#they don’t even care about their own citizens in any case

[lovelylunas-world]

The og colonisers doing what they do best kill people that don’t agree with them. Mind you the houthis have not murdered anyone since they stopped ships from going through the Red Sea but America cares more about the money they have to make and lose than human life (Palestinians and Yemenis)

[sad-scarred-sassy]

This is a wild Elucien headcanon…

but please imagine Lucien being in a really dangerous situation with the Autumn court, like something happened and they have him as a prisoner, or unable to leave.

And Elain is there listening to how Lucien could potentially be held captive in a cold cell or even tortured.

And shes there when Eris says the only way to save him is if he has real ties to the Night Court or if he officially becomes a member, and the only way to do that is if he gets mated/married to someone from there, not anyone, but the High Lady’s sister.

And everyone is outraged with what he is suggesting but Elain is suddenly quiet.

And she suddenly says “I will do it” and everyone gapes at her, some try to talk her out of it (possibly Feyre or Nesta) but Rhys just nods.

And they send notice to the Autumn court that they cannot harm Lucien because he is a Night Court citizen, but Beron doesn’t believe it, he demands that Elain goes there so he can determine it.

Chaos, outrage, but she agrees, and she obviously doesn’t go alone. She convinces herself that while she doesn’t owe Lucien anything, she is tired of the bloodshed, the loss, and if she has the power in her hands, she will act. That is all, she couldn’t care less about him. She convinces herself she would be this worried for anyone that is close to her sister, it’s not because shes worried and scared and petrified of something bad happening to him.

They’re in the Forest House, they bring out Lucien who is luckily generally unharmed but Elain looks at the binds in his wrists and her whole body reacts to the sudden urge to protect. Beron takes one sniff at them and knows it is true. They’re mates. But Beron says an unfulfilled mating bond is not valid (listen idk about these fae laws bear with me) they need to marry. Elain declares that was the plan all along. Lucien is shocked. (I just imagine what must be going through his head seeing his mate stand before Beron in the same room where Jesminda was killed)

They let Lucien go with his mate but they have to stay in the Forest House until everything gets resolved. Elain and Lucien are shoved into a room, no more chains on him, but he doesn’t understand any of it.

Both of them are standing awkwardly in the room. Lucien is staring at her as if she has grown ears, still shocked, still reliving moments, furious at them for being so dumb as to risk themselves for him. He supposed he really was a big asset for Rhys to have done this. But her… why was she here? Why did she put herself in this position?

“Did they make you do this?” He says through his teeth.

She muses on what to say. “No” she gets offended with the assumption that she can’t make decisions for herself. “I agreed to this and came on my own free will”

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Because I’m tired of people dying, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I could have done something” A silence and for some forsaken reason Elain has the need to add. “This doesn’t mean what you think it means”

Something irks at Lucien then, and the awoken nerves on his body make him respond to that. “And please tell, Lady, what do I think it means?”

Elain clenches her fists. “That I’ve changed my mind about you… about this” She signals between them. “This is just temporary, out of necessity”

Lucien just stares at her.

“I never entertained that you did, I can assure you.” It is easier to turn on her, on this beautiful female that is putting herself at risk for him, than to be hurt at the continuing rejection from her. “You’ve always just assumed that I’m some brute fae that wants to steal you away, let me tell you now that we’re speaking frankly, that its not the case. I can’t control the pull from the bond, but I have no interest in pursuing a female who doesn’t want me”

That sends Elain to retaliate. “What about the gifts then, was that not pursuing?” She cocks her head arrogantly.

“I was bringing them to Feyre as well. That was me being polite, but guess you don’t know the first thing about that”

“You are one to talk about politeness when I’m here risking my life for your neck and this is how you treat me” She takes one step closer.

“I never asked you to do it” He mirrors her and steps closer with his broad hands clenched in fists.

“I will just let you die next time then”

“Fine by me, as long as I don’t have to endure you shoving it on my face”

“Asshole”

“I’ve been called worse” A sly, angry smile creeps at one corner of his mouth. She suddenly realizes they’re breathing on each other’s face.

“And all this time I thought you were a gentleman” She summons her anger to keep focused.

“You will learn I can be a gentleman, Elain” Her name on his lips, for the first time. “But I can be so much worse too”

His breath is hot on her face, their hearts already beating fast.

“You admit you were pretending then, to win me over”

A sharp breathy laugh from him. “If I wanted to win you over, I would not have tried to be gentle”

Her lips form a thin line as she holds herself, the pull, his words, the sudden effect of his mismatched gaze intense on her face.

“You shouldn’t have done this” He says quietly, roughly, his eyes showing something beyond just annoyance, she sees the fear in them. She pushes it back.

“What’s done is done” She says. “We will pretend, see this through, and then we’re done”

“Alright, dove”

She’s startled. Her nostrils flare. She ignores the outrageous pet name he just used on her. “I’m going to take a bath, I suggest you do the same, you stink” She begins to walk away and stops herself “I mean after I’m done” She frowns as she strolls away.

He watches her with sudden amusement.

He’s scared, hes pissed and hurt. He’s tired. But something inside him sparks, and he can’t really put a name to it.

Oh he’s not alright.

[unadulteratedsoulsweets]

A DC X DP IDEA #11 The Ice Prince

Imagine dis….

 The plot is always Clockwork reversing Danny’s age to a toddler’s or a child’s age to be found in the grimy alley of Gotham City, to fix a broken family, an overdue vacation, or is it because it was meant to be? But what if they found a child who is nothing more than a mere babe?

 …

 War has consequences whether you are on the right side or not, consequences will come up to you. Death, injury, sexual violence, hunger, disease, and disability are some of the most dangerous physical repercussions of war, while PTSD, despair, and anxiety are some of the emotional consequences.

 Danny experienced all, from the physical damages he had taken to protect his citizen to the emotional as well the phycological effects that will haunt his mind throughout his immortal life.

Jack and Maddie Scientists and the GIW had done it, waging war against the Infinite realms.

 Using ectoplasm, the very being that they have despised to use as weapons to aim and maim.

 Humans tend to hate and fear what they don’t understand.

 In this case, fear caused this war.

 Unlike in the history books whose wars started due to greedy politicians or even the thrill or greed to attain new land, this war was caused by fear.

 The fear of the unknown.

 At 16 years of age, Danny is crowned and alongside his trusted friends as well as his former enemy Vlad Masters all gathered their things and went back to the Infinite Realms to prepare for war.

 At 16 Danny witnessed the horrors as well witnessing the lines humans will cross to satisfy their greed.

 Each day that Danny is planning or even fighting alongside his friends, family, and even ex-rogues for their home and the universe’s and multiverse’s balance, he would feel the pain, sorrow, and sadness of each of his citizens who were captured or even used to be the battery to be used against their people.

 At 16 Danny watched his very own parents, Jack and Maddie, cut open their former best friend to better understand ghost biology all in the name of ecto- science.

 Danny saw the betrayal and grief as well Vlad’s vulnerable state on how Maddie, the kind and caring Maddie whom he fell in love with, do such cruel things to innocent blobs of ghosts, do such inhumane things to him. Cutting him open like a frog in a dissection table, using large hooks to keep the two skin that were cut to show his ribcage, apart to keep them from healing.

 At 16 Danny joined the war alongside Frostbite, Pandora, Dora, and many more. Even Dan and Dani had joined him on the front lines to fight their parents to fight their inventions, their creations, the agents...etc, as well as rescuing many, many ghosts who were captured before this war even started.

 The first one to fall was his beloved sister Jasmine No-Name, who captured and was taken to the basement at the household of the Fenton’s. Each scientist kept drawing blood and kept poking her with needles to “cure” their daughter from any form of ectoplasm possession or mind control. Despite being liminal she was still mortal, freeing the innocent ghosts that were cruelly captured and caged by their parents destroying the lab, taking the blueprints, the weapons, and even the portal at the cost of her own life.

 Brother and sister, together as friends, ready to face whatever life sends.

 Next, was Sam Manson, her mentor Undergrowth and her going to the annex side of the building to create a massive distraction for the rest of their allies to destroy this particular lab as the lab that they were about to destroy is a cornerstone of the ongoing battery flow between the agents thus making this mission top priority. Blood Blossoms were involved causing great pain to both ghosts, as the agents were getting closer, they heard the explosion in the direction of the targeted lab, they were successful, and now all that is left is to retreat. But the pain as well as their inability to move is impossible and even more impossible to fight off the remaining agents who were exclaiming and shouting about the destroyed lab. With what little strength Sam had left in her, she stood up and commanded the plants to rescue Undergrowth as without him nature and flora would have died alongside him. As she saw the silhouette of her mentor/ father she made her last stand as one of the few friends of Danny now her King.

 Last to fall is Tucker Foley, his best friend, leading an army made out of entirely Egyptian culture. Being the right hand of the High King as he led another attack towards their government not only did their government bury their heads in the sand, but instead of diplomacy they have chosen to continue this war. As they were fighting by each other side, Tucker noticed an agent creeping closer to his King/ friend whose head was turned and busy due to the number of agents that kept him busy and unguarded. Tucker Foley did what any friend would do in that situation; he took the bullet aimed fatally at his best friend. Danny seeing that his best friend had just turned limp released his ghostly wail that contains his anger, sadness, grief, and horror as he cradles the body of his best friend as he held his last breath in the arms of his King and friend.

 We’re more than friends but less than a couple

 The government was getting desperate as each day the “ghosts” kept pushing them into a corner as their numbers dwindle each second while the other side’s army kept growing each passing day.

 Didn’t you know, A cornered animal is almost as dangerous as a wounded one?

 A Nuke, they have created a nuke. A nuke that has the combination of Blood blossoms as good ectoplasm as fuel and weapon, that was aimed and trajected to the Infinite Realms.

 But, who spoiled their plans?

 Blobs of ghosts gathered at the hidden base of humans and set off the nuke at their base.

 Blobs that were rescued by Princess Jasmine of the Infinite Realms.

 They didn’t expect the aftermath of such a weapon.

 The shockwave didn’t just end their world’s dimension but it reached the Infinite Realms almost wiping them out, it wasn’t for their King, Danny, who took the brunt of the aftermath and shock to protect the Infinite Realms where his remaining family reside.

 As a result, his form and core almost crack at the mere pressure, and result, Clockwork as his last card to protect Danny from disappearing for eternity turned him into a baby whose age could be merely a month old.

 Now that horrid dimension was gone, permanently, it is now up to the ancients and ex-rouges as well the rest of his family to raise Danny to the best of their abilities as he, Danny Nightgale is the bridge as well the very representation between the two worlds.

 The yetis that have lived in Far Frozen went and found a perfect dimension that has ectoplasm for their young King’s ghost half and human needs for his human half.

 Building a small castle made out of ice in the deepest part of the Arctic region, complete with rooms as well as things that will keep their young King’s attention in case he ever be bored.

 …

 Between the time they thought of settling down in the new dimension, in the DC universe, it had been thousands of years since the ascension of the High King Phantom. For those who have participated in the war it has been only a few months while in DC it has been thousands of years, to the point each magician in the JLD and Shazam knew about King Phantom, his benevolence and mercy shows no bounds. King Phantom who was a ward of the Master of Time and defeated the Pariah Dark to end his tyranny.

 …

 Alarms blared throughout the base of the JL and everyone was at the edge of their seats seeing that the alarm originated from the Fortress of Solitude, the base of Superman containing all the knowledge from his planet Krypton.

…

 Superman alongside Batman flew to the Artic to find out who trespassed, Superman fears the knowledge of Krypton falling into the wrong hands.

 As they were searching around the Fortress of Solitude, they came across a castle made entirely out of ice, Superman tried to look through it but received a headache the moment he tried to use it.

 With no choice left, both Batman and Superman went inside the castle to investigate.

 Passing through a large double door greeted them a large spiral-shaped staircase with the finest designs out of ice. Decorations and sculptures that decorate each nook and cranny of the castle are made out of ice that has the finest details to be mistaken as the real things. The largest chandelier hangs above them that seems to sparkle each passing second due to the little sun that bounces off each glass/ice. That creates the illusion of twinkling stars.

 Hearing footsteps from afar made both Batman and Superman hide in the closet that contains the cleaning supplies, looking through the smallest of cracks, they saw ice-shaped people that have sculpted hair and eyes but no mouth or nose wearing maid and butler outfits carrying books, toys and large folded sheets of clothes.

 All going in the opposite direction of which they have hidden.

 After making sure that those footsteps were no longer heard both Batman and Superman got out of their hiding place and went further deep the castle to investigate further.

 As they are walking along the endless hallways, they suddenly heard a small humming of a tune coming from another large double door with designs of space and stars embedded on the door.

 Peeking through a cracked door there they saw two green-skinned humanoid creatures with dragon-like features looking down, cooing, and humming to something. Due to their large size, they couldn’t see what they were looking for but after a few minutes, one of the human-dragon people turned off the lights and revealed their large wings, gave a few flaps and flew out alongside their companion using the large windows made from the most beautiful stained glass as an exit.

 Making the coast clear Batman was the first to go inside the room while Superman looked for the switch to turn on the lights. Through his cowl, Batman tried to guess the room that their two unexpected guests could have.

 The moment Batman’s eyes adjusted due to the sudden light invading his sight they immediately flabbergasted at the room could be.

 A playroom, complete with safety mats and toys that are either made from ice or silk.

 Looking around there they saw at the very center, a crib made out of glaciers with a space-themed mobile that seemed to spin around above the crib while releasing, looking closer there they saw a few months old human children, if the physical appearance of the child could go by.

 Black hair with the faintest of freckles across his face accompanied by his light skin that can be mistaken as dead.

 Warped in the finest silks as blankets while wearing some sort of Greek clothing as a means to cover the child.

 Fearing that the child was dead Batman turned to Superman to silently ask whether the child has a heartbeat or not.

 Superman stated that the child has a heartbeat a bit slow for his life but a heartbeat none less.

 Superman picks up the child with the resolve to return to the JL base to give the child a full check-up as well as to return him to his rightful parents.

 Batman countered that the humanoid-dragon-like people could be his parents but before Superman could even counter his claim flaps of wings were heard from a distance.

 In a panic, both Superman and Batman fled the room unknowingly carrying the infant.

 …

 At the JL base, Batman is scolding Superman for taking what could be a human-like dragon people’s child. Superman may have countered that the child he was carrying has no features from either of the possible parent and could be a kidnapped infant from the earth so that those humanoid dragons could play house.

 The Green Lanterns try to look for any planet that could be the origin of those dragon people, while the rest of the League are split in siding with Superman or Batman.

 With each passing second the volume of their argument kept getting higher and higher thus waking the infant still on Superman’s arm.

 Blue eyes like the sky and ice greeted them as the infant yawned as of saying that they have disturbed his nap time.

 Flash who was vibrating on his skin to coo at the child immediately ran up to Superman to take the infant.

 But the moment Danny saw the faintest amount of electricity that was being emitted from the Flash immediately started to wail.

 Loud but not loud enough to level the JL base, every JL member present with enhanced hearing covered their ears instinctively due to the noise the unbearable noise.

 Batman immediately snatched the child from Superman’s arm and began calming the child.

 After calming down the infant till he is only whimpering a very pale Constantine, Dr. Fate and Zattana burst into the meeting room scanning each nook and cranny till their eyes landed on the child that was still whimpering in Batman’s arms.

 Constantine demanded why on earth they have a child from the Infinite Realms and began to panic.

 As Constantine was out of commission for panicking Dr, Fate explained what the Infinite Realms is.

 As they were about to get back the child to where the ice castle was located another alarm blared at the JL base.

 Cyborg who was immediately typing across the computer for further explanation as see whether they have another world-ending threat made them double take.

 A blue-skinned man whose hair is unbound by gravity and floats upwards as if it was flames accompanied by two more people.

 One who looks like a vampire removing the avoidance of the sun as well adding a blue tone to his skin. Another looks like a female version of the first one aside from the green eyes and dark skin tone.

Zattana stuttering asked herself in a whispering voice why on earth King Phantom is destroying government facilities alongside the Count Masters as well the Princess of the Infinite Realms in the human world.

 Each time they demolish a facility down to the dust and rubbles they began scanning the area for what?

 A clapping and sound removed them from the carnage shown on the screen and saw the infant still in Batman’s arms reaching toward the people on the screen.

 Constantine mumbled something and began looking at the screen and the infant, and started widening his eyes as if he had just connected the dots.

 A union between a human and a ghost are unheard of but the fact that no new life/ afterlife was introduced since Pariah Dark made every life/ ghost in the Realms are now precious.

 But the resemblance between King Phantom and the infant in Batman’s arms is uncanny and so Constantine reached a possible conclusion alongside Dr. Fate.

 Superman just kidnapped the child of King Phantom.

���

PS: If someone out there wanting to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so don’t forget to tag me though.

[yourheart-inmyhands]

Just had a thought a continue of my archon ask

How about there reaction to reader accidentally killing there attacker

-🌮annon

You can ignore this if it makes you uncomfortable

i didn't really go into detail about the whole murder part, more so the aftermath so no worries :D i hope you enjoy

Warning: this post contains yandere-themes, including mentions of murder, delusional behaviors, implied being held against will, psychological bullying, and other potential topics. Please read at your own risk!

Yandere!Venti would use this to his advantage, helping you dispose of the body and discard all the evidence. This is how he keeps you tied to him, by saying he’ll expose your secret to everyone with no shame. 

He didn’t care how you felt about him, now there was really no leaving him. He had helped you get rid of a body after you accidentally murdered someone, there’s no coming back after that. You can’t even blame him for it because he made sure he that he left no traces behind, but your dna was under the nails of the attacker, your fingerprints were on the murder weapon that he conveniently forgot to burn, and you were the last one seen with the deceased. If anything, the second you act out of line he’s threatening to expose you to everyone. He’d never actually do it, but he’s very good at making you think he will.

Yandere!Zhongli would simply sigh in frustration. Of course he’s more than willing to help cover up your crime, after all he doesn’t wish to see his beloved rotting away in a cell. He never lets you live it down though, using the haunting memory of it to constantly beat you down mentally.

“Don’t go acting all innocent now, you’ve already killed a man, breaking a vase should feel like nothing to you. You’re a murderer after all.” Zhongli’s smile was pleasant and gentle looking, but his tone was anything but. He stood over you as you knelt on the floor, weeping over his reaction to you breaking a prized vase of his. Of course he had expected you to accidentally break it at some point, having replaced all his original artworks with replicas, but he had still found joy in bringing up your haunting little secret every chance he got.

Yandere!Raiden would do nothing personally. She’d instruct some of her faithful servants to handle it, keeping you locked inside Tenshukaku with her for a while. She doesn’t bring it up, but you can tell with the way she looks at you, that she’s upset with you.

Another silent meal, another long hour spent awkwardly eating your food as she sat across the table from you staring you down unblinkingly. It wasn’t that she stared at you, it was something you had actually grown rather used to, but the way she stared at you. Like a mother catching their child sneaking desserts before dinner or a father catching his son playing with his tools. That look of sheer disapproval. You didn’t know how much longer you could stand it.

Yandere!Furina is conflicted. On one hand, she doesn’t want her citizens to think she favors you above justice, but on the other, she knows you’ll be deemed guilty and locked up and she simply can’t bear to be without you. So she calls for a private hearing and keeps the case under tight surveillance. Of course, the family of the victim has no idea that the whole trial is fake, has no idea that the way you cry as you're dragged out of the courtroom to an awaiting prison is all an act, one very carefully constructed by Furina and her closest confidant, Neuvillette. 

Furina feigns heartbreak as she watches you get hauled out of the courtroom. She’s decided to overrule your sentencing and punish you herself in your shared home. In the basement of the lavish manor she had a special cell prepared for you, where you would fulfill your shortened sentence. This is so that you understand the severity of your crimes without her having to give up her time with you. Furina doesn’t think you deserve to spend any time behind bars, considering it was an accident, but she’s the Archon of Justice and the family of the deceased demanded something be done.

[erenspussy420]

Oh well like for crewel and Crowley (seperately )x Latina reader

Rivals to lovers

Soulmate au

Fluff plz

Sorry this took too long to finish but hopefully you like it!

1.8K words

Fem Reader

SFW (However my blog isn't so you have been warned.)

......

......

Soulmates, a rather direct term for something so vital in the lives of Twisted Wonderland. There is a reason for the plural, instead of the singular term. For one does not have one soulmate but rather two, so to speak, a rival or an enemy many say in your life. And the other as many would garner the true soulmate, the true love.

A touching sentiment, knowing somewhere out there is the other part of you waiting to reunite in the vast sea of life. Those who will understand the depth of who you are and you in turn peek into their heart of hearts. Even the most bitter of men and women, crave that companionship.

At least it would be should you actually know which side is which. The citizens of the world tried to figure it out, taking guesses but to the dismay of many it seems that it is not as direct at times. It made a rather interesting story about how one meets their true soulmate, and their hated sworn enemy.

In some cases, they were the same person!

Some lament at such the idea of having their arms confuse them, some don’t mind and seem to relish having an enemy, some finding the way to find true love a challenge, but all agree they rather have both names than none—-

Unlike these poor souls whose arms will stay bare.

.

.

Dire Crowley: 

‘It doesn’t bother him, not one bit!’ He proclaims, as he tugs over his sleeves. A big fat fucking lieeeee. Anyone can see or rather pityingly watch the rather pathetic display when it's the annual staff parties, and Crowley drinking himself into the bottle.

Woe is poor Dire! Arms care to the world, no name on either one. Not even a smidge! He always keeps his arms covered in long sleeves, as he could anyway. Summer’s are a challenge for him, he tends to overheat quite easily regardless of his ice magic. He looks longingly at those bright hideous Pleasure Island shirts.

When he’s alone, he rolls up his sleeves and looks at them forlorn. He is a fae raven, and for so many years it's been lonely. It's not uncommon that sometimes a fae and a human or beastman will be soulmates, usually they appear as they are born, but Crowley has yet to see any ink paint his smooth skin after a decade of waiting…and waiting….

He has been practicing making a nest, so leave the man alone when he steals your shit.

Until one day, the day he yearns for came true. It was during the opening ceremony, did he feel a hot sensation climb up his arm. It was so strong, he practically kneeled over, grabbing onto it as it glowed bright like copper, and once it died, it left a singular name in cursive letters. He couldn’t believe it! You were here! You were finally here! 

Crowley is laughing, crowing up a storm that the housewardens and newcomers felt wary and a bit scared as Crowley hugs his students, twirling them around. He would kiss their cheeks if it wasn’t for the fact that can be counted as harassment and most of these ruffians have claws.

Happy day! Happy day! He had noticed it's the same name for both sides. Oh dear, but it didn’t matter because as of this day, he wasn’t alone! ….Oh…Oh dear, there was quite the commotion, quite the ruckus! Nothing can damper his mood! Not even a cat setting everything on fire and a magicless human!

Then he catches your name, and oh dear….the headmaster had frozen stiff…until your gaze is now covered in feathers and a man sobbing into your arms crying "how beautiful you are!" And "thank the Sevens! I waited for so long! So long to bask in your gaze!”---while you’re yelling in spanish about the crazy bird man, smacking him with his own shoe.

Truly a beautiful sight you have finally arrived! So much so that Trein had to take over since Crowley hasn’t stopped trying to preen your hair and crying into hair.

Once he finally gets himself in control, does his actual duties as a headmaster and deal with the fact you are not of Twisted Wonderland and from another world completely. He’s totally working on a way home— just let him get to know you as he does.

He catches himself staring too long at you. He can’t help it, he’s waited for you for so long! Every curve, every angle of your face makes his breath hitch. You have a bold look to you, confident and with a loud laugh that adds more to your charm.

Oh when he pisses you off, he can tell the second the house is filled with the scent of roasted dried chilies. Cue Crowley wheezing.

He does try to learn the Spanish you speak, wanting to learn more about you and the culture you hail from. Its rather sweet, even if you were teaching him swear words at first.

You have a big sense of community, his soulmate is so generous! Which does make him pout as he watches you, mother hen some of his troublemakers by putting the fear of God into them. 

Though he does like how you bring him into a dance in the kitchens, teaching him the simple steps of dances that have him being twirled around in your arms.

Adding into the second role of being a soulmate, you have pushed Crowley into being more active with his students, something most of his staff has thanked you for. As you were working on your master’s before being run down by the horses in the middle of Los Angeles. 

Even working harder than before, Crowley is utterly in love with his soulmate.

Crewel Divus:

“Hm? I see your eyes seem to find my arms rather fascinating, little pup?” The corner’s of his lips quirk in amusement, but the sharpness of his gray blue eyes made his students squeak. It was one of those rare times, Divus had his sleeves rolled over his arms, letting his unruly pups finally take a gander at who their professor soul mate could be. Most, however, made bets if Crowley was his enemy.

But it was bare and pale, the gawking student had found their mouth shut by the aid of a familiar whip pushing up their chin. “Hm, since you seem so fond of being idle, I can keep you busy,” a loud thwap of his whip smacking his gloved hand,” Detention, cauldron duty.”

As a young youth he was rebellious and scrappy in all the ways that come with being a teenager. Always in fashion regardless of how he looks, however it is noted his arms are bare to the world and Divus doesn't care what the world thinks of his unfortunate status.

Frankly, Divus pushes on the importance of it, he hates what it brings on him with expecting eyes and unlike Crowley who hides it— Divus will make you see he doesn't care about what the world thinks. As far as he is concerned, Crewel is standing here with or without a soulmate to his name. With or without you, Divus Crewel is not to be pitied.

Though, it cannot be said he hasn’t beaten a loud mouth punk twice or thrice when entering NRC.

Growing up however, after getting through his angst and anger, Divus accepts it. Maybe he traces over where the name of the person who can push him to capabilities, caresses the bare arm that was supposed to be his soul companion ... .and it takes his dogs covering him to bring him out of that stupor. 

He’s obsessive in a way that isn’t easily noticeable, something that reflects in his own outfits, his black and white outfits having a missing half in cufflinks, buttons, or belts. There is a way he walks, still poise and confident that seems to make space for someone who is supposed to be there. One has made the mistake of taking the second glass he has set aside—purposefully or not.

The day you finally had come into his life with a bang, literally as he can describe the sudden burning sensation in his arms that evening, Crewel had finally set up his room. The burst of such power had him kneel over, gripping the sides of his vanity so harshly he broke a chunk of it in his bare hands. It was as if something was being carved into him, not his skin he didn’t notice that but his own soul has been molded.  In a hurry, he rips up his sleeve, his cufflinks flying to the corners of his room but that didn’t matter.

His soulmate is here.

Oh when he first meets you, he takes you in. All of you, from the shade of your hair, to the curve of your eyes, the features of what makes you–you. Each note, his mind is already building up the things he can create for you.

You are nothing he expected but that is what thrills him. 

What his eyes picked up was your clothes. Well made, and tailored, stylish with personal flares. A fellow fashionista!

The second he brings you to his workshop, he knows—he knows now that all those cliche romance novels he reads when he’s fully alone means it clicks. 

He loves the embroidery of your culture that is prevalent in every outfit you make. Bright colors of – pinks, greens, yellows and reds. Everything you make has this brightness to it, eye-catching and so utterly full of pride.

There is a way you speak that is also so different from the Spanish variant he is used to, its more playful, relaxed and a bit cocky.

He’s careful in making sure you settle in Twisted Wonderland, while trying so hard not to prod you for too many questions. Though he does admit, he lingers nearby when he hears you sing in Spanish, the grin you have as you sing something he knows is pretty dirty as it seems the Shaftlands share the latin roots as you call it with French in your world. So don’t think he doesn’t know when you're cursing under your breath!

But he does admire the arsenal of insults you seem to throw on the fly when angered. He saved a video of you perfectly tearing off your sandals to throw it at Crowley for ditching his duties on you both. Three seconds is impressive.

Your fashion taste and his tend to clash, but he loves the way you make your canvas come alive during fashion shows he got you to join in. But the second you and him collaborate on a fashion line together, he sees that drive in you that makes him want to chase.

[remotepixel]

Hi, how would yandere avengers react if their platonic teen obsession threatens to disclose their yandere tendencies or has actually done so to the media?

Hii, thank you for requesting!!

Tw: yandere themes + kidnapping mentions

-I’m assuming this is somewhat far into the obsession, enough where it’s obvious to you that something is very wrong, but not to the ‘they’ve gone completely off the rails and everyone can tell’ point.

-Getting the evidence would already be pretty hard. Sure, you have the obvious fact they’re always hanging around you, but, they’re superheroes, people are naturally going to support their side unless you have enough proof (or, sometimes, no matter what).

-Any clear red flag (e.g. trackers) would be specially manufactured by a world-renowned genius, so a casual police search likely wouldn’t find anything, and it’d be pretty nerve-wracking to try and record a conversation with a superspy.

-However, if you do collect enough, it still wouldn’t be easy to get rid of them.

-If you threaten them, the amount of guilt-tripping would be mental. Some of them are more self-aware than others, but all of them share the same sentiment that, at the end of the day, they’re (or, think they are) helping you. They know some of their behaviour crosses normal lines, but look how much your life has improved since they’ve been around, isn’t it a good thing someone cares about you?

-All of them would be hurt by your threat, and likely back off at least for a while if you strike some sort of deal (e.g. you leave me alone, I won’t tell). But they’ll be back, or still lurking around in parts of your life.

-I think members like Natasha and Bruce, who are more self-aware yet never speak out against the more delusional ones (since they’re still working together at the end of the day), would back off the most. They don’t want you hating them even more, and, currently, your relationship is on a thin line - it’s better to back off and subtly guide you back to them then force it.

-None of them fully take your threat seriously, even if it hurts their feelings. They know they have the upper hand here: government links, popularity, influence - you’re completely out of your depths even if you think, or act, otherwise.

-If you’re still very consistent on disclosing everything to the media despite their efforts to chill, you’re likely getting kidnapped. Drastic, obviously, but it’s the only way to guarantee you’re both in their grasp and others aren’t concerned.

-If you already disclosed it however, the methods you used to go through with it play a big role in the outcome.

-As I mentioned, there’s probably trackers in your phone, both for location and general monitoring, e.g. a keylogger. The second you post your blog, or send your email to the news, it’s getting deleted and completely wiped if possible. In this case, it’s probably going to follow the same route as before, but with extra emotional pain because you didn’t even “try talking” to them.

-If you focus more on meeting up with reporters in real-life, maybe getting them to collect their own evidence in the background, there’s a higher chance of success. However, that does require having insiders in a hopefully-popular newspaper company, something a teen probably wouldn’t have.

-Assuming the avengers haven’t noticed the news coming out about them, for at least enough time that citizens are able to read and share this, panic would ensue the second they realise.

-They would experience a range of emotions, most mentioned above but some would also hold a bit of rage (not necessarily at you, your actions more so). They have one, very obvious thing they need to do now though: address the ‘rumours’.

-Deleting the reports would raise more suspicions, and they can’t just admit everything the news is saying is technically true, so they decide to try and twist this into their favour. They’ll (mainly Tony as he’s probably dealt with this sort of thing before) make up some sort of story that puts you into the wrong - like you’re lying for attention or were trying to purposely ruin their reputation for petty revenge.

-If they’re feeling really nice they may try and chalk it up as a misunderstanding, but I think it depends who has a role in writing the response. For example, Steve would think it’s slightly too far, while Tony would just think of it as a necessary outcome - he also just doesn’t like listening to Steve’s advice so.

-You become a pretty big talk in the media, but, when people start believing the avenger’s side, it’s mostly snide comments or dragging your name through the mud. The avengers would probably feel bad for the amount of slander you’re getting, assuming they didn’t before, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they deleted a few, just plain evil comments. But you forced their hand, if you haven’t had ‘lied’ in the first place, this would have never happened.

-In a way, this may just bring you closer to them. With what feels like the whole world against you, the only people who really seem to care anymore are the avengers. They might even offer you a deal - you admit you were lying to the media, apologize, and they’ll publicly support you. Sure, it won’t get everyone off your back, and you’re be scared to even go outside in case reporters are there, but it means you have the most powerful team in your corner again, and isn’t that what you need?

[asm5129]

So in an earlier discussion I think I’ve seen you refer to rwby as a show about “girls fighting injustice with giant weapons” but frankly, I don’t know if they can be considered to be fighting injustice?

The majority of their time and effort has been spent fighting Salem, or fighting her minions, which to me doesn’t necessarily seem like fighting injustice? They’re not actively challenging the unfair society they live in they’re fighting monsters that want to kill people. Which is still a noble goal but I don’t know if it qualifies as fighting injustice.

I suppose on a cosmic scale the actions of the gods are an injustice to all humanity? But they’re not necessarily challenging that on moral grounds it’s more self defense of their species.

I don’t know if I used that term specifically, but I do believe that it is a show very much about fighting injustice.

Salem is kind of similar to climate change and natural disasters irl. She puts things into perspective.

Any deniability in favor of the concept of “necessary injustice” goes out the window when there’s a threat that existential that affects everyone if left unaddressed. It should be a uniting issue, yet some people not only refuse to address it they even use it to prop themselves up using the injustices that already exist as tools.

Atlas and Mantle are obviously the biggest examples of this. Ironwood actively neglected and deprioritized Mantle in favor of Atlas, which allowed for our heroes to clearly see the injustices that exist every day for the citizens of mantle due to Atlas and recognize that something must be done to help them.

There is no plausible deniability to hide behind.

Also remember, this show is about these four girls and their friends figuring out what it means to be a hero (or in their case, a huntress).

They are actively in the process of discovering what their own beliefs, limits, values and needs are. Where are their hard lines? Where will they compromise? When do they choose a side? If they can’t fight every battle, which battles do they choose to leave to others? How do you support and care for the people around you in times of crisis? What are their goals and priorities and how do they balance those with what they believe is right in that moment?

For Blake, concerning the White Fang, she saw Adam using the genuine injustice her people face as a tool for his personal gain and that’s something she couldn’t let stand and she felt it wasn’t something others would address.

It’s not that she doesn’t care about the injustices the Faunus face, but she’s figuring out where her priorities lie. She has handed the white fang over to people she feels she can trust, so she shifts her attention to making things right with the people she loves.

Yes, RWBY is about fighting injustice because it’s about ensuring a happy ending for all (or to the best of their ability).

Being a huntress is about fighting for what’s right and defending those who can’t defend themselves.

Team RWBY and co are just still fighting out what that means and how to do it, that’s all.

[shadesoflsk]

MILLION DOLLAR BLOODLINE — Traición

Dealing with the case in hand, you come across with some valuable clues. Check my million dollar bloodline masterlist for general warnings.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2

pairing: Vampire/Agent Leon x Fem Detective reader

warnings: Sexism (from the press again) few mentions of gore and death, fucked up government, scent (First glimpes of Leon's vampire qualities yay)

author's note: hi... I'm writing this with one eye closed... exhaustion is taking over me and it may show in this chapter. as always, if you see any mistake, you don't. don't even perceive them. thank you so much and love yall.

“Thank God a man stepped in!”

A new headline, a new story being told. It’s rather frustrating to know that no matter what, reality would be twisted to the journalists’ desire and let the only person who actually cares about the case burn in the flames of depiction and hatred just for the ‘sin’ of being a woman. 

The same shameless and brutal words are printed in a bright red that resembles the fresh blood of those leaders of the city. In many readers’ eyes and minds, they were expecting to finally see a man taking the case and bringing ‘success’ even though it’s doomed to fail.

No one grieves more than someone who has lost everything—but your right to fight is still running deep in your veins. With a grunt, you throw the newspaper on your desk, almost spilling the black coffee you were previously drinking. 

It’s been less than a day since the candidate was found dead. The cause of death? Suicide which was, in a way, surprising. From the number of politicians who have “left this cruel world,” Mr Clark's scene of the crime gave enough proof that you were facing a real self-homicide case. 

In front of you lay countless folders and confidential documents that the police department has collected from the first victim to the last one. The only obvious connection all of the victims shared was that all of them were Tier A individuals. People who wouldn’t disappear to find ‘the real meaning’ of life and would surely not kill themselves without a murder weapon. 

So, even a rookie detective could surmise that most of those crimes were the smokescreen of something way bigger brewing in the shadows of the city. A city whose beliefs and faith in the government are so cracked now that not even the most nationalist citizens could find peace in their hometown.

A sigh leaves your lips, one that shows the tiredness in your system and heart. Sometimes, the feeling of walking in circles clouds your judgment and overall sanity. In hindsight, a detective ought to be a rightful and morally white person who would walk on fire just for the sake of truth and justice. But each time your eyes land on the atrocious clues you have gathered, the desire to throw away everything gets harder to bear.

Next to the pile of documents and boxes, on your desktop, is a photo frame which shows a younger version of yourself. Beaming pearly white smile with shiny eyes that could blind the camera itself, saying that you were happy was an understatement, you were delighted.

Truthfully speaking, you were naive. You loved to tell everyone you were going to be different, the exception of the rule, the one and only, justice bringer. But in reality, the sole fact you didn’t feel sympathy for those rich people tells you that maybe you weren’t so different. 

Or were you?

Fighting between your drowsiness and the obligation to continue working on this case, you grab the envelope Leon previously gave you. A yawn gets stuck in your throat, not allowing any sign of exhaustion to show in your face right now. 

The first thing that greets you is a document you quite don’t understand at first. The black words are blurry, proof of how much you need to sleep. A body can’t function without resting but you can’t function if work is due. Soft slaps around your face and a long-needed sip of the black caffeine liquid will do for now. 

“Life Insurance…” Your lips work on their own as you read the title, written in black ink. The font style proves the authenticity of the document. Dated July 1979, the legal paper started with the log of a woman’s name and age. 

Patricia Clark Powell, 28. American, caucasian. Marital status: Married. Children: 2. Now this is something. 

Reading each word carefully, leaving no detail off the table, a rather big number got your attention. After a long overview of this woman’s life details, you come across a table that shows the life insurance payout.

The main and only beneficiary was Robert Clark, he'd inherit the absurd and grotesque amount of 5 million dollars. 

But the catch here was that the only requirement to claim the insurance was the death certificate of the insured party, meaning that Patricia had to pass away.

You set aside the document for now. Your fingers graze over the corner of the paper to turn it.

A picture, no, several pictures come into your vision. All of them are colored and clear as water. The shoot is not perfect, as if someone was hiding while taking those photos.

The camera is positioned on a table. Hence the awkward angle it shows, nonetheless the main focus is on two people sitting down. 

The table, the walls, and overall decorations are an obvious giveaway of the place they were in. An expensive and pretentious restaurant that only the rich can afford. A stroke to their damned egos knowing that they could buy and eat a whole cow if they wanted to. Not before wiping any crumbs with a one thousand-dollar check.

You squint your eyes and even lean forward to try and inspect in great detail each part of the picture—detective skills kicking in, you may say.

The man on the right has a neatly trimmed mustache, and bushy eyebrows that match his hair color, black. He's wearing a navy blue suit with a gray tie. Very office-like and rather different from his counterpart next to him who wears a hoodie and a cigarette between his lips. The angle showing the faintest details of a tattoo on his right hand, which holds the cigarette. 

Flipping through the pictures, you see many more of them but just from different positions. Yet the main highlight is the now obvious identity of the man who exposes himself to the camera's lenses. 

Robert Clark. 

The last document is a newspaper headline. “CRIMINAL FUGITIVES” it reads and shows several mugshots of criminals who escaped prison over these last five years. Under the pictures, a text box includes some characteristics of the ex-prisoners. Your attention falls on a specific name. 

The picture shows a man with brown hair and brown eyes, a stubble growing on his jaw and cheeks. Why was he convicted? Organized crime and contract killing, a hitman in other words. The text described the man as a 5’9 male with no moles and no notorious scars. 

But a tattoo on his right hand.

Before you can even process everything you have read and seen, the ring of a phone breaks the solemn silence that has set in your office. Sliding to where the phone was, you pick up the call.

And before you could even utter a word, someone started the conversation first.

“Hey there, Sherlock.” A man’s voice greets you. Deep but smooth tone, easy to distinguish. 

“Mr. Kennedy.” You reply, brushing off the nickname he just gave you. “What a timing.”

“Why is that?” Playing dumb, Leon shoots his question. 

“I just finished reading the documents you gave me.” A seed of confusion is planted in your statement as you try to make up your mind with the information you just registered. “Where did you get all of this?” You say pressing the speaker closer to your mouth, whispering the words.

“Feeling curious, aren’t we?” Mock oozes from his tone, but there is a hint of genuine playfulness in his speech, as if delighted to be the one providing the confidential information. “You know… As much as I want to tell you, I just can’t.”

“Why?”

“Oh? Am I being questioned?” If you were next to him, you’d see the smirk that has formed on his face. And if you indeed were, a slap would be planted on his cheek, for sure. 

Leon continues being a puzzle you couldn’t solve. From the first (and only) moment you met him, his odd and shared disdain for the rich baffled you. You can’t seem to break through the world inside his head.

“Does it feel like I'm questioning you?”

“Kinda.”

“Forget it.” You shrug, leaving the topic as it is. There’s no point in trying to make Leon spit the truth. At least, not now. “But this is truly a key piece to this investigation.”

“That I know,” Leon replies. “But as I told you yesterday, don’t do anything stupid.” 

Silence fills the call as you take in what Leon said, or rather, repeated. 

“Oh?” Bitterly, you retort. “So you think I’ll do something stupid? It’s funny, all of my male colleagues always told me that.”

“I didn’t mean it like tha—”

“Oh course you didn’t.” Sarcasm was dripping from your words. “Nobody does.” You add with an exhausted sigh coming out from your lips.

“No, but I truly didn’t mean it.” He finally finishes his sentence as your pause allows him to interrupt you. 

“Look, sorry… I’ve dealt with these people ever since I remember and It’s just so… fucked up.” He adds. “You’re better than those dickhead detectives. I assure you.”

Now that you think about it, you may have overreacted. But then again, it wasn’t your fault. Being surrounded by people who discriminate and minimize every hardship you face, built a hard shell no one could break through. 

Instead of sticking to the awkward topic and Leon’s reassuring words, you decide to change the direction of this exchange. 

“Why did you call, Leon?” You ask, a tear forming in your eye due to the lack of sleep and the imminent yawn that threatens to escape from your mouth. 

The polite and tactful pattern was broken as soon as his name slipped from your lips. No agent nor Mr. Kennedy. For now, he is just Leon. 

Carrying a hint of embarrassment given his previous poor choice of words, he replies to your question.

“Mr. Clark’s wife is holding a funeral for him. I was going to tell you in case you wanted to go.”

His words catch your attention, the funeral could be the perfect opportunity to secretly investigate Patricia. In hindsight, a hunch tells you she isn’t involved—at least directly— in the candidate’s death. But it could give you some clues you may have overlooked.

“Are you going?”

“I might.”

You absentmindedly nod, acknowledging his answer. 

“Got it…” You play with the phone’s cord. “I’ll see you there, I guess.”

The chapel shimmers with almost blinding lights. Even though the nature of a funeral is dull and gloomy, the contrast is obvious. The whole setting is the perfect opportunity to show off, once again, the money that was being spent on it. The air is filled with raw indifference and overall pure narcissism. 

The lack of mourning and tears throw you off, especially when you feel like an outsider, you don’t belong here. Besides the fact that, of course, no matter how much you worked you could never afford the type of brand every individual was wearing—there is this feeling you can’t brush off. 

Your eyes travel over the room, searching for the wife now a widow. It is easy to get distracted by the mingling of certain guests and hushed laughs. Time and place… you thought.

What is supposed to be a thousand agonies and a sea of sorrow turns out to be the perfect act of grief. Let God be the judge of these people who surround themselves in the miseries of others. 

Amidst your judgment of everyone in the room, your task of finding Mrs Clark comes to an abrupt stop as a figure you recognize makes its appearance. Now wearing a dark blue suit, Leon’s frame is unmistakable. 

He’s next to a woman, brunette hair that reaches her back. A black fascinator is perfectly placed on her head, a wave of cringiness washes over you for the choice of fashion she went with. That must be Patricia Clark.

Confident but subtle, the cackling sounds of your high heels mix with the hushed chit-chat of those in the room. At last, it comes to a stop as you find yourself behind the widow and Leon who had previously acknowledged your presence. 

And for a moment, your eyes lock with the agent’s who wears an expression that could only be described as an attempt to warn you about something. But for now, you drift your attention towards the task at hand.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Clark.” You extend your hand while you introduce yourself. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” 

Manners, of course. You couldn’t feel sorry, especially now that you know that besides being an empty-headed politician, Robert Clark was an almost-murderer. 

However, you regret the fact that you chose the polite way of approaching as soon as your hand reached the air instead of the brunette-haired woman’s hand. Then, you realized this wouldn’t be as easy as you had thought.

A bemused expression forms in your face but it fades rather quickly as you remember your objective here. Taken aback, you pull your hand away before bringing them both behind your back. 

Leon doesn’t seem surprised by the blatant uncordial treatment Mrs. Clark just gave you. A sneer is present in his face as if he were saying ‘I told you so.’

“Don’t take it personal, darling.” Her voice tone reeks of arrogance and a know-it-all feeling. “I’ve been here for God knows how long. My hand may as well fall off if I keep shaking hands.”

There was no reason to feel amused by the whole interaction, you have dealt with these types of people before. But, the coldness and tactlessness of her words throw you off.

“I understand.” You feign agreement as if the fact that her husband is fucking dead is merely a minor detail. “But please, allow me to share my condolences. A woman as young as yourself shouldn’t be experiencing this.”

You resort to false praise words. There’s nothing else these fuckheads love more than people licking their shoe soles and acting like they are the only people living in the world. 

“It’s indeed difficult.” The woman brings her hand to her eyes, wiping the nonexistent tears that were supposed to be there. “My husband preferred to shoot himself instead of continuing being the man of the house.”

What a bitch.

Glancing at Leon, you find him crouching down in front of an infant. Given his brown hair, he must be one of the two Mr. and Mrs. Clark's children. 

“Is that your son?” You ask. 

“Yes…” An exasperated sigh again. As if she doesn't want to be here. In a sense, it is comprehensible but her overall personality wouldn't allow you to feel an ounce of sympathy. 

“How's he dealing with everything?” And after that question, you believe Mrs. Clark will snap at you any time now.

“Like every other kid would.” She replies, sparing not even a glance toward her own child. “He prefers her nanny anyway.”

Mentally cursing the mother, your lips tug a forced smile, one that doesn't reach your eyes but symbolizes the end of this meaningless conversation.

Your eyes travel until they land on Leon and the kid. The little one's eyes seem wet with tears that he so bravely holds back. 

Talking to children and elderly people was always the most difficult part of this job. Ever since you took it, those were your soft spot and Achilles’ ankle.

Leon notices your hesitation and motions you to join him. Scooting a bit, he gives you some space for you to crouch down too.

Greetings haven't been exchanged yet, instead of a hello, Leon welcomes you with a name.

“Lucas.” He whispers as you lower yourself to be at eye level with the infant. 

You nod. 

Lucas looks no older than 5 years old. A mop of brunette curly hair adorns his head. 

“Hi Lucas…” You give the little boy a gentle and warm smile. He blinks some tears that fall from his cheeks to the ground. 

There's no response, which it's okay. Unlike his mother's behavior, you know this innocent human is actually grieving. 

You take your time as tiny hiccups and soft sobs keep Lucas from forming actual sentences. 

“Lucas, this my friend.” It was Leon’s turn to speak. His usual chatty tone was replaced by an almost fatherly voice. “You told me you like making friends, didn't you?”

You watch as the little one slowly nods and wipes away the tears that keep rolling down his face. But this time, his sobs are coming to a stop.

“Are you daddy's friend?” He finally asks. However, the question was one you didn't expect. 

“Yes.” You lie, as a detective you are used to telling white and not so white lies just for the sake of finding a bigger truth. But lying to a child wasn't something you were looking for. 

“Okay…” Lucas responds and looks at both of you and Leon. A flick of light between the living hell of those pretentious people who act like they care.

“Daddy must be proud to see how strong you're right now.” Leon speaks once again and you witness how he ruffles Lucas’ hair in an attempt to cheer him up. 

“You think so?” Lucas’ voice, for one, is higher than just a whisper. And for the first time, you notice how he's missing one of his teeth. “Daddy always told me to be as strong as him every time he went to the doctor.”

The word doctor set both of you and Leon off. According to Robert Clark's medical history, he was a healthy individual. No illness and not even allergies. 

“Doctor? Was your daddy sick?”

“Weren't you daddy's friend? You should know…” You didn't expect to be outsmarted by a kid.

“Your daddy didn't want us to worry.” Second lie on the day, you're keeping count. “That's why he never told us.”

A pause lingers in the air as you reply to the child. It takes a while before he can answer your question as if conditioned not to talk about his father's doctor visits.

“He sometimes went to the doctor,” Lucas explains after a few seconds of reluctance. “He told me not to tell mommy or nanny. Maybe he didn't want them to worry too.”

“Was your daddy sick?” Leon asks in the same gentle tone he has kept throughout the conversation.

“Dunno…” Lucas pouts. “Doctor was also daddy’s friend.”

The kid’s naivety is providing you with more information than his mother could give you. Of course, his guileless wouldn’t serve any purpose legally speaking. But, it can give you some insight into Mr Clark’s background and motive.

And once again, you don’t have time to process the information as the rumbling of a stomach guides your attention toward Lucas.

“Sir?” Lucas’ eyes meet Leon’s blue ones. “Mommy said she’s busy… But I’m hungry.”

Leon offers Lucas a kind smile.

“Tell you what, kiddo. There’s a coffee shop near here, I’ll buy you something to eat.”

Lucas’ eyes seem to get brighter at the prospect of eating, it leads you to think how long has it been since he last ate something. 

When you are turning your back to follow Leon out of the chapel—because there was no way would stay there for a second longer— you feel a tiny hand wrapping around your sleeve. 

“Miss.” A pause and a deep breath. “Do you think daddy’s in heaven?”

“...”

“Yes, he is.” The third and last lie.

You tag along with Leon, both of you walking down the street until you reach a coffee shop. No words are exchanged and a rather awkward silence sets between both of you. 

Your mind is somewhere else while your body works on its own. You don’t even notice when Leon asks you something, too worried about the case, too scared something bigger than you may eat you whole if you keep poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. 

However, as stubborn as you could be, justice needs to prevail. 

While biting the inside of your cheeks, Leon’s words bring you back from your trance. “Hey? I asked you if you wanted something.” 

You come to notice that you have already walked towards the cash register. Both the cashier and Leon’s eyes fall on you. 

“An Americano.”

You come up with the quickest answer you could think of. You watch Leon take out his wallet and pay with cash. 

Eventually, both of your orders plus Lucas’ are called and you decide to take a break albeit your attempt at telling Leon there was no time to lose. 

“So… any luck with Mrs. Newly Widow?” Leon asks as he takes a bite of his sandwich. 

“Nope.” You stir your coffee and blow some air. “Didn’t know she would be so difficult to deal with.”

“Well, she’s no more difficult than you.” He replies jokingly with a feeble smirk on his face. 

“Oh, you’re funny. How many times have you used that one with other people?” You retort, the sarcastic answer flying so gracefully out of your lips as if you have been ready for one of his remarks. 

“See! That’s what I’m talking about.” He gestures at you. “I’m trying to be friends with you but you push me away.”

Silence dawns upon both of you as you exhale. Although Leon has been nothing but respectful—in his own way— the fear of looking polite and weak with a colleague is still very much present. 

Dropping the act of being cold and emotionless isn’t something that you are looking for nor planning to do. Not until you could show the world that you are, in fact, as capable as any other man. 

“Look, Leon,” You speak in a calm tone. “I don’t make friends, not in this field and especially not with men.” 

As you say so, you reach for a sugar packet. No americano tastes good without sugar.

“Sorry.” You add. 

There is nothing to feel sorry about. Your feelings and boundaries shouldn’t depend on someone else. Yet, a part of you couldn’t help but regret your bold choice of words.

“Hey, nothing to apologize for.” And even though he was the one who suggested the whole friendship thing, he is also the one who is soothing the waters. “I know men in general can be a pain in the ass.”

That causes a huff to slip out of your mouth. “Trying to win points?”

“Not really.” He says while chewing on his sandwich. “Besides, you’re too smart for that.”

You chuckle, finally ripping the material of the sugar packet. “Finally we agree on something.”

Drumming his fingers against the hard wooden material both of your gaze into the distance, not adding anything else to the conversation. The aroma of coffee fills the area where you are sitting with Leon. 

“Lucas, Mr. Clark’s kid… you were good with him.” It slips off your tongue rather easily. A tinge of sincerity washes over your statement. 

And you can observe how Leon’s face went from a resting and soft expression to a stunned one. However, after your previous comments, the awkward and uneasy feeling shifted into an amiable one. 

“Was I?” Almost incredulous and even insecure. A slight trace of a vulnerable side you haven’t seen nor expected. “Thanks.”

Judging by his expression, Leon either had a soft spot for kids just like you or there’s something else you don’t know. Most agents show themselves as cold-hearted creatures who give no shit about anyone but themselves or their missions. 

But it’s none of your business.

“What Lucas told us, about the doctor. Do you think it may be related to the case?” You ask, back to your normal and professional self.

“I believe it can help us to investigate further,” Leon replies. “but I fail to see how this doctor could be of any help in this case.” 

“Maybe not on this one…” You murmur not even noticing the words that fell from your lips.

“What do you mean?” Leon notes your slight behavior change. Clearing your throat, you shake your head dismissing your previous words. 

“Nothing.” For now, the missing civilians’ case doesn’t need to be exposed. You fear the government is behind it and the one you’re currently investigating. You don’t need Leon to follow each step you take, especially given his association with the nation’s leaders.

Taking one last sip of your drink, you raise your wrist and read the time. Going back to the chapel wouldn’t bring you more information. Not when everyone seemed more focused on their conversations rather than helping.

Searching through your wallet, you pull a 10 dollar bill and place it on the table, next to your empty cup of coffee.

“What is that?”

“For my coffee.” You respond, getting up from the chair and looking back at Leon. “I don’t like owing to people.”

“You don’t have to, you know?” Leon chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s on me.”

“Well…” You reply. “Then make sure to give it back to me one day.”

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness

Leon’s hands are clean, metaphorically speaking. But his mind is not.

He wasn’t directly involved in the numerous deaths of politicians and CEOs. He just provided the right amount of information for them to kill each other. Playing God amongst them, in a way only he could recognize and embrace.

Death has rejected him but he brings that destiny upon those who sought to destroy the peace settled in the city and therefore nation. That’s the role he accepted once the curse of immortality ran deeply in his veins. 

It all started with hints he would drop in the middle of conversations. Twisted words that would seed doubts among elitists. Alliances were broken easily, that he needn’t worry about. But some partnerships were harder to break, sly statements would get him anywhere.

So, direct accusations were made. Obviously, under a fake name or rather an anonymous identity which would prompt people to feel paranoid even in their own homes. It took less than a week for lesser pawns to be found dead or disappear under odd circumstances. Of course, those who own the city would leave no trace of their crimes—so even for him, a federal agent, it was impossible to reach them without his mission being discovered. 

So, as soon as he was assigned to help you in this mysterious case, he was delighted. He’d play his pieces right and boom, he’d wriggle his way into the elite that control the city with their tainted and bloody hands and root out the evil.

However, he wouldn’t have thought that his “eternal suffering” disease would act the first moment he saw you. 

Ever since he was transformed, the adaptation path was rough and difficult to deal with. Nonetheless, he made a promise to never act upon his instincts, no matter how unbearable they could get.  

When he first saw Mr. Clark’s body, it wasn’t surprising. He knew he would choose the path of dying instead of facing his crimes and past. They’re all like that. Cowards, good for nothing, worthless, usel—

A sugary and pleasant aroma flooded his senses which immediately put him at ease amid the gruesome scenario lying underneath his frame. 

It wasn’t coming from the dead bastard, that he knew. So what is it? The smell was getting even more prominent each second that passed. It made him dig his short fingernails into the palm of his hand, forming tiny half-moons on the thin skin. 

His senses were never that heightened nor his body was that sensible to even the softest of draughts. 

And his body worked on his own as soon as the doorknob tweaked, he turned around and acted as if his work was the only thing on his mind.

As if his eternal life wasn’t about to change forever. When forever only meant pain and sorrow, at least for Leon.

[goth-pod]

Goth-Pod Ep 2: Dick Grayson

Welcome Back to Goth-Pod with Juda Boone!

(Despite the technical difficulties and change of format, we continue on! Gothamites are stubborn in that way.)

[goth-pod is a fictional in-universe podcast based on the DC comics universe. Juda Boone is an original fictional character, not based on any real person or known comic book character. The mentioned true crime podcast, "Gotham City's Best" is not a real podcast, that I know of.]

Transcript under the cut

Hello everyone and welcome back to Goth-Pod, your Gotham Based podcast! I am your favorite queer-as-in-strange host Juda Boone.

Today we are discussing a hot topic in our city. And I’d like for it to be known that a lesser host would make a “Emphasis on HOT” joke here. 

I come bearing bad news, everyone. We have lost one of our beloved Gotham citizens to the big city in the sky. 

Wait-no, sorry that was a total typo of my script. We lost a beloved citizen to the small city up the river. Don't know how those got mixed up. For those of you in the know, you probably have guessed that I am talking about Dick Grayson-Wayne’s recent move to our other sister city, Bludhaven. 

Dick Grayson is one of those names that any Gothamite paying attention will recognize. But for our non-native listeners, here's a quick run down.

Dick Grayson-Wayne is the adoptive son of Bruce Wayne. And if you don’t know who Bruce Wayne is, I’m sorry I can't help you. I don't- I don’t even know how you found this podcast if that’s the case. 

Now, I hear the word “nepotism” thrown around a lot when talking about Wayne’s Ward. But let us not forget that Grayson is a trained aerialist performer. He’s been doing insane stunts since he was a kid. Grayson was a talented, hard working kid who grew up into a talented adult. Though he does seem to be following Wayne footsteps in being something of a pretty playboy. And you know what? Good for him. 

If you’re curious about how Grayson came to the care of Bruce Wayne, feel free to check out my colleagues and close friends at Gotham City’s Best: A True Crime Podcast.

No matter where Grayson came from, or where he is going now, he is a beloved son of Gotham and we will definitely miss him. 

Grayson is not a Gotham-native, but Gotham has claimed him all the same. Tragedy, perseverance and finding your own family follow nobody the way it follows a true child of Gotham. 

All I have to say is: Good luck Bludhaven. You got a Wayne coming your way.

Thanks for joining! I’m Juda, you’re listening to Goth-Pod. Until next time, stay safe, Gotham.

[unicoo]

Everyone always says “The Conquerors would’ve supported Rhaenyra” (and the “justification” are always the same too)

• “Rhaenyra’s more Targaryen than Aegon”….I mean yeah but like if Visenya & Aegon & Rhaenys would hate Aegon for being half Hightower than wouldn’t they have also hated Aemma for being half Arryn, which in turn would mean they’d also hate…Rhaenyra?

•“Visenya hated Hightowers.”…..yet she let her son marry on & try to have children with her for years….I doubt she’d give af that Aegon is half Hightower (tbh I think her & Maegor would’ve liked Aegon for scoffing at the Faith of the Seven….)

•“Rhaenyra’s the eldest & rightful heir!”…..Visenya was the eldest & yet she wasn’t Queen alone, she was Aegon’s wife the queen CONSORT. We don’t know if she fought for her birth right or not (Dragonstone) but if she did I think it would be mentioned & Maegor probably wouldn’t have taken the throne because he’d have Dragonstone.

•“She’s also a woman so Visenya wouldn’t have stood for that!”….someone I follow @silvervvings made a good point not many people bring up, but it deserves to be talked about more. Visenya sat by while Maegor tortured, raped, kidnapped, & beat at least 2 of his wives. She also didn’t stand up for Rhaena being Queen. If she gave a damn about women & inheritance she would’ve acted for her granddaughter like Alysanne did for Rhaenys. I don’t think Visenya cared about feminism, and my theory is because she was never treated like a woman. From her dad, to Aegon, to the citizens of King’s Landing, Visenya was never much of a lady in their eyes. I personally can see Visenya thinking “If I can do it, they could too” - meaning she wasn’t going to help women who weren’t “helping themselves” (once again this is my personal opinion)

•“She’s a woman so Rhaenys wouldn’t have stood for that!”…. (Another personal opinion) the way Rhaenys & Rhaenyra are described I don’t think they���d like each other 💯 I think there would be a weird sense of competition between them, rather it be their own thoughts or outside influences.

•“Aegon I wouldn’t like Aegon II because of the kind of person he is!”….y’all do realize that Aegon grew up on Dragonstone where “First Night Rights” were seen as blessing & not what they really were RAPE. Sure some women might’ve been okay with it, but not all of them. And also I don’t think Aegon cares who takes the throne as long as they are of his blood. Plus Aegon I would love seeing a boy named after him, in his crown, with his sword, on the throne he built. Aegon II also wasn’t a bad king (despite what some say) so Aegon I would have some respect, even if it was only because his ability as king.

“Alicent’s kids are only half Targaryen”…..and so was Orys, a bastard at that, possibly their fathers. I don’t think they care about the half of the blood that isn’t theirs lol. They would’ve simply married Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, & Daeron to other Valyrian’s to “purify” the blood again somewhat. But like if they did, they wouldn’t like Rhaenyra OR HER SONS either because her mother was a half blood lol & those boys are too. If this is the case then why was Visenya okay with Maegor marrying people who weren’t of their blood? Because it wasn’t that deep for them. Like do y’all think there weren’t other half blooded Targs? Do y’all just think that the Targs between the doom & conquest didn’t marry outside the family or have kids with people outside the family? Let’s be so serious….

•“They would’ve liked Rhaenyra more because she’s just better.”…..first of all that’s objective to YOUR opinion, not everyone likes Rhaenyra & as I’ve said previously I don’t think Rhaenys would’ve liked her, maybe they would’ve started off cool, but I don’t think it would’ve ended that way. Aegon, I don’t see him caring about her much tbh, she of his blood, that’s all he’d really care about. And his son had a daughter who should’ve been heir, yet there’s never any mention that Aegon backed Rhaena’s claim. Aegon was the first king & knew of Westeros’ law of sons over daughters, so if Aegon wanted to see a queen, or lady, in power why didn’t he make it so lawfully? As for Visenya, I don’t think she’d like her at all. Rhaenyra and Visenya were complete opposites, Rhaenyra was girly & spoiled, Visenya was tough & strategic. I think Visenya would dislike how Rhaenyra can’t fight for or defend herself, Visenya would likely see Rhaenyra as the “Weaker” choice, I don’t think she’d be over the moon with Aegon either though (tbh I see Visenya backing Aemond & that’s something I can talk about separately because there’s just so much to back this TO ME lol).

Maegor is where I find myself conflicted. Would he pick Rhaenyra or Aegon? He was the first person to make a girl heir, but he thought he’d have a son soon & he obviously only really cares about one women, his mother. So idk if he’d support Rhaenyra, especially because he’d related to Aegon about being the passed over son. (I too believe Maegor would support Aemond, mostly because his mother does lol)

I don’t think the Conquerors would’ve cared about Rhaenyra’s “bastards” but I also don’t believe they would’ve been okay with them inheriting anything, especially over true born Valyrian featured children, especially the sons (Aegon, Aemond, Daeron) (and before it’s said “But Orys…” Orys was rewarded for his service he didn’t just expect to be given anything. Orys started a new house & married the heir of those lands to seal his Lordship, he also didn’t “steal” the seat from any true born Targaryen kids so….

I also don’t think the Conquerors would have hated Alicent & her kids or Rhaenyra & her kids. They probably wouldn’t exactly LIKE them, but they wouldn’t hate them.

I think they’d save that hate for Viserys, which is who we all should be giving our hate to because the Dance is his fault. His children & grandchildren died because of his decisions. The realm suffered & so did his house because of his choices. Picking green or black & completely forgetting about the main villain is crazy work.

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION SO IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT HIT ‘NOT INTERESTED’ 🙂👍

[thelreads]

I am back to ramble about Chloe again 🥰 Tumblr eater of messages YOU SHALL NOT DEFEAT ME

Anyway so I was gonna say what really got to me about Yuri and Chloe is that Yuri actually apologised to her. I was stunned. I don’t think he’s ever (sincerely) apologised to anyone but Yor. The fact that he cares enough about her—about her opinion of him— left me absolutely gobsmacked.

Like, them bickering in the car about calling each other by name and who’s the senior? That was adorable. It was super shippy. But it also felt kind of one-sided because you could tell how close Chloe felt to Yuri, but you weren’t sure if that was reciprocated. Though, to be fair, it’s pretty hard get a read on how Yuri feels about other people in general, since he pretends to be apathetic about everyone besides Yor on principle (more on that later).

But when she slapped him and called him out? I was expecting an explosion. I was expecting self-righteousness and stubbornness and screaming. I was NOT expecting to see Yuri Briar, of all people, genuinely apologise while looking like a remorseful puppy. That shook me to my core.

Because the fact that Yuri actually cared enough to apologise shows that he actually likes Chloe. He genuinely cares about her opinion of him. And not only did he apologise with real remorse - he even asked her for advice on what he should do like??? For all his snarking and quibbling, he genuinely respects her. He cares about her opinion. Like. This is Mr Yor-taku over here. This behaviour from him is so genuinely mind blowing.

Because, again, Yuri pretends to be apathetic about everyone besides Yor on principle. That whole ‘I can’t let her see me cavorting with you’ line isnt a sis-con joke. That is genuinely the way Yuri thinks. I think Yuri believes that he owes Yor his life. Life, his entire life. He operates on the belief that giving any of his time/interest/energy to anyone other than Yor would be a betrayal to her and everything she sacrificed for him. In his head, she devoted herself to him when they were kids, so now he has to devote himself to her. It’s as if the only way he can honour her sacrifice is by making one of his own. ‘This is the woman who put aside her own happiness to raise me!’ That’s why, for Yuri, finding his own happiness is completely out of the question.

Of course, it’s a messed up way to think, but it perfectly illustrates Yuri’s character, because, like everyone in SpyxFamily, Yuri is a liar. He can pretend to have Yor-vision all he likes. He can snarl and scowl and deny it all he wants. But the truth is, whether he likes it or not, Yuri does care about people besides Yor.

He looked genuinely worried when he heard Anya got kidnapped, but immediately tried to rationalise it away by saying he’d be happy if she was out of the way. He immediately focused on how Yor would feel if something happened to her, but used that to justify him meddling to keep her safe. And what happened when the adrenaline wore off? Did Yuri croon about how taking a bullet was nothing for his sister’s happiness? Nope. In his pain, he blurted out the truth: I can’t believe I took a bullet for chihuahua girl!

Similarly, for all his hatred of Loid, he should have been driving them to the court house the minute Yor said she had gripes. Instead, he acted like a child taking his mother’s side in her first fight with his stepdad. He actually told Loid to apologise! Even later, when Yor couldn’t say she loved him, that should have been Yuri’s cue to get rid of Loid Forger once and for all. And yet. Even though it’s so easy for the SSS to make up charges and arrest citizens, Yuri has never and will never do so for his brother-in-law, who he supposedly wants gone asap.

(Also ch 89 has a slight mistranslation - the English version makes it out as if Yuri is planning to make up some reason to get Loid arrested. This is not the case. He actually thinks ‘But wait — let’s say he actually was guilty of something and I got him arrested. Wouldn’t that still end up making my sister sad…?!’ That moment of shock on his face was supposed to be a moment of realisation - that he shouldn’t want Loid to be guilty of being twilight or an adulterer or anything else, because Yor cares about him, and him getting arrested would upset her. Of course the next panel he immediately dismisses this and says nah there’s no way my sister would be sad over that. Again, Yuri is lying to himself. And he knows damn well he’s lying to himself, because he still won’t touch Loid with any charges, real or false.)

At the end of the day, for Chloe to even momentarily get past Yuri’s psychological Yor-barrier is HUGE. That he apologise to her is HUGE. That apology wasn’t for Yor’s benefit. It was solely for Chloe. Also, amusingly enough, in that panel when she calls him a self-serving hypocrite and he gasps - the suffix that is used is ガーン which is the suffix equivalent of 😨 and is usually used for Twilight when he’s dismayed because he thinks Yor hates him. Again, it wasn’t Yor calling him a hypocrite there. It was Chloe. And yet, it got to him. Mr Yor-taku. Enough for him to apologise.

All in all, I am expecting great things from Chloe. She is literally Yuri’s only hope for rehabilitation at this point. For all that Yuri pushes everyone away and refuses to ‘officially’ let himself care about them, he has clearly slipped up with her and I cannot wait to see the continuation ☺️

As a final note I will add - I think Chloe’s analysis of self-serving hypocrisy is spot on, and to truly cover all aspects of Yuri being a lying liar, it should be noted that Yuri did not have to dedicate his life to Yor - he chose to. And I think there’s another self-serving aspect to his sacrifice, besides alleviating his guilt - at the end of the day, it is much safer to devote yourself to your one remaining family member, rather than to risk loving and losing anyone else. Yuri may keep everyone at a distance while claiming it’s to honour his sister’s sacrifice, but I think the truth is that he’s just too afraid to open his heart to anyone else.

And so Chloe has both my blessings and ✨highest expectations✨ to get my boy his own life and happiness, even if she has to drag him there kicking and screaming.

oh hell yeah, thank the heavens you managed to get this post through. Tumblr is always a pain in the ass when it comes to long asks, or sending more than one ask in short of span of time.

Functional website.

Anyway, I liked that. Yeah, Chloe is his friend, he trusts and respects her a lot, but he'll never admit to it since he also is a FUCKING TSUNDERE. Seems that every character in the story refuses to be honest about their feelings for others. Twilight can't admit he loves his family, and also can't admit that he sees Franky as his best friend. Franky, likewise, can't admit that Twilight is his best Friend. Yor can't admit that she wants to bang Twilight until she pulverizes all bones on his body. Melinda can't admit her own love and hatred for her kid. Damian can't admit he likes Anya, and Anya refuses to even let the thought she might like Damian cross her mind.

like, jesus christ Endo

And yeah, I also have high hopes for her. Honestly, she feels like the wacky and nonsensical comedic sidekick to Yuri, which himself is already the wacky and nonsensical comedic butt of the the story, but she shows that when push comes to shove she has her head on the right place and she's not afraid to put Yuri's ass back into it's place.

just hope she not revealed to be an agent from Garden put there to keep an eye on him, since the group seems to want to keep Yor right where she is.

[raedroid]

Kiss Writing Prompt #1

“It would’ve been better if you’d just let me go and we left it at that… but you had to go and say you loved me, and that was a little too easy for you.”

After the end of the War of Kissteria in 2000, Kiss thought all of their troubles were solved until Paul and Peter finally talked to each other. They had disagreements on the battlefield and in the band and now it was becoming too much for them both to handle. And some news had caused them to lose their minds

TW: violence, swearing, angst and mentions of war

——————————————————————————

The War on Kissteria had just ended. Even though it was over, the devastation was still there, with buildings and towns in ruins after The Dark Clipse and Kissterian Armies fought against each other viciously. The Elder looked over her dimension in great terror. She could not have predicted such a catastrophe as The Crimson Witch left her mark on her home. The pain was too much for her and knew she had to prepare for the next attack just in case. However it was all becoming too much for her to bear.

Not only was she in great turmoil but so was her loyal comrades, Kiss. They had returned to Earth in hopes of recovering from their latest battle but deep down, they felt defeated and lost. Paul looked at all of his band mates and could tell that they were feeling all kinds of emotions and pain. Gene was hiding all of his emotions again which was typical of him. Ace was drinking all of his problems away, another typical behaviour of him and Peter was sitting in anger. He was the most angry one of them all and Paul didn’t wanted to make him any more angry. But he was the only one he could talk to at the moment. With Gene avoiding everyone, Paul had to talk to him.

He looked at Peter’s door in worry. Paul never gets worried about confrontation but for some reason, meeting Peter was making him nervous. The last time they chatted properly was ages ago. Peter was pissed at him over the tour arrangements. Paul stood his ground on the matter and Peter never bothered him again. But after the war, Paul’s feelings on him started to change again. He had to talk to him and was ready for Peter to get pissed at him. He slowly knocked on his hotel door and saw Peter’s tired expression on the other side

“What do you want?” Peter asked annoyed. Paul sighed and looked down

“Can I come in? There’s something I want to ask you.” He asked. Peter stumbled to the side and let Paul walk in and sat down on Peter’s bed

“Whatever this is, make it quick.” Peter said coldly

“That’s what I hope as well.” Paul agreed. “Look. I know it’s been a few weeks since the war but there’s been something that’s been bugging me lately. You were completely ignorant over what was going on.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down in front of him.

“The Elder trusted us to protect the citizens in the smaller towns on the outlands. And you did something that was completely unacceptable. What were you thinking, letting Dark Clipse soldiers invade the towns in order to arrest them”

“Come on we had to do what we had to. At least I took down a bunch of soldiers that were trying to kill us. What were you doing?”

“Evacuating people like what we were ordered to do. But you completely ignored them and let those soldiers go in! Many people were killed from that stunt you pulled!” Peter was slowly getting angry from his words

“You didn’t even considered the good I did. Those soldiers would’ve killed more people if I haven’t done anything. And people were gonna die in this war anyways. That’s war that’s how it works.”

“How can you say that?! They were innocent people just trying to live their lives and because of your stupid actions, you got them killed!” Paul was getting irritated and Peter looked at him with rising anger

“Don’t pretend you care about a bunch of random strangers in Kissteria. You don’t care about your own band mates. A true Guardian does anything to help the world. As for you, once you lost your sword trainer, you just gave up. You don’t care.” Peter was getting delirious after the war and Paul could tell

“I wasn’t trying to seem like that. But you know how much he meant to me.” Paul replied

“Yeah to you. Everyone else around you is nothing. You’re becoming a greedy, insecure, weak man after that war. You didn’t cared about any of us when we got hurt or anything.” Peter slowly got out of his chair

“Peter? Where is this coming from? I know I’ve made mistakes but I’m talking about the war, not what’s happening in the band ok? We can discuss that with the rest.” Paul watched Peter grip the chair and he prepared himself. He knew that Peter is able to attack with no resistance.

“Once again, you are forgetting about all the shit you’ve done. I don’t care about that stupid war. I’m talking about you, the so called leader of Kiss. I love you man but sometimes the way you act just makes me sick. You only care about us when it benefits you.” Peter argued. Paul felt like he was suffocating and felt his body slowly shaking, panic rising in his body.

“I came here to talk about how you acted at the war. I care about you, I care about everyone ok? I just don’t know how to show it. If you can just listen to me-“ He was interrupted by Peter summoning his powers and blasting Paul with magic, sending Paul flying at the wall.

“SHUT UP ABOUT THE STUPID WAR! ITS OVER!” Peter roared, summoning claws and going to attack him. As he lunged at him, Paul used one of his star shields to subdue him. He looked at Peter, his eyes full of rage and tears. Paul knew he was troubled and wanted to reach out to him

“Please stop this. I get that you’re not feeling well.” Paul spoke calmly

“So what are you gonna do to me? You gonna throw me out again?! That’s what you did with me the last time!” Peter shouted. “All of this because I didn’t acted the way you wanted me to!”

“You let so many innocent people die! I know you had good intentions but-“ He was interrupted again as Peter freed himself and grabbed the chair

“But what?! I’m allowed to do what I want ok?! I don’t need your judgement! If you truly cared about me, you wouldn’t judge me right! The war is over! Deal with it!” Peter shouted. Paul sighed and slowly felt tears building up but held himself together. The war had roughed them up in so many ways and they knew that they had broken the last bits of trust that they had for each other. Paul felt incredibly disappointed in his actions and this situation and looked at Peter fuming.

“I’ll leave you alone Peter. I’m sorry I made you feel like crap. I do care about you Peter. Truly I do.” Paul muttered as he walked to the door. “But you really did fucked me up today and during the war. It would’ve been better if you’d just let me go and we left it at that… but you had to go and say you loved me, and that was a little too easy for you.”

Peter watched Paul leave the room. Paul closed the door and slid down to the floor. Tears exploded from his eyes as all emotions hit him like a sledgehammer. The farewell tour was about to end, the war broke him, his marriage was failing and now the band is falling apart again.

This time, he knew it was his fault

——————————————————————————

Tagging: @spacedoutman @elrohare @namelessbutters-doodles

For @spacedoutman Kiss Writing Challenges!

[doyou000me]

Part II: Historical Context and Hyung's Background

So… this is not what I was going to write for Part II. I was going to write about shame and the way we perceive/react to how society sees us. I was going to loop it back to Part I; “An excess of self-awareness was a disease in itself.” I was going to compare how the narrator, his mother and his boyfriend are all affected by it in similar and/or different ways. 

And then I got to thinking about the boyfriend, mainly referred to as Hyung. 

About two thirds into part II, we get Hyung's backstory and, without spoiling anything, it’s basically a chunk where the narrator name-drops a bunch of movements and incidents that are part of recent history in Korea. Most of it meant next to nothing to me, and I felt like I was missing out on a whole lot of context. So I did some preliminary google searching, realised I needed more historical context, and went to the library to borrow a book on Korean history. Then I started making a timeline. Then I went online and started googling specific movements and incidents. Then I got a headache. 

[This is long, so I’m putting the rest of it under the cut. Also, this is about Hyung's backstory so, you know, spoilers about that.] 

The chunk of a paragraph that started all this is this one:

“He had been part of the leftover student activist generation of the mid-nineties and after graduation had dipped his toes in the labor movement. The Misun-Hyosun incident demonstrations had also been during his time, as well as protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act and the anti-Chosun Daily movement…” 

Student Activism in the mid nineties

Labour Movement

Misun-Hyosun Incident

The National Security Act

Anti-Chosun Daily Movement

That’s 5 historical events, all named in one paragraph without further explanation - likely because a Korean reader is expected to know what this all means. I am not a Korean reader and I have no idea what most of it means. It’s a lot. When I started reading about it, I realised it’s even more. As is often the case with history, a whole lot of things are connected, and many of these things connect all the way back to the Japanese occupation. 

There are academic papers written on these things. There are books. I am a pyjama-clad person curled up on my couch with a book and an internet connection. Of course I decided to attempt to summarise and explain it all. What could possibly go wrong? 

Disclaimer time: I am not a historian or, in any way, an expert on the subject. I’ve spent about a day and a half on this, and it’s not nearly enough. Also, I am paraphrasing to the extreme to make sure I don’t end up writing half a book. I hope it’ll serve as context for anyone reading part II who feels as context-less as I did, but if you actually want to know about any of these topics, I’d recommend doing some reading of your own. I’ll leave references at the bottom. 

Also: content warning. This is really dark and really heavy history. Be warned, and take care of yourselves. Now:

Some massively paraphrased Korean history 

Japanese Protectorate and Occupation (1907-1945)

Starting out as a protectorate treaty to challenge China’s power on the Korean peninsula and give Japan access to Korean ports, Japan took control of Korea in 1910. What followed was 35 years of repression and Koreans living under systemic racism as second class citizens in their own country. This included institutionalised erasure of the Korean identity. 85% of the Korean population lost their Korean names and were forced to take Japanese names. Many never learnt to write in Korean, only Japanese. Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were killed for protesting against the occupation. All higher positions within the country were given to the Japanese, and the Korean workers were paid half of what Japanese workers got. Towards the end (1931-1945) when Japan went to war with China and needed resources, 3,5 million Koreans were displaced, both within Korea and abroad to Japan and China. Many were forced into slave labour in mines where unsafe working conditions and 17-hour work days killed many. Women, many just teenagers, were made “comfort women” and forced into filthy, violent brothels to serve the Japanese soldiers. 

Then WWII ended. Japan surrendered to the allied forces in 1945, packed up and left Korea. Korea was suddenly free. 

Just as suddenly, there was no government and no regime. There was no leadership, and not just on the government level. Industries ground to a halt. Production stood still. Displaced Koreans moved back, leading to sudden overpopulation of urban areas. Nationwide unemployment was at 50% and criminal activity, homelessness and alcoholism rose. 

American Occupation (1945-1949)

The US stepped in. Due to global tensions after WWII, they did not want Korea to fall into the wrong hands, and made a deal with the Soviet Union: they split Korea in two along the 38th parallel, and the US would get the south part while the Soviet would get the north part. The plan was for Korea to eventually regain independence. The split along the 38th parallel was not grounded in any social or geographical conditions. Farmland and manufacturing in the south was divided from fertiliser production, natural resources and energy production in the north. Families living on different sides of the border were divided. 

The American leadership that was put in place had next to no time to prepare, barely any prior knowledge of the Korean history, culture or people and very limited interest in learning. The US leader, General Hodge, had little political or administrative experience, and initially tried to cooperate with the Japanese to help with the occupation (this, as you can imagine, did not go over well). Labour demonstrations born from the terrible conditions Korean workers had lived with were brutally repressed and seen as pro-communist. Racism led to the assumptions that the Koreans were incapable of organising and governing themselves. The National Security Law was established in 1948 with the purpose of arresting North Korean sympathisers and infiltrators. 

In 1949, the US withdrew from South Korea, and South Korea was declared the independent nation of the Republic of Korea. The Soviet Union (officially) withdrew from the North - while also helping North Korea, along with China, to build up their military. In June, 1950, the North Korean army marched over the border on the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. 

The Korean War (1950-1953) 

On one level, the Korean war was about North Korea invading and trying to take over South Korea, turning all of the Korean peninsula into one Korea. On another, global level, it was a cold war power play between the US and the Soviet Union with South Korea, the US and the UN on one side and North Korea, the Soviet Union and China on the other. Both sides tried to take all of the Korean peninsula. Both sides failed. After three years of war, where foreign soldiers fought in a foreign land and Koreans fought Koreans, nothing was gained. In 1953, the border on the 38th parallel was reestablished. The entirety of the Korean peninsula had been bombarded and razed to the ground. Everything needed to be rebuilt. North and South Korea were among the poorest countries in the world and millions were still separated from their families by the border. 

34 000 American soldiers were killed. 140 000 South Korean soldiers were killed. More than 640 000 North Korean soldiers were killed.  Over one million Chinese soldiers were killed.  Some 3 million Korean civilians were killed.  And nothing was gained. 

South Korea Under Military Dictatorship (1953-1960, 1961-1987)

So, with hunger, spreading disease and homelessness, with cities in ruin, orphaned children on the streets and widows left to fend for themselves in a country where women were not seen as independent citizens at the time, President Rhee and the Liberal Party won the elections in May 1954, making Rhee the first Korean president. They worked to turn the economy around through the use of five year plans as well as grants and loans from the US and secured national safety with an agreement with the US to place troops in Korea indefinitely - troops that are still present today. 

They also turned the democracy into a dictatorship when Rhee risked being voted out of office. Elections were rigged and political opponents silenced. The National Security Law (according to which anti-state groups and those who disturb the national order can be imprisoned) was used to silence and root out opponents. Student protests were regularly held against the violations on democracy and corruption in the Rhee administration. After Rhee’s fourth presidential reelection in 1960, the opposing party rejected the results and student-led protests erupted in Masan, quickly spreading to the rest of the country. This became the April 19 Revolution, which led to Rhee going into exile. 

An election was held and a new president was chosen. 

The next year, in 1961, General Park led a military coup and took power, claiming that South Korea - amidst strikes, protests and student and left-wing groups discussing immediate reunification with North Korea - was not yet ready for democracy. They focused on economic growth, successfully turning South Korea’s economy around and, on the way, making the chaebol into some of the wealthy conglomerates we know from kdramas. They also focused on improving the relationship with Japan, leading to major protests. 

They also cracked down on all opposition. Less than a month after the coup, the KCIA was established - for decades, the KCIA investigated, arrested, tortured and assassinated South Koreans who were accused of being North Korean sympathisers, suspected of supporting communism or seen as a threat to the regime. Gradually, the dictatorship became more and more repressive, with crackdowns on freedom of speech, increased power for the KCIA and martial law being imposed. Student activist protested, demanding a return to democracy, and workers protested with them, demanding better wages and working conditions. 

In 1979, Park was assassinated. 

General Chun took over, appointing himself director of the KCIA and continuing the military dictatorship, but by this point the people had had enough. Starting with university students in Gwangju, thousands of people in the city gathered to demand a return to democracy. The protest lasted from May 18 to May 27 of 1980, and became known as the Gwangju Uprising. It ended in violence, when the Chun regime isolated the city and went in with tanks and paratroopers. 150 were killed, over 4 000 wounded, thousands arrested - both protesters and citizens simply living their lives in the city. After that the relationship between the regime and the people was strained, to say the least, and anti-American sentiment sky-rocketed as people associated the US forces with the violent crackdown in Gwangju. 

It was during this time that “Hyung” was born, in 1979, because yes, this post is still about LitBC Part II, and this all started because I wanted to understand his background better.  Hyung lived his first years under a military dictatorship, where the people were under constant threat from the KCIA, student activist groups continuously struggled to regain democracy and anti-American sentiment was on the rise. 

In 1987, as the next presidential election approached and with the Gwangju Uprising still fresh in memory, people doubled down on their protests. Led by students and workers, the June Democratic Struggle broke out on June 10 with people demonstrating across the country. It lasted until June 29 - in success, as the new president pledged that South Korea would have free, direct presidential elections. Democracy, for the first time in about 20 years. 

Many changes were still needed in the country, but now the population could take to the streets and protest without fear of violent repercussions - and the regime listened. Wages doubled over a span of five years. 

In 1997, the Asian Financial Crisis hit South Korea. Several Chaebols went bankrupt and 1988 became the worst year in the history of South Korean economy since the Korean War. (Go watch Reborn Ritch if you’re interested) Today, this is spoken of as the IMF crisis. Fortunately,  South Korea recovered relatively quickly. To balance the country’s over-reliance on manufacturing, the government launched a campaign to support the entertainment industry, thus laying the ground for the Hallyu wave that would spread globally in the 2000s.  

The 2000s

“Hyung” entered university in 1995, and would have graduated somewhere around the shift of the millennia, right as South Korea was recovering from the IMF crisis. Shortly after his graduation, the Misun-Hyosun Incident, Anti-Chosun Daily Movement and Protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act all happened within quick succession. 

The Misun-Hyosun Incident, also known as the Yangju Highway Incident, occurred on June 13, 2002, in Yangju. Two South Korean schoolgirls, 14 year old Shim Misun and Shin Hyosun, were struck and killed by a US army vehicle on the way to a training exercise. Apologies were issued, but the drivers of the army vehicle were ultimately found not guilty by the US MIlitary court, sparking demonstrations across the country and fuelling the anti-American sentiment in South Korea. 

The Anti-Chosun Daily Movement can be traced back to the early 1990s. The Chosun Daily, or Chosun Ilbo, is one of the main newspapers in Korea. It is a conservative newspaper and has historically had a very close relationship with the ruling regime, military dictatorships included, which brings into question its role in a democratic country of free speech. With the rise of more progressive online journalism, the criticism against the Chosun Ilbo has increased and people have gathered online to raise their voices, leading to boycotts and an anti-Chosun manifesto being written. In 2002 the movement became an important part in Korea’s development as a progressive country and was a contributing factor to the media reform that followed. 

Protests against the abolishment of the National Security Act broke out in 2004, when the then leading political party called for its repeal. This National Security Act/Law is the same one that was established in 1948 to catch communists and North Korean sympathisers, and was then used by the Rhee regime to silence political opponents (are you still with me?). When the law was about to be repealed, a newspaper poll found that 66% wanted the law revised but not repealed, while a majority would rather keep the law as was than have it abolished on grounds that it helps keep the country’s economic stability. The constant threat of North Korea is a very real factor to why people see the law as necessary. Amnesty International has called for the law to be fundamentally reformed or abolished, as it challenges freedom of speech. 

Ok. Deep breath.

If you’re still reading, I applaud you. If I lost you somewhere along the way, you won’t see this but I do understand you. As I hope you understand, this is all very condensed. The history of Korea is very complex and much of what I have written about are still sensitive issues today. I’ve tried to keep close to my sources to avoid getting anything wrong, but I am sure there are many, many more movements and issues that would need to be covered to present anything close to the full picture. Still, I hope this has given some insight into the background of “Hyung” and the past that has shaped him into the character that he is. 

When I read part II, I did not understand his character. I dismissed him as some conspiracy-reading guy living in a basement keeping a tinfoil hat somewhere, and when our narrator dismisses and downplays his story, I was fully onboard. Now, after a full day of reading up on the historical context and political climate that “Hyung” must have grown up in, I understand his paranoia and reluctance to interact with anything American far more. It leaves marks, having lived in a time when the KCIA could drag you off the street for speaking up against the government, never to be seen again.

Times have changed in South Korea and they’ve come a long way, but the recent past is still very recent and they still have a long way to go before old wounds can be healed and damage done can be cleared up. All it takes is watching a few kdramas, and it’s clear that general distrust in politicians and the legal system is still around. Apart from a better understanding of a character in a book, it’s shed some light on my own naive ignorance and lack of understanding when it comes to some Korean attitudes and reactions I’ve encountered in the past. Some things I frowned at then, I now understand. 

Apart from Reborn Rich, which plays out between 1987 and today with its main focus on the financial crisis, I have not watched dramas depicting this part of Korean history (I have avoided them, because the subject matter was very heavy simply to read about. I do not think I could handle watching it dramatised). Neither have I found any good documentaries covering it. If you have recommendations that you’d like to share, please do. 

Now, as promised: sources!

Historical background and context: Korea; A New History of South and North by Victor D. Cha and Ramon Pacheco Pardo (2023)

Most of this post is based on this book, and if you’re interested in 20th century Korean history, I’d really recommend it. It’s a surprisingly easy read. 

Misun-Hyosun Incident/Yangju Highway Incident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangju_highway_incident

National Security Act: https://wilj.law.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1270/2012/02/kraft.pdf 

Anti-American Sentiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-American_sentiment_in_Korea 

Anti-Chosun Movement: https://www.academia.edu/86931794/The_Anti_Chosun_Movement_Journalism_Activism_Politics_and_Historical_Memory_in_Post_Authoritarian_South_Korea_1998_2002 

Student movements in Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_movements_in_Korea 

Internet activism in South Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_activism_in_South_Korea 

National Intelligence Service: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Intelligence_Service_(South_Korea) 

@lurkingshan I'm not sure if this counts as meta or goes as a context-post, so I hope it's okay I'm tagging you

[mk-writes-stuff]

Smooth and poison sumac for the ask game?

Oooooh these ones are hard!

Smooth Sumac: what’s something that’s generally good and common in your world?

For the Seven Stations, I’d have to say probably the technology. While there are obviously a lot of terrible things people do with it - like cloning people only to abuse the clones, or some of the technology Ruthlessness has had developed - overall I think the tech is primarily beneficial to people. At this point, it’s the only thing keeping them alive in the void of space, and it allows for a much better quality of life than most astronauts today have.

For the Pirates’ Roost I think I’m going to go with the medical care. While obviously it’s not modern-day levels (electricity gets sort of invented partway through the story), it’s pretty good for where it’s at. The pirates have an actual medical college and do pretty intensive study into medicine so you can actually get quite advanced medical care for the time from them - and that’s before you account for the healer mages.

In both cases, I also want to add that I try to portray a world where the average person is more good than evil, so I guess you could say people in general. While there are definitely a lot of bad people in all of them, most strangers don’t hold any malice and will generally be nice to you unless given a reason not to.

Poison Sumac: what’s something that’s universally bad in your world?

I’ve thought about this one a lot since I got this ask. For Seven Stations, I’m going to say noble society. Yes, it’s pretty and cool and the aesthetic is gorgeous (why do you think I’m writing about it lol) but noble society either hurts or allows hurt by every person who interacts with it. They have a culture of keeping quiet about harm, of blending in even when it hurts you, and of dehumanizing and harming people they see as less-than. Not only is this the source of most of the clones’ problems, it also directly harms a lot of the nobles - Belladonna’s self-worth issues wouldn’t have been nearly so bad in a society where she wasn’t expected to measure up at all times.

For the Pirates’ Roost, I’m going to have to say empires and imperialism. There are two major empires in the Pirates’ Roost, and although one is clearly worse than the other, they both have harmful, xenophobic beliefs that cause a lot of harm to their citizens and the other members of the world. Torrezon, the vampire empire, is the worst of them - they violently dehumanize even their own human citizens and worship vampires to an unhealthy degree - but the Sun Empire also has its own flaws, most of which are due to its expansionist tendencies to the detriment of everyone else. Escaping imperialism and its brainwashing - and trying to find a way to heal and help an existing empire become better - are themes of several plot arcs.

Thank you for the ask! I hope you didn’t mind me waxing philosophical a bit in there :)

[artofekurzweil]

Something about that tweet thread, explaining Cait, Reeve and Red in your AU struck smth in me, because of how you explained Cait as being the parts of Reeve that he keeps repressed in himself: there’s a headcanon I remember reading of how when Reeve first brought Cait Sith to life, that he was pretty much like a toddler, having to learn everything as normal one would. As a result, Reeve would give Cait the freedom and independence he never had as a kid,,,, which does lend itself to the idea that Cait bears and develops a lot of Reeve’s traits that he represses, like mischievousness or cheekiness (think the Wanted Poster Alteration Scene).

Also with regards to the same thread: I DO think Reeve cares about Cait Sith—he’s demonstrated several times a lot of autonomy and a sense of self and Reeve doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would be uncaring about something that possesses that, especially something he created, even if he can ‘replace’ him. If there’s a gap in info on what Reeve’s thoughts are on Cait and vice versa, I’d say it’s more the Developers trying to maintain the mystery of Cait’s exact inner functions; like with Nanaki, a lot of Cait Content is very much subject to fans enriching what is unfortunately left unsaid or underdeveloped :,)))

That’s definitely a compelling headcanon! I personally didn’t think of the Reeve-Cait relationship to have that kind of nurturing or parental connotation; in my case, I think Reeve using his abilities to bring Cait Sith to life was his way of being kinder to himself by admitting to his own seemingly petty needs. He needed the emotional honesty. It’s not like [Inspire] has any clearly defined rules!

On the topic of Reeve caring about Cait Sith; it’s also possible that he’s just really good at masking that he hid his own bleeding heart about his creations so people don’t realize he’s got powers. He’s clearly emotional and passionate about matters regarding the citizens of Midgar, so his decision to hide just how sentient Cait Sith is could be a calculated way to avoid Hojo wanting to take him apart. Though that’s headcanon territory.

[dontmindme2600]

Now before I go on a whole rant disclaimer that I could have this completely backwards. But. It bothers me when people say that Kaiji is greedy because if anything I feel like he’s more of a victim? And I’m not trying to paint the whole story in a black and white picture of “Kaiji good Teiai bad” here (even though Teiai is indisputably bad,) Kaiji isn’t perfect, it’s just like, I’ve always seen him as more of an actual addict than someone whose being actively greedy. There’s a difference between an addict and someone who is just being selfish. And I feel like FKMT actually portrays the characters who ARE very greedy in his story pretty well, and in a way that’s very different from Kaiji. Idk I had a whole rant about this in my head that’s hard to translate into a post but Kaiji is shown to be pretty selfless, and only cares about the money he actually NEEDS right up until he’s actually gambling, where he tends to lose control of himself. You never really see him fantasize about things like hoarding money so he can live in luxury in case of a crisis, having a mansion, and being able to step over everyone who doubted him or anything like that. In fact, I’m pretty sure Kaiji is nenver shown having any fantasies at all relating to money- it becomes clear pretty early on he’s more attracted to risk/thrill of gambling than he is the actual cash itself. You DO see those types of money fantasies from characters like Ichijou and Hyodo- and the story once refers to Hyodo as “the living personification of greed” or something along those lines. Kaiji is a story about human greed yes, but I feel like the people Kaiji goes up against are most supposed to represent greed than Kaiji himself. Kaiji shows how the greed of people in power can harm the average citizen (since encouraging addicts will just give people in power more money.) If any of that makes sense. Idk I just don’t like the idea some people have that Kaiji is “the real villain” of the story. Because he’s only really been shown either extending a hand to others whenever he had the possibility (without risking his own health, which I feel is very reasonable,) or being a victim- as in getting himself really hurt after agreeing to a gamble where one of the villains have most of the power. Kaiji has to struggle to control his addiction you know??? Otherwise he wouldn’t really be an addict. And I know the people saying this absolutely do NOT have bad intentions and I’m not trying to insult other people to get my point across. But. Claiming that the character who’s obviously stated to have an issue with an addiction is actually just being “selfish” and nothing else seems kind of ignorant both in general and to the stories actual themes. Kaiji’s antagonists purposely feed into the addictions of their victims for personal profit and I think that’s more of commentary on greed than Kaiji himself ever will be