#this cover is so pretty but the timing is killing me

[mnnuni]

Callsign sviper

Jake "hangman" seresin x reader

Summary: Reader's on her period and Jake comes to the rescue

Words: 1956

Genre : fluff

Warnings: none, I just fear it's uneventful (?)

Author's note: disclaimer for the title : the original callsign her mates thought about was "sniper" because she is super cool -obviously- but that would be too cool, and so would have been their second choice "viper" -even if the reason was related to her tough persona- so they combined them together; also I'm trying some new things, so be patient with me, thank you.

* dividers of @strangergraphics

* gif and images from Pinterest

It was rather strange for the pilots of the house to notice that they had to leave for training in ten minutes and there wasn't a sign of (Y/N) yet.

Fanboy went in the kitchen to check it out while Payback got to the board (Y/N) made them hang in the living room with their printed schedules; she was a really organised girl, that's why they needed her -well that and the rent, the main reason she happened to share an apartment with those two was because they needed an extra roommate to minimise their expenses and she was in need of a place to live near work. They actually liked each other though, so after the first difficulty of sharing a house they all settled pretty well together

The duo of pilot and backseater reunited in the corridor whispering, as if they weren't the only ones there, "I don't think she left early, wherever she does she leaves a note"

Payback pondered his man's phrase a little before nodding and pointing it right, "could she have forgotten?"

"tsk. She never forgets"

"right."

They were still in the corridor for at least another two minutes : two grown ass men, pilots of the American navy, froze in place because they couldn't move without their lady.

"Arg fuck it, I'm knocking"

And then another two minutes of diatribes because they were scared she was still asleep and kill them for wake her up or she could have been in company and they didn't notice. When they finally convinced themselves of the "grown man" part they knocked together -like this they were both equally responsible-

They just got a weird verse in response so they opened the door and pocked their head inside. Fanboy swore he never saw her room like this : the only light was from the half open blinds and at least five scented candles, on her desk there was her open laptop left to die -which she never did- and two mugs from the day before filled with whatever, her bed was unmade with dozens of pillows on it and a strange mass...

That's when Payback got it "Oh shit".

(Y/N)'s head emerged from the covers with bags under her eyes and messy hair "hi".

They rushed to her side "what happened?" "You okay?" "Why are you in bed still?" "What's in the mugs" and so on

She closed her eyes and breathed in, they gave her space to elaborate -they learned the hard way she needed time to express herself-

"I got my period tonight, ence why I feel like shit : it was early. I already called Mav to call in sick, tomorrow I'm all yours"

It seemed it pained her just to talk and she, in fact, changed position on the bed.

"Can we do anything for you?"

Sweet, sweet fanboy.

Payback was rubbing his hand on her back and she smiled appreciatively.

"Go to work boys, don't worry, you need training"

"You sure?"

"Positive. And bring me something sweet when you come back" they smiled and got up, "oh and don't tell anyone about this" Payback nodded and Fanboy saluted her.

They knew she didn't want to be considered weak and even if no one would have called her that they still respected her decision... That didn't stop them from texting her constantly through the day to check on her though.

(Y/N) got out of bed around two hours after her roommates left, but just because she stained her pants and needed a warm shower; then she finally put her laptop in charge and pretended to tidy up her bed -it was just a way of rearrange her pillows more comfortably-

She proceeded to vegetate on her bed for the rest of the morning, only moving to eat some cookies before she got nauseous again.

(Y/N) was unaware of the fact that at the station there was a certain Lieutenant on edge since that morning because she wasn't there and her roommates just told everyone she had a "thing" and couldn't come.

Jake really tried to not overstep or, worse, threaten the two boys and squeeze something from them but he really was glued on their tails all morning in hope of gathering anything, really; so much that they had to sneak in the bathroom to call her during their break.

Hangman was just behind the door though, ear attached to the surface.

"How you doin' sweetie?" "Feeling any better?"

Hangman was glad she had them, they were really adoring to her. He didn't understand her answer though.

The roommates were catching her up with their training when she asked something, "oh no, we can't, we have to fly out in 10" said Fanboy

"Want me to order it from here?"

She must have said no, because then Payback said he would have taken her something when they'd come back home.

When the duo got out they were faced with Hangman, hand on his hip and a determinate look on his face. He only said "what does she need?" and ten minutes later he was off with a permit.

In the meantime (Y/N) had changed forty-five position in bed and was currently debating whether to getting up to cook, order take out or starve herself untill she became maniac.

Someone opened the door and she tried to yell "heere" but just came up with a muffled-by-the-sheets grunt. The person must've understood anyway 'cause she could hear footsteps.

Hangman found her with her legs up on the wall and one of her hands stuffed in her pants on her stomach, with the other she was holding her phone. He almost chuckled.

"You good?"

She recognised that voice immediately, (Y/N) arched her neck to have a confirmation of who was standing at her door and sighed when she saw him , "I'm gonna kill those two idiots"

He really chuckled now.

"They didn't say anything, I forced them to when I overheard your phone call", (Y/N) made to move to look at him better but he stopped her "no no, you looked comfortable" and he then proceeded to step in her room until the bed; he was waiting for permission to sit on it when she nodded yes.

Hangman lifted a full bag then "I got you something, if you get up I could cook it for you"

(Y/N) narrowed her eyes "you can cook?"

"You know I can"

She knew he could, but she was in a too vulnerable position to not tease him.

"Can i wait another five minutes to get up?" she almost pleaded while moving her fingers on her stomach

"Sure, I'm gonna start and set up".

When (Y/N) got up it actually passed almost ten minutes, but Jake didn't mind : he had time to discover where things were stored and to organise his space, he was a very finicky guy. She looked at his back and how his muscles moved when he stirred something in a pan, how he looked so comfortable in her kitchen.

"What are you making?" he was turning to face her and answer her but she stopped him "no wait, let it be another surprise. Tell me though, why are you cooking for me?"

(Y/N) got her hairs up in a bun when she sat at the table in front of him and looked a little less pale just from the smell of food. Jake was almost ready to tell her how blue he was at work without her and how much he needed to see for himself that she was actually okay, but he retreated.

"Can't I do something nice for you?"

They weren't exactly the best of friends, so this phrase unsettled her a little. Still, there was always some kind of tension between them, a spark every time they teased each other -and there wasn't one day without a snark comment from the both of them-

(Y/N) just shrugged her shoulders with a little grin on her face, one he copied before continuing to work.

She spent all the time admiring him cook while he recounted her his day at work. It felt so good to be like this with him that she almost forgot her pain.

In about half an hour Jake was turning to face her again, this time with two full plates.

"I heard spaghetti with red and yellow tomatoes is your favourite"

(Y/N) was speechless: the dish smelled delicious and Jake looked so good in an apron with an hot plate in hand that she could have just smile.

They ate in a comfortable silence, occasionally sharing smiling glances. Jake was taking everything in, hoping to do something like this again.

When it was time to clean Jake offered to tidy everything up while she could relax, but (Y/N) swore that she had to help him because she couldn't take advantage of his strange generosity.

"I am always generous" she wasn't sure if he was faking or not his offence but she scoffed either way, "sure Hangman".

While he washed the dishes, she dried them so they were "equally contributing".

Finally (Y/N) offered him her couch, she dreaded to sit on it from the moment she had to stand to help Jake -even thought she didn't mind one bit staying with him in the kitchen, the back pain was coming again-

She sat with her legs curled in front of her and a pillow on her lap; Jake sat next to her, relatively close but not too close to cause her discomfort.

"A movie or a show?" , he looked at her "be honest, how many movies have you already watched today?"

She made a fake thinking expression and then sighed "one and a half", he arched his brow "what? I got bored" Jake chuckled then, "show it is. What do you wanna watch?"

The next few minutes passed with (Y/N) explaining why law and order was one of the best franchise in the world and Jake almost drooling at her enthusiasm.

Halfway through one episode he noticed she was pressing the pillow on her stomach so he got closer and asked if she wanted him to make her a hot-water-bag, "oh no, the water movements make me nauseous, I prefer pillows or my hand usually. But thank you"

"Oh"

Another two minutes passed before he found the courage to ask her another question.

"Do you want to use my hand? I um tend to run hot"

(Y/N) looked at him with wide eyes and a weird feeling in them; she was so touched by his offer, it was such a sweet and caring thing to do for someone.

"Sure" she whispered and got closer to him.

Jake didn't expect his suggestion to be accepted, but after the initial confusion he slowly approached her. He opened his arm to make her settle in his side and after he circled her with his arm, he slightly lifted her shirt and positioned his hand on her stomach. (Y/N) was trying so hard to stay still and concentrate on the TV, but it was true that Jake's touch was so warm and soft.

After she finally accepted his presence on her, (Y/N) moved his hand to where she wanted it and snuggled up in his side.

Jake was feeling so ecstatic.

It didn't take long for (Y/N) to fall asleep on him after Jake started to move his thumbs in soothing circles. Eventually he slumbered too after he confirmed she was comfortable and sound asleep.

When Payback and Fanboy came back home they found the lieutenants still curled up on the couch, they looked so cozy and happy together like that.

"They are so cute"

"The cutest"

"Ohh Phoenix's gonna eat up these photos"

[velarisdusk]

I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD PREFACE:

these are NOT meant to be soundalikes. i think our guys would use their own intonations, inflections, and creative decisions for things like cadence and ad-libs in these songs. this is meant to be a showcase of what vibes i think their songs would be. under the cut, i'll have notes on why i chose tracks, certain covers of songs, etc.

All that to say—This Is: Wings of Illyria

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

01 The Great Escape — BOYS LIKE GIRLS the song that started it all.... i've definitely said this way too many times, but i'll say it again. the bridge. 'we won't hear a word.... they.... say / they don't know us anyway.' that is azriel's part. that is where the crowd goes batshit (buh dum tss). i think their songs would be a range of stuff like pop-punk, alt, rock. this one might be a bit different than the rest of the energy of the playlist, but i was not folding on this one, it HAD to be in the playlist.

02 Seven Nation Army — The White Stripes the bass in this is so iconic and i thought az deserved it. thats pretty much the only reason, i can't even lie

03 Take Me Out — Franz Ferdinand i just really love this song LMFAOOOO also i can see rhys KILLING IT on guitar. i ALSO really like the thought of az and cass having fun shouting the backing vocals. OH OH and az and rhys playing their instruments back to back with these shit-eating smirks on their faces mmm yum

04 Somebody Told Me — The Killers this is the first of the "fun" songs i chose for them, i think that'll make more sense when you listen to the rest of the "fun" ones. like i think these are the slightly less serious songs that they'd enjoy performing.

05 Kryptonite — 3 Doors Down i think this is one of the ones i find truer to their usual sound (usual, i say, as if i didnt just make it all up lol)

06 Sex on Fire — Kings of Leon a more mellow one comparatively. the instrumentals are great in this and i see them having fun with it

07 Come As You Are — Nirvana also a bit more mellow, but i think rhys would kill this

08 Aerials — System Of A Down so.. serj tankian has a very unique voice and i love it but obv rhys wouldnt sound like that yknow? i just think the guitar in this song is awesome and i think rhys would have a lot of fun playing this one (also az on harmony yum)

09 The Kill — Thirty Seconds To Mars a classic emo/alt song. this one all around is AMAZING for them. the backing vocals, the belting, the DRUMS. cass would have so much fun on this one

10 Everlong — Foo Fighters starts slow but picks up, i think the instrumentals all around are very them. i see rhys being super passionate on vocals (not to mention how iconic the guitar is HELLOOOO), cass smashing the mf drums, az with the mellow backing vocals

11 Dance, Dance — Fall Out Boy i think if any of these songs are a bit out of the realm of the others, these two fall out boy tracks are it. dont get me wrong, it still fits into the vibe with those "fun" songs i was talking about, it's just one of their less serious songs i think

12 Thnks fr th Mmrs — Fall Out Boy three hot guys singing about casual sex. need i say more?

13 Dear Maria, Count Me In — All Time Low pop punk singer rhys!! i love!! another "fun" song

14 Are You Gonna Be My Girl — Jet yet another "fun" song! ugh idk i just find them singing about a girl to be very hot and sexy

15 You're Gonna Go Far, Kid — The Offspring the guitar.. the aggressive lyrics.... the shouted ad libs (def cass on the 'trust, deceived' at the end of the second verse) and the lower harmony by az

16 Scotty Doesn't Know — Lustra A "FUN" SONG!! ONE OF MY FAV "FUN" SONGS ON THIS LIST!! like i said,, these hot guys singing about a girl.. add in the fact that theyre singing about fucking her>>>>>

17 I Was Made For Lovin' You — YUNGBLUD OKAY. i have a good bit to say about this one bc i realize it's an interesting choice. i had the original by KISS on here at first, but the sound was a bit too classic rock compared to the rest of their stuff. this cover gives a bit more of a modern-alt-rock sound? i want to make known that i HATE the way "can't" in the first "i can't get enough of you baby" is sung, but it's only once. i also love the PICK UP IN TEMPO AAAAA its really good. let me walk you through the thought process. im seeing in concert we've got like.. a dark stage. a spotlight on rhys seated at a piano, singing into the mic. once he sings the first chorus, he stands, the lights come up, az tosses him his guitar, he catches it with one hand, throwing the strap over himself, the guitar spins around him and then rhys starts fuckin GOING AT IT. anyway..... yeah that's why i chose this cover instead of the original

18 You Give Love A Bad Name — Bon Jovi ik i said classic rock wasnt their sound but this one is just so good. i can see them giving this one a slightly more modern feel

19 Savior — Rise Against do me a favor. listen to this with headphones. start the song with just the right earbud in, then at the end of that intro verse, put the left one in so the guitar grows. those isolated vocals would be az. thank u.

20 Situations — Escape the Fate remember how 16 was one of my fav "fun" songs on the list? THIS is my fav one. its just so openly sexual, vey raunchy, they'd be very sexy singing this and the crowd would cream their pants

21 The Drug In Me Is You — Falling In Reverse this one's just as simple as great vocals, bitchin guitar, amazing drums

22 Paralyzer — Finger Eleven again, BITCHIN guitar

23 I Hate Everything About You — Three Days Grace the AGGRESSION!!!!! RAAAA!!!!!!! thats it, it's aggressive and they'd be hot playing this song

24 Covet — Basement another slower song, but i love it so i put it. duh. every album has one or two slower songs, this is one of them.

25 Zombie — Bad Wolves i absolutely LOVE this one. it has more of that rock feel for these guys than the original by the cranberries. thats why i chose this cover. i can see them head banging to this one

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yall were interested so just gonna tag you here!! hope you enjoy :D @anarchiii @chairofchaos @blushingfawnsposts @mellowmusings @acoazlove

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

[earlgreylatte]

ℭ𝔩𝔬𝔞𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔦𝔱𝔰 𝔇𝔞𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔯

(Yandere GL x Blue Lantern Reader) You two needed each other, that was an indisputable fact. And even if they went too far, you would be there to hold them back, running your fingers through their hair while gently soothing them. After all, it’s the least you can do as their Blue Lantern.

Hal Jordan:

Surprisingly romantic about the whole thing. While he was never a big believer of fate, there was something about the fact that you two humans were picked out by such complimentary rings to answer a higher calling. There was something that tied you two together.

Insists on sticking together, it’s just rational considering how your ring only runs on full power when in the presence of his, and that only means you do more good. He’s able to use his feats to convince the Guardians and Saint Walker to okay a more long term partnership between the two of you.

And you don’t protest. Your efficiency and chance of survival more than doubles with a Green Lantern with you, and Hal always makes sure you have the time to fulfill both your duties. And it’s nice being around him. It’s reassuring having someone always at your side. He makes you laugh, he always want to try new food with you while introducing you to some of his favourites, he loves to take you to fly after sneaking you into the airfield, he adores you.

And you find yourself returning his feelings. He convinces you to move in quickly after that, citing it makes more sense to split rent if you two are going to constantly be off world. Things are good with Hal. Sure he can get jealous, but as a Blue Lantern you do a good job at calming him down and tempering his anger. Even if he’s the stubborn type to never take ‘no’ as an answer, you at least have the ability to soften him to see reason.

When the rest of the Blue Lantern corps are slaughtered, he becomes increasingly overprotective. He urges you to keep your ring, that you two will be able to handle any enemy as long as you stick together. You only need to boost his ring and he’ll take care of the rest while you sit there and look pretty.

Refuses to leave your side, your ring only works defensively without him, it would be a death sentence if you two were to part. Wherever you go, he follows. And if you’re worried about your ring diminishing too much of the emotional spectrum, then he’ll just take care of some other ring wielders to even it out.

So you two continue as lanterns, his anger bubbling until you wash it away with kisses that trail down until he’s groaning and sighing, as is clockwork. You admittedly have a symbiotic relationship, but you’ve always been a pragmatist. You two belong together, just like your rings do.

“So good for me,” Hal breathes out looking down at you, before throwing his head back with a breathy moan when you hum against him, licking up his length. “You take such good care of me…because that’s, ah, what we do for each other. And I’d, fuck, I’d kill anyone that even looks at you.”

Kyle Rayner

Even if he spent a short time as a Blue Lantern, sometimes he struggles with mustering up the faith to enact his will. It’s why he liked being around you. You, more than him, embodied hope, in every word and action. He honestly puts you on a pedestal. You’re just so…good. You could do no wrong in his eyes. And he feels even more protective if you’re the only current Blue Lantern around after the corps was massacred.

He lets you choose where you two go outside of missions. He could care less about ever setting foot on Earth again if you’re not there. Visiting planets overgrown by nature, covered with flora so unlike the ones you’re familiar with, or planets so developed and metropolitan they put Metropolis to shame, he wants to see everything there is, as long as you’re by his side.

And if you ever choose to take off on your own, don’t be surprised to run into him, feigning surprise and suggesting you two stick together if you’re going to be in the same place anyway. Kyle may come off as agreeable to your whims, but he is more than willing to push at your boundaries if you intend to leave his sight or endanger yourself.

And can you blame him? He’s already lost so much and he’s so alone, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if something happened to you, especially with all the enemies with a vendetta against him for being a Green Lantern. Ones that would kill you to just to get to him. Ones you couldn’t hope to win against without him at your side.

He’s always starting at you, sometimes with a dopey, love sick grin, other times he’s just silently observing you, noting every detail, whether it’s a beauty mark or a scratch, he’ll always notice. Eventually, you’re all he’s drawing, until he’s losing sleep because he wants to make sure even a quick sketch really captures you.

While he isn’t the violent type, preferring to whisk you away from smaller annoyances and conflicts, he is more than willing to fight for your sake against any threat, becoming increasingly erratic at the thought of you being harmed. Might even dissociate, only snapping back to reality when you’re pulling him away from a mess of red.

Might create constructs of you in the rare event you two are apart, most likely because of Oa business or if he’s watching you far afar, tracing his fingers over the green countenance that mimics yours. Hopefully, you don’t leave him too pent up because things might get laughably pathetic for him otherwise.

“You feel so…good,” Kyle nearly whimpers the first time he enters you, entranced in the way you clench around him as you stare up at him dazed, only thinking about him as he fills you so well. “So beautiful, so pretty, fuck, you’re so, so perfect.”

Jessica Cruz:

She spent years as a shut in after her friends were murdered in front of her, do not underestimate how much that still affects her even with the ring. Is hit with bouts of paranoia and overthinking if you mention going off on your own, even if you’re together she doubts her ability to keep you safe.

But at the same time, with you at her side, she feels more assured than ever. Doubts and anxiety seem to leave her when you’re near, your mere presence enough to reassure and motivate her to keep going. She only hopes she can do the same for you, even if it’s just because her ring is able to aid yours.

Very clingy, always holding hands with you or pressing her shoulders and hips against yours. Befriends your friends very quickly, not that you mind considering how isolated she once was. If you ever insist on some alone time or going out without her, she guilts you pretty easily. And against her survivors guilt and trauma, it will be hard to say no to her in general.

Mostly convinces you to stay home with her or go camping when you’re not working or in space. She prefers the quiet and having you to herself. She teaches you a lot about the wilderness and basic survival techniques. Definitely loves quality time.

Might become the most noticeably codependent, and if other concerned Lanterns or heroes brought it up to her, encouraging her to branch out more, she would become defensive. After all, the purpose of your ring is to assist hers. And she needs you, more than Hal, John, or anyone else from the corps. Hasn’t she been alone enough already?

Becomes terrified if you’re the last Blue Lantern around, and might even encourage you to give up the ring if it puts a target on your back. Might regress to her shut in tendencies if you don’t put your foot down.

Refuses to let you out of her sight if you’re able to convince her that you’ll be fine, becoming your personal guard dog, even when you’re using the washroom.

Sometimes you feel like Jessica wants to drown you, pressing all her weight against yours, until the only thing that that you can see and smell is her, her mouth hot against your skin as she follows a path from your chest to your tummy, “I always worry about you, whether you’re okay or some psycho got their hands on you, I know people think I’m too much, but I’d be nothing without you.” She admits, tone somber as if her fingers weren’t tracing over your sex.

Yes, Blue Lanterns just scream enabler to me LMAO wdym you’re so broken with a green lantern but virtually useless without one, like yeah I’d be clinging to Hal, I don’t want to die😭

The title font is killing me, like the only thing I see is ‘⛓️⛓️🥀🥀’, I should not be trusted with font generators lol! And yes, I’m a Cloak and Dagger main in Marvel Rivals

Masterlist

[lumenhuman]

"Once you get down to it, it's really funny how much our senses lie to us, omitting details to make everything seem so much simpler than it is.

"An open flame looks incredibly simple on the surface. Lashing tangerine whips that peel away at the air, giving rise to smoke and heat for seemingly no reason. At least, to your limited faculties.

"But to control something in the manner of a mage, a true mage, one must understand it, in its entirety. Study it, nurture it, consume and be consumed by it. As you might tell," I raised my arms from underneath my cloak, making a show of the myriad burn scars that plastered my skin oh so beautifully, "I've taken that crucial step, and I'm all the better a wielder of the arcane for it."

"Human," The judge interjected, "I am not here today to absorb the philosophy of a man who's brutally killed thousands of elven POWs." The disgust in his voice was evident. "I've seen the crystal images captured in your camps. Do you truly expect me to believe you caused such suffering with basic fire magic?"

I grinned. I couldn't help it. This was always my favorite part. "I do." I held in a small chuckle. Not yet. "Because you don't know what fire is."

The gallery behind me broke into enraged jeering at the sound of my proclamation. It took a full minute of the judge banging his gavel and shouting "Order!" before the racket died down. Finally, he glared at me from atop his bench once more, before explaining, "It is simply impossible for any human to perform what you've done. Even your strongest mages can't hold a candle to a mid-ranked elven apprentice. So tell me exactly wh-"

"That's just it!" I yelled into the courtroom. I couldn't contain it anymore, I had to speak my mind. I could feel my grin widening, threatening to split my cheeks at the ends. "You pompous twig-eaters have lorded your mastery of magic over mankind for far too long! Your raw power, your mana control, your casting speed, we can't compare to any of it! But you forgot what humans are best at," I let out a single laugh, which echoed through the deathly silent courtroom, before I swiftly contained it. I continued, "We can adapt like no other.

"We live nowhere near as long as you self-righteous pricks. Seven of our generations pass in only a half of one of yours. But we always make the most of our time. We study, and we learn, and we consolidate that knowledge on what those before us discovered, over and over again, until we finally learn the truth. And I," I met the judge's gaze, peering deep into his spirit, searching for the fire, "Am the first to discover it."

The elf sitting in front of me simply asked, "What did you discover?" His voice was a sumptuous mixture of repulsion and morbid curiosity, a cocktail I'd drank many times before whenever I regaled another with my knowledge, and was always fond of.

The hilarity of the situation was getting unbearable. I couldn't help but laugh through my words as I revealed, "Fire doesn't make heat," I fought down another fit of laughter, "It IS heat!"

Both the gallery and the judge simply stared at me, silence covering the room for a precious few seconds while I let them marinate in my knowledge.

The judge was apparently the sharpest one there. I could tell he understood the moment I saw his face of confusion twist into absolute horror.

Yes, YES, YES!

His voice now barely above a whisper, he stuttered, "You... you mean that... that it's...?"

"It's nothing more than a pretty little light show that our eyes use to make sense of the world?" If my feet weren't shackled to the floor I would've approached him, to get a better look at his dying soul. "Because that's all it is. Fire is not a producer, it's a product. You wood-brained aristocrats spend your whole lives so focused on only what you can see and what you can hear, that you never figured it out!

"What we call 'fire' is just a sensory representation of vast amounts of heat. And what is heat, if not pure, unadulterated energy. The force the drives all motion, all change, EVERYTHING that happens in the entire cosmos, happens because of energy. If you control fire, you control heat. If you control heat, you control energy. And if you control energy..."

"STOP!" The judge shouted, livid that his reality was being shattered. A common reaction. "Clearly you're making all of this up! Those pictures must have been faked, scenes staged with illusion magic as a fear tactic!"

Grasping at straws. This questioning never would've happened if that was what the elven high-council believed from the start. I smirked. "If you truly don't believe me, you can always come and remove this restraint collar, and ask me to prove it. It's either that, or accept that the humans are getting stronger than you."

Chaos erupted once again, my challenge being met with mixed response. The screaming only quieted down after the judge pulled out a wand and swiftly cast a silencing spell over the gallery, muting them until they were barely audible.

I kept my mouth shut through the whole ordeal, until the judge was staring daggers at me again. His rage and internal conflict were palpable in his expression, and it took a few minutes for him to make up his mind.

Then another few to cast every warding spell that he knew on himself before he stepped down from the bench.

Aglow with the mana from his wards, he approached the desk where I stood, until he was mere feet from my face. He was a good foot taller than me, but so much thinner, it seemed he would snap in a stiff breeze. His eyes were filled with defiance, a look of absolute certainty that he was right.

It was so lovely. Or rather, what it would become was lovely.

He drew a rune in the air, and I heard the latch of my collar click, before it fell to the ground. I stretched my neck back and forth, getting it used to it's full range of motion again. "You've made the right choice, your honor."

He chuckled, "I knew you couldn't do it."

Before he could react I launched out my right hand directly through all of his wards and grabbed him by the face. "You've given me an entire plater of new subjects!"

I started by boiling his tongue.

The Elf looks down to the lone human mage "You stand trial for warcrimes. Explain how you did it with just fire Magic" he said dismissively. "Well. Have you ever thought how and why fire burns?"

[fawninthesnow]

𝐎𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝 & 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝: Pt 4, Slip & Fall

Series: 1, 2, 3

𐙚 Lucius Verus x fem character! 𐙚

Summary: Former Gladiator, Emperor Lucius, takes his rightful property-- the wife of his conquered enemy.

Warnings/Contains: fem character, slow burn, f4m, accidental injury, mentions of blood, no proofreading-- english is not my first language

a/n: slowburn warning!

More on my Master list! + follow & reblog pls

“I am quite warm…” She whispered into his ear. “Do you want me now, emperor?”

“I want…sex.”

She looked away for a moment; his ownership over her was undeniable. As hard as she tried to deny it, she was physically attracted to him. “I can please you.” She whispered again into his ear; her fingers play in his soft hair. “I will do anything you ask of me.” He moaned back to her, her scent filling his nostrils. “You sound so pretty…” He caught his breath and stumbled as he attempted to lift off the lectus. Lucius nodded before standing. The man tossed out the wine into a fountain then tossed his glass towards the bushes.

He growled in anger at himself, pushing a hand through his hair. “You may rest in bed. I will return soon.”

“Where are you going?” She held her gown closed.

He shut his eyes as he spoke, holding up his hand to keep her silent. “Please, do not come closer. I will be back.” The drunken emperor left her in his chambers alone. The woman lay on her back under the covers, admiring the stucco on the ceiling and the bronze panels.

From the hall, the door to the emperor’s chambers pushed open and a blonde-haired boy appeared. She tilted her head and remained quiet as his monkey sat on his shoulder. The young woman rose from bed and silently moved up behind him as he went through gift boxes of imported chocolate, incenses, and canisters of tobacco. “Hey!” She said with a huff. The boy yelped before hissing at her. His monkey held onto his neck, hiding in the boy’s toga. “What are you doing? For the second time.”

“Oh, you again. Lady Blue, calm down, I’m just looking for something.”

“I don’t believe you’re allowed to do so.”

“I do what I want! I am royal blood!”

“You are the emperor’s son…?”

The boy laughs aloud, “Says who?! No! I am his brother!”

“I didn’t know he had a brother. He didn’t mention it.”

The boy continued to search through his ‘brother’s’ belongings. “Well, that is what they call us. I think it’s because my father sat on the throne and now Lucius is emperor. I don’t know, you’re asking me hard questions. I am only twelve.”

“What did you say your name was?”

“Lord Gallus!”

She follows him around the room as he collects expensive daggers. Her eyebrows furrowed as the boy pretended to duel with someone in the middle of the room. “Who…was your father?”

“I am Lord Gallus! Son of the great Emperor Geta!” He called out proudly, holding up his blade towards the ceiling. She stepped from the child, “…but he was killed in the riots- revolution, Lucius told me. I was only four apparently.”

“You were four? A son?” She said softly, moving in front of him to get his attention. “Please, listen, do you have a mother?”

He flicked her in the middle of the forehead, making her stand up straight in shock. “You are a silly woman, Lady blue. Everything has a mother, tsk.”

“Did you…did you just flick me?” He flicked her on the forehead again, “Stop that! Who is your mother?”

“Why do you want to know?” The boy laughed, continuing his duel with the sword and invisible man, running out of the room and down the hall. She chased after him, down and up each hall of the palace, “Lady blue, let us duel!” He turned around and pointed his blade at her. “Haha!”

“No, let us not.” He shrugged, “Your mother?”

“Father called her Nalani in his writings, sometimes Narcissa as a joke.”

“Writings? Where are your father’s writings?” She asked, trying to keep up with the running boy.

“How should I know? My brother keeps them somewhere.”

“Thank you, Gallus!” She called out as he ran into the courtyard. “What is he even doing awake?” She asked a guard. The man shrugged.

**

The next morning, the young woman watched as her servant fed her daughter small bits of food at a time. The emperor said nothing as they sat across from each other. “Gallus is quite the boy.” The young woman hid behind the warmth of her hair, eating slowly.

“You’ve met him? Yes, he is.” Before she could say another word, the emperor cleared his throat, “If you would excuse me, I need to lay down.” She watched as he left the dining hall.

“What is your name?” She asked the servant who fed her child.

“M- my name? Fl- flora.”

“That is a beautiful name. Can I trust you to look after my daughter for the afternoon?”

The woman nodded excitedly, “Of course, Lady Blue.”

She tilted her head but had no time to address the name. Down the halls, she peeked into rooms, searching for Lucius. There was a dullness throughout the palace. Something was in the air. It was thick, like a musk off a man. As she attempted to leave the next bedroom, from the other side, the emperor swung the next door open, the steel lining striking the woman squarely on the forehead. “[]!” Her hands went to her own face, gently rubbing her cold fingers over her now bleeding wound. The man took her in his arms, and turned to a nearby guard, “Please, a wet towel.” He pressed two fingers over the bridge of her nose, warm blood seeped down.

He guided her to the nearest bench and wiped away the blood on her face with the towel. “I feel quite alright.” The young woman said as she rested in his lap. Her palm on his knee and the other holding up her body to keep weight off him.

He merely shook his head and continued to tend to the young woman. “You could have split something.” The emperor said softly. Her brown eyes met his blue ones, and it was then her face grew warm. Sweat slipped down her sides from her pits and down her spine. Something she had ignored, rather, was in denial of was her fear of the man. Something about his eyes, maybe it was the shade, but they seemed to never end. Maybe it was because the details of colors, they were endless. Specs of yellow, a faint green, even a dash of brown around his irises.

Every feeling, every movement felt intense; her flesh felt like more than when under his gaze. A lift of a finger, and a buck of her hips all felt the same. His gaze was intimate, maybe too much so. “It was not your fault.” She said, touching her wound.

“I appreciate that but allow me to take responsibility.” His fingers overlapped hers, mocking her delicate strokes. “Should I touch you this way, my lady?” She swallowed the pool of saliva in her mouth. The sweat from her palms made it impossible to stay up on her arm, settling her weight on his thighs. “Does that feel alright?” The emperor asked.

I have my child to think about. She rose from his lap, “I will be well. You worry too much.” The woman murmured, more or so to herself. With a linen tie from her hips, she wrapped the wound around her head. “Where were you headed?”

She turned around, adjusting the tie for her hair. The emperor watched her walk from him, “And all of a sudden you care?” He teased although distracted by the thought of her in pain. “A- a senate meeting.”

“Oh, really?”

“And you?”

“I- I,” She turned back to him, “Looking for you!”

“…well, unfortunately, you found me. What is it on your little mind?” She could only ignore the slight condescending tone in his voice and think over how she would ask him the questions that weighed so heavily on her mind.

Part 5 coming this weekend! This serves as a filler, I swear the next will be longer lol.y

Series: 1, 2, 3,

I update faster on my AO3!

More on my Master list! + follow & reblog pls

[callmearcturus]

dottie lasso is the final boss of the show (and ted loses)

someone commented on my ted-is-a-feminine-junior-too post about recognizing dottie lasso and what she did, and i'm a Johnny-come-lately to this fandom so i missed all the discourse

but surely it's been discussed to death that Dottie Lasso is the Final Boss of Ted's life, right? like, she shows up on that bench and you should feel the opening of "MEGALOVANIA" in your soul because she's the villain of the story.

honestly, in Ted Lasso, the main villains are: Rupert Mannion, Twitter, Rupert Mannion again, cisnormativity/heteronormativity, and Dottie Lasso, kind of in that order IMO.

"Mom City" is kind of a genius episode with its thesis and punchline. Because Dottie shows up and derails Ted's entire life and not in a good way. She makes him palpably uncomfortable and all of his usual kindness and interest is just turned off around her.

This episode isn't shy about reminding the audience that Richmond has become Ted's home. From the most fish outta water who nearly gets killed looking the wrong way crossing the street, Ted knows his neighbors, knows the culture here, and is defensive with that knowledge because it's been hard-won over time.

No but really, look at how UNCOMFORTABLE Ted is EVERY MINUTE of this episode. It's so stark bc this charm offensive Dottie's doing on everyone at Richmond is so clearly a Lasso Thing. This is the exact tactic Ted used when he was new in town and completely at sea.

(fuck this got long, there's a lot more under the jump)

But he isn't charmed or permissive or entertained, he never once Yes, Ands what Dottie says. In fact, he corrects her all the time.

jesus fuck look at this specific moment!!!

who the fuck are you and where is ted

because Dottie being here is a nightmare. she's the person who knows the Ted Lasso Source Code and the way she maneuvers and nudges him, he seems helpless against it. So he continuously separates himself from her in what feels to me like a fearful reaction.

Like, when Dottie explains where she's staying, she does this trick

DOTTIE: An adorable little hostel. I've met so many Australians. They are backpacking through Europe. So much sex. TED: Mom. DOTTIE: Not me, the Australians. TED: No, no, I get it, okay. How about you stay here for the rest of your trip, all right? DOTTIE: Only if I'm not a hassle.

This is such a fucking move, you realize? She has been in London a fucking WEEK without telling him, then as soon as she tells him where she's staying, she, a midwestern mom to her open-minded but very romantically private son, invokes sex so he'll be uncomfortable with the situation and invite her to stay. This is a chess move they should call the Wichita Shuffle.

And Ted absolutely hates the way Dottie lies about him. The connection is pretty straightforward; Dottie deals with her trauma and pain by covering them up with pretty little lies and melting truths until they fit the shape she wants them to be in. Everything she says in this episode is bullshit.

(points up) THIS INCLUDED, BTW. This is the Ted that Dottie wants him to be, the guy who will fall on his sword at the first sign of someone else's discomfort.

But that isn't who Ted is anymore and Dottie saying this is vicious and cruel. It's disrespectful to Rebecca, to everyone at Richmond, and to the work Ted's done with Sharon.

which oooooooooh

hey, anyone else remember Ted's "I love meeting people's moms, it's like an instruction manual on why they're nuts" from S2? boy that's a brick joke

and this bit of dottie saying her anxiety re: ted's therapy out loud, that hissing sound is a fuse being lit in this moment

Ted calls her out directly. He knows how she operates because she raised him in her own image. As I noted in the other post, Leslie Higgins is not the only feminine junior at Richmond, so is Theodore Lasso, son of Dorothy Lasso.

THAT FUCKING DARK CHUCKLE, THE "YEAH OKAY" MOMENT this is the fuse finally reaching the dynamite

this is the moment, this moment of push-back, implicitly the first time Ted's ever pushed back in his life

this is the moment Dottie takes every single thing she knows about Ted, everything she put into him, and she destroys his fucking life with the exact four words it would take to make Ted give up everything he's worked for, all so he'll go back to being what she expects from him.

and hell if he doesn't know it.

everything he's done for himself, all the space he's finally allowed himself to fill, the progress and labor he's put into becoming a better person

mom shows up and tells him no, you're coming back.

(and the fact Dottie Lasso, a character who has not said five truthful things this entire episode, tells us how someone else feels should be questioned very fucking directly. i don't trust this woman to honestly report on Henry's opinion of peanut butter and jelly, let alone if he wants his father to give up his life and return to Kansas. i know every single fic has brought up the question of "hey why doesn't anyone ask Henry what he wants" but that's because SOMEONE needs to ask the question instead of taking Dorothy fucking Lasso's word for it, christ)

I don't know how tf you don't read this show as a tragedy. Dottie Lasso is incredible, she's so pitch-perfectly written and acted, and she's absolutely the final boss of the show. And Ted doesn't win that fight.

hell THE SHOW SAYS THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD, i would put the screencap here but I've run out of images, but THEY FUCK YOU UP, YOUR MUM AND DAD, THE SHOW SAYS IT this is a fantastic tragedy, i love it

[tackykachowch]

Jinx's appearance in s2 ep9 is a tragedy for her character. The writing throughout the season already tried its best to destroy absolutely everything meaningful to her and who she is at her core, and now we get the chance to see it visually.

I'll get this out of the way so nobody bothers me about it later: yes, I personally hate the design overall. But despite that if it was truthful to her character and reflected her journey well I wouldn't even squeak. Well, maybe one tiny time, but not make a whole post about it.

Alright, so right now I'm going to lign up all 3 of her designs and compare them in a sense how they represent Jinx as a character. I apologize for using The Wild Rift model because it's actual hell to find her s2 ep9 look in good quality and with a good view of the details.

There's a pretty stark difference between Powder and Jinx. The only element they share is gloves, but on Jinx they are modified and have a different color. There are however also similiar "motifs"(?), like purple stripes on clothes, Jinx's belts are positioned in a way that mirrors Powder's blue...thing on her pants; also Powder has a small braid on the side of her head, as well as golden hairpins, while Jinx has two braids that are waaay longer, but she still has golden elements that support her braids.

Now, the differences. Powder's clothes are layered and are made from different fabrics, covering almost her entire body. This represents that she's a shy, frightly girl with very low self-esteem. Jinx, on the other hand, has waaay more open skin, even to a somewhat inappropriate degree. This shows us that she became confident and doesn't care what others think of her, maybe even to a fault. Her boots in some way resemble jester's shoes, showing us her more light-hearted attitude, especially towards violence.

Also, unlike Powder, who only ever shot from a toy gun and made bombs that didn't work, Jinx is a prodigy bomb maker and a master shooter with (what seems like) a hand-made pistol, and on top of that has an also self-made machine gun. So from all of this we can pick up that this is the same person, but she changed in a huge way, hence why even her name is different.

Now, onto the Jinx we see in s2 ep9. She cut off her braids, colored streaks of her hair, especially on the bang, replaced her pants, top, and belts, made herself a hood, painted over her tattoos with x-es and Ekko's symbols, fused her machine gun with Fishbones, her recently made rocket launcher (ignore the wild rift picture for this part), and completely remade her pistol. The only things that carry over from her previous outfit are gloves, boots (which are now fully laced), her necklace aaaand yeah that's it. Motifs are left the same, except for her hair of course.

Now, I want to talk about a couple of elements in detail. Her hood is made from unknown material, and resembles some kind of monster, rather than a monkey, raven or shark, her previously established symbols. Like someone pointed out, it probably resembles drawings on Isha's helmet.

Also Jinx has pink markings under her eyes, just like Powder from Ekko's vision in season 1 ep7.

The bandages that replace her top are the same ones Vi has.

So, with all of that information, what can we tell about Jinx at the end of her journey? The obvious answer is that she decided to move on, but in what way? Accepting both "Powder" and "Jinx" parts of her? But then why did she paint over her tattoos? Something permanent, that shows how irreversibly she changed over the years, and will never become the same girl again? Moreover, why didn't she make the new tattoos, pink bullets? Yes yes, pink bullets. Both LoL Jinx and even s2 ep9 skin for Jinx in The Wild Rift have pink bullets tattoos, but arcane Jinx doesn't. Why tho? Well, of course, it's our good ol' pal Silco erasure. Because, you see, Jinx killed Silco with her Pow-Pow, and when she shoots with it, the bullets are seen as pink projectiles. So, not only does Jinx figuratively want to "paint over" her past with Silco, she also in no way wants to capture what she did to him and that in the very same night she finally accepted herself as Jinx. Of course we know that s2 writers didn't want to follow up on this decision, but adding a couple of effects onto her model isn't that big of a job. Anyway

Why did she go back to covering her legs entirely? Is she more careful now, orrr perhaps she seeks protection from someone? No. Why does she have paint all over her, and Ekko's symbols in particular? Is she a part of the Firelights now? Even if that's the case, it was never confirmed on screen. Why did she completely change her haircut, only leaving a bang? I guess hair holds the memories or whatever, so to start a new life you shouldn't have any memories of the previous one? Idk. Why did she replace her top with bandages like Vi's, if the last time they saw each other Jinx told Vi to let her go and forget about her? Idk. Why did she fuse Pow-Pow and Fishbones together? Idk.

The only things I more or less don't question are the hood and markings, but then again, I'm not really happy with the fact that we see Jinx in them in her "last" moments either. That's the part of my biggest problem with all of this, actually. It took around 10 years for Jinx to have such a big difference in how she looks, but the latest change happened literally overnight. No matter how you try to explain this, this is objectively terrible writing. In less than one episode the main character of the series drastically changed her appearance in ways that should tell us about a big character development, but we didn't get a chance to see any of it. Not the process, nor the development itself, because Jinx behaves in ep9 the same way she behaves in the rest of s2.

So, what was that all about? I guess they wanted to fill out the quota of a minimum of two outfit changes per season, but it's in no way justified within the show. And that's why this is a tragedy. Jinx went from the most well-written character in the show with incredible design and conflict to the writer's toy which only function is to be sacrificed.

[jannwrites]

film ask meme : NOSFERATU (2024) directed by ROBERT EGGERS.

a selection of lines from the 2024 film nosferatu. modified for rp purposes.

you are not for the living. you are not for human kind.

do you swear it?

come here. there is nothing to be afraid of.

today is of the utmost importance for us.

it will be a great adventure for you.

why have you killed these beautiful flowers?

i must tell you my dream.

standing before me, all in black, was Death.

the stench of their bodies was horrible.

i had never been so happy as that moment, as i held hands with Death.

never speak these things aloud. never.

i wish you to have all you deserve.

it's worth celebrating your adventure. i envy you.

i fear their past melancholy is returning.

don't let them feed me to the monster!

remember, it's all for us.

you bring trouble with you.

beware his shadow. the shadow covers you in a nightmare.

you are late. the midnight hour is passed.

i fear we yet keep close many superstitions here that may seem backward to someone of your high learning.

they exhumed a corpse.

i might ease your wound.

come by the fire. your face shows you unwell.

why ever did you bring that here?

what can cheer this poor humor, my love?

do you ever feel, at times, as if you were not a person?

we all feel out of sorts, set apart, at times. small or alone.

you are fortunate in your love.

it is a black omen to journey in poor health.

no one. i am no one.

he loves the pretty ones best.

you are lost in his shadow.

remain here. his evil cannot enter this house of God.

soon i will be no more a shadow to you.

your spirit was never enough.

no matter. i miscalculated the stars.

hermes will not render my black sulfur gold this evening.

do not revel what is sacred to dogs.

does evil come from within us or from beyond?

this evil, what it it is, how it has been summoned - unleashed - i know not.

there is a dread storm rising.

your bond shall not survive me.

it is a force more powerful than evil. it is death itself.

i have wrestled with the devil as jacob wrestled the angel in peniel.

if we are to tame darkness, we must first face that it exists.

i told you, you are not of human kind.

i am an appetite. nothing more.

i cannot be sated without you.

remember how once we were?

you have never liked me.

nothing you can say will shake me - for there is a devil in this world, and i have met him.

don't touch me. i am not to be touched.

the grim reaper wields his heavy scythe with every change of wind.

your horror has rent our hearts, but you must hear us.

these nightmares do exist! they exist!

the monster left you to the wolves, and yet you prevailed.

we must know evil to be able to destroy it. we must discover it within ourselves.

i need no salvation.

you will put an end to all of this?

i feel his hold upon me this night.

i am ready. i bid you, come to me.

i relinquished him my soul.

god is beyond our morals.

[the-dynamic-duo]

Nightwing #117 - Swimsuit Variant Cover by Belén Ortega

[vaguely-concerned]

I've been picking mostly only the essential flirt options with lucanis in the romance so far (I've personally found the dynamic much more natural and mutual when you do that, more like forming a solid friendship slowly and inevitably becoming something else and less like you keep pushing on him and getting little back b/c he seemingly just gets overwhelmed and goes into freeze instead), and I think rye is a pretty hard person to read at the best of times even though he's been Down Real Bad from pretty early on and their chemistry as people is naturally really good. so the way the almost-kiss plays out in this playthrough feels a lot like it has the added layer of lucanis realizing that no but for sure rook is flirting and not just being kind or a good friend* it IS actually happening it's not just wishful/fearful thinking!!! and then uh. maybe going a bit too hard a bit too fast in all the excitement at that revelation haha

*in lucanis' defense he has seemingly literally never had a friend who wasn't his cousin-brother before, under those circumstances I suppose some confusion is extremely natural if not outright expected lmao

[curiositykilledtheradiostar]

HEY MECHS FANS!

do you like

STEAMPUNK

TRAGIC ROMANCE

STORY HEAVY MUSIC

and

HAUNTING THE NARRATIVE?

Already gone through the entire discography five times? Looking for something new? Well, boy do I have something for you!

THE DOLLS OF NEW ALBION: A STEAMPUNK OPERA by Paul Shapera

On Spotify!

We've got:

Jasper, the KING of haunting the narrative

Hubris of man. SO so much hubris

Necromancy! In the name of love! Twice! (but its a lil bit more fucked up the second time around)

Voodoopunk, which is an absolutely BANGER of a concept and boy does it ever deliver

Lore. So much lore. The world building in this album is amazing it all just feels so real without being imposing or clunky

Incredible use of recurring musical themes and motifs that can and will break your heart and blow your mind

Two sequels, its first in the New Albion trilogy! (Not to mention the extensive discography this guy has how he wrote so much I'll never know)

Please listen to Dolls Of New Albion I need to see it get more attention I've been progressively losing my mind over this thing and have no one to talk to about it there's no one in the tag

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

I won't claim to have much knowledge on villains' motivations outside my DC-specific comic book wheelhouse, but I do have some inklings on this! I'm going to go by the Doylist perspective because that's what I know best. Comic book history ahead!

tl;dr The Comics Code Authority is probably the reason, actually!

Just to specify, comics weren't mandated by the Hayes Code! Or anything, really. But they DID have guidelines people wanted them to adhere to! (This wasn't an absolute law so much as suggestions for how to keep them "good clean fun", and some parents wouldn't let their kids read comics that weren't approved. It fostered trust in a publishing company's brand.)

Most comics published in the United States (I'm unsure if this was international?) had something called The Comics Code Authority. Now, there was no ~rule~ that stated a comic series MUST abide by the Comics Code authority guidelines... but it was one of those things people saw and went "Oh! This will be Wholesome for my kids!"

Being Approved^tm by the Comics Code Authority and having that little seal on the corner of your covers was a big selling point! Especially since comic books were under fire for DECADES for the same reason people in the 90's and 00's thought violent video games would turn kids into Satanists. There was a whole book published about comics corrupting children, especially focused on Batman and Robin being creepy. (It was called "Seduction of the Innocent". It was published several decades ago. Before The Killing Joke, before Jason Todd's death, back when Batman and Robin were in simple detective stories with wacky hijinks. Someone thought it was weird for a costumed man to solve mysteries with a costumed kid, and made it the whole industry's problem.)

Anyway, people were Concerned^tm that comics would make their children less intelligent, silly, unrealistic, and immoral. So approval by The Comics Code Authority was a sort of reassuring pat on the parent's shoulder to say "This comic won't corrupt your children!"

But comics COULD still be published if they DIDN'T meet those guidelines! It wasn't illegal. Plenty of them were distributed without that little seal. It was just a lot of societal pressure on publishers and comic shops to stick to the Code Approved issues. I think DC and Marvel had approval on pretty much every issue for DECADES.

I don't have their rules memorized (I don't think I even knew the CCA existed until after it was already defunct), but here's a relevant one from Wikipedia (the CCA criteria changed over time, but Wiki's is from 1954):

Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals.

That right there probably does it!

A couple other ones that might be relevant?

In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds. If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.

So they were big on the whole "villain is evil and you can't sympathize with him".

It's worth noting that this censorship wasn't entirely 100% black-and-white. I think there were criteria about "you can't draw humans unrealistically", but like. People had wings and proportions were wacky all the time. Beast Boy was green. It was really more to catch Big Egregious Immoral Messages and foster trust for the parents of their target audience.

(And of course, the 80's New Teen Titans nerd in me is geeking out about "Oh, OH, BUT! There were opposing viewpoint sometimes too!" In the Watsonian perspective, 80's!Raven often advocated for having compassion for their enemies, whereas 80's!Starfire expressed confusion over Not Being Allowed to Murderize Them.

It was Comics Code Authority Approved, of course. So she didn't. But they presented those viewpoints. They made sure to present it like "LISTEN TO RAVEN GUYS, STARFIRE'S BEING MEAN". It's worth noting that NTT was known for "pushing the envelope" anyways. It was the 80's and it was DC Comics, so it was a pretty small envelope to push... but I've read interviews where they said the CCA seal was threatened a time or two!

But if my dad is to be believed (a man with 50 years of comic nerddom under his belt), there have Always Been people who Rooted For the Villains Anyways.

I'm running out of steam and I have to wake up early for work tomorrow, but one more quick note: The public opinion of Sympathetic Villains has shifted DRAMATICALLY in recent decades!

Especially with indie publishers getting a better foothold and the CCA having ended its reign in the early part of this very century, a lot more radical views are being published and lauded by the narrative. Comic shops nowadays are a lot more likely to sell indie comics than they used to-- even big-box bookstore chains will sell graphic novels or TPBs by an indie publisher! That wasn't always the case, and I for one am grateful that it is NOW.

I’m curious about the whole “Villain exposes a flaw in the status quo but is defeated anyway” trope. I’m not a comics historian, but I wonder if it can be boiled down to not just the Hayes code, but writers more sympathetic to these ideas than they were allowed to admit?

To bring up an obscure example, I think of how Kangaroo from Spider-Man is introduced as an immigrant being harassed by the police for this reason. Aunt May expresses disapproval at the treatment of immigrants, there’s some clear commentary here. But of course Kangaroo becomes a supervillain and Spidey has to defeat him.

It could just be me, but it feels as if this was writers’ way of getting around the code while airing controversial ideas. So even if the villains are still villains, their grievances are given sympathy to plant the idea in readers’ head that maybe this could’ve been prevented had the status quo not had this structural flaw. Obviously liberalism means neither the villain nor hero can address this directly, so it isn’t always just the censors’ problem, but it is interesting.

But of course; A lot of readers didn’t know the backdrop behind these writing decisions. So while they empathized with these villains, it led to them internalizing the concept of a sympathetic villain who goes against the status quo and is wept for… despite still being stopped anyway. And so this trope ended up repeating itself even outside of the original context.

So a lot of people think this is “nuance” when really it was a restriction of the time. I think of how some people online claim the best villains are the ones who arguably have a better point than the hero, but I always found that dumb because why should I root for the hero? Why is that character considered the villain? It works if you’re doing a story where you’re looking through the eyes of the actual villain but most of the time this isn’t the case. I think people are just being edgelords who don’t realize the history.

And as tragic and beloved as these villains are, as much as we resonate with them and how we also feel villainized by society… At some point, you have to admit that times are changing and so is censorship. And while it had value then, gee maybe we should abandon this trope of the downtrodden villain to instead address this social commentary in a more direct and dare I say effective way. Because we gotta grow out of it.

Clayface is queer-coded and as much as you can empathize with him for it, we can’t continue to settle for stories where the queers are villains and only that. We have the opportunity to move past that and I think we should, especially since this trope is obviously a vessel for propaganda in corporate stories like the MCU. We can appreciate how these stories were born of limitations while acknowledging that the limitations are ultimately still a problem, and that the villain who is an oppressed minority who doesn’t get to accomplish anything because they’re evil has been done enough. We still have those original stories to look back on if we need to, I feel.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Well.

[good-beanswrites]

hiii!!!!! for the hc ask game: 🧸 A headcanon about their childhood for muu, and maybe 💔 An angsty headcanon for any prisoner (or prisoners) of your choice? your writing is AMAZING btw, i really adore it

AH thank you so much!! I'm glad you're enjoying :D These were interesting ones to think about, ty! The ideas themselves are simple, I'm just long-winded, sorry 😭

🧸I like to think that Muu was just as shy/unwilling to leave her comfort zone as a kid, despite doing a lot of activities with her parents. This, combined with her parents giving her whatever dolls she asked for, results in her clinging to those for support. She has names and personalities for dozens of dolls, and talks to them all the time. She has one in particular she carries around everywhere she goes when she gets scared. The habit lasts a bit into her older years, but she's so downright cute that it only ever earns her doting instead of scolding.

💔 Immediately following the T2 attacks, I feel like Mahiru’s condition is bad enough that Shidou warna everyone there's a high chance she won't make it through the night. There's a solemn, grieving silence as everyone prepares themselves for another death. Shidou is wracked with guilt because he doesn't know if he can save her. Fuuta is dealing with his own injuries, but he and Amane get a kind of survivor's guilt that it could have easily been them on their deathbed. (And now with canon support) Kotoko didn't mean to kill anyone, just rough them up, so she's haunted by guilt/panic that she tries to cover up with a brave face. Kazui takes it the hardest, nearly breaking down in his cell because he blames himself for not getting to her in time.

[widevibratobitch]

nothing sad but i need to bitch and im tired and need to frow up

[snowyfrostshadows]

I know @istadris proooobably meant Mr. L masks his true character under a mean, tough guy act to protect himself from further pain in their Missing Half AU buuuut.

I can't quite separate Mr. L from his iconic mask.