, ya know?

what do you remember from your 'canon', etc etc? i hope you have an easier time remembering things, 'cause my way of grasping at straws to remember things kinda blows

- Lisa

#it's weird that the things you remember most are usually the most mundane?#though it makes sense i guess #all those things seem to work like that

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x3rrorx · 1 year ago

Note

I'll be honest with you, I think you all need to stop. Literally spending days, weeks, months of your lives arguing with each other on the internet or at least allowing this drama and stress to exist in your daily lives. I'm genuinely curious what anyone is hoping to achieve or accomplish from all of this? What are you trying to prove? And more importantly who with a proper head on their shoulders gives a shit? Not a single man from BO wants anything to do with any of you, the fans who have been here since the beginning don't either, and none of this drama would exist if you all weren't (to some extent) obsessed with the band or the men in it in an unhealthy way.

Every person involved in this entire thing needs better things to do and real problems. I envy that you all have the time and energy to dedicate to this because life really must not be all that difficult for you (and if it is, maybe you should be spending your care and energy where it matters). You all look childish and immature, no one is winning this fight, and from the outside looking in, I've got secondhand embarrassment. You all need to grow up.

Funny because I haven’t posted in what.. 3 days about anything regarding anyone 😂 you guys like to do that. Once I go quote and don’t talk about anything I get these anon messages telling to I need to stop. Like bitch I wasn’t talking about anyone for about 3 days… how much more of a stop can I do 😂 I think you just want to bring the drama back. Make it make sense. For someone saying we don’t have time or a life, why are you here? But hypothetical don’t ya think? You look silly babe. 💀 you look just as childish sending in this message. You also don’t need to read anything either of us say. It’s so simple. But as I always say, you won’t. You won’t stop. You will always come back. So who’s the real problem?

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vdlest · 3 years ago

Text

Cap's Divulgence

Characters:

Steve Rogers x GF!Reader

Sort of Bruce Banner x Natasha Romanoff

Summary:

After six months of putting your relationship with Steve Rogers in much secrecy, the star-spangled man boyfriend of yours finally broke the news to everyone in a celebratory dinner.

Warning:

Fluff

What is supposed to be a simple celebratory dinner for the team's recent mission turns out to be the night when your relationship with Captain America is revealed by none other than your boyfriend himself.

"Since when did this happen?" Nat asked as you can see how puzzled and surprised she is by Steve's revelation.

"Oh, come on," Tony groaned, which made you and everyone in the room look on his way, "It's not like you guys don't see how they stare at each other when they're both in the same room," he said with matching rolling eyes.

You and Steve are quite aware that if there might be one person in the team who has a hint of your secret relationship, that would be Tony Stark.

And somehow you thought Nat would have the same hunch. After all, she's Black Widow, the Russian spy. But it turns out, your friend is completely unaware since she's too busy playing hide the zucchini with Bruce and until now they haven't gone on a date.

"Wait up," Nat raised her hand to stop Steve from continuing his announcement then she turned to you, "Y/N, you and I were roommates when we were in Florida and you didn't mention anything about this. Why?" she asked.

You and Nat were more than just roommates in Florida, you two are like sisters, almost like twins. She was the one who trained you when you first join the team, she was the first person you confide in about your identity and how you lost your family when you were still a teenager, and you two were inseparable when it comes to rescuing each other's ass in terms of war, mission, life, and also love.

"Sorry Nat," you gave her a small smile, "I wanted to but Steve and I decided to just keep it low since we have no idea how you guys will take it."

"Yeah," Steve rescued you from Nat's surprise questions, "We know you guys would be somehow surprised to know that we are together now."

Why you and Steve thought of how they'll react? Because a year ago, Steve was cornered by the team, except you, of course, asking him if he'll ever date you and his answer is a big no no no.

Steve then explained to you the reason why he didn't want to date you because he thinks that you're too good for him, that you don't deserve to have a pain in the ass like him in your life. He knows how being an Avenger can be hard and making you date someone from the same course of work may cause you too much pain. But obviously, he has always been fond of you, even before he was asked by that question. He has always been into you.

"I'm quite aware of your adoration with Y/N, Rogers," Sam points his finger at Steve, "But I thought you don't want to date her because quote she's too good to be true for you unquote," he added making a gesture in the air.

"Yeah!" Bruce yelled and shook his head, "And now you two are a thing?"

"Why did you fondue her?" Nat asked.

"Because I can't get enough of her," Steve sighed as he tries to explain himself, "One day I woke up, I don't want to be just her co-worker, her colleague, her friend. I woke up one day, I already want to be with her, and that is it. I took my coward ass in front of her door and asked her out."

That's how it happened.

You just woke up from an afternoon nap in your room in the compound when you heard a knock on your door. You thought it was just Thor, Bruce, and Nat asking you to join them in a quick bar hopping, but you were too tired to join them. To your surprise, you opened the door and found a nervous muscled, and blonde man in front of you. You thought he's just gonna ask you about your training with him later that week, but no, he asked you if you want to visit a nearby museum with him, he knew you are fond of museums and art so that's how you and Steve Grant Rogers had your first date.

It was also that same night when he told you that he can't just be in the same room with you being completely unaware of what he truly feels for you. So yeah, he confessed to you that night. And that date night followed by another, and another, and another, until he asked you to be officially his and without any doubt, you said yes Steve, I love you too.

"Woah," Clint reacted after Steve finished his storytelling, "These happened under our nose and we had no idea?" he asked, still unsure whether he's dreaming or not. "The last time we talked, Rogers, you told me you weren't seeing anyone," Clint added.

Steve gave Clint an apologetic smile, "Had to lie. Sorry 'bout that, and yeah," he sighed as he looks each member of the team, "Sorry about the little lie and secrecy Y/N and I made. Hope you guys won't be mad at us. We just really don't know how you guys would react about us."

You stood up and stood in front of where Nat is sitting, she looks at you as you try to reach for her hand, "Hey, sorry for this secret. I just..."

Nat cut you off, "Don't be a fool, Y/N," she stood up and held your arms, "I understand and I think I will just do the same thing if I'm in your place. I completely understand and I respect your decision as a couple," she playfully rolled her eyes, "God, can't believe you two are a thing now."

You chuckle as you open your arms to embrace her.

You just really had to make sure that Nat is not offended nor mad at you for keeping your relationship with Steve a secret from her. It was a good thing she understood why you did what you did and it only means she's truly happy for you and Steve.

When you and Nat pull away from each other, you saw Bruce standing in your peripheral, you thought he's gonna hug you and you were already ready to embrace the big guy, but he didn't come to you, he approached Nat instead.

"Uh-oh, someone got jealous," Tony being his usual jerky self.

"So Steve and Y/N had to be in a relationship before you finally made up your mind and ask me out?" Nat sarcastically asked Bruce and that made everyone laugh.

You step a bit away from the two and you felt an arm behind you, realizing it was your boyfriend, you cling your arms around him too as you all watch Bruce and Nat.

"I don't know why it took me so long to do this, but I don't want to waste my time and wait for another ancient man to get ahead of me," Bruce is obviously nervous while looking at Nat, but there's no more holding back, "So, Natasha Romanoff, can we have a proper date after tonight?"

"Well, I don't want your other friend to show up, so yeah," Nat nodded, "I'll go out with you."

You saw how prepared Natasha was to have a glance at you and gave you a "finally he asked me out" smile, but before she could do it, Bruce cupped her face and kissed her on her lips, and that made everyone gasp in surprise.

"Is this what we call domino effect?" Steve whispered to your ear before he planted a kiss on the side of your head.

You look at him, "Why do men take so long to finally ask a woman out?" you asked him back.

"Well, it's worth the wait, right?" he asked you.

"Yeah, it was worth it," you said as you tilt your head and tiptoe to give your man a kiss on his lips.

-v.dl

#Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers x You #Steve Rogers x Reader #Steve Rogers x Y/N #Captain America x You #Captain America x Reader #Captain America x Y/N #Captain America fluff #Steve Rogers fluff #Steve Rogers imagine #Captain America imagine #Steve Rogers fanfiction #Captain America fanfiction #Marvel #Marvel Imagine #Marvel Fluff #Marvel fanfiction #Captain America

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acklesterritory · 4 years ago

Text

That Kind of Love Never Dies_Chapter 1

Hey guys, Now that more voted to split my fictions in 2 parts, I'm back with the first part. I hope you like it. Don't forget to leave me feedbacks. I'll always appreciate them. Love you all.

This is for writing event @tvdspngirl314

My quote is "That kind of love never dies"

Dean x Reader series (just 2 parts)

This chapter words: ~5k

Series warning:

Angst, fluf, smut, angry Dean, hurt Reader, hurt Dean, there's some more but I hate spoilers so I insist on "Angst & Hurt"

It all started with a stupid argument at home. What was it? Three months ago? Sam couldn't remember the exact date but after years, it was the first time this awkward coldness between Dean and Y/n had started to build. He could remember the first time he and his brother came across Y/n like it was yesterday, they were hunting a very nasty creature who used to kidnap young and lonely women at night, then got them wrapped in ropes and ties on a bed in a warehouse to rape, torture and feed on their blood until the victim either died or accepted to turn into one of his kind.

Sam could remember the helplessness in people's eyes too. The pain of the victims' families, the frustration and anger on cops' faces when no one could find the criminal yet, even after the sixth missing girl.

"Sammy, he just kidnapped another girl. And I think I know where he's gonna take her. Let's hunt this son of a bitch."

When Dean was saying that, Sam never expected him to fall in love with the woman they would save that night. Well, unfortunately they weren't fast enough to prevent any harm to the girl. When they arrived and Dean killed the nasty creature, Y/n was almost dead. The monster had already raped her, tortured her … and when he felt the hunters enter the place, he drank almost all of her blood, to gain more energy to fight. So as always, Dean was up to blaming himself. Of course only in his own eyes, not anyone else's.

"Call Cas to come home. Tell him it's an emergency."

Dean told his brother when he finally could get Y/n out of those ropes. And Sam knew he was right. At that point, no one could save Y/n unless God or his angels. Maybe she was not so lucky coming across a nasty supernatural creature like that but she was lucky enough that Cas arrived just on time and healed her. However, angels can only heal physical wounds. But Y/n was hurt much more than that. She couldn't just move on from the things that the bastard had put her through. Even after Cas tricked her brain to forget some certain things, she still had bad nightmares and had this dark shade of hopelessness in her eyes. Soon, she started to eat and talk less and less. And Dean just couldn't let her go. He really wanted to fix all of that for her but she kept shutting him out… until the depression hit her. It was so bad that Cas felt the need to tell them to prepare themselves for her death. Because after all those days and unlike everything else in their lives, The Winchesters were already used to her presence around them; like the way a lonely person can get used to a wounded cat more and faster than anyone else.

"I'm not gonna hunt until I'm sure she can live her normal life." When Dean stated that, Sam really thought he was joking. But after a few days he started to believe it. Dean truly would do anything to keep her alive. From cooking vegetables to laughing at his own dad jokes in front of Y/n to make her smile. That was when Sam started to feel that they can be more than a random hunter/rescued victim relationship! It felt like his brother had finally found his motivation in life: "Saving Y/n."

Gradually Y/n started to respond to this special attention from Dean with trust and smiles. Soon they became a power couple that could motivate each other so easily that sometimes Charlie would call them out. And honestly Sam had no problem with it. In fact Y/n had become his other sister.

"My God, Dean! You're burning up!" It was two day after a werewolf hunt in which Dean had got hurt. At first it was just some scratches on his arms and chest. Yet as the time passed, more symptoms started to appear: headache, pain, fever, cold sweat, even nose bleeding and before they could figure it out, Dean fell unconscious. Apparently the claws of the werewolf were poisonous. However Sam wasn't sure. The only thing he got no doubts about was the fact that it was already too late. Dean couldn't make it to the hospital. So either Sam had to do anything possible to save him or Cas should've picked up his God damn phone.

"No. no, no, no, no. Dean … Dean!!!"

That was when Sam got to hear Y/n's helpless cry and see her true feelings. She was already in love with his brother.

Luckily, unlike typical love stories; no one died that night. Sam's antidote worked. And Dean opened his eyes an hour later.

"Sammy … Y/n?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Y/n grabbed his face and put her thirsty lips on her beloved hunter's, letting the tears stream down on her face… and then his.

"Never do that again." She begged, breaking the kiss, her trembling hands holding Dean's face so she could look into his eyes.

Sam couldn't stop his smile remembering how cute they were. Y/n literally had Dean wrapped around her little finger, to the point he accepted to teach her how to hunt and soon she was part of their team too. Until … a few months ago. After two years of them being constantly close to each other, Sam could tell something was off when Dean started to go out without eating breakfast with Y/n. Of course she got suspicious after the third time and that was when their endless arguments started.

"Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Because nothing is wrong, Y/n."

Actually there was. Something was VERY wrong. Anyone could tell that just by the change in Dean's eyes whenever he wanted to look at Y/n. Day by day he was getting more quiet and cold. Now they didn't even eat pie together or watch movies late at night. And Sam couldn't ignore his brother being grumpy or drunk on hunts, not anymore.

"Ok man, I've had enough. You either tell me what's wrong with you or next time I won't make any excuses so you can leave Y/n out of our hunt plans. I'm serious, Dean, I'll tell her the truth." He finally said, when they were alone in the impala, on their way to do their next hunt.

"She wants more."

"More?"

"Yeah. Sometimes it's like she sees more in me. She thinks we can have a different life. There's no need for any saying, I can see it in her eyes whenever we accidentally come across some family at a diner that try to feed their kids or people's wedding photos whenever we go to talk with some witnesses or whoever during the research! Sometimes she even looks up wedding dresses or kid stuff on the net!" Dean blew his anger out of his nostrils and sighed, shaking his head.

"Wow." Sam couldn't find the proper word to say but he couldn't hide his surprised face either.

"What?" Dean gave him an annoyed look.

"I mean …" Sam chuckled. "… are you telling me you're actually angry with her for imagining the things you always dream about?!"

"Sam …"

"No, really. I'm just curious. What's wrong with you, man?" Sam asked genuinely, waiting for an answer.

"What's wrong with me?! You think something is wrong with me just because I'm the rational one in this relationship; who's actually able to see the difference between a dream and the reality?"

Yeah, anyone could take that earnest speech, but not Sam. He'd seen and knew enough about his brother.

"What's the reality? Aren't you and Y/N living that dream life already?"

"What?! No. No … that's not the same." Dean shook his head.

"Really? How is it not? It's been two years, Dean. You two are constantly with and/or around each other. Always worried when the other one is in trouble and still looking at one another like there is nothing in the world that can make you happy as much as this relationship. So … excuse me if I won't buy your pretty speech; man ." Sam said, Rolling his eyes.

"Ok, let's say you're right but ... is it gonna be like that forever? With all the supernatural crap that we have to take care of … and the constant danger and chaos in this hunter life we have… I …"

"You what?" Sam asked when Dean didn't finish his sentence. He was lost in his thoughts, staring at this unknown point in the depth of the road. Finally he blew out his despair.

"I just can't let her fall for the things I know I can't provide for her. It's not fair, Sammy. It's not fair to lock her up in this dark life with me just because she loves me … especially while I know there is a whole bright future out there waiting for her."

"Here we go, the old Dean's self-doubt" Sam thought to himself as he took a deep breath before finding the best words to wake his brother up from this nightmare

"Yeah, I know but I don't think it's your call. If Y/n wants to go to hell with you instead of living in heaven with someone else, it's her choice. Not your responsibility. Right?"

Dean shook his head while his lips curved up a little to fake a smile but he never answered or said anything about that conversation ever again. He kept his silence for like three weeks … until someone new showed up: "Gary Smith". A tall man with the most stylish haircut and the most perfect teeth and smile.

They saw him for the first time at their hangout bar, as the new bartender who almost jumped in Y/n's way as soon as they entered the bar.

"Oh my God, bunny! Is this really you?" He said, pulling her in his embrace. Like she was the long time missing piece of his beloved puzzle!

"Bonny? You're wrong. Her name is Y/n." Dean said, pretty annoyed by the way Gary tightened his arms around Y/n's little shoulders, making him chuckle.

"No, uh … it's just a nickname." Y/n said as soon as the guy let her go.

"Yeah, actually the most fitting nickname that I could think of. I mean … you have to agree. She got the most cute little ears in the world." The guy explained, chuckling and pulling on her little star earring. Well, if Sam wanted to be honest, he had to agree with him. He never paid any attention to it before but now that Gary mentioned it, he could tell Y/n's ears were truly small.

"I see … So … I guess this means you were close friends?" Dean said, already hating the way Y/n e's blushed with hearing her old nickname.

"Uh … well, no. Actually more than that." The guy grinned, ruffling his own hair while he was awkwardly laughing and looking at Y/n. Just like a proud embarrassed teen!

"We used to date." Y/n said.

*oh* Sam tried his best not to let that stupid grin sit on his lips but Dean's frown and his sudden heavy silence didn't let him do so.

"Yeah. We are kinda each other's first. Like … you know? prom date." The man added, giving Y/n a wink while Dean's gaze was still locked on his large arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. It's been years, Gary."

"I know. But believe me, bunny. you still look the same." He said, bending to put a kiss on her right cheek.

Dean would kill him. Sam just knew that. Because his brother's eyes were already burning with jealousy.

"By the way, don't you wanna tell me who these gentlemen are ?" The guy asked Y/n, giving her his softest smile.

"Of course. This is Sam and this is Dean. My colleagues who are my friends now. I live in their place."

After they met, everything got even more complicated. Y/n, the girl who was still trying to get old-happy-days Dean back suddenly stopped whatever she used to do. No more complains, no waiting at nights to see Dean before going to bed, no more effort to get involved in hunts, no nothing. And despite what Dean had claimed before, it was making Dean even more frustrated. Day to day he and Y/n were getting colder towards each other and there was nothing he could do to fix it. That was what made him even more furious. Sam already knew all of that and he still had to live with both of those grumpy faces. So last night when they began to fight, he could see this was coming: Y/n left the bunker after Dean let some hurtful things out of his mouth, just because he didn't know how to deal with all the heartache anymore. He now was convinced that Y/n didn't love him anymore. Yet the next day after drinking whatever strong drink they had, he begged Sam to come with him. Apparently Jodie texted Dean about Y/n being in her place for that night. Just to make sure that her crazy step son won't sell his soul over a tracking spell! So Dean almost begged his brother to be there with him, cause Dean believed that as much as Y/n didn't care about him, she still respected Sam and cared about him. Like a little sister and her elder brother.

So here they were, In Jodie's living room, in front of her and Y/n.

"Considering your sleepy eyes, I think we caught you at bed time, huh?" Sam asked, checking Y/n's obvious eye bags.

"Who says that? I'm totally good, Sam."

She said with a small smile, looking much more in control and stronger than before. So Sam knew it was a lie. Y/n Just had made her peace with what had happened last night. The realization۹ kicked Dean in the gut. Y/n always used to be stronger and bolder when she got hurt.

"I'm gonna make some coffee for us. Why don't you guys take a seat till I come back?"

Jodie interrupted, to ease the heavy and sharp silence that suddenly had fallen over all of them.

Y/n gave her a smile.

"Of course."

It was so fake. Her smile didn't even curl her lips completely. She was still badly hurting.

Sam swore in his head when he looked over his brother who sank silently into the nearest seat at the end of the table like a broken shell that he was too . One of Dean's hands was in the pocket of his jacket, the other formed a fist on the table. Sam was sure Dean knew it too. He knew everything was almost past saving. "Almost". Sam tried to stick to their small chance.

"So …" He cleared his voice before he put some (semi fake) hope into his words."You're … you're gonna come back home today or did Alex and Claire made you promise them otherwise?" He laughed and tried to make it funny but the truth was he asked this for Dean's sake, knowing he already was struggling to find the words … to let Y/n know how much he wanted her back … to ask her to come back.

"To be honest … I don't think I can live in the bunker anymore." Y/n said and as Dean's head snapped up to look at her in horror, she raised her hand to stop his (likely) protests.

"I applied for a job 3 weeks ago and to my surprise they called me this morning to tell me I'd actually got it."

*What?*

No one had to ask it. The question was already hung in the air. She snored mockingly in her nose. "Perfect timing, right?"

She moved her gaze from her interlocked fingers on the table to Dean's eyes.

He didn't answer, he didn't move but he got tense. Still staring back at Y/n.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sam asked, once again saving Dean from asking the question he was itching to ask with some other words that for sure couldn't be nice.

"I wanted to but I didn't think I could actually get it and even if I did, I never figured out how to tell you. Besides, I never considered the "move out" option before..." She looked at Sam for a second before she turned her gaze on Dean. "... But I actually appreciate that you bring it up. I think now I can take the advice. I'm gonna move on."

Sam's heart dropped in his stomach when he heard those words. Because he knew what this meant. It felt something like having to watch Dean get stabbed in the heart.

"Is this … because of that Bartender?" Dean asked, staring deadly at Y/n with his bloodshot eyes. He was already chewing on his bottom lip. And Sam knew a heavy storm was on its way to hit them.

"I don't want to answer that question."

*shit*

"Why? Because you can't just simply say no?" Dean scolded and Sam could see how it pushed on Y/n boundaries.

"No. Because it's not your fucking business and it's not Gary's business either. But at least he knows his limits."

*well, fuck*

"By "limits" you mean when he drools on you just because for God knows whatever the reason, you started to wear leather jackets when we go there?"

"WHAT?!"

*Oh, fuck* Sam thought to himself, watching Y/n rise from her seat.

"You think … you really think that I …" she laughed nervously and Sam could tell she would punch Dean in the face if she wasn't a sweet, super nice person.

"How you can even …"

"I can even what, Y/n? Are we now going to pretend like I'm a blind man who can't see how you got attracted to your ex again? Did you really think I couldn't see how your hands were shaking when his filthy face lighted up by seeing you for the first time after all these years?"

Sam wanted to interrupt him or at least leave the room but everything was happening so fast.

"So what? Why and since when you care about my private life?"

"Since you stopped drinking bunker's beers just because you rather drink those crappy poisonous cocktails he makes at the bar!"

Dean was on his feet now as well. And despite his will, Sam couldn't stop his smile. He never saw his brother this jealous before. It was fun.

"Poisonous? … You … of all people, you are the one who says this? cause as much as I know, you're the one who puts dormitives in my guest's food so the poor guy gets tired and can't spend his time with me!"

"Yeah, because your poor guy is not welcomed in MY PLACE!" Dean yelled, punching the table with so much power that made everyone almost jump out of their skins.

"Dean!" Finally Sam interrupted but as soon as he stood up, someone rang the doorbell and Sam could hear Jodie welcoming someone inside.

"Guys … I know it's not my place to interfere but you two really need to sort things out somewhere private … of course that's when both of you can be much calmer than this."

"No, we have nothing to say or to talk about, anymore. Your brother was clear enough when he said he wants me to move out, so I'll move out. And that's it."

Y/n declared, looking at Sam to resist any eye contact with Dean, probably to make him even more crazy.

"And that's it? You wanna ignore that part where you were too eager and ready to accept that suggestion and leave the bunker instantly like your pants were on fire?!"

Dean retorted while Y/n was shaking her head like she couldn't believe him.

"Whose pants are on fire?" Jodie interrupted as soon as she re-entered the room with the coffees she'd made, this time a man was with her. Y/n's guy. The famous bartender.

*Oh, No!*

Sam sighed, closing his eyes for a second so the guy couldn't read his face.

"Obviously not mine." Dean hissed through his teeth, looking first at the guy and then at Y/n with such a disappointment and rage that no one could ignore.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The guy asked, choosing the worst spot to stand on: right next to Y/n.

"My typical life I guess. Nothing's new." She mumbled in reply to him but her eyes were still on Dean.

"No, nothing is wrong with your life, Y/n. It's about your choices. That's what's wrong with you. As always." Dean said bitterly. As sharp as a knife, as cold as ice. Sam could see how it drained color from Y/n's face.

"You better watch your mouth, buddy." The Gary guy warned Dean and Sam could tell that if it wasn't for the sudden thud sound that stole everyone's attention, Dean would throw a fight right there. But …

"Y/n!" Jodie almost screamed. Y/n was laying on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

"Oh, God." Sam said as Jodie rushed to her.

"Y/n? … Y/n can you hear me?"

As she sat next to her, Gary's fingers already were on Y/n's carotid pulse point. So Sam couldn't stop himself from looking up at his brother, who was still standing where he was. In shock.

"Oh, shit!" Gary's worried voice made Sam check Y/n's pale face again but Jodie was the one to dare ask the question which was on everyone's minds.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Her pulse ... too faint." He said before turning to Dean: "Is she bleeding?"

"Bleeding?" Dean blinked and mumbled in confusion.

If it was up to Sam, he'd ask *What bleeding?* & *Why are you asking this from my brother?*

"Oh my. You still don't know. Do you?" Gary sneered.

"Know what? What's happening?" Jodie was freaking out now and Sam actually felt the same. He didn't like the way this stranger pretended like he knew her better than them. However what happened next was much more unexpected. And … rude!

To everyone's surprise, the guy reached out to Y/n's jeans and drew his hand between her legs but before anyone could react, he spread her legs open so it could be possible for everyone to see that big red stain there. Then he raised his hand. It was all wet and red in blood!

"She's having a miscarriage." He revealed.

Sam's gaze instantly caught Dean's ... Burning. Dean was burning inside with his heavy silence.

"Don't you worry. It's not mine." Gary added more fuel to that hell with such a mocking tone, staring right back at Dean's eyes.

Now Sam could feel it. The storm was there: rising in his brother's roar!

Before Sam could've moved any muscles, Gary was already pinned to the wall, Dean's hands on his now-ripped-out collar.

"Dean, no!" Sam jumped in, trying to catch his brother's arm before his fist make any contact with the guy's nose but all he could do was changing the direction of the punch which landed on Gary's shoulder, making a painful cracking sound.

"I said no … Dean, stop it." Sam had to literally cage Dean in his arms so the furious man couldn't tear Gary apart.

"Get off me, Sam. This son of a bitch has to learn his place."

"Enough!" As Dean just broke himself free, Jodie's scream stopped everyone in their tracks.

"It's enough!" Jodie warned all three men, pointing at them one by one.

"You want to fight? Not here. Not in my house!"

"But ..."

As soon as Dean opened his mouth to protest, Jodie cut him:

"And you … you should know Y/n is pregnant with your twins. So … you'll be a responsible man who will try his best to save them or you can get the hell out of here and never come back!"

"What?" Sam was too shocked to suppress his reaction while Dean couldn't even find any words to say. His confused look darted between Jodie's face and Y/n's figure while his parted lips kept moving without making any noise, just like a dying fish on the shore!

"I promised her not to tell anyone but it was a promise under normal conditions, not this." Jodie sighed, struggling to keep her emotions under control. Sam saw the worry in her frown. Like a real mother, worried for her children. However it was nothing in comparison to his brother's blank eyes and pale face.

"Dean, It's ok. We just need to take her to hospital. … it's ok, man. I promise."

He had to grab Dean by his jacket, as his brother was struggling to process all of these in his head.

"Come on, man. We got no time. Do I need to do this alone or you'll …"

"Get the car, Sammy."

It was just a simple sentence. Yet it had enough power to make Sam's heart sank. Since Dean had put the car keys in his hand saying that, Sam couldn't stop thinking about that tone. Dean never had called Baby a "car" In years. And Sam had never heard that crack in his voice since their Dad's death.

"You ok?" He finally let himself ask, two hours after they arrived at the hospital.

"I want to be." Dean closed his eyes and put his head against the cold wall, letting the dim light to darken the shadows under his eyes.

"I'm sure she'll be good. She's strong, Dean. You know that."

He smiled and Sam looked away not to watch him. He knew that smile. Dean used to give him that, whenever everything was gone so wrong that Dean couldn't promise him anything good. Like when both of them were still kids. Hungry, cold and all alone in a rusty motel room where John had left them on their own for a one day long hunt but then a heavy snow had crashed the roads and kept them apart for half a week. So Dean had to wash the dishes and do the laundry in the motel to rent the room for another day and provide some snacks so they wouldn't starve to death. But after three days, the hotel managers didn't want them to be around. And Sam could vividly remember that smile on his brother's face when he asked: *Where should we go then?*

"You were always such a father material. You know?"

Sam admitted with a broken smile on his face.

"You were always responsible, kind and caring with me as a kid. And I can't imagine anyone who deserves to be a father more than you."

Dean took a deep breath and opened his eyes without looking at him: "But I don't want ... I really can't, Sammy."

All, it certainly wasn't the response Sam had expected. He used to believe that Dean would never turn down any chance to start a family with Y/n. Especially after everything in the world was back to normal.

"Are you kidding me? You always wanted this."

"No …" Dean finally turned his gaze to meet his brother's confused eyes. "No, Sammy. Not like this. I don't want to raise another kid without his mom. I'm not that strong anymore."

Dang. Once again Sam's heart dropped in his stomach. Dean was really helpless.

"Mr. Winchester?"

Dean was on his feet as Sam just realized the doctor's presence.

"It's me."

Sam prayed for any good news as doctor took a glance of Dean and fixed his glasses on his face …

"To be continued …"

READ CHAPTER 2 HERE

tag list:

@jay-and-dean @adoptdontshoppets @akshi8278

The next and also ultimate chapter will post on Sunday, April 25. Thanks for reading.

Feedback are always appreciated.

#dean x reader #dean winchester x reader #dean x ofc #dean x you #dean winchester #allyswritingevent #Acklesterritory #dean winchester x ofc #dean x y/n #dean winchester x you

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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years ago

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Part 5 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Guardians

Helloooo! Did you think I was done? No!

My PhD thesis chapters were approved last week, so have some celebratory meta. I haven't seen the latest Season 4 episodes, so do forgive me for not being up to date.

Welcome to the next part of my analysis of the basic concepts of Miraculous Ladybug. Today we are talking about Master Fu, Order of the Guardians and how little everything here makes sense. I highly recommend reading previous parts to fully understand this one, but I'll try to quote most parts of earlier posts.

Order of the Guardians

Order is an international and ancient organisation (New York Special showed us the guardian from North America and he was dressed like Su Han). Presumably, Miraculous jewels were created by these people. Guardians are responsible for the preservation of jewels and knowledge about them. They also distribute Miraculouses to worthy people around the world to combat mostly magical threats, but sometimes jewels are used against normal threats too. It's implied that Master Fu used Miraculouses during WW2 when he was in Paris. Perhaps he performed some spywork with Marianne, but the magical nature of his interferences was discovered and he was forced to flee, before returning to France many decades later.

Why does the Order need so many people to take care of a 3 Miracle Boxes? If its only purpose is to preserve knowledge, keep magical secrets and distribute Miraculous jewels then wouldn't it be more logical to have Master-Apprentice system? It's much easier to keep magic knowledge a secret and train a few people in martial arts than doing the same in the self-sufficient temple full of people, keeping in mind that a good part of them are teenagers and children, who are bad at keeping secrets. Also a single person can travel around the world much easier to give out Miraculouses. Imagine that we have a few active guardians traveling the world with Boxes. What do other people at the temple do in the meantime? They teach the next generation about the powers of each Miraculous and Mirakung Fu, but besides that?

Master-Apprentice system gives us more personal conflict between Fu and his mentor and makes his relationship with Marinette and Adrien more nuanced. In this scenario Fu accidentally caused the death of his Master at 14 because he wasn't careful. It makes sense for him to take on only 1 or 2 students if this is how things were done with Miraculous Guardians. This Wang Fu is very cautious and protective, he spent the majority of his life afraid of hurting someone else and never took an apprentice as a result. But now he is ready to try again, since he is not getting any younger and he likes these 2 kids. He wants them to succeed. Maybe Master Fu, becomes the father figure for Adrien in this situation and a guide for Marinette. Just think about it. This way writers avoid the need to develop all these extra characters (Su Han) and traditions related to the Order. All inconsistencies I mentioned before and later in this post are gone now! Hell, even memory loss and the changing of the Miracle Box shape could make more sense. We also raise the stakes post-amnesia, if it happens of course (the whole Season 3 finale didn't make sense, so stay tuned for my next meta). Marinette and Adrien are on their own now, there's no one who can give them answers. It's very fun scenario, which has potential to be brilliant. Any thoughts on that?

The existence of Order of the Guardians is not quite a secret, at least it wasn't in XIX century China. Master Fu in "Feast" says that guardianship was considered "a great honor". It implies that people who lived close to the temple of the Order knew about Miraculouses and what exactly guardians did for the greater good.

The existence of other Miracle Boxes around the world makes sense from a real-life perspective. Writers have the ability to create many stories set in the same universe and use them for merchandise and an almost unlimited amount of content. Judging by the unholy amount of specials in production, this is exactly what the creators are going to do. It probably won't go down well, but who knows?

However, it doesn't work in our main story. The main conflict is Paris-centred. Gabriel's motivations revolve around Emilie's resurrection and Season 4 gives us more reasons to suspect that Adrien's mom wasn't as wonderful as everyone says. Hawkmoth still remains the main villain of the show and most likely it's going to stay that way. There's no point in moving the main story to different places for the sake of introducing more Miracle Boxes from around the world. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't needed to fight something halfway across the world unless Hawkmoth also changes locations.

LB and CN are centrepieces of this franchise. They brought success and money to ZAG. Creators constantly need to remind the audience that this new piece of media with new characters who will never be mentioned again is connected to Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Writers have to come up with reasons to include our heroic duo into the story even if makes no sense.

New York Special had to introduce American Heroes whose names rarely come up in the fandom because people stopped caring about them or their stories shortly after the release of the Special. I barely saw any content dedicated to them. In order to bring LB and CN into the story, you have to include Hawkmoth too. Gabriel suddenly needs to get his hands on the Eagle Miraculous and goes to USA. Marinette and Adrien suddenly have a class trip to New York. Unfortunately, their presence in this story is required only to expand the world of Miraculous and attract fans of the show, so that they could keep an eye on new content related to newly introduced characters.

In the end, it's not their story. Events of the special don't affect main story of the show and the development of the love square is merely an illusion, because Adrien and Marinette are no closer than before. In season 4 LB and CN are growing apart and their test of trust in NY Special doesn't matter. Perhaps, some people don't see it that way and it's their right, but I find it hard to see NYS as a valid contribution to canon. I mean, even people in large portion of the fandom state in the tags on AO3 that "specials are not canon", "specials didn't happen" or "ignores both specials". It speaks volumes about continuity and preferences of your fandom.

Shanghai Special didn't give us more information about the Order, which is located in China, history of Miraculous jewels. We still don't know much about how Gabriel and Emilie found Peacock and Butterfly. Maybe, Marinette's family had connections to Miraculous jewels. Maybe, Adrien does some snooping and discovers research his parents made while Gabriel is away. All of these are relevant to the main story. However, we got something much different in the end.

Marinette chases Adrien across the globe and they make new friends. Fey becomes Ladydragon and now has a direct contact with Marinette through her uncle. Gabriel's desire to get his hands on the Prodigious comes out of nowhere. Apparently, he had been planning this trip for years, presumably even before Adrien was born. It probably happened at the same time as Agrestes found 2 Miraculouses. He bought bracelet-key (which is also a Miraculous apparently, but its Kwami is a Guardian of the Prodigious and they existed separately for a very long time - and let us not dwell on this mess) from some shady mafia boss, who can easily find out just who Gabriel really is (fashion designer billionaire) and use this information to blackmail him. This Special didn't answer important questions, but it gave us a new superhero character.

The real question is whether Miraculous as a project will survive long enough for writers to create content for every minor character they introduced in all specials. This is only a beginning after all.

Miraculous is not a global show and it can't be globalised in a way that makes sense, at least with Ladybug and Chat Noir in the centre of action. Case closed.

Mirakung Fu

I liked the idea of Mirakung Fu introduced in "Furious Fu". It makes sense and things rarely do in this show. Miraculous grants its holder superhuman strength, stamina, endurance and ability to fight. This means that essentially transformed heroes are guided by magic in combat. There's nothing personal in the way Miraculous holders fight. You can predict their moves and learn how to fight this magic guidance, which is what Su Han does.

However, if the holder has any special training, skills or knows any martial art in their civilian life then they become more dangerous opponents during transformation because now their fighting is a mix of magical moves and their personal knowledge, tricks and style. Therefore, Adrien and Kagami as skilful fencers have more chances of winning against someone who knows Mirakung Fu than Marinette, for example.

Memory loss

At the end of season 3, we find out several things:

apparently, now Miracle Box can change appearance to suit its guardian;

when Guardian passes down the Miracle Box to someone else, they lose memories not only about everything related to Miraculous, but also about pretty much everything in their life (Fu doesn't recognise Marianne, instead he experiences the love at first sight)

Master Fu trains Marinette to be the proper holder and next Guardian off-screen. He says that her training as the holder is complete in "Feast" and wants her to become the next Guardian. Fu told her lots of things, and yet, he never mentioned the fact that he would lose his memory after relinquishing the box, nor the fact that Marinette would lose her memory afterwards. She finds out about this from Wayzz after the battle with Miracle Queen and the letter that Master Fu gave her. That's not proper training! How on Earth do you forget to mention this memory loss? How?

Master Fu's amnesia is a convenient plot device that removes him from the narrative almost completely. That's mostly all there is to it. Why? Because it doesn't make sense.

Fu was around 7 or 8 when he started his training. The disaster at the temple happened when he was 14. He stated that his training was never complete, which means that he never passed any magical ritual, never swore an oath or was bound by some kind of spell that made him subjected to the rule of memory loss.

Miracle Boxes belonged to the order, not Fu. Their design reflected their country of origin because these Miraculous were made and kept in China. They were just standing there on the shelves not magically bound to anyone in particular. When Feast attacked, monks just tossed Wang Fu the miracle box and grimoire. No one at the temple lost their memory after Fu took the box with him (Su Han is the proof). Su Han not only remembers Fu and his mistake but everything that happened that fateful day as well. In "Furious Fu" Marinette explains Su Han that Master Fu lost his memory in the very first conversation they have. However, after Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Su Han on the roof and escape with the Miracle Box, the latter searches for Fu and attempts to take his staff from him. In this scene, Su Han acts like Fu knows very well what is going on and who he is.

Su Han should be aware of the memory loss rule as the Celestial Guardian. He remarks on the different shape of the Mother Miracle Box and calls her "incorrect", which means that Su Han should have been able to easily tell that previous Guardian lost his memory and the Miracle Box is now bound to someone else. But he doesn't say anything. Moreover, since Su Han is supposed to know about amnesia, he seemed awfully chill about forcing this 14-year-old girl in front of him to give up the box and her memories. Hell, Chat Noir wasn't on board with this. But we get zero reaction from Su Han.

During the first conversation between Marinette and Su Han, he doesn't ignore what she is trying to say, instead he actively comments on every word. Even if Su Han didn't listen when Marinette told him about Fu's memory loss, than he still should be able to understand that Fu doesn't recognise him, because of common sense and the "incorrect" shape of the box. But nothing of the sort happens. Because writers apparently forgot that "memory loss" is supposed to be known to everyone in the Order. On-screen it looks like Su Han is not aware of the "amnesia rule".

"Furious Fu" makes the concept of memory loss a plothole no matter how you look at it. Just like "Timetagger" and "Chat Blanc", as well as "Kwamibuster" this episode is not consistent within itself. It does not surprise me, however.

Grimoire and Guardian Staffs

Let's talk about the Miraculous Grimoire. Good things first.

There are no illustrations of Miraculouses in camouflage. Kwami can't read its contents, only guardians can. Certain elements are written in riddles as an additional precaution. The book contains only the information people have learned so far, which means that Miraculouses have more unexplored potential ("Mr. Pigeon 72"). It describes powers of each Miraculous, provides information about weapons, has instructions for potions that don't make sense (see previous parts).

Unfortunately, everything is about to go downhill from here.

Guardians are taught how to read the writing in this book. They can read it just like people learn to read texts in a different language. This means that one can read Grimoire like any other book (you don't need to consult some guide to decode each letter or word). Master Fu proclaimed Marinette an almost fully trained Guardian. He should have taught her how to read the Grimoire then (he doesn't know the code very well, but he knew enough to understand the general meaning and content of the book according to "Collector"). He didn't. We don't know why. He shows her powers of every Miraculous but doesn't teach her the code.

Master Fu knows that Grimoire now belongs to Gabriel Agreste. He knows that it's dangerous for someone else to have it. If they knew how to read the Grimoire, they could discover all secrets of Miraculouses and harm Ladybug, Chat Noir and other heroes. It's very important to keep the information about the code top secret because Fu is not the only one with the source material.

What does he do then? Master Fu proceeds to write a French translation of Grimoire for Marinette, a translation that he doesn't even need. He carries it with him at all times on a tablet (without any precautions) just like the Miracle box after "Feast". Naturally, it means that in "Miracle Queen", Gabriel and Nathalie easily managed to get their hands on the tablet and Miracle Box. It allows the plot to happen, sure. But it doesn't make any sense.

"Furious Fu" created another curious plot hole. It will probably be ignored, of course. Su Han has a staff with a magical compass that allows him to find any Miracle box, but not the Miraculous jewels for some reason. How does the staff work? Can it locate the box without the Miraculous? If yes, then it seems useless. What's the point in the ability to locate an empty box? If it can locate the box only with the Miraculous jewels inside, it implies that the staff can track the location of every Miraculous too. So, Su Han could just locate the Butterfly and Peacock without any problem. But he talks about reassigning Ladybug and Black Cat to adults and defeating Hawkmoth like locating the Butterfly is not possible. This situation makes the Guardian Staff a simple plot device that creates plot holes and its only purpose is to explain how Su Han found Marinette.

Also, I have a few more words to say about this. Master Fu had a Guardian Staff that was never mentioned before. I wonder why? That's because the staff didn't exist before "Furious Fu" was written. Writers just went: "Do you know what would be cool? If Fu's cane was really a secret Guardian Staff with a compass all along that he decided to keep even after he lost his memory? It would make people wonder whether Master Fu is faking amnesia, and everyone will definitely call him an awful mentor after this even though we kind of tried to make him a good and responsible person."

Fu didn't give it to Marinette and didn't mention it to her. Why? When he gave up his memory, he should have written about this in his letter at least. Why did he decide to keep it? He can't use it anyway now.

Please note how in the flashbacks Fu didn't take any staff with him when he escaped the temple. Su Han seemed to know how Fu's staff looked like. It means that Master Fu didn't make this staff himself, because it belonged to the Order.

Su Han wasn't even surprised that Marinette didn't have the staff as the current Guardian. Was she not supposed to have it? He never questioned the fact that the former Guardian without memories has the staff. Su Han actually returns this staff to Fu after he is deakumatized and Fu acts like they have never met before. Why did Su Han gave the staff back when he knows what it is and to whom it should belong (to him or to Marinette as the current Guardian)? The staff is useless in the hands of the civilian. Does Marianne know about its secret? We'll probably never find out, unfortunately.

Guardian Staff of Master Fu has a compass too and therefore this also makes it a plot device, just like Su Han's staff.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #mt of lb and cn #miraculous guardian #miraculous order of guardians #master fu #miraculous master fu #wang fu #miraculous su han

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scorpionyx9621 · 4 years ago

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I Hope Hopeless Changes Over Time: A Red Hood and Batman Fic

*Source of the image I found off of Pintrest. I tried to find the original artist but the link on Pintrest led to a dead Tumblr account. If anyone wants to find/point out the account to me so I can give proper credit to the artist please please do.*

I wanted to make a fic based on an ask I did from the lovely @dilfbatman about Jason and Bruce. I hope people enjoy this mini-fic that I've expanded upon.

TW: Blood, Physical Assault, Suicide Ideation, Swearing. Bruce being a shitty father but trying. Jason having demons

3.75K words.

Bruce was uneasy about Jason staying over at the Wayne Mansion. Even with other members of the family around. Jason has done so much wrong and has hurt so many people. However, at the end of the day, Jason still is his son. So when he gets a call from Jason in a hushed voice asking Bruce to stay the night. He hesitated for a second, but acquiesced, Jason was nothing if not independent, so to be asking Bruce outright to stay at the Wayne Manor meant something was wrong.

"Master Jason wouldn't reach out to any of us unless something was gravely wrong, Master Wayne." Alfred had reassured Bruce, who was staring absentmindedly at the glass case which housed Jason's old Robin costume. The costume that Jason had died in. Bruce always tried to repress the memory of holding his son's cold, lifeless body. The pain he felt from losing his parents burned in his heart as an everlasting stab wound. But the pain from losing Jason, his son, it was too much to bare.

"I'd be welcoming to Master Jason, but keep your distance. Master Damian is spending the night at Jon Kent's house, Master Richard is in Blüdhaven, and Master Timothy is with the Teen Titans tonight. I'll rest assured Jason doesn't try anything to harm you. But don't try to encourage a confrontation." Alfred explained. He always seemed to understand Jason to a tee after he came back to life.

"I don't know how you do it Alfred, you can read the boy like a book." Bruce had retorted. Cocking a half-smile to the man who raised him since his parents died.

"Master Wayne, Master Jason wears his heart on his sleeve. He always has. And one of the reasons why you two fight constantly is because, for as terrific as a detective you are, you are horrifically inept in reading the emotions of your children." Alfred had stated, those words bit Bruce. He wasn't expecting such sharp words from Alfred. "We failed Master Jason. And he's hurt, he's been hurt for years because of it. However he keeps choosing to come back and try and trust again. We needn't come at him with accusations of ulterior motives, but we should be supportive." Alfred stated.

"But cognizant of what Jason is capable of." Bruce added back. Jason may need help, but he's still dangerous. He has tried to kill Bruce and the rest of the Robins multiple times. He wants to trust Jason and warm up to him again. But the man who wears the Red Hood and stalks the streets of Gotham killing those he deems criminals is not his son anymore.

Alfred and Bruce greeted Jason as he walked in the large double doors of the Wayne Manor. The first thing Bruce noticed was the dark circles under Jason's eyes. It seemed as if the man hadn't slept in days. Jason was wearing sweatpants and a fitted black wife beater, accentuating his muscles. Jason would have looked more intimidating had his body language not suggested he was as disheveled as he was, physically and mentally.

"Thanks Alfred." Jason had said meekly towards the butler. He took one step into the mansion and looked at Bruce. Bruce noticed as soon as Jason's eyes met his, his tired irises contorted into anger. His lips pursed downwards but Jason chose not to say anything. Instead just walking past Bruce pretending not to acknowledge him.

"Master Jason, you will be staying in the guest suite on the main floor. I've already prepped everything for your arrival. Please make yourself at home." Alfred had said. Jason just shook is head as he headed towards the hallway leading the guest suite. Bruce didn't notice it immediately but the stench Jason had emitted stung in the air. It smelled like stale liqour and body oder. It seems Jason hadn't bathed in days. Bruce had wanted to say something but chose not to.

The evening went by quietly enough. Jason had taken a shower and changed into another fitted wife beater but still sported a tired energy about him. Alfred had put together a beef pot roast for dinner with red potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery over garlic mashed potatoes. A favorite dish of Jason's. The three of them ate quietly as Bruce continued to size up his son. He was conflicted. At one point he saw the man who blew up the head of a Gotham security force member with a torture decide he had created. On the other hand, he saw the boy who would beg for Bruce to buy him more books after he finished the maximum amount a library card would allow for a week in the span of 3 days. The son who told him being Robin gave him magic.

The dinner ended as it began. With awkward silence and the father-son duo eyeing each other. One with cautious trepidation and the other with abject hate. Bruce had decided not to go on patrol tonight as he felt he needed to be at the manor should anything happen while Jason was here. An uneasy sense of dread built over Bruce as he had said good night to Jason as the two passed by each other in the halls. Jason simply spat 'Bitch' at Bruce and walked into the bedroom. Bruce had been bad with other people's emotions, but something didn't sit right with the way Jason was carrying himself. He had decided to stay up tonight regardless. A sense came over him after being sworn at by Jason. A sense he hadn't felt in a long time. He felt as though his son needed help.

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"You're a monster"

"Jason is a murderer"

"Stay away from Jason, he'll kill you."

"No one wants you around, Todd"

"You're just a good guy trying to be bad"

"This is the kid you had to replace me with as Robin? Bruce he's pathetic."

"I can't believe my daughter wasted the Lazarus Pit on a miserable failure like you."

"Maybe I'd be better off dead"

Jason tossed and turned. It's been days. He couldn't get the voices out of his head. Those whispery, moany voices that taunted and tormented him. He knew it was a result of the Lazarus Pit. Ever since Roy died and everyone left him the voices started taunting him again. He tried everything he could to get the voices to stop. He drank, he read, he worked out, he did everything he could. The only way the voices became quiet were when he was beating the ever-loving shit out of some criminals. This was not the mindset Jason had wanted. He wanted to go back to being supported by Bruce, the man who betrayed him. He knew that Bruce was weak. He couldn’t kill the Joker because of his weakness.

Jason got up and walked over to the connecting bathroom to the suite that he was staying in. He went to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. Against his better judgement, Jason looked up to the figure he saw in the mirror. He took note of his jawline, his face, his green eyes, his muscles.. but one thing that caught his eye was the fucking skunk streak of hair at the top of his head. The physical reminder of his dip in the Lazarus Pit. He had just re-dyed the spot not two days ago and it already came back. He did everything he could to try to hide the streak. It’s what he hated most about his new body. The pit wiped away all of the scars he had on his body. And any new fresh scar or wound would just fade in a matter of moments due to the effects of the pit. The only thing that ever stayed was that damned streak.

Jason had nothing but disgust and contempt for the man he saw in the mirror, which, ironically, was himself.

“You’re just using the sarcasm to hide your hatred.”

“It’s your fault that everyone hates you.”

“Killing the sick of the masses to save those who are weak is your calling”

“Those reptiles deserve to die”

“I don’t want to kill unless I don’t have to.. I don’t want people to hate me..” Jason tried reassuring himself. The voices in his head kept getting louder and louder. “I want Bruce and everyone to love me again....” He continued to try to re-assure himself. It was a false sense of hope as always. His mind soon wandered to a moment where he was on top of Dick in a fight. Confronting his older sibling and reciting a quote he had heard from a Japanese philosopher and optimist as he had the barrel of a gun placed against his older brother’s temple.

“Do you know what the most convenient phrase in the world is, Dickie? It’s ‘I’m sorry.’ Anyone who hears that is obligated to forgive, no matter how hurt or angry they might be... There's no more disgusting phrase in all the world. It's used to displace your suffering unto others so you can escape your sins... The moment you employ it, your suffering becomes the other person's. A thing can be unforgivable, but oh, if they apologize... I say there's no reason to accept that suffering. You don't have to forgive them. Cast aside the mask of your conscience.“

“Stop this. Please stop this.” Jason had begged aimlessly into the air. He didn’t want to live like this anymore. He didn’t want to live, period. He just wanted all of this to end. He had caused so much pain and so much suffering to the people of Gotham all so he could attempt to hurt Bruce. But those words kept repeating in his head. He knew he had to stop this. He needed help, he wanted to go to Bruce and explain what was going on but Bruce would just have him institutionalized. His murderer of a son starts hearing voices in his head? A one way ticket to a padded room.

Jason suddenly stared back into the mirror and saw something he detested. The green eyes that stared into his soul. The one he hated more than anything else. Was himself. This thing was staring him in the face mocking him, and he wanted it gone.

“Do it Jason.” the voice had beckoned from the mirror. “Kill them all. Slit Damian’s throat and watch the fucker bleed. Bash Tim’s stupid face into the concrete until there’s nothing but mush. Rip Dick limb from fucking limb. Watch Bruce as you choke the last bit of life from his eyes. I promise all the pain will go away once all of this is done.” the voice sounded almost sweet as it promised to do all of this. Jason just retched as he saw the green eyed monster promising poison to him. He felt his vision fade to black.

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STOP IT. SHUT. UP.

*CRASH*

Bruce had jumped up from the chair he was sitting on in the library, the voice came from the suite that Jason was staying in. Bruce didn’t have time to think. He just ran towards the noise. He threw the door to the suite open and ran to the bathroom. There he saw Jason in front of a heavily cracked mirror. Jason was hyperventilating and he saw blood oozing from Jason’s fist which was pressed against the mirror. Bruce saw from the reflection that Jason had split open the left side of his lip seemingly from a shard of glass. It wasn’t long before Jason glanced up at the imposing shadow in the mirror and noticed Bruce’s presence.

“YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME BRUCE.” Jason had shouted at his reflection. Jason was shaking. Bruce had wanted to assess the injury that Jason gave himself. But he knew he was cornering a scared animal if he pressed any farther forward. Bruce stood their frozen. Pondering between trying to press forward upon a killer, or to check up on his son.

“Jason, I just...” Bruce was cut off by another scream as Jason turned around.

“IF YOU COME ANY CLOSER I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU FUCKING STAND YOU PIECE OF SHIT.” Bruce finally got the cue. The hitch in Jason’s voice. This is the same hitch his voice made when he was a kid and was angry at Bruce. Alfred was right. This is his son. And right now Bruce needed not to be the Batman approaching the Red Hood. He needed to be Bruce, to help his son.

Bruce walked forward to Jason, still shaking as blood oozed from the gashes of glass on his fist. Bruce decided against everything in his gut telling him to stop this criminal. This monster who killed for sport and to prove a point. He needed to help Jason, his son.

Bruce was knocked back by a fist to his chest. Glass imbedded itself into Bruce as he felt the sting of their shards. Jason was right, he was going to hurt Bruce if he approached. Oracle was right, Jason had been abusing venom. The quick gain in muscle mass was proof enough but the stinging pain in Bruce’s chest also proved that hypothesis. Jason barred his teeth as his eyes displayed a seething hatred. Bruce would have been frightened on any other day. Today, Bruce felt a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. Bruce collected himself and got up to approach Jason again.

“I TOLD YOU I’M GOING TO KILL YOU BRUCE. I FUCKING HATE YOUR GUTS. I WANT YOU TO DIE. I WANT ALL OF US TO JUST FUCKING DIE.” Jason screamed even louder this time. A hot stream of tears worked their way down Jason’s cheeks. Bruce no longer saw a rage-induced monster but the boy who took a tire iron to his gut on the streets of Gotham. The boy who would was thrilled at every opportunity he got to show Bruce the A’s on every test he got in school. This was his baby boy who needed his help.

“Jason Peter Todd that’s enough.” Bruce said firmly, but not harshly. Jason stared directly into his eyes. “Jason. I want you to listen to me.”

“Go to hell you motherfucker.” those words which escaped Jason were laced with poison. Bruce didn’t waver.

“You can punch me as much as you want Jason and I’ll deserve all of it.” Bruce came closer to Jason. Jason proceeded to physically make himself smaller. Like a scared animal. Bruce remember what he did to Jason after he had seemingly killed The Penguin. How he beat Jason to within an inch of his life. His heart plummeted to his stomach as he saw Jason cower like a scared dog over his approach.

“What are you going to do Bruce, beat me to a fucking pulp again? You hate me more than you hate the fucking Joker, don’t you?” Jason asked. Bruce truly saw the fear in those green eyes. He had to take a moment and realized just what he was doing. He unclenched his jaw and relaxed his shoulders as he approached Jason. This time he was back within striking range of his son.

“Jason. I failed you. I have been failing you for the past 10 years since your death. I have failed this city and this family in providing the protection it needs. I couldn’t kill The Joker because I’m weak.” Bruce sucked at emotions and emoting. But Bruce hadn’t felt this shaky and wavering since the day he lost Jason. His son needed to know the truth. He deserved to know the truth. “Jason I never hated you. I hated the actions you have taken against the people of this city. But I’ve come to realize that the hatred and contempt I’ve held is because you do what I can’t do.”

“Oh so now you’re coming over to apologize? I don’t owe you shit after what you’ve done to me.” Jason had stated. He may have been acting like a pinned animal. But his mouth will never not cut like knives.

“Jason, when we had fought in the abandoned apartment. And you had the Joker with you. You had tried to shoot me after I had turned away from you.” Bruce said. Inching ever closer to Jason while trying not to be imposing. “In that moment, I threw the batarang because I knew you were going to retaliate against me. But I need you to know in that moment I turned away. I turned away because I decided I wasn’t to be the one to decide the Joker’s fate. He had taken your life and it wasn’t up to me to decide. I want nothing more than for the Joker to pay for the countless lives hes taken and ruined.” Bruce swallowed hard as he felt tears beginning to well in his eyes. “I failed you because I couldn’t kill the Joker. But in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have my baby boy back. I wanted you back in my life. I still want you back in my life.”

“Bullshit. Fucking BULLSHIT.” Jason spat at Bruce. The emotions were flooding out of his face. Anger, hatred, fear, but most of all sadness. Jason’s voice began wavering as he began to cry. “If you loved me why in the fuck have you never realized I’ve been trying to help the people of Gotham. Instead every time I take matters into my own hands all I meet are your fucking fists. I hate your guts Bruce. We’d all just be better off fucking dead. It’s all Hopeless. I’m hopeless.”

Bruce took a deep breath. He tried to find his resolve. He wanted nothing more than to be able to reach out to his son again. “You’re absolutely right Jason. I’ll bet Gotham would be a whole lot better without me. Without the pain I have caused. And no amount of apologies will fix the pain that I have caused you. No words will ever take back the transgressions I have taken against you.” Bruce was crying this time. “But know this. You always have been my son. And I love you so much. The day I lost my parents was agony. The day I lost you, I felt like I had lost myself I felt I had died a bit inside.” Bruce choked out. “We both have done so much we regret. If I could take back all the times I hit you I would do it in a heartbeat. But no amount of sorry will take back that pain. I shouldn’t be in the position to be asking this. But I just want my son back.” Bruce swallowed. “You have every right to hate me, but I will never stop loving you. You aren’t hopeless and you never have been. You never have been a burden. You are valued by so many people. I. I love you my son. I love you Jason."

Jason’s face relaxed from a position of contempt and hatred and soon was overcome with years of pent up tears. Jason let out a hearty scream as he proceeded to weep and sob. As if a dam had broke and was threatening to engulf a town in an apocalypse. Bruce went against everything he had known and was screaming from the inside of his body and wrapped Jason in a hug. He was almost as large as Bruce himself and barely fit around his arms. But Bruce held his son and hugged him tight. Jason was crying uncontrollably.

“I’m hearing these voices. They’re telling me I’m a monster and a killer and that I should kill all of you.” Jason shouted between sobs. “But I don’t want to. I’m so afraid Bruce. I don’t want to hurt anyone unless I have to.”

“Just breath Jason. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Let it all out.” Bruce had solidified his resolve and worked on being there for Jason. He couldn’t run away this time. His son needed him more than ever. And Gotham be damned. He’s not making this mistake twice. He’s staying here. For Jason.

It felt like hours before Jason had run out of tears and sobs. Jason was fading and seemed like he was about to fall asleep. The shards of glass that were imbedded in his hand seemingly prevented Jason from bleeding out. Bruce had saw Jason’s eyes glaze over as his breathing calmed.

“Jason, I’m going to pick you up and take you to bed.” Bruce had said, asking for permission from his second son. Jason simply nodded as he starred off. He was numb now. The pain seemingly gone for the moment. Bruce lifted Jason up and was taken aback by just how heavy his son was. He truly was 225lbs just like his records showed. This wasn’t the son who hid under the cabinets when Bruce first brought Jason home. But Bruce still saw the boy as his son nonetheless. As Bruce laid Jason on the bed Alfred had approached with a first aid kit. Proceeding to begin to clean up Jason’s hand. Jason was so exhausted he barely felt any of the picking and pulling or the iodine going into his wounds. He kept his eyes fast forward on Bruce.

“Bruce. I. I’m sorry.” Jason had said meekly.

“Don’t apologize Jason.” Bruce had stated. He ran his hand through Jason’s hair, giving a soft massage to his scalp. “You get some sleep now. I don’t think you’ve rested in days.”

Bruce had remembered the time he had read Jason to sleep. This time he had thought back to a poem that struck him from his phone. It was from a famous lyricist and singer. As Bruce pulled up his phone he had found the poem and recited it as Jason fell asleep. Things are far from perfect or even better. But tomorrow was going to be the first day of the rest of his and Jason’s lives.

“They told me once, ‘there's a place where love conquers all’

A city with the streets full of milk and honey

I haven't found it yet, but I'm still searching

All I know is a hopeless place that flows with the blood of my kin

Perhaps hopeless isn't a place

Nothing but a state of mind”

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pHEW GOD THAT WAS LONG. I hope you all enjoyed the fic! This was my first published attempt at angst and whump and while I feel some parts are cringe. I am proud of what I made.

Big thanks again to @dilfbatman for inspiring this fic. The inspiration of the title is the song Hopeless: by Halsey. The quote about I’m Sorry is from the character Shadow Maya Amano from Persona 2: Innocent Sin. And the poem at the end is the first part of the lyrics to the song Good Mourning by Halsey.

#Jason Todd #Red Hood #Bruce Wayne #Batman #Whump #Angst #Hurt/comfort #Non-ship #Bruce being a good father #Jason trying his best #Jason getting the rest he deserves #The two have gone through so much but they can get help #TW Blood #TW Physical abuse #TW Swearing

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incorrectdmp · 3 years ago

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Blog Maintenance / Lack of Posting

HI so i kinda put this all in the tags of one of Drift's submissions today but i wanna actually kinda give a proper update of how i plan to go forward with this blog as DMP is coming to a close. a lil bit of this addresses something that happened last episode so HERE is your spoiler warning NOW

Okay so first things first, with Juniper's new name I am going to be going back to all the Junior tags and ADDING juniper to them. Originally i was gonna replace everything including the actual name in the quotes but bro told me not to haha. it's... a lot of maintenance and Juniper's arc is more about trying to find an identity for himself rather than distancing himself from an old name ie Charlie. going forward all quotes not explicitly pre-void will be labelled as Juniper and tagged with all three juniper/junior tags. the one person who submitted me a Juniper quote on anon, i haven't forgotten about your post. I've held onto it for a bit bc i didnt wanna have another post to deal with the name change tag so soon to the episode happening haha

Second, out of context spoilers is coming... eventually. I've had to put my regular post-episode notes on hold until i'm far enough along in my finale work i'm COMFORTABLE taking a likely 2 day venture into a task that's both time consuming and physically taxxing, and so i'm planning on rewatching the episode some time today or tomorrow to do a run for anything in OOC spoilers i wanna add before posting them

Third, I'm.... REAL sorry i haven't been posting a lot on this blog. there's a lot of reasons for that. obviously as most of y'all know as I am an official artist for DMP now i'm INCREDIBLY busy with the finale, and even though putting quotes from the backlog onto the blog or on a queue isn't terribly hard or time consuming it's also something that just slips my mind a lot. also i have a lot of anxiety surrounding my backlog getting too short, even though it's not THAT bad right now. plus, considering I know the ending of the show and a ton of my quotes have BEEN in the backlog for SOOOO long some of them may be outdated in terms of dynamics and such, and I'm not sure how many of them i'm ACTUALLY willing to post because i haven't combed through them in a while. plus a lot of the older ones just aren't as funny to me. once DMP is done and i still have the hyperfixation brainrot i may try to maintain this blog a little more until i at LEAST get through all my backlog quotes. once those are done I'll probably just post quotes as i see fit whenever i find them, instead of actively trying to maintain a backlog. i haven't had time to actively go hunting for new quotes in a long time, so that stuff will come once dmp is done, again. I wanna keep the blog running for at least a bit after DMP is done as a way to help everyone including myself with going content cold turkey, and as i'll NOT be swamped in work it'll be a good time to TRY and find new material. plus i wont have to worry about anything with dynamics changing.

as for quotes running as we lead up to the finale? i'm gonna try posting around every week or so, maybe in 5 quote batches? i'm not sure. again, lots of anxiety surrounding the shrinking backlog combined with So Much Work that i make no promises but i DO wanna at least treat yall as we enter one last mini hiatus as we're working hard behind the scenes to give yall the finale you DESERVE

#not a quote #blog maintenance #dmp #discord murder party #dmp spoilers

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dumbladores · 5 years ago

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You - Teaser

Summary: Your brother and a girl with whom you’ve become friends with by sharing a home, are your flatmates. But since there was a room left, another person had joined in, and not just anyone, but the very Antoine Griezmann himself, who has decided to go back to university and check out the life he had missed while having a career. I intend to develop your relationship rather slowly (but not too slowly, don't be scared). I intend to have at least one little teasing per chapter, how many chapters there will be, I don't know, depends on your demand and how it develops on its own :)

I'll be posting one chapter at least every two weeks. Make sure you check out my Patreon, where you'll have access to more much sooner. I’m dedicating this to @xratedffbarbiex, who inspired that sudden urge to write, so please make sure to check out her Antoine-series as well.

English isn't my first language, so please have mercy with me.

Besides, I'm always happy about propositions or inspiration, so don't hesitate to contact me.

Cheers, guys, to the great community, we've got here!

Warnings: not yet

Part: 1/ ? Part 2 follows next week on my Patreon

Word count: 1756

One

Your brother and a girl with whom you’ve become friends with by sharing a home, were your flatmates. But since there was a room left, another person had joined in, and not just anyone, but the very Antoine Griezmann himself. Footballplayer since he was little, he had to give up his career due to an injury on his left knee. Since he had no family to look after, he had decided to go back to university, doing a little catching up on the life he had missed, as he had been a professional since a very young age.

You had been away when he was to have the “flat interview”, so you didn’t have any saying in the decision, it was anyway a two against one vote, since the others were absolutely enthusiastic about him. Of what you gathered from their statements, it was merely because it was, well, him. But they said he was nice, too. You rolled your eyes at that sentence. It was obvious the two had been taken by either his charm or his indeed very inviting physical features. Nevertheless the three of you made a pact to make every effort you could to make his life in (name of town) as normal as it could be and to trying to include him in as many common student activities there were.

You often had friends over. Cynthia and you already knew a bunch of people since it was your third semester, and (name of your brother) also quickly took part in that circle of friends.

It had been weeks since he moved in and yet it seemed he didn’t settle in easily. In videos you had seen of him, he seemed so playfully and easy to get along. But here he behaved rather shyly. He kept mostly to himself during the daytime, locking himself in his room. You only saw him once in a while in the kitchen and in the living room, where he watched football or basketball on a big flat screen he had bought to share with his flatmates, which made a big impression to the other two, but not so much on you. You weren’t to be bought so simply, especially not by someone who wasn’t paying much attention to other stuff you cared more about - for example looking someone in the eyes.

Of course, you had made a big deal out of that fact. You kept saying to Cynthia, what a prick you thought he was and how cocky he behaved. She just rolled her eyes and sayd you should give him some time.

In fact, your pride was a little tiny part of it. You couldn’t bare the thought he didn’t notice you, didn’t show interest in you. But you never in a thousand years would admit it. So you eagerly researched. You researched everthing about him. Where he was brought up, in which clubs he had played, you even watched interviews with him. He was Frances’ darling. Grizou, as they called him. A symbol, an idol for the country, who didn’t even trust in him when he had started his career. No club had wanted him, so he had to move to Spain when he was 14 years old. You couldn’t believe it. It sounded like he had a whole life behind him, now being only 29, he had experienced more than any other normal person at this age, And yet he hadn’t, as he was willing to go back to university to learn, what he had missed when he was out in this cruel world, that loves you at one moment and rejects you at the other. You watched some interviews with him. In most, in fact, he didn’t look the interviewer in the eyes. Most of them were filmed after a match, so you supposed, you couldn’t demand much of a player that just had run for one and a half hours. You certainly wouldn’t be able anymore to utter anything. In fact, you most certainly would be dead. But no, in other situations it was just the same. Also what he was saying didn’t have any profoundness or depth. Angrily you let go, coming to the conclusion there was nothing interesting in this guy, and particulary nothing interesting for you.

Weeks passed. He had invited your brother to play FIFA on his XBOX in his room, but never talked to you or Cynthia more than necessary. You hadn’t exchanged 10 sentences by the end of one month, and after a while you gave it up. He had a few pals from his classes that came over once in a while, and he even came home very late twice, so you guessed he took part in student social life by his own, being to partys and stuff, probably having made other interesting acquintances. You hadn’t made any effort to get him to notice you in any way, but you just stopped caring.

That’s why you missed that he indeed looked at you one or two times in the kitchen. That he started to look at you when you talked to Cynthia or your brother or other friends you had invited over. In fact, there were many movie nights you hosted since you had this big flat TV and other students couldn’t even afford a proper fridge. Antoine started to laugh at your jokes or when you were doing something silly to amuse the people. He, indeed, started watching you intensely. More intensely than the others.

You only came to notice his stare in exactly that moment you were telling a story a group of people in the kitchen at a movie night. You were preparing popcorn in the microwave and you just made a joke about how you had thought as a kid that popcorn didn’t have anything to do with actual corn and that you had made the discovery only recently, and it had been as if you had entered a whole new dimension in the matrix. You noticed his stare, Antoine was casually leaning at the kitchen counter, one hand in his sweatpants, the other on the beer bottle. Your face instantly turned red, at least that was what you felt - your cheeks caught fire and there was nothing you could do about it. You tried to finish your point and rushed down the story, leaving the rest of the group a little confused by that abrupt ending.

While the others moved to the living room with the popcorn, you poured yourself a large glass of wine and took a deep sip. You had almost made a fool of yourself, just because this handsome and cocky footballplayer had watched you. You had to be more careful with your thoughts. Didn’t you use to say you had standarts? But did your guts have standarts? You knew, your mind wanted someone smart and classy and interesting. So why did your stomach drop like several floors down at the sight of his stare?

“So we’re here drinking on our own, are we?”

You shrinked at the smooth voice behind you and quickly turned, just to see that it belonged to the guy you were thinking of a second ago. As if he knew he had caught you thinking of him, you blushed again.

“Just making sure the wine’s okay”, you managed to answer and, in a manner you thought to be both ironic and casual, you took another sip from your glass.

“Hmm, may I?”, Griezmann said and reached out for your glass. He took a sip, pointed his lips in an hilarious way and swallowed. “Oh, not bad. Not bad at all. I presume it is dated by the time of Louis XIV himself, for it makes the sun shine on your face.”

You snorted with laughter. “Is this a quote from Shakespeare or something or did you just come up with that yourself?”

With a smirk on his perfect face, he handed you back your glass. “Which possibility would make you think higher of me? Probably the quote, as you’re constantly reading. And what’s your subject again? Philosophy?”

“It is”, you admitted. “But I embrace far more an original new thought, because it’s proof of creativity and independance of thought.”

“Really? I thought you dind’t like new things?”

You blinked. “How come you think that lowly of me?”, you asked and took another nervous sip out of your glass, while you intended it to look casually. He couldn’t be implying your aversion against the new TV or even himself? He couldn’t be that observing, could he? Or was it you that were so blind?

He grinned and watched you thoroughly. “I’m sorry. Maybe I drew the wrong conclusion.”

Now you were angry. Stupid boy, thought he could mock you, while in fact he was the ridicule.

“Maybe I’m just taking my time to judge”, you snapped. “And allowing myself to exclude new things from my life, if I regard them as being intrusive and un...conductive.” Without looking at him you walked past him into the living room, where the movie was already on. You squeezed yourself on the sofa next to Cynthia and tried to look at Orson Welles in “The third man”.

So it hadn’t just been you thinking low of Griezmann. It was him thinking low of you. And if he was thinking low of you, and you thinking low of him, that in fact made you a lot lower than him. A correct philosophical conclusion. 100 percent on that test, you congratulated yourself. But logic wasn’t helpful in that moment.

You looked at the entrance to the kitchen, where Griezmann stood leaning against the door frame, his eyes on the screen.

#antoine griezmann imagine #antoine griezmann one shot #antione griezman fanfic #antoine griezmann x reader #antoine griezmann x OC #football imagine

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zombiiesque · 3 years ago

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Nocturne Alchemy Seth's Dinosaur Collection - PART ONE

Originally published on 6/27/2017

Hello, everyone! I've been wanting to write some reviews for a while now, but we moved, and then I promptly came down with a really bad case of bronchitis, that did not seem to want to go away. I ended up with two different antibiotics and almost went to the hospital at one point, but it's mostly dissipated finally. Well, then I had to put my house together and get everything situated here, and I'm sure anyone that has moved understands how much effort that takes. I haven't moved in over four years, and I felt really bad about not getting my house organized! And here I am, going on and on. Anyway, I had intentions of reviewing Seth's Dinosaur Collection for quite a while, but I think it's particularly relevant now. Nocturne Alchemy is reopening in 4 days, on June 30th! *squeeing and flailing* I'm so excited to see the site redesign. Also, they've been working on new label art, and from what I understand, they'll be adding new scents to the various Permanent Collections. So much fun. I'm sure it's going to be beautiful. If you'd like to keep up with them in the meantime, they have been posting fun things on their Facebook Business page, including a sneak peek video of the new logo, which is absolutely elegant.

Well, I started this last night, and ended up having things to do that needed my immediate intention - so I had to put it down and come back to it in the morning! It seems like that's the way things have been going lately, so now this review is even more timely. Before I delve into it, I want to make mention that I had an email conversation with the NA crew, because I wanted to address some of the rumors I'd seen going around since they'd been closed. I saw that folks were concerned that they wouldn't be reopening, because they've been gone so long, and I also saw that many were worried that the catalogue as it was known might not be returning, so I wrote to see if they'd give me something to share with people - and they did! Such lovely, kindhearted people, and that is the reason I am such a huge "fangirl". I mean, don't get me wrong - they make the most exquisite perfume oils, and of course that drew me in, but once I began to see how much heart they pour into their company, and how much they care about their customers, that really made me fall head over heels. Honestly, in the world of indie perfumes, NA is a pretty good sized company. They've been making perfumes for 10 years now - actually, as it's June, they're into their 11th year, and they have a pretty extensive catalogue! So in their own words, I'll use a direct quote here from Nocturne Alchemy.

NA will return June 30th. We asked our customers last year what they thought of the old NA site. Constructive criticism concluded that it was dated. The truth is, we knew this and had been looking for the right host site for the past two years. We knew it would take time to migrate and create a new site but we'd have to be 100% involved and the focus of a new site would mean we'd have to shut down the old site. In the process, we decided to recreate the art for the labels of the Permanent Collection (we call it the PC because we view perfume as you would at an art gallery, where there is a Permanent Collection and a Limited Collection or the temporary exhibit if you will). In the past six months we've taken some much needed time off after a decade of perfume making, perfume soul-searching, travel for more unique perfume, and also back in the Studio for months now working on new PC, new art for new labels and a new look for NA. It took two years prior to opening NA in 2006 creating a small collection of PC and Limited perfumes, designing labels, the site...the fact that we can do this in six months, means we are at the top of our game. We know what we want to create but you can't rush art. NA will return June 30th. Find us on Facebook to stay up with current information. The PC and Studio Limited will return, as well as the beloved VApothecary line that has been rebranded under Nocturne Alchemy to facilitate cohesiveness at the new site.

So, there you have it! In addition to completely redesigning the site from the ground up, including a different type of "shopping cart", they've been working on all kinds of wonderful things. I am not sure I will even know where to start on Friday! I'm certainly looking forward to digging through the new site - bad pun intended? And now, I have to apologize. As I said, I'd meant to get this posted a few weeks ago, but life sort of threw me under the bus, and I just couldn't give it the proper time it deserved, as the Dinosaur collection, and the eNVie review, both deserve a bit more depth than just reviewing a single perfume. I'll be working on the latter today, to get it posted up hopefully by tomorrow.

So, roughly two summers ago, Nocturne Alchemy released the original Dinosaur collection, which was Seth's baby, as his other passion, from his early childhood, was dinosaurs, and he wanted to do a collection with that theme. I must tell you, it's been one of my very favorite collections, and I'm only missing a few of them. Last summer, they released a Resurgence, and added some new perfumes to the collection. It's alternatively been called the Prehistoric collection, but the name "Seth's Dinosaurs" has kind of become the popular name among the fans, and often gets shortened to "the Dinos". A little note about this collection: "These dinosaur perfumes are created with the beauty of resin in mind for each of them. The concept to this perfume, the label and the respect of the dinosaur is built on imagination. If you look at the label, there is an egg to the left. It is the same color as the Dinosaur. Apply the perfume on wrist and inner elbow and allow the scent to bind with your chemistry. Once this has occurred, inhale. This conceptually, is the egg. To allow the dinosaur to hatch, we wanted you to go to your Studio Limited Library and pull as many as you want, especially your favorites. The magic in layering the dino's with your Studio Limited Library will give your library a new NAVAlchemy aspect of layering and creating your own personal Dino scent. The fun in NAVAlchemy and hatching the dino eggs is all up to you!" - note from Seth. So, I've seen a few comments floating around the internet that say these oils seem to be rather linear, or flat - and I hope that people will read this, because if they don't realize that these were created specifically to be layered, then they'll miss the beauty of these. I do like them on their own, but I find that when they are layered with other perfumes, the beauty and versatility really shines through. I was never adventurous about layering until I was introduced to these beauties, and they really taught me to branch out, because the possibilities are quite endless. What's interesting is that a lot of the SL (Studio Line) is also fantastic for layering, so I'll make some suggestions for these together for you to try. I believe, from the hints that they've been dropping on the Facebook page, that we'll once again be graced with new Dinos this summer. I don't know if it will be happening with the grand reopening, or at some later time in the summer, but it seems that we'll be getting new Dinosaurs to play with! I cannot wait.

So, let's get started! I'll go with the first round of Dinosaurs that I have, and then the second round will be in a separate post. All of the Dinosaurs also make this mention: "*tiny bits of resin may occur in the Dino blends, these will only enrich the blend even more with aging!"

Cryolophosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, Aged Organic Studio created Patchouli, Black Patchouli, SL Crimson and only a drop of fine aged Egyptian White peppercorn eo. So, this was my first love of the Dinosaurs. I was pretty new to NAVA at the time the first collection came out, so I was still trying everything via decants before I sprung for full bottles, because I hadn't learned what worked on me and what didn't yet. I think I ordered decants of everything but Spinosaurus, because I had learned at that point that black honey and I don't get on. Still salty about that! Anyway. The decants arrived, and I tried them all out - and fell madly in love with Cryolophosaurus, and promptly ordered a full bottle. It's....what are words! I feel as though I'm going to be repeating myself here with this collection, but I'll do my best for y'all. The patchoulis in this blend are bright and sort of herbal, almost minty? I don't know if that's a proper patchouli trait, but as a bit of a hippie, I've been a lifelong fan of patchouli (thanks, mom!) and was exposed to the dark and dirty hippie type patchouli early on in life. This was the first time I was exposed to patchouli as a more herbal note, and I was absolutely blown away. I often find NAVA ambers to have a "fresh" sort of quality, and the two ambers used in the Dinosaur collection definitely seem to have that, so it keeps any of these blends from being overly dark. There's definitely a depth and a sort of stoney feel to each one of these, but as I've mentioned, that seems to come out more once you layer them with another perfume, and Cryolophosaurus is no exception. I can wear this happily alone, it's quite different than say Hessonite, which can be a little overwhelming if you're new to patchouli, the ambers lift this up and seem to give the patchoulis a different nuance. You don't get the red musk (Crimson) or pepper aspect very much until you wear this one layered, but those aspects come out and shine once you pair this with another oil. Also, this oil is red! As I've had my bottle for 2 years, there's definitely some resinous bits forming now, but I couldn't seem to capture a picture of it.

I could rave and rave about this one. Goals: If they bring this back as a Resurrection again this year, GET A BACKUP BOTTLE. Hah!

TL;DR A fresh, sort of bright, herbal patchouli. The nuances of the ambers, red musk, and pepper come out to play when you layer this, but you probably won't notice them while wearing it solo.

Layering suggestions: Try this with Kashmir, Crystalline, Amethyst, Santalum, Crystal, White Ambre Ombre. If you have Labyrinth Oudh, this pairs beautifully with that. If you are a patchouli fiend, you might try hatching it with Patchouli Ombre or Hessonite. I like it with Sekhmet Amber and Black Raven, also.

Diplodocus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Boswellia carterii Frankincense from United Arab Emirates and a drop of steam distilled Oman Frankincense tears we picked from the actual Frankincense tree.

Believe it or not, although I tried all of my decants the summer that the Dinosaur Collection came out, I did not really pursue full bottles of any except Cryolophosaurus. When I heard that the collection was to be resurrected last summer, I decided I needed to try my decants again, and came to the conclusion that I would have to acquire full sizes of all the originals that I had decants of - oh boy! And then there were new ones joining them. I was in trouble. So, I was trying to decide which of these I absolutely had to have, and at first, I had decided since I had Holiday Egyptian Frankincense, I probably didn't need Diplodocus. Well, I fell pretty hard for HEF last summer and found myself layering it with everything, and before I knew it, I had gone through a half a bottle. Panic set in, and I decided I was probably going to need an alternative frankincense, as it was a note I was falling more and more in love with. Diplodocus became a must have, and I am glad I was able to sneak it in my last order before the collection came down. As a stand alone perfume, this is pretty much a linear frankincense - albeit a lovely one. Beautifully woody, you could wear this alone if you were in the mood to wear a sort of single note frankincense, but this lends a wonderful aspect with so many perfumes, I prefer to layer it. Once I layer it with another perfume, the bright, resinous, stony amber comes out to play with the woodiness of the frankincense, and it's heavenly. The cacao is not a starring note, I can find it with my nose only if I keep sniffing, but it plays a lovely supporting role.

TL;DR A perfect frankincense layering note, it does well with adding a sort of grounding to perfumes that might ordinarily be too bright or feminine for my particular tastes, and is lovely paired with the SLs as well to create a duality.

Layering suggestions: Kobalt Dark, Santal Ombre, Egyptian Musk, Crystal, Diamond, or even to add a tad more frankincense to Ember. I've also paired this and love it with Gabriel, Eternal Egypt, and Ozymandias. I love it with several LC perfumes as well; Black Velvet, Black Crystalline Black Fig, Vamp, Anticipation, Blue Lotus, Snow Amber.

Pteranodon: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Pure Sandalwood left to age in the perfume, Santalum Gold, Santalum and a drop of Blue Santalum.

GODS. Gods. This was the one that made me sit up and take notice, why had I missed out on ordering a full bottle, and I need to rectify this immediately! All of the Dinosaurs are fantastic, versatile little workhorses when playing with layering, but Pteranodon became a quick favorite of mine, and dare I say? Yes, I dare, it became my favorite sandalwood thus far. Don't get me wrong, you'll be prying my gloriously aged bottle of SL Santalum out of my cold, dead hands, I absolutely adore Santalum White, especially when spring and summer roll around, but really I can see using it all year...but this, this is special. Samantha tells me that's because it has the most precious of precious, Santalum Gold. Since she sent me a little sample of her precious bottle, I can understand the obsession - there's something pretty amazing about Santalum Gold. It's a little more woody and resinous, more fully sandalwood than the new version Santalum. I love mine, don't get me wrong, but I can see why Santalum Gold is so popular that if one pops up in the secondary market, it is gone within minutes. Ah well, one day I will be quick enough! Until then - Pteranodon. Yes, I can and have worn this alone, and I absolutely adore it. I like it in my hair, it's one of my favorite layering components when I pair it with something and add a few drops of unscented hair oil and run my fingers through my hair. Hnnnnggg. It's hauntingly familiar, it reminds me of when I lived briefly in Minneapolis in the early nineties and I hung out in the head shops and the kitschy little knicknack shops of uptown and the fantastic thrift stores....ahhhh the nineties, it brings me a feeling of nostalgia, for that's when I discovered how glorious sandalwood was. Oddly enough, my mother is a darker creature, and I don't remember her wearing sandalwood during her hippie days, mostly patchouli and musk and especially dragon's blood. She was missing out, I tell you. This. This really evokes some strong emotions in me. So, once layered, again the ambers come out to play, and the cacao is there as a supporting note, but the star is the variety of sandalwoods. You really get a sense of the four once this is layered. I don't know what to say other than IF THIS COMES BACK AND YOU DON'T HAVE IT YOU'D BETTER GET ONE. I'll be picking up a backup. I might not be able to get my hands on Santalum Gold, but this will do.

TL;DR HNNNGGGG GORGEOUS INCREDIBLE SANDALWOOD.

Layering suggestions: Gods, it goes with everything. Seriously. One of my favorite things is to hatch this with a combination of Diamond, Crystalline, and Tibetan Crystalline. Alternately, I'll do Bloodstone, Egyptian Musk, and this (maybe some Amethyst too). It's fantastic with Ember Vanilla or from the LC, Phantasm Kiss. I love it with Egyptian Temple Oudh. Umm, Eternal Egypt, Bastet Amber, Raphael, Black Raven. Ambre Ombre, or even Santal Ombre. I love it with the OPs, Baba, Tawaret, Pakhet, Hathor. I've got a smidgen of my sample of Egyptian Peach Blossom left and it's lovely with that. Polichenelle. Cecilia, Adele, Music, Snow Amber, Patchouli Ombre. There hasn't been a layering combination with this one I haven't loved, so be adventurous. If a perfume seems a bit too sweet or floral, this makes a nice "grounding" effect. Just do yourself a favor and nab this if it comes back!

Tyrannosaurus: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, a drop of Cacao, Dracaena Draco of Morocco (Dragon's Blood resin) and Sangre de Grado Dragon's Blood.

One of the things I don't think I've talked about a lot is exactly how much I love NAVA's dragon's blood. I seem to like dark, red, resinous things quite a bit, I mean, Kashmir is practically my signature, followed closely by Bloodstone. So, what is their dragon's blood like? It's that perfect mixture of spicy and fruity. It's so, so well balanced. I don't really like it when a db note veers too much into either territory, leaving the other territory well behind. I want that combination, just a little spicy, just a little fruity, almost delicious. This is another workhorse. Alone, it's a beautifully resinous, juicy dragon's blood with a little kick of spice. It might be too dark alone if you're not into db, but layer this big boy - did Seth name this one well or WHAT? Layer Tyrannosaurus, and it becomes bright and lifted with the amber, and it's possibly even more beautiful than Bloodstone. Wait, what? Blasphemy. Okay, maybe not my bottle of aged, thick, glorious Bloodstone, but it's pretty amazing. Worn alone, T-Rex is a hint of the amber, and the two dragon's bloods. Layered, and he comes into his full glory, the amber comes out to really play, and that lovely supporting cacao becoes just a little bit evident, to give it a little more depth.

TL;DR: T-Rex is a big boy, and this perfume more than lives up to its name. I find it apropos that his scent is dragon's blood. Layered, he is just the right amount of resinous, spicy, juicy dragon's blood and glorious, fresh stony amber. Mmmm. Mm. It makes me hum with happiness.

Layering suggestions: Ember Vanilla, Ambre Ombre, Patchouli Ombre, Santalum, Ember, Black Raven, Mists of Arcacia, OP Anubis, OP Pakhet. From the LC, try it with Phantasm Kiss, Blood Moon, Egyptian Temple Oudh, Copal Oudh, or Pandora.

Utahraptor: Resinous Amber Accord, Limestone Amber, hungry chomps of Kashmir and Black Musk Absolutes, Egyptian Musk and a drop of Crimson and Sri Lankan Black Peppercorn eo.

Oh, Utahraptor. I've listed this last, but not because I love it least. In fact, I adore it, and it's quite versatile - different layering options bring out different facets of this one. I'm sure I've made mention of the fact that I really, really love NAVA musks. Kashmir is probably one of my favorite perfumes. So naturally, I had to have this. Worn alone, this comes across as mostly Kashmir, with a breath of Black Musk underneath, and the amber lifts it up - it might seem like a heavy blend, but it's saved from that by the beautifully clean Egyptian Musk and ambers. Start playing with layering, and while Kashmir, a bold red musk, remains the star, Black Musk and Egyptian Musk come out to play a bit more vocally, and I love that little kick of spiciness in the background of peppercorn. I'm a big fan of pepper in perfumes - Music is a great example of this, I feel, and it's kind of a surprising note, I think that many people would envision it from a cooking spice standpoint, but it's a bit different when added as a component of perfume. It adds a little kick, and it's quite fun. If you've never had the experience, I highly recommend giving it a chance. Anyway, enough about pepper, it's a supporting note here, and gives this "egg" a bit of pizzazz when you hatch it with another perfume.

TL;DR: Kashmir, a bold red musk, is the star here but plays beautifully with the other two musks, Black and Egyptian, when layered. Don't be afraid of the pepper. Despite the musk heavy blend, it's not nearly as heavy as you might think, the ambers lift and brighten this perfectly, and it's quite fun with a variety of different types.

Layering suggestions: Crystalline, Tibetan Crystalline, Santalum White, Egyptian Musk, Ozymandias, Pharaoh Anniversary, OP Baba, OP Set. For LC options, I absolutely am nuts over hatching this with California Redwood Crystal Musk. Also, Underlord Akhenaten, Pyewacket Cat, Pumpkin #2, Copal Oudh, Enigma, and it's amazing with the Byzantium Amber from their 9th Anniversary perfumes.

Okay, whew! That was pretty extensive, I am sorry for the wall of text, but I do hope you'll find my "hatching" suggestions helpful. This really did provide me with the courage to really branch out and become a layering fiend, and now I will layer various perfumes in with my unscented hair oils too, and I get a lot of compliments about how amazing my hair smells. Tomorrow, I'll get the second half of this posted for you, with last year's additions. From the first year, I do not have Spinosaurus, Stegasaurus, or Styracosaurus. Feel free to offer up your own layering combinations with these amazing perfumes! I want to mention one more thing in closing, these are another collection that do even better with age, they become richer and seem to come into their own even more. Have a wonderful evening!

Editing to add a note, and a link to part two! I forgot to mention previously, is that these are lovely when you pair them together! And I've done this several times with different combinations. Pteranodon with Protoceratops or Deinonychus, Velociraptor with Utahraptor, Diplodocus with Giganotosaurus, Protoceratops with almost anything! Hah.

Another thing to mention, if you have eNVie Saphir, many of these are stunning when hatched with Saphir. Definitely worth experimenting with - I have Saphir, Ambre Saphir, and Encens Saphir, and they all do well with the Dinosaurs.

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