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#I have also never targeted anyone in particular
astraystayyh · 6 months
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We recently learned in our media class about the four indicators that reveal a country's use of propaganda to justify its actions/build a national and international consensus over its stance. This is exactly what Israel is doing now. Please read this to learn more about the Israeli propaganda (with sources) :
i. Establishing a distinct "us" versus "them"/"the others" divide: The Israeli media has been actively engaged in crafting a narrative that portrays Palestinians as sub-humans and animals, that deserve to be killed, butchered, and deprived of essential resources such as water, electricity and fuel. This dehumanizing narrative serves to rationalize the grave atrocities committed against Palestinians, reducing them to mere statistics, rather than acknowledging them as fellow human beings who have the right to be protected as well.
A recent example of this dehumanization (that encompasses children as well) is Israel's Prime Minister's words in a now-deleted tweet, on Oct 16, stating: "This is a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle."
This is also a common practice in Western media as a whole. In the context of conflict, the choice of words plays a significant role: Israelis are often described as "killed," and Palestinians are referred to as having "died" (example of BBC). The distinction can be seen as a way to omit Israeli responsibility, portraying the deaths of nearly 10,000 Palestinians as a result of circumstances beyond its control, rather than the outcome of deliberate and targeted actions.
ii. Use of emotion instead of logic: a stark example would be the whole international outrage that was first sparked due to the false claim that Hamas had beheaded 40 babies. This fake news was confidently shared by U.S. President Joe Biden, who later admitted that he had never actually seen any pictures of such events, neither did anyone in the IDF because there was never any instance of 40 beheaded babies (source) (also trust me if Israel did have any pictures of killed children they would not hesitate to share it)
CNN journalist who first shared this fake news has later apologized for being "misled." (which isn't the case that was a conscious choice of the news agency but that's another conversation)
Israel knew what it was doing by sharing this particular false information, they knew that the simple imagery of such a horrifying notion, even without concrete proof, would be a strategic tool to garner international support through emotional manipulation.
They are still trying to use emotion when it comes to children particularly to sway the public opinion : Israeli government spokesman has shared images of "fallen teeth of burnt children." This post has been debunked by dentists, pointing out many contradictions in the pics that conclude that these are props and not the teeth of actual children found in rubbles. (source)
(Meanwhile, there are factual documented videos and pictures of dead Palestinian kids and babies, decapitated, injured beyond belief, tangible proof of the war crimes Israel commits and yet the public outrage isn't the same, because Israel has already established that Palestinians are lesser people)
iii. Attempting to Influence Both Elites and Ordinary Citizens: In addition to their efforts to secure international support from world leaders, Israel has employed a multifaceted approach by spreading advertisements that regular civilians view. These ads serve to rationalize their actions, and they are strategically placed ahead of unrelated programming, including children's shows or games.
This tactic aims to integrate their ideology into various aspects of our lives, in order to promote their agenda and inundate us with recurrent pro-Israel messages. This strategy capitalizes on the psychological principle that the mind tends to retain information it encounters most frequently. (a more detailed video explanation)
iv. media manipulation tactics : For example, the night before Israel bombed the Baptist hospital in Gaza killing more than 1000 people, BBC published an article with the headline "Does Hamas build tunnels under schools and hospitals?" giving way to a "justification" for the heinous, war crime act that is bombing a hospital, under the guise of targeting Hamas hidden bases.
The use of the Israel-Gaza war as a headline for the news leads us to believe that this is a war with two equal (or slightly disproportionate) parties who are both able to defend themselves. Whereas this is a genocide led by Israel (a powerful military with international backing by the world's most powerful nations- U.S, U.K, France, Germany.. to cite a few) and CIVILIANS. Because those are the people that Israel is targeting, by bombing hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, refugee camps.
It is a genocide, an ethnical cleansing, an attempt to eradicate entire families, then to relocate the survivors out of Gaza, making it impossible for them to reclaim their land, and resulting in a total takeover of Palestine by Israel.
Another manipulation example (because there are so many) is the first and most prominent question that many Western journalists ask their guests: "Do you condemn the attacks of Hamas on Oct 7?"
This question completely disregards the root of this entire conflict, which is the 75-year ongoing colonization of Palestine. By omitting all the previous crimes against Palestinians that led to the attack (the killings, the wrongful imprisonments, the torture, the stealing of land…) these 'journalists' actively manipulate the public opinion, portraying the Hamas attack as unprovoked, when you cannot possibly expect a colonization to have 0 resistance.
And an honorable mention to the zionists who are trying to morph the anti-Israel stance into an anti-Jew one. This isn't about religion, I've said this once and I will say it again, Jews around the world are condemning the actions of their government. Just recently, Jews were arrested in NYC for standing against Israel. (source)
This is a humanitarian cause. We're humans, this is the one denominator factor that unites all. We read about previous genocides in history. We wondered how people could support the killings of innocent people, men and women, and children and babies. It is happening right now again, and media propaganda plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions.
I couldn't include everything here but please, I urge you to use your critical thinking. Don't believe everything the media tells you, and this is coming from a graduated journalist. We learn about propaganda and how to counter it, which also means we learn about how to manufacture it.
So don't be gullible, boycott the companies who support Israel (mainly HP, Siemens, AXA, Puma, Israeli fruits and vegetables, Sodastream, Ahava, Sabra. check BDS for more information) and urge your governments to support the ceasefire. We have a voice and we should use it, even if we're uncomfortable, even if we're scared. Do it. By staying silent you become complicit in genocide.
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daycourtofficial · 5 months
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Use Somebody
Summary: you and Lucien have to pretend to be together, causing a fight between you and a certain shadowsinger. You discover too late that you’re a wanted aspect to an evil plot - can Azriel save you in time?
“We could have (y/n) and Lucien do it.” You overheard Rhysand saying as you walked into his study.
“You could have me and Lucien do what?” You ask, biting into your apple.
Rhys turns to you, tutting so you don’t bring your apple too close to his desk, “we need someone to attend a ball in the winter court. Azriel’s picked up some rumblings, and Kallias has asked if we could help. We’ll all be attending, but we need you and Lucien in particular to do some recon.”
You stop mid bite of your apple, still confused on the plan. “But Lucien and I aren’t spies, we’re just court nobility.”
“Which is why you two are perfect - you’re nobility to two different courts, autumn and dawn, so the two of you mingling wouldn’t be too suspicious. Plus the two of you are very good at socializing at these events.”
“So you want to send us to go to a ball to do what exactly?” The idea still making zero sense to you.
It’s Azriel who speaks up, “he wants you and Lucien to pretend to be together and get close to a few targets, see if you can find anything out.”
You look at Azriel, and he looks pissed. You’re not sure if it’s because he just returned from the war camps, at this plan, or if he doesn’t think you and Lucien are capable of spywork. The idea of disappointing Azriel made your stomach drop to your pit.
Rhys interjects, “you and Lucien have been friends for centuries - it’s a believable cover. And you’re talented with glamours - you could even glamour a mating bond scent over the two of you.”
You reply, “We attended tons of events together when we were younger - but anyone from one of those events would know we were lying.”
“It’s been hundreds of years, anything could have happened. Besides, I can provide you with a guest list to look over, ensuring you don’t know any of the guests.”
“I don’t know, Rhys…” you drawl.
Rhys sighs, “it’s one night. Do you think you could do this or not?”
You think it over for a moment and decide that you can, Azriel’s hesitation at your involvement be damned.
-
The irony wasn’t lost on you. You and Lucien pretending to be a couple when the two of you are pining over Azriel and Elain, who seem to be a couple. Cassian disagrees with your assessment of the situation - he’s convinced that Azriel has feelings for you and that Elain is just a friend, but you’re not so sure.
Lucien’s voice stirs you from your thoughts. “Wouldn’t our lives be so much easier if we were mates instead?”
You laugh, the idea having crossed your mind a time or two. “It certainly would be. We’d also have adorable babes.”
Lucien laughs, “those poor, beautiful babes, shame they’ll never exist.”
You two laugh, trying not to think of the heartache too much. Your own pining aside, all you want is happiness for Lucien. Pushing it aside, you two begin crafting your story: you’ve been married for two years, living in dawn for the time being, but you two want to explore all of the courts before deciding where to settle down permanently.
-
“You look lovely, dear,” Lucien tells you. If you two were going to pretend to be in love, you wanted the both of you to look incredible. Lucien’s wearing a green jacket with brown pants, and you’re wearing a deep green dress, with exposed boning and a thigh slit practically at your hip, exposing your entire left leg. You had gone a step further, embroidering a tiny fox onto Lucien’s jacket’s lapel and a matching one onto the shoulder strap of your dress.
“Thank you, you look very handsome as well.” And he did. The shade of green you selected for both of you matched both of your complexions and honestly, you two looked hot.
“What should our mating bond smell like?” You ask him.
The two of you think about it, ultimately deciding on a combination of smells: apples, fresh tea, and honey, the scent filling the room.
“Incredible work - I must say, you are a fantastic fake mate, darling,” he says, offering his arm to you. “Likewise, fake mate,” you say, tipping a pretend hat in his direction and placing your hand in the crook of his arm, walking out of your room.
-
Rhys had given you one main objective: talk, mingle, dance, drink. The hope is that you and Lucien can overhear something or that someone will inadvertently tell you two lovebirds something they don’t mean to.
The two of you take the dance floor, the band playing a slower song, one you and Lucien have danced to thousands of times, the rhythm ingrained into your mind over a centuries worth of balls.
You loved dancing with Lucien, the two of you fell into easy rhythm and garnered a ton of attention whenever you found yourselves on the dance floor. The two of you made a striking couple, and your dress looked incredible as he spun you around the floor.
Through the dips, the turns, and the spins of the song, you made sure to keep eye contact with Lucien as much as possible. You looked into his russet eyes, but all you wanted to find was hazel ones staring back at you. You’re sure Lucien was hoping the same about Elain in your stead.
The song ends and the two of you garnered more attention than you thought you would, and all the attention made you blush. You stepped away from your friend to get some wine, almost crashing into someone.
“Saffron?” You ask, incredulously. Rhys had been able to provide you with a full list of everyone attending, to ensure no one you knew was attending, but you didn’t see Saffron’s name anywhere on that list.
She looks at you, wrapping you in a hug. “It’s been so long! Of all the people to run into at one of these things, I’m not surprised to see you!”
She pulls back, looking you up and down, noticing the fake wedding ring on your hand. “And who’s the lucky male?”
Saffron knew you and Lucien when you were younger, so she knows there’s nothing between you two. You could either lie and try to skirt away from her, or tell her the ‘truth’ of this mission.
“It’s Lucien - we got married a few years ago actually!” You say, not sounding totally convincing.
“Lucien? The red head you were always with?” She asks, almost laughing. “You two always seemed more like siblings than lovers.”
You swallow, worried your entire night is unraveling because of her presence. “It was a surprise for us too! But one day the bond just snapped-“
“Wait, you two are mated?”
“Yes,” you reply curtly.
“I had heard he was mated to another girl and she rejected it.”
Her knowing that has definitely thrown a wrench in the plans. “Um, the rumor mill must have been working overtime. There’s no other girl, it’s just us.”
She looks at you, something odd flashing in her eyes, before she decides to leave it be. “Anyway, it was great running into you - congratulations!”
You thank her before she walks away and you can let out a breath of relief.
-
After running into Saffron, you spent hours dancing, mingling and drinking. You walk outside onto the balcony, telling Lucien you need a moment of fresh air. The noise level of the room was getting to you, so you thought you’d step out for a moment.
The moment the door shut behind you, Azriel emerged from the shadows. You startled, not expecting him to pop out.
“Hi Azzie,” you say, your nickname making him recoil. “Should I be seen talking to you, since.. ya know?” You ask, unsure of how spywork worked completely.
“So you don’t want to be seen with me, but you have no problem being seen all over Lucien?”
His question catches you off guard, and you look and notice just how angry he looks, anger directed at you.
“That’s not what I said at all, besides you know why I’m all over him tonight,” you reply, looking to make sure no one can hear this conversation.
“Yes, but you sure jumped at the chance to spend the night wrapped in his arms, didn’t you?” He moves closer to you, the two of you less than a foot apart, facing each other.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about - he’s my friend and he’s mated!”
“But she hasn’t accepted it yet,” he states.
“So?” You ask, “to me he’s mated, he’s off limits. Besides, I’m not in love with him, I don’t have feelings for him!”
The four glasses of wine weren’t a problem in the ballroom, but they’re a problem out here, making this conversation even more confusing to you.
“If the two of you want to parade around about how happy you are, why don’t you find another court to go do it in, and stay out of mine,” Azriel practically growls at you.
Your soft, sweet Azriel is growling at you. You’ve never been on the receiving end of his anger, but it terrified you.
He wasn’t getting it, he wasn’t getting that you didn’t want Lucien, you wanted him.
You sighed, trying not to let his words sting too much when you say, “maybe we will.” and storm back into the party.
-
After your fight with Azriel, you got considerably more drunk. At the end of the night, you and Lucien walked back into the palace together, laughing, him holding you up from the excessive wine you drank. You’re about to tell him something, when someone catches your eye.
“Hi Elain!” You say, pointing out Elain to Lucien.
“Hi,” she says to you, but she won’t stop looking at Lucien, “is it okay if I have a moment alone with Lucien?”
“Yes, absolutely, excuse me,” you say, brushing past Elain. You turn around giving Lucien a thumbs up and a smile, showing him it’ll be okay.
You walk into the kitchen, looking for more wine, when you bump into Cassian. “Owww,” you say, rubbing your arm where you bumped into him.
He laughs at your obviously drunken state, and tells you, “you did good tonight, doll.”
You look up at him, “yeah? Do you think Lucien and I could be spies now? Do you think Azriel was proud of us?”
Cassian’s caught a bit off guard by your question. “Why wouldn’t he be proud of you?”
You sigh and look at your feet, “because when Rhys asked us to do this assignment, he looked so upset, like he didn’t think we could do it.” You’re not sure why this is spilling out of you, but it’s started pouring and it won’t stop. You look Cassian in the eyes and ask, “what’s wrong with me, Cass?”
Cassian can almost hear his heart shatter at your question. “Why would anything be wrong with you?” He asks, grabbing your wine and going to get you a glass of water in replacement.
You slump your head down on the kitchen island and mutter into your hands, “why am I in love with someone who hates me and loves someone else?”
Cassian starts to panic. He’s good at consoling when you’re injured, but you’re heartbroken. This is uncharted territory. Usually you talked about these things with Mor or Feyre, not the giant Ilyrian next to you. “Who?”
You lift your head up, and he can see tear stains running down your face, “your dumb handsome brother.”
If you didn’t look so sad, Cassian would laugh at how you said that. “Wait, what did he tell you? Did he make you think he doesn’t care about you?”
“I thought we were friends, Cassian,” you choke back a sob, “I don’t know what I did, but he hates me now. He wants me to leave the night court… and maybe I should.”
Before he can say anything else, you get up and tell him, “I’m done, Cassian. It was hard, but I could bottle my feelings if we were friends.” You look up at him, and Cassian doesn’t think he’s ever seen such heartbreak on a face before. “He hates me now, and I still love him. Maybe I should leave the night court for a while, leave his precious court like he asked me to.”
Grabbing a bottle of wine as you pass him, you head upstairs for the night.
Cassian was a violent man. He’s been in countless fights, multiple wars, several battles, but seeing you so upset over his idiot brother made him rage in a new way. He stomped up to Azriel’s room, flinging the door open, and pulling the sheet out from under him, causing him to fall to the floor. “What the f-“ Azriel starts to say, but he’s cut off.
“Are you in love with Elain?” Cassian asks.
“You woke me up to grill me about my love life?” Azriel asks, more confused by the second.
“Answer me,” Cassian practically growls at the shadowsinger.
“No, okay! No. I’m not.” Azriel says, still sitting on the ground where Cassian hurled him.
“Are you in love with someone else? Someone who just spent the night pretending to be in love with someone else in the hopes that you would approve of her?”
Azriel blinks in confusion. “You had me. Then you lost me. It doesn’t matter - I saw how she looked at Lucien.”
Cassian did not have time for Azriel to begin wallowing. “Have you ever thought that while she was looking at Lucien, he wasn’t who she was seeing?” He pauses for a moment, then says, “you better talk to her before morning.” He kicks his brother for good measure then storms out.
-
Azriel got the courage to go to your door half an hour later, but you didn’t respond. At first he thought he had just gone too far, but when his shadows whispered gone, gone, gone to him, he knew something was wrong. The room was empty, and he could smell blood on the duvet covers. He told Rhysand mind to mind what was happening, and decided the best source was the last male he wanted to see: Lucien.
He started banging on the door to Lucien’s room, when the redheaded male finally opened the door. Half-dressed, with Elain hiding under the duvet, Azriel gets to the point, “did anyone tonight give you the impression they wanted to hurt her?” Lucien opens the door a little wider, asking Azriel a question he doesn’t want the answer to.
The shadowsinger sighs. “She’s missing, and her room shows signs of a struggle.”
Lucien begins asking a million questions, when Azriel stops him. “Rhys and I want to talk to you about every person you met with tonight.”
-
Lucien walked them through your night, including when you had left for a few moments to go on the balcony. Azriel flinched at the memory, his jealousy getting the best of him in the moment.
Rhys was about to ask him to go through a few people again, when something catches Rhys’s eye.
“Lucien,” Rhys says, “your fox is glowing.”
The fox you had embroidered on his jacket was glowing. It glowed for a moment, and then they heard your voice, confused and drunk, and another voice, projecting from the fox.
“Clever girl,” Lucien whispers.
-
You woke up in a dirty cell, Hybern shackles adorning your wrists. Your head was throbbing, the blow to the head really rattled you, and you’re still drunk. There’s a small window, and the moon is still high in the sky, so you don’t think you’ve been out for too long. You do remember the fox you had embroidered on your clothes, and you hope that, since the magic was sewn into it, it would still work despite the shackles. You place your palm over it for five seconds, and you just hope and pray that your enchantment will actually work.
The door to the cell opens, and in comes Saffron.
“Saffron?” You ask, confusion over your features. “What is happening?”
“Everyone always talked about how smart you were - why don’t you put the pieces together?” She asks, her disdain for you icing every word.
“Okay, I’m still drunk, and someone hit my head, but let’s see.” You pause, thinking about everything you know about Saffron. “We went to school together, you liked… magic classes. You liked knowing what magic could do.” You pause for a moment, something wanting to come to the surface of your thoughts. “You were interested in my powers. You once called Lucien weak. You like oranges - okay I’m getting a bit off track.”
You start thinking again, your head pounding from all the thinking.
“I saw you at the one hundred year reunion, and you worked for Kallias, documenting the magical capabilities of fae….” You trail off, your head still pounding, begging for you to go to sleep.
Your eyes snap up, “you got in trouble in school for using arcane magic on the grounds, but you were only suspended for a while. Then fifty years after the reunion Lucien told me he had run into you and you were with… uh.. that guy..” you start snapping to remember, “Wren! You were with Wren!”
Your mind is whirring, so many thoughts swirling around in your drunken haze. “Wren was that ugly guy who.. you dated him.. and..” there’s something there with Wren, but what is it?
“Wren always wanted to eat at that place on the corner that served soup. Wren wanted to be an arcane magic scholar, but they wouldn’t let him,” you pause, slurring a bit while you point at Saffron, “and you two got in trouble, but he was expelled!”
It didn’t matter that you were drunk, the wheels in your brain were turning. “You once told me after a break up that you don’t want love, you want power. And Wren was obsessed with ancient power rituals. He talked about them all the time.”
The idea hits you as you say it out loud, “it’s a full moon tonight.” Your thoughts have sobered you up instantly. “It’s the summer solstice, the strongest night for arcane magic,” your voice gets really quiet as you say, “and you’re going to do something. But what?”
She looks at you, egging you on to realize what she wants. But what does Saffron want? Power. Power. Power.
“You told me I was the most powerful of our year.” You swallow, realization hitting you to your core. “You’re going to take my powers.”
The silence hangs in the room. If your fox communicator worked, then you imagine the room is dead silent there too.
Saffron slowly claps. “There she is, brightest of our age. Oh how all of our teachers adored you,” she says, crossing the room to you, “it was incredible running into you at the party. Once I heard you were attending, I had to swoop in so I could see you. I slipped some faebane into your drink while we were talking so I could subdue you. My sweet, there’s one thing about the ritual you don’t know.”
She leans in closer to you, when she says, “we won’t just be taking your powers, we’ll be sacrificing you, which is a bit more extensive, but it allows for us to also take your knowledge and your memories.”
Your eyes snap up to hers, “no, no!”
“Your memories will teach us all we need to know about your little night court companions,” she laughs, walking towards the door to leave you alone with the revelation. Right before she’s out the door, she wants to tell you one last thing, “I always thought your powers were wasted on the likes of you. You could have been a queen, you could have given the high lords a run for their money.”
-
Everyone was dead silent, waiting for more news from the fox, but it seems like your captor left you alone. By this point the entire inner circle was in Lucien’s room, and tears were streaming down Mor’s face. She approached Azriel and said, “you have to find her, don’t you usually keep a few shadows on her at all times?”
Mor talking to him broke his concentration on the fox stitching, embarrassment flooding his senses. “No, I don’t, not tonight.”
“Why the hell not? You don’t even let her go down the street without a few extra shadows, but you let her do mission work unguarded!”
Lucien looks up at Azriel, realization coating his features, “She was upset about something after she came back in from the balcony, and she got plastered. You got in a fight and called the shadows off, didn’t you?”
Heat creeps up Azriel’s face, at both the mention of your incredibly dumb fight and the fact that his entire family was looking at him, aware of how badly he messed things up.
Rhys is the one to break the silence, “you told me you could behave, Azriel!”
“And I thought I could! I just.. I had a moment. A lapse in judgement.”
“A lapse in judgement!” Cassian cries, “she was crying to me because she thought you hated her! She thought you’d never want to see her again. She told me she might leave because it’s what you want from her!”
Mor gets to Azriel first, swatting him on the chest after every word she says, “what” swat “did” swat “you” swat “do?” swat.
Azriel lets her hit him, he more than deserves it. He can’t believe his stupidity in calling his shadows away from you, something he did out of pure anger at watching them dance around you on the balcony.
He starts to respond, when a shadow comes barreling in through the window, hitting Lucien on the head as it comes to inform Azriel of what it just found out.
-
You had been hopeful that the fox would be more helpful, but you’re thinking the magic didn’t work. Still in your party dress, you move around the cell a little. The witching hour is getting close, so you know they’ll be coming for you soon.
The cell opens and in comes Saffron and two huge males. “I brought some back up in case you tried to run,” she practically purrs at the idea, likely imagining them beating you half to death.
“Great,” you say. You follow them down the hallway, and the thought does skirt past your mind, but you’re shackled at the wrist and the ankle, you won’t be able to run fast or far, especially without your magic.
They open up two doors to the outside - it’s a nice, cool night. The moon is glowing brighter than you’ve ever seen it, distracting you from seeing the wooden logs surrounding a giant pole. You breathe in deeply, wishing, willing your friends to come rescue you. Now is the time, you think.
One of Saffron’s goons leads you to the pyre, and you take this opportunity to swing your shackles at his face, hitting him right in the cheek. The other one grabs you from behind, allowing the one you hit to face you.
He grabs your face, “such a pretty little thing. Too bad we didn’t have more time, I could have had a lot of fun with you.” His insinuation makes your blood run cold, and he pulls back his fist and punches you squarely on the nose, and you can feel it break, the blood pouring down your face already.
He nods to the goon that’s holding you in place and he lets go, giving you a second of repreive, until the one in front of you grabs you by the neck, and holds you up in the air, cutting your lungs off from the night air. You start clawing at his hands, desperately trying to be able to breathe. Just as your vision starts going a little spotty, he releases you, and you fall to the ground, gasping for air.
The other goon grabs you, lifting you up onto the top of the pyre, tying your hands to the pole. You take one last opportunity and kick him in the knee. He goes down for only a second, when he comes back up he just looks at you and spits on you. You gasp, anger fueling you.
“Enough,” Saffron says, “enough. It is time, call everyone here.”
Within a moment, ten other fae come into the clearing, all staring at you. “We’re here today to take power that we rightfully deserve!” The crowd cheers. “We will take this power and use it for a better tomorrow!”
The crowd erupts in applause, honestly you had no idea a dozen or so people could be so loud. Saffron begins chanting in an ancient language, and despite the shackles, you try sending out an emergency message to Rhys and Feyre, if you’re going to come rescue me, please do it now.
She brings a lit torch to the bottom of the pyre, lighting it. You can feel the heat as more of the pyre catches. The fire is getting closer to your feet, and you start coughing at the smoke.
Their chanting continues, getting louder, and you can feel parts of you draining, even with the shackles around you. You start yelling, trying for any distraction to break the concentration on their chanting. If you’re going down in an ancient ritual, you are not going with grace.
“Hey fucker! That’s right! You, Saffron! Not powerful enough to subdue me on your own, you have to use these stupid shackles from Hybern! You fucking coward - I bet you couldn’t even handle my power! It would consume you and burn you alive!”
Saffron faltered a bit at your taunts, but the rest of the crowd continued, persistent. “Is she supposed to be your new leader? what has she promised you? Power? Money? Land? I have all of those things, and look where I ended up! She’s crazy! She isn’t going to help you, she’ll steal your powers too!”
The flames are skirting up the pyre, getting awfully close to the fabric of your dress. You pull your legs, trying to climb up the pole you’re tied to.
“She’s weak, I’m tied up like a roast pig because she’s nothing!”
The chanting falters for a beat, enough for you to feel some of your power seep back in. You’re still shackled and can’t use them, but that doesn’t mean you want them gone.
You start coughing, excessive smoke inhalation perhaps, but you keep going. “My friends are going to be so pissed when they find out you killed me!”
Saffron allows the group to continue chanting, while she looks at you and says, “The unwanted Vanserra boy? I promise you, dear, he doesn’t scare us.”
A darkness creeps into the clearing, and a voice speaks. “I promise you, I’m much more terrifying than the fox.” Azriel steps out of the shadows, darkness radiating off of him in waves.
You’ve seen Azriel angry before, but never like this. He is almost feral with his emotion, he’d still be terrifying without the mass of shadows rolling off of him.
A few shadows come to you, circling around you, as if assessing you.
Rhys, Feyre, and Cassian step out at other points of the clearing, circling around the fae gathered.
Cassian makes a break for you amidst the chaos, and their arrival momentarily made you forget that you are moments away from being a filet mignon.
“Cas, I’m drugged! No powers!” You yell, as he approaches you. The smoke is growing stronger underneath you, forcing you to cough.
The general had no idea what to do, the fire was growing rapidly by the second, so he did the only thing he thought to do and didn’t allow himself a moment to reconsider: he ran, charging straight at you. Running up the pyre, ducking down so his shoulder makes contact with your hips, his momentum is enough to break the pole you’re secured to, the two of you tumbling off the pyre. Your head hits the grass with a hard thud, but otherwise you’re unharmed.
Cassian pulls himself off of you, checking you for injuries, and stands up and starts stamping out the train of your dress that had caught fire.
Coughing, and still tied to the pole, you thank Cassian. He moves to the top of your head, pulling the pole out from behind you, allowing you to at least stand up, even if you are still shackled.
Your ordeal with Cassian didn’t allow you to see the fight, but the remnants lead you to think it was quick and incredibly painful for the fae that captured you.
Saffron and one other are missing, assumingly already being taken by Rhys or Azriel for interrogation.
Feyre comes over, crouching down next to where you sit. “Are you okay?” She asks, placing both of her hands on the sides of your face.
The weight of the night begins settling, and you look at her, “I almost died. They wanted my powers, my knowledge, my memories.”
“We know,” Feyre says, hugging you. You’re not sure how but as she hugs you she undoes your chains, freeing your hands. You use the freedom to wrap your arms around your high lady’s waist.
“If they had taken my memories and come after you all, it would have been my fault.”
“But you were so so incredibly clever with that charm on your and Lucien’s clothes, we were able to get here just in time.” Your head turns to see Azriel crouched next to your and Feyre’s embrace, having come up without your notice.
Your eyes meet his, the tone of his words working to calm you down. At least, to make you feel less guilty.
“Do you want to return home?” He asks, holding a hand out. You nod, and he scoops you up, the shadows enveloping you as you realize you never specified which home to go to.
You were relieved when Azriel’s room at the House of Wind comes into view, afraid he’d take you straight back to your familial home in dawn after the last words he spoke to you.
“I’m sorry I failed you.”
Azriel wasn’t a man of many words, so he liked getting straight to the point whenever he could. He kept you close to him, still holding your hands from winnowing.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I was dumb, and jealous, and you were looking at Lucien like how you usually look at me, and I got scared.” He sighs, “I shouldn’t have told you to stay away from my court.”
You nod, trying not to think too much about him calling himself jealous, especially saying he’s jealous over Lucien.
“I just,” he sighs, running his hand through his hair, “seeing you with him, it brought up all these feelings of inadequacy. I’m not court nobility, but you are, and I’ve never felt good enough for you for a million reasons, and that’s one of them. Not that I think Lucien deserves you, hell no, but you deserve someone that’s your equal.”
Your mind is still reeling from the wine and the concussion you’re most likely sporting, but you’re hoping you’re gauging Azriel’s words correctly. Otherwise this will be really awkward.
You take one of his hands, “and you are not my equal? I’m the princess of the dawn court, truly no one could be as equal to me as a shadowsinger. Or is it too on the nose for a princess of the sun to be in love with the man in the shadows?”
His grip tightens on your hand and he pauses before asking, “are you saying you’re in love with me?”
“Yes,” you reply, with all the tenderness this moment deserves. “And as for how I looked at Lucien,” you clear your throat, “I was thinking about you, not him. I spent the night pretending I was dancing with you.”
He looks at you, really looking into your eyes, trying to memorize your face, as he raises his hands to cups your jaw.
“Is it terribly cliche for the man in the shadows to fall in love with the woman who radiates sunlight?”
“Maybe a little,” you reply, “but I’ll allow it.”
You’re not sure which of you leaned forward, perhaps it was both of you. The kiss was full of night cool air and the feeling of the sun on your bare skin, his mouth enveloping yours.
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dollypopup · 1 month
Text
I think it's interesting to look at the 'Mr. Bridgerton' scene as a backdrop for the eventual mirror scene. Firstly, in the fact that I think we've kind of misinterpreted it.
So many people are of the mind that scene's purpose to 'drag' Colin, but really, that scene has 3 primary functions. The first is to inform Colin that Penelope is aware of what he said of her, thus opening the door to clearing the air between them and providing an avenue for which Colin can apologize. The second is to establish the ground that they are currently on: Penelope has given up on the dream of Colin Bridgerton, in particular the perfect prince that can do no wrong, and has made it clear to him. It also creates distance between them that they will bridge.
But the third, and to me the most wrapped up in the mirror and the inner workings of their relationship is that it reveals how Penelope feels about *herself*. It's not necessarily an echo of what the ton considers her as, after all, we have a lot of evidence indicating that, for all intents and purpose, people aren't *unkind* about her, but rather that they ignore her. Audience members recognize this as Penelope's own shyness being the cause, she is often sitting off on the sidelines or not really talking to much of anyone, in the books she's referred to as the 'one who doesn't speak', and her LW business takes her away from being a character in the action of the ton to a bystander, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts that perpetuates itself. Pen felt unseen so she became LW to have some power, but then LW herself must remain unseen and Penelope continues to be by design of her own making.
No, I think what it really reveals is that Penelope has incredibly low personal self esteem. We as a fandom has lauded that scene as her dragging Colin, saying that he's cruel and calling him Mr. Bridgerton is absolutely meant to create distance between them, but I don't think she's dragging him.
Because the person she is *actually* dragging here. . .is herself. And it is a general theme in her life. In Whistledown. Aloud. Even with Marina, when she complimented her, she assumes that she's lying. When Edwina says she's wearing a pretty dress, Penelope puts herself down and doesn't believe her, even when the compliment is genuine. In truth, Portia is not seen as being particularly unkind to Penelope. At least, speaking as someone who's mum was *awful* about my size and weight and outfits, Portia is. . .overall rather mild. She's not KIND and loving, not by a long shot, but she's also not targeting Penelope only. She's plenty mean and critical to Prudence, too, even to the point where she foists her off to her own cousin as a pawn piece. Penelope has low self esteem because of a lot of reasons, she's bullied by Cressida (I think a lot of girls are, she was pretty mean even to Daphne in S1) and her family isn't very tender to her, and she's not being pursued at every turn, but part of it is also her own perpetuation.
Listen to what she says "Of course you would never court me" "I embarrass you" "I am the laughingstock of the the ton". She sees *herself* as an embarrassment. She puts *herself* down. Arguably, more so than the ton does. She's meaner to herself than anyone else is, aside from Cressida. And honestly? Looking at Colin's face there. . .he is HURT that she considers herself this way. That she's projecting that onto him. Yes, he's hurt that he hurt her, of course he is, he never wants to hurt her. And yes, he's ashamed that he said he wouldn't court her the way he did and that in doing so, he validated her fears that she is unloved and unwanted, but also because. . .she already feels that way about herself. She's felt that way for years. And it's painful to care about someone, to see them as wonderful, and realize. . .they don't feel the same about themselves at all. I don't think Colin is out here feeling so wounded over the fact that she called him cruel and won't refer to him by first name anymore, but that he's most hurt by what she says about herself.
Because he *doesn't* see her the way she accuses. She says she never expected him of all people to be so cruel, but he feels the same way. He never expected her to be so cruel to *herself*. He wants to go somewhere private, not because she is an embarrassment, but because he wants to have a private conversation with her. Maybe assure her. Maybe explain himself. Maybe hash it out. But god Luke Newton's acting. . .he is *aching* for her. And it feels like he's going to do those lessons not in atonement for what he said (thank god) but to genuinely help his friend who thinks badly of herself. To lift her up. It's not about him at all, not about earning forgiveness, but about elevating Penelope. And that's. . .fuck, I just find that's just so heart stoppingly beautiful.
You can see, in that scene, how much he cares about her. How deeply and genuinely he adores her as a person. And just how painful it is for him to know he has validated, whether on purpose or otherwise, how poorly she feels about herself. How low her self-confidence really is. She is giving him a glimpse into the cracks of her heart, and when he sees them, he wants to reach out with both hands and make it feel better. Make her feel better.
After she says 'even when I change my entire wardrobe', he looks so fucking crushed. So 'don't say that'. So 'you really believe that?'. So 'God, I hate that you think that way'.
Because regardless of it all, he does love her. It's not romantic yet. It's not sexual yet. But he genuinely, truly, from the bottom of his heart, thinks she's wonderful. That was evident even in the 'purpose' scene. Every time Penelope opens up and reveals a facet of herself, he likes it. He likes her barbs and her dreams, he likes talking to her. He likes her. And he feels awful that he hurt her. And he feels awful that she's hurting herself. He loves her. He wants her to love herself.
And that's where the mirror scene comes in. Because the mirror scene isn't about sex, not really. Not entirely, at least. The mirror scene is about *intimacy*. The mirror scene is about being seen. Not just her seeing him, or him seeing her, but for Penelope to see *herself*. In a way, through his eyes. Because hers are biased rather negatively toward herself, which is evidenced in the 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene, and in so many little moments we've already gotten where she's literally looking down on herself, feeling down. She doesn't necessarily *like* what's in the mirror, but he does. Because he likes *her*. And he wants to show her that he does. Show her that he finds her beautiful and have her recognize that in herself.
The 'Goodnight Mr. Bridgerton' scene is about Penelope revealing how she sees herself. The mirror scene is about Colin showing her how *he* sees her. The Goodnight scene is about Penelope thinking she means nothing to him, that he thinks of her the way she thinks of herself, that this is how everyone thinks of her, and the mirror scene is a direct response to that: No, he doesn't. No, he doesn't think she's embarrassing. No, he doesn't think she's a laughingstock. No, he doesn't think she's unappealing. And he doesn't think she should, either.
And he's going to show her that. Not just tell her, but show her. The mirror scene is so often a focus on Penelope, so much of Polin is in Penelope's focus, but approaching it from Colin's perspective and his motivations is so fulfilling, too. It's a glimpse into them in conversation, and a demonstrate of how Colin loves her. How Colin loves in general, openly and earnestly and altruistically. How he encourages her to be braver and more confident in herself, bolstering her because he just likes her *that much*. How he finds the most fulfillment and satisfaction in caring aloud. The mirror scene is a demonstration of his heart in reflection.
When Luke Newton said the first word that came to mind with the word 'Mirror' was 'Exposed', he doesn't just mean physically. He means emotionally, too.
God this couple is so fucking good.
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amomentsescape · 7 months
Note
I would like to know what a slasher relationship would be like with a hybrid fem witch/vampire. Sorry if it makes no sense, English is not my main language
Slashers with a Feminine Witch & Vampire Hybrid
A/N: This a great Spooky Season Request!
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Freddy Krueger
He thinks it's hot, of course
Wants you to bite him just for the hell of it
His blood doesn't taste very good though (he's dead) so he tries to make up for it in other ways
Always brings home a body for you
But if that's not really your style, he'll happily come back with a jug of blood instead
Wants to see the types of spells you can cast
He turns it into a competition sometimes
You both go back and forth using your powers to change things around
Secretly wants you to use your powers on his victims with him during his murder sprees
If you enjoy feeding on bodies, he wants to be there to watch
Everything about it turns him on to be honest
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Michael Myers
Probably the most neutral of the slashers
He kinda just lets you do your own thing for a while
Is not too sure about you feeding off of him at first, but he secretly loves it now
He thinks your spells are pretty cool too, but he just doesn't show it much
Will definitely take advantage of your powers though if he is having trouble with a victim
He hates asking though since he very much wants to do everything himself
You insist on healing him whenever he is injured even against his objections
As long as you don't intervene too much with his killings, he lets you do whatever for the most part
Just don't kill his target first
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Jason Voorhees
Will definitely supply you with enough blood to last a lifetime
He's very giving with everything
You're hungry? He's sure he can find a lost soul in the woods
Need a certain plant for a spell? He'll keep an eye out for it while he wanders around
Likes to sit with you while you learn new spells and listen to you explain everything you're doing
Honestly, you being a hybrid makes him feel more comfortable
He knows that you can take care of yourself while he's gone
And you living within nature where people and animals pass through is perfect
Unlimited food and seclusion to work on your magic is exactly what you want
It's a win win all around
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Thomas Hewitt
When he first learns about what you were, he was honestly kinda confused
He had heard of witches, and he had heard of vampires
But only through a fictional sense
And even then, he didn't know that someone could be both
Would need you to sit down and explain everything to him
The whole family is supportive of your taste in food (clearly)
They just use the meat, so they're happy to give you all the blood first before going to work
They're a bit iffy about your spells and powers though
Satanic spells would be a hard no in their books
As long as you use your magic outside of their home, then they all couldn't care less on you being a hybrid
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Bubba Sawyer
You eat people? Cool, same.
But the witchcraft thing is going to take some getting used to
He grew up being told that all forms of witchcraft are evil
So you'll need to sit him down and explain everything you do
Has a weird fascination with watching you drink blood
The first time you casted a spell in front of him, he jumped
But just like a little kid in a toy store, he was quick to show his curiosity and want to see more of your spells
Slowly grows to love it
He has never met anyone supernatural before, so having you around is like living in a movie every day
Will go out with you to pick plants and herbs
May even help you set up a little garden out back
He has quite the green thumb
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Brahms Heelshire
His family was pretty religious growing up, so the witchy part is pretty concerning to him at first
The vampire thing is also a bit annoying
He wants to be able to sit down and eat a normal dinner with you every night
But your diet is very particular
Living in the middle of nowhere is nice since you can go out and find plenty of animals to eat if needed
But the lack of people and Brahms never wanting to leave the house makes it difficult for you at times
You probably have to venture outside alone a lot which he doesn't like
But when at home, he grows to appreciate your spells more
The home is clean in a snap, his food is ready in just a second
Definitely becomes even lazier and wants you to do everything for him
He's still a child at heart after all
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Norman Bates
He's honestly a little scared of you at first
Vampires and witches are in every evil tale, and he grew up correlating them with monsters
But he cares about you too much to let you go completely
Prefers for you to drink blood outside of the home
But if there happens to be a body left in one of the motel rooms, he's fine with you venturing in there and doing what you need
He just doesn't want to see it
You've tried using your powers to help clean the motels rooms, but he honestly prefers to do it the old fashioned way
Avoids telling his mother about you being a hybrid
He knows it will just be her screaming in his head every day if he does
He does show quite an interest in the different plants and herbs you collect however
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Billy Loomis
Doesn't really believe you at first
"Prove it"
When your fangs pop out and your spell is cast, he is quick to widen his eyes
"Do it again"
Has a thing for you feeding on him
He finds it quite pleasurable honestly and would rather keep the bite mark than have you heal it up
Likes to join you outside at night and hold you while you conjure up spells
May want you to join him and Stu during their sprees to help them out from time to time
Invites you inside whenever they're done with all their victims so you can eat
Lays in bed with you at night and watches you use your magic to make pretty light shows on the ceiling
Thinks it's sexy
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Stu Macher
Also needs you to prove it to him
Gets the biggest grin on his face once you do
"That's hot"
Likes watching you feed from his arm
Wants you to go to every killing spree with him and Billy
If you can't, he brings back a couple containers of blood for you
Watches supernatural films with you and constantly asks if each scene is realistic
"Can witches do that?" "No, that's clearly fake, Stu"
Wants you to use your powers to pull pranks on people in public
Also wants you to use your powers to help him steal things from the store
Buys you cute crystals for your room
Asks you to conjure up a puppy on a daily basis
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Eric Draven
Loves the aesthetic of it all
The candles, plants, night time adventures, everything
If you're hungry, Eric may beat up a bad guy and let you finish the job
Just don't kill anyone innocent (or cats)
Doesn't mind if you feed from him
Kinda finds it romantic and always holds you close to him, rubbing his hand down your hair
Likes to see the spells you can cast
The ideal night for you two is sitting out on the roof together, him playing guitar and watching you try out new spells and casting your magic
Likes when you use your powers to send him little love messages in the night while he's gone
Enjoys laying in bed with you and watching you create little images on the wall
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navstuffs · 11 months
Text
two weeks
Pairing: leon kennedy x gn!reader
Summary: "give me two weeks, you won't recognize her."
Warnings: songfic, SMUT SO MINORS DNI, sort sub!leon, confident reader
Author's Notes: if you know this song, you already know what's coming ;) this fanfic is also an ode to my queen fka twigs (so you can imagine the pressure i felt writing this lol). leon is also very lucky with me; first sade and now fka twigs? he is a lucky motherfucker man. enjoy your reading!
my leon's masterlist
"I know it hurts, you know I'd quench that thirst
(I can treat you better than her)
You say you're lonely, I say you'll think about it"
Like most things in your life, it doesn't start the "right" way. Yes, there is a date, but never a proper second or maybe third date, then a kiss. And at a particular stage of life, you didn't think you could seduce or date anyone. Even more so, your partner and friend Leon S. Kennedy. You had lost your touch or never really had one. And he was clearly in love with somebody else.
You had to hear about it occasionally if you decided to join him to drink. It bothered you more than it should, but you could do nothing about it.
And Leon Kennedy had the tendency to only "flirt" as a joke, anyway. 
The smiles, the flirty smiles in your direction. They started here and there, just a tiny detail you didn't think much of, figuring it was just Leon being Leon. Then, the flirting. As if you could call it flirting, the man straight invited you to dinner after you two almost died in the hands of a B.O.W.
Leon's priceless face, when you accept it, makes everything almost all worth it.
"Higher than a motherfucker, dreaming of you as my lover
Flying like a streamer, thinking of new ways to do each other"
Leon is unsure during dinner. You watch his eyes wander around the restaurant, never looking straight at your face. The menu has confusing names with food you have never heard of. Leon had chosen a fancy place he clearly never went, and also somewhere he wasn't comfortable. 
Later, after eating what you think was a snail with a weird tomato, you question why he brought you here. Leon mumbles he never thought you would accept it.
"Why?"
"I guess because you know...my situation."
"I know it hurts, you know I'd put you first
(I can fuck you better than her)"
Ada Wong? Oh, you knew their situation pretty well. You have heard more than once, actually: she and Leon seem to be connected to each other with a certain tension that never seems to die down over the years. This doesn't frighten you; you never ran away from a challenge. You preferred the harder ones anyway.
You wouldn't be stealing Leon from her since he was never his. And even if he was, it didn't matter.
"It doesn't really matter," You conclude, finishing your drink.
"Why not?"
"Because you could be mine at the end. We can't risk that."
The smile Leon gives you is all the answer you need.
"Feel your body closing, I can rip it open
Suck me up, I'm healing for the shit you're dealing"
You are bad, Leon realizes, really bad. It is the way you make him feel pleasure, the way look at him, fierce and daring, as if he is the only one for you. It makes him feel special, unique, like Ada never could. Not because she didn't want to but.
"Hey, eyes on me, Leon."
Your authoritative voice calls him back, and Leon feels a chill. He had only seen you concentrated like this during missions. Looking deadly and calm, Leon Kennedy is your target now. Leon shouldn't have invited you to his apartment, but he was curious. Curious to see how further you could actually go.
How you would make him yours.
It could be enough, Leon thinks, his hand pushing your head down into his hard cock. He likes to watch you suffocate and how good your lips are around his dick, your mouth wet and slippery, perfect for him.
After falling into bed, exhausted, Leon confesses, his face hidden by his sweaty hair.
"This...could work."
You smirk back. You could work with that.
"Smoke on your skin to get those pretty eyes rolling
My thighs are apart for when you're ready to breathe in"
You don't call Leon the next day. Or the other. He calls you on Monday night after a full day of behaving like nothing happened during the weekend as if you two remained just good co-workers.
He comes by your house, and you imagine he will want to finish everything. It would be typical of Leon to get afraid if someone got too close. Leon would apologize and argue it was all a mistake. His kiss as soon as you open the door silences your internal doubts. Leon Kennedy is there, and he wants you.
You take him to your bedroom, clothes falling on the way, and you ignore the little emotion you have when he looks so vulnerable under your palms. You suck him again because Leon Kennedy asks for it. It seems someone has gotten addicted to your mouth. 
"So good. Fuck."
You let him moan and tremble in your bed. A bed that you often imagined you would, one day, have Leon for yourself, just for you. His moans fill up the room, and you suspect you will never be able to sleep again without thinking about it.
"Suck me up, I'm healing for the shit you're dealing
High motherfucker, get your mouth open, you know you're mine"
You are at his house now, almost two weeks since this started. Leon has you under him, back against the mattress, legs spread apart. You look a mess, and he loves it. His hands rub your chest, giving your nipple a good squeeze, focusing on moving his hips against you. The way you liked. Oh yeah, Leon Kennedy, in less than two freaking weeks, knows precisely where to hit.
"Shit." He groans, his mouth open with his eyes semi-closed.
He looks sinful. If there was ever some God of sex around or a demon, Leon would be one of his forms used to seduce people. And he is trembling, shaking, panting because of you.
"Leon."
You must remind him to bring himself back and stop teasing you. He looks at you, and his blue eyes darken.
"What do you want? What do you need? You gotta tell me."
Oh, Leon, you think smiling. Still naive about whom exactly was in control there. He forgets sometimes you are as trained as he is. Taking him by surprise, you shift positions, sitting on top of him. Leon's dick goes further inside you, making you both groan.
"You forget Leon, I don't have much patience."
You watch as Leon Kennedy simply collapses in front of your eyes. It had been like this every night you had been together, Leon's expression changing to pure bliss. You think it was nice seeing him like this as you gently grab his face.
"Come on, you know what to do by now."
Leon licks his lips, moaning your name. He raises his hips up with ease, starting to meet your thrusts. You smile, victorious. After you both cum, bodies trembling, you can feel Leon examining your face as his warm hand rubs your cheek gently.
"We could do this if you still want me."
It is adorable how unsure he is still with himself, although his dick was buried deep inside you. As if you hadn't been banging your brains like crazy those last two weeks. But it is the first time he has been truly open.
You lick your lips, whispering.
"I know you aren't mine yet, but..."
"I want to be."
You look into his eyes, looking for any trace of insecurity from Leon. There was none, just the heavy stare of his confession. Leon reminded you of a younger version of himself, one you saw in a picture, his big blue eyes anxious and his face watching you. You knew you were in danger territory now: Leon was letting you in. 
"We could do this" Your voice sounds vulnerable and different from earlier. More emotional "It will be slow. We will take our time. No rush."
"Yes."
Leon Kennedy opens a smile that has you hide your face on his neck. You want more, much more, but for now, this is enough.
629 notes · View notes
moghedien · 3 months
Text
So someone is in your inbox asking for money
I'm not going to say that every single instance of this happening is a scam, but in my experience, random people following you and then sending you an ask to ask you to reblog a post or donate, they are almost always a scam.
You may feel bad about ignoring them or deleting the ask, but doing so is probably going to be the best course of action. Not only so that YOU don't lose money but so that you don't give the scammer access to you followers.
But how could you know that the person is a scam and not the one instance where someone really needs help? Let's go over some ways to check for signs of a scammer.
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this is the post I got in my inbox today. I've personally never dealt with this particular version, so I didn't immediately delete. I probably wouldn't have reblogged anyway, but I wanted to look into this specifically.
The first thing to do is go on their blog. In this instance, the post they want me to reblog is pinned, and it also has a donation link. I'm NOT going to click on the link because there is no indication at all to what this might lead to and I'm going to instead hover over link and see what url pops up
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in this instance, the url shows me that I'm going to be redirected to paypal. IMMEDIATELY a sign that this is a scam. people can still scam with gofundme and other sites like that, sure, but at least with those sites, there is some accountability in that you can see if the donation goal is being met or not. with paypal, you're just blindly donating, assuming that this donation amounts are what the person says they're at.
And also this is not to say that honest people can't use paypal for donations, sometimes that's the only option. But if you're going to donate to someone via paypal, you should at the very least be personally aware of who you're donating to and that they are an actual person.
But let's look deeper just in case. The next thing to do is look for other sketchy signs on the blog. So I scrolled through to see what they were blogging about otherwise, and there were red flags here.
Just glancing through the blog, I could see that they almost exclusively posted about Taylor Swift and the Mandalorian. They posted A LOT within the past day (this is why you should have times enabled btw) and exclusively from the same four or fives blogs.
But maybe they just post a lot. You can actually very easily see their posting habits by looking at their archive.
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We're going to go to the three dots and click "view archive"
You can also just type in "[username].tumblr.com/archive" for any blog and access anyone's archive as long as they have a public account. But what's the point of doing that. Well, in the archive, we can get a very quick overview of someone's posting habits.
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And here I've circled in red the first and last thing this blog has posted in the month of February 2024 (the month I'm writing this). You can see that both of those posts were posted on the same day. Meaning all of their posts in the entire month of February happened on the same day.
But what about posts outside of February 2024?
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Well there are none
You can sort posts by month and year and doing so for this blog shows that they ONLY posted in February 2024 and ONLY one day in February and it happened to be the day before I got an ask in my inbox asking for donations.
These are the most obvious tells, but there are other signs you can look out for.
For instance, all of their posts are without any sort of tags. They never comment on anything and their only original post was their one asking for donations. If you click on the search function in their blog, nothing comes up
There's also the fact that the blog is clearly targeting at making the people who WOULD care about someone needing insulin sympathetic. The fact that they use BLM, identify as a black man, have pronouns in their bio all are on purpose to make people who might care feel like this is a person who deserves help. the scammer is using your empathy against you. DON'T LET THEM. Be smart and always always think before you act, even if that action is just posting. You can help people in need without feeding the vultures that want to take advantage and want to use YOU to steal from your community
But let's just be REALLY REALLY sure this is a scam.
On whim, I copied the text straight from the ask in my inbox and put into google and then added "tumblr' at the end. You'll be shocked to know there were immediate results and not from this blog
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First one was a reblog from over a year ago. the exact same wording minus the cost of the insulin and the call to action at the end
I clicked on the original poster for this and the blog was cleared out!
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Minus them using the exact same photograph in their header as the blog that sent me an ask today, of course.
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The second instance I found was slightly different wording, but using similar enough wording that it can be assumed came from the same scammer. This came from another ask in an inbox, but the receiver rightly called them out as a scam. The post is from two months ago and the blog that asked it as been deleted outright
All of this to say, there are always scammers on tumblr, but there have been a lot recently. This one happened to not be posing as Palestinians in need, but a lot are (in that instance, Palestinian bloggers have been vetting who is and isn't real so you can always check to see if they're getting support or getting called out from actual Palestinians). They won't always use these methods and won't always been this obvious, so even if you don't donate to someone yourself ALWAYS be thorough in your checking before you reblog a donation post. Make sure the charity its collecting for is REAL and if its a person asking for money, make sure that person is real as well.
You can help people without getting scammed or giving scammers access to your followers, and not reblogging every donation post doesn't make you a bad person or mean you don't care. Its important to be careful, and not being careful can do more harm than good. it makes actual people in need look sketchy and takes away resources that could have been given to them. So if you aren't sure if something is real DO NOT REBLOG IT
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saffronwritesstuff · 2 months
Text
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐲
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Summary: When your slight gift of prophesy shows you an ugly future you’re faced with an impossible choice;kill the man you love or watch your world burn. Which will you choose?
Pairing: Luke Castellan x Apollo!Reader (gn! I think)
W/C: 3.12k
Genre: Fluff + Angst
Warnings: blood? A little violence✨ Luke might be ooc. Lack of capitalization.
A/N: HI EVERYONE! Welcome to my debut fic! I hope you all like it! Please lmk your thoughts if you don’t mind! I’d love to know how I did🫶
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As a child of Apollo you’d been both blessed,and cursed, with the gift to see a few minutes,hours,days or weeks into a person’s future just by touching them .you never knew which it was,just that it was their future. And from an early age,you'd learned to keep it a secret from your peers,claiming that you knew the questions on the pop quiz only because you'd done them on some quiz website and such. But the moment you'd come to Camp Half Blood and been claimed by the God of prophecy himself,it’d been harder to conceal your ability.Especially when the futures you'd seen weren’t particularly pleasant. There’d been multiple occasions where you’d bump shoulders with an unsuspecting ares kid only to see yourself and your team getting your asses absolutely hands to you in capture the flag.But Luckily you hadn’t seen anything life threatening yet.No deaths,No fatal injuries.Just Little (not so) Fun Facts About The Future.
But all your secret keeping had come to an end the moment you'd met Luke Castellan. Both you and the brown (blue) eyed son of Hermes had come to camp at around the same time and while spending time in the Hermes cabin,waiting to be claimed,you’d forged a strong friendship.Both you and he had come from similar backgrounds,what with your mother being a raging alchoholic and his being schizophrenic. You bonded over the experiences of having an unreliable parental figure and having to raise youselves.However the way in which your stories diverged was that while he ran away from home,you’d been kicked out for being a ‘leach on your mother’s resources’ you’d gladly left and although you struggled to survive alone,you had found your way to Camp with the help of a satyr who also became your close friend.
The day you’d been claimed was both the worst and best day of your life,You’d hit a bullseye on a moving target on your first try during archery practice and Luke has pointed to the glowing lyre floating above your head.The other kids of the Apollo cabin who’d been close enough to witness the event ran over to hug you and welcome you to your,rather extensive,family.You’d Moved your things the very same night and while you now spent a little more time with your half-siblings,you and Luke still spent your free time together,you shared your dreams and aspirations witrh each other,his being to go on a quest to prove himself to his father,Hermes, and yours being to be a world class archer.As weeks became months and months became years,the two of you grew closer and closer.
He eventually confessed to you after you’d just beaten him in one of your sparring sessions. At first you thought he was joking,but the longer you watched the look of slight hope in his eyes,you knew it wasn’t in fact a joke.You dropped your sword and helped him up,all the while watching as he seemed to deflate at the fact that you’d blatantly ignored his confession.You turned to leave and just when Luke has started making his way after you,you tackled him to the ground and kissed him saying, “look ya long enough scar”
you’d started calling him by that particular nickname after you’d both watched the lion king 2 together. You had remarked how you found kovu’s scar kinda hot. At the time he’d asked you if you found him hot for his scar and you merely shrugged it off,hitting him with the remote and it’d just become a sort of an inside joke. But you were the only one he ever let bring up the little trophy he’d earned on his quest,anyone else who even tried to comment on his scar only ever got a glare,which said enough about how he felt about it.
After you accepted his confession the two of you basically became the power couple of the camp,the best swordsman and the best archer,a deadly combo on the field and an adorable couple on the daily.
But the day a kid called percy Jackson had come to camp,you’d begun to see a subtle change in Luke’s behavior. Sure,to the untrained and unassuming eye,he seemed to be himself,just plain ‘ol friendly Hermes cabin counsellor Luke Castellan.But you noticed how he seemed to be just a little more jumpy,a little…scared? You were worried to say the least,but you didn’t really say anything.Your mind went to your ability…could you use it to see what was bothered him? “no…seeing his future probably wont tell me jack…” you’d told yourself while sitting in your usual spot under a tree near the strawberry fields.You were re-reading your copy of the odyssey,a present from Luke for your 1 year anniversary,how he’d gotten it,well you didn’t need to know. As you waited for him,the seconds turned to minutes and the sun had begun to set.Tonight was capture the flag and you figured he was just telling the new kid how it was all going to go down. So, closing your book you walked back to your cabin to get ready.
After you were fully decked out in your armor,you headed down to the pavilion and took your place beside Luke,ruffling Annabeth’s hair and saying hello to Percy in the process.Luke bent down to give you a kiss on the cheek,causing you to turn a slight shade of red, before placing his arm around your waist and pulling you closer. Thank the gods the Apollo and Hermes cabins had allied themselves with eachother this time,you hated having to fight against Luke although that didn’t mean you held back when you found him to be your opponent. As Chiron was explaining the rules you looked over to Percy, he looked a little nervous and you reassured him that he might not get that badly hurt,though you could make no promises. The game started and you and Luke took off in the direction of what you thought was the Ares flag. You wove through the forest,trying not to make a sound. And when you finally found the flag you silently disarmed the flag bearer using an arrow while Luke rushed in to grab the flag.You hi-fived eachother and sprinted back in the direction of friendly territory. As you followed luke,you were suddenly tackled by a burly Hephaestus kid.Luke turned to defend you but you stopped him. “GO! I’ll be fine!” He hesitated but nodded and kept on running. Jumping to your feet you pulled out your dagger and expertly fought your opponent,using your ability and hoping on your father that it showed you the kid’s upcoming moves and not his future life.Luckily,it worked and you were able to predict his attacks and push him to the ground. You silently thanked your father before turning and running in the direction in which you’d seen Luke go.
Upon your arrival you heard your team’s ruckus cheers. You all celebrated and when you turned to Luke to give him a sweet victory kiss,you were stopped by a loud howl ripping through the sounds of celebration . And suddenly,you were all firing arrows at a hellhound. “How’d that get in here!” you called over to your half-siblings who all shrugged and kept firing arrow after arrow. Eventually the hound fell dead but Percy was badly wounded,Luke was at his side in an instant and with him so were you. You watched as percy stepped back into the creek and his wounds just vanished. “there’s no way…” you said,your voice trailing off. You looked over to your boyfriend to see him looking just as surprised as you felt, “looks like there is.” He said. And when you turned back over to percy,sure enough there was a smokey green trident floating above his head. Chiron came forward and said aloud what you had all been suspecting,after which you all knelt before Percy Jackson;the Son of Poseidon.
After that day Luke seemed to be overly nervous.he fidgeted more and his mind drifted off more often,sure these were signs of his ADHD,hell you had them too,but something felt wrong.
When Percy,Annabeth and Grover got sent on their quest you and Luke sent them off,him giving Percy the winged converse his dad had given him,and you some extra mortal cash for their journey. You then sent them off with wishes of good luck and safe travels .
After that your lives just went back to normal.
One day,while under the tree in your regular spot,your head resting on Luke’s shoulder,you asked him the question that’d been running through your head for the past few days. “Hey Luke?” you began, he hummed in acknowledgement and you took it as your sign to go ahead. “has anything been bothering you lately?you've been kinda scattered…more than usual actually” at this he suddenly went stiff before relaxing and replying, “just stressed these days love,that’s it”
“wanna talk about it? You know I’m here for you if you need to talk right?”
“I know…it’s just that…ive been having nightmares again”
You sat up straight at this and looked him in the eye,concern painted all over your face
“again?? When did it start? What are they about? Are you okay? Are you in danger? Can I help???” you let the stream of questions leave your lips before you even had a second to process them.
He let out a little laugh,a sad look suddenly coming over his eyes. “don’t worry y/n,nothing I can't handle. '' he joked,squeezing your hand. You weren’t buying it.
“Come on Luke.you can tell me…” you cupped his cheek and looked into his eyes,searching for a clearer reason for his pain.
He placed his hand over yours and leaned into your touch,kissing your palm.
He sighed,“can we talk about this later? Please? ” he sounded pained but you gave him the space he needed. You trusted Luke with your life;you trusted him to tell you the truth “sure” you said.
When he was ready,you’d be there for him not matter what.
A few days later when you were sparring together he got an iris message from Annabeth,Percy and Grover, he accepted and you both said hi to the trio of kids they told him of their adventures and how they knew who the lightning thief was. At the sudden mention of that last fact,you saw him go slightly pale.Not much,but you noticed. You stayed silent watching their exchange,and when percy said it was Ares,Luke visibly deflated. ‘no…’ was all you could think. There was no way Luke had anything to do with Zeus’ Master-bolt going missing…you simply refused to believe it. Suddenly you couldn’t breathe and your head was spinning. It was suddenly hard to breathe and that’s when you noticed Luke was at your side,his hand on you back propping you up and asking you to lie down,asking you if you were okay and what happened.You just rushed to wrap your arms around him .You held onto him for dear life and started sobbing.he hugged you back but pulled away when he noticed you were crying. “hey..hey are you okay?? What happened? What did I say?” and for the first time you did it. You used your ability on Luke and what you saw confirmed your suspicions.
You saw him setting a pit scorpion on Percy. Admitting to stealing the bolt,admitting to summoning the hellhound.you saw him leaving Camp Half-Blood behind.You saw it all.
In that moment you knew that you should let him go. Push him away and kill him for being such a traitor not only to you but to the entirety of camp. But you just held him closer,tighter,impossibly so. You didn’t want to believe it.Your Luke,the only true family you had other than your Apollo siblings. The man you loved,was a traitor. But you said nothing. You put on a brave face and spent the next days with him as though nothing was wrong.you
You savoured the next few days,went on picnics,sparred together and when he inevitably asked you if you were okay, you just told him you hadn’t slept well.He dropped the subject pretty quickly. And when the night of his betrayal came,you were ready. You left your siblings to practice and made your way to where you knew he’d try to leave from. And sure enough he came running out of the forest with a sword different to the ones you'd seen in the armoury and the forges. This one was two-toned,one side seeming to be steel and the other the celestial bronze you knew well. The moment Luke saw you he looked almost relieved,but when he saw the arrow you had drawn,his smile quickly faded. “y/n,” he chuckled, “wha-what are you doing?” you kept a straight face,tears beginning to well up in your eyes.
“how could you luke! How could you betray us! Betray me?!” you choked through your tears and his face went completely blank.
“you don’t want to do this y/n..just put the arrow down and we can talk about this”
“like hell we can! I’m not letting you set a pit scorpion on me too!”
He looked almost hurt as you said those last words but he just sheathed his sword and held his hand out for you to take.
“come on y/n.do you really want to be a slave to the gods forever? They don’t even care about us.Join me.Join me, and Kronos will let us rule the new world together.we can make our parents pay for abandoning us,we can get justice”
You looked at his outstretched hand,it looked so tempting .You wanted nothing more than to drop your weapons and run to him. To say yes and rule the world with him.You didn’t care about the gods and about this world,all it had ever done was hurt you and you’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t want to see Olympus burn sometimes,but you caught yourself . Just as you began lowering your bow,you remembered your siblings.your friends at camp.what would happen to them? Would they just be casualties to him? Would Luke spare them on your request?
You were many things but a traitor was not one them.
You dropped your bow to which luke smiled and made his way to you. He wrapped you in a warm hug and for a second you felt like everything was good in the world. You hugged him back,tight. “I love you” you said, giving him a teary kiss,which he returned.
Then,as quick as you could you unsheathed your dagger and stabbed him.
he grunted in pain as he was hit with the sudden realization of what you’d done. He staggered back,blood beginning to stain his shirt. You began to cry out. You didn’t want to do this. It felt like you'd been stabbed yourself and that’s when you looked down to see he was holding out his blade as well,and it’d cut you in your side,deeper than you’d gotten him.You fell to your knees and when you lifted your head,he was gone.You lay there on the grass,bleeding and crying.you shouted for help as loud as you could before your vision grew blurry and you passed out.
When you woke up you were met with the sight of the infirmary’s ceiling.
You tried to sit up but the searing pain in your side kept you down. You groaned in pain before turning your head to the patient in the bed next to you. It was Percy and he was passed out cold.
All you could manage was a strained,“Percy…” before a firm hand held you down.
“Rest.” You heard the familiar voice of one of your half-brothers,Tom.
“What happened?” you whispered out,but it was just loud enough.
“Luke happened. He set a pit scorpion on Percy and then he stabbed you” he said softly. He must have known how it’d affect you.
At this information you began to tear up again. “so it wasn’t just a bad nightmare?” you asked. Tom sighed before replying. “unfortunately not…” he squeezed your hand and asked you to rest.
You fell back asleep sobbing.
In your dreams you found yourself standing in a shallow pool of water,luke was standin in the distance and you,without thinking,just ran to him. You wrapped him in a hug and he did the same. You looked up to him with tear stained cheeks and teary eyes and kissed him. “Im sorry” you choked out.
He kissed you back before placing another kiss to the top of your head. “I know y/n…I am too”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“yes…”
“but we’ll be on,”
“on opposing sides…yeah”
you both sighed and just stood there,holding each other.
“Then this is goodbye isn’t it” you said this time more clearly,you were finally beginning to believe how real this all was.
“it is…good bye y/n. oh and, I love you,please rememeber that.”
you nodded and with that your dream faded to black and you woke in the infirmary once again.
Everything had changed so fast,but the one thing you were sure of was simple. There was a war coming. And you had to be ready to fight the love of your life.
You had to kill Luke castellan.
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bubbles-for-all-of-us · 8 months
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omg i loved the baby daddy az blurb, same idea but for cassian??!
Daddy to be
Cassian... Cassian... Cassian... well this man has family man written all across his face. Like sir is a gentle giant. He's at times a little forgetful of his size but he has so much love in his system he just can't help it.
Well, I know that you and your neighbor are thinking about it so I'll just say it. He'd be so dang cocky when you get pregnant. Because well he was a part of that and his shot struck straight to the target. So are you smacking him across the head for trying to give a visual representation on how you two had sex that resulted in a baby? Yes. But it's Cassian so idk what anyone is expecting.
On a serious note, he's an angel. He wants to make sure that you are well and taken care of. Changes your whole workout schedule. And Mother forbids you to try to lift weights. He would fly from the other side of the training ground just to snatch them out of your hands. I think assisting you through your workouts as your pregnancy progresses would be one of his favorite things. He gets to make sure you're doing everything safely but also gets to touch your bump while he corrects your posture. Lots of, "Two more mamas, that's my girl", and "Look at you go, ma".
I also think that he worries about the smallest things. A sight of discomfort would send him into a frenzy. "Is she coming?", "Did you feel something?", "Rhys", the last one is dedicated to his high lord but he needs someone who's gone through this. And Rhys never fails to answer even the most random question. But he's also so good at hiding his anxiety. Don't get me wrong he shares his fears but there are times when he knows that him panicking and showing it to you would cause more harm than good.
Cassian also gets very particular about the food you eat. Again, nothing in a way that would restrict you or tell you what to do. He just loves getting your plate ready for you for dinner. And he's bringing it to you, looking like an absolute puppy as he tells you everything that he put there. Reassuring you that you don't have to eat stuff that doesn't appeal to you, that he would do it. But let's face it. Cassian knows your craving to the tea and the food he brings is always exactly what you crave.
Just absolutely lives for late evening bedtime routine. Cassian is in charge of putting oils and moisturizing mixtures all over your tummy and boobs and bum and thighs. And if he's not kneeling in front of you while doing so, then he has you lying on the bed, while he takes his time rubbing his palms slowly over your growing tummy. Has the sweetest of smiles when he says, "Look, I can't no longer cover our moon dust with my palms", he beams at your bump that had popped, "Keep on cooking there, little one. Grow big and strong".
Has exclusive conversations with the baby. That involves a blanket over his head and he's whispering into your tummy and of course, it tickles you so you giggle but that means that he can no longer feel the baby moving so you get a grumpy face flashed at you from underneath the blanket, "Ma'am you are currently interrupting a high-level conversation", you have to bite your lip as to not start laughing, "This is serious business".
He's lord of bloodshed. So are we surprised that anyone who even thinks about touching your bump ends up pressed to the nearest wall? That's where his protectiveness is the highest. Cassian had gotten into his head that anyone who wants to touch you and the babe now means only harm. So no. No one is even allowed to breathe in the direction of the bump. He's snarling and growling, and threatening. His wings are never casually folded now. No, he's walking around like a man who's ready to fight even the wind who blew into your direction too much.
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aeternallis · 1 year
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A Deep Dive: Kim’s Fight Scene in Yok’s Bar
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I’ve been thinking about this scene a lot lately, and I just have so many thoughts on it. 
Like low-key, but imo what makes this scene so mesmerizing yet also chilling at the same time is the fact that Kim never eliminates the possibility of Chay turning around at any time and witnessing Kim kill in order to protect him. 
Whereas Porsche tends to protect Chay by keeping him from seeing the reality of the mafia life (and tragically blindsides both himself and his brother because of it; Chay because he remains ignorant of his new environment and Porsche because his judgement of the risks in keeping Chay ignorant is impaired due to his overprotectiveness), Kim protects him only from the danger of it.
It’s an all around interesting narrative choice from BOC, especially considering that it’s Kim’s one fight scene in the entire series. 
I’ve seen many posts on here before of how Kim leaves the dead bodies for Chay like a feral cat or that he really took the mantra “nobody disturbs my man” up a notch or two, and while I definitely agree with all that on a surface level, I can’t help but think there’s so much more going on. Dare I say, maybe even a little manipulative? Hmm. 
Because for reals, there’s a reason why this fight scene makes such an impression on so many fans--the KimChay fans (including myself), in particular--and I think it’s because so much of the context of the fight, as much as the fight itself and the events leading up to it, reveals so much about Kim’s character post-break up w/ Chay. 
Like yes, there’s the aesthetic reasons and ofc, Jeff Satur and that beautiful face of his that looks like it was sculpted on a Saturday by the gods, but there’s just so much to be said in the way he’d fought and more importantly, ended the fight. 
@wildelydawn​ wrote up an amazing meta post  about how Kim fights, for which I highly recommend y’all read if you haven’t already. I definitely agree with the idea that Kim likes to play with his prey when he fights; he knows how to improvise and use his environment as sources of weapons, and he’s definitely got a bit of a sadistic streak going for him, lol. 
Now, where am I going with this? Well, let’s very briefly look at the events leading up to the fight: from the moment they break up in ep 11, to one of the very last scenes in ep 13 when Kim finds out that Porsche and Chay have left the tower, somewhere in between those events, Chay had become Kim’s singular goal and most important priority. Whereas before his goal had been to investigate Porsche and Chay’s connection to the Theerapanyakun family, directly after the break up is when this plotline falls through because his investigation hits a dead end at the temple. 
For me personally, methinks it’s the moment he finds out that Chay skipped his college interview in ep 12 and what a massive fuck up he’d just committed. As much as I adore him as a character, I don’t really think he knew the repercussions of his own actions until it was too late, alas. Ultimately, he’s not responsible for Chay’s choices, but he can’t deny that his previous actions influenced them. 
Whether it was wanting to confess his own feelings to Chay, or perhaps setting him straight because he skipped his college interview, or wanting to keep him safe, or even just to talk to him and clear the air--the point is, regardless of his reason(s), getting to Chay becomes his next target. And more than that, once Kim sets his crosshairs on a goal--especially on this one person he’s got a romantic attachment to--he is positively ruthless. 
You barely see it from how fast the camera cuts out, but if you pause at just the right moment, you can see how Kim’s expression is absolutely seething when Korn stops him from going to look for the Kittisawasd brothers (or perhaps even just Chay himself). 
This is the expression of someone who’s more than willing to obliterate anyone who gets in the way of him and his goal. This is an expression of utter resentment. This is the expression of someone who’s itching for a fight, because the universe dared to get in between him and his goal. 
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(Side bar: I’m pretty sure part of the reason Jeff got the role of Kim Theerapanyakun is because of how intense his method acting can be. He doesn’t have many roles under his belt just yet, but if you haven’t seen He She It, I recommend giving it a go. His acting in that mini drama is a little rough around the edges, but the raw intensity by which he plays the character of Mike definitely highlights some of Jeff’s natural talent. He knows how to act with his eyes and his entire body, and when given the right director to guide him, as we’ve seen when he portrays the role of Kim, he truly thrives in his role.)
Yet still, for all his anger at being prevented by his father from getting to his goal, he’s mindful enough to know that he can’t just go against his orders either. Korn is the enemy of an entirely different caliber, and Kim perfectly knows how and when to pick his battles.
But it isn’t until we see him in the next ep quietly watching Chay from the bar that another facet of his character growth is revealed to us: by this point in time, he’s comfortable in his feelings for Chay enough that he can finally allow himself to luxuriate in his presence, even whilst knowing he’s in the metaphorical dog house.
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His arms are propped up, his legs are loosely crossed, his body language is relaxed, whilst still very much aware of his surroundings. Keep in mind, this is the first time since the morning of the kidnapping that we see him perfectly content in Chay’s presence, now fully aware that there’s no reason for lies between them anymore. The only one left is the one he has to fix.
Yet, after all this time of trying to get ahold of Chay ( @bitacrytic​ wrote an interesting piece about Kim’s unsettling behavior when he realized Chay had cut him off, which I also highly recommend), why didn’t he take the opportunity to talk (or whatever it is he intended to do) when he was finally within sight? The camera shot of Chay talking to Yok on his phone, as well as of Kim sitting on the stool, lingers for a good 20-25 secs, so the audience is given a hint that Kim has been there for a while.
So why not take advantage of this chance?
And the answer to this question, I think, is what’s at the heart of the matter and basically defines the connotation of the entire fight.
Kim is not a fool, he knows for the time being he’s number 1 on Chay’s shit list. And because of this, it may be a stretch to say it, but I will anyway: perhaps off screen, from the moment he had him within sight, Kim may have realized that it would do him no good to talk to Chay at that moment. Not when there’s an imminent threat lying in wait, not when the heartbreak is still too raw for both of them. 
Most of all, Chay has no reason to trust him right now; it would just be a repeat of their disastrous confrontation in the club.
And he knows all too well that he cannot afford to sabotage what truly little standing he has left in Chay’s good graces. So he plays it cautious and takes the next best thing: he’ll bask in Chay’s presence, keep him company (albeit one-sided). If you scroll back up real quick and see his expression in the promotional image, it’s almost as if he’s thinking to himself, ‘keep your eyes on the prize--on him. he’s the only one that truly matters.’ 
But even so, Chay’s safety is his priority for the moment and there’s just so many reasons Kim is itching to vent some anger and frustration: the boy he loves has cut him off completely, Daddy is hatching up some plan again, besides the ongoing 4D chess game he’s got going on with all his sons, his investigation led him nowhere. Yet lo and behold, here comes some goons who not only disturbed his peaceful serotonin-gathering session (unbeknownst to Chay), but are also looking to either use the love of his life as leverage in a conflict that barely has anything to do with him, or just outright kill him. 
Really, no one can blame Kim for going a little overboard, not when these poor suckers basically offered themselves to him on a silver platter. Lol 
While I won’t go too deep into analyzing the physicality or choreography of the fight itself, I’d like to instead focus on all the things Kim chose/chose not to do, which again, says so much about his character and brings me back to my overarching thesis for this long ass rant: Kim never eliminates the possibility of Chay turning around at any time and witnessing Kim kill in order to protect him.
Kim doesn’t call out for Chay to run: this makes sense, it’s a practical choice; he doesn’t want these men to draw their attention on Chay. So long as they’re focused on him, so long as he distracts them--he can kill them one by one. 
Kim doesn’t draw the men away from the bar: an interesting choice that seems like it never crosses Kim’s mind. He’s more than agile enough to have led them away from where they’d entered, yet he keeps them all inside. 
Kim didn’t wait for them outside: another interesting choice. Arguably, it would have been more efficient for him to have taken some bodyguards and do a stake out. Further still, it’s also arguable this choice is more an emotional one (he wants Chay where he can see him, dammit), but that’s up for debate. 
Kim waits until the last possible second to use a gun: a risky choice, but he pulled it off quite well. He doesn’t go for the gun until the goons have him surrounded within Chay’s vicinity, so he goes for fast kills to end the fight even if it’s not his personal preference. Imo, it’s very obvious throughout the fight that he finds some satisfaction in twisting limbs and breaking bone, so good on him that he got to indulge for a bit. 
And finally, immediately right after the fight, he never tries to pull this one over Chay’s head: 
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This one is pretty self-explanatory, I think. Hahaha. 
But after Kim shoots the last man, he doesn’t linger for too long. Which again, why doesn’t he take advantage of yet another chance that’s fallen onto his lap to talk to Chay? The danger has been dealt with for now, after all. Why not at least attempt at some sort of clean up, maybe pile the bodies on one corner so Chay doesn’t trip over them? :’D If not to talk to Chay, why not at least linger in the shadows, to make sure Chay is all right (he’s bound to turn around eventually)? 
Instead, he walks away, still panting a bit from the fighting and without a doubt, from the adrenaline rush. His body language is hard to read because his silhouette is blurred, but it’s at this point that BOC could have easily concluded this scene. 
They could have left this scene as is, and made the aftermath of the fight as vague as possible, because for what it’s worth, it would have still accomplished one of the main points for KimChay: Kim’s priority is Chay’s immediate safety. 
But it’s not the end of the scene. BOC made damn sure that we would see the aftermath, and with it--the changed dynamic between these two characters and the very implications of it. They didn’t leave it vague whatsoever, they pretty much shoved it in our faces. 
This scene--this f*cking scene RIGHT HERE--blows wide open a potential trajectory of KimChay’s love story if/when we ever get a season 2.
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I think for the first and only time in the show, this shot of Kim sitting on the stairway, enjoying a cigarette after a murder spree, mind you—is the first time we see him fully stripped away of any pretenses in not only the way he loves and protects someone, but how far he can get lost within his own emotions when he has no reason to hold back. He doesn’t even look the least bit concerned for Chay’s emotional well-being, because that’s not his priority when he chose to leave those men lying on the bar’s floors. 
If anything, in this specific situation, not holding back benefits him greatly. 
For the first time, his character in the show is explicitly elevated to the same level of batshit insane as Kinn and Vegas, perhaps even beyond them.
We’ve seen how WiK had won over Chay, of how tender Kim could be with him, but the fight in Yok’s bar and the conclusion of it afterwards, demonstrates how far Kim’s sharpest, most deadliest aspect of himself—Kimhan, will go in order to win back Chay. Even in trying to get Chay within his orbit once more, he remains just as calculating: he doesn’t let his own gut instinct (actually wanting to talk with Chay) get the better of him; he uses the situation, in this case--even Chay--to give himself the best advantage. Can you imagine how terrifying that is? 
It’s no wonder Korn calls him the strongest, yet most dangerous of the Theerapanyakul heirs: regardless of whether Kim holds back or not depending on the given situation, he remains just as sharp, just as deadly, just as cunning. In the first KP novel, Korn presents a question to the readers indirectly: in their world, is love a weakness or is it strength?
For Kim, the answer is obvious: it’s a weakness, but he won’t allow it to be one for himself or for Chay. 
And due to all this, there’s only one conclusion I can come up with as to what this shot of Kim sitting on the stairway outside Yok’s bar was trying to accomplish:
Kim—this conniving, devious, gorgeous motherfucker—absolutely wanted Chay to see the dead bodies now littering Yok’s bar.
In fact, I can even argue that he seemed to have been waiting for confirmation that Chay saw his “present.” That he had all the time in the world to make sure his bae got a good look at his kills.
Why, you ask? Simple. Kim trusts Chay’s backbone made of steel. He trusts him to be able to handle it. Why else would he let himself enjoy a smoke after killing 6 people in 6 mins? Why doesn’t he look concerned?! Why not give Chay some comfort, goddamn...! We know this fucker is in love w/ Chay, the dumbass was crying over his polaroids earlier that day. //sobs 
But in all seriousness...Kim has firsthand experience of going up against it, doesn’t he? He himself saw how determined Chay could be when he cut himself off entirely from Kim, both from when he pulled his hand away in the club and then blocking his number a day or two later. I don’t necessarily think it’s that Kim overestimated Chay’s love for him, but rather he initially underestimated Chay’s resilience in keeping him away after breaking his heart so terribly.
This son of a bitch (affectionate) sobbed his pathetic heart out after finding out Chay blocked his number, probably took a good look at himself (and Chay’s cute polaroids), and came to one conclusion: “yeah, Chay can handle me. I can go all in now.”
In fairness, Chay’s steadfastness can only improve and strengthen from here on out. Kim--although in love with Chay, but does have his moments of volatile moods and cold verbal wit--is not an easy person to love, as Chay is slowly finding out the hard way. He must be able to confidently call Kim out when the latter needs to be reminded to respect him, that Chay will not take any of his shit. 
Ironically enough, in creating an original story for these two characters in the show, it also brings them closer to the dynamic they have in the novel, imo. I myself have only read parts of the novel, and because we barely see KimChay in the book, it’s hard to tell how much closer show!KimChay is to novel!KimChay, but there’s hints of some similarities here and there in terms of character dynamics. Make of that what you will~ 
Let’s play Devil’s Advocate for a hot sec though, and address the rebuttal: “but won’t this only drive Chay further away from Kim and a life in the mafia?”
My answer to that is: will it though? Chay has more reasons to stay in the world Porsche forced him to enter than he ever has in leaving it. BOC cemented this fact when they decided to keep Namphueng alive, nevermind the fact that Chay’s one positive, healthy parental figure, is now the minor family head and as much as he’d like for it not to be true, he’s still in love with Kim. 
But to reiterate, Kim trusts Chay’s backbone made of steel in a way that Porsche doesn’t (again, due to aforementioned overprotectiveness, which also serves as the fundamental difference in how they both protect Chay). But the reasoning behind placing his trust in Chay isn’t entirely selfless either. 
He trusts Chay to be able to handle the disturbing scene of the dead bodies he left behind, because he has something to gain from it.
By leaving behind the dead goons for him to find, Kim inadvertently breaks another piece of Chay’s upright perception of the world, ensnares him further into Kim’s reality—and most of all, to Kim himself.
It’s a terrifying level of honesty (and wooing??) coming from Kim because it’s so brutal in its execution. What makes it even more frightening is that he’s genuinely doing this out of his desire to be with Chay. His priority during the fight is Chay’s safety, yes, but his overarching goal after their break up remains the same: to get Chay back. 
It drives home the fact that although Kim loves only a handful of people in his life, he loves them fiercely to the point of questionable insanity.
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nicosraf · 6 months
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On Twitter, I talked about Israel's involvement in the violent genocide of 160k Maya in Guatemala; I also wrote a thread on Israel's imperialism in all of Latin America, which includes them working with anti-Semitic regimes in Argentina and Brazil who targeted Jewish activists. They've also armed and trained death squads in Central America, rightwing drug paramilitaries in Colombia, such as the AUC in Colombia, and have played a hand in the militarization of the drug war in LatAm.
My purpose here is to emphasize that this is a fight much larger than many might realize, that Israel is happy to harm diaspora Jews in order to build its colonial state, and that Israel's involvement in places like Guatemala, in particular, show they are no friend of indigenous people.
With the US and Israel revving up the war machine, the best acts of solidarity right now are protest and boycott.
For a list of boycotted companies, please look here, but here is the list if you don't care to click a link: Siemens, HP, AXA, Puma, Israeli Fruit and Vegetables, SodaStream, Ahava, and Sabra. (I've heard about boycotting Starbucks and McDonalds too online, but I'm going to emphasize the Palestinian BDS National Committee's guidance).
As for protesting, general advice is to hide your face, hide tattoos, don't give anyone your name, and do NOT trust protests that ask u to "sign up" by putting down your information. A friend ( @andromedaexists ) responded to my tweet about protest with this guidance – please look through it. I know it all seems hopeless, but I've never seen global solidarity like this, and we can't let them break it. We're all fighting the same fight against imperialism, colonization, and war. And a better world is possible if we fight for it.
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lightyaoigami · 2 months
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hi, monica. i trust your taste because i love your writing. what are your favorite niche lawlight fics? (that is, stuff you've read that not many people in the fandom would know.)
hope that you're having a good break and come back to fic refreshed (of course, if you want to). <3 your readers won't go anywhere.
hi wow what a sweet and touching message to receive ;_;
i don't know what counts as niche tbh i will just recommend some here that i don't necessarily see as often as like idk tithe to hell or those. this is in no particular order. i actually forgot to add the ratings to the list below so just be mindful of that if that's something important to you!
the primrose path by tsukinousagi: 1.5k, a beautifully done elizabethan au inspired by hamlet. as you guys probably know i am a hamlet freak and this is laser-targeted to me, the guy who has had the username theprinceofdenmark for 15 years.
summa cum laude by whydoeseverythinghappensomuch: 13k, an incredibly atmospheric college au. reminds me so much of the secret history that it makes me want to chew my own fingers off.
tear you open live inside you by anonymous: 3k, mind the tags. excellent, super in-character blood and gore. consensual but not safe or sane. you get it.
unkissed for a million days by anivhee: 1.7k, this is after L dies but it's still lawlight. it's unhappy but i liked it even as a lawlight freak and fix-it enjoyer.
what i meant to say by booklovertwilight: 6.6k, a paratext collection of light's letters to L after his death.
twenty-three by haydonjames17: 4.7k, an utterly devastating birthday for light after L's death. i'm sensing a theme in my favorites here clearly i need help of some kind.
fifteen stories down by the-night-gods-moon: 7k, this is the closest i'll get to enjoying whump. the boys get stuck in rubble after a building explosion. this fic is profoundly underrated.
our little secret by avoidfilledwithcelluloid: 3k, i actually cannot describe this one it's so good and quite unique! it's a fresh way of writing their antagonism.
hear no evil by sharptoothed: 4.5k, so few people understand how to write misa in a lawlight context but isa nails it. it's also hot so sue me.
i know the way it ends before it's even begun by halfpromise: 15k, a side story to THE death note fic of all time, those. i am deeply biased because i got a shout-out in the dedication but this fic absolutely never fails to make me tear up. it's beautifully written, moving without being trite, and is as close to a happy ending as those!lawlight will ever get.
anyway. this is but a small sample of lawlight fics that make me insane and unwell. this was a very very nice ask to receive i am genuinely moved and i literally didn't know that anyone even noticed i was on hiatus. <3
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rainbowsky · 2 months
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I don't want to bring CP topics into a post tagged with their individual names*, so I will just make a separate post.
*It's bad etiquette to do so - it can lead to fan wars and bloggers being targeted for hate because solos will look through hashtags of their individual names and often stumble across these things, and as we know clownery is meant for turtle eyes only.
Vic just made an interesting post about GG's vlog and it reminded me of some tongue-in-cheek clowning I saw on Weibo among some of the C-turtles.
They were joking around that the egg, the gold coin, the sun, etc. resemble the 🟡 turtles have been using to identify themselves in a comments of GG and DD's posts.
I don't know if anyone is seriously clowning that those elements represented turtles, it was just a bit of cute clownery, but I do think it is interesting to think about it from that perspective. BXG have been using this icon that looks like a gold coin and suddenly a gold coin and all these round gold items appear in his vlog.
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We'll never know if it was intentional, so I'm just going to take it as a cute coincidence, but now when I look at the vlog I can't help but be reminded of that 🟡 accompanying him everywhere in the comments of every single one of his posts, just as the coin accompanies him throughout the vlog.
Of course it's possible for the coin to have multiple meanings for GG. Let's face it, he is a smart man who is no stranger to including symbolism and hidden ideas in his posts. Particularly when it comes to turtles and candy.
He is also somebody who has been known to make indirect statements about things that bother him. For example the black photo that he replaced on Oasis, which I mentioned in a previous post.
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We'll never know for sure if the coin or any other element is meant for turtles, but it's fun to clown and think about things from a different angle.
Thanks to @accio-victuuri for the coin screenshots. I had a really hard time grabbing them myself from my phone. 😅
Edit: I want to add that while this might seem crazy, some other things that started out as really far-fetched began to seem more and more credibile over time. I'm thinking in particular about the earring in the OOL photo, and the mysterious guest on SDOC3. There have been a lot of others over the years but those are two of my favorites.
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hero-israel · 2 months
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Last week, in my Discord group of about 60 lifelong friends (and I mean really lifelong, danced-at-the-wedding, phone-call-for-the-divorce friends), one person posted a "from the river to the sea" meme they'd found on Twitter. I made clear that it was a huge problem, that person apologized and deleted it, everyone else seemed supportive and understanding.
And surprised.
Because none of them - not ONE of them - had ever heard the term before, nor knew what the river or the sea were, nor had any clue it could possibly be seen as threatening. That included the person who posted it in the first place. These are all college graduates, some of them with post-college degrees, all liberal Democrats who agree with everything John Oliver ever said.
The discussion went as well and as supportively as it possibly could have, but I am still floored by how.... remote the topic was from all of their lives. Including how remote it was for other Jewish members of the group (though I can't help but notice that those other Jewish members are unaffiliated and don't have kids).
I bring this up because it shows that social media really can exaggerate the scale of threats we perceive and experience. And if you had told me that more than a week ago, I would have cut you off and said "Of course, I know that, I'm not naive" - but it still would never have occurred to me that it could reach such a degree. How constantly reading updates on war and hate and protests and threats really can give a distorted and inaccurate picture of the world.
One time on Reddit, I noticed a pro-Palestine account that was positively obsessed with the "boogaloo boys," a purported sub-set of white supremacists. This person mentioned "boogaloo boys" probably 80 times a week, in the context of how their racial civil war was about to begin and would target Arab-Americans first. And it really began to look weird - a focus beyond their importance. I'm sure nobody would ever want to meet a "boogaloo boy," of course, but I also think this person made more posts about that group than the number of members there are in the actual group.
Has anyone outside age 18-23 and outside a college campus ever met a member of SJP? They're pretty horrible people, but they go tabling right next to all sorts of splintercranks who dissolve once you graduate.
There is a real perceptual, emotional downside to seeking out hatred and threats so one can announce "Aha! Look at all this hatred and threats!". It is not only privilege that allows people to avoid some problems and conflicts - it can also be demographic, political reality. It is important to know who hates and threatens us - and also to remain members of "the reality-based community." Internet discussions are not real life, college campuses are not real life, internet discussions among college students are the least real of all.
Scott Alexander touched on this - how certain political beliefs can be avoided even without conscious effort:
According to Gallup polls, about 46% of Americans are creationists. Not just in the sense of believing God helped guide evolution. I mean they think evolution is a vile atheist lie and God created humans exactly as they exist right now. That’s half the country.
And I don’t have a single one of those people in my social circle. It’s not because I’m deliberately avoiding them; I’m pretty live-and-let-live politically, I wouldn’t ostracize someone just for some weird beliefs. And yet, even though I probably know about a hundred fifty people, I am pretty confident that not one of them is creationist. Odds of this happening by chance? 1/2^150 = 1/10^45 = approximately the chance of picking a particular atom if you are randomly selecting among all the atoms on Earth.
About forty percent of Americans want to ban gay marriage. I think if I really stretch it, maybe ten of my top hundred fifty friends might fall into this group. This is less astronomically unlikely; the odds are a mere one to one hundred quintillion against.
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spacexseven · 1 year
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sorry for the late reply! And to answer some of your questions in the tags, it’s actually all three. A “final girl” is a basically a trope that means a character (usually protagonist) that is “pure, feminine, and the victim” during a horror film. They’re usually a victim of chance or have a distant past connection to the killer. Be it their intelligence, connection, or simply pure luck, the final girl is able to avoid death until the end where: 1) they survive to the end and defeat their killer 2) they escape or 3) they die regardless. I was thinking of killer! yan bsd, but I was also intrigued with a victim/final girl! bsd. An example of an idea that’s currently plaguing my mind is Final Girl! Nikolai. I liked the idea of a serial killer targeting magician/or whimsical (maybe ability users) people and choosing nikolai as target. cat and mouse chase, and they end getting the drop on him (how? idk). Its kinda a slow burn horror, but regardless nikolai fights back. this is a gist and example. Tuna, i’m so sorry about throwing this ramble dump at you. 🙈 this is just an idea, nothing you actually have to do. im just happy sharing this with you - 🦄
ahahahaha....there was a lot i had to say about this, but i kept it as brief as i could because i Might...might do a series/oneshot w this au. Maybe &lt;/3 thank you for sharing this gem of an idea i am very excited to dig in nomnomnom. tagged under 'sk reader au 🐟'
gn! reader, is a serial killer & implied to have an ability that can 'collect' other abilities. can be read as a yandere reader.
cw: stalking, murder, violence
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ability users are fascinating little things.
especially when they try everything in their power to stay alive. it's a wonderful sight, to see those that always stood above regular people, to see those regarded as gifted, desperately attempt to survive. there was something intoxicating about holding power above the same ability users that were feared by all.
but your interest was less in the users and more in the ability itself.
there was a lot you hoped to learn about abilities, regardless of the type. there must be a reason as to why some were sentient, why some were so much more powerful than others, why some were uncontrollable, and the best way to learn, was of course, through the ability itself. you were willing to do anything to satisfy your curiousity, even if it meant the user had to die for their abilities to join your collection.
you had fond memories with all of them; flawless made for an exhilarating fight, always a step ahead until you sunk your claws into the frightened figure of a dark-eyed ability user, rashōmon was unique, the dark mass almost besting you, but, in the end, you stood victorious over a sickly body—even if you hadn't gone after it, this was an ability that wasn't meant to survive for long, and you liked to think that it was for the best that it joined you instead of disappearing with its user. and of course, discourse on decadence was unforgettable. you remembered it belonged to some goverment agent who was hot on your trail—it was the closest anyone came to stopping you—and your most recent kill.
usually, you didn't like picking favorites. each ability was fascinating and unique in its own way, but it was undeniable that one in particular stood out to you.
the overcoat was an interesting ability. at first sight, it appeared quite simple, but you had viewed it in action too many times to know just how frightening it was. how easy it was to turn it into a lethal weapon—to reach in and twist out a limb or to drain out the blood from a vein. the seemingly unlimited potential of the ability, however, was only one of the aspects that intrigued you.
generally, you've never cared for the users as much as you did their abilities. while you enjoyed the brutal torture you made them suffer, and you liked hunting them down, they always came secondary to their abilities. you didn't care to know their names or their personal stories. despite all that, a name—nikolai gogol—had made his way on your list of targets, scrawled next to his ability.
it'd only take you a minute to identify nikolai in a sea of people.
whether he had the scar over his eye showing or hidden, whether he was wearing glasses or colored contacts, no matter what wig he wore or how ordinary he tried to look, you would immediately be able to point him out. no disguise, no false identity could hide him from you—you know this because he's tried, many times now, to fool you. but you've always known it was him, from the slightest strain of his voice when disguised, the unsettling blankness in his gaze when he looked at you, the subtle upturn of his lips when he approached you. you knew it was him from the way he titled his head when asking you a question, the way he said your name, and even the syllables he stressed when he spoke.
he approached you first as a police officer, then as a detective, a local politician, and even an assassin. You had already noted down each encounter you had with him, the details of each false identity, and what you had learned from it. it was a feat in itself that nikolai had survived so many encounters with you. perhaps it was because of your growing obsession with him,
(somehow, you always knew that your last victim would be nikolai. he'd be a fitting end for your legacy, as the ability user who had been watching you from the very start. the only ability user you could see as more than a shell for his powers. the only one who escaped you once.)
initially, you believed that nikolai followed you around for self-driven justice, to punish you for your crimes. (the policeman getup convinced you of that much), but instead of lunging at you, he watched, enraptured, as you stole the perfect crime, and he followed you closely as you stalked the user of falling camellia, doing nothing to stop you either time. and every time after that, be it walking past him in the busy streets of yokohama or meeting him as your taxi driver, nikolai had yet to try and expose your crimes and exact revenge. he never held a blade up to your throat, never used the very frightening ability of his on you.
his passivity, however, did nothing to quench your bloodthirst.
it was you who attacked him first.
you're no stranger to hunting down your prey. it was something you anticipated now, the sound of footsteps making their way around corners, the sight of shaking shoulders and trembling hands as they hid behind walls, the way fear consumed them when you finally cornered them; you relished in the hunt as much as you did the result.
nikolai doesn't make it much of a hunt. he's quick, with his coat fluttering around him. his footsteps, you remember, are light and quick, his breathing staggered as he laughed wildly. he snatches up your gun with a hand through his coat, and shoots blindly. there is despair consuming his mind, no panic climbing up his spine. his heart rate accelerates not out of fear, but out of thrill, and he looks at you with unrestrained elation. this was no hunt, nikolai wasn't hiding from you—this was a chase. just as you approached a dead end, and you think you can finally, finally, shove him into a corner, nikolai turns to smile at you one last time, before disappearing into a flurry of his coat. as you stand alone, a dark glove laid on the floor ahead of you catches your attention; his glove might have caught on a jagged end and fallen, you think. after cleaning up his mess, you silently pocket it, still haunted by that uninhibited look and that devilish grin.
nikolai is everywhere after that, taunting you.
he sits across you from the train, he takes your order in a restaurant, he applauds you from a distance, after watching you drag away yet another body, congratulating you on another successful kill.
"next time," he smiles at you, all coy and enticing, "i hope it's me."
you hope so too, but you don't let him have the pleasure of knowing that. the scowl on your blood-streaked face sends him spinning away in giggles.
it wasn't the next time, but after a few more dead bodies and many more warnings about your work are played on the news, you meet nikolai again. nikolai gogol is no easy prey, but you're not one to be bested twice. this time, you don't let him run. you're finally on top of him, blood pooling out of where your knife was stuck in his thigh, his coat ripped off him and abandoned somewhere else. it would be so easy to kill him now, so easy to watch him bleed out and claim his ability as yours, but for the first time, you hesitated on delivering the killing blow.
this time, it's not the ability you're after, is it?
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bluekittyworld · 1 month
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There is Karma.
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Hello sweet people, this is my first time writing something, I hope you guys like it and all feedback will be appreciated.
Please don't post my work on other sites/platforms or copy it, or translate it, thank you.
Approx. 11,000 words in total and 5 chapters
Warnings: Lot's of angst, mention of suicide, smut, 18+
Main Masterlist
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Happy Ending
Sad Ending
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There is karma. It comes back, don’t use your heart in a bad way.
You were part of the popular girls at school, a rich spoiled brat as one may put it. Grade As and Bs were natural to you, you wondered sometimes if you had put in the effort, you could have scored better than all the nerds in your class, but who needed that, you were busy being the popular and pretty rich ‘it’ girl, belittling the quiet and less popular ones. There was one boy in particular, his name was Yunki or Yoonji, something like that. He wore thick framed glasses; his skin was ghostly pale, and he had contrasting pitch black hair in bowl cut. You found him an easy target as he never spoke back, no matter how many times you tripped him over, shoved him around, broke his ugly glasses, he never said anything back.
Why did you hate him so much? He didn’t care about anyone, and you hated it so much, why didn’t he try to fit in? He dressed so poorly, everyone just assumed that he was in this school on a scholarship, there was no way he could afford the fees by the way he dressed. On the other hand, you had to become mean to fit in, every day you woke up hours earlier to complete your work, prepare your hair and makeup, you had to stay relevant, have everyone’s attention, keep the ‘it girl’ title, life was so hard. So, every time you saw the careless Yoongi living his simple easy life, it boiled your blood and what ticked you off even more is that he never retaliated, come to think of it you had never heard his voice, was he mute?
This carried on for 5 years until the day of your graduation, just before graduation, you and your friends mocked this boy wearing his skinny ripped jeans, a t-shirt, and a plaid shirt. At the time your high-school boyfriend joined in too, you decided to give him a matching ripped shirt, pulling out your scissors you made a few cuts in his shirt and his bag, your friends laughed and recorded the scene. Your best friend took a few of his books, and teared them up, nobody noticed how Yoongi was having a panic attack and was on the verge of tears. Your boyfriend took the scissors and started cutting the poor boy’s hair, you did think it was pushing it too far, but nobody else seemed to care, why should you care right? Your boyfriend’s mates started kicking and punching Yoongi, he was now covered in blood and bruises, his eyes piecing into your soul, while he was being beaten up, his eyes were still fixated on you. You noticed this and felt a little bit of guilt, you pulled your boyfriend and asked to go to your favourite Korean BBQ. All your friends and his friends discarded Yoongi, leaving him in the middle of the school grounds, you didn’t even bother to look back if he was still breathing or not, nobody did.
On graduation day, Yoongi didn’t turn up, not like you really cared, you just wondered if he was okay, maybe you did go a little too far the other day. Also, it would have been a great opportunity to see his parents and assess his wealth today. Soon your friends and boyfriend came over to you, and that was the last time you thought of Yoongi.
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Years had passed since graduation. You were well set into your father’s business, ready to take senior management positions, being born into an affluent family had its perks, your whole life was served on a silver platter, not a single day of difficulty. Life was monotonic and predictable you began to feel a growing sense of emptiness. Despite the success you achieved in your career and social life, there was an underlying dissatisfaction, a void you couldn't fill. A friend of yours suggested maybe participating in charity events may give you a sense of fulfilment, so you decided to join the next available event.
At this event, everyone was put into groups of 4, and the tasks varied, you were in a team with two boys and another girl. The aim was to visit the elderly and help them out with their chores for today. The drive to the house was quite quick, you didn’t really get to talk to your teammates, the only thing you knew were their names, Sora, Yeonjun and Yoongi. Yoongi rang a bell, but you couldn’t really remember if you ever knew a person with that name, maybe it was just a name of one of the many people you see every day at work, you brushed it off. 
Upon arriving at the house, you saw it was occupied by an old lady, the roofing had some issues and the wallpaper had been peeling off in various places. Yoongi took lead of the team, he suggested “Yeonjun and I will take the duty of fixing the ceiling, while you girls can start by removing the wallpaper.”
His voice was like a gentle breeze on a calm summer day, carrying warmth and serenity, you hadn’t heard such a caring voice in a very long time, even your own mother didn’t sound so affectionate.
You just nodded, while Sora nudged you, maybe you were looking at Yoongi for too long, he was looking back at you with his piercing dark eyes.
“The wallpaper removing machine is in the back of the car, let’s go get it” Sora mentioned.
You nodded and followed her along. Removing the wallpaper wasn’t hard at all, you and Sora had bonded quite well, it was interesting to find out about her, you learnt she ran a café nearby and had a fiancé, her parents currently live in Japan, and she has a poodle dog named Bobbi. You loved this kind of interaction; it was like a breath of fresh air being away from your routine life and interacting with people who didn’t have money on their minds 24/7. You glanced over to Yoongi’s direction now and then… there was a certain attraction you developed towards him, but you turned away each time in disappointment, him and Yeonjun were really focused on getting the ceiling fixed and didn’t really have time for other things. You really wanted to talk to Yoongi more and find out about him, maybe you wouldn’t get another chance and that really bothered you.
You and Sora were done removing the wallpaper, and the ceiling was still being plastered. You suggested to Sora “We should paint this room before the old lady comes back, it shouldn’t take too long, what do you think?”
“Perfect” Sora chimed “Let’s go to the nearby DIY store and pick out a colour.”
Sora got up and walked over to Yeonjun, by the looks of it you assumed they knew each other well, maybe they volunteered together previously, she asked “Yeonjun, my dear cousin, can you drive us in your car to the DIY store?”
Oh, now it makes sense, they were cousins, you smiled at learning the fact, you somewhat wished you were close to your family members.
At the DIY store you and Sora decided on a dusty pink colour, it would contrast well with the plants the lady had in her house. Yeonjun waited in the car and you guys were soon back, he suggested to grab some food, and as if on cue your stomach rumbled.
“Yup, ____ is hungry, we should definitely get food” Sora giggled.
You just smiled in embarrassment. The three of you had decided to buy four portions of Jjajangmyeon, not forgetting Yoongi of course.
Meanwhile Yoongi had finished up the plastering, he looked at the clock, it was 3pm, the old lady did mention she would return at 6pm, there were 3 more hours to go, more than enough time for the plaster to dry and paint over. He smiled at the fact he was ahead of schedule and thought the lady will be so happy to see the finished results. Soon you, Sora and Yeonjun came back, you distributed the noodle bowls to each person.
“Thank you” Yoongi smiled, you swear he had winked too, you felt excited like a teenage girl. You blushed and proceeded to sit down to eat, it was a nice meal, mostly Yeonjun sharing his personal life and how he has crush on his neighbour.
Chapter 2
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dirk <3< reader dirk <3< reader dirk <3< reader PLEASE
sure thing!! <3 sorry if this wasn't exactly what you wanted, but i had a lot of fun writing this!!
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DIRK STRIDER X READER (PITCH) HEADCANONS (*´∇`)┌θ☆(ノ>_<)ノ
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alright, let's be clear. dirk strider does *not* hate many things. he dislikes things, of course. he dislikes a lot of things.
but hate? hating things is too emotionally vulnerable for his tastes.
oh, but you?
he can make some exceptions for you.
you are a special, particular kind of pain in his ass.
there's two very different reasons why (i think) dirk would hate someone.
either they, as a person are in entirely direct conflict with him and get on his nerves in a major way - or, they're way too similar to him, and dirk does not like getting a mirror to his own behavior.
so more than likely, you'd fit into one of those two categories. i don't know you, though.
but regardless of what it is, you probably wouldn't have known for a while.
he didn't treat you.. differently? per say?
he was cold and cryptic and strange to everyone.
but with you, it seemed different. everyone told you it was just in your head. that dirk didn't have a problem with you, he was just like that.
but it was not.
dirk took so much pleasure in confusing you, getting one over on you. playing his little mind games.
granted, he is just kind of like that, but it's different. it was a lot more targeted, pointed - it wasn't purely in jest.
but, more importantly, it wasn't onesided.
you were not just a passive actor in this, oh no.
whatever you did, it was equally targeted to get on his nerves as much as possible.
there came a point where both of you, just for the sake of your fucked up little game, knew more about each other than even your mutual best friends did.
you'd torment each other with things, but you'd never bring anyone else into it or tell anyone things only the two of you knew. there was something of a code of honor. a trust fall system.
despite how much you disliked each other, you'd never actually do tangible harm to each other.
you just engaged in a prolonged battle of psychological warfare over your chat client.
eventually, it gets.. bizarrely flirtatious. not in a traditional way, no, but in a way that was still undeniably flirting.
you still hated him. he still hated you.
it continued regardless.
you two never.. officially got into a pitch relationship.
you're both human, after all. how would you know?
however, eventually, you were informed that your relationship with dirk sounded a whole hell of a lot like blackrom.
so, of course, you approach him about it.
neither of you know *enough* about quadrants to really call it.
but all the trolls have just been assuming it anyways, so you just shrug. by now, it's calling it what it is.
you and dirk have the mutual respect necessary for blackrom. and the mutual attraction.
needless to say, you have the "hate" aspect down.
alright, miscellaneous hc time.
he'll offer to teach you how to swordfight. he might only have done it so he could rock your shit, but he'll always patch you up after. and that little smile he gives when you first managed to get him back was pretty genuine.
just enjoys teaching you how to do his stuff in general. he'll tease you about sucking at it, but he'll actually be happy when you make progress. curse his tiny soft spot.
shows up in your house/wherever you live at random. also likes sneaking up on you whenever he sees you. the more you hate it, the more he'll do it.
he'll claim that you're more attracted to him than he is you - but that's a total lie. he's a little pathetic sometimes.
gets very flustered when you're better at him than something. anything. literally anything at all. why, exactly.. good luck getting that out of him.
actually gets genuinely upset if he goes too far with you in any way. it'll mess with him a lot, and he'll apologize profusely.
he cares about you, despite how annoying you are. despite how much he hates you, despite all of it. he cares about you a lot. and, in his own weird way, loves you.
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