#who keeps having to deal with obstacles every time he goes in for the kill

[burntoutdaydreamer]

To Write Better Antagonists, Have Them Embody the Protagonist's Struggles

(Spoilers for The Devil Wears Prada, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda 2, and The Hunger Games triology).

Writing antagonists and villains can be hard, especially if you don't know how to do so.

I think a lot of writers' first impulse is to start off with a placeholder antagonist, only to find that this character ends up falling flat. They finish their story only for readers to find the antagonist is not scary or threatening at all.

Often the default reaction to this is to focus on making the antagonist meaner, badder, or scarier in whatever way they can- or alternatively they introduce a Tragic Backstory to make them seem broken and sympathetic. Often, this ends up having the exact opposite effect. Instead of a compelling and genuinely terrifying villain, the writer ends up with a Big Bad Edge Lord who the reader just straight up does not care about, or actively rolls their eyes at (I'm looking at you, Marvel).

What makes an antagonist or villain intimidating is not the sheer power they hold, but the personal or existential threat they pose to the protagonist. Meaning, their strength as a character comes from how they tie into the themes of the story.

To show what I mean, here's four examples of the thematic roles an antagonist can serve:

1. A Dark Reflection of the Protagonist

The Devil Wears Prada

Miranda Priestly is initially presented as a terrible boss- which she is- but as the movie goes on, we get to see her in a new light. We see her as an bonafide expert in her field, and a professional woman who’s incredible at what she does. We even begin to see her personal struggles behind the scenes, where it’s clear her success has come at a huge personal cost. Her marriages fall apart, she spends every waking moment working, and because she’s a woman in the corporate world, people are constantly trying to tear her down.

The climax of the movie, and the moment that leaves the viewer most disturbed, does not feature Miranda abusing Andy worse than ever before, but praising her. Specifically, she praises her by saying “I see a great deal of myself in you.” Here, we realize that, like Miranda, Andy has put her job and her career before everything else that she cares about, and has been slowly sacrificing everything about herself just to keep it. While Andy's actions are still a far cry from Miranda's sadistic and abusive managerial style, it's similar enough to recognize that if she continues down her path, she will likely end up turning into Miranda.

In the movie's resolution, Andy does not defeat Miranda by impressing her or proving her wrong (she already did that around the half way mark). Instead, she rejects the values and ideals that her toxic workplace has been forcing on her, and chooses to leave it all behind.

2. An Obstacle to the Protagonist's Ideals

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fire Lord Ozai is a Big Bad Baddie without much depth or redemptive qualities. Normally this makes for a bad antagonist (and it's probably the reason Ozai has very little screen time compared to his children), but in Avatar: The Last Airbender, it works.

Why?

Because his very existence is a threat to Aang's values of nonviolence and forgiveness.

Fire Lord Ozai cannot be reasoned with. He plans to conquer and burn down the world, and for most of the story, it seems that the only way to stop him is to kill him, which goes against everything Aang stands for. Whether or not Aang could beat the Fire Lord was never really in question, at least for any adults watching the show. The real tension of the final season came from whether Aang could defeat the Fire Lord without sacrificing the ideals he inherited from the nomads; i.e. whether he could fulfill the role of the Avatar while remaining true to himself and his culture.

In the end, he manages to find a way: he defeats the Fire Lord not by killing him, but by stripping him of his powers.

3. A Symbol of the Protagonist's Inner Struggle

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 is about Po's quest for inner peace, and the villain, Lord Shen, symbolizes everything that's standing in his way.

Po and Lord Shen have very different stories that share one thing in common: they both cannot let go of the past. Lord Shen is obsessed with proving his parents wrong and getting vengeance by conquering all of China. Po is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is adopted and is desperate to figure out who he is and why he ended up left in a box of radishes as a baby.

Lord Shen symbolizes Po's inner struggle in two main ways: one, he was the source of the tragedy that separated him from his parents, and two, he reinforces Po's negative assumptions about himself. When Po realizes that Lord Shen knows about his past and confronts him, Lord Shen immediately tells Po exactly what he's afraid of hearing: that his parents abandoned him because they didn't love him. Po and the Furious Five struggle to beat Shen not because he's powerful, but because Po can't let go of the past, and this causes him to repeatedly freeze up in battle, which Shen uses to his advantage.

Po overcomes Shen when he does the one thing Shen is incapable of: he lets go of the past and finds inner peace. Po comes to terms with his tragic past and recognizes that it does not define him, while Shen holds on to his obsession of defying his fate, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

4. A Representative of a Harsh Reality or a Bigger System

The Hunger Games

We don't really see President Snow do all that much on his own. Most of the direct conflict that Katniss faces is not against him, but against his underlings and the larger Capitol government. The few interactions we see between her and President Snow are mainly the two of them talking, and this is where we see the kind of threat he poses.

President Snow never lies to Katniss, not even once, and this is the true genius behind his character. He doesn't have to lie to or deceive Katniss, because the truth is enough to keep her complicit.

Katniss knows that fighting Snow and the Capital will lead to total war and destruction- the kind where there are survivors, but no winners. Snow tells her to imagine thousands upon thousands of her people dead, and that's exactly what happens. The entirety of District 12 gets bombed to ashes, Peeta gets brainwashed and turned into a human weapon, and her sister Prim, the very person she set out to protect at the beginning of the story, dies just before the Capitol's surrender. The districts won, but at a devastating cost.

Even after President Snow is captured and put up for execution, he continues to hurt Katniss by telling her the truth. He tells her that the bombs that killed her sister Prim were not sent by him, but by the people on her side. He brings to her attention that the rebellion she's been fighting for might just implement a regime just as oppressive and brutal as the one they overthrew and he's right.

In the end, Katniss is not the one to kill President Snow. She passes up her one chance to kill him to take down President Coin instead.

#writing #creative writing #novel writing #writer problems #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #writing advice #writing community #writing problems #fantasy writing #on writing #writer #writerscommunity #fantasy writer #writing a book #writing about writing #writing characters #writing villains #writing antagonists #long post

[cantsayidont]

I don't want to oversell FEMME FATALE, which is above all a piece of trashy pulp fiction, but something I appreciate about it is that it manages to dodge a particularly irritating tendency in stories of that type, which is what I'd call "the disposable female POV character."

This is a pseudo-protagonist whom we follow at the outset in a way that suggests she is the main character, but whom the narrative then discards or sidelines in favor of the actual male protagonist. In the most notorious example — PSYCHO, a movie I detest and think is wildly overrated — the female pseudo-protagonist is actually killed off for shock value, but while that's not uncommon in stories of this type, there are also quite a few where she's not killed, but simply demoted to love interest, obstacle, or other such second banana. The point is that the pseudo-protagonist is revealed as either not really the main character or not really the protagonist; even if she remains central to the action, she is functionally just a plot device in some male character's story.

FEMME FATALE flirts with this pretty hard: We follow the Rebecca Romijn character, Laure/Lily, through her identity-swap, and the POV then shifts for a while to the Antonio Banderas character, the photographer Bardo. When Bardo encounters Lily, she's acting very oddly, and even though we know who she really is, it's not entirely clear what her deal is. The first time I saw the movie, I assumed the worst; in a lot of these kinds of stories, Bardo would then just take over the plot and the rest of the film would be about how he resolves or tries to resolve the situation. This segment of the script goes on longer than I think it should, but it then makes an unexpectedly strong recovery, revealing that not only does Laure/Lily still have a plan she's been working on the whole time (which Bardo has unwittingly complicated), Bardo is very definitely just a supporting character in her story. Everything that happens in the third act is driven by Laure, either directly or indirectly (there are some important events that she's set in motion even though she doesn't know how they've turned out), and Bardo is reduced to a bystander, as he was when he appeared in the first act.

This shouldn't be a big deal, but I've recently watched some other, more recent pulp fictions, in particular MY NAME and the irritating KLEO, that just can't manage to keep their female main characters in focus narratively, much less make them seem like actual people with even rudimentary thoughts and emotions. In both shows, the notional heroine is not just a supporting character in some specific dude's story, she's constantly being overshadowed by virtually every male character who appears onscreen as anything other than a random goon who's only there to be beaten up. That Brian De Palma, of all people, managed to do better than that more than 20 years ago is a sign of how low the bar is, and how obnoxious it is that TV and film writers so rarely manage to clear it today.

#movies #femme fatale #brian de palma #rebecca romjin #antonio banderas #i do not like hitchcock #his being a misogynist creep is a big part of why #i think psycho is audacious #but once the shock value is gone it has little to offer #and i don't think the narrative ever recovers from the death of the janet leigh character #i'm not suggesting that femme fatale is a feminist movie #it's still pretty exploitative #it's just that it resists the usual bait and switch about who the protagonist is

[ciaossu-imagines]

Unseen Varia: Ava Muramasa

Name: Ava Muramasa (Last name is fake)Nickname: A-chan, baby/mini shark, koi, goldfish (as an insult by Lorenzo)Age: 16Flametype: Rain, (very minor stormflame)Weapon of choice: KatanaAffiliaton: Varia Rain DivisionPosition: Second in Comand, Squalos right hand

Ava is the other second in comand in the Varia Rain Division, but more than anything else he is Squalos younger brother. He was back then left with their uncle but then ran from the abusive household to find his brother and stay with him. Despite Squalo trying to be harsh on Ava to scare him away, the young boy was always just as prideful and stubborn and kept on improving his swordsmanship until he rightfully got his position as Squalos right hand man. He seems very different from his brother, being extremely calm and polite, always with a smile on his features and warmth in his heart, but he has a twisted side. While Squalo an keep calm and collected in the face of adversity, Ava is a bit more emotionally driven. If someone manages to hit a sore spot he has a hard time keeping calm and collected. He is also a bit of a sadist and trickster, taking advantage of his cuteness and feminine appereance to trick people into lowering their guard before he takes them out. He has a rather difficult relationship with the storm divisions second in command Lorenzo, since the storm can easily rile Ava up and knows what buttons to push to have Ava lose his composure, but when Lorenzo isn’t confrontational they actually work together like a perfect team and even have a rather sweet relationship that is build on mutual trust in each other. Lorenzo just has the wORST coping mechanisms and Ava is the one who has to deal with it.

More Trivia:

* Ava and Yamamoto are very good friends. Ava doesn’t see him as any form of obstacle or rival when it comes to either swordsmanship or being Squalos apprentice and their spars have usually ended in draws.* Avas box weapon is a Rain Wolf* He has a bit of an obsession with japanese culture, reflected in his choice of weapon, naming convention (his box animal is called “Haku” and his katana is called “Hokori”, he also chose “Muramasa” as a covername), and his deep appreciation for tea.* The Katana that Ava wields was a present from Squalo forged from the blade he used to defeat Tyr. He takes very good care of it.* Next to Luss, Ava is the only one able to call Squalo “Squ” and get away with it. He is also the only one who is allowed to call him by his first name.* He is often challenged to duels because especially new recruits believe he got his position due to nepotism. And every time they get defeated rather quickly.* Ava has a VERY strong brother complex. He adores Squalo and would do anything for him, being very snuggly with him in private and seeking his attention. If you become a serious dnager to Ava, Squalo WILL take you out and the same goes the other way around.* He is very good friends with Dino and sees him as an additional family.* The first thing Dino did once Squalo was chomped by the shark was get him out of there, ALIVE, and reassure Ava that his brother is fine, before the tiny shark loses his sanity and goes on a killing spree.

#submission #not mine #unseen varia #ava amuses me #these boys are all so wonderful #the art is beautiful and he looks a lot like I pictured #sorry for not saying more in the tags #been up since 4:30 working on commissions #i'm running on fumes rn #but couldn't resist sharing these submissions right away

[your--isgayrights]

I dont know jackshit about naruto but I will admit I may be a Little obsessed w that yoohankim dynamic despite understanding literally nothing you just said

Le sigh Anon if I were cis I would probably be trying to explain naruto to you right now but fortunately for both of us my coming out as transgender meant that I had to go through therapy in highschool and one of the skills I gained is understanding that we don't need to sit here all day hearing my theses about how themes in Naruto relate to the post-imperial economic development of Japan especially in relation to consumption by US markets <3.

YHK <3. I think that HSY being this late game player wouldn't necessarily be a detriment to her involvement in the dynamic because I imagine that IF SOMEONE INSANE ACTUALLY WROTE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS then a sort of Masked version of HSY would appear early on as The Big Bad and we sort of only understand her motivations later on... Like, to make an analogy you have no hope of understanding Anon dearest <3, she's sort of our Tobi of the Akatsuki and maybe she has a part in manipulating YJH away from the village in the first place but she seems like a background villain until everyone realizes how fucking OP she is she can just like Create new ninjutsus and mass weapons of distruction she's basically like a fucking god on earth... but she only really cares about maintaining the time stream in a way that just like... lets KDJ live longer? Like she's actually manipulating all these things to benefit him and make him learn lessons she thinks he needs like how she creates the world of WoS in the original sort of shaped to what she wants to tell young dokja... but KDJ still Resents her in this verse because obviously one of those things is that she sort of keeps him seperate from YJH because she like KNOWS that YJH wants to kill him and extract his powers so she's actually trying to kill YJH before he can do that but then obvi KDJ gets on her with that "if he goes I go" bs and she's like UGH.

I think there also comes a time when the two HSYs merge and KDJ like feels like he lost the "real" hsy because she got subsumed by the big bad HSY but like just after seeing everything big bad HSY saw "real" hsy just... came to the same conclusions. Although now all powerful HSY is sort of tempered by the fact that she now has all these memories of KDJ living the peaceful life he lead because of her... She also begins to understand the amount of suffering that being separate from YJH has caused and is kind of like... UGH. FINE. I'll, like, not kill him I guess. Fuck you. This makes world peace like a bajillion times harder. and KDJ is like fuck you more... So they'd be working on the same side but still hate each other...

Ok I admit I'm neglecting YJH here... I guess he'll form pacheonmaeng kind of like Sasuke forms the Taka (again anon you don't know what that means im sorry that's sasuke's gang of gays and girlies that Naruto thinks are a bad influence but actually sasuke's a bad influence on them okay) and then he's doing a bunch of things to dismantle world governments like a good unemployed terrorist <3. The big conflict between him and KDJ comes up when KDJ is trying to leverage political power by making allies to establish peace and then YJH is just trying to burn everything down and thinks that every power involved in war just needs to be taken the fuck out (ala Pain, wait you don't know who that is, sorry.) to end everything he's just going to take them all down. And KDJ is dealing with him basically like yjh of 1863 in the endgame you know he's like YJH i understand you and your suffering but I just want you to know there's a better way... I want a happy ending for you... Which is obviously a big obstacle for his political maneuvering, which is why HSY wants to get rid of YJH so KDJ can live up to his potential of ending the ninja wars BUT KDJ has no motivation to end the wars if YJH doesn't still exist...

Ok I've decided that HSY's shadow clone can't travel forward in time, only backward. Whenever she travels back in time she has to like. Wait it out. Which is fine because her shadow clone self is like functionally immortal; which I like because that gives her an equivalent of the sort of 50 years she had to spend alone in the Kaixnex arc (i still don't know how that's spelled). Which is why she goes through KDJ's life backwards like that and then goes all the way back to create ... She thinks that KDJ is like, The One who is going to end the ninja war and establish peace among the shinobi nations, because she remembers that he managed to do so much in the present that she hadn't been able to do in the eternity she spent in the past... She probably also only had like some limitted abilities on how she could interfere with the past (like she did in the epilogue) otherwise I think she woulda just killed KDJ's dad and baby-snatched him lmao.

Then I think that the final battle is actually something kind of trippy and thematic where some version of KDJ from some kind of time stream continuum (OD equivalent) maintains the state of the world in conflict because... conflict is what he was born into, and the state of eternity that he longs for is with his two friends at ninja school training to be child soldiers... So like the big theme in Naruto is reaching back for the past, holding onto precious memories, and believing that a bond exists and keeps existing no matter what... I think in the end of this crossover I'd want to challenge that by having HSY, KDJ, and YJH have to like take down that version of KDJ that is longing for the past and instead all work together to make a new future together by combining their different ideals and strengths.... Although KDJ would DEFINITELY want to do it like Ungently, like he would be like "I've been what's holding you both back from being happy all this time..." and they're like KDJ shut the FUCK up we should have just been Good Friends and sat on the fucking swingset With You lets all just Chill Out.

#ask #anonymous #do i need to make a tag for this idk #personal #orvuto au

[crimes-of-x]

The Crimes of X-Men (1963) #1

To begin our adventures into the legal issues the X-Men would inevitably run into if we were in the real world, we’re starting at the only logical starting point: X-Men #1. Published back in July of 1963, it appeared to be a simple teenage hero hijinks book, but if you look a little closer, not everything is as innocent as it see- why am i writing this like an actual news article this is tumblr

In X-Men #1, I have counted a total of nine definite crimes, listed under the cut.

Crime #1: The Danger Room. The Danger Room is inevitably going to be the source of so many questionable legal issues, but at the moment, the main thing I can pin down is the child endangerment. yeah we’ll be seeing a lot of that over the course of these blogs. Now, according to New York law, if you knowingly endanger a child under the age of 17 who you have guardianship of, you can be sentenced with up to a year in prison. My understanding is this counts for every separate incident. Xavier likely does have some level of guardianship over the kids at this point, as the parents all likely signed something for them to go to boarding school. Under certain circumstances, some courts might lump multiple of the instances together so that he would serve a shorter period, but for the sake of simplicity and my pure hatred for Charles Xavier, I’ve chosen to add one year to his sentence every time one of the children enters a dangerous course in the Danger Room. In this issue, the main victim would be Warren Worthington III/Angel, as he can be seen running through an obstacle course involving various projectiles and fire. Hank McCoy/Beast also goes through an exercise, but it’s much less endangering, more just gymnastics than anything else.

Crime #2: Again, a Danger Room related crime. This isn’t specific to the issue, but rather just the existence of the Danger Room itself. Booby traps, under most circumstances, are illegal. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that the Danger Room more than counts under this. The issue regarding this is that in the US, I could only find one state with specific written laws, that being Arkansas. Since it’s a less common issue (or so I would assume), booby traps mostly fall under case law. This means that in court, a judge will decide the sentence based off previous instances rather than a written law. I am not a court, so I can’t really sentence this until they start luring people into the Danger Room and killing them.

Crimes #3-5: These ones are a bit less simple. Crimes #3-#5 deal with the students attacking each other. Crime #3, Scott Summers/Cyclops is seen operating the Danger Room controls, meaning he’s unleashing the fire and projectiles on Angel. Crime #4, Beast throws what appears to be a bowling ball at Bobby Drake/Iceman. Crime #5, Cyclops uses his eye beams against Beast and Iceman, albeit explicitly without the intention to kill (obviously). The complex bit is that all of this was under Xavier’s instruction. Due to them all being minors, their sentences would all likely be significantly decreased, but I’m not sure if court would really hold it all against them considering it was under Xavier’s instruction. Therefore, I’m not entirely sure I can hold any of this against any of them. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only one I’m going to hold accountable in this case is Cyclops, specifically because his is the only one that results in any noticeable injury when he slams Beast into a wall. Clearly it wasn’t too severe, as he’s back up and running pretty quickly, but I think I can count this all as some form of assault. Considering the severity of the injury, I don’t believe that Cyclops’ sentence would be that severe. For our purposes, I’m going to say around six months. Under New York law, a prison sentence for felony assault is an indeterminate term, meaning that a judge imposes a sentence with a minimum and maximum term, but that is math I will have to keep track of and I do not like that. I do, however, believe each of these could potentially be another year onto Xavier’s sentence due to his involvement in telling his children to fight each other.

Crimes #6-#9: Magneto does a lot of not great stuff. To be more specific, he tampers with government missile experiments, tampers with a tank, threatens force against an army base, takes over said army base, and launches missiles at people. This could probably count for a lot of crimes, but I’m keeping it all under one paragraph since they follow the same general theme. The missile experiment and tank can both be counted under sabatoge, which is a felony punishable by a term of not less than two years or more than 20 years. Considering both of these were pretty bad, we’re going to go the max sentence for both incidents, which would be 40 years. The taking over of the base would be a coup, which also counts for 20 years. For the missiles, the sentence I can find is up to 15 years. I would assume this would count for every separate missile, but I’m too lazy to count the number of missiles. Of course, with the circumstances involved, Magneto would probably just get an automatic life sentence, if not Death Row, but we’re going to add the years separately just for the hell of it. I never claimed to be accurate, in fact I claimed quite the opposite.

Honorable Mention #1: I have no proof of it, so I can’t technically count it, but I wanted to mention this one anyways. This one again involves the Danger Room. In my opinion, there is, more likely than not, some amount of unlicensed weaponry involved. It’s not like this is ever explicitly stated, however, so I can’t truly count this. Xavier does have connections to the FBI, in the form of Fredrick Duncan, however, so there is the possibility he does have licenses.

Honorable Mention #2: In real life, vigilantism is a crime. Clearly, this is what the X-Men are, especially at this point in time. Of course, I can’t really use this, however, for two main reasons. First off, it would get really repetitive really quickly, and I have trouble finding specific laws regarding sentences anyways. Second of all, it would appear the case would be somewhat different on Earth-616. Evidence in mind is Spider-Man, who the police have been shown to greatly appreciate, though I’m sure there are other instances in which this would be addressed.

Current Sentences:

Charles Xavier/Professor X: 3 years

Scott Summers/Cyclops: 6 months

Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto: 75 years

The Proof:

#x-men #xmen #crimes of x #scott summers #cyclops #erik lehnsherr #magneto #charles xavier #professor x #marvel #marvel comics #xmen comics

[cinnamonest]

Kaeya Alberich - Yandere Profile

YES I love my eyepatch boy!! I really like him as a yandere, because he's definitely got several traits and behaviors that would make him a very unconventional/different yet absolutely terrifying one to have. Him or Diluc as your yandere is basically like playing a game on maximum difficulty. He's so arrogant dammit why does he have to make it hot

More importantly, someone take the ability to write n/sfw away from me I s2g... I go from trying to make serious content to nasty weird kinks and completely feral in .002 seconds the moment I add that readmore

tws: gaslighting, manipulation, yandere, mentions of mutilation

tws (below cut): noncon, a good deal of sadism, mentions of an*l

-----------------

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

He's actually one of the worst yanderes you could have in almost every regard, for two very simple reasons: his crippling psychological issues, and his intense selfishness. The first manifests as severe abandonment issues. It's the origin of his unhealthy feelings, most likely. Kaeya doesn't like the instability of people - based on his backstory, people always leave, or die, and even if they don't intend to, somehow it feels like abandonment, and he resents it. People leave him all alone and afraid and uncertain. That's generally all he knows, and despite the smug exterior, he's actually pushed people away quite a bit, keeps everyone at arm's length to ensure they can't become someone too important for him to accept their sudden absence. He can't care about someone, because that someone is fated to inevitably leave him, no matter who it may be.

That's why, once you manage to worm your way into his feelings and heart despite his best efforts, once he finally caves to acknowledging the feeling, he's aware. Painfully aware, because be can't stop worrying every waking moment about you, your well-being, your location. It reaches a point where he can't go about his job because he's simply too consumed with his worry.

The solution that kept him safest in the past was to avoid developing emotional attachments, but when he does, he's terrified of both your safety AND you intentionally abandoning him. Really, the latter would hurt worse, since he can't fault you for dying, but to abandon him? It would break him.

And, to some extent, he's developed a lot of  prideful anger about it, deep, deep down. He feels that he doesn't deserve to be abandoned, doesn't deserve to just be left behind under the guise of some greater purpose, and he'll be damned if he just lets you toss him aside like he feels others did. Even if you reject him, he won't accept it. You don't get to reject him. He won't allow that. What has he ever done to deserve everything that's happened to him? Nothing. You're the one person who has stayed with him, and you're going to continue to be with him. Forever.

That being said, he's still somewhat confident because he's got that arrogance about him. He doesn't perceive rejection, because he's always gotten a lot of attention for his looks, even if he's never actually followed through on anyone else's attention out of those same fears. He'll write off any perceived rejection as being for some other reason, something besides an actual rejection, and he'll seek to eliminate whatever he feels is keeping you from just accepting him.

Honestly, one of the most likely to have a full blown, classic-yandere-style psychotic breakdown. He can be driven to a snapping point, if there's enough stress or obstacles, and in case of that, he'll be a lot more willing to kill, and a lot more willing to hurt you, but it's a point that would still take a lot to reach.

But what's really terrifying about Kaeya is his delusions, primarily his ability to mentally justify everything he does without hesitation. Even most delusional yanderes struggle - they feel like it's wrong, they know it is deep down, and they take time to convince themselves of their delusions, tell themselves it's ok over and over, beg for reassurance, and get defensive when called out because they know they're in the wrong. The same isn't true for Kaeya. He automatically justifies his actions by default, and has absolutely zero doubt or hesitation to do so. He doesn't even need a complex reason for justification - it's a simple one. He deserves what he wants. Anything necessary to achieve that is fair.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Highly likely and very quickly, right up there with Diluc and Razor. And he's absolutely remorseless about it. It ties back into his delusional state and ability to justify anything he does - this is what's best for you. If you don't get that, that's your problem, not his.

He's another one to not want to pull some barbaric move like knocking you out, rather, he'd rather just trick you into walking right into your new home. He gets that you'll be upset about it, but to him, that's just part of the process. Not that he'll tolerate it for too long. 12, maybe 24 hours is enough time for you to reasonably be upset, but if you're still trying to fight him on this after that, he's going to get snappy about it, thinking you should already be over that by now.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

You're not leaving.

It's not worth trying, really. How he manages to do it is a mystery to you, but he'll manage to keep you locked in right there at the headquarters with him. How Jean and Lisa haven't found out about you being there, how he convinced all of his guards to be on his side of things, you have no idea. Realistically, if you get out, he's likely to make you out to be some kind of criminal that needs to be found -- just not to hurt you in any way, so goes the order, and the knights know better than to question why.

He has eyes and ears everywhere, it won't take them anytime at all to find you. He's so confident in that, and combined with his pride, he doesn't feel the need to go get you himself. No, it's a lot more satisfying to sit back and watch as they drag you through the doors of the headquarters, slowly pull you to the end of the room and drop you down at his feet, where he can look down on you with that closed-eyed, artificially wide smile that tells you that you have seriously fucked up.

Escape attempts aren't going to be met with a single shred of mercy, really. The thing about Kaeya is he's ultimately a selfish, selfish bastard with a lot of deep-seeded, highly repressed emotional issues, and he has absolutely no problem with keeping you bound hand and foot, or maybe even make some permanent modifications to your body if that's what it takes to keep you. It's not a wise idea to even try unless you're absolutely certain to succeed, otherwise you may find yourself never getting the opportunity again. You don't really need those Achilles tendons intact, you know. And your ankle bones are just so fragile, they'll snap with just a little twist. Actually, that wouldn't be too bad, giving you more reasons to be grateful when he's doing everything for you.

He's not one to just let it go, either. No, escape attempts are the one unforgivable thing for him, the one thing that will make him totally and completely snap. You don't get to do that. You're the one thing that doesn't get to just disappear out of his life in a flash. Half the reason he sends the knights to get you rather than going himself is to give him some time to let the rage settle down, otherwise he knows he might not be able to control himself and might end up hurting you even worse than he intends to. He's not going to buy any excuses and won't go any lighter on you if you beg and grovel or anything. But you will apologize -- you get to choose how hard it is. You can apologize the easy way, or, if you don't want to, there are many ways to force it out. But by the end, he'll get an apology, and a promise to never try again, out of you, no matter what that takes. It's by far the worst state you'll ever see him in, and really, once is enough to dissuade you from trying again.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

You'd have to try pretty hard. He doesn't have the sheer amount of years of life experience like Venti or Zhongli, but he's not the captain for no reason - he's perceptive, and highly intelligent.

Rather than simply mastering reading human voice and facial expressions for telltale signs of deceit, he's good at learning individuals in particular - memorizing the patterns of thought and action of a particular individual, and predicting how they will act. He can do it with everyone else with ease, how much more, then, with the object of an obsession? If you're trying to formulate some plan to trick him, he'll already predict what you'll do, if you lie, he already knows. It's creepier than the others, really, because it's not just that he can tell when you're lying, but rather he already knows you're going to lie or try some scheme before you do it. It feels so tailored and personalized to your thought patterns, it almost feels like an invasion of the privacy of your mind, which, really, is the one privacy you thought you had left.

He's great at gaslighting himself, too. He's a very good liar, and can make you believe anything he wants. He'll target your fears and paranoias, make you believe you're going crazy, and he'll do it all so perfectly you'll never suspect a thing. You'll end up coming to him for protection and guidance, exactly as planned.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

Pretty strict. He doesn't let you have any outside contact, and you're limited on what you can do when he's gone. He'll bring you some books, maybe something to draw on -- no sharp writing utensils, though. In his mind, that should be enough to occupy you.

You won't get outside walks or visits. It's just too risky for him, and he really doesn't like seeing other people look at you. If you really, really beg, and you've been on amazing behavior, and you're well into your relationship, maybe a few months or so, there's a chance he'll take you out at nighttime, or sunrise, but at the slightest sign of intentions he doesn't like, you'll be dragged back, and you won't see the sun for a long time.

You'll have a very limited wardrobe, he doesn't see why you even need to wear anything, but if you're going to be stubborn, he can get you something simple, like an old shirt and some underwear, but that's about all you can have. Any requests for actual clothing are going to be denied. It's ridiculous for him to spend money on something you don't need, and besides, he prefers it this way, y'know?

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Generally, it's a simple one: obey. You do what he tells you to do, and you don't do something if he tells you not to. This stems to similar rules that develop: be submissive, don't be argumentative, don't be defiant. Follow those, and you can both be happy, and that's what you want, isn't it? It had better be - he's not very lenient, and will harshly punish even small offenses. As for that punishment... most of it isn't going to be sfw. That's just how he is.

What he will do is emotionally manipulate you, and he's rather good at it. You wanted to escape? Ok. He'll let you have your way, let you be alone. All alone. All by yourself, in a little room, with no one at all, which is exactly how you would have left him, had you succeeded. He knows very well how that kind of loneliness bites. He's not totally cruel, though, and he won't withhold affection from you by the time he returns -- he doesn't need to, you'll already be crying and apologizing, which is exactly what he hoped for. Not that he won't briefly mock you for it.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're crying like that because you actually missed me. Oh, you did? Being all alone isn't particularly fun, now is it? I'm sure you understand that now."

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Kaeya's an insanely jealous person. It doesn't show on his face, but it eats at him internally. It doesn't matter if it's a love interest, a platonic friend, even a family member. It's all the same -- people who want to take your attention away from him, people who you smile at that aren't him, people you love that aren't him. He's not one to delude himself into thinking everyone secretly loves you romantically, rather, it doesn't matter. Romantic interests are the worst threat, sure, but friends and family aren't much better.

He sees himself as above killing, though. He has people to do that for him, and he likes knowing that he has that much power. He's not going to dirty his hands with it, and frankly, they're not even worthy of his time and effort to kill them. Knights and other connections can take care of it just as well.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

As somewhat previously discussed, the primary form of making him mad is attempting an escape. That's on a whole new level of anger because it strikes at a very deep, wounding insecurity. On a normal day, though, he's more easily exasperated than angry. He gets frustrated somewhat easily, especially if you're trying exceptionally hard to be a brat. He has very clear warning signs. His signature little smirk drops, he gets quiet, he balls his hands into fists and digs his fingernails into his palms. At that stage, he's irritable and might snap at you, but won't get too angry until you ignore those signs and push it.

If you do push him, though, he gets genuinely mad, which is a very quiet anger at first -- he doesn't talk much when he's mad. He acts. You'll know he's snapped when he puts down whatever he's doing, and just silently stomps over to you, face completely empty and flat, looking down at you with a cold expression. It's enough to put fear in you, but at that point, even if you apologize, you're not getting out of whatever he's planned.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Strongly in the "below" camp, a rather unusual stance for a yandere. Like many things with him, there's an inexplicable duality going on there.  You would think that if you loved someone so strongly you'd kidnap them, kill for them, and potentially suffer consequences just to have them, that you would really think highly of them. On the flip side, you would think that if you really saw someone as lowly, you wouldn't care for them, you'd see them as disposable.

But neither is true for Kaeya, no, he balances both obsessive love and complete narcissism regarding you. You're not disposable, no, he can't live without you, he needs you. But at the same time, you're not gonna be on any kind of pedestal. No, if anything, he sees himself on one, more like a throne, and you on the floor before him, how things should be.

He has a similar mindset to Zhongli or Albedo - you're fragile, you're dumb, you're incapable, and you need someone to care for you, protect you, guide you, someone who knows what's best for you, since you clearly don't. However, he's lacking in the attitude those other two have -- there's no seeing you as an angel here. There's no viewing himself as being absolutely honored to take care of you, or viewing protecting and caring for you as some kind of privilege that they're blessed to do, the way those two do.

No, as much as he loves those things, he'll never admit it, not even to himself really. Rather, his mentality is that you should be grateful. Here he is, a very highly respected, accomplished, capable person, and you...? You have what to offer, exactly? That's right, nothing, really, only cuteness and obedience, the latter of which you refuse to give him even though you really ought to. He's taking on the burden of making sure you don't get yourself killed, and how do you repay him? By getting mad about it, throwing a fit like some little kid? He puts up with your tantrums, which are really undeserved, by the way. He puts up with your disobedience and repeated rule violations, your sheer determination to defy him when he's going out of his way to do what's best for you.

One day, he thinks, you'll mature a little bit and understand why he does what he does, and when you do, you'll come groveling and sniffling about how sorry you are, how you'll never defy him again, how you'll be good and obedient from now on, and he'll love every second of it. He looks forward to that day quite a bit.

"Sigh... you know, you're pretty lucky I love you so much. You could stand to show me a little thanks, don't you think?"

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He's strongly determined, and yet... doesn't do much to try. It goes back to his mindset that really, you're the one who should be grateful for him, and eventually, you will love him. He's not gonna grovel to you or try different ways of making you love him, no, he's far too proud for that. But he's a smart man. He knows the effects that complete and total isolation other than one other person can have on someone. He's just going to sit back and wait for that effect to kick in, and slowly watch your fragile little mind deteriorate until you're desperate for affection. At which point, well, he can use it against you.

"You were so mean to me before, weren't you? You fought me every step of the way, and now you're just going to turn around and act like that didn't happen...? Well, if you're really sorry, I'll forgive you. But how am I supposed to believe you really are...? Maybe you can think of a way to prove it, hm?"

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Probably the severity of his degradation. As aforementioned, most yanderes, even the more confident or cocky individuals, either worship the ground their beloved walks on and sees themselves as beneath them, OR sees their darling as some sort of fragile, angelic being, and they are simply a protector or caretaker to that being.

It's a bit different with him, ever the narcissist. It's a strange duality born out of a rare mix of neediness, obsession, and pride. You're more like a toy, or a pet - an invaluable pet that he could never part with, but a pet nonetheless. He certainly looks down on you more than the average yandere - he mentally associates you as naive, fragile, even dumb like a lot of the aforementioned protector/caretaker types, but without the reverence to make up for it.

It's a bizarre duality that not even he fully understands - don't think for a moment that that means he'll ever tire of you, or view you as disposable. No, he's actually one of the most obsessive ones, yet very demanding of attention and praise, rather than giving it.

He frequently tests you - things like leaving the door unlocked, waiting outside just to see if you'll try it. Seeing you open that door, watching your face go from ecstatic excitement and drop to wide-eyed terror, it's priceless.

"My, my, you didn't waste any time at all, did you? Why do you look so surprised...? You should know I wouldn't slip up that badly."

Pet names, but in the most infuriatingly condescending way, and uses them more often when he's mad and trying to warn you that you're pushing his limits. Particularly fond of "sweetheart," especially with a low warning tone and clenched teeth.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

Horny fucker, all the way. The man has a lot of stress and frustration in his life already, that much more if you're... less than compliant with your new lifestyle. Sex, especially rough and hard, is a fantastic stress reliever.

Very little reservation. He's not crude about it, but he tends to make subtle innuendos very frequently, and laughs at your embarrassed reactions. Definitely the type to pull the whole shtick in which he says something with a blatant sexual undertone, then elaborates in a way to make it sound like having meant something else, follows with that smirk and says, "Why? What did you think I meant?" It's something he really enjoys doing, and loves to get embarrassed reactions out of people, particularly yourself.

"Touchy" doesn't begin to describe it. Pretty much from the moment you meet him, he's got his hands somewhere on your person. He grabs your shoulders when he stands behind you, he wraps an arm around you from the side when he walks up to you, he's always pressing his hands on your back and sides whenever you're navigating the streets, walking through doorways, wraps an arm around your waist when sitting next to you. It's highly uncomfortable, but really, he's just got something very subtly, but very strongly intimidating about him. You almost don't want to confront him on it. If you do, he'll laugh it off, and stop -- for maybe 48 hours or so, and then he'll be right back at it.

To the surprise of, well, everyone who's ever met him, he doesn't actually live up to the rumors of having been around the block, so to speak. His experience is actually little to none - that kinda happens when you push everyone around you away. Not that he'd ever let you know that, of course, and will probably lie if asked, but you can gleam a little bit of truth from slightly awkward movements and a bit of noticeable shakiness.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Kind of like Razor, the issue is that he loves you, and what better way is there of expressing love? He's not much for gift-giving or words of affirmation - no, he's a lot better with words of degradation, it comes more naturally to him. And he's certainly not one to enjoy acts of service -- well, not doing them, he'll gladly take them as a sign of your love, though. No, he expresses love through touch. It's like how, when you hug someone you really love, someone you missed, you squeeze them extra tight - the love manifests as a physical urge for some strong expression. Humans are physical about their emotions -- we punch walls when we're mad, we jump up and down when we're happy, and when you love someone, sometimes you just really, really want to pound them into a mattress as hard as physically possible. That's normal. That, and really, he's got his vices. He's actually fairly weak when it comes to resisting temptations, and prone to give in to urges for physical sensations like drunkenness and sex.

Is another one to be convinced that, with time, you'll come around. And is absolutely the top candidate to be one for using your own body against you - if you get wet, if you whimper, if you cum, that's just proof that you really do want this, that you're just being difficult because you enjoy being a brat, and he'll be sure to tell you that.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

This is nearly indistinguishable from punishment, sadistic bastard

D/S dynamics

Arrogant fucker wants to be served and worshipped, you could see it coming from a mile away. Anything that puts you beneath him is going to make him happy - anything where you're where you're supposed to be. There's a lot of options, but it doesn't really matter, as long as he feels like he's in control and ownership of you in some way, and as long as you act accordingly.

He wants it to be something that’s not just for sex, but rather, he’ll end up carrying it over into normal life, whether you like it or not. If you just went along with it in hopes of getting it over with once he cums, you’re going to be in for a treat when it starts to carry over. He gets a little too used to being worshipped, and decides he likes that submissive attitude on you enough to want to see it all the time.

Petplay/Collaring

It really helps that he sees you as something of a pet already, but really, the collar is the selling point. Even if you never go outside, there's something unbearably hot about the possessiveness of it all - really, it's there to remind you of your status as property. He wants to own you, and for you to be forced to acknowledge that he owns you, and there's really no better way to do that than something with his name on it. It's even better with a leash, one he can pull on when he's fucking you to pull you back onto him over, and over, and over, hearing it choke you the more he shortens it.

But really, having you crawl towards him on all fours and obey little commands so simple they're humiliating is pretty nice, too.

Impact pain/painplay

There's really nothing quite so powerful feeling as watching you cry and squirm from it, y'know? He's another one that just likes the marks his hands, belts, or anything else can leave all over the skin of your ass and the back of your legs. The thing with him, though, is it's not even always a punishment, he just does it for fun, and that makes it unpredictable. Will definitely make you count, it's a sadistic torture for your mind and body.

Throatfucking

May be used as a punishment measure, may just be because he's craving it, either way, even if you have a gag reflex, you won't for very long. He'll train it out of you gradually, grabbing the back of your head and just slamming all the way down into your throat, holding you there, making you choke - it's a beautiful sound, really, listening to you gag, all while your throat spasms around him, it's the best feeling, really, and will definitely be used as a threat if you need incentives to behave.

Choking

Ties into the dynamics, but really, there’s not much to say on this one. He likes the power trip from having his hands wrapped around your throat, seeing you struggle, watching your face go red, hearing those little choking noises. It puts power over you into his hands, and if you get pleasure from it against your own will, that’s even better.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

Absolutely one of the ones to use it as a tool. If you have a baby, you'll be so much more bound to him. You'll need him more, you'll want him around more, you'll be much less likely to leave, and in a way it feels a little bit like a sign of ownership over you.

That being said, he's also acutely aware of his jealous tendencies, and realizes he would also be very likely to become jealous if he felt like you loved a baby more than him, or gave it more attention and affection than you do him. He doesn't like the thought.

So ultimately, the latter side prevents him from willingly trying, but if you really, really have defiance issues even after he's tried everything he can to break you help you adjust, he might consider it.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

If it's mild enough, he can just take the route of extremely rough fucking - it gets rid of the frustration, he likes hearing you whimper and squeal, and he can leave lots of little bruises as reminders of what not to do in the future.

But, again, he already gets off to putting you in pain - it'll be that much worse when you've done something to deserve it. Harder hits, no mercy whatsoever, and he just loves all your little cries, wiping away your tears and smiling at you, right before bringing down whatever instrument of pain he's chosen again. If you really, really make him mad, and he really wants to make you cry, he's not above fucking your ass, either, watching you cry and beg, but you'll learn with time that begging doesn't ever get you out of anything.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Definitely an ass man. Likes fucking you in doggy, seeing the ripple every time you bounce back off of him, pulling your hair or arms to add some force. He likes seeing all the little red marks that his hands and belts and anything else will leave on the skin, views it like marks of possession. Grabbing, beating, fucking, it's all good.

#Jesus take the wheel im too nasty for this #yandere x reader #yandere genshin impact #yandere kaeya #tw: dark content #tw: noncon #tw: non/con

[theseerasures]

Re: that anon who asked about the shuffle step of the themes of sacrifice

I also found the ideological shift in the volume very interesting, and I think she most interesting bits are with Team RRAYNBOW. Like I think the dynamic between Yang and Ruby and their respective missions this volume is very interesting (if maybe a bit underdeveloped, atm at least). You said a little about it with Team JOYR in Chapter 7. Do you have anymore thoughts about the "shuffle step" in regards to that?

i’m gonna admit upfront that i find this question kind of perplexing, because i don’t know what “ideological shift” it could be alluding to when imo our heroes didn’t so much pivot (or shift, or shuffle step) ideologically so much as make a series of context-specific decisions according to what they felt in the moment they could live with, or would die for (don’t make me tap the sign, etc).

what i DO think might be helpful, though, is to lay out what was at stake in each of the weighty choices/discussions our heroes took part in, from the very beginning of the Long Night to the end of volume 8, to see what (if any) throughlines persist or change. so:

Cordially Invited (7.8) to Out in the Open (7.10): our heroes are all in accord. transparency (telling the truth to Robyn) and collaboration (working with/helping Mantle) are paramount, and Ruby specifically takes steps to remedy her own wavering in that earlier in the season, by letting Oscar tell the whole truth to Ironwood. what’s key about this run, though, is that our heroes aren’t calling the shots yet. they advocate for certain actions when advising Ironwood, but they still trust him to take charge of deciding Atlas/Mantle’s fate.

Gravity (7.11): the Big Shift in terms of status quo. our heroes (JNR more implicitly) remain in accord--abandoning Mantle is the line in the sand they refuse to cross. but what does RWBY advocate for, if not Ironwood’s plan? they all agree that the best thing to do is to stand their ground, but for what? Blake and Weiss are comparatively silent on that front, but Ruby and Yang are more explicit. Ruby makes her plea about Amity--that if they hold out long enough, they can do what they always planned, and unite the world, and get help. Yang’s argument is that Huntsmen and Huntresses don’t back down from a fight. (she’s also the first person to suss out that Amity isn’t ready for launch.) this difference is going to come up later.

The Enemy of Trust (7.13): Oscar makes his last individual plea to Ironwood. his reasoning, much like Blake’s (and presumably Weiss’), is simply that abandoning Mantle is a sacrifice of such magnitude that it becomes unconscionable. it’s wrong because it’s wrong, and Ironwood’s rebuttal that it’s pointless to argue about philosophy when Salem’s right on their doorstep, is dickish, but not incomprehensible. Oscar is still looking to retain the advisory capacity that Team Unwieldy Acronym has had for the entire season, and guide Ironwood to making the right call, but that bridge has already been burned. they have to decide the fate of Atlas/Mantle now if they want to save both.

Divide (8.1): The team is no longer in accord. Ruby and Yang recognize that though they agree about Ironwood, their reasons for not abandoning Mantle are different. Ruby’s looking at the big picture, both in terms of what they have to do for the world, and what the world can do for them. Amity looks to be the only obstacle to getting both and saving everyone. Yang thinks it’s pointless. Yang didn’t want to abandon Mantle because that’s just not what you do, but she has no expectation of fighting toward any good outcome. she’s gonna do what seems more readily achievable, which is saving whatever lives can be saved. Ren and Nora split along similar lines more acrimoniously, because Ren at this point is desperate for tangible success and Nora is...just as desperate for total consuming optimism. Blake throws her lot in with Ruby, Weiss abstains, remaining the most quiet on the fate of Atlas/Mantle despite being Atlesian. Jaune and Oscar, though they go with Yang, mostly go for pragmatic reasons.

Refuge (8.2) to Midnight (8.6), Yang’s Team: the plan to help with Mantle is almost immediately derailed when the Hound kidnaps Oscar. i’ve talked about JYR’s plea to Winter in War, but that of course is not the first time that team chooses the few over the many; they do that IMMEDIATELY after Oscar is kidnapped, when Fiona calls for their help and they--without even verbally consulting with each other--go for Oscar instead. in that moment the more proximal thing they can and need to achieve becomes rescuing their friend, whose captor was still in view. but crucially: as soon as they lose Oscar in Fault, and especially after they discover the Grimm River in Amity, JYR had been on their way back to Mantle, and presumably, back to the less impossible thing to do, the thing they promised the Happy Huntresses they’d help with. running into the AceOps and Salem’s invasion throws a monkey wrench into that plan. suddenly rescuing Oscar becomes possible (though not probable)...

War (8.7), Yang’s Team: but not if Ironwood blows up the Whale, whereupon the equation changes again because now doing nothing for Oscar means leaving Oscar to certain death. tbh the confrontation on the airship is about like fifteen different things at once, because the variables keep changing and everyone is having their own argument over whether to rescue Oscar, and why. Yang’s response once she hears about the bomb is mostly you can’t; it is once again just not what Huntresses do, with some personal stakes thrown in. for the AceOps it is about the weighing of lives, and how they can’t put the mission to save Atlas on hold for one life. Jaune is the one who thinks of an idea where they might be able to do one without delaying the other (the second time this season Jaune has suggested the “go for both” option), where they would be the only ones risking their lives, and no harm comes to the greater good. only then does Ren jump in and shift the argument to caring and friendship; that is to say, after the stakes have been lowered so it’s not Oscar vs. Atlas anymore. i don’t think it takes away from his big moment, though: we know from Fault that Ren has taken Yang’s challenge of “let’s do what we can do” and run with it, and come up with “and what we can do is nothing because we’re not ready and we get everything wrong,” so him vowing to do whatever we can here is important. the point is clear: Team Hero draws their strength from their friends, and they’re willing to die for each other...but the question of if they’d let the world burn for their friend is put off for now.

Strings (8.3) to War (8.7), Ruby’s Team: in contrast to Yang’s plan faceplanting at the first hurdle, Ruby’s plan...works. they accomplish their primary objective! but they had to pay a steep price, and the only immediate consequence of that victory was entirely negative. Nora threw so much of herself into Ruby’s optimistic gamble that she now has lasting scars, and if they had never gone to Atlas Command Penny would not have been hacked (so easily; she might have been regardless). Ruby successfully put the ball in the world’s court, but that the problem: the ball is in the world’s court, and the longer it stays there the less sure she is that help will come. and it IS just about the help they’ll receive by War; Salem batting away Atlas’ hard light shields has shifted the goalposts from “hope the other Kingdoms can prepare :/” to “BLAKE’S PARENTS CAN YOU PICK US UP???” the question of Atlas or Mantle rears its ugly head for the first time since Gravity, and this is the first time Weiss is the first one to advocate, and she says we can’t leave--which, not coincidentally, is also what RWBY said to Ironwood in Gravity. May’s argument, of course, is driven by far more compassion: the need in Mantle is greater, and having finished facilitating Ruby’s (and Robyn’s) plan she’s going to do what Yang decided to do, what Joanna wanted them to do, which is fight for every last life. there’s no longer any big wheels to turn, nor any big powers to convince; all they have to do is decide what they themselves will do, and who to fight for. and Weiss finally shows her hand here. she believes in not leaving Mantle behind, but when it comes to the faces she’d fight and die for, Weiss’ are still in Atlas. Blake and Ruby are the ones to abstain this time, and notably when Ruby tries to argue that they’re all in this together it’s much less effective, because...there’s nothing left for them to do together. Ruby is out of concrete solutions.

Witch (8.9): what goes easily missed here that in retrospect is very important is...Oscar kills Hazel. (which means that an Ozcarnation killed BOTH of the Rainart twins.) we all thought he doubled back to make a sacrifice play, and he did, but not for himself. he received Hazel’s verbal consent, and Hazel would have died regardless, but the point still stands. he had to kill Hazel to neutralize Salem, to buy them the time they desperately needed. an unsettling portent for what comes later, innit? it highlights what his own kidnapping, Nora’s injuries, and Penny’s hacking already illustrates, which is that they are now risking every inch of their body and souls in this fray, and it also illuminates the other part of that, which is that by continuing to throw themselves back into this conflict, they now control the fates of other people as well. Hazel trusted Oscar to make the right call, but Oscar had to make the call.

Risk (8.11): where we ultimately land with the splitting of teams is that: Yang’s team went out to achieve the easily graspable, and they ended up forging alliances they never anticipated and dealing a devastating blow to Salem. Ruby’s team went out to achieve what should have been much more difficult, and they did, but with little palpable impact beyond the negative. what comes out and blends exquisitely with their conversation about Summer is that yes, Ruby sent out the call to warn the world, because she believed in humanity and unity, but Ruby sent out the call because she wanted help. she wanted people--say, parental figures--to save her and tell her things would be okay, and she wanted back the innocence to believe them. Ruby didn’t ask to be the face of the war against Salem, and she most certainly does not want to be in charge of it; she has lived with the material consequences of her family being the centerpiece of that war for her entire life. the Hound reveal is the final twist in the knife of Ruby’s childhood, because now the figure on the highest pedestal in Ruby’s mind has been perverted to a malevolent specter, and if that’s the case there are no more adults. THEY have to be the adults now, and look what a terrible job she’s done with that. Yang’s response is that Ruby is not alone--either in her traumatic fall into adulthood, or in her choices not panning out as expected. all they can do is the best they can in the moment, and Yang’s probably going to keep defaulting to what feels more tangible to her, but that doesn’t mean she wants Ruby to stop going for pie-in-the-sky options, either. Summer is still Yang’s hero, which means Ruby is too. what matters most is that they remain responsive to the moment, and don’t get bowled over by despair when something inevitably go off the rails.

so given all these developments, what are we to make of the plan from Creation (8.12) to The Final Word (8.14)? we start with the archetypal Third Option, as championed by Ruby and Jaune: use the Staff to save Penny and Mantle, and Atlas along the way. but the priorities of the plan--civilians first, presumably even before the Relics or the Maiden powers (though the question of one of them or a Relic is really only answered by Winter, who does not speak for Team Hero)--have Yang all over them. we have to do this for Yang isn’t just because Yang’s gone, it’s because they know it’s what Yang would have wanted, and they will respect that. they made a Ruby n Jaune style Big Plan, but when that plan fell to pieces there was no time to think of a fourth, or fifth, or sixth option that would get everyone out, so they had to improvise and double down on what they all agreed was most important. the choice between their friends or the people could no longer be deferred, or augmented, so they chose. civilians, then the Relics and the Maiden powers, then each other. and when any of them wavered--Blake, Ruby, Jaune--someone else checked them, reminded them to trust and respect what they all committed to. they’re still drawing strength from each other, still dying for each other, but they acknowledge that they are not directing just their fates with their decisions anymore. they took a huge desperate gamble to save Atlas/Mantle, and it worked, but what they gambled with was their own lives. and they made themselves make peace with that--that they’d have to do what they can, everything they can, without hoping for salvation for themselves, even from friends or family.

in the end, what comes across just from doing a close reading of these moments is that RWBY’s views on sacrifice, logic vs. sentiment, the greater vs. the few, etc can’t really be plotted on a solid line. that’s why i can’t really think of what happened this volume as a palpable shift--because so many of these choices were context and character dependent. what i DO think happened with our heroes’ ethical beliefs (or “ideology” ig) is that they were tested across a sequence of stressful and traumatic situations, and as a result they had to compromise on a few things they hoped to never have to compromise in order to shore up defenses on what they were certain they could not live without, or would die for (or both! in the case of six of them). if they have to die like every other Huntsman in history so be it, but they refuse to be so cavalier with the lives of others. none of that is meant to be definitive, however: in-universe RWBY is far from over, and Team Hero is going to get to re-litigate and reexamine these questions from lots more angles, out-of-universe...RWBY is far from over, and the point of the show is not to provide an ethical rubric against which the audience can judge themselves and the characters. there are things--like y’know. genocide--that this show will always consider to be beyond the pale, but in terms of grayer complex questions it is content to simply feel out what is and is not allowable in each particular instance, without trying to resolve all options into One Correct Option.

because sometimes you do just have to sit with the discomfort of there not being one right choice or one golden rule, and sometimes you are awash in the consequences of not only your own actions but the actions of others. and then you have to keep going.

#Anonymous #rwby #helen writes meta #people often complain about how takes on rwby fights often rely on video game logic that doesn't exist #but i'm starting to wonder if takes on rwby OUTCOMES aren't driven by similar logics #where...idk paragon outcomes are supposed to always lead to good things #and our protagonists are always making their choices without the horrible telltale countdown bar over their heads #but it's...not like that. there is no secret golden ending to unlock and if this volume has driven anything home it's THAT #when i say 'rwby is a show about being kind' i don't mean 'rwby is actively providing instructions on how to be kind' #i mean 'rwby looks on all of its characters--even the worst villains--with a sublime and terrible compassion'

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Even with Stain captured, his legacy lives on, seeping into the dark corners of society…

[No. 57 - The Aftermath of Hero Killer Stain]

We come back to Gran Torino calling Toshinori over the phone. He complains about Izuku, stating that thanks to him, Gran’s teaching license was revoked for six months, plus he got a pay cut as well. But, he supposes the kid didn’t have much choice; that’s just how it goes. He acts before he thinks, just like Toshinori.

Toshinori is sweating as he tries to keep his voice down on his end of the call. He apologizes to Gran, saying that it looks like he didn’t teach Izuku well. As he walks out of the staff office, Gran replies that he can’t say he really cares about the teaching license at this point. He only got it in the first place to keep his promise to Toshinori’s predecessor, Shimura. Toshinori states he apprecies it - he’s only who he is today because of Gran. Gran replies that Toshinori has a funny way of showing it, forgetting about him. Toshinori hastily replies that it’s not like that - more like he sealed away those precious memories. 

Gran snaps a bit, then calms down, asking if Toshinori knows why he really called. It’s about the Hero Killer - he was only around the guy for a few minutes, but it was more than enough to scare the crap out of him. Toshinori steps into the break room after checking to see if it’s empty, surprised that Gran was frightened. The Hero Killer is in custody now, so what’s wrong?

Gran states that was intimidated him was probably the overwhelming pressure of Stain’s fierce ideals. Don’t get him wrong, he’s not praising the guy. But Toshinori’s whole ‘Symbol of Peace’ thing? That sense of duty? It was like that. In so many words, it’s charisma. The investigation will continue; his ideals and opinions - they’re gonna get out there. On the net, in papers and magazines, on TV… this age they live in, for better or worse, is one of suppression. But mark his words - people are gonna be influenced by this. 

Toshinori states that heroes will deal with them, just like this time. Gran points out that there’s the League of Villains. The media’s already making the connection, so this League’s gonna go from the gang who attacked UA and got beaten at their own game to an organization with something to say.In other words, they’re the perfect magnet! The evil of individual thugs isn’t worth much, but when it’s united by a single will, it’ll become a hundred times more dangerous. 

(I do like the ant imagery used here, really does make a point in how numbers really are a strength all their own, even if individuals aren’t really each doing much on their own.)

If this is what the League was gunning for from the start, then the enemy’s head honcho is no slouch. Steadily removing their obstacles, manipulating the whole situation according to their calculations - that way of doing things. Toshinori hand clenches as he mulls this over, before stating that he’s had a bad feeling about all this. Gran agrees. Shimura was his friend and Toshinori’s predecessor, the last user of One For All. And the man who killed her, the man who opened up that hole in Toshinori’s gut…

He thinks they can assume that All For One is back again. 

Toshinori is frustrated to think All For One survived after those wounds - he doesn’t want to believe it. Gran doesn’t disagree. He points out that Izuku is a brave little kid, and that his admiration for Toshinori is no joke. Toshinori had better find a chance to sit down and tell him everything - about him and One For All.

The narration explains how, two days after the Hosu incident, people started exploring the Hero Killer’s background from every angle. With that, we shift over to the other side of the law. 

Down in what I presume is some kind of underground bar, two villains meet, one of whom will become well known to us as Giran, an information broker. The other dude laments how it seems like no one’s willing to break the law nowadays. All this whining about not seeling out their friends - it’s a real pain. Giran explains how that’s because producing and dealing in support items and costumes without a license is considered a major crime - not to mention that recently the established support companies have been selling their goods to nonheroes through back channels… or so he’s heard, anyways.

(Taking an aside here to comment on how, if I'm reading this right, then having support items without a specific license doesn't seem to be illegal in and of itself, but the production and distribution of them without one is. Which, if I'm right, means that's another bit of fanon that's gotten mixed up along the way. Because goodness knows I've seen more than one fic explain how it's 'almost impossible to get support items' for the populace, when it seems more that it's like heroics in that having those items isn't illegal, just making them is. Which is...

....question, does this mean making your own support items is illegal unless you work with a licensed business? I think it does. Whoooooo boy, capitalism, but also like, to some degree I can understand why it's better to have people who provide support items be, you know, actually licensed to produce them, and so in theory capable of making them safe and durable.

But then again, I could see an argument made in the same vein as heroics, wherein yeah, people use their quirks in public everyday and it's not a huge issue so long as it's small things, like Inko using her quirk to pick up a dropped phone without bending over. You can in theory make your own support item and use it so long as it's like. nondisruptive/obvious. But in practice… well. 

Anyways, back to the chapter itself, but I definitely will be keeping an eye out for more information on support company stuff to maybe make an informational post down the line.)

Other Guy takes a sip of his drink while sighing, complaining about missing the days before All Might came along. He’d been young, and Japan had been a way more impulsive place. Maybe it’s about time to retire.

Giran tells him to hold on. This is between the two of them, but he’s got the opportunity of a lifetime there. He’s only telling Other Guy this because his people have a reputation for quality. He then holds up his phone, asking if Other Guy has seen this video. The Hero Killer is the man of the hour. 

The narrative then gives us some more background information on Hero Killer: Stain, real name: Akaguro Chizome. Deeply impressed by All Might’s debut, he sought to become a hero. Akaguro attended a private high school for hopeful heroes, but soon despaired over ‘the fundamentally corrupt view of heroes within the educational system.’ He dropped out the summer after his freshman year. Through his late teen years, he made soapbox speeches about the need for a ‘hero revival,’ but this ended when he concluded that ‘words alone are lacking in power.’ 

In the ten years that followed, Akaguroeducated and trained himself in the art of killing, all to fulfill his so-called duty. He’s for a ‘hero revival.’ According to Akaguro, ‘hero’ should not be a title given to those seeking reward and recompense, but one earned through tireless self-sacrifice. The heroes of this era are pretenders who misrepresent themselves. Only through a relentless purge can society be made aware of this truth. (All of this, it seems, is an excerpt from a weekly publication.)

A video recording of Stain’s last stand plays as we come back to Giran’s conversation. He explains how the clip keeps getting put up and taken down, because both sides get it, especially this last part. This guy’s whole style is gonna spread like a plague - from the punks with a few priors to the really bad guys on the run. Anyone who’s anyone - himself included, of course. All that evil scattered around out there… they’re all gripped by the same fever. They’ll all be drawn to the organization he was working with - 

The League of Villains.

…okay, so I get that this was still before Hori was completely sure he wasn’t going to get canceled at any moment, but why, for the love of god, is Mustard part of the ‘villains to worry about’ gang here? Like, why not Twice, or Compress? Those two are gonna be far more relevant to the plot in the long term!

Anyways, see y’all next time for end of internship stuff.

#readthrough #chapter 57 #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #hero killer arc #yagi toshinori #gran torino #giran

[beomcoups]

Bad Alive

𝐅𝐨𝐫 @𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 ‘𝐬 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐪𝐮é

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: mafia!boss Kun (NCT) x mafia!boss reader

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: smut, fluff, angst, mafia au, friends with benefits au, childhood 

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: R (18+)

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), rough missionary, nail digging, squirting, mentions of violence, guns, swearing

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 3.6k

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: The rival boss is a bad kind of player, with thousand dollar shoes. He's the final obstacle in your three year journey to the top of your group. It would be a piece of cake - if he wasn't your ex-lover.

𝐀𝐍: A massive thank you to @darknytemare​, @sunshinekims​ and @lovey-simone for beta reading for me 🖤

You first spotted him surrounded by his crew and women in the VIP, leaning over the rail. His eyes watching the club like a hawk, the scene unraveling before him. His honey blonde hair cut short into an undercut, well-tailored suit, and nice smile caught you off guard, as you usually don’t see these kinds of men in this club.

“Who is that?” You ask the bartender, pointing in his direction.

“Oh, that’s Qian Kun; he is the owner of this club,” the bartender says matter-of-factly.

“Do you mean Qian, as in Qian mafia?!” your voice unexpectedly rises, earning a few looks from the people around you.

You turn around and sneak another look at him, watching the ladies laugh at his every word, clearly loving the attention. Rumors spread quickly about the club being owned by a mafia Don.

“Shh! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He whispers, working on a drink for a customer. Naive was your best ploy and to get where you needed to be you had to be coy. “But yes, it has the affiliation. So be careful.”

You nod and take a swig of your drink, finishing it completely before making your way to the dance floor. You already knew who Kun was. His reputation exceeding him, just from his looks alone he wouldn’t be expected. His looks made him look innocent almost, knowing the things his mafia did to people who weren’t needed anymore, you knew you had to proceed with caution before you went into action.

 Kun wasn’t an ordinary guy; he is the Qian mafia head after inheriting it from his father a year ago. Being the daughter of the rival mafia, the Zodiacs, had its perks. He’s not a total stranger to you, as you grew up to be childhood friends and eventually lovers, losing your virginities to each other as you both became adults. You wanted a relationship, but he didn’t want anything serious; he just wanted your friendship and to fuck you ravishingly whenever he could.

 You were okay with that for a while until you moved out of town and stayed away for three years. Since then, your families became enemies over a bad drug deal. The severity growing by the minute. Moving back recently brought on memories but that’s what you intended on keeping them as. Your father knew you were ready to take over the family business. So forth your here now attending to some routine affairs, before everything could be complete you had to cut down the biggest threat:

Kun

This was the final task, one you planned on exploiting until the last minute.You find a spot dancing with the strangers, the EDM sounds booming through the place. You get lost in the moment, allowing your body to move however you wanted it to, almost forgetting your task at hand. Your hair covers your face, but you can see your surroundings, and you notice one of his men and another childhood friend, Hendery, approaching you with his hand for you to shake.

“Come on, Hendery, we’re not strangers,” you forgo his hand and give him a hug. “How have you been? How’s your mom?”

“She’s good. Stubborn as ever,” he adjusts his tie, trying to hide his goofy grin. “Kun wanted me to bring you up to him.”

“I know,” you say, cocking an eyebrow at him. You look up in his direction, and Kun is smirking at you, holding a glass and lifting it up in your direction.

“If he wants me, he’ll have to come down here and fetch me himself,” you shrug, going back to the music. “It was nice seeing you again.”

Hendery nods and goes back to Kun, who gazes at you once more before removing the women’s hands touching his shoulders and making his way towards you. You liked this cat and mouse game, making him chase you around until he finally caught up and had his way. It’s unfortunate that you have to end his life in order to be the boss, but you’re not looking for love; you just want his body one last time.

Kun approaches you, and oddly the wind almost gets knocked out of you; he’s more handsome than the last time you saw him, and you can tell his very expensive suit was tailored just for him.

“Y/N… It’s been a while,” he greets me, kissing my left cheek.

“Yes, yes it has,” you agree, fluffing your hair off your shoulder.

“You look good,” his eyes wander all over your dress, biting his bottom lip.

“I know I do,” you grin seductively, pulling him to the crowd. “Dance with me.”

You take his hand and guide him to a spot on the dance floor, seducing him as you grind your body on his, allowing his hands to grace your hips. His cologne is strong enough to fill your senses of him, but you can still keep aware of what’s going on around you. His men are entertained by the women in their view; the security is placed at each exit door, making it harder for you to sneak off without being seen.

“What are you doing here, Y/N?” Kun questions you, your heart skipping a beat.

“I’m dancing, “ you respond coyly, turning around to face him. 

“You don’t miss me?”

He scoffs and pulls you closer to him, his hands firmly on your ass.

“It’s been three years, and you just show up here? I don’t buy it,” he challenges you, matching your rhythm to the beat.

You look deep into his eyes, and you know he means business, but you keep your poker face focused on the mission at hand.

“What if I was here to see you?” You whisper into his ear. 

“How would that make you feel?”

“You’d have to show me that you wanted to see me,” he buffers.

 “How are you going to do that?”

You lean in and kiss him, slightly tugging on his suit, pulling him closer and under your spell. Your tongue makes magic with his, your body burning up from the sexual tension you have been harboring.

“Does that answer your question?” You tease him, nibbling the bottom of his lip.

“Maybe…” Kun trails off, motioning to his right-hand man, Ten. “I’ll need more convincing at my place. Meet me in the back alley; there is already a car there.”

You watch him say something to Ten before grabbing his coat, and you make your way to the back entrance, a black car already heated and ready to go. Kun has never been a man of a lot of words, but you know the steamy dance session has him wanting you, and you would be a liar if you didn’t admit you wanted him too. You might be holding some small feelings for him, being an old lover and someone you grew up with, but the family business comes first, no matter the cost… right?

“Are you ready?” Kun’s hand brushes your back, chills taking over your body.

You nod as our feet touched the cold ground, his home was calling.

“Your place is nice,” you observe as you walk into Kun’s penthouse.

You take off your heels and set them on the hardwood floor, walking into the spacious living room with a grand view of the city. The kitchen isn’t too far with a built-in bar attached and just based on what’s in front of you, you know this place isn’t cheap. Kun is rummaging through his wine rack and comes with a bottle of red wine and two glasses.

“Thank you. Are you thirsty?” Kun asks, pouring some in his glass.

“Yeah. I’ll take a little sip,” you grab and sit on one of the stools.

He pours some wine in a gold-trimmed glass, and you thank him, taking a small sip like you promised. You don’t like wine much, but you need something to calm your nerves and the heat brewing in your core. 

“So, are you finally going to be honest with me?” Kun interrogates you, almost catching you off guard.

You stay composed and take another sip, finishing it entirely and setting it down on the island bar. 

“What makes you think I’m not being honest with you?” You counter, slowly walking towards him. 

“Come on, Y/N,” he scoffs, brushing his hair back with his hands. “It’s been years, and I haven’t heard from you. Let alone a goodbye, and now you just show up here and flirt with me? I know you better than that.”

You know he’s making sense, and you think of a quick lie to cover your tracks. You taking over the family business is on the line, and despite the small feelings you still hold for him, you cannot fuck this up. 

“I promise I came to see you,” you swear, waving your hands dramatically. It is the truth after all.

“Do you still have feelings for me?” Kun starts, loosening his tie. “I told you years ago I’m not the relationship type. That hasn’t changed.”

It is your turn to scoff, letting out a hearty laugh from the pit of your soul. 

“I’m in town because I have some family stuff to attend to. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I wanted to see what’s been up with you,” you wave him off. “But obviously, this is a lot for you, so I’m going to go.”

You make your way to the door and grab your shoes, willing to walk outside in the cold barefooted until your ride came. That didn’t happen, however, as Kun grabs your arm, backing you into the wall. 

“You’re still dramatic as ever,” Kun states before bringing his lips to yours.

You kiss him back, tearing open his shirt, buttons flying everywhere as your hands rub across his chest. His big hands lift you up, carrying you to his massive bedroom and setting you down on the bed, 

“Strip,” Kun demands, unbuckling his belt. 

You get up, slowly lowering each strap on your dress, pulling your dress down until your breasts and thong were exposed. Kun pulls you to him, kissing you once more, leaning you back onto the bed. His lips trail to your stomach, leaving soft marks while he lowers your panties with his other hand. 

“You’re the same way I remembered you years ago,” he whispers. “You are still as beautiful as ever.”

“Yeah yeah,” you brush off his words, your breath hitching as his lips meet your sweet spot. 

Kun smirks and leaves a sensual kiss, your back arching as he is tasting your sweet nectar. Your hands are grasping for his hair; the rapturous way he makes your body feel is astral projecting you into paradise. His tongue takes a long swipe on your sweet pussy, his ravenous lust coming out of his pores as he tongue fucks you.

“My god-” you choke on air, your stomach coiling under pressure at your release. His nails dig into your ass, and you come undone, your honeyed essence dripping down his chin as he drinks you in. You beg him to stop, but he continues his onslaught, causing you to cum again shortly after. 

“You are going to suck me dry,” you rasp, out of breath. 

He finally pulls away, licking his lips, a sly grin plastered on his face as he lifts your leg up, slowly rubbing his shaft.

“Wait,” you attempt to sit up. “You don’t want me to do it?”

“No,” he eases himself inside of you. “I don’t have time for that. I need to feel you.”

You know you should have asked him to put on a condom, but the moment he climbed over and plowed into you, your sense of reasoning went out the door. He fucks you likes he missed you, rapaciously pounding into you like a street whore, and you return his aggression with your nails dug deep into his back. He cups your mouth with his big hands, kissing you and taking your energy away as you reach your peak once more. 

“Go ahead,” Kun grits his teeth. “I want to feel you all over me.”

No second later, you splash everywhere, squirting all over him and his sheets, surprising yourself as you have never done that with anyone before. He finishes shortly after, releasing his hot load on your stomach, kissing you tenderly until he was well spent. 

“Phew!” You collapse on the bed, your vision blurry, and your energy depleted. You hear him chuckle, and you roll your eyes, slightly annoyed at his arrogance. He’s obviously picked up a thing or two while you were gone, and you wouldn’t mind doing this with him again if only you didn’t have to kill him. You hear him leave and go into the bathroom, and you sit up, looking around for what you can find on him before he gets out. You notice a planner on the nightstand, and you rummage through it, finding his schedule of the week, and you make mental notes. You hear the sink water come on, and you quickly put it back and get back into the position before he comes out.

“Are you tired?” He comes out with a hand towel, taking care to wipe his semen off of my stomach.

“A little,” you admit, your body sinking comfortably into the bed. 

“Well, stay the night,” he suggests, disposing of the hand towel and coming back into bed.

“Eh,” you sound unsure. “I’m not trying to put you out of your bed, and I don’t want you getting ideas.”

Kun shakes his head, pulls you closer to him, and you lay back down. “I’m not the one who was in love years ago. As long as you know this isn’t going to be more than this, you can stay as many nights as you want.”

“Yeah, sure,” you say sarcastically, nuzzling into the pillow. “I’m not the same girl you grew up with. You’ll see.”

It’s been five months since that night, and things started to change. He was still the Kun you grew up with, but softer. He was still a shrewd mafia boss and ran his business with an iron fist, but with you, he was sweet. His eyes shined when you walked into the room; he continued to fuck you mercilessly and doted on you like a princess after. It became more than fuck sessions, the calls wanting to know about your day and randomly showing up with dinner. If you didn’t know better, you would think he was falling in love with you.

You would be a liar if you didn’t admit to yourself that you started to have some feelings for him and you enjoyed his company, but as much as you want that companionship, the mafia comes first, and he has to go. You’ve been getting heat from your family, who wants this charade to end so you can finally take your place at the head of the Zodiacs. You pushed it off longer than you’d realize, and after the insistent nagging in every meeting, you decided tonight was the night. 

“Hey,” you let Kun into your condo, dressed in a white tee and gray sweatpants. You invited him over, making up a lie about someone following you home. Your hair is pinned into a bun, and you just got out of the shower. You have had to kill before, but this was different; you never had to kill someone you cared about. 

“Where did you say he was following you,” Kun asks, looking out your window. 

“I was leaving the warehouse, and I noticed this sedan was following me,” you fake a sigh, more so to calm your nerves. “I went a long way home and was able to lose them, thank God.”

“Mmhmm,” is all he says, and he continues to look outside and around your place, checking to see if anyone else was inside. You act completely natural, flipping through the channels until you find something semi-decent to put on the tv, not that you’ll be watching it much.

“You know you didn’t have to call me over here,” Kun plops on the couch next to you, laying his head on your nap. “You could’ve called one of your guards here.”

“I know,” you shrug, playing in his hair. “But I wanted you over here. Is that such a bad thing?”

He perks his lips up, and you kiss him, the sweet taste lingering on his lips that has you wanting more. His hands take out your bun, allowing your hair to fall down your face.

“I’m glad you asked me over,” Kun whispers, leaving the last kiss on your nose. Your heart is touched, and you start to feel tears form, so you make a motion that you are getting up and go into the bathroom, leaning against the door. You wish there was another way to be in charge and still have him. You went into this cold-hearted and not wanting love, but here he is, sucking you in again like years before. You take a long look in the mirror before reaching underneath the sink for the pistol you kept hidden there. Your hands are searching for it before you bend and look for yourself, grabbing it and taking it out of its case. You take a deep breath and open the door, Kun on the other side startling you. 

“Jesus!” You exclaim, clutching your shirt. “You scared the shit out of me.”

You walk past him into the kitchen for a glass of water. You feel your face hot from embarrassment, and you gulp your water down, ready to face what’s to come. 

“Are you okay?” you hear Kun behind you. “You seem a bit off.”

It’s now or never, you say to yourself. You clear your throat and pull out the gun from behind you, aiming for Kun’s head. Instead of looking shocked, he sighs heavily, taking a seat on one of the stools. 

“It was only a matter of time, I suppose,” he surmises, raking his hands through his hair. 

“I’m sorry,” your voice is small, fighting back the tears. “I wish this could have ended differently.”

“It can be different,” he pleads. “Let’s leave this life behind. Run away with me.”

You look at him incredulously before bursting into laughter, your voice bellowing throughout your kitchen. You two were both born into the mafia families; it’s either them or death. No way you can just leave without being hunted down. 

“You sound crazy,” you scoff, scratching your left temple with your gun. “You are just saying that to get out of this.” You cock the safety back, ready to pull the trigger. 

“Have you ever known me to be a liar, Y/N?” he asks, slowly getting off of the stool. “I knew you were sent to kill me the day you showed up at my club. No way you just randomly showed up to see me.”

You keep your poker face, but your heart is pounding at his revelation. You thought you covered your tracks, keeping your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed. What happened?

“Come on, I’m in the business Y/N. I already know how this goes,” he points out, moving closer to you.

“So if you knew, why haven’t you stopped me?” You move your finger to the trigger, something he notices and stops dead in his tracks. 

“I fell in love with you,” he confesses. “I went into this thinking that I could have a little fun before we eventually would have to square off, but you made me want love… You reminded me of the times we were kids and growing up together, and it feels good. I don’t want to lose that.”

The silence is deafening, the tears you were blocking pouring out of your eyes. 

“I know you feel the same,” Kun steps slowly to you again, entering your personal space. “I know you want to leave this life behind.”

You hate that he is right, and if you had the strength, you would end it right here and now. But his eyes are showing a vision of love, an alternate reality where you two can be together without having to look over your shoulders; A life of leisure with your childhood sweetheart, the love of your life. 

“But how could this even work—”

You’re cut off with his lips pressed against yours, almost knocking you out your senses. You give in to his feelings, setting the gun on the counter and placing your hands on his neck, deepening the kiss. 

“Let’s find a way to end this together,” Kun’s voice is shaky, his eyes peering into your soul.

You nod, sniffling as you turn around and reach for a paper towel to dry your face. 

“I love you, Y/N.”

That’s the last thing you remember before the gun went off and everything faded to black.

#neosmutsongs #neosmutcollective #nct-writers #nctcreations #neothestars #neowritingsnet #kwritersworldnet #ksmutclub #kafenetwork #wkcnet #kpopscape #kdiner #nct fanfics #wayv fanfics #kun #qian kun #kun x reader #nct #wayv #nct oneshots

[bunchofstraydogs]

Dazai Osamu character breakdown as I understand him

Meaning that this might be inaccurate and your opinion and visage of him might differ from mine, which is just fine. We perceive the world and the people around us through our experiences and expectations. I'm curious to know how you guys see a complex character like Dazai, just please respect everyone's opinions.

Warning: Manga plot mentions, s2 spoilers, BEAST light novel spoilers, Dazai Osamu

Dazai Osamu was introduced into the scene of Bungou Stray Dogs at 14 when Mori found him.

Even at that young age, Dazai had suicidal tendencies and had been wrapped in bandages similarly as he is in the present. Already dealing with too much trauma for a child his age, the fire is fuelled as he was forced to bear witness to the death of the Port Mafia boss at the hands of Mori, the person that took him under his wing. To use him; which was becoming very apparent to Osamu if he hadn't been aware since the start. Now, I'm not saying that death of the previous boss left a particular scar on Samu, he even agrees with it and is something he himself would have done. But that that is the scene that bore fruit of the following quotes:

"Or could it be that you're afraid, Mori-san? That one day i will slit your throat and take over as the boss?"

followed by

"Everyone seems suspicious to those who have an axe to grind."

This tells us right away that he can tell what type of person you are just from the way you perceive your surroundings, which is logical, but not something many think too deep into.

Even less who have their evaluations of others on point like he does. And he has to, since Dazai's plan is always to understand his allies, his enemies, possible allies and possible enemies. He also takes into account important neutral parties that can still, in one way or another, affect the outcome of his plans or decide to align with one side out of common interest. After comes realising the main goals, along with side achievements (just in case some of those maim his allies or ruin the future plans he made) of every party. Taking in their morals and motivation, and being familiar with the ground the confrontation will happen on, he now has the view of the whole chess board and it's pieces in his head. He moves his allies in the right places, knowing how they'll react in the situation to come, and awaits the enemies with open fire arms. He was tought to think like that. At all times. Mori made sure of it. You know how specialists never really stop thinking in their areas of expertise, like doctors, for example, will naturally notice people's posture and look for scoliosis or whatever? How your foot hits the floor, if you're walking straight, your knees and shoulders, etc. Same for Dazai. His brain maps out person's expressions, reactions, choices, personality, etc. in great detail. I'm pretty sure he has eidetic memory, if his conversations in manga with Fyodor are anything to go by.

Another thing his brain does is think of worst possible outcomes.

Not in a fear of what if things go wrong, but as a possible route. He uses it to determine how big of a threat the opposing force is and what steps they'll have to take to achieve that. Knowing that, he'll know how to intercept them. Also, like everything else, it's not something he can control since we're talking about thought process here and that's just how his brain works. Can't magically turn that off. It's especially annoying to him when he's genuinely enjoying himself with, let's say, ADA members and then his brain goes brrr.

•"A lot happened recently and we're a torn in many people's eyes." *Tanizaki and Atsushi drinking punch* "There's a possibility, while a small one, about 8% at this very moment, but as time goes on will increase, that an organisation outside of Yokohama decided we're an unavoidable threat and poisoned the drinks. Don't drink that. Nothing will happen, they'll wake up tomorrow in pristine condition don't drink th-"

Yeah, i feel bad for him too.

He has PTSD and insomnia, besides the hectic brain,

so he's not getting proper amount of rest. Actually, he drinks almost every night by himself at home. Pretty sure it's canon as well, because if you search for a picture of him in his room, you'll see him surrounded by multiple bottles. Two of the PTSD symptoms are hallucinations and night terrors (no, that is not the same as a nightmare). What people usually do is use opium to cause hallucinations in a safe environment so that there's little chance of them happening uncontrolled. He's probably using alcohol to numb himself while he's reminiscing, since if he does still have hallucinations after years having passed by (which isn't impossible), they're probably few and far between. Not saying there's no chance he isn't using opium. He would know where to get what he needs, after all.

Osamu's haunted by his own actions as well, not just by trauma caused to him.

At an uncountable amount of occasions, he found himself looking into a mirror and not really comprehending his image. It was like dissociation. Looking through a fog at what's supposed to be your carbon copy, but not knowing all of your features perfectly, so whatever you're seeing could only be an impostor, yet you're not sure because that would take comprehending physical proof of your life to the fullest and how it works and he just... can't. He can but he doesn't want to. He already knows he's despicable and broken, doesn't really feel the need to see just how much. He can't, for all his perfect memory, remember the faces of the people he has killed. He hadn't even seen all of them, but he was responsible for their demise. Causing havoc and misfortune in general through other crimes besides murder as well. We've seen his expression when he listened in on Atsushi talking to Kyouka over the earpiece how the 35 deaths don't matter anymore. He knows they do and he knows that the change of heart won't justify what he's they've done. Ango thought him to value each life. But he also knows that even murderers can change and become good. Oda did that. It's also what's keeping him in the agency.

When Oda died, his last words mentioned that Dazai doesn't care about good or bad and that was correct for Dazai Osamu back then. I genuinely think that his present self does mind the difference.

He believes in necessary evil and will do dark shit to get the good outcome he's envisioned.

He doesn't separate outlaws and lawful people, however.

He knows that generally speaking, the line is thin and easy to cross and that many were born or forced into the situations they are. Those that fight the life thrown at them are an exception, not a rule. That's also why he likes Atsushi, probably the main reason. The boy has every right to hate the world and yet. Dazai is envious, he doesn't really have the same capacity.

I want now to talk about why does Dazai Osamu do what Dazai Osamu does.

The reason he attempts suicide, joined the mafia, made friends at all, is because for all his intelligence and observations, ability to understand others, he doesn't really understand himself.

He doesn't understand his worth. He doesn't understand his purpose. In all of that confusion, he finds no reason to live. He laughs but can't get the high, he bruises but can't fully heal. In all of the things people find happiness in he can't feel joy from. He is emotionally stunted. He thinks too logically. He doesn't understand actions out of emotions because to him, it doesn't make sense. Emotions cloud your mind and when you're not thinking straight, you make mistakes. Plain and simple. He just accepts it, that most people simply cannot control themselves and prefer lashing out instead of methodical approach. All the better for him, he has leverage. Even when he does act on impulse, which is incredibly rare and not as explosive and dramatic, his brain rationalises it as to why his actions were a good way to go. And if his reaction was one that bore fruit, than it was a tactical one.

"If you place yourself somewhere close to raw emotions, where you're exposed to raw violence and death, instinct and desire, you can brush against man's true nature. I though that way i could find a reason to live somehow."

From this, i can tell that he was hoping that, in a situation where he's pushed far enough, he'd realise what's important to him, what he wants to protect or destroy, what's one thing he wouldn't want to leave unsettled before dying. What is that one thing he'd regret dying before achieving? What should he fight death for. What is worth living on for? To him, it doesn't matter if that something is good or evil as long as he gets to keep it in his life.

It seems he hadn't found it exactly, but is satisfied with what he has for now, in the agency, to just keep going. But he still tries to commit suicide, hoping that one day, when the clear picture of the world around him is fading away, when he's becoming light headed from the lack of oxygen, when he's loosing control over his body and thoughts don't seem to flow well, there will be one thing, anyone, screaming at him to fight it. New day new chances. It didn't happen today, better luck tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomo-.

Now, like Mori, Dazai feels the need to, at all times, be in control of the situation. Including people.

That means no one, but perhaps Ranpo due to his own abnormal intellect, is aware of their own role. They know their mission, but they're not expecting to be given that particular one because they'll come across an obstacle they would react to in a way that would satisfy Osamu's plans.

Dazai Osamu is more of a chemist, than a chess player, if you ask me.

Throwing different people into the mix, under different conditions at different times and is noting down their reactions in safe surrounding if possible, so that when the time calls for it, he'll be able to make a perfect concoction for the predicament. A chemist and his substances; A chess player and his pawns; A puppeteer and his puppets. Now, Dazai is meticulous and never rash, but like everyone else (except effin Lovecraft what is he even) he's only human and he bleeds when he falls down and humans aren't perfect. He isn't always right. That means he makes mistakes. The issue with big shot players that control the board is that, when they fall down, everyone on their side crashes and burns as well. So the day Dazai fucks up everyone else will follow because of lack of insight on their part that's completely out of their control. All it takes is for him to underestimate or overestimate one person and chaos ensues. There is no such thing as happy little accidents small mistakes for someone like him. I have crippling anxiety and a sole thought that one hiccup could blow up in everyone's face... damn. I would try committing suicide myself. But it's his fault, he brought upon himself an obligation and pressure like that. To be fair, it was Mori that drilled that type of thinking where no one should know what you plan because they can't ruin what they don't know If they turn against you, they can't stop you.

For his own sake, and everyone else's, Dazai needs to learn how to show his cards and share the burden.

Again, going back to the emotionally stunted guy that has commitment issues (where he either can't commit or can't let go) trope.

He never outright does something good for someone where people would acknowledge it, he uses his underhanded tactics here as well.

He casually makes himself look like a bad guy, an asshole, to conveniently move attention from the inner turmoil a person is struggling with to a present problem at hand that they can fix and let their frustrations out on. But he hopes that, one day, someone just might notice his intentions for what they are and do the unspeakable- see through him.

"I'm a very private person. You don't ask, i don't tell."

Yes, and your whole existence is just a huge cry for help. He wants to be asked. He's begging for attention. A specific type of attention. One that will see him without making him feel imposed on. One that will understand his sins without making a big deal out of it. Accept him as a person he is, makes him feel like one as well. Makes him feel alive. Makes him feel... period.

The day he finds that thing is the day he completely turns his life around and fully dedicates to it. It's where the part of not being able to let go commitment issue ensues.

Since Oda's death he's been secretly keeping an eye out on possible ways to bring him back. If you've read Beast AU you know that when Dazai gets his hands on the book, he'll create a universe where Oda doesn't die. Should he find an ability user that can bring back the dead, just tell him what it will take, he's ready to destroy his own soul for it and if that isn't enough, well, he'll have no hesitation ruining theirs. After all, BEAST!Dazai Osamu never actually met Odasaku, he just had the memories he'd gotten from his canon self and that was enough for him to do everything he did.

He's incredibly selfish and has a weird come in but the door is a wall dynamic he rolls with in his self imposed solitude.

It's like the walls of the space in my brain are ugly and terrifying, so i closed off the entrance to keep myself in. I'm doing you a favour but please break the wall down and tell me it's okay to come out i don't want to be here-

Happy little thoughts woah woah yeah~

That's what i got from what I've seen of him. I may have missed some things, some things might prove to be wrong as the series progress further, but yeah.

There is, however, one more thing i want to put out here. Since Dazai was already like this before Mori found him, that begs to question as to why? What happened to him?

Now, since the characters are based on real people, is it crazy to say that Dazai Osamu has had a horrible childhood because of his father? Real life Dazai was terrified of his dad and was very intimidated by him. He always tried to stay in his good graces out of fear of punishment. Neither of his parents felt like a parent to him, actually. His father didn't care and his mother was often ill, but did care for him when she could. Both of them died eventually.

This could be the plot Kafka based Dazai's background on, but we'll have to wait and see.

#dazai osamu #bungou stray dogs #bsd #meta #dazai osamu headcanon #dazai osamu headcanons #hc #hcs #psychoanalysis

[sorryimanon]

Character: Katsuki Bakugou

Warnings/tags: heart warming fluff, language, and suggestive themes

Word count: 2.5k

In which your boyfriend takes it upon himself to pamper you on his day off.

Author’s note: some self indulgent fluff. this is a continuation of dad!bakugou and torch daughter. there will be more. enjoy :)

D/N= daughters name

-

Katsuki heavily relied on you to babysit your rambunctious four year old daughter during the days when he'd be on patrol from dusk till dawn. Very rarely would he be home before the two of you tucked yourselves in for the night, leaving him to eat the leftovers from dinner alone at the table. As sad as it is, it didn't bother you in the slightest. In fact, knowing Katsuki was keeping the crime rate of Japan low, you were more than happy to become a stay at home mom. Most of your friends tried to talk you out of it, but you were already settled after giving your two weeks notice at your low paying job. Waking up and seeing your daughter first thing in the morning is better than staring blankly at a bright screen all day behind a musty wall, running on nothing but decaf coffee, and sluggishly going to and fro like a zombie.

Ever since your daughter manifested her quirk, you’ve been trying your best to maintain her sudden outbursts while at home. The doctor prescribed it as Torch: the ability to become a human torch and ignite flames throughout your body and fingertips. For now d/n is only capable of setting herself on fire, using the flames as a barrier to protect her from any harm instead of combating. However, sometimes she'll forget to extinguish herself, having you to manually use an actual fire extinguisher on her. Burn marks would litter the outskirts of your shirts, the aftermath ash smudged on your face, and the tiny hairs on your forearms long gone after handling d/n.

Your boyfriend appreciates the way how you compose yourself around d/n, not allowing the temptation to fling the little gremlin out the window prevail, because if the roles were reversed it'd be a whole different story. Sometimes he sits back in his desk chair, after a long night of meandering around the city, and tries to remember the last time you were properly treated. Of course, Katsuki never fails to remind you day and night he loves you through his actions, some including selfish indulgence late at nights, but all in all he didn't lack being the hopeless romantic counterpart for you. He wanted you to take a break from it all, have him handle the at home duties and the slimy daughter. Leaning back against the chair with his brows furrowed slightly, he began to mentally plan out your day already.

It was a Friday when Katsuki forced himself out of the comfortable security that is your arms and walked with light feet to his daughters bedroom. Today is his day off, so he has to make sure everything goes smoothly or else he's going to have more burn marks on his office desk.

He didn't bother knocking first and saunters in the familiar space, the faint snores from d/n somehow relaxing him. Her walls were freshly painted a light shade of blue, the contrast not too saturated to peel the attention away from her posters that covered every inch of her room, all of which were pictures of his prohero colleagues. D/N had to beg for her father to purchase a Deku poster, one of which she saw don display when the both of you brought her to the mall for a quick trip. He internally cringes every time he makes eye contact with the lifeless eyes of Deku when he enters her room.

Katsuki neared his daughter and kneeled down to where his head was leveled with hers, chuckling lightly when finding a small pool of drool collecting on her cheek.

"Wake up little shit," he whispers, nudging her uncovered shoulder with his knuckles, startling her eyes to flutter open. D/n nearly gasped at the sight of her father. The covers that were wrapped snuggly around her fell at the foot of her bed when she jolted up in surprise, eyes brimming with excitement.

"It's today right? Mommy's day!" Katsuki covered her mouth with his abnormally large hand, not wanting her obnoxious voice to blow their cover.

"Yes, but you're gonna have to be quiet for daddy. Don't want to spoil the surprise for mommy, you understand ya little brat?"

Hand still attached to her mouth, d/n nodded her head feverishly, hands clenched into tiny fits. Once he thinks she's shimmered down a little, he finally removes his hand and motions her to follow him.

Meanwhile in the other room, you were still fast asleep, limbs not once switching from their position over the cozy blanket. The chill breeze from the propped window regulated your body temperature nicely, along with the beautiful songs sung by the birds that reside in the trees close by. You stirred awake momentarily, feeling the loss of a presence that's usually laying beside you during these times of slumber. Katsuki's side was empty, the indent from his body molded onto the foam mattress, leaving you to believe he woke up not that long ago.

After convincing yourself to leave the comfort of your bed, you decided to search for the missing blonde. You crack open the door to a weird combination of radio music blaring throughout the house, and the delicious smell of something cooking in grease. It's no doubt your boyfriends doing. He always likes to impress you with how skillful he is in the kitchen. He hasn't made a dish you disliked yet nor will he allow himself to do so.

Standing side by side, minus the height difference, d/n and Katsuki both were too immersed in their cooking to notice you leaning against the island counter, trying very hard to not cry instantly at the sight in front of you. Watching them interact together was definitely something you'd be treasuring for the years to come.

A rush of savory and sweetness infiltrated your senses, the scent strong enough to knock you back to sleep. As if he read your mind overnight, Katsuki took it upon himself to prepare your favorite breakfast dishes. The dinner table made for three already set by none other than d/n, who currently looked proud at her work and craftsmanship. A large vase was propped in the center, a collection of vibrant flowers stuffed to the brim, the water inside almost overflowing. Attached to one of the stems of the flowers was a tag, the handwriting sloppy and hard to decipher.

To my dumbass, love ya - K.B

You felt the delicate touch of your daughter wrapping her hand around yours, giving it a slight tug before pulling you into the kitchen again. Katsuki flicked his gaze to you now, flashing the same mischievous grin you grew to love. his hands simultaneously worked on the food while taming the animal, that is indeed your daughter, from bumping into the pan handles.

"What's all this for?" You asked, the question directly appointed to both your boyfriend and daughter.

"Oh, so I can't treat my sexy girlfriend to a good meal?" he teased while setting the burners to low, letting the food cool off before plating it. Your daughter audibly gagged at the comment and swatted Katsuki's arm.

D/N's tiny legs were faster than yours and reached the cabinet where the plates and cutlery were stored at. To her dismay, the cabinet was higher than she anticipated. trying her best to waiver down the disappointment as she climbed on the sleek marble counter top, losing her footing here and there. Katsuki caught her in time before she misplaced her footing and almost toppled onto the floor.

"May I need to remind you not to climb on the damn counter tops anymore d/n?" he scolded as he put her down before grabbing enough plates for everyone.

Pursing her lips tightly, she crossed her arms and said, "But if I'm going to be a future hero then I have to battle my way through tough obstacles!"

U.A's immense training and work studies came in handy when dealing with d/n's hard headed ideologies. It's been a stressful reoccurrence, having to constantly teach her the importance of being a hero at such a young age. Her impulsive tendencies mirrored the blondes old habit of taking action before thinking. But there was always a saying when storing away your fear and facing danger head on.

"That's true, but sometimes a little teamwork wouldn't hurt. Your father should know a thing or two about that when he was a young U.A student," you said as you patted her head.

"What'd you say shitty woman? Talking crap so early in the morning already?" a strange popping sound alerted you to turn around, only to find Katsuki flaring his flashy quirk with a glare that could splice you open.

But his alarming gaze wasn't the thing that was scaring you at the moment.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT USING YOUR QUIRK IN THE HOUSE! YOU'RE GONNA SET OFF THE FIRE ALARM AGAIN, IDIOT!"

-

You thought the smorgasbord of a breakfast was the last of your boyfriends romantic gestures, but you should've known better once he demanded you to change out of your sleep attire and into something to  wear outside. Not thinking twice about where he was dragging you to, including daughter, you decided to play it safe. He approved on your choice of ripped jeans, synthetic tank top, and thrown on cardigan once heading off to the car.

The car ride to the mysterious destination was short lived as your boyfriend pulled up into the driveway of his old house. Mitsuki stood waiting by the threshold of the doorway, waving her fingers sweetly to whom you can only assume was you and not her only son. She stepped off the porch once Katsuki shifted the car in park, unlocking the doors as well. His mother reached the side where d/n stayed strapped in her seat and yanked the door open.

"Ah my little princess! How have you been? I missed you so much!" She unbuckled d/n's seat belt and flattened her in a tight hug, squeezing till her eyes popped out. "I can't wait to spend the weekend with you baby girl! Are you excited to have a little fun with grandma?!"

"Calm the fuck down, you're gonna kill her if you keep squeezing!" Katsuki's voice boomed out of the window.

"Oh pipe down you little shit I'm not harming her! Also don't talk to me like that! You're old enough to treat me with some respect by now!"

"SHUT UP YOU OLD HAG! JUST TAKE THE LITTLE GREMLIN AND GO!"

After the heated exchange, Katsuki eventually calmed down and drove the two of you back to the house in complete silence. It was quite a shift in a sense of environment wise. By now d/n would be begging you to make her some pudding or pour her a cup of lemonade, then place yourselves in front of the tv watching a random kids program till evening. Tonight you lend the torch to your boyfriend, allowing whatever devious plan he conjured up to unfold.

Before you could shuffle into your shared bedroom, Katsuki placed his calloused hands onto your cramped shoulders. Merely centimeters from your ear, he laid a chaste kiss on the area beneath it, smiling at your innocent reaction to his sudden actions and nuzzled into the crook of your neck. You smelt the familiar scent of caramel and men’s soap, both of which you undoubtably loved when combined.

“Suki?” Upon hearing his nickname, Katsuki quirked an eyebrow at you. “What’s with all the romantic gestures lately? Cooking my favorite breakfast, the flowers, and our daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I love her! It’s just nice not to worry about if she’ll set the curtains on fire again.”

You felt the vibrations of him chuckling behind you.

“Isn’t it obvious? I just want to fuck the shit out of you,” you sat paralyzed by his bluntness. his tuft hair tickled the underside of your chin, earning him an acute giggle from you. “I’m just kidding, pretty face. I figured you needed a weekend where you just relax and did nothing. Let me do all the work. That’s including getting rid of the brat.”

Shifting in his arms to where you can face him, you can now see the adoration oozing from usual heated glare of his vermillion eyes, the scowl long gone and replaced with a soften feature not so many from the outside can witness. To think this was the man you devoted yourself and love for, to allow him to bare witness anything and everything you endure. He’s a man of showing his compassion through his actions, not lousy words of affirmations that anyone could sputter out and proclaim its love. No, he reflects back everything right with the world, even when you felt the weight of it searing through your system, dragging it down with you. The same explosive blonde awaits patiently by the opening for you to enter, no matter how long it’ll take for you to accept his love. Because he’ll be there. Waiting.

And here he is waiting. In your arms to repeat those three words you made out from watching the movement of his lips.

The words leave your mouth effortlessly, the proclamation hanging in the air between you two.

“I love you too, Katsuki. Thank you so much, for everything.” Like so, you kiss the plump flesh of his lips, the same inflammation of your heart burning as before. The strong muscle of his tongue prods your entrance, practically begging by licking your bottom lip. Katsuki grabbed your chin as gentle as he could muster, titling it for a better leverage to explore your mouth in return. Your hands trailed across the defining shape of his collarbones, rubbing any part of his body so that your fingers remained busy. Both of you hum in satisfaction, relishing in the feeling of the intimate moment. To your disliking, he removes his lips from yours and hovers instead, panting from the mini-make out session seconds ago.

“I’m going to marry you some day, mark my words. So don’t act fucking stupid when I pop the question,” he hotly proclaims, not once removing those piercing red eyes from yours. That’s when you knew he wasn’t bullshitting. If there’s one thing you learned about Katsuki over the years of dating, is that he doesn’t throw out promises in the air nonchalantly without keeping them. You can vaguely hear the ominous sound of wedding bells in your ears.

“Sounds intriguing. I always wanted to see you in a suit and tie.”

“Ya know, maybe someday might be tomorrow-.”

You cut him off with a scorching peck, making his eyes widen and dilate with every given second you laid your lips onto his. “Shut up babe and ravish me already.”

A mischievous grin forms on his mouth as he links his arms around the back of your knees and hoists you over his shoulder. He erupted into fits of laughter after hearing you squeak from the abruptness. The door to your shared bedroom came into view, your boyfriend kicking it with his free foot before entering through the threshold.

“You’re in for a long night sweetheart. Now that our daughter isn’t here, I’m not holding back on anything,” he threatens as he lays you down on the comforter.

Another thing you learned from your relationship. Katsuki is always true to his word.

-

#mha imagines #bakugou headcanons #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bnha bakugou #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugou x you #mha x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugou fluff #dad!baku #bakugou smut #kacchan #bnha bakugo katsuki #katsukibakugou #bnha katsuki x reader

[lyssismagical]

Prompt: Tony tells peter he hates him in the heat of a argument and then goes on a long mission and doesn’t have time to apologize and comes back to a depressed peter and apologizes

This is literally so old I’m so sorry lmao hope this is alright

tw oops i killed may again, depression, grief, arguing? 

The grief builds on his back like Atlas holding up the sky. 

He’s trying. He wants to scream at the world that he’s trying. Of course, he’s trying. He’s putting one hundred and ten percent into every obstacle thrown his way, every responsibility asked of him, every favor he adds to his list. He’s trying. He’s trying. He’s trying. 

He doesn’t know how to try any harder, he doesn’t know how to put more effort into everything he’s doing. He doesn’t know how to be better. 

Sleep becomes something only done when absolutely necessary, every couple days, only a few hours caught on the train or in detention or on the couch when Tony makes him give in to his exhaustion. 

He knows he’s being hard on Tony. He doesn’t need all of Peter’s bullshit on top of everything else he deals with. He’s already done so much, offered up a bedroom in his tower, held his hand at May’s funeral, paid for everything he could ever want, he even got Peter an emotional support dog to take care of him when Tony can’t. 

But Peter just can’t seem to repay him. He doesn’t even have the decency to be a good kid while under Tony’s roof. 

He gets detentions, he skips classes, he gets hurt patrolling, he puts off his own needs, he snaps at Tony, he isolates himself, he refuses to deal with the stress he’s under. He’s making everything so much harder on the only person who’s still around. 

It’s not fair on Tony. 

But Tony takes it all in stride. 

He never gets upset with Peter, never pushes him, never gets angry. 

It makes Peter angrier, in turn. He wants to ruin the last good thing he has, he wants to destroy everything he stands on, he doesn’t deserve to have Tony.

“Leave me alone,” he mutters, trying to push past Tony to lock himself in his room. 

“No, I need to talk to you real quick. C’mere,” Tony says, waving him over. “We’ve got a mission that might last a little bit, so you’re going to be here alone with Pepper and Happy, alright?”

Peter rolls his eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m seventeen.”

“They’re not babysitters, they’re just around if you need anything.”

“I can take care of myself.” Peter knows he’s being irritated for no reason, Tony’s done everything right and Peter won’t stop picking fights. “I don’t need them and I don’t need you looking over my shoulder, criticizing everything I do.”

Tony sighs softly. “I don’t think you can’t. I just worry, that’s all.”

“When your parents died, you went on a crazy drinking, drugs, and gambling binge for like twelve years. I get a couple detentions after losing my fourth parental figure and suddenly I’m spiraling out of control? I’m incompetent? I’m mental?” 

He hates himself, a deep dark pit in his stomach, threatening to swallow him whole in his self-loathing. He hates that he’s doing this, hates that he’s going to throw everything he has at Tony, make him hate him, just because he can’t possibly bear the kindness he’s been shown. 

“Pete, kid, I don’t think that at all.”

“I’m not you!” Peter spits, mouth wobbling and raking a hand through his messy hair. “You’re not my dad! You can’t keep me locked up here forever. I turn eighteen in six months, and I won’t stick around to continue playing into your House Fantasy. I’m not your kid. We’re not family.”

The shocked look on Tony’s face makes Peter feel worse, it makes the monster in his chest happier knowing Peter’s suffering like he deserves. 

“Kid-”

“I’m not a kid!” He’s moments away from crying, voice breaking and hands shaking. He wishes he was still a kid, wishes he could be coddled and taken care of and loved, but he’s not that kid anymore. “I didn’t ask for you to take me in and pretend to care! I didn’t ask for you to ruin my life! It’s your fault May’s gone. If you hadn’t put me on the Superhero Radar, nobody would’ve gone after my family.”

Tony shakes his head, shoulders slumping. “Peter-”

“Don’t. You’ve made excuses for everything you’ve ever done like the Murder-Bot and the war between the Avengers and dragging me out to Germany. You can’t make an excuse for this. You’re the reason I have nothing.”

“I know you’re upset, kid, I get it, but you can’t blame the world forever.”

Peter rolls his glassy eyes, putting more distance between him and Tony. “I don’t blame the world, I blame you.”

“And that’s fine, Peter, okay? Blame me, hate me, I don’t care, but don’t bottle this up. You don’t have to do this on your own, it isn’t healthy,” Tony says. 

And that just makes the monster in his chest angrier because despite Peter being the most ungrateful brat, Tony’s still being nothing but kind to him, showing him love. He doesn’t deserve it. He can’t stand it. 

“Says you,” he says, shoving a hand through his hair and wiping his eyes as discreetly as he can. “And either way, I don’t need to talk about my fucking feelings. I need May back. Unless you can find a way to do that, I don’t care what you have to offer. You hated your parents, you have no idea what it’s like to lose a parent that loves you.”

This finally seems to get under his skin. “My mother loved me. I know exactly what it’s like. I had Jarvis, I had Peggy, I know what it’s like to lose someone I love.”

“No, you don’t,” Peter spits back. “You’re selfish. You’ve never cared about another person unless they have something to offer you. If you cared about anyone, if you cared about me, you never would’ve come after me all those years ago. You’re the reason I became a real superhero, the reason I lost Ben, May, MJ. You’re the reason I died, missed five years. It’s all because of you.”

“Don’t you dare throw everything at me, I didn’t make you do anything-”

“When I was a kid, you were my hero. But I’ve learned your true colors since then. You’re nothing more than a selfish, cowardly, greedy, profiteer who’d do anything to get his turn in the limelight as a hero, even if it means using children to do so.”

Tony’s face goes cold, all of his most hated parts of his history thrown in his face by someone who was supposed to love him. “God, Peter, I’ve done everything I can to make sure you were okay-”

“Okay? I have nothing but you to take care of me now. I’d rather be on the streets than here another day longer.”

“You were the one person who was never supposed to betray my trust. I hate you.”

FRIDAY interrupts. “Boss, they’re waiting for you on the jet.”

“I have to go.” Tony already sounds like he regrets what he said, but Peter feels satisfied. He got what he wanted. “Fri, don’t let Peter leave the tower while I’m gone unless he has supervision. You’re grounded until further notice.”

*

It only takes all of a few seconds for Peter to break down. 

His knees hit the floor and he lets out a heaving sob, trembling like a leaf. He hates himself more than anything. He hates that he needs to throw everything away. He hates that he ruined the last relationship he had. He hates it all. He doesn’t know how to go on. He wants to be held. 

He wants Tony. 

But there’s no way Tony’s ever going to hold him or take care of him or love him after what he just put him through. 

He’s on his own.

*

He curls up in one of Tony’s old MIT hoodies on Tony’s empty bed, sniffling like a child. 

May’s gone. 

Tony’s not going to let him stay. 

He’s on a timeline now. It’s only a matter of time before Tony gets back and kicks him out. 

He calls Tony’s number again. 

There’s no answer.

*

It’s been three days. 

Pepper comes up to see him and he’s just as pathetic as before. 

“Hi, honey, is everything okay? Friday’s worried.” She comes into the room, sits on the edge of his bed, hand on his ankle. It soothes at least a little bit of his desperation to be touched. 

“I’m a monster,” Peter sniffles in response. “I yelled at him, I said all the things I promised I never would, I told him it was his fault. He hates me, he said so.”

Pepper sighs, she’s almost worse with emotions than Tony is, too tactical, logical, rational. “He doesn’t hate you, Peter. He loves you more than anything. He knows you’re having a rough time.”

“No, you should’ve heard him. He hates me. He’s never going to forgive me.”

“Fri, patch us through to Tony, tell him it’s an emergency.”

Peter sits up suddenly. “It’s not, Pepper, don’t bother him, I’m just being-”

“Pep?” 

“Hi, Tony, can you talk some sense into your kid?”

Tony doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “Kid, I got upset the other day, and I’m sorry. I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You could literally murder me with your bare hands and I still wouldn’t hate you.”

“I was so mean.” He sounds like a petulant child, demanding to be heard, to get yelled at. “I called you- I said some awful things.”

Tony sighs. “Listen, I can’t talk for much longer. I’m not mad, kiddo. I was so angry after I lost my parents, I lashed out at everyone and everything, including myself. And I think that’s what you’re doing to. You didn’t do that to hurt me, you did it to hurt yourself, and I’m sorry I let it get to me. You can push me away for the rest of your life, and I will never not have your back.”

Peter curls up tighter in his bed like somehow his sheets will protect him from the world of horrors around him. He sniffles again, pulling Tony’s sweater up to his nose to breath in the soothing smell of motor oil and expensive cologne. 

“It hurts.”

“I know, kiddo,” Tony murmurs, as gentle as ever. “Over time it’ll get easier, I promise. It won’t always hurt as bad as it does right now.”

Peter’s pillow is damp beneath his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“I know, bambino, it’s okay. You’re more than forgiven, alright? I’m going to be home in just a few more days. Just hang in there.”

“And I get to stay.” It’s not a question, it’s a simple statement. Tony doesn’t hate him, he’s not going to kick him out for his outburst. “Thank you.”

“I love you, kid, no thanks needed.”

Peter sniffles, mouth wobbling, breathes in the hoodie’s smell of home, says, “I love you too.”

*

Peter cleans himself up. 

It all feels like chores, like it takes all his effort to do the once simple tasks like showering, getting dressed, tidying a bit, eating. But he feels a little more human once he’s done. 

And by the time he’s a few episodes into a comfort TV show, Tony’s arriving home. 

“We finished up quicker than I thought and-”

Tony’s got an armful of teenager before he can even blink an eye. 

“I’m so sorry,” Peter says, breathless and desperate. There’s a hand in his hair and a kiss pressed to the crown of his head and he feels like he can finally breathe. “I didn’t mean anything I said, I’m just, I’m so sorry.”

“I know, kiddo, trust me, I know.”

Peter lets out a sigh of relief. “And you promise it’ll get easier?” 

“I promise, and I also promise that I’ll be there every step of the way.”

Taglist:  @littlemissagrafina  @spideyspeaches @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @misskirkstark @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10 @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 @loveliestdisappointment @joyful-soul-collector @genderfluid-and-confuzled @fallenstar07 @gyurolls @sdottkrames @you-did-it-sir @not-today-thx @fandomstuffff {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

#lyss writes #lyss answers #peter parker #tony stark #irondad #irondad fic #iron man #spiderman #pepper potts #irondad and spiderson

[kalinara]

It’s Rip Hunter appreciation week!   

I admit, I thought about skipping it.  I’m not much of a fic writer (one a year has been my average) and there’s only so much meta you can write when you haven’t watched a show for three years or so.

But what the heck.  People do more with less.

So today’s prompt is “Time Wants to Happen.”

-

I know that Legends of Tomorrow is a time travel show, but I’ve always been disappointed at how disorganized they are in terms of portraying the effects of time travel and changes in the timeline.

Rip killing George Washington was a big deal.  But the team killing a Tokugawa Shogun ten years early (during the height of anti-Western exclusionism no less) had no effect at all!

A part of me assumes it’s just because the majority of the showrunners don’t give a shit about Japanese history.  But that’s the kind of thing that should change things.

Amaya’s village being saved brought Mallus forth (and wiped out the entirety of the Vixen tv show and I’m not completely okay with that), but apparently they killed of Spartacus recently and nothing happened?!

I’m not entirely certain about the latter part, because as mentioned, I haven’t been watching.

But it does remind me how one of my hopes for the Time Bureau, before it became a cardboard cut out obstacle for Sara and Ava’s grand romance, was that it might address some of these contradictions.

There are folks who STILL, to this day, refer to the Time Bureau as some kind of “betrayal” of the Legends.  This is infuriating for so many reasons, not the least of which being that the Legends were actually trapped at the end of Aruba/beginning of Aruba-con in a collapsed time anomaly, and only got out because Rip had created the Time Bureau and got them out.

The idea that Rip might have created an organization to handle the day to day management of time in a structured, orderly and most importantly ACCOUNTABLE fashion was a good one.  And if the show had thought about it, it would have been the perfect way to explain how the Legends can go around careening from event to event, fucking up history, without wiping themselves or civilization out entirely.

Tokugawa Iemitsu dies ten years early.  Oops.  But what if there’s someone who could recruit/hire a shapeshifter, or an android, or something like that to take the guy’s place so that history could stay on course for the next ten years.  Easy fix.

Heck, it could make the whole “I am Spartacus” idea darkly hilarious if they ended up replacing the prematurely dead guy with a duplicate.

There are so many ways that the show could have used the Time Bureau without interfering in the Legends’ unique mayhem.  

And there’s room for conflict, because sometimes bad shit happens.  And sometimes the Time Bureau will have to facilitate that because that’s how history is.  But sometimes there’s wiggle room.  This was something I thought the show did really well with Zari’s origin and the Helen of Troy episode.  I could imagine Rip, and other like minded individuals, working to find places where the timeline could bend or be nudged to allow more people to be saved, or more catastrophes to be avoided.  And perhaps sending in the Legends to bash it all into submission while keeping plausible deniability.

Missed opportunities, I guess.

But I suppose in the end, I think that’s what Rip’s probably doing now.  There’s no time bureau anymore, but Rip’s still out there.  (Comic Book Rule #1: no body, no death).  He had those pellets in Return of the Mack, so maybe he sets off the drive, freezes time with a pellet, slips out in Eobard Thawne’s old time sphere, and goes off to create a bunker in Arizona with a shit ton of chalkboards.

Every time the team does something like let Spartacus die much too early, I’m going to assume history doesn’t implode because Rip fixed it afterward.  It works for me.

#rip hunter #RipWeek #Rip week day one

[wyn-n-tonic]

Golden, Like Daylight -- Part II

Word Count: 1,846 Warnings: References to drug use. PTSD. Ben Affleck. As always, if I forgot anything please message me and I'll amend this warning. A/N: Protect Francisco Morales at all goddamn costs, honestly. 

MASTERLIST | PART: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX

“Fish?”

He cringes inward at his military nickname, it rips at his heart hearing it drip from his best friend’s mouth now. This man he would die for, almost has died for. None of the others had called him that in years, he insisted on Frankie with them. But he’d barely heard from Santiago, had no way of telling him.

He hears the words he’s saying, same shit he always says:

“I need a pilot. I can’t do this thing without you."

Years of that shit pulling him into another tour here. A deployment there. Again and again. Long after he served his sentence and was free to go.

“I don’t know, man. I got the new baby now,” he beams. Santi didn't know Luna and all Frankie wanted to do was tell him about her but he holds back, opting instead for, “And my lady isn’t into my doing this kinda shit anymore.”

He looks back at Will, a knowing look exchanged between the two. He is begging for his brother to step in, say something. Save him. He’s throwing Leah under the bus but, fuck it, it’s true. She isn’t into him doing this kinda shit anymore. And she wasn’t the biggest fan of Santi, always coming up with shit to get the rest of the boys into.

“Wha—what does that mean?”

Frankie lets out a breath he feels like he’s been holding all day and stands, knowing he’ll start shaking if he doesn’t. The knee bouncing is getting out of hand but he was hesitant to seek out anti anxiety medication while detoxing. He’d just sweat it all out anyway. Santiago’s droning on behind him, hell bent on staving off rejection.

“Did you read the text? This can change you and that baby’s life forever.”

Leave it to Santi to exclude Leah, he wasn’t necessarily her biggest fan either. But to just gloss right over her? Didn’t even fucking ask Luna’s name.

He crosses his arms, “What happened to that bullshit about going back to your mother’s homeland and empowering the people to police themselves?”

Santiago stares him down, a power grab of a laugh escaping him.

“Anyway, I lost my license. I can’t even fly right now.” Please just drop it, please just drop it, please just drop it.

Benny’s wrapping his knuckles. William’s looking between the two. And Santiago? Santiago is closing the space between them.

“I don’t need a pilot with a license, I’m in with the army down there,” he says as if that makes things better. It doesn’t. He knows it, Frankie knows it, the Millers know it. But if there’s one thing Santiago Garcia gets, it’s his fucking way.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Frankie’s firm, he’s not fucking doing it this time. He’s worked too goddamn hard on everything. Built a life out of rubble and was this close to pissing it away, he’s not gonna seal the deal on Leah’s promise to go.

Santi paces, frustrated, “Lorea is destroying that country. So we get to take out a very bad man, and, oh, by the way, there’s a winning lottery ticket stuck to the bottom of your cowboy boot.” He says that last bit with a mock tone and he’s smiling, believing he’s got Frankie now. A bit of a tease to rile his best friend up, get him laughing, get him in it. “Every guy in that gym would jump at this.”

“Come on, focus, guys! It’s fight night.” —————

“Hey!” He catches up with Santi in the hall, “I didn’t mean to call your shit bullshit.”

He didn’t, really. He knows where Santiago’s coming from but he can’t be the one in the thick of it anymore.

Another of those cool, indignant laughs, “It's all right.”

“I got busted,” Frankie says coolly, like he’s letting you know he left the light on, “it’s not a big deal.”

Santi’s head snaps to the right.

“Actually,” the taller of the two continues, “It's a big deal.”

“Coke?” Santiago’s trying not to let Frank’s addiction shock him, scoffing, “Jesus, Frankie.”

“Technically, it’s a suspension, I’m still under review but… it fucked everything up with Leah. I’ve been detoxing in Will’s spare room for weeks.”

“You’re telling me she didn’t know before the suspension? I don’t buy that.” Frankie tried to ignore the venom in his words.

“No, she knew. We’ve been in couple’s counseling while I’ve been getting clean, she said she didn’t know it was as often as it was. Just thought it was a hit here and there.”

“So things are good still?”

Frankie takes a deep breath, “We seem to have gotten back to good but that’s not where I wanna be, Pope. I wanna be great.” He looks to Santi and then Will, “What about you? What are you gonna do?”

There was no doubt in the world where Benny stood. He’d follow Santiago into hell. He pretty much had on more than one occasion but Benny always was a wildcard. Will was too calculated for that bullshit, he needed a plan. He needed foundation under his feet, not just charisma and Frankie would follow him. Frankie owed him his life. Will was the one to convince Frankie to hang it up. The one putting a half dead Frankie in cold showers and pumping his fucking stomach on no sleep. Will was the one Leah called when Frankie got too close to the edge. His brother, Luna’s godfather.

“I said if Redfly’s in, I’m in.”

Fuck! Fucking Tom. Frankie takes his hat off, adjusts his hair. I fucking hate Tom. —————

“Tom is not in our wedding,” Leah glared down the kitchen island at Frankie, arguing again about the goddamn wedding party. She didn’t even want it anymore. Had thrown her hands up, on more than one occasion, and begged to just run down to the courthouse.

And it all circled back to Tom fucking Davis.

“We served together for ten years, Leah! It’s a bit fucked up to have the rest of the boys up there in tuxes, Tess as our flower girl and Tom is,” he flails his hands out, “Three rows back with that one coworker who brings you coffee every Friday.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d let Tom sit that close to the altar, Francisco Morales. And next to Alexa? She is my angel and Tom Davis will be nowhere near her, do you understand me?”

“Then marry Alexa, babe!”

Leah put her hands on her hips, “Bitch, I might.”

He breaks and laughs, lifting his hat to rub at his forehead, “What do you want me to tell him then? You have plenty of friends who could be a fourth bridesmaid.”

“How about you drop Benny too?” She shrugs, “Just keep Will and Santi and I’ll keep my sisters. Two and two.”

He throws the hat on the counter, “YOU LOVE BENNY!”

“You're right, baby,” she laughs, eyes bright. A challenge on the tip of her tongue. "Drop Santi.”

He charges after her, ready for her words, and chases her through the house. Their house. Still nowhere near unpacked after a month and he’s cursing the unintended obstacle course he’s laid out for himself. She’s making quick work of it but, fuck, he’s out of shape.

He runs up the stairs, back screaming with every step as he gains on her. It helps his legs are much longer than hers.

She makes it to the bedroom, spinning to close the door but he grabs her before she can, pinning her down with all his weight. She insisted on the nicest sheets they could find and almost never made the bed, preferring to fall right into the softness without much work.

He ran his hand down her body, drumming his fingers in a soft rhythm until he reached her thigh, hitching it over his hip.

Her heart was still racing from the chase but Frankie felt it tick upwards as he placed his lips on her neck.

“Francisco,” she whined, “we can’t do this right now. We have to do grown up things.”

He smiles into the soft skin, “this is grown up things.”

“You know what I mean.”

He looks up at her, “hmm…” He’s got her right where he wants her, none the wiser as he reaches down to her knee and—

“Frankie, what are you doing?” Her voice comes out an octave higher, panic in her eyes pleading with him not to when the corner of his mouth crooks upwards and—

He digs his fingers into the soft flesh at the bend of her knee, smile blown wide as she screams out like a hyena.

“Stop! Stop!” She laughs through labored breaths, “baby, it was just a joke.”

“You're not funny,” he lulls with a kiss.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” her eyes filled with hurt and conviction, “I'm hilarious so… ya know, jot that down.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“But Tom fucking Davis is not in our wedding or I swear to god, Francisco Morales, I will call the whole goddamn thing off. It is my day and I’m not having his big Irish head in my wedding photos for the rest of my life.”

He laughs again, “Fine. But what should I tell him?”

“Tell him I fucking hate him.”

“You don’t hate anybody, baby, I don’t think you’ve got that in your heart. Be serious with me, please. What do I tell him?”

“Tell him,” she thinks for a second, because she absolutely does have the capacity for hate in her heart, “that I can’t choose amongst my friends for a fourth bridesmaid and so I just want to keep the party small with only my sisters.”

He seems satisfied by that, nodding his head. “But I am keeping Santi.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“But…”

Her stare is like daggers, “I’m not talking about Tom anymore.”

“No. No, it’s not that,” he’s laughing, his life is all laughter now. “I just still think we should set Pope up with Kristyn.”

She’s pushing out from under him, sitting up for the higher ground. Her finger is in his face, her words are measured, “If Santiago Garcia even so much as looks at my little sister, I will do what so many have tried and failed to do before.”

“And what's that, sweetheart?”

“I will kill him.”

The whole bed is shaking with his laughter now, “You're right, baby, you’re hilarious.” —————

Will’s in front of them now, hands on his knees, “What's the verdict?”

Tom looks at Frankie, then to Will, “I'm in for the recce if you guys are.”

The world goes quiet, replaced by a high pitched ringing in Frankie’s ear as he downs the world’s shittiest beer.

Fuck.

“Fish?” Santiago’s voice cuts clear through, always had.

Frankie lowers the plastic cup, “When is it?”

“We leave Thursday.”

Fuck.

Again, he lets go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, staring off into the ring. Staring off at nothing and everything.

“Okay.”

This could change his family’s life forever.

Fuck.

TAGLIST: @justanotherblonde23 | @greeneyedblondie44 | @icanbeyourjedi | @notcookiebelle | @princess76179​ | @bbuckysbeardd​

#i believe in francisco morales supremacy #francisco 'catfish' morales #okay but frankie was actually baby #frankie morales #triple frontier #god i'm really posting another fanfic before bed and dipping i love y'all #fanfiction #pedro pascal #santiago 'pope' garcia #william 'ironhead' miller #benny miller #tom 'redfly' davis #charlie hunnam #oscar isaac #oc #ofc #original character #original female character #fanfic

[thevindicativevordan]

Any thoughts on Grant Morrison's Action Comics run? Beyond T shirt-and-jeans Superman being great.

That whole run reinvigorated my love of the character.

There have been numerous thoughtpieces about New 52 Superman, how he worked and how he didn't but these two entries really do a great job of summing up why Morrison's take on Superman was great. Morrison laid the foundation for a new generational Superman that DC completely fucked up and ran into the ground. I'll always be bitter about that, even if I had tapped out of reading the New 52 Superman books by the end due to how bad they got. Editorial and their idiotic mandates were what screwed over the potential of this take in my eyes.

Now I get that it wasn't to everyone's taste, but I cannot fathom how anyone could ever claim that Pre-Flashpoint Superman was better. If you liked Byrne's reboot better, your guy already got rebooted after Infinite Crisis. For someone like me who really enjoyed the Johns/Busiek era, that era's potential got spoiled after Johns & Busiek left, with New Krypton imploding and the awful Grounded taking it's place. When you get to the point where the best Superman book is the one starring Lex Luthor, it's time to reassess the franchise and figure out where the hell it went wrong.

Which is exactly what Morrison did. For this new Superman, Morrison mined all the best ideas of every Superman era to really give what I consider the ideal "base" for Superman. They also took pains to address common criticisms about Superman, working to correct his pop culture image. People have been complaining that Superman is "too perfect", "too unrelatable" for a long time, so Morrison addressed that. They gave Superman his balls back, and let him reacquire that Golden Age edge he had originally.

There are a lot of complaints you can make about Morrison's Superman, but I don't see how you could accuse this guy of being "flawless" or "bland". He definitely had a personality that you could describe, love him or hate him. Compassionate, but not a pushover. Clearly holding himself back, but unafraid to occasionally let loose. Flaws that were patently obvious, Clark had a temper here that could get him into trouble. There was a real showcase of anger here, of Superman being furious at the way people were treated by the rich and powerful, then doing something about it that I ate up.

I read this run just as I was coming into my teens and it hit perfectly for where I was in life. Did not want a Superman who would smile and tell me it gets better, I wanted a Superman who looked you in the eye and told you he felt that same anger, and then encouraged you to go out and do something about how you felt. That was what this run delivered in spades, and it expanded what I believed could be done with Superman.

While it totally blew my mind to see Superman acting this way the first time I read Morrison's Action Comics run, in retrospect it really isn't that different from how Superman has acted even under Byrne. One of the few traits I've seen carry across Superman incarnations in the comics is that he has a temper underneath that affable nature. "Don't tug on Superman's cape" as the old song goes. This run simply elevated that to the forefront of the character again, for the better in my eyes given I believe "Wrath" is Superman's Deadly Sin.

In fact, one of the strongest features of this run is that Superman gets actual character development over the course of the run, analogous to what Batman underwent in Morrison's Bat-Epic. While the Bat-Epic was merely Morrison re-canonizing Batman's entire history, and applying a retroactive character development storyline that culminated in Morrison's current Batman work, their Action Comics run had them attempt to craft something similar for Superman from scratch. What that meant was Morrison attempting to draw on the most important traits of every Superman era and incorporate those into this new take. So Superman had the Golden Age temper, compassion for the oppressed, and cockiness. The Silver Age supergenuis, proud scion of Krypton who cherished his Kryptonian nature, member of the Legion of Superheroes, and participant in stories that weren't afraid to get weird. Superman's wrestling with his place in the world, the importance of Clark Kent, and making journalism a key part of the character strike me as all being hallmarks of the Bronze Age. From Post-Crisis we got that Clark views himself as human and loves his adopted parents, considering them as equal to his birth ones.

One of the big frustrations for me with the endless origin stories for Superman, is that so many of them follow a predictable and stale formula where Clark puts on the suit and is essentially ready to go. Doesn't interfere with human affairs, is modest and humble, restrained in usage of his powers, it's like Clark has meta knowledge of what he "should" be, despite that he shouldn't have any foreknowledge of what a "superhero" should look like. He operates the same way at the start as he does in the modern day, and that's really boring to me. This Superman, because of the difference in powers and attitude, operated extremely different from his "present day" incarnation. Dangling Glenmorgan over the edge of a building isn't something a fully powered and mature Superman should do, but it works great to make his early days different and exciting to read about, it makes returning to that era something you can do different storytelling with. This run is the only time where I really cared that Superman is "supposed" to be the first superhero, because figuring out what that means here is a big part of how he develops.

We all know the common complaint that Superman is "too powerful" and that "nothing can hurt him" (funny how Thor never gets hit with those accusations), so Morrison made sure to show that this take on Superman could be beaten even if he could never be defeated. Events conspired to force Clark to use his brains as well as his powers to overcome the challenges in front of him.

Examples include him using his heat vision to fry Lex's equipment and escape the military, using his rocket ship to defeat Brainiac, and rallying the population of Metropolis to banish Vyndktvx. Not to say that Clark never used his brains before to win, but this run was very upfront and in your face about how important Clark's intellect is to triumphing over his foes. Can't take seriously the complaint that Superman is too overpowered when Morrison constantly showcased how even a very powerful Superman could get his shit wrecked by his Rogues.

Another example of Morrison addressing criticisms is Kryptonite. A lot of people poke fun at how convenient it is that pieces of Superman's homeworld follow him all the way to Earth. Isn't that a bit of an asspull? So Morrison made Kryptonite the power source of Superman's rocket, giving it a perfectly natural and believable reason both for it to end up on Earth, and for Lex & the military to get a hold of it since Pa Kent gave the military the rocket. That's still my preferred explanation for how Kryptonite ended up on Earth.

It also provides a better explanation for all the different Kryptonite variants. DC can handwave away the different types as a result of Lex experimenting or the different "forces" on Earth such as magic or the Speed Force or whatever creating the different variants. That to me is much more believable than Kryptonite travelling all across the galaxy yet still ending up on Earth somehow.

There have also been a lot of complaints about Superman's villains, and Morrison diligently set about reworking them. By far one of my favorite aspects of the run, was the villain revamps. Nimrod felt like a clean revamp of Terra-Man, making him into Superman's Kraven the Hunter struck me as a patently obvious route to go, wild no one has followed up on that or used him since. Metallo felt like a good synthesis of Johns take of him as an Anti-Superman weapon, and the sympathetic aspects of Corben's origin that are always there, I liked that Morrison didn't make him a total bastard before his transformation like Johns did. Brainiac got some sympathy added to him in that the collected worlds that were already marked for damnation, thus he was "saving" them in a fashion. Clay Ramses embodied toxicity as a wife-beater even before becoming Kryptonite Man, and I thought his backstory was a great way for Clark to still deal with "real" issues via a manner he could punch. Ramses is still the best take on Kryptonite Man. Vyndktvx felt like the greatest realization of the threat Mr. Mxyzptlk could pose should he decide to get serious since Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, plus I'm a sucker for stories where superheroes fight the Devil. Drekken and Superdoom took the only interesting aspects of Doomsday (his ability to evolve and that he can kill Superman respectively), and were much more interesting characters.

And oh my God, speaking of Superdoom, that part of Morrison's Action run has aged like fine wine. I don't know if they caught wind of DC's plans for the character, or if they were just prescient, but everything that Superdoom is playing on is still sadly all too present. What Superdoom is as a character is a condemnation of what DC keeps doing with Superman: killing him off or making him evil.

When you realize what Superdoom (demand for a more violent and "realistic" Superman) and Vyn (WB/DC) stand in for, it makes the frustration Morrison is channeling much more palpable. Those two plotlines are all DC can think of to do with the character, returning to those again and again. Endlessly attempting to recapture the high of Batman and Doomsday beating the shit out of Supes in The Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman. Overcoming these two obstacles is Superman's greatest challenge as conceived by Morrison, because both are out to corrupt and ruin the very idea of him. It's not just a physical death he faces, but a metaphysical one as well. Sadly it's a threat Superman just can't seem to lick in the real world, with more and more takes on "Evil Superman" coming.

Lois and Jimmy are great here, because Morrison actually made the investigative journalism aspect of Superman important. Lois is an active participant in the story, trying to break in to the base where Clark is being held by her father, competing with Clark for stories (I love how Morrison writes the banter between the two of them), and generally being classic Lois. Jimmy though benefitted from being positioned as a peer rather than as a kid in comparison to the two, something I wish the comics had carried forward. It looks like My Adventures With Superman is going with that interpretation at least, so I hope others do as well. Jimmy being Clark's roommate really adds to their bond, and I wish we had gotten more stories with that status quo.

Investigative reporter Clark Kent was so actively used here that it feels jarring reading other Superman runs where they tend to downplay and ignore it. Following Clark as he travels to different areas of Metropolis and actually interacts with people, instead of hovering above them as Superman, makes him feel human. Watching Clark actively pursue stories aimed at bettering peoples livelihoods, and seeing how those stories crossed with the superheroics, was one of my favorite aspects of the run. It's one unfortunately few other writers seem all that interested in, especially the New 52 writers who followed Morrison (I know editorial probably bears a lot of blame for that though).

Besides all that, this run was a lot of fun! The Legion of Superheroes showed up, their connection to Clark restored, and they got to play a big role in Clark's adventures! Krypto the Superdog! Martian colonies! Memorizing all of medicine, Superman performs a lifesaving operation! Lex using a "bullet train" to knock Clark out! 5-D imps! Rampaging robots from beyond! A Phantom Zone Halloween story! John Henry Irons suits up as Steel and kicks ass alongside Clark! Every Superman Rogue teams up to try to kill him, but Lex Luthor saves his life because that's a privilege he reserves for himself! Showcasing their trademark love for the Supermythos, Morrison took us on a tour of Superlore that demonstrated the depth and width of what could be done with Superman. Meanwhile the backups by Sholly Fisch excelled at giving us smaller, more human stories about Superman (the one where Clark meets Pa again via time travel "after" Pa has died always gives me a lump in my throat to read).

Ultimately this didn't get to be the foundation for the next generation of Superman stories as it deserved. Johns made New 52 Superman the scapegoat in Doomsday Clock for a lot of storytelling choices he did over in Justice League, something that pisses me off to no end. You want to tell me that this guy "didn't relate" to people, didn't inspire "hope"?

Like hell he didn't. This guy was Superman in every way that mattered and he deserved better than to be framed as the scapegoat for all the stupid decisions DC made about what to do with him. Greg Pak was able to do some great work with this version after Morrison, and just like how Gene Yang got a redemption work starring Superman, I hope to one day see Pak return to the character. Would love to read a Black Label Superman story by Pak that follows his take on young Superman.

All wasn't lost however. Against all odds, and Rebirth trying it's damndest to sweep everything under the rug, it looks like parts of this era have actually survived to the current Infinite Frontier era. With Morrison being heavily involved no less, both as an ideas guy and as an actual writer.

Superman & the Authority is explicitly Superman coming full circle back to the attitude displayed by his young counterpart under Morrison. Janin has outright said that the costume Clark wears here is reminiscent of the t-shirt and jeans era of Superman, and this book so far feels saturated with an energy level from Morrison I haven't seen in their work for hire since they left Action. Reaching old age and realizing he never really delivered on the high ideals of his beginnings, it's Superman putting together a team to hopefully succeed where he couldn't alone. Scathing in how it criticizes the superhero status quo, this has been extremely entertaining to read. Wish Morrison was writing 12 issues with this team, and that ultimately it will be up to PKJ to deliver on the potential is a drawback (although I've loved PKJ's Action run so far), but I'm glad to see DC finally treating Morrison and their ideas with more respect than was shown during Rebirth.

Jon meanwhile feels like an even more explicit attempt at redoing New 52 Superman. There's the updated new suit, designed to appeal to a new generation with it's streamlined look. Positioning Jon as a Superman who wants to tackle the "real" issues, with Taylor explicitly comparing him to Golden Age Superman which as I mentioned was an era Morrison tried to reincorporate into their reboot. There's the Legion of Superheroes connection which played an important role in Morrison's reboot. The rumors about Jon's sexuality are interesting, hinting that DC is willing to go outside the box with him in a way they never would with Clark. I'm excited to see what kind of Superman Jon ends up becoming, if he can deliver on the promise of the New 52 Superman all the better.

This run deserves to be remembered and to have the lessons it tried to teach respected. Probably my favorite mainline run on Superman, I hope more people come around to liking it as time goes on.

#superman #grant morrison #action comics #new 52

[mika-13]

So, with the help of the wonderful @wandering-horizon, I came up with a Legend of Zelda / Linked Universe AU where every Link is a Zelda species that isn’t Hylian So here’s what I came up with and how it influenced their respective stories

Sky - Rito

When Skyloft was raised above the clouds by Hylia, the Rito were already there

The Rito helped the Hylians get accustomed to life above the clouds and the two species quickly came to rely upon each other

Link is born a Rito and grows up on Skyloft, where things are pretty similar to the original story, he is best friends with Zelda and studies at the academy to become a knight

When Zelda disappears beneath the clouds, he draws the goddess sword and follows her

Things continue on quite the same way as in the game, just with Link wielding the sword with both his "hands" and foot claws, because him flying around and cutting down enemies at the same time is just really neat

He also pecks out one of Ghirahim's eyes at one point because he can

Four - Minish

I've had this headcanon, that the Hero of Men, the one before Four who made the picori blade, was actually a Minish who came through the Minish door (which transformed him into a Hylian for the time) to protect Hyrule

So yeah, basically that

Link is Ezlo's grandson who is also an apprentice with Melari and when Vaati goes rogue he helps his grandfather in defeating him

I imagine him being really confused by being so tall at first and that he still retains some Minish like traits

Time - Kokiri

Link is an actual Kokiri in this, with Navi as his fairy

His life in the Kokiri forrest is pretty peaceful, though Mido still bullies him, because he's best friends with Saria and Mido is jealous, until the Deku Tree calls for him

The Kokiri Emerald allows him to leave the forrest unharmed and so he goes to help Zelda

The rest of the story is pretty much the same, except that he doesn't age when he goes into the future, because he really is an immortal forrest child this time around

Let's just say that Ganondorf is pretty angry about being beaten by a 9 year old

At the start of Majora's Mask when Skullkid steals the ocarina and Epona, he also imprisons Navi in a bottle

Tatl is kind of shocked about that and that plus the fact that she can sense his Kokiri nature result in her trusting and liking Link much sooner

Link manages to free Navi when he gets back his ocarina and from then on it's another adventure, this time not just with his mom but also with his newly acquired older sister Tatl

Twi - Twili

His story is quite different from the one in the game

With him growing up in a completely different world and such

In the beginning he lived a relatively simple life, getting by by doing odd jobs for other people

When Zant staged his coup and started turning helpless Twili into Shadow beasts, Link tried his best to help people escape in time

Zant really didn't like this and sent the beasts after him

Not wanting to fight his people, he ran, stumbling onto the portal to Hyrule

Eventually, Zant caught up to him and tossed him out into the light in the hopes of killing him

Instead of dying, Link is saved by the triforce, which transforms him into a wolf which let's him survive in the world of light

He knows he needs to defeat Zant before the usurper can destroy both Hyrule and the Twilight realm and so he sets out to free Hyrule from the Twilight

The light spirits give him their protection and with the master sword he gains the ability to keep his Twili form even in the light

Of course he also travels with Midna, though he meets her later in the story

Also he obviously knows who Midna is, since the name and the vast amount of magic she possesses is kind of a giveaway

Legend - Zora

He's a sea Zora, so he's different from the rather mean ones in his Hyrule, since their tribes lost contact a long long time ago and he looks more like an ocarina of time Zora

A pink one

He washes up at the beach one day when he's still a tiny little kid and a Hylian man (his uncle in the game) takes him in and raises him

He has to deal with a lot of crap from people because he's Zora and most Zora in his Hyrule just really like spitting fire balls at people

It's also why people don't believe him when he goes out to help Zelda and say he's kidnapped her instead

As for Kohilint, the storm hits him when he's out looking for his family and Marin is also a Zora

He ends up being afraid of storms at sea after that whole debacle and just kind of avoids the ocean after it

Hyrule - Fairy

What can I say, he's the original fairy boy after all

He's not just a regular fairy though, but a very young great fairy, young enough that his usual form isn't that different from a regular fairy

However, he possesses a lot more magic and even has the ability to grow to Hylian size for a time, enabling him to wield sword and shield and fight the various monsters and Ganon

One of the reasons he travels so much is the fear of being bound to a single place once he's grown up, being a great fairy and all and he wants to see all much of the world as possible before that

Wind - Korok

He lives in the forest on outset island and is best friends with Aryll

Once Tetra shows up and Aryll gets kidnapped, he decides he needs to go out and save her

So he asks Aryll's grandma for the sword and shield (grandma is kind of surprised since it's the first time she's ever seen a Korok and she wasn't quite sure Aryll didn't just have an imaginary friend) and sneaks onto Tetra's ship

She discovers him, being able to see him even when he doesn't want to be seen, triforce of wisdom and such, but she's so impressed by him being able to sneak onto her ship that she lets him stay

He has fun with the crew, flying over Nico's obstacle course with Korok magics, and infiltrates the forbidden fortress

From there on it's much like in the original stories though everyone is really surprised and shocked that a usually peaceful forest fairy can wield a sword with such devastation

Needles to say, Ganondorf is even more surprised when he's stabbed in the face this time around

Wars - Gerudo

He's Gerudo, he's trans and he's here to end Ganon's whole career

He isn't a Hylian soldier in this but a Gerudo warrior and the first part of the war takes part without him

Which also means that it isn't going too well for the Hylian forces and Ganon revives way faster

The Gerudo haven't dealt much with the rest of Hyrule for many decades, but they take the return of Ganon in the form of a Gerudo as a personal insult and immediately join the war, turning the tide, especially with War's proving himself to be an unrivaled warrior as well as the hero

Wild - Sheikah

With all the Sheikah tech in his game it only makes sense

Before the calamity, he was Zelda's personal bodyguard, the way Sheikah often are for the royal family

Him and Zelda got along pretty well, having known each other for a long time, but they sort of drift apart once he draws the master sword, as Zelda envies him for his easy his destiny came to him, and he kind of struggles with the burden of the whole world, as his life was kind of all laid out for him before the master sword

Once the calamity strikes everything goes pretty much the same way, but his interactive with the yiga clan are way more intense this time around, because he's a Sheikah as well as the hero

So yeah, there you have it, my personal Zelda AU

I hope you like it

#legend of zelda #loz #linked universe #linkeduniverse