#she died frozen and alone and for no good reason at all.

[miharuhebinata]

the thing about jackie is that i LIKE that she's dead

[eeboshmeebo]

[Fake Shameless vs Stoic Shameless]

I can't take it. I can't take it no more. I HAVE TO WRITE IT BEFORE IT DIES, AAAAHHH!

Neito Monoma x Very straightforward Fem-Reader

"Hahahahaha! I heard that you've gotten a new member today, 1-A! I'm guessing that they're just as pathetic as the rest of you!"

The classroom door had been left open, the only reason that this boy could've ever opened it without the keys.

This... boy. Short blonde hair. Blue eyes that made you think of both forget-me-not flowers and blue granite at the same time. Perfect teeth. The odd way he bent over. His eyelashes and his lips, vitally noticeable yet unnoticeable like the texture of a canvas underneath the paint. His voice, which you'd normally find irritating on another, seemed perfectly suited for him. The white pupils he had, instead of the 'dead fish' eyes you were reminded of with others, looked like pearls inlaid into a tourmaline and white quartz of some sort.

Oh, you were smitten the moment you saw him. Your classmates didn't seem to share the same sentiment, however.

"So not manly to judge a person before you even met her, Monoma!" said Kirishima. Monoma was one of the few people he didn't get along with, which was a surprise only to you.

"Yeah! Go away, leave us alone!" said Denki after Kirishima finished speaking, looking up from his conversation with Mineta to get Monoma to go away. Mineta wandered off now that the attention was off of him.

"Sorry about that, he comes around often..." said Mina, her lips forming a pout and her eyes slightly narrowed in obvious annoyance.

You knew that she was actually more upset about having her 'conversation' with you interrupted, a one-sided talk with her speaking endlessly while you were completely silent, but you patted her on the shoulder, much to her surprise, and walked up to him

"Oh, what's this, the new 1-A student, trying to fight with-"

"You're cute. Go out with me."

...!?!?!

The entire class was silent. Wide eyes, gaping mouths, even Mineta had frozen before he snuck up on Yaoyorozu and promptly got stopped by Jiro.

"W-well, I never! You could be j-joking and trying to trick me, f-f-for all I know!" Monoma stuttered out, pointing his trembling finger at you as he fixed his posture.

Ah, he was blushing... he looked so much better with a blush on- no, wait, scratch that. He looked good all the time. His cuteness was just enhanced when he was blushing and stuttering.

Before he could continue, however, you had unlocked your phone and gently grabbed his hand, placing your phone into the palm of his hand.

"Put your phone number into my calls list. I like your voice."

He blushed even more with that, little half-attempted words coming out of his mouth at how... assertive you were. Did you have no shame, no awareness of the multiple people filming this!?

"...okay."

Monoma, under your abnormally intense, wide-eyed stare that seemed to see through him (you wish), input his phone number into yours and gave your phone back to you.

You intentionally held his hand as you took your phone back, and once you did, he fled...

"I'll get my vengeance for this, 1-AAaaaaaaaaaa!"

He was surprisingly quick but you could hear that he ran into someone down the hallways outside.

...

You smiled to yourself in your newfound victory.

And, of course, someone just had to ruin it.

"This feels a lot like the story of how my dad and the old hag got together, damn it! I don't want to relive that!"

...Bakugo was quickly silenced by the death stares from a few of the more... gossipy girls. Namely Mina and Tooru. For such energetic girls they sure can silence a man.

[luffyrose]

Oh Brother....s?

I had the most brilliant mini-idea while raging at video games because my parents suck at em. Anyway, there's really no correlation there, but the idea!

So we all know the whole "Danny is related to (Batkid) and he was give away because blah blah" or "he died and blah blah". We know those, and we love them, but what if, hear me out, Danny is related to MULTIPLE of them.

Danny is the child of Willis and Talia.

Now he was definitely not planned or anything, it just happened during a random mission and Talia couldn't bother to deal with it much. She decided that if the child lived she'd give it to Willis, a sort of test. It's not like she needed the baby, Damian had been born a little while before. Talia is one of those mothers who doesn't LOOK pregnant even when she's about to have the baby so basically, Danny does end up being born but is a really sickly kid, like REAL sick.

Of course, she really couldn't care less about the kid so baby Danny was given to Willis, who just gave Danny to Jason and Catherine. He's like 8 or so, so he isn't Robin yet, and he is SO happy to have a little brother. Except he's terrified for Danny, whose name was originally something else with Daniel being his middle name thanks to Jason (also why he kept the name Danny and not his original first name), but he doesn't want Danny hurt. After a few years, just before he becomes Robin, he gives a barely like 4-year-old Danny to a shelter or something with a blanket and a note.

Everything goes the same with both of them from there. The reason why Jason is easier on Damian compared to the others? He kinda looks like his baby brother, not identical but like, there's a resemblance, and he kind of finds it uncanny. Reason Talia even gave the time to help Jason? Well, he's technically the older brother of her younger child, and after having Damian for a while she does feel a little bad. Even if she doesn't want to meet the kid, she figured helping his older brother was a good enough way to apologize.

Danny remembers his older brother. How he looked and his name, and how he always took care of him. It's why even when his new adoptive parents neglected both him and Jazz he doesn't think anything is wrong. Jason had raised him. Now Jazz was. It was simply normal to him. He's just got major parent issues honestly.

The only people who know about his older brother are Jazz and Tucker though. His parents never were told because they'd been too busy to learn about it. Jazz had helped him on the earlier nights when he cried for Jason. And Tucker had learned when they first became friends as kids. Even if he was close to Sam, he never mentioned Jason though, it kind of felt like something he shouldn't touch anymore. It'd been years and even if he still had that star blanket, the note he vaguely remembers with it had been taken and put with his papers...and well he didn't know where those were.

Jason had already died and come back when Danny had the accident, so neither was aware of the other still. Danny does the whole hero thing for about 3 years before everything came crashing in for whatever reason, and he has to run. With no plan, he just follows his core and ends up in Gotham but he doesn't know why. Gotham herself is THRILLED to have him back because Jason was hers and this was Jason's little brother as well as her king! So she's trying to help the disoriented and hurt boy to his brother.

Cue shenanigans and angst though and it take a good MINUTE for Danny to even meet the Bats, let alone Jason. I'm thinking everyone meets him in one way or another before Jason is getting something from the cave while they're talking about this meta kid who LOOKS kind of like Damian but not at the same time, so they need to figure out if it's a clone or what. Jason sees the picture and is frozen, not even noticing the fact that he started crying while the whole fam is freaking out.

It's Damian, who looks between Jason and the picture, that notices the subtle differences that had them thinking it was still familiar were from Jason. And dun dun dun, it's Jason's little brother. He never knew who the mother was and after someone gets him out of his like mini-panic from knowing his brother was close by, he just bolts to his bike to go find him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I actually think I may make this a one-shot series. If anyone else wants to use this idea though feel free as well! Just tag me or smth :D

I honestly do think this is gonna be another thing I write though, I kinda love this idea a lot XDD

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for telling my mom not to invite grandma to my dead dad’s birthday dinner?

For context, my (19M) dad (44M) died in January of ‘24. He was a dick and I don’t miss him, but he was my mom (46F)’s husband and I’ve been there for her through the grieving process. Unfortunately, Mom’s mother (80F) has taken over my mom’s grief and has made it about her.

For what I mean, it’s that Grandma wouldn’t let my mom stand next to my dad as he was dying in the hospital bed from jaundice and cancer, was praying very loudly that her son-in-law would get better and putting her hands all over my dad’s chest, kept comparing what my dad was going through to how her 7th husband died back in ‘09 (also cancer but not the same), and overall was just obnoxious during the worst moment of my Mom’s life.

This isn’t a new thing for grandma to do. Grandma is just a dick. She’s openly racist against Asian people, she’s stupidly Homophobic (but not towards me because I’m family and I’m ber favoritr grandkid because I’m not afraid to talk smack about people who get on my nerves. barf.), and any achievement that my Mom receives, Grandma has a story about how she won something even better.

It has gotten worse when my Mom’s dad (85M) moved in with us for health reasons. Grandpa was Grandma’s 3rd husband and their marriage didn’t end amicably. Still, it’s been 40 years and Mom wants a relationship with her dad. Grandma HATES him. Constantly yelling at him for forgetting things when she comes over, brags about being there for us grandkids (I have two younger sisters) when we were little, and overall is just plain rude. My dad used to be able to just tell her to leave, but now that he’s gone, he can’t.

Well, last week would have been my dad’s 45th birthday. Mom wanted to celebrate by taking me and my youngest sister (the older sister just moved out for college and is across the country) to Dad’s favorite restaurant. As we were leaving, Mom was stressing very heavily about not inviting Grandma or Grandpa. She stressed about Grandpa because he often forgets to eat dinner and she stressed about Grandma because the old bitch has flamed my mom on Facebook for not being invited to events before, even though my mom knew that Grandma wouldn’t like those events (think late night soccer games, plays where I’m not a main role/has an 18+ theme, etc. stuff an old Christian woman who hates driving at night would hate)

I told Mom not to invite either grandparent and that the three of us (me, Mom, and little sister) should just go alone and enjoy some immediate family time. We did and we had a great time, talking with my little sister about her high school classes, talking shit about my mom’s coworkers, and me getting to infodump about Fallout because my mom just watched the tv show.

Towards the end of the night, my Mom gets a text from Grandma asking what we were up to for Dad’s birthday. I tell Mom not to answer and she doesn’t. Grandma then sends Mom a screenshot of the family Life360 map and starts sending walls off texts saying how hurt she is that she wasn’t invited, how neglected she is, how awful it is that she can’t spend time with the grandkids anymore, how Mom always prioritizes Grandpa over Grandma (he wasn’t even with us?) and shit like that. I take Mom’s phone and block Grandma for her since she’s sitting next to me, frozen and locked-up.

It’s been a week now and we haven’t spoken to Grandma. That’s fine by me, but I can see that my Mom is upset and regrets how the dinner went.

Here’s where I may be the asshole:

I was the one who said not to invite Grandma

I was the one who blocked Grandma

I butted my head into my Mom and Grandma’s relationship

Here’s why I think I’m not:

My mom has never been good at standing up for herself

My mom shouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit while grieving her fucking husband of 22 years

Not everything is about Grandma. She inserts herself into everything needlessly

TL;DR: Dad died. Went to dinner with my mom and sister to celebrate his birthday. Grandma found out and bitched a fit that she wasn’t invited. I took mom’s phone and blocked her. Now mom is stressing about losing her relationship with grandma. Aita?

[mikobeautifulheart]

5 stages of grief, 2 Anger

Suguru Geto x Reader

TW: Mentions of death and asphyxiation.

"Suguru- Your not really dying are you? This is a prank isn't it, it's not funny." You said with wide eyes, seeing your boyfriend lying up against a wall without his arm.

"It's not a joke." Gojo said from behind you, looking on at the scene.

"No, no you can't die, your a special grade, your one of the strongest" You said through tears.

"Oh common' y/n, can I see a smile before I go?" Geto pushed a smile out watching you silently break down.

"That's not funny Suguru" You said

"I'm sure Gojo has a good joke to make you smile, right Satoru?" He said looking past you now.

"Suguru..."

"Look after her when i'm gone Satoru, sometimes she can get real down, if she ever dose get down just get her her favorite food and tell her she's beautiful." He said breaths growing short.

"Don't close your eyes!" You said going to his side and resting his head on your shoulder.

"Please smile for me?"

You tried to manage the best smile you could before he smiled back at you.

"Thanks y/n. Thanks Satoru" He said before his head hung low deadly still.

"Suguru? Suguru look at me! Come on we can heal you and get you all better again, Suguru!" You said trying to shake him awake.

"Y/N, i'm sorry but he's gone" Gojo reached down and grabbed your arms.

"No. NO. SUGURU WAKE UP, SUGURU."

He never woke up.

***

"Look y/n I know it's hard on you but you can't let it get in the way of our missions" Gojo reached his arm out leaving his hand on your shoulder.

"HE WAS THE ONLY REASON I'M STILL ALIVE-" You shook Gojo's hand off harshly, immediately making it recoil back.

"YOU JUST- YOU DON'T GET IT HE-" You stopped walking.

"He was everything to me." you said voice barley above a whisper.

Eventually you drowned yourself in missions, no one really saw of you at all anymore, some even thought you were dead because you never came back to jujutsu high or kept in contact with them.

***

"Y/N YOU KNOW THATS NOT HIM HES DEAD. Y/N!" Gojo shouted as you stood frozen.

Geto had come back to life.

"Y/n, your on the wrong side dear, i've missed you." His arms were out stretched waiting for you to embrace him.

The urge to run into his arms were to strong, you felt yourself become overwhelmed with tears. You slowly took one step forward toward him.

"Awww don't cry Y/n, smile, I'm sure Satoru has a good joke to make you smile." He said

You stood still as you remembered the moment he left you, saying the exact same words.

"Y/N THATS NOT HIM, ITS NOT THE SUGURU YOU KNOW" Gojo yelled.

"Don't listen to him y/n, he's a little worked up, that's all" 'Geto' said urging you to keep coming toward him.

"I missed you" he said with a wide smile.

***

"Don't listen to him." The same voice said behind you.

"Suguru?" You questioned looking behind you to see your dead lover standing there with a smile.

"But your alive." You said looking at both the Geto's

"No, i'm not. Y/N I died. That's another man in my body." He said walking toward you.

"Your going to have to kill my body." He said, still smiling until he reached you.

"Suguru, i-i-i can't, its still you, I can't kill you!" you said feeling your heart painfully shrink.

"But it's not me, if you want to save everyone and who's left, you need to kill my body."

"No, I can't do that Suguru!" Tears streamed down your face.

"Why can't someone else do it?" You said though sobs.

"No one else is strong enough and Satoru is stuck, you need to help him."

"Sugu-ru" you said through tears as he closed the space between you, holding you close.

"I trust you y/n, your going to have to do this okay? I believe in you."

"Please don't leave" You said muffled in his chest.

"I'll always be here for you, you'll never be alone. Every one is here for you." You looked up and he flashed a smile at you.

He stepped back, still holding onto your hands.

"I love you y/n" he said

"I love you too-" You said before he seemed to dissolve into the darkness.

***

"Suguru...no he's dead, my Suguru died along time ago" You said your hands making fists in anger.

"So who are you?!" You said, knuckles turning white.

"Awww there you go ruining it all again Satoru, I was so close."

You noticed the scar running all around the top of Geto's head, he really was someone else now.

"I'm Kenjaku but im glad i found your lovers body, perhaps the best one I've had in centuries." he siad

"You took Suguru." You said glaring at him.

"No, i'm simply finishing off the work he set out to do, until he was killed by your friend here." he said pointing at Satoru.

"Y/N You know I had no choice, I had to okay just don't listen to him!" Gojo said.

"I'm not" You mumbled before lunging forward summoning a cursed weapon.

Before you could stab him his arm reached out and grabbed your throat. He squeezed your throat so tight you felt like your head was going to explode.

"Y/N" Gojo yelled.

Your eyes were closing and your eyelids were getting heavier.

"I'm sorry, Suguru" You said before driving the knife into his chest. You felt the hand grip your throat tighter knowing you missed the heart.

That was it you were going to die here in your dead lovers arms. You looked at his face one more time until you noticed his expression going blank. 'Geto's' other hand pushed the weapon in deeper making the hand around your throat let go. You fell to the ground, both you and Satoru looked on as Geto seemed to gain control of his arm.

"I'm sorry" You coughed out as you tried to sit up on the floor.

"YOU RAT" Kenjaku said trying to take the weapon away.

"I tried my best Suguru, I tried." You said before finding your body to heavy to move.

***

"y/n, can you hear me?" A voice said.

It recognised it as Geto's.

"Yeah...I'm sorry, I failed you." you stayed laying on the floor with your eyes closed.

"No, you got closer then anybody else has. Your doing so well but your going to have to open your eyes for me." It said.

"No"

"Please, you have to finish the job."

"I can't do that again Suguru" you said.

"You have to, for me."

"How could you leave me? First you leave now you want me to kill your body? DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS!" You screamed burying your face into your arm.

"I WANTED TO DIE, I DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE WITH OUT YOU BUT YOUR STUPID PROMISE, I WANT TO HATE YOU BUT I CAN'T!"

there was silence and you felt a jabbing pain in your arm.

"AHH" You yelled in pain before hissing.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry y/n, I never wanted to leave you."

"But if you knew you'd die...I know you would change." You said gritting your teeth.

Another painful poke ran through your system.

"AHHH NO, NO YOU BETRAYED ME! HOW COULD YOU?" you screamed.

"Y/N I DIED. I died doing what I thought was right, but if you die it would be because of me, and that's not right. I'm sorry for leaving you but you can't die because of me"

You moved your arm out the way and looked up, the room was a bright white and there he was, reaching his hand out to you.

"I'm sorry" He said

"But you need to open your eyes."

"Suguru. I." you paused and so did your hand.

"I forgive you." You said, tears already long gone.

He looked at you and gave an guilty grin as you finally took his hand and was taken aback by the bright light.

"Y/N! Your awake!" Gojo said at the side of your bed.

"Gojo? What happened?" You asked groggily

"You nearly died, not even reversed technique would work on you, its a miracle that you survived." He said with a worried look.

"Yeah." You whispered.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."

THANK YOU FOR READING ♡

AUTHORS NOTE: Welp that's over the next one is up soon, Gojo and bargaining. All 5 stages will be up on my master list under the series section. have a good whatever time and feel free to request something if you want a specific character and stage. reblogs r welcomed.

[ask-spooky-manor]

Common Fear Headcanons

What common fear/phobia each manor resident has and why

(Leaving it under a Read More cause it got long oops)

Trigger Warning: There are hints to child abuse in Sally’s and Tim’s parts so read with caution

Toby: The Dark

- Toby has a really bad anxiety disorder that only worsens if he’s left in the dark. Not being able to see anything leads to his mind coming up with more and more horrid scenarios that leave him at best: extremely on edge and at worst: having a full blown panic attack.

Tim: Spiders (and some bugs)

- Not every foster home was kind to Tim. A lot of then were outright cruel. One of them would lock Tim in a dark basement for hours on end where he constantly felt spiders crawl on his skin. Even when he was let out, he could still feel the phantom touch of the spiders. It lead to him developing a really bad case of arachnophobia as the sight of a spider takes him back to a time where he felt so hopeless.

Brian: Heights

- Brian is considered to be very fearless, but the idea of being somewhere high up will have him frozen in place. He fell once, technically died, and he fears of it happening again without being given a third chance at life.

Jeff: Heights

- This one is less personal and more having the general fear of falling to his death. He also deals with that phenomenon where once you’re high up, you have the urge to throw yourself off. It really unnerves him.

Ben: The Ocean

- …okay well sometimes the obvious choice is the best one! Drowning is said to be one of the worst and most painful ways to die. With Ben having been killed that way, they’re not exactly ready to jump into a pool anytime soon. Ghosts are mostly numbed to a lot of sensations but even then, Ben never wants to experience drowning ever again.

EJ: Forests

- The fear is completely ironic, but Jack has lived alone in the woods, freshly blind, for enough years to realize that a lot of freaky shit happens there. From ghosts haunting an area to creatures lurking behind the trees to even inhuman acts happening where no one in society can judge. It spooked Jack to the point where he dislikes having to go into the woods to hunt. Again, it’s ironic when he himself is a man eating demon, but you gotta remember that he still has his humanity unlike most forest creatures (and serial killers).

Natalie: Tight Spaces

- She has a classic case of claustrophobia. Generally speaking the feeling of being trapped makes her slowly lose her shit the longer she’s stuck there. It’s even worse if she can’t move her body. It subconsciously reminds her of the time she was made to stay in a poorly funded mental hospital against her will.

Jane: Mirrors

- It’s also an ironic kind of fear. On one hand, Jane very much adores looking at herself in the mirror. She’s gorgeous, she knows she’s gorgeous, she likes being able to see how gorgeous she is. On the other hand if she stares at it for too long, she starts to dissociate, see shadows lurk behind her, swear the person looking back isn’t her. She hates walking by them more than anything, fearing she’ll catch a monster following her if she glances over to the mirror.

Nina: Being Alone

- She is the kind of person who needs to be with someone else at all times. Being left alone will lead to her thoughts racing faster than it should. Her paranoia worsens, and she starts to feel like she’s losing her mind. The anxious thoughts and scenarios she has scares her to no end.

Sally: People

- After what happened to her, Sally unfortunately is someone who was forced to realize that there are terrible people out there. People who want to hurt others for no good reason. She may seem fine living in a manor with a bunch of people now, but truth is that it took a loooong time for her to get used to it. Each time a new person is brought in, Sally needs to take a good while to see whether or not they’d ever hurt her. Luckily no one in the manor ever would, and if they did they’d be swiftly dealt with.

Slender: The Outside

- Slender is borderline agoraphobic. He can’t really leave the dimension he created because if he did, his Curse of Misfortune would take affect. Anyone he’s near is doomed to face great misfortune to a life ruining degree. For this reason, Slender has grown a fear of leaving the manor knowing simply being out there will lead to people getting hurt. It makes him nauseous to step out there even if the portal to the real world opens up in some secluded place.

[elfieafterdark]

Violabeth wasn't exactly sure what she was getting into, fostering such a troubled young girl. But she was well off, had plenty of time and love for her twins, and so it felt natural for one more.

The girl was of Maori descent, so Violabeth spends time brushing up on their culture. So Harrow had something familiar.

Turns out that was a waste of time. The poor girl has absolutely no idea about her heritage. She doesn't even know what the word Maori means. Or much of anything really.

Harrow is tiny. Small, scrawny, a wafer of a child. Clearly malnourished, extremely skittish, and horrified by nearly every part of modern life. Poor thing. It's all so terrible.

Harrow screamed When Coronabeth turned on the TV for the first time, and she calls it a demon box with ghosts in it. She's terrified of the radio for the same reasons. She is 10, she has never seen a television before, and her birth parents were insane.

Viola can hardly fathom it, the scope of tragedy this little girl has been through. To think that a mother could be okay with poisoning her daughter in the name of "salvation". Make no mistake, Viola is privately religious... But never like that.

Harrow stares suspiciously at her dinner. Glaring at it with tiny malice. Ianthe tries to coax her into trying it, saying that it's really good and you'll enjoy it. Beth just goes to town on her own.

Little charcoal eyes look up at Viola, searchingly, uncertain. A little pointy face full of doubt and fear.

"Is it safe?"

Same question, different day. Harrow always asks this when given food, and every time she does the meaning is understood. Is it safe is code for, "is this poisoned?"

Poor thing. Poor, sweet girl who's been put through way too much. More than anyone should ever have to go through.

Viola does the same thing she always does when her youngest asks that question. She reaches across the table, she grabs one of the dino nuggies, and takes a bite for herself.

Harrow watches as she chews, because see, her parents laced juice with cyanide. All the other adults had wine, but Harrow specifically had juice. And her entire family and community drank something, and the cyanide prevented them from uptaking oxygen, and they died. And little Harrow was left alone for hours frozen and blank faced.

But Viola, perhaps contrary to what the little one thinks, has not laced anything with cyanide and wouldn't even know where to find cyanide if she wanted to.

She swallows, she smiles in what she hopes is a reassuring way. She says, perfectly safe, and Harrow looks at her older sisters, neither of whom have seized up or gone purple.

Then she looks back at Viola, who also hasn't keeled over dead as a doornail. Then the little girl picks up a Triceratops shaped chicken nugget, and takes the world's tiniest bite.

And oh, how her eyes sparkle.

That's when Viola knows that this? It's all worth it. That's when she knows for sure that they're keeping sweet little cautious Harrowhark. She's family already, and she's finally home.

[liquidstar]

I've seen a lot of people in the Re:zero community hate puck with a passion and call him a hypocritical toxic father, and a good portion of them accuse him of deliberately mentally abusing Emilia so that she can be a naive pretty doll with no sense of independence and always obey him unconditionally.

How do you feel about that?

i dont think theyre wrong per say but i also do think puck genuinely loved emilia a lot- i dont think this is something up for debate. he will literally end the world if she dies. but is that what she would want??? i highly doubt it. emilia is a girl who would die for a world that has been nothing but cruel to her.

puck was never really meant to be a father, like, thats not what he was made for. hes the beast of the end not the beast of paternal love. but thats also something about him i find compelling, because he changed so much of himself because he loved this girl so much. his mentality is literally "if anything happens to her ill kill everyone in the world and then myself"

but he does baby her. extremely so. and he does treat her like a doll. remember part of their contract is literally that he does her hair, and thats why she chops off in greed:if as an act of rebellion (normal teen girl behavior honestly). he also literally never told her what sex is- shes 17 and she had no clue, and its played off as a joke at first, but subaru's "damn you puck" rings so true.

remember in wrath:if it was puck who pitched a deal with suabru to keep emilia trapped in the "princess room" away from all the danger. the whole princess room thing (in wrath:if and also in her childhood) is symbolic of her loss of autonomy in a lot of ways, especially when you remember she's NOT a princess. she's a candidate to be a KING!

and there are more damning things within their contract too, like how she literally wasnt allowed to SEE HER OWN FACE! its not made super clear in the anime, but whenever she looks at reflections she actually doesnt see anything back (not because she doesnt have one, but that she herself isnt perceiving it. and i think a lot of this also comes back to the self-recognition theme of the story, the whole reflections though eyes motif and all. remember how much of her we saw reflected only through subaru's eyes? she doesnt actually see her own reflection until she jumps inside the lake in the trial)

but i think thats also a big part of why he broke her contract with her to begin with. i think he knows she hasnt been allowed to grow up, that shes been overly babied, isolated, and kept away from things that might potentially make her feel bad. including her past, and even her present and future... breaking the contract off all at once isnt a good way to do this, i mean, her mental breakdown was so emblematic of that. but i think its important to look at what it all means for the meta narrative.

the latter half of arc 4 was absolutely emilia's arc, and a lot of it was her sort of growing up. i dont think cold turkey is a great way for a parental figure to do this to their child, but emilia was so incredibly dependent. and a lot of that was because puck MADE her dependent to begin with. for so much of her life she literally only had him... like. she was all alone in complete isolation in a frozen forest for as far back as she can remember, and everyone in the world hated her for reasons she didnt understand, and all she had was this little cat thing to be her friend. OF COURSE shes dependent on him, and of course she thinks she cant do stuff on her own (shes so fucking scared of being alone), and i think puck sort of depended on this mindset to keep her a "child" for as long as possible

but she had to grow up eventually. she's 18, maybe almost 19 by this point of the story (still unclear exactly which month we're in) and this is just as much her coming of age story as it is subaru's. (but speaking of subaru puck also guilt trips him quite a bit about emilia's deaths, even when he himself is "gone at the most important times" in emilia's words, which is not only hypocritical but also manipulative!)

all this being said i seriously love puck as a character because when he was first introduced i was like "oh god. annoying mascot character. boring" and then the beast of the end reveal happened and i was like "oh so this is going in the kyubey ripoff direction. i guess that makes sense for a dark fantasy but idrc" BUT THEN he actually ends up being like. an actual character w a lot of depth and nuance to him, a lot of it being how incredibly fucking sketchy he actually is but in a completely different way than just "evil twist mascot." between him and matsumoto from vivy, i love how tappei handles mascot characters- theyre a really hard thing to get right w/o being annoying LOL.

[apartfromgod]

i don't know what this is but.. y'all can have it.

shauna angst.. lowk hate the end but i cba

When Shauna wakes up the first thing she notices is that she's cold. Freezing, actually. Which is odd because she has two blankets and the attic is actually warmer than downstairs. The second thing she notices, is that it's brighter than the muted sunrise she's become used to, white rays of light stretching alone the floor.

The third is the snowflakes that are stuck to the window.

She's looking out of it before she's even aware she got up, and then she's downstairs before she realizes that she couldn't see Jackie out of it.

She's knows she's gone. Knows it before she's there, screaming, and clawing at Jackie's face. Knows it when Taissa is wrapping her arms around her own, dragging her away. Shauna knows Jackie is gone. Shauna knows she's gone too. Knows the part of her that was full of Jackie, full of love, and hope, has frozen next to the fire with her.

She refuses to move from the porch, despite the worrying looks and the begging she got from Taissa. She'd let herself be dragged towards the cabin, but she sure as hell wouldn't go inside. It's what she deserved after all. She was the reason Jackie was outside, flat out told her to. If Jackie couldn't come inside, neither could she. She didn't mean what she said, not really. She remembers her and Jackie, younger, writing in a notebook. Her's or Jackie's she can't remember, just the writing, and the crude heart Jackie had drawn around it.

'Shauna+Jackie 4eva'

So she sat on the porch, a blanket half falling off her shoulders, and she'd stay sat. Sandbox love never dies or some bullshit.

That was the plan at least. Until she felt the warmth of someone beside her, and she shyed away. Warmth wouldn't do them any good now, not when Jackie had finally managed to light the fire, not when Shauna had fallen asleep, lip bleeding from her teeth worrying it. She didn't speak, she couldn't really, what with her jaw working overtime, teeth clacking against eachother. Is this what Jackie felt? As she froze not even 5 meters away from her? Did she feel the same paralysing chill spread amongst her chest, stealing her voice. The frost that stopped her legs from bringing her inside, upstairs, to Shauna?

It sure felt like it.

Shauna didn't look at the body next to her (not a body, like Jackie's, who was still laying next to the fire, lit now. By who Shauna was unaware, but she was glad Jackie was warm.) nor did she speak to it. They simply sat, until they went back inside, and if she wasn't so tired from the cold she would've turned around, just enough to recognise who it was, to see who tried to keep her warm like she should've kept Jackie warm.

She didn't though, choosing instead to simply lay her head against a post and closed her eyes, thinking of snow falling against Jackie's sleeping face.

Jackie had always hated the fucking cold.

//

She woke up in the cabin, in front of the fire with a couple blankets over them. She'd almost burnt herself in her haste to stand up, swaying slightly as she did so, black spots dancing in her vision. She ignored the worried looks as she stood on shaky legs and stumbled to the door, practically ripping it open.

Her eyes stung with the wind, and she felt her heart rate calm. Her eyes darted to Taissa's, and then down a little, to where she was holding Jackie's shoulders, dragging her towards the meatshed.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" She'd meant to whisper it, or at least say it in a normal volume, but she'd ended up screaming, her voice cracking and her eyes welling up almost instantly, as she rushed towards them.

"Shauna— we can't.. she's dead. I'm not just keeping her dead body in the doorway." Tai sighed, as if she was expecting this, tone tinged with weariness and exasperation.

"So you're putting her in the fucking meatshed?!" She tried to push Tai away, only resulting in herself falling over. Tai resumed her dragging. "Stop it! She's not fucking��� you can't treat her like a piece of meat. You can't just— She's mine!"

Taissa looked like she'd just grown a second head.

"Go inside Shauna. I'm not doing this with you right now."

Shauna let out a noise akin to a growl and stood up, feeling the snow melt into her clothes.

"You can't just take her!"

Tai looked at her with an odd sense of pity. It made her feel sick.

She went back inside, too scared to evaluate what that meant, watched them from the window.

//

She'd never admit it, but Shauna's glad Jackie's in the meat shed. (Her meat shed really, since the others had given it a wide berth ever since the door had been halfheartedly propped against the rotted wood.) It gives them the privacy to be themselves. (Gives Shauna the privacy to talk to Jackie as if she isn't frozen and unmoving.)

And then she fucks up.

Get's mad at Jackie, pushes her over, breaks her fucking ear off.

She doesn't know what she was thinking. Wasn't thinking at all probably, when she tucked it safely into her pocket, staring at Jackie with a look almost akin to horror, before the fear wore off, and she was babbling a chorus of apologies as her palms were brought up to Jackie's cheeks.

And she was cold again. Jackie. Not Shauna, for whom the cold had become an odd sort of comfort in the past two months.

She'd ran back into the cabin, and up into the attic, tears cutting through the grime on her face the second she'd realised she'd lost her again. Lays down on her sorry excuse for a bed (two blankets, a pillow. Jackie's Doomcoming dress acting as a pillowcase) and pulls out Jackie's ear.

Time passes, but she's unaware of it. Stays silent, even as the tears gradually slow, slow, stop. Keeps her eyes on the ear, while it defrosts in her clammy palm.

Shauna stands, suddenly. Glances at Javi's wolf carving by the window, the ladder, Taissa's sleeping form in the corner of the room. Her journal. Jackie's ear.

Who even is she, without Jackie? Nobody. She wasn't Shauna Shipman, she was Jackie Taylor's best friend. It'd been that way since before she could remember. And now.. what? She's supposed to be alone? It doesn't feel right. She didn't want to be anything without Jackie.

Another glance at the ear, but her minds made up.

It doesn't taste like she thought it would. It's harder to chew than she expected, though.

She smiles without Jackie by her side, and it feels new. Because she doesn't need Jackie by her side, when she's inside her.

[justrainandcoffee]

Against all odds (Alfie Solomons x fem!oc) Part 2

Crossover Peaky Blinders - Hunger Games

Series Masterlist - Part 1

Summary: The 60th edition started and Philip and Reah are in the Arena. Alfie knows this will not be easy and his hopes aren't very high. But those being officially the first games for Rose, she has other expectations. She's has hopes. || Two years later, during the 62th edition, Alfie is facing the consequences of being close to Mrs. Evert.

Series warnings: Mentions of sex (consent and non-con). Murders. Blood. PTSD. Cheating. Prostitution. || This is set in Panem universe. Topics as minors being sexual corrupted are also mentioned because it's CANON.

Words: 3.6 k || Alfie x Rose masterlist || Here I mentioned the OCs Eva who belongs to @evita-shelby and Lucy who belongs to @emotionalcadaver.

Hearing Alfie's advice, both kids survived the bloodbath but they got separated. While Reah was inside a stone cave, Philip went downhill in search of water. Neither of them had weapons yet, but the cameras showed how Reah was sharpening a rock to make a knife.

Alfie was watching everything in silence. It was as good that they survived that damn bloodbath. The previous year, both of his tributes died there. But they were weaker than the Philip and Reah, despite they were older. At least now Alfie could focus on searching sponsors.

His own bloodbath. His mind went to six years ago. The first one was a boy from district 7. Alfie grabbed him by the neck and smashed his head against a frozen rock. Two times was enough to kill him. Then, against the probabilities, he murdered the girl from district 1 who attacked him by the back. She was a well toned girl, trained to kill people even stronger than Alfie himself. But he managed to grab her by her braid and pushed her down. When she screamed and let him go, Alfie threw her to the ground and mounted her. The boy stabbed her in the eye with her own knife, she died instantly. The girl's body remained there with the handle protruding from her blue eye, the blade was deep in her brain. He grabbed the sickles and ran away.

"How are they?"

Hearing Rose's voice helped him to clean his thoughts. She had a plate of pastries in her hand and offered him one, which he accepted.

"Alive."

"That's good. How many died?"

"Seven. But there's one, the girl from district 10 who's severed injured. She's not gonna make it, she can't. Even if the mentor sends her medicine… so, eight."

"Poor girl. Suffering it's the worst part."

"I guess."

The screen showed a pack of tributes chasing a younger boy. They were laughing and cheering as usual. It was the adrenaline speaking for them. At the end of the third or fourth day, neither of them will be laughing anymore and probably most of the pack will be dead. But now their brains were still under the influence of the adrenaline and they were not conscious at all what the games were really about.

Rose saw how the man was staring the screens and decided to leave him alone. She didn't know what to say, after all and Alfie needed to focus on the kids. Maybe, one of them could be lucky enough to win the games.

The third night since the beginning of the games, Alfie returned to their floor to sleep. He needed to go to his bedroom to rest. But he found Rose at the table, she was clearly crying but tried to hide it when she heard him. She closed her sketchbook.

Alfie sat next to her. He didn't need to ask what was wrong with her, the reason was that Reah was dead. No one but the gamemakers killed her. She was running when an avalanche of stones fell over her head. Other two tributes died with Reah.

"You get used to it," he said. "Sooner or later."

"She was sweet."

"She was, yes."

"You really get used to it? Seeing the same kids you laughed with, you ate with… die like animals?"

"You need to get used to it, Rosebeth, or your going crazy," Alfie picked up some grapes that were over the table.

She shook her head, "that's not my fucking name."

"It's not? Then what's your name?"

"Just Rose."

"I prefer that. Why do you call yourself Rosebeth, then?"

"Because I need to be a new person here. I can't be Rose. Rose can't smile and pretend that everything here is fucking fine, when it's not. But Rosebeth can. She can. When I cross that fucking door I need to pretend. I have to clap, I have to laugh. It was my secret, no one knew my real name until now. But it doesn't matter now."

Alfie studied her. She wasn't just sad. The woman next to him was angry. Alfie remembered her words from the past week when they argued on the balcony. The eyes of a person who knew what you felt when you're waiting for a death sentence when you're only 12. Even if she escaped from it.

"Did you lose someone on the games?"

"No. At least no one I knew. My mother lost her best friend and the sister of hers, before I was born. The three of them were friends, apparently and my middle brother lost an old buddy. He was 15. This girl, Reah, she was… she was the first one I was close to," she didn't realise she was crying again. She kept talking while sobbing. "I thought… that maybe… I-I- even was designing a dress for her in case, she was the winner. FUCK!"

He couldn't help but put an arm around her. He was sure she wasn't the frivolous and indifferent woman he thought she was at first. At least she cared for the kids and her sadness was real. Rose was crying against his shoulder.

"It's okay, Rose. Sometimes is better to die there than face the consequences of surviving the games. Believe me: You don't win the games. You survive them... Sometimes not even that."

It wasn't uncommon for some victors to commit suicide. Alfie himself thought about it, but he never did it.

Rose relaxed when his fingers started to stroke her hair.

"I'm sorry," she said still against him.

"For what?"

"For everything. I'm not part of this, but living here I feel I own you an apology. For having to kill to survive, for whatever people did to you after the Games, for Reah… the other kids…"

"You did nothing. You're not the enemy."

"I married the enemy."

"But you're not him."

Finally she pulled apart from his shoulder. There was a wet spot on his shirt where her face was, she tried in vain to dry it out with her hand. For a moment both of them stared at each other in the eyes. Alfie wiped away the last tears of her face and she closed her eyes. She didn't need to see to know that Alfie was leaning towards her. Rose first felt his breathing against her skin, then his beard and finally his lips on hers.

It wasn't love. It wasn't even a 'I like you', it was a 'this is the only way I know to find comfort.'

It wasn't passionate, hot, messy either. It was a calm, soft but firm. If usually sex calmed his thoughts, Alfie discovered that kissing her gave him peace. Something he forgot he could feel.

"Thanks," he said later nuzzling his nose against hers.

"For?"

"For understanding."

This time it was her who kissed him. It felt good, probably the only good thing she felt since she put a foot in the Capitol four years ago. Alfie's hand was on the back of her head pushing her against him. For a moment the kiss was hotter than before. But Alfie stopped himself.

"I can't."

"Don't worry. It's okay. It's already late… probably we should go to sleep. It's… don't worry." Rose smiled at him, even when her eyes are still puffy and red. "Philip still needs you."

Alfie stood up and kissed the crown of her head before leading to his own bedroom. He couldn't sleep until hours later.

The next morning to Alfie's relief he discovered that Philip was still alive unlike tributes from district 11 and 12. The girl from 12 died because of Philip. Alfie was still amazed that a boy with only one had could be so skilled and strong. But the kid was and after four days he was still alive.

"Any luck with the sponsors?" Rose asked him.

"Not really. I think he needs water, maybe. I haven't seen him drink since yesterday and the landscape is terrible."

"Mmm. Let me help."

Alfie saw her fix her dress and after looking around she went to talk with an old man. Alfie understood what she meant with Rose and Rosebeth. The latter was chirpy and flirty, was full of joy and was very persuasive. Not long after, the old man approached Alfie and with his help Philip received not just water but necessary food.

Minutes later when they watched the screens both of them saw the moment that Philip received his gifts. The boy was happy. Alone behind a big rock, Philip calmed his thirst. Rose was happy too. Before going with the rest of the staff, she smiled and winked at him. And Alfie couldn't help but smiled too… for the first since he visited that damn place for the first time.

But happiness isn't something you can feel during the Hunger Games.

Philip survived, against all odds, to the sixth day. Not only that, he was one of the two last survivors.

The tension was palpable. It was him, a boy from the third poorest district, or the boy from district 4, one of the richest. But when you're about to die, the fact that you're poor or rich doesn't matter. Alfie could see his boy was tired, sweating and sick. But the boy from district 4 wasn't doing well either. One of his eyes was closed and his right knee was bleeding. Both boys were staring at each other. Dmitri, the other boy, had a hatchet but Philip had his spear. If Philip threw his spear and failed it was over. But Philip never failed. So, he did it, he threw his spear which ended in Dmitri's liver. The boy from district 4 fell on his knees.

Alfie forgot to breathe. He never, never wished the dead of any boy or girl, but…

Philip never failed. But Dmitri either. Even when he was half dead, his hatchet ended on Philip's skull. And the games were about the last man standing. And that was Dmitri. Philip was dead.

Alfie walked blindly towards the elevator. He barely saw around him. He pushed away aggressively the male mentor from district 12 who was on his way but this one said nothing. He knew what Alfie was feeling. Whatever he wanted to say it wasn't the moment. A red haired girl at his side remained in silence as well.

Alfie broke two glasses against the wall. Rage, fury… there weren't words to describe his anger. The young, cheerful, sweet Philip was so, so close to win his games. How many more times he was going to tolerate that? How many boys and girls were going to die under his protection? No one, except him, knew about the hate he experienced every time he had to face the family of those who died. As it was his fault that the games exist. As he himself wasn't haunted by his own demons. The faces of those kids… 12 mentored, 12 dead.

Alissa was quiet, too. Every year she had to see too those kids dying over and over again. When Rose opened the door, saw the broken glasses on the floor and Alissa on the sofa. But Alfie wasn't there. Carefully entering his bedroom, she saw him sat on the mattress with his face in his hands. She wasn't next to him when happened but in her studio. She was devastated like happened with Reah, or even worse because Philip was about to win. Just seconds away from his victory and in a millisecond… he was dead.

Alfie didn't watch at Rose when he heard her. Nor didn't react when she caressed his back. His mind wasn't there. The hatchet. Alfie could see Philip's death in his mind in loop.

He didn't realise he was trembling. But Rose did. He forced him to look at her by putting one of her hands on his cheek. She stroked his beard with her thumb, slowly and kissed him. Same as happened when Reah died, it was more comfort than other feelings. Alfie reciprocated. This time she ended on the mattress with him on top of her.

If it wasn't because of the fucked up situation. If it wasn't because of two kids were dead, the whole scene could've been interpreted as the beginning of something especial. Alfie was caressing her abdomen and she had her arms around him. But it was just a kiss. It helped both of them to feel better, if that was possible, at least for a moment.

"Maybe next year," she whispered against his mouth.

"Maybe next year."

But it wasn't the previous year. The winner was a boy nicknamed Jack from district 2. Tall, handsome and lethal.

But destiny it's so cruel that this year it was his twin brother who was competing. If he was like his brother, then the poor children from district 9 competing this year didn't stand a chance. In Rose's mind still was alive the memory of Philip two years ago. Last year the girl died during the bloodbath and the boy after two days.

She saw the reaping celebration. This year district 9 was represented by Armand (17) and Theresa (14). Alfie was right, you get used to kids' death as cruel as it sounded. She felt the death of the previous kids but it wasn't like with Reah and especially Philip.

She didn't have much hopes. Probably the winner was going to be the boy from District 2 and could join his brother in the glory of being a champion. Unless someone could bet him against all odds.

.

Alfie was staring through the train window. Theresa and Armand were talking to each other and giggling. Alfie didn't know if they were pretending that the train trip was something enjoyable or they were just ignoring their probably fate. Seven consecutive years as mentor and not a single winner. Alfie was sure that he'll never going to return home with a victor.

"I saw her the other day" Alissa commented sitting down at his side. She had a glass of orange juice in her hand.

"Who?"

"You know who, Alfie…" Alissa smiled sideways.

"Mmh."

"Her hair is shorter now. You should compliment her. We women like that."

Alissa looked at him. She had been there when Alfie was reaped eight years ago and saw him became a mentor, too. He was always a grumpy young man. But if Alfie thought she was an idiot, he was wrong. She saw the changes two years ago. She saw the way his eyes softened when he looked at her after the girl's death. And the previous year Alissa saw the way he brushed her hand when he thought no one was watching. And even if Alfie was determined to remain in silence, that it was his right, he couldn't lie to her.

"Anyway," Alissa said "I'm going to prepare for our arrival. You should do the same, Alfie."

"Her hair is shorter now."

Alfie found himself imagining her new look.

The first year together they kissed because they found comfort with each other. The second year they kissed for the same reasons but also because they wanted to. And it was almost every night.

And now… honestly he didn't need reasons. He just wanted to feel her.

He missed her.

.

She missed him.

While she was changing her clothes Rose realised that part of her anxiety it was because of Alfie. It wasn't just for the beginning of games, the costumes, the Arena… but him.

Last year, the last night, they slept together. Nothing sexual, just sharing the bed. They had been kissing because they had nothing better to do. Because it felt good. She was tired, so she cuddled up with him and fall asleep. The next morning she woke up with his arms around her waist.

Rose was still thinking about him like a friend. A friend she kissed on the mouth, french style.

But just a friend.

She tried not to run when she heard the train. Her electric blue dress with golden decorations followed her movements when she walked quickly towards the door.

Rose found Tigris in the hall waiting for the old mentor from district 10, a morphling woman, and her two new tributes. Rose didn't remember the name of the boy but the girl's name was Eva.

While she was waiting she saw the kid from district 2 and indeed it felt like she was looking the same boy from the previous year. Same smile, eyes and probably height, too.

Tigris was already talking with the old woman and greeted Eva and her male counterpart. Even when Rose never talked to Tigris personally, she knew it was a talented designer. And probably this year both teens were going to shine.

"Hello, hello!" Alissa captured Rose's attention with her loud voice.

There they were. There he was.

"Good morning, Alissa… Alfie."

"Good morning, Rosebeth," he greeted her using her fake name.

She smiled at him and then introduced herself to Theresa and Armand and told them about the ideas she had for them. The usual.

Another year. The sames hopes and the same fate for them, too. Alissa leaded the way to the elevator. Both kids were at her side. The other two, slightly behind them.

"You got your hair cut," Alfie commented remembering Alissa's words.

"Yes! I did!" she replied surprised that he had noticed it.

"I like it."

"Thanks, Alfie."

Alissa heard it, but avoided smile.

.

The Arena that year it was a desert. Rose heard the conversations about it inside the control centre. The microphone this time was inside a flowerpot she gifted to one of the gamemakers. The woman put the plant next to her desk and that was exactly what Rose was expecting.

After three years knowing him, Rose trusted Alfie but she was still scared of telling him her real reasons of why she joined the Games. She knew him and his temperament. Alfie was pure fire and the last thing she needed was him, or anyone else, interfering with her work.

The notes were hidden inside a painting that represented the Capitol. No one touched ever and since the first day it was there. Although it was obvious she was going to need a new place to keep the rest of them.

For their costumes this year she had decided to simulate a wheat field. A really long golden cape for both of the tributes that could fly in the wind with a lot of little wheat ears vertically sewed on them.

Alone in her studio, Rose was lost in her thoughts and enjoying the summer wind that entered through the open window. The background music relaxed her.

The sound of the door made her lift up her head from the clothes. She smiled.

"You shouldn't be here. It's late. And you should be sleeping to accompany the kids tomorrow."

"And I will be," Alfie replied "I'm just checking you're doing your work."

"It's that, so?" she looked at him who was sitting next to her now.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm doing my job, Alfie. And pretty well."

Rose grabbed one of the golden wheat ears and sewed it on his shirt. She was close to him and Alfie kissed her forehead.

"Don't move or I can prick you." It took her just few seconds to add the ornament to his shirt. "Now you're part of the team, too."

"I thought I was part of it from the beginning."

"But now is official."

He chuckled and finally they kissed. One more year. And they didn't have any more excuses for their actions.

The last thing Alfie wanted was to fall in love with a girl from the Capitol. But as he kissed her, Alfie realised that he lacked of words to describe that feeling.

"I missed you," she admitted.

"I missed you, too."

.

That was the third day in the training centre after the official presentation. Theresa was talking with the girl from district 11 and it seemed that she was teaching her about different techniques to create a trap. Armand was practicing with knives.

Rose was outside that place that was exclusive for trainers, mentors and tributes but she could see them through the windows. Next to her were other people, including Alissa and Tigris.

"Take a picture, last longer."

Alfie turned around and saw a read haired girl that he knew from being one of the mentors from District 12. Another mentor with the same luck as him. She had won the 58th games.

"Lucy."

"Hello, Alfie. If you continue staring her, you'll cause her a headache."

"I wasn't staring."

"Yes, sure." Lucy whispered to him "She's a married woman, you naughty boy. And a hell of husband she has."

"Exactly. She's a married woman means I'm not interested. Besides, this not a fucking romantic place. It's the fucking Capitol and this is the butchering season. 99% of this kids are going to die, the last thing in my mind is a married woman."

"How often do you lie to yourself?" Alfie huffed at her words, but Lucy still had things to say "people are commenting, Alfie. You're too close to her."

Alfie gritted his teeth. He whispered to her, too "she's not her fucking husband. She's not like him or any of the Capitol. How dare you to judge me when I suffered the same as you?"

"I'm not judging you, Alfie. But other people…" Lucy pointed with her green eyes to Aveline Young "Volcano girl thinks you're a fucking traitor. Tommy… I'll talk to Tommy. I spoke with Rosebeth once, she seems nice. But a lot of them suffered because of her husband. And now you're after her like a little dog. Don't blame them either. They don't know her but they do know him. And in their eyes, they are the same."

Next part.

Taglist: @call-sign-shark @peakyswritings @hoodeddreams13 @leenieweenie12 @lunarubra

[pray4saint]

hi saint!! i was wondering if we could maybe get some dad!dream team headcanons :,) i saw on tiktok this little family doing father’s day & mother’s day gifts and thought it was so cute!! -🐼

dad!dteam hcs

masterlist & descrip. pg. 13+. fem!reader. mom!reader.

a/n. i wasn't sure if you meant like child!reader or mom!reader so i picked mom!reader, the mother of dream team's children euehheheeh

dream

boy dad > girl & boy dad > girl dad

big, tall, athletic dad, little copycat boy

they actually play catch together in the yard

your son is a carbon copy of dream, down to the shared pouting

they've actually quite good at teaming up against you to go out for ice cream and frozen yogurt

dad!dream would post family pictures on your birthday and your son's birthday + would post date pictures on your anniversary with one picture featuring your son

twitch chat will often hear your son wander into your lover's office asking for cuddles, and from what they can hear, dream lifts him into his lap and holds him while he continues his stream

whenever he buys things for your little boy, he buys something for you too

always asks your son if he wants to go with him to cons and such and does everything in his power to get his kid with him

sometimes he'll ask you to fly over to whatever side of the planet he's on trips just so he can see you both

other times, he'll stay up all night on facetime with your son until your phone fucking dies because he just missed him soooo much

dad!dream who makes sure your kid knows the rest of his family so that, growing up, he has people to talk to – especially his sister because he knows it's hard for kids to tell their parents stuff

dad!dream booking family vacations and always inviting his sister to go so that you guys get at least one night of alone time on the trip

also also also dad!dream who asks every year on your son's birthday if you can have another one because he already adores your first kid and the idea of having more mini hims and mini yous makes his heart melt

when you tell him no, he opts to beg for another cat and it works

there are pictures of dream holding your son and your son holding patches and the secondary cat that weren't even taken by you floating around the internet

sapnap

girl dad > girl & boy dad > boy dad

absolutely is so protective of his girls, online and offline

is always asking you if he seems like he's being too strict or too unkind to your daughter even though he's doing just fine / he's just so worried to be as strict as his dad was

definitely wants another but is more comfortable and actually wants to wait a few years to actually get a grip on parenting

dad!sap who'll be streaming with his friends until his little girl comes padding into the office, asking if she can sit with him and all of a sudden he stops yelling and tells his friends to stop swearing – those are the moments you're so bleeping glad to have had a kid

dad!sap spoiling the shit out of her and you during christmas

asking uncle!dream, george and karl to collectively take care of her so he can take you out on your anniversary and on valentine's and so you can have some damn privacy

dad!sap and uncle!karl letting your little princess paint their nails

lots of cheek kisses for your daughter and matching forehead kisses for you

from the time she starts elementary school to the time she graduates high school he's showing her the standards she should have by taking you and her each out separately at least once a week

^ he opens car and building doors, holds your hands, isn't afraid to ask if either of you want the bill split or for him to pay, offers you first pick of going out or shopping or whatever

dad!sap is also dilf!sap and the fans love it just as much as you do / that side of social media you make sure your daughter never has to see growing up

this post reminds me,, sap always bragging about being with a milf – especially telling them that HE IS THE REASON you're a milf

dad!sap who has to literally tear his daughter from his mom and sisters because they love her so much

george

girl & boy dad > girl dad > boy dad

george strikes me as the type to have twins or kids almost exactly 10 months apart. / yes, if it's not twins, he actually convinced you to have another baby RIGHT after the first

really, really good with getting them to stop fighting – he's literally the kid whisperer or something, at least that what you tell your friends

dad!george who hates leaving his kids with other people, even if it's uncle!dream or uncle!sap but on the occasion you ask for time with just him, he'll compromise

the most dad ever

is always telling the kids 'go ask your mother' when they ask for something he's unsure about and if you tell them to ask him, he doesn't confuse them and just makes a decision

insists on teaching your son that women get 'sick' for a little while each month so he's more likely to help you and also so he's more helpful when he and his sister get older and her period starts

uncle!dream making jokes about your guys starting a family youtube channel and dad!george just hitting him every time he says it because he knows you don't need the stress

teaching both of his kids that it's okay to have standards* but also that it's okay to be independent and not need anyone

*raising their standards; you taking your son out and george taking your daughter out and then switching off the next week

dad!george softening you up to letting the kids start swearing when they get to their tween years

dad!george being on the phone with his friends and his daughter just wants to show him something so he tells his friends to wait a minute

dad!george trying to cook and his son asks if he can help and george just can't help but say yes*

*they end up needing your help and your daughter joins in too

pray4saint© do not copy, translate or repost my work without my express permission.

[goldensunset]

what if you were an edgy teenage boy who was by nature rather lonely and aloof but you did have this one friend and you used to hang out with him and talk about cool chill stuff together and you didn’t really have any other friends but it was okay because he was enough for you but one day when you were planning to meet up with him he died suddenly in an accident and this horrific tragedy badly emotionally scarred you and you blamed yourself for his death and so you vowed to never open up to other people or get attached to them again because friendship is just pain and both of you might end up getting hurt by it all so you became truly cold and selfish and all alone and started to resent humanity and you thought you were twisted and evil and unfixable but you were really just fifteen years old AND THEN one day you woke up in a strange version of your world and you found out you were dead and had to play this weird purgatory death trap game but you were really good at it for some unusual reason except you had to partner up with this girl and like open up your heart and soul to her and that was very hard for you for the aforementioned reasons and you slowly started to bond with her and help her sort through her own issues with her self esteem and your frozen heart began to melt so that within the span of a week you went from being willing to erase her soul to being willing to play this death game again just for her even though you yourself wouldn’t have been too terribly upset if your soul got erased but she was your most precious thing and you kept going because you had to win this game a second time in order to save her since being your most precious thing meant she was taken away as your entry fee in order to promote character growth AND THEN your second game partner was this really annoying snobbish boy who kind of just reinforced all your prior beliefs about humanity but you were trying your best to grin and bear it because that girl had taught you that there was beauty to be found in life and you had to make an attempt to trust other people plus also even if he had been the literal worst her life was on the line here and also most potentially terrifying of all that boy was actually surprisingly a lot like you with how lonely and withdrawn from other people he was but also he was just so suspicious and then you found out he was the one who killed you and he didn’t confirm or deny anything

*INHALE*

but then later you found out that it was a lie and he was innocent plus he sacrificed himself to protect you at the end of this second game so you felt bad for having suspected him the entire time and you blamed yourself for his death because you felt like he sacrificed himself as an attempt to make amends with you after an otherwise unstable partnership because of your refusal to open up and trust him so your heart felt like a tar pit AND THEN you had to play the game for a third and final time and you were convinced that this time you would have to face this all alone because all your friends were gone but even so you marched on for their sake and it looked like it was about to be game over for you and like it was all for nothing but then this other boy you’d had a few mostly unfriendly interactions with in the past few weeks gave up everything he had going for him and put his existence on the line to swoop in out of nowhere and save you even though he was supposed to be your enemy and you thought he hated you but he was actually grateful towards you for a small gesture you once did for him while expecting nothing in return and both of you were very relieved to see each other and to get to be friends even if neither of you were the type to really admit that out loud and you worked together for the last week to try to help him save his sister whose sudden erasure you had witnessed while trying to sort through each other's trauma and then the two of you eventually met up with the girl from before and so the three of you headed towards the endgame together fuelled by the powers of friendship and violence AND THEN you found out that the boy from earlier that you thought had died to save you had actually been alive all this time and he had only faked his death and had been off and hiding somewhere and you were absolutely overjoyed to see him again but this happiness only lasted for a brief moment as he quickly revealed himself to be the angelic being that was actually in charge of this death game in the first place and on top of that he had in fact killed you but had been meddling with your memories the entire time to throw your suspicion off of him and he had killed you for the express purpose of using you as a pawn in this game because he had made a bet with his vice president or whatever about whether or not humanity could be redeemed

*INHALE*

and if the answer was no he was gonna destroy the whole city as opposed to his vice president who was gonna brainwash everyone and he had picked you as his proxy because you represented his belief that humanity was in fact irredeemable and you had just won the game for him by undoing the brainwashing power and yet ironically the nightmare death game had made you a better person and now your opinion of humanity had improved drastically but regardless it seemed like all hope was lost and the city was about to be destroyed with everyone in it except the boy for some strange reason decided he wanted to play one last game with you in the form of a gun duel and if you won and erased him you would get to take his place as the angelic ruler of this place and do whatever you want with the city and if you lost you’d be erased along with all your friends and the city and it seemed like the obvious decision there was to just shoot him and win but your heart was breaking because no matter how much this boy hurt you no matter how much you’d changed you still understood what it felt like to be him and especially after all that time you had spent with him and spent mourning him and drowning in regret at not having been able to bond with him more during the time that you had thought he was dead you still cared about him so deeply even knowing that he had lied to you about everything you just couldn’t bring yourself to kill him and you broke down crying and he coldly shot you just as he had before BUT THEN you woke up some time later back in your own world alive and unharmed and you were confused and just full of so many intense emotions and eventually you realized he had changed his mind and spared your life because your genuine change of heart had inspired a change of heart in him in turn and since you had been chosen specifically to represent him as someone so much like him then the fact that you could change and grow as a person was proof that maybe there was hope for him as well and you showed him that there was worth and beauty in humanity after all even though horribly and ironically he could never join you ever again and be your friend in your world because as the angelic being who ruled over the afterlife he was duty-bound to this position for the rest of his existence until someone else took him out and took his place so in a way him giving you the chance to erase him had been him expressing how tired he was of living on this way in this miserable purgatory even though he presumably had ascended to this position by his own volition it really did seem like he regretted his choice and now wished he could join you and your friends in the world of the living but he was eternally cursed to merely silently watch over you from above with jealousy and you got to meet up with all your other friends and live happily ever after with them but you also had to live with these lingering emotions for the rest of your life. wouldn’t that be wild lol

[liviavanrouge]

Sibling Squabble(Ch 7 Spoilers)

Silver: Ollie-

???: SILVER!! SILVER!

Silver: D-Daze?

Daze: *Appears in front of Silver, glitching around* LIVIAS ASLEEP! MALLEUS GOT HER!!

Silver: Liv...

Sebek: My Lady got caught!? HOW!?

Daze: *Shakes his head not knowing how she was caught off guard*

Silver: *Looks away* Let's see if we can find her...

Ollie: *Shrieks, her eyes wide as they all fell*

~~~

Silver: *Perks up, landing on a beach* Huh?

???: Nii-Chan?

Livia: *Smiles at Silver, wearing a white sundress with a blue bow around her waist studded with pearls, her hair pigtails with a sunhat on her head* NII-CHAN!!

Silver: *Smiles slightly, chuckling* Liv....of course this is your dream..

Livia: *Beams, clapping* Now we can go swimming! Come on Silver-Nii!

Silver: Liv! This is a dream! It's not real!!

Livia: Hm? Silver-Nii...is the sun boiling your hair?

Livia: It's okay! We don't gotta swim! We can sit in the shade!

Silver: Hold on....Liv you're half "awake" already...

Sebek: Wh-What!?

Silver: Livia, you must know this is a dream but part of you is still clinging to it, that's not good....nothing is gonna be perfect

Livia: ...I know you're not talking...with your perfectly safe little life.

Silver: Huh...

Livia; I'VE SUFFERED FOR FOUR YEARS BECAUSE PEOPLE HATED WHAT I WAS!! THE ONLY REASON THEY STARTED TO LIKE ME IS BECAUSE I WAS PART OF A STUPID PROPHECY THAT'D SAVE THEM!!!

Livia: I'VE STILL SUFFERED DESPITE THAT, WHILE YOU AND THE OTHERS LIVED A PERFECTLY HAPPY AND SAFE LIFE AT HOME

Silver: *Narrows his eyes* Liv...

Livia: I'M STAYING IN THIS DREAM!!! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I'VE SUFFERED-

Silver: THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU, LIVIA!!!! THERE ARE OTHER LIVES AT STAKE!!

Ollie: *Gasps in surprised* Silver...

Livia: THEN GO SAVE THEM AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Silver: I'm not leaving you here....

Livia: OH YES YOU WILL! PAPA'S PERFECT LITTLE BOY-

Silver: I'M NOT PERFECT!! I DID SOMETHING I REGRET EVERYDAY

Livia: *Narrows her eyes* And what is that?

Silver: *Trembles, his eyes watering* I brought you back from the dead...

Aura: WHAT!?

Livia; *Stares in shock alarmed*

Silver: You died...from a Basilisk Stone, you got frozen and you fell and shattered into pieces..

Silver: I took an old training dummy and fixed it up because your soul was following me around......I brought you back using that dummy

Silver: It wasn't the same...you were so different and then you had a Mana Attack and went missing

Silver: Father and the rest of us managed to find you and I continued to regret ever bringing you back instead of just letting you rest..

Livia: .....I've been stealing blot from everyone and it's been destroying me slowly..

Silver: What...

Livia: *Glares at him* You brought me back....AND MADE ME SUFFER MORE!!!!??!!

Silver: LIV!

Livia: *Shoves Silver back, her eyes narrowed* GET OUT OF MY DREAM!!!

Ollie: Guys!

Silver: *Shoves Livia back* Livia, YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE SUFFERING FROM STUFF!!

Livia: *Punches Silver right in the chest* DON'T ACT LIKE YOU KNOW ME!!!

Silver: *Narrows his eyes and tosses Livia down* YOU'RE MY SISTER, I DO KNOW YOU AND I KNOW THAT OUR LIVES HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN PERFECT!!!

Livia: *Stands up, fighting with Silver the two hitting each other*

Oz: HEY!! STOP IT-

Sebek: *Steps in front of Oz* Don't....they need to fight this out..neither of them knows how much the other is hurting...

Livia: *Punches Silver right in the head* DON'T TRY AND COMPARE YOUR LIFE TO MINE!!! I WISH YOU STAYED IN THAT BLOT!!

Silver: *Whacks Livia outside the head* THEN WHY HELP SEBEK SAVE ME!!?

Livia: *Starts slapping Silver outside the head* BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BIG BROTHER, WHY WOULDN'T I!!!!

Silver: *Grabs Livias hair, yelling as she grabbed his snagging him down* THEN IT'S MY TURN TO SAVE YOU!! NOW SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

Livia: *Sits on Silvers side, punching his shoulder and head* I DON'T WANT YOU TO SAVE ME!!!! YOU'RE THE REASON I'M BACK AND SUFFERING

Silver: *Grabs one of Livias pigtails, pulling her down and wrestling with her*

Livia: *Shrieks in alarm, gripping Silvers wrist as they wrestled*

???: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!????

Malleus(Overblot): *Glares at Silver, a look of pure fury on his face* GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY BEASTIE!!!!

Livia: *Stares at Malleus in shock alarmed* Mal Mal....

Silver: *Stares at Malleus, his eyes wide*

Livia: *Quickly sits up as Silver let her go* What...

Sebek: My Lady!

Livia: *Looks down, feeling everything shatter*

Silver: *Gasps as Livia faded away* She's waking up in the real world!!

Malleus: NO!!!

Malleus: *Scowls* I regret placing that spell on her...

Silver: *Perks up* The spell...the one that grants Livia immunity to his Unique Magic but there is a loophole

Sebek: *Smiles wide* If she "awakens" in the dream, she wakes up in the real world!!

Ollie: *Grins at Malleus* HAH! Looks like it Backfired on you! Better go catch her!!

Malleus: *Glares at them then quickly vanishes* Beastie!!

Silver: *Gasps* We gotta go now! The dream is collapsing and fading!

Ollie: Let's go then!

Silver: *Nods* Livia will take care of things from the outside

Aura: I'm glad you two got to fight it out...

Silver: *Smiles, his expression softening* Yeah....it was something it seems we both needed..

~~~~~

Livia: *Sits up finding herself in the school courtyard*

Malleus: Beastie-

Livia: *Leaps up and kicks him right in the throat, knocking him to the ground*

Livia: *Spins and lands on her feet, her eyes narrowed as she turned to him* Malleus, I'm gonna make you regret that...

Livia: *Picks up the Bauls old war weapon* But thanks....for helping me sort things out with my big brother..

@queen-of-twisted @yukii0nna @zexal-club

[aihoshiino]

half formed and maybe incoherent thought honestly but akane puts it well: ayumi is simply a failed mother who was left alone due to her own terrible treatment of her daughter. she can blame no one but herself (and her ew fiance) but she _still_ ping pongs between victimizing herself and then blaming herself for ai's horrible treatment, as if trying to get rid of the weight of her own actions, while also putting herself at fault, but the blame runs hollow because its just so apparent she never thought of ai as her child as she continously shifts any culpability to ai

side note, about adultification of ai, she was twenty (close to it) when she died but she had been treated like she was twenty her whole life and thats. fuck.

have a good day!

"HAVE A GOOD DAY" SHE SAYS AFTER HITTING ME WITH AN EMOTIONAL GRENADE LIKE THIS </3

tbh I have mixed feelings on Akane's line there. on the one hand, I think @gallantblade's read of it is really good - Akane responding to Ayumi's renouncement of agency in her own abuse of Ai by putting that agency back in Ai's hand, empowering her and disempowering Ayumi. That's an interesting read but I also... don't know that it's Akane's call to make?

(Belatedly realized after typing all the below that this looks like I'm ragging on their take or analysis here which is absolutely not the case!! They drop baller Oshi no Ko takes and I love reading their thoughts, the below is my perspective on that line and its place in the scene in general and not gallantblade's reading of it)

Like, at the end of the day, Ayumi abandoned her daughter. That's unavoidable fact. That abandonment was deeply traumatic for Ai and I don't love the idea of Ai not going out of her way to contact a person who was violently physically abusive towards her and almost certainly emotionally abusive and neglectful in myriad other ways as Ai 'abandoning' her mother. Ai already clearly held a lot of guilt and self directed blame for the fallout of that relationship so I don't think making her at all culpable in their separation is the way to go. An abused child who was abandoned by their parent is not the one with the responsibility to reach back out to mend those fences, especially given that Ai believed – with very good reason!!! – that her mom hated her and did not want Ai in her life.

My most charitable reading of the line & the one I'm choosing to go with to not make my head explode is that Akane is talking about what Ayumi's perspective of the situation is – that Ayumi views herself as a mother who mistreated her daughter and ended up abandoned because of it. That certainly lines up with her, as you put it, ping ponging between self blame and flagellation and then still choosing to put blame on Ai's shoulders regardless.

Anyway, here's a fun note to end on: Do you ever think about how Ai was literally never allowed to be an actual adult in the public eye, in a very literal sense? The infantilization of idols is a process of preserving the illusion of them as eternally pure, eternally childlike, eternally juvenile, virginial and unthreatening and Ai was this as a minor to an absolute T.

The instant she became an adult – on her 20th birthday, just before her first public appearance as a legal adult – she was immediately killed and frozen in time as an eternal child who will never poison her virginial femininity by growing into an adult woman.

FROM COMEDY MANGA WRITER, AKA AKASAKA, EVERYBODY!!!

[sokkastyles]

Galaxy bra1n on Tumblr What do you think about this post? I just happened upon it honestly, and it just... made me squirm tbh. I just don't like it. But I'm not sure how to put it into words, so I'd really like to know your thoughts on it if it's not too much of a bother ofc. I don't mean any offense to the OP too, it's just that this take rubs me the wrong way. Really love your blog!

Yeah lol this take is weird for a few reasons. First of all if you don't mind the ship idk why you care about what is a "good" reason to ship them. Characters can and have been shipped together because they looked at each other once and for no reason at all, and that's perfectly fine because like, who cares?

Second, I am so tired of people blaming Zuko for Azula shooting lightning at Katara. Zuko wasn't goading Azula out of stupidity or pride, he was trying to end the fight quickly without involving anyone else using a move he knew Azula had no defense against that he had used once before against his father, to quickly end a fight without violence. He did not think Azula would go for Katara because that is against the rules - that Azula set, because she challenged Zuko - of an agni kai. You could MAYBE say that Zuko should have anticipated that Azula would cheat, but that's always been their dynamic. Zuko is always too honorable and Azula is always lying and cheating. What has changed is that she's no longer able to manipulate Zuko and is revealed to be the lying cheater that she always was, but that still doesn't mean he could have anticipated her aiming at Katara, who had to be exactly in the right place at the right time.

As far as him "doing the bare minimum"...I mean, I do think he would have done it regardless of who it was who was in danger and his relationship to them, but that's not a reason to diminish what he did, either. It takes incredible fortitude to put yourself in harm's way for another person, and fast reflexes to get there in time. Katara herself is frozen to the spot, which is a natural reaction to danger, but if Zuko had done that or not reacted fast enough or even been slightly off, she or he would have died instantly. So let's not belittle what Zuko did in sacrificing his own life to save someone else in an incredible act of selflessness, compassion, and heroism just because we don't like a ship.

Third, these takes always miss WHY it's seen as a shippy moment. It's not only the culmination of a specific narrative arc between the three of them, the thematic motif of Zuko being positioned between what Azula and Katara represent to him, respectively, the choice between selfishness and selflessness, hate and love, cruelty and forgiveness - which alone are pretty damn good reasons to ship them. But not only that, it's the strong emotions that are created from that act. I don't think Zuko jumped in front of the lightning because he loved her. But you can't help but love someone after that, after giving your whole being to another person in that moment. And Katara does the same thing for Zuko. Sure, you could argue that she would have done it anyway, her morals wouldn't allow her to let him die, but the act itself still remains, with all its meaning, and the emotion behind it.

And the narrative goes out of its way to tell us that this is impossible! That a failure to redirect lightning correctly will result in perma-death. That Katara's powers of healing alone weren't enough to bring someone back from that precipice without spirit water. But they do it anyway. They save each other, through sheer force of will, and they can't not be tied to each other after that.

If that's not a good enough reason to ship, I don't know what is. Which doesn't mean you have to, of course. You are free to not vibe with a ship, regardless of the reasoning behind it. But don't tell me it's not a damned good reason.

[lords-of-mayhem]

Lords Of Chaos + Hozier Songs

Lords Of Chaos characters as Hozier songs <3 (all gifs by me)

Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth // Jackie And Wilson

So deep in this swill with the most familiar of swine, for reasons wretched and divine. No other version of me I would pretend to be tonight. 'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done, I need to be youthfully felt 'cause God, I never felt young. Every version of me dead and buried in the yard outside. We tried the world, good God, it wasn't for us.

Kristian "Varg" Vikernes // Dinner And Diatribes

Honey, this club here is stuck up, dinner and diatribes. I knew it from the first look of, the look of mischief in your eyes. Your friends are a fate that befell me, head is a talking type. I'd suffer Hell if you'd tell me what you'd do to me tonight. Let there be hotels complaints and grievances raised, let there be damage ensued and tabloid news.

Ann-Marit // Unknown/Nth

Funny how true colors shine in darkness and in secrecy. If there were scarlet flags, they washed down in the mind of me. Where a blinding light shone on you every night. And either side of my sleep, where you were held frozen like an angel to me. It ain't the being alone, you know I'm good on my own. You know, it's more the being unknown. So much of the living, love, is the being unknown.

Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg // Shrike

I fled to the city with so much discounted. Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now. Back to the hedgerows where bodies are mounted. I was housed by your warmth, thus transformed by your grounded and giving and darkening scorn. Remember me, love, when I'm reborn as a shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn.

Jørn  "Necrobutcher" Stubberud // All Things End

If there was anyone to ever get through this life with their heart still intact, they didn't do it right. The last time I felt your weight on my chest, you said, "we didn't get it right, but love, we did our best." And all things end, all that we intend is scrawled in sand or slips right through our hands. And just knowing that everything will end should not change our plans. I have never known a silence like the one fallen here, never watched my future darken in a single tear.

Attila Csihar // Wildflower And Barley

Springtime in the country. Each time, I'm shocked by the light. I can smell summer on its breath, low and harrowed lie the fields and the heart of me. The canal banks are empty again, the grass crying out to be heated by bodies, the streets for the laughter of young women and men. With all things God allows remain above ground like grief and sweet memory, wildflower and barley.

Pelle "Dead" Ohlin // From Eden

Babe, there's something so tragic about you, something so magic about you. Don't you agree? Babe, there's something lonesome about you. No tired sigh, no rolling eyes. No irony, no "who cares?" No vacant stare, no time for me. Idealism sits in prison, innocence died screaming. Honey, ask me, I should know. I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door.

Snorre "Blackthorn" Ruch // Would That I

True that love in withdrawal was the weeping of me, that the sound of the saw must be known by the tree. I fretted fire, but that was long ago. And it's not tonight where I'm set alight, and I blink in sight of your blinding light. With the roar of the fire, my heart rose to its feet like the ashes of ash I saw rise in the heat. Settle soft and as pure as snow, I fell in love with the fire long ago. With each love I cut loose, I was never the same, watching still living roots be consumed by the flame.

Kjetil Manheim // Almost (Sweet Music)

I came in from the outside, burned out from a joyride. She likes to roll here in my ashes anyway. I got some color back, she thinks so too. I laugh like me again, she laughs like you. I wouldn't know where to start, sweet music playing in the dark. Be still my foolish heart, don't ruin this on me.. The very thought of you in midnight blue, a love supreme seems far removed. I get along very well without you some other nights. She'll turn to me, awake, and ask "is everything alright?"

Bård "Faust" Eithun // Like Real People Do

I had a thought, dear, however scary. About that night, the bugs and the dirt. Why were you digging? What did you bury before those hands pulled me from the Earth? I knew that look, dear, eyes always seeking. So, I will not ask you why you were creeping. In some sad way, I already know. So, I will not ask you where you came from, I would not ask and neither would you. Honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips. We should just kiss like real people do.

Stian "Occultus" Johansen // Damage Gets Done

I heard once, it's the comforts that make us feel numb. We'd go out with no way to get home and we'd sleep on somebody's floor, and wake up feeling like a millionaire. Wish I'd known it was just our turn, being blamed for a world we had no power in. You and I had nothing to show but the best of the world in the palm of our hands. I don't know how the feeling ended, but I know being reckless and young is not how the damage gets done.

Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell // Arsonist's Lullaby

When I was a child, I'd sit for hours staring into open flame. Something in it had a power, could barely tear my eyes away. All you have is your fire and the place you need to reach. Don't ever tame your demons, but always keep 'em on a leash. When I was sixteen, my senses fooled me. Thought gasoline was on my clothes, I knew that something would always rule me. I knew the scent was mine alone.

Jon "Metalion" Kristiansen // I Could Be Yours

I could be soft and sweet, I could be hard and loud. I could be anything you ever need somehow. Why don't you hear me sing out from the lost and found? Why don't you try on me? Why don't you take me home? I'll match the color scheme of your bedroom walls.