#like I will decimate entire WORLDS for this man

[lunalikestowriteanddraw]

It’s funny bouncing back between C3 and EXU bc in C3, Deni$e will start badmouthing Dariax, and then I’ll go to EXU, and Dariax is over here talking to horses, cuddling with Dorian because his dream spooked him, and also just feeling so so bad about waking his friends up because of said dream

LIKE HOW CAN I BE MAD AT HIM WHEN HES BABEY!?

[cultven]

hii i love reading yor fics sososo much T_T<333

I'd like to request a fic where Logan dreams that he hurts the reader, almost killing them. The reader notices that he's having a nightmare and wakes him up, he's disoriented and in panic, but when he realized what just happened he is incredibly relieved to see that reader is ok and alive. Maybe he even breaks down and cries, which really shocks the reader cuz they arent used to seeing Logan like this 🥺 Then the reader comforts him and takes care of him until he's back asleep.

As It Should Be

Wolverine X Reader

Content: Comfort, crying, poor Logan cannot catch a break, but you're there to dig him out of his sadness hole, he loves you a lot, lots of fluff while comforting him

Word Count: 1.39k

Warnings: Some graphic violence during the nightmare segment

a/n: Thank you for the kind words! This one honestly got a little graphic in terms of gore, but nothing too bad, so hopefully that’s ok! This was fun to write, enjoy!

No. What had he done? 

Logan stood in a pile of debris and rubble, his white tank top and jeans now caked in blood that wasn’t his. Claws refusing to retract, Logan felt utterly hopeless against his own body. His actions weren’t his own as he trudged towards the only person left alive; you. You were scared, that much was clear by your facial expression and hasty movements to crawl backward away from the mutant. 

“Logan… this isn’t you, please.” You plead, eyes darting around the scene to find help, anyone that is still alive or conscious. All you could take in was the decimated mansion and the mauled corpses of your loved ones. What had taken over Logan? Why did he destroy the very things he risked his life for countless times? 

As Logan looked into your frightened eyes his heart clenched, knowing what was coming next. He just wishes he could stop it. Watching himself tear through his other family hurt like hell, but having to watch you die he didn’t think he could bear it. You were his entire world, the only thing that could ground him when he fell down the pits of self-destruction. He would forever kill himself before harming you. But this version of himself had other plans. 

He trudged over, claws glistening in the light of fire around them. “No, no no no…” You chant, still trying to escape the man but your legs are rendered useless due to your paralyzing fear. With one swift movement, Logan begins to tear through flesh and muscle, watching in horror as his hands mutilate his love against his will. You could do nothing but lay there, screaming in pain, your mutant ability keeping you alive for longer than you wanted to be. Logan wished he was the one being gutted. In a way, he was. Anyone else, anyone but you deserved his wrath. 

Tears clung tightly to his eyes as his hand retracted from your body, lining up for the final shot to the head. As the blade commences its soar towards your skull, Logan jolts up from a lying position and hastily takes in his surroundings. It was dark, he was under a blanket of sorts, and oh, he was in your bedroom. Had it only been a nightmare? No, it was far too cruel and realistic to have been. Even Logan’s mind wasn’t so callous to make him live through such a horror. So then, it must have been real? Logan begins to hyperventilate, raising his hands to eye level. His claws were away, and his rough skin was clean of blood. But, as he blinked, grotesque images flashed through his mind. Sick crimson blood, your blood, begins to stain his hands, drying in a disgusting reddish-brown. He immediately jumped out of bed, went into the ensuite bathroom, and scrubbed his hands raw. 

“No, no no no.” He chanted under his breath as he tried to scrape off the non-existent material. The cold water was not enough to ground him back to reality, Logan eventually gave up and put him back to the skin, sliding down towards the floor to cradle his head in his hands. Thanks to the sound of the water running in the bathroom and Logan’s hard footsteps, you eventually stir awake. At first, nothing seemed wrong, maybe he just had to use the bathroom. But after the sound of continuous water for five minutes you grew increasingly concerned. Deciding to confront the man you carefully walk up to the bathroom door and gently knock three times, not to startle him during whatever he’s doing. 

“Lo?” It was only one syllable, but your sweet voice saying his nickname out loud was enough to send Logan scrambling. The door eagerly burst open, and when it did the sight you were met with shocked your heart. There was Logan on the ground, clearly disheveled, eyes bloodshot and teary. “Oh baby, what happened?” You coo, going to take a step forward but immediately retreating seeing Logan flinch. 

“You’re- you’re real, right?” Logan tentatively asks, sounding scared. Of course, you were real, why wouldn’t you be?” 

“Yes, love.” You stay put in your place. You didn’t want to upset him further.

“No… I ripped you apart. You died by my hands.” You resist the urge to outwardly exclaim how ridiculous he sounded before realizing he more than likely had a nightmare. Logan was prone to bad dreams, but none ever shook him quite as much as this. The only good thing that came out of the consistent night terrors was that you now knew how to soothe him in times like these. 

“I’m right here my love. I’m not hurt. See? I’m perfectly okay.” Your voice stays calm and soothing, not wanting to startle him further. “Touch my hand. Feel my skin. I am right here.” Usually, the sensation of touch grounded him from this distressed state, but this time he seemed hesitant to even look in your direction. 

“I can’t. I might hurt you again.” Logan looked so small and it broke you. He was huddled into himself, still looking at you untrusting. The thought of himself harming you any further plagued his mind, twisting his stomach and making him want to vomit. You were his world, his everything. He curses his body for the immortality that was bestowed upon him because if anything happens to you he wants to follow right behind. 

Realizing you may seem intimidating due to the fact you’re standing tall over his curled-up body you lower yourself and sit criss-cross applesauce across from him. Putting your hand out in between your two bodies you silently sit there, waiting for Logan to take this at his own pace. After a few minutes, Logan seems calm enough to touch your hand. Fingertips only brush at first, then a loose handhold, then a firm grasp on each other. Before either of you knew it you were fully embracing, Logan nuzzling his head into your neck. He needed to take you in every sense, to prove this was real. His nose took in your intoxicating perfume, his hands gripped your curves, his ears heard your soft breaths release from your mouth, and when he pulled back his eyes took in the sight of you. You were as stunning as always even with your messy hair and tired eyes. You were real, you were here, and you were his. 

Seeing as your boyfriend has calmed down you decided to relocate to a more comfortable area. “Let’s get off this gross floor, okay love? Let’s go to bed.” You whisper, carefully tugging him along to your shared bed. Once you two got settled down you were instantly back in his strong arms, protecting you from the rest of the world. You thought all was said and done for the night until Logan spoke up. 

“You were so scared. I made you scared.” He hated seeing you that way. It hurt him. What hurt worse was that he was the cause of it. He now understands it wasn’t real, but your expression was so gut-wrenching he couldn’t shake it off. 

“Logan I know you would never hurt me on purpose.” You reassured him. “Except maybe when you squeeze me to death with your bear hugs.” Logan chuckled a little bit, your humor always lightens the mood. You lay in silence for a bit, almost dozing off until you hear a voice next to you. 

“Thank you for dealing with me.” You smile, leaning over and kissing the man gingerly on the cheek. 

“It’s what I signed up for my love. Besides, you could never be a bother to me.” He smiles back, a rare sight to anyone but yourself. “I love you, Logan.”

“I love you too.” With that resignation you two cuddle, arms and legs entangled with one another’s. Eventually, Logan is lulled back to sleep while listening to the steady beat of your heart. Instead of another nightmare, he is met with a blissful dream of the two of you living together on a mountain, away from all the violence and harm the world holds. Just as it should be. 

[themeraldee]

Awkward sex prompt: homelander figuring out how to control his strength with a human reader, who still wants rough sex, but would prefer to be alive at the end of it.

[Masterlist]

18+ Only | 1.2k | Homelander x gn!Reader | Realistic sex. Communicating during sex. Choking. Penetration (but not specified). Fluff at the end.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“But I want you to.” 

It really should have been no surprise to Homelander when you requested he goes a little rougher on you in bed. At first he was taken aback, stopping the pace he was fucking into you with, jerking his head back as if offended, choking on his breath in surprise. You know who he is, bringing up the use of his strength is no small ask. But you’ve shown the signs before. He could hear the spike in your heart rate anytime he’d showcase the incomprehensible strength he possesses. Whether it was him moving heavy objects, accidentally bending steel frames in his penthouse or breaking furniture—like that one time he ripped the headboard off during a particularly fine blowjob—you loved it. Though he never thought that your dirty little thoughts went straight to him using that strength on you. 

“What if I can’t hold back?” He looks down where you’re right below him, all flushed and spread out for him. He’s been giving you a damn good time but it’s like you can never get enough of him. Always wanting more, more, more.

“You can. You’ve been doing it your entire life. Adding a tiny bit more pressure isn’t gonna change anything.”

The one thing Homelander loves about you the most is the pure trust you have in him. After all you’ve seen of him you still believe that there’s no world in which he would purposefully hurt you. So to hear you all but beg for him to use strength that has more than decimated many gets his heart soaring. The feeling of acceptance and unconditional love blooms warm in his chest spreading all the way out to the fingertips currently wrapped around your neck.

“Come on, what’s the point of being the strongest man in the world if you can’t rough me up a bit? I’ll tell you if it’s too painful okay?”

Your hand sat on top, your fingers tracing over his as you squeezed your hand.

“A little more.” You guide him verbally and manually. Your hand is still squeezing around his own until you reach a point where you’re satisfied with his confidence to do this himself and you pull your hand away. “Yeah, that’s it.” You squeak out a little breathlessly as he restricts your airflow.

“That’s good?” He asks, choking on his words halfway at the way you squeeze around him while he’s still lodged firmly inside you. He jerks with his movement, giving you a very short snappy thrust but after your little intermission where you taught him how to choke even this little sensation made you moan.

Homelander’s eyes widen when he realizes the sheer potential of your request. Not only could he hear your heartbeat, your shaky breaths and moans, he could now also feel them. Right against his fingertips. The moan vibrated against his hot skin, your heartbeat constantly thrumming all around him. He felt it in the way you were tight and clenching around him and now he felt it under his grip.

He released his hand a little, settling the palm of it in between your collarbones.

“See? Wasn’t that good? I love feeling your strength, let me have a little more of it.” You say it with such conviction, inviting him in, accepting him exactly—no, especially—because of the way he is.

The last thing Homelander wants is to not be able to fulfill your needs. As much as the thought of hurting you—actually hurting you—kills him, if it’s something you find excitement in he’ll be damned if he doesn’t deliver.

He pulls you down the length of the bed a little bit to give himself more space and with a grin he pins your wrists above your head, holding them down against the mattress with little effort. He knows he’s doing something right when that startles you, you let out a cute yelp that quickly turns into a moan. God, he could eat you up with the way you’re looking at him. But he’s gonna need to leave that for round two. Now he’s here to fulfill a wish.

He slowly picks up the pace. He’s thrusting slow and deep while his other hand freely explores your body underneath him, giving it generous squeezes as he goes. He’s testing the give of you. Learning where he can apply the pressure you so desperately crave. 

He’s fucking into your faster now, grunting at the sheer heat of you surrounding his cock with every slide. His hand glides up your body, settling back on your neck. He gives you a look as if he was warning you of what’s to happen. Yet he still manages to catch you off guard. With the snap of his hips and the iron-clad grip of his hand your eyes widen in what Homelander only translates to fear.

Immediately, he lets go.

“Why did you stop?!” You look at him, your own hand gliding across where his hand was squeezing a second ago, as if to chase the phantom feeling, recreating it yourself.

“Why did I stop? You got scared and I don’t want to fucking kill you!” He sounds angry but it’s mainly to hide the genuine worry that comes with this irresponsible play. It’s already hard for him to hold back anytime you’re having normal sex. Wanting him to rough you up conjures very different imagery in either one of your minds.

“Baby, the scary part is the best bit. I know you’ll stop before it’s too much. You can feel the give of my body. Let yourself feel that, okay?” You say softly, soothing his fears. In your entire relationship he’s not managed to hurt you, you don’t imagine it was about to start now.

“Now come on, I wanna cum with your hand around my neck.” You give him a cheeky smile that breaks him out of any doubts he had about manhandling you the way you’ve requested.

He’s given you exactly what you’ve asked for. Just enough squeeze and pressure that you feel so overwhelmed with the greatness of his presence pinning you down and nearly squeezing the life out of you that you succumb to your release. Homelander follows you there, unable to hold off after seeing the way you look at him with such adoration right after he let your airways open fully and you regained your senses. 

After you’re both beyond blissed out you snuggle up to one another, locking the jigsaw pieces of your bodies together.

Homelander traces a finger across the bruised finger marks wrapping around your neck. Part of him relishes in the way he’s managed to brand you where you won’t be able to hide it easily. Even with a scarf or a turtleneck, any slight move of the garment will expose the impressive size of your lovingly placed bruises. 

The other part of him isn’t that happy about it.

“I hurt you.”

“Duh! I wanted you to!” You scoff as if it was the most obvious thing.

His fingers trace over them some more before he leans in, placing a soft kiss against the marred skin.  

“You’re fucking crazy.” He lets out a little disbelieving laugh as he pulls you closer into his arms.

“Yeah, you’ve been rubbing off on me.”

“Nope, this is all you.” 

“Maybe. Hey, can we try spanking next?”

Taglist (you can add yourself to be tagged anytime I publish a new Homelander story): @infinetlyforgotten  @rafecamsgirlll @nervoussystemss

[inbarfink]

I wanna go a bit full-circle with a post I did right after the first two episodes of ‘Fionna and Cake’ dropped - about the nature of Simon Petrikov’s sense of identity. And more specifically, with how his titular episode centered around the ways his deteriorating mental state and the new context of his life has really torn away at everything Simon used to define himself as. 

Because Simon Petrikov used to be a lot of things. He was an antiquarian and an archaeologist, a man deeply fascinated by the concept of Magic and the supernatural in a mundane world that ridiculed him for it at every turn, an adventurous outdoorsman, and a deeply caring and fatherly man.

But when we meet him at the start of “Simon Petrikov”, he has lost all the passion for his job - especially as he now has to perform it basically as a living museum exhibit. He is now stuck in a word filled with Magic and feels like the only mundane thing in it. He is unable to handle the sort of dangers you would find in an Oooian camping trip. And he made a little girl cry.

And there’s one more thing Simon used to define his identity as, and that is the one he ended up clinging to more than anything in that one episode, even though it was just as decimated as every other facet of his old identity, and the one that ends up jump-starting the plot. And that is being Betty Grof’s other half.

So now, looking back at this second episode at the end of the series, it really feels appropriate that throughout his adventures Simon managed to rediscover these old elements of his personality, that all these aspects of his identity managed to get reinforced and validated…

For most of the series he was basically doing his old job again - travelling around, trying to discover and uncover an ancient artifact.

And you can really see how he regains his excitement for research. 

And by the end of the show, he ends up really rediscovering a passion for his work (and also realized that this Living Museum Exhibit set-up is not conducive for his mental health, which is also a step in the right direction).

 

And he gets to show-off his understanding of Magic

And by the end of the show, Simon doesn’t feel like such an outsider in Ooo anymore. Probably helped by the fact his cellphone connection with Fionna gives him that little connection to 'normalcy' he was missing.

And he got to go on an adventure again, and handle it better than his Camping Trip Funtimes with Finn. Probably because he was around Adventure Novices Fionna and Cake, who were a bit closer to his ‘level’ than a crazy-seasoned adventurer like Finn

And by the end of the show, you can see him seeking thrills on his own terms.

And his ability be kind and fatherly and comforting was validated both by his constant interactions with Fionna - who isn’t a child, but is still a younger person who often needed his emotional support

And also by a very grim reminder of how truly important he was for Marcy.

And by the end of the show, he has managed to make a connection with Astrid, despite them starting out on such a sour note.

But 'Simon Petrikov, Betty Grof's beloved'? That aspect of himself did get some validation, via him getting to share their love story with Fionna

But it was not entirely validated, was it? That was the one aspect of himself that was actually challenged - the one part of himself was clinging to like a lifeline when he felt like he was falling apart, that was the one part of himself that he had to both recontextualize in his head and eventually realized he had to finally let go off…

[terapsina]

Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.

I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.

-----

1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.

Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.

Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.

Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.

2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.

More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.

Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.

3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.

Found family trope but with clones.

Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.

Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.

4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.

Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.

Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.

Unless someone interferes.

I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.

Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.

5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.

The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.

(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).

Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.

He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.

Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.

Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.

And oh yeah... found family.

6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.

A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.

Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.

One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).

As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.

7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).

The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.

It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.

Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.

Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.

8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.

This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.

A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).

But it's such a satisfying slow burn.

And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.

If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.

(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).

This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.

There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.

Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).

(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)

10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.

A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.

Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.

(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).

-----

In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.

And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).

[bullet-prooflove]

Culpability: John Nolan x Reader

Tagging: @ravennaortiz @anime-weeb-4-life @trublu2u @kmc1989

First Case - For John it's love at first sight.

Cake - John's surprised when you remember his birthday.

Bad Timing - You and John have always had bad timing.

Forget About It - You and John share a heated moment in the breakroom. - Companion piece to Bad Timing

The Deepest Cut - Rosalind forces John to make a confession.

More Than Life It's Self (NSFW) - John reminds you of his feelings for you at a crucial moment.

Scars - John loves you and all your scars.

The day that Detective Robert Oritz is arrested for stealing 250k is the day your entire world falls apart and John Nolan has a front row seat to the whole damn thing. To your credit you stay stoic, jaw clenched and head held high as you’re interviewed by IAB and rumours circulate about your own culpability. He can’t imagine what it must be like for you, finding out the man that you loved was a corrupt cop, having to deal with the scrutiny.

At the end of shift he finds you outside sitting on the bench in the green space smoking a cigarette, lost in your thoughts. He takes the seat alongside you because right now you need a friend and John, he’s willing to be that person for you.

“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” He says quietly, tilting his head to study the profile of your features. You seem so closed off right now, unreachable. He wants to take your hand, tell you it’s all going to be ok but he knows you’re a realist, that you don’t want platitudes.

“It was new.” You say finally, tapping the ask off the end of your cigarette. “We’d only been together a couple of months.”

Two months, he thinks. Two months and you didn’t tell him a single thing.

You’ve have had drinks together during that time, caught a bite to eat between shifts. He’d helped you put shelves up last week and he recalls seeing a man’s shirt thrown over the back of one of your kitchen chairs. He’d thought it was one of your brother’s. Sam had been staying with you for a few days after he’d had a fight with his husband, he hadn’t even considered the possibility that you might have a man in your life.

“Was it serious?” He asks you and you sigh as you blow a stream of smoke out from between your lips.

“Getting there.” You respond tightly before you stub out the cigarette on the arm of the bench. “We were meant to be going away this weekend.”

“Oh.” He says softly and the silence sits. “Maybe we could do something instead, there’s a Hitchcock Marathon at the Chinese Theatre, it may be nice to get out of your own head for a while, not have to think about all of this.”

“John…” You say, tucking your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “You don’t want that.”

“Six hours with the ‘Master of Suspense’ and unlimited popcorn?” He says as you meet his gaze. “Trust me, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” You tell him as you stare at the building in front of you. “Right now there are a lot of questions about me, I think it’s best that you keep your distance for a while, I don’t want you tainted by this.”

“Becca…” He begins but you’re already raising to your feet.

He realises that he’s lost you in that moment, that you’re shutting down because you can’t cope with the heartache that comes with this. You opened yourself up to Ortiz, allowed yourself to be vulnerable and he decimated you. He broke your trust, almost ended your career, John’s not sure if this is something you’ll ever recover from because damage like this…

It’s catastrophic.

“I’ll see you around Officer Nolan.” You say as step away and in that moment John has never hated another person as much as he hates Detective Robert Ortiz.

Love John? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[emptyjunior]

I'm rewatching Starstruck in the break, can I say I DESPERATELY would have loved to have seen this intergalactic chase across the stars from the Other Side😭

Like okay, campaign where you're a crew of kooky spacers on the run, classic, fun, oh the adventures we had.., can you Imagine what this story would have been like from the pursuers side? From Lucienne and UFTP?

You're Lucienne and you just got SCREWED on the corporate ladder and are already dealing with some rich trust fund kid DYING yet also leaving you in Charge of an insane company.

And during that you find out oh my god the world might be destroyed?? And there's a Princeps who has a super special computer that will decide the fate of the universe? So you stash them away to keep them safe and go back to covering up the murder you might be to blame for, because universe destroying computer is like priority TWO right now.

And then you find out?? Your ex lover friend has become a pirate???! And has STOLEN the princeps??! AND THE WORLD ENDING COMPUTER??! And quit??! And posted Nudes to the world??! And they look amazing?

So okay okay new priority is FIND THEM right NOW so you send all the resources in the world to go snatch them up which should be easy enough because you've seen them run, they're literally a weak and flailing office worker in a pencil skirt.

Welp! Next report comes in and they exploded a building with sex putty??? And decimated a fleet of the best fighters you can hire? And had time to go to a dogshow in between???

Fine, okay, it's fine because you KNOW they'll slip up again and they do! They show up,,., in a live stream? Partying with the ceo of space uber?? In a casino? That they just OPENED? WHILE THEY'RE ON THE RUN?!

So you go to that planet and go to contact the sheriff and his Head is on a Fucking Spike because your Friend absolutely wasted him? And kicked every police officer out of town so the whole town could go super super hard for space burning man?

And have escaped Again.

So now you're in some kind of room with like 20 screens and probably two blackberries in each hand, going full manhunt. Face recognition software, algorithms, zooming in on photos and yelling Enhance.

And you find them! And they👏 are👏 at👏 Disneyland👏! What! The! Fuck!

You send your best guys again! (And also??! These 'best guys' maybe have a space slug in their skull that's going to end the world! Can't even focus on that rn!). And then when they get back, happy and proud they show you the Princeps that they've captured and it's god damned thin air! Because it was a hologram and this dumb sonuva bitch is zonked out of his mind from a fish psychic. Great, of course. Of Course.

You're being hounded by your company, you still don't know where your 'dead fiance' is, you're running out of time. How are you ever going to find them- You check your phone they are doing a hunger games at Las Vegas. And a rival company has made them influencers. And they're famous.

Of course.

But you do pull it off in the end! You get them! You imprison them! And their one fatal flaw? They decided to reunite one of their crew members with their birth mother while being wanted criminals.

So that's the chase you got them (they escape again of course they escape, and the birth mother turns out to be a Hell of a business woman and maybe just did a masterful corporate maneuver on you.)

And it's so important to know that this entire time you've been chasing a Big Hot Dog.

[milkstoner]

Malleus is 178, and if the story of Twisted Wonderland is set in 2020, he was born in 1842, you know, the very middle of the 19th century. In the human history of the west, we associate those times with progress and revolutions in art (impressionism in france), science (darwin), geopolitics (japan opening its borders)… these are the first hundred years of the mass society, modernity, in constant expansion. There was a conscious shift in paradigms. Everything started happening so fast.

Malleus’ birth must have symbolized those same values for the fey of the night. It was probably a miracle to the people, seeing as it was confirmed a dragon egg hatches with the help of its parent’s love. Because of reasons that haven’t been confirmed yet (many speculate Lilia drained his magic for a few hundred years), the little prince is born and he will bring a new era when the time comes. It seems the pressure is on for Malleus to act older than he is. As such, it’s no surprise that Malleus will prematurely refer to himself as a king, as evidenced in one of his magic3 lines as well as one of his dorm card homescreen lines. Lilia also refers to him as a king in the Savanaclaw localization.

His physicality doesn’t help; I don’t need to remind you that Malleus already is regarded as one of the most powerful mages ever. In a voiceline, Malleus says that to be a leader, all you need to do is show your power. He and many others seem to associate power with maturity… but I see Malleus’ as modernity, constant change, which, in the wake of the mass society during the 17th century, is young. He still has many many years to live and his strength will only be greater. This is not yet his prime. But that sheer power is inherited from a family tree which is ancient and whose roots are his very veins. The wrath of Maleficent when she cursed Aurora is Malleus’ heartbeat. If historiography can’t convey myths and legends and tales accurately, Malleus’ hands, his wings, his eyes will remind all of the Thorn Fairy’s former glory.

But if the constant fandom jokes about Malleus being a manchild are anything to go by, we all know he is mentally a boy. He is young, you know, he is a paradox and an anachronism; his psychology evokes the constant anxiety and fear of judgement of the middle ages, the misery, the catacombs, the plague, it seems like we are at the very start of the concept of civilization, entire peoples are decimated by illness, and this goes on for a thousand years. Malleus is jaded, bored, he is far too powerful and everything is so dull, the days blend together and he insists he is a grown man and he needs no patronizing, he sees those around him as babies, but the middle ages are decay and artistically stunted, much like Malleus’ mind, because he doesn’t want to lose, he’s afraid, and when you are a child everything you feel is so vivid and intense and you feel like everyday is the end of the world.

So to answer the question; is Malleus young or old? The lines are blurred. He doesn’t know anymore.

[thewintercorner]

guess who's back to yap about vitalasy!

looking so deeply at s2 recently got me back onto the worldender and cycles analysis grind but from a different perspective and ohhh man has that been fruitful

i've always had this feeling about vitalasy that he got the cycles but didn't Get them. he saw the cycles, could identify them as they were happening, but didn't understand why -- except he did seem to understand why? okay, so maybe he gets why but he doesn't get enough of the indomitability of that why to know it's impossible to overcome it. except he knows when to give up. and he knows when the big sacrifices are necessary and effective. and--

point is, i always had this weird dissonance about vitalasy that i couldn't ever really overcome. for pretty much all of the time i've watched lifesteal, i've operated off of an assumption that reckoning with the cycles, understanding them, would inevitably lead a player to become a worldender. in my mind, there was no world in which a player saw their world for what it was - constantly decaying, dying from the moment it comes into existence - and doesn't then seek to put it out of its misery as quickly as they can.

and yet, there was vitalasy. there was this player that fought so hard against the end of the world, and yet seemed to understand on some deep level that there was only so much he could do. here was this player that started preparing to fight decimation almost as soon as he learnt their name. here was this player, ever self-sacrificial, who always seemed to know exactly when and what to sacrifice to let the server live on.

he acted with such calculation and talked about the server in a way that clearly spoke to at least some understanding of the cycles -- certainly much more than the average player, at least, especially in season 3. and yet, he wasn't a worldender - and yet, he fought to save it, over and over again. why the anomaly?

then, i watched spoke's s2 video again, and something about worldending clicked. the thing about worldending is that it is a wildly selfless task. to end the world, you must be willing to give up everything you have ever cared about, everything you have ever loved, in pursuit of a more graceful end to the world that it would give itself. and it's not just giving up; you have to be willing to kill, to annihilate all those things. it is selfless destruction of your entire existence. nothing you care about can remain.

it raises a question: where's the compassion? where's the room for it, for humanity, in an act like that? the answer, i think, is simple: there really isn't any.

turn back to vitalasy. here is this player, this person, with so much love to give that it seems to spill out of his heart at every opportunity. vitalasy loves fiercely, loves his friends and his home and his server. he loves all of it so much i couldn't imagine him ever ending the world.

worldending is selfless. selflessness is a choice one has to make. therefore, is there not another choice? can one not choose instead to be selfish?

im going to start quoting the original flow of thoughts (written in the back of my linguistics notebook; i loveee not paying attention in class) here, because i think i wrote it better then than i could rephrase it now:

"perhaps there is another option: to be selfish. to reckon with the cycles and the inevitable decay, to look in the eyes of death and still choose your friends. to foresee the apocalypse is not to accept it; by many moral codes, it would be a an act of monumental apathy to sit back and idly watch - or worse yet, fight to accelerate - the end of the world as you've seen it. understanding the cycles is a predisposition, not the diagnosis. to quote jacob geller (go watch his vids if you haven't!!), some people can more easily imagine learning to die that learning to fight. in the context of lifesteal, it's understandable. but amongst the war and fire, there is still love. vi loves fiercely, vibrantly, stubbornly. of course he is going to fight. of course he will use the reckoning to understand how best to fight the cycles. yes, they are inevitable. yes, he fights for an infinite end, an eternal battle. is an extra day of loving not worth it? he claws moment from the death grip of the reality he exists in because the love is worth it. the sacrifices he makes are worth it because he's buying them more time. the world is cruel, but he refuses to be part of the cruelty."

tl;dr: the other option is to let the love win over the despair, to fight to live instead of fighting to die.

this is what vitalasy does. in knowing the cycles, he turns himself into a more effective weapon against them. he's self-sacrificial to a fault, but it becomes an advantage when he uses that to take the moral cost, take the heart cost, to take his entire life and fight the fight that no one else is ready to touch. vitalasy is so often villianized because he uses the same methods as the bad guys; the part people miss is that he uses their techniques against them. yes, he dupes in s4; how else are they meant to fight the other dupers when the end the world? yes, he feeds one more death to decimation in his sacrifice at the end of s3 -- because it lets six others get revived.

there is not only dread. in the darkness, there is light. vitalasy just eluded me for so long because he was the first to see it.

(there is a whole other discussion to be had on the implications of this on oath!zam, especially in light of recent events. i plan to write a companion post to this sometime soon going through all of those :))

[neteyamslovrr]

Hiii, I'm mad late to this, don't hate me. 🤣

I'd love to request angst #10 “i trusted you.” with Ao'nung.

HOW STUPID

another drabble woo!! i am working thru these my god. kinda struggling coz my new meds are kicking my ass LMAO but here is an angsty ao'nung drabble for the man, the myth the legend sia!!!!

Your gut told you no when you started to think of Ao’nung differently. But your heart cried out for him. His cocky smirks and boisterous laughs. For some reason captured your heart, mind, and soul.

But it was when he changed, when he started to be nicer around you. Sharing small moments together as you walked down the dimly lit shore, hands intertwined as he caressed your thumb.

Your brothers warned you of him and his cruel nature, but you took a chance. Like an idiot you took a chance.

Ao’nung had a spot where his friends would hang out as the dark of the eclipse took over the sky. A bonfire lit in the middle of their circle, flickering orange light dimming on their faces.

You wanted to go to talk to him, ask if he wanted to go for a late night swim. Now you wished that you just stayed home and didn’t bother asking for his company.

A large barrier of mangroves and bushes hid the entrance of the secret spot. Your hand held onto the large greenery about to push it out of the way before your entire body froze.

“so Ao’nung is it true that your courting that forest girl, Y/N?” The tone was snarky, a heated question leading to a decimation of trust.

Your blood ran cold as you heard your name roll of a tongue in such a cold way. Hand letting go of the greenery as your body stiffened. Oh how you wish you left, so you could live in an ignorant bliss.

“The forest freak? Why would I court her, she is nothing to this clan, nothing to me.” Ao’nung scoffed at his friend’s question, as if it was completely ridiculous to ever consider being his mate. What was the purpose of his actions? Why did he spend so much time to change just to act as if you were nothing to him.

Your body was now hot. Furious and devasted at what you had just heard. Heart falling out of your chest as it left an empty cavity of hurt within you. How could he do this to you. You trusted him.

Tears welled up in your eyes, streaming down your cheeks. There was no use holding them back as you sobbed down the shore. Your entire body ached, betrayal raking through your bones. You couldn’t go back to your marui like this.

So you sat, you sat on the wet sand, knees curled up to your chest as you stared into the dark sea. Had he thought nothing of your heart? Nothing of your feelings.

Time passed as you sat in your despair, the dim light of the approaching night transitioning to the darkness, only the bioluminescence of the sky and your body lighting up the world around you.

The padding of feet against the sand woke you out of you dissociation. Turning towards the sound it was the last person you wanted to see. Ao’nung. How could you face him, you couldn’t let him lie his way into your heart any longer.

He spotted you curled into yourself on the beach, concern growing his chest. But the closer he got the more he felt that something was incredibly wrong, so incredibly wrong.

“Flower…why are you out here so late? It is dark. Let me walk you home.” His hand laid on your shoulder anxiously.

Your muscles tensed under his touch, shaking his hand off your body as your eyes bored into his soul. Revealing your sadness to him. “What has happened?”

“You.” Ao’nung only furrowed his brows, confused at your answer. “You happened.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“Why would I court her, she is nothing to this clan, nothing to me.” Your voice cracked as you said it, tears returning as the sting of his words resonated within you.

His face dropped. He had been caught, he was riddled with guilt, mouth growing dry as he tried to form words. “No- Baby I didn’t mean that.”

“Do you know how much I have risked letting myself love you? I trusted you with my heart, my body, my soul. I trusted you to not hurt me. How stupid was I for letting myself do that?” You sobbed between your words, an accusing finger pointed right at his chest.

“You’re not stupid.” You scoffed, a heartless laugh escaping your chest.

“No tell me how stupid I am for loving you. How stupid I am for thinking you would want to be with a forest freak like me. I should’ve listened to my brothers, you are not worthy of the love I have given you.” His face was permanently stuck in a frown, shaking his head as he tried to think of something to say.

“I am sorry flower I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t.” He grabbed onto your small hand in his, his fin like arms contrasting to your skinnier ones. Another reason he would never love you.

“Stop lying to yourself. You know you did.” And with that you shook his weak grip off you. Striding towards your family marui as his touch still lingered on your palms and his words lingered on your heart. It was childish to ever think he would not taint your heart.  

thankyou sm for reading!!

[inexplicablymine]

A wild Beas emerges from her hibernation bleary eyed and blinking as the winter turns to early spring the trees whisper, “where you been loca,” and all is well.

TIS BEEN A MONTH BUT I AM BACK ~ in the world of Beas, did a big thing at work, learned to ski, celebrated another year around the sun, hit a big ao3 milestone, had the worst writers block the first quarter of the year, got stressy and depressy with the winter, and now … and now SPRING HAS ARRIVED AND I AM LIKE A PLANT EMERGING FROM THE SOIL, here and hopefully ready to be perceived again.

Sharing not one snippet but TWO to come back in style ;)))

Little Drummerboy

The language is crude, but his filter is decimated by the truth universally acknowledged that he is a man in want of being wanted one fucking time in his life without everyone leaving him. He doesn’t think that is too much to ask, but the universe has never been so kind as to give him human connection that wasn’t fraught with disaster every step of the way. To be known by the masses but to never be known wholly. To have those screaming his praises in the hundreds of thousands, but nobody to hold him at night when the shivers wrack his body and the demons come out to play.

The Kiss List

It is an undisputed fact of life on the Georgetown campus that Alex Claremont Diaz has a pair of lips and he knows exactly how to use them. Henry Fox, the ex-facto roommate extraordinaire of the “most kissable lips on campus” is entirely aware of just how good of a kisser Alex is. Not through any experience of his own as much as he hates to say it. No. Alex, his dear, sweet, delusional roommate of three years, has a kiss list. A color coded rank and file excel sheet with coding more complex than what it took to get the first mission to mars up and running. Henry can’t pretend to understand it when Alex comes back into the room giddy as all get out and pulls up the file. He has had a shotgun seat to the rollercoaster that has been Alex’s kissing conundrum over the last few semesters on campus.

Thank you to all of the insanely talented people who have tagged me this past month while I’ve not been around … your tags and enthusiasm for writing has fueled me through my hibernation, I will be catching up and back-reading just you wait ;)))

in no particular order: @alasse9 @indestructibleheart @rmd-writes @suseagull04 @read-and-write- @onthewaytosomewhere @firenati0n @zwiazdziarka @cha-melodius @wordsofhoneydew @three-drink-amy @cricketnationrise @orchidscript @kiwiana-writes @getmehighonmagic @sparklepocalypse @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @leaves-of-laurelin @itsmaybitheway @futureseaempress @welcometololaland @adreamareads @songliili @14carrotghoul @magicandarchery @anincompletelist @happiness-of-the-pursuit @sherryvalli @daisymae-12 @littlemisskittentoes @affectionatelyrs @gayrootvegetable @historicallysam @nocoastposts @gayrootvegetable @lizzie-bennetdarcy @porcelainmortal @ships-to-sail @agame-writes @iboatedhere @cultofsappho @myheartalivewrites @rockyroadkylers @bigassbowlingballhead @leojfitz @anchoredarchangel @dumbpeachjuice @smc-27 @dustratcentral @lem0nademouth

[d1s1ntegrated]

basilica

tomura shigaraki

cw: religious trauma, religious motifs/themes/imagery, catholicism, defiling of the church, angst, hurt, slightly ooc

a/n: just a short angry religious trauma post drabble bc i'm feeling a type of way rn and it kinda sucks lol. sorry for projecting this onto u tomura i love u

try reading with the song! it adds a layer to the writing i feel honestly is kind of important

Tomura wanted to cry. Wanted to scream in anguish, beg and plead for a miracle or a sign from a God, any God. But the pews of the rotted church served little to sanctify him as he crumbled each one with an angry fist. Shaking fingertips dug into the deep grooves in the mahogany and crumbled them into forgotten prayers. Scattered pages of proverbs and psalms littered the marbled tiles, and the sun rays twinkled in through the ornate stained glass, reminding him just how small he was against the hands of God. There was no God here- only Him, and He alone could stand the tides of change with a battering ram for a heartbeat. It hurt, it hurt so badly, to be forgotten and known all at the same time. Who was he? Tenko Shimura, the sweetened cherub boy, with scraped kneecaps and bruised elbows? No, never. It was a dream, a softened hymn that only time knew the words to. Now he stood, an adult in the eyes of society- though his body never felt quite big enough to be- Tomura Shigaraki. A man, a disciple of the Feared One, a machine created to destroy. And destroy he would. Starting here.

He didn't believe in God. He didn't follow the practice of any one religion, especially not the Catholic Church. Hell, the fact that there was even a church to find out here was a one in a million shot- they weren't exactly few and far between in the cities, but the Catholic population in Japan was a small decimal compared to Shintoism or Secularism. But for this moment, he felt it was best to be in here. A lot of western media he had consumed over the years painted church and Christianity as some all-consuming Light, like this is where miracle happened. Well, the only miracle here was that Tomura even set foot inside.

Every step pressed another layer of dust into the deep red runner up to the sanctuary. The altar remained pristine as he caught his breath, his throat tight and dry. The sound of his thumping heart swelled in his ears and head, the pressure reminiscent to being underwater. Looking up, the height of the cathedral shrank him down to atoms. It felt like a mockery. Like even God was reminding him he was small.

Small. Tiny. Pitiful.

Each word of arrogance against him made his blood turn darker, thinner, rushing through his veins as he grasped at the elegant pillars, dragging himself to the ground with a gasping cry, so that he fell to his knees at the altar rails, his tired bloody eyes locking with the adorned chancel, and the poignant, giant statue of the Son, hung plainly in front as if to scream "I'm here, too".

He felt more alone at this revelation, that human faithlessness was so overlooked because of sin, that people like him weren't meant to be here not because of their trouble finding faith, but for their lack of it. That he too would be damned because he chose not to find light in God, and instead found his own way of safety through destruction and chaos and everything Sensei had taught him. His own scripture, signed in viscera, torn at the edges. It wasn't his fault no one taught him to believe, but it was damn sure his fault he didn't seek it for himself- and he felt it, now, as Mother Mary's half-lidded gaze held above his wakened frame as if he were a pestilence on this world that God created.

Was he in the wrong for keeping his head low? Should he hang it high, be grateful for the hands that supposedly formed him and molded him? This, Tomura knew, was the entire reason behind his aversion to faith. Because he needed someone to listen, and not a single ear fell for him. Not even Sensei cared enough to listen to his alleged son, his pride and joy as some called it. He felt neither prideful or joyous when face to face with him, instead it was a sinking, sorrowful feeling, that could best be described as grief. Grief for his old life, or for the new one he failed to perfect for himself, his Sensei, his friends- try as he might, he was just so small here, and could do only so much.

Church was a last-ditch effort to feel something. Anything. His time was low, and the unfortunate arms of fate were every turning and chiming, reminding him that his goal was only so far. It was seconds away, he felt as he could reach out and grasp it- but he was too well trained, he knew better than to reach out to the things he really wanted, in fear he would destroy it all in the blink of an eye. Not even Gods hands could hold him now, though, as he pretended to pray for one last chance.

His hands pressed into the cold tile and he felt the ground beneath him rumble, his body quaking and splintering in wretchedness, the power lifting him entirely. The pure white turned a murky grey as they shattered and cracked under him, the giant spires atop the roof even quivered at the desolation. And as he screamed, as his throat burned in anger, poor Mother Mary fell to the ground from her pedestal, an ironic display. The caricature of fallen angel, in the house of God, airing his grievances to no one but marble and blood wine, he stood. Destroying it all.

Not in the name of God, but the name of Tomura Shigaraki. Because there was no God that could ever come close to being this angry.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Hello I really love your thoughts on this blog! So I would like to ask you two questions. Is Aang the Zseto of the Air Nomads?

Without the war, how good an avatar would Aang have been? This is quite a perplexing question because it made me question myself too! I have not seen anyone answer this question as a perspective to this answer that would relate to Szeto.

Szeto: was an avatar in the fire nation who focused on his nation to evolve his country, military weapons etc..

Aang: focused on his nation because he had to restore his nation that was decimated after the war

But we know that Aang was open-minded before and after the war with Bumi and Kuzon and the gaang?

What are your thoughts??

Comparing these two is like comparing apples to oranges.

Szeto was (supposedly) biased towards his nation instead of caring equally for all four because the Fire Nation was in a time of huge crisis and at risk of destruction.

Aang, even when he was THE LAST of his kind, the only air-nomad left, had a ton of survivor's guilt and carried the burden of needing to stay true to everything the monks taught him because if he didn't then his culture would truly die, still did things like:

1 - Constantly fly around helping the other nations, even (temporarely) agreeing to do things that directly went against his beliefs just because these people needed help (deliberately triggering the Avatar state, agreeing to kill Ozai, etc).

2 - Let non-airbenders stay in an air-nomad temple, even after destroying sacred things in it, because they needed a place to take refuge in.

3 - Grew his hair and hid his tattoos to blend in, and even burned his glider (yes, it had already been ruined, but still, it clearly took an emotional toll).

4 - Helped Fire Nation children reconnect with their history.

Aang acting the way he did during the war (that he feels responsible for and in which his nation was the one who objectively needed the most help), is THE proof that he would have NEVER been biased to it if everything was going fine. Aang has a strong sense of duty to the entire world, even to the nation that killed nearly everyone he loved. Dude doesn't even know what the word "bias" means.

Not to mention: Szeto was heavily involved in his nation's politics, being a bueaucrat that dealt with everything from the country's money to the crops, and was the Fire Lord's right hand man.

Before the war, Aang just wanted to blend in (as a result of being told of his role too early exactly because a war was about to start), and during it he was constantly trying to help everyone, going from place to place, but without EVER taking a role in which he was under the direct authority of any monarch, taking a job that is EXPLICITLY about focusing on that especific nation - a job that would have no real equivalent in a nomadic culture with a heavy focus on spirituality and detachment.

Everything from the way Aang's culture works to who he is a person shows us that he would never let his love for his own nation blind him to the fact that he had an obligation to the world as a whole.

[phoenixcatch7]

Absolutely insane to me that anyone either in universe or irl believes anything the main wen clan says.

We see from the very beginning in every adaptation that their modus operandi, nay, their way of life, is to lie, threaten and bribe people into doing their dirty work for them (you see this even easier in untamed).

Their favourite thing in the whole world is to make other people look bad, ESPECIALLY when they get a scapegoat out of it.

This is one of the ways the jin clan at the time follow in their footsteps - they capitalise on wwx as the pre prepared scapegoate they can blame and use to sow doubt, discord, distrust. They use the exact same tactic to remove a perceived threat on wwx as the wen remnants, mxy, even jrl - isolate them, make their word untrustworthy, assert themselves as the Righteous and Generous side in the process. But not without rubbing everyone else the wrong way just to make double sure they uncover anyone willing to stand against them!

The main issue here is, of course, the burning of lotus pier. First of all, wwx had no part in the physical actions the wens took, just to get the most obvious out of the way. Secondly, gusu burned first. That had absolutely zero to do with wwx or any rising rebellion - it happened before the indoctrination! (Side note, I can't believe that's how it gets translated when that's the biggest possible red flag term to use. It's genuinely insane when the clans remain complacent as they toss that word around and prepare to send their kids to it. At least pick, like, Education or Examination or something with plausibly less brainwashing cult kidnapping energy.)

Anyway. The wens chose their targets well. Gusu burns first: it is the best connected, hosting the lectures, it is the biggest repository of knowledge in the entire jianghu (including assassination techniques!!), it has two rising stars, one set to take up the role of new (and thus more alert and proactive). It's got the weakest actual sect leader by far. It's also, perhaps, the most isolated. None of the other clans are aware it's been utterly decimated by the time of the indoctrination.

Then it's either the Nie, already partially crippled with the previous sect leader already killed by wrh, leaving a child to fill the boots with no parents, no previous instruction, an infant brother and no elders. They're prone to deviation exacerbated by resentment (which human battlefields are FULL of) (though they can be helped by, you guessed it! Lan techniques, whom they've just burned all of). They have no rising star, their heir is famously useless. Or the Jin, the most closely allied major clan, with immense wealth but little actual stake in the war as long as they themselves aren't targeted. You'll remember it's the sect heir who finally drags his men onto the field. The jianghus whore is too busy coddling up to and yes manning the wen to be of any concern.

This just leaves the jiang. A strong and powerful great sect filled with dangerous, head strong warriors. I'm explicitly including yzy in this, who is a harsh taskmaster who continues taking night hunts into marriage and motherhood to keep her wit and skills sharp. The daughters engagement with the jin is cancelled, which means they won't alienate the jin by attacking. The father is both alive and active, capable and willing to actually run the sect and lead it into battle with the wen (or at the very least his wife is practically chomping at the bit). It's got two rising stars glued to each other's hip, one of which is the heir and the other the brightest, most troublemaking, most ready to throw hands in the name of justice in his whole generation. Their people are wealthy and loyal.

Oh, and also, they basically own the waterways. I'm not sure if it's explicitly canon, but they are the sect most connected to the rivers that (canonically, remember the waterborne abyss?) run between at least three of Great sects, including (drumroll please) the very first sect they just burned to the ground and are notably keeping surpressed (wen chao, at the very least should have bragged incessantly to everyone who looked at him, never mind his captive and isolated audience), and the wens themselves!! Lotus pier basically borders to its town, which is very clearly thriving af. It's loud, it's colourful, it's exotic, it's getting so much trade it's not even funny. The jiang are so much more experienced in water and water enemies (remember wwx noticing lwjs weird boat waterline?) than even gusus heir and spare! They are trade, they are TRANSPORT, they are INFORMATION (merchants and gossips).

Even if wwx didn't exist, it's just the most tactical thing to do. If you want to cripple your enemies, you target their knowledge and ties. You sabotage supply lines and communication lines. You do that as fast as you can, make sure to damage moral, prevent them from rallying together. The wens win when their enemies are divided. All together and united, they form the sun shot campaign.

WHICH IS WHY. Absolutely NOTHING they say or do can be trusted!!

What's her face coming into lotus pier and targeting wwx is so blatant and transparent a divisive tactic (so identical to the rest of the clan) I was honestly shocked anyone even pretended to listen. Jc believing it even slightly really surprised me. And I'm!! Not trained! In leadership tactics in fantasy land, SECT HEIR. At the very least living with his mother should have given him some idea of how to spot when someone is lashing out and scapegoating for their own gain, good grief.

Unfortunately. Pink antenna (I don't know how but the anime makes her look really old) dangles the possibility of sparing the jiang in front of their faces. It is a long, unlikely shot. It's playing into their hands, it's giving them the jerk off material and superiority high they want, it's undignified and self sabotaging. It's probably stalling at best. But. It's literally the only option either wwx or yzy could live with. If they didn't at least try.

It's exactly the same tactic the jin later use with wwx (again) and the remnants. Give us your strongest people, your glue, your most clever and loyal. Let us ruin them, kill them. In return, we will let your people go free <- lying so openly and blatantly to people so cornered and out of options that they might just, desperately, make the willing sacrifice. It's scummy and cruel.

Ironically, I think this is the time wwx and yzy are most in agreement, and it's when jc would rather anything else. They play this awful role, really ham it up, demean themselves and pretend they're playing right into the wens hands. She says no, she hesitates, she backs out or fumbles, she gets pressed for harder, more, make him really bleed. Wwx is willing to perform the farce and be the sacrifical lamb, on the longest shot to keep his home safe. He wears his own mask for this, because you'll notice he's able to get up and fight immediately after, whereas lwj was bedbound and healing for literal years.

Yes, wwx is insane and martyrish and has way too little self worth. Yes, yzy would not have been so willing if jc was picked. Yes, she stopped the SECOND they realised the wens were just going to keep pressing until wwx was dead and then probably demand she desecrate the corpse. She wasn't about to cripple her best fighter and son's best chance of survival. And she recognised that becoming a supervisory office would be pretty equal to being destroyed by them, but also grant the wen a HUGE boost in everything a war monger could want. If the wen took lotus pier, forces overwhelming as it already was, they would win. Full stop.

Whether or not all that was going through her mind as she slapped pinky idk, and I won't say she made the right choice, but again, either way they did what the wens wanted. This is how they isolate and sabotage threats. They will say and do anything to keep their hallucinated high horse and get that sweet sweet bullying high.

They cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted to give a reliable word on anything. In fact, I'd argue that you should believe the opposite of what they say.

So stop acting like anyone genuinely believes them. Have characters (wwx) blame themselves for events with their guilt complexes but not their head!

Also shout out to mianmian for being the only other person to call anyone out on it.

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Hi! As the Tumblr expert of the Flashfam, would you say that they're capable of solo-ing other members of the Justice League if they wanted to? I mean, from reading the Flash War, Superman couldn't even keep up with the Flashes because they're too fast. Doesn't that mean they could beat Superman and other heroes easily?

Hey! Thanks for the question!

To start this off I first want to say that there is a meta answer to this and a in-universe answer to this.

The meta answer is: it depends on the series. For example, it is extremely unlikely that a series dedicated to a specific hero or team would have said team losing to a speedster, solely because heroes are supposed to win. It doesn't make sense for, let's say Superman, to lose a fight against Eobard Thawne in a Superman book. Even though Eobard would be capable of taking Superman out, it's Superman's story, and the hero always wins. But if it's a Flash story? Hell yeah, definitely. Also in crises/crossover series you can generally see speedsters being used to their full potential. (For example, Eobard demolishing Batman)

But that's no fun so let's look at the odds in-universe.

Because there are so many different Leaguers I'm going to separate them into categories to make it easier:

The Non-Powered Heroes:

The Non-Powered Hero is always a fan favorite. In a world full of gods it is fun to see the average human being the smartest and most capable person in the room. People like to root for the underdog. Unfortunately for them, they are extremely unlikely to win against a speedster in a fight. They would need Dues Ex Machina levels of gadgets specifically tailored to speedsters to even have a shot. Like I said before, Batman went toe-to-toe with Eobard in the batcave (where all of his gadgets are) and the man was decimated. Being smart and having gear and skills doesn't do much when you look like a frozen statue to the person you are fighting.

The 'I Got One Thing' Heroes:

These heroes are really interesting and cool. Their ranks are filled out by heroes like Black Canary, Black Lightning, Beast Boy, Signal, ect. However, even if their powers would hinder a speedster they are A) extremely unlikely to use their powers fast enough and B) extremely unlikely to actually hit a speedster. Speedsters also have a lot of experience fighting people with just one really strong power and they typically fight 6-20 of those guys at the same time and win. Even super strong heroes like Black Lightning are out of luck because speedsters feed on electricity.

The Strong and Invulnerable Heroes:

Honestly? If I am being completely real here? The Strong and Invulnerable Heroes don't have a chance in hell. I'm sorry but heroes like Wonder Woman and Superman are built to be tanks. They excel at fighting physical threats. They can't do anything against reality bending. That is even how speedsters have historically dealt with Kryptonians in the past. They teleport them into another dimension with no yellow sun and just leave them there. A skilled speedster would have them in a pocket dimension or 20 thousand years in the past before Supes could even blink.

The Lanterns:

Speedster and Lantern relations demand that Lanterns get their own category. First of all, the location of the fight would matter. Speedsters would have an extremely hard time winning against a Lantern in their natural element of space. The Lanterns, however, would have an extremely hard time winning against a Speedster on a planet. Speedsters can phase through and break constructs so there isn't a lot that can be done. So it's entirely dependent on location in my opinion.

Additionally, the Lanterns and Speedsters know A LOT of shit about each other so this would be an interesting fight. The Speedsters know the Lantern's color weaknesses and they know about the battery life of their rings (which they might be able to drain tbh, Barry's worked with the energy in Hal's ring multiple times before and has manipulated it). But, conversely, the Lanterns know that Speedsters don't do well in the cold and that the more energy they expend the more unstable they get. So, it would be a wild fight, especially because the Lanterns can fly so there's a possibility that a Speedster couldn't reach them to take them out immediately.

Psychics:

Speedsters do have a little bit of an advantage against Psychics. In the past Speedsters have sped up their minds so fast that their speeding thoughts actually injured people in their minds. But to be frank they have no skill or expertise in this area and, historically, strong and skilled Psychics can easily grab control of Speedsters. For example, Gorilla Grodd. When fighting Gorilla Grodd the main tactic of the Speedsters is to take him out before he has time to think, ie moving faster than the speed of thought. That doesn't always succeed. So a very strong Psychic would have a pretty good shot against a Speedster.

Magic Users:

It REALLY depends on how strong the Magic User is. Raven, Zatanna and Dr. Fate would all have a 50/50 shot against a Speedster in my opinion. Any magic user that can bend reality and do super strong spells would have a really good fighting chance because they are the exact same brand of fucked up as the Speedsters. Also Speedsters don't really have a counter against curses or spells. They have zero magical expertise. So it's really just a matter of if the Speedster can knock them out (or gag them in Zatanna's case) before they can get a spell out.

So when it comes down to it Speedsters are the experts of fighting large groups of people at the same time. They know how to prioritize and they are fast enough to take out the heavy hitters before they can even react. I think it would largely depend on the Justice League roster at the time (for example, the JL cartoon roster of Bats, Supes, WW, Hawkgirl, GL and MMH wouldn't stand a chance as only MMH would be a threat but a team consisting of MMH, Miss M, Zatanna, Dr. Fate, Raven and Deadman would probably take a Speedster out fairly quickly.)

Their main weaknesses are extreme cold, magic and mental attacks, so a team entirely filled with heavy hitting Magic Users and Psychics would excel at fighting a Speedster. So to answer your question, yes a Flash could probably take out a typical Justice League roster solo (unless the roster was tailor made to exploit their weaknesses).

[yuesya]

I just read the Mechamaru short and also the other replies and well. And it just STRUCK me how Mechamaru is downright in the wrong in so many fucking ways.

Especially when you mentioned the guards. Those poor people who were guarding the Death Paintings and fingers. Mechamaru didn’t even give them a single consideration and probably even forgot they even existed, but they died horrible deaths because of Mechamaru colluding with Kenjaku.

Mechamaru accuses of Shiki having a perfect life - powerful, beautiful, perfect - and feels anger at her for the indifference when she looks at him, and yet, HE is worse than she is.

Ironically enough, despite her indifference and very much real and sincere want to resort to killing to solve her problems ALA she’s a cute little psychopath, Shiki is far more nicer to her subordinates and “people who don’t matter to the sorcerers”.

The guards. The assistants. The servants.

Because of how logical, abnormal and straightforward her way of thinking is, Shiki just… gets straight to the point. She treats her servants nicely because it’s basic decency to treat people who make everything work nicely. She makes sure her assistants are out of harm because duh, they are her assistants and can take care of other things, they don’t have to risk their lives fighting curses they cannot handle, she can handle that. Someone has committed a crime? Well easiest solution is to kill them but because of politics she will just immobilize them :/ Just let her break their limbs quickly, she had learnt from her mistake with Geto Suguru after all. They can be interrogated with only their mouth.

Anyways.

It’s just. Shiki doesn’t care about them the way she cares about Nanami or Satoru or Tsumiki or Megumi or Yuzuki.

Yet, she’s far, far more kinder to them than many other sorcerers who just see them as fodder.

Ironic. One of the most inhuman of sorcerers is kinder to them than those with human ego, isn’t it?

I think we're probably all in agreement that Mechamaru's plan in canon wasn't thought out very well. It sort of feels like he just finally, finally saw a chance to save himself, and went for it -to the point that he was tunnel-visioning quite a bit, either ignorant or uncaring or both regarding the casualties that such actions would have.

Shiki is largely uncaring about most people on the emotional level, but not the intellectual level. Which makes all the difference!

Mechamaru is indeed rather hypocritical in various ways when you look at things this way. Luckily, he's alive instead of dead in the Liyue AU, so now he gets to deal with the repercussions.

I haven't really made up my mind on details in the Liyue AU, although I think I'd like Mechamaru to have some character development in which he deals with the consequences of what his actions wrought.

In his own world, we have many civilian deaths, as well as the deaths of the warehouse guards. He also endangered his own classmates during the Goodwill event. He actively assisted and helped to hide Geto-Kenjaku and the man's faction from the jujutsu school.

In Liyue, an entire village was decimated by the four Special Grade cursed spirits that Shiki was fighting. Cursed spirits that she was only fighting because she'd been sent to search for Mechamaru.

Part of me wants to keep the transfigured monster-form a permanent state for Mechamaru. Actions have Consequences, and all that. It would also serve as an ever-present reminder that Mechamaru can't run from, in terms of what his shortsighted decisions cost him. There's also a fun parallel to hilichurls!

At the same time, there's another part of me that wants to make it so that Mechamaru can learn from the adepti. More specifically, learn to transform his shape from the illuminated beast adepti, whose original forms are animals but they themselves can take on a human form.

Because part of Mechamaru's growth in the Liyue AU would be coming to terms with what he did, but also trying to atone for it, too. To move past his mistakes, and become better.

... Anyways there are fun things to write either way, and I'd better stop here and get back to editing the next chapter for zenith of stars now haha.