#none of these were created with the intent of anyone seeing them ever

[octodrawn]

BIIIG LPS DOODLE DUMP (from like september to now)

like 50% sunil... sorry

(words in alt text)

some standard Sunils

a few (pet version) vinnils (i imagine a mongoose with a barbed tongue licking a scaly gecko would create the worst noise ever)

human vinnils!

fem!vinnil... or should I say vinnila (hehe like vanilla)

speaking of Nila... (first pic is after a hair cut)

cheerleader vinnie (for some reason this is my go to thing to draw before bed??? idk what that says about me)

some zoes with pepper

needs more pepper!

and finally some minka and penny

[beannoss]

Twilight headcanon

Inspired by this super lovely art by @roucaelum-art 😍! (brief mood spoiler: roucaelum's art is so soft and so sweet! This hc has a touch of the bittersweet 🫶)

After Strix, when the Forgers are well established, no secrets between them, Twilight starts journaling. Obviously this is a security risk, so he creates an elaborate cipher. He tests it on Franky. He tests it on the cipher-breakers at WISE. He even feeds some to the SSS. None break it. Satisfied, he starts to journal. Twilight's journaling time is something he starts to jealously protect; given how much it means to him and helps him process things, Yor starts to protect it jealously, too.

Later in life, when he and Yor have been together for decades, he teaches the cipher to her in case she wants to read and/or share his journals after he dies. It takes time, of course, but not as much as someone might otherwise think, knowing Yor and looking in from the outside. This is in large part because Twilight creates the cipher with Yor in mind. Rarely one to do something for a single purpose when multiple are available, creating it with the intention that Yor can easily learn it also works to confound others in his profession. You see, he’d never met anyone who thinks the way Yor does, and certainly it's far outside espionage or intelligence norms, a way in which no one in those professions would expect a cipher to operate. This revelation he saves for his final journal, and Yor only learns it had been intended specifically for her after his death.

To that point, Twilight does (peacefully) predecease Yor, but she finds she can’t share his journals with the outside world, not yet. They're too precious, too close, touch her too deeply, to share outside the family.

She teaches Anya the cipher, so their daughter can read and share his journals after Yor passes away.

Anya does: she reads her Papa’s journals. Spends a few months, a couple of years, keeping them between herself and her parents' memories. Twilight’s accounts, unsurprisingly, have incredible detail about Yor and Yor’s life and Yor’s opinions and Yor’s views and Yor’s daily life and the way Yor moved through the world. There’s an incredible amount of detail about Anya too: Twilight hadn’t started journaling until years after Strix ended, nearly a decade after he adopted Anya. But, of course, his memory was impeccable, and once he started writing, he never stopped.

Anya reads about herself, about her mother, about their loved ones and their enemies. She reads his words about politics and the news and Twilight's opinions on literature, film, various cuisines. The bakery down the street and the neighbour with the lush roses. Spycraft, war, and international relations. Parenthood, partnership, friendship. Every other idiosyncratic thing he chose to write about. All of it written in her father’s matter-of-fact style from his matter-of-fact perspective, which was always more full of love than he would admit or accept.

She grieves anew, softly, and in her own time.

One day, when she's ready, Anya goes to her father’s favourite archive. She asks to speak with the archivist team. She asks if they would like the journals of the greatest spy in Westalis history: had they ever come across the name Twilight in their research?

She teaches them how to decipher his code (it is, of course, the most complex and creative cipher the lead archivist has ever seen. Anya thinks of her mother, and smiles). It takes them time to go through everything; it takes them time to verify it. But of course, they do. Because Twilight was thorough and he was precise and and he was an excellent planner, prescient more often than not. He ensured there were enough careful points of reference that diligent researchers would be able to confirm his identity and the veracity of what he wrote. And he would only trust the most diligent of researchers.

It's a small archive; the launch of the display of Twilight's journals is similarly small. Anya thinks he would prefer that. The idea of hoards of people reading his words all at once, even if he had intended their being made public, might be enough to revive his stomach aches from beyond the grave.

Anya attends the opening with her loved ones, and later, at home, she shares her own memories of her Papa, and her Mama, and the times they saved the world.

[imma-queencard2]

Demon lee know! [Minors dni]

"Can we talk,Y/N?" Your eyes shot up as you heard his husky voice. Your friends' laughter died soon seeing his posture. You rolled your eyes. Lee know, your classmate. You both went to the same faculty. Everyone said he was mysterious. He seemed so nerd but aint one.

He was a demon. An obsessed demon.

"We had nothing to talk about,lee know" you said in a harsh tone. You would catch him staring at you during the semester sometimes.. At first,you didn’t mind thinking those were friendly stares. Even sometimes you would walk up to him and had a friendly 'hi-hello' conversation with him. He would always stare. He was never the one to walk towards one and start talking as him being the typical gentle type nerdy man,always hiding in the corner under dark... At least you had never seen him doing that in the whole semester. Darkness & forest attracted him. He would rather go to the field staring at the green than befriending with classmates. He was indeed a mysterious introvert after all.

"I insist,Y/N,pleas-" you cut him off screaming, "why the hell can't you understand this Lee know?Gosh!I am so tired of you!I told you!" Lee know looked taken aback for your sudden screams in front of the other students. You started giving a nice show to them. He looked around and saw some students laughing at him. He clenched his fists looking at the floor. He was never that much degraded down by anyone. His jaw tightened.

His head was spinning in anger. He wanted to crush all those heads in a snap.

"I was just being nice with you and look at you! I told you we are barely friends! I-I dont like you!" you screamed the last words pushing his built chest with all of your strength and he stumbled a few steps backwards.

His eyes flickered trying to coo you with his lullaby.

"Y/N-stop it" he said in a serious tone,clearly not liking the stares and gasps he was receiving from his classmates. Some were even recording the scene on phones.

"Why!I even told you multiple times to stop saying 'you like me' and those pathetic stuff!have you ever listened?" you pulled some hair strands behind your ear roughly. You had had enough. This man was just being so irritating. You did told him nicely he had not been your type, didnt you? He was the one who made you do this drama in front of other students.

"Women dont like pitiful thing like you LEE KNOW!" one of your classmates shouted out making others laugh at the man standing in front of you. You looked away in disgust.

Bang Chan,your boyfriend suddenly came over to your rescue and placed his long arm over your shoulder. Your eyes brightened seeing this man which earned him a deadly glare from lee know.

"Listen,Lee know, right?Why would Y/N go for you when she has a thousand times better option standing by her,huh?" You heard your boyfriend muttered those words followed by some 'ouch' from the spectators. You looked around and felt a little sad for him. Part of you became guilty when you saw Lee know glaring at the floor quietly. Oh! You shouldn’t have humiliated him in front of others. You and your anger! You cursed yourself. You had no intention of making this drama or humiliate him. And there your boyfriend Bang Chan was determined to make the situation worse for you and Lee know.You were really sorry for him.. But little did you know that it was already too late. You had awaken something.

"Look,lee know You are such a sweet man but you are not my type..I told you before,didnt I?..I-I am sorry for this.. I should have thought before creating such scenes... Please leave me alone" you said in a calmer tone and waited for him to look at you and say something as he wiped the corner of his mouth using his palm. However, it never came. He was glaring at his shoes. His eyes were glowing red which none of you noticed yet.

"I-I am sorry..I must leave now" you mumbled and waited for his response before you leave. Just like before, it never came so you pushed the arm of Chan off your shoulder and ran away quickly.

You leaned your head on the wall of the corridor hiding yourself from other students. Putting your head between your palms,you started sobbing. You never wanted to insult Lee Know. But a part of you and the situation had made you do that.

"Baby,you are here!" you heard Chan's worried voice. He took a breath of relief before pulling you into a warm hug. You clasped his shirt and sobbed harder.

"Hey~" he cooed with his husky voice, "don't cry Y/N.. You did good. That was not your fault"

"Chan....I didn’t want to humiliate him-in-in front of others... It just came out that way..you-you know he had been following me saying th-those stuff des-despite knowing I am com- committed in a re-" you hiccuped. He rubbed his thumb over your cheek gently wiping off the tears and placed his warm lips over yours. You hiccuped between the kiss and tried to push him away. You were not in the mood of kissing him after creating up such a mess. But he didnt let you go. Rather he pushed you lightly against the wall behind you and moved his lips passionately as his fingers intertwined with yours..

He broke the kiss and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, "better?" you nodded. He definitely knew how to make you feel better no matter how terrible the situation was.

"No one can't resist my kiss,you know?" he winked at you making you throw some playful light punches on his chest. You smiled seeing him smiling at you as if he had just cracked the best joke of the century. Bang chan was the sunshine of your life. You hugged him tightly.

"And things happen like this Y/N..these are the parts of life... We all know how soft and caring you are.. And-I know you can't hurt anyone. But things happen sometimes...but you said sorry to him,right? " he patted your head pinching your cheeks.

"I just hope-He doesn’t trouble you throughout the rest of the semester" he murmured in your ear before tugging you to the corner to kiss you more passionately.

Lee know came out of the corner where he had been hiding. He actually ran after you to apologise again though he truly believe he didnt do any wrong. He was hurt when you screamed at him in front of others. He had angry tears in his eyes in degradations but his tears and his humiliations were not so important to him than your crying posture. He could hear your mind. You were so sorry and worried for him.So he ran after you only to find you crying in guilt for shouting at him. And that moment all of his pain got vanished. You were worrying of him,thinking of him. Your heart was in a mess for him. It made butterfly in his stomach. He hid behind another corner and watch you silently crying over him,hearing your sobs and occasional hiccups. He wanted to run towards you and wipe off those salty tears from your face or maybe taste those red plump lips. He knew you wanted him as much he wanted you.

But all of his fantasies ran in vain when he saw you almost making out with that boy,Chan hiding behind the corner. He wouldn’t let this happen anymore because he always got what he wanted for eternity and you were no exception. He made a mental note. It was time to take some action.

"Dont fight me,love." he whispered huskily looking straight into your eyes.You felt your head being dizzy and vision blur. "Wha-what Lee-" you tried to utter but failed miserably.

"Sshh,it's gonna be fine.." he cooed with a smirk holding your half comatose body.

"What-what are you!" you mumbled seeing his eyes glowing crimson.

"You will know soon.." you heard him chuckle before you fell unconscious into his long arms.

When you woke up from your deep slumber,you found yourself in an unfamiliar room on an unknown bed which was giving off a male scent. Your head throbbed. You rubbed your forehead trying to remember how you ended up here.

The glowing red eyes...oh no!

"Lee Know?..." you whispered in disbelief when you recalled how he forced you and how he abducted you. You started panicking more when you found your left leg chained up to the bed stand. You whimpered silently thinking how you ended up in such a mess. You shouldn’t have insulted him that day. Who knew this guy was that weird?

Even the room was weird. The darkest room you had ever been. You didnt know if it was day or night. You whimpered again. If Chan was there, you wouldn’t have to tolerate this. Would you ever get the chance to see him again? You cried out loud until your eyes slowly gave in.

You moaned unconsciously as one finger ran along your cheek. You smiled thinking how it was feeling so good before jerking up in the bed to find Lee know hovering over you. He smiled when you got up and cupped your face in his hands,inching his face closer to yours.

"What the hell!"You screamed at top of your lungs and pushed him away with all of your strength. He looked taken aback but sat silently on the bed looking at your stoic face.

"Why..." you cried out to him. His eyes softened a bit seeing you miserbale," becauseI love you Y/N..."

"Shut up!"

"You don't understand how long I have waited for you.. You are the light of my life. You pulled me out of the hell like a magnet.." he explained as if he was hypnotized.

You sobbed harder hugging your knees close to your chest,'I dont want this..please let me go?"

"Please dont cry...I dont like when you cry.." he said using his long hands to pull your body closer to him. You tried to push his hands again but he was determined this time to pull you until you landed in his arms. He snaked his arms around your body holding you closer to his strong chest. He patted your head slowly when you sobbed in his arms, "please dont cry..I love you. I wont hurt you"

"We will work this out together.."

"You-you are already hurting me know...please let me go..why why are you doing this.." you hiccuped in his arms. You were too tired to fight.

"If I let you go,you will go to that Chan..why you do this.. I love you so much..you want a mere human over me!" his grip tightened around you remembering how it was not him to have his arms wrapped around you but that Chan. His eyes flashed with anger. Just one snap and that pathetic human was over.

You were scared feeling his aura getting darker. He was so of a hell..

"Ple-please..I beg of you.." you mumbled looking up at him. His eyes studied your facial features. It was the first time he was so close up to your face. Stained tears on your cheeks,plump pink lips,puffy eyes-everything was mesmerising to him. You suddenly felt self conscious under his heated gaze and looked away immediately. It was not the lee know you had been knowing.

"Don't look away,love because I am the only one you will be looking at from now on.." he whispered in your ear taking his chance to take in the smell of your curls. You flinched hearing those words and flinched harder when his hand started sliding up and down on your back,taking his time to caress your back. You pushed him away and he chuckled letting go of you.

"You smell so beautiful, love,exactly the way I had imagined..." his words made you blush harder. You hugged your knees tight. Biting you lips looking away.

"God..the things I want to do with those lips.." he snuggled closer in a second to whisper those dirty words in your ear and placed a soft kiss on your earlobe. Tears formed in your eyes again. This man was getting out of hand and you never imagined him to be anything but like this.

"You-you are a pervert!"

"Oh?is that so? You still haven’t heard of the way how I touch myself thinking of you every night,baby.." he cooed with a sinister smile. His fangs coming out of his mouth. Your ears turned red.

"I wouldn't lie but I love moaning your name out loud,sweetheart" he chuckled moving away. You shut your eyes in embarrassment. Never had Chan himself even said those nasty words to you despite being the playful boyfriend of yours. And here the nerd calm gentle man had just opened his book of fantasy to you. You hate to admit that the sudden change of his gentle aura and his words were turning you on.

"Your name really tastes good when it rolls out of my lips.." he commented with a smirk before continuing, "oh?Your that pathetic boyfriend never told you this?that's sad..I always knew I can treat you better...in every way"

"He-he treats me well. He's not like you abducting people and touching women against their wills..and of course he's not a demon." you spitted out making him furrow.

"I dont abduct people. I am just keeping you safe. You are safe in my arms. And you love my touch. I saw your smile when I was touching your face and you were sleeping so peacefully..." he finished with a smile.

"I am safe anywhere but here with you!"

"That's a misconception of yours,love. You are perfectly safe in my arms. You just dont wanna admit that." he said walking up to the bed stand. Your eyes lit up as you saw him sitting on the floor to unlock your restraints. It was your only chance and you have to make the best use of it.

"The bedroom is locked,Y/N, so dont try to run away. You will end up being in my bed with me..maybe then I can show you how I am way better than that Chan.." he said these nasty words smiling at you innocently. His puppy eyes were not matching his fangs.

"Do you fucking think I am an object,Lee know!I really did think better of you! Look at you! Every single time you open your mouth about me you end up taking things to-to-" you couldn’t finish the sentence due to anger and shame.

"To what,love? Sex? Dont play innocent Y/N..It's not like you haven’t done it with the man you fucking love!" he growled flying in front of you and you crawled backwards in fear.

"You-you can fly!" you uttered in disbelief.

"Yes,I can and I also want to do it with the woman I love...and Y/N that's you. You make me crazy..." he blushed smiling. But you had already seen his true side so his this fake cute side wasn't impressing you at all.

"You make me do the things which I never-" he blushed harder again making you blush too. But he quickly composed himself, "It's not only about sex and your body.. I have seen better-its just I love you and I want you in every possible way.. I want to be the only man of your life." he said the words looking in your eyes before taking a bowl full of soup.

"Here-have it. I made it for you. You love chicken, dont you?we have so much things in common" he beamed with joy.

"How do you know?" you asked.

"Oh..I used to watch you every night through your window...I even copied the recipe so you can eat it.." he replied innocently.

"I dont feel like eating.." you looked away in anger. You shivered thinking of a demon watching you in your room every night.

"Would you like me to feed you,baby Y/N?" he cooed taking a full spoon of soup towards your lips. You slapped the spoon away spilling the hot soup on his fingers. He didnt't winch in pain rather his eyes turned red.

"Dont you fucking understand! I am so tired of you! You are a psycho! And you should consult to a psychiatrist fast! I fucking hate you so much!" you screamed at top of your lung and got down from the bed. But he grabbed your arm instantly and pulled you to his bed with him hovering over you. You tried your hard to push him away. However, all of your effort went in vain when he locked both of your hands over your head using his one hand. You blushed harder looking away from his face. You were never in this kind of position with Bang Chan.

He grabbed your face and made you look at him,"Dont you fucking think about your pathetic human boyfriend when you're with me"

Your breath hitched looking at his face so close. You wouldn’t lie that you did find this man attractive. If only Chan wasn't your boyfriend and if he was a bit normal, you would try a relationship with this man. But after seeing his obsessive side, you had no option without hating him to the core.

"Gosh,how much I want to take you right now!fuck!" he chuckled looking in your eyes. You squirmed hearing his husky voice.

"You really need to eat before I start training you.." he bit your earlobe all of a sudden making you moan instinctively.

"Fuck,you want it,dont you?" he smirked making you blush.

"Please..."

"Yes,baby,tell me.." he moaned in your ear.

"Le-let me go please Lee know"

His eyes softened and he caressed your cheek, "I'm sorry love..Trust me,I am not that bad...we will work this out together...."

"And if we don't?" you managed to ask in fear.

"Then that pathetic boyfriend of yours is dying tonight"

[bucketsofmonsters]

Where the Light Enters - Part 2

cw: unreliable narrator, hurt/comfort, slow burn, eventual sex, enemies to lovers, past childhood sexual assault, past sex trafficking, referenced noncon, offscreen dubcon, happy ending, the tags look scary but this is mainly a story about recovery

Cole/Female Inquisitor

word count: 4k

ao3 link

Masterlist

It didn’t take long to find the spirit. As soon as she was alone he appeared once more, his wide hat creating a distinct silhouette out of the corner of her eye. 

As soon as she caught sight of him she whipped around to face him.

“You,” she hissed out, keeping her voice low just in case of prying ears. She was certain Leliana had some around. “Need to leave immediately.”

Cole seemed uninterested in responding to what she had said, instead announcing, “I tied myself to you. Cole was gone so I needed something to help me get back out. If I kill you, I get pulled away and I can’t fix the hurt.”

She stepped back cautiously. “Kill me?”

He nodded. “You hurt people. You shouldn’t be here anymore, but things don’t come through the fade often. You were the only choice.”

“So we’re stuck together?” she asked, praying that the answer would be no.

“Not physically. When you are here, I am here. If you are in the fade I will follow. If you’re nowhere then I have to go back because I have nothing to hold onto anymore.”

She threw her arms up. “So you don’t need to be here then. Just go somewhere else and do your creepy spirit thing there. Leave me out of it. I’ll promise I won’t die and you promise to leave me alone. Everyone’s happy.”

He shook his head in the most adamant way she’d ever seen him do anything. It almost felt like there were real emotions behind it. “I take away the hurt,” he said, sounding almost distressed. “You cause more hurt than not. I need you to stay but I need to help more than you hurt.”

Typical that she got the one creature from the fade that was against any harm coming to humans piggybacking onto her brain. 

“I’m not hurting anyone here,” she said in a poor attempt to defend herself. 

“You will. You always do. I can see it. You don’t know anything else.”

The way he spoke made her nervous. She could tell he was dangerous, unstable, potentially violent. 

And none of her other tricks worked on him, so she figured she could be too. 

She drew her rarely used dagger and slammed him against the wall as soon as the idea occurred to her, trying her best to avoid him reading the intention off of her and getting out of the way.

He seemed in no rush to get out from under her blade, just looking down at her, both of them now hidden underneath the brim of his hat together. 

She could see his eyes this way, revealing they were an unnervingly light shade of blue. She could see the way his hair covered them almost entirely and wondered if the fade spat him out looking so shaggy on purpose. But then, he mentioned another Cole before, maybe he’d been here longer, had stolen his name while his hair grew. 

Did he even know he could cut his hair?

It didn’t really matter, was entirely besides the point.

The flat of her blade sat against his throat, pressing against his flesh. She held him back with her other hand and felt he was inhumanly cool to the touch. 

“It’s lonely,” said the spirit, unconcerned with the new threat pressed against him. “It doesn’t like being used in the dark, never seen, stowed away.”

Her fingers tensed around the handle. 

Most of the people who’d felt the dagger’s other end hadn’t had any idea it was coming. They’d been asleep or calmed by practiced airs that only the blade would betray. 

She preferred to not let it come to this. Those uses were few and far between, massively eclipsed by soft looks and a willingness to agree.

“Just need to help more than you hurt,” he insisted. “I need to mend as you break and break and break.”

“What would you do, if I hurt more people than you helped?” That was the only question that mattered, the thing he kept leaving unsaid. 

“I’d kill you. And then things would be balanced.”

“You won’t kill me. You also will not interrupt my presence here. You can’t stop me,” she hissed. “I won’t let you.”

“Yes, I could. But I can’t. For them, not for you. You cause the hurt, guilt heaving, dizzy with worry. You leave the good ones with blame and the bad ones don’t care. The only ones who hurt are the ones who never would.”

“They all would. They all did. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bull wouldn’t if he knew how it pulled at you, tugged at wounds, ripped and healed, ripped and healed. Too long scarred to feel anything anymore.”

“I need him,” she said, because she did. He’d responded best to her little ploy, had allowed himself to be endeared to her. She needed a protector and he seemed happy to do so for the precious little thing that fawned over him. 

The horrible creature nodded. “You need him. He wants you. The scales are off. It’s all in the book.”

She pushed the dagger further into him, the pressure almost nicking his skin. “You will tell no one about that book or I swear, I will gut you.”

He shook his head sadly. “You would, but you can’t. I’m too slippery for you, you’re too slow, limbs dragging in years of stillness. You’re afraid to move, afraid it gives you away. Played weak for too long and now it’s all you are.”

“Fine then,” she said, taking stock of the man in front of her, filing away the chinks in his armor to list out in her book full of nothing but flaws and weaknesses. “Tell them and I swear I will hurt them. I will use all those words in my book to tear them apart however I can and you cannot stop it all. You cannot stop as much hurt as I can cause. I think you and I both know that it is faster to break than to mend.”

He froze, the cool blade of the lonely dagger steady against his throat. 

“I won’t tell. Try not to hurt them. I’m not going anywhere.”

And then he was gone, leaving nothing but a blade held up against streaks of green hanging in midair. 

She wanted to sit on the floor. To curl up in a ball or scream or do something to stop feeling pinned. 

But she had things to do, and so she set off to find Bull. 

It wasn’t hard, he was difficult to miss. He stood in the training area, towering over everyone else who resided there. 

She gave him a shy wave and he grinned back at her, flexing a little in a way she was sure he thought was subtle. 

She noticed it every time. It was embarrassing for him, turning her stomach a little, but she fawned over him as she sidled up at his side. 

He gave her a once over, hand shifting down to tilt her chin up. “Some nasty bruising on you. You did real good, fought hard.”

She beamed up at him, quietly pleased there were marks left behind, a physical reminder of why they shouldn’t be sending her on missions. 

It was partially unavoidable. Her accidental trip through the fade had given her the ability to shut gaps in between the world and the fade and that wasn’t exactly a replaceable position, but surely they didn’t need to send her out quite as often as they did. 

“I should’ve been there,” he added, fingers stroking lightly over the bruising. “He shouldn’t have been able to get to you so easily.”

She shrugged and fought off a spiteful comment. “You did your best. I could never begrudge you that. Besides, everything turned out okay, didn’t it?”

“Mostly. Who’s that weird kid hanging around?” he grunted. 

She turned to see Cole, perched up on one of the roofs, staring down at them. “He’s a spirit. He saved my life so we’re letting him stay.”

Bull’s brows raised immediately. “Right. And you signed off on that?”

She sighed. “Sort of. I think it’ll be okay.”

“So optimistic,” he said with a chuckle. “Now come on, you’re going to start training more.”

“What?” she asked as he thrust a bow into her hands. 

“You heard me. Next time, you need to be ready. I can’t always be there to protect you.”

She could feel Cole’s eyes on her as she began to train. 

Bull was the obvious choice of protector. Prone to forming casual attachments, easily flatterable, the biggest guy around. Even if he wasn’t a damn good fighter, he’d be a great shield. There was no one else here who could cover that much surface area. 

But now, being forced to train, she was starting to regret it. Maybe she could switch gears and convince Cullen to go on missions with her, or figure out something that would make Blackwall less weird around her. 

But no, an easy target as good as Bull wasn’t something she could pass up, even if every flirtatious touch to her side or murmur that she was doing “real good” made her stomach turn and a pit of dread start to form inside her. 

She knew where this was leading, what the price for his protection was, even if Bull didn’t know the terms of the deal. 

But she’d done this before. She could handle it. 

And so she suffered through what felt like hours of archery practice. She only hit the target twice but then, she wasn’t really trying to. 

Her attempt to get Bull to give up on her proved ineffective, but there was some entertainment to be found in seeing how badly she could miss and still get praised.

As she hit a tree that was about six feet to the left and a handful of feet back from the target, Bull muttered, “Well at least you hit something,” before giving Rosemary a soft pat on the back. “That’s enough for today. What you lack in skill you make up for in perseverance. Keep on trying, you’ll be a deadshot before you know it. Good to see you’ve got stamina at least.” He shot her a wink with his final comment. 

She wanted to throw up, but she gave him a shy smile instead, thinking of old embarrassing stories to force herself into a soft blush. 

He seemed pleased with her response, wandering over to go talk to some of his troops. They had a name, she was certain. The Champions, or something like that. 

It didn’t really matter.

She left for her quarters, content with her progress. Cole was there, perched on the end of her bed. 

“I don’t think you know what leaving me alone means,” she said, throwing her jacket at him as she pulled it off.

“I do know,” he said as the jacket missed him entirely, and he seemed unconcerned that his indifference actually made it worse. “You’re learning to fight.”

“I am,” she said, throwing her inner coat to the floor as the warmth of the fire filled room washed over her. 

“Why?”

“Bull’s making me,” she huffed as she shed more of her thick woolen layers, built for the cold. 

“You are… I didn’t know it came off,” he said. 

She shrugged off the last of her clothes and pulled on her night things. They weren’t quite as warm as her day clothes but at least they were less bulky. “What, you thought I just looked like that? Fur and all? I thought you could see in my head.”

The first thing she’d done when she’d gotten here and realized how cold it was had been to insist on acquiring a pile of furs, ones she’d since bundled up in religiously. 

His eyes were still fixed on the pile of clothes. “Not always. You didn’t know it in a way I could hear.”

So he didn’t have unfettered access to everything in her head. That was good at least.

“I see the hurt and the things that help,” he decided to clarify. “You’re mostly hurt so it’s easy to see.”

“So you what?” she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “You just go around helping people by reading their minds? That’s what you expect me to believe?”

“Just because no one ever helped you doesn’t mean no one ever helps. You don’t even give them the chance anymore.”

A knock sounded at her door and she turned to look, surprised Cole didn’t immediately disappear at the noise. He seemed content to linger.

“Yes?” she called, deciding whether she’d try and shoo Cole away before this new visitor came in.

She heard Cullen’s voice, muffled by the wood of the door, as he asked, “Are you decent?”

“Yes, you can come in.”

Cole watched as the door squeaked open slowly, Cullen slowly entering like he didn’t quite believe her when she said she was clothed. 

He froze the second he saw Cole. 

“You make him nervous,” Cole said, at full volume and with no regard for the way the words made Cullen’s eyes widen and his face flush. 

“What is he talking about?” Cullen demanded. “Why is he here?”

“He doesn’t seem to want to leave,” she said and she watched anger flash across Cullen’s face. 

Cole seemed to pick up on this, although she imagined it was from his thoughts and not any ability to read facial expressions. 

“I told you harboring a spirit was a bad idea,” Cullen hissed at her.

“The mages are safe from me,” Cole said. “I don’t want them. I won’t make you hurt them again.”

Cullen tensed immediately, ready to bolt. “I came to tell you that you’re heading to the Hinterlands tomorrow to help with more rifts,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Is that wise?” she asked, wishing Cole hadn’t put him in a bad mood before she had to try and wriggle her way out of another dangerous assignment. 

“The rifts need to be dealt with, you will handle them,” he said, and then set off immediately, obviously eager to get away from the spirit and giving her no time to argue her case. 

The door slammed shut behind him. 

“I made it worse,” Cole said softly. 

“Look at you, you’re upsetting more people than me,” she said with a scoff, finding this all very amusing right up until she remembered the threats that had been leveled at her if Cole felt their collective presence wasn’t doing good for the world.

He seemed distressed and contemplative, but at least it seemed like few of those thoughts were directed at her. The less he thought about her, the better. 

And then he turned to her, his eyes obscured by his hat. “Can I come?”

“What?”

“Cullen said you’re going to the Hinterlands. I want to see them.”

Everything in her wanted to turn him down but perhaps it was best to keep an eye on him, at least until she got a better grasp on what he was like. 

“Can you even fight?”

He nodded, pulling daggers out from some unseen place on his person. “I’m quick and they are sharp. We can both do our job. Who do you want me to fight?”

She thought hard, trying to remember if there would be any people Cole would refuse to fight against on the other side. 

It was hard. To her, everyone on the other side had committed the most egregious sin of all, trying to hurt her. She supposed Cole didn’t think like that, that he was interested in a far more complicated tangle of emotions, intentions, actions, and regrets. 

“I don’t know if they’re bad,” she said carefully. “But they’re hurting the people there.”

He nodded. “Sometimes that's enough. I will fight.”

That was a relief. At least she probably wouldn’t have to deal with him becoming a turncoat mid fight. 

He seemed to read the acceptance from her mind. “I will go. You want to put me in your book.”

And then he was gone. 

She wondered if he meant he’d go now or tomorrow. She supposed it could have been either. More likely it was both. He didn’t seem one to repeat himself when a single statement would do. 

Now alone in her room, she kneeled down, pulling up the loose floorboard and moving aside the scattered leaves, picking up her notebook. 

It was absolutely filled with information on everyone at the Inquisition. On patterns of behavior, on what made their eyes soften when they looked at her, on which enemies they swung their swords the hardest at. She carefully noted who she thought she could turn against who and which people were too close to try safely. She wrote which people she could get to through others, like the way Bull’s group, called the Chargers in her book, regarded her with softer eyes because of the way Bull had come to shield her in battle and look for her first when he returned without her. 

And she created a section for Cole.

She had little to say. He was dangerous, she knew that much for certain. He could read her mind, seemingly everyone’s. He couldn’t be that clever because she could think of a dozen ways he could keep himself tethered to this plane while still doing something to incapacitate or declaw her, and yet he’d done none of it. 

Or alternatively, perhaps worse, maybe he knew it all. Had come up with on his own or had plucked it from her. Because then, he wasn’t stopping her for a reason, some horrible plan he had for her. 

She needed something on him. It was hard. He wasn’t unemotional, but he had this undeniable practicality to him where she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt himself if it balanced out his little equation of harm and help. 

She wished she’d been stuck with a demon. Vices she could handle. In fact, she handled very little else. 

Virtues were harder. Faking them was easy enough, but she hadn’t had the privilege of being allowed to be virtuous in a long time. 

She wrote everything in her journal. Cole knew where it was, but he could pluck it out of her mind regardless, what did it matter if he read it out of the book?

Could he even read? She couldn’t imagine spirits had anyone to teach them, but then again he knew how to speak. Maybe they had some inherent knowledge to them. 

She looked down at the pile of her furs and warm clothes lying on the ground. He clearly had some gaps in his information about humans.

It didn’t matter. The less he knew the better, but there was nothing she could do about the things he already knew. 

She should be careful about the things she said around him. 

She chastised herself for the thought. He could see in her head, she could not play this how she typically did. 

Another knock sounded at the door and she quickly tucked the book away before forcing out a polite, “Yes?”

Varric’s voice called out a friendly, “It’s me.”

She felt her anger melt a little and called him in. She liked Varric, against her better judgment. 

She imagined most people liked Varric. He was easy to like, easy to talk to, acted like you’d been friends for years. 

“You talk to the spirit kid yet?” he asked, and she deflated a little.

“More than I’d like.”

Varric chuckled. “He does have a lost puppy energy about him, I’m not surprised he’s following you around like one. I had a talk to him earlier about the way he was staring at people. Said it was off putting and he said he’d just make it so they couldn’t see him. Said he wanted to help. I poked him a little and he admitted he was curious too.”

She sighed. “I’m glad you talked to him. Someone had to do it, and you were probably the best one for the job. I was half convinced Cullen was going to run him through when I saw them talk.”

“We wouldn’t want that. He's off putting, but I think he means well.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“A little birdie said you’re heading out tomorrow,” he added, giving her a knowing look.

“Who, Cassandra?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, Cassandra. So are you?”

She nodded.

“Mind if I tag along?” he asked. “The kid sounded like he wanted to see some stuff, I figured it would be good to show him some of the world. We could see what he’s like out there.”

“I already told him he could tag along, but if you want to babysit you’re more than welcome.” 

“I’m happy to. Someone’s gotta do it and everybody else seems ready to slit his throat.”

She shrugged. “He’s a spirit, it’s scary, I get it.”

“Yeah, maybe. Not his fault though. And how old are you anyways? Sometimes I feel like I should be babysitting you too.”

She wasn’t sure how old she was. She’d been seventeen when she’d come here but it had been some months since then, she was fairly certain her birthday had long since passed her by. 

She hadn’t told them that, of course. It was antithetical to how she needed them to see her. She wanted to seem young, certainly, but not that young. 

She’d been saying she was twenty one for weeks and then one day Leliana asked and she’d sounded so judgmental so she’d blurted out twenty five. Blackwall thought she was twenty five too. She’d decided a twenty one year old would trigger that seemingly ever present instinct in him to feel guilty about everything if she ever needed to do a hard pivot in his direction. 

So now there was a spread of beliefs going around and she wasn’t sure what to say. She looked at Varric and said, “Twenty five,” figuring he was old enough that he’d see her as too young either way. 

“Too young for this shit,” he said, and she just nodded. She didn't think she was, not really, even at her real age. But Varric didn’t need to know that. 

“Maybe. The fade didn’t seem to think so.”

“Do you think there was a reason it was you? Religious or otherwise?”

She shook her head. “Just bad luck. Pretty standard for me.”

He laughed that low, gravelly laugh that had the women in the taverns they visited swooning. “Well, let’s see if we can turn that around for you. And hey, Rosie?”

“Yeah?” she asked, worried about his tone getting serious. Varric so rarely got serious. 

“If you need anything, just ask, okay? They expect a whole lot of you, but everyone needs help sometimes.”

“Of course,” she lied.

[sapphire-weapon]

I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and one of the things that really bothers me about the whole "age gap" discourse re: EagleOne is that, by buying into it, you automatically erase a huge part of Leon's character.

Leon might have been on the planet for 27 years, but he still has the maturity of a 21 year old.

After Raccoon City, Leon basically falls out of time and space. He's all but completely removed from society and has his growth as an adult completely stunted by the CIA.

It isn't as though he's spent the last six years gaining practical wisdom and real-world life experience that puts him at some sort of advantage over Ashley and makes any relationship between them cunningly manipulative on Leon's part.

Leon wasn't out dating and socializing and learning the ways of the world and growing alongside heartbreaks and disappointments and setbacks and victories and achievements. Leon has spent the last six years locked in a room with Jack fucking Krauser and getting the shit beat out of him -- that is, when he wasn't being sent off to active war zones.

Like -- do people even realize the actual depths of what Leon's training entailed? Krauser wasn't just a sparring partner teaching him about edged blade combat. Leon was actually literally tortured in the most literal dictionary definition of the word. He had to be, in case he was ever caught and tortured by the enemy -- he had to be trained on how to take it and not crack.

Leon not actually being in STRATCOM is actually really important to his character. He wasn't sitting in a war room digging through intel and pursuing active leads in an investigation against Umbrella. Prior to the formation of the DSO, he was a military combat unit -- the most elite one that the US government has ever produced. He is a weapon in every sense of the word. He's probably had to go through boot camp with both Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets and then some.

Basically, Leon was an experiment conducted by the US government to see if it was possible to create a soldier capable of wiping out entire military units on his own (which is, incidentally, probably the how and why behind his involvement in Remake's version of Operation Javier. He was chosen to be sent in after Krauser's unit was wiped out for a reason.). He probably wasn't the only one to have been put through this gauntlet during this experiment, but he was the only one who made it through to the other side. He's an anomaly; he's the exception that proves the rule.

None of that is conducive to fostering his growth as an adult or as a human being -- and that was exactly the point. The idea was probably to try to strip him of as much of his humanity as possible in order to create a weapon who would mindlessly follow orders and never question the hows or whys. This is also probably why his "softness" was a huge point of contention for Krauser, who knew exactly what the intentions for Leon actually were. After all, he knew Leon's potential better than anyone.

That's why Leon is so stoic and serious and almost joyless at the start of RE4make. He hasn't lived as a human being living among other human beings in six years; he's been forged into a weapon instead. The last time that he felt like and acted like and lived like a person was when he was 21. He hasn't grown past that point.

That's why his reaction to and treatment of Ada is so goddamn immature.

And it's also why it's such a big deal when Ashley gets that first smile out of him. When Ashley brings out the sides of Leon that we haven't seen since early-to-mid RE2make, she's returning pieces of his humanity to him.

The government had Leon convinced that he wasn't the same person anymore -- that the kind-hearted guy who went into law enforcement out of a genuine desire to help and protect people was dead -- because he's been in an echo chamber and having that idea reinforced to him over and over and over again. Ada saw right through it and knew that the old Leon was still alive in there. And Ashley brought him to the surface and gave him a second chance at life.

On paper, Leon and Ashley have a seven year age gap. In practice and reality, there's only one year separating them. Ashley is 20, and Leon is still only 21.

Anyone who crows about an age gap between Leon and Ashley is outing themselves as someone who doesn't understand Leon's character at all and can be safely and thoroughly ignored.

[wibble-wobbegong]

no im being taken over by the demon that is nancy wheeler. the way she treats other people’s problems is so blatantly derived from karen that it makes me insane

she so often fails to account for the issues people around her face when these issues aren’t putting them in immediate danger and we see this specifically with jonathan and mike. nancy was scared for mike in S1 because he was being hunted by the lab and he was in the pinnacle of danger, but as the seasons move on and mike is moved away from being the direct, most obvious victim nancy begins to redirect her attention.

if mike were to come to her directly about some of his issues, it’s a solid 50/50 as to whether or not she would see them as important enough to really address and we know that because of the way she never addressed her fault in the argument with jonathan in S3!! in her mind, her issues took priority because she doesn’t understand jonathan’s perspective and there isn’t a chance for her to delve into that because the giant flesh eating monster becomes another, higher priority

nancy faces a level of egocentricity but it’s not an intentional ignorance of other people’s problems or because she doesn’t care. she cares so much, and we see it with how she treats max even though she barely knows her because she wants max to be safe! she goes out and she protects jonathan from the demogorgon! nancy cares about people, she doesn’t want to watch anyone get hurt, but the household she was raised in didn’t foster a care that runs deeper than Keeping People Alive

like obviously she loves jonathan and she’s affectionate with him and has a whole speech about why she loves him. obviously (not really) she loves her brother. but, when it comes to needing to be the one to reach out, she doesn’t do it. she wasn’t raised to rely on others or let others rely on her for the small things. her idea of love comes from parents who barely care, and when they do it’s after break downs when she’s on the verge of tears or something.

jonathan and mike have also been raised to be independent people for different reasons, but they’ve also had people to connect with on a deeper level. the only person nancy really had like that died. when she tried to express her grief, she was shut down by steve and karen. karen only ever talked to her about issues she could personally relate to, and we see that reflected in nancy’s behavior

and of course it isn’t okay for her to treat people the way she does, but it’s not malicious or intentional. it’s a blindness she was raised to have and has yet to learn to overcome. in the same way el shouldn’t be smashing people’s faces in and mike shouldn’t have said what he said in the rain fight and will shouldn’t have shouldered the disconnect between him and mike entirely on mike’s shoulders, nancy shouldn’t only be valuing life threatening problems — but all of those actions have reasons. none of that is superficial or a flaw for the sake of flaws. it’s something to grow from and create a captivating arc with

n e way i actually love nancy and my hating in the past was very mike focused. her character is so interesting to me and i desperately want to put her under a microscope

[gegegegegesworld]

Apology to the fandom

Hello everyone, I am Panda (Potaxiepower formerly known as Kimetsunozushi69) and I want to write this post in order to own my mistakes and to apologise to the ones involved in this situation.

First of all, I am aware of my humour, which has crossed the line many times. I want to seriously apologise for the disgusting jokes that I did without any consideration of people's feelings. I want to clarify that I am not racist, I have no intention of discrimination against anyone.

I will never cross the lines ever again, and I will face the consequences of my actions which harmed many people in this fandom.

I do not expect people to forgive me, because what I said was truly unforgivable, but from now on, I will mature and I will become better.

In regards of others aspects, I want to talk about the way I treated the members involved in this situation, I am sure you all know this, but I was accused of being abusive to some members of this fandom, which I will admit that my behaviour was unacceptable, and my personal struggles and my own problems do not justify the actions that I committed against the people involved.

I admit that I was a very toxic friend, and I never knew how far my actions were until I realised that my harm to them was scarring and traumatising. I admit that my behaviour towards them is irredeemable and that not an apology can fix the consequences of my actions.

None of them truly hurt me, I was the one who was in a bad mental state and because of that I started to wrongly accuse them of things that they were not, and also badmouthing them and manipulating the situation to favour me, which after months of reflection, I realised that that was truly despicable behaviour.

I admit that I did all of this based on my own envy over them being better artists, academically brighter and better writers than me, which made me have an inferiority complex against them and because of that I was acting toxic towards them. 

Even when they supported me in my hard times, I was ungrateful and despite them showing emotional and financial support, I was not willing to recognise their efforts to be my friends, because of my ego.

I understand why this situation is happening, because I cannot escape from my actions, I do not expect the fandom to ever forgive, and I understand that, I will face the consequences of what has happened this summer time.

I am sorry for ghosting the victims of the situation after doing enough harm and not apologising genuinely because I was a coward who did not want to accept my mistakes, and I understand why the situation escalated to worse after months.

I also understand why everyone in this fandom is currently furious over this, because I escaped and deleted everything without any explanation, this time, I will face the fandom and listen to your complains, I also will leave the fandom after this in order to start a new phase of my life where in the future I will not commit the same mistakes again.

I also want to clarify that none of my old followers or friends stalked any of the members, I was not aware of them facing harassment online, I am not lying when I say that I had everyone blocked which made me not interact with their posts or be interested in what they were posting, because I didn't want to see what they were doing (because I was ghosting) and I admit that I was talking bad about them behind their backs despite me promising to them that I would not talk about them, but I did not send hate because all the frustration that I had was thrown towards my close friends who were not interested in creating conflicts.

I recently found out that they were receiving some hate regarding the call-out, I did not send anyone. I promise everyone that I was inactive online and was scared of looking at what was happening, and I was with family members and real life friends these past two days.

MeitoMela and Meerudraws are innocent, they never had any vile intentions nor any interest in engaging in discourse, and them being friends and mutuals with me does not mean that they are on my side, nor do they agree with my actions nor are they interested in engaging in this.

Thank you very much for reading this letter, and I hope that the victims of this will find peace and help, and I wish everyone the best and happy holidays.

@irithnova

@tianshiisdead

@miyuecakes

[paleodictyoptera]

Also I am throwing this random idea at you

Worldless × Hollow Knight crossover

"The Abyss is sealed for a reason-it's no place for common bug, let alone beings of light. Should you choose to break that seal and brave its depths, do not expect to return."

Edda simply stared at the horned creature clad in red. Aven whispered from their closet. "She thinks I'm a being of light?" His tone sounded mocking.

"...let's go." She tipped him out with the grace of an adamantoise and walked up to the sealed door, inspecting the network of light that arose when she touched its rough surface.

"So what do you think- green sword?" Aven groaned after brushing off the dust he gathered from his tumble. "You know this stuff's dangerous for me, right?"

"And you kept pushing me into water just to be sure. Well, I want to be certain as well."

"Ass."

"Green sword, but there's not enough room to swing down, we'll have to stab it."

Hornet, to her credit, did not completely doubt them, as she glared in annoyance rather than dismissal. "If there is anyone unable to claim the King's Brand that could still breach the Abyss, it would be you, but do not assume a change in weaponry will assist you."

Edda and Aven replied in united division.

"You'll see/Just you wait."

The seal, to it's credit, held up for 8 seconds before the cosmic blade sank into the glowing sigil with a sharp chunk, turning the door to fragments.

__________

The little Knight was not hollow. It had ambition, goals it set for itself. It had compassion and kindness for the people of Hallownest; it did not have much to say, but offered it's companionship nonetheless. It had fears and nightmares, cornered and crawling in the dark with monsters and apathy.

So it was perhaps not so surprising, when the world shook and the ceiling shattered, when the Eye from Above fell; when the Knight returned to the one living kind soul it had known in these lands only to find them frozen with arm shielding from above, humming with energy that did not belong to it-

It was not so surprising that the Knight shrieked. The dream nail was in their hand immediately, seeking for a sign of what had happened.

They did not expect the teleportation. They walked past other old ones petrified in a past agony, spear piercing the body of one of them as it slowly turned to flakes. They walked past the field of spears, over a mockingly radiant floor. They beheld the light gently floating down from above, intent unreadable.

"ANOMALY. INVASION. OPPORTUNITY."

The Knight swung its nail, but there was nothing there to hit. It was as if they didn't exist.

"PERMISSION. VOID. EXISTENCE."

The light threw a multitude of spearpoints their way; the knight did their best to dodge, but their sword arm got briefly scraped by an errant projectile. Three masks broke.

"OPPORTUNITY. FOCUS."

The words of the higher being were clear enough to the knight after slogging through the gibberish of the archives in an attempt understand the Pale King's plan. It was going to be forced into focusing Soul.

"VESSEL. HONOR. GODHOOD."

The little Knight was not hollow-none of the vessels were. Even the abyss had an element of fullness to it that made it unsuited to containment of anything.

"VESSEL. NEW. CREATE."

No- the way of the Abyss was destruction. Consumption.

Absorption.

The knight's shell split in half as the Void Heart sprang forth, tendrils of darkness seeping in from all directions and weaving into the Void. The hunger of the God of the Abyss was as strong as ever, claws of darkness finding purchase on the curved light as it sunk its teeth into the core, cracking symbols of infinity.

All They could do was scream.

[torialefay]

I'll change the conversation a little if you don't mind?

What do you think of mama's boys? I think some skz members are

i want to preface this by saying that these are just MY opinions. i love women & i love being a woman, but a lot of the time, "mama's boys" are 100% created to be like that by their mothers themselves.

okay "mama's boys," let's do this:

1) think there is a HEALTHY LEVEL to which a guy can be a "mama's boy"... sort of. the problem is, i'd argue the vast majority aren't in this category 😭 there are some really fucking rad moms out there who are just super fun & close to their kids, OR maybe they have a son who was always just not really into the "typical masc" things or didn't get along with their father, OR maybe the son didn't have a dad in his life so he was close to his mom. in any regard, none of these are inherently bad things. as long as he was raised by a mother who was NORMAL, i think it could actually be a benefit and he could possibly come to understand women a lot better. a lotttttt of the time though, that mama is NOT normal 😭

2) the majority of mama's boys i've met have been made that way by their mothers. it's usually been from moms who were either overprotective and/or emotionally unsupported at home. i think some of it stems from women not always feeling loved or wanted by their male partner, so in turn, they try and "invest" more into their son, show him a lot of love, so that he won't turn out the same way. they think that if they teach their son to have this personal connection with them & give them unconditional love, then they'll be a good man in the future and know how to value a woman... at least, that's what their brain tells them. it can start with good intentions, but over time, i think a lot of these moms end up depending on their sons for emotional support & love. kind of seeing them as a "project" that they've created, that they now can't let go of. they start to see them as perfect & like they're really too good to move on from them... so when these mama's boys DO grow up, it's really fucking hard for them to see this person that they've basically "trained up" to be the perfect partner leave and go find someone for themself.... leaving them along again.

it's honestly so fucked up for the mom to feel that way, but now the son has that psychological shit going on too. he's been babied and mothered and shown unconditional love his entire life. in his eyes, he probably doesn't think he can do any wrong. and now he ALSO probably expects anyone he's with going forward to behave just like his mother. and if you don't... well he's probably not gonna be with you. or if he does, he'll have his mom in his ear the entire time telling him you aren't the one. i swear in these relationships, the only time the mom is EVER happy is when her son chooses someone who looks like her, acts like her, and lets her be 100% involved in their lives. and the whole time, in this guys head, this is all completely normal.

do i get "the ick" from the vasssssttt majority of mama's boys? yes. but do i also kinda feel bad for them sometimes because a lot of them have simply been groomed this way for their entire lives? also yes.

as horrible as it sounds, i just don't really see a way to have a good relationship with an extreme mama's boy if he doesn't recognize that she's problematic. if he's putting you first & fighting for you every time, then sure, whatever & you can work on it. but if he's taking her side all the time? well then, he's made his pick. and that's sad and no one deserves to have to go through that. no one will ever live up to the stabdards his mother has set.

that's some hardcore stockholm syndrome shit right there let me tell you.

so nowwwww, i NEED to know who you think could be a mama's boy in skz?!?! i'm so curious 🤭

[merp-blerp]

I know I'll sound kooky for saying this, but I suspect that Barbie & the Diamond Castle was queer-coded on purpose. I mean this so seriously. There were probably hundreds of people working on this movie. You're telling me none of them were queer? So many queer people have worked for Mattel. Maybe a person (or people) working on this film wanted to make a queer Barbie movie as a form of self-expression or what have you, but couldn't explicitly do so because it was 2008 and that would've been seen as inappropriate for a family film (still could be seen that way 🙄). So they got as close as they could with Diamond Castle.

Just the essence of this film is so sapphic. Alexa and Liana live alone together, away from whatever town might be nearby. They see nothing more important than their relationship with one another and Liana says that Alexa "knows me better than anyone else in the entire universe" (it's almost like no one else in this medieval world could know Liana that well, maybe because she's gay and the only person who could safely know that is Alexa) and "I feel like a part of me is gone" after they fight and she believes their relationship might be over.

They get what looks like male "love interests" on the surface, but they don't actually behave like couples. The girls butt-heads with them a lot as if it'll be an enemies-to-lovers type of romance like Annika and Aidan from Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, but it never really becomes romantic. They don't even imply a happily ever after with the twins (whatever their names were, no one cares), they go back home together without them in their lives, at least not majorly. I think the fact that they don't have male love interests is the crux of this whole theory. The boys' existence is enough for kids and even adults watching to believe there's a straight romance in this film, especially if you've seen other Barbie films and know the formula, but there isn't. The movie just has male characters who take interest in the girls in a completely one-sided infatuation, heteronormativity does the rest when it comes to the audience thinking there's a romance with the boys.

Alexa and Liana's relationship is the most important aspect of the movie; the entire story is about their relationship, not their relationship with the boys at all, which separates Barbie & the Diamond Castle from other Barbie movies from this time, which all had hetero-romances in one way or another. This is probably why so many sapphic kids who grew up with it, like myself, loved it so much.

All these factors together just make me wonder if the queerness was intentional on someone's part.

Even if you bypass the queer interpretation, it's really refreshing to have a story that's about female friendship and that's it. No forced or unforced romance, just a story about girls and their friendship(s). There's no issue with romance, but also there's no issue with a lack of romance as well. That kind of message is hard to come by, even in more "adult" media.

(As a bit of a sidebar, the only queer aspect to this film that is surely coincidental to me is Alexa and Liana's dresses looking like the lesbian and bi pride flags. Liana's dresses do share a color scheme with the Emily Gwen lesbian flag, but that particular lesbian flag wasn't in existence till 2018, ten years after this movie was released. By association, I assume Alexa's dresses having the colors of the bi flag is also a coincidence, even though that flag was created in 1998 before this film. It is very cute how that turned out, though.)

[deancasbigbang]

Title: The Siren and the Viking

Author: Fred

Artist: reafre

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Sam/Eileen Past Lydia/Dean

Length: 50000

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Tags: John Winchester’s A+ parenting; Minor Character Deaths; Sexual Content; Frottage; Dark Fairytale; Historical inaccuracies; Mythical inaccuracies; Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Posting Date: October 13, 2023

Summary: Once upon a time, in the deepest dwellings of the sea, was a Siren who stared up at the skies with fascination and wonder.  Once upon a time, up on the explored and unexplored lands of the world, was a Man that longed for nothing more than to sail at sea, the dangers nothing when aboard his drakkar.  Once upon a time, there was a story of war and blood spilt between two peoples. But there was also a story of built trust, forged peace, and, unbelievably, love, between the two most unlikely of beings.

Excerpt: Before he could move near close enough to speak to Anna, a war cry erupted amongst the storm. The Men’s spears jabbed through the darkness of the sea. Castiel watched, horrified, as the blood of his brethren mixed with the ocean. Anna screeched in anger, but none of the men crumpled, instead shouting louder as they pulled new blades from their furs. As Castiel swam closer, intent on helping his brothers and sisters, one of the Men jumped at the helm of the ship, shouting instructions to hurrying figures in the darkness. The wind blew through the sails, propulsing the ship forward as the Men shouted triumphantly to the Gods. Castiel swam closer, following them, staying in the shadow of the boat so that they wouldn’t see him. The Man at the helm let out another shout, and Castiel’s eyes snapped back to him only to be spellbound by what they saw. The man was tall compared to his kind, clad in armor and furs, his great sword thrust in front of him, pushing his crew onwards. The sea had drowned his figure, and although the dark skies painted him in sombre shades, he still shone like the sun, golden under the grime. His hair was the color of wet sand, hanging in wild strands around his neck, and his beard threw droplets wildly as he turned and shouted his orders, leaving smears of water that immediately blended into the furs around his neck. Black claw marks had been painted across his face in four slashes, and surrounded by the dark makeup, his eyes popped, the color of ice under a layer of freezing water. Eyes shining like the emerald jewels hidden amidst the coffers of shipwrecks. Eyes green like the sea. Castiel’s breath caught in his gills. The ship broke the wild waves, as the Man continued to push his crew forward. Castiel traced their path and sighed in dismay as he realized they were sailing toward The Pit, a cropping of rocks that were closely knit together, creating tight passages impossible to navigate for anyone lacking the speed and grace of a tail. Many ships had crashed against The Pit, the Men aboard drowning in its depths as the Sirens shrieked in joy around. Castiel’s heart beat a sharp staccato rhythm in his throat as he watched the ship and its fascinating Steersman, the man who had managed to fool them and spill more Siren blood than he had ever seen, sail toward his annihilation.

DCBB 2023 Posting Schedule

[flightfoot]

Any fic recs where Hawk Moth captures one of the heroes?

...I'm gonna assume that enemies au don't count? Honestly there really aren't very many.

Some Days by @merrygreenie

Some days are worse, and others are a little better, little by little and day by day. Marinette Dupain-Chen is learning how to live her new normal after living in confinement and being tortured by Hawkmoth. She is thankful to have her friends and family to support her. And a very special Chat who loves her very much. *This story contains scenes of violence and torture this is a whump fic*

---

Between the Heavens and the Embers by @readersmoon

Everyone in Paris remembers the fateful night of January 16, when the city was attacked by the most powerful and destructive akuma ever created. The assault, which lasted for hours, resulted in the death of 439 people.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was among the casualties.

Years later, Adrien hasn't been able to move on, haunted by the memories of her broken body. So, when the opportunity to leave Paris for a while presents itself, he doesn't hesitate. But this trip might end up giving him more than he ever dreamt of.

This is a fantastic fic, though a serious and a dark one - make sure to mind the tags, and it’s M-rated for a reason. Vee - or rather, Marinette - is going through a horror story here. Imagine finding out that your life is a lie, that everyone you thought you could trust was manipulating you, that you were just being continually gaslit for years. 

As for Adrien, Alya, and Nino... well, none of them took Marinette’s “death” all that well, especially Adrien. Finding out that she’s been alive all this time, in these horrible circumstances, and they had no clue... it’s hard on them as well.

I love how this fic goes into how much trauma everyone has even after the immediate danger’s dealt with, you don’t just walk off this kind of experience, especially with how many years this lasted.

---

Soul Seeker by hislittlelady

After a shooting on her 6th birthday, Marinette Dupain-Cheng died. She was brought to the afterlife by her grandmother. She was content. Until the paramedics did their jobs and suddenly she wasn’t dead anymore. Waking up to find that half of her soul had remained tethered to the afterlife, allowing her the ability to see things others can’t, Marinette grows up an outcast. It isn’t until she moves in with her only friend, a detective she’s known since preschool, that she finds her purpose, solving his harder cases with the help of her spiritual connections. Three years later, she’s thriving. Her own business, two best friends, a K-9 drop out as a companion- life couldn’t get better. Until she meets Chat. A ghost with amnesia and a mask to match, Chat isn’t sure what he needs to move on to the afterlife (and, considering he’s stuck around for another three years, he doesn’t seem in all that much of a hurry to figure it out either!) When Amelie Agreste, a socialite from out of town, comes to Marinette for help locating her missing nephew, Marinette knows her career and her life will be on the line. But even a murderer intent on silencing her forever can’t keep Marinette from seeking the truth.

This is a really fun detective story. You can probably guess one or two of the major twists (not counting the twist of "Adrien is Chat Noir" which I certainly HOPE isn't a spoiler to anyone reading this), but that doesn't make it any less satisfying, especially with how Marinette's and Chat's relationship is developed. Or well, what interactions we see from them, since they've known each other for years by the time the story starts. I adore the "my friend is a ghost" trope, and the identity shenanigans and mystery around what actually happened to Adrien kept me wondering.

It's an M-rated fic, which I'm guessing is mostly due to an attempted sexual assault at one point in the story, though it doesn't get very far before it's stopped. I also want to warn Luka fans that he's not shown in the best light in this fic, though it's not too extreme.

[pacificwaternymph]

35 with pearl? Any iteration of her and with anyone else

"You deserve better than this. You deserve better."

I took a break from these for a little while but now I'm back! Sorry this one's a bit shorter, I'm mostly trying to just get warmed back up after so long without writing them.

"It wasn't your fault, Sausage," was the first thing he heard when he opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by wheat, and staring up at a flawless blue sky. Tiny pinpricks of colorful magic danced around the air, like fireflies.

He sat up, and saw her.

Pearl stood across from Sausage in the golden field. The feathers of her equally golden wings rustled in a breeze which tousled her hair.

She looked as radiant and unshaken as ever. As though the events of the day hadn't affected her at all. Perhaps they hadn't. She was a goddess, after all. She was always a step removed from the affairs of mortals no matter what kind of personal stake she had in them.

"I should have stopped him sooner." The words left him before he even fully processed what they meant. "I should never have left Sanctuary to go to that stupid tea party."

"You were trying to protect our friends. It was a noble pursuit, even if you misunderstood his intentions." Pearl crossed over to him and held out a hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't warn you, my friend."

"It's not your fault." Sausage accepted the hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. "He cut off communication with you."

Pearl nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I should've known he was going to be trouble sooner or later. Maybe I should have dealt with him when I had the chance."

"Or maybe he shouldn't have existed in the first place," Sausage mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

He glanced over at Pearl. "This is an issue that I created, Pearl. I alone am to blame for everything that happened. If past-life me didn't make that deal with the demon, none of this would have happened."

He sat back down in the wheat, and Pearl followed him, wrapping a wing around his shoulder.

"Your past life made a mistake," she said, pulling him in closer. He rested his head on her shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. But what is more important is that he also tried to fix it. He reconciled with the people he hurt and he did his best to deal with your doppelgänger. It wasn't perfect, but it never needed to be."

"Yeah, it wasn't perfect, and he left evil me alive so that I had to deal with him. So that my son had to deal with me." Guilt curled in his chest. He would be lucky if Hermes ever fully trusted him again. To have someone wear his face and use it to lure him into a trap... to be used as bait... the poor kid could hardly even look him in the eye.

"Hermes is scared of me," he admitted to Pearl. "He pretends like he isn't but... I can see it in his eyes. I'm taking him back to Stratos tomorrow morning, he'll feel safer with his other dad. And then... who knows when he'll feel comfortable enough to come back to Sanctuary."

Pearl was silent for a few moments, before sighing. "It's times like these where I wish I still had a foothold in the mortal world," she said almost scornfully. "I'm sorry, Sausage. You deserve better than this."

His shoulders hunched. "Do I?"

"You deserve better," she emphasized. "Hermes will understand. He might be scared, but he knows, deep down, that it wasn't you. You'll get through this together, I promise."

When Sausage didn't say anything else, she continued. "You can't be blamed for the things you did in a past life, you were a different person back then. And some of the things you did were... questionable, I guess, but hey it's not like you were the only one!"

Sausage snorted.

"No, really! I considered Xornoth a friend at one point! I called them cute to their face!" Sausage looked up, eyes wide. Pearl was grinning like a maniac. "I was so desperate for a sparring partner who could keep up with me I turned to the literal demon trying to destroy the world!" She laughed. "And the best part is that I still miss it! I've not had a fight that good since then, not even when you came up here for a bit as an angel!"

Now Sausage was laughing too, hard enough that his stomach was hurting. He clutched it with both arms, tears leaking from his eyes.

The endless wheat field started to fade around the edges, and he knew he was waking up. He looked over at his friend, seeing her still smiling.

"Thank you, Pearl," he said, gratefully. Pearl nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Anytime, my friend."

Sausage looked out over the dissipating landscape, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes.

[somedaylazysomeday]

Target Acquired - Part Three

To your horror, you have to ask Jango Fett for a favor.

Jango Fett x fem!bounty hunter!reader

Rating: Mature. Minors DNI.

Word Count: 4,200

Warnings: Favors, bargaining, discussions of sex and kink throughout, references to cultural appropriation and religious backgrounds, references to BDSM and related dynamics.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

No sooner had you claimed a small booth at the back of the Coruscanti cantina than your guest walked through the door. You waffled about whether to wave him over, but you didn’t have much of a choice. He spotted you easily, the dark slit of his visor intent and menacing as he approached, shouldering his way through the crowd. 

If there was ever a time you didn’t want Jango Fett to be punctual, this was it. And yet, now that you could use a few extra minutes to put together the way you would phrase your request, he was sitting across from you. The silver of his armor gleamed, and his helmet created a deep and hollow thud as he rested it at his elbow on the surface of the table.

Stars, he might even be a few minutes early.

“Stare all you like,” he told you, running a hand over his dark, close-cropped curls. “I know I only get more handsome every time you see me.”

You snorted. “Just wondering if you were taken over by some kind of personality-altering parasite. You’re never on time.” 

“You’ve got my interest,” he said with half a shrug. You would have been flattered if you thought he was actually interested in you rather than the message you had sent him. Sure enough, his dark eyes glinted when he leaned in close to you. “It’s not often anyone has the nerve to ask me for a favor.”

Yeah, that hadn’t been your best idea. But you were desperate… as much as you didn’t want him to know that. It was infuriating that he had seen through your casual invitation, but the glinting intelligence was part of the reason that you needed him. 

“I… suppose it could be considered a favor,” you agreed, begrudging as it was.

“I don’t see how you could consider it anything else,” Jango countered. “Tell me, princess: what do you need from me?” 

“I could use your help with a bounty.” 

He leaned back, dark brows shooting upward. “Really. A bounty.” 

His skepticism made you feel a little better. “Yeah, unfortunately. I’d rather not split the credits with you, but… needs must. So, will you help me out?”

“Kark that,” he said flippantly, signaling for a drink. The bartender apparently knew what Jango wanted or was willing to take a blind guess, since he immediately fetched a clean glass. “We both know I’m gonna need a lot more information before I agree to anything. Get talking.”

You sighed. This was exactly why you hadn’t wanted to bring him into things. Unfortunately, you needed someone who could take care of himself if things went wrong, and there was no one better at that than Jango. And any bounty hunter worth their armor was constantly on alert for the risk of being double-crossed. 

A server droid had delivered Jango’s drink by the time you were finally ready to speak. Even then, you took a healthy swallow from your own glass before you did.

“Don’t laugh.” 

It hadn’t been the strongest opening, as evidenced by the fact that he was already grinning before you had finished the two-word sentence. You frowned at him, rolling your eyes for good measure. “Good job.” 

“If you don’t want me to laugh, you shouldn’t be telling jokes,” he said. “Go on, then. Tell me the funny story about why you need my help and I’ll try not to laugh.” 

“This was a bad idea,” you muttered. 

“Probably,” Jango agreed cheerfully. “But now I’m interested. You don’t ever ask for help with bounties. You don’t even like to work with a partner. Now you decide you need help? None of your bounties are even challenging.” 

All of your current bounties were Tier One, known for extreme rage and prone to fits of violence. They killed any hunters who tried to bring them in. Tier Ones were your specialty, as Jango knew, but he got first pick of the new contracts. He always chose the most dangerous of the Tier Ones, all with the highest possible bounties. 

You made a face. He was clearly trying to goad you and you longed to walk away… but you really only had one idea of how to track your bounty, and you would need Jango’s help for it. 

“Are you going to listen?” you demanded. “Or do you want to drown in your curiosity when I walk out of here?” 

Jango motioned for you to continue, failing to hide his grin behind the rim of his glass. He wasn’t trying very hard.

“I’m tracking one of my bounties,” you said, jumping into things before the conversation could devolve even further. “I found them here on Coruscant.” 

He grimaced and you nodded. Everyone knew how bad it sucked to have a bounty come to Coruscant. Anyone could disappear in a ecumenopolis of a trillion people from every planet in the galaxy. 

Of course, Coruscant was highly monitored with facial recognition, scanner droids, and undercover police, but there was still a risk that someone would go to ground long enough to have a surgeon change their appearance. In that case, you were utterly screwed unless the bounty happened to have a biometric tracking chip. And since most planets in the Republic considered tracking chips to be a privacy violation, chances of that were slim.

“Anyway, I found them, but I can’t get to them.” You sighed, letting your frustration bleed through. “The only place they go unprotected is a kink club in the Industrial Sector. A place called The Edge.”

“Sounds like you have a good lead on things,” Jango admitted. “What help do you need from me?” 

“I have a way into The Edge.” You rubbed your temples, partially to ease a headache and partially as a way of avoiding his gaze during the next part of your explanation. “They’re hosting  a kink event tomorrow night - BDSM specifically. I need to get inside, but I was warned that I should bring someone I trust, in case they want… proof that I’m active in the lifestyle.” 

“Is that something they’re going to check?” The skepticism was thick in his voice. 

“Apparently, the club has had a few issues with would-be spectators in the past.” You eyed him steadily. “What do you think?” 

“Let me get this straight,” Jango mused, a smirk clear on his face. “You need me to come to The Edge with you to get your bounty, but not because you need my skills as a hunter. No, you only need me with you so you don’t have to fuck someone you don’t know to prove you’re not lying about why you’re there.”

You hated the way that sounded, but it was regretfully accurate. “Yes.” 

Jango’s lips curved with a lascivious smirk as his gaze ran up and down your body. “Well, princess, why didn’t you ask me sooner? I’ll come along and hold your leash.” 

Abruptly, your opinion of the situation shifted. You chuckled - a slow, purring sound. “I think you misunderstood me, Fett. I need to track my bounty. If you agree to help me… I’ll be holding your leash.”

He jerked back like you had hit him, eyes widening in shock. “You-?”

“I would be playing the dominant in the relationship,” you reiterated. “I need freedom to move around the club without being questioned or paid attention to. If I have someone that I need to step away and ‘punish’, that allows me to go anywhere I need to. I can find my bounty and get out of there.” 

“So you want me to act like a submissive?” Jango snorted, but it wasn’t his usual cockiness. “Sweetheart, we both know that you make a better submissive than I do.” 

“No, I don’t,” you insisted stubbornly. “Besides, this is acting. Like I said, I just need you there to help me blend in. And, if necessary, to interact with so no one gets suspicious.” 

“I don’t think I can help you blend in,” Jango said, gesturing toward his own face. “I’m well-known as a bounty hunter. Even if no one else recognizes me, there’s a chance your bounty will. Which one are you hunting here?”

You pursed your lips. It was frowned upon to ask for the name of someone else’s bounty. You had the contract, so it wasn’t like Jango was going to take your prize, but it was still an unspoken rule you were hesitant to break. 

Eventually, you decided that it would be better for him to know what he was getting into… and why this was so important for you. “Zamnist Gusin.”

The low whistle he let out told you that he understood the gravity of the situation. Gusin was an infamous Falleen, known for using their pheromones as a weapon. They romanced multiple beings and convinced them to be utterly loyal only to their new favorite criminal. Every moment you spent not capturing Gusin, they were working to build an army. 

“Maybe you do have a challenging bounty.” Jango’s fingers tangled together on the table in front of him. That was often a telltale sign that he was deep in thought. “Even if no one else recognizes me, Gusin definitely will. I’ve hunted them before. Just barely caught them before one of their followers tore my head off.” 

“I’ll have a mask for you,” you told him quickly. Maybe this wasn’t as much of a long shot as you had thought it would be. “We’ll both be wearing one. It’s normal for people to conceal their identities at things like this.”

Jango hummed. “And what kind of ‘interaction’ do you think we’ll need to have to prove that we belong there?” 

Your shoulders tensed. That was the question you had been dreading. “As little as we can get away with.” 

This look was significantly less friendly than the last time you had been vague. “More.” 

“I’m not really sure. It’ll depend on the situation.” You sat back against the high back of the booth. “It might be something simple, like a spanking. Or it might be more complex. But there are good odds that we’ll have to perform some vaguely sexual act in front of a bunch of strangers. I won’t lie about that. Are you willing to help, or should I look for someone else?” 

“Before tomorrow night? I might be your only option.” As you watched, a smirk started growing on his face. 

“Thinking of how I’ll manage to convince someone else?” you asked waspishly. 

“No. I’ll help you, sweetheart.” Something in his tone warned you not to relax just yet. Sure enough, smugness dripped from his voice as he added, “I’m just thinking of all the ways you’re gonna have to make this up to me.” 

“Let’s start talking terms, then,” you proposed, setting your jaw. “I have a lot of work to do if we’re going to get into The Edge tomorrow night.” 

—

The following night found Jango Fett climbing onboard your ship, the Enchantress. You had agreed that it would be best to start the night there. You could park close to The Edge, minimizing how much time you were walking the streets before putting your masks on. The more attention you could avoid, the better. 

“Nice,” Jango said, gesturing around. He had been aboard the Enchantress before. Many times, in fact. Since he clearly wasn’t talking about the elegant architecture of your fast little ship, you figured he must have been referring to the mess. 

“Shut up, Fett,” you ordered. “Some of us have to work for our bounties.” 

His brows arched. “Are you implying I don’t work for mine, princess?” 

“Getting into character for tonight. And speaking of…” You handed him the mask you had found, along with a bag of clothing. “We’ll dress here. I have cloaks for us to wear between here and The Edge.” 

“Are you karking serious,” Jango asked flatly, still staring down at the mask in his hands.

You had thought the mask - made to look like a Mandalorian helmet - had been a nice touch. Clever, but nothing that would stand out. Jango seemed to disagree, if you were to judge from the scowl on his face.

“You don’t like it?” 

“You took a symbol of my people and their warrior traditions and turned it into a mask used to hide a face during a secret sex event.” You couldn't quite tell what attitude Jango was going for with his explanation, but he didn't sound thrilled. 

“I didn't mean to offend you,” you said carefully. 

He watched you, stare unreadable. “I don't think you understand Mandalorian beliefs about honor, marriage, and when sexuality is appropriate.” 

That made you laugh, though you tried to stifle it quickly. “I'm sorry, are you saying that you having problems with this because you object to sex before marriage?” 

“I'm not against this,” Jango said, looking conflicted. “I'm just trying to figure out if you were being ironic.” 

“Total mistake,” you insisted, raising your hands innocently. “Want to switch masks?” 

Jango glanced from you to the mask you were holding up. Your mask was far more simplistic, a plain black that covered your eyes and nose with raised geometric designs running along the border. 

“That one would leave my mouth accessible.” 

You squinted at him, but his expression was steady and sincere. “I don't understand you, Fett.” 

He shrugged and you handed him the plain geometric mask. It was easier than trying to wade through the rest of the conversation. 

There was going to be enough chaos when he saw the outfit you had chosen for him.

—

“You're lucky we docked so close,” he grumbled. “If I die from exposure, I'll come back to kill you.” 

You hummed noncommittally, too focused on your own outfit and how odd it felt. 

“If anyone finds out about this, I’m tripling my terms.” 

His terms had been, frankly, exorbitant, but you had been desperate enough to pay them anyway. Tripling them would ruin you… especially since he had demanded things far more precious than money. 

“Who’s going to find out about this?” you asked, trying to calm him down. “We’ll be at a private event in disguise. If anyone does recognize us, we have instant blackmail material.” 

“And that will help when our reputations are ruined?” His voice was tight with irritation at his own rhetorical question. “Especially since I have more at stake here, and we both know it.” 

“Are you going to be able to do this?” you demanded, losing your temper enough to wheel around in the middle of the sidewalk. “Because, if you can’t, I’ll figure it out myself. But I need you to decide now. I can’t have you get in there and panic.” 

Jango narrowed his eyes at you. “I never panic.”

“Then you’re just whining because you know it irritates me?” You scoffed. “You know what I think, Fett? I think you’re panicking because you think you’ll realize how much you love having someone else boss you around.” 

“Princess, what makes you think you’re the first one I’ve let be in charge of me?” 

“Then you knew what you were getting into when I asked you and you know even better now.” You folded your arms. “Can you do this or not?”

“I said I would help you and I will,” Jango said grumpily. “But I don’t like this.” 

“Maybe you should take a break from worrying about your precious reputation,” you suggested, exasperated. “If you lean into the opportunity of no one knowing who you are, you might actually enjoy the chance to let go and explore a new side of yourself.” 

Jango frowned, but didn’t seem to have a response for that. You rolled your eyes and kept walking. When he followed, you couldn’t say you weren’t relieved, but you were starting to worry that you’d pressured him into this. Hopefully, you could get in and out of The Edge without anyone questioning your place there. 

When you and Jango stepped inside the doors of The Edge, you had already put on your masks. The reception desk was empty, but a small sign directed everyone there for ‘the gathering’ toward the fifth floor. There wasn’t anyone to greet you at the fifth floor, either, but another sign invited you to place any outerwear in a closet. You both stripped off your outer cloaks. 

You had picked out Jango’s outfit, but your mouth still went dry to see him in it. He wore only a set of black boxer-briefs on his lower half, but his torso was encased in a series of black leather straps. The straps connected at intervals, building into something that wasn’t quite a vest. The whole rig was studded with the occasional durasteel hook or buckle - purely decorative, but they looked good. The straps managed to give the look of tactical gear, but showing far more skin. A pair of black boots completed his outfit. 

He looked perfect - dangerous and deadly, but so vulnerable and touchable. You had a sudden surge of understanding for men who liked seeing leather-dressed women wearing weapons. You supposed there was something universally compelling about the combination of sex and violence. 

Your own outfit was far less impressive. High-waisted black shorts made of a stiff, shiny material, boots with a bit of a heel, and a black halter top under the corset that wrapped around your waist. Bracers guarded your forearms and the mask covered your face, but you felt far more exposed than usual. The clothing was a strong, cliched reference to the typical dominatrix wear, but you hadn’t been willing to put too much thought into the aesthetics of an outfit that you would wear once and never again. 

And you felt hot in it, so there was that. 

When you had finished eyeing Jango up again, a new person had appeared in the room. She was a human woman, remarkably quiet on her feet. She smiled as you startled. “Are you here for the gathering?”

“Y-yes,” you confirmed, fighting not to look over at Jango for confirmation. “Yes, we are.”

“We’ll see,” she said mysteriously. “Follow me.” 

You did, sparing a single glance back at Jango. His eyes seemed remarkably bright against the matte darkness of his mask, and he gave a slight nod. The human woman led you both down a hallway and into another room. 

You were focused on picturing the building’s layout and memorizing your escape route, and didn’t immediately notice your surroundings. Dangerous. 

There was a large, throne-like chair at the head of the room, currently occupied by a female Iktotchi. She was dressed… well, not dissimilarly to you. She wore the outfit better, the pale brown of her skin contrasting against the darkness of her clothing and the stark white of the horns that ran down either side of her face. 

She grinned at you, showing off a gorgeous bone structure. “Welcome, friends. I am Telde, current queen of the court. All are welcome to play here, but I must insist on getting an introduction before you go off to enjoy yourselves. Who are you?” 

Telde hadn’t asked for full names - or even real names - but you already had aliases prepared. “I am Kirne. This is-” 

“Ah,” Telde interrupted, holding up a gloved hand. “Everyone must speak for themselves in this court, Kirne. At least, until mouths are occupied with other things. Who are you?” 

The question was clearly directed at Jango, and you had a moment of guilt that you hadn’t briefed him on his temporary identity. “Mellac.”

There hadn’t been any hesitation, and you had a surge of gratitude that he was such an excellent liar. 

“Kirne, Mellac, welcome to my court.” Telde inclined her head, her horns turning the movement even more graceful than it had been. “I will let you have full reign of the rooms in a moment. But first, what may we expect of you today? Do you intend to play together? Are you separate? Are you looking for a third?” 

“I am Mellac’s Mistress,” you said, doing your best to sound powerful and sexy. “He has earned the reward of a night out. I am the only one who may touch him, and he is the only one who may touch me.” 

Telde watched you for a moment, as if waiting for more. “And will you allow others to watch you touch each other?” 

“That depends,” you mused slowly. When Telde lifted one brow, you smiled. She wouldn’t be able to see it behind your mask, but you were willing to bet that she would hear it. “It depends how good my Mellac manages to be tonight.” 

Telde gave an appreciative laugh, waving at the human woman. The woman pulled aside a curtain behind her to reveal a heavy-looking door. “Others will be curious about you both. If you feel anyone has taken liberties where they should not, I ask that you come to me with your complaints instead of settling issues yourself. Agreed?” 

“Agreed,” you said. Jango nodded beside you. 

With a wide smile, Telde nodded to the woman. “Enjoy the court Kirne, Mellac. You are both most welcome here.” 

The nameless woman opened the doors behind her, revealing a large room filled with dimmed lights, pieces of furniture you had no name for, and the sound of a lot of people enjoying themselves. You gave a slight bow to Telde, nodded your thanks at the woman, and crossed into the room. 

You studied the room with a bounty hunter’s eye, pushing aside your own fascination and mild discomfort while you did. The room was large, but not entirely self-contained. You could see at least a few places where small, sparsely lit corridors seemed to open off of the room, and a laughing throuple moving down one as you watched. 

Most importantly, you didn’t see Zamnist Gusin anywhere. 

“What do we have here?” a male voice purred, and you braced for the inevitable eye-fucking that came with an outfit like the one you were wearing. 

To your surprise, you weren’t the one being eyed up. Jango stood straight and proud, chin lifted to stare the other man in the face. The man wasn’t the only one looking Jango’s way, and a few others drifted over to stand around you both.

“I am Kirne. This is my submissive, Mellac,” you said. “We’re here to take in the sights. Perhaps find some… inspiration.” 

“Have you thought about a nice paddling?” one woman asked, giving Jango’s ass an appreciative look. “Perfect for disciplining an unruly submissive.” 

“Mellac is very well-behaved,” you explained. “We’re here as a reward for him.” 

Jango sneered at the woman, the expression visible thanks to the short mask he had opted for. “My Mistress doesn’t favor mindless pain.” 

The man scoffed. “Show me a dominant who avoids pain and I’ll show you a misbehaving submissive. Especially you, little one. You definitely need a strong hand.” 

Jango visibly bristled at being called ‘little one’. He was roughly average height for a human male, but working among so many species who were taller and stronger had left him with a chip on his shoulder.

His shoulders went back, the muscles of his arms coiled with barely restrained violence. “You want to see a strong hand?” 

You saw his hand curl into a fist and rushed to put yourself between them. “Mellac! I didn’t give you permission to speak, and especially not to another dominant. No matter how much he should keep his opinions to himself.” 

The man scoffed. “You should take my comm frequency. That way, when both of you realize that he needs more than a soft-hearted woman, he can find a dominant that’s a better fit.” 

“I have everything I need right here,” Jango retorted, blatantly squeezing your ass. 

“Mellac,” you hissed, your voice low and whip-like. Jango flinched - a convincing piece of acting, you had to admit. “We’re finding a place to punish you. First, for speaking out of turn. Second, touching without permission. And third… we’ve been working on your need for attention. Picking a fight won’t meet that need, and now, neither will I.” 

Jango gave a wordless whine that made things low in your body clench. “Yes, Mistress.” 

You looked at the crowd. “Where can we be alone? Unobserved. This one likes being watched, and I don’t want him having that need met tonight. Not when he’s misbehaved so badly.” 

“Well…” one of the other crowd members said slowly. “All of the rooms are occupied, but there are a few hallways.” 

“Yeah,” another agreed. “Drox won’t be leaving their room anytime soon, so the hallway outside of that one should be fairly private.” 

It took effort to look unaffected by that. ‘Drox’ was one of the aliases Gusin was known to use. Carefully, so you wouldn’t betray yourself, you nodded. “That sounds perfect. Which hallway leads to Drox’s room?”

---

Author's Note - Obviously, there will be a second (spicy) part tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

[agonycrossbow]

I've been thinking about this for the past few days, and one of the things that really bothers me about the whole "age gap" discourse re: EagleOne is that, by buying into it, you automatically erase a huge part of Leon's character.

Leon might have been on the planet for 27 years, but he still has the maturity of a 21 year old.

After Raccoon City, Leon basically falls out of time and space. He's all but completely removed from society and has his growth as an adult completely stunted by the CIA.

It isn't as though he's spent the last six years gaining practical wisdom and real-world life experience that puts him at some sort of advantage over Ashley and makes any relationship between them cunningly manipulative on Leon's part.

Leon wasn't out dating and socializing and learning the ways of the world and growing alongside heartbreaks and disappointments and setbacks and victories and achievements. Leon has spent the last six years locked in a room with Jack fucking Krauser and getting the shit beat out of him -- that is, when he wasn't being sent off to active war zones.

Like -- do people even realize the actual depths of what Leon's training entailed? Krauser wasn't just a sparring partner teaching him about edged blade combat. Leon was actually literally tortured in the most literal dictionary definition of the word. He had to be, in case he was ever caught and tortured by the enemy -- he had to be trained on how to take it and not crack.

Leon not actually being in STRATCOM is actually really important to his character. He wasn't sitting in a war room digging through intel and pursuing active leads in an investigation against Umbrella. Prior to the formation of the DSO, he was a military combat unit -- the most elite one that the US government has ever produced. He is a weapon in every sense of the word. He's probably had to go through boot camp with both Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets and then some.

Basically, Leon was an experiment conducted by the US government to see if it was possible to create a soldier capable of wiping out entire military units on his own (which is, incidentally, probably the how and why behind his involvement in Remake's version of Operation Javier. He was chosen to be sent in after Krauser's unit was wiped out for a reason.). He probably wasn't the only one to have been put through this gauntlet during this experiment, but he was the only one who made it through to the other side. He's an anomaly; he's the exception that proves the rule.

None of that is conducive to fostering his growth as an adult or as a human being -- and that was exactly the point. The idea was probably to try to strip him of as much of his humanity as possible in order to create a weapon who would mindlessly follow orders and never question the hows or whys. This is also probably why his "softness" was a huge point of contention for Krauser, who knew exactly what the intentions for Leon actually were. After all, he knew Leon's potential better than anyone.

That's why Leon is so stoic and serious and almost joyless at the start of RE4make. He hasn't lived as a human being living among other human beings in six years; he's been forged into a weapon instead. The last time that he felt like and acted like and lived like a person was when he was 21. He hasn't grown past that point.

That's why his reaction to and treatment of Ada is so goddamn immature.

And it's also why it's such a big deal when Ashley gets that first smile out of him. When Ashley brings out the sides of Leon that we haven't seen since early-to-mid RE2make, she's returning pieces of his humanity to him.

The government had Leon convinced that he wasn't the same person anymore -- that the kind-hearted guy who went into law enforcement out of a genuine desire to help and protect people was dead -- because he's been in an echo chamber and having that idea reinforced to him over and over and over again. Ada saw right through it and knew that the old Leon was still alive in there. And Ashley brought him to the surface and gave him a second chance at life.

On paper, Leon and Ashley have a seven year age gap. In practice and reality, there's only one year separating them. Ashley is 20, and Leon is still only 21.

Anyone who crows about an age gap between Leon and Ashley is outing themselves as someone who doesn't understand Leon's character at all and can be safely and thoroughly ignored.

[siconetribal]

Put It On My Tab: Chapter 3

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!reader

Tag: @vbecker10

Warning: Cursing

Summary:

Everyone deserves time off, and the vigilantes of Gotham are no exception to the rule. The boys decide to take a weekend to let loose. Who knew a few drinks would lead to a stranger in bed?

Author Note (updated 12/15/22):

I don't know how or why this got deleted, so I'm posting it again. Here are the links to the other parts for new readers:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

PLEASE READ WARNING ALWAYS.

Aside from the occasional whirring of the computer fan trying to cool down the tower and the creak of the computer chair every time Jason moved, the room was silent. Leaning back again, he let his head hang back and let out a loud groan, swiveling to one side until his monitor was just in sight. Still not on yet. He fussed with his hair, the pop of white in the front mixing with the black before falling back into its usual place. He was disgruntled and now growing impatient. “Another fifteen minutes, the hell is going on?” He muttered at the lack of message from “IAmBatman”.

Though he was not an avid gamer, he did dabble in the periodic pastime. When his brothers insisted he try online gaming, he did what any moody loner sibling did and ignored them. However, after enough pestering, he caved and gave it a shot. He lingered in the town/lobby area of the game, buying or creating items, until he felt prepared enough to look at the request board that he usually ignored. There were a bunch of different requests floating around, but he had no intention of randomly selecting one. He needed a good quest where he could contribute. He was not going to ride a bus, nor did he want to be the bus. It was a simple enough restriction…or so he thought.

Very quickly it became clear that at this hour only those who were very skilled or not skilled enough were around. A middle ranger like him was too good or not good enough. Not wanting to be a quitter, Jason stuck to his restrictions and scrolled through the board. He would exit the list and reread again, hoping a refresh would populate new ones. After the fourth refresh and seconds from him rage-quitting out of frustration, an interesting username caught his eye. There, in black ink, was “IAmBatman” requesting help. He could not help the loud snort that came from him as he accepted the task. He needed to see this avatar for himself. It had to be some buff male avatar all black or modded to look as close as possible to the black cowl wearing vigilante. What greeted him was an avatar that was outfitted to look like his vigilante alter: Red Hood.

Jason nearly choked on his water when he saw it. The player had a username calling himself Batman and was dressed up as Red Hood? This had to be some sort of prank. Grabbing his phone, he opened the group chat with the other bat-boys and demanded who was behind this. Anyone available was utterly confused and insisted they had no idea what he was asking about. Snapping a picture, he sent it and asked again. The response? Damian demanded to know what buffoon would mix the two, Dick was sending laughing GIFs, and Tim wanted to meet the genius who was trolling him. It was obvious none of them has a clue on whom this player was, but they all wanted to meet him now.

<You know you’re dressed as Red Hood, right?> He sent into the chat.

<Yeah, so?> IAmBatman responded.

<Your username…it’s Batman.>

<Who says I’m not?> He stared at his screen and rolled his eyes. <Have you ever seen me and Batman in the same room?>

<I’ve never met you.>

<Which means you haven’t, so you can’t say I’m not.> He let out a small chuckle at the silliness of the argument.

<OK, “Batman”, what’s the plan?> And that was how he made friends with “IAmBatman”. Now, here he was sitting and waiting for the fake crusader to sign in.

I know I’m not the most punctual thanks to my line of work, but IAmBatman is never this late without giving some kind of heads up. Did something happen? They did say they’re living in Gotham, troubles everywhere here. He frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. Another eternity passed by (five minutes). “Forget, I’m logging out. I’m just gonna read, I waited long enough.” He fixed his posture in his chair and wheeled it closer to the table, grabbing his controller. With a few presses and pushes, he was staring at the dialogue box that asked him if he was ready to sign out. His thumb was primed and ready to confirm it, but he could not. Frustrated with himself, he exited the screen and went back to idle. I don’t need  to log out, I’ll just grab a book and read. “If they come on, and I miss it, I miss it. So what? They can wait, just like I’ve been.” He pushed his chair back and hopped off the seat, making his way over to his filled bookshelf. Searching through the titles, he grabbed the one he was currently working on and made his way back to the desk. 

“Now, I’m just going to sit here and enjoy my book. If they log on, and I miss it, oh well. They can wait as long as I did.” Kicking his feet up on the table, he leaned back and slouched a little into the perfect slight curl before opening to his bookmark. Now his night would not be a waste. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he jumped into the world within the pages.

What felt like the tenth eternity of the night rolled by as he heavily dropped his feet to the floor and sat up. How many times have I read that stupid line? If anyone asked me, I wouldn’t be able to tell you the fuck I even read! He audibly groaned, scrubbing his face with his hands. Did he dare look at the clock? He widened the gab between his index and middle finger to peek at the clock on his wall. “For fuck’s sake, only three minutes?!” He nearly chucked the book in hand at the offending time piece on the wall. “I’m going to go insane, this is it! This is how I, Jason Todd, actually die. Insanity from waiting online for some stranger to come play games with me.” He slouched further in his chair, letting it swivel side to side. Maybe if I do this long enough, I’ll melt into the floorboards. He scrunched his nose and furrowed his brows. This is really pathetic. A ping from the speakers made him jump, the chair sliding backwards as he fell forwards, narrowly saving his nose from smashing into the edge of the desk as he scrambled to get up.

<Hey, sorry I’m late. My shift ended late. Are you still there?> All the anger and frustration he had built up instantly flew away as he blindly reached back until he grabbed the arm of his chair, pulling it back under him as he typed back.

<Yeah, I’m here. Took ya long enough. What’s with all these late night shifts, I might think you’re actually Batman 🤣> he replied.

<Crime stops for no man!> He snorted.

<Ok, caped weirdo, what’s with all the late night shifts?>

<Let’s just say I had an expensive date one night, and now I’m stuck paying off some debt 🙄>

“Expensive date, paying off debt? The hell kind of date is that?” He muttered to himself. <I think you owe me a little more detail than that after making me wait here all night.?

<Can’t we just go kill some dragons instead? 🥺>

<After you tell me how a date got you into so much debt.>

<Ugh, fine, rude!>

<Good girl>

<Who said I’m a girl? I could be some sweaty, hairy old guy living in the apartment building basement.>

<Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England 🙄>

<Well, Your Majesty, it’s rude of you to assume my gender when we’ve never met.>

<I can tell by the way you type. Trust me, I know a lot of sketchy guys, you’re not a sketchy old dude.>

<Oh yeah, what if I’m a super skilled sketchy old dude that’s pretending to be a girl?>

<Wow…so sexy…you really know how to get a guy going. Quit trying to distract me and tell me what happened already!>

<Alright, alright! Jeez, so pushy!> She replied and Jason smirked.

I knew it! He thought with a smug smirk, watching the three dots appear and disappear a few times on the screen as she typed. He watched this repetitive animation run for a good handful of minutes, his curiosity rising with each passing second, until a small paragraph of text appeared on his screen. Leaning on to his right arm, he leaned in closer to the screen as he read. “Couple months ago, spent the night with some dude during her high school reunion dinner, they spent the night at a hotel, he trashed the room, and she’s stuck paying the bill.” He muttered aloud to himself as he summarized the details. “Damn, that sucks!” <What kind of asshole does that?! Can’t you fight the hotel and tell them he’s the real culprit?>

<I wish! I don’t know a damn thing about the guy! We met for the first time that night and I had the room under my name so legally I’m the one responsible for any damages and fees that may be incurred from said damages. So, because of that, I’m working extra shifts and overtime to get as much money as possible to clear the charges without asking my friend for a loan.>

<Damn. Do you remember anything about this guy? I can beat the shit out of him for you. I’m pretty good in a fight, if I do say so myself.>

<I feel like saying that automatically means you’re terrible and I’ll need to save you from yourself 🤣. Thanks for the offer, though.>

<Ow, rude! We’ve never even met! How can you tell if I’m strong or not?>

<Just like how you can tell if I’m a guy or a girl by how I can text and assume I’m not Batman.>

<Nice try, but I have sources close to hm. You’re not Batman. Also, was I wrong though?”

<Would my saying yes or no actually prove your right or wrong? “

<Touché, well, the offer still stands. If you need me to teach that shithead a lesson, just say the word.>

<My hero, now can we go beat up some giant lizards for items? I need to vent out the frustration of having to deal with the rich snobs of Gotham who like to complain about the color of our cups during the holiday season.>

<What, it’s not December yet.>

<I know, that doesn’t stop them. Now, ya joining me or not, wonder boy?>

<Yeah, yeah, let’s go!> He chuckled, following her avatar.In the blink of an eye it was nearly dawn and the two of them finally called it quits and logging off. The boss monster was a lot harder than they anticipated, but they finally managed to get the upper hand and reap the rewards. Crawling into his bed, he pulled the covers up to his shoulders and rolled onto his side. She was safe, and he managed to get some great gameplay time after a boring night of patrol. Maybe life was not so bad after all. Yawning, he closed his eyes and let sleep finally creep over him. Yup, a good night. His eyes flew open as he practically went flying out of bed at how fast he sat up. Two words had suddenly come hurdling to the forefront of his mind. Two words he skimmed over in his eagerness to get the hunting on the road. The same pair of words that made his eye twitch from how close they were to his old title as Batman’s sidekick. “Holy shit, there’s no way! It can’t be, but who else says that?!” He let out another loud groan as he dropped backwards on to his mattress. IAmBatman was the girl from the hotel room. Tonight was going to be a long night.