#intention because hell is paved full with those

[thisismycorneroftheinternet]

I find it wild that people are trying to dismiss or minimize this whole dead CEO thing because it was a right wing dude who did it, when regardless of political position, millions of people objectively benefited from his actions. Sure, we can argue legalism and the moralism of killing someone and all, and the ramifications of that given the group he's part of, but it is disconcerting how people have this pernicious political purity to it all. I've seen it on other situations and it's the reason why people dismiss political victories against reactionaries who want to take the world back to fascist conservatorism, it's why every single charity or whatnot gets weirdos questioning intentions despite how transparent they are, heck, it's even the reason why there's so much in-fighting on the left. A bunch of ideologues who would rather the world go to hell if people don't agree fully with them than do any objective good.

[fallenhunnyapple]

One of my biggest headcanons for Lucifer is Just How Important Personhood is to him.

The whole reason he wanted to bestow free will onto Humanity was because he saw that Heaven treated them no better than pets. Replaceable when they disobeyed (like with Lilith) and expected to just live carefree without autonomy, amounting to nothing more than another breeding project like any of the other animals in Eden.

Humans made music, something beautiful and different from what was in Heaven, raw and unpolished and Real. They had souls filled with curiosity and love. And all Heaven wanted was to keep them complacent, not let them reach their full potential, squash down their creative capacity and keep from them the chance to be something fully realised. He related.

So the chance to let them break out of Heaven's perfect expectations, let them have minds of their own, become more than what they were created for. How could he, knowing it was possible to give them that gift, to let them come out from under Heaven's thumb enough to thrive and create and become something truly wonderful, not give them such a chance? He saw their potential and he couldn't stand to see it stifled. He couldn't get Heaven to give him his freedom, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to give it to the creations he loved instead.

How was he to know that Evil would follow? That the beautiful future he wanted for Humanity would splinter and fracture in front of him? That he would be condemned to never see any part of what he'd hoped to create for them? He gave humanity their Personhood at a cost. He lost what little he had in the eyes of Heaven to be twisted into a nightmare story to scare Angels into behaving, fuel hatred towards himself and those whose loyalty had them follow after him, poison a human man against him and paint his genuinely loving intentions into a personal endeavor to cause him as much pain as possible.

But for as much as he'd lost, for as much pain he endured and regrets he harbored, ultimately, he had given Humanity their Personhood. They could choose how to live their lives out from under the influence from Heaven. They got to thrive and create and find their potential. Even if the only thing he would see of it was when they chose wrong.

The path to Hell is paved with Good Intentions, and none so much as Lucifer's himself.

[ellestra]

Even the Evil Witch loved her son

The moment I realised the song was just something Nicky made with the help of his mum (Agathe truly is the source of all Witch lore, isn't she?) it all started falling into place. I knew what was going to happen to that first witch who asked her about The Road because this is exactly what she was trying to do at the beginning. Just provoke the witches to blast her with their power so she could steal it.

The montage still helped to understand what Agatha knew and when she knew it. And since she knew The Witches Road was never real she also knew there was some very powerful magic involved when it actually appeared. Reality altering one. So of course she figured out who Billy was. It only took a while because when she last met him he wasn't real. But maybe that made him the realest to Agatha because he made himself real.

And of course that what makes Rio so aggravated. She is cycle of life and he is not part of it. Made of magic and never really born and can't truly die. And then he take William Kaplan's death away from her too. And one more kid too. Boys die sometimes and Death doesn't like when they also continue to live. But for Agatha this is exactly the kind of "fuck you" she wanted to give to Rio.

I love that the show didn't try to make Agatha a good person. This wasn't a redemption story. She hasn't changed. She doesn't care about other people. She kills other witches and doesn't even bother to remember normal people (neither Sharon Davis nor Tommy's names stick to her mind). She just has this one weak spot because she loved unconditionally and selflessly once. And Billy kind of fits into that hole. Even if she hates showing him that.

She resents him because he survived when Nicholas couldn't. Because he is just as his mother who defeated and bound her and actually has power to hurt her. And because her son was exact opposite - she didn't use any magic to make him and that's all that Billy was.

But she cares because Billy is everything Agatha wanted her son to be when he grew up. And because she sees herself in him. Someone who was cursed with power so great it ends up hurting those around him even when he doesn't mean it. Someone who was failed by his own mother because she didn't understand what she created. And just like her he doesn't give up. He fights to live when all the odds are stocked against him. Even if that means death.

I still am not sure what planting that dandelion seed was supposed to accomplish. Except for being a metaphor on Nicky's ephemeral life gone too soon. But I loved Rio telling her the truth Lillia understood - you can't escape death. It will always come, it's only a question of time. No matter if it's just a few short years or centuries. In the end Agatha understood it too and went to the other side. Where she no longer has to worry about Death following her. She has her rebirth as something new.

Agatha once offered Wanda to be her teacher but there was too many possible double crosses in that offer. And Wanda couldn't admit to herself she was a bad guy too. I loved that the season kept reminding us how horrific what she did to people of Westview was. Good intention is what read to hell is paved with.

That this level of power is not something that can be wielded safely. Believing you have full control over it is the fastest way to lose it. And it so easy to justify to yourself that you only did what was necessary. That you didn't mean it. And it's OK. And then it's so hard to stop. Wanda almost didn't.

Billy already knows what it means to kill his own coven for a made up story. Just because he wanted it to be real so much. And maybe it is better to learn on other people's mistakes. Even if your teacher is the Evil Witch.

[sepublic]

I will say though; I love the design for General Alex Miles from Federation Force. It perfectly blends the Federation Marine and Federation formal attire together perfectly;

Given one is from Prime and the other from the mainline games, Miles’ outfit basically marries the two depictions of the Federation from either series together. The gold is such a nice touch too… I’d love to see fanart of Miles in a non-chibi art style, and as a full-body portrait too; I don’t think we ever see Miles in person, just from the chest up?

They’re an interesting character to me; Neither their gender or even species is clarified, but the latter might be human because of the name and build. Miles’ name reminds me of Adam Malkovich… Alex Miles… They’re the Federation Force’s CO, their own Adam, just as the pilots themselves are akin to Samus in terms of gameplay and being unique Federation assets. Miles notably wants the Metroid egg on Talvania, saying it could bring “good” to the galaxy… Big red flag of course.

But it IS worth noting that the primary objective of the mission is to destroy all Metroids on Talvania by activating the self-destruct; The egg is optional and secondary. And when the Metroids are released from containment after the Federation Force activated the self-destruct countdown, Miles tells them to forget about the Metroid egg and just focus on getting out of there; You have to go against their orders by retrieving the egg anyway, and risking yourself to do so.

So Miles is interesting to me in that they might actually be well-intentioned? Or at least care for their troops. Given their introduction in Federation Force, which sets up Sylux’s plans in Beyond, it makes you wonder if Miles will appear there too. Are they corrupt? Do they care, in a “The path to hell is paved with good intentions” sort of way?

Will we see them replace or work alongside Dane in Beyond? They’re a General, which means they command ground troops and infantry; Dane commands the fleet. I speculate the planet we see at the start of Beyond, as well as the rainforest, are both the same world; Probably Cylosis, possibly across different points in time. Which means we won’t see much of space nor the Federation fleet; Which makes Miles more suited as a CO for Samus here, since all Federation allies will be situated on the ground.

Then again, Miles is seen commanding a fleet during the Doomseye battle in Federation Force, so maybe the titles are being loosely used and the developers don’t care for real world accuracy when it comes to military ranking and hierarchy; Tbh I’ve normally never cared either and am only researching it for the sake of reconciling the different depictions and uniforms of the Federation, as well as considering how characters such as Dane, Adam, and Miles interact.

I remember seeing someone suggest that Alex Miles is Sylux; This is why they suggested getting the Metroid egg, and how they were able to sneak in, operate the tech, etc. But this makes you wonder, if they hate the Federation, why value the Force’s lives? Why help them defeat the Space Pirates in the Bermuda system? I guess it all boils down as to the exact nature of Sylux’s hatred for the Federation, if it’s because they’re corrupt but they sympathize with troops they know personally as good people.

Granted Sylux’s intro in Hunters might indicate otherwise, but there could also be other context to that scene, or they don’t know those troops and can’t take the time to evaluate them. As for attacking the Space Pirates, maybe Sylux is strategically maneuvering both factions into destroying one another; It would explain why they’ve never worked with the Space Pirates before and even competed against Weavel in the Alimbic Cluster; They hate the pirates too!

Miles is probably meant to be male and the developers just never considered the gender-ambiguity of the name Alex. But it’d be fun if Miles was a woman, maybe even an alien because Chairman Keaton has a name like that despite also looking like that. And we could meld this with Female Sylux speculation if they’re the same character after all. They’re both mysteriously masked too, though for Miles I imagine it’s because the developers thought a human face would look too silly in the Chibi art style, hence why everyone wears helmets, and Samus never takes hers off. I guess ‘Sylux’ and ‘Alex’ have similar second syllables…

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Growing up I never understood why the road to hell was paved with good intentions. Good thing art is such a big part of my life, because I didn't learn that lesson from experience, but through fiction.

The lesson in question is that your intention alone is worth very little. I'm not saying here that good intentions are utterly worthless, 'cause hey you didn't mean to. However, the consequences of your actions can't be erased or reverted just by the cry of "This is not what I wanted to happen".

Now, I'm very aware that I'm writing this post on a bnha blog. You might ask: hey Shan, what does it have to do with anything?

I just want you to think about how bnha plays with the intentionality of the characters vs the consequences of their actions. Forget for a while that you know those characters at all and study them on the basis of what they wanted to do and what they ended up doing.

Example A:

Nana Shimura gave Kotaro Shimura in adoption when he was still a little child.

While she intended to keep him from being hurt by AFO and while she did it out of love and care for her son, her abandonment traumatized him. She left him with a letter to excuse herself and Kotaro grew up knowing that her mother would rather go to save strangers than stay with him.

In consequence, Kotaro was unable to trust in the system of the Hero Society. He became a sad, bitter man with a lot of repressed anger and self-worth issues. He ended up pouring all those thoughts poisoning him into his role as a father and started abusing his kids.

Kotaro had good intentions: he didn't want his kids to become like Nana. He didn't want them to abandon their own families for strangers and act like it was a selfless act of love, instead of a cowardly act of selfishness.

In turn, Tenko Shimura grew up in a house full of abuse and repression. He didn't understand why his dad got so mad whenever Tenko said he wanted to be a hero. No one ever explained it to him. He kept on resisting the rules his dad had set, causing the punishments to become more and more severe.

At the age of 5, Tenko's quirk manifested and reacted to the accumulation of hurt and anger within him. Being a kid and as it was usual in the bnha world, Tenko couldn't control either his quirk or his emotions: the outburst killed most of the Shimuras. Unprepared to deal with the situation, when Tenko reached for Kotaro —his dad— to help him, Kotaro hit Tenko in the face and told him to stay away. It was a familiar gesture between them. It further triggered the kid, tho. Tenko killed Kotaro in his blind fury.

Tenko was now alone, confused, in distress and severely traumatized.

The perfect state for someone to groom him and manipulate him into becoming a weapon.

I don't doubt Nana loved Kotaro and that Kotaro loved Tenko. In fact, if Nana and Kotaro hadn't loved their sons, they wouldn't have reacted the way they did. Both identified a threat (AFO or the Hero Society) and decided for a course of action that would "keep their children safe and sound".

If good intentions were enough, the Shimuras would still be alive, right?

Here's another saying: "ignorance is not excuse".

We have three generations who inflicted great damage on the people around them. A pro-hero, a common man and a villain. The only difference is that Tomura is the least hypocrite of them all: he intended to cause damage right from the start. He was being manipulated by AFO, of course, but he never ignored how his actions impacted other people and he never claimed to be innocent.

Was Tomura right / morally correct? Nope. That's not my point.

What I'm trying to say is that some actions can't be forgiven/erased on the basis of intention alone. This simple fact is one of the side themes of bnha. Pro-heroes cannot be ignorant because there'd be no excuse for their wrongdoings. No matter how much they want to do good, if they hurt people by accident, they still would have to answer for it or well, deal with the consequences themselves.

Example B:

Although Enji, Touya and Shouto's intentions were very different, they all caused (different levels of) damage with their actions.

Shouto recognized that his cold behaviour was having a negative effect on others. He didn't want that, so he became more aware of how he interacted with others.

The entire world got caught up in the middle of Touya's revenge mission. Dabi knew very well he was affecting a lot of people and he knew to what extent his actions were hurting others. He still thought he was willing to pay the price for it, meaning he didn't intend or not to hurt those people in the first place. In order to make Enji's life hell, everything was allowed.

Finally, Enji's journey goes from him being very ignorant on how his actions affected his kids to him realizing just how deep he had fucked up. It was a matter of admitting he had the chances to not do what others told him was wrong, but he still did it 'cause (like Touya) he thought that the end justified the means.

Even if his intentions were different, he turned the blind eye to the damage he was causing.

And like these there are many other cases in the story. Do you remember that time Inko called out All Might on Deku's safety? Or even when Deku left on his own because he wanted to keep his classmates safe? Do you remember Overhaul and his intention/motive? What about Aoyama?

The fact that they didn't mean it doesn't mean that they weren't wrong for doing it. That simple fact is instrumental to define what differentiates Deku's hero style from his predecessors.

Like I said, go back, re-read the story and decide what you want to think about it, okay? Right.

[itsclydebitches]

Title: Paved With Good Intentions

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Relationships: Very background Charlie/Vaggie. 99% Charlie and Alastor interactions (with added Razzle and Dazzle)

Word Count: 3,863

Summary:

“Why... hmm. Okay, real quick: what’s an old-timey way of saying someone is full of shit?”

Charlie blinked up at him innocently, probably overdoing it a tad, but after a week of hearing him disparage her dreams as “wacky nonsense” she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not too much, anyway.

“Why, I’d say the sod is full of hot air! A far classier image than the one you’ve just conjured.”

“Then you’re full of hot air, Alastor.” Charlie grinned.

Or: Charlie wants everyone to know that she didn't invite the Radio Demon into her home without precautions.

A/N: First Hazbin fic! Jfc Alastor may be one of the hardest characters I've ever written for. Nailing his voice is gonna take a while.

Fic also below the cut if you prefer to read here 👍

Many in Hell (okay, most in Hell) were under the impression that their Princess was a delusional simpleton, unable to understand something as straightforward as how her own domain worked. Her little interview hadn't helped matters, even if it did reassure them that she could at least throw a decent punch. Really, Charlie only cared about her reputation in as much as it might attract new patrons to the hotel. She didn't need her people to love her, she just needed them to be safe .

(She'd said that to Vaggie once who promptly broke into a choking laugh. “Charlie. You need everyone to love you. All the time . You're just lucky you're really fucking good at it.”)

If strangers cursed her out on the street, that was fine. If her first soon-to-be-redeemed soul thought this was a hilarious fuck-up with only free board making it palatable, that was also fine. If her own father laughed awkwardly at the mere idea of her success that was fine because Charlie could see the good underneath their caustic words; the fear and vulnerability buried beneath their dismissal. Criticism rolled off her back like magma on a fire-duck and if shouldering the disdain of her community was the price of seeing them saved, Charlie would gladly pay it.

...Although, she did wish her closest companions had a little more faith in her. Not about the hotel necessarily, but just that she had a functioning brain she put to use.

“Your... goats?” Alastor said, tipping his head to narrow eyes at them.

“Goat-dragons,” Charlie corrected, not sparing him a glance. “Mom made them when I was younger, to act as my bodyguards when she and Dad weren't around. You would not beeeliiieve how many assassination attempts there were when I was a kid. Dad even dyed my hair once to try and give me a low profile and that was—well! You don't need to see those pictures. The point is that I didn't just let you in all willy-nilly, heedless of my own safety, or whatever it is Vaggie's been saying. If you'd meant any real harm they would have torn you to shreds.”

Charlie was in the process of re-styling the seating area for a slumber party that night. Which throw pillow better conveyed emotional safety to share one's most intimate secrets past 3:00am? Blue or yellow? Pursing her lips, she bounced from foot-to-foot a couple times before chucking both against the growing mound. After a good fluffing she nodded. Both. Both was good.

When she turned, Alastor was staring.

He'd only been at the hotel about a week but Charlie had noticed that he did that a lot. It wasn't just the fixed smile that lent weight to his gaze; he didn't blink . Leaning against Husk's bar with that microphone tucked under one arm, Alastor looked so at ease that Charlie knew it was all an act—the real Alastor, tentacled and laughing maniacally, simmered just beneath the surface. She'd have felt threatened by it if not for the fact that, well, Razzle and Dazzle were here.

Charlie shot them a quick smile. They'd piled on the carpet together, a mess of limbs and horns. Snores and the occasional 'meep' emerged to fill the silence.

“Well now, stop the presses! Our little lady is just full of surprises.” Alastor's grin stretched even further, seeming to creak along its edge. His hands connected in a shattering clap. “We haven't known each other very long, my dear, so I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding—entirely forgivable, I assure you—but I thought you just implied that these lazy, miniature vermin are capable of besting me?”

“ Don't talk about them like that! ”

The words snapped out of Charlie before she could consider reigning them in. She even saw a little smoke wafting upwards, a sure sign that if she let those emotions stew any longer her true form would burst through. Fucking hell, Charlie, you're giving orders to the Radio Demon now? Oh Lord. It was never good when her thoughts starting sounding like Vaggie, but Charlie stifled a groan as she admitted that yeah, that probably wasn’t selling the whole 'Capable of handling tough situations without needlessly endangering herself' vibe she was going for.

Alastor just smiled though. It was hard to tell, but Charlie thought he might have been pleased with her temper. There was something in the way he leaned forward onto the tip of his staff; off balance to start a fight, but magnetically drawn into the fray. “Easy now, darling! I never took to baloney as a child—horrific excuse for a meat, truly—but I can recognize it when I hear it. So you care for these... creatures? Well off course you do! A sweet, silly thing like you is bound to get attached to all manner of beings. The delightful,” he dropped into a sweeping bow, “—and the drab.” Alastor's staff kicked outward at the end of the gesture, landing on Dazzle's back leg. The goat-dragon gave a sleepy grunt at the disturbance but otherwise didn't stir.

Really, Alastor had hardly touched him, but Charlie still felt the tip of one fang digging painfully into her bottom lip. She took a deep, fortifying breath to cleanse herself of negativity. She was just stressed about the new Extermination timeline. And the sleepover. And the fact that the Radio Demon was now living down the hall. Just the other day she’d chastised Angel for a barrage of angry texts he’d sent without thinking and now here Charlie was, nearly flying off the handle for similarly petty reasons. Razzle and Dazzle were fine. She was fine, and her people were going to be fine if she had anything to fucking say about it. Charlie summoned up a smile to match Alastor’s own.

“You’re right,” she said. “An Overlord like you didn’t exist back when Mom made them, so she couldn’t have foreseen how powerful you are. I mean yeah, you’d probably win... even if there are two of them. But!” Charlie hastened to add, waving her hands as Alastor’s head cracked sickeningly to the right, “The point is that these hypotheticals are silly. Why do you care so much about who’d win in a fight? You’re never going to fight them. You don’t want to hurt me.”

Alastor’s head, still staring at her from its unnatural angle, began to vibrate oddly while the chest beneath it hitched. It took Charlie a long moment to realize that he was laughing. Not his usual, staccato Ha, Ha, Ha , but something that felt more genuine, despite the fact that no body—not even a demon’s—should be moving like that.

“Ah, what an entertaining bunny you are,” he said, a slight wheeze mixing in with the radio static. “Charlie dearest, have you forgotten that I was a serial killer? Am currently a hunter of Overlords? A keeper of souls? Are you truly under the misguided belief that I wouldn’t hurt you?”

It was terrifying how fast he didn’t move. Charlie watched as Alastor took his time lengthening each limb—spine cracking, joints tearing until they were only held together by sickly, glowing threads—and the tentacles he summoned were lazy as a house cat, inching towards her like they knew it didn’t matter how fast she ran. They’d catch her. The static grew to a high-pitched whine that hurt her ears and the very reality around Alastor began to distort, glitching horribly. One elongated limb reached out with claws glinting in the newly darkened foyer, fingers twitching, itching to rip out her throat.

Charlie blinked. She pursed her lips, gesturing emphatically to Razzle and Dazzle who still lay snoring on the carpet. “Are you listening to me? They’d have ripped you to shreds if you meant any real harm .”

She could see the exact moment Alastor gave up the performance. He froze, the very air particles freezing with him, and a pin-print of light sprang back into his eyes.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s not—you can’t—” With a frustrated groan Charlie pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “It’d be easier to show you.”

She trotted through the bits of distorted reality (shivering because ugh ) and ducked under the long line of Alastor’s leg. His eyes tracked her as Charlie scooped a goat-dragon into each arm and nudged the hotel door open with her hip. Once outside, she slapped a drowsy Razzle onto her shoulder and cupped a hand over her mouth.

“Hello there!” she called to a passing demon.

“Who the fuck you yelling at? I’ll kill you, bitch!”

“Will you?” Charlie’s gaze slid to Alastor, now back in his everyday form, curiously peeking out from the doorway. “You know what? That sounds great! Really swell! Please come and kill me.”

The demon stopped in his tracks, staring incredulously up the hill at her fidgety form. “What? Fucking what ? You have a death wish?”

“Yes! Absolutely. Will you come kill me pretty, pretty please? Uh... you ugly, short-sighted asshole? Sorry, sorry sorry ,” Charlie muttered into Razzle’s fur.

“Oh, you’re a whole new level of crazy—”

The demon was adjusting his glasses with one claw and pulling out a clever with the other when Charlie felt Alastor’s energy at her back. She didn’t need to turn around again. The horror that descended on the demon’s face and his hasty exit said it all.

Razzle and Dazzle were now alert, tails thumbing, but neither made a move to go after the guy. Charlie released the breath she’d been holding and promised to write at least five Kindness Notes to leave around town tomorrow.

When she did finally look Alastor was twiddling his fingers at the demon’s retreating form. His eyes, however, were still latched onto Charlie.

“What an interesting way you have of entertaining yourself, my dear. I whole-heartedly approve! Let me take you out on the town—Cannibal Town, that is. You can offer your limbs to the first ravenous child we meet.”

Charlie cracked a smiled. “Uh... maybe later? I didn’t just do that for kicks, you know. The point is we’re living in Hell .” She ignored the way his eye twitched at the obvious statement. “Alastor, how many times a day do you think people threaten to kill me? Pull weapons? Or yes, try to eat me? If Razzle and Dazzle attacked everyone who simply appeared threatening I never would have opened the hotel because there wouldn't be anyone left to save. That guy? All bluster. I’m not sure how Mom did it, but they’re capable of sensing true intentions. They’ll only transform for someone with a real, sustained desire to kill me—or, I guess discorporate me—and the rest? The rest I can handle myself.”

“Hmm.”

Alastor bent forward, inspecting Dazzle closely. The goat-dragon panted happily in his face. “Fascinating! Powerful too, though I’d expect nothing less from the likes of Lilith. I must say, the confidence you hold in your own abilities is simply inspiring given what I’ve seen from you so far.”

Charlie blinked, trying to decide if she’d just been insulted or not.

“You remain delusional, darling,” he clarified, patting her head. Alastor’s grin widened at her scowl and he only pulled back when Razzle gave his fingers a quick lick, his static hissing like a cat. Charlie had the strong urge to chuck them both at the demon and let him suffer the fate of endless cuddles and sticky kisses.

She didn’t though. She was merciful.

“That’s why though,” Charlie said, shrugging so that Razzle had to dig his claws into her shoulder to stay balanced. Ow.

“Why what?”

Alastor had clearly lost the train of their conversation—or was pretending to—inspecting his own claws with the air of a bored Valley Girl.

“Why... hmm. Okay, real quick: what’s an old-timey way of saying someone is full of shit?”

Charlie blinked up at him innocently, probably overdoing it a tad, but after a week of hearing him disparage her dreams as “wacky nonsense” she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not too much, anyway.

Alastor’s eyes narrowed. Definitely suspicious, though not enough to deny her.

“Why, I’d say the sod is full of hot air! A far classier image than the one you’ve just conjured.”

“Then you’re full of hot air, Alastor.” Charlie grinned. “This whole shtick you’ve got going where you pretend like you’re just one insult away from killing us all; the super evil Overlord who could go on a rampage at the slightest whim? Yeah, I get why Vaggie is concerned, but that’s not gonna work on me.” She ran her hand gently through Dazzle’s hair, eliciting a purr. “You can toss out threats and transform all you want, but if you’d ever actually intended to hurt me, even just once... they’d have reacted. They’d have defended me, whether they could win against you or not. I didn’t let you stay because I was desperate for your help—although, ha, I kinda am. I let you stay because I trust you.”

The last was delivered softly and Charlie dared to lay a hand on his arm, oh so briefly. Alastor didn’t react. He appeared to be seeing something past her, the dials of his eyes ticking erratically.

The spell was broken when Razzle let out an explosive sneeze.

“Oh shit that reminds me! I need to pick up some almond butter for Sir Pentious. Apparently his human body was allergic to peanuts and he’s still pretty sensitive about it? And Angel made me swear I’d have peanut butter on hand for the s’mores if he was going to participate in the sleepover. I need to hit the shops before they close—can you get the other supplies ready while I’m gone? Thanks, Alastor, you’re a lifesaver!”

Charlie pelted down the hill with Razzle and Dazzle flying around her heels, both of them yipping at the prospect of a walk.

Alastor remained standing there for a long time after she’d gone. At a glance he looked the same as he always did, though if anyone had gotten close enough they would have caught the sound of a radio continually switching stations.

There appeared to be no connection between the clips. Except, perhaps, that each voice spoke in a tone of furious confusion.

***

The smell of popcorn and cheap booze was sickening.

Alastor’s grin never faltered—obviously—but there were small tears in the couch armrest that spoke of his disgust. In all his years alive and dead he’d never had the pleasure of attending a ‘slumber party’ before and the newfound honor was proving to be a dubious one. Sticky sweets, snacks, and spirits covered every available surface, thrown into truly unholy combinations as Husker passed his (admittedly substantial) limit. If they all hadn’t already been damned, Alastor suspected that making caramel popcorn whiskey floats would have done the trick. The other guests were decked out in their finest nightwear, resulting in them witnessing more of Angel than Alastor had ever wanted to see. Their sanguine Princess had led them through insipid card games, a pillow fight—which did not, apparently, allow for weapons or demonic beasts. Mores the pity—and worst of all: a production shown through that horrible picture box. If they craved entertainment he might have offered her the use of his radio, but...

Well.

In truth, nothing that had occurred here tonight had truly tested Alastor’s patience. If anything, this was merely a distilled version of their collective sins; hardly surprising. He had merely been...out of sorts since their little spat that afternoon. Though it was nothing Alastor couldn’t handle, of course.

(A block away six of Hell’s dictation speakers suddenly crackled to life, causing everyone in the vicinity to freeze, warily lifting their heads. Rather than the usual draconian drivel, however, a sustained, static-y growl began to sound.)

“They’re called Kindness Notes,” Charlie was saying, displaying her stack of colored paper like a trophy. “I got the idea from this awesome human website called Reddit that must just be filled with puppies and rainbows and—”

(”Think we should tell her?” whispered Cherri.

“Yeah, but only after she’s made a bunch,” Angel snickered.)

“—and so it’s the PERFECT activity for a redemption sleepover! Remember: there is no wrong way to go about a creative project, so have fun with it! I’ve got glitter gel pens and stickers—those are scratch and sniff!—and decorative hole punches and more stickers and ribbons and—”

“Stickers?” Husk asked, tipping his glass her way. Charlie nodded with the speed of a bobble-head doll.

“Exactly! Does anyone have any questions?”

“Yeah, I’ve got one.”

“Great!”

“How much sugar you had, kid?”

“Sooooo much!” and the stack would have gone flying if not for Vaggie’s quick reflexes.

“Alright, I’ll take it from here.” She dropped a quick kiss onto Charlie’s rosy cheek before distributing the paper. “You can write anything you want provided it’s nice . Like, actually nice and not your fucked up perception of nice. Don’t sign your name, but you can put a little HH at the bottom to help promote the hotel. Try not to get too many stains on these and yes, everyone has to participate.”

Vaggie stopped in front of the couch where Alastor sat, the only one still dressed and removed from the chaos of their snack-infested pillow nest. He hadn’t the slightest idea why she’d be glaring at him when she said that and he ensured the sentiment was conveyed through his grin.

“But of course!” he said, selecting red with a black pen.

“Humph. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Something nice? A truly daunting task, even for someone of his talents. After today Alastor was more convinced than ever that the Princess was the most insane of them all. Oh, it served his purposes deliciously that she should trust him, particularly with so little effort on his part, and yet it was insulting how naive she could be. Even if he’d had a conscious, Alastor was sure he’d have no qualms about upsetting the power dynamic of Hell and seizing it for himself. If this was their royalty... Hell deserved better. Someone with hunger. Someone with style. Their little bearcat was funneling her passion in all the wrong, most entertainingly stupid directions.

Alastor tilted his head as Charlie finished drawing a sunflower, Niffty flitting about as she swept up the glitter falling away. It looked... domestic .

Ah, but it would be so easy to slit her throat from this angle, spilling ‘paint’ all across the project. Or remove that pretty head from her shoulders, near instantaneously. Summon up his demon pet to crush her bones. Drop her into a void. Fill her mind with so many screams that her brain leaked out her ears in chunky rivers. Hollow her out and puppet her so convincingly that even their Dumb Dora wouldn’t recognize her. He could do it .

Beside Alastor, taking up their half of the couch, Razzle and Dazzle gazed upon the festivities with vacant expressions, tongues lolling.

One—he didn’t care to know which—turned its head and gave him a happy chirp.

(A block away the growl became an all-out screech, like a thousand souls blended together in agony.)

“I could do it,” Alastor whispered to them. He tilted his staff for good measure, ensuring the microphone pointed directly at Charlie. “I doubt your little ‘intentions’ magic is as powerful as she says. Even if it is, you beasts lack in imagination. Trust me, darlings: there are many ways to hurt someone that don’t threaten their physical safety.”

The second goat-dragon had joined in now, tilting its head curiously at Alastor. The first began thumping its tail against its companion’s face, pleased as punch, and suddenly Alastor felt a surge of genuine anger—the first in a long time.

“ She is only unharmed because I wish it ,” he hissed, “because she is more entertaining to me alive than dead!”

(The six speakers blew, showering citizens in shrapnel.)

“Alastor?”

He quickly blinked away the red light that had covered his eyes, turning his attention to Charlie.

“Apologies! Merely musing over what uplifting message I should grace the denizens of Hell with.” Alastor tapped a long claw against his chin, hamming it up. Only Vaggie was sober and de-caffeinated enough to catch on. The smile Charlie graced him with was... honest.

Violent images filled his head in response: of obliterating—or better yet—permanently stitching that smile into place. All the while those creatures sat beside him, both at perfect ease. One even edged closer.

He could do it. He would do it. The only reason Alastor hadn’t was because he didn’t want to do it yet .

But that day would come.

Dazzle sniffed the edge of Alastor’s sleeve. Razzle yawned.

Until then, their Princess was clearly in need of better protection. He’d assign a few shadows to her; sharp pieces of his silhouette who could tail the girl without notice. It would only require a bit of exertion on his part and the surveillance was worth it to ensure his favorite toy didn’t go dying before he had a chance to finish playing with her.

After all , Alastor thought, more at ease with that decision than he’d been all day, better the Devil you know.

“Do you know what you're writing?” Charlie asked, nearly having to shout over the commotion of an impromptu show-and-tell. Sugar and alcohol seemed to have loosened everyone’s dignity alongside their inhibition, because suddenly they all wanted praise for their absurd little notes. Generic messages of support were shoved under Charlie’s nose, led by Vaggie in a delightfully embarrassing display. Although, was it better or worse that Sir Pentious was equally desperate for Charlie’s approval? Angel slapped his note down on the table—complete with a diagram—and Alastor deliberately did not give it a closer look. (Husker’s spluttering was information enough, thank you.) Cherri was busy rolling hers into fuzes, muttering continuously about the message she’d send in the next turf war. Niffty had just written CLEAN in shaky letters across pages and pages and pages of notes.

All the while Charlie stared across the chaos at him. Imploring.

However could Alastor deny her?

“Oh, yes indeedy, my dear,” he said. “Patience—you’ll see it soon enough.” Alastor deliberately raised a hand, ensuring she saw, tracked, and understood when he laid in atop Razzle’s head. His hand was now large enough to crush the beast’s skull, claws poised to sink into vulnerable flesh, a dark ooze sizzling like acid that crept from a crack in his wrist, edging dangerously close.

Throughout it all, Razzle purred.

***

The next morning Charlie woke to find a red note taped to her bed, delivered by shadows. Dazzle was the first to find and drop it into his mistress’ lap, producing happy yips as he caught her expression.

“We’ll win him over,” Charlie said, grinning as she re-pinned the note to her mirror.

Alastor had given her just one word of encouragement, accompanied by a sketch of two dead goat-dragons:

SMILE

[fragmentedlegends]

Sometimes I accidentally RP on Discord. This excerpt with @mightiestbanana is one of those times. Enjoy~

—

Kohga: what. Is. WRONG. With. YOU!

—

Astor: Why. Do. You. Care?

—

Kohga: Because I’m a nice, caring guy, you idiot! How do you think it looks on my part having the Yiga Clan’s very own prophet lookin’ like a malnourished rat?

—

Astor: *purses lips in a “fair point” gesture before waving the words away* Very well. When our goal is complete, I’ll reserve a bit more time for my own body. You needn’t burden your *caring* heart—though, Master Kohga, I must admit I’m a bit disappointed. There’s no need for all of that, you can be honest here. *Nice* and *caring* is not quite who you are, deep down.

—

Kohga: *quirks one thick brow as he crosses his arms over his chest, the gesture inherently defensive despite keeping it out of his tone* Oh, that so? What makes you think I’m anything but candid here? Alright then, go on, tell me, who do you think I am? Since you *know so much*.

—

Astor stands, steps echoing as he approaches him, circles him, hands held casually behind his back: I *know* you are not the *benevolent leader* your clan touts you to be. And you know it, too.

Oh, yes, you’ll give the off ripe banana—some clothes here and there—shelter—

What do you ask in return, Master Kohga? Hm? Loyalty? Love? *Blood*?

Tell me, *mighty Master Kohga*—if you had to choose between *you* or your *clan*, why do I think they would lose?

For all their loyalty…

All their love…

(He places a hand on his shoulder from behind and dips close to Kohga’s ear)

*To save your own life, you would take their blood and run. I know it. I’ve **seen** it.* One of many possible futures—*you leave them all to die.*

—

Kohga’s blood begins a slow simmer beneath his skin, and as Astor looms behind, that hand creeping over his shoulder, it’s already reached a boil.

"I’m *nothing* like you," Kohga miraculously keeps his tone level, not an ounce of the rage he feels bleeding through. "Unlike the Yiga’s origins, I don’t intend on building off a legacy of blood and backbones to stay afloat. That," in one abrupt movement Kohga turns, gloved fingers finding themselves wrapped around a skinny throat, squeezing, squeezing, *squeezing*, "Is where you’re sorely mistaken."

Kohga clamps tight only as long as it took him to swivel around before loosening his hold. The hand remains in place, however.

"You’re *cute*, thinkin’ you can get under my skin. Thinkin’ you know a dang teensy thing about me."

…and yet, Astor’s words have managed to seep under his flesh, curling through his veins and down the marrow. Kohga doesn’t think he’s going to sleep well tonight.

—

It’s easy to forget, with his lackadaisical attitude, that Master Kohga is strong, that there is power behind those hands—but Astor *never* forgets.

Indeed, he considers it to be the man’s most wasted piece of potential. All that strength and power, and *so little done with it.*

When that hand grasps his throat, a crushing jolt of pain and theft of breath, there is no gasp, no clutch of the palm. Merely the slightest narrowing of eyes that accompanied a slim smile.

And then that tightness is gone, allowing air once more, and Astor feels that shoot of disappointment once more—before him was a man who could have been a king, but always chose to loosen his grip far too soon.

“The path to Hell is paved in good *intentions,*” he says, and there’s almost a trace of *pity* in his tone. But was it fabricated or genuine? “But I suppose we shall see.”

—

*Sick fuck*, Kohga thinks as that serpentine smile tugs at each end of Astor’s hollowed face. Astor’s getting far more enjoyment out of this than need be, so Kohga isn’t finding it so fun anymore.

And though he’d like more than anything to strangle the life outta that scrawny neck, watch as Astor claws at Kohga’s hand and chokes for air he cannot have… Kohga knows it’s a risk he can’t take now, not with the Calamity’s full power looming large over the both of them. The prophet is too important a piece in this little game of theirs. And it’s the *only* reason he keeps Astor around.

With a sneer, Kohga releases the seer, patting his chest with an open palm before turning away on one heel, waving a lackadaisical hand behind him.

"Alright alright, enough joking around. I’m gettin’ sick of your bull. If I wanted my daily fortune, I’d have asked. So *can* it."

—

Astor: Aw. No kiss tonight?

—

Kohga: NO.

—

Astor:

[luaspersona]

january bts archive ♡

welcome to my january bts fics recommendation list! before we start, i’d like to say a few things 🥰

⇢ my blog is +18, so even if this list has some sfw stories please, minors do not interact!

⇢ this month alone i think i’ve read around two stories per day at least, but to better organize my recs i settle on 10 works per list, especially since i know i won’t be able to keep this rhythm once my classes start and i want all the lists to have the same length

⇢ this list only has fics i reviewed (reblogged) in january. it won't have ongoing series (or series i haven't finished yet), although i plan on making a series rec list in the future.

⇢ think there's some fic missing? let me know! (also, please send me hobi recs!! 😭)

⇢ lastly, this isn't in any particular order (although is somewhat the order in which i read those works).

All because of you

authors ⇢ @taegularities and @hoebii pairing ⇢ seokjin x reader genre ⇢ fantasy (HP!au); friends to lovers; fluff; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 8.3k summary ⇢ They say food is the ultimate way to someone’s heart. It would be a shame if Seokjin didn’t at least try to confirm this belief. why i loved it ⇢ this fic was a huge surprise in the sense that i didn’t know i could love seokjin even more. the way rid and melody wrote this filled me with so much warmth, but then it was pure sexyness and world wide handsome handsoming. the dialogues are amazing, but the descriptions? the way they set the mood? it’s impossible not to be drawn into the story as soon as you start reading it. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Two in One

author ⇢ @here2bbtstrash pairing ⇢ hoseok x reader x jimin genre ⇢ smut (threesome); friends to lovers. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 12k summary ⇢ you finally have a much-needed smoke session with your best friends, just like old times. you’re also pretty sure they’re gay… right? why i loved it ⇢ i’m sure this is one of the best examples of good mood setting i’ve ever seen. m does an amazing job here of making us interested and into all the characters involved because they are just so sexy and smooth and fucking cool. not to mention this is one of the best threesome fics i’ve ever read and well… it’s fair to say i’ve read a few 👀 ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Fallen

author ⇢ @casuallyimagining pairing ⇢ yoongi x reader genre ⇢ fallen angel!au; strangers to friends to lovers; fluff; angst; smut. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 21k (divided in two chapters) summary ⇢ If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then where does that leave you? Spurned by your ex-fiance, you seek the one person who can help. But as it turns out, the price of revenge may be a little more than you bargained for. why i loved it ⇢ this fic deals with a lot of heavy topics in such a touching and heart clenching way. the imagery courtney evokes here is no joke, and the atmosphere is set in a way that makes it unable for you to stop looking. the descriptions, the pace, everything is… ugh, just flawless. ⇢ my review: part 1 | part 2 (with spoilers!)

Stardust

author ⇢ @euphoricfilter pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ friends to lovers; fluff; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 5.5k summary ⇢ If Jungkook would have known an unintentional orgasm would have led to this, then he would have begged you to work out with him sooner. why i loved it ⇢ i went into this expecting a filthy mindless smut, and received the most pure longing in the forms of astronomical analogies and posthumous promises. jungkook’s perspective here is just so honest and genuine and it makes you fall in love with this couple as if you've been with them from the moment they've met (it's a slow burn encapsulated in 5.5k words). i was so surprised and it made me so happy to read this.  ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Photograph you in this light

author ⇢ @yoongiphoria pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fluff; some angst rating ⇢ free to all audiences, but the MJ's blog is +18 only word count ⇢ 0.5k why i loved it ⇢ fun fact: i had a full meltdown because of this fic lmao. it took me less than two minutes to read it and two business day to get over this and i honestly feel like i lack the words to live up to it (i did say a bunch of stuff in my review tho, but i strongly recommend you read the drabble first). ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

The one with Jungkook, his son, and the lightbulb

author ⇢ @eoieopda pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fluff rating ⇢ pg-13 word count ⇢ under 1k why i loved it ⇢ this is just the cutest fucking dad!au i’ve ever seen. jade writes this in such a creative way that they were able to capture years of relationship and love in such few words. i almost wanted kids after reading this lol (so i backed away immediately 🥴). ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Thus with a kiss…

author ⇢ @uarmymoonlight pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ fantasy!au; historical!au; forbidden/secret relationship!au; angst; fluff; light smut. rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 899 summary ⇢ two times Jungkook got so lost sliding his hands through your soft skin and staring into your gentle eyes, that he had to fight to remember the stories of brutal cold-blooded and dead-eyed killers his brothers raised him up with. stories of your kind. why i loved it ⇢ this has one of the best opening paragraphs i’ve seen in fanfiction. it’s just so good and the fever dream way it’s narrated fits the story and its theme so well that you can’t help but be swallowed by the events. although this is just a teaser for an upcoming fic, i do think it stands tall on its own, because it suggests so much and crafts such a nice world already. i just know that i'll be revisiting this a lot.  ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Velvet cherry

author ⇢ @jeonqkooks pairing ⇢ jungkook x reader genre ⇢ exes to lovers; agent/spy!au (non-specified); some fluff; angst; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count ⇢ 5.9k prompts ⇢ “call me that again” & “lay down and stay still” why i loved it ⇢ i think this is one of the firsts — if not the first — jen fic i’ve read. i was mesmerized by her control here. the way she conducts her scenes are so interesting, and how she throws us in the middle of jungkook and the reader's story and we’re able not only to catch up but to feel like we were there all the years of the relationship. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Tales of broken hearts

author ⇢ @taegularities pairing ⇢ taehyung x reader genre ⇢ exes to lovers; childhood sweethearts; fluff; angst; smut rating ⇢ +18 | minors do not interact word count⇢ 24.8k summary ⇢ “Love has become a noun again.” When a work trip brings you back home, you don’t expect for anyone to await your return or remember you. But despite the time apart, Taehyung still does — still looks at you the same way he used to five winters ago. why i loved it ⇢ i’m not sure i loved it as much as i am sure i was completely destroyed by this. it took me hours to finish it ‘cus there were times i had to stop to try and remember how to breathe. it’s one of those stories that just stays with you way past the last word and you wanna hug each and every character until you squeeze all the sorrow and sadness out of them. it’s fucking good (and it has a happy ending, so rest assure you won’t die). also, this fic made me stop reading rid's work for a while 'cus otherwise i just know this list would be all hers lol ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

Holiday Inn

author: @bangtanintotheroom pairing: hoseok x reader genre: non-idol!au; rap group!au; humor; smut; strangers to enemies to lovers rating: +18 | minors do not interact word count: 37.6k summary: If it’s not the loud music, it’s the constant rapping. If it’s not the constant rapping, it’s the hysterical laughter. And if it’s not the hysterical laughter, it’s the moaning and screaming women. How the hell hasn’t your neighbor been kicked out yet? Oh right; he’s a beloved rapper.  why i loved it: this fic is just delicious. it happens in the course of five days — that start out as the worst but soon become the best ones of the reader's life! and hoseok here… let’s just say there wasn’t much sunshine and i never thought i’d love an asshole version of hobi THAT much. although it’s a longer fic, the pace is really good and it felt like watching a movie: the tension rising and the events escalating in such a delicious and continuous way that a shorter version could never provide. ⇢ my full review (with spoilers!)

links ⇢ navigation | reviews

[eelfuneral]

I’ve seen a few “Tech is a machine/computer of some kind” headcanons floating around, and while I’m a firm believer in the idea that people can have whatever headcanon they want, I also believe that these headcanons are not above discussion and criticism. I actually have a pretty big issue with a lot of these headcanons that I want to discuss: they’re frequently very, very ableist.

Now, Tech is very heavily implied to be autistic, and his lines about processing the world around him differently in “The Crossing” all but confirm it without using the word (because this is Star Wars). Hell, DBB even went on record saying that Tech seemed autistic to him, so the subtext is very much there. Now, as an autistic person, I can tell you that we are often dehumanized because we don’t always show emotions and behave in a way that people might expect, and one common dehumanizing comparison is between us and machines.

A lot of the “Tech is a machine” headcanons tend to lean into this particular stereotype very hard, whether the people writing them intend to do this or not. A lot of the “evidence” (ie. atypical emotional expression, literal thinking, difficulty with interpersonal relationships) presented in these theories are just autistic traits, full stop. Though the intent of these posts is likely not to be unkind, they are still very hurtful to read as an autistic person. If someone thinks that Tech is robotic, then what might they think about me, a real autistic person? I’m not sure I want to know.

“But Len,” you cry, “what about characters like Data? Don’t people headcanon him as autistic?” The thing is, those characters were written as machines and accidentally given autistic traits by writers who were unaware of the stereotypes, and a lot of the people headcanoning them as autistic are autistic people more-or-less reclaiming imperfect representation going ��lol, mine now”. This is very different from looking at a character with autistic traits and extrapolating from there that they might be a machine.

Again, I doubt that the people creating these Tech headcanons are trying to be willfully mean, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions and it is entirely possible to make something that follows hurtful tropes without realizing it. I’m making this post so that people can be more aware of why these types of headcanons might not be so well-received by the fandom, as well as how the “autism is inhuman and robotic” narrative is incredibly hurtful to us in the autistic community. I believe that it’s also important to note that the Tech fandom is HEAVILY neurodivergent, so this is a particularly important issue here.

[coffeestainedcamera]

Continuing to play through the new Penacony patch, maybe I'll finish up tomorrow after CPA exam cramming. The minibosses en route to the final boss are so annoying. Anyways, spoilers follow and I'll put translations into alt text. The Sunday vs Robin debate is just so interesting to me.

Also, I'm on team "would rather buy merch than in-app purchases" but got Robin! Idk how to actually play her yet but that's an issue for later! Anyways.

Yeah, so her elder brother is my favorite antagonist in this game so far. He's proposing something utterly disgusting, out of his savior's complex that imo kicked into overdrive after she almost died. But it was probably showing blatantly enough to her for a while before that, hence mail that was described as "pleasantries".

On its face, I understand the impulse of obsessively wanting to protect your sibling. They're your whole world, but at some point, they start to make their own choices. You might not understand them (like my little bro's interest in compsci) but if they're not hurting anyone, I think you should respect them.

So I get the horror of finding out little sis went out to a warzone to provide humanitarian aid and caught a stray. But this was ultimately her decision.

My personal take is that repressing free will is dictatorial behavior. I don't care about the "strong protecting the weak" excuse. And it was particularly dirty to start the dilemma game with the "hatchling" story, as that one really panders to this line of thinking imo.

In this case, I really do think that taking the wildlife to a rehabber is fine. And I suppose the Family would have enough resources to get the bird consistent veterinary care and everything else it needs. But this is still an animal, and we are talking about dilemmas involving free will of those who can talk and explain their thoughts to others. It's like one of those "appeal to emotion" arguments my history teacher warned about.

The man in the second dilemma deserved to get turned in right away. He's a monster.

I never considered anything but the "support" option for Robin's choice, but still had the lead speak with the party members, as to decide without consulting is some Sunday behavior.

And with that, we get the monologue.

Yeah, he went full Social Darwinist. There is no other description for a rhetoric that assumes that the strong should decide the happy life for the weak, particularly when he fails to provide a definition for his two categories. It comes off particularly heinously because this is a planet inspired by 1920's US, I suppose.

The party would need to track down Welt to answer his questions because I mean, some of the anti-equal suffrage comics we saw in history class sure were following that "women and ethnic and racial minorities don't know what's good for them" thinking. Also, man really bandied about this ideology in front of someone who would be stuck in a sanatorium back then.

For your consideration:

And so, it makes sense for Firefly in particular to tear this unholy lovechild of Social Darwinism and Messiah Complex a new one. Because ultimately, escaping from the flaws of free will is not going to address any of the issues. Yeah, sure, stay awake to power the Matrix where no one is terrible, but what happens when you croak due to sleep deprivation? Everyone goes back to failing in the same, or new and horrible ways! Or dies if the unplugging goes badly!

So yeah, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[amischiefofmuses]

Some more than others. How sweet. Like you'd give anyone else half as many chances. Hell, maybe that's the opposite of the problem, actually. You'll let anyone run around killing so long as you get to feel holier-than-thou when they pretend to get on party line. Best of both worlds, right? Us pitiful humans remember how much we need you, you don't get your hands dirty--and you get to keep playing house with a mass murderer.

Talk shit about someone my Muse knows. || Accepting

His lips press to a thin line, brows furrowing and sorrow lingering in his expression. Despite what others like to think of him, he isn't perfect, not INFALLIBLE. He is taking on the weight of the world and trying his utmost to keep falling debris from those who would otherwise be crushed by it. -- ❝I had meant that I am not without wrongs, I would not pretend otherwise- but it seems you have it in hand to remind me of that fact.❞ He sighs, exhaustion etched into his features, his thumb brushing back and forth atop the other hand in his lap in a self soothing motion. His failures haunt him, there is not a night spent without wondering what more he could do, what he could have done differently but hindsight offers only lessons to learn from, it gives him no opportunity to go back and rectify mistakes. He's just a man, one full of faith for change but faced with opposition regardless of where he turns, taking near-blind steps forward and hoping he's not on unsteady ground. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, is it not? -- ❝Would you have me kill? Is that what is expected of me, to be a good person? Do you truly think dirtied hands truly the only way forward?❞ Ever a pacifist, he struggles with the idea of killing, always has and that isn't about to change. ❝What you may call best of both worlds, I call manning the line- stepping into no-mans-land between those who wish us dead because we are mutants and those who wish us dead because our care extends to humanity. It's a delicate line. One only strengthened in having Magnus at my side, willing to defend it. What would you rather I do?❞

[casuallyimagining]

Fallen (2 - teaser) | myg

Min Yoongi x Female Reader

➢ Summary: If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then where does that leave you? Spurned by your ex-fiance, you seek the one person who can help. But as it turns out, the price of revenge may be a little more than you bargained for.

➢ Word Count: 118 (teaser); 11,874 (full part 2) ➢ Genre: Fallen Angel AU, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff, angst ➢ Warnings: homelessness, abusive ex, manipulation, emotional abuse, forced isolation, major character injury, blood, mentions of critiques of organized western religion, threats of harm, brief mentions of an almost-panic attack, arguing, suspected stalking, smut, unprotected sex, loss of virginity (which is a dumb social construct), alcohol consumption

➢ Notes:Thank you to @daechwitatamic and @madbutgloriouspond for reading through this fic and for listening to me talk about it literally every day. And many thanks to @btsmosphere for helping me with the angst, and @luaspersona and @vsualitae for their help with the smut (and more!).

Part 2 posts January 7, 2023 @ 8pm EST

“When I’m… 80,” you start carefully, “you’ll still be this?” You gesture vaguely at his face, his body. He makes a noise, somewhere between a hum and a wordless question, that says he doesn’t fully agree. “No?”

“When I fell, I didn’t think I’d have any powers at all.” His voice is quiet as he navigates his thoughts. “I’d heard of so many angels who had fallen in love with humans and who fell because of it. They lost their powers on the way down. But when I pulled myself out of the river, I… hadn’t lost anything. The snakes said that the loss is because those other angels loved a human. They said it’s a gradual process.”

Fallen Masterlist

If you’ve stumbled across this fic and you enjoyed it, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I love hearing from y'all and when you send your thoughts and opinions in the comments or in a message, it makes me happy!

[crazy56u]

Warning: I'm on my Fanfiction Shit again. You are about to see more of my bullshit thought processes:

Well, given how at least a couple of people liked the previous post I did about that picture I commissioned (shout out to @thenovika), I figured you’d like to know I have theory-crafted an AU off of it (I already had some of the details in mind when coming up with the image to begin with, but I finally came up with the incident that kicks it off).

And while I admit some of this might be a stretch, and might need fleshing out, this is the basic conceit I have for what I guess I am going to be calling the “Burnout” AU, if only because given how I have things play out, I can’t help but be cute with the name.

And spoilers, this is technically a “Bad End” scenario born out of a lucky break.

If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, then a tragedy is formed out of a silver lining.

The main linchpin to start off?

Mimic dies during “Bad Guys”.

When Starline is busting everyone out of prison, offering to let them in on, instead of a team, but a “business partnership”, rather than out and out agree, Mimic pretends to agree, but at the first opportunity after getting let out of his cell, Mimic jumps Starline, causing a struggle. Since Starline would’ve expected something like this happening, he cuts his losses.

He kills Mimic then and there, and leaves his body behind as a warning: “I mean business, do not underestimate me.”

The rest of the mini-series plays out more or less as before, minus one player. Starline's Plan A failed, so he decides to kidnap two people and play Frankenstein with them.

(This analogy might come back later, as an aside; besides, literally, Starline was basically Frankenstein, and Surge and Kit are both the Creature. I am not wrong.)

Word of this funnels back to those at the Restoration, and in particular, Whisper.

If you recall, she left after she found out Mimic escaped, as she felt her still being there was now a liability; as such, while she would have trouble fully processing the fact he was dead (even knowing there was a physical body left behind), she would eventually, eventually feel comfortable enough to start moving on, and stay. Her staying means Tangle stays.

Fast forward to the aftermath of “Battle for the Empire”: Starline is fucking dead, Sonic, Tails and Belle have left with Kit, and Surge is in the wild with the Dynamo Cage, and has made it to Central City.

Since Whisper and Tangle haven’t left, they are off doing a different mission for the Restoration, so Whisper is nowhere near Central City to take Surge on, and Jewel hasn’t gotten in contact yet with Sonic and Tails.

However, Blaze is close by (due to wanting to explore more of Sonic’s world while on her vacation), so she goes up to bat.

And… well, I already explained the next bit. Surge realizes she can use the Dynamo Cage to steal her opponent’s powers, albeit more so because this time, Blaze decided to strike her head on early into the fight with a fireball, and the cage sucked it up, something both opponents were shocked to see was possible.

It’s touch and go for a while, but then Surge manages to get her hands onto Blaze directly, and more or less rips the fire straight out of Blaze’s soul.

(This gives me the excuse to share the picture again, shout out to @thenovika once more.)

Now, because Surge is full of fire instead of Wisp energy, things wind up taking a more drastic turn when Sonic and Tails show up; think that boss fight from Sonic Rush on hardcore mode, borderline Dark Phoenix saga shit. Surge isn’t just overcharged with energy, she has been exposed to some borderline next level otherworldly shit.

Tails’ plan in the original issue to knock her out isn’t able to work this time. Not even Kit showing up can change anything, Surge is too far gone, and is seemingly determined to burn down Central City, all while Blaze is clinging on to consciousness in the corner somewhere.

Eventually, Kit manages to get through to Surge, and the two escape to Starline’s base; Sonic and Tails go after. They need to get that cage off in order to save Blaze, even if it means teaming with Eggman.

But, something goes wrong.

During the final struggle to stop Surge, the same thing plays out: she overloads the cage in an attempt at landing the killing blow… and it explodes.

She’s engulfed in flames… and then isn’t. She’s dead.

Kit grabs her, opts to let the others drown, and leaves; Sonic, Tails, Eggman and Metal make it out alive.

Back at Sonic’s house, Blaze snaps back awake… but is still grey. She feels something break inside her.

What none of them realize yet is that, because of the catastrophic failure of the Dynamo Cage, that power had not left Surge. When she died, it died with her.

Frankenstein's monster has died in a fire.

The keeper of the flame has just smoke left to her name.

And all of this is because the biggest asshole around got what was coming to him from the jump.

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Gossip Girl Reboot 2x07: Quotes

- “Someone who knows the old you, the new you, and everyone in between. But what about the poor souls sans a tried and true? A ride or die? Especially those of you, who show up for yours, when they don’t bother showing up at all? For those, I have a little advice. No matter how close you feel to someone... how much trust you may have, how much you feel connected, in the end it doesn’t matter.” (GG)

- “How am I supposed to do that? I only report drama, I don’t create it. I am not playing God. (Kate) - You don’t play God, you are God. Jesus fucking Christ. And I can say that because He and I are good now. Oh, stop going for the heart. Go for the jugular.” (Georgina) 

- “After all, the road to hell is paved with the best intentions” (GG)

- “I helped you? No, no. That doesn’t ring any bells. You brought me food? No one died, Zoya.” (Monet)

- “It seems you’ve inherited his aptitude for kindness. Might I guess my daughter doesn’t appreciate this quality?” (Camille de Haan) 

- “I am trying to make an effort. Please. (Audrey) - You’re letting him off the hook.” (Julien)

- “You know, it has its privileges to know a Wolfe. Name any show and the best seats are yours. (Max) - Oh, I’d never take advantage of that. I mean, that should be for people who can’t afford it, not people who can, right? (Audrey’s dad) - Should we order some champagne? Hmm? (Max) - It’s not even 8:00 a.m.” (Audrey’s dad)

- “I’m officially resigning as relationship intermediary.” (Wendy)

- “On a scale of one to then... (Luna) - Less than zero. (Max) - Yeah. I mean, he liked me fine as her friend, but as her boyfriend? He, uh, he loathed me. I mean, I may as well have been a line cook or a busboy or a... (Max) - Entitled brat if you expected to be immediately accepted as the man debauching the apple of his eye? (Luna) - Yeah, but I am in her life now. Okay? She loves hime. She’s into me. How do I make this a transitive property? (Max) - Stop caring. (Luna) - This is my first relationship. It wasn’t easy getting here, and there is no way that I’m taking a backseat now.” (Max)

- “Next time I want a compliment, perhaps I should just pull you string and save you the effort. I don’t mind the smell of sweat. But you... You reek of desperation. And that is something I cannot abide. It’s always covering up for something, you know? Insecurity. Doubt. The feeling that you’re not worthy. Good game, Max. Maybe try a little less hard next time.” (Audrey’s father)

- “We are not some broken toys that need fixing, Julien.” (Audrey)

- “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?” (Audrey’s father fiancée)

- “Basic Blair and Serena are going to that whatever luncheon tomorrow. That’s when we get them to go full Chernobyl in public.” (Georgina)

- “I did it because I care about you. (Julien) - You don’t care about me, Julien. You care about me caring about you.” (Audrey)

- “Every head is turning for you, while I’ve become the invisible Max.” (Max) - I told you, the key is to not care. (Luna) - I used to never care. Now I care too much about everything. I’m broken. I... This relationship’s broken me.” (Max) - You’re not broken. You’re growing. Will matters to Audrey, so therefore he matters to you. The problem is, you think you have to be someone else to get you to matter to him. You don’t. (Luna) - You know what? Giving a shit ends now. Messy Max is back.” (Max)

- “How do you know if you can trust someone despite their reputation?” (Zoya)

- “They have Krug Grande Cuvée at the bar. You seem like someone who doesn’t settle. (Luna’s love interest / cute boy) - And yet you think you have a shot? (Luna) - So, no fucks given and still no progress. (Max) - Has it ever occurred to you that it’s okay if not everybody likes you? (Luna) - Has it ever occurred to you that it’s okay if someone does?” (Max) 

- “Because anything you try to do always fucks up, Julien. (Audrey) - This isn’t my fault. (Julien) - It never is. It’s Jessica’s or Obie’s or Zoya’s or Gossip Girl’s, but you’re never the one to take the blame. Do you ever stop for a second and think what the common denominator is when something malfunctions? It’s you. Always you. Every time. (Audrey) - That’s not fucking fair. (Julien) - Maybe it’s not, but it’s true. You can never take a back seat. Sit something out for once. Let a single fucking thing happen without making it into your own show. A shitshow written by, directed by, and starring you. But I am done. I am not buying a ticket anymore. I want you to stay away from me. You’re just... you’re just too toxic.” (Audrey)

- “She’s gone. She’s really gone. You’re a genius. (Kate) - Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just... fluent in crazy. We spoke it at home growing up.” (Wendy)

- “Wow. I can’t... I can’t believe that I spent the last two days trying to get you to like me. Because that was never gonna happen, was it? Because you don’t even like yourself. And you are determined to make everyone around you miserable as a result.” (Max)

- “MDH stirring a little shit like the little shit she is. Sex-shaming poor little Z? Monet must really be over if she’s pulling such a millennial move. (GG) - Siding with a sex shamer? Even Gossip Girl has standards.” (Luna)

- “Can you get through one party without some childish stunt? It’s bad enough you crashed, but you had to add misogyny to the mix? (Camille de Haan)

- “This semester’s power grab has been powered down. The only queen we’ve ever cared about is Calloway. Monet de Haan, you’re dismissed.” (GG)

- “Honestly, fuck it. No matter what I do, I get nowhere. (Julien) - Yeah, Tell me about it.” (Obie)

- “Hey, maybe we can remind each other of who we used to be.” (Zoya)

- “I mean, maybe there is an evil genius inside of me. (Kate) - You like to be right, not rotten. What do you have in mind? (Wendy) - I wanna be an apex predator. Which is what I should have been doing all along. No more Harriet the Spy. It’s time for Jurassic Fucking Park.” (Kate)

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Only addicts truly understand addicts

This is not to say that non-addicts can't have an empathic approach too towards addiction, of course. They certainly can, what they can't do is genuinely comprehend the full extent of what the addiction does to you and how exactly it affects your brain chemistry. It's like non-addicts, no matter how much they study or try their best to understand, they can only gain a somewhat surface level of understanding. It's the addicts who know there's a whole continent of "noise", call it substance noise, behavioral noise, toxic relationship noise, a combo of noises, etc. that drives them crazy at all times, and non-addicts stay on the shore of this piece of land. They never get to explore the whole territory and get to know it like the palm of their hand. Ever.

The sensation under the skin, the constant noise in the back of the mind, the deep hardcore craving, the different perception of time, the alienation and dissociation, the completely altered and tainted meaning of the concept of peace, and the very high skill level acquired after a while to mask it for it to look socially acceptable and even imperceptible to the untrained eye. Sometimes it can look admirable from the outside when it's nothing but hell on the inside, a hell the addict does not want to get out of most of the time. It's like a chosen prison that turns into a safe space because it's the best known space for the addict.

No one can truly get it unless they felt it in their bones and loved it at times as much as they despised it later only to love it again, cyclicly, in a loop. Craving it all along, knowing all along how self-destructive it is and not giving a fuck about it, and sometimes dealing with the extra layer of guilt this brings. Some other times being so far removed that that layer doesn't even exist.

Most clueless ppl equal addiction to substances when that's not even the tip of the iceberg. It's the most obvious scenario, yes, but it's hardly accurate to think of substances, whether illegal or not, as the only weapons of choice for addicts. It shows, once again, how little ppl understand them. And how biased their mindset is.

Addiction has always been taboo and that's why it's a behavior that has spread like a wildfire in society. Anything that is under rug swept, turns into a snowball sooner or later because it's never really or adequately dealt with and cleansed.

But nowadays on top of it being taboo, it's also highjacked by pseudo-experts that throw terms around, like empathy, resilience, communication, etc. Unless they are recovered addicts, they are just playing by ear and falling short. Period. I call them impostors, even if that's not what they intend to be.

Naturally, they can be part of multi-disciplinary teams and have a valued input in that framework, but only if that's the case. Otherwise, their credentials don't matter, don't suffice, do not work. Never have, never will and only those who know better can tell them apart.

It's dangerous and scary how well, using cleaver SM virilization tactics and keywords, the impostors mimic those who truly walked the walk and rapidly create a fanbase of well-intentioned ignorants.

And it doesn't stop there.

How addiction, as a social issue, is wildly misunderstood and mistreated and therefore never really overcome is just the beginning of a long list of other issues with massive impact that are mistreated and misrepresented in the same way by a few impostors who claim to be experts or scholars in the subject and who blatantly confuse editorialization with fact-based information. A whole generation has been ruined by their poor handling and understanding of issues they pretend to be experts at and the huge platform that SM gives them to spread their misconceptions, no matter how well-intentioned, only makes it worse, especially in the mental health department.

This wicked and flawed social dynamic of misunderstanding that leads to a road to hell paved with good intentions and fostered by SM that makes it super popular and facilitates access to it to those who should keep out of it but don't, is replicated in sooooo many other aspects of society.

The incapacity a lot of people have to accurately discern problems from solutions and thus end up trying to put out the fire with gasoline while claiming to have the best interest at heart is the cancer of modern society.

Unfortunately, the only way out, is through.

It's gonna get worse before it gets better. This is not a speed race.

[raccooncityriots]

OKAY! 👏👏 I finally finished all the area storylines and chapter one of the War Within!!

Triggered. I was really afraid they were gonna make me start using the heart of Azeroth again and just change the name. I liked the little puzzle they had for rewiring the mainframe a lot, but I wish it had been a little bit harder. I would have liked if they had it like the pipe puzzle from earlier where it was a little bit tricky and you just gave people who didn’t want to do it an alternative.

Don’t worry Brinthe, I too was puzzled. What did this mean, Dagran?? What do you know about Magni that we don’t? Did you take the “going through a divorce with Azeroth” jokes too seriously? Maybe I just don’t know enough about dwarf lore to get the joke here.

Thank you for deciding to fucckin’ join us, Jaina and Thrall. I hope you enjoyed your smoothies or whatever you were doing instead of rallying troops to night the void.

I know it is never that deep with wow, but I spent so long over analyzing assortment of people they brought, especially after Turalyon (was it Thrall? I think it was Turalyon because I remember thinking why would he be telling me, an Undead, this) that said it was bureaucracy red tape between the factions that actually kept them from reaching an agreement and arriving sooner. Also, I was a little disappointed we didn’t do more with the ships in the harbor. We’ve got one Zandalari captain and everyone else is just an unnamed solider b standing around. With the spider rescue quest giving us so many random NPC’s I was hoping we’d sprinkle a couple on to the boats. Not a big complaint obviously, again I know it isn’t that deep. I’m sure the fact that there’s no Night Elves here is irrelevant and just because they were important last expansion.

🥺 This conversation was very sweet, I’m glad we didn’t make them wait until everything was settled to talk about what happened. It may have happened a bit quickly lowkey, but I’m also glad Alleria has learned she doesn’t have to pick her family or her powers. I was hoping this is what we’d end up with, but I won’t lie when the expac started I was a bit worried we were going to have her convince herself to go full void and sacrifice give up everything in order to fight and then have her be yet another road to hell paved with good intentions raid boss in the end. That’s been the cop out too many times now and I ain’t forgotten those visions of N’Zoth.

Also??? Where?? Is Anduin?? Did I miss a quest box or something he was with us and now I’ve not seen him since the reinforcements arrived. Was he afraid Genn would be here and didn’t want him to scare off Faerin? Did he see Turalyon was on the boat and was like ‘oh shit I have to leave before he makes me be king again’? Is he becoming the gaming champion at whatever that chess game the Arathi kept asking if I wanted to play, but then would not actually let me?

I’m only 1/5 chapters into the War Within, so I’m sure I’ll figure out where he went soon. Ahh anything else before I go finish my paper… I didn’t take any screenshots, but it was nice to see Gazlowe earlier. This expansion has been very Alliance NPC heavy, so it was cool to work with him for that quest line. I forgot to mention it earlier, but I was also happy to see Liadrin. I hope she actually gets to do something now that she’s here lol

Ahhh Alleria having her moment of weakness and hearing the voices of her loved ones not her son was a nice contrast to the voices of the void. I hope we see more of Locus-Walker. Ahhh I’m glad wow writers are remembering lore and it makes total sense he’s here, but I straight up forgot Danath was still alive ngl Ahhhh I love all the little spiders, I would join the void for them. And I think that’s it for now.